A few weeks ago, I was very fortunate to have attended a theater screening of At the Gates’ full-length documentary, Under a Serpent Sky, which is bundled as part of the three-disc box set The Flames of the End (Earache Records).
Not long after the lights dimmed and Under a Serpent Sky started rolling, I knew I was in for a cool ride. Directed by guitarist Anders Björler, the documentary touches on just about everything that you’ve ever wanted to know about this band. It even includes footage taken from rare home videos and the band’s personal pictures.
This insanely thorough film includes interviews every band member (one the film’s most interesting parts is hearing the band discuss the [pre-At the Gates band] Grotesque days and what it was like growing up as one of only a handful of metalheads in the Gothenburg area), but there are also interviews with a lot of key players in the Swedish death metal scene, including Uffe Cederlund from Entombed/Disfear, producer Frederik Nordström, and Mikael Stanne from Dark Tranquillity. In terms of giving fans a proper view of how one of Sweden’s greatest bands and scenes came into existence, there’s just nothing out there that rivals this kind of coverage.
Watch a preview for the DVD here:
Due to the length of the film, we were not shown the epilogue. It was summed up as a “What are they up to now?’ kind of feature. I’m extremely curious to see it once I get my hands on the actual product, though I more or less know what everyone is up to these days…what can I say, I’m a shameless fanboy.
Prior to the screening, I had an opportunity to sit down with Anders for a little chat at his hotel. In the following interview, he talks about the making of this feature, and gives us his final thoughts about the band. By Henry Yuan
The Flames of the End box set not only has the Wacken Open Air performance, but it also contains a full-length feature documentary. Would you say that this is a celebration of At the Gates as opposed to just being the “final nail in the coffin”?
ANDERS BJÖRLER When we originally talked about this, the decision was to document this story as a present to ourselves. As the project prolonged, I noticed it got bigger and bigger. Everyone soon got involved and it became a giant puzzle, where we were trying to figure out the past and going through hundreds of pictures. We were basically living in the past for a while. We ended up doing some reunion shows and after we got back, I worked on the film for four or five months straight to put the finishing touches on it. It was then when I realized this was an actual feature-length documentary film. I mean, it’s not like a real documentary film, but we’re all very proud of this.
What was the actual process like of putting together the documentary? What was going through your head when you came across some of the footage?
BJÖRLER I had some old stuff from the very beginning. My father had this old VHS camera recorder, you know, the “big boat” [laughs], which he gave to me and I started filming as early as 1989. I started filming Grotesque [the pre-At the Gates band featuring vocalist Tomas Lindberg] and various shows around the Gothenburg area. Even though I had some of this old stuff, I needed help from people all over the world. I mean, I actually got footage from a guy in Jordan. It was footage from a Grotesque rehearsal, which was originally shot by me, but I lent it to someone in the past. 20 years later, he has that copy. I don’t know, but he had it [laughs].
That’s the thing. These videos were traded in the tape trading scene and the bootleg scene, especially the concert footage. Two guys from New York actually filmed the show at the Wetlands in 1996. I mean, I had a lot of footage and pictures but I had to get in touch with everyone from the scene to get more and to get some stories. Of course, you don’t remember everything. [At the Gates vocalist] Tomas [Lindberg] had a lot of ideas and got very involved and we had different members in the past… it’s been such a long time.
What made you and the rest of the band decide to reform the band for these series of shows? Was there any specific event that triggered this decision?
BJÖRLER We had talked about it in the past, actually. We started talking about it in 2002. Adrian [Erlandsson, drummer] was tied up with Cradle of Filth at the time. He wasn’t allowed to do it, basically. When he got out of Cradle, things were looking better. We [along with brother/bassist Jonas Björler] had a very tight touring schedule lined up with the Haunted and Tomas was in school at the time studying to become a teacher and he had other bands on the side.
Since I was the one who quit the band in ’96, (more…)
HARVEY MILK have just announced the release of their new album, A Small Turn of Human Kindness, on May 18th on Hydra Head.
A Small Turn of Human Kindness is as dense and as heavy temperamentally as it is musically. The seven songs so subtly bleed together that the listener has no choice but to view the entire album as a linear orchestration with a singular ebb and flow…. a rising and falling action, refined to hell and back. And so, all of these things lead me to believe that any and all true HARVEY MILK fans will eventually argue this record as the band’s finest work. Or at least the vinyl version will become the quintessential mantle-piece for a generation of suburban children slumming it in the inner city… you know who you are!
Tracklisting:
1. *
2. I Just Want To Go Home
3. I Am Sick of All This Too
4. I Know This Is No Place For You
5. I Alone Got Up and Left
6. I Know This Is All My Fault
7. I Did Not Call Out
Harvey Milk Live!
3/5 Pittsburgh, PA @ Rex Theatre w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/6 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/7 Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/8 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/9 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/10 Montreal, QC @ Il Motore w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/11 Toronto, ON @ Wreck Room w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/12 Hamtramck, MI @ Small’s w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
3/13 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean w/ Coalesce, Atlas Moth
5/27 Nashville, TN @ Rockettown w/ Converge, Lewd Acts, Black Breath
5/28 Atlanta, GA @ The Masqurade w/ Converge, Lewd Acts, Black Breath
Hull’s guitarist/vocalist Nick Palmirotto. Photo by Samantha Marble.
Brooklyn doom crew HULL are gearing up to scorch the earth on their way to South By Southwest, in support of their new release Sole Lord (The End Records).
Check out the dates below:
03/05/2010 09:00 PM – MillCreek Tavern
4200 Chester Ave
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
US
Cost:TBD
Description:w/ Hull, The Empire Shall Fall, We Thieves and Ominous Black
03/07/2010 08:00 PM – Velvet Lounge
915 U Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20001-4019
(202) 462-3213
Cost: $8.00
21+
Description:w/ Old Crow, East of the Wall, Goes Cube
03/12/2010 08:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ Poor Richard’s
Johnson City, TN
825 W. Walnut St. Johnson City, TN 37604
Johnson City, Tennessee 37604
US
Cost:TBA
Description:Friday March 12 Johnson City, TN @ Poor Richard’s (825 W. Walnut St. Johnson City, TN 37604) With: Thunderchief and Abnor Muhll
03/13/2010 08:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ The Downtown
Little Rock, AR
215 West Capitol
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
US
Cost:$8.00
Description:3/13/2010 8:00 PM at DOWNTOWN MUSICS 8 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! w/ Rwake, Vore, Snake Sustaine, and Hull Little Rock, Arkansas Cost: $8
03/14/2010 08:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ Little Hamilton Collective Nashville, TN
1318 Little Hamilton Street
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
US
Cost:N/A
Description:Sunday March 14th with: SALOME Tombs(Brooklyn) Evil Bebos Dawn Sanctions Mother Whale Eyeless Most Amazing Century Of Science Colossi No Compassion Little Hamilton Collective (615) 406-2076
03/15/2010 08:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ Dragon’s Den
New Orleans, LA
435 Esplanade Avenue
New Orleans, Louisiana 70116
US
Cost:$3.00
Description:Nawlin’s With Caltrop!
03/16/2010 08:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ Doom Room
Vicksburg, MS
1720 Clay Street
Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180
US
Cost:N/A
Description:Doom Room with: Buzzardstein and Caltrop.
03/17/2010 06:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ Holy Roller
Bossier City, LA
3400 Industrial Drive
Bossier City, Louisiana 71112
US
Cost:TBA
Description:Power Pellut, Caltrop, Snake Sustaine, Beast in the Field, Hitleristic Darwinist, and HULL!!! 2 stages. (318) 747-8944 holyrollerskatepark.com
03/18/2010 02:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ SXSW East End Tattoo
Austin, TX
1101 Navasota Street
Austin, Texas 78702
US
Cost:TBA
Description:Chronic Youth Showcase with: YaHoWah13 – 9:30PM Entrance Band – 9:00PM Lullabye Arkestra – 8:30PM Serena Maneesh – 8:00 PM Snake Sustaine – 7:30PM Zoroaster – 7:00PM Atlas Moth – 6:30PM Dark Castle – 6:00PM Alpha & Omega – 5:30PM Barn Burner – 5:00PM HULL – 4:30PM Bitter End – 4:00PM Goes Cube – 3:30PM Hopewell – 3:00PM Kreisor – 2:30PM
03/19/2010 08:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY @ The Nightrocker
605 San Pedro Avenue
San Antonio, Texas 78212
US
Cost:TBA
Description:The Nightrocker 20th annual SXSW Spillover BBQ and Music Festival 1am-ASG 12am-US Christmas 11pm-Caltrop 10pm-Hull (210) 650-2243
03/20/2010 12:00 PM – 2010: A FACE ODYSSEY@The Metropolis
Austin, TX
2200 South Pleasant Valley
Austin, Texas 78741
US
Cost:FREE!
Description:Earsplitters Showcase with: Hellas Mounds Nanda Devi Goes Cube East of the Wall Empires Snake Sustaine Savagist Struck By Lightning Behold! The Monolith Toad Adai City of Ships Battlefields Haarp Junius The Atlas Moth Yakuza Cloud Burial Coffinworm
Norway’s legendary black metal duo, Darkthrone, has launched a mini-site at for their forthcoming album, Circle the Wagons, containing exclusive audio samples, album info, and more. The mini-site can be viewed at HERE.
The highly anticipated, Circle the Wagons, is due out on vinyl on March 8th, through the Peaceville Records webstore, and regular and special edition CD on April 6th (US).
Fans can preorder both the vinyl and CD editions of Circle the Wagons through the new mini-site, and those who sign up for the Darkthrone mailing list will receive a free download of a track off the new album.
Artwork for the album comes once again courtesy of Dennis Dread, notable for his talents on previous Darkthrone albums, F.O.A.D and 2008’s Dark Thrones and Black Flags.
Circle the Wagons was self-recorded at Necrohell II Studios.
Before coming to this show, I knew it was going to be a pretty interesting night. It wasn’t just because the awfully underrated and super-legendary Floridian progressive metal masters Cynic would once again be supporting a band that they helped create, but it’s because I heard that they would be premiering out a new tune. Considering the fact that their latest masterpiece, Traced in Air (Season of Mist), came out 15 years after their landmark debut Focus (Roadrunner), I was more than happy to get a fix of brand-new Cynic songs.
I didn’t make it in time to check out most of Scale the Summit’s set. From what I caught, these guys played instrumental guitar music. I wouldn’t call this metal in any way. In fact, I wasn’t even into it. Sorry, but guitar-heavy instrumental music isn’t for me. I will give props to these kids, though. They can definitely rip on their instruments.
Up next was another legendary figure: Canada’s Devin Townsend. The former Steve Vai singer and Strapping Young Lad frontman is back after retiring from the music industry for some time—and he’s more whacked out then ever. I never understood his music or his sense of humor, so I guess that’s why I didn’t really enjoy his set. While I was walking around the venue, I heard a lot of people who came specifically for him and were super stoked to see him. His onstage banter reminded me of Mike Patton and Frank Zappa, but even more intense. Tonight’s crowd definitely worshipped “Heavy Devy.”
Cynic was up next, and I don’t think my love for this band needs too much of an introduction. They were a band so far ahead of their time that it was ridiculous. Even today, I feel that they are criminally overlooked. With that said, I must admit I was pretty disappointed with the band tonight.
Why? First, they only played only one song from Focus. I know singer/guitarist Paul Masvidal is a very spiritual person, but that doesn’t mean the fans—the people who truly find solace in his music—don’t want to hear his classic songs (even if they were written 16 years ago when he was in a different mindset). Cynic only has two albums, each of them clock-in at about 35 minutes. I’m sure if they cut the live segue samples a little bit, they could’ve added two or three more songs from Focus. I was extremely shocked that they didn’t even play “How Could I?” That’s like Slayer not playing “Raining Blood.”
The new song, whose title I did not catch, really got me thinking. The direction was more straightforward and more in the lines of Paul and drummer Sean Reinsert’s other project, Aeon Spoke. It was definitely a song that I need to listen to at home in order for me to get the most out of it. Right off the bat, I got a latter-day Katatonia vibe, which was awesome, though not exactly “Cynic”-like. Perfomance-wise, the band was on fire, as usual. Bassist Robin Zielhorst held it down and second guitarist Tymon Kruidenier played his leads as fluid as ever.
After a disappointing set, I decided to catch some of Between the Buried and Me. I couldn’t help but notice the band’s eclectic crowd, with fans ranging from hardcore tough guys, teeny-bopper MySpace girls, Berklee College of Music rejects and the occasional old-timer who probably heard about the band in the New York Times or the Village Voice. I’ve read a lot about this band and even checked out some of their latest material, but I never got into it. I was hoping I would at least enjoy them live. Not surprisingly, I was wrong.
Usually, when I don’t enjoy a band, it’s almost always going to be that the music is not for me. However, there are cases where I will see a band live and get so blown away by their energy that I will go back to their records and actually enjoy them, which happened with Sweden’s Nifelheim.
Between the Buried and Me do not fall under this category—and it’s nothing against the band. These guys are so unbelievably talented it’s ridiculous. In particular, I must call out drummer Blake Richardson. This guy is an incredibly fluid and dynamic drummer. I’d like to say he’s the Dennis Chambers of progressive metalcore.
Overall, it was the night for Between the Buried and Me and the sold-out crowd showed it. The fans might have gotten their money’s worth but I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth. This just shows that Cynic need to finally do a proper headline tour so that will give their music justice. In a perfect world, I would love for them to co-headline with Atheist—the band who sparked the reformation of Cynic. Maybe that will give Paul the type of energy to whip out “Uroboric Forms.” —Henry Yuan
Amon Amarth set to tour the states this April with support coming from Holy Grail & Eluveitie
In continuing support of the band’s 2008 release Twilight of the Thunder God, AMON AMARTH have announced a spring, 2010 North American headlining tour, which marks the band’s first tour in the states since their April/May 2009 run with Goatwhore, Skeletonwitch, and Lazarus A.D. The scheduled 15 date trek kicks off on April 8th at the House of Blues in Hollywood, CA. Support on the AMON AMARTH tour will come from Pasadena, California’s Holy Grail and Switzerland’s Eluveitie.
Amon Amarth comments: “We’re extremely excited to be hitting North American shores again for a final run of the Twilight of the Thunder God tour. We’re also happy to bring two great bands, Eluveitie and Holy Grail with us.”
AMON AMARTH Tour w/ Holy Grail and Eluveitie
04/08 West Hollywood, CA House Of Blues
04/09 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom w/ Fear Factory, Dirge Within, Holy Grail, Eluveitie
04/10 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
04/11 Seattle, WA Showbox At The Market
04/12 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
04/14 Calgary, AB McEwen Hall University Of Calgary
04/15 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Event Center
04/16 Saskatoon, SK Odeon Event Centre
04/17 Winnipeg, MB Garrick Center
04/18 Saint Paul, MN Station 4
04/19 Chicago, IL Logan Square Auditorium
04/21 Toronto, ON Opera House
04/22 Montreal, QC Metropolis
04/23 Quebec City, QC Imperial Theater
04/25 New York, NY The Fillmore
Twilight of the Thunder God features several high-profile guest appearances including Entombed singer L.G. Petrov (on ‘Guardians of Asgaard’), Children of Bodom guitarist Roope Latvala (who shreds a fierce solo on the track ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’) and Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica (a guest appearance on ‘Live For The Kill’).
Hardcore metal act Converge have announced a headlining spring tour in support of 2009’s critically heralded, Axe To Fall. In an epic kick off, the band has invited labelmates and friends Thursday, who are currently out supporting their 2009 release Common Existence, to join them on the road for the first week of the tour. Converge will be joined by supporting acts Coalesce, Harvey Milk, Gaza, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts and Black Breath on various dates throughout the rest of the tour (see tour routing below). Tickets are on sale now.
Converge Tour Dates:
Apr 30 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero (w/Thursday, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts)
May 1 – Worcester, MA – The Palladium (w/Thursday, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts)
May 2 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance (w/Thursday, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts)
May 3 – Williamsville, NY – Club Infinity (w/Thursday, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts)
May 4 – Washington, DC – Black Cat (w/Thursday, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts)
May 5 – Norfolk, VA – Norva (w/Thursday, Touche Amore, Lewd Acts)
May 6 – New York City – Santo’s Party House (w/Touche Amore, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 7 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop (w/Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 8 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick (w/Coalesce, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 9 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge (w/Coalesce, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 10 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck (w/Coalesce, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 11 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre (w/Coalesce, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 13 – Seattle, WA – Nuemo’s (w/Coalesce, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 14 – Portland, OR – Satyricon (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 15 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s (w/Coalesce, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 16 – San Luis Obispo, CA – Downtown Brew (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 17 – Anaheim, CA – Chain Reaction (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 18 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 19 – Phoenix, AZ – The Clubhouse Music Venue (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 21 – Austin, TX – Emo’s Outside (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 22 – Dallas, TX – Trees (w/Coalesce, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 23 – Tulsa, OK – The Marquee (w/Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 25 – Memphis, TN – Hi Tone Café (w/Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 26 – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall (w/Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 27 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In (w/Harvey Milk, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 28 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade (w/Harvey Milk, Gaza, Lewd Acts, Black Breath)
May 20 – Baltimore, MD – Sonar (w/TBA)
“Untitled 5/05,” a track from Burzum-esque lo-fi black metal artist Xasthur’s recently reissued (via Hydra Head Records), 2005 Demo, is now streaming at this location.
The perfect soundtrack for winter’s dismal isolation! Enjoy!
Red Fang is the formation of long time friends and collaborators Bryan Giles (Last of the Juanitas, Party Time), Aaron Beam (Dark Forces, Lachrymator), David Sullivan (Party Time, facedowninshit, Shiny Beast) and John Sherman (Party Time, Bad Wizard, Trumans Water, All Night).
Unleashed on New Year’s Eve of 2006 in Portland, Oregon, Red Fang stormed out of the gates, introducing a sweaty, seething basement to a new kind of unforgettable fist-pumping, beer-chugging rock music. Since that night, the band has continued with the same intensity, energy, and intimacy to quickly become a touring juggernaut, playing shows all over the US with bands like The Melvins, Big Business, and The Sword, to name just a few.
Residing somewhere between Black Flag and Black Sabbath, Red Fang recall a time when rock was more urgent and horrifying. Synthesizing a variety of heavy music influences into their own distinct musical identity, the band easily shifts from barn-burning punk to mid-tempo, hyper-distorted bass destruction all while maintaining a cohesive sound.
Red Fang create gigantic rock songs that are easy to listen to (not easy listening, mind you) and qualify the simultaneous usage of both the thinking and the banging head, which are usually mutually exclusive. Their instrumentation is fluid and effortless, and the vocals are delivered melodically and forcefully, with enough rasp and effect saturation to fit nicely within the music. Paired with elemental imagery, the lyrics are immense and satisfying without any pretense.
Red Fang’s self-titled debut full-length will be released on Sargent House in March 2009.
The unrelenting Norwegian duo, Darkthrone—featuring drummer/lyricist Fenriz and guitarist/singer Nocturno Culto—will welcome a new decade with a new album, to be released on Peaceville Records. Circle The Wagons, a creative feast of metal and punk, will initially be released on vinyl on March 8th, through the Peaceville Records webstore, as an exclusive taster for the legions of metal supporters out there who still care about great music delivered the classic way. The vinyl will also include a link to download a digital version of the album, which will be available when the regular and special edition CD versions of the album are released on April 6th.
The vinyl edition can be pre-ordered now at www.peaceville.com/darkthrone. The packaging and contents of the special edition CD will be announced shortly, and will be available to pre-order from the Circle The Wagons mini-site, which will launch on February 12th.
Circle the Wagons was self-recorded at Necrohell II Studios. Artwork for the album comes once again courtesy of Dennis Dread, notable for his talents on previous Darkthrone albums, F.O.A.D and 2008’s Dark Thrones and Black Flags.
From their thrash and death beginnings to their ascension to the pantheon of black metal greats, Darkthrone has always refused to stand still. They continue to embrace and explore their roots and capture the real spirit of sonic greatness on Circle the Wagons.
Darkthrone sails against the tides of trend and disposable metal, uncompromising and defiant as ever, an ideology expanded upon by Fenriz, when explaining the meaning behind the title.
“The new metal decade starts with our album. It is a message to the invaders of our metal domain to circle their wagons! With our own brand of heavy metal/speed metal-punk we are a constant ambush on the modern overground metal traitors. Join us in our fight against instant gratification, and let’s see who stands when the smoke clears.”
