Sharp and shiny

After an early Friday night (we fell sleep really early both of us infront of the TV) me and Peter were ready for action on Saturday morning. First we went and ordered the couch, Torekov, black. It will arrive in a few week. Then some shopping to prepare for the Sport-watching, Beer-drinking, Pizza-eating session at Uffe's Place... Yep, I said Sport watching... Not really my choice but it was ok, at least it's fun to watch Uffe watching his favorite teams play!

We also made it a round through Net On Net and I got myself a new toy. Media Markt at the other end of town had it's permier opening too and there i was CHAOS, the swat Police team had to sort out the traffic... But on Net On Net it was calm and nice. I got myself a Party Camera, a Nikon Cool Pix S8000. A really nice one with a lot of useless functions... Warning if people blink, smart portrait and so on... But I liked my old Coolpix so I decided this to be my new friend. Still need to figure out how it works though.

My new toy

The evening at Uffe's was both really nice and quite weird. An old friend who were out celebrating his brothers 21:st birthday showed up for a while and the gang really tried to outdo eachothers stories about babes, beerdrinking and other mischievs. Perhaps it got a little too much but some stories were really funny. We made it quite an early night since we had to get up early Sunday morning. But at least Peter got a little taste of Sandared and the amazing Pizzas!!!

Sunday morning we headed for Falkenberg to rehearse with Void Moon. Yep, I was added to the live line-up. Yep, Void Moon has gotten their first gig too, in Malta... Crazy really but fun. Unfortunately ther's not enough time to get a full live set together but the three demo songs went really fine. And it was DAMN MUCH FUN to play in a band again!

The new extremely harp knives and the new shiny toaster

I've been having a cold lurking in the shadows for quite a while now. I could feel it Sunday evening driving back to Borås, Monday it was worse and Tuseday was spent sneezing so I decided I was going to work from home Wednesday at least. So now I've been curled up in the couch bothering the cat for two days and making Sandwiches on the new toaster!

It's so nice in the sun

Today the packages from Ginza and CDON arrived too! Kamelot, Dimmu Borgir, Therion, Crimson Glory and Death Angel. A quite nice pack of CD's I must say. I've only had the time to listen to Kamelot and Therion at this point, both passed by quite anonymously.

News in the collecton

The Crimson Glory - In Dark Places box set has been a quite hot topic since the band says it was released without their permission. That's the really bad since of the industry, when companies run over the bands and release stuff that the bands doesn't benefit from. It's even worse that distributors picks it up and sell it... And I suppose, the worst of it all, that I buy it anyway...

But the box looked cool, quite cheap perhaps but the booklet was nice. Stories about all albums, lyrics and pictures.

Crimson Glory - In Dark Places, 5 CD's

Then I finally bought the Savatage collection... Not too found of best of's, as long a I'm not just checking a new band out that is. This one is just a must have for the collection. Picked up the promo version as well!

Savatage - Still The Orchestra Plays

One box that didn't feel cheap was the ltd Box version of new Dimmu Borgir album - Abrahadabra. Digipack CD and a book to go with it, really nice. The artwork of Dimmu Borgir albums is always very nice, this was no exception.

Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra, ltd Box Ed

This weekend I'm going to Gävle to celebrate my mom and go and see Tad Morose and Loch Vostok @ Club Monster. First trip back since I moved, apart from the short visit finishing off the sales of my old flat. It feels a little strange, sometimes it feels like I'm going home, other times it feels like I'm going to visit a completely new place...

So Peter will get the flat from himself and I know he's planned to put down a few more Void Moon hits, and the cat get vacation from the camera. He don't really like being a model...

Cheers

E

NP: Emerald - Re-Forged

Hello Strawberry Skies...

The weekend passed way too fast again. We managed to do a lot though but it still feels very bad that time flies as fast as it does. When shall I have time to be bored? When shall I have time to have nothing to do? Don't even remember what it feels like! But we started off Saturday quite early with a trip to Gothenburg, first stop was to check out a Bass amp for Peter.

Is it loud enough?

The guy who had it sold a nice Marshall Head and cabinet quite cheap tobether with a Valvestate guitar amp. As a package it got really cheap... And there's always room for more guitar-stuff, right?And space we have! Last week I finally got the keyes to out rehearse room, 30 sq m bright space! That must be filled you know!

The BLUE Ludwig kit

After the Bass Amp, next destination was a bit south to check out a Ludwig Rocker drum kit. Almost unused, in perfect shape and complete with cymbals and all.

Nothing new here but still fun!

The place is still quite empty so te next mission will be to put up some posters and stuff like that! We did talk about putting the Jon Oliva's Pain backdrop up too since it won't fit in the flat and it's a shame that it just is laying around in some closet!
It was great fun to play (quite) loud again so I' absolutely going there some day after work to blast the windows out. My stack has been resting for too long now, that's for sure!!!

Marshall is the shit!

Apart from the old LAB 5 and my Peavey head there's only Marshall amps in the room! I must fix the JCM 800 too so I can change between the two heads depending on my mood.

This is how you look when you have a Marshall!

Both me and Peter felt rediciously happy after the rehearseroom was set. The best thing is that we can choose if we want the room for ourselves or if we want to share with some other band... For now it is ALL OUR PLACE!!!


The next mission was IKEA to pick up more shelves to the Billy's... Since we were there we thought we'd check out the couches one more time and all of a sudden there's a set on display that looks EXACTLY what we've been talking about. Really spooky but perfect! No more looking for Media furniture, bokshelves and vitrine cabinet.

Of course, picking half the stuff up on the "take-it-yourself" storage we realized everything wouldn't fit in the car at one time. So we had to take one turn back to Borås before picking the last few things up.

But finally at home the exciting part of putting it all together. These were a little more complex compared to the Billy's...

No missing pieces this time

But that was no match for us and once everything was up the flat really felt more like a real home. Ok, there's still things to be fixed but these furnitures was really what made it a home.

The large book shelf

Next weekend we'll go shopping for a couch again. At least check out the one we thought were the best from last round. Finding the right couch was a lot harder than I thought...

The rest of the stuff

It's really funny to be a little cat when there's boxes, bags and paper everywhere. A lot to crawl into, to tear apart and hide behind, under, inside or where ever possible... It's really scary to walk sometimes because you never know when the next KATTACK comes!

KATTACK

With the shelves up Peter could finally sort his books and set them the way he wanted, by author so visually it sem like chaos. But it's still fun to have everything in place.

Same, same but different

Peter sorted books and I made dinner. It was fun to watch Peter getting 100% into the books, he didn't even realize I was taking pictures of him.

Full focus

The shredded pork filét tased nice with the peanut sauce and rice! Could have been a little more spice in it but it tasted ok. I realized in the middle of it all that normally with peanut sause it should be chicken and not pork but that worked fine too!!

No flied lice here

Then I read last week that one of my favorite bands, Troube are entering the studio and will record their 8th studio album. I still haven't decided if Cory Klarke is as great a replacement for Eric as I thought... The record will have to show that! I love Cory's voice but I think he used to be better, sing more melodic back in the days... But I'm sure it will be a really good one because the track they played at the last tour really sounded great!

Cheers

E

NP: Troube - Manic Frustration

Just like a Rainbow...

They say it rains a lot here i Borås and for the last two days I'm bound to agree. It has been raining, and when the rain came there was a lot of it. Yesterday it was really stange weather, sunny one minute and pouring the next. The mobile camera don't do the rainbow justice at all. It was one of the biggest and brightest I've ever seen. It's not often all colors are visible. Very cool!

The picture was taken on the way home again, same spot as a few days ago

The last two days has been spent amuzing the cat to make him tired when it's bed time. That hasn't been very sucessful though, I think I just bumped him up even more with all the games. Or he is just trying out the boundaries now, checking what he can get me to do and so on. But it sounds like there's a pony in the flat sometimes when runs around. From the bathroom to behind the couch, then I can play cat fishing with a shoe-lace, all of a sudden a litte black cat flies over the arm rest of the couch, paws with ALL claws folded swishing and then a burn out on the parquet floor and away faster than lightning. We did that for about an hour, I got tired and got a smack on the nose when sticking it out a little too far over the arm rest. Strumpan is a little cat but it was a solid hit, I can only imagine how much damage a bigger cat can do. My nose feels a little numb and swollen even today!

NP: Watain - Lawless Darkness

Hellbent for Leather

Yesterday it was concert time, first one since Sonisphere! Tim "Ripper" Owens played Sticky Fingers in Gothenburg. The review will be up on Metal Temple in a few days so all the details will end up there. But I can say it was a fun concert, great songs... Perhaps not the setlist I would have requested from any headlining band. But Ripper was in a great mood, joking around with the crowd and hilself. The best and most alive prformance I've ever seen from him. Worst day in the world I suppose though because the place wasn't very crowded. But I'm glad I went and I will most certainly show up again if he comes back. He is one hell of a singer, that's for sure!

Ripper rocked Sticky Fingers

I really thought I would be really tired this morning but the concert ended just after 11pm and we were back home again a little after midnight. Not too bad! It's good when the concerts ends early when it's a work day the next day. The thing though, I'm used to have about 160km home from Sthlm, Gbg-Borås is only 60km so it really felt like piece of cake to drive home!
The grey morning turned in to a beautiful day with blue a blue sky and soft coulds. Really nice and it was a real joy to take the bike home after the day at work.

The sun DO shine in Borås too

So there are actually rain free days in Borås too even if people try to say it ALWAYS rains here I can prove that's not the truth. The mobile camera didn't do this view justice though, the city in the valley can hardly be seen at all! That's the advanage with the hills, nice views over the town. I still have to struggle with a few of the up-hill ones on the bike though, not really fit yet.

And then to get home to a dazed cat who greets me just inside the door with a big yawn and tired eyes is really nice. Strumpan is very cuddly when he's been home alone all day. It's really cute when he strikes around the legs and follow EVERYWHERE but I'm really scared I'm going to step on him.

Supermodel Strumpan

Parts of the weekend were spent sorting CD's, did O to Savatage, couldn't do more than that. Need to go to IKEA and pick up more extra shelves, think we need another Billy too to fit all the records! The fun thing with going through all records is to get to look at them and get some inspiration to listen to the ones that doesn't spin the most frequently.

Then I got completely stuck on Nomad Son and Forsaken, Malta doom at it's best! So that has been spinning most of the day today!

Cheers

E

NP: Forsaken - Anima Mundi

Can you tell them that you are the one

It' just one of these mornings when everything feels extra nice! I fell asleep quite early and woke up feeling rested! I don't have much planned at all for the day. Peter just left for Falkenberg to work on the new Void Moon material and I have the flt to myself. Thining of some SPA activites, play guitar, write the MT Stuff, listen to music. I guess I will be quite disappointed in the end since I won't have time for even half I think about. Would have loved to go to the rehearseroom and play LOUD also, but I didn't get the keyes yesterday as planned!Well, guess that will happen next weekend instead then! OrI could see how tolerant my neighbours are perhaps and connect the Peavey 6505+ into the 2x 4x12" Marshall speaker cabinets and crank it up?

But at least now it feels great! Album of the morning is Revered - Play god. David Wayne sure was one of the greatest Metal singers ever! A band that hasn't gothalf the recognition they deserve I think. Ok, the music aren't as direct and the songs are not as big hits as Metal Church's are perhaps but it is still absolutel high class METAL!

Reverend - Play God

Tonight we'll hit town, take a little round on the pubs, checking it out. That will be nice... And tomorrow it's time fór thfirst concert since the disaster called Sonisphere (all the bands I saw did great there though) Tim "Ripper" Owens @ Sticky Finger... I must say I'm a little disappointed he's not brining Chris Caffery, John Comprix and the rest of the band he had at Sweden Rock last year but I guess it will be great anyway!

Cheers
E

NP: Tim "Ripper" Owens - Play My Game

The cat IN the flat

Last Friday Peter’s cat Strumpan (The Sock) moved in with us in Borås too. Until now he has been at Peter’s parents place. I think it was a good thing to get the major parts settled before brining in the cat because I think he would have been really bothered by the moving guys, building of shelves and the rest of the mess we had the first few weeks. He looked a little scared the first few seconds but it wasn’t long before he started to explore and sniff around in the flat. I think all cats like boxes and narrow spaces because Strumpan climbed in and out of boxes, squeezed down behind the bags with CD’s we had put in front of the Vinyl shelf to get more space in the music room while building the Billy bookshelves for the CD’s. It sure was a lot of fun for a little cat to have all those spaces to hide in.

It's fun to hide in tight palces

Now I’m doing my best to spoil him. I’ve bought the fine version of Sheeba, tuna! He really likes that but what’s even better is the chicken or turkey ham you put on the sandwiches, so of course I have to get that as well! And I did my beast to get some cool bowls for his food too! Found black ones with an fish shaped emblem on saying meow. And the one for water, it’s really a dog bowl but I couldn’t resist, it’s black with some psychedelic skulls on it. I just couldn’t leave it. And then of course he needed a brush and some toys, the only bad thing is that I still haven’t found his favorite ones here in Borås!

A cool cat needs cool gear

It’s really nice to have a cat. This morning he started meowing after the second snooze, really time to get up then he thought. But before he was sleeping peacefully right next to me. Then it’s time to play trip over the cat out to the kitchen. It sure is one hungry kitty once he’s out of bed. And it’s the same procedure when I’m coming home after work. He is walking in an eight around my feet purring like crazy and that makes it really hard to move. Ok, first he plays a little catch with the shoe laces. Because shoe laces are the most fun thing in the world. Really strings or cord of any kind is really much fun. My training pants with cords round the feet get attacked several time each day. The fun thing though, the shoe laces he CAN play with and chew on and it doesn’t matter, those are not at all as much fun.

Cozy day on the couch

But he’s really behaving, he’s a really good and cute cat!!! No problems at all this far, be just got a little anxious later on but when we made space for him on the couch he just jumped up there and fell asleep and after that it hasn’t been any problems at all! He seems to like it in Borås

There sure is a lot to look at outside

Then of course it was time to clear more things in the flat. The Vinyls are up so this weekend we took on the CD's. I'd done a calculation, that if we bought 4 Billy's with the extra top and filled it with extra shelves those would take about 4700 CD's. Great, everything would fit...

Coffee art

We brewed some coffee that was served the Metal way in cool cups and dug in to orting the CD's...
First the lists needed to be updated though since the HUGE package from Ginza arrived the same day as the cat. The sale was great I think, a lot of good stuff at great prices. Still it feels a little strange to reduce the price of a 2 month old record to half price. I'm not really complaining though... The package was GREAT and it will take a few weeks before I've gone through it all.

The Ginza sale was GREAT, Armored Saint, Redemption, Watain, Grave, Municipal Waste to mention a few

I also got another package a few days before the big one. The new Iron Maiden album, new Accept, latest from Grand Magus on vinyl and a little more. I also decided to complete the Motörhead collection on LP so I ordered the newer ones which I for some reason didn't buy on LP when they were relased. Most of the were not availabe and put on backorder. Doesn't matter so much, at least better they do that rather than keep me waiting for everything.

Not on sale but sure a must have all of it!

We tarted sorting the CD's about the same way as the LP's... We realized quite quickly all wasn't going to fit into these shelves. Ok, we didn't squeeze in as many extra shelves as I counted on but still. I never expected them to fill this quickly... Three ones and we finished N... There's NO WAY O-Z will fit in the last one.

The first part of the CD shelf

Saturday morning it was really nice weather so we decieded to go for a walk. My coworkers told me about a footpath just around the corner, the murder trail.... Apparently a girl was killed there about 20 years ago. Scary for sure but we can't really think about that now!

Look behind you before walkingthe murdertrail

No one of us really had a clue where to go but we decided on the way. The forest looked so cozy and green. It was long since I last walked in the forest. We also tried to look for some chantarells but I think other "hunters" found them before us.

Out in the woods

The main purpose was still just to get out and walk a little. Well, since we didn't know where the paths headed the stroll in the woods lasted for almost 2 hours.
But it was nice and we found some really cool or pretty scenarios. The huge lumps of rock fitted between the trees would fit any doom, death, black, troll-band...

Yep, it was a HUGE rock!

Peter looked like a kid in a candy store and started to climb on the rocks. But I agree, it was a really cool place.

The trolls wasn't home

We also found a little lake on the way. The best thing with it is that it's right outside the door. It's so easy to go out in the woods for a little while, not even 2 minues away. And REAL forest too, not as the park in Gävle at all.

The lake on the trail, a little too cold for a swim now though

Again the weekened passed a little too fast. It's actually a little scary how fast time flies these days. It feels like I haven't even started on the list of what I'd planned at work and at home for this week and it's Friday again tomorrow. Sure, it's when the work-day passes fast but everything else, that's not as good. I need to make sure I get longer afternoons at home after work. Especially since I'm going to pick up the keyes to the rehearseroom tomorrow. Yep, time to start playing some guitar again! That will be fun! The thing is, the new bed is a little too comfortable and that makes it so hard to get out of it in the mornings... Need to shape up so I get home earlier! I HAVE TO!

Cheers
E

NP: Praying Mantis - Forever In Time

Welcome To The Ball

The concertseason really is getting started now! My plan was to try and stay home and take it easy as much as possible the rest of this year. Don't really look like that at the moment. Ripper, Dream Evil, Primal Fear, Wasp, Annihilator, Blind Guardian, Dimmu Borgir, UFO, Candlemass, Pretty Maids, Helloween and many more... I've spent some time today to get tickets, contact promoters etc for all these events. The most stupid thing though must be Ticnet. It's possible to chose pick up at ATG (and pay with banktransfer), Pick up at ticnet (pay with card) and reserve tickets and pick up at ATG within 4 days or something but it's not possible to check out those tickts. You still have to pay with banktransfer! Morons! And then I realized how stressful it is with Eventim, the little clock in the corner telling I have this many minutes to finalize my transaction.... GAAAH!

But the most important at the moment is the Jon Oliva's Pain tour. It felt really bad that I couldn't attend the DVD shoot when it was scheduled during the spring so no one was happier than me when they announced they had to move it to October! It's gonna be awesome!

The plan is to go to the DVD shoot in Tilburg and then the last gig of the tour at Biebob, would have been cool to see one of the first ones too but I doubt that will fit in the schedule! Only two gigs is quite little though but it has to be enough for this time. The concert at BYH in July was awesome so I can't really wait for this tour.

Check out the Metal Temple Jon Oliva Interview

Then, at the same time we get the chance to see another favorite band of mine! Vicious Rumors

They're out on the road too at the same time and a few dates together with Circle II Cricle. A really great package for me, the new tunes from Circle II Circle sounds nice and Vicious Rumors are always Kick Ass live!

It's going to be one hell of a weekend, that's for sure!

It's a little bit ironic though, I don't think there ever has been as many cool concerst and mini-festivals as it is now. Swordbrothers, Mario's Metal Meeting, Heavy Metal Maniacs, Hammer Of Doom, Play It Loud... The list goes on and on and I would love to go to all of them but it's not possible to bounce off to Germany every second weekend... Unfortunately...

//E

NP: Vicious Rumors - Digital Dictator