Fagerlund's reviews

So, I've fallen behind a bit on these reviews... so lets make a short summary of the gigs I've been to the last two months and maybe I'll get back on track after that... maybe.

 

 

First up were Deathronation, Melodic Death from Germany. It was all right, but a bit too much of the same for me. After that was Degial... but during their soundcheck there was a power failure... Anyhow, once they got going it was... crappy sound as hell. I'm starting to think this is how Degial wants to sound since it's always so bad... oh well.

After that it was time for Obliteration from Norway! Not many Death Metal bands you hear about from there actually, which is a shame judging by this band. It's Oldschool and it's raw, powerful. In the vein of Autopsy. Awesome stuff!

 

 

First gig ever for these guys! At a pub in the middle of nowhere... that usually has karaoke for entertainment. Ahwell, you have to start somewhere! It's Folk Metal anyhow, with roots in Black but still being very Melodic. If you think old Vintersorg you're not far off, but they also have other elements in there. One song made me think of Ensiferum for example. Pretty interesting stuff!

 

 

Nominon were supposed to play with Sorcery(!) and Sordid Flesh, but that gig was cancelled sadly... instead they got this gig showing it wasn't Nominon who failed at least! First out where local Thrashers Obsyria. Not awesome, but decent. Protector from Germany was up next... and a frontman who didn't speak a word English so he was speaking German all night! Unusual! But it was quite nice Death/Thrash. A bit repetitive though.

Last out, Nominon! Veterans by now, and they were pretty pumped it seemed! They made a really solid show, not quite as good as last time I saw them (where I basically broke my neck) but damn good. It's one of those bands who knows what to do, and they just deliver.

 

I must admit I don't really remember Asylium... Blackshine was some Heavy Metal though, not very great to my ears at least...

Terminal Prospect, playing Melodic Death Metal in the vein of Dark Tranquillity etc. Pretty young band, but the members has managed to be around for a while so they deliver a nice and tight show. Good stuff!

 

 

There were some other bands playing this night as well that I don't even remember the names of so... heh. I was there to see Fimbultyr! A band I was listening to back when they only had a demo out, and now they were suddenly playing in Stockholm so I was really curious to hear what had become of them! Folk/Black Metal, with a nice mixture of fast and slow. Wasn't disappointed!

After that was Very Serious Black Metallers Skoll. Not memorable at all. Last out were Myrkvedr from Gothemburg, playing Folk Metal with all kinds of instruments and such. Here's a pro tip: that usually doesn't work at a cellar bar gig. The moment they stopped with accordion and played songs with a flute instead it all was much better. But the sound was still really bad which hurt them pretty bad I think. But lots of energy and good connection with the crowd at least!

 

 

Now, Amon Amarth in Stockholm is always worth seeing. But first out where re-born NWoBHM band Hell! Was really curious to see these guys actually, since I quite like their stuff. And they didn't disappoint, they delivered a really nice theatrical set. Their one downside is that they have a bit too much of the same thing, so it gets a bit repetitive. But really nice gig!

Carcass up next. "The Arch Enemy Tribute Band from England" acording to Jeff's introduction. Hah. Honestly I think Carcass has released one of the very best albums this year, so was looking forwards to this gig a lot! And well, it was Carcass. Funny talk from Jeff, great riffs, awesome song choices. Good stuff all around!

And then there's that Amon Amarth playing at their homefield thing. I've never been listening to Amon Amarth really, but still I don't miss a chance to see them live - because live they're really, really good. And when they play in Stockholm the atmosphere is always amazing. And this time was no different. We also got a world premiere with Messiah Marcollin on stage for Hel, and as usual when I see Amon Amarth LG Petrov was there for Guardians of Asgard as well. All in all very nice!

 

 

Starkill, Wintersun-inspired band from Chicago. Musically these guys were great... but the vocals really brought them down. He sounded like a dying crow or something. No melody, no nothing. Which made these guys not very memorable at all for me really. Maybe they'll improve in the future though!

Amorphis, another of those bands that I don't really listen to but I always try to see them when I get the chance. Their atmospheric music is so good live, it really drags you in. And again, this time was no different. Really solid set, good songs, great performance. It was also the last gig of the tour, so they were like a well oiled machine on stage. And you could tell they really enjoyed playing this night, and the crowd was really good as well!

 

 

A chance to see Darkane! That was unexpected. With Lawrence (F.K.Ü. etc)  on vocals and Wildoer (Pestilence, LaBrie, Soilwork etc) on drums you know it's going to be good. I didn't expect it to be THIS good though. This was an awesome show! One of the best this year for sure! I was blown away!

How would Dark Tranquillity follow that one up then? Well, as you might've read above there was great support for Amon Amarth and Amorphis the two previous days... so I was kind of used to great support at this point... and well, the support for Dark Tranquillity simply blow those other shows out of the water. Incredible crowd this night! And you could tell Stanne was loving every second of this show, which just went great all around. Really skilled musicians, so obviously they delivered, but what makes DT so good live is Stanne. His crowd connection is just amazing. He even let a girl sing a whole verse for one song, I don't know if that was planned or not (because she actually sang really good) but it's still a really cool thing - and well, seeing Stannes huge smile during that part makes me think it was simply a fan! I must say it was a bit weird seing them without a bass player though, but the bass was pretty much drowned in the mix anyway I guess... Great show in either case!

 

So I went to Uppsala for this one, where Matte Modin's Eldkraft were supposed to play as well but unfortunately had to cancel due to illness. Ereb Altor were still playing though, and well - this is pretty much a tribute band to the Viking-era Bathory. They do their thing really well, but lack the emotion of Quorthon. But still really good. And no surprise when they finished the set with a Bathory-cover as well.

Thyrfing! They released a really good album this year, which was a big step up from the last one in my opinion. So this one I was looking forwards to! And well, they basically played the best songs from that one and mixed in some old ones as well. Some really old ones actually. Jens is doing well on those these days, but I still miss Väänänen and his anger. Still a really great show!

 

 

Cthonic who I've seen before at Wacken opened this night, Black Metal from Taiwan isn't something you see everyday. Allthough, they've changed their style a lot since then - now they're more Melodic Death. It was quite nice, some pretty nice songs.

Satyricon was quite some time since I last saw actually! I must say I'm not overy impressed by the new album, but I've been told it's one of those you have to listen to quite a lot before it all falls in place. But that doesn't really matter, because they played my four favourite songs from my favourite album Now, Diabolical anyway! That was totally unexpected to hear so many songs from a pretty old album! With that said, I'm happy with the show. But the rest of the show was really good as well, as Satyr is an awesome frontman which is unusual for Black Metal - all though I guess Satyricon is something else these days. This was also one of those shows where the support was absolutely amazing. Last gig on the tour, and they bring it all and are well recieved. They actually made a special one for us, and played Phoenix from the latest album with pop/rock singer Sivert Høyem on stage! Satyr told us afterwards that people told him "Should you really play that one? It would be really controversial." And well, people loved it so Satyr was absolutely right to play that song. Really good show!

 

So Myrkertidhs second gig then! This time with a bit of a bigger crowd, but only time for three songs. A bit more secure in the show I think, despite being cramped up on a really small stage (they're six people in the band) and once again they delivered a enjoyable set. Too bad the sound was a bit bad, but other than that it was nice!

Two of the members of Myrkertidh are also in Withershin (vocals and drummer) who played right after. Was quite some time since last time I saw them! But they play straight up, raw Black Metal. I don't know if it was poor sound on stage or they just weren't in shape but it was a bit off for the first half of the gig. They did pick up pace for the second half though, and delivered a nice gig.

Last out were Netherbird with mighty Fjellström on drums. He's in my oppinion one of the very best drummers in Sweden, so of course you notice him when he plays... But on top of that Netherbird had a really good night overall and delivered a really nice show. Great choice of songs and really good delivery as well! It was a good amount of people there as well which made the atmosphere really good. A good last show of the year for sure!