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One Step Into Paradise

March 13, 2014

"One Step From Paradise" is the title of a song from the band Danger Danger. Giuseppe adapted the name of the song for his story, which was an adventure into his own personal heavy metal paradise.

https://p.dw.com/p/1BP6o
The heavy metal fan waiting for the train to San Bernadino, ready for the concert of his life.
The heavy metal fan waiting for the train to San Bernadino, ready for the concert of his life.Image: privat

Without any doubt the soundtrack of my youth is hard rock and heavy metal. I have tons of stories connected to this music but I'll share the one I think is most important.

It was 2006 and I discovered that a great concert was going to be held in San Bernardino, a city not far from Los Angeles. I thought it over for a week and then I bought the concert ticket and a plane ticket– from Italy to the USA!

Two months later I landed in Los Angeles, my personal promised land. Two days after that I was on a train to San Bernardino with just my concert ticket, a bottle of water, a camera and a small amount of information about the itinerary in my mind.
When I jumped on the bus to the concert the driver told me that the end of the line wasn't so far away from the venue. But when I arrived I discovered that the end of the line was linked to the venue by a highway that went through the desert so I had to call a taxi!

Finally I arrived at the concert. There was Pretty Boy Floyd, Bang Tango, Faster Pussycat, Slaughter, Cinderella and Poison - my favorite bands all together!
It blew my mind!

It was a great concert but at the end I had no way to get back to the train station. Luckily I met an American family that gave me a lift!
It was the best experience of my life, a perfect '80s style adventure.
In the attachment you can see me, ready to take the train to San Bernardino!

Sent by: Giuseppe from Italy
Edited by: Kerstin Boljahn


Danger Danger was founded in Queens, New York in 1987. "One Step From Paradise" is a track off their 1989 self-titled debut album. The song is a power ballad – a rock song combining a slow, melancholy beat with heavy guitar riffs and lyrics. The band could be characterized as glam metal, hard rock or adult oriented rock (AOR). AOR is rock music aimed at a grown-up audience that is heavily produced with keyboards, diverse instrumentation and refined singing. Glam metal is a subcategory of heavy metal from the 1980s, featuring bands that would wear extravagant clothes and elaborate hair styles.