re: 2 weeks and events

A bit late unfortunately given 4 shows that have already passed, but things have been pretty damn busy of late (including a one day visit to the hospital , details for the hardcore :P )

A big thanks to the folk at disagreement for reviewing every single one of the shows in more detail here:

http://www.disagreement.net/


If we go back almost 2 weeks, the 11th of March was the date of Cult of Luna playing at the kulturfabrik, to my knowledge they've never played here. Some 150 people showed up for the night, accompanied by destruction INC. and Dysby two french bands.

I was still wondering how these bands got picked for the package considering how different they were to the headliners, think King's X style trio for Destruction Inc. and a bit more proggy metal for Dysby, quality bands still, but strange given how pummeling Cult of Luna are.

We went from bright lights for the first two bands, to 3 smoke machines and a very dark atmosphere for Cult of Luna, who played a little over 1hr15minutes i think, unfortunately their second drummer wasn't with them, but it was still an awesome show, hopefully see them again soon.

Friday the 13th bore witness to the locals Everwaiting Serenade and their much anticipated CD release, they even managed to get on RTL radio that afternoon which was awesome to listen to. Miles to Perdition (MTP) opened the show, and for me was probably their best show of the last month or so (including metal battle), intent was there and had people moving early, it has to be said that the new drummer has made them a better and tighter band, Mutiny on the bounty followed, which in my opinion sounded a bit weird given the kind of atmosphere that MTP set , and what people were expecting for the evening, but they played a great set just some vocal troubles i think that didn't help too much, but was great to see them play again after so long,

i expect their CD release in june to be absolutely mental =0

Fast Friday took the stage thereafter with some big news that they were splitting up, not many people saw that coming, and being backstage i can tell you was weird, as always a solid set, but lacking a bit of energy which was understandable given the circumstances.

Headliners Everwaiting Serenade didn't disapoint, the 6 months in the studio i think has taught them a lot, and despite hardly any shows in that time, I think they played an almost flawless set, I've had the pleasure of following them closely since Wacken last year, helping them out for their record so I was proud to see them put on such an impressive show at the Kufa.


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the next week followed with another 2 big metal/hardcore based shows


18th of march had the mighty Ocean, Burst , Bison BC , Medeia and locals Retrace my fragments playing

I had yet to see The Ocean play live so was looking forward to the show, and particularly Bison BC and Burst, it's days like those that you really are thankful that you work at such a place,

Retrace my Fragments opened the evening, i was quite impressed having never seen them before, technical proggy death metal stuff, with a bit more experience/gigs i see them doing a lot better, most people know them for their lineup instability but hopefully this one lasts. Medeia have one of the fastest downpicking guitarists i've ever seen, and if you watch their music vids you know they have a great sense of humour as well. Bison BC were the insider pick for me purely for the good vibes and shameless rock n roll riffage, simple to the point sometimes mastodon like.

The ocean had a calculated set, sonically very impressive, for some people just how calculated things were was somewhat offputting (laptop controlling the rack systems/lights, stage moves and that) , but i found it very enjoyable, very heavy and reminded me somehow to a lesser extent of a dillinger set, (the swiss guitarist had a lot of energy shall we say =0. Burst finished off the evening, very modest guys and a great set, probably one of the most interesting bands i've seen this year in terms of identity in their music and very nice people.


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I'm sorry this post is so long, but I've been a bit slack =0 , I won't say much for Metal Battle other than I think that Scarred really deserved to win, the best delivered set out of all the bands, technically flawless pretty much , great sound and even though i'm not always a fan of the more modern influences they are just a great band. i honestely hope they go far at Wacken, chances are pretty good for them in my opinion.

i'll try and update a bit more consistently =0


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some music to tide you over:


http://www.myspace.com/hauntedshores

3 shows in a week - the aftermath

So I finally got to taste what it feels like to have 3 shows within 5 days, tiring as hell but definately worth it =0

Between the 19th of February and 24th of February we had 3 very different shows

Benabar (french song) , Black Dahlia Murder & others (furious tech black metal hardcore mix) and finally My Vitriol (shoegaze+grunge).

Benabar was a sold out show, pretty much without any real promotion at all, within weeks of it being announced on our site and the official website it was sold out.

One of France's biggest sellings artists currentely, it was very interesting for me to see him play for the first time. While not really what i listen to mainly. I was quite impressed by his stage presence and charisma, you can really relate to the guy and his songs/lyrics. One of the best parts was a photo montage they did on stage with lights and a cd running, which they redid because they screwed up the first time =0 had a lot of people laughing including myself, and talk about stamina Benabar was on stage for a total of 2hours 20 minutes or so, truly epic and I think a lot of people were happy thereafter. This was also the first soldout show i've ever seen at Kufa (800 or so people is close but no cigar ;) awesome to see.

Three days afterward, we were in a completely different musical territory, to give you some idea:



6 bands on a sunday, some of the best concerts I've seen so far this year, MTP's new drummer is a very good addition, their new songs are sounding quite good as well, a short set but had the 100 or so people already there moving early,
I wish to make a particular note for Sylosis who absolutely kicked my ass on the night, think 80s thrash metal influences with modern metalcore elements, groovy and very punchy , very impressed, hopefully have them playing back here soon.
Cephalic Carnage had perhaps one of the highlights of the night when they did a 'black metal' moment, dressing up and playing some really dark jam, and Black Dahlia closed off the night with perhaps one of the tightest sets ever, new guitarist from Arsis, and a new album on the way, definately looking forward to that.

It had to finish quickly due to the plane they had to catch at 7am, but you could tell people really wanted to hear more after BDM finished their set.

and finally My Vitriol 2 days thereafter, a band that had one of the best albums of the 2000s 'finelines' , supported placebo back in the day where a few people might have seen them/remembered, but made a break for 4-5 years before returning with new material and a new album on the way. Think very loud big soundscapes with melody and a great voice, and above all incredibly nice guys,

March is going to be another busy month, with 2 concerts a week

11.3 Cult of Luna
13.3 Everwaiting serenade release party

18.3 The Ocean / Burst / Bison BC / Medeia / Retrace my Fragments
21.3 Metal Battle

27.3 Tomte
28.3 Intensity Band Contest


More updates soon =0 , as always come join us on facebook, feel free to leave me comments or send me suggestions i'm always looking to hear new stuff