| MAY 16th, 2007: |
I hope you guys are ready for a nice, new update because that is exactly what I have for you here, FINALLY!!! Now I know it's been a little bit since the last update. It seems that injuries, sickness, and life's problems in general get in the way every now and then. I know most of you out there who know me completely understand where I am coming from on that one!
APRIL 4th, 2007:
I also have a question for all of you ' and please give me your feedback! I want to know what you, as music fans and people whom are visitors to this site, would like from me. What I mean is, would you rather me do huge updates, with a lot more stuff to look at at one time, or maybe medium updates, which would have a few less galleries or maybe an update with only interviews posted or something to that effect? I really want to see what people think. As of right now, some of the friends I've asked so far would like medium updates. Now keep in mind, I may not always have the time to be able to do medium updates, but if that's what you want, that's what I will try to do. Feel free to message me on myspace, sign my guestbook, or email me at swedishmetalusa (at) aol.com (of course, you take out the parantheses).
Onwards to my update! I have had great fun covering some awesome bands since my last update. I did post here the pics from LA Guns when I saw them in December. I inadvertently forgot to release them in the last update, for which I do apologize.
I have reached a couple of milestones during this update - not only do I now have over 25,000 photos (the 25,000th one being a great pic of Reb Beach from Winger), I also now have 600 galleries (thanks to Destroyer)! What a great feeling this accomplishment gives me.
I have chosen to put the Polish thrash metal band, Horrorscope, in the spotlight section for this update. These guys have been kicking my ass for years, but their newest release, Evoking Demons, completely blows everything they've ever done out of the water! I really want to try to get them more exposure here in the States because I think a lot of people here would like them if they were exposed to them. Any fans of old-school thrash (Destruction, Kreator, Testament, Death Angel, etc) that don't mind a hint of other genres and want their music brutally heavy yet still melodic, yup, you guessed it ' this is the right band for you!
I have also included a very cool interview that I have done with the beautiful Veronica Freeman of the band Benedictum. This is one of the hardest working bands I know out there! They are fresh from their second tour in Europe, this time supporting the mighty DORO PESCH, and are extremely excited to play their first Midwestern show this April at Chicago Powerfest 2007, in which you can find more information about by going to www.chicagopowerfest.com or www.myspace.com/chicagopowerfest.
I was once again blown away by Dragonlord and Decreation in Alameda, which was a great show to start off the new year! Then I geared up for a very-much-anticipated five day run with Dark Funeral, Enslaved and Abigail Williams and also the Destruction, Into Eternity, Hirax tours. Now mind you, these tours in California were running SIMULTANEOUSLY. THAT was absolutely insane for me!!! First, I went to Dark Funeral, Enslaved and Abigail Williams in Orangevale. I was in absolute AWE at that show! I had not seen the Dark Funeral guys in five long years and I had NEVER seen Enslaved ' whom I've been a huge fan of for over a decade. You want to talk about a happy camper, because none of the bands disappointed me. Then the next night I saw the same gig in Oakland, albeit with one of my best friends, Birgit, who flew in from Colorado Springs to see that gig and the one the next night. The very next-next morning we drove all the way down to Santa Ana to see the first night of the Destruction, Hirax, Into Eternity tour. You can read quite a bit about this interesting turn of events by CLICKING HERE. After Birgit flew back home the next-next-next morning, I proceeded to go to the Dark Funeral tour in Santa Ana. With very little sleep, I drove alllllllllllllllllllll the way back to San Francisco the next-next-next-next morning so that I could catch the SF gig for the Destruction tour. That was a very special show, as it also included the mighty Death Angel playing on the bill. I only got pics of Into Eternity and Destruction due to no photo pit, but at least it's something. I almost didn't make it to that gig, haha. Talk about luck! I also somehow managed to make it to the very last gig of the Destruction tour in Hollywood in February. That was great for me because I was able to see Night Terror and Anger As Art on the bill as well. Of course, I managed to not get any injuries for FIVE shows, yet at the Hollywood show (the only one that week), I got a twisted right knee and a twisted left ankle. WTF?! Oh well. It was great to be there anyway. I must give a great big thanks to Birgit, Cindy, Erin and Rudy for helping me out and making these shows happen for me! I love you guys. And, as always, I ended up with a ton of photos from those two tours.
On to a totally different style of music ' at the beginning of March, I was able to see Winger perform with Fear the Days and Seven Reasons. Seven Reasons also has the drummer of Y&T and were really rocking the people, which is hard to do for an opening band in the Bay Area, usually. Next were Fear the Days. I have known their guitarist Mike for many a moon and it was great to see him and the band actually perform, instead of going to see the shows he BOOKS. And finally' Winger. This had to have been one of THE best shows I have seen in AGES. Winger did phenomenally well and I was ever impressed with the skills of EVERY band member' not just Kip or Reb or whatever. Each one of those guys held their own very well and went through a great set which included quite a few off the lesser-known album, Pull. That happens to be my favourite album, so once again, I was a happy camper. Thanks very much for all the help from Juliya and Nancy!!!
Barely two days to recuperate (amongst working, of course) and I headed into a whirlwind two gigs with my Temecula-favourites, Dark Haven. Talk about a lot of driving again! They played with Keeping Secrets in Livermore and then with three other bands in Sacramento the next night, but I only got pictures of Dark Haven and Keeping Secrets. They played a few tunes of their upcoming CD, which just blew me away live. There is NOTHING this band cannot accomplish. We did get some more promo photos taken again at On the Y in Sacramento, thanks to the lovely 'green light of doom'. These guys (and gal) never cease to amaze me, and not just because they're young. It's because they are oh-so-talented.
Barely a week later, I had the pleasure to host the Avenger of Blood guys (and Monty as well) at my home after they played a blistering set at the Balazo Gallery in San Francisco. These guys are incredibly dedicated. I mean, what band would drive for 10+ hours starting at two in the morning, then sleep a couple hours at my home, then drive up to San Francisco to play, then sleep a few more hours (after partying at Garen's, of course) and then drive 10+ hours back to Las Vegas so they could work bright and early Monday morning? CRAZY I TELL YA! But the fans totally loved them and I am glad they did so well here this time around.
A week later, I got to see the Killswitch Engage, Dragonforce, Chimaira and He Is Legend gig at the Warfield. Many, many, MANY thanks to Carl (DF tour manager) and Alan Ralph of www.metalxcore.com for helping me at this show!!! Unfortunately, I was only able to get photos of Dragonforce, but again, at least it was something and that was what I was there for anyway. The other bands did quite well and I was actually impressed, but Dragonforce always steals it for me.
The last show that this update will have happened only a couple of days ago. It was a benefit show for a good friend, Tina Sullivan, who was injured in a freak accident at work. This lineup was definitely history in the making. Trigger Renegade opened, and are a fun, hard hitting, grooving young band from Santa Cruz. Next up was the ever-crowd-pleasing Ulysses Siren, who performed one of the best sets I have seen them do (with the time allotted). After that was the legendary reunion lineup of Heathen. By this I mean that Doug Piercy (guitars) flew in with his wife all the way from Germany for the gig and Carl Sacco (drums) flew out from Augusta. Doug has not played with Heathen in many, many years and Carl had not touched a drumset in EIGHTEEN YEARS. He had two practices and then played the five song set. Aside from a couple of very minor mistakes, the just ripped through the set! Then the mighty Angel Witch played with Dave White from Heathen on vocals, Lee Altus, Doug Piercy, Jon Torres and then Tom Hunting on drums. This lineup had also not played in a number of years and it was also the mark of the return of Tom Hunting into the metal scene once again. Closing out the night was All Time Highs, the raunchy side-project band of Mark Osegueda from Death Angel, and then Destroyer, a KISS cover band that literally had EVERYTHING covered ' even fire breathing!!! Such a great night it was.
My Symphony of the Damned section here on the right is a spotlight on the top things I have been listening to. It in no way represents all the stuff I get to hear, so here I will list some random stuff I have been playing as of late:
1. Conquest - The Killing Time
2. Triosphere - Onwards (w/ bonus)
3. Thunderbolt - Love and Destruction
4. Bad Moon Rising - Opium for the Masses (w/ bonus)
5. Gaelic Storm - Gaelic Storm
6. Tarot - Crows Fly Back
7. Lednote - Sloth
8. Blackshine - Lifeblood
9. Tad Morose - Modus Vivendi
10. Heathen - Victims of Deception
11. Ted Nugent - Free For All
12. Vader - This is War
13. Cloudscape - Cloudscape
14. 1349 - Hellfire
15. Faith No More - Angel Dust
16. Evereve - Regret
17. Kent - Isola
18. Sigh - Gallows Gallery
19. Eternal Gray - Kindless
20. In Flames - Colony
21. Pink Cream 69 - Sonic Dynamite
22. Pestilence - Testimony of the Ancients
23. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence
24. Crematory - Awake
25. The Crow - Soundtrack
26. Hedningarna - Kaksi!
27. Sleez Beez - Screwed Blued & Tattooed
28. Gjallarhorn - Ranarop
29. Joan Jett - Up Your Alley
30. Pantera - Cowboys from Hell
I will have many things coming in the next couple of weeks, including a ton of interviews and, as always, a ton of new photos!!! Please keep your eye on the site and always keep it metal!!!
 |
* ABIGAIL
WILLIAMS (Orangevale,
Santa Ana) * ALL TIME HIGHS (San Francisco March 2007) * ANGEL WITCH * ANGER AS ART (Hollywood) * AVENGER OF BLOOD (San Francisco) |
 |
* DARK FUNERAL (Oakland, Orangevale, Santa Ana) |
 |
* DARK HAVEN
(Livermore,
Sacramento
March 2007) * DECREATION (Alameda January 2007) * DESTROYER (Kiss Tribute Band in San Francisco) |
 |
* DESTRUCTION (Hollywood
February 2007,
San Francisco
January 2007,
Santa Ana
January 2007) * DRAGONFORCE (San Francisco March 2007) * DRAGONLORD (Alameda January 2007) |
 |
* ENSLAVED (Oakland,
Orangevale,
Santa Ana) * FEAR THE DAYS * HIRAX (Hollywood, Santa Ana) * HEATHEN (San Francisco March 2007) * INTO ETERNITY (Hollywood February 2007, San Francisco January 2007, Santa Ana January 2007) |
 |
*
KEEPING
SECRETS * L.A. GUNS (San Jose December 2006) * NIGHT TERROR * SEVEN REASONS * TRIGGER RENEGADE * ULYSSES SIREN * WINGER (Santa Clara March 2007) |
| JANUARY 28th, 2007: |
Yes, I do realize it has been quite a while since the last update and I do apologize for that. It was not for a lack of shows to do, but sometimes sickness and life's events get in the way. On that note, I am now back with quite a few new additions to the site. I should have yet another update ready in about two weeks as well, so you're going to get a slew of new stuff to feast your eyes on!
The first main update for my site is my new Spotlight section band, Nekrogoblikon. They are based out of Santa Barbara and the Bay Area here in California, but their sound is distinctly European. Obviously the lyrics are about goblins and their album artwork and subsequent photo shoot (done by yours truly) are very much tongue-in-cheek. Anyone who digs viking metal or bands like Finntroll, Moonsorrow, Dark Tranquillity, Immortal and the likes should like this band. Please do me a favor and check them out. If you like what you see and hear, let me know!
The beginning of November was very exciting for me, as I was able to FINALLY see my beloved Katatonia live for the first time! You have no idea how badly I have wanted to see this band live, not to mention that I've been a fan since damned near the beginning. They did not disappoint me in one bit live, other than they didn't play my favourite song, but I was just happy to finally SEE them! On top of that, they were touring with the mighty Moonspell whom I had not seen in something like 4 years or so. It was great fun to be able to hang out and watch them again. They really have added to their live show and it was quite apparent that they are even more possessed live now than they were 4 years ago. Their stage show leaves nothing to be desired. I had also been following the career of their openers, Daylight Dies, and was excited to check them out. I think they gained a shitload of new fans at our show - the crowd really got into their set, as did I. Such a great day!
A week later, I got to see Dragonlord play once again, along with my other friends in Necrite. This was a REALLY good lineup, as it included Decreation, although I wasn't into the other bands that played as much. But these three made the trip worth it! Both bands always put on a helluva show and I am never disappointed, no matter how many times I have seen each band. It was quite packed in there as well, which made me really happy for the bands. It's good to see people coming out to support local shows still, especially when the kids make a point to attend the shows, too. Maybe the scene isn't quite as dire as I think it is.
The day after Thanksgiving I got to again witness Generation Swine, a local Motley Crue cover band fronted by Rob from Children of Umlaut. They got the place rockin' almost right off the bat. They had the crowd dancing and singing along and I tried doing so as much as my being sick would allow. Up next was Modern Day Cowboy, a local Tesla tribute band. Now I have never seen a Tesla tribute band, but I must say, they DEFINITELY do the band justice! I thoroughly enjoyed their set as well and it's always nice to see the songs performed, especially when Tesla doesn't come around and play too often. The King's Head Pub in Campbell hosts local bands quite often and I am really happy to see that there is a place like this literally 2 minutes down the street from my house!
Barely two days later I got a chance to witness the mighty Cannibal Corpse playing at Slim's in San Francisco. Up until this year, I hadn't seen them for a while and now I suddenly got to see them twice within four months! I love it when that happens. :) They command the stage in such a way that people there feel required to give them respect. It's good to see them still bringing in droves of fans, even after being in the scene for so long. I had interviewed Paul in July and wanted to add a second part to the interview, so I got to speak with Alex this time around. The interview, together, will be posted in my next update. It was also nice to see Dying Fetus again, as it had been quite a few years since I saw them last. It's really strange when you get used to seeing a band more than once a year and then they fall off the tour circuit for a few. It makes me appreciate them even more. And I was ever-so-excited to finally get a chance to see Necrophagist!!! I have been dying to see this band for a long time. Yes, I know they came here in May, but I was unable to go since I already had a trip planned to go to Minnesota. These guys are incredibly nice and were a bit surprised that they actually had a girl fan in San Francisco! hahaha Their set was blisteringly technical, which made for a great amount of nods and smiles from the crowd. Talk about being spot-on on stage!
My last bit of update bands goes in quite a different musical direction... I got to see LA Guns with Tracii Guns on guitar play with Bulletboys and the Bay Area's own American Heartbreak and Antidote. Now I literally forced myself to this show as I had a massive migraine, but I REFUSED to miss this lineup. Lucky for me I was that determined because that is one of the best shows I have seen in 2006!!! I missed all of Diamond Lane's set (man was I pissed) and the beginning of Antidote due to the lack of parking in the downtown area, but from what I did get to see of Antidote, they really do know how to put on a show. Complete with the big hair, ripped jeans (yum) and glam makeup, they are fully aware of how a stage show should be presented when playing this genre of music. Up next were Bay Area favourites, American Heartbreak. I have seen them quite a few times before and they always put on a rockin' show and this night was no exception. It is really nice to see someone from Jetboy still going with a great "new" band. After that, I was VERY happy to see Bulletboys, as they had not been to the Bay Area in nearly six years. I am a huge fan and fucking hell, they blew me away this time!!! Albeit their set was a bit shorter than it was supposed to be due to bad weather and them barely making the show. Not to worry though, you'd never have known it from the intensity of their set and their determination to put on a kick-ass set. They played a few of their well-known tunes but then also played a couple of covers and improvised, which to me really showed how talented they are. I was literally floored. And to wrap it all up, LA Guns played an hour set of an incredible set with vocalist Paul Black. Damned, does that guy ever have a voice!!! If you weren't dancing around and singing along to their set, then something must be wrong with you. I have seen most of the incarnations of LA Guns and this might very well have been my favourite show of theirs. They apologized profusely at the long wait for the bands and the abbreviated set times, but I don't think anyone really minded... we were all just happy they all even made an effort to make the show, especially with all the horrendous weather they had to go through! Kudos to both bands for being so loyal to their fans.
Now onto a few new additions to my website...
i have updated the events calendar with more concerts - if anyone knows of shows not listed, please email me! I have also done a MASSIVE update to my music collection on here. I've added a LOT of CD titles to the CD collection, which is somewhere around 5,000 CDs. I still have quite a bit more to add, but I'm guessing this is about 80% of them now. Someday I will actually get to add my cassettes and LPs as well, but with such a large amount of stuff, you can be sure it takes time to do all of this. I guess there's one good thing about being sick - I couldn't go anywhere or do a helluva lot, so I sat and added to my CD list. :) I also added two new sections to
my music collection. One is my BAND TSHIRT/SWEATSHIRT/GIRLIES section. A few different times, there have been posted threads about "what band tshirts do you own" and so I had put this together when I was sick. I still have a LOT more to add, but this is a good chunk of what I own. I also added my MUSIC DVD/MPG list. I listed official band
DVDs, some bootlegs and many single band MPEG videos or live concerts that I own. Hope all of you like these lists and remember it's still a work in progress.
My Symphony of the Damned section here on the right is a spotlight on the
top things I have been listening to. It in no way represents all the stuff I get
to hear, so here I will list some random stuff I have been playing as of late:
1. Pink Cream 69 - Endangered Species
2. Dead or Alive - Mad, Bad and Dangerous To Know
3. Enslaved - Ruun
4. Enslaved - Blodhemn
5. Destruction - Release From Agony
6. Kreator - Coma of Souls
7. T-r - Eric the Red
8. Saigon Kick - s/t
9. Social Distortion - White Light White Heat White Trash
10. Encino Man - Soundtrack
11. Korpiklaani - Tales Along This Road
12. Diabolical - A Thousand Deaths
13. Vader - The Art of War
14. Moonspell - Memorial
15. Soul Asylum - The Silver Lining
16. Gotthard - Dial Hard
17. Hypocrisy - Virus
18. Decapitated - Winds of Creation
19. Duran Duran - Greatest Hits
20. Moonsorrow - Veris-keet
21. Mezarkabul - Unspooken
22. Sentenced - Crimson
23. Into Eternity - Buried in Oblivion
24. Angel Dust - Bleed
25. Masquerade - Surface of Pain
26. Testament - The New Order
27. Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
28. Twilight - Eye for an Eye
29. Pathos - Katharsis
30. Eternal Gray - Kindless
I will be doing a lot with my setlist collection on my next update as well as adding interviews from Cannibal Corpse, Unearth, Wolf, Amon Amarth and more. Also coming up is a new addition to my update, in which a playlist will be included. Now, I already have the Symphony of the Damned section to the right which is a form of my Now Playing, but those are just the top 10 things I have been listening to. In all actuality, I have a TON more things I hear in a month as I am constantly playing music, and I would love to show those bands as well. I will also be adding a new "ALBUM COVERS" section soon, in which I will be hosting jpgs of various album covers for various bands. I am in a lot of egroups and whatnot where people ask "does anyone have the album artwork for so-and-so?". I figured maybe it would be a good idea to have one site with a lot of this hosted on there, so why not mine? Once I launch this section, I will ask if any of you have artwork to contribute and will set up an email address specifically for that. I will also post my best of 2006 list. Also upcoming will be photos from three different concerts with Dark Funeral, Enslaved and Abigail Williams, as well as two different shows of Destruction and Into Eternity, as well as photos of Hirax, Sadistic Intent, Dragonlord and Decreation from January and much more. And the show goes on...
