Concerts | Sara Hammerzmith

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Powerwolf @ Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany 1/4 – 16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Thiz Izz Djermani, Uncategorized with tags batschkapp, battle beast, concert, Frankfurt, Germany, powerwolf, serenity on April 1, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

SO THE D-DAY IS HERE. Seriously, I love Australia and all, but Blessed and Possessed tour is literally what I’ve been going and waiting for the entire time. The Ultimate Enigma was great and all, but how can that beat Powerwolf AND Battle Beast, all in one evening? Nope.

Met up Michelle early in the morning to deliver some stuff for her to take in her luggage to make things a little bit easier on my part when going to Clermont-Ferrand and then we had a, what you could say, fancier breakfast, for once. Found this supercute place down the Kaiserstrasse, “What The Food!” Superdelicious food and superamazing staff. Warmly recommended would you ever need tasty breakfast in Frankfurt city.

With that said, we got to our respective hotels and started to get ourselves ready for the night. Michelle stopped by with some food and that’s when we finally found the time to do the dreaded Vegemite challenge. Seriously, oh my God. Sophie is going down for this one, haha! Gladly, I was smart enough to only take a little bit, while Michelle took quite a lot and almost made herself throw up… Dear lord.

After this, some final touches and then we were finally on the go. We got through the U-Bahn and gladly we found some other Powerwolf fans we could follow. I’ve been to Batschkapp once before, but I remember how disoriented all three of us where, so it felt good that we could take back on some other people. Of course, in the midst of it Michelle is like “What if they are really on their way to a pre-party or something and we’re just following them like some creepy stalkers?”

Thanks, Michelle. Thank you.

We got the line, and it was quite a line already, but hey, what do you expect when you arrive like, half an hour or so before the show starts? We waited in line for some time, I’m not sure if perhaps they were delayed or early with the doors, but they opened 17.52 exactly. I’d know this, because I was trying to calm down a hysteric Madlen on the other side of the phone.

So, we got let in and the first thing we did was to hit the bathroom and once we got out, we went into the venue and went on a quest to find Daniel and Toni. Which wasn’t that hard. You sort of see them. On a lightyears distance. So we went to them to say hi, but wound up staying with them throughout the show. This is also where I’d in fact ‘meet’ Toni for the first time and also Szilvi!

After a little bit of waiting, Serenity entered the stage and started their show.

So, I’m both unfamiliar but also not with Serenity prior to this show. I’m unfamiliar to the music, but I’ve seen a lot of their sponsored ads on Facebook, and after I realized they’d be on tour with Powerwolf I paid a bit more attention, but did not look up any music.

But, DAMN, I liked them. Or like, LIKED THEM. Damn damn damn. So fucking good I barely have any words for it, haha. It’s almost pathetic. They put on a great show and I was determined to get their latest album after the show, that’s for sure.

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Next up on the stage was Battle Beast, which is one of the two bands I’d been looking forward to a lot.

So, they got on the stage and opened the show with “Let It Roar” and my god, what a band! And Noora! What a performer! They continued on very strongly with “I Want The World … And Everything In It” and seriously, this band, what a rush! “Out on the Streets” were next before it was time for my personal favorite, “Touch in the Night” Of course not without Daniel so delicately enlighten me about this, due to a discussion we had two days ago. Haha. But seriously, this song live though, what a rush!

“Fight, Kill, Die” and “Black Ninja” were the next songs on the list followed by “Iron Hand” and “Enter The Metal World” before they wrapped it all up with “Out of Control”. The band thanked for the evening and walked off stage.

I’ve already said it once before very recently, but I need to state it again: WHAT A RUSH. Seriously, this band, Noora as a performer, WHAT A RUSH!

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After this, the wait for Powerwolf began and at this point I noticed Cyril, my French friend had arrived, holding a position up on the balcony. And with Cyril there’s only one way to greet him – with the face. The Face, as Ashleigh would call it. It was good to see him again!

And then, lights out and Powerwolf started. Intro. Band members entering and then the epic tunes of “Blessed and Possessed” started echoing through the venue with all the lights pointing right onto you, creating probably one of the most beautiful visions in front of you. I’m always going to applaud Powerwolf for their work with the lights.

After one of the most epic openings seen in a long time, “Coleus Sanctus” followed suit, and then “Amen & Attack” Seriously, that song though. Never, ever, fails to disappoint you.

Three songs into the setlist and my heart is already racing with happy emotions and exhaustion. The best feeling in the world, I’m telling you.

“Sacred and Wild” was next, followed by “Army of the Night” which was another jump-fest deluxe. Seriously, if this isn’t the work out of the year, I don’t know what is. “Resurrection by Erection”, my favorite headbang song “Armata Strigoi” and “Dead Until Dark” followed before the mood was turned down a bit for prayer in “Let There Be Night”.

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“Werewolves of Armenia” was next on the list, and seriously, this one live is beyond epic. In fact, all of it is, I’m just sort of running out of words to write about this show. “Saturday Satan” was next on the list, followed by “In The Name of God”.

The set was wrapped up with “We Drink Your Blood” and “Lupus Dei” and it was quite epic, I must admit, to see pretty much the entire arena getting down on their knees for the song. For once, you know. Most of the time people just ignore these kind of things.

The band left the stage, and “Agnus Dei” started echoing in the speakers before the band returned and ripped off “Sanctified With Dynamite”. Seriously, what is it with this band and raising your heartrate?

My personal favorite “Kreuzfeuer” followed before they wrapped up the set with “All We Need Is Blood”.

Seriously, what a rush. I was close to wiped out completely after this show, which only means one thing: One hell of a show. Thank you, Powerwolf for this show. It was amazing. I love you.

After the show, we first went to the merchandise to check it out real quickly and caught up with Cyril. And then I see a familiar person. Could it be? YES! It was Madlen. God. I haven’t seen this girl since Noch Ein Bier, and sure, it may only be like, what, nine months? But nine months is A LOT. I told her that “see, you made it!” which she responded “yeah, to the last song!” Haha. Well… She made it! Oh, this will be a lot of fun.

We hung out quite a while after show, before it was time for all of us to head to our own destinations. Madlen was kind enough to drive us home to our hotels, and we avoided speaking about how early we’d need to get up the next morning, but then again, it’s easy when it is for bands, right?

Thank you all involved for this amazing night – you are the best people in the world. I love you all.

// Sara

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Epica @ Max Watts, Brisbane, Australia 18/3 – 16

Posted in Australia 2016, Concerts, Uncategorized with tags australia, brisbane, epica, max watts, quantuum enigma, ultimate enigma, voyager on March 18, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, this was it guys. This is the final date for us to do on the Ultimate Enigma tour down under, and it has got this bittersweet feeling to it really. I hate when tours get over way too quickly, and I think I feel… I don’t know how to put it in words, but to know there are two more Australian dates and three Asian, makes it even harder for me to deal with that it’s over, already.

Regardless.

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Same clothes, different city except: STRAIGHT HAIR! Apparently, there were some misunderstandings… Curt for some reason wanted to get in really quickly and were all up all of our faces when he came home about leaving three hours before showstart, as you might know, I don’t really queue anymore since I find it a lot more fun standing a bit in the back (or well, where there’s less crowded) than being pinned to the fence, and seeing neither me and Michelle hadn’t eaten because we were under the impression we were gonna eat before leaving, this did make room for a large confusion. Especially seeing I have to eat prior to a gig – if I don’t, I might have a heartfailure, unless of course I stand completely still the entire show, but why would I ever do that? Gladly, we sorted dinner out. But really, if anyone goes with me in the future – it’s okay to go ahead. No need to make my health condition stop you.

So, after a while we finally got on the road to get there, and we were a wee bit late, so we missed the first couple of songs of the supportband, but I do assume they started on time. The venue was… Well, it felt a bit fuller than it was in Auckland indeed, but on the same time I do think the venue was a tad bit smaller, so I can’t say for sure if it was more people or not. However, they did deliver a good set.

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After Voyager, we headed over to Epica’s merchtable to check out the merch. Apparently, the tourshirts had sold out during the VIP, which is superweird. I’m not sure if they have a batch for each show, cause in that case it should be double tonight since they missed out on Auckland, but really, how little tourshirts did they bring? And if they don’t have a batch for every show, then they REALLY misscalculated the demand… Like, REALLY BIG.

By this time, we made our way down towards the pit. It was crowded, but not tight, and I found a spot we could make a headbangerzone, so we were all good. Curt decided to come along as well, and pretty much right on time they began with “Originem”, opening the show up with “The Second Stone”.

I believe Epica has toured Austalia before, at least it seemed like it because the crowd responded a wee bit better than the NZ crowd, which I was pleased to see! Hell, I even saw mosh pits happening. And this, despite Max Watts forbidding “fight dancing”. Seriously, venues, get fucking over yourselves. Can’t take a metal venue seriously when they put up that.

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“The Essence of Silence” was next, and seriously, can we just take a moment and appriciate how much of a godess Simone is? Seriously, I could listen to this particular song, and especially her operaparts on repeat all day long. “Sensorium” was next, followed by “Unleashed”. “Storm the Sorrow” was the next song, and then Simone started talking about a song from the new album about not being able to sleep. Immediatley, one could figure it was “Chemical Insomnia”, I was just surprised seeing that they didn’t play this one i Auckland. All righty then! I guess this is somewhere around us noticing that Curt left us. Huh.

“Cry For The Moon” was next on the list, and seriously, this song is just pure magic. Especially live. Holy hell. Next up was “The Obsessive Devotion”, and I finally got to see some action. I’m glad to see the Aussies can mosh! Next up, “Victims of Contingency”, seriously, this song live is so fucking amazing. Beyond amazing.

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“The Last Crusade” and “Design Your Universe” wrapped up this amazing set, and the band left the stage. Coen soon returned and started off the intro to “Sancta Terra”, following up with mine, and apparently Simone’s personal favorite “Unchain Utopia”. Seriously, this song is so good.

After this song, we dumped our stuff on Curt (which we had forced to come back) and joined the wall of death for “Consign to Oblivion” and with that, the gig, and the final stop for us on this tour was over for this time.

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After the gig, we relocated Chiara and Curt and I headed over to the merch for Voyager to pick up another of their albums, and lucky me, the band were there so I got it signed as well. Went back to the crew, only to noticing they weren’t ready to leave so we got back to the band and started chatting a lot with the singer of the band, about literally everything and nothing – from the dedication to Epica for coming all the way from Sweden to see them, to that he encouraged me to do a Working Holiday in Australia to me doing bad imitation of what a “powerwolf” is. Oh well, at least he won’t forget it.

The band eventually had to leave, and so did we, so we headed off to McDonalds for some late night food and then got home.

Seriously, again. Thank you so much for this tour Epica. I’m already close to crying myself to sleep because I’m missing the rest of the dates, and missing out on the Asian enigma (that one is fucking annoying, because we are going to China THE DAY after…) just makes me supersad. Oh God. Epica, I love you guys more than life itself. Thank you so much for this.

// Sara

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Epica @ The Studio, Auckland, New Zealand 16/3 -16

Posted in Australia 2016, Concerts, Uncategorized with tags auckland, enigma tour, epica, new zealand, the stuido, voyager on March 16, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So! Once I got back, I got myself ready for the show and headed off. At first, I had planned to take the bus, but then I realized that it was really only a 30 minute walk right up Queen’s Street, I decided to walk instead.

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Once at the venue, me and a few other Epica fans learned that entrance would be on the other side of the venue, so it was just to make your way around. First thing I did was to get myself a bottle water. Destroyed by the European standards, or Nordic perhaps, I was certain they’d check your bag so I didn’t bring my own waterbottle. Jokes on me, I guess.

Checked out the non-existing merchtable before placing myself on the middle of the floor. It’s a small venue – a club, more exactly. It’s weird – I saw Epica on the Mainstage at Graspop this summer, and now I’m seeing them in a half-full club. So odd.

Supporters for the evening where the Australian band Voyager, out of Perth, to be more exact. They started right on time at 19.30 as they were supposed to, and I really liked their band I must say! They delievered a really good set, though the audience was a wee bit lame, but I guess that happens!

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In between the sets, I decided to make my way by the merchandise and pick up one of Voyagers albums. I might have to pick up the other one in Brisbane, I really liked their stuff!

Right on time, “Originem” started with the band going on stage, opening the set with “The Second Stone”. The crowd was recieving well and the band was, despite jetlag, on top! They continued on with “The Essance of Silence” and then “Sensorium”.

The crowd was good. It’s not the European crowds, I must admit, not too much action going on, but I guess it’s different. And if you’ve been waiting for 15 years to see this band, it might take you a bit by surprise.

“Unleashed” follow, which made the crowd very pleased, and they followed that one up with “Martyr of the Free Word”. This was followed by “Cry For The Moon” with a drumsolo on top of that! They held up really good energy and delivered flawlessly.

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“Storm The Sorrow” was next in line, followed by “The Obsessive Devotion”. For this song, the guys specifically asked for headbanging and circle pits, and much to my dismay… nothing happened. There were a few cool guys who actually did shit where I stood, but not a lot. I almost started to wonder if New Zealanders know how to do a proper circle pit.

Next in line, “Victims of Contingency” followed by my personal favorite “Unchain Utopia” and seriously. This song is so fucking massive live, I’m almost dying from the awesomeness of it.

Simone started talking about following your dreams before they wrapped up the set with “Design Your Universe”. The band left the stage, only to come back moments later and ripping off two encores – “Sancta Terra” and then “Consign to Oblivion”.

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I must just say something here. Somewhere around “Unchain Utopia” I started feeling really ill. I wasn’t sure why and how, and at first I thought it was simply bad food… until I realized that once I stopped to listen to the bandmembers talking, that I got better, but as soon as I started moving my head, I fell ill again. What I am saying, is that I have reached the point where headbanging makes me motion ill. Good riddance on me, I need to start taking motion illness pills before metal shows now.

But, all that aside, I was really happy, in “Consign”, to see that these people do in fact know how to do a proper Wall of Death, as well as a circle pit. Good on you guys, good on your for proving me wrong. With all of this, the band thanked for the night and left the stage for good.

It was a really good show. Like, REALLY. I enjoyed it so much, despite the illness. After the show, I met up with the two guys who gave this show a go – Jhonethon and Dan, from Christchurch to be more exact. It was really good to meet new Epica fans, and making some friends down underx2! It was nice meeting you guys, can’t wait to see you again!

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After this, I went back to the hotel, picking up some McDonalds on my way and then I crashed in bed after an amazing night.

Thank you, Epica for this night, I’m looking more forward to Brisbane than ever!

// Sara

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Sabaton @ The Nick Rayons LCR, Norwich, United Kingdom 26/2 – 16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags alestorm, bloodbound, LCR, norwich, sabaton on February 27, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, finally the day was here! The day we were going to see Alestorm and Sabaton’s co-headlining tour, supported by the amazing Bloodbound. We started the day off wandering about in Norwich, but I figured I’d save that for it’s own entry that I’ll schedule to appear during our flight. But, later in the night it was finally time. We were unsure whether the time on the tickets was showtime or doortime, since in Sweden, it could as well be the show time as the doortime, so we figured we’d get there around 6 – just half an hour before door opens, or in case of showstart – we are there half an hour before the show starts. After that it was just time to get ready. It’s tricky when two ”costumed” bands play the same show – what band do you dress for? So basically, Sabaton gear and Alestorm make up. That should do the trick.

But then, getting there was interesting enough. First and foremost, gladly, we found a bus we could take so we didn’t have to walk for a good hour. The ”scary” thing is that there seem to be no such thing as station-announcer on the buses, so we basically just prayed to God that someone else was also going to get off at our stop, and I kept close track on the GPS to see when we got closer.

Gladly, a lot of people were getting off, so it was no issue. Then we arrived at this university campus, because apparently, the concert venue is on campus grounds. After walking around like lost squirrels for a while, we finally found the ”Heroes On Tour” trailer and the line for the show.

While the UK are a lot warmer than Sweden these days, it was still one cold wait for the doors. When they finally opened we got in, and it’s sort of weird in a way, because the line felt pretty long, and the venue was rather small, despite this, we were two people, TWO PEOPLE away from making it to the front row. So we stationed ourselves in the middle of the arena instead, and figured we’d remain there until it got too crowded, if it ever did. But first Bloodbound merch, and then, bathroom.

And while in the bathroom, I hear the tunes to Bloodbound’s intro song. Good riddance on me, that I was done. So I rushed back into the venue, had to struggle to get a hold of Michelle and then go get her because apparently she forgot where we were supposed to stand, haha.

Bloodbound opened with the song ”Iron Throne” strongly. It wasn’t a lot of people there, surprisingly, or well, at least not on the floor. They followed up with ”Metalheads Unite”, which is kind of interesting, because The Singer *NAMN* actually introduced ”In The Name of Metal” but they all were like, screw that.

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After this, they continued with ”In The Name of Metal”, followed by my personal favorite – ”Moria”. Damn, how much I love this song and this band. This was followed by ”Stormborn” before they wrapped up the set with ”Nosferatu”. Yes, you saw right. Somewhere along the way they lost ”When All Lights Fail”, which is sad, it was my favorite off ”Stormborn”.

After this, the wait for Alestorm began. Now, it started to get quite crowded. I’m not surprised though – they are actually co-headlining, and I must admit even I was looking more forward to Alestorm than I was to Sabaton. After some time, the intro got off and they opened their show with ”Keelhauled”. They followed up quickly with ”Over The Seas” and seriously, the crowd was going mad! I’m not surprised, because I did too, in all honesty.

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”Magnetic North” was next to be done, followed by a, according to the band, rarity of a song, “Surf Squid Warefare”. This was followed by “Nancy the Tavern Wench”, and then “Walk the Plank”. “The Sunken Norwegian”, “Wenches and Mead”… and I’m gonna tell you something. So, basically, LCR is like, they have stairs down to where the “floor” is, and during “Wenches and Mead”, I shit you not, I was pushed UP ON the staircase. The pressure seriously! This was followed by “Drink!” and it was during this song, and starting from here that Michelle and I decided to join in on the moshpits. “1741” followed, “Hungover” “Captain Morgans Revenge”

They wrapped the set up with ”Rum” before they and their duck left the stage. Lucky us, we had just planned to go and get water when Michelle caught the water bottle thrown out by Elliot. Free water, yay!

So, they left the stage and now the wait for Sabaton began. I swear to God, I was sitting there shaking like a leaf, had to sit down on the floor in attempts to recover. It sure has been sometime since SlipKnot, that’s for sure. Need to work out more, this stamina is absolutely horrible when it comes to metal shows. I’ll do over and do right for Blessed & Posssessed tour.

So, pretty much right on time 21.30 ”The Final Countdown” started and then the intro, and then of course the damned ”Ghost Division”. I told Michelle that if they open with ”Ghost Division” one more time, I’m going to fucking punch someone. And I almost did. It’s been eight years can we like… move on?

Anyway. They followed this song up with ”Far From The Fame” before they did the first surprise for me – ”Uprising”. I was glad to hear it, since it’s like the only song I actually care for on ”Coat of Arms”, what I did not care for though, was the people trying to mosh to this song. I mean, moshing is all fun and games, but seriously, to ”Uprising”? The following song, ”Midway” was on the other hand all cool to mosh to.

The band had really good energy, and the audience was insane. Jocke made a comment about it being too many pirates in the crowd tonight, but on the same time, Jocke, what do you expect? Haha, the heck.

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My beloved ”Wolfpack” was next on the list, and damn, chills every time. Also a little sad this is not a Karlstad exclusive anymore, but then again, the more people who get to hear this amazing song the better in the end! ”Wolfpack” was followed by ”Resist And Bite” and then ”Carolus Rex”, damn this song. This song. There’s no other song I think, by Sabaton that empowers me as much as this one. Not even sure why.

Next up was ”Swedish Pagans”. Like, Thobbe started playing a bit and Jocke made the joke that ”now we have to play it” and no, no you don’t. I know I title myself a Swedish Pagan to mark my spot in the Sabaton fandom, but seriously I’m so over this song. But, the crowd enjoyed it!

”Attero Dominauts” was next, or actually, it wasn’t supposed to be ”Attero Dominatus”. Jocke admitted right afterwards that they were supposed to do ”Soldiers of 3 Armies”, but he mixed it up. So, they simply followed up with it. Strange, this is the second Swedish band out of two on the same night who mixes up the setlist.

My personal favorite of Sabaton, ”The Art of War” followed and damn. If I didn’t have a slayerneck already, I sure as hell got one now. They wrapped up the first part of the set with ”To Hell and Back”. Damn I love this song live.

Here’s the funny thing. They left the stage, but I’m not sure anyone really noticed. Because they sort of left, and the ”Night Witches” intro started directly almost, so I don’t think anyone really noticed. But ”Night Witches”, ah what a song. This is the song they should open with. So fucking perfect.

But, to get back to ”where-they-really-leaving” part, imagine my surprise when they all of a sudden did ”Primo Victoria”, and then wrapped up the set with ”Metal Crüe”? And then it was over?

Sabaton’s set went by so fucking quickly, I barely even noticed it passing by! It’s insane. The setlist over all was pretty boring in my opinion – perhaps I’m comparing too much to Noch Ein Bier set, but seriously, where’s ”Gott Mit Uns”? I really missed that one. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. The gig per se was very scaled down, just the band and us. I liked that.

But. Despite the set being boring, I guess we can say they never fail to entertain, like, ever. Considering how fast it went by. God, I love all these men who performed tonight. They are the reason I breathe.

After the show, we headed over to Alestorm’s merchbooth to pick up on a shirt where I almost ran over Chris Bowes, and later wound up chatting and hanging out with the guys in Bloodbound. It was nice to talk to some people from home, and we spoke about everything from touring to Australia to Noch Ein Bier to early days of corpse paint.

We did a quick stop by Sabaton’s merchtable to catch up with Jaqueline before we left the venue and got home.

Seriously, thank you all for this amazing evening. You are great.

// Sara

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Toto @ Fryshuset, Arenan, Stockholm 19/2 – 16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized on February 19, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, it was time for the last concert on Swedish soil for a very long time, and I got on the bus already at 6 in the morning because of a work interview I had scheduled in the late mornings. It was pretty nice, I must admit, to go this early – first and foremost, you actually got somewhere in time and had time to do things. Secondly, the bus was pretty empty which is the best, if you ask me.

So, I got to Stockholm already at 10, locked up my luggage and headed over to the interview, which went quicker than I thought it would, so here I was, left with a lot of dead time to spare. I headed over to Motormännen’s office to get my international drivers license, only to remember they didn’t open ’til 12, so I went back to city to do all my errands – pick up a new case of translucent powder as I am, after a few years, starting to run out of mine, picked up sunglasses + a top at Gina Tricot before Australia, found some cheap sale earrings at H&M which will do wonders at Powerwolf if I don’t find the perfect ones… When all of this was done, the clock was really only around 11.

Damn damn damn. How to kill time? There’s only one place: Science – Fiction book store. First and foremost, it takes time to go there, and once there… yeah. This is my kind of place. I went over the Manga section pretty quickly, I still haven’t finished the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon mangas I already have at home, so I figured that could wait a little. Then I hit the Sci-Fi department… and got stuck there for a while. Partly I was looking for the books in the The Fifth Wave series, but since I forgot the authors name it took a bit of time. At first, I planned to get “Mazerunner”, “The Fifth Wave” and then a third book, which turned out to be “Divergent”, but I changed “Mazerunner” for “The Endless Ocean”. If I remember correctly, I could not wait to get onto the next “The Hunger Games” book, so I might as well have all parts in the The Fifth Wave series already from the start.

Gladly, this killed a lot of time, and Motormännen had finally opened so I went there, signed up for the license which only took 15 minutes to make, or less, really, so I was left there with SO MUCH time before the check in on hotel’s started. So I headed over to Espresso House to sit off some time, where I could also use my new phone. You see, for some reason, the SIM card won’t activate so I need WiFi for now.

After a while, Robert started to head into town, and I quickly checked into the hotel, dumped my stuff, fixed my make up and packed for Toto and headed down to see him. It was soooo good to see him again, and after looking around Shock for a small moment we went to C.U.M where we spent a very, very long time since Robert was getting his measurements for new pants, and me myself, I found the jacket I’ll be using for all Civil War shows in the future. Need to save up!

After this, we went and picked up Michelle at the bus station and went to a All-You-Can-Eat thai buffé and I think we all overate. Seriously, I almost felt ill afterwards, and I thanked God it was Toto we were about to see, and not Korpiklaani or some other band we jump around to a lot.

We got to Fryshuset around 10 minutes past 19, which was decent time. Toto was about to begin at 19.30, and I got a little stressed getting in the bathroom line, but we all made it on time, and a little late, like, 19.35, Toto began their show with “Running Out of Time”.

They continued on strongly with “I’ll Supply The Love” and “Burn”. “Stranger in Town”, the ever so wonderful “I Won’t Hold You Back” was ripped off before the whole arena exploded in “Hold The Line”. What else to be expected?

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They continued on with “Georgy Porgy”, “Afraid of Love”, “Bend”… before it started. You know, that song.

“Pamela”

And I mean… I love this song. I think most of you might know it, or perhaps not, but ah damn. It was so great to hear it live again, and I died as much this time as last time. After this, we got a piano solo from David Paich before they moved on with “Great Expectations”.

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This was followed by “Without Your Love” and “Bridge of Sighs” before it was time for Steve Luthaker to grant us one of his amazing solos. Seriously, that man! “Holy War,” “The Road Goes On”, “Orphan” and lastly “Rosanna” wrapped up this night perfectly before they left for a moment only to come back.

At first they ripped off “On The Run / Goodbye Eleonora” before ending the whole show with an eleven minute long rendition of “Africa”. Seriously, the sing alongs in Africa, the rythms, I can’t even begin to tell you.

This was a great night, I tell you. A clam, almost… atmospheric night where you experience some of the finest musicians practice what they do the best – performing fine piece of music and arrangements that made me close my eyes many times throughout the night only to hear the music itself live without the sight.

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This was an amazing night, to the extent where I barely even know what to write about it. This was an amazing way to leave Sweden for a while. Thank you, Toto!

// Sara

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SlipKnot @ Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden 20/1-16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags concert, göteborg, gothenburg, metal, scandinavium, slipknot, suicidal tendencies on January 20, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

When we woke up in the morning, quite early, receiving a message from Robert that he’d left his residence in Stockholm towards Gothenburg, we simply laid there and didn’t really feel like going up. But you know, out of all the days I’ve used “XIX” to get myself to do shit, I guess this was the day it fit better than ever seeing we were going to see SlipKnot. “But I have to – so it might as well be today”. We still overslept a bit, but a little bit before noon we were on our way to Gothenburg and the second and sadly last date on this tour for us.

It was quite a nice ride. We put on some stupid old 90’s music, that isn’t really 90’s music, but people refer to it as, and discussing future plans that won’t probably ever happen, stopping by McDonalds in Säffle on our way down. It was a smooth ride until we reached Gothenburg and learned there had been a huge accident right on the road we were supposed to go, but gladly, we took the wrong turn and managed to dodge it all by a breath. We got to Focus, painted on our faces and then we went down to Scandinavium.

Robert had already left for the meet & greet once we made it, and when we got there we got numbers on our hands for the queueing system and then… we stood there. SlipKnot has this weird habit of always coming in the winter, and we always have the habit of being underdressed. Or actually, that is on purpose because I don’t wanna deal with the whole wardrobe thing. But it’s not so fun when it’s like -15 degrees or whatever.

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While waiting in line, there was this one guy who kept walking off and about, in and out of the line before he remained behind us in line. I observed him for a while, stared at him, narrowed my eyes to my fox-face and then I took a turn around Michelle and asked him if he was here alone. For the moment he was, but his friends were about to come. And this is the story on how we met an amazing person called Fritiof. Thanks to us starting to talk to him the hours passed by very quickly, and he held our spots while we got some hot chocolate to warm up. After a while his friends Sebastian, My and Jesper joined us as well and we had a hella good time before they let us in.

So.. at the gates I learned I may not be able to take my wallet-chain in. And the security must be a joke, because I asked him what the hell this was about, and he said “it’s new rules, all over the world!” so I made a snide comment about this not being the rules in Finland, in which he responded “But that’s Finland..” and I thought to myself, but hey, you said the world?! Isn’t Finland included? FOOL! Anyway, they let me in with the chain regardless, but I think they’ll want to have better information on what you can and cannot bring.

We went right into the venue and saw that all front rows were taken, but we figured we’d say hi to Robert at least. Then we met up with our newely-found friends, but we said good bye because we wanted to look at the merchandise and then we got popcorn and drinks and went back to our new friends and spent what must have been the most pleasurable wait for Suicidal Tendencies, which began right on time at 19.30.

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I must admit, I was feeling it a bit more this time around. Maybe it is because I already saw them once and therefore were a little bit more familiar, or if it simply was because they seemed to be in a better mood, I don’t know. They still delivered a good set, and the crowd was feeling it as well. There were even a couple of wall of death’s in the midst of everything! Says a lot I guess.

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After this, the wait for SlipKnot began which also went by very quickly. Due to the amount of moshpits and wall of deaths that had occurred already during Suicidal, we decided, Michelle and I, that we’d head back a bit in the venue like we did last year in order to not be stuck like packed fish. So once “Be Prepared for Hell” began, we head off backwards.

They opened up strongly with “The Negative One” and seriously. This is one of the best songs they have, I shit you not. Once this songs comes on it’s like I’m electrified right through the body. The build up, the heaviness… Seriously this song. I’m so happy it’s back in the set, but also a bit bummed that it’s the first track! When not being taken so much by surprise, I enjoyed it more as an opener!

“Disasterpiece” was the next song on the list and it was just as powerful as in Helsinki. The one major different thing is the crowd. The crowd was like… so much better than in Helsinki. No offence my amazing finnish friends, but seriously, it wasn’t… quite the same.

“Eyeless” and “Skeptic” – my two lovebirds on this tour was next on the list. Seriously, I’ve been so lucky with getting “Eyeless”. “I am Hated” followed by the ever so melancholic “Killpop”. But seriously… the venue… hearing the crowd… it gave me chills. Hearing the crowd do the chorus of “Killpop”… seriously, the chills!

By the way. I don’t remember exactly where in the set this happened, but today was no other than Sid Wilsons birthday! So we all got together and sang Happy Birthday to him while he was running around on stage doing his thing. He’s seriously my spirit animal, and exactly the kind of show-person I strive to be, would I ever be on stage.

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“Dead Memories” again, it’s good you know, makes up for Michelle missing out on it last year. “Everything Ends” followed by “Psychosocial” my lord, what a rush! I don’t understand what was different – perhaps the band was in a better spirit, or perhaps it was the crowd, but something just simply made it so much better.

And then there’s “Wait and Bleed”. Now look – “Wait and Bleed” was actually cool already in Helsinki… but in Gothenburg. With this crowd… Oh my fucking God man, as Corey Taylor would put it. I’m amazed the roof is still on top of Scandinavium. It was followed by “Duality” which got the same treatment from the crowd.

“The Devil in I”, “Metabolic” and “(sic)” wrapped up this amazing set before the band left the stage and that Going to Hell dance-y hippity hoppity song came on which made pretty much everyone around us dancing and bouncing around.

The band came back on stage and started off with “Surfacing”. Ahh, the arena went wild. “Left Behind” was ripped off before the last, and the best part, of the entire show started “Spit it Out”.

Seriously, I am not lying to you when I tell you this – “Spit it Out” is my favorite part of the entire SlipKnot show, and I think you all know exactly what part I’m referring to. Seriously, you just feel the blood pump in your veins when you are sitting there and Corey is going down the verse before everyone in the arena just explodes all on the same time when the chorus hits off… And of course, this would be better if everyone actually sat down. Fucking hell, I don’t get people some times.

After this, the band said good night and left the stage for good. And with that said, the tour was officially over.

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We reconnected with Robert after the show, also said hi to Janie again which we had met earlier in the day before going to pick up our car. Focus closes at midnight, and we figured it’d be better if we moved it outside just in case. Robert drove us there, and when we got back to the parking lot I found this weird little muffin staring at me through the window of the door next to us. Seriously, Robert is that kind of weirdo we really need in our life.

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We went to McDonalds where we met up with our newely-found’s and sat down for a late night snack talking about music, life, everything, and Robert went over how the meet & greet had gone down and showed us his signed leg.

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One by one did out company start to drop out, and about half past midnight we also decided to start going home. It was insanely cold outside for someone so lightly dressed as me, and then began our ride home.

This was an amazing night. I’ve said this many times before, but seriously. I love the bands I have in my life, and I love the people I get to meet and have in my life thanks to these bands. Thank you SlipKnot for everything, thanks Fritiof, My, Jesper and Sebastian for the company and to Michelle and Robert. I love you all.

// Sara

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SlipKnot @ Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, Finland 18/1 -16

Posted in Concerts, Finland, Music, Uncategorized with tags concert, Finland, hartwall arena, helsinki, metal, prepare for hell, slipknot, the gray chapter on January 18, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

January 18th marked the first concert of the year, and it would be by no other band than SlipKnot. Ironically – Amaranthe was the first concert of the year last year, and it was only a by a breathe that Amaranthe didn’t become first gig this year. Hadn’t Amaranthe been first last year, SlipKnot would have been first. Isn’t it fun how faith works sometimes?

We woke up… way too late. Like, I don’t even fucking know what went wrong. We were supposed to go up around 12, seeing we came so late in with the flight that we got to bed really late and all of that. Despite this, we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and headed out. We had planned to make a quick visit to Music Hunter to look for some hard found Epica albums. Despite being a recordstore that is filled from floor to roof with CD’s, those two albums were nowhere to be found. What a shame.

We got back, picked up pizza at the pizzeria next to the hotel and started getting ready for the show. Called a taxi just to be sure to get there in time and all of that, and despite this, because of trafficjams, we didn’t get there and registered exactly two minutes before closing time. So, we got in, rushed to the cloakroom to leave our jackets and were then rushed to the room the meet&greet was going to happen.

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We stood in a little half circle around the hostess told us a bit about how this meet&greet would go down. We’d first take the picture with the band, since most, if not all, of them would attend, and afterwards we’d get our stuff signed. I thought to myself, sounds good, after all, this is how Lordi used to do it back in the days. So she asked us to form a line, and Michelle and I wound up first in line. Since I won’t really accept at all being first in line, haha, we moved ourselves backwards in the line. I’ve met many bands throughout the years, but I’ll always be a bit scared the first time around with a new band.

So, then, the band arrived, and to my surprise there were eight people joining us today. Corey, Clown, Alex, Jim, Sid, Jay, Chris and Mick. Our meet and greet had originally said only 3-4 would appear, so I guess this was an upgrade!

So the line moved on pretty quickly and before we knew it, it was our turn. Unlike the rest of the people we decided to go together, because why the hell not? And also, timesaving. Once we came up there about half the band cheered at the fact we were two, and Jim made some comments about two girls and one Corey. It was a fairly quick little session and then we got back in line for the signing.

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For the signing, they actually lined up, sort of like a table, like an actual signing session. Fast than you’d think we were already at the start, with Corey being first. Jim second. Clown third, and Sid fourth.

Sid was the only one of the members in SlipKnot I actually gathered up the courage to actually talk to. While Jim and I shared a laugh about something, Sid was the only one I dared to say something to. And do things to, all in all. I had barely looked at the other members, but with Sid I even leaned in and focused real hard in order to see through his sunglasses and meet his eyes. Sid is “my man” you see, he’s the one in SlipKnot if we say so. However, the only thing I actually said to him was that I liked his Mickey Mouse pants. He told me Mickey was cool. That was cool.

It was followed by Alex, Mick, Jay and Chris. See, I always had a bit of a problem with Jay, because of the impression I got of him from online, so imagine my surprise when he turned out to be extremely friendly. Alex was too, but that was no surprise really.

After all was said and done, the band left the scene and we were allowed to go and leave our signed stuff in the cloakroom. Oh, right! The ‘special tour gifts’ was a lighter and a poster. I must admit I thought it’d be something different, but you know. I won’t complain!

We were taken down undergrounds to some secret entrance to the venue, where we were let in before everyone else together with the people who had early entrance tickets. Despite the entry and everything being a bit delayed, I was surprised to see Suicidal Tendencies entering the stage exactly at 20 sharp.

So, I haven’t really listened a lot to Suicidal Tendencies prior to this gig, and I never had a very good impression of them, and well… It didn’t really change either. The band was absolutely fine and delivered very well on stage, but this really isn’t my kind of music. It’s something about that style that just doesn’t work for me. BUT, they did a good job warming up!

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After this, the wait for SlipKnot began. And it was held pretty short. Of course, not without making jokes about how early Korpiklaani would go on stage, but still. About a minute late, “Prepare For Hell” started, and the band came out and opened with “The Negative One”.

Well… That’s a first I guess. That surprised me, like, so much. I was very happy, that “The Negative One” was back since I thought it was a big mistake not including it at Graspop, but I had really thought “Sarchastrophe” would be the opener. They continued on with “Disasterpieces”… and sadly… the arena… Damn. At least on our side, it was fucking dead man. I don’t even get it. Why do you get front row if you are just going to.. stand there? Oh well. “Eyeless”, my personal favorite was next in line before something… almost magic happened.

They played “Skeptic”.

This marks one more song I always wanted to hear live from “The Grey Chapter” that finally happened. Fuck… that was magic. Corey Taylor spoke a bit about it being 15 years since “Iowa” was released, and then they continued the set with “I Am Hated”.

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The tour this time was very scaled down. On “Prepare for Hell” tour, they had this big goat head in the background, fire and pyrotechnics until no end. But not this time. A normal television screen, sort of, playing various videos and backdrops and some lightbulbs here and there. And that’s it.

Next on the list was “Killpop” and I was as happy as ever to hear this beautiful piece of music again, and it all went so atmospheric. Blue and purple lights, toned down… It was magical.

And then… a big moment for Michelle to say the least, when the tones to “Dead Memories” started. I shit you not, she got completely silent. It was truly her night, song wise.

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“Dead Memories” was followed by “Everything Ends” which was strongly followed by “Psychosocial” and “Wait And Bleed”. Despite these two songs, the crowd, at least on our side, was still dead as hell. “Duality” and “The Devil in I” continued the set, followed by “Before I Forget” and then… this special little thing happened.

“Metabolic”.

“Metabolic” FUCKING HAPPENED. Who would have fucking thought? Need I tell you all how insane we went? Oh god. What a rush it was! They wrapped up the set with “(sic)” before they left the stage.

An interesting little song started, it was like, a folksong about going to hell, and the members came back on stage. They blew off “Surfacing” and “Left Behind” before, what for me is the best moment of an entire SlipKnot show – “Spit it Out”.

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Seriously. There is something truly special about the whole “sit the fuck down” moment, and this would be the first time I did it in the front row. I must admit, it was fucking tight to sit down, but the guy behind me and I managed to sort it out so that he sat around me, almost having me in this lap and then he could have his arms around me on the fence as well. And you know… how it’s pumping. How it builds up. And then how you all JUMP THE FUCK UP!

I thought it’d fuck up our spots, but it didn’t!

With that being said, the band thanked for the night and left the stage.

It was a really good show, they had great energy and I enjoyed seeing them so much. But on the same time… there was something lacking. Like, “Custer” for instance. And “People=Shit”. But most importantly… it felt so… intimate. Being so close to them… and the show being so scaled down… it almost felt like seeing them in a small club environment. It was… pretty sweet in a way. A band you consider an arena band, a band you have usually seen in a distance, now seemed to intimate, and so close… so… reachable.

And that is what made it all so worth it. I love this band so much.

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Right after, we hit the merchstand to pick up a tourshirt, and then we hooked up with one of the people from the Meet&greet, and then got home.

This has, despite some mishaps, been one of the most amazing days in my life. I really needed this right now. Thank you SlipKnot, Live Nation and Michelle for this amazing day.

// Sara

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HammerFall @ Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden 28/11 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags civil war, edguy, HammerFall, metal, scandinavium on November 28, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, it was time for us to get going towards Gothenburg and what looks like to possibly be the last gig of this year. For once, we actually got going at a good time – I guess I’m a bit of a time-optimist, and have the tendency to get going way too late, but for once, we got going early. However, that only lasted so long when first of all a GPS showed us the wrong way to a candy store, and then getting through one of the slowest Subway services to date. Seriously, I understand that you need to refill things sometimes, but if you are about four people, can’t another person go for you if you have a LONG line of customers? Oh well.

Well, despite these mishaps, we were still on time pretty well. A few pitstops later we were finally on a straight way to Gothenburg… until Michelle missed the turn. And we found ourselves driving in circles before finding out where to go. Once we hit the parkinglot, it was basically a streetrace to Scandinavium where we were put in the queue, and after a few if’s and but’s we finally made our way into the arena, where we ran around like chickens with a headache before finding our way into the arena and the floor, which we entered to the tunes of “Braveheart”.

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Yes, third song in the list. That’s what you get when you a) miss the turn and b) are put into a long, long line. But you know, at least we didn’t miss the whole show. Funny thing; when standing there watching the band, I notice that Rikard is waving to me. I was unsure at first if he was really waving to me, but I waved back. Then I looked around, and noticed there were barely any other person around me. Huh. Who would have thought he’d remember me?

Anyway. “Gods And Generals” were next on the setlist, followed by “Bay of Pigs”. The band was really energetic, the crowd… well, it wasn’t too bad. The only thing I sort of noticed is how little people there were. I mean, this is Scandinavium we are talking about, it’s a pretty big venue actually. And despite being ten minutes LATE, we still made it basically front row. So yeah, that surprised me a lot. But, the people who were there gave them a warm reception.

“I Will Rule the Universe” and “Rome is Falling” were the last two songs before it was time for Civil War to leave the stage. Seriously though, this was a great set, and a great way to start this evening.

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After they left the stage, the wait for Edguy began. Which wasn’t rather long – gladly, the passtimes were pretty short. Hallelujah!

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Right on time they began, and opened the whole show with “Love Tyger”. And now, my friends, the venue was getting rather filled, actually. At least where we stood. And the reception from the crowd was MASSIVE. Already before going to the show, despite not being into Edguy, I was unsure about them opening for HammerFall, getting slight Monster of Mora flashbacks.

The band was really on. They delievered a good set – seven songs long, 50 minutes and a lot of energy. Seriously, these are the kind of bands who you just love to see. Just look at me – I’m not into them, or more, I didn’t know a lot about them, and even I enjoyed it. I love the sassiness the singer had, by the way, when he scolded us for not sounding excited enough. Haha. I love sass.

There was one thing that frightened the hell out of me though. And that was the gigantic austronaut that they blew up right next to the drums. Seeing it getting bigger and bigger and filled with air was fucking traumatizing, I shit you not. While I found it scary as hell, I also found myself not being able to take my eyes off it. The human contradiction, huh?

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They left the stage, and here’s where my Monsters of Mora vibes showed to be true. You see, in 2007, HammerFall had this anniversary show or whatever, Steel Meets Steel 10 years of Glory or something like that, and they had three openers: Tryckvåg, Sator, Sabaton.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sweden’s geography, I’ll put it to you this way: Mora lies in Dalarna, which is also the home county of Falun, which is the homecity of Sabaton. To make a long story short; despite this being before Sabaton’s big fame, half of the venue left after Sabaton. Despite it being HammerFall’s headline show. Oh dear.

And the same thing happened here. It got nearly empty after Edguy, most people obviously going to buy drinks. Michelle got us popcorn since we were getting really hungry, and then we manically ate the popcorn until the lights went out and HammerFall began their show with “Hector’s Hymn”.

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So, some people obviously came back, but not as many as when Edguy played, sadly. Not that it matters. The audience reception were INSANE, and of course, why wouldn’t it be? This was strongly followed up by one of my personal favorites – “Any Means Necessary”. It’s been what, like six years? Since it came out, and I’m still in love with the song, and the whole album for that matter. “Renegade” was next on the list, followed by “Bang Your Head”.

I must admit, setlist wise, it wasn’t a lot of surprises. As a matter of fact, there were no surprises. I guess I’m the one to blame a bit, who expected something else than the average World Wide (r)Evolution tour setlist. However, what I WILL give the band, is that they were ON FIRE. So energetic, so going for it!

However, there was one slight surprise. It was time for Oscar’s, David’s, Pontus’ and Fredrik’s solo, so I stopped my headbanging for a moment to catch something to drink when Joacim yells out:

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, STEFAN ELMGREN!”

I shit you now when I say I fucking dropped that juicebox and almost choked on the juice by the mere sight of my homeboy Stefan. I mean… It’s hard. I’m used to see him – since he was a part earlier this year, but it was so weird to see him on stage with the whole band. Not as a substitute, just as a secret guest. You know, I loved the gig so far, but this were the point where my face cracked up in a smile.

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He, and the rest of the boys played through the “400 Meter Medley” before he left the stage and the show went back to normal, continuing on with “Threshold”.

“Last Man Standing”, “Glory to the Brave”, “We Won’t Back Down” and “HammerFall” where the last songs to be played before the band left the stage.

Of course, as the audience cheered for them, they returned and continued on and started with “Templars of Steel”.

And it’s here, things get funny again. See, I’m standing there, minding my own business when I feel someone getting close to me. As the bitch I am, I narrow my eyes for a second only to realize it was Rikard! And then my narrow eyes turned to shocked and happy eyes and we hugged and chatted a bit, whenever the show was silent. He stayed with us, I might add.

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They continued on with “Bushido” before wrapping up with “Hearts on Fire”.

And with that, they left the stage for good this time.

Sincerely, HammerFall, Thank you so much for this show. Even though it was “the same” it was still great. It still gave me a slayer-neck. Thank you so much.

After this, we started talking a bit more with Rikard, where he also invited us to the afterparty.

But that, my friends, is another story that I’ll tell some other day.

// Sara

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Mötley Crüe @ Globen, Stockholm, Sweden 16/11 -15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags alice cooper, globen, Mötley Crüe, ripmötleycrüe, stockholm, the final tour on November 16, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So… I don’t even know how to begin this blog. I’ve been seeing Mötley Crüe live quite a few times on and off since 2007, and knowing that this is supposed to be the last time I’ll ever see them. It feels a bit surreal… I don’t… I don’t even know how to put this to words. So I won’t for now.

The day began lazily. For once, ONCE we actually had the opportunity to sleep in. I think we got up around noon, had breakfast and took a quickie downtown before we met up with our amazeballs friend Robert for some dinner before the show. It was raining like there was no tomorrow, but we somehow made it to Taco Bar anyway. We had a fun dinner with lots of jokes and plans and whatnot before we headed out in the rain again to get to Globen and the very last show.

As soon as we got out of the metro, we ran. Not because we were late, but because THE RAIN. Rain is all cool when you sit inside, with your window open and a few lit candles and a “nice” (*cough* Hunger Games *cough*) book, but not when you are about to go to a show. Gladly, since we were so “late” there were practically no queue at all, so we got in immediately. Directly, we headed for the merchandise to get the for me, mandatory tour programme. That is pretty much all my current budget allows, but on the other hand, I must admit there weren’t a whole too many good designs.

At this point, it was about ten minutes left until Alice Cooper would go on stage, so we went down to the standing area. To our surprise, it was actually pretty…thin. I mean, not entirely, but I really thought there would be more people than this.

With a five minute delay, Alice Cooper went on stage to the rhythms of “Black Widow”. He quickly followed up with “No More Mr Nice Guy” and kept up that pace throughout the whole show. The set of the night were pretty similar to the shows he’s done earlier this year, of course a bit shorter because of time, sparing only the “hits” or the “good ones”, in what also felt a quicker pace than usual.

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Regardless of this, Alleysan never, and I tell you NEVER, fail to entertain. Like I told you before – I wasn’t sure if I came for Mötley Crüe or for Alice Cooper, and despite seeing this set for about the third time this year, he still entertains me. And also. Seeing the Frankenstein doll on the big screen did freak me out a bit. I’ve never seen it so up-close, and now I was actually frightened by the details. Good on you, Mr Cooper.

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Alice left the stage, and left us waiting for Mötley Crüe. I’d lie if I say I wasn’t having mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I couldn’t wait to see Mötley Crüe again, because despite them being so “bad” they are still Mötley Crüe, it’s still all those songs I love. But on the other hand, I didn’t want it to be over.

And right now time, the intro song started and the boys started the show with “Girls, Girls, Girls”. I must admit, I was a bit surprised by the choice of song, but… how can I care, how could I possibly care that much when Tommy, Vince, Nikki and Mick are on stage. It’s hard to comprehend that it was really only five months ago I saw them before this… But it’s something with Mötley Crüe, and it has always been. Whenever they come, I come.

Second song of the night were “Wild Side” followed by “Primal Scream”. And what can I say… This is a big show. There are pyros and fire-spewers literally everywhere, explosions and what else. A pricey show, I guess you could call it.

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The second guitar was brought out, and the very song that actually began my entire fanhood of Mötley Crüe was ripped off – “Same Ol’ Situation”. For the last time. This was followed by “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” and “Smoking In The Boys Room”.

“Looks That Kills”, “Mutherfucker of The Year” and “Anarchy in the U.K” was fired off before the arena went completely dark, only to be lit up by Nikki Sixx putting his mic stand on fire for “Shout at the Devil”. For those of you who may not know, Nikki Sixx’s current mic stand hangs from the top of the stage down, and has a up-side down star on it, much like the album cover.

“Louder Than Hell” came on before it once again becomes completely dark, but this time to the tunes of “O Fortuna”. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, more than that I stood a long while thinking about from where I recognized the song (Clash of the Choirs, Team CANS) and then, Tommy Lee came out for his drum solo.

And finally, I got to figure out what the big metal thing standing half way into the arena was.

It was the rollercoaster.

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After all these years. After all these years, and all these prototypes.. it was finally here. The rollercoaster. The Rollercoaster Tommy Lee had spoken about so much in the past. Finally, it was here. And it was damn good. He started his drumsolo accompanied by some club music as the rollercoaster slowly started going upwards and then starting to twist and turn a bit. He went for the ride all the way to the center of the arena, which so happened to be exactly where we were standing.

When sitting there in the middle of the arena, Tommy got emotional and talked about this moment, and how important it was for him, but also how saddened he was, and how heavy his shoulders were from what had happened in Paris just a couple of days prior, and asked for a minute of silence. Of course, there will always be jerks who has to yell through things like this, but it was really, really beautiful. He then started his ride back to the stage where Mick joined him for a mind-blowing guitarsolo.

“Saints of Los Angeles” was quickly fired off after this, followed by “Live Wire” and “Dr Feel Good” before wrapping the whole set up with “Kickstart My Heart”. And what an ending, my god. Nikki and Vince were put up on “elevators” and shoved out in the audience. Oh my. What an ending. Confetti and pyros EVERYWHERE. It’s like they used all their last power.

They thanked for the night, and left the stage.

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In the middle of the arena, where Tommy’s rollercoaster ended, there was a drumset. We weren’t sure what to make of it, but we hoped that maybe Tommy’d play it. And when we saw the crew start to prep it, we realized that we, or at least I, would come closer to Mötley Crüe than I have ever done before. And we were right. After a bit of time, they came up on the little podium together for one last good bye in “Home Sweet Home”.

And by that, it was over. Done. Finito. The very last time I’d ever see Mötley Crüe… was over. But this, this my friends, were the best good bye I’ve witnessed so far.

I went to this show with the worst expectations possible. I expected to barely even recognize the songs, to see Mötley Crüe being out-shined by Alice Cooper, but at least see the people who meant so much to me. But I got more. I got a Mötley Crüe who could play together. I got a Vince Neil that actually SANG all, or at least most, of the words, which he hasn’t always done in the past. I got to see Nikki Sixx talk about how a knife represents persistence and that with that, you can go far. I got a Mötley Crüe who seemed genuinely happy to play. I wasn’t sure if I came for Alice or Mötley, but I came for Mötley. I really did. And most importantly…

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…Mötley Crüe delivered one of the best shows I’ve ever seen them do on their very last show in Sweden, and I’m glad I was there to witness it.

Thank you, Mötley Crüe. For all these years.

// Sara

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Nightwish @ Annexet, Stockholm 15/11 -15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags amorphis, annexet, concert, fryshuset, metal, nightwish on November 15, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So the start of the mini-weekend was here. It’s sort of a reversed weekend. Usually a “weekend” stretches form Friday to Sunday, but in this case it’ll be from Sunday ’til Tuesday, starting off with Nightwish.

I began the entire morning by oversleeping, but gladly I made it to the bus with a breath. I slept most of the trip over here to Stockholm, and right after we arrived we sat down to have something to eat before getting to the hotel.

Once at the hotel we mostly just… rested. Slowly starting to get ready. I had planned this really cool outfit, but since the weather (rain) was working against us, I wasn’t really feeling it so plain pants and Amaranthe t-shirt it was. We started to slowly head over to the arena where we faced the queue from hell. I mean sure, we are “late” and we didn’t plan on getting any sooner, but we barely found an end to it! But once the queue moving, it went pretty fast actually. Before we knew it we had queued for 30 minutes, but it felt like ten. Good on you, Fryshuset!

We got into the venue and chose sidespots. We figured we might as well. I’m also going to take the time here to tell you all that it won’t really be that much of a review, seeing I’m fairly new to both these bands. While waiting for Amorphis to begin, I spotted a familiar face. It was Daniel, a friend of mine from home that I had completely forgotten was actually into Nightwish. So random to run into him.

Anyway. Right on time, 19.30, Amorphis entered the stage. They put on a good show with a lot of energy. The crowd… Well I guess they could have better reception than this, but hey, they didn’t boo, so I guess that’s a plus. I really liked it though, so I guess I’ll just add a few more million albums on my albums – to -get list.

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After this, the fairly short wait for Nightwish began. We barely managed to finish our drinks before the arena went dark again and the intro started.

And I can tell you this. It opened with a bam. Pyros, narrative voice and “Shudder Before The Beautiful” kicked off the evening, and the reception from the crowd was amazing. You could tell they had been waiting for this.

And this is how the entire night continued on. The show was one big narrative, from start to end. It was almost like all of the songs belonged together in one way or another, and how it could go from upbeat almost happy rhythms to melancholic speeches and songs.

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Usually, when I’m at a show with a band I’m not all too familiar with, I usually get bored easily. And I really thought this was going to be the case today too, but oh boy was I wrong. I was entertained from the first moment and all the way… about an hour and a half in. I was a little taken aback by the lenght of it, I wasn’t expecting that. And on top of that, I think this has to be the most abrupt ending since Noch Ein Bier where Civil War had to leave. They played the last song, and all of a sudden it was just over, after two hours. And I was like… ok? What happened? Oh well.

Regardless – this was a night of musical enigma, a show without being a show, if you know what I mean? Arrangements beyond this world, accompanied with pyros and fireworks in all the right places. Not that you need them THAT much when you have Floor. What a frontwoman. Love her.

Anyway. The show was over, and first of all we reunited a quickie with Daniel before getting back a bit to wait for people to leave. We weren’t exactly in a hurry, so we figured we’d wait out the worst. Eventually, we got out and hit up this cute little 24/7 fast food place… which turned out to be a nightmare.

First of all, the staff seemed really stressed and then… we had to wait some time for the food. I ordered first, a kebab roll, Michelle second – a plate of fries, and Linette last – some sort of roll as well. After about 5-7 minutes, Linette gets her food. After 15 minutes, I get my food. And Michelle – who had nothing but a plate of fries, had to wait 20 minutes. And I guess this wouldn’t be as bad if it wasn’t for the fact people who ordered after us got their shit first… Oh boy.

And on top of that, there was also an extremely rude and intimidating guest there, saying he was going to bomb that and that and swore and threw around the furniture. God, I can’t stand people like that.

After this, we parted ways with Linette and headed back to the hotel room. Tomorrow it’s time to say good bye (we guess) to Mötley Crüe. Feelings are still mixed.

// Sara

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