Långfinger kicked off the night and they went straight ahead full throttle. The sound was not coming very well in the first couple of minutes, but it got much better as they were playing more and they band played like there is no tomorrow giving it all! The focus of the setlist was their fantastic latest album ‘Pendulum’ which I wanted so much to listen played live, as I consider it a great album. Kalle, Victor and Jesper is not just another a power trio. They are the REAL thing when playing live, having so much energy and keeping contact with the people making everyone part of their show. Guitars, drums, bass and vocals altogether with high intensity and committed to play a great gig. With their Rush influences, the band left nobody unsatisfied, to the contrary, everybody was pleased with the band’s performance and we all just wished the band could play a longer time with a playlist of more songs.

The next band, The Cruel Intentions, is one I did not know beforehand and had to check their songs and music before the gig, doing my homework. They played really well and loud, with their heavy guitars, melodies and unique vocals, the band presented a noteworthy result at the end. Having influences from Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crüe and a lot of bands from the second part of the 80s glam rock scene, the band delivered what was promised to their core fans who were many at Slaktkyrkan that night. The vocals is a mixture of Alexi Laiho (Childern of Bodom) and Dregen (Backyard Babies) but in a unique way, the spirits of the fans were high all through the gig. Well done guys!

The headliners of the night, Eclipse, started their gig with a mix of samples of songs from different bands (ACDC, Megadeth, Scorpions, and others) as a backdrop, just before they hit the stage with their first track for the night ‘Apocalypse Blues’, which was just released a while ago and is actually a big success. Victor, who played with Långfinger, has joined Eclipse and his brother Philip (what an awesome and special drummer he is!) for some years now and it seems like he has been with the band for ever. Erik is a magnificent performer live, that of course is not news, but every time I see him on stage, he firmly confirms my opinion, as he is such a good singer, both on the more heavy songs but also on the melodic ones, for example, on the ballad ‘Battlegrounds’ where he and Magnus played the acoustic version, simply a brilliant performance! Magnus is a guitar god to me. Simply said that. He can do crazy things with the guitar on leads, solos, rhythm, it is just s great to see him performing live and giving it all every time! He is definitely one of my guitarists out there. By far. Setlist-wise, I believe this has been one of the most rich and fulfilling one for the band, having almost zero complains by the people what to play, etc. My only personal comment would be that I would like them to play ‘Bite for Bullet’ which is a personal favorite for me from the Eclipse catalogue. Other than that, even the hard core fans of the band should be happy. The ending was glorious with ‘Viva la Victoria’, the band has played a fantastic show, with so much energy, good vibes on the crowd and an all star setlist offered to the audience. Could not have asked for a better Saturday night actually!

Cheers till the next time!

Eclipse

The Cruel Intentions

Långfinger

Το άρθρο Eclipse, The Cruel Intentions and Långfinger – Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm Sweden – 23 03 2024 εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

‘The Serpent’s here’ has come as no surprise. Wiberg’s second full length LP is a musical journey, a long jam session which travels the listener away. Drummer Tor Sjödén (Viagra Boys) and along with Kungens Män’s Mikael Tuominen constitute a fine and hard-working group who have created such a wonderful piece of musical art. First of all, ‘The Serpent is here’ is another convincing example of, not only Per playing an(y) instrument but his vocal performance is such noteworthy as well. This man can do anything – anywhere – anyhow and at the highest quality standards! The album has so many influences, elements, and references to different music genres. You get the feeling that any track could be a soundtrack of a movie, all tracks are so well crafted and meticulously placed. There are tracks, such as ‘He just disappeared’, where Per spells out a fantastic vocal performance as it could come from a film narrative, playing with moods, atmospheres, and different emotions, leading to a dramatic pathway. The keyboard work which is put all over the album is magnificent. ‘Follow the Unknown’ has incorporated beautiful guitar leads and serves as a fine moment within the album, climaxing the album and its dramatic substance. Simply brilliant! The outro of the album, as a bonus track, is the cover to Warrior Soul’s ‘The losers’, back from 1990, comes as not the track you were expecting Per to record and include on his album. However, it is beautifully done and epitomizes the overall palette of the album, stipulating as well the fact of how unique and convincing as an artist Per truly is.

♦ 8/10

Per Wiberg’s website
Per Wiberg on Facebook
Per Wiberg on Instagram
Despotz Records AB

Το άρθρο PER WIBERG – ‘THE SERPENT’S HERE’ (2024, DESPOTZ RECORDS AB) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

There are of course punk rock impacts (e.g.: ‘Radio Edit’) as well, which contribute to its more diverse and bigger spectrum of influences, however the prominent idea of ‘When the colors fade’ is the 90s post-grunge, alternative era. Even stoner rock is projected as well (e.g.: Spellbound’ and ‘Buried in Stone’), which means that these guys definitely love the 90s! And that is not bad thing at all! To the contrary..
The album closes with the s/t song, a power ballad, a mellow and melancholic ending, which sets the tone and marks the overall character of this album and the band I must say. This closing song gives a lot of credit to Spacedrifter for the fact that they can so successfully mingle all these different elements of the post-grunge era with beautiful vocals and guitars.

As album highlights, should I choose any songs, I would select ‘Thousand Days’, ‘Buried in Stone’, ‘Through the Desert’ and the s/t one.

I hope to see you guys soon on the road! Keep up the good work!

8/10

by Antonis Mantzavinos

Spacedrifter website and Bandcamp
Spacedrifter on Facebook and Instagram

Το άρθρο SPACEDRIFTER – “WHERE THE COLORS FADE” (2024) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

Interview by Antonis Mantzavinos

———————————————————————————————————————————

Hello Kalle and thank you for being available for this interview. I hope you are doing well! First, I would like to start with the new album: I am interested to know more about the album title ‘Pendulum’. How did that come up and whose idea was it?


Hello, my pleasure! The title was something that Victor came up with. I think it was something that could describe our music well. Like a swinging pendulum, in constant move. You never really know where it goes and still you know.

Could you please tell us a bit about the writing and recording process of the album?

Long story short. Before the pandemic we had plans to record in early 2020 but since the world was locked down, we took a natural break. Instead of recording, like most bands did, we just rested. And I think that was clever, because we found the spark again. 
We recorded in late 2021, did some overdubs and mixed in 2022, prepared and did all the boring work in 2023. Regarding the writing process, we just recorded the songs we had planned to record in 2020 and some new songs was added along the way and some was discarded. The recording process itself was very fast. We booked a week in the studio and did the basic tracks. And recorded vocals and overdubs when we had the time.

Långfinger is for me personally, a band which incorporates so many elements on its albums, all albums are so diverse, open minded and ‘rich’ in regard to the structure of the songs themselves, the inspirations flowing on the albums, etc. What is the musical approach of you as a band member but also from the group perspective as well?



I don’t think we have a specific approach more than that we try not to have too many rules when it comes to making music. For example, I listened to Motorpsycho a lot when I wrote songs for the Pendulum album and off course I wrote a song in the vein of Motorpsycho. Because, why not? If you don’t have any specific rules it gets a bit more exciting. I don’t say that Im gonna write a Morbid Angel song and demand it to be on a Långfinger album, it has to be realistic and in the limits of what the band can do. If I wanna write a Motorpsycho song, no one’s gonna stop me!
The Motorpsycho song did not end up on this album, but it has been refinished and will be given another shot when we record the next one!

Everyone in the band is busy either with work, family or other band obligations. How easy or difficult it is for you guys to get together, rehearse, record and dedicate time for Långfinger?



Get to together and have a beer: Super easy! Rehearse and write new stuff: not as easy. Even though we are just a three piece band, its pretty hard to find time. Victor has much obligations with Eclipse and I have a few other musical projects such as Toad Venom Wolves in Haze and Thick. Jesper works night shifts sometimes and weekends sometimes. So we have to prepare more these days, know exactly what to rehearse etc etc. I do most of the song writing alone so its not like when we were kids and could hang out and jam in the rehearsal space for hours.

‘Pendulum’, like all previous albums of the band, is a record where there is a lot of attention paid to the details, of every note, every riff and generally is a really well made and conceived record. How important is for you this balance, between the free-flowing jamming or creation of ideas with the meticulous approach when recording a Långfinger album?

Except for the first album, we have recorded everything we have done live, and that is the recipe for us. Just us three in a room, trying out the tunes. We have a form for all songs but you never know when the jam feeling kicks in. I don’t mean that the song turns into a pure jam but just so you get a sense of a free floating vibe.

How many years you have known Jesper and Victor? And how did Långfinger start back in the days? Tell us a bit about the formation of the band its course throughout the years.

Many years. Jesper was 15 and victor was 13 when we first met each other. 
We played in different band at the time and after a few years we started Långfinger just as a side project really. All of us had other bands and in the beginning we just jammed and played Kyuss covers. But after a while we realized we had something good goin’ on. We wrote some originals and had a few great shows the first two years.

How did you start playing music since you were a kid and who were your big influences?


I picked up the drums and the guitar at the age of nine. 
First I wanted to be a drummer but that seat was already taken when my first band was formed. 
Music has always been around me during my childhood so it was like the most natural thing to start playing music. 
My first major influence in music was Beatles, and first guitar influence must have been 
AC/DC. I convinced my parents to take me to AC/DC concert when I was 11. It was my first big rock show. And not long after that I found Deep Purple and from there it went.

Two of my favorite tracks of ‘Pendulum’ is the ‘Orbiter’ and ‘Team Building’, which are the heavy ones. I absolutely love on these the heavy riffs, the inspired solos and the whole rhythm section which all make the song very heavy. What is the biggest challenge for you, when you write new music?

Thx! Orbiter is one of my favorites as well. The biggest challenge is to come up with something that good that the other guys gets excited about it. I usually writes many songs and not all of them gets through the final filter and ends up on an album. 
And also you don’t want to write the same song again, and still you want it to sound like Långfinger. But when we did this album we knew we were gonna do a harder album than before.

What are your next plans with the band, in regard to playing gigs, etc.?

We have a bunch of shows booked for the spring, including a short trip to Spain. 
And hopefully we gonna do a bunch of shows in the fall and winter as well. 
And parallel with that we’re gonna record a new album that hopefully gonna come out in the fall of 2025. So not eight years between the albums again! Haha

Thank you very much for this interview, I hope to meet you soon in person in one of the upcoming gigs, for sure in Stockholm late March!

Thx mate! See you in Sthlm!

RELATED LINKS:

‘Pendulum’
Långfinger on Facebook
Långfinger on Instagram
Welfare Sounds & Records website
Långfinger’s Bandcamp
Album review of ‘Pendulum’

Το άρθρο Kalle Lilja from Långfinger is interviewed by Myth of Rock εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

Check out below the band’s official mini-documentary:

The Hellacopters on Facebook

The Hellacopters on Instagram

Το άρθρο The Hellacopters ‘Grande Rock Revisited’ out today! εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

Statement from the band’s Facebook page:

‘Ladies and gentlemen – we proudly present “Wheel Of Illusion” – the first single from our upcoming album “Wheel Of Illusion” out 29.3.24.

Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/cULljc-2Jfk

Pre-orders now available at: https://thequill.lnk.to/WheelofIllusion

(Bundles to come shortly)

Hope you all enjoy!‘

Listen now at Spotify
Watch the video on YouTube
The Quill on Instagram

Το άρθρο The Quill – New single Out today! ‘Wheel of Illusion’ εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

‘Pendulum’ is a fantastic album.

Of course, I did not expect something less from a band like Långfinger who take things so much seriously when it comes to creating new music. This quality lies on their DNA. It is fundamental.

Pendulum.
Equilibrium.
Gravity.
Balance.

No, if you’re looking for a physics course or an engineering curriculum, this is definitely not the place for you and I am the absolute last person to talk about such technical terms. However, ‘Pendulum’ has managed to bring out all the qualities of this Swedish power trio in such a fine, dynamic and graceful way. Every aspect of this album has been so well crafted, so creatively placed. From beautiful leads and solos which travel your mind far away but keep you focused to the very essence of each song. A rhythm section with a robust and solid production making the sound so compact and ‘determined’. Vocals which are convincingly fine, especially when it gets more electric and the tension rises. Brilliant!

Långfinger has always been a band far away from strict labels, never attached to necessarily something in particular, but embracing a broader range of inspirations, music colors and bringing forward their widened perspective about music. What must be noted about ‘Pendulum’ is the extraordinary and meticulous work on the guitars. Kalle’s performance is beyond inspiration, using different effects and ways to beautifully enrich every single second within the songs and pave the way for such a great result. The album has a lot of progressive rock hints but spans as well from classic rock to the outskirts of heavy metal, having very heavy moments, adding to its diversity and multi-dimensional spectrum.  The band has immensely grown up its status, it has matured and has realized its potential. On the other hand, ‘Pendulum’ perfectly embodies their music journey, their continuous will to explore the -not so ‘unknown’ to them- yet undiscovered territories.

My favorite highlights of ‘Pendulum’ are: “Cycles”, “Towering”, “Orbiter” and “Skuggornas hov”, a magical ending to this brilliant album.

Pendulum means Balance.
With Balance comes Evolution.

9/10

Långfinger’s website
Långfinger’s Instagram
Långfinger’s Facebook
Welfare Sounds & Records website

Το άρθρο Långfinger – “Pendulum” (2024, Welfare Sounds & Records) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.

The Quill is a band with more than 30 years of career, actually the celebrated their 30 years anniversary in May 2022, in their hometown with an emotional and powerful gig. It is also a band dedicated and committed to their roots, something which characterize their new album as well. Beautiful hard rock melodies with memorable and inspired riffs, a rhythm section from two of the best out there on bass and drums and one of my favorite singers who really performs fantastic on this one. ‘Wheel of Illusion’ can easily direct you to Black Sabbath’s ‘Wheels of Confusion’ and sure has Birmingham’s finest as a main influence, both on vocals and also on the riffs and the overall structure of the majority of the songs (e.g.: ‘Sweet Mass Confusion’). Speaking about structure, this is a very well-structured album from the beginning to the end, which showcases the great work achieved by the band.

Something I am also really fond of the Quill (not only on this album but throughout their career) is the oriental feeling and tone on their guitars, their intros to the songs and the magnificent arrangement of all instruments (e.g.: ‘Hawks and Hounds’), something that brings out a bit of Led Zeppelin with of course the psychedelic and vintage element omnipresent. Simply in a brilliant way! ‘Liber’ takes on the groove and Magnus Ekwall shines on the vocals, while the rest of the band actually define the status of the whole record: awesome! ‘The Last Thing’ is another classic of the band, where the feeling and the sound of drums especially is very organic and warm, adding to the unique charm of the album in particular and the band in general. ‘Wild Mustang’, an almost 8 mins song, slows down the pace, in a doomier and heavier atmosphere, but with references to psychedelia again, mellow leads and solos, a groovy passage and of course gloomy lyrics (“This is a good day to die”), highlighting the melancholic ending of the album. An album which is definitely a highlight of their long career and reminds us how great this band really is.

Have no illusions: this album is a fantastic music journey, crafted by one of Sweden’s finest bands and it will be definitely loved by

8/10

Antonis Mantzavinos

Το άρθρο The Quill “Wheel of Illusion” (Metalville – 2024) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Myth Of Rock.