PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
When Dorothee ‘Doro’ Pesch came into this world on the 3rd of June in Dusseldorf ( we’re not sure of the year but safe to say the baby pics were in black and white) the future of Heavy Metal was destined to be ruled by a woman the likes of which the genre had never seen before and probably will never see again.
Destined for a life on the road, the early childhood years were spent travelling Europe with her lorry driver dad, before at just 16 years of age she was struck down with Pulmonary Tuberculosis which kept her in hospital for nigh on a year. That experience, which would have extinguished the flame of many, only served to galvanise the young Doro, shaping and moulding her outlook and attitude to life, fuelling her desire to succeed and devote all her time, efforts and considerable talent to the Metal cause.
I will readily admit to being a Doro/Warlock groupie from the moment I’d saved up a weeks worth of school dinner money and trudged, starving but excited, into my local record shop, flicked through the ’W’ section, and pulled out my gleaming, pristine, brand new copy of Warlock’s debut album ’Burning The Witches’ (1984), and it’s fair to say that from that moment I was hooked for life.
The Warlock era certainly put Doro on a pedestal, yes, there were other female Rock artists around but none in the same vein as her. Classic Metal albums followed with the releases of ’Hellhound’ (’85), ’True As Steel’ (’86), and the monster that was ’Triumph And Agony’ (’87) before the by now proclaimed Queen Of Metal took the leap and forged ahead with a solo career starting with ’Force Majeure’ (’89) and the self titled ’Doro’ (’90). Both were well received but with tastes a changing in the Metal world, the 90’s became a bit of a mixed bag material wise, with ’Love Me In Black’ (’98) possibly being the pick of the bunch.
A new Millennium and a new chapter in the Doro story, ’Classic Diamonds’ (‘04) was and is one of her most underrated albums, a collection of hits all performed with the Classic Night Orchestra, and thankfully, this collection features some tracks from it. However it was the release of ’Warrior Soul’ (’06) which saw Doro return to the fore, a place she’s not left since. ’Celebrate – The Night Of The Warlock’ (’08) , an album which saw such Metal maidens such as Angela Gossow, Floor Jansen, Tarja, Girlschool, Liv Kristine and others come together to pay homage, and ’Fear No Evil’ (’09) demonstrate that despite belting it out for over a quarter of a century , this woman shows no sign of joining the W.I. and partaking of a midweek whist drive just yet.
This collection of a staggering 32 songs, spans most of her career but to be honest I could probably pick another 32, and I’m sure other fans could do the same, such is the nature of any ’Greatest Hits’ offering.
If you love Doro, then you’ll love this album, if for some reason you’ve never taken much notice, then again you’ll love this album, a stunning résumé of an artist who continues to shine and truly loves what she does.
Rating 10/10.
Track Listing;
CD 1.
1. All We Are (2007 version).
2. You’re My Family.
3. I Rule The Ruins.*
4. Celebrate.
5. The Night Of The Warlock.
6. Strangers Yesterday.
7. Walking With The Angels.
8. Metal Tango.*
9. Thunderspell.
10. Herzblut.
11. Warrior Soul.
12. My Majesty.
13. Fur Immer.*
14. Love Me In Black.*
15. Always Live To Win.*
16. Running From The Devil.
17. Above The Ashes.
18. Let Love Rain On Me.*
CD 2.
1. Celebrate ( Full Metal Female Version).
2. Rescue Me.
3. Rare Diamond ( Acoustic Version).
4. Angel In The Dark.
5. 1999.
6. In Liebe Und Freundschaft.
7. I Lay My Head Upon My Sword.
8. Tausend Mal gelebt.*
9. Wildfire.
10. Breaking The Law.
11. She’s Like Thunder (2005 version).
12. The Queen.
13. You Won My Love.
14. Lonely Wolf.
Multimedia Bonus.
Warrior Soul. (video)
Let Love Rain On Me. (video)
Herzblut. (video)
* Performed by Doro & The Classic Night Orchestra
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