Tagged: Unisonic
My year in rock 2015 – retrospect
2015 left the building a few hours ago (here in Sweden) and when I look back, the “slow year” I thought I had, because of the upcoming cruise that made it harder, financially, to travel all over the place – was in fact less boring than I felt it was. ;)
MARCH: The year started out with the GUS G tour he did in early March (with JEFF SCOTT SOTO as special guest) that I was doing PR for, so lots of work there but was nice to make myself useful as a professional this time.
The month before that, FEBRUARY, I also went to see his former bandmate APOLLO in Halmstad, Sweden, doing a cover gig with “TRIBUTE TO DIO” an all-star band. Great evening.
BRYAN ADAMS played at Forum in Copenhagen, an unforgettable experience and a last minute-decision to go.
Went for a short visit to Detroit to see my friends from MADAM X, hear some new music and also catch a gig with MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO at the Diesel.
APRIL: I didn’t stay away from Detroit that long, cause in April I was back there again – this time for the MADAM X gig with AUTOGRAPH and KOUGARAN, also at the Diesel. Great gig, great evening!
That same month – April – took me all the way to Sao Paulo, BRAZIL, for the MONSTERS OF ROCK festival. I went to see OZZY solo but ended up being absolutely floored by YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and UNISONIC!
Other bands that played were Judas Priest, Manowar, Primal Fear, Kiss, Motorhead (Lemmy cancelled, Sepultura filled in), Steel Panther, Rival Sons, Black Veil Brides and Accept.
MAY: After that gig in Brazil, in April – I had to see MORE, so I got on a plane to Bucharest, ROMANIA, to see the Maestro: YNGWIE MALMSTEEEN. Bucharest was a fantastic surprise, I loved that city and will go back as soon as I get a good reason. :)
JUNE was, as usual SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL-time and my personal highlight was meeting IAN HILL of JUDAS PRIEST for an interview after the press conference.
Right after Sweden Rock, literally the day after the festival ended, I got on a flight to the US again, this time to Florida to do a studio report with TSO (Trans-Siberian Orchestra): Met up with PAUL O’NEILL, JON OLIVA, AL PITRELLI, KAYLA REEVES and JEFF PLATE. Were there for two days with a non-stop busy schedule, but very very interesting and most of all, was glad to see The Mountain King again! :D
BILLY IDOL played in Varberg – HARDCORE SUPERSTAR opened on a great summer day, very cool outdoor venue.
JULY was a non-metal month, but cool gigs nevertheless. LADY GAGA with TONY BENNETT at Tivoli Gardens (amusement park) and ELTON JOHN same place, two days before.
AUGUST: ROB ZOMBIE, Vega, Copenhagen. I was supposed to see him again at a festival shortly thereafter but cancelled because one of my best friends was getting married. One of few good reasons to cancel plans of going to a show. :)
SEPTEMBER: GUS G came back to Scandinavia, this time with KOBRA AND THE LOTUS and KAMELOT in Copenhagen and Gothenburg. Kobra and the Lotus was a nice surprise, didn’t like them on record, but enjoyed the shows!
W.A.S.P with opening act DYNAZTY played in my home town Malmo later that month, met up with my friend Taz (lights for W.A.S.P), which is always a pleasure! :D
OCTOBER: No gigs. Ended up in the hospital for an emergency appendix surgery and was told to keep still for a few weeks. So I did. Kind of.
NOVEMBER: WHITESNAKE played in Denmark with openers DEAD DAISIES. The place was packed. Mostly remember the hassle with the backstage passes, those things can be a pain in the ass and never worth it.
Anyway – later in November, I took a little trip over to Detroit again to see the MADAM X boys and girls and listen to some new songs from the upcoming album in the studio.
Producer Kevin said I should go see the band POP EVIL and pulled some strings to get me in on the guest list – on the worst day of the year…! It was snowing like crazy that evening, but in the end it was a good choice, I liked the opening act KALEIDO better than the headliners, to be honest. :)
A friend, Maj-Louise, “kidnapped” me on a spontaneous trip to Gothenburg for a meet-and-greet with TOBIAS SAMMET of EDGUY & AVANTASIA, and listening party of the new Avantasia album. Also playing that night was HAMMERFALL.
And in DECEMBER, I had two busy weekends visiting Dublin and Birmingham for WHITESNAKE/DEF LEPPARD/BLACK STAR RIDERS. :D
So I’m not sure the year was a total disaster, it turned out pretty good after all. :)
And now…
HELLO 2016!!
The grand MASTER and the Vocal Commodore at Monsters of Rock, Brazil
Just got home – after having been “on the road” for well… 29 hours in total – including hanging at airports just waiting and waiting for the next flight. The destination was São Paulo and the reason for the trip was of course the annual MONSTERS OF ROCK festival.
I went there to see Ozzy, that was my initial reason for going. And he didn’t disappoint me, he never does. But I’m happy to say that TWO bands/artists totally made my entire festival, and one of those bands was totally unexpected.
The first artist that totally blew me away was The MASTER: Yngwie Malmsteen. I’ve been a fan of his since the 80’s, and I always get a smile on my face when remembering the meetings/interviews I had with him back then, including a very spontaneous, informal radio interview live on the air when he was visiting Sweden back in the early 90’s and he just got engaged to his then girlfriend Erica Norberg.
Anyway, I’ve loved his music since god knows when, but I don’t get to see him that often, and so when he ran out on stage at the Monsters of Rock in São Paulo it was a treat like you wouldn’t believe. But what shocked me, was something that happened that was totally out of my control: I felt how I got all teared up….before I knew it I was crying like a baby!
I just don’t cry in public EVER, it totally ruins my image. :) And it freaking ruins my makeup too. Yet there I was in a crowd of a few thousand people, bawling my eyes out cause it was just so beautiful, so amazing, just so ridiculously BRILLIANT that I couldnt help myself. It touched me. One thing is for sure – that doesn’t happen often at ALL.
The last times I remember it happening was back in 2000 when Halford came to Malmo to perform with his own band Halford – and he started singing Victim of Changes. Somehow that just made me snap, hearing my greatest hero sing THAT song, in my home town, only an arms length away. I was crying like a kid – tears of joy. :)
Second time was Whitesnake at Sweden Rock Festival when Coverdale had a surprise. Well TWO actually. First he brought out Bernie Marsden on stage, which only THAT was enough to make me feel moved. Then he brings out Adrian Vandenberg as well and oh boy I cried and cried like a total FREAK and probably looked like a bad version of Alice Cooper with my makeup running down my face…! It was just one of those moments that grabs your heart. And now, it was Yngwie.
I don’t care that people call him “sloppy” when he plays live, cause even on his WORST day he’s better than anyone else, he simply doesn’t have ANY competition! There might be technical wizards out there, you’ve got the Steve Vais and the Paul Gilberts, and I love those guys, but when it comes to the WHOLE package – the music, the technical skills, the songs, the performance, the unique sound, the heart and soul in every single note he plays…
There is a reason why Yngwie is worshipped by every guitarist out there, and has been for decades. He’s just the Master, the One and Only and the best of them all. The biggest dream of any Strat must be to end up in the hands of Yngwie Malmsteen, that’s the ultimate honor. :) Basically – if ANYTHING touched me deeply and for REAL at that festival, it was Yngwie. He’s amazing and he brightened my day! I can’t wait to see him in Bucharest, Romania soon!
[Not sharing any of my own videos, as I hear that Yngwie is one of those artists that has “people around him” who love to report YouTube videos and get accounts closed down. I’ve had enough of that shit with Manowar, thank you very much. So, I’m stealing a video from someone else :D]
The absolutely biggest surprise though, was UNISONIC with Michael Kiske on vocals. Why was that such a surprise? Simply because I’ve had a Kiske-allergy most of my life, since I heard him with Helloween and developed an absolute resistance against that German galoping-style metal and Dickinson-wannabe vocals. And his vibrato got on my nerves, I just could NOT listen to Kiske or Helloween, not my cup of tea at ALL. That, of course led to that I ignored anything he did, cause I already “knew” that I didn’t like the guy.
Well… He totally turned me around. I have now officially resigned and can willingly admit that Michael Kiske is unbelievable. OR should I say EXCEPTIONAL?? :D
Somebody jokingly commented on my sudden change of mind with: “He just needed a couple of decades to mature and get over the helium phase for you, eh?” And yeah, I guess that pretty much sums it all up. :)
I love what he does now, his voice is a pleasure for the ears, and it’s impressive what he can still do – and nail it effortlessly LIVE! I found myself sitting at the airport in São Paulo digging through interviews and videos on YouTube to learn more about the vocalist that I’ve spent the last two-three decades being allergic to. ;) I’ve got some catching up to do!
Not only did I get blown away by Kiske’s vocals and presence on stage, I was also impressed to learn more about him as a person through interviews and essays he’s written. Holy cow, he’s not an airhead, that just adds to the plus side. I’m glad I was stuck there in the front row and I’m glad I got to see Unisonic’s show.
Kiske is a great commander of a stage and a big crowd. There is a Halford-element there, the very cool, laid back style that still exudes strength and confidence – yet also shows a great boyish sense of humor and self-distance. The whole band came to São Paulo, rocked a few thousand crazy metalheads, and could leave with a sense of pride and accomplishment! THAT, ladies and gentlemen, was just AMAZING!
I don’t need to sit here and talk a whole lot – just see and listen for yourself. This kicks major ass, and I can’t wait to see these guys live again, wherever and whenever! Alright…. “I Want Out” got over 12 000 views, but THIS is the song I want to share first, because I absolutely love it! Holy f***!!
And…the video that most people have wanted to watch cause it’s a classic…
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 