Guess what's happening on November 3rd?

MADDIE'S GOING TO SEE DRAGONFORCE!

And you should, too.

Here's where you can find information for the location, as well as great deals on tickets:

https://tixx1.artistarena.com/dragonforce/

or

www.dragonforce.com

See you at the gig!

-Maddie

Why it pays to Google Yourself....

Well, thanks to my blog and some unexplainable word of mouth, my blog has been featured on blabbermouth.net, z98rocks.com, in German (I think...) at metal-hammer.de and even in Russian at boxofmp3.ru/?p=96 for my pictures relating to the crash.

How these people know I'm the guitar tech's daughter is kinda creepy... But, hey, my blog is getting out there!


....But how did they know that?....



Also, on the note of the accident, insurance sent everyone these lovely little letters saying they denied our claims. AKA, I have to come up with $400. Screw that. Dad and I are getting lawyers!!! Woohoo!

-Maddie

Last Day of Mayhem! DISTURBED BREAKS RECORD!

Disturbed's new hit single, "Inside the Fire," has done it. 18 weeks at #1. They tied the record at 16, broke the record at 17, and just keeps on going. not only have they been number one for 18 weeks, but they've been on Active Rock's Top Ten for 23 weeks. Congrats, Guys!

Thanks to recent technology, keeping an active video record of the tour, which ends tonight at Darien Center, New York, has been pretty easy for the festival production and for fans. I looked through video archives, and decided to bring a little bit of the tour to your office, your living room, study, or wherever your preferred place of reading my blog may be.

So, Rock on!

DragonForce: Through the Fire and the Flames

Disturbed: Inside the Fire

Slipknot: Psychosocial

In one week, DragonForce's new CD, "Ultra Beatdown" is released. It's worth the money!


Also, Slipknot's new Album, "All Hope is Gone" comes out on the 26th. A great piece of work!


The tour may be over, but these new albums will keep us rocking!

-Maddie

Ultra Beatdown comes out next Tuesday!

Remember the last time you were a fan of a great band or musician and watched them enter the spotlight? Remember that great feeling of your favorite band on everyone's lips as you thought to myself 'I was listening to them before you knew they even existed?'



Ladies and gentlemen, it's time once again for you to feel that same bragging right. DragonForce is that next band.

Heroes of Our Time


Although the band is already huge, the only direction DragonForce can go from here is up. "While most bands want to be bigger than Metallica, DragonForce have the capacity to exceed Star Wars," said UK's Metal Hammer magazine.

Ultra Beatdown, the band's fifth CD comes out next Tuesday, and I can promise you, I'll be surfing itune's store. This Metal/Rock/Progressive band is definitely worth a listen. Not only are the melodic lyrics a little more mainstream listener friendly, but even people outside the rock genre can't get over the insane guitar solos. Infact, they're so good, DragonForce's song, "Through the Fire and the Flames" is one of the hardest songs featured on the hit game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

"'Ultra Beatdown' is the album to take DragonForce to a new height. It’s not merely the culmination of a decade crafting and finessing a sound that has made them instantly recognizable across the world. It’s not even state-of-the-art for metal, nor just a gantlet being thrown down for everyone else. This is more than that. It’s DragonForce beating a difficult, yet ultimately satisfying, path. Experimenting, taking risks, being bold – precisely what you’d expect any masters of their art"

-Malcolm Dome

I asked DragonForce drummer David Mackintosh what his feelings were towards doing the festival again, if he could. Here's what he said:

"We would so do this again! Best and easiest tour ever. So many old friends,and loads of new ones too! This has been an awesome lineup...I don't think they could have chosen a better lineup."

DragonForce has two more tours lined up which will keep him busy until March of next year. They'll be visiting everywhere from the UK to Australia, Japan, France, The Netherlands, Germany, and many many more locations.

DragonForce really is the next big thing.

I looked into its eyes...

And it sent me back to July 30th, a conversation I had with Fred our driver and Geoff, the band's production manager. It was before the accident, before the acceptance into the family, and before what changes that happened occurred.

The last time I though about an alligator, I was riding in Florida, just past the Everglades. I was not sitting at the local county fair with my two little cousins watching an animal show in the summer's blazing heat. I was talking to our driver about how he hadn't seen any alligators on the road the night before, a rare occurrence around the Everglades.

The view from the front seat in the bus of a city we passed by, early one morning in Florida.

But, having these little triggers, these little images, sounds, or even smells send me right back to the nights of the tour. The pain that remains still in my arm reminds me of the accident too.

I dream about it, and think about it every time I get into a car, drive onto the ferry, or get on a plane. I think about the numbers, the statistics...

Here are lifetime statistics of you dying in various ways from popculturemadness.com:

Air Travel Accident odds: 1-in-20,000
Motor Vehicle Accident odds: 1-in-100
Drowning odds: 1-in-8,942


I'm not a pessimist... I'm a realist.

-Maddie

My heart was pounding...

My ears were throbbing, my chest beating like a hollow drum from the sound in front of me. This is what it felt like to take some of the best pictures of my life.

ZP Theart hitting the note.

But it wasn't just the excitement of being in a metal concert that got to me, it was the anticipation of crowd surfers being pulled down over my head by security. I watched multiple times as the photographer next to me tried to move away, but didn't do so in time and got kicked in the head by the riled up crowd. It was the one time in life I was glad to be 5'3".


David Mackintosh getting the crowd pumped up.

It's amazing some of the shots, some of the views you can get. And yet again, being short can be a major advantage for shots like these...


James Root shredding as one of Slipknot's two guitar players.


Chris Fehn posing behind his drum set.

It wasn't only the crowed surfers I had to look out for- photographers would push you away to get your shot. And, being small, it wasn't uncommon for me to be booted out of the way by someone twice my size.


Corey Taylor,(left) screaming out the vocals, Mick Thomson,(center) headbanging to the music, and Shawn "Clown" Crahan beating on his brand new drum set that arrived earlier that day. It is complete with spinning and raising elements that allow him to go 15 feet into the air, spin, and now has a flat screen on the front of the kit that displays a live feed of the crowd.

I learned to push back.

-Maddie

Heading home...

Well, I'm heading on home tomorrow after a doctor appointment for immigration, and I'll put together some more picture albums, such as a Slipknot album, a best pics album, etc.

Here are a few pics from the Dragonforce show last night:


Herman Li, Vadim Pruzhanov, Fredric Leclercq, and Sam Totman in a 'musical foursome'.
Frederic Leclercq at Wednesday night's concert in New York.


Sam Totman rocking out at the show.


Vadim Pruzhanov gives an energetic show that keeps the crowd pumped all night long.


ZP Theart Screams out vocals only a Brit could belt out.

Questions? Comments? E-mail me at maddieleiren@hotmail.com.

Until Tomorrow,
-Maddie

My Dear Friends,

Forgive me for not posting lately. Life has been VERY busy and VERY hectic out on the road.

I have many stories to tell, most of which will be told. Pictures were taken and will be shown. I took pictures front row of Dragonforce, Disturbed, and Slipknot, which are worth more than a thousand words.

right now it's 2:30 AM EST, and I've got to get up at 6:00 AM EST to catch a flight home to my day job, my room that probably needs to be cleaned, and my radio-less car. But, my ears are still ringing, so I don't think a lack of music for a few days will be a bad thing.

-Maddie

More from the accident

Well, after everyone went to the ER yesterday, it took the hospital long enough so that when we got out of the hospital, all the pharmacies were closed. This morning we woke up and desperately need them. Still, we have none. Our runner who usually does grocery runs and takes our driver to the hotel is now picking up our meds.

I'm just loving this sling.
If you know me, you know wearing this sling is my own personal hell.

More pics of the accident:






More to come later, have to go help out with dressing rooms.

-Maddie