spielwiese. (Posts about z-7.)https://spielwiese.fontein.de/place/europe/switzerland/basel/pratteln/z-7.atom2019-11-17T10:46:11ZfelixNikolaorphaned land, arkan, myrath and artweg.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2011/11/23/orphaned-land-arkan-myrath-and-artweg/2011-11-23T11:25:55+01:002011-11-23T11:25:55+01:00felix<p>last wednesday, i was with a friend at another concert in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/start.php">z-7</a>. according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphaned_Land">orphaned land</a>‘s singer kobi farhi, this concert was part of the first (european?) oriental metal tour ever. the tour features four bands: the french hardcore/punk/metal band <a href="http://www.myspace.com/artweg">artweg</a>, the tunesian progressive metal band <a href="http://www.myrath.com/">myrath</a>, the algerian/french melodic death metal band <a href="http://www.arkan.fr/">arkan</a> as well as the israelian progressive death metal band <a href="http://www.orphaned-land.com/">orphaned land</a>.<br>
the opening band, <i>artweg</i>, wasn’t my personal favorite, mostly because i’m not that much into hardcore. nonetheless, they delivered a very good stage show. the second band was <i>myrath</i> from tunesia (according to <a href="http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Myrath/105456">encyclopaedia metallum</a>, the first tunesian (metal?) band to be signed on a label). they are playing very progressive metal, and influences from bands like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_X">symphony x</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_Theater">dream theater</a> are very audible, but also their oriental influences. this band is really fantastic, and made me buy their two albums which were available on the merch stand ;-) after <i>myrath</i>, <i>arkan</i> entered the stage. during the first song, there were only screamed male vocals, which i didn’t liked too much, but as soon as their female singer entered the stage and the vocal quality increased a lot :-) from that point on, i really enjoyed their music. i ended up buying one of their albums as well… finally, <i>orphaned land</i> entered the stage. i’ve been waiting for some years to finally see them live, and i have to say that it was totally worth it. (no need to buy albums here, since i already have them all ;-) )<br>
one thing i felt really bad about was that the concert was very poorly attended. there were maybe little over 50 attendees, in a hall which fits many hundreds. this was really a shame, as the concert was – at least for me – probably the best one this year. i really hope the bands are more lucky at their other gigs!</p>blackfield and north atlantic oscillation.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2011/04/20/blackfield-and-north-atlantic-oscillation/2011-04-20T00:51:24+02:002011-04-20T00:51:24+02:00felix<p>monday evening i was in <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/tag/pratteln/">pratteln</a>, attending a concert of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfield">blackfield</a> (art rock) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Atlantic_Oscillation_%28band%29">north atlantic oscillation</a> (post-prog, electronic). it was a very nice concert. i haven’t seen <i>north atlantic oscillation</i> before, but i was positively surprised, and afterwards bought their latest album. <i>blackfield</i> was good as <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-have-been-at/">always</a>. they played quite long, and played all my favorite songs from the old albums, as well as songs from their new albums. i think they played every song i presented at <a href="https://musikwiese.fontein.de/2011/01/27/blackfield/">musikwiese</a>, with <i>cloudy now</i> being the last song played.<br>
i was really happy that i stayed until the end, even though that meant arriving only at 1 am in zürich and having to walk up a hill to eventually find my way into my bed past 1:30… i wonder if it is just me, or if the night connections between pratteln and zürich really got worse over the last years?</p>symphony x, nevermore, psychotic waltz, and two more.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2011/03/14/symphony-x-nevermore-psychotic-waltz-and-two-more/2011-03-14T22:12:58+01:002011-03-14T22:12:58+01:00felix<p>a week ago i attended a concert at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>. the first time since over two years. this concert featured five bands, starting at 18:30. i took the train to arrive at the hall at 19:00, and the first band was already done. the second was done pretty fast as well, but nonetheless this wasn’t a good start since the last train was leaving around midnight and i had to plan in a certain time to reach the train station. (in addition, the last train ride which doesn’t involve walking at least half an hour through zürich leaves around 23:00.)<br>
anyway. i didn’t like the second band very much (maybe less than the first, if i’d heard more of the first band…) the third band, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychotic_Waltz">psychotic waltz</a>, a progressive metal band from california, was pretty nice. i haven’t heard of them, which isn’t that much a surprise since they disbanded around 1998, and only recently came back together. i guess i have to check out more of their music at some point later.<br>
after <i>psychotic waltz</i>, one of my most favorite bands entered the stage: <i>nevermore</i>. this is the <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2010/11/06/nevermore/">second</a> time i ever saw them. they played for one hour, including many songs from one of my favorite albums, <i>dead heart from a dead world</i>. unfortunately they didn’t continue playing for another hour or so :-) i really miss the good old times when concerts had at most two or maybe three bands, and the bands had much more time to play…<br>
finally, <i>symphony x</i> started playing. i’ve already seen them twice, in <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/01/dream-theater-and-symphony-x/">2007</a> and <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2008/02/17/symphony-x/">2008</a>. unfortunately, i could only listen to maybe half their set, since i had to leave for the train… they played a bit stuff from their upcoming album, <i>iconoclast</i>. let’s see how the whole thing will sound…<br>
this concert was really nice… except that i had to leave before it was done. i really hade this trent to throw that many bands together, and i’m saying this at more and more concerts – since it’s happening really often, and is really annoying. something very positive about this concert is that the z-7 is now smokefree! there’s still a bit of smoke coming in from outside, but the air inside is <i>much</i> better than it was two years ago. this way, going to concerts is <i>much</i> more fun!</p>concerts: enslaved, opeth, in extremo.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2008/12/12/concerts-enslaved-opeth-in-extremo/2008-12-12T01:07:25+01:002008-12-12T01:07:25+01:00felix<div><p>in the last two weeks, i attended three concerts:</p>
<ul>
<li>the first one was by the norwegian prog black metallers <a href="http://www.enslaved.no/">enslaved</a> in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>. the concert was really good, even though <i>enslaved</i> could have played longer in my opinion. unfortunately, the place was pretty empty, which is something <i>enslaved</i> does not deserves.</li>
<li>the second concert was by the swedish prog death metallers <a href="http://opeth.com/">opeth</a> in the <a href="http://rohstofflager.ch/default.aspx">rohstofflager</a>, with <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theoceancollective">the ocean</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/cyniconline">cynic</a> as support. the guys in <i>the ocean</i> apparently have an urge to move around. i’ve had it so often that stupid kids constantly jump you in the back if you’re standing in the front, but so far i never had it that band members constantly jump in front of you from the front. pretty annoying, somehow. anyway. they were ok. after them, <i>cynic</i> entered the stage. i never heard anything from them, but i heard some people praise them a lot, so i was really looking forward to hear them. well, i’m not sure yet how much i like them, i guess i should listen to their music intensively. but at least they sounded pretty cool. well, then, finally, <i>opeth</i> began to play. <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2008/05/11/opeth-three-dream-theater-and-one-more/">as</a> <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2008/06/06/opeth-again/">usual</a>, they were simply fantastic. here’s the playlist:
<div>
<ol>
<li>heir apparent;</li>
<li>the grand conjuration;</li>
<li>godhead’s lament;</li>
<li>the lotus eater;</li>
<li>hope leaves;</li>
<li>deliverance;</li>
<li>demon of the fall;</li>
<li>the drapery falls (encore).</li>
</ol>
</div>
<p>it’s nice to finally have heard <i>godhead’s lament</i> live.</p></li>
<li>finally, i saw the german medieval metal band <a href="http://www.inextremo.de">in extremo</a>. the support was the cologne based alternative rock band <a href="http://www.theblacksheep.de/">the black sheep</a>, consisting of four girls, who did a good job opening the gig. then, finally, i was experiencing <i>in extremo</i>. as a lot of famous bands, the concert was also attended by a lot of annoying kids who gave their best to chase people away from good places. anyway, after losing my very good place in the very front, i found a still good one a bit farer away. i don’t know too many albums of <i>in extremo</i>, mainly older stuff, so i didn’t knew at least half of the material, but i still enjoyed it. (they were also the first band i saw who used pyrotechnics.) but there were also lot of songs which i knew, for example <i>vollmond</i>, <i>wind</i>, <i>spielmannsfluch</i> and <i>ave maria</i>.</li>
</ul></div>best concerts this year.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/12/25/best-concerts-this-year/2007-12-25T13:25:15+01:002007-12-25T13:25:15+01:00felix<div><p>i think it’s time to take a look at the list of <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-have-been-at/">concerts</a> i <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-want-to-attend-this-year/">attended</a> this year and to list the best ones. at these two links, you can find a pretty complete list of the concerts i attended. i decided to divide the top list into two categories: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_rock">prog</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_metal_music">metal</a>.</p>
<h4>prog</h4>
<p>for the third place, i cannot decide between three concerts, all which took place in pratteln in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>, namely, first, the <a href="http://www.spocksbeard.com/">spock’s beard</a> gig on the 16.05.2007, second, the <a href="http://www.anathema.ws/">anathema</a> & <a href="http://moondawn.ch/">moondawn</a> gig on the 31.05.2007, and, third, the <a href="http://www.the-company.com/">fish</a> <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/28/fish/">gig</a> on the 27.11.2007. all three gigs have been very good. most memorable was probably <i>spock’s beard</i> keyboardist, playing with both hands and feet, while his poor technician had to hold the keyboard construction together so it wouldn’t fall apart.</p>
<p>the <b>second place</b> goes to the <a href="http://www.blackfield.org/">blackfield</a> & <a href="http://www.purereasonrevolution.com/">pure reason revolution</a> concert, which took place on the 24.02.2007 in pratteln (<a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>). i think this was the first concert where i really liked the opener, so much that i bought one of their albums. actually, i had to order it by mail, as the ones they had with them were sold out at the end of their concert (hence, i wasn’t the only one who liked it alot). the main act itself, <i>blackfield</i>, a collaboration between the <a href="http://www.porcupinetree.com/">porcupine tree</a> frontman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Wilson">steven wilson</a> and the israeli rock star <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviv_Geffen">aviv geffen</a>, was also really good.</p>
<p>the <b>first place</b> goes to the <a href="http://www.porcupinetree.com/home/">porcupine tree</a> & <a href="http://www.anathema.ws/">anathema</a> <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/13/anathema-porcupine-tree/">concert</a>, which took place on the 12.11.2007 in zürich (<a href="http://www.volkshaus.ch/">volkshaus</a>). despite several people in the audience didn’t like <i>anathema</i> too much (“too boring”), i was pleased to see them <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-have-been-at/">again</a>. for me, their music expresses simply too many emotions to be boring, eating up energy until bursting into the listener’s ear. the main act, <i>porcupine tree</i>, one of my favorite bands, was as good as i expected them to be. even though they played a lot from the current album, <i>fear of a blank planet</i>, which i don’t like as much as some of the older ones, they also played many classics. unfortunately, they didn’t played <i>arriving somewhere but not here</i>, which i would really loved to listen to. but, besides that, i still think this is the best prog concert i attended this year.</p>
<h4>metal</h4>
<p>again, as before, i cannot decide on someone for the <b>third place</b>, but i have two canidates in mind. the first one is the <a href="http://www.dreamtheater.net/">dream theater</a> & <a href="http://www.symphonyx.com/">symphony x</a> <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/01/dream-theater-and-symphony-x/">concert</a>, which took place on the 31.10.2007 in winterthur (<a href="http://www.eulachhallen.ch/">eulachhallen</a>). the second canidate is the <a href="http://www.apocalyptica.com/home/">apocalyptica</a> & <a href="http://www.sturmunddrang.fi/">sturm und drang</a> <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/10/apocalyptica/">concert</a>, which took place on the 09.11.2007 in zürich (<a href="http://www.volkshaus.ch/">volkshaus</a>). all these bands are really good, and the shows they delivered were so, too, featuring many small details, as neat decoration. but both of these concerts also have their sides. namely, <i>symphony x</i> played way too short (but then, i’ll see them again next february as headliner), the location was strange (the wardrobe was outside), and <i>dream theater</i> could have played longer, too (i heard the rumor that the local organizer fucked this up by not registering the concert with the authorities, which in turn resulted in the police ordering the concert to be ended earlier). at the <i>apocalyptica</i> concert, i didn’t like the opener <i>sturm und drang</i> too much; they played really good and professional, but it simply wasn’t the kind of music which i really like.</p>
<p>the <b>second place</b> is filled by the <a href="http://www.amorphis.net/">amorphis</a>, <a href="http://www.swallowthesun.net/">swallow the sun</a> & <a href="http://www.insomnium.net/">insomnium</a> <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/19/amorphis-swallow-the-sun-insomnium/">concert</a>, which took place at the 18.11.2007 in pratteln (<a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>). (videos from the concert can be found <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/22/videos-from-last-sundays-concert/">here</a>.) this concert featured three very good finnish bands, one of them, namely <i>swallow the sun</i>, being one of my favorite ones. their shows were good, the selection of songs was, too (i would have loved to hear some more <i>swallow the sun</i> songs, but then, i would probably have only been really pleased if they would have simply played all songs from their three albums, which is slightly unrealistic to expect from a co-headliner). i was headbanging a lot, met some friends, had a lot of fun.</p>
<p>the <b>first place</b> goes to the <a href="http://www.moonsorrow.com/">moonsorrow</a> & <a href="http://www.swallowthesun.net/">swallow the sun</a> concert, which took place at the 09.04.2007 (easter monday) in pratteln (<a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>). actually, there was a third band playing as an opener, whose name i forgot. this concert was one of the most incluencal concert for me this year, not only as it introduced me to two bands, namely <i>moonsorrow</i> and <i>swallow the sun</i>, which i now count as two of my most favorite bands. besides that, the atmosphere was simply perfect, and so was the audience. i still remember headbanging with eric (a guy i met on this concert and on another one a bit later, who’s also an <i>opeth</i> fan), even though headbanging right next to the mosh pit can be pretty painful…</p></div>sword bearing.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/12/15/sword-bearing/2007-12-15T03:08:01+01:002007-12-15T03:08:01+01:00felix<p>today i was on the last concert for this year – at least, the last one <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-want-to-attend-this-year/">planned</a> ahead more than a few days. this was probably also my last visit to the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> for this year.<br>
this time, three bands were playing, the main act being <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensiferum">ensiferum</a> (which is latin and means as much as <i>sword bearing</i>), a finnish (what else) viking/folk metal band. well, as it is quite common for viking/folk metal bands nowadays, a huge crowd of kids was there. i saw the first ones at zurich main station, it was quite obvious that the drunken (or starting to get drunk) teenagers as the same track dressed in black were heading for the same destination. i haven’t felt so old for a long time…<br>
the concert started with the swedish power metallers <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insania">insania</a>. as i already wrote <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/09/14/serenity-machine-men-communic-threshold/">once</a>, i don’t like that kind of music too much, but it was ok. in particular, the singer made funny grimaces (though i’m not sure if it was intentional that they were funny). after that, a taiwanese symphonic black metal band called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chthonic_%28band%29">chthonic</a> entered the stage, featuring an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erhu">erhu</a> (“chinese violin”). i liked that one pretty much, and i could stand the screaming way more than <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napalm_Death">napalm death</a>‘s or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_Filth">cradle of filth</a>‘s screaming, which i pretty much hate, even though it was pretty similar (in my opinion).<br>
finally, <i>ensiferum</i> entered the stage. well, one member (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markus_Toivonen">markus</a>) sat down on a chair, and some guy announced that he isn’t feeling well, that they just fetched him from hospital and that they’ll bring him back right after the concert. that’s devotion! the result was that their gig lasted only a bit more than one hour, until markus let announce (one of the tech guys was regularly filling in water for him and handling him the cup, and passed on messages from him to the other band members) that he wasn’t feeling good and so the last song was announced. (the last song’s beginning was accompanied by <i>chthonic</i>‘s erhu player.) after that, they gave an encore, without markus though, and maybe even a second, but i decided to catch the train instead.<br>
well. on the way back i was pretty much annoyed by the fact that apparently most of the night bus passengers have no clue how the thing works. they don’t manage to change bank notes into coins (there’s a machine for that), they don’t manage to buy the right tickets (there are instructions all over the place), they don’t manage to use the right bus entry (you have to enter in the front, and not try to enter at the other doors, and waiting for 30 seconds until figuring out that you can’t get in there), they don’t manage to prepare the regular ticket and the night surcharge to show it to the driver (instead, they start to search their pockets for another 30 seconds). i understand that some people don’t speak or read german and thus have trouble following the instruction, but i think this didn’t applied to most of them. well, but that explains why the night bus is always late, and the amount of time it is late increases at every stop (at least, as long as people are entering). but at least i could watch all this while sitting inside the bus, so i could listen to good music (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kari_Ruesl%C3%A5tten">kari</a>, of course, as also during the train ride; a big contrast to the concert :) )…</p>fish.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/28/fish/2007-11-28T03:11:12+01:002007-11-28T03:11:12+01:00felix<p>today, i attended <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_%28singer%29">fish</a>‘s concert in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>. <i>fish</i> was one of the founding members of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marillion">marillion</a>, a british prog band which happens to be two years older than me, but left them in 1988, after <i>marillion</i> released the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clutching_at_Straws">clutching at straws</a> album in 1987. in the beginning of <i>fish</i>‘s gig, an intro video was shown, displaying all the 20 years from 1987 to 2007 with a famous scene from that year, with a subtitle relating it to <i>fish</i> in some humouros way. except 2000, when a picture of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush">george w.</a> showed up with the subtitle “what the fuck?!”, and 2004, when another picture of <i>george w.</i> showed up with “again? you assholes!” ;-)<br>
well. the concert was really great; <i>fish</i> was in a great mood and told funny stories between the songs. i basically only knew the albums <i>13th star</i> and <i>clutching at straws</i> before, but they played a couple of songs from these two, or at least i thought i recognized a few…<br>
i originally planned to buy <i>13th star</i> at the merchandize booth, but they only had a special edition there which had a way too high price for me… well. besides that, i was pretty tired and exhausted, had problems keeping standing, but survived till the end, had to run for the train, which almost killed me (running uphill while it’s freezing and when you’re exhausted and pretty dehydrated is not a good idea), but i caught the train and even managed to walk the way from the main station to my place in zürich (without running though). and now it’s time to grab some sleep.<br>
good night.</p>videos from last sunday's concert.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/22/videos-from-last-sundays-concert/2007-11-22T20:48:21+01:002007-11-22T20:48:21+01:00felix<div><p><a href="http://www.myspace.com/mellipossu">mellipossu</a> <a href="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=117645762&blogID=330078503">posted</a> some videos from last sunday’s <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/19/amorphis-swallow-the-sun-insomnium/">concert</a> by <a href="http://www.insomnium.net/">insomnium</a>, <a href="http://www.swallowthesun.net/2007/">swallow the sun</a> and <a href="http://www.amorphis.net/">amorphis</a>:</p>
<ul>
<li><i>insomnium</i>:
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3vidVs3TFw">bereavment</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_e3hk260JA">change of heart</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsYUkXpsjp8">devoid of caring</a>;</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><i>swallow the sun</i>:
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx8jCRbIhuE">these hours of despair</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmgLRIFkdbs">out of this gloomy light</a>;</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li><i>amorphis</i>:
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl9EZT3UlAw">silent waters</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70joqlqXc8M">against widows</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkQgF_vj81I">perkele (the god of fire)</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dx9psSUrPw">a servant</a>.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
<p>thanks a lot for the videos!</p></div>amorphis. swallow the sun. insomnium.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/11/19/amorphis-swallow-the-sun-insomnium/2007-11-19T03:37:21+01:002007-11-19T03:37:21+01:00felix<div><p>(well, a <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-want-to-attend-this-year/">third one</a> this weekend.) today, the finnish acts <a href="http://www.amorphis.net/">amorphis</a>, <a href="http://www.swallowthesun.net/2007/">swallow the sun</a> and <a href="http://www.insomnium.net/">insomnium</a> were playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a>. the last weeks, i was anxiously waiting for this concert, as <i>swallow the sun</i> is one of my most favorite bands at the moment, as <i>amorphis</i> is also pretty good and i’ve been told that so is <i>insomnium</i>.<br>
well. after arriving and seeing nobody i knew, <i>insomnium</i> started to play. they’re doing melodic death metal, and i really liked them. during their gig, i spotted a couple i’ve already met on <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-have-been-at/">arena</a>‘s and <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/09/14/serenity-machine-men-communic-threshold/">threshold’s</a> concerts. it’s always nice not to be alone on a concert :)<br>
then, after a short break, <i>swallow the sun</i>‘s gig started. the one i really looked forward to. starting with the first three minutes of <i>gloom, beauty and despair</i> as an intro, they started with a great tour through their whole discography. the complete playlist:</p>
<ol>
<li>intro (first three minutes of <a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/ghostsofloss.html#7">gloom, beauty and despair</a>);</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/hope.html#1">hope</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/ghostsofloss.html#2">descending winters</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/hope.html#4">don’t fall asleep (horror, pt. 2)</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/themorningnevercame.html#3">out of this gloomy light</a> (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx8jCRbIhuE">live recording</a>);</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/ghostsofloss.html#8">the ship</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/hope.html#2">these hours of despair</a> (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmgLRIFkdbs">live recording</a>);</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/themorningnevercame.html#2">deadly nightshade</a>;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/swallowthesun/themorningnevercame.html#4">swallow (horror, pt. 1)</a>.</li>
</ol>
<p>unfortunately, there was no encore. (i hope i’ll see <i>swallow the sun</i> as the headliner once…) to the sounds of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks">twin peaks</a> score, the stage was rebuild for <i>amorphis</i> (last <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-have-been-at/">concert</a>, they used <i>twin peaks</i> music as the intro). well. then <i>amorphis</i> played, the headliner for this evening, and also delivered a great show.<br>
finally, everything was over, we walked back to the train station, arrived in zürich, and from there i had to walk home alone. well, same as yesterday, so i’m pretty much used to it :) now i’m looking forward to see how my neck’ll be feeling like, after so much headbanging… but it was definitely worth it!</p></div>serenity. machine men. communic. threshold.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/09/14/serenity-machine-men-communic-threshold/2007-09-14T11:06:01+02:002007-09-14T11:06:01+02:00felix<p>well, last night was the first concert in my current <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-want-to-attend-this-year/">schedule</a>: serentiy, machine men, communic and threshold were playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch">z-7</a> in pratteln. i really enjoyed it. first, <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_%28Band%29">serenity</a>, an austrian power prog band was playing. i’ve already seen them at the end of march, playing before sacred steel and morgana lefay, and i still don’t like them too much. it’s not about their technical skills or whatever, i just can’t really stand this symphonic power metal in some cases, and this is one of these cases. and their singer should pose a bit less… ;-) after serenity, a finnish melodic metal act called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_Men">machine men</a> started to rock off. them, i really enjoyed, and later i even bought one of their albums, <i>circus of fools</i>. after them, the norwegian band <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communic">communic</a> started playing. i’ve never seen them or heard music from them before and was pretty curious as i read some good things about them. they’re making prog metal and are quite influenced by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevermore">nevermore</a>, a band i really like. consisting of only three musicians, which is very seldom the case for prog related bands, playing guitars+vocals, bass and drums, they still managed to produce a very intense, beautiful stream of music. if the concert would have endet after them, i would have been perfectly happy (except that they should have played longer in that case). but then, it didn’t. well. they seemed to be very happy with us, their audience, too: after their gig, besides giving us sticks and plectrums, and tor atle, their drummer, even took of one of his cymbals and threw it into the crowd. i’ve never seen that before. unfortunately, it landed somewhere else, so no chance of grabbing it… afterwards i bought their album <i>waves of visual decay</i>, and the stage was prepared for the british prog metal act <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threshold_%28band%29">threshold</a>. threshold seemed to enjoy playing for us, and we enjoyed listening to them, moving to the music, marvelling at their solos, their playing skills. it was simply fantastic. but then, everything’s ending, and after an encore with two very nice songs, i had to leave to catch the last train. curiously, i again met a couple on the way back which i already met after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arena_%28band%29">arena’s</a> concert at the end of may; back then, they recommended me to try out <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayreon">ayreon</a>, a project by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjen_Anthony_Lucassen">arjen lucassen</a> which produces fantastic prog operas. again, thanks a lot for this hint, i really like these operas. well, maybe i’ll write something on them later.</p>viides luku: hävitetty by moonsorrow.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/09/02/viides-luku-hvitetty-by-moonsorrow/2007-09-02T17:49:36+02:002007-09-02T17:49:36+02:00felix<div><p>my first contact with <a href="http://www.moonsorrow.com">moonsorrow</a> was on the 9th of april this year, when they were playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch">z-7 </a> in pratteln. i didn’t knew them before, but i was told that i might like them. well. i did. after the concert, i decided i had to buy one of their albums, namely <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viides_Luku_-_H%C3%A4vitetty"><i>viides luku: hävitetty</i></a>, which is finnish and means <i>chapter five: ravaged</i>, being their fifth album, and i immediately listened to it when i came home after the concert. less than two weeks later i also had the rest of their albums lying on my desk.<br>
simlarly to finntroll’s <a href="https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/12/visor-om-slutet-by-finntroll/">visor om slutet</a>, <i>v: hävitetty</i> is a very special album. consisting of just two tracks, each having around 30 minutes of music, it builds up an intense atmosphere throwing you back into the old times, when vikings were sailing the northern seas. in contrast to visor om slutet, most of this album is heavy, very heavy, transporting a completely different mood. the first six minutes of the first track can be seen as a separate song, called <i>jäästä syntynyt</i> (<i>born of ice</i>), a very atmospheric, slow, dreamy piece, featuring a short poem:</p>
<blockquote class="cite"><p class="quote">
“auringon kuoleman syntyäkseen<br>
uusi maailma tarvitsee<br>
vain pisaran vettä kylmyyteen<br>
käsillä juoksemaan ihmisten”
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>which translates to:</p>
<blockquote class="cite"><p class="quote">
“through the death of the sun<br>
a new world is born<br>
a drop of water in cold<br>
to run on the hands of man”
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>other bands would let this be a whole song.<br>
after this, a twenty-five minutes long heavy sound scape named <i>varjojen virta</i> (<i>stream of shadows</i>) breaks loose on the listener, never being boring, recurring motifs varied, always melodic, sometimes a bit slower, mostly fast, screaming. closing my eyes, i can see vast landscapes and seascapes, raging storms, ships fighting the rough sea, endless forests, fog, darkness, bleak lives, people dying, battles raging. the music makes me want to move, it’s so intense, so beautiful, intoxicating. the <a href="http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/moonsorrow/viideslukuhvitetty.html">lyrics</a> are in finnish, with an english translation being provided in the booklet, allowing to enrich the experience, putting more emotions and emphasis into the music. they transport dreary feelings, are depressing, make me shiver. beautiful, in some sense, sorrowful, in another.<br>
the second song on this album, <i>tuleen ajettu maa</i>, which means <i>a land driven into the fire</i>, begins with shaman chants, quickly progressing to heavy riffs, screams. similarly to <i>varjojen virta</i>, this sound scape is intense, dense, heavy, varying between more silent, folkish parts, many heavy parts, black metal thunderstorms, forming a fascinating masterpiece.<br>
this one feels similarly depressing, bleak, even more aggressive. i can see boats floating, shaking on rough water, the sea trying to swallow the boats, i can see battles, fights, man against man, dying and dead people, the distinction between victor and loser being that one is dead, whereas the other is dying. skimming through the lyrics, i read as the last verse:</p>
<blockquote class="cite">
<p class="quote">
“näin kaikki päättyy, näen sen nyt<br>
tämä sivu on viimeinen<br>
näin kaikki päättyy, tyhjään ja unohdukseen<br>
eikä kukaan tänne palaa”
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>translating to:</p>
<blockquote class="cite">
<p class="quote">
“this is how it ends, i can see it now<br>
this page will be the last<br>
this is how it ends, to emptiness, to oblivion<br>
and none will ever return”
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>this is what the music makes me feel. makes me see, makes me think about, when i listen to it.</p></div>concerts i have been at.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-have-been-at/2007-08-13T23:13:35+02:002007-08-13T23:13:35+02:00felix<div><p>here’s a list of concerts i’ve been at this year, for historical reasons. not taking in account some classic concerts.</p>
<ul>
<li>07.02.2007: <a href="http://www.megatherion.com/">therion</a>, <a href="http://www.grave-digger.de/">grave digger</a> and sabaton were playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (symphonic orchestral metal, and some more thrashy/whatever metal);</li>
<li>21.02.2007: <a href="http://www.amplifiertheband.com/">amplifier</a> and cloudride were playing at <a href="http://www.abart.ch/">abart</a> in zürich (progressive art rock);</li>
<li>24.02.2007: <a href="http://www.blackfield.org/">blackfield</a> and pure reason revolution were playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (progressive rock, art rock);</li>
<li>04.03.2007: <a href="http://www.trailofdead.com/">…and you will know us by the trail of dead</a> and forget cassettes were playing at the <a href="http://www.rotefabrik.ch/">rote fabrik</a> in zürich (alternative rock);</li>
<li>29.03.2007: <a href="http://www.lefay.org/">morgana lefay</a>, sacred steel, serenity and bitterness were playing at <a href="http://www.rock-city.ch/">rock city</a> in uster (various kinds of metal: death, prog, power, true, …);</li>
<li>09.04.2007: <a href="http://www.moonsorrow.com/">moonsorrow</a>, <a href="http://www.swallowthesun.net/">swallow the sun</a> and some band whose name i forgot played at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (pagan metal, doom metal, death metal);</li>
<li>10.04.2007: <a href="http://www.circle2circle.net/">circle ii circle</a>, <a href="http://www.savage-circus.de/">savage circus</a>, tomorrow’s eve and <a href="http://www.tempesta.ch/">tempesta</a> were playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (metal);</li>
<li>13.04.2007: <a href="http://www.moonspell.com/">moonspell</a>, napalm death, behemoth, gojira and dew scented were playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (death and black metal, metalcore);</li>
<li>16.05.2007: <a href="http://www.spocksbeard.com/">spock’s beard</a> was playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (progressive rock);</li>
<li>27.05.2007: trivium, <a href="http://www.annihilatormetal.com/">annihilator</a> and some band which was playing before the official opening time were playing at the <a href="http://www.rohstofflager.ch/">rohstofflager</a> in zürich (thrash metal);</li>
<li>29.05.2007: <a href="http://www.verglas.com/arenaworld/">arena</a> was playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (progressive rock);</li>
<li>31.05.2007: <a href="http://www.anathema.ws/">anathema</a> and moondawn were playing at the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (atmospheric rock with metal influences);</li>
<li>01.06.2007: machine head, <a href="http://www.typeonegative.net/">type o negative</a>, cataract and zatokrev were playing at the <a href="http://www.volkshaus.ch/">volkshaus</a> in zürich (thrash metal, doom metal, metalcore and death metal);</li>
<li>27.06.2007: <a href="http://www.dreamtheater.net/">dream theater</a> and <a href="http://www.megadeth.com/">megadeth</a> were playing at the <a href="http://www.volkshaus.ch/">volkshaus</a> in zürich (progressive metal, thrash metal).</li>
</ul>
<p>if i’ll find the motivation (and if anyone cares), i might write a few words about some of these.</p></div>concerts i want to attend this year.https://spielwiese.fontein.de/2007/08/13/concerts-i-want-to-attend-this-year/2007-08-13T06:54:57+02:002007-08-13T06:54:57+02:00felix<div><p>here’s a list of concerts i plan to attend during the last four months of this year. if i put a link to a bands’ homepage, this means i’m going to that concert to see this band (and as a side effect, also the non-linked ones).</p>
<ul>
<li>13.09.2007: <a href="http://www.thresh.net/">threshold</a>, communic, machine men and serenity are playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (progressive metal);</li>
<li>22.09.2007: fjoergyn, wolfchant, nastrandir und nuclear winter are playing in the <a href="http://www.dynamo.ch/">dynamo</a> in zurich (symphonic black/pagan/viking/death metal);</li>
<li>27.10.2007: <a href="http://www.moonsorrow.com/">moonsorrow</a>, <a href="http://www.korpiklaani.com/">korpiklaani</a>, excelsis and battlelore are playing at the <a href="http://www.rock-rainbow.ch/therockrainbow/index.php?section=calendar&cmd=event&id=31">viking/pagan festival</a> in the <a href="http://www.stadthalle-dietikon.ch/">stadthalle</a> dietikon (folk/pagan metal);</li>
<li>31.10.2007: <a href="http://www.dreamtheater.net/">dream theater</a> and <a href="http://www.symphonyx.com/">symphony x</a> are playing in the <a href="http://www.eulachhallen.ch/">eulachhallen</a> in winterthur (progressive metal);</li>
<li>09.11.2007: <a href="http://www.apocalyptica.com/home/">apocalyptica</a> (with special guest not announced yet) is playing in the <a href="http://www.volkshaus.ch/">volkshaus</a> in zürich (violin metal);</li>
<li>12.11.2007: <a href="http://www.porcupinetree.com/home/">porcupine tree</a> and <a href="http://www.anathema.ws/">anathema</a> are playing in the <a href="http://www.volkshaus.ch/">volkshaus</a> in zürich (prog, atmospheric rock with metal influences);</li>
<li>16.11.2007: <a href="http://www.accento.ch/">orchester accento musicale zürich</a> is playing in the <a href="http://www.st-peter-zh.ch/">st. peter</a> in zürich (classic);</li>
<li>17.11.2007: <a href="http://www.boobmusic.ch/">boob</a> is playing in the <a href="http://www.helsinkiklub.ch/">helsinki klub</a> in zürich (alternative/punk rock);</li>
<li>18.11.2007: <a href="http://www.amorphis.net/">amorphis</a>, <a href="http://www.swallowthesun.net/">swallow the sun</a> and insomnium are playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (prog metal, doom metal);</li>
<li>27.11.2007: <a href="http://www.the-company.com/">fish</a> is playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (progressive rock);</li>
<li>29.11.2007: <s><a href="http://www.helloween.org/">halloween</a>, <a href="http://www.gamma-ray.com/">gamma ray</a> and axxis are playing in the <a href="http://www.stadthalle-dietikon.ch/">stadthalle</a> dietikon (power metal);</s> (skipping that one because of lack of time)</li>
<li>05.12.2007: <a href="http://www.bademeister.com/">die ärzte</a> are playing in the <a href="http://www.hallenstadion.ch/">hallenstadion</a> in oerlikon/zürich (fun punk);</li>
<li>14.12.2007: <a href="http://www.ensiferum.com/">ensiferum</a>, turisas and insania are playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> in pratteln (viking metal).</li>
</ul>
<p>unfortunately, i will miss <a href="http://www.finntroll.net/">finntroll</a> playing in the <a href="http://www.z-7.ch/">z-7</a> on 05.12.2007…</p></div>