Recordshoppers Anonyous #5

So, again there has been a lot going on! Busy days at work, busy days at home… Despite the stress at work on occasion it has actually been quite good days. A last minute trip to Brazil to participte in a Workshop took some time off from everything else I’ve planned to do. But I don’t complain, even if it was just WORK, it’s still more fun to sit in an office in Brazil (where spring is coming in) rather than in Sweden as we are approaching grey and dark times very quickly now. At least I had the opportunity to re-fill the Cachaca stash a little and this time I got all the exotic juices (and jello) with me home also. Last time someone opened my checked in suitcase and snatched all snacks and some other things as well.


Then I’ve been trying to focus on playing guitar, writing for Metal Kaoz, playing guitar and trying to get my ass off the couch and workout some. Most things have actually progressed rather well but of course I’m not as structured in the writing so I finish one thing first. Now I have 6 almost finished live reports so it will be kind of a ketchup effect in a week or so.
The guitar playing has been really ok as well. It is fun to play and my Transplanted Marshall sounds amazing. I even plugged in the wha-wha and Delay effect the other day in an attempt to start using them again too. I’m not sure about the Delay though, when it comes to the functionality of it… It might have seen its best days. I bought it second hand too but I’ll try to clean it a little and then decide if I need a new one or not.


Now too, since Malta Doom Metal Festival is coming closer it is important to play to stay in shape. And it turned out so good we actually have a gig just a few days before we travel to Malta. Void Moon, Cult Of The Fox and Lights Our are going to play Café Barbro in Malmö on October 23rd.

The Cult Of The Fox album ”A Vow Of Vengeance” has been received very well. Most reviews has been very positive, stating it is Heavy Metal as it is supposed to sound. That is very cool, and then, to get 7 of 10 in Rockhard Magazine is really big. Even if it’s not the highest (8,5 of 10 is the best at this point) that grade weighs a lot more than most other reviews.
The only thing missing now is some gigs. At this point we have some loose plans for January. Even if it’s not 100% confirmed yet it looks promising for one gig in France and one in Holland. I certainly wouldn’t mind one or two in Germany/Holland/Belgium at the same time.


And then of course! The new car is 3 weeks+ old now! It’s VERY different to drive and not have to focus on parts falling off or listening after some new things about to break! The only problem is that I’m not used to it yet so driving this new one to a level until it feels like the Passat I’m not within speed limit anymore. I really need to think about that because it would be very bad to loose my drivers license now when I (we) have a flash new car.

It has been quite some record shopping lately too! Ok, the package from TPL has built up over some months but it turned out quite massive in the end. Then, after the Uriah Heep concert the fanatic struck again and realized it is a must to have all the re-mastered versions to get all the bonus material. Luckily CDON had a very nice bargain deal on those! That I like.

Also High Roller Records had some nice price vinyl. Gonna be some busy days to listen to it all. Ok, I’ve done some listening to a few already, that’s a privilege when reviewing records… One though that I should have checked out long ago is the Arch/Matheos "Sympathetic Resonance". First because Fates Warning is one of my favorite bands and I really enjoy John Arch's voice. A little freaky but damn interesting. the record is FANTASTIC!!! Absolutely one for the top 10 of the year!

But it sure is a lot coming during the fall. Hammers Of Misfortune, Riot, Saracen, Martyr… To mention a few. And then of course all concerts. That first week of December going to be tough. Iced Earth, Thrash Fest Classics (with Sepultura, Destruction, Heathen, Mortal Sin and one more..), Pentagram, Motörhead and Lizzy Borden. Then of course a few Saxon and Anvil gigs the week prior to this!!! Gonna be a hard but FUN winter!


NP: Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance