This is a site where I post reviews of CDs, DVDs, LPs, and concerts. I have been writing music reviews on and off since 1984. I ran a heavy metal fanzine from 1984-1988 called Metal Madness and have been a staff writer for Aural Innovations for many years. I have also contributed to Chrohinga Well (RIP), Bad Acid (RIP), Lowcut (RIP), Roadburn and a number of other zines as well. I recently moved to Portugal so please request the new address and do not send any music to Denmark anymore. Tak..
This was one of the rare occasions that ØSC decided to take
an opening slot. Due to the improvised nature of the music and that it takes
some time for us to warm up (and we prefer to play for 2-3hrs), we rarely
except offers to open shows. Siena Root have been our friends for many years
and former and current members have also played with us live and in the studio,
so when Anders asked us to play, I accepted. It was really shit weather
outside, with a light rain when Sabine and I loaded up my Christiania bike with
the gear and headed off for the club. The band I had assembled for the night,
were mostly there already as well as Anders, the local promoter and his
assistant, Rhona. The mood was good but we were a bit wet!
The guys
in Siena Root were due to arrive about 18:30 and we had decided to share the
backline to make everything go a bit faster on this Tuesday night. I was not
sure how many people would come out. We had some food, set up our small merch
stand, and got some of the synths ready and that was all we could do before
they arrived. They did, we greeted each other and they got down to business
quickly and all was set up and people were just hanging out until the show
started.
ØSC hit
the stage right at 22 (this is the earliest any band can start at Loppen due to
the restaurant upstairs) and we played until 23. The line-up tonight had never
played before and since we did not have a proper soundcheck, we decided for a
slow space in starting only with the drums and bass and then the guitars and
synths would enter. This actually worked very well, if you listen to the
recording. The first jam was really spacey, the 2nd Rune came up with a heavy riff that was cool and we were all really coming together. The 3rd piece was a bit like early 70’s Miles Davis but more psychedelic. The last piece, Rune nearly stole the opening riff from the song Black Sabbath. I even did a partial vocal part and would have done a few more lines but I could not get the attention of the soundman, who had turned off my mic. The closing piece was 20mins long and had great dynamics. I was happy with our set and about 40 people were present, I guess. If you want to hear the show go to this link: http://www.archive.org/details/OSC2013-11-19.FLAC
We did
not mess about and took our gear off straightaway and within 40mins or so Siena
Root was ready. I took a picture of them just before they hit the stage (see right) and they were off with their usual western intro theme. For the past few
years they either open with an instrumental or a sort of jam. Never totally
free form but a structured jammed out intro. This is the first tour without the
original guitar player KG, so it might feel a bit strange for the original
members (Love and Sam). Anyway, the band were playing fantastic and I have to
say they are jamming out the songs with longer solos than ever before and the
new guitar player, he reminds me of Warran Haynes and Dickey Betts, so he is
very good. They played their new single, Conveniently Blind, which was supposed
to arrive in physical form for the tour but was delayed, which they were not
happy about. The set is mostly tracks from the first record and new material, with no tracks from the bands records with Sonja or their last studio album. Pity the crowd was so small for this amazing band. There are a lot of bands in Sweden and Europe playing this 70s style rock but few are anywhere near as good as this one. Don’t miss them on this tour. They are smokin’! Great visuals and sound as well so thanks to those folks…
Set List: Intro Jam>Conveniently Blind, Words, Waiting
for the Sun, Sabbath Shuffle, Fever, Little Man, Between the Lines, Kitchen,
Long Way, 7 Years, Rasayana, Coming Home
NYMF
are back with their 2nd record. This band features the fantastic and
intense vocalist, Niklas, who also sings in the Graviators. This CD features 13
tracks. The band is from Sweden and features two members of the Graviators
(Singer and one guitarist) as well as guys from other Swedish bands (Seeds Of Cider and
Trollfnask). The record features a number of different styles mixing
stoner rock with a more metallic and Black Sabbath like sound at times. The
opening track, Fear of the Doom (after the intro track) starts fast with some
double bass drum but then slows down a bit but the track maintains a mostly
metallic sound. Possessed and Blackcore slows things down and reminds me a bit
of Candlemass in the slower parts. Evolution Blues is a longer track which
reminds a bit of Pentagram with a more metal sound than 70s sound. Thin Ice
starts as a ballad before gaining in intensity with huge double bass drums and the
mid-section has some nice guitar solos (which there are far too few on this
record). Postmortem, is a mixture of slow and faster riffing sections and a lot
of evil vocals. Drive starts with a Kyuss like riff but then never returns to
that territory really but stays in a stoner rock like vibe until the middle
section where it chills out and there is a beautiful guitar solo and a more
laid back singing style (Niklas can be pretty intense!). Lucifer takes the
Crown again reminds me of Candlemass (recent). In the Name of Vlad slows things
to a doomy pace and has a killer riff but they don’t stick to this for very
long. Later it slows down in a heavy riffing section which is followed by a
guitar solo to end the short song. Your Soul is Mine is pretty intense and
reminds me of King Diamond a bit. The Greatest Burden is probably the most
melodic track in some ways on the record but still intense. Like a Giant Orange Sun features Tommy from
Dozer on lead guitar and ends this very intense record. One of the best tracks as well. Phew…
The
US stoner rock band, Sasquatch is back with their 4 release. I think I only
ever heard the first one.. Anyway, I have to say this record really rocks like
a MF. The Message is a really cool melodic opening track but he just sings, I’ve
got a message, just way too much. Started to drive me crazy… Eye of the Storm slows
things down a bit but has a nice stoney groove that almost reminds me of some
old Warrior Soul, in a way. Sweet Lady starts with a pretty aggressive wah
guitar before the massive power riff kicks in. Keith (vocals and guitar) plays
a really cool solo and after that the intensity is raised a notch. Great song. Money
has another strong riff and killer groove. Smoke Signals is 7½ mins and the
band get really psyched out for a long section of the song…. Wow..get stoned…. The
next three tracks are shorter 3-4mins and often Keith reminds me a lot of the Stone
axe vocalist (Dru) and some of these songs could also be like a stoner rock
version of Stone Axe at times. Wolves at my Door has a foot stomping and a bit
more bluesy approach, while Me and You is another strong track with a Kyuss
vibe but without the massive bass and passionate singing. Corner has a cool
power riff and groove when it picks up the pace in this under 3min track. Drawing
Flies is the closing track and the longest at 7mins and 41 seconds. A fucking
good record…
The
instrumental Italian band Insider is back with their 2nd release in
less than a year after quite a long break between releases. I have been a fan
of the band since the old days when they released Simple Water Drops. This new
album features 8 tracks in 58mins and some pretty intense heavy riffs and a lot
of double tracked guitars. The line up is the same as on the last jam record
called Vibrations from the tapes with Marco Ranalli on guitars and synths,
Stefano di Rito on drums and Piero Ranalli on bass. Escape Velocity starts
things off with a pretty complex track with a lot of different time changes and
heavy riffing and some nice chorus, harmony guitars before the main guitar solo
section hits, where the wah guitar comes on heavy and in multiple layers til
the faded end. Magnetic Field Lines continues in the same complicated mode but
with an even more heavy riff until the solo section when some synths come in
and he goes into a very beautiful melodic solo. Gravitational Mass slows things
down to a more melodic almost doomy feeling (except the sound production is so
clean). The guitar solo comes in early on this track. I really like the riff
section on this track and marco goes into a killer guitar solo while keeping
the melodic one running underneath. Great stuff. Jet starts off with a Slayer
like riff and some synths. Eventually Marco comes up with another really killer
riff but returns to this harmony guitar theme. Synths come in here and there.
Event Horizon is an acoustic track with some really spaced out sounds in the
background. This leads into the Expansion of the Universe track, which is a 9
min 6 piece suite. It starts with some really nice melodic guitar and a synth
line, which later switches but the focus is really on the cool guitar playing
of Marco in this really complex track. The next two tracks are called Black
Hole and White Hole. The first track is slower and features some repeated
guitar lines and melodies in it’s 8min journey, with the synths coming every
minute or so. The riff gets a big heavier at the end and he kicks in the wah
pedal as well. I like the opening riff, which he doubles up that starts the
last 6min track, White Hole. The synth that repeats is pretty cool as well. This
is quite a different record than the last jammed out one the band made and
features a lot of really complicated tracks. Enjoy.
The
Golden Grass is a new act from the USA. They are a three piece. The singer
reminds me of the guy from Kadaver! The band also plays 70s rock as well. Anyway,
this is a pretty cool track with cowbell, a nice melodic theme but also some
heavy guitars and riffs as well. A real classic rock track. Tornado is about a
woman and is a slow heavy bluesy song. The last section the band really takes
off and the track really develops goes in a different direction with a short
solo and a lot of changes. There is some acoustic guitar in the outro and
echoed vocal that closes the B side. Just a small taste. I for sure want to
hear more.
Hogjaw
are a southern rock band from Arizona and this is their 4th record.
They write some damn good songs and mix up more melodic southern rock with more
hard edged Clutch like stuff but without that killer swing. They also write
some damn good lyrics that people can really relate to as well. One More little
One starts things off with a foot stomping shuffle that reminds me a bit of
Skynryd. Built my Prize is a melodic mid paced track with a decent groove. It
is with Am I wrong that this side really starts to cook. This track is a great
and features the other vocalist (drummer?). Dig the riff on this one and it
reminds me of Cactus until the more laid back section with the dual guitar
solos. Shiny Brass and especially Cold Dead Finger are cool songs and
especially the hard rocking uptempo CDF track. Side B starts off with The Wolf
pt1 and pt2! It starts with a nice heavy guitar riff and a short guitar solo
straight away and then into the main track. The part 2 is a long and very cool
spacey guitar solo section. The Devil’s Eyes is a more bluesy track and now the
vocals have changed (I think it is the drummer Kwall). ’83 is a very fun song
and has a long about listening to Iron Maiden on your Walkman! I was totally
into Iron Maiden in 1983! The last track is sort of silly, Beer Guzzlin’ ‘Merican
and for sure my least favourite on the record but I am sure this is a great one
live and the audience totally get into it. Glad they mix some serious playing
and some fun as well. I liked their last record better but maybe this one I
have just not heard enough.
Monomyth
are a new Dutch band with the drummer from 35007. It is all instrumental music
with a lot of mood and drive. the band are a five piece with one guitar, bass,
drums and two synthesizer/keyboard players. The double LP features 6 songs and
side A starts off with the track Vanderwaalskrachten. It starts slow and spacey
but then slowly builds up and Thomas plays a very cool and intense guitar solo
and later the organ takes the lead as it builds up more and more intensity.
Great start. Vile Vortices reminds me a bit of Pink Floyd the way the organ and
slide guitar is played and the spacey vibe in the track. Then, it gets into
stoner rock and a heavy bass line licks in and everything is lifted to a higher
level. Wow.. The Groom Lake Engine starts off very spacey and has a really nice
slow build. This is really space rock, slowly building a bit like My Sleeping
Karma, not in sound, but vibe. Almost predictably, the bass kicks in again and
the whole track lifts in intensity and they just take off. First the guitar
solo which is intense and quite short and back into the main theme again and
repeat the cycle once again with more added organ as it evolves. Now, the next
phase of the trip begins with a slow build and this one just stays in the
spaced zone for nearly the entire track and then you get quite a surprise when
the organ starts to raise the intensity. The guitar plays some freaky stuff
that is panned around as are the synths at the end. Spaced out! Now side C and
D are each full album side track so get ready. Huygens slowly builds and has a
cool third stone from the Sun inspired guitar section as the rhythm section is
very steady and repeatitive supporting the long solo section. Then it goes off
into some sort of almost like mainstream rock style music and then it all
starts to distort and get nasty and build up with the same riff and theme
repeated over and over and over and over. I wish they would break out into a
killer guitar or organ solo but they don’t until the very end when it all
reaches climax. Spaced out ending. Particles has no sound to start the side for
like 30 seconds and then slowly the synths and stuff start to fade in, The
sound is very far out to start and then suddenly clears like the cloudy sky
turning blue. It takes a long time as the synths just get totally spaced out
before the rest of the band decides to join in 10 mins later and then it is a
very simple drum and the intensity of the synths builds up and they add more
and more delay and until it is just reverberating. If you are fans of Monkey 3, My
Sleeping Karma, Colour Haze, you will for sure dig this record. A very cool debut.
Hipiersonik is a band
that I saw opening for Hawkwind in Liverpool. They are a 3 piece band of
saxophone, drums and a guy with a sampler. A lot of stuff is sampled. The guy
on the sampler also provides the spaced out vocals. The music is a mixture of
techno beats, mostly melodic spacey rap or vocals but with some cool drumming
and great saxophone. Some nice piano is featured on some of the songs as well.
It is quite a mixed back of electronica. The 10th hidden track is
actually a short pretty cool version of 21st century schizoid man by
King Crimson. Check out their web site. The CD comes in a cool 5 ¼ inch floppy
disc! If any of you remember these?
I
think a lot of people are wondering just what the hell this collaboration will
be like. Let’s just say it is like a mostly instrumental trip to the dark side
of the mind, where evil things dwell, where people are tortured, exposed to
extreme violence, visual madness, and insanity. There are 7 themes spread over
the 3 sides of vinyl. I would not recommend a CD version as you would most
likely kill yourself or someone else if you heard the entire 3 sides without a break.
Be careful as this is very dangerous when consumed, in even small quantities.
You have been warned!
Aerosmith
is one of the bands that I grew up listening to in the early 70s and I have a
real soft spot for the bands early albums and they play mostly that material to
this day. I think this must be one of the few bands from the 70s that play
mostly improvised and jamming on every single song (on this tour!). On this DVD
they rarely play a single song like the records, every song is played with long
guitar solos, having fun, not worried about being super tight. This concert opens with Draw the Line (1977)
and they are just jamming.. Love in an Elevator, while having a very poppy
chorus has a pretty heavy riff and both Joe and Brad just do great and pretty
long solo sections. I skipped Livin’ on the Edge but Hangman Jury was played
even though they did not rehearse it and they mix in some backstage banter
about Steven wanting to play it even though they did not rehearse it. Throughout
the DVD they mix in some backstage banter, pics and interviews of the band in
and around Japan, etc. between most songs. All but a few of the songs are shown
completely. No More no More, Mama Kin,
Toys in the Attic… every song just jammed out all the time. I got the Japanese version from my friend
Hatsumi and it is well worth it with nearly 30mins of extra songs (One Way
Street, Lord of the Thighs (Best song on the DVD with a great long Brad
Whitford solo), Train kept a Rollin’ and Lick n’ Promise!). I don’t think there
is another band from this era that plays so much early material and just jams
out every single song and not just sticking to the formula. Which bands still play 3-4 songs from their
first record? Not UFO, Scorpions, ZZTop, Deep Purple, none… Great DVD… A huge
surprise and I had not expected it to be that good.
I had to see Hawkwind on the
Warrior on the Edge of Time reissue tour where they would perform the entire
record in it’s entirety. Sue and took the train to Liverpool and spent the
afternoon on the Magical Mystery tour, which took you around to all the
historical Beatles sites in Liverpool, then we had a nice Indian meal and
headed to the venue around the corner. The place is upstairs and holds a bit
over 1000 and it was quite an intimate small place to see Hawkwind. Stage was
pretty small for them and all their dancers. When we came in about 19:45, a
band from Poland called Hipiersonik was just starting. It was a mixture of some
pretty cool jazzy, electronic, GONG like stuff with more electronic stuff with
rapping that I did not really dig so much (like the video I shot. The song
before was really great). I think they played about 45mins. The 2nd
to last song they played as a short crazy version of 21st century
Schizoid man (King Crimson) and that was really cool.
Hawkwind hit the stage just
before 21 and it was really hot in this place now, even though it was quite
cold outside (8C). They opened with an old Calvert poem and straight into
Master of the Universe. The soundman was working on the sound as it was a bit out
of balance, with Dibs standup bass being the loudest instrument drowning out
all the guitar. Dibs voice was clearly hurting after 5
nights in a row and was sounding pretty rough but
hanging in there. Steppenwolf was next and a big surprise for me and Dibs played
the main frontman (well, he is basically the voice of Hawkwind these days) and
actor. The Hills have Ears is the best song off Onward, so that was cool to
see. The dancers and the projections were really cool but they guy doing the
main lights had these blue lights going straight out into the audience and it
totally bleached out the visuals and was quite annoying. Southern Cross also
off the Onward record and then they went directly into the complete Warrior on
the Edge of Time. It was great to hear this classic record live and I enjoyed
it so much but I was surprised they played it even shorter than the studio
version with shorter versions of Magnu, Opa Loka and others. These are great songs
for the band to jam and space out but they didn’t at all and infact there were
no
guitar solos yet in this concert. The beautiful one that is usually in the
Goldn void that Dave plays was replaced with a short sax solo! Kings of Speed
was so fantastic to hear live and they all had a fun time playing it. If I have
one complaint besides the jamming is that Dave hardly sings anything and when
he does, Dibs voice is also singing and much louder than Dave. Since Dave is
taking a lot of breaks and hardly singing, he has been sort of sidelined,
almost. Sentinel, also from Onward, and then into Silver Machine with Richard
singing lead. Two more from Astounding sounds (Reefer Madness and Assassins of
Allah, with a long electronic section). The show ended with a new version of
Utopia (the only song they played from the 80s (with no songs being played from
the bands catalog from (1985-2012). The show ended with Seasons (also from
Onward and also on the new Spacehawks CD). Great concert. Hawkwind still kicks
some ass live and provides a great visual and musical show.
The
Awakening, Master of the Universe, Steppenwolf, The Hills Have Ears, Southern
Cross, Assault and Battery>The Golden Void, The Wizard Blew His Horn, Opa-Loka,
The Demented Man, Magnu, Standing at the Edge, Spiral Galaxy 28948, Warrior On
The Edge, Kings of Speed, Sentinel, Silver Machine, Reefer Madness, Assassins
of Allah Encore: Utopia, Seasons
Multi-instrumentalist,
Robin Taylor is back to take you into Taylor’s Universe. It is quite a few of
the same folks with Karsten Vogel on sax and bass clarinet, Klaus Thrane on
drums but also some new blood with Thomas Ulstrup on synthesizer solos and
Claus Bøhling on guitar solos, with Robin playing everything else you hear,
except Louise Nippers voice on Red Afternoon. This is the first new records
from Claus Bøhling since his work with my band, the Øresund Space Collective
and I have to say he is still in top form! This album was recorded between May
and October 2013, so they put it out weeks after finishing it! The CD begins with the long and moody track,
Buildings, which features a number of solos by all those involved. The end gets
really freaky before coming back to a normal sound and beautiful outro solo by
Karsten. The synth solo prior to the freaky section had a really cool sound.
Red Afternoon is next and starts right off with the dreamy voice and keyboard
and bass before the others join in. This is a pretty cool track with a really
slow pace and just drifing bass that I like. Great balance between heavy and
lightness. Claus plays a killer solo at the end of this track. Great wah
guitar! Marie Marolle has a mysterious theme, almost like it should be in a
Dario Argento movie but then it really changes when Claus kicks in around 2½
mins. They return to the strange theme that it started with eventually. Karsten
comes in later than on the other tracks. Forever and a Day features a lot of
great guitar and synths solos and they just trade back and forth over a good
portion of the song. Karsten is playing a much smaller role in this track. For
those of you out there that are not familiar with Taylor’s Universe it is
basically an instrumental jazz rock outfit with a bit more improvised flavour
than Robin’s other work. Robin composes, arranges and produces all this records
but he leaves a lot of space for all the other players and actually rarely is
the one taking the lead, except on the bass on this CD, even though he also
plays guitar, keyboards, flute and percussion and other things you can hear. I
like this stuff a lot…
Pale
Moon is the solo project by Mikko (Ex-Dark Sun) from Helsinki, Finland. He
plays all the instruments and it also features some guest including his brother
and Nik Turner from Hawkwind! The opening track has some spoken words and very
deep base. IT is a really cool and spacey number and reminds me of the more
electronic modern day Hawkwind stuff or the White Zone material. A Lion’s Roar
is a short track with a long guitar solo and is sort of like a simple rock jam
with himself. Down by the roadside by the River starts with a long sample by a
guy who saw a UFO. The groove in the background is really cool and groovy and
spacey but the music is mixed quite far away. The Colour of your Blood is a
really old track featuring Mikko’s brother on vocals and Nik Turner on sax and
flute. This is from a one track demo I got from Mikko back in 1998! Anyway, it
has all electronic drums and percussion beats (as do all the tracks, I don’t
think Mikko plays a real drum kit). It has a slow moving mood and feel to it
with cool layers. Hard to describe. The Illusionist features Dark Sun
guitarist, Jurza on guitar and Mikko on vocals. The programmed drums are more
prominent and the music quite dreamy. Jäba Tuli has a really cool vibe and this
single repeated drum beat (maybe drives you a bit crazy!) but some cool guitar,
cryptic voices and shaking percussion that drives this one… I think he should
have added some more layers of stuff in the middle though as I kind of lost
interest but what a super cool track. The colour of your Mood is nearly the
same as the Colour of your Blood without Janne’s vocal and again featuring Nik
Turner. It is basically like a reprise with slight differences. Moon rising
reminds me of Set the Control for the heart of the sun but without any drums.
Very spacey and a cool bass line and guitar with layers of floating synths… I
wish it was longer. Featherfall is primarily and effected guitar in layers and
Mikko on spoken words (by his wife). The CD ends with Palaemoon elegans (anyone
a biologist?). This one has a unique percussion rhythm and floating synths at
the beginning and then there is some hand drum playing and just a real ethereal
feeling to this ending track. You end your trip in a happy place. This
available for 5€ at bandcamp or a limited edition CD-R version in 100 copies
you will also be able to buy soon.
I had not expected to
go out to a show tonight and did not know anything about this but a Greek
friend tipped me off and sure enough a lot of my friends (Tom, Sven, Jens,
Christina, martin) were all there as well. When I arrived a little after 21,
the Papir guys were just standing around and we talked for a bit and the band
from Chile had not even arrived yet! I had hoped to be able to bring them the
new ØSC record, that they also all played on but it sadly did not arrive today
as expected.
Around
22 Papir hit the stage and it was clear they had a lot of young local fans and
some family into see them play. They opened with a new song, which was
different from the new one they played opening for White Hills in September.
The set was a cool mix of old and new and included one jam towards the end of
the set. The crowd was really into it and the sound was excellent and not too
loud. The guy doing lights tonight actually had a good idea what to do and did
cool lights for Papir. The last 4 shows I have been to it has been a guy who
basically just knows how to turn the switches but understands nothing about
doing lights in the dynamics and mood of the band. Great set, about 50mins
long.
It
took a while, perhaps 45-60mins before Föllakzoid was set up since they arrived
so late. There was still a lot of people and the mood was good and the lights
blue with a lot of fog for almost the entire show. He had used a lot of red for
Papir but none for this band. Anyway, this 4 piece band from Chile (young) play
very repetitive groove music in the vein of Neu, Mazerati, Wooden Shjips, White Manna, Monomyth, etc. I can easily describe one of the songs and this will cover the
entire concert as every song was nearly the same with slight differences. The
guitar player is very good at playing cool delay guitar. The drummer and
bass player really groove well together. The bass player does the singing in
this sort of effected laid back way, very much like the Wooden Shjips guy does
and it is mixed into the music in quite the same way as well. The synth guy
makes mostly drones and repeated loops of sounds in time with the groove. All
the songs are probably around 10mins and take you on this smooth cruising
journey. They really need projections to go along with each one. I thought it
was cool but the band simply never reaches any peaks in their music and I
really need this to take me to the next level. They just cruise with some
change in dynamic and when they do build up a bit they never head into a killer
guitar solo or a massive freakout or anything to reach a crescendo. They played
this song from their new record called Pulsar and it has a groove a lot like You
shouldn’t do that from Hawkwind but they never really took it to the higher
level. Still I enjoyed the concert and with visual projections it would have
been even better. No idea what the set list was but from hearing their vinyl, they
played all of these songs and for about 75mins.
