Helheim celebrated their 30th anniversary last friday and it was a blast (from
the past).
All their classics one by one and some guest appearannces by Hoest on "Dualitet Og Ulver".
"Jernskogen" and some other tunes were the highligt for me
and when they played the opening track from their first album with those high
pitched vocals and I wondered if they were able to still perform those vocals
and they did it perfectly.
I left the consert with s smile on my face.
The
vocalist/bassist Ørjan had good contact with the crowd and there was some humor
and good happy birthday vibes overall throughout the evening. I think those who
was there enjoyed it like I did. It's hard to explain how it all went down in
words but it was worth it!
There also was a lady who sang beautiful but
unfortunately I don't know her name but you can watch for yourselves in the
video I uploaded here :
Here is some more pictures from the evening :
All pictures are taken by Gravarson and may not be used without permission.
Rattenfänger (Ukraine) has been reviewed in Skullfucker before with their debut album Episolae Obscurorum Virorum & it was very welcome here to say the least.
A excellent debut album of old school death metal the way I prefer it.
I even went as far as comparing them to old Darkthrone.
On Geisslerlieder I sometimes hear some more resemblance to Asphyx, a band I still enjoy.
Consisting of musicians from bands such as Drudkh, Blood of Kingu, Hate Forest and Dark Ages.
The name Rattenfänger is taken from the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin (Rattenfänger von Hameln), who was hired by the townsfolk of Hameln, Germany to rid the town of the rats that had overrun it. Unfortunately he is deceived and cheated of his payment, and he exacts a dreadful revenge on the citizens. As on the previous album, all the lyrics are in Latin, written in style of medieval poets, thinkers and troubadours/minstrels.
Geisslerlieder starts of with an medieval sounding intro and all of a sudden the music blast off.
It's relatively fast death metal with a very dark & haunting atmosphere and I notice that the sound seems a bit more harsh & brutal.
That being said there are some more mid-tempo tracks among the toal of 7 tracks that are delivered on Geisslerlieder.
The gutturals are dark as night and there is no happiness heare but there are some extremely cool hooks & riffs throughout the whole album.
I also have to give credit do the drummer for some brilliant work, the rest of the musisicianship is nothing to complain about either.
Rattenfänger still use some synth and weird fx but not dominating and often, just to set a certain mood sometimes.
I also do enjoy the spoken samples they sometimes use on Geisslerlieder and used on Episolae Obscurorum Virorum.
I was unsure if I'd hear more from these guys and if they would live up to it with their dark,twisted,obscure death metal in the veins of early 90's deth metal or late 80's if you want.
Personally I see it as a natural developement and continuation from their debut Episolae Obscurorum Virorum into even more darker realms if thats possible
If it's better tham their debut I can't teall yet 'cause this album has some "hidden" melodies and elements that keep growing for each listen.
Hopefully Rattenfänger will get the attention they deserve 'cause they are truly good at delivering what the do best , real death metal the oldschool way that is!
If you like bands like Apshyx,ealry Darkthrone,Bolthrwower,Aeternus etc you should definately check this brilliant act out!
There have been two releases that I wanted to cover this week: one being “Gargoyle”, the new Mark Lanegan record, and Ulver’s latest release “The Assassination of Julius Caesar”. These two have very little in common, I agree but still there is one thing that I’ve noticed. Before we get to that, let’s
take a closer look at the albums.
“The Assassination of Julius Caesar” was presented about a month ago on the Roadburn festival and while still some trve cvltists left because Ulver STILL haven’t returned to their original black metal sound, the gig can easily be regarded as one of the highlights of the festival. Superbe lightshow, impeccable performance from the band and although Depeche Mode and Massive Attack were more obvious inspirations than Bathory and Venom, the audience seemed to appreciate the new stuff. Seen that I hadn’t heard the record before, I decided to give it a spin.
Now, since I obviously really liked what I heard at Roadburn, I was a tad biased and obviously my feelings towards the record are perhaps a bit more positive than if I had decided at the time to skip Ulver and sleep off my fever in my tent. That being said, this record is a “grower” as in it doesn’t immediately blow you away but it gets under your skin. Instrumentationwise, there is a lot of interesting things going on but nothing is really mixed in your face and jumps out which is an old fashioned thing. I keep discovering new things on this record every time I listen to it.
There is a common theme to the lyrics involving icons, their rise and fall. Singer Kristoffer Rygg mentions theColossus, princess Diana, Roman emperor Nero and the assassination attempt on pope John-Paul II. I have to admit that it is refreshing to have actual lyrics that mean something instead of a couple of great sounding one-liners.
So, top notch record although their vintage approach might alienate young listeners.
Now to “Gargoyle”, the latest addition to the already immensely long discography of former Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, Gutter Twins singer Mark Lanegan. I’ve stopped couStone Age,Lanegan has been trying to take a rock line-up and enhance it with drum computers, keyboards and synths. Despite his sincere intentions, earlier artistic accomplishments and the fact that the “indie” press loves him, the formula has gone stale and doesn’t add anything new to hos body of work.nting somewhere after the release of the “Here Comes that Weird Chill” EP in 2003. On that note, I used to be a big fan of Lanegan and so, again, I am biased. He appears on a substantial part of my record collection and I’ve seen him live a couple of times. That being said, Ireally, REALLY can’t get into this record. It annoys me and often I feel like I’ve heard all this before. Ever since his time with the Queens of the
It doesn’t help either that Lanegan is a, and I’m forfeiting my entire career as a reviewer by making this statement, one trick pony. Sure, he has that recognisable, gritty grave digger voice but as a singer he has a limited range and it’s not as if he is extremely versatile. As much as I adored his semi-crooning style, it does get boring, especially if the lyrics aren’t that good. It seems to me that he is just stringing dark sounding words together, like “crows”, “dark”, “goodbye, lover”. Maybe it’s time for Dark Mark to push aside his notorious need for control and contact a good producer who can help him create new sounds, write songs and find inspiration. In any case he is in need of somebody who can help him update his formula because in 2017 it sounds Outdated.
But how does that compare to “The Assassination of Julius Caesar”? I mean, I give Lanegan shit for sounding outdated but when looked at the albums objectively, the sound of “The Assassination of Julius Caesar” is also outdated. Even more since that the direct inspiration for that album were synthpop bands from the 80’s and yet I like that one much better than “Gargoyle”. So, what is it? Am I full of shit? Is it because I’m discovering more music? My immer evolving taste? Or is it Zeitgeist?
Do I like “Gargoyle” less because Lanegan is playing catch-up with the trends and losing at it while Ulver decisively went for a 80’s sound and expand upon that?
That one could make sense and I can think of a few examples in other media where something similar happens. I could describe “now” but by the time you read this, “now” has already changed. Wasn’t there a Greek saying for that? Is it a fashion thing? The 80’s are hot for some reason and a lot of old farts that I know are sharing old pictures, snippets of crappy old cartoons and movies.
A few entrepreneurs and artists seem to have turned this nostalgia into a business model and making money out of it. This option however seems unlikely. “The Assassination of Julius Caesar” is too dark, too “difficult”, too artsy to be interesting from a commercial point of view. Perhaps it’s something more basal. Maybe the material on “The Assassination of Julius Caesar” is stronger than on “Gargoyle” but by making that statement, I’m becoming more subjective and personal…. Or has it got something to do with Ulver being the freshest memory? Like stated earlier, I haven’t followed Lanegan in some time and looked up his record out of curiosity. From the Ulver show I have great and recent memories even if I was coughing up my lungs at the time. Anyway, it should be clear that there is more to liking music than just the music. Zeitgeist, personal circumstances, external factors, visual stimulations… That is what I wanted to share. Feel free to discuss about it...
Flukt is a 3 piece band hailing from a small place in Norway named Vennesla who decided to join forces during 2014.They play 'traditional norwegian black metal' and has released an EP named 'Holcocaust' in 2015 and two singles 'As Abow (So Below) 2015 and 'Sadist' 2016.
When I was lucky enough to hear these guys I decided to do an interview with 'em about their future plans as this is a band I would like to hear more from in the future, and as far as I know their 'Holcocaust' EP is still available alongside with t-shirts and other merch. Contact the band if you want to know more. (Contact link in the end of interview) or press HERE to contact.
A.Ø - Vocal, Guitar and Bass
-F.H - Drums
-O.K.F - Guitar, Bass
Hi, and congratrulations with the release of ' Holocaust' EP even though it's a while ago, but how are things going?
- Thanks, it has been a while since the release of our debut Ep. At the moment we are working on some new material for an upcoming release. We are also rehearsing for a gig atJohn Dee in Oslo, 6th May.
Tell us more about the gig, is it you only or is there some sort of festival with other bands?
When do you go on stage?
- This is actually a special night. Flukt along with two other heavy bands will support Martila from Claymords having
a release concert on a project he have done with Steinar Albrigtsen. Steinar Albrigtsen is one of the
Biggest Country / Blues artist from Norway. So this is going to be one of a kind night with lots of good music.
It will be something for everybody, and we believe Flukt will be the raw and primitive act.
FLUKT play primitive,melancholic, yet catchy and mystical kinda like old schoolish Norwegian Black Metal , is there any reason you play the way you do?
- We are playing the music that trancend from the depths of our souls. All of us in Flukt share a passion for Black Metal, especially the early Norwegian style. ( That's easy to hear, meant in a good way ED.)
You're a relatively young band in the scene with only EP released and a few tracks on various compilations.
Is it hard to be recognized as a band today, and do you work much to keep the name 'known'?
-Yes it is hard to be a unknown band, We work hard to get the music out through online zines like Scullfucker etc. Without much support from labels. Actually we have started our own label now. Stench From Below Records.
Ok, tell me a bit more about this label, is it just to release your own stuff or do you plan to run a full-time label and release other music aswell?
-A.Ø: The Holocaust Ep was released with help from
SkyBurnsBlack Records, a diy label based in USA. We was happy about that, but in the end I was doing all the promotions, e mails and stuff. So why not just start my own label for my own bands? Past and present bands.
Is there any agenda behind the music and lyrics? ..And what do you want the audience to know?
-We play music for ourselves. If someone like it that is cool. The lyrics are important to get in the mood for the songs. It reflects personal thoughts on various topics.
Are you under influence of something while rehearsing or do you keep a straight line?
- No, we may have some beers after a show or rehearsal, we try to perform at our best, and that is in our case completely sober. And it is harder to do it without being influenced by substance. You cant hide behind it, and everything is more raw and real.
What personal emotions do you bring into your music? And what inspires you most as a musician?
- O.K.F: I need to be in the right mood to write music, i listen to a lot of other Black Metal bands for inspiration. If i have a bad day that may help to make the music i like.
- A.Ø: To me the emotions this kind of music brings out is raw aggression, frustration and other negative energies. I just love it! What inspires me as an musician is the other member of the band. They keeps me on edge. And of course I get inspired by the music I listen to.
On the 'Holocaust Ep it's pictures of soldiers and tanks ,but the music does not shout out war if you know what I mean? I don't get a warlike feeling while listening, it's rather a dark and sinister journey blended with some melancholy, so my question is, are there any message behind it?
- The front cover on the Holocaust Ep reflects the lyrical theme. It dwells with the brutality on the frontline during WW2, the holocaust it self from a victims point of view and death in general.
I get the feeling you have strong opinions as it reflects somewhat in the music, is it something you want to share with the readers? Religion, politics whatever..
- Flukt is not a political band likeDave Mustaine's. Our music is all about emotions and atmosphere. We know what it means to us, but it is up to everyone else to figure out what it means to them.
What are the future plans/goals for FLUKT? I mean , it's been quite silent for a while now.
-Flukt is a slow but steady ship. As we said earlier we are working on some new music at the moment. Hopefully we will release an album next year, and escalade the gigging.
How did you first get in touch with metal and why did you know that this was for you?
-O.K.F: I started listening to metal when i was about 13 years old, my older sister had a Nirvana cd, and it just got more extreme as i grew older. I have always loved the aggression and the feeling Black Metal gives me.
-
A.Ø: For me it was the first Korn album andMetallicawho introduced me to heavy music. It was a life changer and I have never looked back. The musical taste grew more and more extreme as more I dig in to it. Slayer, Sepultura, Mayhem, Burzum etc. Nowadays I listen mostly to 80s extreme metal and 90s Black Metal.
-F.H: When I was a kid my dad listen to a lot of the heavy rock stuff from the 70s and the 80s. I think it started there and it got more and more extreme as I got older.
Do you remember the first album you bought for your own money?
-O.K.F: Probably a Slipknot or Korn album
-A.Ø: I think it was Nirvana - From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
-F.H: Nope.
I'm guessing there hasn't been much liveshows,am I right? Are you ready to do liveshows or is it something you want to do?
- We have only done two live gigs. The first one was at theInferno festival in Oslo in 2016. And we have done one club gig in Kristiansand. We have a couple of upcoming gigs later this year. We hope to do more and more gigs in the future, we have some plans, but cant say much about it yet.
If you had once chance to say an album everybody should hear before they die, what would it be?
- O.K.F: There are really too many to pick one, but 1349 - beyond the apocalypse has long been one of my favorite albums, frosts drumming is amazing.
-A.Ø: Not to mention one of the obvious classics (wich is too many to choose from) I would say check out NettleCarrier's debut album from 2012.
F.H: Taake - Hordalands Doedskvad
I have heard from reliable sources that you use extemely much more toilet paper than regular people, so how many meters a week do you use approximately?
- What kind of question is that? As a three pieced we of course use 6 meter each..
Thanx for the interview and best wishes for the future, any last words?
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