Thoughts from a metal mind: Refaster, the DragonForce album tsunami

About a week ago, I came across an article about DragonForce, claiming that they would release a new record. Not just any record, a remastered and remixed version of "The Power Within", officially called "Re-powered Within". 5 seconds later, the face palm was inserted. Seriously, why is this necessary?

I normally do not have a problem with bands doing remasters of their old albums. It is often pointless, but if the band feels like they need update their music, maybe get a new generation of metal fans to experience it, I am not gonna be one who say it is wrong. Most of the remasters are of really old albums, celebrating some sort of anniversary, so it at least has a reason to get an upgrade.

Holy crap, what an upgrade!

This however, does not have a single valid reason to be "upgraded". "The Power Within" is a perfectly fine record, not without flaws, but none of those flaws lays in the production. I actually listened to the album again to understand if there were something I was missing (I even compared it to the two studio albums that was released after it), but there was nothing wrong with the thing. It is a standard DragonForce record that was the start of their journey with singer Marc Hudson. I just cannot understand why anyone would feel the need to remaster this six year old album.

This is what guitarist Herman Li said in the press release

The result is a clearer, more powerful sound. The fans will get to hear the music in better detail, bringing out parts they couldn't hear so well before, and injecting new excitement into the songs we love even more now.

Okay, so do these songs really need more excitement and more power? This is DragonForce we are talking about after all, not some... slow ass doom metal band.

If they just had to remaster an album, I was kind of hoping for it to be any of the first couple of albums, but then I found out that they already did that... IN 2010!!! Both "Valley of The Damned" and "Sonic Firestorm" was remastered when they were seven and six years old, which I kind of understand since they were more low budget, but still, have some fucking patience please. Even Metallica knows that a remaster should not be made under ten years after release. Everyone knows that the production of "...And Justice For All" is utter crap, but Metallica has restrained themselves (or simply did not have the time, either way) and waited 30 years to actually do one (will be released later this year, finally).

But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because I am now convinced that the band (or possibly their management) is trying to cram out every single penny from their fans. With the release of this remaster, DragonForce will now have released a new album in five straight years. Yes, FIVE STRAIGHT YEARS! Besides the two studio efforts ("Maximum Overload" in 2014 and "Reaching Into Infinity" in 2017), we have the live album "In The Line of Fire... Larger Than Live" in 2015 and the compilation album "Killer Elite: The Hits, The Highs, The Vids" in 2016.

I also looked at the comment section of the article I came across, and just as I expected, about 99% of the commenters questioned this release, so this is definitely not something the fans has been asking for either. As said, this is completely unnecessary fluff that should be (and probably will be) completely ignored.

This is complete exposure suffocation from the band, it is an album tsunami that hopefully is reaching its end phase. Now, obviously it is quite easy to just ignore some of these releases, but it is worrying to see a band like this focusing on projects like this.  Just focus on creating new music, and perfecting your live performance guys, that is all we ask you to do, do not overcomplicate things. Do not make me loose faith on you DragonForce, I like you and your unique, over the top power metal style, and I want to keep doing that for a long time. So do not disappoint me, stop your addiction now, and take a year off, you deserve it.

Thoughts from a metal mind: My record collection (and why I still buy records)

Thanks to lack of inspiration and time of writing reviews of new album, I feel like it is time for me to talk about something that a lot of us metal heads have very near and dear to our hearts, our record collections. While collecting records might not be one of the hottest things to do in 2017, with Spotify and other various music services on the so called Internet, it is still an important thing in my opinion, mostly because it is a direct testament to that you are supporting a band and their music.

No matter how big or small your collection is, or if you collect LPs or CDs, it still feels incredibly good to actually own a piece of musical history forever. With a service like Spotify, there is no certainty that an album will be there for all time, it might be taken off because of various reasons. Sure, a physical copy might break down after some use, but there is nothing like the feeling of buying a new album, opening it up, taking a look at the booklet, and putting the CD into your player, letting it blast out of your speakers. There is just a certain charm to it.

Now, I know this is becoming less and less of a factor in today's world, we rarely see any record stores out in the streets anymore, and we only have a select few websites that sells new albums too. It is a shame, because it is the foundation of becoming a band, to create music and distribute it to the masses. Obviously, technology must go forward, so it is not a change I am fully oppose to, but I think that theold ways still should have a spot even in the future, because it is way more impressive to have tons of CDs filling up your wall than seeing a Spotify playlist that contains over 5000 songs.

So how often do I buy records? Not too often, but that is mostly because I do not have the capital to go shop until I drop. I buy a pack of records (about 5 or more) every 3 months or so, and most of them are actually older records that are a little cheaper, and I only pre-order records if one of my all time favourites are coming up with something new. Whenever I get my own place and a little more space, I might buy more frequently.

Ultimately, I see CDs as the great Stan Lee sees comic books.
"They are like boobs. Watching is fine and all, but it is a much better feeling when you get to touch."

So let us look at my collection, which is currently 181 albums in size (and yes, I will update this post whenever I get new albums).

Alter Bridge:
Fortress

Alter Bridge is probably my favourite hard rock band out there right now, and "Fortress" is by far my favourite record from them, so it was no surprise that I would go after it first.

Amaranthe:
S/T
Nexus

Got these two very cheaply, and while no masterpieces, they still have some good fun moments.

Amberian Dawn:
River of Tuoni
Clouds of Northland Thunder

Old Amberian Dawn is best Amberian Dawn.

Amon Amarth:
Versus The World
With Oden On Our Side
Twilight of The Thundergod
Surtur Rising
Deceiver of The Gods
Jomsviking

One of the bands where I am going to get their full discography sooner or later, just a matter of time.

Anthrax:
Worship Music
For All Kings

I have Anthrax's last two records, but not "Among The Living" or "Spreading The Disease"? I must be a disgrace of a metal head.

At The Gates:
Slaughter of The Soul

An all time classic, a must have in any record collection.

Avenged Sevenfold:
City of Evil
S/T
Nightmare

Definitely the three best albums from the band so far, and I might get the rest soon enough (hesitating about "Hail To The King" though)

Between The Buried And Me:
Colors
The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (EP)
The Parallax II: Future Sequence
Coma Ecliptic
Automata I

Not too easy to get a hold of their older albums for a decent price, but I will get them. Also, one of two real EPs that I own.

Black Sabbath:
S/T
Paranoid
Master of Reality
Heaven And Hell
13

I really should have more Black Sabbath in my collection, but it will come soon enough.

Blind Guardian:
Nightfall In Middle Earth
Beyond The Red Mirror

"Nightfall..." is not available on Spotify, so that was a must buy for me. Got "Beyond..." for a really good price not too far from its release.

Bruce Dickinson
Balls To Picasso

An impulse buy that paid off big time, an excellent and underrated solo record from the multi talented
Bruce.

Bullet For My Valentine:
Scream Aim Fire

Only bought it for the title track and "Waking The Demon". Man, this band was so good back in the days.

Cain's Offering:
Stormcrow

One of my favourite records from 2015

Cans:
Beyond The Gates

The only solo record so far from the HammerFall singer, and it is pretty good, although not too spectacular.

Children of Bodom:
Something Wild
Follow The Reaper
Hate Crew Deathroll
Are You Dead Yet?
Blooddrunk

Why do I own this many CoB albums? I actually do not know, got them for good prices in the right time I guess.

Devin Townsend:
Ocean Machine: Biomech
Infinity
Physicist
Terria
Ziltoid The Omniscient

If Devin albums were easier to get, I would have all of them already (well, maybe not "Devlab" and "The Hummer")

Devin Townsend Project:
Deconstruction
Epicloud
Z²
Transcendence

I really should get the remaining albums here, I am such a Devin fanboy that it is close to ridiculous.

Dio:
Holy Diver
The Last In Line
Dream Evil

Two classics and one other really good record, but I aim to get more from the man with the voice.

Disturbed:
The Sickness
Ten Thousand Fists
Indestructible
Asylum

Disturbed are rarely spectacular, but they have a consistency that is nice, so any album is worth buying for a nice price.

Dream Theater:
When Dream And Day Unite
Images And Words
Awake
A Change of Seasons (EP)
Falling Into Infinity
Metropolis Part 2: Scenes From A Memory
Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Train of Thought
Octavarium
Systematic Chaos
Black Clouds & Silver Linings
A Dramatic Turn of Events
S/T
The Astonishing

No surprise here, I own the whole discography (+ an EP).

Ghost:
Opus Eponymous
Infestisumam
Meliora

I am a member of the band wagon, so I obviously have all of the records here too.

Gojira:
L'enfant Sauvage
Magma

I really need to get more into Gojira, they are so god damned talented.

Guns N' Roses:
Appetite For Destruction
Use Your Illusion I
Use Your Illusion II

Only really need to own "Appetite...", but I got the other two records almost for free, so why the hell not.

Haken:
Affinity

Could not be without one of my favourite albums of 2016.

Halcyon Way:
Building The Towers

This is one of my underrated favourites, both when it comes to band and album.

HammerFall:
Glory To The Brave
Legacy of Kings
Renegade
Crimson Thunder
Chapter V: Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken
Threshold
No Sacrifice, No Victory
Infected
(r)Evolution
Built To Last

My first metal love, so I obviously have all of the records from them

Helloween:
Keeper of The Seven Keys Pt. 1
Straight Out of Hell

I am so ashamed that I own the first part of "Keeper..." but not the second.

Holy Grail:
Ride The Void
Times of Pride And Peril

One of my favourite bands from the new millenium, need to get "Crisis In Utopia" soon to complete the trilogy.

In Flames:
Whoracle
Clayman
Soundtrack To Your Escape
Come Clarity
A Sense of Purpose
Sounds of A Playground Fading
Battles

I am gonna get so much shit for this, aren't I?

Iron Maiden:
S/T
Killers
The Number of The Beast
Piece of Mind
Powerslave
Caught Somewhere In Time
Seventh Son of A Seventh Son
No Prayer For The Dying
Fear of The Dark
The X Factor
Virtual XI
Brave New World
Dance of Death
A Matter of Life And Death
The Final Frontier
The Book of Souls

Full discography here, no real commentary needed.

Judas Priest:
Sad Wings of Destiny
Sin After Sin
Stained Class
Killing Machine
British Steel
Point of Entry
Screaming For Vengeance
Defenders of The Faith
Turbo
Ram It Down
Painkiller
Angel of Retribution
Redeemer of Souls
Firepower

Got a lot of albums here, but need a lot more.

Kotipelto:
Waiting For The Dawn

Another impulse buy, pretty decent record by the Stratovarius singer

Linkin Park:
Hybrid Theory
Meteora

I grew up with the band, so I just had to get these two records.

Mastodon:
Blood Mountain
Crack The Skye
The Hunter
Once More 'Round The Sun
Emperor of Sand

Working my way backwards in this discography, might get the upcoming EP as well, depending on how good it is.

Megadeth:
Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
Rust In Peace
Dystopia

Why do I only own 3 Megadeth albums? I should really own more

Metallica:
Kill 'em All
Ride The Lightning
Master of Puppets
...And Justice For All
The Black Album
Death Magnetic
Hardwired... To Self-Destruct

Do I really need to own the remaining albums?

Moonspell:
Extinct

Another personal favourite from the last couple of years, got it for a really nice price.

Motörhead:
Ace of Spades
Orgasmatron
The Wörld Is Yours

Seriously, why do I only have THREE Motörhead records, and one of them is not "Overkill" or "Iron Fist"?

Mustasch:
Above All
Latest Version of The Truth
Sounds Like Hell, Looks Like Heaven

I love front man Ralf Gyllenhammar and his fun hard rock band.

Opeth:
Deliverance
Blackwater Park
Ghost Reveries
Pale Communion

Just started their discography review series, so it might give me reasons to get more albums from them.

Overkill:
The Years of Decay
Ironbound
The Electric Age

Love me some good old Overkill

Ozzy Osbourne:
Bark At The Moon
Black Rain

I really like Ozzy's solo stuff, but I do not feel any hurry to get them right away.

Pain:
Nothing Remains The Same

Yeah, it is the album that has "Shut Your Mouth".

Pain of Salvation:
In The Passing Light of Day

So far, clearly my favourite record of 2017.

Psychostick:
We couldn't Think of A Title
The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride (EP)
Sandwich
Space Vampires Vs. Zombie Dinosaurs In 3D
IV: Revenge of The Vengeance

I freaking love these idiots

Rainbow:
Rising

Classic.

Raubtier:
Från Norrland Till Helvetets Port

Sweden's answer to Rammstein, great power in these guys

Rush:
Moving Pictures

May not be metal, but they are still damn good.

Scar Symmetry:
Holographic Universe

Great album in a lot of ways, had to have it.

Slayer:
Reign In Blood
South of Heaven
Seasons In The Abyss

Three classics that all of you should own.

Soilwork:
The Living Infinite
The Ride Majestic

This second golden age of Soilwork is mighty fine.

Stormhold:
Battle of The Royal Halls

Band from my neighbourhood! Go listen to them if you are into classic power/heavy metal.

Strapping Young Lad:
Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing
City
The New Black

Just like with the solo stuff from the Dev, if the remaining albums were any easier to get, I would already have them.

Sunburst:
Fragments of Creation

My favourite newcomer last year.

Symphony X:
V: The New Mythology Suite

Got this one really cheaply, but I really need to get more from this band.

System of A Down:
Toxicity
Hypnotize
Mesmerize

Three modern classics, gotta own them.

Testament:
The Ritual

Yet another band I need to own more albums of.

The Devin Townsend Band:
Accelerated Evolution

Will get "Synchestra" some time to complete the duo.

Tool:
Lateralus

With a box cover so psychadelic, you need to own this one.

Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force:
Odyssey

I think everyone should own at least one record from the man with the lightning fast fingers.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to stay metal
Robert "Sharkruisher" Andersson

Thoughts from a Metal Mind: The great snoozefest (Eurovision 2017)

There are several reasons to why I love the Eurovision Song Contest, and why I watch it every year, but the biggest reason is that we get to see artists and songs that we normally would never hear, cultures that clash in one of the biggest competitions in the world. The wacky shit that goes on is bad in one way, but extremely fascinating in another way. But then, there are some Eurovision years that are just one long road of boredom.

This year will be remembered as a year where the ballads took over, mostly thanks to the so called "winner effect", whatever wins the previous year, a lot of countries will try to replicate it. Last year Ukraine won with Jamala and her strong ballad. The end result? A competition the following year with TONS of ballads, each more boring and generic than the next.

Now the final was spared from a lot of these because they got eliminated in the semi finals, but somehow the most boring one of them all was not only a heavy favourite, IT ACTUALLY WON. Now, do not get me wrong, I love Salvador Sobral's personality, he is a nice dude, and I am happy for Portugal, the punching bag of the ESC, never even gotten a top 5 placement in almost 50 tries, but the song is sooooooooo boring. The message of it is good and all, but why does a song like this exist today? This is 2017, not 1917.

The thing that really baffles me though is that this is not the first time Portugal has entered with a song like this. The country has always sung in their native language, and the song has always been antique in one way or another, being at the very least 10 years too late, so what is it that makes "" so special, making it a favourite? It must be the artist, I literally got no other explanation.

Then again, this is a competition that some times makes no sense what so ever, so trying to over analyze why Portugal won is like figuring out why some people like pineapple on pizza and some don't, it all comes down to taste, and obviously, I was among the minority, because Portugal was number 1 among both the jury votes and viewer votes. I am sure of this though, we are not gonna remember this winner in the next five years, it is not gonna go down as one of the all time great winners. So once again, congratulations Portugal and Salvador Sobral, even though I did not root for you.

But there are other things we will remember from this year's show, like Romanian yodeling, a horse on top of a ladder, a Croatian dude doing a duet with himself, some dude from Montenegro in a very long pony tail dancing like a maniac alone on stage, and of course, the biggest star of them all, Verka Serduchka doing her thing.

Another thing we will surely remember are two spherical objects that surprised us with a visit. Some random dude just went up on stage during one of the middle acts, pulled down his pants, and showed his ass in front of 200 million viewers. Of course, it is a thing that should not happen, but it was so unexpected that it actually gave me a good laugh, especially after a mediocre show. Just glad that it did not happen during the actual contest, like one year when Jimmy Jump jumped in while Spain was performing. Remember that guy? Where did he go? My guess is jail.

What a (cl)ass act

Okay, enough ranting and talking about an ass, here comes my top 5 songs of this year's contest

1. Ukraine: O. Torvald - Time

It was the only rock song this year, what did you guys expect? Okay, so it is far from the best rock song Eurovision has presented us, and the big head in the middle is both awkward and scary, staring straight into your soul, but I really like this song, it got a nice chorus that sways really nicely, and I like the lyrics and the breakdown. So naturally, I rooted for it, even if I knew it would not stand a chance.

2. Hungary: Joci Pápai - Origo

I really do not exactly know why I liked "Origo" so much. Probably because it mixed a lot of different elements together seamlessly into one good song. We got oriental, some rapping, and the Hungarian language to add to it. All in all, a really nice tune that deserved a higher spot in the final.

3. Moldova: Sunstroke Project - Hey Mamma

The return of Epic Sax Guy! That is enough for me to love this entry, and thank god for that, because the song is a little corny, but the party feeling this band gives is just too intoxicating, especially around all of these god damn ballads. Do not think it is better than "Run Away", but "Hey Mamma" definitely makes me smile.

4. Italy:  Francesco Gabbani - Occidentali's Karma

This was the huge favourite, so it was a disappointment to see it end in 6th place. To be honest though, I saw it coming, because I did not get a winning feel from the song (although, I did not get that from ANY song this year). It is still a charming entry, and I love the gorilla and all that it stands for. Definitely something you would only see in ESC.

5. Norway: JOWST - Grab The Moment

I am not the biggest Norway lover out there, but I almost felt some kind of sympathy for them since they got bashed a lot for their entry this year. Yes, JOWST is kind of a discount Avicci Daft Punk mash up, but the song is pretty cool, got an own style, and was probably the most modern entry this year. Most certainly a song you can dig with a lot.

I should probably mention my thoughts on Sweden since I live there, so here goes... I hate it. I mean, I do not hate Robin Bengtsson and his song, but I hated the fact that he won our qualifiers, because there was at least 3 songs that were better. He is a nice singer and all, but he is no dancer, and all the little "tricks", like the nod, the buttoning of the suit, and that stupid oki doki sign, are just dumb. Oh well, a fifth place is actually pretty good though, so I won't complain too much.

So another Eurovision is over, and I hope that you liked my observation of it (even if I know at least 90% of you do not give a flying fuck about the show #Kappa), already looking forward to next year (even if I know we will get a lot of ballads... AGAIN #KappaAgain).

Stay Metal/Eurovision
Robert "Sharkruisher" Andersson

Thoughts from a metal mind: The regression of Linkin Park

As a guy who was born in the mid 90's , I grew up during the boom of the nu-metal scene, with bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, P.O.D, and several other bands more or less dominated the festivals and MTV (which at that time was still a music channel, and not the complete train wreck that it is today). But none of these acts could even match up to the fame and impact that Linkin Park reached. Their two first albums, "Hybrid Theory" and "Meteora", are still rooted firmly into my heart, displaying some of the fantastic music this otherwise odd sub genre could produce.

As time has gone by, the California group has progressively gone more towards being a pop act, leaving their heavy roots more and more for each subsequent release. Today, a lot of people do not even see this band as a metal act, and I can fully agree on that statement, because the band do not really see themselves as metal either, even if it was a big part of their sound in the past.

We are now less than a month away from the release of their seventh full length album "One More Light", and everything points towards that the band has thrown the little metal they had in them out of the window, and completed their metamorphosis to a pure pop band, and it sickens me to my stomach, but not in the way you might think.

You see, I think the band has done their sound evolution very delicately, taking small steps so that we do not get into a state of complete shock. Even if the later albums have been more pop oriented, I still find a lot to like about them, things that makes the band unique and interesting. Yes, albums like "Living Things" and "The Hunting Party" are not really that spectacular, but they still had some neat stuff in them. It still felt like the band was trying to achieve something, evolving their sound more and more.

So that Linkin Park is becoming more pop is not my main concern, it is instead how much soul they are losing that really bugs me out. The band has released three songs so far from the new album, and none of them are of redeeming quality. First we have "Battle Symphony", a pretty cool title which more or less gives you the expectation that we will hear something heavy and exciting. Instead, we get a very generic and boring pop ballad without any guitars, no Mike Shinoda rapping, and a band that is just playing way under their capacity. Just take singer Chester Bennington for example, a guy who have one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard is singing pop ballads. This is the same guy who sang his lungs out in "Given Up", and it hurts me to hear such a talent go to waste.

"Heavy" is not much better, because here we have a duet between Chester and Kiiara, and once again, it is generic as hell and very sleep inducing. The band has also said that "Heavy" is the core sound of "One More Light", which is frightening as hell to me, because I do not want to hear an entire album with this generic bullshit.

"Good Goodbye" is the latest song released, and it is slightly better, because here we finally get to hear Shinoda again, together with Pusha T and Stormzy. Unfortunately, the structure is extremely predictable and there is close to no momentum in the song at all. It just is not appealing at all.

After three awful songs, will it keep me from listening to "One More Light"? Probably not, because Linkin Park has been one of the most important bands in my life, they have been a good part about who I am today. I am sure that I will hate this album, the band is most likely putting out one of the most boring and generic albums ever created, and it is not because of the lack of guitars, it is just boring pop. I am also sure that a lot of fans will not like this album at all, my father (who is a big fan of the band himself) hates these songs too, and he is one of the most positive music lovers I have ever come across, so even he cannot see this in a positive perspective. Something has gone wrong here, and I truly hope that this is just a one time thing, because I do not want to lose this band to the wretched grasp of mainstream mediocrity, they are far better than that.

My thoughts on previous Linkin Park records

Hybrid Theory
What a debut record, and it was a revolutionizing album to metal in general. There are so many fantastic songs here that display a lot of variety, from the frightening "Papercut", the heavy "One Step Closer", and the epic "In The End", this album is simply brilliant

Meteora
A great sophomore effort that also contains a great batch of hits like "Somewhere I Belong", "Faint", "Breaking The Habit", and not least "Numb". It is not as consistent as its predecessor, but it is still a fantastic record that I still love today.

Minutes To Midnight
The first true step towards a more pop like sound, "Minutes To Midnight" contains a couple of boring songs, like the first single "What I've Done". It still has several great songs, like the crushing "Given Up" and the grand "No More Sorrow", but to me, it just does not have the consistency as the two first albums. Still good though.

A Thousand Suns
A really weird album that saw the band use a lot more electronic elements, and it is still today a very polarizing album in the band's discography. There is no Linkin Park album like this one, and it is one of my least favourites, with only "Wretches And Kings" being played time and time again.

Living Things
A slight return to form, even if it is a pretty inconsistent album in its entirety. It is definitely their heaviest album since the first two, and the band twists and turns with different structures, styles, and lengths. I like it, even if the only true stand out song here is the under 2 minute blaster "Victimized".

The Hunting Party
To be honest, I do not really remember all that much about this album, which should say a lot about it. "The Hunting Party" had some interesting bits, but is overall a mediocre album that is easily overshadowed by its brethren. I still respect it because the band keeps trying to do new things, but it is just not that memorable.

Thoughts from a metal mind: Don't screw this up Metallica

After a long wait, a long excruciating wait that honestly should not have been this long, we finally got some confirmation. Metallica IS releasing a new album this year.

There has been 8 freaking years since Metallica released "Death Magnetic". Remember 2008? It was the year when Usain Bolt got his big breakthrough, winning the 100m, 200m, and 4 X 100m dash at the olympics in Beijing, all in world record times. It was the year Barack Obama became President of The United States. The awesome movie "The Dark Knight" had its premiere. And in the music front, we metal heads got Amon Amarth's "Twilight of The Thundergod", Scar Symmetry's "Holographic Universe", Gojira's "The Way of All Flesh", and Opeth's "Watershed". Feeling old yet?

It has been a long road for Metallica to create "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct". During those 8 years, they have made a full length movie, starting up their own record label and music festival. They have toured a lot, including Antarctica. But the thing they have done the most is bragging. I cannot count the amount of interviews and articles where the guys have said "The chemistry in the band is at an all time high", "We got so many riffs and riff ideas for the new album", "We cannot wait to get in the studio", and my personal favourite, "We are really close to completing the album". So complete it then, don't sit around there and waste time, get in!

With that said, I am very relieved that they have finally stopped procrastinating and complete their 10th album ("Garage Inc." not included). However, I do have a fear that the album will suffer from the so called "Chinese Democracy syndrome". That is when an album takes so long to complete that the anticipation and the expectations for it grows to an unbelievable amount, making it close to impossible for it to meet them. Now, it may not have taken Metallica 15 years, but 8 years is still a long time.

Let us take a closer look at what the guys has presented us with.

The album cover

Well... what do you even say here?

Apparently, this looks like all of the guys have merged together into an incomprehensible mess, a little like that monster from the first Spy Kids movie (remember Spy Kids? That was the shit in the early 00's), only more colorful. Seriously, it is like they hired a guy, and then told him to use ALL of the tools in Photoshop. This is an insane cover, but fortunately, it is not the ugliest the band has put out (I am looking at you "Load").

The setlist

Disc one
1. Hardwired
2. Atlas, Rise!
3. Now That We're Dead
4. Moth Into Flame
5. Am I Savage?
6. Halo On Fire

Disc two
7. Confusion
8. Dream No More
9. ManUNkind
10. Here Comes Revenge
11. Murder One
12. Spit Out The Bone

Yep, this is not a miss print, Metallica is releasing a double album. 12 songs totaling up to a play time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. Jesus Christ dude! Vektor pushed their boundaries when they created their latest technical thrash album "Terminal Redux", which also over an hour long, but that at least had a purpose. When it comes to "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct", I just think that Metallica had too many ideas. Yes, 12 songs are not that many, but I can guarantee that most of those songs are gonna be really long, even longer than most of the songs in "Death Magnetic". It will all come down to execution to see if this works, but I have my doubts.

And for those of you who want even more, then congratulations, because if you buy the deluxe version of the album, you get the riff origins of... I don't even know what, those are not titles of previous songs. Maybe it is the names of the riffs? I am genuinely intrigued by this. Also, you may have noticed that "Lords of Summer" is missing here. That song is also in the deluxe version, kind of a bummer there, but it does sound like a B-song out of the "Death Magnetic" sessions, so I could not care less.

Also, what is with these titles? Some sound kind of cool I guess, but others are just stupid. "ManUNkind"? "Murder One"? "Am I Savage?" (a nod at the Diamond Head classic "Am I Evil?" perhaps)? You may had tons of ideas for riffs, but get your title game up guys.

The first single



"Hardwired" is the first song out of the album we get to hear, and it is surprising in a lot of parts. The length is just over 3 minutes (lengths the band has not even been close to since the early days), it is simple, it is old school thrash, and it sounds really good. I am not overly impressed by it yet, but it does get your thrash nerve going, which is always a positive sign.

However, I do feel like the production is kind of crappy, which is not unusual when it comes to Metallica. It is okay I guess, but the first thing I noticed was the incredibly loud drums, which almost drowned the guitars. Lars has, once again, had some of the saying in the production, and I can not think that anyone else but him turned up the drums to eleven. Well, at least they do not sound like the drums in "St. Anger"

Overall, it is a good song, but the riffs are far from impressive, and father time has not been too kind to James and his voice (he still sings great, but it just does not have the same power). A promising start

Conclusion

My hopes are that "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" will continue in the same spirit as "Death Magnetic", taking the old school thrash element and mixing it up with modern metal, delivering tons of awesome riffs. I personally loved "Death Magnetic", even if it did have some flaws, so this new album makes me excited.

However, knowing what the band has been through during these 8 years, I am not so sure that the album will become a future class. It is a given that it will not be a new "Ride The Lightning" or "Master of Puppets", but we can certainly agree on that they should have enough material to not make a new "St. Anger".

So in conclusion, "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" may look ugly as hell, but it has the opportunity to evolve and burst out as a beautiful thrashy butterfly. You got the chance of a life time to redeem yourselves for the long wait Metallica, do not fuck this up!

Thoughts from a metal mind: Eurovision Song Contest 2016

So another Eurovision Song Contest has ended, and let me say that this was a hell of a show this year. It had everything, taxi conversations, dancing robots, quirky rock, Justin Timberlake, and a naked guy from Belarus singing with wolves. and it all ended with one of the most exciting voting results that the competition has ever seen. just... WOW!

Sweden had a lot to live up to after delivering a great production in 2013 down in Malmö, but somehow, they delivered an even better show this year. First off, the stage is freaking awesome. It is huge, has depth, and is simply epic, so epic in fact that several entrants didn't use it to its true potential. Then we also have the hosts, Petra and Måns, who delivered a professional impression together with a lot of warm and bold comedy. and finally, we have the middle acts that usually are boring cultural shit, but this time, we had some awesome performances about the ongoing refugee crisis, and Terminator... I mean the ongoing evolution of machines. And for the final, we had god damn Justin Timberlake. N'sync original member FTW!

But ultimately, this contest would not be anything without the songs, and fortunately, we did not get a snoozefest like last year. It was a typical overall field, with a couple of face palms, and a bunch of interesting acts. I am sure that a lot of the songs this year will be remembered further into the future, especially the winner of course.

Because after being number two among both the jury groups and the voters, Ukraine ended up as the overall winner ahead of Australia and the biggest favourite Russia. While Ukraine was a top contender and was projected to end in the top 5, it was little to no one who believed that they would steal the win from their arch enemy Russia. Jamala's "1944" is an emotional song about the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in World War 2, a historical event that her grandmother was a part of, which of course made the song a lot more personal than it normally would be, and I think it is that personal connection that made her the winner.  The song itself is unique and epic, but her vocal style is weird and cool at the same time, which lifts it to another level.



I love that the song won, but personally, it was not one of my favourites, these following five were though.

My personal top 5

5. Russia: Sergey Lazarev - You Are The Only One

The stage show makes it so impressive, it did really get exciting.



4. Georgia: Nika Kocharov And Young Georgian Lolitaz - Midnight Gold

So glad that these quirky rockers made it to the final, so worthy.



3. Iceland: Greta Salóme - Hear Them Calling

Cool song, even if they stole the shadowy creatures from The Haunted



2. Australia: Dami Im - The Sound of Silence

The sound of silence has never been better, making my hair rise



1. Cyprus: Minus One - Alter Ego

Despite the "Somebody Told Me" rip off, it is a great rock song, best one in over 5 years



and bottom 3

3. San Marino: Serhat - I Didn't Know

I am sorry dude, but you are about 30 years too late with this song



2. Belarus: IVAN - Help You Fly

Song is cool, but the artist... seriously... what... the... actual... fuck



1. Montenegro: Highway - The Real Thing

If this is the real deal for them, I do not want to know what is fake



You may have noticed that I did not put my own country on my top 5, and the reason for that is simple. I find Sweden's entry this year to be boring. Frans is a charming fella, but "If I Were Sorry" is a sleeping pill, a bleak Jason Mraz copy (and Jason Mraz is bleak from the get go). In fact, I did not have this song in my top 5 of our qualifier. I was surprised that it even came in the top 5, but I am still glad he did, because he is a young cool dude that just takes life as it comes. Good job Frans, you did not disappoint us.



So next year we will see the competition in Kiev (or any other Ukraine city), and I will surely hold my thumbs that we steal back the crown next year.

Stay metal!
Robert "Sharkruisher" Andersson

Thoughts from a metal mind: Guns N' Roses reunion

So it was finally confirmed, after months of rumors and speculations, it was finally confirmed that Axl Rose, Saul "Slash" Hudson and Duff McKagan would reunite to once again form Guns N' Roses. A huge happening that should make me extremely excited, drowning in my own saliva. But yet, here I am, shrugging my shoulders.

Sure, I am happy that Slash and Axl have made peace with each other, but it feels like the guys are doing just fine on their own (even if the current GnR is in pieces). Besides, this feels more like a scream for money than a friendly get together. If you do not believe me, just look at the numbers.

Ever since Slash left Guns N' Roses, the band has lost an extreme amount of fans and credibility, much thanks to Axl's crazy persona of late appearances and bandannas. And if that was not enough, the much awaited "Chinese Democracy" was one of the biggest let downs of the century, not worth the 15 year wait. It just is not Guns N' Roses without the man in the top hat.

The band is confirmed to do two shows at the Coachella festival in California, and they are currently negotiating to do a full US tour, in which every show will give the band 3 million dollars. Who would turn down that offer? I would certainly make up with my worst enemy if someone dangled that many green pieces of paper at my face.

There is still no word whether Steven Adler or Izzy Stradlin will be joined for these shows, but I believe it would be the only right thing. If you are going to do a reunion, do it with the full cast.

The biggest question now however is what songs will be played on the shows. The classics, like "Welcome To The Jungle", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Civil War" are a no-brainer, but at least I am hoping that the fans get spoiled with the band playing "Appetite For Destruction" in its entirety. It is one of the best rock albums ever made, and is the sole reason to why the band got so big at all. I also hope that the band stay away from "Chinese Democracy" all together.

Finally, I hope that Axl gets his act together and delivers a couple of performances that are reminiscent of the good old days, in which he was skinny and roaring. I do not expect him to loose all those muscles he got over the years, but his voice must get back to its glory days. As it is now, it just suck.

No matter how the shows go, I am still praying to god that this is only a temporary reunion, but knowing how the reunions of System of A Down and At The Gates went, it will almost certainly lead to a trip to Europe (maybe even Japan and South America), then another, and another, and before we know it, they are together in the studio, cooking up a new album. If this even happens, I am sure everything will end in tears, Slash and Axl starts fighting again, and we will end up at square 1 again. I hope that the guys has enough common sense to realize this too, and that this tour will be the last for the band.

Thoughts from a metal mind: Why you should never do a cover album

Covers is one of the most useless things that exists in the music universe. Bands and artists may say that they cover a certain song because this band inspired them to become who they are today, or because they think they can make it better. I call bs on that. As I see it, cover tracks are just an excuse to fill out empty space in a record when you are completely out of ideas. And it does not get better when you decide to make a full album of covers. Several huge artists, like Metallica, Children of Bodom, and HammerFall, have released a cover album, probably just to make extra cash. How can someone be this stupid?

The thing that bothers me with covers is that unless you transform the song from one genre to a completely different one, it is bound to fail. Often when a metal band covers another metal band, it sounds more of a lazy copy of the original. I am a firm believer of bands that decides to do a cover of a song, and transform it to something one could easily see in their own discography.

Unfortunately, when you do a whole album of covers, bands tend to cut a lot of corners, and put in the classic copy-paste method instead. Up to this date, I have not found one cover album I have fully liked. The best one I have listened to is the tribute album to Ronnie James Dio that was released a year ago, but that was a whole bunch of bands involved, not one single band, so I count this as a tribute album instead of a pure cover album.

The newest guy who has done this stupidity is Glenn Danzig. Today he released "Skeletons", a album filled with cover of songs by Black Sabbath, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, and even Elvis Presley. I took a quick listen to the cover of "N.I.B.", then I stopped, and turned off Spotify. It was that awful. It sounded so sloppy that it feels like Danzig was doing a tax report while recording this. I gathered my courage, and gave the other songs a fighting chance, but to no avail, they were no good. I got a lot of respect for what Danzig has done (both in the Misfits years, and the Danzig years), but this is below his dignity. Also, if you wonder what kind of a rating I would give this album, I can say that it would be below 4, but I will not give a exact rating since I do not rate cover albums.

Ultimately, it is better to put your effort into making new music instead of looking back to the past, and try to fix something that is not broken. Find other ways to honour your favourite bands, like wearing a T-shirt from them when you play live. Do not waste time and money on something that has a 99% chance of being ridiculed and hated. That is my advice bands, take it or leave it.

Some good covers

Disturbed - Land of Confusion (Genesis)

Without a doubt the most famous cover made by a metal band, and there is no question to why this is so. Disturbed did a great job in transforming this classic 80's rock song (whom does have one of the best music videos ever made) into a modern Disturbed track with metal riffs, Ten Thousand Fists mentality, and some rah-ah-ah.

Machine Head - The Sentinel (Judas Priest)

When I first heard this song on "Unto The Locust", I had no idea that Judas Priest was the original writers of this fantastic song. The songs are quite similar, but Machine Head does put their own, modern touch to it, making it one of the highlights on one of their best albums up to date.

Megadeth - These Boots (Nancy Sinatra)

Okay, sound wise, it may not be too pleasing, but it is a fun cover from the band's first album, "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!". The fact that the original writers took offense to this cover and threatened to sue Megadeth for the altered lyrics is just hilarious.

Metallica - Mercyful Fate medley

This is how you pay tribute to a fellow band! This medley features some of the most classic Mercyful fate songs, and bakes it all in to a meaty 11 minute extravaganza. Hearing "Into The Coven", "Evil", "Satan's Fall", "Curse of The Pharaohs", and "A Corpse Without A Soul" all together is just metal candy for your ears. Metallica tried to recreate the magic in a Dio tribute record, and while it was good, it did not match this one.

And some bad ones...

Anthrax - Got The Time (Joe Jackson)

Somehow, this cover has had a steady spot in the band's set list (together with Trust's "Antisocial") ever since it was released. It sounds decent, but when you listen to the original, you will soon realize that all Anthrax did was to add some heavier guitars.

Five Finger Death Punch - Bad Company (Bad Company)

I actually think this cover is not THAT bad, but compared to the original, it is not very good. But what I hate most about it is that about 80% (or possibly more, I am no statistician) of the FFDP fan base thinks that this is a original song, and that Bad Company made a cover of it. Sure, that fan base probably has a average age of 16, so how should they know, but it is still dumb, nonetheless.

Avenged Sevenfold - Walk (Pantera)

Ctrl+c and ctrl+v from start to finish, not a worthy tribute to one of the most influential bands of all time

Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes (The Who)

It disgusts me that these metal wannabes got some of their biggest success from this very cover. I can still hear this song on the radio from time to time, which just sickens me. I am thankful that these guys are a non factor in the metal (and rap) community today.

Do you agree with me? Give me your opinions of covers, are they worthless use of space or a chance to honour influences of the band? Also, name some covers that you love or hate. Do it on the comment section below, or do it on twitter (@FATGreviews).

Stay Metal

Robert "Sharkruisher" Andersson

Thoughts from a metal mind: The 2nd world rhythm game war

I can still remember it like yesterday, the days of my teenage years. Underachieving at school, throwing strikes while competing with my bowling team, and best of all, sitting down in front of my TV and Nintendo Wii, and just trying to beat my scores in any of the Guitar Hero or Rock Band games. It really was a wonderful time there around the mid 00's.

But since both Activision and Harmonix stopped their sort of weekly DLC launches to their games, there has been a void for gamers like me. The whole rhythm game community has almost died out, forcing elite players to actually get involved in more "real life" stuff, or just simply change direction to keep their internet personas alive and well. An example is Witwix, a great entertainer that was one of the better guitarists in the community, but now spends most of his time speed running (he has the world record for I Wanna Be The Boshy, a really tough 2D platformer).

In a short weeks, we will witness what will be the re-emergence of the plastic rock band era. Both Harmonix and Activision has presented their own new projects for the new console generation, but doing it with two very different tactics. I am really excited over this myself (even though I do not own a next gen console), just because this has been such a huge part of my own life. Without Guitar Hero or Rock Band, I would not have experienced so much awesome music and my interest for music in general would have been delayed with a couple of years. So to see these guys gear up to what will be the 2nd world rhythm game wars is just heart warming for me.

But how good are the games they are going to release? Let us do a little comparison between the games to find out, starting with the guys who started it all.

Harmonix: Rock Band 4
Harmonix and Activision started the whole craze with Guitar Hero and also developed the follow up and the sort of expansion pack Rock The 80's. But after those games, Harmonix left Activision in the dust to take it all full scale, adding drums, bass and singing to the mix. Rock Band gave a whole generations aspires of becoming a rock star, while still staying in the comfort of their own living room.

Rock Band has over the years become the biggest rhythm game series ever, spanning out to three main games, three side games (Lego, The Beatles and Green Day), and over a whooping 2000 downloadable songs through the game store, RBN (Rock Band Network) and various track packs. So to say that there were some expectations for the fourth game in the series is a huge understatement.

To develop RB4, the developers have taken advice from the fans of the series, searching what it is that they want in the game. One thing was reminded upon itself over and over again, backwards compatibility. The fans wanted that the hard earned money would not go to waste, so they wanted to be able to play on their old instruments from the older generations, and they also wanted their whole catalog of DLC to be available at launch. Said and done, the developers at Harmonix has made it happen, so if you have spent tons of hard earned money on their gear and songs, you will be able to still play with it (as long as you have stuck to either Sony or Microsoft in the next gen transition).

The thing that is the big difference from RB3 is that they are going back to basics. No more pro guitar or bass, no more keyboard, just straight up party with your plastic gear. I can understand that since it most have been a pain in the ass to chart those songs that had pro guitar and bass (they only had one or two of those songs in every DLC week), and there was no majority who played it anyway, so that was probably a smart move from Harmonix. And to amp up the party feel, they have implemented something called Freestyle solo, which means that when there is a solo, you will not see any notes, you make the notes. Play however you want and create a cool solo to impress your friends or that virtual crowd. I was a bit pessimistic over this at first, but seeing it for my own eyes, I realize that it is kind of a cool thing, just not something for the competitive spirit.

Screenshot from Rock Band 4, notice the freestyle guitar solo to the left

Otherwise, this is a game for the nostalgic one. You will recognize it instantly, and if you loved the previous games, you will most likely love this one. The only real negative thing I have to say is that the set list is kind of under whelming. It has some gems like Judas Priest "Halls of Valhalla", Dream Theater "Metropolis Pt. 1 - The Miracle And The Sleeper", and 4 Non Blondes "What's Up?", but I cannot recognize at least 50% of the songs here, and if it is like the RB3 set list, it is not so much rock over it all. This is no surprise though since almost all of the awesome songs out there are already available in either a previous set list or in DLC, and I still trust that Harmonix have created a variation that is hard to match in both musicality and difficulty (saw the hardest drum track, "Dream Genie", all I can say there is RIP bass pedal).

The positive:

The nostalgia factor

Backwards compatibility

The endless amount of DLC

The negative:

The CD set list
No online multi player (for now, might be added in a later patch)

Activision: Guitar Hero Live
After Harmonix left the Guitar Hero series, Activision teamed up with a familiar partner, Neversoft whom they worked with in the original Tony Hawk Pro Skater series. Together they created GH3: Legends of Rock, the game that got me into the whole craze. Still to this date, GH3 is one of my all time favourite video games of all time with awesome guest appearances from Tom Morello (ex-Rage Against The Machine, ex-Audioslave) and Slash (ex-Guns 'n' Roses, Velvet Revolver, Slash) and a killer set list including Slayer "Raining Blood", Iron Maiden "The Number of The Beast", and the infamous DragonForce song "Through The Fire And Flames".

Feeling the pressure from Harmonix, Activision jumped on the whole full rock band wagon and added the rest of the instruments in their next main game Guitar Hero: World Tour. I freaking hate this game, it was ugly, the hard ware was shit, and it felt extremely rushed. They did improve themselves though with every game after that, topping their form with both Guitar Hero Metallica and their last main game, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, but also released some half assed games (Band Hero and Greatest Hits).

I have always had a love hate relationship with Activision, because they have made some incredible games in the past, they are also know for complete turds, like the whole Call of Duty series. They are also responsible for slaughtering Crash Bandicoot, my favourite video game character of all time (the original trio + CTR was just unbelievably awesome.). So when they presented Guitar Hero Live, literally the week after Rock Band 4 was revealed, I was like "Here we go, they found out that the opposition was reviving their game, so they get right on it to steal as much cash as they can".

Unlike RB4, Guitar Hero Live is a completely different game from its predecessors. The developers started from scratch and also got rid of the whole band feel, only keeping, and re-working, the guitar. Instead of 5 colorful buttons, the new GH guitar have 6 buttons, three on the upper side and three on the lower. By doing so, they want to make this whole experience as you are actually playing different chords, moving your fingers into different positions in a two dimensional way. A cool idea for sure, and it looks good and all, but I have no idea how good the actual hard ware is. Only time will tell that.

The new GH guitar, looks real enough to me

Not only are they changing the guitar and how you play it, they are also changing the overall look to when you play the game. There are two different modes in the game, the normal mode, and GH TV. In GH TV, you rock out to the song's music video, something I have always wanted in a game like this. Just imagine rocking out to videos like Queens of The Stone Age "Go With The Flow" or Mastodon "The Motherload", just pure awesomeness. This is definitely a feature that will attract a good audience.

The normal mode however, does not look quite as good. Instead of the classic animated band and crowd, you will actually play with real people and rock a whole real crowd. Well... that is the idea. I can guarantee that this will fail because of several reasons. 1. They are all actors, and unless they act like Leonardo DiCaprio or are actual rock stars, it will become shit. 2. All movements, actions and lines will be repeated, constantly. 3. You will not be able to customize your own rock star. And finally 4. this live action capture had its glory days back in the 90's, can anyone of you name a game that used it and was a successful game? Thought so.

Hey man, can you see if I got something between my teeth?

So in the end, I am not too positive over this game, but it does have some advantages over RB4. It brings something new to the genre and the original set list is certainly better (some songs here are Megadeth "Hangar 18", In Flames "Deliver Us", Tenacious D "Tribute" and Judas Priest "Breaking The Law"). Also, it will be cheaper if you have to buy the full package compared to the full package in RB4. It will be interesting to see how Activision play this one out, but a bad feeling in my head tells me that by this time next year, we will see the second game of the series released, because that is how Activision rolls.

The positive:
Great big set list
GH TV
Improved guitar

The negative:
Live action footage
No backwards compatibility

Summary
In the end, I think Rock Band 4 will completely crush Guitar Hero Live in almost every category available. There is still a chance that GH Live will win in the sales since Activision has a history of good marketing, but the nostalgics and the community will most likely find RB4 all the more appealing, mostly since Harmonix took the advices from the fans, and made them happen. If I had a PS4 and a choice between these two games, I would definitely go for RB4, even if I was forced to spend tons of money on gear and DLC, because I know what I will get, and that is a complete rocking experience that will work well in parties, or when I am home alone jamming. Still, I am interested to see how GH Live will turn out, even if my hopes are low for it.

Give me your take on this war. Who will come out on top? And share your memories of the good old days of the plastic instruments era. Do it in the comment section here, or hit me a tweet (@FATGreviews)

Stay Metal
Robert "Sharkruisher" Andersson

Thoughts from a metal mind: Eurovision 2015

Okay, so I know that I should probably not speak about the Eurovision Song Contest since I run a metal blog and so, but it should be noted that I am a general music fan. Sure, Metal is my main subject and I dedicate almost all of my time into it, but that does not mean that I completely ignore all the other things that happens in music. And when it comes to ESC, I have followed the competition deeply for about 7 years, so I think I should speak my mind over what happened during the competition.

Anyway, not surprisingly, Sweden won with Måns Zelmerlöv and his song "Heroes". He and his little stick figure friend (named MP, representing Måns' younger self) got out on the stage with a bunch of accusations against them. Some said that the song was a copy of David Guetta's "Lovers In The Sun", others have bashed him over one anti-gay comment he did in some Swedish television show, and then we have the overall fact that some were bored of Sweden being the favourite once again. But in the end, the people of Europe made their voices heard, and Måns stood as the winner.

But let us back the tapes to the start of March this year, when the final of the Swedish tryouts (Melodifestivalen) had its final. I personally attended the event together with my Mother and my Little Sister, and was pretty impressed overall. The line-up of finalists was pretty decent, but Måns was already there favorized heavily. A lot of people had about the same opinion, the song was right in its time, the lyrics was inspiring, and the show itself was new and unique. Måns defeated several of Loreens previous records, like most points and most votes from the people, but it was one thing that made Swedes hopeful that history would repeat itself. In 2011, Eric Saade came in 3rd place in ESC, the year after, Loreen won with "Euphoria". Last year, Sweden came once again third, this time with Sanna Nielsen, and look here and now. History has repeated itself once again.

Måns definitely deserves the win, the song has very few similarities to "Lovers In The Sun", but not enough to make it a copy. In the end, it was the performance that I think gave the victory. None of the entries could match up to it, and Måns did all of the bits perfectly (except the fist bump). So congratulations Måns, you made Sweden proud.

Other notable stuff

Sweden won with 362 points, Russia came in 2nd with 303 points, and Italy got 3rd place with 292 points, so the expected favourites all came in the top 3.

Russia actually led the competition after half of the countries had laid out their votes.

Germany and Austria finished last without any points at all. I personally thought that the British entry deserved last place (they finished 24th with 5 points).

The special guest Australia ended 5th in the competition with 196 points. Good for them, thank you for coming.

Who came 4th? Belgium did with 217 points. Did not think they would end up this high, but I did like the song, and I think they deserved the place they got.

Azerbaijan came outside of the top 10 for the second year in a row. I hope that they from now on skips the Swedish song writers and competes with a song that is written by native writers.

The amount of ballads this year was way too many. But since Europe goes with the flow, I expect next year to be a uptempo year since Sweden won.

This year's overall set list was one of the most boring overall, probably the worst since 2011.

My personal favourite this year was Finland's entry, Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät and their song "Aina Mun Pittä". Those guys were simply awesome.

Worst song this year was Hungary, Boggie with "Wars For Nothing", simply because it was such a boring ballad and the artist was named Boggie. OH THE IRONY!

The stage was spectacular, especially the LED-screen was impressive. Made some cool effects.

Besides from Conchita, the overall production was just mediocre. The hosts were bland, but good looking.

I might try to get a ticket to next year's competition since it goes in my home country, but we will see how my situation is in the future.

If you have questions, wheter it be about a specific entry or any other general ESC questions for me, comment here or send me a tweet @FATGreviews.

Stay Metal
Robert "Sharkruisher" Andersson

My respect for The Project Hate has increased immensly

There are bands that say that they are against illegal downloading, and then there is The Project Hate MCMXCIX.

The Swedish progressive death metal band released their 10th studio album on Christmas day, the 25th of December, entitled "There Is No Earth I Will Leave Unscorched", a album that has been funded by the fans and has had no promotion what so ever by magazines, review blogs or other media. The only way to get this album is to buy it at the band website. It is not available on Spotify, Bandcamp, Pandora, YouTube or any other streaming service.

The band has made this decision since they want to feature the art itself. They of course want to make money out of it, but also feel like people care enough to buy their music, something I think all musicians agree on that they want. But there is a difference between saying that you are against illegal downloading and actually take actions against it.

I saw a YouTube video like one week ago that linked to a site where you could download the new album illegally, and in the comment section was one comment. It was the official TPH YouTube channel that said something like this. "Thank you for sharing our new album, you have now been charged for illegal sharing". Then we also have all the statements Lord K. has done over and over again in the band's website and other media over this topic. Just another proof of that they are damn serious over this subject.

This shows how much the band, and especially their founder and leader, Lord K. Philipson, love to create music. They really want to feel like they are creating something that matters to people, and not something that assholes just takes for granted and spread it around the cesspool we call the Internet.

This decision however, has one downside. This will make it difficult for the band to gain any bigger amount of newer fans, since a lot of music lovers finds new artists through streaming services like Spotify (yours truly found the band, like many other bands, on Rock Band, were they released their amazing song "Descend Into The Eternal Pits of Possession"). I am not saying that it is impossible, especially since their old material exists there, but it will be more difficult.

And for those wondering, no, I have not listened to the new album. I would love to buy it, but at my current economic status, it is not worth it, and since I respect and love these guys, I am not going to illegally download the album (something I never do) and report anyone who tries to share it illegally. I really wish the band good luck in their future and hope that they get a lot of support for their cause. And finally, I hope that more bands follow this example, so we can stop illegal downloading of metal music once and for all.

For those of you who are interested in purchasing the album "There Is No Earth I Will Leave Unscorched" or find more about the band and their cause, visit their official website

Devin must be the most committed man in metal

For those of you who have followed this blog for some time, you know that I am a huge fan of Devin Townsend. The Canadian is not only an insane guitarist and an amazing vocalist, his music shows no boundaries at all. No matter if it is ambient, thrash, progressive, pop, or whatever genre, you know that Devin is giving his heart out to make it as perfect as possible. However, I start to wonder if he has outdone himself this time.

Ever since the release of "Z²" has been announced, my expectation for this album has been growing for each passing day. But I never thought that Devin would commit himself in making this record such a big thing. To promote this release, we have had the radio show "Ziltoid Radio" on Team Rock Radio, the universal choir that lets fans be a part of the album, a TV show titled "ZTV" that aired its first episode today, a new website for everything revolving Ziltoid, a comic book that is in the making, and a full blown metal musical in 2015 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Oh, and don't forget that "Z²" is a double album. A Devin Townsend Project album entitled "Sky Blue" and the official follow up record to "Ziltoid The Omniscient" entitled "Dark Matters".

The amount of work that Devin have done is just incredible, especially since he has also done tons of touring, released another album with its new project Casualties of Cool and the amazing "The Retinal Circus" at the same time. I can't believe the amount of work Devin have put into all of this and he actually pulls it off, while a normal human would easily crack under the pressure. The man must really love music and his fans.

Devin has said that he is taking some time off after the tour he is doing for "Z²" which I can understand. The man is in desperate need of a holiday, not because he seems exhausted or washed-up, but because he has earned it. He has worked more or less non stop since he release the first Ziltoid Record. However, if I know Devin, then that break will not be too long, which is good since I want much more of his fantastic music. One thing is for sure though, the man has really earned the universes ultimate cup of coffee.

The double album "Z²" will be released 27th October in Europe and 28th October in the US, and you can rest assure that you will see a review of it on this blog as soon as possible.

Slipknot will be fine without Joey

I am a little surprised that so many Slipknot fans has acted like their whole world fell apart when the news about Joey Jordison's departure came through. Sure, he was one of the founding members of the band and one of the main song writers, but he is an overrated drummer. He certainly knows how to pound the pig skin, but there is enough talented drummers in the world that can take his place.

The only thing about this situation that could disturb Slipknot is the fact that there was much uncertainty about the departure. Did Joey leave the band himself or was he sacked? I am afraid that this drama will take up too much attention from the album itself. The Joey lovers will most likely despise the album without even listening to it, especially since the album mostly acts like a tribute to their bassist Paul Gray, who died from an overdose of morphine and fentanyl in 2010. Nothing wrong with that, but some people could take it like "Slipknot never really cared for Joey, screw them", which is just stupid to think like that.

The band is about to release their 5th album and so far, 2 songs has been released. The first song was "The Negative One", a chaotic track that represents the typical Slipknot sound and anger. The other song however, is more laid towards being commercially attractive. "The Devil In I" sounds like a mix of Korn and Papa Roach that is weird, but works out without any embarrassing mistakes. The one thing these two tracks have in common is that the drum work is fine, not extraordinary. However, I do not think that Joey would have made the songs any better if he was behind the kit

My expectations for the album that has gotten the title ".5: The Gray Chapter", named of course after their deceased band mate Paul Gray, are not that high. All I hope for is that Corey Taylor and Jim Root learned from the mistakes in "All Hope Is Gone" and separate Stone Sour and Slipknot from each other. If they do that, then the album will be a very interesting listen.

Metallica might be up to something... nice

One of the biggest heavy metal bands in the history of man kinds have done a shit ton of stuff the last 5 years. They have started a record company and a music festival, they have released all their songs to Spotify, they have played in Antarctica, they have featured in a 3D-movie and they have collaborated with Lou Reed. The only thing missing is the band's 10th full length album ("Garage Inc." and "Lulu" not included). But we might finally be getting there.

On the first show of their ongoing "By request" tour, the band has presented the new song "The Lords of Summer", a song that is very much alike several songs from their latest album, "Death Magnetic". With its 8 minutes of play time, this song is a meaty, riff filled power package that jumps into the fire without hesitation. And despite the some what boring lyrics, I kinda like this song. I think that "Death Magnetic" was the best album the band has made since "The Black Album", so it only feels natural that the band would continue on the same track, especially since they have taken a lot of sharp turns musically before "Death Magnetic".

I know that it is way too early to say that this is gonna be a great album, but there is no denying that the band is on a roll. The band feels tighter than ever and the only problems so far seems to be the usual things. The band can hit harder, but doesn't and Lars Ulrich is far from a master drummer. But those are things that most Metallica fans have learned to either ignore or accept.

When it comes to the tour, I am expecting it to be some what of a "best of" set list every night the band performs with no surprises what so ever. I will personally not go and see them myself at their only show in Sweden, the new one day festival STHLM Fields (even though I was very tempted since also Mastodon, Ghost, Gojira and more played the same day), but all I hope for the fans that will attended is that the band gets a set list filled with pure thrash and no ballads a la "Nothing Else Matters". They had a set list like that the last time they visited Sweden (Gothenburg 2011, during "The Big 4" tour), I was there and I loved it.