Fagerlund's reviews

First out this night was this Black Metal band from Uppsala. They had a pretty interesting stage show going on, all of the band being hooded and the singer also made magic gestures which made it all seem like some kind of cult gathering. Very atmospheric. Considering the venue being a pretty small bar they did a great job on that part, using smoke and lights to their best effect. The music itself was also rather chanting, adding even more to the atmosphere. Pretty good stuff.

 

These guys have been around for a while and this was the release party for their latest album Winds of Apep. Unfortunately their bass player couldn't join them for this gig, and thanks to that they decided to play 'naked' (ie no corpsepaint). They play a pretty straight forward type of Black Metal with the odd guitar solo mixed in there once in a while. Pretty catchy songs for being Black Metal actually, but I did feel like something was missing (except for the bass...) - maybe they had troubles giving it their all without their 'lost brother'? I would definitely see them again however.

 

So this is a two person band with some session musicians, Sandra (vocals + guitars) and Erik (drums) who both have been in a couple of other bands but decided to make something that's their own. And it's this rather melodic Black Metal. This was actually their first gig outside of Russia, which is a bit unusual since they're from Norway and Sweden. But any way that works is a good way right?

It's no secret I'm a big fan of Erik's drumming, he has this skill of being able to blast away at really high speeds but never losing the feeling. It doesn't get mechanic like many technical drummers, it simply keeps the "groove". And I think you can tell he has been more involved in the song writing on this band than in other bands, because he's doing a lot more cool stuff with his drums here than usual! And I think that gets even more obvious when you hear it live, to feel that beat.

And then you add to that some melancholic guitar melodies and a dry growl and you get some really good Black Metal! I heard afterwards that they didn't really hear each other during the gig, but outwards it sounded really good and they stayed tight as well. Glad they finally played "at home"! 

And check out their EP here: https://soundcloud.com/nekrodelirium