Sweden

70,000 Tons of Metal 2013, Part Three

Day three of this year’s 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise started off at Grand Turk with fun in the sun and continued into the late hours, with live sets from Metal Church, Helloween, Nile, Immolation, Doro and many, many more

Live review by Adrien Begrand; Live photos by Marc Hansen, Michael Jagla, Ag Babin, and Adrien Begrand.

70,000 Tons of Metal 2013, Part Two

Day Two, 285 nautical miles southwest of Miami, the fun continues on the 2013 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Highlights include Arkona, Anaal Nathrakh, Doro, Kreator, Rage and more.

Live review by Adrien Begrand; Live photos by Marc Hansen, Michael Jagla, Ag Babin, and Adrien Begrand.

Film Review: Så Jälva Metal – The History of Swedish Hard Rock and Heavy Metal

I’d recommend the documentary for metal fans who are particularly interested in the origins of the genre and the roots of metal in hard rock. While I think the narrative could have been weighted more evenly, there is some fascinating archival and interview footage in Så Jälva Metal, and seeing the music from a new cultural perspective is refreshing and eye-opening.

Interview with Yasin Hillborg, director of Så Jävla Metal

Currently set to celebrate its Canadian premiere at the NXNE festival in Toronto, Så Jävla Metal is a documentary about the evolution of heavy metal music in Sweden. The film traces the beginnings of heavy metal through hard rock, beginning with bands like Europe, and continuing to trace the development of the sound as the music became heavier. It contrasts the way that Swedish metal grew up in tandem with metal in North America and other places in Europe, specifically in Norway, where the violence of black metal is contrasted again Swedish death metal. Writer and director Yason Hillborg found the time to talk to Hellbound about the documentary, his vision for it and his experiences making it.

Graveyard – Hisingen Blues

Song after maleficent song, Hisingen Blues is an infectious monster of retro-styled, devil-take-my-soul blues fury that has left me wondering why I never sought these guys out before, and wondering how long before everyone else finally picks up on them. If they were obscure before, they’re not going to be much longer.

Bullet: Enduringly Anthemic Affairs

“We have been laughed at, spit at and celebrated as well. I think with three records with good sounding heavy metal shows that we are serious with the music and it’s not a joke for us, though. We like to joke and fool around for sure but we never fool around with the music we play because we love this music.”

Keith Carman in conversation with BULLET front man Hell Hofner about their new album Highway Pirates.

Anekdoten – Chapters

Of course, no “best of” anthology could tell the whole story of this incredible band. There are some essential deep-album tracks missing, so once you’ve got a dose and you’re feeling that bittersweet Anekdoten bliss, you’ll need to check out the albums in full.