Mayhem öppnade med ”Deathcrush”.
Sammanhanget är torftigt, jag fryser och har skitont överallt för det finns ingen mat eller värme och jag har stått på ett jävla kallt betonggolv i timmar. Jag hatar detta. Men när Mayhem öppnar med ”Deathcrush”. Då blir den här människan mjuk i sinnet och snäll. Atilla verkar lite arg och tycker att ”A Time To Die” bör tillägnas alla religiösa ledare och jag håller med. Men det är inte det som är poängen med Mayhem . Mayhem finns här och nu för att snutiga Stavangerungar ska kunna säga att de har sett dem. Mayhem finns för att tanter som jag ska kunna säga att jag har sett dem en gång till. Mayhem finns för att vi ska ha en kontinuitet, För att vi ska förstå vad Black Metal en gång var och vad den är och vad den kommer att bli...
Torsdag 24 januari.
Att anordna en tredagars festival i slutet på januari i Stavanger i Norge är ett ganska ovanligt initiativ. Att göra det för första gången och boka band som Mayhem, Arcturus, Gehenna, Negura Bunget och Dimension F3H är ytterligare en bedrift. Mannen som står bakom detta heter Marius Steffenssen och har en rolig förklaring till sitt ambitiösa projekt.
-Det började med att jag ville spela på lite större konserter med mitt band ”Saints in Sin” men ingen ville förstås boka oss så då började jag arrangera spelningar själv där jag satte in mitt band som support. Verksamheten växte successivt och så föddes idén till en festival.
Det är väldigt länge sedan jag kallade något så enkelt för festival...
Read MoreManchester band The Goddamn Electric formed in January 2010, and released their debut EP in late 2011. Now at the start of 2013 they are releasing their debut album – Snake Bite. The band are named after the Pantera song of the same name, and the album is either intended to sound wild, or it’s named after their favourite drink.
The band look like they’re going to have a good year with the release of their debut album, festival appearances already confirmed at Hammerfest, Scarfest and Les-fest, gigs with Massive Wagons and Jettblack, an album launch show and who knows what else is still to come.
Until I was sent the album to review I must admit I hadn’t listened to them at all...
Read MoreSome new sounds, unknown face, young talents rocked the stage of Babel in Malmö last week. Participated at a band contest, showed for the audience, how various could be the real music at all. I was just wondering why there is not that much people interested in upcoming, or simply unsigned bands. Most of these concerts was interesting, feelingful, and exciting. Just an advice- listen to them!
„Competition called Emergenza, formed as a music festival for upcoming bands. In the early 90s were a bunch of musicians and their bands together and organized a one-day festival on the outskirts of Rome, Italy. The festival was such a hit of that year after organizers were inundated with requests by the band that wanted to play...
Read MoreAngel Air/Border
Super groups are not a newly coined phenomenon. 1976 saw the rise of WIDOWMAKER, a band with plenty of rock pedigree. The lineup sported Steve Ellis on lead vocals, previously of LOVE AFFAIR and a solo career and guitarist Ariel Bender (real name Luther Grosvenor) of SPOOKY TOOTH, MOTT THE HOOPLE and STEALERS WHEEL fame. Today we would rank Bob Daisley (ex CHICKEN SHACK, ex. RAINBOW, ex. OZZY OSBOURNE, ex. URIAH HEEP, ex. GARY MOORE etc. etc.) and former HAWKWIND guitarist Huw Lloyd Langton at least as high. Drums on the album come courtesy of Paul Nichols (later on with IPANEMA KATZ) and some keyboards were supplied by Zoot Money, who played with a lot of Brit rock royalty.
This album is filled with cozy 70´s rock, often rather slow but at the same time mesmerizing...
Read MoreMagna Carta/Border
A band consisting of a progressive metal band´s vocalist, a renowned blues rock guitarist and a former drummer of a latter day American progressive rock band, would that suite anyone? Why not, as it is dUg Pinnick, Eric Gales and Thomas Pridgen who are at work. All members seem to have had their say in creating this album, and I very much like their individual styles. The info sheet promises a mix of KINGS X, THE ERIC GALES BAND and the MARS VOLTA, serving as a bas to attract fans of as diverse acts as CREAM, STEVIE RAY VAUGHN and TOOL!
Opener “Collateral Damage” is seventies groovy blues which is intriguing and has a distinct black sound to it, but it still only serves as a teaser of things to come...
Read MoreFrontiers/BAM
German chart success PINK CREAM 69 returns with their eleventh album, not counting EPs and live outings. Founded in 1987 the band still has guitarist Alfred Koffler in its ranks, and bass player/producer Denis Ward has been along almost as long. The rest of the band are vocalist extraordinaire David Readman, guitarist since 2007 Uwe Reitenauer, and the latest addition, drummer Chris Schmidt (SUNSTORM). The first era of the band included vocalist Andi Deris and ended sometime after the album “Thunderdome” (2004). The second era started in 2007, I wonder if they are on the rise or in decline?
If this album had been all in the playfulness and excellence of Eastern sounding opener “Land of Confusion” and the enjoyable mix of IRON MAIDEN melody and a distinct modern touch in ...
Read MorePure Steel Records/Sound Pollution
Sicilian band STEEL RAISER first showed themselves in 2008 with their debut “Race of Steel” in 2008. They have an obvious love of classic powerful heavy metal, and the info sheet mentions JUDAS PRIEST´s “Painkiller”. Vocalist Alfonso Giordano is described as a mix of Rob Halford, Udo Dirkschneider and David Wayne (METAL CHURCH, REVEREND). We all know what to expect…
Opner “Cyberlazer” displays a band going full-throttle with a most ok track, reminiscent of NWOBHM band BLITZKRIEG. They go for a further dose of the UK with “Finalizer”, but end up less successful than with the opener. What surprises me is that the iron vocalist that the info speaks about seems to be in a bit of problems with tracks like “Metal Maniac” and “The Executioner”...
Read MoreAngel Air/Border
On April 6 1995 WISHBONE ASH played the Rock Heroes Festival in Geneva. Their performance was captured for posterity and is now re-released with a Flash Player track of opener “The King Will Come”.
When ubiquitous guitarist/vocalist Andy Powell greeted the audience with “… We´re of cause WISHBONE ASH…” it has a doubtful ring to it. The original band was gone as original vocalist/bass player Martin Turner upped and left in 1991, drummer Steve Upton left both the band and the music business while Ted Turner lasted a live album longer that the two aforementioned. So in time for the 25th anniversary Andy met with a manager, Martin Looby, who in turn secured the band a spot on a rock festival in Geneva...
Read MoreIf were to peel back the decadent layers of pop and drama of a typical Mumford and Sons song, to be left with only the raw, unflinching basics of its inner most rhythms you might come close to describing the sound of Frightened Rabbit. But not quite.
There’s something unique about this Scottish 5 piece; something more moody, more gripping, more earnest and more mysterious – breaking the mould of typical British indie/folk/grunge/bearded/pop rock (or whatever you call it) artists….
The latest album Pedestrian Verse is a deadly mix of stirring bass from Billy Kennedy, guitars that subtly texture verses one minute then crash and light up angrily the next provided by Andy Monaghan and Gordon Skene (who also throws keys into the shimmering mix), following the triumphant drumming of Grant ...