Haista! #4

Vaan kas: Löytyihän sitä hyviäkin keikkoja. Vaan ei niin hyvää, etteikö sitäkin olisi eksynyt Medieval fArt pilaamaan. 12. Tammikuuta armon vuonna 2001 TVOlla soitti armoitettu Reverend Bizarre, josta olen mainostanut ennenkin pitäväni, enkä tee poikkeusta nytkään. Tyyli oli kehittynyt rokkaavampaan suuntaan, jopa kahteen piisiin oli ujutettu ilmiselvä riehukohta. Ehkä olisinkin pistänyt jalalla koreasti, mutta talloin takkini päälle ja kaulassani roikkunut painavahko ja etenkin jäykkä kamera ei helpottanut liikkumista. Niinpä harrastin vain tajuntasurffausta ja olin tyytynyt.

Seuraavana lavalle könysi vanha purkka perseessä, eli Medieval fArt. Surullista näissä on se, että musiikki alkaa olla jo kelvollista, viimeisen piisin melodiat olivat oikein kauniita, mutta laulaja pilaa kaiken. En tiedä eikö sillä mölyapinalla ole mikkiä treeneissä, vai miksi ihmeessä se aloittaa joka sanan huutamalla, päättäen möyskäykseen kun happi loppuu kesken. Menisi laulutunneille tai opettelisi helvetti pitämään päänsä kiinni! Muuttuakseen piinasta varteenotettavaksi bändiksi Medieval Artin pitäisi vaihtaa laulajaa kiireimmän kaupalla. Sen esittäminen olisi kuulemma epäkohteliasta, kun laulaja on aktiivinen skenehemmo ja piisintekijä. No mikä estää tekemästä piisejä edelleen ja skeneilemästä niin rutosti kuin huvittaa, kunhan olisi hiljaa... Toivottavasti seuraavaan keikkaan mennessä joku edes teippaa sen suun kiinni roudariteipillä. Two Witchesin Jyrki Cool Dancelta omaksutut lavaeleet olivat myös aika karmaisevia.

Viimeisenä soitti Skepticism. Etukäteen en tiennyt muuta kuin sen, että tämä oli ensimmäinen keikka seitsemään vuoteen, ja että joku luonnehti sitä "funeral doomiksi". Ihan ensiksi on todettava, että Skepticism teki aivan suunnattoman vaikutuksen ja pidin siitä, ettei minua ymmärretä väärin. Sillä jos jotain, Skepticism oli KAMMOTTAVA. Sitä kuunnellessani ymmärsin, miksi kuuloa sanotaan pelon aistiksi. Ja hitto soikoon, tämä oli todellista TUNNELMAmetallia! Kuinka väärässä ovatkaan kaikki ne, jotka nimittävät "tunnelmametalliksi" kaikkia melodista metallia naislaululla ja koskettimilla höystettyjä  bändejä, jotka eivät ole tunnelmaa nähneetkään, saati että sitä pystyisivät luomaan! Tällä ei tainnut olla niihin muuta yhteistä kuin koskettimet, joita niitäkin käytettiin vihloviin jyräyksiin pätkivän kompin ja huohotuksen säestämänä. Kauhuelokuvan soundtrack. Muuntunut tietoisuudentila. Täydellinen katharsis. Hiukset nousivat pystyyn vielä seuraavanakin päivänä selostaessani sivistymättömille, millaista bändiä olin ollut kuulemassa. Keikkana täytyy kyllä moittia liian pitkiä taukoja alussa ja piisien välillä. Niissä jännite pääsi katkeamaan, niin doom-orientoitunut kuin olenkin.  Ja tietysti yleisössä oli taas joitain pälliäisiä, joitten keskittymiskyky ei riittänyt yhtään mihinkään ja jotka väkivaltaisesti kompuroivat kokoajan jalkojeni ylitse istuessani vapisten tunnelmoimassa. Pahat hajut niille! Lähtisivät kotiin ajoissa, tai pysyisivät siellä alunperinkin, jos ei soitto kiinnosta! No joo. Eipä katharsis kyllä pyyhkinyt pois hapantumistani siitä, kun havaitsin ettei illan seuralaiseni ollut viitsinyt edes kuunnella vaan oli löytänyt parempaa seuraa, jonka kanssa poistui. Mutta eräät eivät vain ymmärrä hyvän päälle...

Leea Mäkelä

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PRO PANIMO CONCERT
8th of September, 2001 (Club Feenix, Turku)

Haista! #5

Pro Panimo-konsertti Feeniksissä 8.9. 2001 Täällä soitti vaikka kuinka paljon bändejä, joista mikään ei nähtävästi vetänyt paikalle enempää kuin omat tukijoukkonsa, joten illan tuoton suuruus oli vähän kyseenalaista. Bändejä yhdisti lähinnä se, että ne kaikki harjoittelevat Panimolla ja tuoton tarkoitus oli sitten vähän parannella kyseistä tilaa. Minä olin tietysti paikalla faneilemassa Reverend Bizarrea, jonka miellyttävyys minun korvilleni ei liene kenellekään Haista!n lukijalle jäänyt epäselväksi. On, on se hidasta mutta niin raskasta että konkreettinen elämys syntyy jo yksinomaan siitä, ja niin hypnoottista, että enin osa keikkaa menee aina harhaillessa jollain ihan toisella tajunnan tasolla. Siltä tajunnan tasolta todellisuuden vaatimalle tasolle palaaminen pitäisi hoitaa hitaasti ja hellävaroen, joten tajunnan tasoilla surffailu päättyi ikävän kivulloisesti rysähtämällä, kun keikan jälkeen dj päräytti soimaan jonkun "Kolmen Minuutin Munan". Vieläkin vähän harmittaa semmoinen. Ja sekin harmittaa että Reverend soitti kiltisti ennakkoon joka bändille
luvatun puoli tuntia, ja kaikki muut bändit lipsuivat siitä, viimeinenkin mitäänsanomaton orkesteri soitti yli tunnin. Minusta Reverend olisi saanut ihan hyvin soittaa vaikka kaksi tuntia ja tylsät bändit kolme piisiä. No mutta, kerkesivät soittaa toistaisen livesuosikkini Strange Horizonin hiljan kuolleelle Spedelle omistettuna ja pari muuta valurautasikanautaa. Innolla odotan tulevaa levyä.

Suurin osa illan bändeistä ei koskettanut millään tavalla ja se olikin niiden ongelma. Niinpä minulla ei ole niistä mitään sanottavaa. Ainoat mieleen jääneet ja jotain tunteita herättäneet olivat Valohoito, joka ärsytti, ja Turun Romantiikka, joka huvitti. Valohoidon laulajattaresta on kyllä sanottava, että hyvin hän hallitsi äänensä, mutta ultrabramainen tekotaiteellisuus häiritsi silti. Turun Romantiikka soitti sikäli epäedulliseen aikaan  (joskus lähempänä puolta kolmea) että olin kerennyt nukahtaa pöytään jo pariin otteeseen ja siinä tilassa mikä hyvänsä huvittaisi. Turun Romantiikka kuulosti Apulannalta ja näytti Tehosekoittimelta. Lehdissä oli mainostettu Turun Romantiikkaa goottilaiseksi, mutten kyllä osaa sanoa oliko siinä muuta goottilaista kuin poikien meikit ja kenties se että tyttö puolestaan näytti pojalta. Erityisen kunniamaininnan ansaitsee jokseenkin häiriintyneen psykedeelinen teollisuus- ja ompelukonevideo joka pyöri videotykeissä loppuyöstä. Loppuyöstä tuli nautittua myös kuuluista Takahuoneen Eduista. Ainakin se vesi oli kylmää.

Leea Mäkelä

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FRIENDS OF HELL: Reverend Bizarre / Spiritus Mortis / Minotauri
12th of October, Turku, Finland (S-Osis, Turku)

Psychedelic Fanzine #9 / #10

This was a historical event in the history of Finnish metal: for the first time ever the whole evening was hallowed to traditional doom metal. I had waited for this event since I had heard of it for the first time. In Finland you don’t have too many chances to see doom metal all night long. So, I walked to S-Osis with high hopes. The evening was about to start with Michael Reeves’ classic movie Witchfinder General. And what other movie could fit to the program of an evening like this better.  The movie started half an hour late due to technical difficulties, but it was great and helped to get in the right mood.

The first band was the local Reverend Bizarre, “the band that hates hippies”. “Concluding from their crosses, these guys are going to preach the Christian message”, the announcer introduced them to the audience on a gig couple of weeks earlier. Again, the gig started with a spoken intro, during which the band came onto the stage. Then it started. First came a short instrumental intro, and then the first song, Cromwell. The song was heavy, but I wasn’t satisfied. Something was missing, it was just a heavy track and that’s it. When the song was over I was confused. The last time I saw the band they kicked me in the head from the first note. The second track began, and that made me happy again: Aleister started doomy, and for the first minutes the band really showed what they’ve got. These boys know how to doom. The song rolled on and on and… what happened then? Suddenly the song was like interrupted, and the boys started to make strange tempo changes one after another. But to my ear it didn’t sound harmonious at all. I thought: “What progressive bullshit is this?” I hope that the end of the song was just improvisation. There were also some difficulties with the bass amplifier, but luckily it didn’t last long and they could start the next song. Oh boy, oh boy! It was Slave of Satan. As far as I’m concerned, this song is one of the heaviest songs ever written. This was what I came looking for. The boys played with great devotion, and this was their thing in my opinion. They really know how to write and (of course) play ultra slow and heavy doom. I was excited again. More songs like this and I wouldn’t need to see the other bands. Did I already mention that Magister Albert (who by the way looks like something between Tom Angelripper and Lemmy) is one hell of a singer? His voice fits this kind of music like the fist of doom in the face of stoner rock. Even though you can hear some Ozzyish manners, Albert’s voice can be recognised as his own. Huh, that song was amazing. Now I’d like to see it ending up on a record, as I’ve never seen or heard the track on tape or cd. It’s too good to be kept concealed. That song was the highlight of the evening!

Reverend Bizarre were meant to release their first full-length album tonight, but due to reasons unknown to me they didn’t. But they played one song from that forthcoming full-length. It was no other than the only audience-friendly track, Doomsower. Yes, that was nice, a faster one, and also the audience seemed to like the fast tempo (I mean “fast” in the Reverend Bizarre standard). Of course I wanted to hear other songs from the record, but I can well understand why they didn’t play them. The last song was also a faster one, Doom over the world. And let me tell you, this is a hit song: fast tempo, nice riff and a catchy chorus. It would be easy to imagine the audience singing the chorus aloud with Albert. During this song there was much movement in the audience, and also the band was in full speed. This is a great song to end a gig. Unfortunately I must admit that even though the song is great, the chorus is the kind which stays ringing in your head for days. Actually that song rang in my head all the way I walked home. Dammit!

The audience wanted more, and that’s what they got. A cover version of Pentagram’s Broken vows was a great choice to end Reverend Bizarre’s job. That left a good taste in the mouth. Albert, Peter and Void make a great team together and it’s a pleasure to see them playing live. They have many great songs, so it was a pity that they didn’t have more time to play (they played for 45 minutes). It seems that the band had to cut one song from their set because the show was late. I personally missed Strange horizon which I prefer as one of their best songs. But it’s great to see that they really practice what they preach. When it comes to doom, you can’t be heavier than them!

The second band was Finland’s first doom metal band ever, Spiritus Mortis from Alavus. They have been doing their Obsessed-oriented doom rock since 1988. This was a band of which I knew the least. They really don’t make too much noise of themselves, I guess.

Spiritus Mortis started also with a spoken intro. What I was about to witness was 35 minutes of well-played and rocking doom metal. The band played totally well together and the singer had quite an original voice (he sounded just like Lee Ving / Fear). I personally like his voice. I could recognise only half of the songs, but, thanks to Void, I got their set list. The first song was Divine wind, which started vivacious and was a nice change from RB’s slow funeral doom. The next song, New age, sounded a bit like the first one. Then came Flames and Sweet oblivion. After four songs I started to wonder: is there going to happen anything? The beginning of the gig was great, but after four songs that sounded the same it felt like nothing new happened (although Sweet oblivion is a great song). But then the band pulled themselves together with a song called Burn witch burn. That was a positive surprise: it was slow doom, and I was in the mood again. These guys could play also very slow music. After that came another rocking song, Sleeping beneath the lawn, which I liked. It was also nice to see that the audience was totally with them (well, I could recognize 2/3 of the Reverends in the front of the stage). Then came the highlight and also the heaviest song from Spiritus Mortis’ part: Rise from hell is a total doom track. I’ve heard this track once, but it was nothing to be compared to this. The guys played this doom metal anthem with great devotion and the audience liked it! Probably the audience can agree with me that this was the band’s best offering. Then came All the words were spoken, which offered nothing new, though it had a catchy melody. Then came Vow to the sun, which in the right place in the right time would probably turn into a hit. That is a really pleasant song and has a really impressive chorus. This song stays ringing in your head too, if you’re not careful. The last song, Baron samedi, went through my ears, it was one of the boring ones. Still I must say that these guys know how to rock, although their songs aren’t too versatile.

These guys have the talent to perform their music live, but a few catchy songs more would make them even more enjoyable. The stage was narrow, and since there are five guys in this band there was not much space to move. The band was very alive, and maybe the loss of space limited the rocking of the band. I would really like to see this band on a bigger stage. It seems that they also had to cut their set, swearword!

The last one on the stage was Minotauri from Äänekoski. They started about 1 am. and played 8 songs in 35 minutes. I like their attitude, they don’t worry too much about their outer image, which I think is right. And as I soon saw, they don’t need any image, they let the music do the talking. Minotauri started with Lover from the grave, a song from their demo Devil woman. Dammit, there was some kind of a technical problem with the microphone cause I couldn’t get any of the vocals (I know Ari Honkonen is a good vocalist). So, I concentrated on the music they played. Lover was quite a normal doom track, but the second one, Cemetary shadows, was a killer one. These guys love the music they make and it shows. Audience could also recognise it and they were along. The third song was Pain of Life from their 7” single. That was a really doomy one, and the band continued their totally devastating show. Minotauri are really intensive live players, and without the mike problems it would have been a hell of a gig. Two more demo tracks (Devil woman & My way) came next, and during these song the mike started to work. Then came a new song called Frustrated, which is definitely one of their best songs. The heaviest track in their set was the next one, Paid love, also a new song. This was a totally outstanding number and one of the greatest songs seen during the evening. I wouldn’t mind if they wrote more songs like this. Before the next song some promoter came to tell that the band could only play one more song, which was sad cause I could have watched a couple more songs. The last song, Violence from the 7”, was a disappointment to me. I never really liked that one, but the boys played the song and the audience liked it, so what the heck. Here we have also a promising band, and I hope that they keep making these great songs and great shows as long as possible.

What was a shame was the tight schedule. Doom jockey Shrike had very little time to play his doom records, and since the movie was delayed, even the bands had to cut their set lists. That is a pity cause we had three excellent bands that showed that even in Finland we have doom metal bands and, which is more important, very versatile ones. None of these could be mixed to each other. They all have styles of their own, even though the paragons are the same.

The night was glorious, and I was happy for what I had witnessed. I wondered the loss of people (though I heard that there were more people than expected, with over 120 tickets sold), there was plenty of room within the crowd. This was a perfect chance to hear & see something different. Well, we who were there can just be happy cause we saw something special. I hope that the planned Friends of Hell tour over Finland can be fulfilled. Then other doomsters all around the land would have the chance to experience the same.

Juha “Secret Loser” Mäki
 

Holozine #9

Doomin pastorit

Turkulainen Reverend Bizarre sai kunnian olla keikan avausbändi, eikä todellakaan mikään huonompi aloitus ollutkaan. Heti tähän väliin täytyy mainita, etten todellakaan ole doom-metallin fani tahi asiantuntija, vaan esitän näkemykseni keikasta täysin sillä perusteella miten sen koin, triviatiedot ja muut spekuloinnit muille jättäen. Kolmipäinen doom-kolmikko edusti selvästi vanhemman koulukunnan doomia eli toisin sanoen, tietyllä tavalla hyvin perinteistä vanhakantaista heviä. Laulusta vastasi bändin basisti, joka myös hoiti hommansa hyvin: tunteella ja selkeästi "juuriansa" kunnioittaen. Ilkeillen voisikin todeta, että tarkkaan on esikuvabändien levyt kuunneltu, mutta se oli myös samalla bändin vahvuus. Soundipuolessakaan ei ollut valittamista, vaan lähinnä päin vastoin. Kitaran uliseva, jopa valittava soundi sopi riffien tyyliin kuin hirttosilmukka kaulaan ja toi omalta osaltaan todellista doom -fiilistä ilmaan ja kokonaisuutena olikin sellainen tunnelma kuin olisi ollut jossain 70-80 -lukujen taitteen klubilla kuuntelemassa sen ajan ug-metallia. Kitaraa täydensi hyvin basso, jonka soundi oli mukavasti kovalla ja näin toi helvetisti lisää testosteronia
kokonaissoundiin ja ylipäätään vahvisti bändin luomaa tunnelmaa. Bändin liikehdintä tai livepuoli ei ollut mitenkään merkittävän erikoinen tai mieleenjäävä, mutta toisaalta juuri sopiva bändin tyyliin eli levotonta horjumista ja heilumista. Rumpusoundit olivat täysin kohdallaan, ainakin volyyminsa puolesta ja näin ollen kokonaisuus oli hyvin balanssissa. Vaikken kotona kaiuttimista ikinä varmaan kyseistä bändiä tule kuulemaankaan, niin voin silti todeta bändin olevan hyvä livekokemus ja varmasti myös tulevaisuudessa olevan tutustumisen arvoinen.

Vanhan koulun henkeä

Kolmikon toinen tapaus oli Alavudelta kotoisin oleva Spiritus Mortis, jota on sanottu lukeutuvan Suomen vanhimpien heavy/doom –bändien joukkoon, mikäli oikein muistan. Itse en ollut ikinä bändistä aiemmin kuullutkaan, mikä kuitenkin ehkä selittyy sillä etten kummemmin ole tämän genren skenejä läpi kahlaillut. Bändin miehistön ikäjakauma kuitenkin puhui väitteen puolesta, sillä kyseessä ei todellakaan ollut mitään koulupoikia, vaan ikää oli kertynyt ukoille jo sen verran, ettei ainakaan uskottavuutta tarvinnut kalastaa. Odottaessani lisää vanhan koulukunnan doomia, huomasinkin pettyväni, enkä pelkästään siitä syystä, että bändin tyyli ei ollut sitä mitä odotin, vaan että se oli myös minun mielestäni sen verran huonompaa ettei minua erikoisemmin napannut. Ei bändi sinänsä huono ollut, mutta todellakaan kyse ei ollut meikäläisen teekupista tai oluttuopposesta, sillä bändin tyyli oli enemmän varhaisen 80-luvun perusheviä kuin minkään sortin doomia ja jos joku tuli bändistä mieleen niin Dio. Mielipidettä vain vahvisti laulajan liveliikehdintä, joka oli kuin todellisella '80s heavy metal staralla, joka on sitten joko huono tai hyvä asia, riippuen puhtaasti siitä mistä pitää. Soundit olivat kauttaaltaan kohdallaan, eikä mitään erityisempiä moitteita bändille voi muutenkaan antaa. Tyyliuskollisuutta ja yhdenmukaisuutta bändin hevityylillä oli aina vaatetusta, ulkonäköä ja tosiaan jopa ikää myöten. Välillä kaiken diomaisuuden keskeltä nosti päätään myös joku Manowar -tyylinen kohta, mutta vähemmistössä kuitenkin oli muskelihevin puoli. Live oli kokonaisuutena ihan OK, eikä parkumiseen ole syytä, mutta tällä tosiaan ei ollut tekemistä sen enempää doomin kanssa kuin Cradle of Filthillä black metallin kanssa.

Kreikkalainen sarvipää

Äänekoskelainen Minotauri tuli lopettamaan illan keikan omalla osuudellaan ja en nyt tätäkään tapausta doomiksi menisi kuvailemaan. Lähinnä kyse oli todellista junttaheviä kolmipäisen miehistön voimin. Bändin päänä kaiketi toimi Morningstaristakin tuttu Ari, joka myös hoiti Minotaurin vokaalit. Soundit olivat täyttä rautaa ja ns. munaa löytyi vaikka muille jaettavaksi (repiköön tästä kaksimielisyytensä kukin haluamallaan tavalla). Vokaalit olivat kenties keikan huonoin puoli, koska olivat sekä liian hiljaiset, että muutenkin vähän vaisut, mikä tietysti johtui osittain siitä, että laulajan piti muutakin instrumenttia samalla veivata keskittyneesti eikä tuo moniajo oikein toiminut niin hyvin kuin mitä se olisi voinut. Riffit olivat pääasiassa melko yksinkertaisia ja taso vaihteli tylsästä ja tusinatavarasta vitun hyviin Celtic Frost -tyyppisiin "junttahevi" -riffeihin ja paikoitellen ehkä jopa hienoista punk-vivahdetta oli havaittavissa. Joku kaikessa tuossa primitiivisyydessä kuitenkin viehätti ja ehkä juuri siksi minua miellytti illan bändeistä eniten. Livepuoli oli tosin hyvin vaatimatonta ja melkein yhtä lailla bändin tarjontaa olisi voinut kuunnella levyltä kotona. Kuitenkin tutustumisen arvoinen tapaus jos yksinkertaisempi, kursailematon metalli kolahtaa.

Summa summarum

Huolimatta siitä etten erikoisemmin tämän tyylisen metallin kuuntelija ole, pidin kuitenkin kokonaisuudesta. Sinänsä mikään bändi ei ollut sarallaan huono, vaan lähinnä päin vastoin. Myöskään minkäänlaista poseerausta tai pelleilyä ei ollut bändien keikkaa tahi esiintymistä pilaamassa. Yleisökin oli totutusta WCH-keikkojen yleisöstä hieman poikkeavampaa, mikä tietysti selittyy WCH:n tyypillisestä tarjonnasta eroavalla keikalla. Lopputuloksesta on hieman vaikea löytää mitään syytä valittamiseen, joten jätettäköön sen suuremmat kitinät tähän.

Serpent
 

Haista! #5

Doomille pyhitetty ilta on minusta paljon viehättävämpi idea kuin tusinalle samankaltaiselle bläkkipändille pyhitetty ilta. Etenkin kun kaikki nämät bändit kuulostivat vähän erilaiselle keskenään, vaikka samaa genreä edustivatkin. Alkukuvana näytetystä legendaarisesta Witchfinder General -elokuvasta en osaa sanoa kuin että menetän aina paljon leffoissa joissa ei ole tekstiä koska kuulen vähintään puolet puheista väärin, riippumatta siitä tulevatko ne jonkun kanssaihmisen suusta vai kovaäänisistä. Luulenpa, ettei inkvisitio-leffassa puhuta mistään polyuretaanista oikeasti. Ja onneksi leffateattereissa ei saa tupakoida ja keskustella äänekkäästi samaan aikaan kun toiset katsoo elokuvaa. Tuolla sai ja se häiri.

Reverend Bizarre oli illan raskain bändi. Vähitellen alan miettiä, onko se raskain bändi ylipäätään, mitä olen kuullut. Olen mykistynyt. Ja basso on monipuolinen ja hieno soitin.

Toisena soittanut Spiritus Mortis koostui vähän vanhemmista sedistä, ja musiikkikin oli kevyempää, vaikkakin ulkomusiikillisesti kyseisen bändin raskautta tuskin voitti mikään. Aika rokkiahan se. Toiseksi viimeinen biisi, jonka nimi loppui kai "Sun" tai "Son", oli oikein mainio. Laulajan takatukka-kampauksesta ei oikein tiennyt huvittiko vai hirvittikö se, mutta basistin Spice Girls-paita oli oikein mainio.

Illan päättänyt Minotauri oli sekin reippaampaa ja sikäli rokimpaa, mutta samaan aikaan myös raskasta ja rankkaa. Se oli oikein hyvä ja liikutti tajunnan lisäksi myös ruumista. Olisin julkaisunkin hankkinut, ellei olisi loppunut rahat kesken kun piti bussilla mennä. Hitto.

Leea Mäkelä

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FRIENDS OF HELL: Spiritus Mortis / Minotauri / Reverend Bizarre
5th of December,.2001 (Lutakko, Jyväskylä)

Metalhel

In the fifth of December all the Finnish politicians, warheroes and people involved in the glamorous showbusiness were getting hammered in the presidential palace. Unfortunately, the loyal Metalhel journalists, Thasmorg and I could not make it to the once in a year lollapalooza due to the Friends of Hell –doom metal tour that was stopping by at Lutakko the very next day. Of course, normally there would be no problem in partying a couple of days in a row but when you do it with those government people you get a hangover you would not believe. I'm telling you, no one can hold their liquor like those guys.

I guess that most of Jyväskylä's metalheads were invited to Tarja Halonen's place the previous night since, in addition to us, there were only a good thirty people sitting around the bar, sipping their drinks in silence. I was stunned by the lack of audience since the tour had been promoted reasonably well in the metal media. Appalled, I quietly hoped that the bands would be shitty enough for me not to feel uncomfortable for not paying anything to get in. Much to my disappointment, they were not.

Before getting into the bands, I need to make a confession: I don't like doom metal. (And as I have come to understand, neither does Thasmorg.) That's it. Plain and simple. I have never understood how people can listen to something as slow and dull. Now I know you are thinking: ”If they don't like doom metal what on earth were these two fuck-ups doing in the show to begin with?” Well, as I already said, everyone else was partying so hard the previous night that there was very few editors to choose from. You just have to play the cards you're dealt.

However, when Spiritus Mortis begun their set all my previous prejudices were cast aside. The band consisted of five experienced metal musicians, each of who knew exactly what they were doing. Immediately the pint on my hand began to swing to the music. The tunes were astonishingly similar to the older material of Manowar and Dio. If the place had been packed, the band would surely have had the crowd moving.

As a result from the fierce battle metal, I felt the most primal urge to rip the shirt off my chest covering my bear-like chest and to reveal my sheaved Excalibur. Fortunately I was able to control myself since A) My chest does not look like a rug at all. In fact, there are about five lonely hairs around each nipple desperately looking for company and B) I had not brought my trusty sword with me. To be completely honest, I do not even own a sword of any kind, let alone the Excalibur. I guess that I could have brought my waterpistol instead but it doesn't really fit that Conan the Barbarian -image I was going for. My spontaneous outburst might have a bit embarrassing for Thasmorg as well.

Minotauri were the next sweaty and spiked men to take over the stage. Their music was very Celtic Frost / Hellhammer influenced doom metal. Although the music was in fact doom, it was not too slow to make you bored. A big thumbs up for that. In addition, the trio succeeded in one area that Spiritus Mortis had failed: they managed to get two drunks to form a ”mosh pit”. We had fun watching this humorous display until another of the headbangers decided they needed more beer. That was all the action we saw in front on the stage that whole night. What a shame.

Just as the main act of the evening, Reverend Bizarre, was beginning their set with a good sounding stoner riff I realized that we were going to have to leave if we were to catch the last bus from downtown to get home. Thus, being a pair of pathetic losers with no money, we passed on the idea of calling a taxi a little later and headed home.

Right before walking out the door, however, we did get a change to hear the first two minutes of Reverend Bizarre's first song (the catchy instrumental stoner rock tune in the beginning must have been but an intro). Those last two minutes were the only time I heard what I categorize as doom metal the whole night. And having already expressed my general feelings about the genre, my opinion on the music must be pretty obvious. No offense.

Rauta

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DOOM SHALL RISE TOUR 2003
 
With REVELATION, MIRROR OF DECEPTION, REVEREND BIZARRE
 
Friday,  February 7  + Saturday, February 8: Crailsheim-Triensbach, Germany  - DSR
 
The Doom Shall Rise Festival. A two day Doom party with a first-class and interested audience and throughout supernice bands, which were pleased to participate and celebrate with us.  You can find detailed reviews on the DSR webpage. The festival supplied the actual cause for the tour, because we wanted to give at least two of the 16 involved acts the possibility to play a few additional concerts and to make their long journeys (Revelation from the USA and Reverend Bizarre from Finland) a bit more worthwhile. It is the first meeting with Dennis Cornelius and Steve Brangan nearly 8 years after their European tour with Solitude Aeturnus. Jim Hunter is almost a regular guest on German stages with his many bands. It is also the first meeting with the Reverend Bizarre guys after months of e-mail battles. At first I do not recognize singers/ bassist Albert at all. On the photos he has long black hair, now short blonde and a Lenin-like beard. They traveled down from Hamburg with Hagen (the brother of Metal Supremacy`s Hermann). Hagen is also the driver for both bands for the tour. He`s the most tour experienced of us all and the resting pole within the chaos.

We play Friday night, after the Malteze Forsaken took the crowd by storm. But it works well, even if we had only 2 rehearsals before with our tour drummer Marco. Our regular drummer had at short notice working commitments in the US and unfortunately failed therefore for the tour. At the same time we present here also for the first time our mini-CD “Conversion” which just returned from the pressing plant. The response even to those new tracks is great. Reverend Bizarre have some technical problems during their set on Saturday and are not particularly content with their presentation. Still they make a lasting impression with their brand of partially extremely sloooooow Doom. But I would see them in much better shape during the tour. Revelation had the ungrateful headlining position on Saturday and had to go on stage after a 9 band Doom marathon. The crowd is pretty wasted however Revelation really give everything (especially bass animal Jim Hunter goes berzerk on stage) and make clear that they are unmistakably back and that we have to expect a lot more from them in the near future! Stunning performance. Everyone is looking forward to the next days.

Sunday, February 9: Ellwangen, Germany
 
First date of the tour after the festival. The gig today came together on very short notice and takes place without us. Our stand-in bassplayer for the tour, Witze is working and our regular fourstringer Klaus is prevented, therefore it`s unfeasible for us. But I`m glad to get some rest after the the past few days (I had been in Crailsheim since Thursday, taking care of a lot of  organizational things for the DSR). So I enjoy a day off and one more night in my own bed at home. The Rockhof at Ellwangen is only 15 miles away from the Crailsheim, therefor Revelation and Reverend Bizarre can take it easy tonight. Unfortunately only approx. 15 people show up, among them also three members Forsaken who will stay a few more days in Germany. As Frank (Well of Souls) told me they all celebrate a hell of a party, kneel down and obey each other in front of the stage and have a brilliant time together. The ones present there seem to have become witnesses of a completely special evening. I would have loved to see that.

 Monday, February 10:  Idar-Oberstein, Germany
 
The MOD trek starts off independently of the Finns and Americans from Esslingen. After initial difficulties with a somewhat dubious car hiring company we find a suitable and affordable vehicle at another company last minute. From our actual line-up unfortunately only Siffi (aka Michael) and myself remained, but our missing members Klaus (bass) and Gunnar (Drums) find competent substitutes in Witze (guitarist of the Crossover band Living Large and Grand Final Stand - > Siffi is involved in this metal cover band too) and as previously mentioned Marco (he usually plays in the Black/ Death Metal outfit Mandragora from Hannover) at the skins. Furthermore on board:  Roman, former boss of the Eiche club in Crailsheim and one of the three organizers of the DSR as driver of the MOD vehicle and his buddy Joe as merchandiser. Around 6 PM we arrive after the  initial confusion, whether we have to drive to Idar or Oberstein. It`s damn cold and that the JUZ Depot has no sign at the entrance does not make it easier to find. We load our part of the backline in and start to soundcheck.

The JUZ Depot is a cool venue with an bigger second hall with space for about  1000 people. However the smaller part is the more suitable one for us. Mondays are not the best days for concerts. But we`re glad that 40 people show up. Amongst them some people we`ve met at the DSR and also a lost little troll with Mortiis-like pointed ears.

Reverend Bizarre doom the venue to pieces tonight and seem much more confident compared to Crailsheim. Today is our first show with Witze. He`a way better guitarist than both me and Michael, but he handles the four strings just great as well. We`ve had only one rehearsal in this particular incarnation of MOD. All in all it works o.k., but there`s still room for improvement. The response is nevertheless a good one. Revelation blast through a killer set. Unbelievably, how many hits the boys have, what highly gifted musicians they are and how unbelievably tight and powerful they play! The RB guys are in the front row all the time. During my personal fave track “Finished With You” I witness something that is going to happen the next few nights as well: RB guitarist Peter is preparing himself to stagedive. The rows before the stage clear off all of a sudden, but Albert, Witze and Siffi give their doom brother a gentle landing.

 On this tour Revelation played a well balanced mixture from the 3 past albums “Salvations Answer”, “Never Comes Silence”, “Yet So Far” and from their upcoming disk “Frozen Masque”. Dennis had considered some Oversoul (the band, which he had between leaving and re-joing Revelation, and with whom he released the highly underrated “Seven Days in November” album) songs as well (as they are not that far away from Revelation stylistically either), but he decided that there is enough great own material to play. Reverend Bizarre serve tunes from their brilliant “In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend” debut album besides various songs that are meant to appear on future records. I`m particularly looking forward to the song “Cromwell”, which turned out as real ear candy. We mixed “Mirrorsoil” and “Conversion” material and some tracks (“Mirrorsoil”, the song and “Leaves”) which are meant to appear on our second album.

The backline is still on stage and a number of alcoholic jam sessions in various constellations follow. Some of  us play basketball in the big hall until the early hours of the morning. As Albert`s voice is pretty wrecked, RB try to rehearse some songs with Jim Hunter on the mic. After the 20th version of “Doomsower” I fall into Morpheus`s arms. The party goes until 7 in the morning. According to various eye-witness reports Albert`s fascination for all things camouflage breaks through that night. I`ve been told he tried to charm some remaining girls with a camouflage net.  Later he says that camouflage nets seem to pursue him on this tour. In Finland such decorations don`t seem to be likely at live clubs. Mad Finns!

Tuesday, February 11: Dresden, Germany

The 550 mile ride from Idar Oberstein to Dresden turned out as a fateful one, if not a fatal one. But more about that later. On the way from Idar-Oberstein we discover the rock church (Felsenkirche), the reason why  Revelation and Reverend Bizarre headed off earlier yesterday. But they didn`t find it and now we`re too short on time. But yet from the road it looks impressive. Dennis Cornelius had told me in the apron about the church and I was wondering where he heard about it. It turned out that he spent 7 years of his childhood here in Germany while his father was in the US Army and stationed in Ramstein which is not too far away from Idar-Oberstein. He still remembers some German and after some days he understands enough to get what people are talking about. It just doesn`t slip over his tongue that easily. After breakfast in a nearby shopping mall we drive on towards the motorway. The wild rock landscape, the ravines and brooks of the surrounding area are really breathtaking and have a somehow cursed, fairy tale-ish flair. The grey sky and the nebula clouds which cover the mountain slopes add a lot to it. Very impressive. As we journey on the fissured rocks turn into tranquil vineyards and we get back on the motorway.

The way to Dresden is as already written long and cold and some of us get a lasting souvenir in our two driving fridges. We arrive around 8 PM and after an odyssey throught the nocturnal Florence at the Elbe (a common German term for Dresden referring to the baroque architecture of the city and the river which runs through it) at the NuBeatzz. We put our backline on stage and do a quick soundcheck. Some are already checking in at the hotel which is just around the corner. A recommendation for Dresden tourists: the Mezcalero in the Koenigsbruecker Strasse (Dresden-Neustadt). A cosy boarding house furnished in sort of a TexMex/Aztec/Maya style with fair prices. But back to the Nubeatzz:  120 people show up tonight and prove that Germany`s southern east (meaning Saxonia and Thuringia) is probably some of the best places for Doom bands right now. The bands get treated with respect, they get fine catering, an interested audience and generally good conditions. Tonight`s shows work out fine for all the bands. Instead of Jim, Dennis does “Doomsower” with RB now. Albert`s voice sounds a bit rough, but he still does a great job. The guest appearance of Dennis is one of the highlights of the tour. We play a better show tonight, slowly we`re growing together on stage. Revelation rule!

 It proves more and more that this is a truly great package of bands. Every band is doing its`own thing, but it works really well both musically and socially.

 Everyone is happy with the show, even the boss of the venue who travelled to Crailsheim on his own to see the Doom Shall Rise festival last weekend. After the gig some go back to the hotel, while 3/4 of MOD, Peter & Albert of Reverend Bizarre, Dennis of Revelation and of course the party animals Joe and Roman raise hell until 5 AM in a nearby oldie disco. We lurch back to the hotel and tonight I gratify Revelation with my noisy company. Quite amazing that I manage to climb the 10 foot ladder to the top of the bunkbed without accident.

 Wednesday, February 12: Jena, Germany
 
After the breakfast and a short visit in a nearby internet café (checking the guestbook of the Doom Shall Rise webpage) we take a walk into Dresden. It`s cracking cold, but Dresden illuminates in the sunshine, so we visit some famous landmarks as the Zwinger and the Cathedral. We part at the Frauenkirche. Some prefer to have a boar lunch, others do some more sightseeing and I am searching for a pharmacy and something affordable to eat with Albert, Void and the ill Jim. Jim is that sick that he almost falls of the chair at the McDonald`s. We inform the others and walk back to the vans. On the way Albert finds a remarkably terrible child sweater, which he buys instantly due to the camouflage like pattern and the favourable price (3 euros) in a bargain market. Looks damn hot, belly-free, sleeves up to the elbow and well combined with a bullet belt!

 Today we have just a relatively short distance of 140 miles to cover. Katja, a nice local girl who joined our trek yesterday drives fever-ridden Jim and Witze in her better heated private car. Despite road maps we get lost in Jena again. By coincidence we find the hotel for tonight, check in and drive to the venue. Jim gets a few hours of rest at the hotel. Hagen picks him up later. The Rosenkeller is a great venue down in an old cellar. The perfect location with the suitable atmosphere for a Doom concert.  Somehow we master the dangerously steep stairs with the low ceiling with our entire gear. It`s about time someone invents inflatable speaker cabinetts, some made out of pasteboard or as powder. During the soundcheck me and Dennis talk about guitars and he reveals that his Explorer axe is the one he bought of John Brenner when he joined Revelation. It`s just a small detail, but it proves, how much Dennis is endeavored with dignity to continue the inheritance of John (who is nowadays a artists and painter). Around 10 PM RB enter the stage and play another great show. About 60 doomsters turn up and some of them have been at the DSR as well. A delegation from Nuremberg (Serkan of The Skull Distro and his buddy Kurt) and Inuluki, regular visitor of the chat every Wednesday night on the MOD website and epic metal expert. Bogo, organizer of the With Full Force festival is present as well and he confirms the rumour that the mighty Saint Vitus are going to play at this years`s festival. All three bands get a great repsonse from the audience and enjoy their shows. But due to another  long journey on the coming morning we skip the aftershow party tonight. We get our stuff out and fall into our beds around 3:30 AM.

 Thursday, February 13: Ghent, Belgium

The show in Ghent, Belgium is the only one abroad on this tour and it means another 500 miles to travel for us. We decide to call this “the Sickness tour” from now on, as Void, Steve and Jim are feel pretty ill. Michael has some problems too and I do also feel the first symptoms of a flue on the rise. We get some more medicine from a pharmacy and Witze and myself decide to travel with Hagen to give some of our sick mates the opportunity to get a warmer ride on the MOD van. Katja is leaving for Hannover, where we are going to play on Friday. On the way out of Jena, Hagen gets some carpets for a bit of floor insulation for the van. But fortunately it`s sunny and much warmer today as well. We wrap ourselves in some sleeping bags and spend the 7 hours on the road with lots of anecdotes, discussions, sleeping and robbing some gas stations on the way. After the local odyssey in Ghent we finally find the Frontline. No sign at the building, but after a few calls to Fréderic (guitarist of Pantheist and the one who set up tonight`s show} we get there. Ghent is a university town, the Frontline is located in a street with loads of bars so there`s pretty much going on there. And everywhere bicycles over bicycles, which makes Dennis wonder how it works with the the bikes over here. His impression is that everyone who is in need of a bike just grabs one and leaves it wherever one needed to go. One could get the impression considering the pervasive bicycle mountains indeed, there seems to be no sort of system behind it. We load our stuff in and start to soundcheck immediately. Tonight we`re the openers. There are again some familiar faces in the audience: Pim, Officium Triste`s vocalist, Jean Mathues, editor of the legendary and after long break soon re-appearing Reflections of Doom magazine, Steve of Thee Plague of Gentlemen, Kostas of Doom Metal.com (and Pantheist too), who came all the way from London for this show and die hard Revelation fan Har from Amsterdam. We`ve got about 60 people tonight who came to get their dose of Doom. Ghent and/ or the Frontline has loads of shows every week, so the audience seems a bit restrained compared to the past few nights. People seem to enjoy it, but no stagediving or wild headbanging tonight. The stage is pretty small but playingwise this is our best show so far. Reverend Bizarre go on the stage after us. Drummer Void looks very bad and we`re all afraid that he would pass out behind the kit. But he stands it with admirable discipline and professionalism. Revelation play another fine gig. Jim seems to do better than yesterday.

After the show a pretty girl enters the backstage room and tells us that our song “Veil of Lead” has been the first that turned her into Heavy Metal music. She`s French, but studies in Ghent and would have never dared to see us live. Too bad we decided to skip it tonight. I promise that we will play it at the Dutch Doom Day II in September in Rotterdam. But it`s time to leave. We get Revelation and Reverend Bizarre to Steve (TPOG)`s metal temple in the city center and make drive with Hagen on to Fréderic`s. Roman wants to visit some more pubs but we`re all too tired.  So he decides to stay in the van tonight. We get some nice Duvel beers (7.2 %), talk for a while and fall asleep some time later.

Friday, February 14: Hannover, Germany
 
Around 10 AM we get back to Steve`s to pick up the rest of the gang. Some of his guests had time for a bit of sightseeing in town. I`ll return here sometime later, as there is a lot to see, like the impressive medieval town centre and the castle. Today everyone seems to do a bit better again. Fréderic leads us to the motorway and we`re heading back to Germany. Again several hours of travel for us. Steve tells me about his home in New England. I`ll surely get there one day. Albert and Jim converse extensively about some old unforgotten metal videos. Two freaks who searched and found each other! A central role plays a Metal Blade video from the 80s. Particularly the square-like mullet of guitar hero Alex Masi seems to have made a lasting impression. Apart from that Jim displays his talent as first-class Tom Jones impersonator. It would be interesting to hear this in connection with one of the countless metal bands (at present: October 31, Twisted Tower Dire, While Heaven Wept and of course Revelation) into which he is involved. Albert tells about his numerous musical projects and describes in detail the weird concepts of the next 6 albums of his Gothic rock band, while Peter comments it only with a knowing smile. Sick Finns!  In addition, the next few Reverend Bizarre disks have already taken shape in their twisted minds and so we hear far more song and album titles than I could manage to remember.

It is already dark, as we finally arrive at the place of event in Hannover. The venue (Béi Chéz Heinz) is located beneath a swimming hall. Good stage, nice extensive club, cosy backstage area and fine self-cooked catering. Around 10 PM Reverend Bizarre start their monumental 1 ½ hour set. Void feels fit and beats the drums with passion. The walls start to crumble and this must be their greatest show so far. Awesome! Afterwards it`s our turn again. Tonight we give the audience the Speed Metal variation. Our tour drummer Marco is local, so loads of family, friends, bandmates and his girlfriend Anna show up which makes him a bit excited. We and the public have our fun. Revelation rule once more completely, receive a great response from the 120 visitors, but after Dennis broke his second string, the show is over. As the lights turn on it`s time to part. Our patients go with Marco who lives close to the venue. The rest gets to his rehearsal place where we party on and tape some weird discussions.

 Saturday, February 15: Recklinghausen, Germany
 
We meet again at the venue in the afternoon. Void is doing pretty bad. Marco and Anna offer to bring him to a hospital in Hannover and it seems to be the best at the moment. The rest of us is leaving for the final show in Recklinghausen. But we are a bit too late for the planned excursions to the extern stones and the Hermann`s monument.

 We arrive around 7 PM. Local support tonight is a band called Never Comes Silence, who worked their asses off to set up and promote this show only a week before. Their singer even cancelled his trip to the DSR to spread the word about it. Thanks again! We have about 70 people and that`s pretty decent considering the circumstances. Unfortunately we have no competent soundman among us and so NCS try to fix it. Despite the adverse circumstances they play a good show and it`s obvious that quite some people came to see them. Even though they`re named after a Revelation album they have not much in common musically. They describe it as atmospheric metal and it`s got quite some goth tinges. The dedicated Revelation fan Har (who was a member of Dutch doomsters Shylock a while ago, can`t remember the name of his present band) has travelled all the way from Amsterdam again. Marco, Anna and Void have arrived in the meantime. The doctor in Hannover did nothing for Void, so they have to cancel their show tonight. The NCS violin player Reini drives back to their rehearsal room and gets a heater for the tiny backstage room. Void and Steve appreciate it. Revelation play second, as they and RB have to get back to Hamburg right after the show to catch their planes back home. Revelation play a great final gig and the audience is buying off their last remaining shirts like madly. Their next album, “Frozen Masque” isn`t out yet  so people go for the shirts to take at least something to remember back home. That makes us headliners tonight and while we are on stage, preparing ourselves, the Revelation and Reverend Bizarre guys come on stage, give us a hug and say goodbye. Quite a sad moment, as we became friends during this tour and parting is tough. We do our best to pull off a proper show but have to deal with a lot of technical problems that night. We make the best out of the situation and have a good laugh with the audience. It`s by far our funniest and most relaxed show and that`s a good way to fight the sadness. Occasionally Michael`s vocals sound as he would sit in a huge tin lighthouse and shouts on against the raging sea. Very bizarre! After a while the vocals disappear completely and we play some more instrumental tunes. The crowd appreciates it anyway and everyone enjoys it.

After the show I notice that the last few days and the sickness around us demand their tribute. I feel completely burned out, empty and broken and am glad that I find a place to sleep at Reini`s place and that we can leave soon. Marco and Anna get back on the way to Hannover, while Michael and Witze have a few more beers in town with the other NCS guys.

 Sunday, February 16: Way home

We leave around noon. On our journey back home we reflect the past week and talk a lot about it. Everyone takes some lasting memories with him. It`s been an awesome week with great friends,  incredible music and fine crowds. Michael and me are finally back home around 9 PM.

 MAJOR THANKS to everyone involved: our great stand-ins Marco and Witze, Jim, Steve and Dennis of Revelation, Peter, Albert and Void of Reverend Bizarre, Joe (merch god) and our drivers Hagen and Roman.

 We`ll return!

 (Jochen Fopp / Mirror of Deception, March/April 2003)

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