Sons of Liberty

Live at the House of Blues

Los Angeles, CA

September 25, 2010

Sons of Liberty is the new side project from Iced Earth's mastermind, Jon Schaffer. While he has long been at the helm of that mainstay in metal iconography and is the chief song writer, he has taken this opportunity to forge a new band with him singing the main vocals as well as writing all the music.

He has always been the predominant driving force behind the intentions of his projects but on this one, he is taking the lyrics in a new direction with a message that is very important to him.

The basis of this message is freedom.  Honestly we all take this word and its true meaning for granted.

I have always been a rebel at heart so I have always appreciated the basis of our country's ideals but at the same time, hated the political world and what it stands for. Government in my mind equals the opposite of freedom. That being said, pure chaos and anarchy does not work even in theory so we have to have some LAW.

Now if Love was really The Law then no problem but what Jon is, is a realist. He is no zealot preaching conspiracy theories but he is an empassioned deliverer of a reality not many want to look at: Corporations and "Banks" rule the world. "Special Interest" lobbyists have surpassed any true form of politics and we have a right to demand the freedoms layed down by our fore-fathers, i.e, the Sons of Liberty.

Each song is based around a concept that lays out a very serious issue in the world but does so with awesome musical and artistic endeavor so it takes you a listen or two to just take in the song itself let alone all of the lyrical implications.

Many of the songs are either prologued or epilogued with a sound-byte from one of the many inspirational leaders of our past and how their predictions, some of which are hundreds of years old, have come true.

They started off the set with "Jeckyll Island" which is a full on metal anthem and well done. It addresses corrupted leaders and stolen freedoms and in that, encapsulates the basic ideas behind Sons of Liberty in itself.

The song ends with Jon reading an excerpt from a speech which states that If the people allow Private Banks to control their currency, we will wake up homless and in poverty in the nation our fathers conqured. It was in fact Thomas Jefferson who predicted this so long ago but is now a reality.

They did "Don't Tread On Me" which by taking an old addage states that we must step up to the challenge of retaining our freedoms. "Watch your step around me, I am trying to live free. Pushed too far, we will strike - like a snake coiled up in the Night".

The songs themselves are well written and immediately resonate in your mind, the entire audience singing along to the choruses.

Jon was quick to point out that none of these fore fathers were perfect, far from it... but it is not about hero worship but the support of the ideals layed forth by those trying to build a nation that allowed self government for honest men and women.

"False Flag" was next: you can fool people some of the time but you can't fool me, the constitution cannot defend itself so they're gunning for people who are outspoken. They are perpetuating never ending wars and building killing machines at the expense of us and our fellow citizens.

Patriotism nearly became a bad word under the last few regimes and it should not be. Patriotism does not equal Imperialism and the song utilizes sound-bytes from everyone from Obama, Bush, to Hitler: showing that regardless of their intentions they are perpetuating a False Ideal that is not what this country was founded on, nor what we as citizens really seek.

The song ends with a simple statement that says if the corporations are allowed to rule, the Republic will fall. This quote comes from Abraham Lincoln and many of us find it hard to believe that even in his time, corporations and special interest groups were already clawing their way into the power base. This should send the message that much stronger that where we are now is dangerous territory predicted over a hundred years ago.

"Our Dying Republic" has an awesome sing along chorus "Our lives should define freedom, Our lives to live in our own way. Our lives must define freedom or will we let them take it away?"

Jon has stated that he does not have the best voice which I whole heartedly disagree with.  I really like his voice and singing style. You can definitely hear him in some Iced Earth songs but this is all him and I think it sounds great.  He has the three guys on strings sing back up which lends power to the chorus and I think it really is a great sounding band.

"Indentured Servitude" opens with a sound-byte from JFK regarding secrecy and concealment in government and how this can lead to censorship and control and how we must look to free speech and freedom of press to be the conscience and be the voice to keep freedom what it should be.

Samples from leaders range from Bush to even Obama and how they all spoke in some fashion of a New World Order. This is a Global conspiracy to keep us in a state of indentured servitude. The middle class loses more money and more voice while goverment bows to corporations and banks who truly rule this world order.

"Tree of Liberty" is based around the old saying that "the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots and tyrants". It was originally based on the Revolution against England but it illustrates that Freedom is not Free. Patriots layed their lives on the line to free us from the Tyrants that inhibited men to live as they would.

Jon states in the lyrics that he wishes this conflict to be settled peacefully but we cannot be passive in protecting the people and the ideals that we love. When the time is right, we must push back, we must vocalize and stand up for our freedoms.

The set ended with the ultimate anthem of freedom, "We the People". It states that we, the masses, the governed, we surround them. We are America, or for those not of these shores, you are the nation of your origin. There is no country that is merely borders and land mass, it is the people that make up the nation and must also make the choices.

No Freedom, No Peace!

To sum it up, it was a great show. Jon is a very personable front man and great talent. This was only the fourth show of this project but since the members also play in Iced Earth, except for one guitarist, it seemed as if they had been playing this material for years.

I really enjoy the songs on disc but they have even more power in a live setting and Jon's passion was contagious to the crowd.

I believe there were only two songs off of the new album "Brushfires of the Mind" that were not done live and they are both great songs as well, but they definitely chose anthemic songs that work very well in a live situation for this set.

The crowd was completely into the band from the first song and Jon seemed almost surprised that everyone was singing along and knew the material already which made him happy.

It was a great opportunity to see him in action both in this band and then playing guitar in Iced Earth immediately after.

Iced Earth did an immense set that was awesome.... follow the link after the pictures of Sons Of Liberty to see them in action!

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