Archive for twilight force

Twilight Force – Dawn of the Dragonstar

Posted in CDs, Music, Uncategorized with tags , on September 16, 2019 by Sara Hammerzmith

After a long journey of three years the stars has aligned once more and granted us with a Twilight Force collection – The tale of the  “Dawn of the Dragonstar”. Changes to the fellowship of the Force has been made since, as Chrileon has wandered off on different endavours, having Allyon now coming along for the adventures.

So, with the new tale along the road, shall we perhaps take a deeper look into the new lore?

The new tales of enchantments opens up with a rather epic and bombastic tune, much similarly to as it opens on the previous adventures, yet not in the near the same. “Dawn of the Dragonstar” serves us with just about the premonitions needed to excel further on this mission.

The adventures and tales continues on in the same vein as the opening – epic fanfares telling you of the adventures of the “Thundersword” coming up ahead, a tune which brings the thoughts back to elder scrolls such as “Powerwind” – yet without the similarity. What really brings my attention is the end of the tune – with its heavier and yet epic, last chorus. And the banjo? Loving it. 

From one adventure to another – cheerful melodies telling us of the crowning of a king, giving us butterflies in our tummies as we hear the jumpy and happy verses accompanied by the large choruses. A song that again, in the arrangements, brings the thoughts back in time. If you hear it, you hear it. 

We continue on our journey with the tale of another journey, just as epic as the ones before before heading straight into Lord of the rings with “Winds of Wisdom” – which opens with an intro like sapphire, and a nice lowkey verse and building up in the chorus instead. Feeling it being a bit of an extension of “Enchanted Dragon of Wisdom”. 

The clocks are ticking as we head into the probably only more aggressive tunes of the album, in “Queen of Eternity”, which isn’t necessarily speaking of an enemy, but still got a complete different mood as the rest of the album. The song has an amazing arrangement – dark opening, more melodic throughout the song and some incredible off scaled choirs. 

After getting through this, we are back on the yellow path again – but only for the music. The story tells the tale of guarding your gold against cunning men, and doing it so in again one epic way.

One of my personal favorites of the album comes up in ”Hydra”, telling the tale of an old monster from the sea – with interesting arrangements. One more song shows its way before it’s time for one of the most epic endings I’ve yet to hear from an album.

It opens up with a serene piano only to head straight into pure epicness. The shifts in tempos as well as style – going through a bit of an Asian inspired style before getting back into the verse makes it a very pleasant song to listen to, although arrangementwise it sometimes brings the thoughts back to earlier material.

Overall, I think it’s a generally good album. I enjoy Allyon’s vocals a lot, and it’s a very typical Twilight Force album, if you ask me. A lot of the arrangements brings the thoughts back to the backcatalouge, but there are not distincitve repeats, which I like a lot. Well done!

Favorite song:  A tie between “Thundersword” and “Hydra”.
Least Favorite: “Night of Winterlight”
Dance-friendliness:  4/10
Headbang-friendliness:  10/ 10
Crowd-friendliness: 9/10

// Sara

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Twilight Force @ Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium 19/10 -17

Posted in Concerts, Music, Travels, Uncategorized with tags , , on October 19, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, up in the early morning… well, around 9. The practical thing about packing before you go to bed is that you don’t have to give a shit about that when you get up in the morning. And for someone like me, who isn’t really a morning person, this is golden.

So, off I went at 10, went to the trainstation to lock up my bags and then I hit the shopping streets. What I was looking for in fact, were soles for my shoes. Something in them has broken, and because of that, they give me blisters UNDERNEATH my foot, and it just got worse and worse. So I walked up and down the shopping street without finding anything reasonable. I hit H&M quickly to pick up some small items before ACTUALLY heading off to Turnhout. I was going to stay at a hostel there, which is just like a busride from Vosselaar.

It was a pretty nice trainride. One straight ride until I ended up in the little town on Turnhout. I did the same walk here – trying to find somewhere until I, at last, ended up in a pharmacy and got one of those pricier gelsoles. Hopefully, this would solve it!

It got close to check in time, so I headed off to my hostel and was greeted by the owner. It’s a cute little restaurant and hostel with only four rooms, the most precious ever! It’s called Resto BnB in Turnhout. Very central, too.

Once there, I placed the gelsoles in my shoes and my god. That was HEAVEN. I could walk, without feeling anything – actually, it was more painful walking without the shoes than with them! With that said, I rested a bit before starting to get ready for the show, and then took my little walk down to the bus.

Of course, this scared the hell out of me. Sounds weird to say perhaps for little me, but really. Going on a bus, in a foreign city without anywhere really to know when to get off or so – and even worse, the bus was ahead of my maps. Aaah.

But gladly, I managed to figure it out, and even better so, there was a fellow metalhead on the bus which I could take following with. So, I got off the stop and started making my way to Biebob. Once here, it wasn’t too hard to find. Actually, just walk straight.

I arrived about an hour or so before doors were being opened, so a small line had started to form. Which wasn’t weird. However, I was completely alone. All the people I knew of going there had gotten stuck in various forms of traffic, so I stood there, in my loneliness, until a woman started talking to me. Appears she had been working at Graspop Metal Meeting for many years, and was very excited for the show tonight. Oh the people you meet.

The doors opened at 19 as expected, and as I got inside, I found Alexandre at the front, unexpected but on the same time not surprised, so I went over to him and remained by his side. I noticed a few of the people from Sabaton Open Air, Ivan and Piggy, was also there, and said hi to them, but since Alex had front row in the middle kind of spots, I simply remained.

After some wait, that was longer than I expected it to be, Twilight Force entered the stage.

Twilight Force

The intro started echoing in the speakers, Blackwald marching on stage first followed by the rest, and they kicked off the set with “Battle of Arcane Might”. I was very glad and happy to see that there was quite a lot of Twilight Force supporters in the crowd, despite them being “only” the supportband. It was an energetic start, and Tommy delivered!

“To The Stars” was next on the setlist, followed by “Riders of the Dawn”. “Flight of the Sapphire Dragon” was next song on the setlist – and it was about this time that Sjorven and Stephen FINALLY arrived. So at last, all my friends were gathered. And right at the climax of this amazing piece of a song… the electricity died. Like, literally, in the most critical moment… power shortage. Oh well, that happens, right? Awkward moments are coming in.

Once the power was back, after a bit of fizzling, they moved on to “There and Back Again”, and then the normal duel between singer, in this case Tommy, and Blackwald emerged.

This was an interesting moment. As Tommy was getting his crowd to cheer, he yelled out “for the unborn children of Sara Kohler”. And I just stood there like “what on earth did he just say?”, because quite frankly – I have never in my life, and I mean never – interacted with any of the people from Twilight Force, or Tommy more than the signing sessions. Which made it all a bit weird and funny.

I have no idea what side actually won, but “Gates of Glory” emerged before they wrapped up the whole set with “The Power of the Ancient Force”. The band thanked for the show, and left the stage. While I want to congratulate Tommy on his amazing performance, I want to ask what the hell was wrong with the sound? I could barely hear ANYTHING, let alone even try to engage in the show. Some times it was better, but other times it was like, is there even a band here? I can see them, but I can’t hear them? I don’t get it.

After Twilight Force, we made our way out of the pit as well, we were dying from the heat, and truth to be told, I was going there primarily for Twilight Force, so we figured being a bit in the back wouldn’t hurt us. The others went outside, and I stayed sitting down listening to Dragonforce played until I went out myself to catch some air. It’s not like me, I know.

The rest of the show Stephen, Sjorven and I spent by the bar, casually watching the mainband play before it was time for us to get going. We went to eat at some street kitchen, and then Sjorven dropped me off at my hotel and went home again. And same procedure as every time – I start packing and getting ready for the next day.

// Sara

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Wacken Open Air: Saturday (Part 4)

Posted in Concerts, Uncategorized with tags , on August 5, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

So Saturday, as I mentioned earlier, was quite the busy day for me. I’m not sure if there were particularly any more bands that specific day than any other, but most of the bands played right after each other, leaving no time to do other things once Powerwolf started later in the evening.

But first things first, pretty much the reason I got here started early in the day: Twilight Force.

Twilight Force

Ok so, I know, or have learned by now that bands are probably and usually a lot bigger than I expect them to be, at all times, but this was ridiculous. The tent was PACKED. Which made me really happy to see. And then, the intro started rolling and they opened their set with “Battle of Arcane Might”. They were well recieved by the audience. They continued on strongly with “To The Stars” and then “Riders of the Dawn”.

Funny note: During “Riders of the Dawn” Thomas and I fake galloped, and his step counter hit its daily goal, simply from going to this show. Now that’s what I call a work out!

“Enchanted Dragon of Wisdow” was the next song on the list, quickly followed by “Powerwind” before the paradenumber that is “Flight of the Sapphire Dragon” was ripped of until they closed the show with “Gates of Glory” and “The Power of the Ancient Force”.

While the show was really good, I couldn’t help but to notice that they didn’t seem very tight. It sounded a bit off, but I wasn’t sure if it was just untight, or if they do other versions live.

After the show, we went back to the camp to chill out and relax a bit, and I was getting myself ready for the signing session as the time went by. Got there pretty good on time, there was a small line already gathered up for the Twilight Force signing, but not too bad. The band came and started to sign eventually we got to me, and the “problem” – not a problem but I don’t know how else to put it, is that I got some of the die hard fans in front of me in the line, which cause a huge stop. Not for me personally, but I spent a good ten awkward minutes with Lynd becasue the line could not proceed because they had to greet and talk to literally every single member. It got so awkward Lynd even struck up an awkward conversation where he confirmed they were a bit rusty.

Finally the plug undid and I could proceed and get out – and for those of you who think I’m so rude who just “want to get out of there” – Powerwolf was about to start their show soon after this, and I wanted to drop off my vinyl and put on make up before the show. And, I made it.

So, Jonathan joined me up and we went back to the festgrounds and got positions for Powerwolf. Far in the back, like, real in the back. But better than nothing, right? And you kind of have to choose your positions after where the mud is, in all honesty.

Powerwolf

“Lupus Daemonis” started echoing through the speakers as the band (I assume, couldn’t really you know, see) walked on stage and then fired off the show with “Blessed & Possessed”. The crowd for the show today was huge, which I kind of hoped you’d understand by us being far in the back. We were in the infield still, but really far away. It was an ocean of people. And then I think about the little clubs Powerwolf plays in Sweden… It’s so interesting how different it is.

“Army of the Night” was next on the list and to be honest… I would go through the entire list song by song, but the thing is – it is the same. The same that it has been all of the “Blessed and Possessed” tour, with perhaps losing a song or two here and there depending on if it’s a club or a festival gig. What I really miss is “Lupus Dei” at the end, which they haven’t seem to have had at all this festival tour. Interesting.

Aside that, the band performed a good set and the audience had a good vibe. A well enjoyable show!

Alice Cooper

Right after Powerwolf, I walked over the other stageto witness Alice Cooper. It felt really, really weird I will admit to not have seen him at Gröna Lund as I usually do, but what can I do about it now? Nothing.

For a lot of people happy surprise, he actually opened with “Brutal Planet”. I was really happy to see this. The place was really packed, I’ll also let you know. Somewhere in the start, Jörgen came from nowhere and picked up, as he, Sandra and Johan were standing right outside infield, and wanted to ask if I should join them instead, which I did. Because it didn’t really matter, the band was tiny anyway.

The setlist was good – it was a lot and a bunch of the good old classics that are used to and expect to hear, but also a few that for me where a bit unusual – such as “Woman of Mass Distraction”, “Halo of Flies” and “The World Needs Guts”. It was good to see him perform one new song as well – “Paranoiac Personality”.  Aside that, as I said – the same old, same old. “Frankenstein” and the monster, the beheading, all of the old tricks. I did miss “Billion Dollar Babies” though.

And on top of that, I really appriciate the Lemmy tribute they do. I love it when musicians recognize each other this way.

It was a good show – what else to expect from the man himself if you think about it, perhaps band should look to him and take notes.

After this, it was time for my only small break. I was heading over to Wackinger Village to catch Serenity, but some idiotic person had thought it was gonna be fun to switch the road signs out, so it took longer than it would need to find my way there – and before people flame – I used the break time to look through the shopping part toward Beergarden, so this is why I got lost, otherwise I would probably have wound up in Wackinger right away.

Serenity

So, of course, because of some idiot person, I missed out on my favorite song with Serentiy – but at least I only missed one song. They played a really nice set – short naturally, and was interrupted a lot due to having the same play time as Amon Amarth – we would hear Serenity, but feel the beats from Amon Amarth. George even joked about that they could use Amon Amarths drummer instead of their own.

They had a woman with them on stage to do some duets, but sadly they didn’t do “The Perfect Woman” which I was hoping a bit for as they had her with them, but you can’t get everything, right?

After Serenity, I headed back toward the infields and picked up pizza and drink to have a late night dinner while watching Avantasia

Avantasia

What I really like about Avantasia is the setting and how it works. I know it’s a metal opera, which makes it so enjoyable both simply to watch the way I did with a drink and a pizza, but also as someone who’s into it, as I did, well partially tonight but also on Tuska.

The setlist is somewhat similar as to what they have had the past year – not surprising seeing it’s the same tour, but I thought it would be a little special because you know Wacken. I wasn’t even at the Infield for this one, but holy damn. If I thought there was an ocean of people for Powerwolf, there sure as hell was one now.

The set was really enjoyable though. It was the perfect ending for the festival and the evening, and even though it may only be the third time I’m seeing Avantasia, they have never failed to entertain me so far. I hope I get to see them again some time.

After this, I left the Wacken grounds behind, quite early in the evening for once, and started packing up my camp as I heard the rain smatter on the tent outside. Tomorrow started the journey home, and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, I must admit.

// Sara

 

 

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March in Music

Posted in Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on April 6, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

A little delay, here comes the report of how I listened to music in March. First off, most played bands.

5. Amaranthe

This still doesn’t strike me as a chock, since they are the bands with the most songs total in my on-the-go iPod, even thought it doesn’t feel like I listen to them that much. But apparently, I do!

4. Sabaton

Not a big shocker. I did honestly think they’d be higher seeing I’ve seen quite a few shows with them this month, but I guess not. Still going strong in the top though. I blame my sudden love for “Blood of Bannockburn” for this.

3. Battle Beast

Ah here they are! An excellent release in “Bringer of Pain” and a show that was better than most sends the group up to a higher place. I swear to God, “Bastard Son of Odin” is really MY song. Seriously.

2. Epica

Epica delivered some great shows in Helsinki and Stockholm, and “The Holographic Principle” is such an awesome album.

1. Twilight Force

Well, I guess this answers why Sabaton has been so low this month – it’s the introduction of Twilight Force. I feel so stupid, because I’ve rapidly grown to like them a lot, and well, it feels stupid – this is all honesty, as I have so many friends who are already into them, and here I come a little late. Well, at least I never spoke shit about them. So, with that said, I’m not surprised they are on top!

Lets move onto albums.

5. Bringer of Pain

No surprise! The new little masterpiece by Finlands now, in my eyes, most promising bands. I’m certain my love for “Bastard Son of Odin” is pushing this a little bit higher, but aside that – this is one killer album.

4. The Power of the Ancient Force

Well, considering Twilight Force is amongst the bands in my top artists, it’s not a big surprise their albums would make it onto the list. “The Power of the Ancient Force” is their debut album, and I really like it.

3. As I Lay Me Down (Single)

This is awesome. So, you know how I love Wiktoria? This is the single for that very song, and it has made the third place on most played album. And very well so, the song is just that fucking amazing.

2. Heroes of Mighty Magic

Another one of Twilight Force’s albums, I think this one might be a tad more epic than the previous, but it’s too soon for me to say too much already to be honest. Check back in a month or two, haha.

1 . The Holographic Principle

This album is absolute killer, and not to mention, “Beyond the Matrix”. Seriously, I just love that song so much. This album has quickly climbed to be one of my favorites, but if it’s just a new crush or forever, is yet to see.

And lastly, songs. Last.FM really shows you top ten songs, but I’ll cut it down to five.

3. Touch in the Night – Battle Beast

Battle Beasts flagship is you like, and also my personal favorite. This song has so many memories to it, I can barely count anymore how many trips has this song as their “song of the trip”.

3. Bastard Son of Odin – Battle Beast

Another one of Battle Beast’s, another favorite, but a different album. Seriously, this is my personal bootcamp song.

3. The Real Me – Art Nation

So, you probably noticed how there’s three 3’s, and this is because all of these songs had the same amount of plays.  Art Nation’s first single of the upcoming album, and I just love it that much. I can’t get over it. At all.

2. Emergency – H.E.A.T

Oldie but goldie! This song has rapidly risen, and it’s just… When you have so much music around, it’s easy to forget what you have, and then all of a sudden you just rediscover it and realize how much you love it. I’m so happy H.E.A.T is making new music again finally, I cannot wait.

1 . As I Lay Me Down – Wiktoria

Well, no surprise. I’ve been obsessed with this song ever since I first saw her in Melodifestivalen, and I cannot stop listening to this. Honestly. Beyond amazing. I’m eager to check out more of her stuff later.

So. That was that recap. I always find it somewhat facinating to see what songs you do actually listen to, and which you don’t.

// Sara

 

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Sabaton @ Coop Norrbotten Arena, Luleå, Sweden 1/4 – 17

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , on April 1, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, it was time. This is one of those things that I call an “impulse” show, that wasn’t exactly planned at all, but still I end up going. Because this is essentially what I do – go to shows, and then last minute I go to one more. It’s happened quite a few times by now, so I really should have learned.

This time, I was going to travel quite a bit – but still within Sweden. The flight this day took me up to Luleå, which is up North from where I live. I got on the bus after work in the morning and tried to sleep the best I could on the bus with a man in front of me who insisted on having Skype conversations at 5 am in the morning. At the airport, I did my morning routine, got checked in and on the plane, and dozed off again. When I woke up, through the low volume music on my iPod I heard the pilot speak about Skellefteå. About that we were about to land in Skellefteå, for some reason. As someone who’s never flied domestic before, I was confused, but also figured it was a normal thing to do, until:

“And I’d like to remind you all that today is April’s Fools, we are indeed landing in Luleå”

Damn. He actually got me there, because of my lack of knowledge, but I noticed the other passengers was relieved as well. I was more concerned on how much delay we would get! Once arrived, I was hit with snow. That it was snowing. Which was a new sight for me.

While being on the bus down to the City center, I couldn’t stop staring out the window. Like, it is indeed Sweden, but yet, it feels like a complete different country. I don’t even know why. Once in the city center, I hit up my ever so beloved Espresso House for lunch / dinner, and then checked in to the hotel.

Which was also like the cutest hotel ever. I loved the room so much I barely wanted to leave. But you know, I had to. So I turned on some music, got ready for the show and went off to the venue. I guess you could have traveled there by bus, but I walked. It was only a 25 minute or so walk, and I was pleased, despite it being close to opening hours, it wasn’t a whole lot of people there. There were however several doors, which I have never been a fan of. But gladly, everything went smoothly and I could secure my front row spot. A kind gentleman next to me held my spot as I went to the bathroom one last time, and then the wait for the last time for this time would start. Also, I want to add. For this show, they had banned cameras. All sorts of them. So, I apologize for the lack of quality images.

Twilight Force

Twilight Force, again, opened their set heavily and epically with “Battle of Arcane Might” to a very… not so excited audience. I know that they had a group of hardcore fans a few metres away from me, but aside them and myself, not a whole lot of response. Whats up with the north? “To The Stars” was next on the list, followed by “Riders of the Dawn”. I’m not sure exactly WHERE in the set it happens – but as Blackwald was speaking, they tuned up his microphone, turning his voice into basically Chip n Dales. Well, if it isn’t the last gig!

“Flight of the Sapphire Dragon” was next on the list, before it was time for the second biggest surprise of the evening. “Gates of Glory” was the next song on the list – and you know… I went to this gig, for many reasons, but one of them being that I had this feeling – that it simply is not possible of these two bands doing a tour together with Jocke going on stage for at least one show. And I was absolutely right.

Before the second chorus, a very very familiar guy walked on stage, and by that, I got to witness “Gates of Glory” exactly as it was recorded.

Next on the list, and also the final song of the evening, was no less than “The Power of the Ancient Force”, also featuring a Sabaton member – Tommy Johansson, who showed us what his voice is really made of.

With that, the band said good night for one final time this tour, and left the stage.

ACCEPT

Next up, again for the last time was Accept. As I told you in my previous writing, I had grown rather fond of Accept over these past weeks. It’s weird sometimes how things can change. They opened the show heavily with “Stampede”, followed by “Stalingrad”. This was an Accept crowd. The pressure at the front started coming in already, and the whole audience just seemed more engaged. “Restless and Wild” was next, quickly followed by “London Leatherboys”. The band was energetic – really as they have been on all the shows this tour, but it was something special about tonight.

“Final Journey” was next, followed by “Princess of the Dawn”. “Fast as a Shark” attracted a big sing a long as per usual, lately followed by my personal favorite “Metal Heart”. “Teutonic Terror” and “Balls to the Wall” wrapped up the set before it was time for also this band to say their final good byes and leave the stage.

And then.. it was just Sabaton.

Sabaton

As soon as “In The Army Now” the whole arena started to boil. And when “The March To War” started I couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions of sadness, longing and excitement. This is the last time for this time that I’m seeing this. It was hard to comprehend, but before I even could think about it twice, “Ghost Division” started.

And the whole arena basically exploded. Like, insanely. Out of all the gigs I’ve gone to, this audience was the most intense one.

“Sparta” was next on the list, and I will really truly never get over how cool this is live. Even with the Spartans playing around in… quite inappropriate ways behind Jocke’s back. Haha. So it begins.

“Blood of Bannockburn” followed suite, and then, the ever so annoying (yes I said it) “Swedish Pagans”. It’s really such a shame with this song – it’s not a bad song at all, but it’s been destroyed by, well, people. But again, how much can I complain when it’s followed by probably the most awesome moment of the night, that is “The Last Stand”? Not at all. Such an energy releaser.

“Carolus Rex” was next on the list, and Jocke comes out in his Carolean jacket turned inside out. Well… You know. It’s not only the end of the tour, it’s also April’s Fools, like, two flies in one hit if you like. “Gott Mit Uns” with Chris doing the first verse on Spoken nordic accent followed suite before “The Lost Battalion” echoed out in the venue.

“Lejonet Från Norden” was next on the list – and again – this song is quite the energy releaser. Like… some songs, you know? The ever so beautiful moment in “The Final Solution” was next on the list, followed by “Resist and Bite”, “Night Witches” and later wrapped up with “Winged Hussars”.

They left the stage, started the little video and returned to “Primo Victoria”. Again, the venue, the arena oh my god. And then.. “Shiroyama”.

You know, what sucks about this tight crowd is that it didn’t give you any room whatsoever to jump. This is because the lady standing next to me for some reason felt the need to stand still the entire show, fucking things up for the rest of us. WHY. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT. Fucking hell.

Also, it was quite pleasant to see a hoard of elves invade the stage with samurai swords toward the end of the song. I figured they had to pull some sort of prank! HahahHahaha, I loved it.

“En Livstid i Krig” was next on the list, before they wrapped the entire set up with “To Hell and Back”, for the very last time for this time.

They gathered on the stage for one last picture, and for one last time, we see Pär wave the flag high up, and for one last time we say good bye to the heroes.

Seriously, this show was soo good, but I cannot deny the empty feeling it left afterwards. A kind crewmember of Sabaton spared me a setlist, which is my first one in ages! Thank you so much, you are precious! But it was weird.

Weird walking home in the dark, cold and snowy Lule night, after the finale of what has been almost like my life the past two-three weeks. The emptiness of knowing that this was the final time. No more chances (at least not for this particular package), no more gigs, this was the end. These past couple of gigs shared has been some of the most precious in my life, and I can easily say that I love Sabaton – to hell and back.

// Sara

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Sabaton @ Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden 24/3 -17

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on March 24, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

Third time’s the charm, eh? Well, it sure as hell were time for yet another round. If there is any band in this world I cannot in any way get enough of, it’s Sabaton.

So, off I went to the capitol of Sweden. It has been fairly unusual for me to attend gigs in other cities closer to home, so going away on the usual Swebus toward Stockholm was nice, but also… weird. Which is really odd.

Once arrived, I headed off to Subway to pick up some food, off to the hostel to get ready and have some early dinner simultaneously. After that, off to Hovet I went. Much to my dismay, a line had formed (what did I expect?) but I tried to keep my spirit up – some of these fools were wearing coats, meaning they’d have to go through wardrobe. I can’t believe people still wait in lines with coats. Will they ever learn?

Hovet however, this time around, had quite the different set up. So basically, they opened the doors and let us in, but didn’t let us down to the venue. Instead, we stood and listened to Twilight Force rehearse. Which just made me even more excited.

So, there were several gates, and I randomly chose one. I lost my first spot in the gate because of my shyness, but it turned out to be the best thing ever, as they opened the gate (this is sounding more and more like a Twilight Force song) right next to us, which allowed me to get further in the line. Once down, I saw how a group of people were ahead of me, but because of their strict “no running” rule, a lot of people were forced to the back of the venue, whereas I, who are used to walk big and fast after all these years in the stable, could secure a spot in the second row. I usually don’t do second rows, but I figured I’d try it this time. After all, I can just move back you know.

Twilight Force

So, right on time at 19, the mighty warriors walked on stage and hit off their show with “Battle of Arcane Might” – which has grown so much on me. What a battle song, what an opening song! They followed up strongly with “To The Stars”, and later on “Riders of the Dawn”.

A song that has grown to be my personal favorite of said band, “Flight of the Sapphire Dragon” followed suit before it was time to enter the “Gates of Glory”, before wrapping it all up with “The Power of the Ancient Force”. With that, the band thanked for themselves and left the stage. It was a good vibe on the stage, and the audience was pretty good for once! I like that.

Accept

So, the more I see this, the more fond I grow of them. I guess it’s some sort of tourfeeling – that we are in this together. They don’t know that, because they don’t see me, but I know. Different venue, different city but same routine as every night. And there is something comforting in that, don’t you think?

It’s all of us together.

They started the show off with “Stampede”, which is quite the powerful starter, like, in your face kind of starter, and quickly followed up by “Stalingrad”. “Restless and Wild” was next song on the list, followed by a song that has really started to grow on me the past shows – “London Leatherboys”. It’s something about the groove in the song that I just love so much.

“Final Journey” off their most recent release was next on the list, followed by a big favorite “Princess of the Dawn”. The lowbeat song was then followed by “Fast as a Shark”, which served as a good wake up for the somewhat tired audience. Stockholm, why you so lame?

Personal favorite “Metal Heart” – a song I’ve loved of Accept for as long as I have been a metalhead – was next, and it is magical to see and hear this song every night. I can’t deny that.

“Teutonic Terror” was next, before wrapping up the ever so energetic set with “Balls to the Wall”. The band thanked for themselves and then left the stage.

After this, the eager wait for Sabaton began. There is something extraordinary special, waiting for them to begin. Hearing the moodsetting music, seeing the soldiers running around on stage… and then… “In The Army Now” starts and the whole show starts.

Sabaton

So, it has been a while since I saw Sabaton from the front row – so I have completely missed out on this whole routine with the two soldiers blowing up mines through the intro. And I absolutely love it. Talking about setting a mood! Made it a whole lot more intense.

“The March to War” started, the video started rolling on the screen and then… “HELLO STOCKHOLM, WE ARE SABATON AND THIS IS GHOST DIVISION”

And the whole place went up in flames. Such an energetic start! Finally Stockholm is showing what it’s made of. And then, the Spartians marched out on stage and it was time for “Sparta”. I think I mentioned it already last time I wrote, but this has honestly become my favorite moment of the show. If it is because of the Spartians, or the song, or the whole package – I have no idea, but I truly love this part. The song is just so powerful.

By the way. When the show started, a very familiar blonde got up behind the drumset, and you could hear the crowd whispering “Hannes is back!” Here in Sweden, we have had the pleasure of having Twilight Force’s drummer Daniel Sjögren behind the kit. But now, Hannes’ daughter has been born and he’s back.

“Blood of Bannockburn” was next on the list, what a fun little song that is – seriously, if it continues like this, this song might end up in my top songs. “Tommys Choice” a.k.a “Swedish Pagans was next – Jocke didn’t even get a chance to say anything before the crowd, annoyingly, was already humming the tune. To be honest, I really am so over that song. Or more like, I’m over the hype of the song. It’s not that amazing.

But then again – “Swedish Pagans” meant that the next song is “The Last Stand”. And I cannot get over how good this song is, and how dreamy and magical it is live. Perhaps explosive is a better word of use when it comes to these people.

“Carolus Rex” was next – pretty mighty to be in Stockholm and hear the line “Hela Stockholm ser mig krönas” (All of Stockholm witness my coronation), adding so much to the show. It’s really just a question of semantics and feelings attached to a word, but it’s still… its massive. Or it was for me.

“Gott Mit Uns” with Chris and Tommy on the vocals were next on the list, before the unknown soldier appears on the television screen, providing the intro for “The Lost Battalion”. What an intense experience that is – this song really just… I guess it’s something in the lyrics or in the arrangements, but it fills you with emotion.

The song was followed by “Lejonet Från Norden”, complete outlet of energy. And the band, like, still after this long tour, so energetic. It’s good to see.

After this, the piano was brought in, “The Final Solution” performed beautifully – its a real powerful scene.

“Resist and Bite” was to be the next song on the list – but instead of being provided with a guitar, Jocke was instead provided with a Gold record. “The Last Stand” has sold Gold in Sweden. How amazing isn’t that? I’m so happy for these people. So happy to see this.

We quickly got thrown into the epicness and awesomeness that is “Nightwitches” – I really cannot get enough of that intro. It’s just.. I can’t describe it, to be honest. They then wrapped up the set with “Winged Hussars” before leaving the stage.

The little movie of the battles of Normandie started, accompanied with the amazing pyrotechnic and sound effects, exploding into “Primo Victoria”. And the arena exploded! It is so good to see. “Shiroyama” followed suite, then “En Livstid i Krig” and wrapping up the whole set with “To Hell and Back”.

The band thanked for themselves and left the stage, oddly enough without waving the flag. Well well.

After the show, I hit up the merch and acquired a Twilight Force bag and a tour shirt – I’ve come to realize I have no tourshirts of this band, so it was about time. Afterwards, I headed back home to my hotel and quickly started packing and going to bed.

To only sleep a couple of hours.

// Sara

 

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Sabaton @ Conventum Arena, Örebro, Sweden 19/3 -17

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , on March 19, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

Then, and again, sing of 300 men! Two days has passed before it was time to yet again witness the Swedish warmachine live in concert. I was even more excited this time around, and I guess it has a bit to do with the fact that I was going to see Sofia for the first time in what feels like FOREVER. So around 13 in the afternoon I got in the car and headed off toward Örebro. Once arrived, we enjoyed a really nice dinner (Sofia’s a chef) before getting ready for the show catching up with each other – it sure as hell has been some time since we last saw each other.

A little bit before the doors opened we finally got in the car to go to the venue. She lives a little bit outside, and then we spent the next half an hour or 45 minutes cruising around Conventum trying to find a parkingspot. The fact that Twilight Force was our soundtrack at the time made it to quite the epic adventure. And gladly, we found a spot close to the venue and could then finally get in. Once inside, we didn’t have to wait too long until the first band started.

Twilight Force

They came onto the stage with their hymn of battle, starting off the set with “Battle of Arcane Might”, to a not so convinced audience before continuing with “To The Stars”. The quest continued with “Riders of the Dawn” before heading into “Flight of the Sapphire Dragon”, which FINALLY woke up the audience! Glad to see. The band delivered very well though, it’s one of those bands that are simply fun to see live.

“Gates of Glory” was the next song on the list before wrapping up with “The Power of Ancient Force” and then they left the stage.

Accept

Accept went on stage right on time as per usual, and unlike Norrköping it sure as hell was NOT an Accept crowd tonight. But, despite that, the band delivered really good, and this time around, I really found myself enjoying it quite a lot! Thank you guys!

Sabaton

And again… the unreal moment when you hear “In The Army” echoing through the speakers and the adrenaline is turned up to a 100. It seems to me that no matter how many times I see Sabaton, I’ll always get that fucking kick of adrenaline everytime I hear the intro being started. “The March To War”, Joakims announcement and they start off with “Ghost Division”. Arena exploding. So happy to see.

They followed up with “Sparta” which has very rapidly gone from being a “meh” song for me to be one of my favorite live songs. And I just love the performance with the extra Spartans. It adds so much, you know?

“Blood of Bannockburn” was next on the setlist, a song that has also come to grow on me quite extremely. It appears this song simply need a few listens, after all. “Tommy’s Choice” or “Swedish Pagans” was next – but this time the audience beat Jocke and Tommy to it, and “Swedish Pagans” was a fact. I wonder if this song will ever leave Sabaton’s set?

The bells appeared behind the band, and again my personal favorite appears – “The Last Stand”. Seriously,  it is still a bit too early to say that this song is my absolute favorite of Sabaton, but it is a strong contestant to “The Art of War”. But the live version of it, so to put it, just fucking kills it.

After this…. it is time for “Carolus Rex”. All fun and games. The audience is on edge. They are so ready for it to come, and then… “All embrace me…. It’s my time to rule at last…” and the whole audience died out again. Exactly the same situation that happened on Sweden Rock five years ago. Gladly, Jocke realized his mistake and changed back to Swedish. I found it so fascinating how absolutely unforgiving the audience is whenever they start singing any of the Carolus songs in English. Loving it.

This followed by a two minute ban for Jocke where the rest of the members performed “Gott Mit Uns”. This song is such a riot live – not “Amen and Attack” kind of riot, but a riot nonetheless.

“Diary of an Unknown Soldier” starts echoing followed by the epicness that is “The Lost Battalion”. My love for this is just growing so big, I still have the feeling inside me from the first time I heard the combination of the two.

“Lejonet från Norden” was the next song on the list, followed by the beautiful acoutstic moment with “The Final Solution”. Like I said before, it’s a heavy song lyric wise and quite frankly, it gets even more intense peformed this way. I love this.

“Resist and Bite” is the next song on the list, quite the riot and followed by the bombregiment 588, which still holds, at least after seeing the show a second time, the position of being the best moment of the night. Seriously – THAT INTRO. Can we just take a little moment to absolutely appreciate this moment.

They later continued with “Winged Hussars” which is a PERFECT fucking ending – the perfect discharge of the last little bit of neckmuscles you still have, before letting them leave the stage for a moment as they start up a battlefield.

The new intro for “Primo Victoria” consist of a movie from the battle in question, as they start firing off and exploding pyrotechnics which resembles the same explosions you see on the movie screen, and some extra effects. It will never be like an actual warzone – seeing we are safe in the concertarena, but it still gives you idea of the sudden explosions and you never know (at least not the first time) when the explosions will go off.

They run on stage with “Primo Victoria”, and the Örebro audience was really giving it to them. “Shiroyama” was next song on the list, followed by my favorite MOVIE of the night, “En Livstid i Krig” (I still don’t favor this song a lot, I’m sorry)  before wrapping the whole set up with “To Hell and Back”. What an absolute discharge.

This show was amazing. And there is something huge watching Pär wave the Swedish flag highly as “Masters of the World” echoes in the speakers – it’s such a difference seeing them as opposed to seeing them 11 years ago. I love this band so much, and I’m so proud to have gotten to be a part of their journey from a small little band to world domination.

After the show, we headed straight home, sat around and talked for a little while before it was time for me to head home to get ready for work. I’m so ready for next week.

// Sara

 

 

 

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Sabaton @ Himmelstalundshallen, Norrköping, Sweden 17/3 -17

Posted in Concerts, Music, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , on March 17, 2017 by Sara Hammerzmith

So, finally. Finally it was time to hit the road again, or perhaps this is the wrong thing to say seeing I saw Epica just mere weeks ago, but it was FINALLY time for Sabaton again. I got the tickets back in September, so really, it has been quite some wait!

Since this gig was in Norrköping, and within my “three hour radius” I got into my, as I call it, festival van and steered the wheel down south, straight from work. Or actually not. I had managed to forget my base make up bag at home, so I had to stop by the shopping mall right next to McDonalds to pick up foundation and some dinner. And then, I was cruising down.

I made it to the venue, who, much to my happiness had a large parkinglot making everything much more convenient, just as the doors opened which was perfect for me, as I didn’t need to wait long in line to be let in. Once inside, I hit up the bathrooms and then down the venue, which, to my surprise wasn’t very filled. It was only the frontrow, and BARELY even that, that was filled on the floor level. Very interesting.

After some wait, Twilight Force finally started.

Twilight Force

So, I had only HEARD of this band previously, but once checking them out prior to the tour I more or less fell in love with them, and I was very excited to get to see them play, finally. And like… this is exactly my cup of tea. Have I ever told you how much I love conceptbands? If you hadn’t already figured it out, I’ll just say it again: I. Love. Concept. Bands. And this concept is perfect. I loved every single moment of the show. Thank you!

The band walked off the stage and thanked for themselves, and after some wait, Accept entered the stage.

Accept

So… Accept is one of those legendary bands that I never really fell for. They are not bad, but they are not supergood in my own opinion. I recognize and respect everything they have done for the genre, trust me, but I never fell quite in love with them.

With that said, they delivered an amazing show though. I thought initially that it’d be a long wait, that I had rather seen them switch place with Twilight Force, but I enjoyed it more than I expected to. Perhaps it was because of the very Accept-y audience, I don’t know. But they delivered a really good set, thank you guys! The only thing I do need to give some critic to the massive problem with feedback – I don’t know who does Accept’s sound, but seriously, it was PAINFUL.

And then… the anticipation. I’ve seen Sabaton 17 times before tonight, and despite that, I still get butterflies and anxiousness before the show starts. And then, then “In The Army Now” starts, which is the new opener if anyone missed that (as opposed to “The Final Countdown”) it all just goes away. And then…

“HELLO NORRKÖPING… WE ARE SABATON AND THIS IS GHOST DIVISION!!!”

Sabaton

They started off, yet again, with “Ghost Division” and I’m still having this love-hate relationship with this song. It is a great opener but damn. Come on. Imagine if they’d said “THIS IS… SPARTA!!”. Only me? Okay. Next song on the list on the other hand, was indeed “Sparta”. With Twilight Force as Spartans. Loving it.

Next on the list was “Blood of Bannockburn” – a song I came to love more and more on the way TO the show actually. I wasn’t a big fan of it at first – not because it’s different, but I just.. Didn’t like it. But, it grows. And it was a basic riot seeing it live, seriously, so good!

Next song on the list is “Tommy’s Choice”… Which isn’t so much Tommy’s choice as it is “Swedish Pagans”, and I don’t know. This is one of those songs that I do actually love, but I’ve come to hate because of the annoying crowds I guess. It was still really good though, I will say that!

And then… I saw the screens with the church bells and I knew instantly what was to come – my absolute favorite off the last album – “The Last Stand”. And it is really just that fucking amazing live. Best moment of the night, did you hear that?! Fuck me this was good.

“Carolus Rex” followed suit, with Jocke in his carolean jacket and then “Gott Mit Uns”. As someone who holds “Carolus Rex” as an album very highly, this was pleasant moments. Then came the speech. About the argonne in 1918. That speech that made me speechless when going to Sabaton Open Air. And then…

“The Lost Battalion”. Seriously, this song is so simple, yet so epic. These boys really, really, know how to create and arrange music, together with Tägtgren of course. Amazing.

And then came the big surprise for me – which was much to my happiness because I’ve missed the hell out of this song – “Lejonet Från Norden”. Seriously, I love this song so fucking much and I’m so happy it’s back.

After this nice piece, a piano was brought out and they performed “The Final Solution” acoustic. And seriously… It’s a heavy song you know, lyricwise, and this kind of setting just made it so beautiful. I loved it. I don’t even know what words to use anymore, because it was just that good.

“Resist and Bite” was next song on the list, followed by what, well, at least used to be, my favorite moment of the show, and trust me, the moment still gives me goosebumps – “Night Witches”. It’s just… Damn.

They wrapped up the set with “Winged Hussars” before leaving the stage, returning with “Primo Victoria” – without the speech actually, which was weird, but okay. “Shiroyama” was next on the list, before wrapping up with “En Livstid i Krig” (I still love the video with the babybears) and finally “To Hell and Back”

This show was really good. The thing with this band is that they always deliver. They had a better song selection this time around, so I’m content, but I guess that after a few times seeing them it starts feel like the same upbeaten tracks. But, nonetheless, they do entertain.

After the show, I retreated to my car and started my cruising home.

// Sara

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