Motörhead - 09 Dec 2007 - Hovet

Motörhead's self-titled debut was released amid the ruckus of punk rock in 1977 - and outdid the movement with its ultra-extreme defiance and anthems of rude rock rebellion. With Lemmy Kilmister at the helm belting out a dirtier, more distorted chorus of "sex, drugs and rock and roll", Motörhead became the poster band for outlaws and drifters alike.

Today, Motörhead's fan base still embodies the outlaw segment of society - those who are and those who wish they could be. In Stockholm especially, Motörhead shows must have the most per capita biker attendance than any other rock show (aka those who are), alongside members of mainstream society looking to unleash their rebellious side, if just for one night (aka those who with they could be).

Exemplifying this seeming contradiction in the audience were the fans surrounding me - glam rockers with big hair, short skirts and heavy make up to the left; timid, mediocre nine-to-five types in front (one of which couldn't help but stare up the aforementioned glammer's skirt all night long).

However incompatible the fans, Motörhead brought them together - always full of energy - with the gig at Hovet being no exception. In true Motörhead style, they cut to the chase with grit and guts - not bothering with the fuss of guitar solos and other niceties. Exclaiming "We are Motörhead and we play rock and roll!" (the only distinguishable sentence uttered by Lemmy all night), they opened with "Jailbait", closed with "Ace of Spades" and "Overkill", and even managed to squeeze in an acoustic bluesy number, harmonica and all. Motörhead usually amplifies their shows with the "Motörhead Bomber", a giant aluminum plane hovering overhead, but for some reason it wasn't present that night. Not that it mattered - the intensity of the fans was kept high by the band's perseverance and dedication to rock and roll.

All-in-all, it was a solid night of distorted rock and roll, with a pleasantly diverse crowd - one that I'm happy to see come together harmoniously under the dissonance of Motörhead.

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-parastoo-

Gamma Ray/Helloween - 08 Dec 2007 - Arenan

Skit tråkigt! That's all I have to say about this show.

You know, I sort of set myself up for it. I'm not into the German power metal thing, and I went anyways. To be honest, I spent most of the night catching up with some old scensters and trying to avoid the occasional drunk, creepy metal fan.

That said, there were still some parts of the show (that I managed to bear through), that were fun.

Now Gamma Ray and Helloween share a sort of incestuous relationship. For those of you who don't know the background of these two bands, there is one common thread between them: Kai Hansen. Power metal fans that really dig Helloween and Gamma Ray all claim that Kai Hansen is the key to the bands' quality.

When it comes to Helloween, I can agree. The first 2-3 albums (up to "Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part II") are excellent speed/power metal albums. But Kai left Helloween to start Gamma Ray. Seemingly as a consequence, Helloween lost some of its speed metal edge - but Gamma Ray didn't inherit any of Kai's speed metal spirit at all. Instead, both bands went treading down the path of power metal. And, not being into the German power metal thing, I lost interest.

Even so, Helloween had one of the cutest sets and stage acts I've seen. They just released their 13th (!) album, "Gambling with the Devil", and had a stage show to match. Interrupting the ever-tedious drum solo, the three remaining members dressed up in midget costumes, stood amid a puppeteer's curtain and proceeded (in a voice-altered high-pitched German-English, as if just normal-pitched German-English wasn't hard enough to understand) to make fun of the drummer doing the drum solo - and got him to play arguably the easiest (and most banned) song in rock music...."Smoke on the Water".

Gamma Ray, on the other hand, was....well....power metal tedious. At least for me. The fans, though, seemed to eat it up.

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-parastoo-

Grave/Nominion/Spazmosity - 01 Dec 2007 - Tantogarden

An entire night of relentless death metal - that's what everyone really needs in the dead of winter - and Grave, Nominion and Spazmosity totally delivered.

I have a special place in my heart for Grave, but Nominion and Spazmosity are bands that were new to me (but not to the Swedish death metal scene).

Spazmosity, who have been around since 1994, went on first, covered in blood, and brutal as hell. They started a bit early, which was a shame - an hour later with some more beer pumping in the veins of the audience of metalheads, and the energy would have been totally different. It was very sad, actually, to see the crowd of people that night standing a good three feet from the stage. It was still a decent set, but I have to be honest here - they're not as tight as I wanted them to be - the drumming was a little inconsistent, and the rest of the band had a hard time keeping up.

Nominion went on next, and I have to say, I was impressed. I always end up in front of the guitarists, cause I play guitar, and I like to see the riffs and check out people's chops up close and personal. The rhythm/lead guitarist in this band was brutal. Seriously, it was like he had merged with his instrument and became this beast of death metal destruction. (I saw this great potential in him for my thrash project, but alas, he said he lived in the south of Sweden, which made him a bit inaccessible to a budding Stockholm band.) The singer left a bit to be desired, though...he didn't really quite do it for me. Nonetheless, the sound was brutal and I was itching for more.

Finally, Grave. These guys have been around since 1991, and their debut album, "Into the Grave", has to be one of the best Swedish death metal albums ever. Unfortunately, they don't seem to play a whole lot of shows in Stockholm. This year seems to be a different, though, as I've seen 'em play a few times, and its always been great. Ola Lindgren (guitarist/singer) is a scary muthafucka, but luckily he gets balanced out by Fredrik Isaksson (bass), who makes a lot of funny faces on stage. They played alot of classics, and by then the audience was in fine form. All in all, they're one of those bands that you have to see if you're into death metal. Your life will be changed forever.

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-parastoo-