First up were Pain, on a rare visit to the UK. Singer/guitarist Peter Tagtgren is probably the only person who’d attempt to play guitar while wearing a straightjacket (with the sleeves unfastened obviously). They’re an odd choice of support for Nightwish as they are so different musically, and quite a few Nightwish fans had expressed disappointment when they were announced yet again to support Nightwish in the UK. Despite this, once they started playing they did actually go down very well with most of the crowd. Musically they’re a hard band to describe – I’d say its mainly industrial metal but there’s also a strong electronic feel to the music too, and this really lifts the music up a level making it far more catchy and entertaining...
Read MoreMötorhead are on a tour again and as a part of their The Wörld is Yours tour 2012 they are comming to Ljubljana, Slovenia on 10th december 2012.
You can get your ticket here
http://www.eventim.si/si/vstopnice/motorhead-ljubljana-hala-tivoli-422509/performance.html
Read MoreIrish folk singer Mary Dillon will release her first full length solo album, North, in February 2013 after a prolonged hiatus from the music scene. The release will be preceded by a single, ‘John Condon’, released on 11th November 2012.
‘John Condon’ is a haunting account of a fourteen-year-old boy’s role in WW1. Mary sang on the original demo recording of this song in 2003, which subsequently became something of a modern folk classic, and it will feature on her forthcoming album with a stunning new vocal. Formerly the lead singer in well-known 90s folk band Déanta, Mary has had a long absence from the music scene, but returns with a renewed energy after 15 years to release an acoustic album of Irish folk songs old and new.
The track can be streamed here: http://soundcloud...
Read MoreIRON KNIGHTS is the new name for the band previously known as STUKA SQUADRON.
The official band statement explaining the reasons for this change can be found here: www.stuka-squadron.com (website due to change)
The new website is www.ironknightsband.com and will be live imminently.
The release of the album ‘New Sound Of War’ will be postponed from the original release date of 19 November 2012 to 26 November 2012 and it will be an Iron Knights album.
On behalf of Iron Knights, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise in advance for the confusion this change will cause – it has not been an easy decision. I would also like to thank everyone that has supported the band and continues to support them going forward.
I spoke to Seeb from Orden Ogan to talk about their new album and touring plans…..
Festivalphoto: OK for anyone who hasnt listened to Orden Ogan before, can you tell us a bit about the band?
Seeb: We’re melodic power metal sort of band with orchestrations. We’ve got our new record ”To the end” coming out on AFM records. It’s our third album.
Festivalphoto: Your new album, ”To the end” is due for release at the end of October. Can you tell us a bit about the album?
Seeb: It’s got a loose kind of concept about let’s say after the end of the world, so the world is not five to twelve anymore but twelve to five, and its basically another ice age, and a lot of the songs are loosely connected with this ice topic but it can also be metaphorical – emotional coldness and whatever...
Read MoreThe waiting is (almost) over! Sziget tickets are already available at some
official retail partners, while the renewed Sziget central ticket webshop will
open on 7 November. Till then, please make sure you vote at the European
Festival Awards!
Sziget organizers are happy to report that the ticket sales period has officially started
today, so some of the official sales partners already have fresh new Sziget tickets on
their shelves. This year the Sziget team decided to change the service provider of the
central e-ticketing system and the renewed webshop will celebrate its debut on 7
November. The development of the webshop is ongoing, so if you have any technical
feedback, please send them to the ticketing helpdesk.
7 November is a big occasion, as the voting for the European Festival Award...
Read MoreRatpack Records/Playground
To DOKKEN or not to DOKKEN… In the wake of what surely will be the last (Don) DOKKEN album, remaining originals George Lynch, guitars, Jeff Pilson, bass, and “Wild” Mick Brown (doubling in both versions) do a version of their own, scantily clad as T&N (“Tooth and Nail” as you have already gathered). On the vocal front many apparently wanted in as they are joined by Tim “Ripper” Owens, Doug Pinnick, Sebastian Bach, and Robert Mason (WARRANT). The drumming is for some reason augmented by WHITESNAKE and FOREIGNER hot shot Brian Tichy. Is this a temporary cash in, an act of defiance or a true return to form?
Opener “Slave to the Empire” sure reminds me of the opener “Empire” on the latest DOKKEN effort...
Read MoreMagic Circle Music/Playground Music
12 studio albums on, MANOWAR are still at war, not far away from their warrior looks and still ageing. This album has already been out, as a Hammer Edition, which Joey Demaio, bass, explains with the fact that many movies have two versions, and that MANOWAR are no different. As a surprise, they have written two songs as homage to Ennio Morricone and the Sylvester Stallone movie The Expendables. Nuff said, since you all know what to expect, let´s check this eagerly awaited disc out.
The title track opens the disc, as it should be, and in doing so proves itself to be a surefire hit...
Read MoreRainbow are set to release Deluxe Reissues of On Stage and Long Live Rock N’ Roll this November.
Rainbow, lead by the guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, became synonymous with some of the most well regarded and popular charting Rock songs of the seventies and eighties. From ‘Stargazer’ and ‘Man On A Silver Mountain’ to ‘All Night Long’, ‘Long Live Rock And Roll’ and ‘Since You Been Gone’, each year in the decade of Rainbow was marked by some of the best songs and performances captured both on record and in concert.
Passing through the band were some of the best the genre had to offer...
Read MoreBlodarv från danska ön Bornholm är black metal. Black metal sprungen ur ideologi, övertygelse och säregen begåvning. Dessutom stinker det ordentligt på deras spelningar!
På Bornholm bor det drygt 40 000 människor och jag tar mig dit på knappt en-och en halv timme med färjan från Ystad. Hugin, som bildade Blodarv är född och bosatt på ön. Vi har stämt möte i foajén på mitt hotell via mail och när han undrade hur han skulle känna igen mig svarade jag att jag förmodligen är den enda som bär en Mayhem-tröja, varpå han replikerade något i stil med:
– Du kommer att förstå vem jag är.
Det gör jag direkt jag ser honom och hade gjort i vilken folksamling som helst då han rör sig med remarkabel pondus och utstrålar en öppenhet som är ovanlig...