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SWEET CREATURE – The Devil Knows My Name

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized on November 15, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

Sweet Creature is the new project of previous Crashdiet guitarist and current Sister bassplayer Martin Sweet. As someone who considers Crashdiet one of the bands closest to my heart,and being an avid Sister fan, I got pretty excited when the project was announced and pledged it right away. The singles didn’t disappoint either, so, when I finally got the album, I was thrilled!

Hearing Martin Sweet on the vocals is nothing but mixed feelings. I’ve heard him sing before, but on the same time it’s a bit odd – it’s almost like hearing Crashdïet, although a bit toned down, just with yet again a new singer. I really have to remind myself it’s not them. He has a pretty good voice though – I’ll give him that!

The album opens with “Not Like Others” which are filled with the typical sleaze-attitude you’ll find on pretty much any album in this genre, and the album continues in the same venue. I’d dare to say it’s a bit toned down as compared to previous works by Crashdïet, almost giving you a demo and retro feeling to it. The material on the album is pretty good – it’s got a bit of everything – big anthems and powerballads (I really, really like “Purpose In Life”, it’s beautiful). It’s decent materials – but nothing that really stands out for me right now, despite listening to the album several times. There are some moments on it – like “Purpose in Life” which I mentioned, single “Not like Others”, “Perfect Day”, “Burning Midnight Oil” and the titletrack. So, there’s a lot of potential.

I think this is a pretty good start – I think it’s noteworthy to keep in mind that all of the production that goes into this album is done by the band themselves, which adds to the whole feeling of it, if it makes any sense.

I think this album is very good as a start, but I do feel there’s a lot more to give. If you have the chance to check it out, please do! I think you’ll enjoy this little gem.

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// Sara

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REVIEW: Herman Frank – The Devil Rides Out

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , on November 13, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

Herman Frank, mostly known as ex-guitarist in Accept is back with his third soloalbum, following the successes on “Loyal To None” and “Right in the Guts”. What makes this album remarkable different from the others, is that the band for the first time has a permanent line up, with Rick Altzi still doing the vocals.

“The Devil Rides Out” is a fun kind of party album as far as the music goes for the tunes. It’s cheerful tunes with a high class attitude riding through the sound of Herman’s strings. Certain tracks are heavier than others – while some being all about the melody, however, what really takes place and stands out are the guitarsolos, the album is basically about the guitar solos, except that one bass-based song “I Want It All”.

Lyrically it feels pretty typical in a way – I’m not sure how to properly describe it, but it has it all – the outcast songs, the “not-being-able-to-take-it-more” songs and heartache songs. My personal favorite on the album though, is “Ballhog Zone” which quite fittingly is the single, but what really gets me with that song are the lyrics.  About these people who act like they are on top of the world, and treats you thereafter, but in reality, at the end of the day, they are really the biggest losers, because what will they do when they stand there all alone?

It’s a pretty decent album. It has got some good potential, although it hasn’t exactly stuck on me just yet. If you’re into sweet riffs and heavy tunes though, this might be an album for you!

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(Label: AFM Records)

CDON I Amazon I Ginza

// Sara

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Delain @ The Button Factory, Dublin, Ireland 11/11 – 16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on November 11, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, as I left off in the last entry, at 5am in the morning did my precious, beautiful, loved above all friends left me alone in our suite. I decided to stay, after all, seeing that Delain was playing in Dublin today, and five years ago I left London the same day Sabaton played, and since that day I decided to never again leave a country or city the same day a band played. So, around 6am I went back to bed to sleep about…. three hours. My train from Galway was leaving at 11, so it wasn’t a whole lot of sleep, but it was at least something, you know? The only downpart is that one of my bosses rang me up and woke me up an hour early, so I do not know quite honestly exactly how much time I actually slept in the end.

So, up I got, hurried to pack everything and get ready, and then set off to Dublin. It was probably the longest trainride I have ever experienced in my entire life, gladly, Niki made it a bit more bearable by talking to me on the phone. I seriously hate it when you leave your bestfriends and then you are on your own.

So, around 14 I arrived in Dublin and went off to check into my hotel. After this, I met up with a friend and we hung around a bit in Dublin, walking around the streets, eating a bit – we didn’t have a lot of time seeing I arrived so “late” and the doors for Delain opened so soon.

So, we got back to our hotels, got ready for the show and went down to the Button Factory. The good thing is that, while being a big town, Dublin is fairly small so pretty much everything is within walking distance. Just a little bit after we entered the venue, Kobra and the Lotus began.

Kobra and the Lotus

They delivered a very good set. Good, and energetic. I love Kobra as a front woman, she really knows how to get a crowd going. It was a very, very enjoyable set and I’m glad we made it in time to catch them. At first, when I listened to them, I was a bit unsure but you know – nothing beats a good liveperformance.

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Evergrey

Fairly quickly after Kobra, Evergrey began their set. Once again they delivered a very very good set, enjoyable as hell even though I must admit I’m not a big fan of them. But, good show nonetheless!

After Evergrey, I quickly went to the bathroom only to run into a friend of mine, Jay! Even though I met her both of the two days before, it was still nice to see her outside the band, running into her like this. Very nice.

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Arrived back, in good time for Delain to start.

Delain

The lights went out, “The Monarch” began and the band walked onstage and opened strongly with “Hands of Gold”. Goddamn what a rush it is to see them again. Like I’ve said before, I wasn’t very convinced with “The Human Contradiction” but “Moonbathers”, holy hell, easily one of my top albums this YEAR! They followed up with “Suckerpunch” and then one of my personal favorites on the album “Glory and the Scum”. Seriously, I just love this song so much.

The band delivered extremely well, and it was really good to see them now on their first run in Ireland. Next on the list was “Get The Devil Out of Me” before my personal favorite all time with Delain started – “Pendulum”. Seriously, I cannot tell you enough how much I love this song – and it’s everything about it – the arrangements, the lyrics, the heaviness in the music mixed with heavy lyrics, easily my favorite on this album.

“Army of Dolls” and “The Hurricane” followed, then “April Rain” before it was time for another personal favorite of mine – “Here Come The Vultures”. Seriously, this one still gets me as much today as it did last year. Absolutely love it.

“Fire with Fire” and “Danse Macabre” – another two of my big favorites off “Moonbathers”. Seriously, I cannot get over how amazing “Danse Macabre” is, especially not live. So amazing. It gives me chills. They followed it up with “Sleepwalkers Dream” and “Stay Forever”.

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They then proceeded to start “The Gathering”, and seriously, I get chills everytime I hear this song. And I still regret not grabbing my company to ask them to dance with me during this song. It’s so good for that.

They wrapped up the set with “Pristine” before leaving the stage, only to return as normal and finished off the whole set with “Mother Machine”, “Don’t Let Go” and finally “We are the Others”.

Seriously, this show was so amazing. I am beyond happy that I stayed to see this show as well, it was worth every single little penny from the re-booking of the flight. Delain, everytime I see you, my love for you grows even bigger. If we are going to continue in this pace, you will soon be one of my big five bands. And it’s not a long road to walk for you. I love you.

We hung around a bit after the show to let the people leave, and then headed out for some drinks later in the night for some quality time, and then parting ways.

This was a really good day, though I must admit I really really miss my little piu piu tktktktktktk friends SO MUCH. I wish they could have been there with me.

// Sara

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An Intimate Night with Lordi – A tale of Spit and Ice cubes: Part Two

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , on November 10, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

**** Lordi @ Monroe’s, Galway, Ireland 10/11 -16 *****

So. The lights went out. And then the very very well recognized bass tunes from “God of Thunder” and we just… exploded. Most of the arena did. Execept the two people next to us, who had so ferociously fought for their spots… why? Bites me. And then… “SCG:VII” and they started off the set with “Let’s Go Slaughter He-Man (I Wanna be the Beast Man in the Masters of the Universe)”

And this was just so weird. All that was between us and Lordi, where a pair of monitors and all of our stuff. I have been to shows before where there have been no fence, but seeing LORDI like this, LORDI without a proper stage show, NOTHING was just pure weird.

They followed up with “Babez for Breakfast” before stopping. Stopping to tell us that, they have no stage show tonight becasue of the small stage. And that they do not have any setlist, so it was up to us to choose what songs we wanted to hear. This left me standing there confused, because I had no idea what songs I’d want to hear. So, essentially, let the mainstream crowd decide. And of course, the first song of choice was “Hard Rock Halleujah”. What else do you expect from a pub in a smaller Irish city? So, “Hard Rock Halleujah” was next, followed by “Bringing Back The Balls to Rock”.

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Next song was one of the songs that were actually cut in Dublin – “Nailed by the Hammer of Frankenstein”. I felt a little uneasy when Mr L stood and proclaimed “WANNA HEAR A SONG ABOUT RAPING?” but you know… what can you do. It was good to hear it again though!

“Hug You Hardcore” followed and… all eyes turned to Nathan. You see, on the evening of the Presidential election, Nathan made a bet. That if Donald Trump wins, he will take off his top and swing it over his head in “Hug You Hardcore”. And seeing that Donald Trump actually won, he had to own up to it. And fair enough, in the last chorus of the song we did indeed see Nathan take his shirt off and swing it over his head. I fucking loved it.

I’m going to apologize right here – I didn’t keep proper tags on the setlist, so some of the songs can be a bit out of order. Next song on the list was “Blood Red Sandman”, and I think that somewhere along here, they also threw in “Rock the Hell Outta You” and “Bite it Like a Bulldog”. And also, somewhere along here, we had ice cubes coming our way, because apparently, one bandmember thought it was time for us to “cool down” a bit. Seriously, I love this band.

After “Blood Red Sandman”… it was time for our little moment. “It Snows in Hell”. Since there were no actual fence, what happened is that we created pillows and matresses out of our stuff, and simply laid down on it, like as on the floor. And as soon as we got ourselves comfortable, we saw a very familiar face getting very close to us, having water dripping, or more like, spilling out of his mouth all over us, drenching us worse than he has ever done before. He then proceeded to dedicate the first line to us, as per usual.

And then.. “Children of the Night”. And this people. This is where it got fucking serious alright. Lordi had no stage props. Nothing. So, I guess, Mr Lordi saw an oppurtunity and he took it. He used us in the song. He showed us off to the audience, that he hid us under the floor, because us being here made him sore, and that we still gotta be there, that we are not going anywhere…. At first I thought he was just singing the first line to us as usual, but soon enough I noticed he was actually fucking USING US AS PROPS. What a rush! What an absolute rush, to be used as props, completely unexpectedly. I loved this song so much already from the start, but now the song is just closer to heart than it ever was before.

“Who’s Your Daddy?” followed, “The Riff” next before they did “Down with the Devil”. We tried out our new little trick for “Down with the Devil”, which will probably only work for this show because of the flightcase, it was funny.

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As we notice the band getting ready to wrap up their set, we start chanting “HELLA! HELLA! HELLA!” Because yes. They didn’t have any stage show. But they had one thing they could do. Or she could do. And after we chanted a bit, she indeed started stripping for us.

And I guess this is what made this show so special. Sure, it was a very special, weird and odd show to start with, but what made it even more special for us, is the fact that it felt like we were the only fans that existed for the band. So much interactions, so many “inside jokes” with the band, out of nowhere, so many things they wound up doing for, and to us. I can’t really get over this.

They wrapped the whole set up with “Devil is a Loser” and “Would you Love a Monsterman?” before they left the stage and we just stood there in awe. What an amazing show. What a fucking show. It was so good, and weird to see them like this. The only fucking minus though, is all those people who created fake mosh pits. You know, those people who think that just because they are at a metal show they can behave any way they want. It hurt us a couple of times, especially those times we almost knocked over Lordi’s monitors. Nice, huh?

After the show, we hung around a bit trying to comprehend it all, before making our way down to the merch. Myself, I picked up on the “Hug Me Hardcore” shirt, and Paula on some other things. I think Sophie also got some stuff. We had met up with a Polish guy, Kacper, before the show, so together with him, and with Mike of course (the angel brought us water bottles!!) made our way back to Lordis stage to take one last picture together, to treasure this moment forever.

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We said a last good bye to everyone in the venue, Kacper leaving early before me, Soph, Paula, Nate, Mike and Gavin made our way outside the tourbus for some more hanging out and catching up. After Mike had went to bed (hehe) we went over to Lordi’s tourbus to say good bye to everyone… but only to regret it. A stupid group of drunk people had made their way there, knocking on the tourbus, even trying to BREAK INTO the tour bus a couple of times, making us very very embarrassed to be there. Gladly, they weren’t with us.

After some time, we said good bye to Gavin and went back home to our hotel – but at this time, it was already 4 in the morning, and having a train leaving at 5 we saw no point in trying to go to bed, so we spent one last hour together, on the floor in one of the bedrooms talking about how much we love this silly little band from Finland, and how amazing this trip had been.

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paulis

Thank you guys. So fucking much. This trip was beyond amazing.

// Sara

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Lordi @ The Button Factory, Dublin, Ireland 9/11 2016

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on November 9, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

Finally, FINALLY the purpose of our trip – Lordi. I do have to briefly talk about something else though very quickly. As you guys know, the American election was going on as we were going to bed, and at first we did follow the voting, but then went to bed. We hoped we’d wake up next morning to see Hillary Clinton win, but as you guys probably know, she did not. It was a very very uneasy feeling waking up and reading that Donald Trump had indeed won the election, so I can’t exactly say we had the best of moods to start off this day.

We started off by having breakfast before Nathan headed back home to shower (he takes forever to shower) and the rest of us did some quick shopping before getting back and getting ready for the show. Obviously, or, as usual when it comes to Lordi, we always want and try to be first in line, so around 14-15 we headed down to the venue, and of course, there was no one there. A little while later, Gavin, a guy I met through Lordi Army facebook page joined us, and it all turned into a cozy little party. We played some cardgames, talked, danced around, jumped around, listened to music – you know, ordinary queueing stuff.

As it got closer to opening time, finally other people arrived, and as soon as the doors opened we claimed our spots in the frontrow and started to await the first supportband of the night, Silver Dust.

Silver Dust

First band of the night was the Swiss theatrical metallers Silver Dust. I wasn’t sure at all what to expect from the show, even though I was looking forward to the show after hearing their album. And boy, what a show! I was blown away! It may sound harsh, but seriously, this was soooo good. A combination of charismatic bandmembers, thematic music and an amazing stage show left us all blown away. Thank you, Silver Dust!

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After they left the stage, the wait for Shiraz Lane began, which wasn’t too long.

Shiraz Lane

Shiraz Lane is an 80’s hairmetal band from Finland, fittingly enough, and it’s pretty good band if you ask me. They delivered a very enjoyable and energetic set, which really got us in the mood for Lordi.

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And then… the eager wait. Wait for what we actually came there for. Lordi. And right when we thought we’d wait longer than needed, the lights went out and “God of Thunder” started.

And you know… When “God of Thunder” starts, that is the exact moment when all the built up excitment in you starts boiling, not bursting, but boiling, and you feel the adrenaline pump in your vein. Whether you are a KISS fan or not, you will absolutely love it.

Lordi

Then, “SCG:VIII: Opening Scene” started, Greyskull came on stage and the band started off with “Let’s Go Slaughter He-Man (I wanna be the Beast man in the Masters of the Universe)” and you know, THIS, THIS is when you absolutely BURST. You feel your soul blow up to a big balloon and as you hear the keys of Hella starting it shatters, shatters into a lot of pieces of glitter all over the place.

They followed it up with “Babez For Breakfast” and I can honestly say I’ve really missed this song in the set – especially since it got a lot heavier with a new drummer putting their stamp on it. Ultimate headbang song. “The Riff” followed, next “Hellbender Turbulence” which, you know, it was a great surprise for us to see it back.

Next up, was OX’s bassolo, and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. So basically, he’s going through all kinds of bassoriented genre’s, spiced with a “SHAKE THAT ASS!!!” “ASS!!!” which left us all laughing. A nun came on stage trying to stop him from playing this ungodly music, but naturally, he slayed her. The bassolo soon emerged into “Bite it Like a Bulldog”, and oy vey am I glad to see some Deadache songs back on the list! Ultimate!

And next.. And this my friends. I’m going to just… “Icon of Dominance” was the next song on the list, and this is, as you may not know, one of my absolute favorite songs Lordi ever made. And I never in my life thought I’d get to hear this song live, ever. And seeing it on the list, and then hearing it live, I can’t… I can’t even… put words into it. This moment. This one moment.

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Next up was Mana’s little moment with the drumsolo, merging into “Hug You Hardcore”. Seriously, this song is such a song to just go crazy to. I love it, and next, our little moment. “It Snows in Hell”. Down we go, and so does Mr Lordi. It’s always so cute when he tilts his head over to mimick us. But then… what came next…

“Children of the Night”.

At this point, I’m at loss for words. This song. You know, “It Snows in Hell” is far away from being a favorite song with Lordi, far far, and I always complained about them playing this one particular song, and always said “Can’t they just do Children of the Night or something”. And now. Finally. At last. They do this. This is also one of those songs I never ever thought I’d ever hear live, and it was such an unreal moment

This was followed with a keyboard solo, with a gigantic baby coming out on stage together with it’s mother. Hella’s baby, you know. It was a nice little moment, followed up with “Down with the Devil”, which is also one of those, just, nice fucking songs. I don’t even know how to put it properly.

“Blood Red Sandman” was next, followed by a very interesting guitar solo. So, Amen goes about, playing his guitar doing his thing… when Hella comes up. Walking foxy toward the center of the stage, she starts a strip tease. Swinging her vest around. That… was sexy. Sexy as fuck.

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“Hard Rock Hallelujah” was next, followed by “Sincerely With Love” before they wrapped it up with “Devil is a Loser”. They walked off stage, came back and wrapped it all up with “Who’s Your Daddy?” and “Would you Love a Monsterman?”

After this, the band thanked for themselves and walked off stage, to the tunes of “The Night the Monsters Died”, ironically. Damn. This show was just sooooo good. Like, beyond good. After the show, we headed for the merchandise to pick up some goodies, like Silver Dust’s album and a backpatch, after ALL THESE YEARS. We hit it off pretty well with those guys, and moved on to a pub all together to spend some good quality time together before getting back to our hotel and sleep for like, three hours.

partytime partytime2 purchases

Drumstick is from Mr Killjoy, the unknown album is from a local band.

This day was soooo good, from start to finish. I can’t even explain how amazing this day was. Thank you everyone!

// Sara

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Delain @ Elyseé Montmarte, Paris, France 4/11 – 16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , on November 4, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So! It was time. With a lot of delays, I didn’t find myself at the venue until a little after doors opened, which I felt a little bad about to be honest, as Laura and Florian had set up for someone to watch my spot, but, what can you do?

When I got to the venue, or well, you know, it was across the street from my hotel, the line went on pretty fast, and right as I got in, Kobra and the Lotus started.

Kobra & the Lotus

I saw Kobra earlier this year, but with Kamelot, and I adored her already when I saw her, so getting to see her with her own band was something I really looked forward to. And wow! What a show! The energy! It was a very short set, but it was very very good. Enjoyed it SOO much. I’m falling for this band.

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After a very, VERY short wait, Evergrey started.

Evergrey

Gothenburg based band Evergrey stood for the next show of the evening, and they delivered a really good set! I enjoyed it from start to finish, well, except the stop in the middle when the firealarm went off, and we had to be waiting for a while. But aside that, good, good show!

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At this point, or during the fire alarm thing, I had managed to make my to the front to Laura, and thanks to this amazing girl who let me in front of her, seriously, thank you sooo much! And shortly thereafter, Delain started. I love the fact that they simply start as soon as it’s all done instead of having the diva minutes.

Delain

The intro, “The Monarch” started and to the rhythm of the drummer they sent up the backdrop, the rest of the band joined and they kicked off with “Hands of Gold”. The response from the audience was amazing, and they followed up quickly with “Suckerpunch” before they continued on with one of my personal favorites – “Glory and the Scum”. Seriously, I just love this song so much.

“Get the Devil Out of Me” was next on the list, followed by “Pendulum”, and you know. This is my song you know. Heavy fucking headbang friendly song, also one of my favorites off “Moonbathers”. I feel like I might repeat this very sentence a lot during the night, we’ll see. The band was on fire! “Army of Dolls” were next, followed by the very, very beautiful “The Hurricane” which is you know. This song… I can’t really begin to talk about how much I love this song, how much I relate to it, and it was extremely special to watch Charlotte perform this song, to watch her put all of her emotion into it… Simply beautiful.

This was followed by “April Rain” before the band left the stage for a short moment, turning all the lights red and my personal favorite off “The Human Contradiction” – “Here Come The Vultures” started. Oh my god, I do not have enough words for how much I love this song.

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This song, was followed by another song I love – “Fire with Fire”. It’s like they managed to pick out exactly my favorites to play for the night. “The Gathering” from “Lucidity”, which celebrates ten years since the release this year, was next and holy hell! The audience! What a response! And what a rush the song was.

They wrapped the set up with “Pristine” before they left the stage, only to return and started off the encores with “Mother Machine”, followed by “Don’t let Go” and finally, “We are the Others”. The band thanked for the night and left the stage.

Seriously, this show was soo good. This band is one of those bands who are really interactive with the crowd, and just radiates that energy and translate it onto the crowd. It was an amazing show, and also, I’m in love with Charlotte’s dress. I could barely take my eyes off it! So beautiful.

After the show, we had a quick gathering and then I went off to the merch to pick up on Kobra’s album and take the moment to thank Kobra for the show, and also for her amazing performance with Kamelot at Skogsröjet earlier this year.

lotuses

After that, I mostly sat around on a couch until a girl sat down next to me, and I started talking to her… only to realize she’s Swedish! HOW BIG ARE THE ODDS? Apparently big enough! So we sat around and chatted until we got evicted from the venue, and the party moved outside.

I met up again with Laura, Cyril and the others, and we hung around talking for a long while, before it was time to say good night and walk our separate ways.

This has been an AWESOME night, it was soooo good to see Delain again, and mostly, to meet all my wonderful friends again. I love you all!

// Sara

 

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Amaranthe @ Petit Bain, Paris, France 3/11 – 16

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , on November 3, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So. The clock had started to run a little bit for me, so it was a very very stressed Sara that was running around in the hotelroom trying to pull everything together (going to prepare it sooo much better for Delain tomorrow, although it’s unnecessary) and then heading off to the venue. As I’m sitting on the metro trying to organize and sort through my stuff, I notice my entire little finger is covered in blood. At first I get startled, because, sure, I know I have sensitive skin and that it breaks easily, especially when cold, but this was just too much blood. Managed to figure out I probably got a papercut from the ticket. So I guess we can all agree that I’d bleed for Amaranthe, huh?

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This is what it looks like when cleaned. Damn.

Anyway, because I forgot to charge my phone, I had decided to keep it turned off as much as possible, and written down what metro stations to take and go to, and while being on the last one I kept my eyes open for boats, and I feel so proud of myself for managing to find the venue / boat without using google maps. Sure, it wasn’t a far distance or anything, but I’m still feeling so proud of it.

So, Petit Bain is sure as hell petite. Very, very small, but also very very cozy. I came in right as Smash Into Pieces started playing

Smash Into Pieces

I had listened a little bit to them before the gig, well, as preparations for the gig, so I honestly didn’t know a whole lot of the band, but I enjoyed the show so much. They are very good and entertaining on stage, and I really liked the music once I got to hear it better than me running around at work. Good job guys!

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Once they were done, I managed to locate my dear friend Laura, classicly by seeing her Pikachu bag, or, Metal Pika as he’s more known as. And seriously… I haven’t seen this girl in over a year! Last time I saw her was at Delain in Belgium in October last year, how long! How is it possible! It was soooo good to reunite with her again and catch up a little little bit, before it was time for Sonic Syndicate to go on.

Sonic Syndicate

So, this band is also a band that was a bit unknown for me – well, musically. That’s the thing – I’m well aware of both bands since before, but never really bothered to look into them too much. Syndicate, however, I remember that their newest album “Confession” stuck with me when I was doing my prelistening, so I was very excited to see them.

And what a set they delievered! Shit, it was just that good! I enjoyed it from start to finish, and I’ll really try to see them again some time. This was soo good.

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After Sonic Syndicate, the eager wait for Amaranthe began… And.. already at this point they start some sort of intro which consisted of snippest of their old songs, as if someone was changing stations on a radio or so.

Amaranthe

But, at half past 21, the actual intro for the show started, the band got on stage and they hit the show off with “Maximize”. And holy hell! I mean, the crowd had already showed that they got some in them in Sonic Syndicate, but it simply exploded, and then I mean in a pit. People were pushed side to side, but damn I loved it. Finally back at a show with decent people in the crowd – Seriously, I’ve always preferred southern shows (seen from Sweden) because people are so chill.

They followed up directly with “Boomerang”, which isn’t a personal favorite, but they did it so well. Elize was on basic fire. “Hunger” was the third song, and if you thought people exploded in “Maximize”, then… ough. Holy shit! And how warm was it not in here?

“Invincible” was next on the list, followed by “1.000.000 Lightyears” and the band was just on fire. I don’t know how many of you know this – but for this tour Jake E was being replaced by Adam from Smash Into Pieces, and damn. He fits soooo good in. I’m in absolute love with his voice, and it just became so perfect together with Elize and Henrik. And his stagepersona! The way he interact with the crowd! I love him.

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“Trinity” and “True” was next on the setlist before it was time for my personal favorite off “Maximalism” – “Fury”. My adrenaline started pumping so hard as soon as I heard the intro, because you know, this oughta be good. And it was, oh my god. This whole performance with the red lights going all over the venue and Henrik just absolutely slaying it on stage… Damn. Easily the best moment on the whole show.

The song was followed up by the Elize’s ballad “Endlessly”, and I love this song so much. It’s so… epic. Powerfull. BIG. But, one critique. I think Elize needs to back away a little bit from the microphone when doing the louder and higher tones, because it was very unpleasant for the ear as it all just became noise. But aside that, it was a magical moment.

Morten showed off some of his skills before it was time for “On The Rocks”, which is one of my favorites off the new album, and it was soooo good live. Like beyond. I love it even more now. “Automatic” was next on the list before they played my personal favorite, and also the song I discovered Amaranthe with, “The Nexus”. Seriously, this is one of my favorite moments during an Amaranthe show.

It was followed by “Amaranthine”, and just hearing the entire crowd.. I mean, it feels magical for me, how mustn’t it feel for the band? Damn. It’s amazing. They closed up the set with “Call Out My Name”, and seriously…The crowd was WILD.  And it was hot! Like BEYOND! Sure, it gets warm and hot at shows, but I was drowning myself from my own sweat, do you get how hot it actually was?

They left the stage, and soon Johan returned to do some of his… stand up? I don’t really know what it’s supposed to be, but he came back, talked a bit and soon enough the whole band came and they kicked off with “Digital World”. This song is also one of my favorites live, simply because of the “Start a Revolution now!” breakdown. Seriously. As you may have noticed, my personal favorites are the songs that are very very headbang friendly. That’s my kind of live shows. “That Song” followed, and then “Dynamite” before they wrapped up the whole set with “Drop Dead Cynical”. “Endlessly” played in the background as they left the stage, it was beautiful.

This show was sooo good. I can’t get over this band, I simply can’t!

Right after the show I headed to the bar to get some water, because that was necessary. Rejoined with my friends, also said hello to Cyril that I ran into before Laura and I headed off to the merch where we spent a bit of time with the supportbands (both from Sweden, giving us a lot to talk about) and I picked up on Sonic Syndicates new album and Smash Into Piece’s “The Apocalypse DJ”. It was a very pleasant night, and I also went over to say hello to Maffe and catch up a bit with him before we were forced to leave the venue.

merchsipss

Once outside we kept hanging around and after a while Elize came out and said hi to us… And this is something I have to write about because it kind of hit me. When saying hello to everyone she looked at me and says “I have met you before have I not?” and I answered her in Swedish, that yes, in Belgium last year, and she hugged me and said “YES! You are the Swedish one, I knew it was something with you!” and this hits me a bit, because I have only met her once before, well, at least where I talked to her, and I don’t see Amaranthe very often, and we don’t have any tricks like on Lordi shows, which makes it… weird for me that she remembers me. It’s… wow. That’s all I can say.

We hung around a bit, newfound friend Florian got to sing with Elize (might post you a video later!) and just hanging out with new found friends was just amazing. Emilie and I shared a taxi home, and now I’m here in the hotelroom just thinking about what an amazing day this have been, and what a blessed life I’m living.

Tomorrow it’s time for Delain and some more touristing. On it again!

// Sara

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Amaranthe – Maximalism

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized on October 29, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

“Maximalism” is said to be Amaranthe’s manifesto to the world, clamining their spot as one of the more promising bands within the genre, and with “Maximalism” they decided to maximize everything on the album, to stretch it as far as possible.

The album starts off very promisingly with the single “Maximize” which is very similar to everything Amaranthe has done before, even the construction of the song is very similar to two previous openers, yet, maximized, and the album closes with the epic, majestetic and Disney-like “Endlessly”, where we really get to hear Elize work her vocals in the best ways possible. In between the two however, it’s very up and down.

And lyrics. This is something, I haven’t really known how to adress, but I’m used to Amaranthe having a bit more “clever” lyrics, almost a little in the vein of Epica rather than anything else, but several of the songs on this album has lyrics resembling what you hear on the radio or in the club, rather than what you are used to. I guess it all gets a bit stronger when Elize also bends her voice in a more Rihanna-esque kind of way. There are exceptions, of course. BUT, it is interesting to see how much she can do. From Rihanna to “usual” voice to opera. Sweet.

The material over all, is very Amaranthe-ish, like we have known them for ages. However, there’s a couple of songs that sticks in my eyes – “That Song”, and also “Limitless”. These are the songs that got either little to no metal elements in their songs. Without actually being a ballad or something else. And this… I don’t know. I love them for trying out things, and changing things up, and, well, maximizing, but for me, this just became oddities sticking out, in a bad way, on a fairly solid album, despite sounding very overproduced at times with a lot of unnecessary effects that don’t really do a lot for the songs.

However, these songs are weighed up by songs as “Faster” and “Fury”. And let’s talk about “Fury” a little bit.

When I heard this song as the single, I just loved it right away. It’s absolutely amazing, Henriks vocal work is beyond me. I seriously have this song on repeat. BUT, since it’s growling vocals, I have had it a little tricky to hear the lyrics properly, but I did notice the Yngwie Malmsteen reference, and upon examining the lyrics a little more, I found myself laughing for a good amount of time and found myself loving this song even more than I already did. Seriously. I… I can’t even. This is the song that saves the album for me.

Another song I want to lift forward is “Supersonic”. This song is, the humor aside in “Fury”, probably the most interesting song on the album. First and foremost, this song is really an elevated version of themselves, as well as being a bit of an anthem for themselves, with lyrics expressing that this is simply who they are. I love how they play around and Elize just going completely off with a little opera part, for me giving a bit of a feeling that they’ll simply do whatever they want.

So, I guess it’s safe to say that I didn’t exactly love this album right away. It’s a bit tricky though, it all depends on what song I’m listening to. Right now, “Endlessly” is being played, and I just love everything. But as soon as “Boomerang” comes on I just want to shut everything off. So, the good songs are very good, while the “bad” ones I just want to get away. I enjoy about half of the songs, and this is after giving the album quite a few chances. I love “MASSIVE ADDICTIVE” so much, and was probably expecting something a lot more in the vein of that one, and this is why I’m left a bit.. meh about it. I’m just gonna go back to “Fury” now.

maximalism

// Sara

 

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Joanne – Lady Gaga

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags , on October 26, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So. Like I’ve said sooo many times. The thought of Lady Gaga putting out a fifth album sort of didn’t exist for me. She went completely off the radar, especially with those acting gigs of her, and just general silence. So, when “Perfect Illusion” dropped I guess pretty much every little monster of the world simply lost their shit. And now, a few weeks later, I finally hold “Joanne” in my hand.

I am not sure how many songs Lady G actually dropped before releasing the album, but the only two I listened to myself was “Perfect Illusion” and “Million Reasons” which seemed promising. But, how was actually the album?

Well… different. I’ll start off there. As someone who’s very used to pretty much every album Lady Gaga ever made before this, I was quite shocked to hear how toned down this album was. The only song that is really OUT there, is “Perfect Illusion”, the rest is very toned down, with a lot of focus on her voice rather than overproduction. When I listen to this album, it feels like I’m in some countryside little village listening to my aunt or sister singing some melodies about life, and I’m guessing it’s the fact it’s so voice-oriented and acoustic that gives this feeling.

There are however, a few exceptions, such as “Diamond Heart”, “John Wayne” and my personal favorite on this album, “Dancing in Circles” which is more of a funky kind of song, with very typical Gaga lyrics, and it reminds me of when I was in Australia and would come across these salsa dance off’s or what it was they had in Brisbane centrum, and well, fittingly, the song makes me wanna dance around in circles.

I must admit, that I’m not sure what I feel about this album. I’ve given it a few listens, or actually, many listens, in order to make it grow on me, but I just can’t find it. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s so different from what I expected it to be, which is I guess my own fault. What I find extremely intriguing though, is the resemblances from the title track “Joanne” compared to Battle Beast’s “Unholy Savior”, in the verses. I caught myself wanting to sing the Battle Beast lyrics to the songs.

Okay. This is getting a bit messy, because, well, I can’t sort out my feelings. It’s good, for what it is, but it’s not really what I expected. But as far as songwriting goes, this was an excellent piece.

ladygagajoanne

// Sara

 

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Powerwolf @ Frimis Salonger, Örebro, Sweden 21/10 – 16

Posted in Music, Uncategorized with tags , , on October 21, 2016 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, this day could not come sooner, if you ask me. I had had some strong PCD right after the Stockholm show, so this couldn’t come any sooner if you ask me. And conveniently enough, this round was in Örebro, a tad bit closer.

I had originally planned to go somewhere around 13, but being a bit of a timeoptimist or something, I wound up leaving at, I don’t know, 13.30? Something like that, BUT, what made it perfect was the fact that for some reason, the mail were early today. And I saw my mum coming in with a brown CDON envelope, and I just instantly started growling “Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga”, because, I don’t know if you know, but Lady Gaga’s new album “Joanne” was released today. Like, the album I didn’t think would ever come. And it was so perfect that it arrived in time, it left me with new tunes to listen to in the car on my way to Örebro.

So, I packed everything into the Festival Van as I call it – in other words, when the backseat + trunk has been turned into a small caravan with matress, storing units, iPod speakers and lamps for someone to live in, and headed off toward Örebro.

And firstly… hearing Lady G’s voice again, on new tunes, after all these years were pure heaven. And especially the song “Dancing in Circles”, like, holy fuck. What a tune. But, I’ll get back to “Joanne” in my review of the album, but, yeah, I had a lot of fun passing cars and “screaming” to them that it “WASN’T LOOOOOVE, IT WASN’T LOOOOVE IT WAS A PERFECT ILLUSIOOOONNNN”

So, pitstop at my favorite Örebro-ing Subway on Västhagagatan, I had a fine dinner and blasted some Civil War in the car while getting ready for the show, and then heading over to the venue.

When I had looked at pictures, it seemed like it was a lot of parking spots, but upon arrival (and of course I drove the wrong way at first) I noticed pretty much all of them were reserved. Gladly, Paula came to my rescue and told me there were some unmarked spots where the others had their cars, so finally I could park.

And then, I could finally go and say hi to the gang, and starting with Madlen whom I haven’t seen since Clermont-Ferrand. It was nice seeing her again! We took off rather quick again, for Paula and Ted to have some dinner and for me to use a restroom. But once back again, we could properly catch up.

When we saw a large crowd approaching, we decided to get in the line, just in case you know, and once they opened the doors we, calmly, walked in and claimed the front row positions. I did look forward to actually seeing this show from the front for once, and with my babygirl with me as well!

After a fairly long wait with catching up with long time no see friends and just generally hanging out, it was time for Civil War to begin.

Civil War

I can begin here to say that the stage was very small. Like, there was literally about 50 cm or so for Patrik to be on, Paula actually asked me “They are four in CW right?” and I’m like “Nope, five” and she was like “Oh dear…” But you know, small stages, the intimacy with the band, it’s quite amazing don’t you think?

They started off their set with “USS Monitor” and seriously, it was just a go right away. Expect for one thing. A little before Civil War had arrived, one of the most obnouxious people arrived. Some drunk guy who felt entitled to claim space he actually came too late to get. And when I called him out on it, he started getting aggressive. Oh. What a start. If it wasn’t enough, he kept going all through Civil War.

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All that aside, it was an amazing set. I’m not sure if it was because I had been awaiting this day, or if it was because of the intimacy, but seriously, it was just sooo good. I can’t wait ’til this band go on tour again. Thank you, Civil War!

Gladly, right after this, the annoying guy and his entourage disappeared, and we could quickly reunite with our friends for the brief pause between the bands. Of course, this didn’t last for long becasue Mr Annoying were of course returning about five minutes before Powerwolf went on stage. Of course. What else.

And this is where it’s starting to get a bit heated. Like, very heated, between me and him. But it was just to shrug it off, because you can’t let someone like that ruin the show. Especially not when the lights finally went out and the intro started.

Powerwolf

And then you know… “BENEDICTUS…” It’s like you’re lost and everything disappears. Well, almost, except for Mr Annoying. But it didn’t really stop us at first. They continued on with “Coleus Sanctus” just as preciously, and in all honesty, the situation with the guy behind me started getting out of hand. They continued on with “Amen & Attack” and like I’ve told you so many times, this song is one of my absolute favorites live. And there was no exception for today. Except, you know.

It’s one thing to have a crowdpressure behind you, but this guy was just being a jerk about it. Trying to squeeze in between me and Paula, dryhumping me, touching me at a point… We called over the guards, and no less than three people put in complaints about the same guy, but the security simply said “this is what it is”. And this is the time I feel someone staring at me. And I soon catch the eyes of no one less than Roel.

With gestures, he’s asking me if I’m okay, telling me he also noticed the jerk behind me and that he’ll be watching me. How sweet isn’t that?

After still having no luck with the securities, and all three of us running real tired of his shit, I got Roel’s attention again, asking if I was ok, signaling I’m alive but this guy is just bullshit. He basically let me know he’s gonna handle it, and at first I was like… ok? Whatever, what can you do? All you can do is move on with the show.

So understand what an unreal moment it was for me, when the tourmanager of Powerwolf appeared, pointed the guy out and said to the guards “I want this guy removed from the venue”. Guards tried to argue a little, but the manager stood his ground, and a security guard came and evicted him from the area. I thanked Roel over and over again for this, and he let me know it was no problem.

And seriously. Can we just… I’ve never had anything like this happening before, and in all honesty, can we just appriciate this? For a moment? How they seem to really look after their fans to put up with bullshit?

Somewhere in the midst of this, songs as “Sacred and Wild”, “Army of the Night” and “Resurrection by Erection” was pulled off. From here, it’s a little bit of a blur because of the drama, but all was fine for “Armata Strigoi” although I felt like I wasn’t even there.

This was followed by “Dead boys don’t Cry” and “Let There Be Night”. And seriously, as you noticed, “Kreuzfeuer” is out of the setlist, but I love “Let There Be Night” almost as much, you know, it’s the feeling of this song when it’s played live… like you are lifted to higher levels or something. Right now I have no idea how to possible explain it.

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“Werewolves of Armenia” was next, followed by “In The Name of God”. They wrapped up the set with “We Drink Your Blood” and “Lupus Dei” before leaving the stage for a swift moment only to arrive again.

“Sanctified with Dynamite”, “Saturday Satan” and “All We Need is Blood” wrapped up an amazing set for the night.

Thank you Powerwolf for this amazing show, and thank you Roel and tourmanager for making it bearable. I said to Daniel after the show, that it’s something about this band – it’s just so addictive. For everytime you see them, you get the urge and need to see them even more.

We caught up with our friends for a quick picture, and then off to the merch where I got the chance to say hi to the guys in Civil War once more, and then later join my friends in the parkinglot for a last good bye.

Thank you, to everyone who was at the show for making it the best possible ever – Dani, Toni, Madlen, Paula, Ted, Robert, Powerwolf, Civil War and the unknown girl whom I fought the guy with – thank you all.

sovis

Oh. I got some delicious bruises from the annoying guy as well.

bruise1 bruise2

// Sara

 

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