IN FLAMES, CARNAL

The Swedish deluge

IN FLAMES, undoubtedly, have played a vital role in the history of metal. These guys hailing from Gothenburg are considered to be the pioneers of melodic death metal – the genre which have as many fans as opponents among metalheads. Despite the growing popularity of this kind of playing and the whole range of the cheap imitators of the Gothenburg sound being, unfortunately, a plague in the metal scene these days, IN FLAMES still play music which is quite unique, fresh and outstanding. What is more, the Swedes usually give really good and powerful concerts so the one they were to play in Poland attracted attention of many fans and was sell-out a week before. This fact was easily noticeable in the club, where the sweat was literally pouring from the ceiling because of the stuffiness and the lack of space. More...

AMON AMARTH, OBITUARY, LEGION OF THE DAMNED, KEEP OF KALESSIN

Full Of Hate Festival

This name sounds even today very known and proud… Yeah, the idea of reactivation the festival, uniting yet 15 years ago with the help of famous (and today unfortunately dead) Metallysee Agency the bands conquering effectively the European countries is back and can to see, that the work of Austrians from Rock The Nation is more and more appreciated by the maniacs of metal all over the Europe. As we have regular so called Metalfest at winter days, now it’s the time for something others and this time Full Of Hate Festival is reborn again – the spring tour with the line-up not worse than the hordes playing in December. Additionally, taking into consideration the circumstances and realities shaping the European outlet, can just to admit, that the commercial success of this undertaking was guaranteed already by the start of that: AMON AMARTH, OBITUARY, LEGION OF THE DAMNED, KEEP OF KALESSIN – all of those bands, having a solid support among the European maniacs could only to make the venues full of people. In the capital situated between of Spree and Havel rivers, the admirers of hordes mentioned above honoured with their presence the hall of Postbahnhof in the number about 1000 persons. More...

SOULFLY, OVER KILL, EXODUS, INCITE & supports

Metalmania Fest 2009

For more than 20 years Polish metal fans know that the beginning of spring is also a time to prepare to celebrate another edition of the biggest metal festival in that Eastern European country. METALMANIA is the key-word here. during many years of fest's history maniacs banged their heads and raised their horns for such a legends like: JUDAS PRIEST, MEGADETH, RUNNING WILD, KREATOR, HELLOWEEN, SEPULTURA, TESTAMENT, CRADLE OF FILTH, NAPALM DEATH, CANDLEMASS, MORBID ANGEL, SAXON, IMMORTAL,DEATH, CARCASS, THERION, PARADISE LOST and many, many more. In last few years this heavy and extreme music marathon usually started early in the morning and ended up long after midnight. The battlefield were two stages placed in Spodek in Katowice. And the festival became much more popular among maniacs from countries like: Czech, Sloavakia, Ukraine and Lithuania. More...

KREATOR, CALIBAN, ELUVEITIE, EMERGENCY GATE

Long live old school!

I love these kinds of concerts. I like the bands, that recording their albums and playing their shows sounding still perfectly and uncompromising. That’s why I visited at the beginning of this month the walls of Berliner Huxley’s to watch in action the legend of German thrash metal, the same like the neverending legend of metal on the world. It’s unbelievable, that are the bands like this one – KREATOR. Four men from Essen, inhaling the industrial smells of Ruhr basin and blowing with the coal dust of their noses outside… The most important is of course the form of these guys, that stays in spite of those all circumstances still unshaken, letting them to live in the iron health and write the stuff for the new albums like the last work “Hordes Of Chaos”. Everyone, who came those evening the same like me to the venue, wanting to convince oneself about the reality of this state, wasn’t probably disappointed, all the more because the number of thrashing admirers amounted in culminant moment about 500-600 people. More...

SHINING, KOLDBRANN, SARKOM

A touch of Scandinavian darkness

Two days before the end of shortest month in the year every fan of mysterious and dark sounds could to visit the Berliner K 17 to watch in action three black metal hordes: SHINING, KOLDBRANN and SARKOM. The alliance of Swedish and Norwegian forces began already the European crusade, spreading across the continent blasphemy and sickness of the highest quality. In the German capital, being the second station of this tour, the maniacs hungry for the true feast of dark sounds filled the inside of venue as a crowd counting about 200 persons. More...

CHILDREN OF BODOM, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DIABLO

Three faces of extreme

Although the last day of January stays in Germany as a date generally uniting itself very badly, for all maniacs of heavy sounds it was probably without meaning in due of event awaited by them probably since a few weeks. Three bands of world metal league, presenting the different shades of this art began in this day the European tour, treating their fans by the doses of extreme with the sign of highest quality. Only just the names of participants were the embodiment of slogan “something nice for everyone”: CHILDREN OF BODOM, CANNIBAL CORPSE, DIABLO. Two first of them have the solid base of fans in Germany not since today, so nothing strange, that yet a few hours before the show, the groups of fans started to gather itself in front of venue situated in Berliner quarter named Neukölln awaiting the facing with their idols, according of their own tastes, although the common sympathy for the extreme very effectively obliterates in these kind of cases the whole divisions. More...

MISERY INDEX, HATE ETERNAL, AEON, SYNT

Bloody meeting after five years

The circumstances of those concert were a little bit curious and sometimes I am wondering myself or is really nothing repeatable on this world… The 14th of January is maybe a neither of special days remembering about the historical events, but in my private chronicle this date has since the January of this year a special meaning in due of a one death metal band playing a show on the stage of known Berliner K 17 club. The name that I mean here is HATE ETERNAL, cause the Americans played in the same venue perfectly… 5 years ago. The 14th of January 2004 the crew of Erik Rutan visited Berlin as the headliner of tour with DYING FETUS and DEEDS OF FLESH and the same day of 2009 they appeared in these walls with the company of MISERY INDEX and AEON. What should we think about it? Is it coincidental or maybe rather strange? Eh, whatever would it be, the impressions of those evening were a pleasant kind of memories, not forgetting of course about those fresh, reasoned by the observing a few high-quality death metal bands in their powerful condition. More...

MORBID ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, MARDUK, KEEP OF KALESSIN, ARSIS

Winter hell came to the harbour city

This morning I woke up very early. At 8.00 AM I was sitting already in a very comfortable bus, which had to take me somewhere far away from German capital city. Where? To the north – west of Berlin, where the another big city of Germany lies and at once the one of the biggest European harbours: Hamburg. Very big, wonderful and impressing – only with these three words I could to describe the city where I arrived the same day afternoon, walking down the streets, visiting the town hall, much of shops and the Christmas fairs. I would find probably more of curiosities that I could to have a watch for a longer visit, but my time was unfortunately strictly limited. More...

MORBID ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, MARDUK, KEEP OF KALESSIN, ARSIS

The gods came back

December 16, 2008. Tuesday. Nasty weather, sorrow and nostalgia. I turned up in Stodola just few minutes before 7 p.m. and there it is – the first surprise – everything goes according to a plan, full professionalism… I lucked into the last minutes of ARSIS on stage. A good melodic sound, they play mathematically.. I don’t know their music but I should look over their discography. More...

DISFEAR, DOOMRIDERS, MALIGNANT TUMOR

Live the storm

If that gig had taken place a year before, I probably wouldn't have paid any attention to it. Honestly, I hadn't been mad keen on the style of music called D-beat but... it changed instantly when I heard DISFEAR. To tell the truth, the main reason I took interest in this band was the fact that that Tomas Lindberg and Uffe Cederlund are in the line-up (if you don't know who these guys are, go home and do your homework immediately!). I rose to the bait and I don't regret. When, in January 2008, their album “Live The Storm” fell into my hands I fell in love with it at once. Music played by this Swedish quintet is a well-balanced combination of hardcore-punk rawness and aggression, rock and roll flair and some catchy melodies. A very energetic mix, right? So great was my excitement when I read the news that these guys were going to play in my country. More...