Slift

This was a journey into sound if there ever was one!

The combination of a very clean, naked and static presence on stage with that amazing backdrop kept the entire crowd mesmerized for the entire show.

That is in my opinion a sheer proof of talent and capability, to be able to maintain intrest in such a diverse crowd that i found myself in.

Sandwiched between a dude wearing a suicidal hoodie and a guy in a behemoth battlewest we were all three just as transfixed by this journey thru time, space and pretty much anything your imagination can think of.

It is trippy af!

For some reason i come to think about Genesis during their Peter Gabriel era, must be the jamsession feeling that they very effortlessly delivered.

Nuff said, in my book if there was such a thing as a best in show award in music, my vote would go to SLIFT, because of the experience as a whole.

And i am very much looking forward to june 5th when their Fantasia album is released. Many more good things to come i’m sure!

Slow crush

There is always a first for everything,

First day at a new job, first kiss, first day at colossal, and a first time seeing Slow Crush.

And of course them beeing the very first set of the evening, so how did they end up

Quite well actually!

Isa is a very skilled front….. person , in a genre that is often accused of being boring and almost melodramatic, she manages very well to create motion and interest throughout the entire show.

Joining the crowd at the very end of their set no less.

Standing there i come to think that i could very well picture them beeing on the first Crow soundtrack, the og Crow movie, not one of the bad sequels.

But in that 90’s essence they deliver a sound and energy that just suits the darkness and energy from that movie.

A weird comparison i know, but if you get it, you know!!

So would i see them again?

I dont see myself going far out of my way to see them, but wouldn’t heaitate if they came to my neck of the woods.

Svalbard

Great things about great bands are that when you get hooked , it leaves a feeling of witnessing something ……. Well great.

The way that they blend their diffrent approach and personal influences are truly amazing. I personally really love the crusty bits, but even though a proper blastbeat always grips your attention, the combination of said blastbeat intermingling with an almost harrowing and mournful sound and feeling is a very special treat and experience. When it first hits you it definetely grips your attention, and then manage to maitain it to the very end of their set.

There are few genres left when it comes to describing what Svalbard really is, crust, punk, shades of black metal, hardcore and so on and so on.

Cant fully understand why we need to put a label on everything, when something sounds great, thats great enough. Svalbard sound just like they sound, and i would definitely go the extra mile to see them again.

Alas , they did announce that they where splitting up, so that extra mile might be just a mile to far.

Nevertheless it was an awesome show, impending break ups and sickness didn’t hinder or slow them down.

Glad to have seen them and would incourage everybody that if you get the chance to see them on their very last tour, don’t hesistate!

Blackwater Holylight

Oh shit what a pleasant surprise Blackwater Holylight was!! I had heard them before but was literally blown away by their opening wall of awesomness, they do really know how to pack a punch!

They begin to build up an atmosphere that you easily can settle into, then it slowly starts to expand and grow just a litle bit at a time. Bit by bit getting bigger and bigger.

Because they sound big indeed, a crushing pounding beat that gets to you right there all the way deep inside , flanked by smooth almost angelic childlike innocent vocals that creates maybe a textbook example of how this genre is suppsosed to sound.

It is almost like a rollercoster where you at one moment sit calm and easy and suddenly the world dissapears beneth your feet and you find yourself in a totally different place. And that is in my mind the true meaning of music, that feeling of traveling and being swept and carried away.

So what is it that makes them special?

The fact that they are girls, young?

For me its just the fact that they are really really good, and seem to be loving what they do. And judging by the crowd in the front, its not just me who was blown away by them.

Hope to see and hear much more of them in the future.

Truck fighters

When swedish Truck Fighter come up on stage i think to myself, ”oh they’re having a bad day!”. Then I realize it’s me having, not a bad day, but a bad moment.

After a string of magnificent bands, all very similar in their approach to creating and setting a vibe and atmosphere, TF almost explodes in your face with their more playful approach. So i think i was caught in a mindset where i couldn't see and grasp how truly great TF actually are, but about two songs in I just surrendered to the fact that they kick…

They managed to shift the energy in the crowd from a almost collective oceanlike swaying to an individual ” i’m a goona dance my dance ” feeling. I think it was a stroke of genius from the festival to put them on the big stage between Blackwater holylight and Cult of luna, because it gave a necessery vitamin injection if you will.

Much needed, much appreciated, not only by me but the whole crowd it seemed.

Cult of luna

The headliners of the evening, arguably perhaps the whole festival according to some, Cult of luna makes a spectacular entrance. The smoke, the relentless attack of dual drumkits, the...?

The whole, its cult of luna!!

I’ve seen them before, and it strikes me how good they are at creating that feeling and anticipation that can only be described as a Cult of Luna vibe. You know what’s coming next, or at least you think you know, because you can say much about cult of luna but never use the word boring or predictable.

They’ll come right at you, striking like a rattlesnake and can keep holding you in their grip for as long as you can endure.

Because listening to, or experiencing them live requires a little effort on your part.

Not in a bad way, more beacuse of the amount of emotions they evoke. You need to let them in.

Because they do not deny that life is though, unfair or frightening. But they can also reassure you, comfort you and let you know that you’re not alone. I find Cult of Luna almost therapeutial, and they are very nice to have around when things get tough.

And that is as magic as music can come, and proof of how skilled these guys are at what they do. And talking about skills, they are sooo good live!! Its amazing, its a pure joy to see them, to some in the crowd it almost borders on pure exctasy.

Perhaps the personal feeling that all is good and well in my small world, was highlighted by their set, but i left with a good fuzzy feeling and a smile that went from ear to ear.