Metal Sludge The Power and the Glory
Red Dragon Cartel still taking a beating from the internet haters.
Las Vegas Nevada — Jake E Lee and his new project Red Dragon Cartel played their hometown debut on Friday December 20th at “Vamp’d.” The band had just finished a short week of shows in California which kicked off with what many considered to be nothing short of a train wreck. The first ever Red Dragon Cartel show was at the world famous “Whisky-A-Go-Go” and included a star studded audience. Warren DeMartini (Ratt), Oni Logan (Lynch Mob) and KISS know-it-all Eddie Trunk (That Metal Show) were all on hand.
Unfortunately for Lee, his debut show didn’t go so well and drew harsh criticism from around the globe. All eyes were on this gig as many awaited Jake’s much anticipated come back. The former Ozzy Osbourne guitar great had been basically MIA for 2 solid decades and a lot of hype has surrounded his new project – that is until the singer opened his mouth. Darren Smith is fronting Jake’s new band and seems to be the center of much of the critiquing. Smith himself came forward in this video interview to set the record straight on what really happened.
For Smith and the band, it seems that some of the freshman blues have settled but the haters have not. The band has played a few more shows since that ‘train wreck’ and from the very start have had close friends and associates come to their defense. Most close to the group have written off that initial show as rust, jitters and lack of preparation in general. The fans haven’t been very forgiving though and have been relentless in their opinions.
Onward they marched and the band followed up Hollywood with a show in San Diego while a date with Queensryche in Arizona was cancelled. The rumor was that ticket sales were low and this was no fault of Red Dragon Cartel’s – and maybe that was in their favor. Had they appeared in front of a few thousand progressive metal fans – like the Queensryche fanbase – the Red Dragon Cartel might have found themselves in another shit storm if they didn’t step up their game.
Now it’s been a few weeks and a fist full of shows and the more recent youtube clips don’t seem to be changing everyone’s mind. At least not yet. It looks like the readers on Blabbermouth and on Youtube are still not convinced that Jake has all the right pieces. Fans are still attacking the singer with comments ranging from “He’s out of key” to remarking about his stomach size with things like; “When is the baby due?”
Below are some choice words and opinions of the metal community.
Jake Side View Vegas
Front And Center View Vegas
Metal Sludge
Pregnant Sludge
