Det brukar heta så att de som gillar Dödsmetal ofta söker sig till Svartmetal. Jag vet inte hur bra det stämmer, på mig stämmer det inte alls för jag avskyr verkligen svartmetal. Lite lustigt kanske, men så är det. Vad är det som skiljer dem åt då? Döds är oftast mer melodiskt än svart (vilket i mina öron mest låter som trumbankande och en galning som inte fått ut sina "aggressioner" i sängen efter han raggat runt i en bar någonstans mitt ute i skogen där alla tar vem som helst), de blandar, hör och häpna, till och med in vanlig sång i döds.
Jag ger härmed en utmaning åt _alla_ som läser detta: tipsa mig om ett bra svartmetalband!
Nå, vad lyssnar jag på för döds då?

Döds:
Vi börjar melodiskt med Ablaze My Sorrow. Sverige är ett av de land som ligger på topp när det gäller döds, för både första bandet och Amon Amarth sätter skäck i grannarnas öron, och när man toppar dessa två band med Arch Enemy (flickan i bandet vill man inte träffa i en mörk gränd) så har man den perfekta trion av Svensk brutalitet. And just for laughs: Släng in lite At the gates också, det garanterar dig konstiga blickar från dina grannar.
För de lite lugnare dagarna så lyssnar man såklart på Amorphis när man är sugen på döds, men inte riktigt vill gå hela vägen ut. Deras tema: Kalevala, alla skivor (förutom en) handlar om något ur den Finska folksagan och de kör en form av mellowdeath, om någon undrar.
Om Orcherna och Uruk Haierna i Tolkiens värld skulle lyssna på musik så skulle det garanterat vara Battlelore. Kan döds bli mer fantasy än så? Men det måste påpekas att de ofta tar klivet från döds. Men va fan, det är helt underbart.
På tal om underbart: Ett skivställ utan Dark Tranquillity är ett okomplett skivställ, vilket jag tyvärr måste erkänna att mitt skivställ är för tillfället *skriver en mental post-it lapp*.
Eller, varför inte Eternal Tears of Sorrow eller Ensiferum? Det är två band som skiljer sig från varandra men klarar av genren galant. Det samma säger jag om Eternal Oath, de borde vara större än de är.
Med band som Ghost Brigade och InFlames så är det svårt att inte fylla ut listan med "bästa musiken i världen kommer från Finland och Sverige". Det är otroligt att så små länder som de är kan pumpa ut så mycket som låter som brölloppsklockor i öronen.
Jag gör processen kort och säger att Naildown och Norther är två band som man bör ha hört om man gillar InFlames. Båda är lättlyssnade och underskattade.
För att nu komma till det jag absolut gillar mest inom döds. Progressivt som satan, hårt som titan och musikaliskt som en hök under en störtdykning, Opeth(Del1 Del2 [de gör ickeyoutubeanpassade låtar]). Med sina jazzinfluenser så sopar de banan med all konkurrens. De kan sin sak och Mikael Åkerfeldts röst är ett av de bästa jag hört. Skulle jag välja två band att lyssna på resten av mitt liv så är valet redan gjort, Opeth och Swallow The Sun. Det tidigare med sina de tvära kasten i både musik och sång, det andra för det perfekta samspelet med doom och döds.

Var vore det bättre att sluta denna lista än här? "Man ska alltid sluta på topp" heter det.

Swallow the Sun, 'fragile'

I remember her
dark flowing hair
eyes like deep blue waters
and her skin so fair
I remember her
how she used to sing
melodies so full of sorrow
dreams in the making

she was so fragile
/: lying on my arms, not breathing
I can still hear the echo of her voice
and now as I hear them coming
I take her to our last dance :/

lying on my arms, not breathing
I can still hear the echo of her voice

I remember her
delicate beauty
her eyes so wise and knowing
when she looked at me

she was so fragile
/::/ - the red haze fading
my vision regaining
and on my arms I see
her lifeless body

realizing what I've done
anguish grips my heart
I close her eyes for the last time
and she'll sing no more

she was so fragile
/::/ x2

Campur tangan gitaris Killswitch Engage, Adam Dutkiewicz yang bertindak sebagai produser di album Thrill Sheeker amatlah berperan dalam hal publisitas August Burns Red. Kejelian membaca potensi ‘baru’ yang muncul dipermukaan langsung disambutnya dengan rekahan senyuman. Hasilnya, label yang membesarkan Underoath, Norma Jean, Becoming The Archetype, Twelve Gauge Valentine maupun As Cities Burn, Solid State Records merekrutnya. Sedangkan dikisaran bulan Februari dan Maret 2008 ini, mereka terlibat “Take Action Tour” bersama dengan: Everytime I Die, From First To Last, The Bled dan The Human Abstract.

Album terbaru mereka Messengers telah beredar di bulan Juni tahun 2007 kemarin. Meski proses awalnya dimulai pada bulan Februari 2007, kali ini ditangani oleh produser Tue Madsen (The Haunted, Himsa, Extol dan Dark Tranquility). Berisikan 11 track berhawa “metalcore” yang siap menggerinda telinga kalian. Cukup ber-skill dan memuaskan bila digunakan sebagai referensi eksplor kapablitas personal dikubangan musikalitas, dan interview ini dijawab oleh Drummer mereka, Matt Greiner. Sebagai bukti bahwasanya Agustus masih terbakar dan semakin membara saja! Entah sampai kapan mereka akan padam! Only God knows the answer, it seems...

Bagaimana awal mula August Burns Red berdiri? Apa yang kamu lakukan di August Burns Red?

Saya tinggal di sebuah kota kecil bernama Manheim di mana setiap orang kenal satu sama lainnya dan saya bersama teman-teman mulai membentuk band untuk bersenang-senang, sebuah jam band bila kamu menginginkannya sekalipun. Saya memainkan drum di band tersebut.

Apa makna sebuah label besar bagi kamu? Apakah Solid State sebuah label besar menurut kamu? Apakah kamu pernah merilis sesuatu diluar Solid State? Apakah kamu pikir Solid State cukup adil dengan August Burns Red? Bisa kamu katakana kepada saya berapa banyak orang yang terlibat dengan Solid State Records??

Solid State Records merupakan kekuatan sebuah label yang besar bertemu dengan kepribadian sebuah label yang kecil. Setiap kerja keras sebuah band di Solid State sangatlah penting bagi Solid State dan sangatlah membantu label tersebut, hal itu sangatlah penting.

Apa hal terpenting bagi kamu? Apa prioritas kamu sekarang ini dengan August Burns Red?

Untuk membuat musik yang kreatif dengan sebuah lirik yang hebat.

Apakah kamu kadang merasa kecewa dengan bagimana scene hardcore mengalami perkembangan beberapa tahun belakangan ini? Seperti, ketika kamu berada di suatu festival dan mereka di atas panggung berusaha menjadi tough…dan mereka menggap hal tersebut adalah hardcore…

Saya pikir setiap genre musik pernah memiliki masa keruntuhannya. Di metal, banyak sekali hal yang dapat dikomplain tapi yang jelas banyak juga hal yang patut disyukuri dan direnungkan dikedepannya nanti. There is absolutely nothing new under the sun; dengan band-band seperti: Meshuggah, At The Gates, Pantera, dan Metallica pada dasarnya kamu akan menjumpainya pernah di-cover. I love metal.

Bisakah kamu mendeskripsikan style musik kalian? Apa sebenarnya yang kalian mainkan? Bagaimana kamu bisa berakhir dengan memainkan style yang kamu miliki sekarang ini?

Saya akan mengatakannya, kami adalah metal-core. Kami memiliki beberapa elemen-elemen hardcore dengan banyak sekali part-part metalnya. Setiap orang di dalam band ini telah tumbuh dengan mendengarkan punk, hardcore dan akhirnya metal, dan kita sangatlah enjoy memainkannya. Saya akan selalu maju kedepan dan bilang bahwa kebanyakan musik yang kita dengarkan masing-masing tidak hanya metal. Kita menyukai chill music!

Ketika kamu harus menulis sebuah lagu, saat ini, akan mengenai hal apa yang kamu tulis? Apakah lirik sama pentingnya dengan musik?

Mengenai lirik? Saya akan menulis mengenai apapun yang benar-benar saya rasakan di dalam hati saya saat itu. Apapun dari mulai ide yang paling mendalam hingga mengarah ke tingkat hubungan yang paling simple. Lirik amat sangatlah penting.

Bisakah kamu mengatakan apapun secara spesifik tentang hal yang tidak kamu percaya? Apakah kamu menganut sebuah agama dan melakukan ritualnya? Bila kamu memiliki religi apakah kamu kadang-kadang merasa bahwasannya orang-orang menaruhmu di ‘garis’ yang sama seperti mereka yang benar-benar fanatik dan tidak memiliki rasa hormat terhadap hal-hal lainnya kecuali apa yang mereka percayai sendiri?

Jelasnya akan banyak sekali hal-hal yang saya tidak mempercayinya. Saya tak mau menyebutkannya dan sebagai penggantinya saya akan bilang bahwa saya mempercayai Jesus Christ dan memiliki personal relationship dengan-Nya. Saya pikir Christianity sangatlah personal dan banyak orang merenungkan tentang peraturannya dan ritualnya terlalu sering sehingga lupa akan poinnya.

Apakah kamu juga memperhatikan bahwa orang-orang memperlakukanmu berbeda? Ketika kamu mulai terlibat di dalam hardcore dan hal-hal disampingnya…

Tidak. Saya tidak memperlakukan beda seseorang yang berada di pop sekalipun, kenapa hal yang menurut saya istimewa harus dibedakan.

Secara personal sebenarnya kamu lebih merasa memiliki koneksi dengan metal atau hardcore? Apakah kamu merasa bahwasannya kamu berada di dalam suatu scene atau apapun itu?

Saya sangat menyukai metal dan kurang mendengarkan hardcore. Saya meresa bahwa scene kita sangatlah beragam dan dihuni oleh banyak kaum remaja hingga dewasa. Mereka sangatlah hebat dan kami sangat menyukai kalian semua.

Apakah kalian juga mendiskusikan musik dan lirik secara bersama-sama? Bagaimana cara latihan kalian? Bagaimana kamu menciptakan musik yang kalian buat?

Kita menulis semua musik yang kalian dengarkan. 3 dari 5 member di band (termasuk saya) menulis lirik untuk band. Kita banyak berlatih secara individual dan kurang berlatih secara bersama-sama, hahaha…

Apakah sangat penting bagi kamu tumbuh sebagai musisi?? Apakah kamu merasa lebih bagus sekarang ini?

Sangatlah penting. Berkembang sebagai musisi sangatlah dituntut di dalam band ini.

Apakah kalian pernah melakukan tour besar sebelumnya? Seperti terlibat di line up Ozzfest ataupun Sounds Of The Underground mungkin?

Kita berharap berhasil menggelar sebuah festival musim panas tapi hal tersebut belum tercatat di jadwal kami.

Apa “sukses” menurut kamu? Apakah kamu memiliki sebuah pekerjaan tetap selain dengan August Burns Red?

Sukses sangatlah relatif terhadap siapa kamu mempertanyakannya. Bagi saya mencari uang guna mendukung saya sendiri dan melakukan apa yang saya suka di dalam prosesnya. August Burns Red adalah pekerjaan saya.

Bila kamu harus memilih 5 orang terkenal yang bisa kamu ajak bicara, siapa orang-orang tersebut?

Mereka adalah: Huck Finn, Brad Pitt, Johny Deep, Rachel McAdams, Buddy Rich.

Ceritakan sedikit mengenai Adam Dutkiewicz dari Killswitch Engage? Bagaimana kamu bisa memutuskan untuk kerjasama dengan mereka? Apakah dia menawarkan diri untuk menjadi produser kamu atau kamu mencoba meyakinkan dia untuk menjadi produser kamu?

Dia memproduseri Thrill Seeker, debut full length album kita. Dia adalah salah satu produser hebat di metal. Saya sangat senang sekali bekerjasama dengan dia lagi.

Adakah hal yang jelas ingin kamu lakukan setidaknya sekali saja tapi belum pernah kesampaian?

Melakukan skydiving.

Jika kamu bisa, apakah kamu tertarik hidup dari musik?

Saya hidup dari musik, hal ini sangatlah menyenangkan sekali.

Saya selalu berpikir bahwasannya “Indie” memiliki maksud “Independen”, tapi saya rasa orang-orang menggunakannya untuk sesuatu yang lebih. Bagaimana opini kamu mengenai hal ini?

Saya tak mengerti? Apakah hal tersebut mengenai records label? Indie adalah Independen. Kalau gaya bermusik? Hal tersebut akan disebutnya Indie-Rock, tak kurang dan tak lebih.

Sekarang ini tampaknya jarang sekali band-band yang bekerja keras di dalam level DIY yang kecil, kebanyakan band-band mengambil kesempatan, dan hal ini telah menjadi trend 3 sampai 5 tahun belakangan ini. Bagaimana menurutmu mengenai hal ini? Apakah kamu pikir ketika mereka mengambil kesempatan tersebut guna mendukung untuk membangun komunitas?

Setiap band pasti mulai dari mana saja, kebanyakan memulainya dari sebuah level DIY yang kecil, beberapa cukup beruntung dan melewati level tersebut dan mulai menjadi besar. Untuk terlibat di dalam sebuah band memulai dari yang kecil terlebih dahulu dan memiliki work ethic, jelas akan sangat membantu dalam mempertahankan karakteristiknya.

Apakah kamu pikir ini adalah sebuah tantangan ketika musik Punk/Hardcore atau fashion menjadi sangat pasaran sekali?

Sebuah tantangan? Saya pikir hal tersebut sangatlah hebat, ini adalah pemasaran demi apa yang saya perbuat untuk hidup, tak ada yang buruk mengenai hal itu.

To finish things up : Adakah rencana untuk main di Indonesia? Set some tour right here? And btw, thank for your time. Saya sangat menghargainya sekali. Senang berbicara denganmu. Have a nice day. Sekali lagi, terima kasih.

Kali ini belum ada rencana. If the door is open we'll certainly play! Rock! - Chotax

* Pictures taken from August Burns Red doc.

Hasta los 12 años aproximadamente, yo escuchaba música "normal", más pop que nada, escuché grupos como Parchis, Timbiriche, Hombres G, entre algunos otros. Incluso recuerdo que una vez nos regalaron a mi hermana, no recuerdo quién más y a mi boletos para ver a Timbiriche en vivo e incluso, lo disfrute (¡aghhhhh!, jajaja).

Cuando estaba en la secundaria, un tío por parte de mi papá me regaló algo muy especial, un cassette grabado con los éxitos de un grupo de soft heavy metal llamado Quiet Riot. Dicho casette incluía los 3 más sonados éxitos, Cum on feel the noise, Mama we're all crazy now y Metal health. Instantáneamente, me sentí muy identificado con este tipo de música, por el ritmo, la velocidad, el sonido, ¡todo!.

Seguí escuchando a Quiet Riot hasta el bachillerato cuando, el hijo del mejor amigo de mi abuelo (venían de visita desde USA), me hizo el siguiente gran regalo:  Un cassette con varios grupos de heavy metal, estaban incluidos: MetallicA, Iron Maiden, Anthrax y Guns n' roses (¡agghhhh!).

A partir de ese segundo presente, me gustó mucho Iron Maiden, se volvió mi grupo favorito, de hecho, al día de hoy, me sigue gustando mucho, pero ya vendría un grupo que lo superaría en mi gusto. De los otros tres grupos que venían en el mismo cassette, me gustó también Anthrax, MetallicA no tanto porque nada más venían como tres canciones. De Gun's mejor ni hablo porque no me gustó mucho y a parte, por lo mal que se portaron cuando James Hetfield de MetallicA se quemó en el concierto que daban en conjunto, pero bueno, tal vez por eso, Guns 'n Roses desapareció del planeta y MetallicA siga siendo tan bueno como siempre (Incluso en los pasados grammys 2008, estuvieron nominados otra vez, aunque no ganaron).

Bueno, así permanecí con esos grupos, incluso compré muchos cassettes (en esa época no existían los CDs) de Iron Maiden y Anthrax; hasta que, antes de entrar a estudiar mi carrera, grabé un cassette desde el ya famoso disco negro de MetallicA y casi automáticamente quedé prendado de dicho grupo, con un heavy metal bastante fino y fuerte. De hecho, rescaté el viejo cassette con los varios grupos y le puse mucha atención a las canciones de MetallicA y me di cuenta que eran muy buenas. A partir de ahi, mi enamoramiento con MetallicA fue total, y permanece hasta la fecha. En ese momento tenía yo diecisiete años.

Entrando a estudiar mi carrera, descubrí también otros grupos de heavy metal, que también me gustaron pero que no superaban para nada a MetallicA, entre ellos estaban: Testament, Krokus, Van Halen, Motley Crüe, The Offspring, Greenday.

Ya a mediados de carrera y después de ella, he ido afinando mi gusto musical por géneros desde el Heavy Metal hasta el Death Metal. Con excelentes grupos como Pantera, Slayer, Rammstein y a últimas fechas In Flames, At the Gates, Amon Amarth, Kreator, Manowar.

Debo integrar un sector especial, en el que figuran grupos o autores que no figuran en el heavy metal, pero que si me gusta escuchar:

Música clásica. Mozart (mi favorito), Vivaldi, Beethoven, Bach. Los coros de Carmina burana (aunque estos últimos no son tanto música clásica).

Música mexicana. Los Tigres del Norte, esto porque mi mamá es de Monterrey y bueno, se me quedó este gusto, a parte, tocan muy bien, no es el clásico tamborazo a lo menso de grupos de banda.

Rock en español. Rata Blanca, Angeles del Infierno, La maldita vecindad, Duncan Dhu, entre otros.

Así, espero haber sido claro con el tipo de música de más me gusta.  De estos, mi favorito es:

Aquí les presento el más reciente video de este grupo tan genial. Se llama The day that never comes del disco Death Magnetic.

Celestine hail from Iceland and are absolutely brutal. At first, I had this pegged as a metalcore album until I actually got about halfway through the first song, "Despair" and discovered that At the Borders of Arcadia is largely devoid of anything resembling hardcore influence at all.

I actually found that refreshing in a way as my mailbox is usually inundated with metallic hardcore faux pas which, for the sake of my own sanity, I usually ignore. This is pure, punishing metal with tons of gloomy undertones and intricate rhythms. Not something I normally get into, but well played enough where it kept my attention for awhile.

There were no lyrics posted with the artwork for the album, so I cannot decipher the screams and howls that are going on throughout these six songs...I don't even know if the words are being sung in English or Icelandic. But it sounds intense and angry, so I'm assuming the vocalist is expressing cathartic sentiments or maybe just raging about how much he hates McDonalds hamburgers...I'm not sure.

I can't in good conscious say this is an amazing album and it's going to be playing in my stereo often, but I can say that it kept me entertained while I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the stove. I'll call it pretty good for a style of music I generally don't understand. If you're into driving, elaborate metal; I'd recommend picking this up. However, this isn't really for me.

"It seems pointless after 12 years. I think people might think they want it, but when they actually hear it I don't think they'll want it anymore. That's our feeling about it, at least. Slaughter of the Soul was a very good album to end with, as it would be very hard to top."

To be honest, I have no fucking idea who this guy is. I may have heard of At The Gates a couple of times, but my mind has been on other things my whole life. He does have a point though, and maybe some bands should pay attention to this. If you're old, no one really cares about your new music. The big bands like AC/DC, Metallica, and Led Zeppelin may be able to get away with it, but if you weren't huge the first time around, chances are you won't be the second and third time, either. More advice for bands: If you're trying to make it big, don't look like these guys. I've seen a boy band made up of AIDS victims and lepers that pull more puss. Give 'em credit though, it's original.

Tur att At the Gates på Debaser Medis inte blev en av de kvällarna. Betyget som sattes där och då var "förmodligen det bästa jag sett", och jag står kvar vid det även ett par dagar efteråt.

Det börjar med Slaughter of the soul, sedan Cold och sen fortsätter det bara. Vad jag kan minnas körs hela Slaughter of the soul-plattan, därtill kommer Raped by the light of Christ (yes alltså!!), Windows, All life ends, Neverwhere och Kingdom Gone, har säkert missat nån och eventuellt blandat ihop något.

Debaser Medis var tjockt med folk, utsålt sedan länge natürlich, och Tompa Lindberg är värd entrépengen bara han. Jävlar vad skön han är, resten av bandet med för den delen iofs, och det känns lite sorgligt när man går därifrån, att veta att det inte blir någon mer gång. Då är man å andra sidan så klart ännu mer tacksam för att man de facto var där och tog chansen när den nu bjöds.

Svårt att skriva något vettigt om en spelning som känns så jävla viktig och bra på så många sätt att det liksom saknar proportioner.

Sitter uppe i Stockholm. I morgon blir det At the Gates på Debaser Medis. Jag är mer taggad inför en spelning än jag varit på länge. Förhoppningsvis kommer det bli en total överkörning i morgon. Knökfullt och laddat som fan, har svårt att se hur det inte ska kunna bli en galen tillställning.

Fick in första omtenta/restresultatet idag. Inkasserade ett VG i den webbpubliceirngskurs som jag höll på med i våras. Skönt som fan att se de röda fälten i resultatwebben bli färre och färre. Också en bra anledning att göra morgondagen till en hejdundrande tillställning.

The first two days of Hole in the Sky, however, are being held at the club level, at the local metal-lagoon Garage. Things are a bit more cramped and smaller, but the level of intimacy with the bands are priceless. When I realized that Exodus, surprisingly, were going to headline the Garage at thursday, there couldn't be a shred of doubt in my mind. I was going. Just getting the legendary thrashers in the line-up was a victory.

Thursday:

I entered the facilities to a barrage of brutal noise. As soon as I'd settled in with a beer in my hand, I lined up for the spectacle. Cephalic Carnage (6,5/10) was new to me, but I rather fancied their brand of brutal death metal. With prior knowledge, I reckon they easily would've climbed my scoresheet. My bad.

Next up was the former Roadrunner-crew 3 Inches of Blood (8/10). Their immediate appeal simply can't be denied. It's upbeat and fun, especially with their over-the-top shrieking vocal (resembling Rob Halford at his most castrato). 'Deadly Sinners' is the ultimate payoff and concludes their set. We even got to shake our heads a little as well.

It's time for Exodus (9,5/10) and the crowd gather in front of the stage. The band rips through their classics, fronted by the menacing Rob Duke. They crave total mayhem among the audience, and gets it, a little by little for each song. When the gig hits it's zenith with 'Toxic Waltz', the venue is on fire as moshpits break out. I even made full-contact with a hyperactive Frost of Satyricon. A triumph in all aspects, I only missed that final spark that would've made the place totally disintegrate. I will treasure this night. It was also great talking too Danny Lilker (Nuclear Assault/Brutal Truth) outside the venue.

Friday:

The first night at the Culture House USF, with some real treats at the bill. I was psyched to see one of the great new bands around, Municipal Waste (8/10). Their alcohol-fueled crossover thrash sits very well with my mindframe this evening, and happily, I'm not the only one that was excited about this. Vocalist Tony Foresta is shouting his frantic lyrics, doing some stagediving og feed the audience beer. It's great fun, and some of the songs are extremely short. And of course; a grandiose climax with 'Bangover' with the anthem 'Municipal Waste is gonna fuck you up!'

It was time to get serious again with the towering Behemoth (9/10). The poles does a great job with their extreme music, powering vocals and vicious speed. And Nergal is a charismatic front figure, and fire up the crowd with ease.  I have to admit that my knowledge of the band is limited, with only brief listening to the albums 'Demigod', 'The Apostacy' and 'Thelema'. But the band really won me over!

Meshuggah (10/10) were out next. Their technical and unpredicatble music is always exciting, and although I'd attended the band earlier, I was more than ready for the new stuff. It was even better than expected, and when the blistering 'Future Breed Machine' hits home, the crowd erupts. Absolute killer.

So for the main dish of the evening; Carcass (10/10). With such a load of material, it can't go wrong. I even ventured into the heart of the moshpit, so I became a sweaty mess afterwards. But very pleased indeed. The tunes of 'Necroticism' and 'Heartwork' was especially well received, but their range even included 'Keep on Rotting in the Free World' from 'Swansong'. The band seemed as vital as any, with a humorous Jeff Walker smalltalking between songs. Great outlook, awesome gig.

It was such a wonderful evening that the party simply had to go on. On my way to the after-party, I walked with Land Phil (of Municipal Wasted), and quizzed him on their musical references. If any of us had been anything remotely sober, I probably could have posted his answers here. I'm only able to recollect two words: 'D.R.I' and 'Nuclear Assault' (which sadly had to cancel).

Of course, the after-party lasted until 10 A.M, and there had to be consequences.

Saturday

I wake up in a somewhat confused state, and the clock is closing 9 P.M. I've spent about 300 bucks last night, and just want to rest. But the thought of missing out is pure torture, and I'm able to convince myself on going. Only too bad that I've wasted the opportunity to attend Gehenna, Nachtmystium, Primordial and Keep of kalessin. Oh woe me!

But I'll be damned if I'm going to sit out the reunion of At The Gates (9,5/10). The vibe is electric, and although I'm suffering under the heat, it's great to hear the classics of 'Slaughter of the Soul'. And they deliver the goods! They seem just as excited and grateful as us to be here, and praises the crowd time and time again. And how can you go wrong with 'Terminal Spirit Disease', 'Under a Serpent Sun', 'Cold' and 'Blinded by Fear'? A worthy climax of another great festival!

Visit Metalshots for more pics. Courtesy Mira Born

All photos courtesy of Christian Misje.

Today we will start with Iron Maiden, Obituary, Carcass and At the Gates. Part 2 will contain Primordial, Gorgoroth and Ensiferum.  The final part will be about organization, food, camping-grounds and maybe a photo gallery.

Please note that there have been nearly 100 bands playing at Wacken, so we haven’t been able to attend every single one of them. Especially since the MFG crew likes to drink and party hard! :)

Iron Maiden... Well, I have bittersweet feelings about this gig. Needless to say, the concert itself was superb! (as all Iron Maiden concerts I suppose) They’re gods on stage. Bruce Dickinson is still in perfect shape, singing, running and jumping around like a young lad in his twenties. Doubting the skill of any band member would be simply out of place. They played mostly hits from their eighties period: “The Number Of The Beast” (of course), “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Two Minutes To Midnight”, “The Trooper”, “Aces High”, the 13-minute long “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” (!) but also“Fear Of The Dark”. These classic tunes still sound fresh, although fans of their recent works may have been slightly disappointed since they didn’t play any songs from their new albums.

The BIG disappointment however, was not Iron Maiden but the HUGE CROWD. We were lucky to find a place not too far away from the stage but a lot of people couldn’t even enter the festival area! The result was that we didn’t have a chance to catch even a glimpse of what was happening on stage and had to content ourselves with the large screens to get an idea of the visual aspect...

Obituary played a consistent but not all too original gig. “Find The Arise”, “Slowly We Rot”, “Threatening Skies” and more of their classic songs could convince the fans, but for someone who listens to them only occasionally (like me), the songs got pretty repetitive after a while. Still, I’m glad to have seen one of the Death Metal pioneers at least once in my life.

Carcass played a legendary concert. I couldn't identify all the songs of their play list though, since I’m not perfectly familiar with their complete works. But “Incarnated Solvent Abuse” was definitely on that list, with Angela Gossow suddenly showing up and taking over vocal duties during that song. Jeff Walker, Carcass’ frontman, spoke a lot between each song and didn’t hesitate to put some extra layers of fine English humor (“In fact, we still hate Arch Enemy” after Angela had returned backstage)

After Iron Maiden, At The Gates was the band I was most looking forward to. And I was not disappointed. I think they played the whole “Slaughter Of The Soul” album, plus some older classics like “Terminal Spirit Disease” and “Kingdom Come”. An audio-orgasm for anyone who claims to be a melodic death metal fan.

(End of Part 1)

Black Wizard & SvArt

Para além de algumas datas já confirmadas pelos suecos At The Gates, agora juntou-se um concerto na capital grega Atenas, no dia 21 Setembro. Ainda não existe data para Portugal. Veja as datas já confirmadas em baixo.

2 Aug. - Wacken, Alemanha - Wacken Open Air
17 Aug. - Derbyshire, Inglaterra - Bloodstock Open Air
30 Aug. - Bergen, Noruega - Hole In The Sky Festival
3 Set. - Kulturbolaget (KB) - Malmö, Suécia
5 Set. - Trädgårn - Gotemburgo, Suécia
6 Set. - Debaser - Estocolmo, Suécia
7 Set. - Debaser - Estocolmo, Suécia
21 Set. - Gagarin 205 - Atenas, Grécia

Les précurseurs du death métal suédois !

liens : Portail fer forgé - pit bike - référencement e-commerce - sono

Los siguientes grupos están ya confirmados:

3 Inches of Blood
Iron Maiden
Children of Bodom
Cynic
As I Lay Dying
Axel Rudi Pell
Before the Dawn
Crematory
Corvus Corx
Dream of an Opium Eater
Destructor
EXODUS
Enemy of the Sun
Excrementory Grindfuckers
Evocation
Ensiferum
Gorgoroth
Gorerotted
Girugämesh
Grave
Hatebreed
Head Hunter
Job for a Cowboy
Kreator
Krypteria
Killswitch Engage
Lord Belial
Lordi
Leaves Eyes
Nightwish
Nifelheim
Machine Men
Mercenary
Obituary
Opeth
Saltatio Mortis
Sonata Arctica
Sabaton
Soilwork
Sturm und Drang
The Bones
Autumn
At the Gates
Avantasia
Axxis
Powerwolf
Carcass
Crematory
tortures quad
The Bones
Primordial
PsychoPunch
Unearth
Van Canto
Warbringer
Watain
MAS 50 GRUPOS X CONFIRMAR..

PARA MAS INFORMACION:
http://www.wacken.com/

VIAJE ORGANIZADO A WACKEN 2008!

salida desde Lorca, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona y Girona.

salida el dia 28 de julio.
llegada a AMSTERDAM sobre las 9 de la mañana del 29 de julio ( estaremos 10 horas) salida a las 6.30 de la tarde.

llegada a HAMBURGO sobre las 11 de la noche del dia 29 de julio ( FIESTA POR LOS PUB HEAVY´S) (estaremos 6 horas) salida a las 5.30 de la mañana.

llegada a WACKEN el dia 30 de julio( un dia antes del festival) sobre las 6.30 de la mañana.

salida de WACKEN noche del sabado dia 2 de agosto madrugada del dia 3 de agosto a las 5 de la mañana( 2 horas despues de acabar el festival)

llegada a españa el dia 4 de agosto por la mañana.

ida y vuelta+ camping+ entrada: 275 euros.

PLAZAS LIMITADAS...

CONTACTO: VALKYRIE 687938738

diosa_del_infierno_7_2@hotmail.com

Si es algo que también esperaba mucho de este viaje fue el asistir a este concierto, primero ver AT THE GATES una de las bandas death preferidas mias de los 90s y segundo por estar en tan legendario lugar como el IRVING PLAZA de New York, o conocido hasta el año pasado como el LIVE AT THE FILLMORE.

Un lugar tan pequeño como para 1,000 personas, pero tan clasico donde han pasado estrellas como los Rolling Stones, Jimi hendrix, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, etc… y también lugar donde han sido grabados discos famosos, entre ellos unos de mis favoritos de todos los tiempos, el de Jimi Hendrix: Band Of Gypsys, un discazo de cabo a rabo.

Bueno era martes 09/07/2008 y luego del juego Drays-Yankees ese mismo dia, y luego de preguntar en que area esta ubicado el Irving plaza , nos fuimos al UNION SQUARE, esta zona conocida como Union Square, una zona tipo bohemia con ambiente a la vieja europa y mucho comercio alrededor (como todo en manhattan).

Despues de preguntar en donde sera el concierto puedo dar con el Irving plaza y veo la linea de personas haciendo cola. Y para mi sorpresa, los rockeros alla son igualitos que aquí en venezuela, gorditos con barba y pelo largo jeje, parecia un toque chorometalero, pues me sentia como en casa. Era una hora antes del concierto y me matar el hambre con una buena pizza en en los alrededores del Irving plaza.

Ya eran las 7.30pm y comenzaba el show con la banda Toxic Holocaust, Municipal Waste y Darkest Hour. Estas dos ultimas si he escuchado algo de ellas. Ya eran las 10pm y el turno era para ATG, se escucha un intro bien arrechos con voces como de frailes y de unas misas, el publico coreaba !!!AT THE GATES, AT THE GATES!!! , no fue sino que salieron al escenario y comenzaron con el clasico Slaughter of The Soul, pura cabilla de principio a fin, era la gira de reunion y el 1er show en USA de esta gira, asi que mejor no pudo estar.

El set list de AT THE GATES fue:

01. Slaughter Of The Soul
02. Cold
03. Terminal Spirit Disease
04. Raped By The Light Of Christ
05. Under A Serpent Sun
06. Windows
07. World Of Lies
08. The Burning Darkness
09. The Swarm
10. Forever Blind
11. Nausea
12. The Beautiful Wound
13. Suicide Nation
14. All Life Ends
15. Need
16. Blinded By Fear
17. The Flames Of The End (from tape)

Esta banda y Carcass son unas de las reuniones mas esperadas este año, espero que Carcass los pueda ver tambien este año.

At The Gates es:

• Tomas Lindberg − vocals
• Anders Björler − guitar
• Martin Larsson − guitar
• Jonas Björler − bass guitar
• Adrian Erlandsson − drums

Slaughter of the Soul

Slaughter of the Soul is one of the most important metal releases of the 1990s. The production style, atmosphere, and most importantly riffs forever changed melodic death metal. "They're just At the Gates rip-offs!" is one of the most commonly heard criticisms of derivative melodic death metal bands. But when you write the book, you have to expect some sentences to be copied…

Slaughter of the Soul is their last album, but At the Gates have a respectable back catalogue of work. From more primitive, visceral Swedish death metal ala Entombed or Dismember on the Gardens of Grief EP to the very ambitious With Fear I Kiss the Burning Darkness full-length, their progression was slow but persistent. The EP before Slaughter, Terminal Spirit Disease, hinted at what would appear next: the oddly-picked rhythm guitars, Tomas's increasingly desperate vocals and creative drumming were present, but the ingredients hadn't solidified.

The first thing you notice about Slaughter of the Soul is the production. The drums are very apparent, the cymbals are bright and the bass drums have enough treble to pull them out of the muddy swamp that engulfs too many metal drum sounds. The snare cracks viciously while the toms are perfectly balanced. The guitar tone, product of a homemade speaker cabinet, is thick and deep while still distinct. The production has a definite clean, almost industrial feel. Aided by the machine-tight musicianship the album speeds forward with mechanical precision. The production is even more impressive after watching the "Making Of" DVD. It shows how low-budget the recording process was. For example, Tomas was forced to run towards a microphone while screaming in order to create a "fade in" effect.

Tomas' vocals are perfect. On the previous albums his voice sounded forced and a little tiring, but here he performs with undeniable authority. He delivers lyrics with conviction and desperation. My favorite moment on the entire album is the break in "Cold": the guitars drop out and Tomas pleads "Twenty-two years of pain/And I can feel it closing in…". The lyrics are claustrophobic, simultaneously isolated from and overpowered by society. They paint images of modern day chaos: "There won't be another dawn/We will reap as we have sewn" and "Only the dead are smiling". Many of the lyrics repeat song titles from the album, lending Slaughter more lyrical cohesion. Other Gothenburg bands may have similar riffs and production, but no other Gothenburg album is as lyrically powerful.

The guitar parts on Slaughter of the Soul are unparalleled. Many bands harmonize intelligently while alternating between open strings and pentatonic notes. But the guitarist's years of experience result in the some of the best riffs and song structure in the genre. Part of AtG's unique sound is a product of picking style – root notes are sometimes simply alternate picked, or double picked, or "galloped" like Iron Maiden. Pay close attention, sometimes the guitars are picked with a mix of styles, a strange shuffling pattern that flits dangerously around the simplistic "Slayer beat" of the drummer. The songs are streamlined, usually with only four or five riffs. Slaughter of the Soul is perfectly lean. The band only allowed the best material on the album. A bonus track on the re-release called "The Dying" did not make the final cut, despite being better than most melodeath tripe released today.

A few beautiful instrumental interludes tie the album together perfectly, providing an ominous respite during the chaos. "The Flames of the End" works perfectly as the album closer. It plays out like the end credits to a movie. The album would be too jarring with out the closing track. It’s the final song after the musical soundtrack to the Apocalypse. As the ashes are settling the tension mounts one last time before the album returns to darkness. We are once again blind to the worlds within us, waiting to be born…

Links:

At the Gates myspace (includes current US tour/Euro festival info)

Link to official At the Gates guitar tablature (.zip file)

At the Gates official site

I love to read, write and listen to extreme metal (among other things). Beyond that I love BBQ and beer. Typical, right? Wrong! I happen to love Lone Star & Shiner beers, both of which are brewed in Texas. Lone Star is my favorite "cheap" beer--screw Pabst--but you will find no finer beer than Shiner's Hefeweizen (I am also partial to Shiner Blonde). I discovered Shiner, a much smaller brewery, strangely, before Lone Star, which happens to be "The National Beer of Texas." Shiner is brewed in Shiner, Texas at the K. Spoetzl Brewery. I have never been on a brewery tour before, and told myself that I ever did make it to Texas, by hook or crook/hell or high water, I would visit the Shiner brewery. I have dreamed of visiting Shiner for years...

Several months ago Nancee and I were watching a Travel Channel show highlighting "Bastions of Barbeque." From North Carolina and Tennessee through Texas and Arkansas all the way out to San Francisco! the narrator told of these legendary "Meccas of Meat" that locals all praised in one fashion or another [Note: The restaurant in San Francisco was owned/operated by a couple from Alabama who knew what REAL sweet tea was as well as the importance of rib-sticking mac-n-cheese for a side dish.]. Every bastion visited featured several vignettes appropriate for the art of good BBQing: the type of smoking pit, preparation, proper temperature, the type of wood used, rub or no rub and possibly the most important: sauce or no sauce, which in many cases featured "secret" ingredients or was a family (read "secret" again) recipe handed down through the generations.

Now Nancee & I are spoiled. 30 minutes to the south of Athens lies Madison, Georgia. And in Madison is Crowe's BBQ. Crowe's BBQ is run by Mr. Crowe who happens to be the cousin of one of my college friends. I have eaten BBQ in Virginia, North & South Carolina, Florida, Alabama (Dreamland in Tuscaloosa), Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida. And while I love Dreamland's BBQ, no one, I repeat, NO ONE, has better BBQ than Crowe's BBQ. (Crowe's does not have a website so do not bother looking for it on the Internet. But if you ever find yourself in Georgia and wanting some of the most excellent BBQ you have ever put in your mouth then you should seek out Crowe's.) Sauce or no sauce, Mr. Crowe's BBQ has a perfect balance of flavor and smokiness. His BBQ is CONSISTENTLY moist and pulls right off the bone (if you eat ribs like I do then you know that this is an all-important gauge much like a moonshiner inspecting "the bead."). Frankly, I'm salivating right now just thinking about his pork ribs and I'm sitting in a hotel in San Antonio!

As most BBQ enthusiasts know BBQ is different depending upon the region in which it is cooked. Same goes for the base that comprises the sauce. Pepper, vinegar or mustard base are the fingerprints that tell of a BBQ sauce's origins. Beyond sauces we cannot forget the "dry rub", which is popular in Memphis, St. Louis and in some parts of Texas. Dry rub is a meat rub, or seasoning, generally featuring a salt and pepper base with additional spices and/or herbs for flavor. The varieties are as varied and unique as those that create them. Meat-wise, in the southeast BBQ mostly consists of pork BBQ. In Texas, they have pork, but the Travel Channel narrators also told of the sausage and beef brisket, which comes either lean or moist (marbled). With a devilish look in my eye I asked Nancee what she thought about going to Texas to search out these places. She agreed that that might be fun.

Several weeks later, I learned that Swedens' At The Gates was playing three shows in Texas one of which was to take place in San Antonio. These shows were the closest they were coming to Georgia and since this was not only their "reunion" tour, but also their FINAL tour (the band had been broken up for over a decade) I looked into flight prices and asked Nancee if she would like to ACTUALLY vacation in Texas so I could attend the show and on the side eat some BBQ, and if at all possible, visit the Shiner brewery. Neither her nor I had been to Texas so it made sense although one might ask why we would visit Texas in the summer? We have plenty of heat in Georgia, why vacation someplace that may be HOTTER? Well, I would say that "I'm crazy," but that would be self-annihilating, so I will say that the real reasons were that I had seen At The Gates open for Napalm Death on At The Gates' now-legendary "Slaughter Of The Soul" tour. To witness them again, and for the last time, was an event not to be missed. Additionally, I know Tomas Lindberg, At The Gate's vocalist, whom I met while working at Relapse Records in 2004/5. He is one of the most genuine people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and I wanted very much to see him again. The icing on the proverbial cake came via personal friends Municipal Waste from Richmond, Virginia who were also on the bill. I try to see/visit them every chance I get. Darkest Hour, a band that I was not familiar with, was providing main support, and ultimately (and to my surprise), Toxic Holocaust was added as another opener to further bolster an already killer bill. 

After booking our flights I started to research BBQ joints from notes that I had taken after watching the Travel Channel's "BBQ Bastions" show. Of all of the places they highlighted the two main BBQ restaurants  of interest in Texas were Kreuz Market in Lockhart and Stubb's in Austin. Opened in 1900, Kreuz (pronounced "kr-ites") was reputed to be the absolute best BBQ in Texas. Their brisket was said to be "divine." I had to go. Nancee told me that she had always wanted to visit Stubb's, which was also renowned for its live music venue. From this we worked out our trip itinerary. I did some further research online to find other well-known BBQ establishments with plans to try and visit as many as Nancee and my stomach would allow.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

I'm writing in you today (tonight) because I have stumbled into Sonny J's Disastro, which is such an amazing album that I cant figure out why it doesnt show up on hardly anyone's radar. 

This is the album I have been looking for in all the wrong places these past couple years. I keep thinking DJ Shadow or Diplo or RJD2 or Boom Bip might have something new and decent- but all i'm left with is some lobster and scrimp mix or an AEIOU, which while good, are far from satisfying.

Disastro is his debut album that was let out going on a month ago. I cant figure out why this isnt taking off like a rocket full of potential. I feel its goofy and cutesy in the way of The Go! Team and upbeat in the way of the Jackson 5. Its an electronic album that isnt afraid to get acoustic and heartfelt like if Holly GoLightly contributed to a more sober version of the last Cut Copy release and the whole thing was dipped in a glaze of pop, thrown in the oven for awhile and served up ironically cold to an internet public that appears to be largely ignoring them.

Better yet- it picks up where The Avalanches Since I Left You left off. As I write this now, its not showing up on pitchfork, metacritic, its listed but not reviewed on allmusic.

And I havnt even finished listening to it yet and I feel this way. 

All a quick google search turned up was one mediocre review on Drowned in Sound. 

If this album doesnt generate some buzz soon, this is going to be my number one under rated album for 2008. I feel the same way about this album as I did The Chromatics' IV when that first hit, even though it did eventually come to fruition as Night Drive. 

I thought I had really lucked out because Girl Talk's Feed the Animals turned out to be better than I have expected. Right as I was starting to figure out the major flaw with Feed the Animals, that while it appears that Girl Talk is coming from a place of abundance on this album (it felt like he was stretching at times on the last one) the formula change from the last album has left this one low on the repeat value. 

Disastro clearly takes its place of the top party album in my itunes for this coming work week. 

It in conjunction with Lindstrom's Reinterpretations (i'm a little late on this one) are taking over my electronic listening time. Reinterpretations is another great front to back electronic album that I fell into after listening to Prins Thomas' Prins Thomas Presents Cosmo Galactic Prism and reading that the two were frequent nordic collaborators. 

Speaking of Nords and predictable intro phrases on a paragraph- I went to go see the At The Gates renion tour last night at the Worcester Palladium. I wanted to make it over there again tonight for the P-funk show, but last nights Swedish metal has left my ears still ringing. I suspected that they may have altered the sound of the guys mic to give his voice the quality that it use to have a dozen years ago. 

I dont know why I started going to metal shows again. There is something about metal culture that comes across as living in its own backward bubble, and of being far more superficially ignorant than other genres. I feel like metal music is just no longer relevant in the world and pockets of it like that of Worcester come across as almost time lapses of long hair, a fixation with evil (whatever that is), and tattoos that are meaningless. Maybe i'm getting old. 

I was pissed because the bartender kept passing me by for about 15 minutes until he finally served my friend who bought my beer with his. Why he was obviously ignoring me I had no idea. And I was pissed because we showed up a little late and only saw the very end of Municipal Waste, who happen to have a sound more to my old fashion speed metal taste.

I came across a band called The Gaslight Anthem and picked up The '59 Sound recently. I cant tell if they have a lot of promise or if i've been brained washed due to my own peculiar life experience of having parents to subjected me to some much Bruce Springsteen at an early age that, combined with coming of age with a childhood girlfriend who shared in Gin Blossoms in the background car drives, and when I went to go see the Murphy's on St. Patricks day 2000 right after Sing Loud Sing Proud hit but before we all realized it was the first album of a slippery slope to sell-outdom, and my college days of pounding beers while listening to The Replacements a decade after their last major album. 

I read that they are on joining up on the Warp Tour. This information alone makes me want to never read or hear another thing about who they are personally. I've had too many bands that i've stumbled into with high hopes only to find out the band members are tools by which point I can never listen to their music again due to the negative mental associations. 

Other notable picks up are Yusef Lateef's The Blue, a great jazzy bluesy album roughly in the manner of the Cowboy Bebop Soundtrack (how bad is it that I have such a low comprehension of jazz music that this best comparison I can come up with). 

The Yusef Lateef fits well with my current Bert Jansch phase. I have had his self titled apparently famous folk album from 1965 for a couple weeks. I had never heard of him until scanning some forums. It was a well worthy find, he at times reminds me of Gary Higgens or at least makes me sentimental for his Red Hash album.

Sorry for the lack of images on this post, I have some photos of at the gates in my cell phone, maybe i'll stop being lazy eventually.

Please, spread this link (repost a blog, forward on as a bulletin, etc...)
If you want to use them for anything else, message me back.
you can write reviews or read them here
At The Gates (308)
Darkest Hour (137)
Municipal Waste (122)
Randomshots (14)
Toxic Holocaust (83)


Some Images:

AT THE GATES is back after 12 years!! Yes, the last time we got to see them was back in 1996 as they supported headliners Napalm Death. (I saw two dates on that tour-The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ and at 7 Willow St in Portchester, NY)

The Swedish Death Metal greats chose to kick off their SUICIDAL FINAL TOUR 2008 right here in NYC. What an honor! We showed our appreciation by making sure both nights were totally Sold Out!

It was hotter than the blazes of hell at Irving, but they nonetheless lived up to all of our expectations and played a fantastically heavy show. Every song sounded amazing, and I haven't seen a pit this intense in a helluva while!!

Thanks to all the fans who came out to support them. This is TRULY one of Metal's GREAT bands.

See ya at the next show!
xoxo
Cat

"...Only the dead are smiling..."
-At The Gates
"Cold"