Schwermetall – Der Film , the first German Hard´N´Heavy documentary, filmed in 2008 + 2009 on 90 Festivals and stages all over Germany, featuring the underground as well as big names (Summer Breeze, Bang Your Head), more than 250 German and international artists and stars, is now hitting the screens. Besides Interviews, Outtakes, Live-Clips and Fanshots you can experience festivals from backstage or VIP areas and find out about different Metal styles: www.schwermetall-der-film.de. Sabaton-Cruise: Who wants more of Metal on a cruise ship should consider this one on December 2, 2010, with Sabaton, Raubtier, Steelwing, Prey, Mary Fay etc, Infos here . The Sorrow competition named HEADBANG & WIN, until Aug 30 details here . Sweden Rock Cruise will be a tribute to Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.) and will take place on Oct 7, 2010. Details at our tourdates.
The rest of Europe still has to wait,* Scandinavian fans can already enjoy the anniversary output of the Finns Before The Dawn – that reached the top of Finnish Single Charts right after its release. A well deserved success, after a decade at the Metal front, delivering solid high quality work year after year - without becoming boring or repeating themselves.
And they even pull that off when "recycling" is done with full intention - like with the opener “Decade of Darkness” which gives a pretty personal summary of the past 10 years by using song titles in the lyrics – and are there also musical references? Well, that´s something for die-hard-fans to ponder over...
You can expect high ear candy-factor and pleasant spine-tingling also when listening to the following (new) songs, a grooving mid-tempo “End of Days”, the ballad-ish “Insomnia” characterized by acoustic guitar and Lars´ expressive voice, and a pretty rough´n heavy “Painless”. Its live version right afterwards shows that those guys indeed know their craft, without studio effects.
Deadsong, in a way their “Smoke On The Water”, appears also twice here, once as live performance and once as “Symphony Version”. Just that title made me shiver in a panic attack – recorded with Lahti Philharmonic Orchestra? As gooey-kitschy-pathetic just like the unnecessary Metallica S/M?? But – NO – what relief, this is a bitter-sweet “Deadsong” - sparse instrumentation based on piano and cello, carried mainly by Lars´ impressive and variable voice that gets every chance to shine. NICE.
Anybody who knows the band already doesn´t need any recommendation anyway... And who doesn´t know the band yet – well, you definitely missed something, and this is the perfect “gateway drug”. A possible side effect, like a severe Before The Dawn-addiction, be it CD or live, has to be mentioned here... so I can claim that I warned you...
Tracklist:
1. Decade Of Darkness
2. End Of Days
3. Insomnia
4. Painless
5. Painless (Live)
6. Deadsong (Live)
7. Deadsong (Symphony version)
(* the EU release will be out in September, via CYCLONE EMPIRE, with exclusive Bonus-DVD "Live at SUMMER BREEZE 2009")
