Metal Heads

[Tìtstewan]

I just found an other album of Therion in my .flac stuff.
Therion - Sirius B - Sirius B
Therion sirius B - 10

[Emtokay]

Everybody, it is sad news for me to report but today Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman has passed away. His riffs will always remain and now he's up in heaven jamming with Cliff Burton, Dimenag Darrell, Dio and Eric Car. RIP

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

Yeah, a classmate and friend of mine showed me a post on Facebook about it today. Now, i'm not really a Slayer fan (Haven't heard much of their music.), but it's always sad to hear when a brother or sister of Metal is lost. My condolences  .

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

Thought i'd cheer everyone up by playing some Metal here. I know Jeff would've approved  .

The title track on Entombed's album Left Hand Path (1990):

Entombed - Left hand Path

Gonna see them at Metaltown this summer. Man, i can't wait for that festival  !

[Human No More]

Entombed, nice \m/

Saw them a couple of years at a small festival, would be good to see them again.

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

Well, i'm not really a fan. Just found this song while browsing through the local files on our computer's music library a few months ago, when we had just moved into our new house and there wasn't much to do. I will see them at Metaltown here in Gothenburg this year, however, which is a good excuse to to listen to a bit of their stuff  .

[Emtokay]

Strapping Young Lad - Aftermath (Live @ Download 2006)

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

Hmm... First time i've heard one of Devin Townsend's musical works. Interesting stuff  . And you really just gotta lol at his trippy scene language  .

Well, i'm off to Metaltown now, guys. Gonna be there today, tomorrow and Saturday, all 3 days of the festival (Although i will go home in between the days to sleep and eat breakfast.). I'll get back to you when the festival's over and tell you how it went. Kìyevame  !

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

Kaltxì, ma frapo  ! I know it's a little overdue, but; I'm back from Metaltown (July 4-6) and i'd like to share my thoughts on the experience with you  . Now, since i saw quite a few bands there, i'm only gonna review some of them so that the text doesn't get too long and i run out of patience  . And also; Considering it's been a while since then my memory of it may at certain point be quite vague, but i promise that i'll do my best  . Ok, here goes:

Spoiler: Thursday

Turbonegro (NO)
Deathpunk/Hardcore Punk
3/5

Hadn't really heard much from them before Metaltown. Still thought they were pretty good. They had a lot of humor and their eccentric homo-aesthetic image amused me quite a bit. I thought they connected rather well with the crowd. Their most hardcore fans, known as the ``Turbojugend´´, were very crazy and energetic. There were even quite a few crowd-surfers, even though crowd-surfing's illegal in Sweden. Let's just say the security guards had quite a lot of work on their hands. There was even a guy who got apprehended by one of the guards. All in all; Pretty good for a band previously almost unknown to me.

Mustasch (S)
Heavy Metal/Stoner Metal
3/5

Now, i've never really been much of a Mustasch fan, but i have to admit that i think they make very good live performances. First time i saw them was in Spring last year at Liseberg. And this time, like last year, they had good stage presence and frontman Ralf Gyllenhammar had some good ol' Gothenburgian humor up his sleeve. Now, as you may already know, Motörhead has cancelled quite a few shows on their current tour due to Lemmy's health problems, including Metaltown, so Mustasch jumped in at the last minute as replacements (Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing them live. Mustasch is IMO a perfectly ok replacement, though). There was however, a little surprise at the end; Mickkey Dee showed up to take the drums and in honör ( ) of Motörhead they played Ace Of Spades.

Spoiler: Friday

Crunge (S)
Grunge
2/5

Almost everything from Crunge's performance is just a big blur by now, probably because i didn't find them super-memorable. I remember that i thought they were quite good, though. And i did get one of the caps with their logo on it that they threw out after their set was finished. A friend of mine caught one as well but he lost it and didn't find it again  . Well, at least the entertainment was pretty decent.

Terra Tenebrosa (S)
Progressive Metal/Avant Garde Metal/Dark Ambient
2/5

They were ok, i guess. Pretty interesting image, what with their masks and all. Vocals were (intentionally) nearly incomprehensible, making each song sound basically the same (Then again, i've never heard their music before, so that's probably quite understandable). Their singer, nicknamed The Cuckoo, didn't do much in the way of talking in between the songs (Part of the mysterious image, i suppose), however he quite frequently put his palms together and made a small bow towards the audience in appreciation. Even though i didn't find their performance that special, it still made want to have a look at their music later.

All That Remains (US)
Melodic Metalcore
3/5

They made a very good performance all in all. I wished they would've played You Can't Fill My Shadow and The Last Time (two of my favorite ATR songs), though. Anyhow; It was cool to see their female bassist doing some growled backup vocals. The overall mood was quite ``party-ish´´, with lots of singing along and friendly moshing and stuff. Seeing them didn't quite reach up to my expectations, but i feel that it was still worth my while.

Soilwork (S)
Melodic Death Metal/Melodic Metalcore/Alternative Metal/Thrash Metal/ Progressive Metal/whatever  
4/5

I listened a lot to their newest record, The Living Infinite, when it came out this spring and i can honestly say it's by miles the best album from 2013 that i've heard so far  . It's just superb! Whole-heartedly recommend it. Anyway, about their performance; They came quite close to matching the strength of their live performance with the strength of their newest album, but not quite, mainly IMO because they didn't play The Living Infinte II and Deliverance Is Mine, which are two of their absolute best songs IMO. Highlights were Spectrum Of Eternity, with the very intense circle pit during the blast-beats and the epic sing-along on Long Live The Misanthrope, Rise Above The Sentiment and Nerve, although IMO their whole performance was great. Frontman Björn ``Speed´´ Strid was a very sympathic and instantly likeable entertainer, with a charming trademark Skanian accent (The band is from Helsingborg, Skania). Definitely one of the absolute best performances of Metaltown 2013  !

Katatonia (S)
Alternative Metal/Doom Metal/Progressive Metal/Gothic Metal
4/5

The small tent they played in made for a great and intimate backdrop for their depressive yet soft and beautiful Metal. Frontman Jonas Renkse didn't do much in terms of talking to the audience, but he did a great job on the vocals. I sang along to most of the songs (Which were mostly songs from their latest full-length, Dead End Kings, released in August last year), which added to the occasionally purely epic feel of the overall performance. I'm glad they played my favorite of the Katatonia songs i've heard so far, My Twin, but i was a bit disappointed that they didn't play The Parting, IMO the best song from Dead End Kings. It was a really good experience overall, though.

Sabaton (S)
Power Metal
4/5

First time i saw Sabaton was at a local stadium called Scandinavium last Fall. It was great. Now, i don't know which performance was better, that one or the one at Metaltown, but they kicked complete ass here as well! Frontman Joakim Brodén delivered very well as usual with his infectious personality and humor.  Most of the songs were from their newest full-length Carolus Rex, released last Spring, and since i knew the lyrics to most of the songs i sang along. A lot. A friend of mine (who was also with me on Sabaton's Scandinavium concert) sang along alot as well, making us kind of an epic two-man choir  . They played most of my Sabaton favorites, although i would've really liked to hear Ruina Imperii live. Anyhow, it was awesome. One of the absolute best performances of the entire festival!

Slipknot (US)
Nu Metal
4/5

I was really looking forward to seeing Slipknot live, having heard many crazy things about their live performances. Although they weren't as crazy as i'd hoped, they still delivered very well. Frontman Corey Taylor used his expected insulting/loving stage persona (which he IMO did very well) and wasn't afraid to call names, even to the fans, the ``Maggots´´. I was a bit surprised to see that they didn't use any bassist live (their last official bassist, Paul Gray, died of what is believed to be an overdose little more than 3 years ago), and thus they were only 8 instead of the usual 9. As for the music itself, they made a good choice in playing their best known songs (shamefully enough, i didn't recognize some of the songs). Highlights included Psychosocial, Dead Memories, People = S**t and my favorite Slipknot song, Sulfur. Another cool thing about their performance was that drummer Joey Jordison and his set was elevated off the stage by a mechanism at one point, and basically tilted until he was sitting in an almost 90 degree angle towards the stage floor  ! All in all, Slipknot were great, although seeing as they were the last band to play on any one of the big stages that day, the crowd was absolutely packed. I can understand why, though  .

Spoiler: Saturday

The Last Band (S)
Heavy Metal/Hardcore Punk (?)
2/5

I'd never heard of them before this year's Metaltown and i can't remember much about their performance, probably because i didn't find them that special. What i do know is that they're from Gothenburg. I believe i also thought the singer/guitarist/frontman was quite funny and did a pretty decent job with his stage presence.

Nox Vorago (S)
Symphonic Death Metal/Progressive Death Metal
A strong 3/a weak 4/5

Another Gothenburg band playing at Metaltown on Saturday was Nox Vorago. I listened to their debut album Obsidian Stonemirrors (released in November last year) and thought ``Hey, this would be very good live!´´. Now, their performance didn't quite live up to my expectations (for example; They didn't play Voidshrines.), but IMO they still did a competent job. Frontman Uduun didn't do much in the way of talking, either, but i can forgive this small flaw, considering they're probably relatively new to the stage. I was very glad they played Vimana, though, which is my favorite Nox Vorago song. Later that day, while watching Meshuggah play, i found their keyboardist Magnus in the crowd and thanked him for the good show  .

Amaranthe (S)
Pop Metal/Metalcore/Power Metal
4/5

Amaranthe is a band that i've been listening to a lot this past Spring/Summer, and they've ever so persistently grown on me. I know a lot of people here will probably hate on them for being too ``poppy´´ but i couldn't give less of a damn. Anyhow, i loved their performance at Metaltown, although like with a lot of other bands there this year, i was missing out on some of my favorite Amaranthe songs, like Director's Cut and Mechanical illusion. There was a lot of epic singing along, too. Most things about their performance held high quality, but nothing really stood out. Still, i'm glad i got to see them live  .

Devin Townsend Project (Can)
Progressive Metal
3/5

I hadn't heard much of Devin Townsend's works before this year's Metaltown, and frankly i don't remember much about the music itself. What did catch my eye about Devin, however, was his very humorous and sarcastic tone throughout the performance. Before the actual show (and a bit during as well) the monitors usually displaying the views of the cameras instead displayed a slideshow of random and and hilariously idiotic photoshopped images of Devin, for example; Devin as the Mona Lisa and Devin's head on the body of a cooked chicken  . All in all; Although i didn't find his music that instantly memorable, Devin was IMO the most spontaneously funny performing artist of the entire festival.

Meshuggah (S)
Progressive Metal/Progressive Death Metal/Math Metal
4/5l

Ah, Meshuggah   <3. I remember the first time i saw them, which was at Metaltown 2011, and IMO they made the best performance out of all the bands i saw at Metaltown that year. Not sure i feel like they topped that performance this time, but they were still awesome and one of absolute best bands at the festival. Again, like with many other bands at Metaltown this years, i thought they missed some songs, like Lethargica, ObZen, War and I Am Colossus, but they still did a great job. And like last time, they had the most running- and 'banging-around in the crowd. Awesome  ! The mosh pits were, at times, huge  ! Frontman Jens Kidman wasn't as humorous as he was last time (probably because this time, he was sober  ), but i still think he did a great job. All in all, i think Meshuggah's performance was one of the absolute best this year.

KoRn
Nu Metal
4/5

Together with Slipknot, Soilwork, Amaranthe and Katatonia, KoRn were one of the bands i was looking forward to seeing the most at Metaltown this year. I was also very happy over the new that guitarist Brian ``Head´´ Welch was rejoining the band and was going to play with them at Metaltown. Unlike last time i saw them (Metaltown 2011), they didn't play any medleys, which was a huge relief, since that had bugged me a bit. One problem, though; The crowd was so f**king packed i could hardly breathe, and it wasn't made any easier by the fact that a lot of people were pushing from behind in an attempt to get closer to the stage. I ended up finding my way to the more open mosh area to be able to breathe properly  . There was a lot of epic singing-along and good energy overall, both from KoRn themselves and the crowd. Their performance was great, but like with Amaranthe, nothing in particular stood out very much. I was very glad to see them though  , and afterwards i just wanted to get home and sleep for two days or so  .

My overall grade for this year's Metaltown is a very strong 4/5  . Although it was perfect (how can something really be perfect  ?), i had a great time with good friends, overall delicious food and great performances. I think Meshuggah and Soilwork are tied as my favorites this year. I also bought a dog-tag that says ``F**K THE LAW´´ and a Swedish model gas mask, which is super cool  . In conclusion; All of these things combined making this the by far best Metaltown yet  !

[Emtokay]

Jealous, you saw Heavy Devy and Meshuggah. I'd be seeing LoG and Meshuggah here in oz but I'm in Brisbane the week before the show

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

What's ``Oz´´  ? And i'm assuming ``LoG´´ stands for Lamb Of God  ?

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

It's pirate time, baby  !

Keelhauled by Alestorm on the album Black Sails At Midnight (2009):

ALESTORM - Keelhauled (Official)

[Emtokay]

Oz meaning Australia

Last time I saw Lamb of God I was here

Lamb of God - Black Label (LIVE in Brisbane, AU)

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/40733_1627969027179_8078528_n.jpg

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/69857_1627969107181_7528042_n.jpg

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/69149_1627969747197_105097_n.jpg

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/68764_1627970627219_474386_n.jpg

http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/67274_1627971107231_7237308_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/73333_1627970347212_2270748_n.jpg

[Toruk'makto]

Hey guys,
I was in WACKEN this year. It was awsome....

Rammstein - Wacken 2013 [HD] (3 Songs)

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

Emtokay: Irayo for the info, ma tsmukan  .

Do you guys know which is the world's shortest song (Hint: It's a Metal song  .)?

The one to give the right answer first gets a cookie  !

[Tìtstewan]

You Suffer?

[Emtokay]

You suffer by napalm death

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

You're both right, but since Tìtstewan was the first one out, he gets the cookie. However, i'll give you a cookie as well, ma Emtokay, for also giving the correct band name  .

Here you go  .

[Teylar Ta Palulukankelku]

This year i've discovered that i have a very interesting fetish for bad, underproduced, s**tty sound, and Grindcore and similar genres (like Goregrind) have really caught my attention. Here's some Grind for ya  :

Pyosisified (Rotten To The Gore) by Carcass on Reek Of Putrefaction (1988):

Carcass - Pyosisified (Rotten To The Gore)

Mmm, that artwork makes me hungry for a really nice steak  .

I'm even thinking of starting my own Grindcore band with Swedish lyrics. The name i'm mostly leaning towards is De Missanpassade.

[Tìtstewan]

This year i've discovered that i have a very interesting fetish for bad, underproduced, s**tty sound, and Grindcore and similar genres (like Goregrind) have really caught my attention. Here's some Grind for ya  :

Pyosisified (Rotten To The Gore) by Carcass on Reek Of Putrefaction (1988):

Carcass - Pyosisified (Rotten To The Gore)

My sound system were almost carbonized, but well...

Mmm, that artwork makes me hungry for a really nice steak  .

lol!

I'm even thinking of starting my own Grindcore band with Swedish lyrics. The name i'm mostly leaning towards is De Missanpassade.

Very interesting! Good luck!