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Doro Calling the Wild Review by Gary Hill In the 1980’s Doro Pesch fronted the German metal band Warlock. That band is no more, but Doro has kept her career and love of metal alive through the years. This new disc is her first release in the US in many years, but she has continued releasing albums in Europe the entire time. Calling the Wild is a fine album that combines elements of the older metal sound of Warlock with more modern metal and other genres. It is really Doro’s voice which carries the CD, though. She can scream with the best of the metal guys (at times she sounds a bit like WASP’s Blackie Lawless) or get quiet and beautiful, and capture all the ground in between. This disc includes several guests including Lemmy (Motorhead, Hawkwind), Al Pitrelli (Megadeath). Eric Singer (Alice Cooper, Kiss) and Slash (Guns and Roses). The album also includes two cover tracks. One of these is Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” and the other is Motorhead’s “Love Me Forever”. The latter is one of two tracks that Lemmy makes his appearance on. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: The Early Years Volume 3 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-The-Early-Years .

Track by Track Review

Terror Vision Starting off a lot like new metal ala Godsmack, the first verse is in this style. As the chorus comes in, the mode is in a more mellow modern metal style. The cut alternates between these formats with Doro’s voice at the same level as her Warlock days. The lyrics to this song are about how the media uses television to brainwash.

I Got My Blood (Dedication) A very old school Metallicaish mode makes up the central format for this cut. The chorus has a classic melodic Warlock sort of sound, though. Al Pitrelli adds some great guitar solos to the mix.

White Wedding Starting with sedate keys, guitar brings the cut in. However, throughout the entire duration of the introduction, the fact that this is the classic Billy Idol number is not apparent. As the verse prepares to begin, it becomes recognizable. Doro puts in a great rendition, making it a bit more mellow and electronic. The guitars certainly rock throughout, though.

I Wanna Live Based on a central riff that feels a lot like something from the non-makeup years of Kiss, this is a very solid hard rock cut. The guitar solo on this one really smokes.

Kiss Me Like A Cobra Musically this song is rather generic sounding. However, Doro’s voice escalates the cut to fine metallic art.

Love Me Forever This has always been one of my favorite Motorhead songs and seems to be a great choice for Doro to cover. She even got Lemmy to join her on it. The rendition is fairly faithful to the original version (a melancholically toned rock ballad with a killer texture), but Doro’s voice and a few small lyrical changes add a nice twist. This is definitely my favorite track on the disc. Eric Singer handles the drum duties on this one.

Pain Starting with a bluesy rock riff, this is a pretty standard metallic rocker. It features an instrumental break that has a great texture.

Give Me A Reason This is a rock ballad that is packed with emotion. “This is another lonely morning, It feels like another lonely night, I’m almost sure I’ll give up hoping, Or should I give it one more try, Give me a reason, To hold on to this love, Give me a reason, To stay strong in my heart.” This is a very powerful and evocative cut.

Fuel Hammering out, this is a very hard rocking number. It is a straight forward, take-no-prisoners song. “I need fuel, Fuel for my engine of love, I need fuel, Fuel for my body to start.”

Scarred This composition is a good balladic one. It is a love lost number. The piece serves as a good sedate breather after the fury of the previous track, and although overall mellow, it includes some crunchy guitar work.

Now Or Never This one is a killer fast paced hard rocking cut. It features the unmistakeable sound of Slash on guitar.

Alone Again Another song that features Lemmy and Eric Singer, this one is a great acoustic guitar dominated ballad. The track features a great duet between Doro and Lemmy and an acoustic guitar solo by Lemmy. This is definitely another of the best pieces on this disc. All you can say after hearing this one is, “Wow!”

Constant Danger A very pretty acoustic guitar and vocal based ballad, this one is very beautiful. Doro’s voice is exceptionally pretty here.

Burn It Up With crowd noise, this one feels live, but yet not. It is a very Warlockish melodic metal cut, albeit rather short.

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