Yep, the crusties will love this! Hombre Malo kick off proceedings off and, to be honest, they do take a while to hit their stride. Once they do though, they just click and you're right in there with them, tearing shit up. The first three tracks are essentially punked-up stoners while closing track "Burial ground for a past life" showcases the Oslo-based sludgers at their finest. The punky stuff might sound cool and all, but when Hombre Malo hit mid-pace before slowing to a drawn-out, doomed halt, it's as pummelling as a bag of pool balls to the cranium. More of this in the future will level cities.
I take it Spain's Desert Icons have listened to a fair bit of Thin Lizzy in the past. The bits on here that do sound like a metalized Lizzy are the downers here. They just lift and brighten the atmosphere a bit too much in something that has the potential to be dark and nasty... in an outstandingly metal way. Out of three songs, opening track "The search" is Alchemist meets Thin Lizzy and the second song, "Animal rage" is Immortal meets Thin Lizzy. And the Lizzy bits are everywhere in both. Closing track "Time for the storm" is the best of the bunch here by miles and it's killer. And there's no Thin Lizzy in it at all! It showcases a band with an identity of their own who sound so fluid when they just run with it rather than trying to show people that they can play like Thin Lizzy. NB. I think this is the most I've ever written Thin Lizzy in my life. - John Norby
OMG! Immortal's first brand new video in 15 years (!!!) is now posted for streaming at their website: http://www.immortalofficial.com/ASF/asf.html
As easy as it would be to poke fun, it's important to remember that Immortal pretty much invented all of the ridiculous BM stereotypes that seem so goofy now. Yes, they were goofy 15 years ago too, but it was also new and kind of exotic back then and besides, no one rocks out harder on the side of a glacier than Immortal.
Bloody helvete! We all knew that Norwegian punk-laden thrashers Waklevören had it in them to create an absolute killer of an album, but until "De dødes arkiv" hit the streets, we had no idea just how much of a napalm blast it would create. This, their third release, is their best and most varied yet. It's got the hardcore, fuck-everything attitude they're known for, but it's so strong now that it just oozes from the speakers, leaving no doubt that this is truly genuine metal played with absolute passion.
You could maybe class Waklevören as the quintessential anti-supergroup. Comprising members of Red Harvest, Immortal, Aura Noir, Fuck You All and Infernö, they have every right to demand respect but, the fact is, they really don't give a damn. It's obvious in this, their heaviest record so far, that it has been a case of "Let's drink a shitload of beers and jam out some brutal hardcore thrash. If they like it, fair enough. If they don't, who cares!?" There's not much point in trying to single out highpoints on here as there's not a dull moment to be had. And the fact is, that if you're into the kind of filthy vehemence spewed by the likes of countrymen Obliteration or Sweden's crustcore kings Skitsystem, you'll absolutely adore this. It might be a bold statement, but I'd even go so far as to say that this is possibly the best album released that falls under that crusty, punky thrash umbrella. If ever there was an essential album within a particular genre, this is it. Having reviewed hundreds of albums over the years, I must also point out that this is the first I've ever given full marks to. Why? Just buy the fucking thing and find out! - John Norby
The nominees for the 2009 Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammy) have been announced:
Female Artist: Ane Brun - Live At Stockholm Concert Hall (, ) Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From A Stone () Julie Dahle Aagård - Stompin' Feet () Noora Noor - Soul Deep ()
Male Artist: Alexander Rybak - Fairytales () Martin Hagfors - Men and flies () Sivert Höyem - Moon Landing () Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio (//)
Pop Group: Datarock - Red (/) Donkeyboy - Caught In A Life () Kings Of Convenience - Declaration Of Dependence (/) Kråkesølv - Trådnøsting () Montée - Isle Of Now ()
Electronica: Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - 2 (/) Mungolian Jetset - We Gave It All Away (/) Röyksopp - Junior (/) Vinter In Hollywood - Outbreak (/)
Rock: DumDum Boys - Tidsmaskin (/) Heroes & Zeros - Simian Vices Modern Devices (//) John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt () Motorpsycho - Child Of The Future () Skambankt - Hardt Regn ()
Metal: Code - Resplendent Grotesque () Immortal - All Shall Fall () The Cumshots - A Life Less Necessary () Årabrot - The Brother Seed ()
Hip-hop: Chris Lee - Love Ghost (/) Lars Vaular - D'e Glede () Tommy Tee - Studio Time ()
Jazz: Håvard Stubø Quartet - Way Up () Kim Johannesen/Svein Magnus Furu/Tore Sandbakken - Kayak () Nils-Petter Molvær - Hamada (/) Solveig Slettahjell - Tarpan Seasons (/) Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned ()
Open Class: Crimetime Orchestra - Atomic Symphony () Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like The Day (/) Knut Reiersrud - Gitar (/) Mari Boine - Sterna Paradisea (/) When - Homage Series Vol.1: Sun Ra ()
Lyrics: Anne Grete Preus - Nesten Alene () Kjartan Kristiansen/Aslak Dørum - DumDum Boys; Tidsmaskin () Stein Torleif Bjella - Heidersmenn () Sverre Knudsen - La Det Brenne () Tønes - Sobihob ()
Best Newcomer: Alexander Rybak Donkeyboy John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen Kråkesølv Vilde Frang
The new album from a reunited Immortal is better than you might have guessed, but that doesn't mean it's all that great either. Essentially, the band picks up right where they left off at 2002's "Sons of northern darkness" and tread water, content to cycle through the same sort of thrashy black-metal riffs they employed to positive effect on that album and not much more. Die-hards will be pleased, everyone else will shrug their shoulders. Me, I really enjoyed them when I saw them on the "Living Cartoons of Metal Tour" together with Manowar, so I'd probably go see them again should they come around, but I can't say ever need to hear this record another time. - Avi Roig
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU, a special pre-Halloween edition:
01. TALK 1
02. Switchblade - 1815
03. TALK 2
04. Abandon - In reality suffer
05. Raison d'Etre - Metamorphyses phase III
06. TALK 3
07. Notre Dame - Le theatre du vampire
08. Mercyful Fate - Desecration of souls
09. Cortex - Warrior night
10. TALK 4
11. Immortal - All shall fail
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
01. Sivert Høyem - Moon Landing
02. Jonas Fjeld feat Henning Kvitnes - Den Gamle Veien
03. The Blacksheeps - Blacksheeps
04. Asbjørn Ribe - Ornand Vet Hvordan
05. Minor Majority - Either Way I Think You Know
06. Kings Of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence
07. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2009
08. Solveig Slettahjell - Tarpan Seasons
09. John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt
10. Anne Nørdsti - Livet er nå
11. Mari Boine - Sterna Paradisea
12. Thomas Dybdahl - En Samling
13. Tommy Tee - Studio Time
14. OnklP & Jaa9 - Sellout!
15. Immortal - All Shall Fall
16. Steinar Engelbrektson Band - Minna Som Eg Har
17. The Cumshots - A Life Less Necessar
18. Adjagas - Mànu Ràvdnji
19. A-ha - Foot Of The Mountain
20. Paperboys - Oslo Agreement
Hombre Malo/Desert Icons
Waklevören
Immortal
