Let’s talk about Volbeat for a minute. They have a huge following and a ton of people dig ‘em. Good for them. I’m just not their target audience. I was born and raised on Carcass, Bolt Thrower and Deicide.
Tag Archives: Death ‘N Roll
CONCERT REVIEW: Carcass – Immolation – Creeping Death Live at The Vogue
Carcass is closing the books on their Spring tour with Immolation and Creeping Death this week. Starting out in Austin, Texas and culminating at what might be the final Maryland Deathfest, I caught up to them at The Vogue in Indianapolis.
Firespawn – Shadow Realms
The concept of the “Supergroup” may date back to the sixties with bands like Cream and Humble Pie, but it’s one which only began to infiltrate the heavier end of the music spectrum in the late ’80s. It wasn’t until Down arrived with NOLA (Elektra) in 1995 that Metal fans started to recognise its increasing validity.
These days, Supergroups have been popping up with such regularity that you can barely get out of bed for tripping over one. The term has also been stretched enough over the years to incorporate smaller bands as well as the more famous names, even reaching into unlikely genre-specific corners such as Black and Death Metal.
Hailing from sunny Sweden, Firespawn (known until recently as Fireborn) consists of guitarists Victor Brandt (Entombed AD) and Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed), bassist Alex Friberg (Necrophobic) and drummer Matte Modin (ex-Dark Funeral). However, it is vocalist L.G. Petrov who will be the most recognisable face, being the long-serving frontman of Death Metal legends Entombed.
Shadow Realms (Century Media) opens with ‘The Emperor’, a track which hisses and boils with pure Blackened Death Metal aggression. Those more at home listening to Petrov’s distinctive “Death’n’Roll” style vocals will be punched squarely in the ears by the bladder-loosening ferocity of his untamed Death Metal roar. The more mid-paced ‘Imperial Burning’ stomps its way across your face next, it’s punishing groove just as effective as the slashing speed of the preceding track. ‘Lucifer Has Spoken’ will be familiar to some listeners as the band originally released it back in August. Another slow to mid-paced affair, a nicely atmospheric chanted Latin section and a great guitar solo make this one of the better tracks on the album.
The unrelenting speed returns with the brutal but fairly forgettable ‘Spirit of the Black Tide’ and is followed by the short acoustic interlude ‘Contemplate Death’. ‘All Hail’ is up next with its big drums and bigger chorus, and things continue forward in a positive, albeit straightforward direction. ‘Ruination’ is all bluff and bluster, however. Fast and aggressive but leaving the memory the moment it finishes, while ‘Necromance’ looks set to be another throwaway track until it suddenly kicks into life halfway through. Bizarrely, ‘Shadow Realms’ is one of the album’s weaker moments. Considering title tracks are so often the lynchpin of a whole album, this one just doesn’t grab you at any point. It’s fast and heavy, but contains nothing to really sink your teeth into.
Instrumentally speaking, the Behemoth-esque ‘Ginnunga’ sounds great, but Petrov’s vocals really don’t do the song justice. Not poorly performed or particularly weak, his voice is just nowhere near as fearsome as it should be for a song like this. Closer ‘Infernal Eternal’ is another decent, if unspectacular cut but it does feature a magnificent played guitar solo, quite probably the best on the album.
Although certainly not a bad record, Shadow Realms is pretty basic, generic stuff which never really pushes itself as far as you would like. It’s ferocious enough, tightly played with a strong production, and there are moments when everything sounds like it’s suddenly going to fall into place and move up a couple of gears. Unfortunately, it never quite does.
7.0/10
GARY ALCOCK
Satyricon – Oslo Faenskap – Vredehammer: Live at Nijmegen, Doornroosje NL
The day before Easter Sunday we set out to see the Norwegian Satyricon open their latest European tour, the only one of this year they announced. Supporting their recent Live At The Opera (Napalm) DVD, the band have decided to do things in their own time and their own way this time around.
When we arrive just before the time the show is about to start we’re met with closed room doors and a susurrus of rumors in the waiting crowd. Satyricon arrived later than expected, and now the stage still has to be set and soundchecks done. The time is pushed back half an hour, and both supporting acts, Oslo Faenskap and Vredehammer, were reduced to 15 minute sets.
Oslo Faenskap, Photo by Susanne A. Maathuis
Oslo Faenskap take the stage first with fire and verve, determined to show us 15 minutes can be convincing. The crowd however doesn’t agree and no matter how much the band try to be brutal, badass and ‘fucking” make us move, most people stare at them in polite patience. The fact the band play a mix of more modern metal styles, best characterized by metalcore and nu metal influences, and their overblown stage presence as an opener just don’t strike the right chord today, while their effort is praiseworthy.
Vredehammer, Photo by Susanne A. Maathuis
After a quick changeover we get Vredehammer who are clearly unhappy about the unexpected shortening of their set. It means the band only play two songs, as quipped at by their vocalist Per Valla; “this is the shortest set in history”. The crowd responds to the Norwegian black metal outfit better than they did to Oslo Faenskap, and start to warm up. Both bassist and guitarist of the band give a valiant effort, but less than optimal sound on the drums and general mix mean some of the more delicate atmospheres of the band disappear into tinny drums and a general feeling of potential but too little time.
Satyricon, Photo by Susanne A. Maathuis.
And then for the main course of this musical meal: Satyricon. The crowd who had stayed mostly in the back of the room slowly mill forward, finally giving the venue a cozily full feeling. The anticipation in the front few rows can be felt on your skin as an almost electric shiver passes through the crowd when finally the iconic mic-stand, covered in horns, is brought on stage. The band arrives to the tones of ‘Voice of Shadows’ to loud cheers from the audience and a forest of raised fists and horns. The bar is immediately set incredibly high as the band launch into their two hour long set full speed, playing new and old tunes alike, though favoring their post-Vulcano repertoire. The crowd seamlessly answers front man Satyr’s every suggestion, as they shout on command and are coaxed to throw horns and even form a moshpit. Satyr explains that the few tours the band will do from now on will be special, and tonight they would like to share with us some work in progress ideas for songs, as they launch into three instrumental pieces. Sadly in the second of these jams Satyr’s guitar gives out and it takes half the tune to get it set again, but even that cannot ruin the performance as the fans happily listen to what might become new material. Ending the set on the classic ‘Mother North’, to which the full crowd sing along, the band leave the stage. The crowd waits in eager anticipation for their encore, consisting of hit songs ‘Fuel For Hatred’ and ‘K.I.N.G.’, after which a glowing band thank their fans with one of many bows. We leave the venue at the respectable hour of midnight, to the gentle tones of ‘Natt’ as the outro, happily satisfied that a gig that seemed plagued by Murphy’s Law at first persevered and after a rough start soared to heights only a veteran band and like Satyricon can deliver.
Satyricon, Photo by Susanne A. Maathuis.
Satyricon, Photo by Susanne A. Maathuis.
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WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY SUSANNE MAATHUIS