Earlier in the year, the song “Ulvens ed” (The Pledge of the Wolf) was released on YouTube and Spotify. The song was composed by BERSÆRK guitarist Lars Evers (lyrics) and two of the most respected Danish guitarists, Tim Christensen (DIZZY MIZZ LIZZY) and Jacob Binzer (D-A-D). Produced and mized by none other than Jacob Hansen (Volbeat and numerous others). The line up for the song was completed by Casper Popp, the singer of Bersærk, drummer Allan Tschicaja (formerly of Royal Hunt and most notably PRETTY MAIDS) and guitarist Nicklas Sonne from DEFECTO. The Black Sabbath inspired song with lyrics in Danish songs great live as well!
I’d expected that this would be a short intermission sort of thing where this song and possibly a couple of others would be played. I’d planned to listen to this and then rush on to MUNICIPAL WASTE on the Pandemonium stage. That’s not how it’s going to play out.
It turns out that the Copenhell folk have gathered no less than 40 metal musicians from a multiude of Danish bands to do cover songs. As silly as that may sound, there’s also something fascinating about seeing all these metal musicians teaming up around the music they love. And, believe me, there are excellent musicians among these forty people, spanning three generations of the Danish scene.
The presenters are Jacob Binzer and radio host and long-time Copenhell stage maestro Carsten Holm. They do this lots of humour and a number of anecdotes. Very entertaining couple!
The next song is something I’d swear I’d walk away from under normal circumstances: An AC/DC cover. “TNT”, even. The reason I’m not walking away is that the two guitarists are Ken Hammer (PRETTY MAIDS) and Soren Andersen (Glenn Hughes among others), backed by drummer Allan Tschicaja and Helhorse bassist Theis Thorgersen. The singer is Mirza Radonjica-Bang from SIAMESE. And, my goodness, he nails it! Talk about doing a Bon Scott. Amazing singer.
Moving from Aussie boogie rock to PANTERA, “Walk” is introduced as the next cover. This time taken care of by member of ASPHYXION, MØL, RISING, CABAL and BAEST singer Simon Olsen. Heavy shit and tasteful choice of shorts, Simon!
BLACK SABBATH is naturally also on the menu. One could have hoped for a more bold or different choice, but “Heaven & Hell” is it. This time, the performers are Ronnie Atkins (PRETTY MAIDS), ARTILLERY guitarist Michael Stützer, MERCENARY guitarist Jakob Mølbjerg, as well as drummer Tschicaja and bassist Thorgersen.
Copenhagen based hardcore band NYT LIV are enforced today by shouter Esse from HateSphere and the three RISING members Jacob, Morten and Anders. The song is called “Hårde tider” (Hard times). I’m not quite familiar with the track, but it sounds good!
I suppose that a MOTÖRHEAD tune is inevitable. The respect for Lemmy will live on for many, many years, and it should. “Born to Raise Hell” is probably the oddest delivery of the entire gig. Singer Oskar Frederiksen from SLÆGT is really not a performer in the traditional sense. He’s totally awkward, a bit like an obtuse teenager. He doesn’t sound much like Lemmy either. Next to him is guitarist Lola Hammerich. She looks like a little girl with a big guitar. She doesn’t even remotely look like someone who belongs here. I suppose that in itself is very metal. The rest of the line up consists of Rasmus from The PSYCHE PROJECT on the drums, bassist Holger Frost from MØL and RISING guitarist Jacob Krogholt.
Not the best of the covers so far.
Here’s something I started to hope would come. SLAYER! The dream team on the strings consists of Pepe from HATESPHERE, Michael Stützer from ARTILLERY, bassist Michael Ehlers from BLOOD EAGLE (formerly also HateSphere). Rasmus from KILLING GANDHI competently handles the drums and Michael Dahl (ARTILLERY) does his best to emulate Tom Araya. He does a decent job, although he isn’t at all Araya. The song? “Angel of Death”, no less. Very cool.
A METALLICA song is, you could say, also a very natural choice for an occasion such as this. The choice of song, however, is a bit of a surprise. A pleasant one, at that! “Ride the Lightning”! Guitars and vocals very capably handled by Nicklas Sonne from DEFECTO, the other guitar by none other than MERCYFUL FATE legend Hank Shermann. Michael Ehlers has stayed on the stage with his bass, whereas the drums are now handled by the extremely talented Bastian Thusgaard (DAWN OF DEMISE/SOILWORK). Awesome cover version.
Speak of surprises: The next song is a celebration of the band that gave name to a genre. DEATH’s “Pull the Plug” is aired by a line up consisting of growler David Mikkelsen (UNDERGANG), guitarists Anders Lundemark (KONKHRA) and Lasse Revsbech (BAEST), bassist Martin Kristensen (also KONKHRA) and drummer Rasmus Schmidt (ILLDISPOSED). Excellent execution, great surprise, very nice.
Last song of this very special event is something that is probably mostly extra special for us Danes. The song is by a band called GASOLIN’. The singer of GASOLIN’ passed away not so long ago, and this is also a homage to him. The song is called “Rabalderstræde”, and the line up sees DIZZY MIZZ LIZZY’s Tim Christensen, Jacob Binzer and BERSÆRK singer Popp back on the stage. This time, they are joined by BERSÆRK drummer Simon Gleerup Meiner and VOLBEAT bassist Kasper Boye Larsen. This version is only slightly more heavy than the original, and that’s actually and very respectful.
So what I thought would be a short parenthesis on this Saturday turned out the be whole lot more. A special event indeed.
]]>
The track was released earlier today along with a YouTube video. It will be available as of tomorrow via your nearest streaming service.
Watch the video right here:
LIVLØS and the other two bands on the bill will play eleven dates in their native Denmark.
These are the dates:
REDUCED TO FLESH DK TOUR 2019 – with HateSphere and Xenoblight
28.02 – København – Hotel Cecil
01.03 – Helsingør – Kulturværftet
02.03 – Aalborg – Studenterhuset
08.03 – Aarhus – Radar
09.03 – Svendborg – Spillestedet Harders
15.03 – Odense – Kansas City
16.03 – Esbjerg – Konfus
22.03 – Sønderborg – Sønderborghus
23.03 – Vejle – Bygningen
29.03 – Kolding – Godset
30.03 – Silkeborg – Kedelhuset
The live setting as opposed to studio albums have always been HateSphere’s force, although I must say that the band’s latest outing, Reduced to Flesh, toggles that notion slightly.
To put it in a word, the album is a hammer.
Why? Because things come together in a way I haven’t felt they’ve done for HateSphere before.
The constant of the album is no different from the past albums: the merciless thrashing beat draws the red line. But what is slightly different this time is that Pepe and the gang have taken the song writing one notch up.
I don’t know if maturity is the right term, but the fine intro to the album, the surprising chorus for ‘Ruled By Domination’ and the church organs used in ‘Lethal Mistakes’ contribute to taking things to a level where I don’t think HateSphere have been before. And they score pretty high on the groove-o-metre, by the way.
There’s a new level of coolness with this album, simple as that.
Vocalist Esben ‘Esse’ Hansen deserves a couple of words, methinks. Esse joined eight years ago, following in the footsteps of powerhouse performers Jacob Bredahl and Jonathan ‘Joller’ Albrechtsen, and some thought they would be hard acts to follow. They were, but Esse did well, although he wasn’t as agile on stage.
The thing is, though, that Esse has grown to be the voice of HateSphere and he certainly cements that position with Reduced To Flesh with an impeccable vocal performance. What the attentive listener will notice is that Esse has developed his little tag, similar to Thomas Gabriel Fischer’s ”urgh” and Barney Greenway’s ”uh”; Esse has his ”blah”, and he does that oh so well. The ultimate expression of spite, right there.
“How sad it must be to be you”, the chorus goes for the tune ‘Petty’. Nope, I’m happy as a geezer with this one, lads. Killer stuff.
]]>
DAY 3
There should be no doubt that today is the day both Phil and I have been looking forward to. We miss the first couple of bands (family stuff, alright!) and head on directly with a dose of rock solid death metal from upcoming Danes PREVAIL.
I saw them at Heavy Agger back in May and was mightily impressed by their sound and groove, although there were still bits and pieces that needed to be worked on. That is still the case here five months later, by they have definitely done their homework and seem like an even tighter unit, centred around the former Svartsot members Claus and Michael. Definitely an approved gig.
More death metal from another up and coming death metal outfit from our tiny country. Those in the audience who were here on Thursday will recognise the front man from BAEST, who also happens to be the Duracell bunny who fronted Livløs.
Baest is a real pleasure to listen to for those of us who dug Entombed and Dismember during the early nineties. The guitar sound is almost the same, only with a slightly deeper growl from front man Simon. The band deliver with awesome power. This is death metal with a purpose, namely to destroy everything. Perhaps the next obvious extreme metal export from these shores?
Speaking of Danish music exports: Did you know that thrash metal icons ARTILLERY were one of the first western bands to play in the disintegrating Soviet Union? Well, they were.
They were also one of the most influential thrash bands in Europe, although they never reached the popularity of some of their German counterparts. The main reason for the band’s popularity among peers was most likely due to the unique style of lead guitarist Michael Stützer (who joined Artillery in 1982, one year after the band was formed). I’d claim that alongside Denner/Sherman, this man is the most influential Danish rock or metal guitarist ever.
I am looking forward to this gig. Artillery was the first metal band I saw live (in 1988), and I’ve just realised that I haven’t seen them since 1991. About time, eh!
One thing that has definitely changed is that Michael Stützer is the only band member remaining from when I last saw them. The younger folk around him do a fab job, though, as the band plough through both old and newer material. It is worth noting, as Phil remarks later, that Michael Bastholm Dahl is the only actual singer we have heard during the day. And he his. Compared to Flemming Rönsdorf who is the singer I associate with Artillery, Dahl is a Pavarotti.
The hobbit-sized Stützer moves around the stage constantly and repeatedly tries to animate the crowd who are more than appreciative of the old-school thrash rifferama that pours out of his strings.
Artillery unleash ‘The Almighty’, ‘The Challenge’, ‘Live by the Scythe’, ‘Beneath the Clay’, the masterpiece ‘By Inheritance’, ‘Legions’, the monster hit tune (in my world) ‘Khomaniac’ and finally the song that has almost become the band’s theme song; ‘Terror Squad’.
Cool gig!
HATESPHERE were never known to deliver a shitty gig. Tonight is no exception. It’s as if Esse, Pepe and the boys have found that extra gear that truly forms a concert to remember.
The atmosphere is simply exceptionally great on this fine Saturday evening, and HateSphere sounds like a monster; tight, heavy, loud and more convincing than they’ve been in ages.
‘Drinking with the King of the Dead’ never sounded more crushing, and it is usually a very heavy song. As a bonus, Livløs/Baest singer Simon climbs on stage for the third time during this festival to add his vocal chords to set closer ‘Sickness Within’. Boom – damned deal done! Awesome set.
I was reminded yesterday that FIRESPAWN is fronted by L.G. Petrov. Without having listened to any of their music before, I’m pretty certain that this is something for me.
It is.
I called Simon from Baest/Livløs a Duracell bunny yesterday, but L.G. is no less so. This 45-year-old (he’s three months older than me) is all over the friggin’ place. And not only that; as Dawn Of Demise bassist Bjørn notes in passing, the former Entombed singer is more death metal than ever in this outfit.
You kind of know that when five guys from Sweden get on stage, they mean death metal business. A mixture of Swedish and US death metal, I’d say. Truth be told, it’s not all completely and insanely interesting from a creative perspective, but solid it is overall, and some of Firespawn’s music is simply majestic. What can you expect when you have former and current members of Entombed/Entombed A.D., Unleashed, etc.? Exactly! Death f*cking metal!
Time to turn the dial back to thrash. Not only thrash: One of the Big Teutonic 4, no less! DESTRUCTION played Aalborg 13 years ago, a slightly slow gig in terms of audience response as far as I remember.
Not the case today! Aalborg is sucking up everything Schmier, Mike and Vaaver decide to throw at us. The trio is literally taking us through one of the paths of thrash metal history with ‘Curse the Gods’, ‘Nailed to the Cross’, ‘Mad Butcher’, ‘Bestial Invasion’ and a handful more.
Schmier is in the best of moods – at least until he realises that he has no beer on stage. “How the fuck can we be in Denmark and have no beer on stage?” the man exclaims and promptly sends a stage hand away to seek out some of the golden liquid. Which, by the way, he eventually passes on to the audience. Poor stage hand, methinks.
Destruction have clearly aged when you look at the bulk of a man who’s called Schmier and the scrawny, little Mike beside him, but no matter what, they deliver the goods with no holding back. A true lesson in thrash metal.
Now, finally, what many of us have been waiting for! I AM MORBID with the only and real Morbid Angel singer, David Vincent, at the helm. This is a special gig for a number of reasons. The main reason is that Morbid An…I mean I Am Morbid show up as a trio. Other than Vincent and drummer Tim Yeung, Ira Black (formerly of among others Vicious Rumors and Heathen) walks on stage, and that’s it. What is really surprising is how well the Morbid Angel songs work without the second guitar. This speaks to their strength!
As the concert progresses, my reflection is that it is amazing how this one set comprises more than a few of my all-time favourite songs (‘Fall from Grace’, ‘Where the Slime Live’, ‘Dominate’, ‘Blessed Are the Sick’, ‘God of Emptiness’) and all-time favourite riffs (‘Visions from the Dark Side’!).
This gig simply reaches right into my old metal heart in a way that hasn’t happened in a long time, with the ultimate death metal voice, the killer riffs from a fantastic guitarist, the drummer from hell behind the kit. Listen, we even get a drum solo and a guitar solo after ‘Maze of Torment’. It’s been a while, eh?!
I rarely bang my head beyond a slight nod anymore (age and all that), but there’s quite simply no stopping when ‘Where the Slime Live’ thunders between the walls of the venue. That song is so utterly heavy, it’s like a drug.
Vincent commands the stage and audience with an authority that you rarely see. I mean, he’s one man down, the whole setup is very basic (three guys and their instruments, nothing else), and still, the sheer power of the songs he co-created and his strong personality drives the whole thing to a point where this trio simply owns the evening, and, in my humble opinion, the entire festival. I am indeed morbid. The next natural step for this lineup would be to record new material, eh?
Thus relieved after two days of so-so experiences, this third day turned out to be a much welcome outburst of rock solid thrash and death metal the way your two Power Of Metal.dk correspondents like it. Thank you again to the Aalborg Metal Festival for a great festival!
Thomas & Phil
Photos by Thomas
