Operation Mindcrime

Even if it's nice to visit mom it's still really good to get back home to Peter and the Cats after a few days up north. Ok, Peter's actually away rehearsing with Goatess this weekend so me and the cats are having a party by ourselves in the Void Mansion. I miss him of course but it's good to get some time at home and not having to be social and just to clear out the Metal Kaoz stuff so I won't build another back-log. I still have a few things to complete but the progress is good.

It's always fun to do it also, and with the batch of records I have for review right now it's all just fun. And I actually didn't think so but I must say I really enjoyed the Soulfly, King Parrot & Incite gig in the beginning of the week. Picture editing for that tonight.

Right now I have Mightiest, Salem, Savage Master, The Temple, Anthrax, Ereb Altor and Mob Rules to dig into. It's quite many but the hardest is actually to sort out which one to listen to next. All really appeal to me so it's a pleasurable problem I have... I think Salem is the one that struck the hardest though.

But, it seems like it will be a very good record year this year too. Sarasin and Sleepy Hollow struck very hard when I got them, and now Salem. Then Metal Church, Martyr...
I've pre-ordered both in some nice bundles and hopefully they'll show up the coming weeks. I didn't take the pack from Rat Pak Records where Mike Howe is calling but the second biggest with an additional T-shirt for Peter and one Mike Howe shirt for me.

I'm also checking if it will be possible to see them at one or so of the dates in May. Z7 in Switzerland is very tempting since Riot V is on the bill there as well. Not the best day though since it's a mid-week show.

Then the Martyr pack. I really wish I could have gone to the release party but I guess I need to realize I can't do everything I want. There's just not enough time for it.

I also ordered the deluxe version of the Baltimoore collection. I have far to few of the releases but I do like the ones I have and on the rare occasion I've actually seen them or Björn Solo live it's been absolutely amazing. What a voice, what a feeling.

And then of course the Saxon 9-LP box. That one will be awesome. I think it's the fattest LP box I have... Perhaps Iron Maiden "First 10 Years" with 10 2x12"'s is bigger. But it sure is cool! 

So I for sure have a lot of incoming goodies now the last two weeks of march or so. 

And there's more to come... I've already mentioned Salem and to stay in the same genre I have to say I'm looking forward to the new Cloven Hoof. 

 

 And then of course Assassins Blade (ok ok, yes I've had access to this one for some time for obvious reasons but it's still cool when it's done and it's an actual product)

So it looks like the goodies will keep coming. 
Also when we're talking about concerts it will be a good year. Upcoming is Exodus, Symphony X, one more Dirkschneider / Anvil show, Overkill, Spiritual Beggars and some more. 
I bought a ticket for the Queensryche Stockholm gig today. I'm quite sure that Klubben will be sold out so even if I don't know I can make it I would like to have the opportunity at least.

I was about to get tickets for the gig at Amager Bio in Copenhagen as well but then I got a hint from a friend another damn cool gig the same day so I really need to decide what to do... We'll see what happens. One thing's sure, it will be a good concert year. It has already started off very strong with Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock, Manowar, Dirkschneider and Up The Hammers.

Another train ride to come to an end very soon!

Cheers
E

NP: Salem - Dark Days

 
 

Finish what I started...

That seems to be very hard at the moment, at home, at work, everywhere. I have a lot of things that should be done or should have been done a long time ago. Ok, work has been rather smooth lately, it's just the last couple of weeks I can't find the peace and quiet time (or inspiration for that sake) to complete the documentation I should...
And of course, being away during the weeks makes it hard to work with pictures. Writing on the other hand is progressing, not finishing anything though... I'm also trying to finish the plans for this summer, which Festivals to go to and when to take some time off of work.

Muskelrock is first up now. That's going to be fun, a lot of good bands as always. I'm especially looking forward to see Ashbury again since I really enjoyed their show at KIT. Then Citron, Anvil, Tyranex, Portrait, The Rods, Ice Age and a few more.

I really hope the weather will be fine though since it can be damn cold in the evening at the end of may. No camping of course, Rådmannen in Alvesta is close and comfortable so there's no use suffering in a tent!!!

After Muskelrock we'll go to SwedenRock for one day, Saturday. The line-up is great and I have to see Exciter & Riot V again when they're as close as this. Then also Nuclear Assault, Ace Frehley, Judas Priest and a few more makes it worth the visit.

But, one more thing I need to squeeze in is a Vicious Rumors show. They only play a select few gigs and I have it hard to get it into my schedule. At this point Leiden is the one I'm aiming at.

Seems to be easy to get from Schipol to Leiden at least and it can be good for me to build some bonus points with KLM also. Plus they had very decent flights to Amsterdam... I just wonder how I should manage to squeeze in all work in between the Concerts and Festivals... 

The KIT weekend was great! So many cool shows it's hard to pick a favorite. That has normally been clear after each Festival but not this time. Riot V and Exciter are strong candidates but we'll see...

I've been trying to walk home from work on a few occasions lately when it hasn't been raining. I really hate the buses so an hour and 15 minutes walk is an easy trade. I get some time to listen to music. Today I picked up Vicious Rumors "Electric Punishment". It was a while since I last listened to that record and as with all Vicious Rumors records, when they've had some rest, I'm always surprised that they are better than I remembered. I think it has it all, the riffs, the fines, just as the classic albums. I'm really looking forward to some new stuff. I really liked Brian Allen but it will be very interesting to see what Nick can do. He sounded amazing live at least. Listening to music sure makes the walking easy at least.

Cheers
E

NP: Vicious Rumors - Electric Punishment

 
 

Easter full moon

The moon sure is impressive tonight. Of course, completely impossible to shoot and get a decent shot so I have to settle with looking at it. 
And it sure has been good with a few extra days off now. Not that I've had much time to relax though since Friday meant Void Moon rehearsal from 9:30 in the morning... (normal bands rehearse at night and take a beer, Void Moon rehearse BEFORE breakfast on occasion...) But ok, we got to have a BBQ lunch before the guys had to leave for their easter comitments and I had the afternoon to take care of other stuff. For some reason it feels like things are taking so much more time than they used to. I never had problems to squeeze in Rehearsal, fancy dinner, photo-editing, TV watching and a party in a day but that don't happen often now.

My plan was to catch up as much as I could with photo editing since I can't open the raw-files from my new camera in Elements 7 and I can't install creative cloud on my work computer. Need to see if the little red one can handle it so I'm not locked to editing on weekends only. There's just too few of them to manage everything that shall fit. But else I'm very happy with the new camera and my new toy... Yep, I bought the Canon L 8-15mm lens... Turns out rather crazy and it's not all that useful, but it is FUN!!! Also, I tried the Sigma 10-20 but it was too slow for the price so it felt right to add a bit more cash and get the really good one.

Perhaps a 10-20 would have been more useful since it the 8mm almost takes 180 degrees, the pictures are virtually round. And I assume it is stressful for the bands as well since it focuses on 15cm away from the target and fully opened, this is what it looks like from 2-3dm away from the fist dude on stage!!! I.e. I get AWFULLY close with it... :O)

But it was quite a challenge for a while. My main lens broke during the Satan gig in Gothenburg. I got it fixed but I was out of it for Sacred Steel, Sanctuary and Up The Hammers. As a backup I had a fixed 50mm and the 8-15. A BIT of a mismacth in the middle but it turned out ok. That VERY CHEAP fixed 50mm is still very good and stable but it's hard to not have the zoom, I've always had that and I'm used to it so it becomes rather strage with a fixed lens. Also, for the EOS 50D I had 17-50mm and for the EOS 5D I have 24-70mm which made me miss the mm's up to 50 more than above. 

 
It sure would have been good with a few more days home now. I've been away a lot lately, two weeks in Dallas felt like an eternity and prior to that we went to Katowice to see Overkill and of course Up The Hammers in Greece. So these days has been really nice even ifI haven't completed what I set to do. I doubt I will manage by tomorrow but who knows, I might wake up early (fat chance, nooo) and feel inspired and start right away.

Anyway, if I can keep the speed up with writing and editing the days I'm home I will be in a good position before the new Festival season start. And I'm sure looking forward to it. I got a report yesterday saying Exciter kicked ass at Defenders of the Old Festival. I'm really looking forward to see them at KIT together with Uli Jon Roth, Riot V and more... Great line-up as always. But first we're off to Ireland!

Cheers
E

NP: Riot V - Unleash the Fire

2014 the lists that almost didn't happen

So, it's a new year again and I guess I should make some promises that I can't hold and so on... Well, one thing is sure, I will try to calm down a little bit, both when it comes to work and everything else, try to stay focused on only a few things at the time and not trying to do everything. It's not optimal and the risk is that I burn myself out. And that I sure don't have time for. Because it's been a quite tough year 2014, a lot of things I just had to do even if I didn't really feel like it, or had the energy for them, plus work, plus Metal Kaoz, plus Void Moon and of course trying to take care of the house also.
And I really should go to the gym too... I've seen these groups at Facebook stating like, go to the gym 100 times before midsummer. I must admit that drink 100 beers before midsummer sounded more tempting but I really do need the exercise. So, why not combine the two? For every minute spent working out, I get 1cl of beer in reward! Deal!!!??? 

That I haven't been home very much really showed around Christmas when I started to sort out the newly bought records, update the records list and so on. A lot of records was still in shrink-wrap even though I've had them for months. Also, records I don't remember buying showed up. Of course it was fun to find them and also spend a lot of time listening to it all. There was some really nice discoveries but in the end, the pile of records listed as "could have made it to top ten if I'd listened more" became way to large to be really good. It sure feels like I've missed out on a lot. So absolutely, a bit more focused on incoming records and try to listen to them as soon as they come. Those piles is a bit because of the TPL packages. Earlier I got 3-4 batches of records each month, now it's a BIG one every 6 weeks or so which makes it harder to keep up and also, that most is on vinyl makes it hard to listen in the car...

Anyway, there's been a lot of records spinning during the year, some more than others of course. And this is the top 10;

1. ACCEPT - Blind Rage

Again ACCEPT shows they are a force to be reckoned with. I was a bit hesitant towards this album before I heard it, I'd formed an idea that it should be a repetition of "Blood of the Nations" and "Stalingrad", a bleak copy or so. It sure sounds like the mentioned two but it still is damn good! Of course it is, since it is at no 1... I'm not sure that it beats the earlier two but it still is a mighty fine moment in Metal history.
Favorite track: "Trail of Tears" (but I also need to say "The Curse")

2. ICED EARTH - Plagues of Babylon

This was a bit of a surprise. ICED EARTH has always been good but the last few albums has passed rather unnoticed. Of course, it's my own fault, getting hit by this one I picked up "Dystopia" also and that too is amazing. Stu Block sounds fantastic, a bit different from Barlow of course, but the best is that he's a Metal Head and he sure wants to be on stage and the band seems to enjoy themselves very much these days and that's why they release killer records.
Favorite track: "The Culling"

3. GRAND MAGUS - Triumph and Power

I was actually a bit disappointed with this album when I first got it and listened to it for the first time. It felt a bit too mellow. It has been the same thing with all GRAND MAGUS albums since "Iron Will" though so I gave this one a rest (read; forgot about it completely for months) and when digging it out again it all fell into place. I think the second half of the record is absolutely phenomenal. First half is absolutely not bad, not at all, but it feels a bit adjusted and stiff and not at all as vibrant as the second half. If it have had the same nerve straight through, it would have been no 1.
Favorite track: "The Naked and the Dead"

4. RIOT V - Unleash the Power

Damn... This one struck hard. Strong songs and very catchy melodies. The most fascinating is that it really sounds Riot, like Privilege of Power but still not a copy of it. And to tap Todd Michael Hall as the vocalist makes it even more perfect. Damn he's good.
Favorite track: "Land of the Rising Sun"

5. SANCTUARY - The Year the Sun Died

The album really is better than a fifth place and it would have been in top if it had been the Warrel Dane logo on it rather than Sanctuary. So with that, the record was a bit of a disappointment. I wanted a straight forward Heavy Metal record, or at least I expected it to be that. Still, this is an amazing record but it took a while to grind down my own idea of what it should be and appreciate what I got.
Favorite track: "Question Existing Fading"  

6. ALL SEEING EYES - Trinity Road

This was actually a really big surprise. I got it as a promo in my mail and I normally don't check many of the download promos since there's no time and most of the is Black Metal. This one teased with Ben Jackson and I'm really glad I dug into it. 18 magnificent tracks of prog/power Metal and absolutely no fillers or low points. Amazing album! 
Favorite track: "The Cube"

7. STEEL PROPHET - Omniscient

I was confused to start with, I thought the record was a bit messy but slowly and surely things fell into place. Also, getting the real record took everything up a bit since the sound of the promo I had to review wasn't the best. Also, the info about this album prior to getting the physical CD (still waiting for the vinyl) was non existent. Still, it's a damn good record and I really hope I'll get to hear a few of these tracks live!!!
Favorite track: "Through time and Space"

8. ASTRAL DOORS - Notes from the Shadows

One of Sweden's finest Classic Metal bands who has released a steady stream of good albums over the years and this is no exception. I love their vocal harmonies and very strong melodies and there's not many vocalists around that beats Patrik these days. Somewhere between Dio and Coverdale...
Favorite track: "I Die Alone"

9. BEHEMOTH - The Satanist

I was absolutely blown away by Behemoth's performance at Trägår'n in Gothenburg. Their performances are sure 100% perfection. I mean, to have the whole drum raiser set on fire, or the visual effect of giving the bassplayer and guitarist wings (as very fateful figures of course) with light effects. And that they have music to back it up with sure helps.
Favorite track: "O Father O Satan O Sun!"

10. OVERKILL - White Devil Armory 

Yes, another full on from Overkill. Perhaps "Ironbound" still is a bit stronger but they sure are on fire these days. You know what you get with Overkill and it's always high quality.
Favorite track: "Pig"

And the ones just outside the list, alphabetically;
Evil Masquerade - The Digital Crucifix
Grave Digger - Return Of The Reaper
Hirax - Immortal Legacy
Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls
Magnum - Escape From The Shadow Garden
Masters Hammer - Vagus Vetus
Portrait - Crossroads
Slough Feg - Digital Resistance
Tankard - R.I.B
Wolf - Devil Seed

It sure was hard, records was moving in and out of the list. It actually took a couple of weeks to decide and a lot of evaluation for the last few spots on the list. Reviewing it again now, maybe it would have looked different... It sure was a huge bunch to chose from at least.

And the big pile that could have/should have made it into the list if I either gotten my thumb out sooner or actually gotten the records in time to have a chance to listen;
Ace Frehley - Space Invader
Apostle of Solitude - Of Woe and Wounds
Darkest Era – Severance
Elvenstorm - Blood Leads to Glory
Entombed AD - Back To The Front
Falconer - Black Moon Rising
Harmony - Theater of Redemption
Gus G. - I Am The Fire
Hands of Orlac - Figli del Crepuscolo
Hatriot - Dawn Of The New Centurion
Isole - The Calm Hunder
Midnight - No Mercy for Mayhem
Palace – The 7th Steel
Panzer - Send them All to Hell
Persian Risk - Who Am I?
Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Reino Ermitano - Conjuros de Poder
The Skull - For Those Which Are Asleep
Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Tyranex - Unable to Tame

If some record should have a special place here, it is absolutely Hellion "Karma's Bitch". It doesn't qualify in the lists since it's not a full length album (stupid rule really). I'm really glad they are back at least. "The Black Book" is one of my favorite albums ever. Seeing Ann Boleyn with Detente a few years ago was amazing  but I sure hope I'll get to see Hellion live too! And that SOON!

 Another, which I've missed completely and actually was released in 2013 that I need to mention is Salem's "Forgotten Dreams". I don't know why I've missed this one and shame on me for that. Getting it and giving it a spin sure blew me away. Amazing album that both feels Old School, modern and damn vital.

 
And Peter's Top 10 of the year list;
1. Judas Priest – Redeemer of Souls
2. Overkill – White Devil Armory
3. Grave Digger – Return of the Reaper
4. Portrait – Crossroads
5. Palace – The 7th Steel
6. AC/DC – Rock or Bust
7. Darkest Era – Severance
8. Accept – Blind Rage
9. Apostle of Solitude – Of Woe and Wounds
10. Slough Feg - Digital Resistance

We actually discussed if it would have been fun to list the records that has meant the most or had the biggest impact over the year, new or old. That would have been quite interesting because there's so many forgotten pearls in the collection so it's bound to show up one forgotten or bypassed goodie every year... But perhaps next year! And this is how the rest of the Metal Kaoz crew voted;

METAL KAOZ Top 10 of 2014

There has of course been a lot of good concerts also but I think I take another blogg entry for those! Thinking back of 2014 I realized I've done a hell load of fun things, the downside I haven't had very much time to enjoy them very much. It's been good weekends followed by stressful weeks at work and very little rest. It's not the optimal way of living, I know but I do need to have the fun to be able to handle the weeks also... At least on a few occasions. And, I wouldn't want to miss to see my favorite bands play live either, especially when they're playing quite close by. So again, I'll try to take it a bit easy and try to relax more to be able to enjoy all the fun things I do fully!!! (and have a beer for every workout I do!!!)

Cheers
E

NP: Panzer - Send Them All to Hell