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Amaranthe @ The Circus, Helsinki, Finland 14/2 – 15

Posted in Uncategorized on February 15, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So! Valentines Day, what is a better way to celebrate it but with one of your favorite bands? NO BETTER WAY! Said and done. I was lucky you know – mindlessly planning this SlipKnot trip and accidently stumbling over a fitting Amaranthe date. Seriously, THANKS FOR THAT! whoever planned their tour. Perfect.

So, The Circus was the destination, “MASSIVE ADDICTIVE” is the tour, and as I’ve told you before, white era makes white clothes. With the exception for red fishnets, because of Valentines.

We went to The Circus about an hour and a half before the doors were opened, and gladly, and surprisingly, we were the first in line! There isn’t really a lot to say about the queueing, we pretty much stood there in silence. Me mostly trying not to freeze to death. I was kinda hoping it wouldn’t be as cold, and while it wasn’t Frankfurt cold, I eventually stopped feeling my feet. As always.

Anyway. With a small delay, they finally opened the door and we went inside. Didn’t really feel the need to run, it’s not like people were pushing or anything, and took a spot on Johan’s side of the stage. I’ve found myself ALWAYS being on Johan’s side. Why is this? No fucking clue.

The thing is, despite the doors opening at 19, we still had to wait until 21(!!!) for the supportband to start. Surprisingly, the wait wasn’t at all as long as I had thought it would be, and Cypher16 entered the stage.

Well, what to say about them? They were good! This is a band who origins from the UK, playing, well, metal (me and subgenres not always so good) and I really liked them! I’m sorry the crowd was half shitty to you, but I still think they delivered really good!

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They played for about half an hour or so, and after them I decided to get out of the crowd a quicky to get a glass of water. We had done so for the Lordi show, and god bless that glass of water. Had we not had that, we would probably have died or so. We almost did during SlipKnot last wednesday, so yeah. Had to get it!

Right on time, at 22 that is, Amaranthe entered the stage and opened strongly with “Digital World”. Thank god, the crowd DID respond a LOT better now than they had for Cypher. I was getting a little worried.

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They continued on with “Hunger” and the arena basically EXPLODED! This was quite the upbeat since the pretty ‘lame’ Västerås gig, if you like, I’m fucking glad! This band deserves it SO MUCH. And the band was on top as well. And I tell you one thing: Pyros.

Amaranthe has gotten themselves a NICE set of pyrotechnics. Fucking LOVE IT, this tour is just getting better and better!

“Invincible” was next on the list, followed by “Razorblade”. Oh my god, have I told you already how much I love this song? It’s by far one of my favorite songs of them, EVER. After this one, they started off with a, to me, little surprise.

“Serendipity”.

I didn’t see this one coming! But I was so glad to hear it, because I freaking love it. And so did the rest of the crowd, seemingly. Speaking of love, another one of my favorites were ripped off after this, “1.000.000 Lightyears”.

“Over and Done” was next on the list, and this time around Jake actually remembered the lyrics! Haha, no, I really shouldn’t go there. It was AMAZING, and it was followed up by what I usually call the dancefest that is “Trinity”. Jesus Christ, “Massive Addictive” really IS the most perfect album.

So, after the dancefest it was time for the headbang fest, that is, yeah, that’s right.

“MASSIVE ADDICTIVE”.

I already told you back on the Västerås show that this particular song is just probably one of the best songs they have EVER put out. Even though I always feel like a stekar-brat whenever it’s playing because it got that kind of beat, it NEVER fails to get me pumped. And it was good seeing the band enjoy themselves.

I’ve never really seen Elize THIS playful on stage before – and okay, I’ve only seen them three times by now, but like I said lat time, this band improves for every time. This is a band that has BIG THINGS ahead of them, just saying.

The sweet ballad “True” was next on the list, taking down the tempo a little bit before they ripped off “Afterlife”. Ahh. This band people. Do you understand? This is probably one of the best bands we have in Sweden. Just for your information.

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“Electroheart” was next on the list, another big favorite of mine AND the arena, seriously, finnish people got good taste! After “Electro” it was time for Morten to have his little moment of fame, or maybe we should call it his 15 minutes in the spotlight with his ever so awesome drumsolo. I think we might have found a candidate to compete with Joey about being the fastest drummer. Joey, you ready for that?!

“Leave Everything Behind” was fired off (literally) right after and then the tempo slowed down again, as they started with “Amaranthine”.

And look, I get that this is like their most popular or famous song or something, but you know…. This is fucking amazing okay. It moves something in me, I’m not sure what, but it does, and to make it even better, the way they composed it with the pyrotechnics just made this probably one of the best performances of this song to date.

“Call Out My Name” was the last song before saying thanks and good night, and they left the stage. Of course, the finns, and I and the Estonian of course, wanted more, so what do they do? They come back.

And start off with “Automatic”. (After Johans little monologue, that is)

YES THANK YOU. It may not be my favorite with them, but I sure had missed this one in Västerås! “Dynamite” was next on the list and I once again have a little moment with Henrik. Maybe it’s his side I should stand on? Who the heck knows. The blaze in my eyes are here, blazing through you. Or him maybe I should say.

“Drop Dead Cynical” was fired off before they wrapped up the whole show with the ever so amazing “The Nexus”. Seriously, best song. BEST. FUCKING. SONG. BEST.

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With all that being said, they thanked for tonight and left the stage, for good this time and we left for the merchandise.

Seriously, Thank YOU Amarathe for being one of the best bands out there today, and thanks for this AMAZING gig. I had a freaking blast at it. Thank you so much!

So, we hit the merchstand alright. At first I had planned to get nothing… and then I noticed they had all the singles for sale. All of them. And my eyes basically POPPED. Like WHAT THE HECK. But, since I’m being short on money, I could only get three of them. “Amarathine”, “1.000.000 Lightyears” and “The Nexus”. I hope I’ll get my hands on the last two some other time, but I kinda had to prioritize my favorite ones. (I left ‘Hunger’ and ‘Burn With Me’ behind).

Once I was done shopping, and waiting for Argo, I went over to the supportbands table to have a little chat with them. We talked a little bit about the show, about Finland vs Estonia, about Sweden and about SlipKnot! Turns out they had seen them in Wales just a few weeks prior, so it was a good chat! I of course bought their CD as well (support your supportbands people!) and a little later on we left to get back to the hotel.

This was a REAL good night, and I’m more than ready for SlipKnot now! Despite the huge bruise on my leg…

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Razorblade

Posted in Uncategorized on February 14, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Happy Valentines to you all! At least those of you who cares for it. This day is literally squeezed between two important days – The Death of Otus on Feb 13th and the Birthday of Mr Lordi that is tomorrow. Can’t believe it has gone three years since the passing.

Anyway. So, last night we went down to the cute little pub Villi Wäinö. They played an acoustic set for an hour and a half and it was good! I’m not going to give you an advanced and long report about the show, because there isn’t a lot to say about gigs like this. It was something new for me, to just sit by the bar and watch the band pull off an acoustic set. The place wasn’t filled, it was almost like friends and family kind of gathering.

But nevertheless, it was amazing seeing the guys again and I hope they bounce back and do a proper tour soon!

Today has been good so far. Spent most of the days in various recordstores, seriously, we went into this Åhlens like store and they had this whole VINYL SECTION and CD section and I was basically in heaven. They even had Scare Force One vinyl there, but I’m not really sure how to transport it home so maybe next time…

Later on we headed to Music Hunter and spent a good fucking hour there. It’s one of those kind of stores that has CD’s from the floor to the roof, messy, DVD’s, VHS, Vinyls, Merchandise… Surprisingly, for being there for so long the only things I really left with is a magazine featuring an interview with Joey Jordison and “All Hope is Gone” 2CD version. Had I only had all the monies in the world…. I would have bought the store. But I need to keep my mind on Madrid and everything else.

With all this being said, I’m already at the Amaranthe show here in Helsinki as this will be posted a little later tonight (scheduled posts for the win!) so, I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

// Sara

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Rock n Roll Outlaws

Posted in Uncategorized on February 13, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Well well well! First day in Finland, spent with what? SLEEPING OUT. Haven’t really been able to catch up on my sleep ever since… Frankfurt maybe? So that was mighty nice. Were confused for a while about the timezone as my computer had one timezone and my phones another one, haha.

But, what did I do then? Well, not a lot. Did some quick shopping getting a cute little bracelet from Cybershop, but most importantly, I took a stroll by Levykauppa Äx and got my hands on these beauties.

Korpiklaani – Manala which seems to be quite the hassle to get in Sweden, and of course, Honey Hellraiser – Pick Your Poison! Finally, to more CD’s to scratch of my list. Imagine I had to get to Finland to get them, haha.

Well, with all that being said, Argo pretty much just arrived here in Helsinki and we are now heading downtown to catch an acoustic set with Stala & SO. Stonewashed jeans, fringejacket and a messy ponytail and HERE WE GO.

// Sara

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Pain

Posted in Uncategorized on February 12, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, I guess I could just say HONEY I’M HOME. I have landed in Helsinki, and better than that, I’m in my hotel room, unpacked everything and settled down. Of course, I need to redo everything because I need to prep for Argo’s arrival. It’s insane how much I love being here. I’m not going away when going to Helsinki, I’m going home.

Anyway. What is there to say? Not a lot has happened today. Did some last minute shopping before boarding the plane, so basically, this is what I’ve managed to gather in two days in Stockholm.

First of course, the mandatory tourshirt! I debated with myself for quite some time about which one to get, and after consulting Michelle I decided for this one. AND I LOVE IT.

THE DRESS WITH A BIG D! I’ve been looking on this online FOREVER, and finally I got my hands on it! It doesn’t come with the white top underneath, but sorry guys, not gonna flash myself on the internet, haha! The possibilities with this one are ENDLESS.

Two new bracelets, 1 euro each! Love it. I love 2nd hand-stores, and I LOVE sales. Allows you to get new shit for almost free.

I’m prepping a bit for celebrating Valentines Day together with Amaranthe, and new red earrings was needed! These ones were dead pretty. Zebra, feathers, red. Couldn’t be better!

New fishnets. New black ones, because the ones I have are literally falling apart, and white and red ones for obvious reasons.

Like, HAHAHA. RIP fishnets!

Last but not least: A Computergame. It’s called “Rock Manager”, and according to the description, it should be something similar to Rock Tour, basically, you are being the manager of a band. I hope this one isn’t as slow as Rock Tour can get at times, I can’t wait to get home and try it out, since I only brought my MAC computer… Bah.

Well. With that said, I’m now gonna dance away to Serious Black and prepp for tomorrow.

// Sara

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SlipKnot @ Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden 11/2 -15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized on February 11, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

THE DAY IS HERE! Or was here. The day we’ve been waiting for since October. It’s finally here. SLIPKNOT!

As you guys know, I arrived in Estocolmo already the day before so today we basically… first I went up very late. And then we did some quick shopping – finally got my hands on THE DRESS. Woho! And then, back to the hotel to get ready, or put some trash on my face as I usually adress it, and then hit the arena.

We arrived at the arena around 15, 3pm. Unlike Germany, there were already QUITE THE LINE outside Hovet! Ok, maybe not that many, like 20? Still quite a lot. We went and picked up some food at subway (BREAKFAST AT LAST) and then began the long, long wait. Or technically, it wasn’t THAT long, it just felt that long, because just as in Frankfurt ITS FUCKING DEAD COLD. LIKE SERIOUSLY. Never again concerts in the winter. NEVER. Mark my effin words.

Anyway, there isn’t a lot to say about the queueing process. We had already on beforehand given up our hopes on front row since SlipKnot has this BEAUTIFUL THINGS called “Early Entrance”. My feelings about tickets like that, I’ll save for another entry. I promise you. Anyway. A little after 18 they finally let us in the arena, and as suspected, 2nd row. Not too bad, I guess.

And that’s where the long wait for the opener began. Ok, I’m lying. We really only waited about 45 minutes or so before King 810 entered the stage.

I hadn’t listened to the band anything beforehand, and I must admit that this band was NOT my cup of tea at all. They did a good job opening though, and it was nice celebrating your crewmembers birthday with you. Although, I’m still curious as to what was up the with sound. Too much bass.

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They played for cirka half an hour before leaving the stage to SlipKnot’s crew to start prepping. The curtain fell down sealing up everything, and farily early to my surprise) they started rolling “XIX”. Ahh. The sing along people. I still wish they had actually done this live though.

At the end of “XIX” the curtain was lifted and the band set off with “Scarcastrophe”. And ok.

So, in Germany, we had been pretty lucky. We had been able to come and go as we pleased, visiting bathrooms and saying hello to bands and things like that. Well. That wasn’t the case here. I was praying and hoping somewhere that MAYBE the audience wouldn’t press so much. But of course they did. As soon as “Scarcastrophe” began, the pushing began.

And the thing is, it’s not that I can’t take the pressure. I can. But it’s not fun you know? When you are being squeezed past your bodys actual shape where you can’t jump, you can’t headbang, you can’t even take up your arm. It’s not fun.

So already in”The Heretic Anthem” did we surrender and walk further back in the arena. Well, that’s those 3 hours to waste… Anyway.

The band was on top, the energy was on top, the audience obviously were on top as they continued with “My Plague”.

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After that one’s been shred to pieces, Corey asks us how many of us has .5, and that it was time to play a song from that album.

To step inside, the devil in him.

And the arena BASICALLY EXPLODED. And the fire! The pyrotechnics on this tour are fucking stunning, I’m telling you. They have a purpose. A lot of the times, when bands has pyros, they are just there for the sake of pyros. Not to fill any function. These ones actually worked well with the music. Thanks!

“Psychosocial” was next song on the list and again, the arena basically exploded. Are you surprised? I’m not. “The Negative One” was next on the list, and we basically lost it. Corey asked us all to lose it, and we did. God damn, it’s always nice with a good neck-work out!

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“Three Nil” was next on the list, massive! And talking about massive, there’s something I wanna talk a little bit about. The stage.

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I mean, sure, I have seen pictures of the stage on Tumblr prior to the show, and I saw the livestream at KnotFest… But JESUS FUCKING CHRIST IT’S MASSIVE! JUST FUCKING MASSIVE! THIS is what I call a show without a doubt.

With that said, “Eyeless” was the next song on the list and again…. Ahh. This is by far one of my favorite SlipKnot songs, so I was very satisfied. But nowhere near how satisfied I’d end up being in just a few seconds.

Because after Eyeless, they opened with some very sweet tones. Sweet tones that we could all recognize as one certain song.

“Vermillion”.

I’m not lying when I’m saying my eyes almost popped out of my head (eyeless anyone?) and my jaw was hitting the floor. And I had to cover my mouth and NOT start to cry because of the sudden surprise. “Vermillion” is probably my NUMBER ONE SlipKnot song, but as far as I was concerned, this wasn’t a big live favorite, so to actually have it thrown in your face when you weren’t expecting it was just… No. I don’t even know what to say. Still now, many many HOURS after the gig, I’m still giggling and fangiriling over this little surprise.

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After “Vermillion” being done they fiercly continued with “Before I Forget” which seemed to the audience favorite of the day. EVERYONE lost it. “Duality” and “Wait and Bleed” was ripped off with some MASSIVE sing alongs before THE moment came.

“Spit it Out”.

I must admit, after seeing a lot of live shows of SlipKnot on Youtube, I was really WAITING for this part. You know what part I mean.

Jump the fuck up.

I was a LITTLE anxious – I’m not that strong in my legs, so I was concerned that I wouldn’t manage to get up properly and eventually be stomped to death (what a great way to go though) but once we all sat down, literally ALL, and Corey starts singing, and building up and finally releasing and we are ALL jumping up on the same time… first of all. It was EXTREMELY liberating.

But it was also not as bad as I thought it would be! I was reallllly worried, but it was basically nothing! I’m glad. I can’t wait to do it all over again on Sunday.

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They wrapped the whole show up with their new little baby “Custer”. Ahh. I LOVE this song people, I LOVE IT.

They left the stage, and a little while later “742617000027” started, and you all know what that means. “(SIC)”! “(SIC)!”

God, I love this song. I’ve said that twice in a row now, but damn. So. Fucking. Epic. Live. I can’t even begin! And if it wasn’t massive enough, next song to be executed was “People = Shit”. And seriously.. The singalong people. To hear the ENTIRE Hovet go “PEOPLE EQUALS SHIT” is just… I can’t even describe it! Goosebumps!

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We noticed how the audience separated after “People = Shit”. A big hole in the middle, with people on the sides…. oh. It’s a wall of death. I’ve never actually seen a Wall of Death in real life before, so when “Surfacing” started on stage, I’m not sure which one I was more excited for – the song or the pit. I wasn’t in it myself, because I’d probably end up dead if I tried, but it was pretty cool to witness one for the first time ever!

And “Surfacing”? Epic as hell. A worthy ending for the whole show! After this, the band thanked for the evening, threw out their picks and sticks and eventually left the stage.

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Michelle and I pretty much DASHED out of the arena and picked up a bottle of water. SO FUCKING DEHYDRATED. I have never emptied a bottle of water quicker before, but this means you REALLY had fun. I hit the merchstand quickly to pick up a tourshirt before we left Hovet for good and headed home to our destinations.

Thanks SlipKnot, for an EPIC night we will never forget, and I cannot wait to do it all over again on Sunday.

Cut cut cut me up and fuck fuck fuck me up.

// Sara

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Gematria

Posted in Uncategorized on February 10, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So here I am folkens. Back in Stockholm, back at Hotel Micro as always. Week number 2 of concerts is starting now and tomorrow it’s time for me to see SlipKnot for the very first time! I’m so excited.

Thanks to the awesome start in Frankfurt I’m actually excited for once. Like I told you last time, I usually get this really… “fuck I don’t want to” feeling, but it’s not here! I can’t wait to get to Hovet tomorrow and start queueing. Gladly, there’s no breakfast buffet to catch at this hotel, so I can just run out and get my shopping over with and then RUN, RUN TO THE H…OVET.

The more interesting thing is the fact that I seem to have gotten a abnormally small room here at Micro. My luggage is literally taking up half the room, and I’m positive that’s not normal… Huh. And just when I thought the rooms couldn’t get any smaller here.

But they have comfy beds. Mmm. Really nice.

Tomorrow: SLIPKNOT.

// Sara

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My Plague

Posted in Uncategorized on February 9, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

It’s literally 3 am, and I’m sitting here sneezing like hell, trying to pull together what to pack for tomorrow. No, I haven’t done it yet, and I’m also trying to re-book my Swebus ticket, FAILING MISERABLY. The ticket is cancelled, but I didn’t get the refund code, so I’m technically standing here without a ticket, haha. I hope I get it soon.

Tomorrow is the D-day any way. Or, the like, third D-Day this year. Tomorrow it’s time to start off the SlipKnot week, consisting of AT LEAST two SlipKnot gigs and one Amaranthe, and possibly a Stala&SO. one. If Argo shows up. (No pressure dude, but it’s all on you). It’s so weird.

I booked the tickets to the SlipKnot shows like in October. It’s so weird to think that in just a day or so I’ll finally see them. That the day is here. That it’s actually time now. I mean, Amaranthe, Serious, Lordi was somewhat spontaneously planned, nothing I’ve waited for like with this one. I hope it’ll be epic. I sure hope.

It’s gonna be nice. Spending Valentines Day with my one true love – Amaranthe. Which reminds me. I need to check for some red jewellery. *reminder to self*

// Sara

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One by One

Posted in Uncategorized on February 8, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, this is kind of yesterdays news. But most of you know that Elize from Amaranthe were in Melodifestivalen, the Swedish pre-selections you know together with Rickard Söderberg. Their song “One By One” was by far the best song in the whole contest, sadly they end up on the 5th place. They had probably the worst case scenario ever – they had both teen-idols, old school Schlager people and a doll house against them. While I love the Dolly girls, you can’t deny that the children were probably screaming at home.

But you know – 5th place is a good start. And she, or them, should be proud of what they did.

So, with that said, I’m still sick. Or, I got sick again. The cold night waiting for Lordi took out it’s toll on me. BUT. That didn’t stop me. I spent most of the day at Ingesund recording a folkmusic band, was well exciting! The mixertable wouldn’t work though, so HUGE thanks to Fredrik and my teacher for helping out in the most desperate of times.

But, now I’ve found myself in quite the situation. I have NO CLUE whatsoever on what to wear to SlipKnot. I was thinking that perhaps I should just do you know, some random band tee or something. But I don’t know? And also. NEED TO PACK. Haven’t even started.

Question is, why did I even unpack Frankfurt? Obviously, that was unnecessary…

// Sara

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Our leader’s heart is made of gold

Posted in Music, Tankar och funderingar, Uncategorized with tags Frankfurt, HammerFall, lordi, serious black on February 7, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that just mere two days ago, I was in Frankfurt, Germany enjoying six amazing live shows. Serious Black, Orden Ogan, HammerFall, SinHeresY, Palace and Lordi.

And not only that. But this could possibly the best trip that I have ever done. That I have ever been on. Together with my two best, and most pathetic I might add, friends, going to the scared land of Metal (yes, Germany is because you guys get all the concerts!) to catch some of the best bands in the entire world live.

I still can’t comprehend what happened during HammerFall – how Stefan literally locked eyes with me, stuck with me for the majority of the gig and made sure I got a pick after the show. Like, since when did this happen? Or Serious Black, where do I even begin with these amazing people? Down to earth friendly kind of people. People are seriously missing out on something fantastic.

And then we have the monstars. The best band in this world, that award will always go to Lordi. I don’t want to know how much money I have spent on this band, but I sure as hell know that it’s worth it. It’s worth it, for everytime we’re there and raising our Swedish flag with pride, most certainly during “Hard Rock Hallelujah” and “Would You Love A Monsterman” because yes, we would love a monster. Or would, we do.

Some people don’t get it. Why we do it. Who the hell travels to Frankfurt, to catch the opening act of a show? Who travels to Frankfurt to see some stupid Eurovision band? Well. I can only say one thing.

Passion. It’s the passion for music, the love for music that drives us. The long days outside the venues, despite the minus degrees. It’s the moments when a bunch of Lordi fans stands together in a pile to keep warm, it’s the moment when you sit outside the doors at Neue Stadthalle and people ask you if you are really there all the way from Sweden.

It’s about the adrenaline rush that hits you when the doors open and it’s a game of life and death to hit the first row. It’s about the moment when Mana hits the drums after the keyboard to set off “Blood Red Sandman”. It’s the moments when you are all there singing “Ooooh Ooooh Ohhh HAMMERFALL!”. When you come home and see that the amazing people you met want to stay in touch with you.

And you know everything was worth it, when you get home and find these kind of messages waiting for you.

AmenTwitter

Our leader’s heart is made of gold. It sure as hell is.

I can’t wait to get on the road again. I seriously can’t.

// Sara

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Lordi @ Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany 5/2 -15

Posted in Concerts, Music, Thiz Izz Djermani, Uncategorized with tags Amen, lordi, OX, Scare Force One on February 6, 2015 by Sara Hammerzmith

Alright folkens! HammerFall and Serious Black and all was epic, but after sleeping waaay to short, it was time for us to prepare for Tour Force One! We started the day off real lazily, sleeping in as much as we could and took a quick shopping trip before getting ready for tonights show.

Paula and Michelle decided to crash my outfit picture this time, and it’s good enough. Not a whole lot has changed but the shirt and the necklaces, hahaha.

So, first we stopped by at the station to pick up some crepes before heading for the subway, or UBAHN that would take us to Batschkapp. We arrived a little later than we had for HammerFall, and at first we ended up completely off, but after some help we found the right destination. And then began the waiting.

We arrived around 17, and…. seriously. IT WAS FREEZING. Like ok, what did I expect, it’s winter time and everything, BUT JESUS CHRIST? I almost froze to death? I even ended up bothering a friend so much because I was close to freezing to death. God. A few more fans came and after a while we started a little penguin farm. About half an hour before doors, they opened the gates and we RAN.

And like, I couldn’t feel my legs. I know I was moving, but I didn’t feel my legs. I was practically flying. Must have looked like it, considering that my Swedish Lordi flag was flying in the air on the same time. After half an hour or so they opened the door and we ran for our lives inside the arena. We managed to score spots on Amen’s side, which I never really complain about!

We started off to take turns at the merchtable and the bathroom, and I end up buying one of the new Scare Force One shirts. I had some starting plans for the shirt that I have now ditched, so I’m not sitting with an oversized shirt. But I think I know what I want to do with it. Gladly.

After waiting for a little while, SinHerseY entered the stage. I hadn’t checked out any of the support bands for this part of the tour, since I wasn’t really planning to catch any of the gigs, but I must say I really liked this one!

sinhersey

Uh yeah. My camera doesn’t work with me. I’m sorry about all the sloppy pictures, but I really don’t know what to do about it for now! Right after Sinheresy got off stage we hit the merchstand to pick up one of their albums. Had to wait a little for the band, or, the singer to come down and we had a short chat with her and got the CD signed before dashing back to the front row.

Or well… dashing and dashing… Just as on HammerFall, it wasn’t ANY pressure! All people stood pretty casually a little here and there, so no troubles getting in and out. We even took an extra bathroom break, just because we could, you know.

While waiting for Palace we decided to do an upgraded version of The Mumblers and recorded our first song, which is “Nailed by the Hammer of Frankenstein”. If this recording ever will surface, I do not know, but we had fun. Until Michelle put her cold hands on Paulas neck. Uuughhhh.

So, without further notice, I might just say that Palace started playing. It’s kinda fun, Daniel told me when we were waiting for them that he recognized them from somewhere but didn’t know where, and I felt the same. I am certain I haven’t seen this band before, yet I too recognized them from somewhere.

This was also a band I was fairly unfamiliar with, and I was maybe not AS impressed as I was with Sinheresy, but it was a good show nonetheless!

Palace

So, interesting thing number two. Daniel was the only one seemingly to go hardcore for Palace, so naturally, the singer/guitarist came and gave him a pick, and then gave him a second one which Daniel passed onto me. He then leaned in and told me that the vocalist had said “give this one to your girlfriend”.

Uh. What? Hahahahaha. Love it! (Before hate: This is nothing against Daniel, he’s amazing as hell. It’s just fun considering I had known him for less than 24 hours) Oh. Well, okay sure why not. Still curios as to how he thought we were a couple, as far as I’m concerned he hadn’t even seen us talking to each other… Oh well!

——- SPOILER ALERT. SPOILERS FROM LORDIS SHOW WILL FOLLOW——–

So. With Palace leaving the stage, the anticipation in the room rose. Like, real high. Even for me. Now, soon, soon, soon! And sure enough, a little after 22 “God of Thunder” started echoing in the speakers. And ALL Lordi fans knows what this means.

Next thing we know, a flight attendant comes out and “Estimated Time of Arrival” starts playing as she demonstrates the safety routines. Or perhaps the killing routines. I really didn’t know how to interpret it.

She leaves the stage, the band enters and fires everything off with “Nailed By the Hammer of Frankenstein”. This song really cuts it as an opener! The band was on fire, we were on fire, crowd…. not so much to my surprise! A little better than HammerFall, but far from approved.

They continued on with “This is Heavy Metal”, WITH THE RETURN OF THE METAL DUDE, and “Hard Rock Hallelujah” before it was time for one of the highlights of the whole show.

“Deadache“.

So, as most of you people may or may not know, “Deadache” is my number one Lordi song of all times. I cannot tell you how much I love this song, or why I love this song, but if you go through my archive, I have written about this particular song many, many times stating how much I love it.

And they haven’t played this song since the “Deadache” tour. And I never really thought it would make a return. Like ever. Because it felt like I was the only one who actually wanted it back. But when I saw that tour teasing video… I just lost it. Just as much as I lost it when they played the song live. It was BEYOND amazing. Although my eyes hurt a bit when Mr L pointed the flashlights RIGHT INTO your eyes…

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After “Deadache” it was time for Hella to have her little moment, and not only did she play her beautiful little song, but she also had some effects. There was a baby trolly (?) rolling out and a clueless woman strolling about, checking on the little baby that OF COURSE was haunted and started to pull her into the wagon. I remember I actually hesitated to look, because I figured there’d pop up SOMETHING yet I didn’t know what, when or how. But there it was.

“Hell Sent in The Clowns” was next, with those amazingly cute clowns who just ruin about everything. “Blood Red Sandman” made it’s entrance before it was time for Mana to have his little moment.

Alright, so what happened is that this lady comes in with a skull lying on a table with a cloth of some kind. Mana put the piece of fabric over the skull, and then the skull starts acting very haunted and flying around, aalllmost out of control. After getting the skull back into it’s place, he fired off a VERY impressing drumsolo. Yes, for me, it was.

After the drumsolo it was time for “Give Your Life For Rock n Roll” before the big surprise of the night would happen.

Ok, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise for me, since I had read the setlist beforehand, but still.

“Don’t Let My Mother Know”.

A single B-side. WHO HAD EVER THOUGHT WE WOULD HEAR THIS LIVE? I SURE AS HELL DIDN’T. Was epic, BEYOND FUCKING EPIC. Jesus Christ, I could kill someone! Or no, on the contrary, this is what STOPPED ME from killing someone. The epicness, my god.

And it doesn’t stop there. After “Don’t Let My Mother Know”, it was time for OX’s little moment, and he sure as hell got a raise! He used to do Kalma’s old thing, but now he has his own. So what they did is that they brought out this trolley with a guy inside it, called “OX’s Special Soundbox” or something like that, who was tied up. They gave OX a lug wrench, and while he was playing the bass, he stopped every once in a while to beat the dude up. Moans. Moans. And then, after beating him quite a good, he digged into him. Opened him up and dragged out his insides.

The dude kept pulling out his insides as OX kept giving us some fierce basstones.

“How To Slice A Whore” was next on the list, and this one had been upgraded quite the bit too! On the releasegig, he had done the same thing as he had in “Dr Sin”, but this time he actually CHOPPED and SLICED The corpse on the table instead, and of course ate it’s insides. I’m never going to be okay with seeing that. Like. Ever.

Our paradesong was next on the list, “It Snows in Hell”. As usual we turned around and hung upside down. But there was a catch. For this tour, they have started to have white foam dropping from the roof. It was…. “amazing” getting your throat filled with that. But you know – it’s worth it. Considering that Amen seemed to thrive off it. Us hanging upside down, that is.

“The Riff” was next on the list, followed closely by “Sincerely with Love”. You all know my *love* feelings about the latter one, but I can forgive it. Like come one, “Deadache” makes up for everything.

The next surprise, or perhaps, AWESOMENESS that was on the list is “Man Skin Boots”. I fucking love the song, obviously, it’s from Deadache. And this song is like… PERFECT live. And yeah. Sometimes I relate to it a bit. You have been warned.

AFTER Man Skin, it was time for Amen to have his little moment. What started out pretty small, as him standing on the side playing “Amen’s Lament To Ra II” soon escalated to the great Pharaos curse as he stepped up on a Pharao grave and had (fake)fire burning next to him as he kept showing us what a guitar god he can be. For the first time ever I really got that Pharao / ancient Egypt feeling from him. It was like being down in the thombs in The Sims 3, yet this was for real. RAD And EPIC as hell.

This tour is just so fucking amazing. I don’t even get it. I mean, I know “Scare Force One” is an amazing album, but I couldn’t imagine how amazing the tour would turn out. They really, UPGRADED themselves.

Right after Amen’s solo enters what I believe is one of Amen’s favorite songs, “Not The Nicest Guy”. The song was followed by “Sir, Mr Presideath Sir!” which… See.

I didn’t care much for the song on the album. It’s good, it’s decent, but perhaps not the best. HOWEVER – this song is like 200 times better live. And it serves a fucking purpose you know? “WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE’VE BEEN TOLD – OUR LEADERS HEART IS MADE OF GOLD”. It was MADE for live shows. I fucking love it.

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Amen came up front and did his normal routine. One devil horn, two devil horn, going up, going to the sides, going down, cross your arms…. “Devil is a Loser”. Seriously, this song gets me going like fucking crazy, yet I had to see a LITTLE more from the rest of the crowd. Seriously, what is the point? Come on people! Energy!

They left the stage, only to allow “SCG7” to start and to fire up the Scare Force One and would later return to fire of “Scare Force One”. The best song on the album with the same title. Jesus christ, this song gets me GOING you don’t even understand. Of course, I think you all can notice the similarities between this one and Deadache, and yes, that’s why I love it. I’m so glad they play this live. It’s AHHH. Can’t even describe the feeling to you!

“Who’s Your Daddy” was next. If I didn’t have a slayer neck already, this is when I got it, My god, why do you always get so pumped in this one? Who the hell knows!

“Would You Love A Monsterman?” was the very very last song of the whole night, and there is something special jumping with your friends and raising the Swedish Lordi flag high with pride. We love our monsters, and we’d go, and HAVE GONE the distance for them. Any time, any day. YES. We do love our monstermen and woman.

They said thanks and good bye and walked off the stage for good. Alright so, look. The band, they were on fire. They were fucking KILLING it. It’s a SHAME that the audience doesn’t pay the same respect. I mean… come on. Show a little appreciation!

And you know.. The concert was awesome. Being there with friends was awesome. But what was even more awesome was the crewmember, who, without hesitation, walked straight up to me and handed me Amen’s setlist. Like, I didn’t even have to ask or whatever, he just went straight up. It’s a bit deja-vuish from Wednesday, haha.

We hung around a little bit to catch our breathes, drink a little and pick up some last minute merchandise before going out in the cold Frankfurt night again and head home to the hotel. We picked up some night food on the way home and then just sat in the hotel room and talked about everything Lordi for hours.

Until Michelle fell asleep of course, because then we obviously put toiletpaper all over her face (what else would we do?) before drifting off to a very fulfilling sleep….

Thanks, Lordi. Thank you so much.

// Sara

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