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

   

And 2015 is over...

Yes, apparently another year passed and I don't know where time went. It feels like the two last years is a big blur and I have hard remembering what happened when. But it's been a quite cool year, a lot of different activities which of course have made others suffer a bit. Playing live with Void Moon in Ireland, Romania and Malta has of course been very good points, as well as it was to play with Cult of the Fox too. 
The hours spent working on guitars for Void Moon's second album "Deathwatch" was very hard but also very rewarding as it turned out really nice. I'm sooo looking forward to get a real copy in my hands. 
And as usual there's been traveling too, both in work and for my own pleasure. Worth mentioning is the visits to Jordan, Ethiopia and Sudan. To get to see the sun when it's dark and gloomy in Sweden is of course a plus. But to get to feel the Dead Sea, eat real Ethiopian Injera and just hang out in Khartoum has been fantastic. 
There has also been a few trips down to Germany and Holland for shows but not as many as it normally is. Sometimes things became a bit crazy as I locked one bag in the safety lockers at the airport to first go to a concert just to pick up the bag and go for a jobtrip, out through security, get the bag and check in again. I know Kastrup Airport by heart now I promise you.
Also, the addition of the cats to the Wallberg family. They make a mess of most everything but they are adorable and so very sweet. But it's just to forget that thing with having a moment alone in the bathroom, sleep long in the morning and so on... But the good is so much more than the annoying (shutting down my computer, stealing cheese from sandwiches, chewing on strings and shoelaces, digging under the couch for the Christmas nuts, waking up with a paw in your mouth...)

There has been very good music coming in 2015 also, classic bands releasing super albums, like Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Slayer to mention a few. But I've also missed a lot since I haven't had time to read as much as I used to. I realize this reading other peoples top-lists for 2015. It's impossible to keep up with everything I know but it bugs me a little bit that some releases just passed me by unnoticed. 

Anyway, here's my list for 2015;

01. SAXON

"Battering Ram"

It's always fun to get real good albums to review, SAXON was one of those. It's also very hard to write these reviews since the ambition to write as perfect as the album is tend to happen and the reviews can be rather extensive. But the album struck hard and survived from first second. Good to see SAXON in top shape these dark days.
Favorite track: Queen of Hearts

02. SATAN 

"Atom By Atom"

SATAN was another one I got for review. It really blew me away from start but then it dipped a bit after a few spins and I started to wonder if it was the excitement of a new release that was the case. But it caught up again and turned out as no 2 on my list. I love the speedy riffs and great melodies. 
Favorite track: Ahriman 

03. QUEENSRŸCHE 

"Condition Hüman"

This was actually a hard one to get into. I didn't think it was as good as the last one for a really long time, until I started thinking about how many times I listened to that before it got stuck. Giving it a rest for a few months and then picking it up again sure did the thing and hell yes, it's another masterpiece. Todd LaTorre rules.
Favorite track: Guardian

04. DARK QUARTERER 

"Ithaca"

To start with I didn't think that this one was as good as the old ones. But as always with the best albums they need 10-15-20 spins to land. I don't know how many times I listened to it before I could write the review but when I finally did it was again as it was when I first stumbled over DARK QUARTERER, I couldn't stop.
Favorite Track: Mind Torture

05. SATAN'S HOST

"Pre-dating God" (Parts 1 & 2)

 I'm cheating a bit here but as much as I struggled with the list I can't remove anything else from it. So instead if picking one of them, both records ended up under the same post. Fantastic release again from SATAN'S HOST, these albums they've done since Harry Conklin came back are absolutely awesome.
Favorite Track: Lady n' the Snake

06. MOTÖRHEAD 

"Bad Magic"

 It feels good that the last album MOTÖRHEAD ever released was a very strong one. Not that they ever have released a bad album but I'd say that this last one is my favorite since "Snake Bite Love". It's strong, powerful and catchy. But who could ever imagine it would be the last. It feels terrible to never be able to buy another MOTÖRHEAD ticket. I've lost count on how many times I've seen MOTÖRHEAD over the years but it's well over 30 at least. Always kick-ass!
Favorite Track: The Devil

 

07. IRON MAIDEN 

"The Book Of Souls"

That IRON MAIDEN would release something good was expected but I really really like this new one. It feels more inspired than in a long time. Not that they've ever done anything bad. But the vocal lines are more diverse and I really like the epic stuff.
Favorite Track: Tears of a Clown

 

08. SYMPHONY X 

"Underworld"

I've tried over the years to get into SYMPHONY X but never hard enough it seems, until now. Ok, I really dig the "Paradise Lost" album as well but that I didn't come around to the same year it was released and so it has been ever since. A little bit behind all the time. But I learn and picked this one up as soon as it was out and damn it's good.
Favorite Track: Run with the Devil 

09. MICHAEL SCHENKER'S TEMPLE OF ROCK

"Spirit On A Mission"

The god, guitar god... Mr Schenker together with Tony Iommi has been the biggest inspirations for me playing guitar. There has been others too of course but Michael's melodic style of playing not many come close to. I was a bit disappointed with Spirit on a Mission initially. It was good of course but not as strong as "Bridge the Gap" I thought. But giving it some time, in the player as well as in the shelf it came around and it rocks as hard as its predecessor.
Favorite Track: Something of the Night

 

10. TRIBULATION 

"The Children Of The Night"

   

 
Ok, I admit, sometimes I download music before I buy it. I'm too curious and impatient to wait on occasion. I'd seen the cover of this album and loved it but I'm always a bit hesitant to Swedish Metal Bands. Many are good of course but few are unique. To my surprise this one struck like a hammer and it spun round after round. Next record order I had the fat box version of the release listed and it keeps spinning.
Favorite Track: In the Dreams of the Dead 

And the sone that ended up just outside the list either because other was better or I didn't give them enough time;
Cage - Ancient Evil
Circle II Circle - Reign of Darkness
Damien Thorne - Soul Stealer
Enforcer - From Beyond
Helloween - My God-given Right
Iron Kingdom - Ride for Glory
Jameson Raid - Uninvited Guests
Jorn Lande & Trond Holter - Dracula
Masters Of Metal
Night Viper - Night Viper
Paradise Lost - The Plague Within
Parallel Minds - Headlong Disaster
Ram - Svbversvm
Scanner - The Judgement
Slayer - Repentless
Sorcerer - In the Shadow of the Inverted Cross
Tad Morose - St. Demonius
Tank - Valley of Tears
Transsiberian Orchestra - Letters from the Labyrinth
WASP - Golgotha

But, there are always something missed, some records that came in too late or for some other reason didn't make it, even if, looking at it now they probably should have. One of them;
Helloween - My Godgiven Right. 

I reviewed it and loved it, left it to rest for a while and it didn't feel as good. And now, when preparing for the concert it's been spinning again and damn it's good... If I'd picked it up earlier it should have been on the Top 10.

And then, Iron Kingdom - Ride for Glory

 It's not Power Metal, Not Prog Metal, Not Heavy Metal but at the same time all of it. These Canadians are also fantastic musicians and have managed to release one hell of an album again. Got it in just after Christmas though, bad planning from me.

So, I've probably forgotten a lot of records but this is the conclusion for now. It will probably look different in a few weeks.

Cheers
E

NP: Sarasin - Sarasin

 

Another year has passed

And it sure has been a lot of things happening lately...
Biggest event is of course that we, me and Peter became Mr and Mrs Wallberg at the end of the summer... 

How it feels to be married? Well, not much different from how it was before, just that I get surprised when Peter calls himself Mr Wallberg... *s*

Then of course, I missed both the 1 month and 2 month anniversary. For the first one I was in Shanghai and for the second I was in Dubai. Peter spent the second one in Malta drinking with Pim and the rest from Officium Triste and Wilburg from Semlah/Count Raven so I assume he had a good time, I myself was trying to squeeze everything in to my bag and get a beer which isn't easy or cheap in Dubai I tell you! 

Even if work has taken a lot of time this year I've managed to go to a few shows and buy a lot of records. I realized though that I haven't kept up AT ALL with what's going on in the music world, it's been more what I've stumbled upon that I've been listening to rather than trying to check out what's new. So in the end of the year I had a list with 30-40 records I should have checked out for my Top 10... But to do that in a week, nope, that won't be good. So it is a rather sparse selection (at least compared to other years) I've picked my Top 10 from, then 10 to list the ones I should have listened more to, the ones who also could have made it is rather long instead. 

Anyway, here goes;

TOP 10 of 2013

1. Oliva - Raise the Curtain

Again, the mountainking has managed to create an amazing piece of music. It's a bit like the first Jon Oliva's Pain record, an odd bunch of songs that doesn't really fit in anywhere. It's a bit of Savatage, it's a bit of Jon himself and a bit of others. This album feels so honest and pure, there's so much passion and absolutely no boundaries on what can be done. Still it's not far away from either Jon Oliva's Pain or Savatage. But as long as Jon Oliva released albums like this one, he can call it what he wants for my sake. And as long as they hold this quality, just take the suite from "Soul Chaser" over "Ten Years", "Father Time", "I know", "Big Brother" and "Armageddon". For the last one, there's no one who can scream line Jon in the chorus... Dramatic, fateful... It's the end of the world...
Favorite track: Armageddon

2. Vicious Rumors - Electric Punishment

Vicious Rumors showed with "Razorback Killers" that they still got it and "Electric Punishment" continues on the same track. Brian Allen shows a real progress and even if it still is a lot rawer than the classic albums the melodies are stronger than before. Riff maestro Geoff Thorpe still got it and delivers smart riffs behind a hitty facade. The mix of Geoff's and Brian's vocals for different part of the songs strikes hard. It is a raw record! And then there's a track like "Together we Unite" which is late 80's MTV generation hit-type. Still awesome but rather far off from the rest, however it still fits perfectly in the bunch.

Favorite track: I am the Gun

3. Queensryche - Queensryche

This might actually come as a surprise to some who knows me. I've never been a fan of this band, for two reasons mainly. First that I got "Operation Mindcrime" squeezed down my throat when it was released, I mean, the album is good but it could have been ok to listen to SOMETHING other on ONE party at least... Also, I really can't stand watching Geoff Tate... But with Todd La Torre in the band all's well, he's a joy to watch and listen to. I still didn't think the album would strike as hard as it did though. But it sure is an inspired album, full with interesting songs. Perhaps it takes a few spins for it to set but when it does it's great and it just keeps getting better. 

Favorite track: A World Without

4. Hell - Curse & Chapter

Andy Sneap is the master of good sound when it comes to Heavy music. And of course that applies to Hell as well. I can't say I've been with Hell since the dawn of time. I've just heard some, or actually just heard of, before they released "Human Remains". But the style suites my style in music perfectly, I love the artistic side as well. Old School songs or not, most everything put on the two albums released by Hell is just awesome.

Favorite track: Something Wicked This way Comes 

5. Anvil - Hope in Hell

Sure, Peter has influenced me a bit here... There's no doubt about that! Still I've been a fan since before we met. And I sure didn't mind having this album spinning constantly for a few weeks when it was released. It is a kick ass Anvil record and holds most of the elements significant for Anvil. It has fast songs and it has mid-tempo tracks and it feels more varied than its predecessor. 

Favorite track: The Fight is Never Won

6. Saxon - Sacrifice

It's mentioned here and there that the classic band loses their skills or passion. None of these goes for Saxon. Biff sounds better and better for each year. Sure, he doesn't sound like he did on the early albums but his voice has grown in depth these recent years which allows much more varied vocal lines and different style of songs. Still he can pull off the classics live as well. 

Favorite track: Night of the Wolf

7. Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock - Bridge the Gap

What the hell happened here??? Sure, Mr Schenker is a peculiar bugger but he has never done anything as heavy as this one. The songs are oozing with Rainbow influences, the odd thing with it is that on top of the Heavy riffs you have Michael's unmistakable style of melodies. Sure, Dougie White has a lot to do with the Rainbow/Dio feeling in the music but there's no understatement saying this is easily my Michael Schenker favorite since 1987's "Perfect Timing". This was actually one of the ones picked up just a few days before my list was due deadline and getting the thumb out earlier it sure would have ended up higher on the list.

Favorite track: The Land of Thunder

8. Tad Morose - Revenant

Bollnäs-Metal always hold high standard. I'm not really surprised that Tad Morose ended up on the list even if this record was released rather late in the year. They normally writes just in my taste. This though being the first in a while without Urban Breed on vocals. And with that spot empty there are a rather bi pair of boots to fill. For me, I've known Ronny Hemlin since decades back and he sure is a good vocalist, always impressive. But it seems like he's taken one more step up here. His voice is better than ever, more depth and more control than before. Awesome really.

Favorite track: Spirit World

9. Trouble - The Distortion Field

I for once was positive about bringing Kory Clarke in when Eric Wagner decided to leave. Unfortunately Kory has done a lot better performances than he did with Trouble, he's so much better than he showed. So perhaps it wasn't right. Then, if Eric never wants to come back, the line-up now with Kyle Thomas in the line-up is just as good as it ever was. It feels like the band really is inspired to play again, even if this don't fully matches "Manic Frustration" it's absolutely a good step in the right direction.

Favorite track: The Broken has Spoken

10. Carcass - Surgical Steel  

Who could have thought this? I still hold "Heartwork" as one of the greatest albums ever. I think the mix of brutality and melody is genial. I don't think Arch Enemy (you know, Mike Amott...) has captured the same mix and neither does Carcass on "Surgical Steel", frankly, Bill Steer and the rest can't write as strong melodies as Mike can. But Carcass still win over Arch Enemy with their brutality and ability to keep the Death Metal, no compromise and still have a catchy record.

Favorite track: Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System

I realized writing this that there's really nothing new in here... I have been listening to new bands as well though. Even if it hasn't been to the same extent as it usually is. So with this, I like to mention one more even if it's not listed in the Top 10, but it probably should have been, at least keeping in mind how much I've listened to it...

Extra for top 10:

Surpuissance - Affamé de Metal

French bastards, with Metal sung in French... So it's hard to keep up with them. And I assume I've made up my own lyrics for this album since it's hard to not sing along. It has that naive feeling as "Show No Mercy" or "Kill 'em All" has. It's raw, not all that precise all the time (I didn't say not tight though...). 

Favorite track: Agression Métallique Positive

And the ones that ended up just outside, alphabetically;
Avatarium - Avatarium
Black Sabbath - 13
Helloween - Straight out of Hell
Legend - The Dark Place
Metal Church - Generation Nothing
Motörhead - Afterschock
Procession - To Reap the Heavens Apart
Satan - Life Sentence
UDO - Steelhammer
Warlord - The Holy Empire

And 10 more that could have made it if I'd gotten the thumb out and listened a bit more;
Argus - Beyond the Martyrs
Atlantean Kodex - The White Goddess
Blood Ceremony - The Eldritch Dark
Chastain - Surrender to None
Deep Purple - Now What?!
Midnight Messiah - The Root of all Evil
Muro - El cuarto jinete
Running Wild - Resilient
Spiritual Beggars - Earth Blues
Witch Cross - Axe to Grind

Peter's List;
1. Anvil - Hope in Hell
2. Saxon - Sacrifice
3. Oliva - Raise the Curtain
4. UDO - Steelhammer 
5. Midnight Messiah - The Root of all Evil
6. Hell - Curse & Chapter
7. Satan - Life Sentence 
8. Avatarium - Avatarium
9. Procession - To Reap the Heavens Apart
10. Muro - El cuarto jinete


What's your favorite albums of 2013?
What did I miss completely?

Another list over concerts will come in a few days...

Cheers
E

NP: 220 Volt - Power Games

 

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Just middle of the week still but I feel like I've been working two weeks straight now. But that's of course not the case but the weekend passed way to fast and I didn't find time to do even half of what I thought of doing. But at least I've finished off a few things at least. 

During the Easter weekend I started off with a bit of a Health mission, make good food and boost up with some extra vitamins, i.e. fruit smoothies for breakfast. Those were really nice and very simple to prepare. And they actually work. Need to find the same for the cat... For Easter Friday he was passed out on the couch most all day. 

But since the sun showed up a little at least we decided to take the cat for a walk outside. He really liked it and walked around on the patio and law sniffing most everything. He also tried to crawl into the hedge, when I poked him he hissed at me that little yellow-belly. After an hour outside he slept like a log the rest of the afternoon. 

And of course, no Metal Head in Sweden can have missed that Black Sabbath is coming to play in the winter (huh, don't want to think about that now when it finally starts to feel like spring here). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be Black Sabbath this time and not Ozzy with Friends even if that was a very nice event too. Tickets are released on Friday, will be interesting to see if Ticnet will survive this one...

In the Live Nation news mail I got it mentioned pre-pre-purchase for some Mobile Operators event manager. Go Live I think it was called for Tele2... Tickets available now already so I shopped until I dropped... Or at least one for me and one for Peter. MUAHAHAHAH!!!! So I'm not bothered if Ticnet crashes on Friday now!

The Easter Weekend started off with a concert, Saint Vitus and Mos Generator played at Loppen in Copenhagen. Awesome gig really! But the lights at Loppen is almost non-existent so I decided to go for (almost) Black & White's for this report since that looks better if the pictures becomes grainy. The flash was still needed though. And since the place doesn't have a Photopit and the place was rather packed so it was hard to move. Which means the pictures are all from the same angle so I'm not all happy about the result. But I got a few cool ones.

But what was even worse was the light at the Helloween and Gamma Ray concert. There were absolutely no lack of lights but these modern spots are really evil and the colors messes up the digital camera. Normally it is just in red light the camera gets blind but now it was for almost everything. Or, when it was Green the pictures got Super-green, same with Blue as well. Really annoying. So again, (almost) B&W to get anything at all out of it. The report will be up on Metal Kaoz in a few days.
  

Is there anyone who has any tips on how to behave in situations like these ones. Let me know. I really would appreciate some tips... 

During Easter I also amused myself with sorting out the vinyl shelf. The big Expedit ones hold 25 pockets each and 2 of those is almost filled with LP's... To sort alphabetically I had to take down all apart from the first two pockets and put them up again. Worse than a long pass at the gym I tell you, damn my legs and arms were hurting after that! BUT IT LOOKED COOL, very massive. 
Of course, for the last few weeks both me and Peter has gone on shopping sprees when it comes to records. I got 15 or so from the Ginza sale (good one and there's still a few I really want), Peter got another package and then we went to Skivesset i Malmö and picked up some 2:nd Hand vinyls. And hopefully I will receive a really FAT package from TPL before the weekend... So I guess it is time to start all over again...

And now Keep It True is just a bit over a week away! Everything's sorted out and for the weekend we'll have our own Warm-Up party! 
But before I can relax in Germany it is a few more days of hard work!!! (but at least I got a raise last week, quite good one too)

Cheers
E

NP: Liege Lord - Master Control

Record Shoppers Anonymous #15

The meetings last Friday really became extended so it took a while before I could hit the road towards Höör. It was a nice drive most of the time but turning into Road 13 towards Höör the sunny weather changed and it started to snow heavily. Lucky enough it was just a little here and there and it had stopped when I reached Höör. Still I think it is way to cold and snowy for this time of the year.

My cold almost given up and I was starting to feel quite normal during the end of last week. Now it was Peter's turn instead. He was a bit low when I got home so we turned in early Friday. Saturday I woke up, feeling rested and decided to take care of the laundry. I can say like this, it won't be as nice to hang out in the basement anymore. I found Hubert lurking in the laundry room and something as big as that need a name. I think it is a normal house spider so it's not dangerous but just really creepy and scary. 
 

Hubert is about 7-8cm's from front to end including all 8 legs... I sure hope he's all grown up now! 

To something a little more fun instead, Peter's first batch of home made beer got ready just before the weekend. First edition got the name "Mourning Brew", and is a dark ale. Really easy to drink with a slight bit of a fruity taste. Really nice actually! So it will absolutely be another batch, Peter mentioned something about a Stout for the next try, all well by me. The brand name "Isle of the Black Cat" came from this summer when we visited Peter's parents in their summer cabin at Hasslö and I was picking black and red currants and the cat kept me company around the bushes.

So the brand makes red currant jelly and black currant jam apart from the beer. Perhaps production of apple pure if the tree in the backyard allows it!  We'll see what happens during the summer.

It's very nice that the Festival season (and concert season) starts now. Keep It True is just a few weeks away. But first it is Saint Vitus and Helloween, Edward from Triffid productions was nice and gave me a photopass for Helloween. According to the promoters at Loppen I don't need a pass for Saint Vitus, as long as I check with the bands it's ok. So now I need to figure out how to do that! :O)

But KIT looks nice as always! Saturday will be really tough even if I like the line-up for Friday also. But Warlord, Angel Witch, Steel Prophet, Jack Starr and Legend, that really is a killer line-up!

Then it seems like April will continue it a furious speed. Perhaps a few trips with work and at the end of the month, Overkill and perhaps also Doro. We'll see what I manage to squeeze in to the schedule. 

I was complaining about not having any incoming packages last weekend. Of course I realized I had a few records to look for and hitting Underground Powers eBay store I realized just HOW much I had on my want-list! A very fast delivery from Underground Power and I could pick up my package when I got back home. 

So the weekend was spent listening to music. I can't remember the last time I listened to music as many hours as I did this weekend. Of course, since Peter stayed in bed most weekend I amused myself with writing MK stuff so apart from the nice package (Lord, Obsession, Taunted, Overlorde SR, Midite Hellion and Axxion) it was also a lot of stuff that I need to review, like Colossus (Swe), Kingcrow, Hürlement, Omission and of course the new Vicious Rumors "Electric Punishment" plus a whole lot more. 

And from TPL, two weeks back I got the new Saxon album, really nice Picture Disc in a Gatefold sleeve, really nice. Also Witchgrave. So it was a very small package this time. Actually, the new Circle II Circle was in there also, wonder why I forgot that one... I didn't like it very much when I first started to listen to it, but it actually is getting better for each spin.

Peter got two albums as well, Alice Cooper and Black Hole. 
And last but not least, I finally got my Eleminator tape. Daniele was really nice and sent a bonus tape, Nekrofilth which was quite cool as well. Perhaps not REALLY my favorite style of music but not bad at all.

So the weekend was really nice even if I felt sorry for Peter (apparently my cold wasn't a real man-cold because Peter was much worse than I ever was). I needed a calm weekend and it was really nice to just explore a bit and dig up new nice bands.

The drive back to Borås Monday morning was rough. I didn't want to leave Peter in his misery, also it would have been very nice to have another day just like Sunday (Hubert was gone from the basement then too) and just listen to more music and perhaps play a bit of Guitar as well.

At least it was a nice, but cold day Monday morning. It's good that it is daylight out and that the roads are getting dry. Still there's so much salt our Blue car is completely grey even if I washed it about two weeks ago. 

It feels like I'm shopping a lot now... (found a cool bookshelf at Blocket as well but it might be a bit too big for the house) But I'm living my dream and I really want a BBQ Grill and they actually had 2 very cool ones at ICA... So the aim is to spend some of the bonus money that arrives in April on one of them!

So I really hope the summer will be as long as winter so I can threw a lot of candlelight BBQ suppers out on the deck, but sure, with a grill like these it just need to be above 0 (ok, a little warmer perhaps) until I can start with it all. Half the deck is under roof so that should be fine...

Cheers
E

NP: OBSESSION - Order of Chaos