Aversionline is updated once again with their usual deluge of record reviews, this time including Ambulance, Article Nine, Burzum, Edge of Sanity, The Gathering, Illdåd, In the Woods, Infamy, Kontrovers, Randy and tons more grind, hardcore, punk, metal and indie-related stuff.
Jmyhaze Beatbox will be recording their show with 2100 Bigband at Hamngatan in Göteborg on November 24 for a new live album, due out sometime next year.
Lisa Miskovsky is doing a short acoustic tour in Sweden to support her new album "Fallingwater" under the banner "An acoustic evening with Lisa Miskovsky, Fredrik Rönnqvist & David Nyström". Dates:
12/06 - Nordanå Teater, Skellefteå
12/08 - Katalin, Uppsala
12/09 - Storan, Göteborg
12/13 - KB, Malmö
12/14 - Klubb Söndag @ Strömpis, Örebro
12/16 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm
12/20 - Restaurang Arran, Kiruna
Looks like Manowar won't be playing Umeå, Sweden anytime in the near future - the city just passed a noise ordinance limiting sound to 100db. How lame is that? It was decided by Annika Olsson at Samhällsbyggnadskontoret, Miljöenheten i Umeå kommun.
Vocalist Peter Nagy aka Kimera has left black metal band Mörk Gryning. His statement:
"This decision doesn't have anything to do with any kind of personal conflicts or whatsoever between me and any other member of the band. I've been having these thoughts for a very long time, and now is a good time to abandon the ship. I just have total loss of creativity to provide Mörk Gryning for its development in the future, and there are other musical paths that I rather want to explore. And that's mainly with my other bands Eternal Oath and Amaranth. With four albums recorded, great response from fans and media throughout the years (as well as bad ones), some gigs and even a tour, Mörk Gryning leaves nothing but good memories behind. I want to thank all the fans, media, and all other people who have supported me throughout the years. And of course: Good luck to the rest of the band for the future, whatever happens. CHEERS!"
Highlights in the latest Aquarius Records newsletter include that " Powerslaves: An Electro Tribute To Iron Maiden" comp that I talked about awhile ago, a Trad Gras och Stenar ltd. edition live record, and tons more like the new CD from my pals Kayo Dot, easily one of the best records to come out this year.
Hammerfall frontman Joacim Cans has reportedly been collaborating with Dionysus/ex-Sinergy drummer Ronny Milianowicz on three songs for Joacim's upcoming solo album. He is also supposedly working with pop singer Marcus Öhrn on addition material for the record, due out next spring.
It's not exactly new, but webzine Cha Cha Charming has a nice interview in English with the band Surferosa. Check it out: https://www.chachacharming.com/article.php?id=10
The Bukks premiere their new video for the track "The Move" tomorrow November 18 at Alcazar in Stockholm. The band, who's debut album is due out shortly, consists of ex-Popsicle drummer PA Wikander, famed producer Micke Herrström (credits incl. Popsicle, Stefan Sundström, Thåström and Hederos & Hellberg, etc.), Lars Bygdén ($1000 Playboys) and Niklas Barve. Mattias Hellberg and Stefan Sundström will DJ the event. More info: https://www.dustmusic.net/
New pics of Sugerplum Fairy up now at Rockfoto.nu.
As promised, here's some reviews of stuff that's been sent my way recently. If you've got a CD you want me to trash, ahem - pass judgement on - please get a hold of me and I'll get you my mailing address.
Soviac - "Trilogy Sexlife Rodeo Friscotti" (Chalksounds/MTT Records)
This CD is big on concept, not quite so hot on execution. The idea behind it is that each of Soviac's three members gets a third of the album to produce themselves and to put together as they see fit, with or without the rest of the bands help. It's not quite as high-concept as Kiss' set of albums for each member (or The Melvins' own knockoff, for that matter), but it is still an interesting idea. Problem is, I don't think the band has quite the skills enough to pull it off. It's quite an audacious effort for a band only on their sophomore album and I appreciate the thought and work that went into it, but the results are mixed. Some of it is pretty darn good noisy indie rock, but there's also a lot of what I'd just write off as filler. Lots of good ideas, but too many were developed far enough. Give me more actual songs please. As for the packaging, the decision to use three separate panels for liner notes is really, really cool. Inventive design is always appreciated.
Broder Daniel - "Cruel Town" (Dolores Recordings)
This record has probably already been talked to death by the Swedish press, so I'll keep this short. BD deliver a solid record of what I consider to be classic Swedish indiepop. Huge melodies, lots of easy singalong parts and Henrik's unmistakable voice. I was quite skeptical that they'd be able to have a successful comeback, but the first single "When We Were Winning" erased all doubts and totally kicked my ass the first time I heard it. On repeated listens, the album does start to wear out its welcome a bit towards the end with the repetitious lyrical themes and riffs, but it's all over right before the issue starts to get on my nerves.
Amulet - "Danger! Danger!" (Columbia)
This CD really surprised me, as I was totally ready to hate it from what little I had heard of them before. But lo and behold, it's really not so bad. The music reminds me a lot of older AFI, from back when they were a bit more hardcore and not quite so gothed-out - y'know, uptempo punk/hardcore with just the right amount of pop to gloss things up. As one would expect from a major label record, the recording is excellent, the booklet is thick and full of color and a lot of obvious effort went into putting everything together. Frontman Torgny's vocals are probably the make-or-break point for Amulet, as I've heard quite a few people who are polarized on the issue. He's definitely the weak link of the band in my mind, but at the same time, I don't listen to too much hardcore punk in this style anymore. So yeah - good, not great, but probably worth checking out for fans of the genre regardless.
We - "Lightyears Ahead" (Black Balloon)
Norway's We mines classic hard-rock, kinda in the same way that Soundtrack of Our Lives does. They both obviously borrow heavily from their forbearers, but both manage to bring it all together in a way that includes the group's own personality and makes it unique. Whereas TSOOL tends towards straight-up rock n' roll and psych-rock, We is more heavy metal and borrows more from the Black Sabbath/Led Zeppelin end of the 70s rock spectrum. Yeah, there's some obvious T. Rex riffing going on too, but there's also a bit of a late-era Beatles thing going on, albeit slightly heavier. The instrumental transition tracks on this EP are cool too - I really like how it helps everything flow together, though the bong hit opening is a bit silly. I'll definitely be keeping my eyes on these guys.
Evil Tordivel - "A Fine Young Man" (Éllet Records)
Quirky is definitely the word to describe this Bergen, Norway based group/solo project. It's taken me quite a few listens to try and wrap my head around this thing, but I still don't quite have it figured out yet. Evil Tordivel combine elements of rock, pop and electronica in a way similar to fellow countrymen Beyond Dawn, but they are nowhere near as dark or moody. Yeah, singing songs like "Let's Go Beach" seals it. Far, far more on the sunnier side of the rock spectrum. The label describes 'em as "Frank Black meets The Residents meets Kings of Convenience" which I suppose is kinda accurate. It's definitely not as experimental as The Residents or as abrasive as some Frank Black material, but I do hear the influences cited. Even though I wouldn't quite call myself a bonified fan at this point, I still think this album is well worth noting. Fans of the aforementioned Beyond Dawn or their labelmates When who are curious about hearing something a bit mellower and happier might dig this. Despite the name, I don't think it's quite evil enough for my tastes.