Marduk/Unleashed - 23 Nov 2007 - Klubben

So, I'm not really a big Black Metal fan. Some of it's good: Venom, Bathory...but when the music turns into this "I'm more evile than you" thing, I sorta start to giggle. (I'll probably get burned at the stake if anyone in the Sthlm Black Metal Ring of Death is reading this. Sorry, MLO).

Which made Marduk "just okay" for me. Judging by the crowd's response, they put on a really good show, and I admit, I got into a few songs and sorta dug the singer's menacing voice. But, I left early. I really went to this show to see the opener, Unleashed.

Now, there's this ongoing conversation that I've been having with a friend of mine about Unleashed.

You see, I love Unleashed. I love their groovy, death metal style of music. I love the rhythms, I love the riffs...I love it all. I think they're one of the best death metal bands out there, and really personify the Scandinavian death metal sound.

My friend, however, says that the Unleashed guys are racist, that their lyrics expressly illustrate that, and that he's not into them because of that. I've never met the guys, so I can't say anything about them personally. But I did go and read some Unleashed lyrics. There was alot of "Viking this" and "Viking that", but I didn't pick up anything racist. He insists. The only "proof" I have is that they haven't joined Metalheads Against Racism. I don't know. You be the judge. Any comments, Unleashed?

It brings up this bigger issue, though, of separating "music" from "values". I definitely understand both sides of the argument.

One being, separate the music from the values of the people in the band. They're separate entities and should be treated as such. The actions/views of the band members should not influence the band's musical merit.

The other being that the music and the people creating the music are one in the same, and that if the people are despicable, it makes the music despicable. Period.

I tend to side with the first argument. I think if I started judging musicians for what they said or how they acted, I probably wouldn't have a lot of bands left to listen to.

That said, this was the first time Unleashed has played in Stockholm in 15 years!!? Why, I have no idea. It was also the first time I've ever gotten to see them play, unluckily missing them at every festival they've played. So, I especially enjoyed it, and they were brutal as ever, playing a lot of my old favorites like "Never Ending Hate" and "To Asgaard We Fly".

Sadly, I can't seem to locate any video of the Stockholm show, so check out Unleashed in Germany, in 1994 playing "Never Ending Hate":



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High on Fire - 19 Nov 2007 - Debaser

I heard about High on Fire back in 2001, when their second album, "Surrounded by Thieves" came out. I can't for the life of me remember the who, what, when, where or how about them, but I remember putting in that album and having the pants blown off of me. Punishingly brutal. And although they've slightly deviated from their earlier sound, they've managed to keep the stoner torch burning bright with relentless riffage and power.

That said, seeing High on Fire on stage is 1000 times more powerful than any CD they've managed to record. You just can't capture that sort of energy on a piece of plastic. Matt Pike (guitarist/singer) has this charisma on stage thats inexplicable. Sort of grungy, with raw animal intensity....its mind-altering to say the least. No shirt, stinking, dripping wet with sweat by the end of the set. Fuck. It really doesn't get any more fucking metal than that. I'd give anything to get inside that guy's head for just two minutes. Anything.

Anyhow, enough about my infatuation with Matt Pike.

Opening for them was a rather disappointing emo-indie-ambient-ish band called "Pelican". I swear to you, I nearly fell asleep during their set. I can't imagine why High on Fire would tour with such a band, except to make themselves sound even more punishing, by sheer contrast, than they already do. Guys, it wasn't necessary.

Their set was amazing, and contained some old favorites, as well as new selections from their most recent album, "Death is this Communion".

Check out the video for "Rumors of War" (from "Death is this Communion"):


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Twisted Sister - 14 Nov 2007 - Solnahallen

Let me first say, I'm a huge Metallica fan.

What does Metallica have to do with Twisted Sister, you say? Well, lots of things.

But in this case, Twisted sister played last night at Solnahallen, the last venue Metallica played before they lost bassist Cliff Burton in the now infamous bus accident in Ljungby, Sweden. Needless to say, it was a very special (and eerie) night for me, to see a show in that very same venue. RIP Cliff.

Onto Twisted (MuthaFuckin) Sister.

Twisted Sister was one of the first metal bands I was ever introduced to. It was the filthy three for me: Twisted Sister, KISS and Motley Crue (Mom, you can thank my older brother. Thanks, bro.). I'd never seen them live, because, being a child of strict-as-hell parents, I wasn't allowed to enjoy anything. Getting to finally see them was a treat. Getting to see them this time around was especially momentous given the fact that they've only played 5 shows in the last year, never planned on doing a reunion, and this very may well have been their last show in Stockholm. Fuck yeagh.

And what a great fucking show. Dee Snider is hands down one of the best frontmen in metal. He's funny, energetic, articulate, entertaining, engaging and has the best ass I've ever seen. Oh, he's a good singer too. They of course did the old favorites ("We're not gonna take it" and "I wanna rock") - one of which was in the middle of the set, because, as Dee said "If you're just here to hear that one song - here it is! - we don't want you here for the rest of the show!" Of course, nobody left!

Check out some songs here (and thanks to the Sick Muthafuckin Friends of Twisted Sister for recording/posting these):



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Stockholm Syndrome, Metal Style

The beginnings of Winter are a wonderful time in Stockholm.

Yes, I'm being slightly sarcastic.

The cold weather sucks, the rain/snow/slush sucks, the lack of sunlight sucks (currently, the sun goes down at 3pm in Stockholm! And we're not at the worst of it yet!)....it all kinda sucks...ass.

The only thing that doesn't suck ass about being in Stockholm are the metal shows. You see, in the summer, all the metal bands that tour in Europe play festivals. In the winter, there aren't many festivals (and especially not in Sweden, where the weather - as I mentioned - sucks ass). So bands are touring Europe playing shows instead.

And when you're trying to get through the cold, dark of Stockholm, nothing is better than going to a metal show to ease the claustrophobia....

And so, I've devoted my time, and this site, to the metal scene in Stockholm (and Sweden, if I happen to travel around). It is, after all, the reason why I moved here in the first place.

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