(Live Review) BURNING WITCHES + SUPPORT - Joliet, Illinois (7/14/24)

By

The Beard & Little Johnny

Good day friends, fans, and followers, it is your favorite reviewing duo the Beard and Little Johnny as we report from show #41 and bands #149-151 of our 2024 metal season. Tonight, for our milestone 150th band of the year, we are in Joliet, Illinois at The Forge to review Swiss all girls power metal band Burning Witches, along with support from two local Chicago bands, traditional metal act Havron and industrial goth act Black Season Witch.

Upon arriving in Joliet, the lad and I found ourselves lucky we were going to see a show at all. During the morning, Cass Street in Joliet had experienced a tornado and the block in front of the Forge looked like a bomb had gone off. Both the street and main entrance were fully blocked off with police tape, and heavy equipment was loading sheet metal roofing and other debris into large dumpsters for disposal. All businesses on the block were closed except the Forge which had luckily suffered minimal damage and was having the show tonight as scheduled with the exception that we all had to enter through the non-traditional side entrance on the adjacent street. This makes two straight years where a tornado has hit a metal venue here in Illinois. Fortunately, this time it was NOT while the bands were actually performing.

Little Johnny and I went inside, grabbed a couple cans of his beer “Mosh God,” and swung by merch where the Beard could pick up a Burning Witches shirt and patch and Johnny grabbed a tour poster. I did tell him absolutely not when he eyed up a signed vinyl and then looked at my credit card. “Not tonight Little Dude.” We then headed to our respective areas. As usual the Beard was seated on the second floor while the imp headed to stage front. First up, the sounds of Black Season Witch.

BLACK SEASONS WITCH   

Black Season Witch from Chicago/St. Louis apparently were trying to blend an industrial metal sound with goth. This seemed to be a two-person act although the lights were low/dim and they had a projector in the back showing loops of scenes from old black and white era horror films, so maybe I missed a third person.

The volume needed to be louder on the bassist/vocalist, who presented with some goth makeup and did the set intro using a standup bass before switching to a green traditional bass that picked up the black/purple style low lighting giving it a glow throughout their set.

The songs were gothic lyrics mixed with an industrial rhythm. The vocals were poor and frankly the act needs a lot of work to rise above the kind of thing one might see in a goth club on a Friday night when a real band wasn’t available.

The industrial backing tracks had some small appeal, and the goth image certainly has its fans, but most of the Beard's initial thoughts were confirmed when Black Season Witch finished their first song and it took a few seconds before the small round of appreciative/sympathy applause commenced. Initially, the crowd was more like “What the hell did we just watch/hear?”

The background of black and white silent era horror films were predictable and so amateurishly done that it detracted as much as it added. I will admit that the last few numbers did produce a bit of almost punkish energy which helped, but ultimately it was too little too late. Little Johnny barely paid attention after the first number and then wandered off looking for the backstage entrance where the Burning Witches ladies were.

Regarding the Black Season Witch closing number, I have to say that certainly nothing says spooky gothic band quite like a Black Sabbath cover of “Children of the Grave” played on a blacklight green bass, a marshmallow cream colored guitar and vocally sounding about as much like Ozzy as I do. The Beard will not be renewing his Black Season Witch subscription for next year. 63/100 (Ed: Fear not, he will be renewing his Doro Pesch OnlyFans subscription, however.)

HAVRON

Next up we had traditional style metal from Chicago act Havron.

Havron was a new band playing in support of their single release, (2023’s Nomads Creed). Setting up in front of all the Burning Witches gear, Havron’s drumkit alone filled about half the stage. That thing was a beast. Musically, Havron was a five-piece band with a female lead singer operating in the Evanescence vein.

Clad in black leather with dark makeup and a waif thin frame, Lariyah Perrin had the makings of a BIG voice. She was animated and certainly presented with good energy, but where superstars like Christina Scabbia and, even on a lower tier, Brittny Slays project their range and power up and over the music, Perrin often had trouble doing that and songs lacked the kind of dominant vocal power that would have greatly enhanced them. Some of that might have been technical issues as Perrin also fronts Khaotika, and before that Hessler, so she has been singing lead for quite a while and certainly knows what she is doing up there.

Musically, Havron was a bit disjointed. It felt like all the ingredients had been poured into a bowl, but were not fully mixed yet. I explained this analogy to Johnny, and he asked if I was gonna make some cake later because he likes cake. This is why I normally DON’T explain my thoughts to him.

Havron has something. It is just not fully developed yet. Refine the vocals, (as balanced with the music), and work on a bigger presentation. The look is good. Musically, again they have good stuff, but the “show” aspect needs tightening. I do think this is the kind of act that could make it with the right breaks and enough work. Since this was my first time seeing them I am going 84/100 with potential.

BURNING WITCHES

Finally, it was time for headliners Burning Witches.

Burning Witches were formed in 2016 by guitarist Romana Kalkuhl and they have managed to release five full length albums in just six years’ time. Their latest is The Dark Tower from 2023. Although not yet a huge success in America, Burning Witches have had four top twenty albums in their home country and charted three in the top fifty on the European circuit.

Modeling their music after such classic acts as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, Burning Witches may have only been hitting the U.S. soil for the first time since 2022, but they have already played at Wacken, Summer Breeze, and Open-Air festivals along with extensive touring in Europe.

Burning Witches presents as an all-woman power metal band and although Laura Guldemond’s voice could be clearer and have greater enunciation of the lyrics, (as is generally the case with power metal), there was no denying she was a show-woman on the stage (which was a definite asset.)

Comparatively, guitarist Romana Kalkuhl was a larger more muscular woman who presented with more growl than grin. She is attractive and does smile occasionally but for the most part seemed all business.

Stradling the divide, lead guitarist Courtney Cox (no, not THAT one), was a good mix of both. She was clean and confident in her leads and solos, which was not surprising since she had previously played with both Femme Fatale and The Iron Maidens before joining Burning Witches.

Cox knew her craft, played hot power metal solos and even repaired the fret on her guitar in front of everyone between songs with a smile and an acerbic self-scolding for not bringing the proper tool to do it more quickly. Between Cox & Kalkuhl, guitar was this band’s biggest strength.

Jeanine Grob was FAR more animated than most bassists ever get (headbanging throughout the entire set), while drummer Lala Frischknecht seemed to have some early sound issues with hearing everything through the monitors but apparently got it sorted out by mid set and played solid, but not flashy.

Despite the lack of vocal clarity, Goldemond sprinted back and forth on the stage throwing the occasional kung fu kicks, (like Uma Thurman’s character The Bride from Kill Bill), and even leapt into the crowd on one number (much to Johnny’s delight.) Johnny danced and rocked with Goldemond throughout that song and set and afterwards said she looked like Kelly Bundy after she grew up.

As the night went on, Burning Witches sharpened their game feeding off a good crowd response, and I felt the set and songs got progressively better the longer they played. One slight criticism, despite Johnny’s approval and clear adoration of Goldemond, every so often she came across to me as more of an aerobics instructor than a lead singer. That said, I do recognize it is a “show” and what can seem “over the top” is often just “playing to the back of the room.”

While I really enjoyed both Cox and Kalkuhl’s playing, (as they occasionally traded leads on various songs), there were some technical issues which required Goldemond to vamp for a few minutes along with Cox having to repair her axe on the fly so a few points did have to be deducted from the overall grade. Still, it was an entertaining evening and afterwards Little Johnny proudly said he had scored Goldemonds phone number. “If it starts 555 she’s lying to you little dude.”

Ultimately, Burning Witches was like watching Girlschool of the 1970’s or Vixen of the 80’s, which is to say an all-woman act who not only look sexy but can also legitimately play and sing. This was a good evening, and therefore I accord them the respect they earned and award them 87/100.

So, this wraps up show number #41 and bands #149-151. Remember to tune in every Wednesday to read our latest concert review on your home for great metal content, The Mighty Decibel. Keep checking TikTok at thebeard0728 or #thebeardandlittlejohnny for the latest videos from all the shows, and friend or follow Mark McQueen on Facebook for all the non-metal reviews. We have almost thirty already up this year. When it comes to entertainment, you just cannot do better than The Beard & Little Johnny.

Until next time, this is The Beard saying ... Stay Heavy & Horns Up!!!!