Rockefeller:
Paradise Lost - Keep Of Kalessin - Swallow The Sun - Vreid - Dew-Scented

John Dee:
Vicious Art - Root - Pantheon I - Krypt - Taetre

Two nights without noteworthy sleep left me knocked out. More or less. At least I decided to push back my sight seeing activities in favor of an after-breakfast/after-lunch sleep. What didn’t work any better as at night. Hostels are too lovely, I tell ya… It worked better with some coffee on the way to the Rockefeller club ;) But luckily all the other ones didn’t look much better… hehehe.

:: pics ::

Swedish noise terrorists :: TAETRE :: were perfect and the nice ones to get me fully awake, delivering melodic Death/Thrash Metal. But… Did I get it right? They did not release any record since 2002? W(hy)TF? Anyway, TAETRE had lotsa fun, fans as well. Means, the guys went down pretty well. Not only musically. When axe-man Danyael got his toughened upper part of the body naked, girls started cheering ;)

Stepping up :: DEW-SCENTED :: somehow got the short end of the stick. Opening at the Rockefeller the hall kept clearly arranged. Thrash Metal wasn’t the hippest thing today. Never mind! DEW-SCENTED didn’t look too disappointed and delivered once again a high-energy show. The few fans being there honored the band’s enthusiasm and dedication spending money on merchandise ;)
Setlist: Intro, Bitter Conflict, Turn To Ash, Into The Arms Of Misery, Cities Of The Dead, Never To Return, Locked In Motion, Final Warning

Right after a not sooo spontaneous but much improvised persiflage on (m)Alice in Wonderland followed at Anneks Room. The MAD Circus Puppets is an international performing group of only girls staging short performances at concerts and festivals. The girls looked pretty cute. And because the girls were not really versed in English language they spread a manuscript afterwards. Really cute!

And we go on with the next promotion show for a certain pyro company… *lol* :: VREID :: let it burn again. Disadvantage: photographers were allowed to enter the photopit for only one song. VREID kicked of with an intro from the movie Das Boot with many WWII sceneries running on the huge screen behind, while they played songs from their new album Milorg. Very oppressive, I tell you. Sometime later a girl appeared playing a violin and looking really virtuous between the evil Black’n’Rollers ;), but added a very special note to the songs. Gooseflesh!

A short side trip down to the John Dee where :: PANTHEON I :: already mesmerized the audience. Again really atmospheric Black Metal. Although… the real highlight was the gorgeous violoncellist Julianne, who was pushed in the last and darkest corner due to the little stage. Methinks PANTHEON I played a brand new song?
Setlist: Intro, The Wanderer And His Shadow, Cyanide Storm, Transgression, Bannlyst, Enter The Pantheon, Where Angels Burn

And, after just two month of teetotalism I finally could enjoy :: SWALLOW THE SUN :: again. Ok, it was a usual short festival show. The guys looked tired and drained. They again opened with the gooseflesh causing Twin Peaks intro only playing classics. It was a nice show, but couldn’t top the one in Helsinki.

Now it was time for an occult cult :: ROOT :: the legendary band from the Czech Republic left the smoke behind, giving presence to their bodies. It’s said that a lot of especially Norwegian Black Metal bands adore ROOT. Though, this band is still deepest underground, selling records you can count with your fingers. But this band is indeed magical. Once experienced the Big Boss on stage you won’t forget anymore, neither visually nor musically. This old man is the perfect personification of a warlock, this kind of you can scare kids to death with. A warlock of black magic, you know, conjuring all the evil and the bad on this world. Intriguing!

Just to mention, the photopit at John Dee was just as broad as my butt. Once squeezed into it, with around 30 other photographers, you stood were you stood, no millimeter move possible, unless you spun around yourself. Most intimate pit I have experienced ;) At Rockefeller the pit was bigger, but there have been much more photographers with a few very ruthless pixel hunters…

My last show for tonight was the one of :: KEEP OF KALESSIN :: Who of course used everything available regarding pyros ;) Well, perfectly suits the music, doesn’t it? This band for sure played an experienced show, knew how to stage themselves but also took care of the photographers, walking the stage and posing for everybody, since the photographers once again couldn’t move because the pit was overcrowded. Same goes for the other members. Kolossus is a mighty record and played live the songs even gain momentum, dynamics and energy. An awesome show! Really!

Paradise Lost and Vicious Art I left aside in favor to the much cheaper last tram. Paradise Lost I have several times last year and every show was boring, showing a band that didn’t like to be on tour, to play every night and pleasing their audience. And as I got told, the tonight’s show wasn’t any better. So, nothing special missed.

Another little story I definitely wanna tell you: At the Anneks Room there was a little Pizza stall. After having bought a sliced piece I was asked by the very young (foreign and probably much religious Muslim) guy what all these tuned crosses of different kind mean, almost everybody was “wearing”. I tried to explain, telling something about anti-Christianity and stuff he did not understand. So I blurted out saying that these people love Satan, what let his face reflecting sheer horror. Keep this story in mind till I tell you about Koldbrann next day ;)