Krieg
Transient
Released 6th October 2014
Black Metal
Released via Candlelight Record
‘Transient’ is the new album from the New Jersey -based, American black metal band Krieg. The band was formed back in 1995 and has changed their style a lot over the years. The latest album, the follow-up to ‘The Isolationist’, has been described as “churning cacophony of modern black metal, crust punk, and experimental noise.“
Just in case the album cover itself wasn’t bleak or eerie enough, the first song The Order of the Solitary Road definitely adds to the grim atmosphere thanks to the haunting, dark ambient -style intro. This is followed by a barrage of equally bleak and nihilistic black metal akin to the likes of Leviathan, Nachtmystium and to some extent Burzum. The pace tends to vary depending on the song ranging from the slow, ponderous and almost doom metal -style grooving guitar riffs; for example the latter half of To Speak with Ghosts to the mid-paced and ferocious, as evident in the guitars at the start of Return Fire and Time.
Vocalist N. Imperial’s screams sound as creepy as ever. When paired with the nihilistic guitars and the additional noise such as the dark ambient intro to Ruin Our Lives and the melancholic experimental noise of Home, each song leaves a bitter taste in the listener’s mouth. The band’s cover of Amebix’s Winter is yet another manifestation of this feeling. The chorus and the agonizing cries of “Winter!” alone are enough to send shivers down my spine. Yet the undisputed highlight of the album is Walk With Them Unnoticed which is also the most complex song on here. The intro is almost catchy at times due to the “rocking” guitar melodies that make even the bleakest screams sound more refined, softening the blow to the eardrums.
Overall ‘Transient’ is everything that one would expect to hear from Krieg. For those unfamiliar with the band, I’d recommend this if you’re a fan of Leviathan, Nachtmystium, Clandestine Blaze, Burzum or any other black metal band that has ever experimented with dark ambient.
When we interviewed Jimmy Bergman last month, he mentioned how he and Tillie Grundel were thinking about turning Through The Cracks into a full band rather than a duo. And indeed, a week ago or so, three other names showed up on their Facebook page. Now we have an official photo to go along with those names:
From left to right: Jimmy, Emmy, Tillie, Daniel, Niklas
Niklas Aggemyr, who was already helping with the production of the new songs, has now taken the bass duties as well. With Daniel Holmgren on drums and Emmy Åsblom on the keyboards and backing vocals, the line-up is complete.
With Through The Cracks growing, some fans wondered if Jimmy was leaving his other band The End Of Grace. So the guitarist issued the following statement: “Many people ask me if I’ve stopped playing in The End Of Grace just because I’m now playing with Through The Cracks. So I’m writing this just to put an end to the rumor! I’m still playing with The End Of Grace, we are currently working on our next album, and it will be awesome! I/we are working at the same time very hard on my new band Through The Cracks and will shortly release an EP, which is also awesome! So give both bands a like!! The End Of Grace & Through The Cracks”.
The debut single of Through The Cracks, “Breathless”, is available on iTunes and Spotify.
“Future Sequence: Live at Fidelitorium” is the title of the upcoming “live” CD and DVD by progressive act Between The Buried And Me. “Live”, in quotes, as it was recorded in the Fidelitorium Recordings studio and not during a concert. According to drummer Blake Richardson: “We’ve always been fans of dvds where it’s just the band, you don’t have any other distractions”. And vocalist/keyboardist Tommy Rogers adds: “We wanted to give the fans something that made them feel a little closer to us, and made them almost feel like they’re at practice with us.”
The film will show the band performing their most recent album “The Parallax II: Future Sequence” in its entirety. It’s directed and edited by Justin Reich, with director of photography Ismail Abdelkhalek, and audio engineers Jamie King and Kris Hilbert. Audio mixing and mastering was completed by Jamie King. It also features guest musicians Walter Fancourt (tenor saxophone, flute), Julian Hinshaw (Tuba), Will Goodyear (marimba, glockenspiel), Taya Ricker (violin), David Parks (violin), Leigh Dixon (viola), and Socrates Razo (cello).
“Future Sequence: Live at the Fidelitorium” will hit the stores on September 26th via Metal Blade Records. Watch the trailer and click HERE for pre-orders, including bundles.
Super-group Vallenfyre – featuring Greg Mackintosh (Paradise Lost), Scoot (Doom), Hamish Glencross (ex-My Dying Bride) and Adrian Erlandsson (At The Gates, Paradise Lost, The Haunted) – will finally go on a proper tour to promote thier latest album “Splinters”. So far they’ve only played a few selected shows, but this Autumn they’ll start by supporting Bolt Thrower and Morgoth, before headlining their own show. Here are the dates:
Vallenfyre + support
06.10.2014 Merleyn, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
07.10.2014 Baroeg, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
09.10.2014 Turock, Essen, Germany
10.10.2014 MTC, Cologne, Germany
11.10.2014 Kranhalle, Muenchen, Germany
12.10.2014 Räucherkammer, Wiesbaden, Germany
13.10.2014 Magnet, Berlin, Germany
15.10.2014 Exchange, Bristol, UK
16.10.2014 Talking Heads, Southampton, UK
18.10.2014 Best Buy Theater, New York, USA (Decibel 10th Anniversary Show w/ Amon Amarth & Sabaton)
20.10.2014 Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, UK
21.10.2014 The Dome, London, UK
Quoting Mackintosh: “The upcoming shows will be something new for us as a band. So far we have only done one club gig in Finland and that was our first ever show. Every other show we have played has been as part of a festival so this will be our first proper club tour together. With equal parts excitement and trepidation we will venture into the unknown and spread some unspeakable filth over Europe.”
Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2014 [Down, Emperor, Megadeth & more]
Catton Hall, Derbyshire
8th-10th August, 2014
Bloodstock 2014 came and went like an almighty clap of thunder. Before I even knew it, it was August and that time of the year when the bearded horde descends upon the sleepy Derbyshire countryside for the UK’s most metal weekend. A line up chock full of interesting names that promised to deliver crushing sets, more beer than I could comprehend and a surprising number of costumes and Native American accessories awaited me. As always, I’d coughed up the extra money for a VIP ticket- again, I will say that it is WORTH IT- but this year, let me start by giving a negative review. The VIP toilets were shocking. Usually they are cleaned regularly, supplied with toilet paper and soap and all the mod-cons that help to make the price that much more acceptable. This year, however, it was horrific. I realise that with the weather they were going to get dirty- but I would have been okay with mud. Little brown fishes are not so okay.
Anyway… After being thoroughly slaughtered by the Thursday night pre-party and starting to pick my way through the VIP bar’s 103 real ales and ciders, I awoke on the Friday morning, blinking with bleary eyes into the blazing sunshine. Fitting that the opener was Bloodshot Dawn, then. A good start to proceedings, followed by the always satisfying Entombed A.D. It’s the second time I’ve had the pleasure of watching these guys and they were just as good as before- even though they’re in a different form from last time. Irish extreme metallers Primordial followed, with an absolutely stellar set. I’d caught a bit of their set the last time they played Bloodstock, and made sure I was able to see the whole thing this time round. It was a good choice, because their particular brand of black-ish metal is excellent live. A smidgeon of thrash was added to the mix by Flotsam & Jetsam, who entertained for the whole of their set and were a good choice, as were industrial metallers Prong. Both bands were received enthusiastically by the crowd and there were few heads still during their slot on the main stage.
Controversial opinion time- I don’t like Triptykon. I will never forgive Tom G. Warrior for the glam metal Celtic Frost ridiculousness, and even though on paper I should appreciate Triptykon’s doomy line of metal, I just don’t like it. It was all very grim and frosty and plenty of people did like it, but it definitely wasn’t my cup of tea. Hatebreed, however, reminded us exactly why they were one of the best received bands of 2012. Perfectly on form, as always, they were energetic and exciting and definitely one of the best acts of the weekend. The same cannot be said for Dimmu Borgir, and frustratingly it wasn’t their fault. I was looking forward to Dimmu Borgir; they are one of my favourite bands and their 2012 set is still one of the best I have ever seen. But this year they were plagued by technical difficulties and a sound mix so bad keyboardist Gerlioz left the stage. Arriving at least twenty minutes late, and forced to stop and start throughout, when they did play they proved that they could have been great this year. Such a massive disappointment. Friday night headliners Down took the stage to an arena buzzing with anticipation and excitement and baying for blood. And, whatever you may think of him as a person, you have to hand it to Phil Anselmo– he is the perennial frontman. They filled Catton Hall with their groovy brand of metal and crushing riffs, and teased the horde with ten to fifteen seconds of Pantera classic Walk.
Saturday morning started with, in my opinion, the performance of the weekend. Evil Scarecrow. I need to take a moment to dedicate this whole review- and, at the very least, an entire paragraph- to Evil Scarecrow. Eleven o’clock in the morning and the arena was absolutely rammed. We’re talking Special Guest to Headliner amounts of people. Very much a story of success against the odds, Evil Scarecrow are something special. They manage to be simultaneously funny and extremely clever, and also just extremely fucking good. They turned Bloodstock into a heavy metal ballroom, filled with waltzing Cyclopes (cyclopi? Just what is the correct plural term here?), they commanded first an army of (totally in sync) shuffling Crab(ulon)s, then an army of Robot(atron)s, and finally managed to get almost every lucky bastard assembled there to war-march around the sound desk. We are talking an arena wide march. Even if we only moved about ten foot forward, that’s still an impressive feat. Every single person there had a huge grin on their face. If you weren’t watching, you missed out on history.
Shining had a bit of a hard act to follow, unfortunately, and it was a shame to see such a reduced crowd watching them. Their somewhat bizarre jazz-extreme metal fusion was quite refreshing, however, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a saxophone on the RJD stage before- or will again. Decapitated were as expected- brutal- and Israel’s Orphaned Land were a nice surprise. I’d never really heard any of their music before, but their progressive tinged metal was much better than I thought it would be. Crowbar were awesome, with bass lines so shuddering and crushing that I could feel my liver shaking. Following their set with Italian pseudo-goths Lacuna Coil seemed a bit of an odd choice- in fact, in general I felt that the line up could have been re-arranged across all three days- but Cristina Scabbia and her cohort were on fine form. There was a nice selection of new and old, including some of the better tracks from latest album Broken Crown Halo. I know a lot of people criticize Children of Bodom for being one-trick-ponies. In my opinion, that just shows that they know what the winning formula is and stick to it. Alexi Laiho and Janne Wirman deliver guitar and keyboard solos with sickening ease that almost borders on laziness, but Laiho was his usual ball of boundless energy. An unexpected setlist including fan favourites such as Hatecrew Deathroll and Lake Bodom, they were fantastic as always.
Controversial opinion time the second- I think Carcass are past it- or at least, Jeff Walker is at any rate. It almost seemed like they were going through the motions, tearing through a set filled with classics with an almost clinical, sterile precision. Apt for a band whose latest release is called Surgical Steel, true, but it seemed like they lacked heart. Saturday evening was all about one band, anyway. Emperor took to the stage to celebrate 20 years since the release of their seminal album, In The Nightside Eclipse. They were flawless. There was an almost reverent atmosphere in the arena as they turned the temperature frosty and filled the venue with their chilly, eerie brand of black metal and reminded us all why they are and will always be one of the best in the business. Plus- when are we ever going to see Ihsahn, Samoth and Faust playing together ever again? It was an incredible moment, something I will never forget.
I will admit something now- I only saw four bands on Sunday. The celebrations from Emperor nearly killed me, and I slept through both Arthemis and Aborted. However, I have it on good authority that Arthemis put on a valiant performance, and that Aborted were savage. I managed to rouse myself from the darkness in order to make it down to watch Valkyrian favourites ReVamp perform in an absolute downpour. Floor Jansen is a force to be reckoned with, and it’s easy to see why she has been nabbed by Nightwish. She had those assembled to watch in the palm of her hand and did well despite the odds. I then returned to my tent to recover some more, only to discover that a veritable tempest was beginning to blow. The first tent to fall victim to the wind was- ironically- the Tangerine Dreams tent-hire company’s reception tent, followed swiftly by a gazebo that took to the skies with captivating elegance before landing with one leg impaled in another thankfully empty tent. A quick conversation led to the decision to pull up camp and leave later that evening, so by the time we had cleared up and packed everything in the car, we’d missed both Biohazard and last-minute stage-switchers Avatar. Obituary, however, were worth catching for some decent, straightforward and relentless death metal.
Saxon were everything I expected them to be- cheesy, fist-pumping and glorious. Good old Biff was on fine form, and they were well received by a crowd of an incredibly diverse age range. By the time they played Denim and Leather, the whole arena had been brought together and it was easy to see why so many people got on board with Saxon’s campaign to have Heavy Metal recognised as a religion in the last UK census. Amon Amarth were absolutely outstanding. Fire-breathing dragonheads, upon which guitar solos were performed, filled the stage and Johan Hegg led the Viking hordes through a set that perfectly represented their catalogue of greats. They reminded me why they are one of my favourite bands and why I will always throw my horns up in the air when I hear any of their songs. Unfortunately, this is where my Bloodstock experience ended as we made a run for it as the weather worsened and the storm moved in. This does mean that I missed MegaDave- sorry, I mean Megadeth– but controversial opinion the last? I wasn’t particularly bothered. Had I been more in the spirit of things and had imbibed a fair bit of cider I’m sure I would have enjoyed them, but being sober and eager to leave before the wind picked up again it wasn’t much of a loss.
Bloodstock 2014 was a rollercoaster ride of technical problems, triumphant performances and crazy weather. But I would not have missed it for the world. The performance of the weekend, as I feel I have already clearly shown, was definitely Evil Scarecrow, and I will give them less than five years until they are special guests, if not headliners. Even though we’re still waiting for any announcements, there’s nowhere I’d rather be from the 6th to the 9th of August next year. I will see you then.
Tartarus Of Grimness and Atrocity EP Released 31st July 2014 Black Metal Released via Haarbn Productions
‘Of Grimness and Atrocity’ is the debut EP from the Dubai based black metal band Tartarus. There are many things that spring to my mind when I hear the words “Dubai” or “United Arab Emirates” but black metal isn’t one of them. Then again, music knows no boundaries and based on a quick search on the Metal Archives, Tartarus are not the only band from that region and there is a small metal scene in there.
After the eerie, dark ambient style intro featuring some unintelligible shrieks, comes the first real song ‘Axes (of Hatred)‘ which sounds like a homage to the Nordic black metal bands. I can detect two very distinctive influences in the song: Immortal for the vocal style and Gorgoroth for the ferocity and speed of music. The title track is true to its namesake thanks to the haunting howl-vocals which remind me of early Mayhem. The pace tends to vary a lot during the course of the track, ranging from ferocious pummeling of the guitars and drums to a slower, more melodic style of black metal. Last but not least is their cover of Emperor’s I am The Black Wizards – a very good interpretation of the song which is very close to the original in terms of style.
Overall this is a very promising black metal EP. I’m looking forward to hearing more from these guys in the future.
Gojira, Paradise Lost, Vita Imana, The Quartet Of Woah!, MURK, Opus Diabolicum Quinta do Ega, Vagos (PT) 10th August 2014
Third and last day of Vagos Open Air 2014. It had rained a bit in the morning, so the dust had settled down. On the other hand, the water mixed with sour beer and other spilt liquids was starting to stink…
First band was Opus Diabolicum. The die-hard Moonspell fans will recognize this name from one of their early songs (from the 20-year-old EP “Under The Moonspell”, in case you’re not familiar with it). The name isn’t a coincidence, since Opus Diabolicum did with Moonspell the same that Apocalyptica did with Metallica – instrumental covers in cellos.
The gig didn’t kick off very well. After just a couple of minutes they had to interrupt due to a problem in the cello on the right (I wish I could tell you the name of the musician, but their Facebook page doesn’t mention names). And since none of the other two addressed to the audience, the silence became a little awkward. But when the cello was back in order, they attacked those strings with “Opium” and the crowd soon forgot the incident, singing the lyrics strongly. I confess I wasn’t expecting such a great feedback and I’m happy I was wrong about it. Of course they played some Moonspell key-hits, and that might have helped – “Vampiria”, “Nocturna”, “Scorpion Flower” – and such any Moonspell gig, they wrapped it up with “Alma Mater” and “Fullmoon Madness”. Neat! (4/5)
MURK – the “alternative death metal” Portuguese band, not the black metal Italian one – were up next. Never had heard of them before, not even when they were going by the name Sattor, and that started back in 2005. Apart from the EP “Tyrants Of Decay” they’ve released early this year, it seems that they’ve only released another EP (“Seeds Of Perseverance”) as Sattor. One must wonder why a band with just two extended plays out in a less than 10-year-old career was chosen for such a big event as Vagos Open Air. It’s commendable, of course, that Prime Artists support the national underground, but we have so many bands with a bigger discography and a larger fan base (there were some MURK fans present, truth be told) that it just seems unfair the promoters chose this band. it wasn’t a bad concert – the highlight on “Footprint Of God”, apparently – but it wasn’t a spectacular one either, despite their ritualistic gear and makeup. (3/5)
Now The Quartet Of Woah!, despite being formed just 4 years ago, they’ve been playing non-stop recently and making their name known. Well-known, actually, as their live shows are pretty… lively! I wasn’t expecting that, since I was told they were a stoner band. But unlike most stoner rock bands, they don’t focus on the bluesy and depressive doom side of the genre but on the heavy metal and psychedelic rock instead – hence the high voltage of their shows. It’s all there, though, in a classy mix, but it’s the heaviest and fastest elements they bring to life the most. Gonçalo Kotowicz was unmistakably happy, giving a quick (the time was short) but heartfelt thank you to Vagos. Songs like “U Turn”, “Balance” and the latest “BackwardsFirstliners” brought a sixties/seventies 5-star vibe to the festival. (5/5)
Spanish Vita Imana was another surprise – one that so far gets my gold medal in the category “Top surprises of 2014”. Whoever told me they were a thrash metal band forgot to mention they were also tribal and ‘core, otherwise I’d be more or less warned of the adrenaline discharge I was about to witness. A big emphasis on “more or less”, as I wouldn’t have expected that anyway. Here’s a band who knows what live gigs are all about! Their sound is mosher-friendly by nature, true, but if it wasn’t for Vita Imana’s tornado-wise attitude – especially singer’s Javier Cardoso, whose jumps were quite epic – the response of the crowd wouldn’t have been so explosive. “Gondwana”, “Quizás No Sea Nadie” or “Paranoia” were just a few of the songs that made the circles go crazy. (5/5)
I guess everybody knows by now that a Paradise Lost gig is either very good or sucks dish water, there’s no middle term. It all depends on Nick Holmes’ mood. Holmes not only was in a great mood, his voice was in the strongest shape ever – this being my 9th Paradise Lost concert in 17 years, trust me, I know what I’m saying.
With a very serious face, Holmes said Paradise Lost have been around since the fifties/forties (told you he was in a good mood) while introducing “Gothic” – the oldest track of that night’s setlist, released in 1991 and not, obviously, in the ‘40s. Don’t know if he’s going through some midlife crisis, but he would later hint on the band’s “antiquity” again by saying that the following song was a hit that had been playing for decades and he expected to continue so. If you’re a hardcore fan of Paradise Lost, you know he meant “As I Die”.
They left the stage after “True Belief” – my all-time favorite, I confess – and someone started screaming for them. Soon a massive “PARADISE LOST, PARADISE LOST!” echoed. They would return for a 3-song encore, Holmes thanking once again (I lost count on how many times he said thank you). After the very last “Say Just Words”, the band took a selfie with a delighted crowd, all horns-up, in the back. Don’t worry about your age, Mr. Holmes. At 43, you’re still able to pull off amazing performances that many 20-year-olds can only achieve in their dreams. (5/5)
However, this was Gojira’s night. I believe the Portuguese fans have been asking for the French band since the very first Vagos edition. As for them, they claimed they’d been expecting to play in Portugal for 18 years – meaning since they first were founded, still as Godzilla. Yeah, yeah, I know they all say nice things about the countries/cities they’re visiting for the first time, or haven’t visited in a long while, but in this case I believe, as the Duplantier brothers have Portuguese roots (grandmother) and they’ve visited the country many times before, as tourists. Now that they made it as a band and had such a thunderous reception, I’m pretty sure they’ll do their best to return soon.
The security guys had their hands full – literally – from the very first seconds (yeah, seconds) of “Explosia” to the last ones of “Where Dragons Dwell”. A high-five to all of them for the excellent job they did, not only at helping the kids on the “landing” but also in guiding them into the best path of hands and heads.
Peak moments? All of them! But I can’t stop mentioning the inflatable dolphin that bounced back and forth over the crowd on “Flying Whales”. Cute!
It was hard to accept the gig had come to an end. Joe said what must have been all the pleasantries he knew in Portuguese while everybody screamed “GOJIRA, GOJIRA!” at the top of their lungs. But it was over. And unforgettable. (5/5)
Opeth, Annihilator, Behemoth, The Haunted, Angelus Apatrida, Requiem Laus Quinta do Ega, Vagos (PT) 9th August 2014
Author António Parada wrote a thriller full of heavy metal connotations called “A Guardiã” (the guardian), so he thought Vagos Open Air was suitable for a presentation. I confess I totally forgot about it, so I didn’t arrive to Quinta do Ega in time of watching it. I doubt there will be an English version of it anyway, but if it happens, I’ll let you know.
Despite the 1-day tickets for Saturday being sold out and their much longer career – 16 years longer, to be exact –, Requiem Laus didn’t have a crowd as big as Gates Of Hell had had the previous day. Singer Miguel said this was their return to the stages, after two years and a half (personally, I hadn’t seen them in 7), so maybe that’s why their sound seemed so alien to the majority of the crowd. Plus they’re somewhat… introvert. Good musicians, with great death-blackish songs such as “Reflection Of God” or “Impulse”, which they performed there, but they enjoy the music on their own, not reaching out to the crowd much. So sadly they didn’t get an effusive response to their gig. (3/5)
Angelus Apatrida, on the other hand, unleashed hell – kicking off with “Violent Dawn”, violent is the right word to describe the circles. The Spanish thrash metal act has a solid fan base here, but even if they didn’t, the moshers would have quickly surrendered. Guitarist David G. Álvarez suffered a motorcycle accident back in March and his right leg is still on a cast. But even sitting down on a chair, he moved his upper body like there was no tomorrow. Those guys know how to be on stage and a broken leg doesn’t change that.
Among the short occasions Guillermo Izquierdo addressed the crowd – they had little time to play, so he didn’t want to waste it with talking – he mentioned they were once again recording at Switchtense’s studio (Ultrasound Studios). That meant a lot to the people, not only because it implied a new album, but also because it’s a Portuguese studio. (5/5)
Not sure when The Haunted had played here last, but it’d been quite a while. To say the crowd was eager for this gig is an understatement. And while you can never read Jonas Björler’s expression, Marco Aro’s was one of true happiness throughout the whole show, so I guess at least he was just as elated as the people watching them. Hell, he was so enthusiastic that he hit the mic against his forehead a few times until it bled, and didn’t attend to the wound until he was off stage! Anyway, whatever the others were feeling, they put everything they’ve got into the performance and all expectations were met. From “99” to “Hate Song”, going through “Undead”, “No Compromise” and the new “Eye Of The Storm” (by the way, the new album “Exit Wounds” is out in just a few days – 25th August) the “mosh ‘em all” motto in the back of Aro’s t-shirt was fulfilled. (5/5)
But in my humble opinion, it was Behemoth who put up the greatest show – even in daylight! They were also missing their cobra microphone stands and some other paraphernalia, just the cloaks and make-up. And the horned masks they wear during the final prayer of “O Father O Satan O Sun!”. Meaning the excellence of their show was due to their music – hand-picked songs from the last six albums – and attitude on stage: Seth’s “hairbanging”, Orion’s mean faces, Inferno’s sharp beats and, of course, Nergal’s leadership. I don’t think he spoke a word to the audience, but the weight of his stare on us and how he yelled at us to yell back had more communication than a speech. Simply amazing the power Behemoth holds on stage. (5/5)
In their own old-school way, Annihilator were top as well. They released a new album last year, titled “Feast”, so they played a few songs in order to promote it – “Smear Campaign”, which opened the show, “No Way Out” and “Deadlock”. Then, apart from the funny country-metal song “Chicken & Corn” (a hidden track featured in “Carnival Diablos”, from 2001), every other track was +20 years old. What a trip to the past, from where I personally highlight “King Of The Kill”, “Set The World On Fire” and – you guessed! – “Alison Hell”. Thrash metal at its best!
There was one thing I couldn’t stop noticing. When Jeff Waters was introducing the band, he mentioned Oscar Rangel’s Mexican nationality right before he introduce Dave Padden. Or at least that’s what I understood; Padden got it otherwise and said quickly, somewhat annoyed “I’m not Mexican”. I guess I’d be annoyed too if I thought that, after working with someone for 12 years, he still didn’t get my roots right. Still I think Padden could’ve had a different reaction, maybe make a joke out of it, as there were a few awkward seconds between the two guitarists. But nothing significant enough to ruin the 5 stars the gig deserves. (5/5)
Now Opeth… I’ll start with something Mikael Åkerfeldt said at some point, regarding a song I honestly can’t remember the name, but he said that “if it sounds like a fuck-up, it isn’t. It’s just us being progressive”. And this is more or less what I think of prog. Nope, it’s definitely not my cup of tea. I recognize the high quality of some of the bands/artists, but I just can’t like it. So me, and many others like me, wouldn’t have enjoyed the show (apart from Åkerfeldt’s jokes, that is). The thing is that even among the die-hard Opeth fans there are mixed feelings about the Vagos show. Some complained about the “soft” setlist, others about the somewhat shallow performance… and then there are those who were simply enthralled from the moment “The Devil’s Orchard” started to the one where “Blackwater Park” stopped. They have played VOA two years ago, and I’ve also seen them at the 9th (and last) anniversary show of the original Hard Club, and this was the weakest of those three. But like I said, prog isn’t my thing, so I could be wrong… I still laughed when he said they came from Stockholm, where other great metal bands came from, like Entombed, Dismember, Bathory… and ABBA. That the next song was actually “Super Trouper” (it was “Heir Apparent”). Or when he said it smelled like dead cat in his armpit. Or when he told a girl she could lower the “teddy-crocodile” as he didn’t know that song (it was a dinosaur plushie with a sign asking for “Coil”). Still there was something missing in his attitude – even I noticed that. Was it a bad concert? No, I can’t say that. But Opeth can do better. (4/5)
Kreator, Epica, Soilwork, Sylosis, Kandia, Gates Of Hell Quinta do Ega, Vagos (PT) 8th August 2014
This year’s edition of Vagos Open Air was bigger in every sense of the word – it lasted one day longer than usual, it had more people coming in, and it had also the greatest bill so far. Kudos for promoters Prime Artists!
National Gates Of Hell must feel proud, and not just for kicking the festival off: it’s not easy for an underground band to gather so many people on a hot Friday, at 5 o’clock in the afternoon, but they made it! There was a sea of people like there’s never been for an opening band, in all the 6-year history of the festival! Of course they’ve been working hard for it in the last few years, especially since the release of their debut album, playing all over the country and winning fans with their ballistic live shows. But it still was a wonderful surprise to see such a crowd screaming and moshing for them. And the size of the wall of death on the last song, “Critical Obsession”! Singer Raça thanked everyone – both fans/friends and those who were watching them for the first time – but truth be told, they wouldn’t have got that response if they weren’t just as good. The credit is all yours, boys! Keep it up! (5/5)
Things cooled down a bit, but only in terms of “brutality” – Kandia is a modern/alternative rock band, so no mosh pits for them. But that doesn’t mean that their show was less electrifying. It was just a different kind of voltage. Especially singer Nya Cruz, who looked totally at home on stage. They’ve released two albums so far, but neglected the first one completely, focusing just on the latest “All Is Gone”. Last year, they won the international music contest Global Rockstar with one song from that album, “Scars”. “We’re not going away, we’re here to stay!” was the introduction to that song, as its first verse reads “I’m here to stay”. But more than an introduction, it’s a statement, a motto – and the grip they had on this gig is proof that they will stick to it. (4,5/5)
It was the first time Sylosis were playing in Portugal (after pulling out of the Epic Industrialist Tour, in 2012) and Josh Middleton admitted they weren’t expecting such a reception. The crowd was happy to finally experience live songs such as “All Is Not Well” and “The Blackest Skyline”, so the circles began spinning once again, at full force. And when Josh asked for TWO circles – one at the left, one at the right – they were eager to comply (same as the headbanging to the sound of nothing, but that’s been done before by other artists – the two circles, now that was new). At some point Josh said that this was the last gig of Rob (Callard, drummer), since he would be pursuing a career as a singer… in a Mariah Carey cover band. Such talented musicians and so humorous… no wonder no one cared about the “little” fail of asking if we were ready for Kreator while playing a riff from Slayer’s “Raining Blood”… (5/5)
It had been 11 years since I’d last seen Soilwork – which was the last time they’d played in Portugal. So I don’t know if it’s usual for them to use The Alan Parsons Project’s “Sirius” as intro, but for me, it was a really nice surprise. And it links so well to “This Momentary Bliss”, the first song of their set! A set that I confess was hoping to be a bit more diverse, given the years of absence from the Portuguese stages. But their latest album is a magnificent double piece, so it’s only natural they wanted to focus on the killers of “The Living Infinite”. Still they went back a couple of times – “The Average Stalker”, “Bastard Chain”… –, closing with a golden key with “Stabbing The Drama” (“I think you know the chorus to this one”, said Mr. Björn Strid). The circles weren’t as constant as in the previous band but only because Soilwork’s sound doesn’t require so – there’s a reason why it’s called “melodic” death metal. In terms of intensity, they were just as “crazy and wild” (to use Strid’s own words). (5/5)
There were LOADS of Epica fans in Vagos, so whoever thought it was a mistake to invite them again (they performed at the first edition of the fest) couldn’t be more wrong. Simone Simons’ voice was better than the last time I’ve seen them, in the “Requiem For The Indifferent” tour, but still a bit “shaky” here and there. The most blatant case was “Cry For The Moon”, where her voice was smothered by the choir backtracks and not because something failed with her mic. It’s just that female voices also change with time and it’s been 10 years since Simone first recorded that song. Maybe that’s why she took the chance to introduce the band, singing the names and their instruments instead of the original lyrics. Nice trick! But no one seemed to care anyway, as the strong and positive attitude of the whole band made those flaws look like small details.
They played a few songs from the latest album, “The Quantum Enigma” – including the first three tracks plus the new hit “Unchain Utopia”, but Simone said they would be back in November, in a promotional tour for this album. The crowd was thrilled to hear that. (4,5/5)
Okay, it’s true that a Kreator gig is always a Kreator gig, and even when they’re bad, they’re still pretty good. But sometimes they’re REALLY awesome – like this time! From “Mars Mantra / Phantom Antichrist” to “Flag Of Hate / Tormentor”, Mille Petrozza got some of the best “Portuguese circle pits” that he kept asking for – having played here so many times before, he knew what he was talking about when he specified the nationality, giving them an unique identity. But with such a performance it was hard not to raise hell – the stage wasn’t big enough for their fire show, but the human heat made up for it.
For the encore, and the aforementioned medley of “Flag Of Hate” and “Tormentor”, Petrozza got on stage holding a flag, saying that when they released that album (“Endless Pain”), back in 1985, Michael Jackson was still alive. The rest of the band played a few chords from “Billie Jean” and the crowd roared. But the roar was much louder when he talked about the album that Judas Priest released five years later, as its title was the opposite of “Endless Pain” – “Painkiller”, with the main riff of its title-track echoing. The true explosion came, of course, when Petrozza stopped talking and the medley itself began. (5/5)
Nevel a dull moment on this first day – except for the background music between songs, which was literally the same over and over. The metal DJs that took the graveyard shift should have been hired for the day as well…
So, Orange Goblin will be back with a new record in 2014, titled “Back From The Abyss”. This will be the eighth studio album from the band since 1997. To celebrate this, Orange Goblin will be premiering the new song “The Devil’s Whip” on British radio, midnight on Monday 18 August on the BBC Radio 1 Rock/Metal show with Daniel P Carter. If you just can’t wait until then the song is also streaming on Loudwire. So go check it out here.
The song is simply awesome, it really has a true Motörhead vibe to it. Joe Hoare’s guitar riffs are sounding better than ever. “Back From The Abyss” will be released October 7th 2014 on Candlelight Records. The band have also released the artwork:
This is an exciting time, since the release of 2012’s “A Eulogy for the Damned”, Orange Goblin have been gaining some serious momentum, which is a good thing as they’re a band that have been constantly and consistently working since their debut. Last year they did a big tour in the UK, with Airbourne, and this year they have been tearing up the summer festivals all across Europe. Also, starting in October, they will be doing a massive European/UK tour with Saint Vitus. That is a show you don’t want to miss. Tour dates below.
October 2014
Thu 9th – Le Grillen, Colmar, FRANCE Fri 10th – CCM John Lennon, Limoges, FRANCE Sat 11th – Day of Doom Festival, Barcelona, SPAIN Sun 12th – Shoko, Madrid, SPAIN Mon 13th – RCA Club, Lisbon, PORTUGAL Wed 15th – Kafe Antzokia, Bilbao, SPAIN Thu 16th – Le Krakatoa, Bordeaux, FRANCE Fri 17th – L’Usine, Geneva, SWITZERLAND Sat 18th – Bloom Club, Mezzago, ITALY Sun 19th – Traffic Live, Rome, ITALY Mon 20th – Locomotiv Club, Bologna, ITALY Tue 21st – Salzhaus, Winterthur, SWITZERLAND Wed 22nd – Backstage Halle, Munich, GERMANY Thu 23rd – Garage, Saarbrucken, GERMANY Fri 24th – Le Fleche D’Or, Paris, FRANCE Sat 25th – Le Grand Mix, Tourcoing, FRANCE Sun 26th – Biebob, Vosselaar, BELGIUM Tue 28th – The Fleece, Bristol, ENGLAND Wed 29th – Heaven, London, ENGLAND Thu 30th – Button Factory, Dublin, REP. OF IRELAND Fri 31st – Limelight 2, Belfast, NORTHERN IRELAND
November 2014
Sat 1st – Damnation Festival, Leeds, ENGLAND Sun 2nd – Dutch Doom Days Fest – Rotterdam, HOLLAND Mon 3rd – Luxor, Koln, GERMANY Tue 4th – Beatpol, Dresden, GERMANY Wed 5th – Fabryka, Krakow, POLAND Thu 6th – SO36, Berlin, GERMANY Fri 7th – Babel, Malmo, SWEDEN Sat 8th – Debaser Strand, Stockholm, SWEDEN Sun 9th – Parkteatret, Oslo, NORWAY Tue 11th – Sticky Fingers, Gothenburg, SWEDEN Wed 12th – Knust / Grunspan, Hamburg, GERMANY Thu 13th – Rosenhof, Osnabrueck, GERMANY Fri 14th – F-Haus, Jena, GERMANY Sat 15th – Hammer Of Doom Festival, Wurzburg, GERMANY
After the sold out gig at The Forum early this year, right before the release of the much acclaimed “The Satanist”, Behemoth will now return to British and Irish soil for a few shows. Supporting them will be Decapitated, who will release their new album “Blood Mantra” next month, Grand Magus, whose latest “Triumph & Power” has also been very well received, and also Manchester-based Winterfylleth, who will be releasing their 4th album “The Divination Of Antiquity” in October.
Quoting Nergal:» It took us years to finally put together a separate UK tour and we are eager to bring the magic of “The Satanist” to our fans over there! We are counting days. Literally. With such a strong and diverse company from our friends in Grand Magus and Decapitated we are expecting nothing but a great metal feast! «
Great news for Corrosion of Conformity fans this year not only have we got a new album from the, IX which was released in June, but Pepper Keenan has teased the idea of returning to the band, bringing back the Deliverance line-up. Pepper hasn’t worked with the band since 2010, but has claimed he never “officially” left the band.
He went on to say that Down were not planning on recording their next series of EP’s until next spring, in an interview he said “The old COC thing’s been coming up a lot. We’re talking to Reed and Woody about getting that going. That’s going to take a lot of attention. We’re talking about just going to Europe and playing shows as the Deliverance four-piece, and starting from there to get it back together.”
Hopefully something will come of this and we may finally get to see COC with Pepper again. I, personally, am looking forward to getting to see this. I know I’m not the only one who’s been asking for this to happen ever since it was first teased in May, and it looks like it actually might. Who knows what we’ll get but I’ll say this, things are only looking up for Corrosion of Conformity.
There’s a brand new soulful rock project blossoming in Stockholm, courtesy of Jimmy Bergman and Tillie Grundel. The duo has just released their first single, the beautiful “Breathless”, and as I went to Gothenburg to see Jimmy’s other band, The End Of Grace, I arranged a little meeting with the talented musician. He was tired from the show on the previous night, and had an almost-five-hour roadtrip back to Stockholm ahead of him – from where he would drive to Berlin the following day – meaning he really needed to rest. But still he took his time to talk to me about Through The Cracks, always with a smile on his face.
RL: You’re a very creative person and I know you’re writing stuff all the time, not always for The End Of Grace, not always metal. What made you get serious with this project in particular?
JB: I’ve always thought of making another project, something rock or more acoustic… a different music style for me to play. I had some ideas, been thinking about them for a while, and then I met Tillie. I showed her my stuff and she really liked it, so I told her “hey, put some vocals on it!”. From there we created Through The Cracks and… yeah, it got serious.
RL:Tillie isn’t here, so tell me a bit about her!
JB: She’s studied music for a while and she’s a really talented girl. And that’s the thing between Tillie and me – Tillie has studied a lot in music and I’ve never done any of that. So I think we’re a cool match! It sounds so good what we’re doing together! We have so many ideas and Tillie’s a great singer, really great singer, she was a stand-in in… (tries to remember the name)
RL: Karmic Link. I was surprised to see that it’s a symphonic/gothic metal band! I thought of her more like a jazz/soul kind of girl.
JB: Yeah, but she can do everything with her vocals. She has a great soul voice and it’s the perfect match for the sound we have. I think it’s kind of unique, really interesting. People really love her voice. I have a lot of fans and friends saying they don’t like female vocals but they love Tillie’s voice.
RL: Like me! Nowadays talking of “female vocals” is associated precisely with symphonic, high-pitched vocal ranges, which I’m tired of. But her voice is sweet and strong at the same time!
JB: Exactly. I really love her voice. It’s so fucking good I don’t even have the words for it. And she’s a great girl.
RL: And how did you feel when you heard “Breathless” for the first time with her vocals on it and the lyrics she wrote?
JB: We were at my little home studio, ready to record everything, and before starting the recording she just sang it to me. I was, “what the fuck? This is really good!” She asked if I wanted to change something and I said “Noooo! Just do what you want!” (laughs) We did some producing stuff and yeah, she’s really amazing, like I said before. I was in love with her vocals and her work.
RL: What about the name? I love how it sounds, Through The Cracks. How hard was it to choose?
JB: (Laughs) It was really hard! I think me and Tilllie spent three weeks, maybe four, thinking about the name. We were working with the song at the same time, so I went through Spotify and I got some ideas, looking for song names. Through The Cracks came up, I showed it to Tillie, she liked it… we still thought about it for a while more, we had a lot of choices, but we went with Through The Cracks. I think it’s easy to say! People love it! When I played with The End Of Grace yesterday people came up to me and asked “what the fuck is Through The Cracks?”. “It’s my other project”. “It sounds really good!” “I know.” (laughs) So people know Through The Cracks already, it’s an easy name. It’s like The End Of Grace – it’s easy to say, easy to remember.
RL: One thing I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while is about your writing process. Do you wake up in the morning and think “today is a good day to write (insert musical style here)” or you just let your creativity run free?
JB: I’m playing every day. I pick up the guitar and just play. And if it’s a great metalcore riff, then it’s for The End Of Grace. If it’s not so The End Of Grace style, like Through The Cracks, then it’s for Through The Cracks. I never focus on one band, I just let it flow.
RL: And sometimes you come up with totally different things, like punk rock songs…
JB: Yeah, it’s really crazy. I even made some “Turkish stuff” too. (laughs) I’m doing a lot of music, actually. I’m doing it with my friends – like that punk rock song you’ve just talked about. It’s just fun! I’m playing music every day, I love it. This is why I’m doing this.
RL: And do you look at someone or something for inspiration?
JB: No. I think it’s just my passion for music. I’m working and listening to music, and then I come home and I start playing music. I don’t have just one band or one artist that inspires me so… I think I’m my own inspiration. (smiles)
RL: And what do you do when you’re not inspired at all?
JB: Hmm… hang around with friends… (pauses, thinking)
RL: Pick up girls…
JB: Pick up girls (laughs), have some fun… I don’t know. I’m doing stuff all the time, I’m never at one place. That’s why I’m going to Germany tomorrow – to clear my head. And then I come back and go into the studio and do stuff for Through The Cracks and The End Of Grace.
RL: You’re in charge of all instruments here but you’re a guitar player. How old were you when you discovered this passion for the guitar? When did you start dreaming of becoming a rockstar?
JB: I’ve always been dreaming of being a rockstar, since I was a kid (smiles). I think I played some guitars when I was 12 but I was so bad that it wasn’t fun anymore and I stopped playing. I started again when I was about 15, maybe, ‘cause my uncle is a guitar player and I was a lot with him, playing with his guitars all the time. I really wanted to be cool, really wanted to be a rock star, and more than that, I wanted people to like my songs. And to be on stage. Stage is the main thing, I love to be up there. It’s a child dream and now it’s something that’s going forward. (smiles)
RL: And you want to play live with Through The Cracks. How will that happen – session musicians or you want this to become a full band?
JB: Me and Tillie were talking about having stand-in players. I have some guys I’d like to have in Through The Cracks but I can’t tell anything about it right now ‘cause nothing is official yet. But if we were to have a show now we would get stand-ins for the drums and the bass, maybe another guitarist, and maybe also some female backing vocals… Then we have backtracks, of course, for the keys. We were thinking of having a guy doing that too, but it would be too much. Yeah, we will play live…
RL: I will be there!
JB: I am sure you will. (smiles). We have some new songs on the way, we’re going to release an EP. We have another product for Through The Cracks, but I can’t tell anything about that, but we’re working on it now and we’ll see what happens. I think the EP will be out maybe in November.
RL: You produced “Breathless” but now you’re working with someone else…
JB: Yes, he’s a great guy, a friend of mine, Niklas Aggemyr, and a really good musician. We were drinking some beers, I showed him Through The Cracks and he really liked it. So I showed him the new song too, told him what I wanted to do and he was really stoked, really wanted to help producing it. So we’re in his studio in Södertälje Sweden, called Musikaffär’n, and he’s helping me making the song sound really really good. It’s just one song we’re doing, so we’ll see what happens with that.
RL: I was going to ask what are the plans for the near future, but I guess you’ve answered that already – EP in November?
JB: November – yeah, I hope so. We just need to get it done, that’s the first thing. I really want to release it but things go really slow sometimes… But we have some songs in our minds and I think we’ll make something good. Then release it and play some shows, some kind of release party, maybe… I don’t know. Actually Sticky Fingers wanted to book us… yesterday! But we have just one song done, so… But it’s a possibility for when the EP is out. We’re a new band, everything takes time – write and practice the songs, get shows… it’s a lot of work. And I need to do The End Of Grace work too. But it will be done.
RL: Of course it will! Wish you all the luck with that. Have fun in Berlin!
Valkyrian Music 