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M- If you could put a band together, who would those people be and why?

Posted in A-Z Music, Music, Uncategorized on September 1, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

If you could put a band together of your favorite vocalist,drummer,guitarists,and bassist, who would those people be and why?

Oh wow. This was a tricky one. I mean… If I’d pick all my favorites… Let’s begin at Mark Slaughter on vocals, because as most of you people knows, he is my absolute favorite as far as singing goes. His voice… It’s amazing. I don’t even know what to write. As for the drummer, I’ll have to go with a bandmate of Mark, someone who’s been my favorite drummer for a very long time, Blas Elias. He’s a decent drummer who get’s by without being a one-trick pony like some other drummers that may be just fast, and not have a lot of other to bring to it.

As far as stringbending goes, I’ll start with my very first guitar hero straight out of Norway, Trond Holter. He was the first guitarist I was ever impressed by, and still to this day I adore him like he was God. Accompanying him on the guitar, I’ll have to put Jim Root from straight from Iowa and the opposite genre of Trond. The way he plucks and improvises with the guitars… you are never bored when you listen to him. And imagine that – Trond delivering the solid part and hearing Jim improvise over that. Ohhh.

As far as bass duties goes, I’m gonna stick with my finnish hellbull OX. I’m not too big on bassplayers, but I’ve always adored OX’s attitude and he’s pretty good at what he’s doing. And since I like keyboards in bands, I want to throw in Hella as well. She’s one hell of a show woman, and she’s that extra thing the band would need to get on a really good show.

So, there you have it. These are the musicians I’d put together, if I’d pull together all my favorites. However, as some of you may know, I’ve never been a big fan of supergroups, so… these are all my favorite put together, but if I’d put together a perfect band, the line up would be Mr Lordi, OX, Amen, Hella and Mana.

Supergroups in all it’s glory, but nothing beats that perfect bandsetting that just makes the chemistry, energy and outcome perfect.

// Sara

 

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REVIEW: Stahlmann – CO2

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , on August 28, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

German metallers Stahlmann has had quite an impressive career. Right after the release of their first EP, “Herzschlag” AFM Records signed them and in 2010, their self-titled debutalbum was released. They did numerous of tours following the release, and it was followed up with “Quecksilber”(2012) and “Adamant”(2013) which both made spot on the German Media Control Albums Charts.

With their robotic-like image, Stahlmann is once again back with their fourth album, “CO2” that is said to be similar to previous works, but will now show a more mature side of the band. With the addition of electrical and dubstep elements, they hope to reach a bigger crowd.

So, how about the album then?

How should I describe it. It’s very… dramatic. In a way. There’s a lot happening in each song. It can go from sort of aggressive to very calm in just one song, and they have a lot going on with the electrical parts. As far as arrangements goes, this is actually pretty impressive and keeps the listener interested.

However, there’s about where it stops. Because sadly, most of the songs sound the same. I barely notice when the song changes, aside a few exceptions such as “Die Klinge” and “Speigelbild”, which is a tad slower than the rest.

Towards the end it does get better.”Wenn Engel Tanzen” and “Der Letze Tag” are actually pretty decent songs, and it almost makes it worth listening through it. However. I have one big problem with this album, and it lies in all of the songs.

This is so influenced by Rammstein you can hear the hamster from Knappnytt singing “Du Hast” through it.

The first thoughts that went through my mind when I heard the music starting, was Rammstein. When Mart started singing, all I could think of was Till Lindemann. Both music and sound are so alike Rammstein that I’m not sure what to do with all of this. It’s decent material… but it’s too close for me to call it original, which makes it lose a bit of it’s credibility.

To sum it up; Decent material, but it’s not original enough. Sorry Stahlmann, unTill next time…

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(Label: AFM Records)
CDON I Amazon I Ginza

// Sara

 

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Butcher Babies – Take It Like A Man

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags , on August 26, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, finally, after all this time it’s here! Butcher Babies second album, following up the EP “Uncovered” and the first full-length “Goliath”. As I wrote yesterday, I have really waited for this album for a long time, and when it finally dipped down… ah, the relief!

So, anyway, I had only heard “Monsters Ball” prior to getting the album itself, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of “Monsters Ball”, seeing it’s pretty… monotone, or how I should say it. It lacks melody, and I’m a sucker for melody and that is what pulled me in with songs as “Magnolia Blvd” on “Goliath”, for instance.

Sadly, much to my dismay, the album continued a lot this way. Maybe it’s me who’s just very new to the whole scene, but it all felt so plain. It could just as well have been the same song over and over again, except for a few exceptions. It’s a shame in a way – Carla and Heidi are doing a pretty solid job with the singing part, which makes it sad that the music is as plain as it is.

The exceptions, however, are pretty decent. The melancholic “Thrown Away” slows down the album quite a bit, and is a good “cut off” to the straight fast shredding that has occurred on the five previous songs, and perhaps my personal favorite on the entire album, “Never Go Back“, which brings me back a bit to “Magnolia Blvd” as far as arrangements go. “Never Go Back” is like, the little light on the album.

Sadly, right after this little breakdown, it goes right back into the monotone shredding and growling, I’m not lying when the only times I actually notice the song changing is because I start hearing that or that word which belongs to another song.

What makes me the most sad about the album is that there are some songs that has potential. They are almost there. Most songs has very well written lyrics, especially “Igniter” but they all fall short because of the plain music behind it. Then you have songs as “Dead Man Walking” and “The Cleansing” that has good sections, the choruses now that I think of it, which could have become so much better if the rest wasn’t so plain.

So, basically. It’s not even close to being as solid as “Goliath”. In my eyes, it’s a bit plain, but I want to emphasize that I’m not an expert on this genre, so maybe some of you think I’m completely dumbfounded based on what I said, but yeah. I had hoped they’d be brutal, but still have that melody that they had on “Goliath”, which is not present.

butcherbabie

But who knows, maybe it’ll grow on me.

// Sara

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Black Waltz

Posted in Music, Uncategorized on August 12, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Today’s session at work was brought to me and the newspaper-readers by Reckless Love. I wasn’t sure at all to begin with what to listen to, as ALWAYS when I go to work, and eventually decided to go through some Reckless Love, because seriously, it was some time.

I went over two albums – “Spirit” and “Animal Attraction“. Both of these are neck in neck with each other as far as my personal liking goes, but I’ve always been a bigger fan of “Animal Attraction”, if we’re going to nitpick. “Spirit” holds a lot of good anthems – “Night on Fire” for sure, but how about songs liked “Edge of Our Dreams” ? or “So Happy I Could Die”? These two are probably the best songs off the entire album.

“Animal Attraction” though… where do I even begin? At the opening song, which is also the title track? “Hot”? “Dirty Dreams”? “Dance”? Or at my personal favorite, “On The Radio”?

Sure, there’s a lot of questionmarks popping up whenever you talk about Reckless Love and their not very original bubble-gum rock which tastes more like raspberries than the cake I’m currently eating, and not to talk about the plastic personas, but regardless of all of this – they never fail to entertain, they never fail to help me run seven stories in an apartment complex.

Oh, by the way. As a part of a birthdaygift to myself, I pre-ordered Butcher Babies new album, but ALSO, Avatar’s album “Black Waltz”, and lucky little me, it did arrive today.

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Haven’t had the time to listen to it just yet, but I will get back to you on it once I do.

// Sara

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Annika Herlitz @ Mariebergsskogen, Karlstad 9/8 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on August 9, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, like I told you, a little bit last minute we made up our minds about going to see Annika Herlitz perform at the small stage in Maribergsskogen.

It’s quite the difference, approx one year ago I saw Sabaton in this very location, but at the time on the grass field on a temporary stage. This time around, it was inside the little house on the hill and it was…. 98% children. Emelie and I felt a little bit out of place until we saw two more people about our age coming in without children. Thank God! Now, I’m not one who usually cares about this, but I must admit it felt good.

So, like I told you before, this has been promoted as a “Family show” consisting some of the Frozen songs and other goodies, so we weren’t sure at all on what to expect. All of a sudden we hear some carnival music, and Emelie asked me if it began now, to which I responded I had no idea.

And all of a sudden, we see a table coming flying, and a magician accompanying it. Apparently, the support act of the day was a magician. He invited two children on stage with him and performed some magic tricks, which were pretty impressive I must add. The kids were blown away, of course.

Right after this, Annika Herlitz went on stage and opened the show with “Slå Dig Fri”, in which she also took the opportunity to say hi to everyone.

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With a small talk-break, she followed up this epic opening with “Ett Andetag”. It all felt a little rushed for some reason, I’m not sure why, but regardless – this song is just as fucking big live as it is on recordings. Seriously, this woman, she knows how to sing alright.

“Ett Andetag” was followed by a Frozen medley consisting pieces of “Do You Wanna Build A Snowman”, “For The First Time in Forever”, “Love is an Open Door”, “In Summer” and “Making Today A Perfect Day”.

This was followed by the “High School Musical” song “All Together”, celebrating her very first role as a musical actress, followed by her sisters composition “Du Genomborrar Mig”. She wrapped the whole set up with the pop version of “Let it Go”, during which she thanked for the afternoon and left the stage.

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Well.. First of all. It was good – she’s an amazing singer, like REALLY good. It’s nice to see in the big crowd of decent singers, and worst of all, autotuners.

Right after the music had stopped, we got up and left the place.

This is probably the shortest concert I have ever attended, including the supportband they performed for about 50 minutes, leaving Annika doing about 30-35 minutes alone. But you know, I guess this is how it goes in the beginning of a career.

I’m looking forward to see her soon again sometime. Because it was really good, regardless.

// Sara

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Skogsröjet 2015: Day two, Saturday 1/8

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , on August 1, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

I went to bed too late yesterday and got up too soon, or at least it felt like it. I had put my alarm to 11, and the first band I wanted to see started at 11.30, but when I looked at the clock it was around 8. So of course, I decided to snooze. Or at least I tried to, didn’t work out to well seeing I’m at a FESTIVAL CAMPING. A place where people party 24/7. Should have known. But I guess I managed somehow, because before I knew it the time was around 11 and I PANICKED because there’s no way I’ll get done in time. Gladly, the weather was good so half a bread, mascara stains and a pair of shorts and Korpiklaani tank later I found myself at the festival area (Bless the camping being so close to the area!) watching Beyond Visions

Beyond Visions

So, Beyond Visions is a five-piece band formed in 2007. They released their debut album in 2o13, and was the first band to enter the stage this day. There were a bit more people there than I would expect, but still no massive crowds – but none of this stopped frontwoman Rebecka to deliver a powerful set backed by the rest of the band. I was impressed and really liked what I heard! Good job!

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Honeymoon Disease

So, right after this I headed over the the other stage to catch the second band of the day; Honeymoon Disease. It’s a four-piece rock n roll band from Gothenburg formed in 2014. They have released two singles, one in 2014, one in 2015 and are set to release their debutalbum this autumn.

They brought on a good show with great energy, and even though I’m usually not into this kind of music, they managed to convince me! Good on them. I’d urge you all to check them out!

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Tyranex

Running back to the first stage, it was time to catch the Västerås-based four-piece that is Tyranex. They have released two albums so far – “Extermination” in 2011 and “Unable to Tame” in 2014.

The crowd was a bit bigger this time around, and Linnea… she’s insane. Holy hell, the way she sings and the way she plays, I literally had to write to Antoine and tell her what a killer she is on guitar. It was a powerful and energetic gig with a charismatic frontwoman, and if the two bands I had already seen had impressed me, this band went far beyond.

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The Terrorhawks

So, there sure was a lot of running back on forth between the two stages here in the early morning, and after Tyranex it was time to see the New Zealand based band The Terrorhawks. Or well, they are based in Gothenburg now. Their debut single was released during the spring, and the debut album is set to sometime in 2015.

The set was good. The energy was lacking a little bit, I must admit, I didn’t really feel a lot from them, but I’m gonna give them thumbs up for going through with their set!

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After this, I first of all hit the merchstand to pick up on Beyond Visions and Tyranex albums and was set to see Hellshaker, when I noticed that the remote to my car was missing. The car-key was there, but the remote was gone. So I went back to the camp in order to look for it, hoping it was there, and while I was at it start to pack up. Gladly, the remote was in the tent and not lost somewhere randomly, even though I REALLY can’t understand how it got detached, since nothing was broken and it’s on a keyring.

Regardless, I started packing out and took two turns to load everything in the car. It took some time to remove all the baby snails and baby worms that were living on my tent, seeing it was placed in a water puddle, and it’s now full of mud because of the.. well, mud. I love this tent, but I’m glad we’re getting another one for next years festivals.

I made it back to the festival area pretty much in time to catch Imber, however, I decided against it. I’ve never been a bigger fan of their music, and I felt that I at least once on this festival should be front row, so I went to pick up a bottle of water and headed over to Bandit stage and started the hour long wait for Bloodbound.

Bloodbound

So, last week when we saw them at Noch Ein Bier the set was pretty short, so I was rather excited to see them doing a longer set at another venue with BETTER WEATHER. And again, to avoid making a Noch ein Bier long post, I’ll keep it short.

First of all, we learned pretty early in the set that Patrik’s father had passed away the day before the show. It was quite a shocking thing to learn, and I salute him, and the band for pushing through with the show.

They played a bunch of my favorite songs -such as “Moria”, “When all Lights Fail” and, biggest surprise to me – “Nightmares from the Grave”. I absolutely low this song. It was massive hearing it live. Although, I must admit I missed “Satanic Panic” a bit.

But over all – very good show, good energy and good set. And especially seeing the circumstances, we should all raise the horns one more time for them.

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Besserbitch

After this, I went over to the other stage to catch the first few songs of Besserbitch before getting in line for the Bloodbound signing session, but I realized pretty quick that I could BOTH stand in line and still see Besserbitch! Bingo!

Besserbitch is a four piece band from Stockholm formed in 2008, released their first two EPs on their own label and gave out their debut album in 2013.

First of all: Where’s the crowd? Seeing the playtime they got, you’d assume they’d have a big crowd. Bloodbound had a full crowd, so people where there, but none seemed to stay for Besserbitch. It was perhaps around 10-20 people, and I wanna add we weren’t THAT many in line for Bloodbound signing session, and NO OTHER BAND was playing at the same time. It’s like the band doesn’t draw an audience.

And while their music is good, I can see why. Now, I’ve never seen this band before, but where is the stage presence of the singer? I spoke of it yesterday, the importance of stage presence, something Jocke and Erik got, but also Mia(Crucified Barbara) and Linnea (Tyranex). That was completely lacking here. Maybe it was a bad day, who knows, but I almost felt like… I should go away, I don’t know how to put it better. It was surprising, to say the least.

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The signing session started in the middle of the set, so I missed out on half a song. It went pretty quickly – Patrik wasn’t there, and I had a quick chat with Fredrik about Noch Ein Bier and the weather there, before getting back to Besserbitch. The crowd was less now than it began with. What the heck just happened? Afterwards, I headed back to Bandit to see Junkstars.

Junkstars

In an attempt to make the festival worth it’s money, I decided to try to catch as many bands as I could today, so it was time to see Junkstars, formerly known as Rock n Roll Allstars. They were supposed to be the final act of the day, but as a result of Doro cancelling, they got her time and Bullet filled in her spot.

It was a good set they delivered with good energy, and you can tell they hit home with the audience, as there were quite a few people there. I still think Junkstars and U.D.O. should have switched, but still. Good to see some energetic and charismatic people on stage. Those are my favorites.

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Right after Junkstars, which finished a bit earlier than Doro’s original time, I went to buy some last minute items and headed to the car to get dressed for colder weather and drop off my newly bought merchandise. On my way, I bumped into Robert and it was SOOO Great seeing him there. We had a quick chat before I ran to the car, fixed my shit, and ran back the the venue to catch U.D.O.

U.D.O.

I’ve been looking forward to see U.D.O ever since I reviewed his album earlier this year, “Decadent” is sure one fine piece of work. So I was very, very glad to see him playing Skogsröjet.

The set was really good, he was on top and delivered a good gig, but I must admit I’m a bit unsure as to WHY he’d play the small stage. The crowd was PACKED in front of it, and people on the side could barely see anything. It would almost have been better if they did what Sweden Rock did, to put him earlier in the day, or, following the cancellation of Doro, but him in Doro’s scheduled time and Junkstars on U.D.O’s. Oh well, what can you do?

What I’m especially fond of is him playing “Pain”. It was always a favorite of mine on the album, and I’m usually so unlucky with favorite songs that this hit hard at home.

Good show, good energy, good set. Loved it!

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Dream Theater

After U.D.O, it was time for the last gig of the day and the festival for me, Dream Theater. I’ve heard of the band, but never really paid a lot of attention to their music, but I have a few friends who are fond of them, and therefore decided to see them.

They celebrate thirty years as a band, and therefore played material from all of their albums, which was pretty nice, or I guess so for the die hard fans.

The show was good, and I really enjoyed it. It was a good ending to a good festival.

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After this, I went to pick up some last minute candy for the ride home, prepared my car and left the festival for this year. I got home already around 2 am in the morning, which was really good. To sleep in your own bed.

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Thanks to all the bands for this festival, you made it what it is. And thank you, Skogsröjet, for once again proving you the best biggest smallest festival in Sweden.

// Sara

 

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Noch Ein Bier Fest 2015 @ Amphitheater, Gelsenkirchen, Germany 25/7 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Thiz Izz Djermani with tags , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Due to the heavy rain, there’s a slight lack of pictures in order to protect the camera. So I apologize on beforehand on the lack of pictures.

The D-Day was here! Noch Ein Bier Fest, Sabaton first attempt at a German festival. It it is a one day ”festival” hosting five bands – Bloodbound, Civil War, Korpiklaani, Powerwolf and Sabaton and was hosted in the Amphitheater in Gelsenkirchen.

The day… Well, we started the day with some quick shopping, which I will tell you all about another day, and then headed to the venue. We had originally planned to take the bus to the theater since we got free bus tickets from the hotel, but apparently German buses are wussies. Said to us the bus was full even though it could easily have fitted all of us in there, we people had just moved a bit closer. After further inspection, we noticed that the next bus wouldn’t go until 30 minutes later, leaving us missing out on the first band.

And fuck that. So we went back to the hotel and asked them to call a taxi for us. A nice bunch of guys offered us to go in their taxi with them, however, they apparently don’t carry minibuses here, so it was a no can do. The taxi arrived fairly quickly, and after an about 15 minutes ride we were at the arena.

And seriously, compared to Sweden, Germany is so cheap! The taxi cost us about 15 euros, that’s 5 euros a person! Like, 15 euros would be starting price per PERSON in Sweden. What a nice surprise!

Unlike yesterday, where it was so warm we almost melted despite having barely any clothes on, today was a different story. Rain, A LOT OF IT, and cold. You see, we had originally gone to Primark to pick up a raincoat for me, since I was in desperate need for one. The other two decided to get one each as well, and guess what was the best purchase of the day? Yup, the raincoats.

We arrived at the venue about 20 minutes or so before the door opened, and the line was… half full, now that I look back on it. At the time, it felt like it was A LOT of people, but after further inspection, we noticed the doors were closer than we thought they’d be. Anyway. The time hit 15 and…. nothing happened. At least not in the back. The time hit 15.30. Bloodbound was about to play, and I was so pissed, because, guess what? NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.

But on the other hand, I didn’t hear a band play either so all good. About 15.45, it started moving. Babysteps, one step at a time. At 16, we had maybe gotten three meters. Somewhere after 16, about 16.10 or so, we finally, FINALLY made it in.

The first thing we did was to get down to the arena in order to look for Antoine, and let me tell you this.

I was under the impression this was an indoor arena. So when Madlen broke the news to me about it being outdoors, my mood went from very high to very low, to put it nicely. So when I got in, I got even more of a shock. Basically, what I saw before me, was a smaller version of Dalhalla.

It was a small area infront of the stage, and then lots of stairs all the way up where we stood, where people would sit. So imagine our surprise to see there were very little people down there.

I’ve been to Sabaton shows before, and I know how it goes down. Pressed against the fence, and you can do nothing. Not fun. This is the major reason why I’ve started to withdraw more and more on concerts, because of the freedom to jump around and headbang without being pressed against a fence.

Just right after we got out Bloodbound got on the stage.

BLOODBOUND

So basically, to give you some perspective – Bloodbound was supposed to start at 15.30, and when they actually started, it was about 16.15, 16.20. We are talking almost an hour delay. Did this have an effect on how long their set was? I think so.

I didn’t track time exactly how long they played, but they played only about 4-5 songs. Despite this, the show was energetic. They started off with “Satanic Panic” and seemed to do the best they could with their short set. For my personal record, I’m just really happy they did “Moria”. Thank god.

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This festival did already from the beginning have a pretty tight time schedule, so already towards the end of the last song of Bloodbound did Michelle and I withdraw ourselves in order to catch some merchandise.

Which seemed to be near impossible. After trying to choose which one of the two merchstands we’d go to, we ended up doing the first one, and gladly, this was the very one Jaqueline was working at! It was so good to see her again, although a little odd to see her outside of Lordi, but you know, it’s a small world after all?

After this, we headed back to the “arena” and we arrived JUST as Civil War went on stage.

Civil War

I was pretty excited to see them – I’ve been in love with the band ever since I first heard “Rome is Falling” , so I got quite excited when they got on stage (not SlipKnot or Lordi excited, but excited). Just as with Bloodbound, they delivered a good and energetic set, which sadly came to an abrupt ending when they played “Bay of Pigs” and Patrik all of a sudden goes “That was our last song, good night”.

Like wait what. What just happened? Apparently they were supposed to play longer, but because of the delays they couldn’t. And I really missed “Rome is Falling” in the setlist, I must admit. Oh well, what do you do?

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Korpiklaani

Ok – so here’s the deal with Gelsenkirchen – when I arrived on Thursday, and also during Friday, it was hot. Like, MELTING HOT, it felt like it was twice as hot as it was in Sweden. Sun shining high, no cloud in sight, no wind, nothing. And then, when Sabaton came to town, apparently, they thought it was a good idea to bring swedish summer with them and POF – rain and thunder. So by the time Korpiklaani were to begin, we were all soaked. Like, through and through. Like I told you in the beginning, I wasn’t a fan of this being an outdoor show.

However, in the wait for Korpiklaani my SlipKnot-excitement starting coming to me, and me and Michelle were already bouncing around like rubber balls even before they started, and I may have cursed the short times between the bands earlier, but at this point I was happy. So, since we were already bouncing around, you can imagine what happened when “Viinamäen Mies” started. Yup.

That’s the thing with Korpiklaani – it’s just one big fucking party. Everyone is dancing, everyone is hopping around and everyone is moshing. I told Michelle “We should go in there the next time” and later on we decided to go for it in “Vodka” and so we did.

It was fun actually! I found myself tripping once, and got back up immediatley thanks to strong arms behind me, and this is probably something we’re gonna find ourselves doing a lot more. A sidenote to this: When I tripped, I hit my elbow and got really scared I had broken my new parkas. Gladly, I hadn’t. However upon further inspect, my Swedish Lordi crew shirt broke. What the hell?

But, back to Korpiklaani. The set was pretty similar to Graspop – and even though I love “Sumussa Hämärän Aamun”, I must admit it was a bit of a mood killer this particular day. But this gig DID make it clear for us that we will try to do both Korpiklaani days in September. Happy days!

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However, this festival, or perhaps Korpiklaani, started to take on my powers, so we decided to “sacrifice” Powerwolf (Madlen and Daniel are going to kill me now) and have a seated show and dinner. See guys – there’s the other perk of not being in the front. You wanna sit, you sit, you wanna stand you stand. So we went out and bought crêpes and got back in right when they started and sat on the side and had a calm dinner.

Powerwolf

Because of the weather, the band wasn’t able to use their stage props, so the stage was a bit weak compared to how you usually see Powerwolf, but it doesn’t really matter, in my opinion. They still put on a good show no matter what, and hadn’t it been because of my smaller leg injury I got in the pit, we would have been in the middle of the crowd for “We Drink Your Blood”. Trust us, we really wanted to (because at that time we had finished dinner, ok)

But you know, I don’t really know what else to add to this. It was a good show, they had good energy and delivered despite problems with the props.

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Sabaton

Rather sooner than later, did “The Final Countdown” start, and originally Michelle and I did plan to sit throughout the entire set, because hey, some day gotta be the first right?

Anyway. This show has been real hyped. Like crazy hyped. So many crazy things would happen, the best show ever and so much special and AHH! And then they go on stage and be like

“Hello Gelsenkirchen! We’re Sabaton and this is GHOST DIVISION”.

“Ghost Division”. Still. The. Fucking. Ghost. Division. After. Seven. Fucking. Years. Still. Fucking. Ghost. Division. 

Like, how about spicing things up a bit? “We’re Sabaton, and we are the lions from the north”??? Or how about, for this superextrahypersuperduper special show, why not go further back in time and open with “Panzer Battalion” (Peace&Love 2007). Seriously, none of you, my readers are strangers to my animosity towards “Ghost Division”. I really love the song, as well as “The Art of War” (competing in the top with “Carolus Rex” about best album) but I’m SO. OVER. THIS. SONG. Thank you.

Regardless of that, it’s a decent opener, and the crowd loved them as always. And by the time the intro for “To Hell and Back” came, I said fuck leg injury and we jumped (!!) off the stone staircase and went on the side of the audience (actually fairly close, but very much on the side) and joined in for the jump party. Didn’t feel shit in my leg, I’m happy.

“Carolus Rex” was next, and you know. It’s strange, the fact you feel the most patriotic when you’re not at home. And I still don’t know the English lyrics to it. And it wasn’t until now that the first real surprise came, or well, at least for me. “No Bullets Fly”. Nice! Not my favorite, but finally things are happening.

The crowd started chanting the intro for “Swedish Pagans” which naturally “forced” the band to play it already now, and I do like it, it’s a favorite of mine, followed by another favorite, “Resist and Bite”.

This far in the show, no major surprises had happened aside “No Bullets Fly”. The pyros were weaker than the stuff they had in Karlstad, and this MIGHT be because of the weather, but come on. Lordi has survived without pyros since like 2008, and they still put on a good show. Get creative guys!

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I am, however, gonna give them some creds for playing “Screaming Eagles” after, at least saying, they saw a sign in the audience requesting it. There was indeed a sign, I just really this is why they played it. But it was fun to hear it live, you know?

And it was right after this, the first real highlight for me came. A guy from the crew came out to “fix” the panzar that is Hanne’s drumset, and Jocke started talking about panzers, and about a song. I said to Michelle “I hope it’s ‘Panzerkampf’, because I really miss it, but it could be ‘Panzer Battalion'” BUT OF COURSE, TO MY DELIGHT, IT WAS INDEED “PANZERKAMPF”.

THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU. I’ve missed this song so much, I can’t even! Thank you thank you!

“Attero Dominatus” followed, by “En Livstid i Krig” (in Swedish, thank god!) and then a little.. surprise. “Coat of Arms”.

The thing with “Coat of Arms” for me is that the album as well as the tour is one big blur for me. “Coat of Arms” is one of the weaker eras for me when it comes to Sabaton, was never a big fan of the album or anything, BUT, I do love the song “Coat of Arms”. Maybe Sabaton should have opened with that one, to spice it up a little bit?

This one was followed by one of my all time faves – “The Art of War”. Seriously, anyone who doesn’t love this song can just stop talking to me right now. My hair had been dried, thanks to my intense headbanging, but then it got wet again because my hair kept hitting the ground and the water puddles. Because of this song.

After this, they brought out a song the German fan club had voted up, which is considered a rare song for anyone who doesn’t live in Karlstad and has a hockey-team whose fanclub is called The Wolfpack, because if you do, you are one of the few people who actually had the blessing to hear “Wolfpack” live QUITE a few times, only because of Färjestad. And I don’t complain, it’s my favorite song off “Primo Victoria”.

But to top it off, as what could possibly become the most exciting thing of the evening, was the temporary and very short re-union with Daniel Mÿhr, which started with a sexy dance ala Mÿhr in his military hotpants that showed more than it should.

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The performance of the song was beyond perfection, and to top it off even more, Daniel did indeed undress completely. Thank you Daniel, for bringing the humor. I love you.

And then it happened… a divine voice out of nowhere…

Pretty much so. I have one favorite song with Sabaton. This number one, that beats everyone else. Which one?

“7734”. I already told you how much I died on the inside when I saw it was the bonus track on “Heroes”, and my brother looked weirdly at me and was like “but everyone loves ‘7734’”, but that was never my impression. So the fucking fact that they actually played, they FUCKING PLAYED IT… makes me forgive them for opening with “Ghost Division”. Yup. I said it, and you heard it.

I fucking forgive them for “Ghost Division”, because they gave my “7734”. Lindyhopping the night away.

After this, they left the stage and the lights went bananas. Michelle turned to me and said “Nightwitches”? and I just nodded. Of course. What else. So first song of the first round of encores was “Nightwitches” followed by “Primo Victoria” and “Metal Crüe” and for the love of God, while we are at it to retire “Ghost Division”, can we also retire “Metal Crüe”? That one has been going on since I even saw Sabaton live the first time in 2006, and if you thought I was over “Ghost Division”, imagine how fucking OVER I AM THIS ONE. Come on! “Metal Machine” and “Masters of the World” are like 100 times better. And again, you readers are no strangers to my animosity for this one either. Ok, I’m calm. Even if I’m tired of it, it’s still fun. I admit it.

They were supposed to leave the stage, but came back again, this time starting with “Panzer Battalion”, and seriously, I love this song. They played “Saboteurs” dedicated to the Saboteurs and wrapped the whole thing up with “Gott Mit Uns”, or as it is renamed now, “Noch Ein Bier”. Haha.

“Noch ein bier, vår konung har talat, hör vårt stridsrop Noch ein Bier!” Uhh. Hahaha.

After this, they REALLY left the stage and thanked for the night.

And ok, time to get serious. To be honest, I think this show was way too hyped. Apart from a few songs, the setlist wasn’t anything extraordinary, the stage setting wasn’t anything extra ordinary, and I even think I dare to say Daniel Mÿhr saved everything with his sexy dance.

But on the same time, I can never be thankful enough for “7734” so I guess it all evens out. Regardless of it all – it was an amazing night with amazing friends, and no animosities for songs or repeating setlists can ever change that.

Right after it was over we left off to say good bye to Daniel and we headed for Burger King for some late night dinner and then hitting home to the hotel where we had a smaller after party and then crashed.

Thank you all for this amazing evening, but a little more so to Korpiklaani and Sabaton. Thank you!

// Sara

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Väsby Rock Festival 2015 – Saturday

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on July 18, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

We got up fairly early today. Only to hear the sound of the rain on the tent. And the worst part with that, isn’t that it’s raining. I’ve been to enough festivals to not care about that, no, the biggest problem is the fact that it’s SO COSY in the tent. When you hear the raindrop drip down and it’s a pretty nice temperature – not very hot, not too cold. And since I’m already a somewhat lazy person… you get it.

After a little while we finally dragged ourselves out of bed and went down to the festival area to catch Adrenaline Rush.

Adrenaline Rush

It was a rather small bunch of people who had found their way to the stage were Adrenaline Rush was to perform, but I guess this is a fairly common thing for early gigs. Despite the bad turn out, the band played with good energy and put on a nice show. I look forward to see them again some day!

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Dalton

We were a bit unsure about what to do next, and therefore decided to stay for Dalton as well, because, why not?

They were good. The sun had finally come out, and a few more people had found their way to the area and it was a good vibe in the audience. They talked a lot about the old days, and for the last song they invited Chris Laney on stage to perform KISS’s “Lick it Up” with them.

Thanks guys, it was fun!

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After Dalton we went back to the camp and start packing things up a bit, calling different pizzerias before going back to the festival to catch Work of Art.

Work of Art

So, there was many reasons why we end up seeing this band. First of all, Ted Poley could not stop talking about them on stage last night, which made me curios. So when we laid in the tent after Dalton, I decided to read a bit about them in the program. Turns out this is the band of Lars Säfsund, one of my favorit voice actors. And all of a sudden, my excitement went up to a hundred.

And this, is the point where I thank God for Ted Poley, and curse myself for never checking out the bands playing properly. Because they were really good.

Like, insanely good. I’ve found myself a new band. And it was so fun to see Lars in action. God, this was perfect.

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After Work of Art we did a quick run to the car to let my phone charge for a moment and then hitting up Eclipse.

Eclipse

So basically, Eclipse is half of Ammunition. Featuring Erik on vocals and Robban or drums, it’s as close as it gets. It was a big crowd and a good feeling, and the band sure delivered.

After Eclipse, we headed off to Upplands Väsby centra to catch something to eat. The food was rather expensive at the festival, so we decided to get some outside. We had a good time sitting in a park, eating pizza and watching wild rabbits running around the street. I love bunbuns.

When it started to get colder we sat in the car for a while to talk and laugh and what not before heading over to catch Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock.

Michael Schenker’s Temple of Rock

I’ve never been a big fan of either UFO nor Scorpions, but I did find myself really enjoy this show.

He put on a good show, and so did the rest of the band. It’s always a bit impressive to see influential musicians show some us some of their brains and soul. And the sing along on “Rock you like a Hurricane” and “Rock Bottom”… Gold!

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After this, we headed directly over to the second stage to catch the last show for this festival: W.A.S.P.

Right before they started, they announced the band for next years festival which included Battle Beast, Dare and Hardcore Superstar. HCSS!

W.A.S.P

Despite never really considering myself THAT big of a fan of W.A.S.P, and despite having only one album with them, I have caught them live enough to learn pretty much all the songs they play live. Just as last night, the crowd kinda failed them. Not as much as yesterday, but less people than on Michael Schenker.

Like I’ve said the whole day, and will repeat now, it was a good show. Started out energetically with “On Your Knees” causing a major sing along, as with most W.A.S.P song.

In all honesty though, while it was good, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was the usual songs – “L.O.V.E. Machine”, “The Idol”, “Wild Child”, “I Wanna Be Somebody” and so on and so on. Short set for being a headliner, but then again, it’s always up to the band and I guess I shouldn’t complain, since I was a bit tired.

But despite all of this, it was the perfect ending of a pretty good festival.

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After this we just went back to the tent to crash. We had to get up even earlier tomorrow, so in a way, it’s good they stopped early. And with that, this festival was over.

// Sara

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Väsby Rock Festival 2015 – Friday

Posted in Concerts, Music with tags , , , , , on July 17, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, three weeks, three festivals, start off with Väsby Rock Festival.

We left home rather late according to what we had planned – we didn’t set off to Upplands Väsby until around 12. To our defence, we can’t really rule of the lines at the supermarket… anyway. Better late than never huh?

The carride went fairly good, and we did a smaller pit stop in Örebro to have some food at Subway before we after a few more hours of traveling finally hit Upplands Väsby and Vilundaparken. First of all, I must admit I’m a wee bit disappointed that they didn’t have real bracelets. The festival has about the same price as Skogsröjet, the artists are a little smaller, and no real wristbands? Makes me a sad monkey. Anyway, that’s really not a big problem per se, but a little disappointing.

The next mission was to find the camping. It wasn’t as easy as the volunteers had claimed, as there were NO major signs up about it all. Thanks to some help at the gates, we found it. And we went up the hill to put our tent… only to see there’s like… nine other tents there. Tops. So we were literally about ten tents only, throughout the festival. How cozy isn’t that?

Spent some time setting up the camp and getting ready, and then we went down to catch Ammunition.

Ammunition

While I went here to see H.E.A.T and Danger Danger mostly, I can’t deny I was very excited to catch up on what Åge (Glam) has been up to since the Wig Wam days. I haven’t listened anything to Ammunition, even though I’ve been somewhat well informed about it.

And in all honesty… it was like seeing Wig Wam again, but with happier musicians. And of course, it didn’t get worse from the fact he actually played a few Wig Wam tunes, such as “Gonna Get You Someday”, “Hard to be a Rock n Roller” and “In My Dreams”. Good to see the “boys” back on stage. Even though I have split feelings about some of the musicians in Wig Wam, the music they put out was flawless.

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The show was good. They had good energy, and well yeah, basically like I said. It’s like Wig Wam, but with happier musicians. It was good, and I enjoyed it A LOT.

After Ammunition we headed over to the “shopping” area which consisted of like, five food courts, one record shop and three other tent featuring various things. Quite the contrast from Sweden Rock and Graspop, but in all honesty, I didn’t have any expectations here, so all good. We grabbed something to eat, met up with Paula, Sofia and Johanna and strolled around a bit before catching the last few minutes of Väsby’s Rock n Roll All Stars featuring Cherie Curie, amongst others. Was great seeing her on stage and all, she’s a hero of mine, you know?

After All Stars was done, it was just a mere minutes left until one of the highlights: H.E.A.T

H.E.A.T

So, spot on time does the introtrack to “The Heat is On” start, the band comes on stage and starts it off with “Point of No Return”, quickly followed by “A Shot of Redemption”.

As with all festival posts, I’m gonna keep this short. There is not really anything bad you can say about H.E.A.T ever, and I guess if there ever were, no really notices because of the one-man show Erik Grönwall puts on to distract from everything that might happen.

Maybe it’s something in the air here in Väsby, or simply just because we are in their hometown, that makes it a little bit extra special. It was a big crowd in front of the stage, and most people knew all the songs.  And just as H.E.A.T usually is, it was magical. With all the energy in songs like “Inferno”, the singalong in “Tearing Down The Walls”, the serene moment in “All The Nights”… I could go on forever.

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They wrapped the first set up with “Emergency” before they returned and unveiled a big flag, that I assume are supposed to go somewhere in Väsby saying “Upplands Väsby, the home of H.E.A.T” and also a bit of chocolate rain and ending the show with “Breaking The Silence”, “Living on the Run” and “Laughing at Tomorrow”.

Thank you, H.E.A.T.

Right after, we headed over to the second stage for the last show of the day: Danger Danger.

Danger Danger

Danger Danger is the one band in this world who’ve made me go to the most odd festivals ever. Or more like, they’ve made me gone to festivals I normally wouldn’t have known off. Rockweekend in 2010 (no longer exists) and I found myself going to Väsby Rock only because of them. Danger Danger and I have this weird relationship, where I never really mention them as one of my favorite bands, but I wouldn’t miss them for anything in the world. A bit like me and Mötley Crüe. I have yet to figure out why this is.

Anyway. The last time I saw Danger Danger was actually not so long ago, it was just last year at Sweden Rock. Early day gig at Festival stage in the burning sun with a big audience was quite the difference from how it was here. Late night, a bit cold… and very little people. Judging on the crowds, I believe H.E.A.T should have been the headliners of this day. Like really.

They started off their set energetically, as I’ve always remembered them to do, and that’s the spirit they kept up during the whole show. But then, something very, very special happened.

For “Feels Like Love”, Ted Poley drags out a tattoo-artists, and gets the Swedish flag tattoed on his arm WHILE performing the song. Because that’s the kind of relationship the Swedish crowd has to Danger Danger. We love you too, DD, I promise.

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The show all in all was really, really good. Such a feel-good show (what can you expect from a feel good band?) and even though I realise “Hearts on the Highway” counts as a hit, it’s still one of my absolute favorites, and the fact they keep playing is just makes me melt.

They wrapped up the whole set with “Monkey Business” and “Naughty Naughty” before saying good night and thank you for the evening.

No, thank YOU Danger Danger for being one of the best bands out there. I love you.

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With all of that said, we headed back to the camp and crashed immediatley, seeing we had to get up early next day to catch Adrenaline Rush.

// Sara

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Hardcore Superstar @ Putte i Parken, Karlstad, Sweden 4/7 – 15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized on July 4, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Waking up fairly late after out late endeavors, we began the day with a bit of a roadtrip to IKEA, since apparently, the most absolute Swedish experience is to go to IKEA. Michelle was picking up a shelf as well, and me some fake flowers so I guess it was okay. Watching Nathan walking around IKEA in awe made it completely worth it, and we even end up having lunch in the food court, to make it ultra-Swedish, you know?

After we were done (it took some time!) we got home, had a glass of cold cola and then headed over to Mariebergsskogen to catch Hardcore Superstar live on the free-of-charge festival Putte i Parken. Despite us getting there only like 20 minutes before it started, we got really got spots behind our friends Linette and Angelina (haven’t met either of them in ages!) and a few minutes later Jennie, Jonny and Jimmie joined up as well.

On point, the guys walked on stage and started off the show with “Need No Company” and followed up strongly with “Last Forever” and “My Good Reputation”. Seriously, have I told you how much I love that song?

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“Touch the Sky” was fired off before it was time for our personal big moment of the day, “Last Call for Alcohol”. While the song is awesome, what has made it “our” moment is probably when we invented the idea of dancing Jenka to the song, and we’ve tried to do so on almost every HCSS show we’ve ever been to. We decided against it this time though, it wasn’t any pressure or such, but we didn’t really… feel any vibe? It’s always more fun if people join in, you know.

But aside that, the band absolutely killed it and have done so far. “Cry Your Eyes Out” and “Someone Special” came after this followed by “Wild Boys” and “Liberation”.

Oh. You wanna know something? All throughout the show, this little boy, maybe five-six years old? He kept coming back and forth during the show and every time I saw him I made either Jennie or Nathan move the front row spots in order to allow him to see better. The second or third time I did this, he turned around and hugged me! PRECIOUS! I told him that of course should he be up front! and he was so happy.

About the band, I’m not really sure what to say about them. I mean, most people reading my blog has seen then, and if they haven’t… It’s a shame. Jocke Berg is really in the league of good frontmen, you know, the league of Corey Taylor and Erik Grönwall. If it’s anyone who knows how to get a crowd going, it’s him. This band is so ridiculously good live that even if you tried to find something bad, you can’t.

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“Don’t Mean Shit” was next song, and they wrapped up the set with the lovely “Run to your Mama”. I love that they have included this song in the setlist. I absolutely love it.

They left the stage and of course returned, and for a split moment it felt like they were gonna do “We Don’t Need a Cure”, a song I never understood why they never did live, but started off with “Moonshine”. Not that I actually mind, “Moonshine” is fucking fantastic.

“We Don’t Celebrate Sundays” and “Above The Law” wrapped up the entire set of this show for the day.

It was a good show. As good as it can get, so thank you, Hardcore Superstar for this show, and thank you for giving Nathan a good first memory of you. This was his first show, or actually, he was barely aware of HCSS prior to this, and now they got themselves a couple of new fans. (Him and Jennie)

After this, we headed home bouncing down the streets singing “Moonshine” and I got ready for work.

Thanks for this awesome day, people!

// Sara

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