Band of the Week - Gojira

It may not come as a surprise that the week I'm seeing them live, they are one of my most listened to. Gojira is a French progressive death metal band, which is as heavy as it gets. They take the word "heavy" to a new level. They have a unique technical skill that I've never seen before. I will even go as far to say they've created a musical style many other bands crave to understand and wish they could use themselves. Some bands use Gojira as an inspiration to their own music, which is fine, but they will never quite get to where "Godzilla" is today.

The emphasis might be on the heavy riffs Gojira creates, but one must not forget the beautiful melodic parts they include in most of their songs. Take for instance the song "The Gift of Guilt" from their newest album "L'Enfant Sauvage". The opening riff is amazing, loaded with feeling. It echoes throughout the whole song, and I can't help but think what went through their heads as they wrote this song. It makes me think of longing for something, and the desperation you might feel from this. As the title suggests, the song is about guilt. I can picture this music ringing in my ears whenever I feel gulty. It is a feeling I believe many of their listeners will have found in themselves at one point in their life. Incredible that a band can recreate a feeling like that, just by playing their instruments.

L'Enfant Sauvage. Picture taken of the head used on stage on the Jägermeister Music Tour.

 "Esoteric Surgery"(The Way of All Flesh). Need I say more? Try listening to this song and tell me you don't love this band. The drums are so powerful and awesome. Some drummers will have a thing or two to learn from this guy(Mario Duplantier). He knows drums! Yes, the rest of the song is mind blowing as well, but had it not been for this perfectly created piece of percussion, this song would've been nothing. This song always gives me a big lump in my throat, which I struggle to swallow. You know that lump that makes it impossible to speak, that makes  you want to cry or scream. But all you can do is sit still, listen to the music, and take it all in.

Speaking of heavy. VACUITY. This song is on the same album as Esoteric Surgery, and I believe these songs compliment each other. On one hand you have the faster song, where the focus lays on the drums. On the other hand you have this slow, heavy piece. I can't help but to nod my head to this track, and when seeing this song live, I woulcn't be able to hold back the rage it creates inside me.

I could continue writing about their other songs as well. For example how insanely awesome "From the Sky" (From Mars to Sirius) is, but unfortunately this entry would end up being way to long. If you have never listenend to Gojira before, check out the songs I have mentioned here. If you are an experienced Gojira listener, please leave a comment with your favourite songs and let me know what you believe makes those songs awesome.

Here's a full concert from Graspop Metal Meeting 2012. Check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw4BH6UFaCw

Jägermeister Music Tour

Yesterday I went down to the O2 Academy in Sheffield to enjoy some good music. It's been a while since I've been to a metal concert, so it's good to fresh up my memory on how it's really like.

The first band was The Defiled. Now, when they walked on I can't say I was very impressed. They looked like a cross between Ronnie Radke and Marilyn Manson. So what kind of music can you expect from that? The sound wasn't very good, which I suppose wasn't really their fault. It was way too heavy on the bass. The keyboard served no purpose what so ever, because you couldn't hear it. And The AvD (on keyboard) looked dead uncomfortable throughout the whole concert. To the musical part, I didn't really like the vocals. However, the instrumental part was alright from time to time. I did like the heavier riffs. And the last song they performed, "Call to Arms", was quite cool! 

The Defiled

The next band on is a band I would like to call the kings of heavy riffs. Gojira are truly amazing. They know how to deliver a show you just want to headbang the shit out of! And if you ever want to learn how to play drums, have a look at Mario Duplantier. He is one of the best drummers I know. And he kicked ass last night! Gojira played some songs from the new album L'Enfant Sauvage, like for instance the title track. But they also played some older stuff like "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe", which I suppose is a suitable title for one of the heaviest bands of the universe. One of the songs I enjoyed in paricular was "Oroborus" of "The Way of All Flesh". All in all, Gojira is an amazing band, both live and in the studio. If you ever get the chance to see them, do not pass on that opportunity!

Gojira.

The headliner's of the whole Jägermeister Music Tour were Swedish, Satan worshipping, Ghost. Before the concert started, the venue was filled with insence. It smelled like what I can imagine a medieval church would smell like. As you might expect, the concert was like a big sermon, like a sermon you've never seen before. An anti-christian sermon, I have to point out. The songs were all well performed, and Papa Emeritus II's voice was as mesmerizing as ever. They played five songs from their upcoming album "Infestissumam", which comes out in April. The new songs were truly amazing. As a big fan of the band, it made me very pleased to know that the next album will most likely be as big of a success as the previous album. Two of the new songs, "Secular Haze" and "Year Zero" have already been released. The other three were a preview of what to expect. Other songs they played were "Elizabeth" and "Con Clavi Con Dio" (to name a couple). The band is unique, and it is unlikely that you've seen anything like it before! Yes, it might remind you a bit of Mercyful Fate (King Diamond). Ghost's inspiration might come from the 70s and the 80s, but the music has its own sound and personality. Make sure you see them live!

Papa Emeritus II

The sermon.

Nifrost

Nifrost is a folkloric black metal band from Jølster in Norway. The band was formed in 2005 by Eyvind Aardal, Kjetil Andreas Nydal and Tage Årdal. Jørn Ståle Norheim joined the band later on.

Unless you're not Norwegian, you might not understand a word of what I'm about to say in the next paragraph, but here we go...

All their songs are written in their own dialect called "jørstamål" . Which I think is incredible cool. I wish I could read the lyrics while listening, so I can only assume what the lyrics are about from the titles. And with it being a folkloric/black metal band, I'd guess it has some aspects of Norwegian nationalism to it.

The songs are genreally very catchy, and has a cool beat. The song "Ei Vinternatt" is the sort of song I can picture myself listening to while sitting on the grass with a beer in my hand (preferably at a festival like Hellfest). I really enjoy some of the heavier guitar riffs. The transition from a fast tempo to a slow, heavier tempo is always appreciated from my point of view. Some of the heavier riffs in for example Svigersvorne actually reminds me a bit of some of Gojira's heavier riffs.

The ending of Svigersvorne is very beautiful and raw. And this is one of the places where I can fully hear and understand the lyrics. This makes the song even more powerful than before. The contrast between the clean vocals and the instrumental part is tremendous.

I can definitely hear an influence from other Norwegian black metal (such as Taake) in their songs. If you're going to be influence by black metal bands, the Norwegian ones are definitely where you want to start. Norway is the land of black metal, no doubt. Glad to be able to recognise the country of origin just through the black side of the music. Of course, I can hear it in the folk as well (and the lyrics). But just as melodic death metal from Gothenburg has its own sound, Norwegian black metal has its own sound too.

Will you enjoy listening to this band as much as I did? Check them out on their website.

Band of the week - The 69 Eyes

I remember when I first started listening to The 69 Eyes. It must have been about six or seven years ago. My sister sort of indirectly introduced me to them. She used to listen to them all the time, but at first I thought it was two different bands... Let me explain.

The older 69 Eyes sounds completely different to the newer 69 Eyes. So when listening to it in the background without knowing who they are, you don't realise that all the songs are made by the same people. Over time, 69 Eyes has changed a lot. It started out as glam rock, where as today it is a lot more gothic than glam. I remember listening to songs like Juicy Lucy(Bump N' Grind), Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams(title track) and Feel Berlin(Devils). If you know the band, you'll automatically know that these three songs are completely different to each other. The vocals change and their whole musical style changes.

The 69 Eyes is a strange band. I know bands that have changed a bit over time, and there's nothing wrong with that. It means that the band is evolving. You don't want to keep doing the same old thing over and over again. But I have never seen a band change as much as The 69 Eyes.

I really enjoy most of the bands work, but lately I've been in to their older stuff. I've been listening a lot to their three first albums Bump N' Grind, Motor City Resurrection(technically this album has many of the songs from the previous album) and Savage Garden.

I'll write this today, even though it might change tomorrow...my favourite 69 Eyes song is Juicy Lucy. I can't explain it in any other way than: it's ROCK N' ROLL! Juicy Lucy has an awesome beat, catchy lyrics and cool guitar riffs(and I do love the guitar solo). The piano parts lifts the song to a different level. Perhaps it's not the most complicated song ever, but it doesn't need to be. Juicy Lucy is leather and sun glasses, it is layered hair cuts and ripped jeans. It's old school (for 2013 anyway).

Check out Juicy Lucy on Spotify or Youtube

Agonyst

Here's another band I found in my followers on Twitter. I thought I'd give them a listen.

The band is called Agonyst. They are a progressive death metal band from Norwich, UK. The band consists of four members; Louis Coates on lead guitar/vocals, David Perrin on guitar/vocals, Zac O'Neil on drums and Nathan Weanie on bass. 

When I first started listening to "Omni" ,the first song of their debut album "Centennial", my initial thought was the band is definitely inspired by Mikael Åkerfeldts(Opeth) clean vs. growl vocal. But that is what makes the music more interesting; being able to hear their inspirations, while they're still being able to do something new. Being inspired by others is definitely not a negative thing. It is what all musicians have done and one point or another.

When getting further into the track, I soon realise that this is not like Opeth at all. It is clever, like Opeth, but in a different way. The songs in general seem to be well composed. Some bands can be very repetitive and you can often tell where the song is going to go next. That is not the case with this band. All the songs are all very different to each other, and it is extremly difficult to predict what is going to happen next.

What you have to remember when listening to a progressive band is that patience is key. Long songs will have to be appreciated, but if you're the sort of person who cannot handle long songs, this band isn't for you. However if you appreciate the exploration of music that progressive bands do, this will probably be right up your street.

My impression of people making progressive music is that they are extremly clever (musically clever, anyway). But because I don't know the people in this band, I don't know if that is the case here as well. What I do know, however, is that mastering progressive music is not something you can just do without having any experience. It's technically challenging, and not everyone is cut out for making such music.

You should definitely check out their music on MySpace

Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip

Fru Luna, better known as Kristin Burdal, is a 22-year-old musician/composer from Norway. She composes her music using Mixcraft with plug-ins like East West and Quantum Loop.

Her main project is an electronic project called Stegosaurus on Marshland Acidic Trip. All Stegosaurus albums tell individual stories. My impression of the latest album, "Are You AnyWhere?", is that Stegosaurus is on a quest to find/save the Green Goddess. It seems like it (Stegosaurus) has to get through different obstacles to get to where it needs to be. Stegosaurus seems to be coming very close to the Green Goddess a few times, but then something happens and it has to keep on searching for her. However, I have concluded that Stegosaurus does in fact manage to save the Green Goddess in the end, because the title of the second to last song on the album is simply just "The Green Goddess".

One song that in particular caught my attention was "Calling Upon Ba'al Shamin". The music itself is well orchestrated. We've entered a completely different part of the world now. Because the contrast between the previous song "Spring the Lamb's Bread" and "Calling Upon Ba'al Shamin", is huge. The track starts of quite calm, as if we are getting introduced to a new world. Then it speeds up. It's as if we're running through an adventure. But where/what are we running towards/from? After doing some searching around, it has been brought to my attention that Ba'al Shamin is in fact an ancient Syrian god. I can't figure out what role Ba'al is supposed to play in this matter. Is he supposed to help Stegosaurus find the Green Goddess?

This is what Kristin says about the song: "at one point, Stegosaurus is about to give up. It feels as though it is impossible to find the Green Goddess. For that reason he seeks help from 'the Sky Lord' Ba'al Shamin.This song is connected to the next song, 'The Answer', which is supposed to be Ba'al Shamin's answering to Stegosaurus' prayers. It's important that I mention that this in no way is supposed to be some religious message or anything. Why I chose Ba'al Shamin, is basically because what really happens is that Stegosaurus gets high, and therefore calling upon a 'Sky God' seemed appropriate..."

I could probably analyse all the songs on this album, but this little blog would turn into a book if I did. As for the musical side to it, each individual song tells their own story. They are all very well composed and it seems like nothing is done by random. Kristin has an ear for putting strange notes together, that some people wouldn't necessarily put together. Somehow she makes it work, and that can't be an easy job, not even for the most experienced musician. She is definitely no stranger to the progressive and experimental genre. This album is a work of art, and it certainly is an experience listening through it. This is the future!

Album artwork by Inna Hansen - www.doodlepod.blogspot.no

For your own interpretation of the album, listen to it here - FruLuna-

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators

As the headline might suggest, this is another concert review. Slash played two dates in England, one of which took place in Nottingham on Thursday 28. February.

After waiting one and a half hours after the doors openend, the warm up band, The Treatment, entered the stage. The band was full of energy and ready to try to get the crowd going You could clearly see that their biggest inspiration is Mötley Crue, simply from the hair cuts and clothes. It sort of looked like they had been dragged out of the 80s, which I suppose went along with the music they played. They were very fun to watch, but some of the songs didn't feel that original to me. Considering that this was the biggest show they had ever done, they did a decent job, but I think most of the people in the audience were ready for Slash not long after they started playing.

The Treatment

Slash and the band always seem to deliver, and so they did yet again. Playing a variety of some new and some old songs, they created a great vibe throughout the whole venue. Everyone were singing along and moving to the drumbeats. Some of the songs they played were Anastasia (from the new album), Back from Cali (from the previous album) and of course some Guns N' Roses like Paradise City, which is always to be expected at a Slash concert. Myles Kennedy is difficult not to love. He has this innocent sort of look, and a voice of an angel. He always hits the high notes, and - speaking for myself - it gave me goose bumps several times during the concert.

Myles Kennedy and Slash

When I have seen this line-up before, the focus has often been on mainly Slash (obviously) and Myles Kennedy. But on this concert, bassist Todd Kerns got the spotlight on a few songs, such as Doctor Alibi and Welcome to the Jungle. Who said bassists can't sing? I'm not sure if it was like this on the whole tour, or whether he got to sing a few more songs because Kennedy had a cold. Either way, it was awesome!

Todd Kerns on bass and vocals

For many, the highlight of the evening was probably Rocket Queen. The band had made a slight alteration to the song - a 15 minute guitar solo from Slash. It did drag out a bit, but you can't complain. After all, it was a Slash concert... If I had to pick on anything, it would be the fact that neither of them said much through the whole concert. But I concluded that this was because they had been on tour for a long time, and every day they wake up in a new city. They had a job to do (play the concert), and they did the job pretty damn well.

Welcome to the Jungle

AngelFlayeR

AngelFlayeR is a German/Swedish melodic death metal project, which was founded in 2012. It consists of two members, Heiko Lange and Daniel Friberg. When hearing the song "For My Betrayer" I immediatly think about a cross between In Flames and Amon Amarth. The sound is very unique and in this song in particular you get a flavour of melodic guitar roaming over heavy guitar riffs. The vocals are well executed and it goes well with the instrumental part.

The second song I listened to is called "Crown of Thorns". This song is truly amazing. The music is indeed very cool and catchy, but what really makes this song is the lyrics. Reading the lyrics while listening to the track makes me shiver, and it is not often I react like that to written words. The lyrics seem so honest and sincere, so that might be the explanation why I feel this way about the song.

You can clearly hear that this band consists of experienced musicians. The music flows so easily, and the songs are mixed to a very high standard. It is easy to forget that the band was founded just a year ago, because when listening to their music they could've easily been around since the 90s, growing and getting recognised with other bands from that era such as At The Gates.

As a big fan of Swedish metal, this band lives up to the standard that has already been set by the older bands. It is reassuring and amazing to see that bands like this still exists, even 20 years later.

The band has uploaded their songs to their website www.angelflayer.com
Make sure to check it out, you won't want to miss out on this one!

Changes

I thought it was about time to do something new on this blog. And what I'm going to do now is look at some of the bands who are following me on Twitter and write a review of it! I mainly want to review bands I don't already know, who are new to the industry and so on. I am open to review anything you've got for me, so for the bands who already follow me - thank you, I will try and write a review for you all. And for those who do not yet follow me, do it now, and I'll see what I come up with.

Find me on Twitter @annaburdal .

The DD Tour

You wouldn't believe how small the venue was, unless you were there, but I will try to explain it anyway. Santiago Bar is a tiny bar inside the Grand Arcade in the middle of Leeds. It has a bar at the enterance and then a little staircase down to a lower level which is where the bands set up. The place definitely have a feel of a "basement party in high school", as the last act of the evening, Phil X, put it.

Excited and with no knowledge of what to expect, people started lining up outside the bar. After running a little bit late, they finally let us in. As one of the first people to get in, I went straight to the stage area. No pushing through people, no thinking "I won't be able to see the band from here". The atmosphere was very laid back, and the audience seemed generally happy about what was going on.

The first act of the evening was Paul Glover. Equipped with only a guitar, a pedal and a loud speaker system, he managed to make people stop talking and just listen to what he had to do. He is a very talented guitarist, and as far as I could tell, there wasn't anyone there who wasn't impressed by what he did.

A little while after Mr Glover finished his last solo, a five-man-band walked through the audience and started tuning their guitars and preparing the stage for the next set. That's how small the venue is, there's not even a separate door for the musicians to enter and leave the stage. Stormborn is like an 80s rock band on steroids(is that what you call power metal these days?) It was difficult not to smile and cheer along to them, because they were full of energy and they did create a very good atmosphere. The only thing that worried me slightly was that they were five people, swinging their instruments and limbs around, in very small amount of space. It was incredible that no one -the audience or the band- got smacked across the face.

Stormborn

The highlight of the evening(for many in the crowd) came next, Dorje. Rob Chapman was literally in my face through the whole concert. What was different about this band, was that they were very including. They talked to the audience and included us in the show. They delivered a well performed set list with some killer solos. Mr Chapman himself was very welcoming, thanking us all for turning up and singing along to their songs. These guys are incredible talented, and it is difficult to take your eyes of their hands wondering whether one of them will mess up. None of them ever did, as far as I could tell. What more could you ask from a band?

Rabea Massaad and Rob Chapman

The last band for the evening was Phil X and The Drills. Playing in such an intimate room was definitely a new experience to them, but they didn't seem to mind. Phil X is a star. He knows how to entertain and he knows how to get the crowd going. The Drills performed everything from Swatted Fly to Kiss My Troublemaker. They also covered bands like ZZ Top, The Knack and Led Zeppelin. All in all the set list was very good, even though they seemed to make most of it up as they went along. Nothing wrong with that! The trio is a very funny combination. Not only do they "kick ass" on their instruments, but they also have an insane chemistry with each other.

Phil X

All in all, the evening was unforgetable, and I give it a 6(out of 6, obviously) because they proved that size really doesn't matter. A small venue results in an extraordinary experience.