Glenn Five Former Anvil Bassist

by Alex Barbieri
Staff Writer –

No Expectations, Just Possibilities: An Interview with Former Anvil Bassist, Glenn Five

Bassist Glenn Gyorffy (a.k.a. Glenn Five or G5), powered the Canadian metal power trio, Anvil, for 16 years. In late January 2012, news hit the rock press that G5 was leaving Anvil for various reasons. Here, Glenn Five—one of the most underrated and inspirational bassists in rock — opens up to Hardrock Haven on why he left Anvil, his favorite memories of the past 16 years, and his musical plans for the future.

HRH: Glenn, thank you for reaching out to Hardrock Haven. We’re honored to be one of the websites you have chosen to talk to. Before we discuss more positive topics, let’s get it out of the way … what happened in Anvil that made you want to leave after 16 years?

G5: To begin, let me thank you, Alex, for once again opening up the pages of Hardrock Haven to me and allowing me the chance to share my words with your readers.

I wouldn’t say anything in particular happened that made me want to quit Anvil. It’s been an ongoing thing for many years. Basically, it was getting a bit stale for the artist inside me and I simply wasn’t fulfilled playing in the band anymore. As many people know there was a wonderful movie made about Anvil (“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”) that re-ignited a flame in the band, not only in the public eye, but also in ourselves. When the film started to receive critical acclaim and we started this amazing ride on the film festival circuit, we found ourselves very inspired like we hadn’t been in a long time. The success of the movie also brought with it the interest of the industry and we obtained proper management for the first time in decades—certainly the first time in my long tenure with the band.

With that management came tours all around the world and a chance to experience many new things. It was very inspirational and we found ourselves writing and recording Juggernaut of Justice, the best album the band has done to date. The truth is before the film maker, Sacha Gervasi, came back into Anvil’s life and made a brilliant movie about a great story of perseverance, the band was in a downward spiral. The music just wasn’t making a difference and creatively speaking we were at a bit of a stand still. This changed with the prospect of a film and a chance to once again record with Chris Tsangarides on the This is Thirteen album. That album, because of the movie, received a lot of attention and was picked up and distributed by “big time record companies like Sony in Japan and Vh1 in the United States.

That feeling of renewed creativity continued on with the Juggernaut album, but unfortunately the interest of the record companies didn’t, and in my opinion the album hasn’t been given the chance to shine like it deserves and Anvil have found themselves once again in a position of irrelevance. The music just isn’t making a difference in today’s marketplace. The movie was sort of a band aid over the inevitable, and in my opinion, Anvil is now on its way back to the same position as it was back in 2005 before the filming of the movie began.

HRH: That said, you have a lot to be proud from your time in Anvil. You helped sustain Anvil through periods of relative obscurity, helped fuel the success of the movie, “Anvil! The Story of Anvil,” and helped create an absolutely crushing album, Juggernaut of Justice.
What are some of your favorite memories and experiences from the past 16 years with the band?

G5: Well, it’s all been great. My entire time with Anvil has been a great ride. I’ve learned a lot, experienced some amazing things, got to travel the world and meet some amazing people along the way. Two very wonderful experiences for me took place in England.

The first was the recording of the This is Thirteen album. Not only to work with a great producer like Chris Tsangarides, but also to spend nine weeks in the village of Kingsdown where Chris’ studio is located. Kingsdown is a small village in Kent in the South East of England. The local villagers are among some of the greatest people I’ve met and they welcomed us with open arms. I made some really great friends there that I consider my extended family, and I have been back to visit a couple of times. The second was when we went to London for the London Film Festival. The premier of our movie was awesome, complete with being joined on the red carpet by Sarah Brown, the wife of then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

But the best part of that particular trip was meeting the love of my life, an amazing woman who is a publicist at The Works, the company that distributed the Anvil movie. I lived the dream professionally with Anvil, but all the other things that came with it mean a great deal to me, and maybe more so at the end of the day. I don’t play in Anvil anymore but the relationships remain and I couldn’t be more grateful for having such wonderful people in my life.

HRH: Is there anything you want to say to your ex-bandmates, Steve and Robb to clear the air?

G5: Actually there is nothing that I would say to them in this forum. One day, when our paths cross again, there will be things to say. For now, I just wish them well and continued success.

HRH: What are your musical goals for the future? Do you have a new band in the works yet that you’d like to announce?

G5: Nothing I’d like to announce at the moment, Alex. I’ve got a few things on the go and I am entertaining offers. I’d like to join another band. I enjoy the band atmosphere, the brotherhood and common goal between bandmates is a strong thing.

I want to record some of my songs as well, but I’m not sure that I would want to put a band together to play only my stuff. I much rather collaborate in a band setting, than just dictate what I want. Basically at this point in time, I’m leaving my options open and having fun and feeling creative again. Something I can say I didn’t feel in Anvil for the past year or so. Other musical goals include producing and musical directing. I’ve had great collaborating moments with great producers and have been encouraged that I can in fact be a producer. Also, I would like to get into session work. That would be a great way to widen my horizons and meet other musicians and producers. Session work would be a good opportunity to play different styles of music.

HRH: You’re a songwriter with a wide taste in music. How would you describe your style of writing, and who are some of your primary influences, songwriting-wise?

G5: That’s an interesting question—I’ve never really had to describe my song writing style. I’ve always just written from my heart and soul, and what comes out is usually an indication of where I was and how I was feeling at that point in time. I’ve always believed that the song is there and you just need to find it. I think it was Bono from U2 who said, “Just get out of the song’s way,” and that’s the way I feel too. The song will write itself—you just need to guide it where it wants to go. I believe the best songs are the ones that just happen, usually quickly and effortlessly. A couple of my influences would be Paul McCartney and Sting, not a coincidence that they are both primarily bass players. I also believe that bassists make good musical directors as well as song writers, as the bass is the glue between rhythm and melody.

HRH: What non-musical activities are you into lately? Tell us a bit about the man behind the music.

G5: Well lately, I’ve been spending much more time with family and friends. I’ve been on the road a lot for the last few years, and although I have great people in my life all around the world, it’s nice to spend time with the people at home whom I always miss when I’m away. As far as activities, I enjoy going to movies and watching English football. I support Arsenal, a team based out of North London. Go Gunners!

HRH: What movies, music and books are you into? Anything you want to recommend to the Hardrock Haven audience?

G5: When reading, I go through phases between biographies and action novels. For obvious reasons, I enjoy biographies about my favorite bands and musicians. I’ve recently read bios on Dave Grohl, Dave Mustaine, and am currently reading a pretty good Metallica bio called “Metallica: Enter Night: The Biography.”

When I’m reading my action adventures, I enjoy Dan Brown and Raymond Khoury, but I mostly read Clive Cussler books. He has a few different series that he collaborates on with different writers including “The Oregon Files,” “The Kurt Austin Adventures,” and the Dirk Pitt novels. For those soccer fans out there, I’ve read a great book called “Damned United,” about one of the greatest managers in the history of the sport, Brian Clough.

I don’t have a particular favorite genre of movie, I just love a good film. If a movie can take me on a journey, then I’m willing to take the ride. Recently I’ve been finding that French movies have a certain cleverness to them that we don’t really get here in the North American blockbusters.
As far as music, that also spans a broad range of genres. Of course I love my hard rock and metal, but I also enjoy many different things other than just the hard stuff. Some newer music that I’ve been enjoying lately is Foo Fighters – Wasting Light, Megadeth – Thirteen, Mastadon – The Hunter, Elbow – Build A Rocket Boys, Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto, Pearl Jam – Backspacer and Kings of Leon – Come Around Sundown.

HRH: Let’s do a bit of word association. What are the first thoughts that come to mind on the following:

HRH: Your time in Anvil.

G5: Proud to be a big part of the history. Other than Lips and Robb, I have spent more time than anyone in the band.

HRH: The success of the Anvil documentary.

G5: A wonderful experience and the greatest promotional tool a band has ever had.

HRH: Touring the world.

G5: Living the dream!!

HRH: Opening for AC/DC.

G5: Completely a thrill for me to share a stage with one of the greatest bands in the history of music. Plus, an amazing thrill to play stadiums, especially the historic Giants Stadium.

HRH: Metal fans.

G5: A brotherhood, a family. Metal fans are among the most passionate of music listeners. They choose their faves and stay with them forever. Even if their interests change and they listen to other things, metal remains in the soul and never dies.

HRH: Playing music.

G5: Something I and many other artists need to do. I’ve said it before, but we don’t choose to play music, it’s the music that chooses us to play it.

HRH: The future.

G5: I will share a mantra that has guided me well through the past few years: No expectations, just possibilities.

HRH: Glenn, thank you again for your time and for opening up to Hardrock Haven. We wish you happiness and success, and look forward to hearing your music in the future. How can fans stay in touch with what you’re up to? Any websites or pages you want to promote?

G5: Thank you for all the support Alex. I appreciate it very much. There is a website under construction at the moment, it is glenn5ive.com and people can also find me on Twitter@GlennFive and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/glenn5.

HRH: Thanks again, Glenn, and please stay in touch!

Like Glenn Five on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/glenn5

View a Glenn Five photo slideshow on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM6mrskvGM8

Lamb of God | Resolution

by Alissa Ordabai
Staff Writer –

The creative method Lamb of God have been meticulously perfecting since 1999, has now reached its apex. The band has finally managed to distil all of its influences into one laconic formula, and tighten and tweak to exactness the way they present it. The end result is a vehement, roiling concoction of power groove, stoner rock, death metal and punk on the album with is both their personal benchmark and a new touchstone for metal. Resolution is a work of huge energy of conviction, and although the band – as ever – doesn’t invent anything radically new, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more persuasive and concise exponent of metal as a genre on today’s scene.

It would be interesting to see where Lamb of God go from here, now that they have seemingly reached the peak of the mountain they were climbing for 7 albums straight. It’s hard to imagine what could beat this release in intensity and aplomb, but it would also be just as hard to imagine them going in a different direction. The three available options seem to be carrying on in the same vein trying to match what they have done on this album, putting their feet up, or taking a cardinally different stylistic path.

The band is tentatively tapping into ways to escape the monolith formula they have cemented on this release by introducing some darkly unsettling symphonic passages on some of the tracks, but don’t show enough interest (or stamina) to explore this direction to the full. Although with guitarist Mark Morton being a blues enthusiast, there are many other interesting detours they could take outside of the genre of metal. The real question is whether they’d be willing to take a risk on their next album or will stick to the blueprint which lays golden eggs. A solid guitarist – as dynamic and convincing as the rest of the band – Morton could certainly develop further as a lead player by bringing in other influences into the band’s format. As well as expand their stylistic terrain to make sure they avoid becoming frozen into a formula which from now on is in danger of becoming too familiar, if not predictable.

Genre: Metal

Line-up:
John Campbell – bass
Mark Morton – guitar
Chris Adler – drums
Randy Blythe – vocals
Willie Adler – guitar

Track Listing:
1. Straight for the Sun
2. Desolation
3. Ghost Walking
4. Guilty
5. The Undertow
6. The Number Six
7. Barbarosa
8. Invictus
9. Cheated
10. Insurrection
11. Terminally Unique
12. To the End
13. Visitation
14. King Me

Label: Epic, Roadrunner

Online: http://www.lamb-of-god.com/

Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10

Iron Fire | Voyage of the Damned

by Justin Gaines
Staff Writer –

Voyage of the Damned is the seventh studio from Danish power metal band Iron Fire. Good old Iron Fire. You know, with the cheesy name and the cheesy album covers and the cheesy songs about battles and metal warriors. Shove ‘em off to the side with Metalium and Sacred Steel and the rest of the Hammerfall knockoffs, right? Not this time. The band has always been good at what they do, but what they did was pretty formulaic and predictable. With Voyage of the Damned Iron Fire made a concerted effort to change things and take their sound to a new level, and it paid off…big time.

As soon as you clear the obligatory instrumental opener (seriously, who really enjoys these things?), you start to hear a very different Iron Fire emerge. Some things remain the same, particularly Martin Steene’s strong, steady vocals and Kirk Backarach’s melodic guitar work and intricate solos, but there’s a noticeably darker vibe on Voyage of the Damned. The easy, sing-song melodies that have come to define the power metal genre are nowhere to be found. It’s still a power metal album, and it’s still melodic, but the melodies are more subtle and are accompanied by heavier rhythms and darker atmospheric elements worthy of Evergrey or Symphony X. There’s also a complexity that puts the album in progressive metal territory on more than a few occasions. To hammer the darker focus home, Steene even adds some surprisingly well-done aggressive screams/growls. And yes, that could come across as gimmicky, but here it works quite well and perfectly suits the nature of the songs and the album as a whole. His clean vocals seem a bit deeper too. The band treads new ground lyrically as well, opting for a focus on sci-fi themes instead of tales of battles and warriors, and while that is still in the fantasy realm it reinforces that this is not the same old Iron Fire album.

Voyage of the Damned is a remarkably strong album on all levels; the musicianship, vocals, songwriting and production are all first rate. As such it’s hard to single out the best songs the album has to offer. The 10-minute title track is an obvious choice, but if you’re looking to sample the album “With Different Eyes,” “Slaughter of Souls” and “The Final Odyssey” ought to be more than enough to make you a believer.

If you think you know all there is to know about what Iron Fire has to offer, Voyage of the Damned will be a real eye-opener. It’s a major step forward from the band, and is an early contender for power metal album of the year. Beyond the core power metal audience, Voyage of the Damned has the potential to make Iron Fire converts out of fans of progressive metal bands like Evergrey and Symphony X as well as those into more aggressive bands like Mercenary, Into Eternity and Raintime. Give Iron Fire a second chance and get ready to be blown away!

Edition Notes: The limited edition version of Voyage of the Damned comes in a digipack and includes the (very good) bonus track “Warmaster of Chaos.”

Genre: Power Metal

Band:
Martin Steene (v)
Fritz Wagner (d)
Kirk Backarach (g)
Martin Lund (b)

Track Listing:
1. The Dark Beyond
2. Enter Oblivion OJ-666
3. Taken
4. Slaughter of Souls
5. Leviathan
6. The Final Odyssey
7. Ten Years in Space
8. Voyage of the Damned
9. With Different Eyes
10. Dreams of the Dead Moon
11. Verge to Collide
12. Realm of Madness
13. Warmaster of Chaos (bonus track)

Label: Napalm

Website: www.ironfire.dk

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.25/10

Orange Goblin | A Eulogy for the Damned

by Trevor Portz
Staff Writer –

After a series of announcements that they might, wouldn’t, may never, and ultimately would be releasing a new album, Brit stoner kings Orange Goblin are finally delivering their seventh opus, A Eulogy for the Damned.

Picking up where Healing Through Fire left off, A Eulogy… continues Orange Goblin’s surreal journey through time and space, yet manages to do so in a very accessible way. While the band is still appropriately deemed stoner rock, they tend to avoid long, drawn-out space jams and psychedelic head-spins. Instead, A Eulogy… is melodic hard rock played through a stoner rock filter. A bit more fuzz and de-tuning, sure, but it’s still solidly uptempo hard rock.

Standout tracks here include “Stand for Something,” with a very melodic and catchy chorus that’s somewhat reminiscent of early Stone Temple Pilots, “Save Me From Myself,” which features slide guitar and wouldn’t have been out of place on the Black Crowes’ Southern Harmony… record, and “Acid Trial,” with a riff that wouldn’t seem out of place on a power metal album. But while influences (admitted or not) can be found throughout the album, Orange Goblin successfully doses them with enough sludge and heaviness to make every song their own.

A Eulogy for the Damned is not only a great Orange Goblin record, but also a great jumping-on point for potential fans of the band and stoner scene in general. While they may not dissolve too far into the tripped-out ether that some of their contemporaries often do, they, along with Fu Manchu, Electric Wizard and numerous others, help to fill the void that the original Kyuss left when they split over 15 years ago. It seems the heir to the desert rock kingdom may In fact be from rainy ol’ England.

Genre: Stoner / Desert / Fuzz Rock

Band:
Ben Ward (v,g)
Joe Hoare (g)
Martyn Millard (b)
Chris Turner (d)

Track Listing:
1. Red Tide Rising
2. Stand for Something
3. Acid Trial
4. The Filthy and the Few
5. Save Me From Myself
6. The Fog
7. Return to Mars
8. Death of Aquarius
9. Bishop’s Wolf
10. A Eulogy to the Damned

Label: Candlelight Records

Website: www.myspace.com/theorangegoblin

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.1/10

Z ROCK 2012 THE FULL RUN DOWN

2012 see’s the Z Rock festival in a new home and one that will be our stable venue for the foreseeable future. The Robin 2 in Bilston near Wolverhampton is clean, has in house food ranging from Burger and chip, Pizza etc etc and a secure area to catch some fresh air between bands. We moved to this fine venue as we believe it will mean virtually no one will need to leave the venue and miss any act, which has been a problem in the past thus making the 2 day event more enjoyable for you the music fans. Read more

LIVE! | 70,000 Tons of Metal: Day 4

by Chris A.
Staff Writer –

Sailing Back To Reality and Insanity: The 70,000 Tons Of Metal Day 4

The shadows from the low eastern sun crossed the deck as day 4 of 70,000 Tons of Metal kicked off with Megora performing at 10 a.m. Thursday on the pool deck. The final band, which closed the cruise, was God Dethroned, whose set was schedule to wrap up at 3 a.m. the following day. Literally four hours later, the ship coasted back into its berth in Miami. Day 4 of 70,000 Tons of Metal was filled with incredible bands, a lot of relaxation and soaking in the atmosphere of an incredible experience.

Merchandise lines for the cruise and the individual bands were crushingly long as metal heads sought souvenirs from an incredible week of music and
adventure. Knowing that this was the final day of live music prompted everyone to get in as much fun, drinking and head banging as possible. The cruise soon would be over, and it would be back to the real world.

Day Four Bands Include: Megora, Atheist, Alestorm, Virgin Steele, Sapiency, Diamond Plate, Eluveitie, Tristania, Therion, Riot, Pretty Maids, Orphaned Land, Coroner, Hammerfall, In Extremo, Dark Funeral, Amorphis, Venom, Whiplash, Channel Zero, Over Kill, Edguy, Suffocation, Candlemass, God Dethroned.

70,000 Tons of Metal Day 4 Photo Gallery

Photos Appear Courtesy of Chris A.

ROCK ON THE RANGE 2012 REVEALS MASSIVE LINEUP FOR SIXTH ANNUAL PREMIER DESTINATION ROCK FESTIVAL

PERFORMERS INCLUDE INCUBUS, ROB ZOMBIE, SHINEDOWN, MARILYN MANSON, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, SLASH, MEGADETH, CHEVELLE, CYPRESS HILL, MASTODON AND MORE

ROCK ON THE RANGE returns for its sixth year boasting a massive lineup covering the rock spectrum. America’s premier destination rock festival will be held May 18-20 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH featuring performances from Incubus, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, Slash, Megadeth, Chevelle, Cypress Hill, Mastodon and many more. Read more

Iron Savior | The Landing

by Erik Tweedy
Staff Writer –

When you crack open the CD case from Iron Savior’s seventh studio release, The Landing, don’t be surprised when you find the record label has included your very own seat belt and crash helmet. The intro track “Descending” with its slow building symphonic momentum gives the listener about 30 seconds to sit down, strap in and prepare for a bone crushing ride through one of the best power metal releases to come out of Germany in a decade. With a gritty guitar intro, “The Savior” slowly introduces you to one of the best kept secrets in the metal world. Forming in 1996, Iron Savior has been flying under the metal radar and cranking out some seriously great metal and they are about to take the world by storm with The Landing.

The blazing speed of “Starlight” puts drummer, Thomas Nack, in the spotlight with a neck-breaking, double bass, beat down that is certain to get your heart pounding and your fist pumping. Be careful not to snap an ankle as you try and keep up with this one.

There are several tracks on The Landing that stick to a formula of speed metal drumming, crunchy guitar work interlaced with keyboards and a bruising bass line that compliments the gritty, heavy vocals of singer, Piet Sielck. Tracks like “March of Doom,” “Moment in Time” and “Faster Than All” break out at full speed and never let up until you have smashed your balls flat against the wall.

By the time you make it through the first four tracks, you should have the volume cranked way past 11 and pissing off your neighbors. A solid bass line and crunchy riff slowly rolls into a kick-ass metal anthem that will have you shouting out the chorus to “Heavy Metal Never Dies.” This is one of the best tracks on The Landing and it needs to be played at maximum volume over and over again.

Mid way through the release, the mid-tempo rocker, “Hall of Heroes,” slows the pace down, but never derails this brilliant release. Many songs on The Landing showcase the soldier marching harmonies of this quartet and will remind some of fellow German band mates Accept, but that is where the similarities end. Iron Savior, successfully blends a progressive keyboard mix with full on power speed metal drumming and some pretty stellar guitar playing that lays the foundation for the baritone vocals of Piet Sielck.

Picking up the pace with “R.U. Ready,” this massive arena rocker will have you busting out the devil horns. Paying homage to everyone from Hendrix, Zeppelin and Steppenwolf to Deep Purple, Judas Priest and Saxon, this track totally kicks ass. This will be the one to play as you head out for a solid night of partying. This is one of the best tracks of the year in the metal world and anyone into heavy metal needs to listen to this. Ronnie James Dio would have loved this track. Are you ready to rock?

Even kick ass metal bands have a soft spot and the lads from Iron Savior put their hearts on their sleeves with the enjoyable “Before The Pain”. Nothing new lyrics wise as we’ve heard it all before, boy meets girl, shit happens, the girl bails and the boy laments over it. A solid way to wind down this release as you head into the final track of “No Guts, No Glory.” “NGNG” is the most commercial sounding track with its driving beat, great backing vocals and superb guitar work. This should have you pushing the play button to start this ride over again from the top.

Clocking in at 47 minutes, The Landing is a progressive-power-speed-metal feast and Iron Savior has put together the best release in their 15 year career. There is nothing negative to say about The Landing and it will easily rise to the top of the pile in this genre in 2012. Not very often do you come across a release that is about as perfect as it gets. Fans of Pretty Maids, Hammerfall, Symphony X and Dragonforce will really enjoy this release. The production and mastering by Piet Sielck is great and give this release a huge sound. The guitars are right out front but never take away from the vocals or the rest of the band. If you are looking for a new release to get your blood pumping at a rapid pace, order this now, you won’t be disappointed.

Genre: Progressive, Power, Speed Metal

Band:
Piet Sielck – Lead Vocals/Guitar
Joachim Kustner – Guitar
Jan-Soren Eckert – Bass
Thomas Nack – Drums

Track Listing:
1. Descending
2. The Savior
3. Starlight
4. March of Doom
5. Heavy Metal Never Dies
6. Moment In Time
7. Hall Of The Heroes
8. R.U. Ready
9. Faster Than All
10. Before The Pain
11. No Guts, No Glory

Label: AFM Records

Website: http://www.iron-savior.com/

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.4/110

LIVE! | 70,000 Tons of Metal: Day 3

by Chris A.
Staff Writer –

A Trip to Hell: The 70,000 Tons Of Metal Day 3

The Cayman Islands

On Wednesday, the heavy metal sailors woke up to find the ship slipping into its anchoring position off the coast of the Grand Cayman Islands. Small tenders soon shuttled several hundred black-clad tourists from the ship to the docks, where we passed through an almost invisible customs inspection. On the island, the metal heads were greeted by an assortment of tours, food, shopping and activities.

During the six hours we had on shore, popular activities included taking tours, such as “Hell,” a small town on the island that featured strange rock formations like demons from Hell. Our crowd fit right in, and Hell apparently was quite a popular destination. Also high on the list were the Rum Cake Factories. which offered generous samples of flavored rum and rum cakes. Before long, everyone on the island was smiling. For many, the only place to go was Seven Mile Beach, where you could hang out on the white sand or snorkel off the shores with stingrays. Others opted for a turtle hatchery, where sea turtles were hatched and eventually released into the Caribbean Sea.

Booze, food and jewelry also beckoned the visitors from more than 50 nations. With four cruise ships in the harbor, the long-haired, black-clad heavy metal sailors attracted great attention. Perhaps the image that best sums up the guests from the 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruse to the Caymans is the photo of the young man on the beach, flashing metal in front of a “666” that was made out of rocks in the sugary-white, warm sand.

After a day on the island, it was party time on the boat. Bands took to the stages starting at 6 p.m. with Overkill performing on the pool stage, and the day closed out with Tankard at 4:45 a.m. The following day.

Day 3 bands included: Overkill, Pestilence, Stratovarius, Annihilator, Crowbar, Exciter, Nightwish, Children of Bodom, My Dying Bride, Vicious Rumors, Kamelot, Kataklysm, Moonsorrw, Samael and Tankard.

70,000 Tons of Metal Day 3 Photo Gallery

Photos Appear Courtesy of Chris A.

Tommy Johansson | Swedish Hitz Goes Metal

by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer –

The original album cover does not do this release any justice… What looks like a compilation of Swedish pop/AOR songs turned metal by various artists, is actually the brainchild of one man alone. We are looking at no other than young guitar prodigy Tommy Johansson recognized by most as the leader of the progressive metal band Reinxeed, also lead guitarist of the Swedish all-star Christian-neoclassical group Golden Resurrection.

To his credit, Tommy delivers what the title promises; only what king of metal versions is one getting with Swedish Hitz Goes Metal? Is it power metal, neoclassical metal, progressive metal? The spelling of the word ‘Hitz’ actually gives it away, experienced fans got it right, this is indeed glam metal or melodic hard rock if you prefer. So you can expect thick yet melodic guitar lines, all the original keyboard harmonies recreated while the up-tempo rhythm section adds tons of attack to these compositions without undermining the instrumental melodic lines and vocal harmonies which is what this album is all about.

As in Reinxeed, Tommy handles all lead vocals and guitars and does a surprisingly good job considering that it is fairly difficult to cover classic hit songs convincingly. Guitar-wise the young man is overqualified for the job, he is however challenged on the vocal department where he has to utilize his full range-from the lowest to the highest note- and for the biggest part he succeeds.

Another key factor for the artistic success of this project/venture is actually choosing the performing line up. Instead of current band-mates, Tommy teams up with bassist-vocalist Sebastian Roos and keyboardist Anders Berlin, both from the Swedish AOR, melodic hard rock band Miss Behaviour. The line up is sealed by veteran drummer Andres Johansson.

There is no denying that the album features some rather predictable inclusions such as “Mamma Mia,” “Money Money Money,” “The Winner Takes it All” and “Lay All Your Love On Me.” But the fact remains that they do sound great in their hard rocking versions. And the reason they work so well is not really the distortion and heavy drumming, but because the electric instruments reinforce the melodies of each song, and arguably great melodies are what made these tunes global hits in the first place.

Genre: Arena Rock, Melodic Hard Rock, Melodic Metal

Line Up:
Tommy ReinXeed — Guitars & vocals
Nic Steel – Bass
Sebastian Roos — Guitars & backing vocals
Anders Berlin — Keyboards & backing vocals
Andreas “HABO” Johansson – Drums

Track Listing:
1. Mamma Mia (ABBA Cover)
2. The Look (ROXETTE Cover)
3. Lay All Your Love On Me (ABBA Cover)
4. The Sign (ACE OF BASE Cover)
5. Summer Night City (ABBA Cover)
6. Sleeping In My Car (ROXETTE Cover)
7. Super Trouper (ABBA Cover)
8. Money Money Money (ABBA Cover)
9. Beautiful Life (ACE OF BASE Cover)
10. Intermezzo nº1 (ABBA Cover)
11. The winner Takes It All (ABBA Cover)
12. All That She Wants (ACE OF BASE Cover)
13. Joyride (ROXETTE Cover)

Band website: http://www.facebook.com/swedishhitzgoesmetal

Hardrock Haven rating: 8/10

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