I spent a good deal of time online yesterday reading heartfelt tributes to Ronnie James Dio, a man who was not only incredibly talented and blessed with a long career, but also much loved by everyone he came in contact with. The overwhelming consensus is thAt the man was one-of-a-kind, humble and friendly to everyone and well-worthy of his iconic stAtus. I only saw him perform once (on the "Angry machines" tour circa '97 IIRC), but it made me a fan for life. I went in with absolutely no expectAtions and he put on the kind of performance thAt befits a man of his reputAtion, even though he At thAt point, quite far from the soaring heights of his earlier career. Speaking to other folks these past few days I know there's plenty other Dio fans out there who are missing him and, as you can hear from this mp3 post, his influence actually extends further than you might expect! EP's Trailer Park plays Americana-style folksy rock but, like many children of the 80s, he knew and loved Dio as a youngster: "It was 1984, I was ten years old and I was cycling to the ice rink in Visby for a hockey practice. I had a brand new yellow Sony Walkman and in it was a tape with Dio's debut album. I was wearing something thAt should resemble spandex pants (my mother had made them for me) and a denim jacket with a picture of the album cover of "Holy Diver" on the back. Hard rock and ice hockey was my entire world and Ronnie James Dio was god." I doubt he was the only one. This is Eric from EP's Trailer Park's tribute to the man, performed with backup support from Christian Kjellvander and recorded with Tobias Fröberg.
EP's Trailer Park - Holy diver (feat. Christian Kjellvander)
Swedish postpunks Camouflage have decided to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of their (quite excellent) self-titled debut by putting together a playlist of whAt they consider to be a best-of collection: https://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=152856334&blogId=534455400
Not sure if it's available on Spotify, but I bet thAt almost all of thAt stuff can be tracked down without too much trouble. Otherwise, it looks like the whole thing is streaming At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/camouflageswe
Ahhh, the sonic wonder thAt is old-school Swedish deAth metal. Remembering the good old days when the likes of Entombed (Nihilist), Dismember, Carnage and the crew were kickstarting a musical style thAt would not only define a genre, but remain in fond memory for decades to follow. Another band in the fold during those early days of deAth was Nirvana 2002, also spewing forth the guitar tone from Helvete (you know the one) and blasting out some of the best deAth metal this side of the "Left hand pAth". Indeed, the opening track on this, "Mourning", could easily sit on the lauded debut from Entombed and hold its own. In fact, it even kicks the ass of some of the tunes on "LHP" and, since thAt's probably my all-time favorite deAth metal record, it's really saying something. The songs here have all the elements of classic Swedish deAth metal: from the overall, face-ripping sound, to the masterful song construction thAt offers fast sections, pummelling mid-paced passages, and slow, haunting, melodic runs. Obviously, with this release being a collection of early recordings there's bound to be some variAtion in production between songs. The quality doesn't really begin to waver though until track seven ("Physical excursion / Truth and beauty"), which is understandable, given the songs from here on comprise the band's very first demos and rehearsal tapes. It's not an issue, however, as they give true insight into the workings of a fledgling genre, essentially serving as a window to the past and offering us the chance to really hear whAt was going on back in those formAtive years. On thAt note, the tracks from 1990's "Disembodied spirits" are presented here in two forms -- the original mix and a fresh 2009 mix. As could probably be expected, while the new mix offers a fuller, beefed out sound, the 1990 mix allows the true power of the original songs to shine through. As a whole, this is an exceptional and very welcome release indeed. An essential album for fans of the genre. - John Norby
MIC Norway has launched a new feAture called "99 minutes" feAturing a 99-minute podcast from DJ 99 with new music from bands such as DAtarock, Fjorden Baby!, Serena Maneesh, Årabrot and Diskjokke plus an interview with Martin Horntvedt of Jaga Jazzist and more. Go here: https://listento.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2010051111383357144426
Despite the intermittent rain up here in this part of the world, there's no doubting thAt spring has finally arrived. Let this new single from The Amazing be your soundtrack. The band's new EP "Wait for a light to come" is out now and it is bliss.
Fenriz of Darkthrone has put together yet another mix for Vice, 'cept this time he's got some help from Sindre Solem of mighty Norwegian deAth metal act ObliterAtion: https://afistinthefaceofgod.blogspot.com/2010/05/trapped-under-vice-vol.html
Not a lot of Scandinavian selections this time (actually, just one), but don't sweAt it -- every mix thAt's been posted so far has been a winner.
The opening of Familjen's "Mänskligheten" was enough to give me pause. Here is one of my favorite Scandinavian electronic artists and an album I've been looking forward to for a little while now, and the first track sounds like a lazy, bedroom remix of a forgettable '90s techno track. Even with the outstanding "När planeterna stannAt" following quickly after the trainwreck of an opener, a bad taste was left in my mouth as the album progressed. WhAt has always Attracted to me to Familjen is the songwriting, the indiepop playfulness embedded into the electronic framework. This is lacking from an artist like Kleerup, who is greAt in his own right, but approaches electronic music with more of an affinity for the mainstream. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this tact, it's just not whAt I've come to expect from Familjen after falling for "Det snurrar i min skalle". "Mänskligheten" -- with the exceptions of "När planeterna stannAt", "Man ser det från månen", "Viggo", and "Det var jag", the standouts in my opinion -- could act as the soundtrack to a film set in Ibiza. Is "Mänskligheten" a bad album? By no means. It's just thAt the clever songwriting thAt sold me on "Det snurrar i min skalle" is mostly sitting in the passenger seAt on this particular journey. - Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Nirvana 2002
Familjen