As long as we are willing...

To let them lead us to the slaughter. Quite a tongue-twister for a chorusline but damn it rocks.

I finally could pick up my Pure Steel package from the post handout place. After some convincing though, apparently they'd miss recording it arriving. Nagging them a bit they started looking for the package. And there in the REK box it was. More than Sarasin it was in the package,  Sleepy Hollow, Destructor, Power Theory. Australian Underground Heavy Metal and East European Metal books. The latter is in German so that will be a challenge. :-D
So a good package it was.

Only brought the Sarasin with me this morning, and since I've only listened to MP3's until now it's always special to get the real deal. This record really blew me away. Never heard of Sarasin until I downloaded from Pure Steel for review and it kept spinning for weeks. Love the great and dark melodies, Heavy groove and cool arrangements.

Before Greece I got a big package from TPL and getting home I had one from Ginza and one from Discogs... Many records to listen to and so little time...

Cheers
E

Night to Remember

It really doesn't matter what we're doing at home nowadays, there's always a cat in the middle of everything. Maddox mainly cuddles up and falls asleep while Tipton are very close when there's a chance to snatch something tasty. Eating Icecream is not the easiest thing anymore, he's absolutely crazy about is and was from the first second he got the smell of it. It's not that we're feeding them icecream... And the same goes for cheese but the thing that generates the biggest reaction is fresh fish... It was really funny when we bought a whole salmon, head and everything and while carrying it into the Kitchen two cats jumped like crazy trying to claw through the package.

Concertseason started off very nice with Michael Schenker, Manowar and Helloween. It continues equally nice this week with Dirkschneider and Anvil. Then home and change bags and off to Up the Hammers. So looking forward to this, so many cool bands both small and big, new and old... Lethal being the absolute high point but it will be very cool to see Heir Apparent also, and, and, and...

Then I think I have a few weeks break before it starts again. Exodus & Lost Society, Symphony X... Would love to see Royal Hunt also but doubt I can squeeze that into my schedule. We're also talking about seeing one more Dirkschneider and Anvil show. Then Doom Over Scania. I really want to go to the Killfest this year too. Overkill is always great and with Vader and One Machine the line-up is a killer. Was long since I last saw Steve Smyth play live.
The Goatess tour premiere in Copenhagen before The Skull and also Magnum in Gothenburg. Wonder how I will get this schedule to fly.

And in the middle of all I'm also going up north for a visit. Really need to sort all of that out soon so the tickets won't be that expensive.

Cheers
E

Save yourself

It's actually very frustrating with internet and social media on occasion. No one can have missed that I was super charged before the Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock concerts and the actual shows took it too a freaky level almost. Ok, it's not that I become a stalker or anything I just keep posting and spamming the web with pictures, comments, likes and so on and buy a whole lot of records. There's always some new 7"'s, Japanese versions, rare printings, tour-books, promos, biography's, posters, expensive vintage shirts needed or something like that. There will ABSOLUTELY be a #RecordShoppersAnonymous post with Michael Schenker records towards the weekend. 
What kind of annoyed me the most though was that I got one like on the Schenker picture I posted on facebook while the nonsense pictures of the cats draw 50 likes or so each. Ok, the cats are adorable but come on. Mr Schenker is a legend, one of the best and most original guitarplayers around.

And yes, the shows were absolutely fantastic! Two didn't feel enough though so I'm on a constant lookout for another doze right now.

So, before I give up with the spamming, and since I got a lot of decent pictures from the show, here's another batch.

That flying M (double neck flying V) sure is cool! 

I do have a lot of fun things to look forward to also, especially seeing Lethal again at Up The Hammers will be fun. They've always kicked ass the times I've seen them and I'm sure it will be the same now. Heir Apparent I've never seen them so that will be extra fun. And just to get away from this grey cold weather will be so nice. And there are a lot of other bands as well on that festival which also will be a lot of fun to see.

I normally try to respect all musicians, even if I don't like the music. I don't want to take the art away from someone and I try to just ignore things if it's not my taste, or try to find something positive in it if I have to dig in anyway for a review or a report. But this is too hilarious to bypass actually. There are so many fantastic musicians out there who never get a chance to shine and others, with hardly no natural talent can be a star... In those cases, when it's so obvious and when biting a bit more than one can chew... You've gotta take it;

The video cutting is fantastic, makes it hilarious... And for one to even try to sing Bohemian Rhapsody take a lot of guts... And the complete outclass of Freddie Mercury when he's cut in. Awesome! 

Well, there'll be another long day tomorrow so I guess it's bedtime.

Cheers
E

NP: LETHAL - Programmed

Into the Arena

Ok, I don't think it's good to be this excited about a concert. I will most likely be disappointed. I doubt that Mr Schenker will do a bad gig, but the setlist. There're so many songs I want to hear that he need to do a Y & T kind of thing, 2 days a 3 hours at Rockland in Sala a few years ago, to cover all of them...

Anyway, I'm charged and stuffed! A Burger to go with the Murphys is perhaps not the best concert warm-up but it tasted very good!

Cheers
E

Working on that

So, Christmas vacation was also spent remaking the office. I just placed everything moving in and it has stayed like that ever since. Desk towards the window which resulted in headache every time I used it. No good with light right in the face.
So I moved the desk towards the wall and put the storageshelf infront of the window. Also bought myself a glass cupboard for my old cameras. Most of it I got from my dads collection though. My old film EOS 1, the Leica, chinon, box camera, super 8 with projector and everything. Lots of stuff. And nice to look at. Perhaps should take them for a spin some time? The Leica really needs a cleaning though. The really old ones I doubt I can find film in the right format though.
I also bought myself a good office chair to be able to sit comfortable. Which Peter almost stole right away after trying it out. He was good with his old one he said before I left for my shoppingspree. Not as happy with it seeing mine! :-D
I also bought a very good scanner and a new printer. And a light-table to be able to work with the negatives in a decent way. Merry Christmas to me!

Of course the cats got a fake sheep skin to sleep on too. Maddox LOVES it.

I decided it should be my inspiration room so I'm still working on the decoration. And I need to figure out a way to make the desk a little bigger, the cats flip everything over and kick the mouse and the keyboard off the table. And yes, they need to be there when they want to.

I'm really happy about it all, I enjoy working up there now and I feel good, no headache...
So hopefully this will help keep up with the Concert and Festival reports and all that. Maybe also inspire to do some editing to learn more about fotoshop, perhaps do some simple videos or so. Time is the only constraint really... Even with prioritization.

Cheers E
NP: SLEEPY HOLLOW - Tales of Gods and Monsters

Power of the Night

There are occasions when I really start to wonder why one band is so appealing while I'm hardly interested at all in the next. What it is that makes me like music one time but on the other, just fade to infinity and remain in memory as something that sounded ok but not more. What is it I'm looking for in a record? It's very hard to pin-point these things and it's almost impossible to explain and even harder to understand when people don't feel the same about the things I like.

Peter bought a batch of records a while back which showed up by the end of last week so Friday was spent going through those and of course mixing it up with some Michael Schenker. I'm really excited about the concerts. Mr Schenker is one of my all time favorites, one of my guitar heroes. I've been hooked since first time I heard him. I bought Perfect Timing sometime in -87 or maybe -88. And the concert season has been very dry for me since beginning of December also which makes these shows even more exciting. 
But back to the bunch of records, one in the bunch really stood out. Canadian DAYS OF YORE, a rather complex concept album touching upon FATES WARNING, KING DIAMOND or so, type Progressive Heavy Metal. Of course with those references it's bound to be good. Given references are not always true though and it needs more than to just copy an act. But there was something really special with the record. From a production perspective it sounded ok, nothing special and not a catastrophe.   

And then, the next band that I've been nagging everyone about for some weeks now. Also a Canadian band, SARASIN who will release an album through Pure Steel in a few weeks. Everyone I've played it for has actually liked it so they're good. But for me, I just couldn't stop listening to the record. Time after time after time and for each spin it crept more and more under my skin and for every time the emotion it developed got stronger and stronger. It still is spinning and I'm really looking forward to get the real album in my hands!

And then I can be really pissed off over bands, even if they sound really good feel to forced into sounding like this or that. Perhaps not ripping off straight away but copying a bit too much. The really annoying thing is that these band normally get good response, so much cred and kudos while band that has a very original sound don't get anything at all.
I got STARBLIND's latest for review, and by all means, the record is decent. But if I want IRON MAIDEN, I listen to IRON MAIDEN. And for me it doesn't do much to get a band that sounds this much as something else.

As another music related topic a friend asked me if there was any bands left for me to see live. If I had something I really, really was urging to see that I haven't seen. Also, something that's realistic to happen as a twist to the discussion. Else, LED ZEPPELIN but that's not going to happen, SABBATH with Dio... But real things that can happen. One of the first that struck me was HELLION, I've only seen Ann Boleyn with DETENTE at Headbangers, she ruled and I love DETENTE also but HELLION was also one of the really early ones I found all by myself. On many occasions class mates or other friends recorded stuff for me on tape, but this one I bought and it kept spinning. The first EP that is, next HELLION I bought was "The Black Book" and this I hold as a favorite to this day. One more thing that I'm really looking forward to see is METAL CHURCH with Mike Howe. I liked Ronny Munroe as well but he didn't seem as inspired the last tour. Fan pack (regular one) pre-ordered of the coming album with an additional Mike Howe shirt! 

And now, since the dry season is over I'm looking forward to a very nice February.
First up is Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock, times 2. Both Stockholm and Malmö. I was aiming for Copenhagen as well (take back for lost times) but couldn't get the logistics to work around it.

And that's followed by Manowar, a quick visit to Stockholm.

And a few days break before Helloween hits Gothenburg.

And then there's actually a break before the last batch, which is good since I'll have some time to write and get the reports posted also.

Dirkschneider and Anvil makes it a short night and up in the early morning light to catch a flight to Greece Friday morning. Means I will miss the Warm-Up this year but I get to see all the goodies at the Festival.

And then February turns to March and winter should be over and it's time to look forward to the Festival season for real! Yey!

And CDON sent the package with the Michael Schenker record I didn't have already. Really disappointed with myself that I've missed the release completely. But ok, I think I took it for a collection as it's titled "Tales of Rock'n'Roll" and have a bikini-girl with a guitar on the front. Not that I have the time to listen to it before the first show though but at least I have them all after this!

Cheers
E

NP: Michael Schenkers Temple of Rock - Spirit on a Mission