German Hardrockers BERSERKER will donate 18.000€ to the Berlin cancer charity for children on May 25. November 2011 BERSERKER front man Schröder was diagnosed with cancer, now he is cancer-free. In 2012 the band collected money for this charity at their concerts and will also continue to do so in the future. Slayer´s Jeff Hanneman is dead: he passed away at about 11AM on May 2nd near his Southern California home because of liver failure due to an infection after a spider bite. More info: www.facebook.com/slayer
R.I.P. Jeff! Festivals cancelled: ROCK AM SEE (GER) takes a break in 2013 "lacking attractive headliners"; BURNING SEA in Croatia had to succumb to a new tax regulation; yet purchased BS-tickets can also be used to visit METALDAYS in Slowenia.
The Siberian Jay music video "I´m Holding" featuring Mikko Sirén from Apocalyptica on drums - we reported about the videoshoot in our "1h with" Special - can be watched here: http://youtu.be/C-hSNurZVcs
The trio from Atlanta, USA came up with their second album, Gotten Gains. Although the singer, Ryan Waters is better known through the band Sade, the two bands are worlds apart. Where Sade is smooth and jazzy, iLL -as the name implies- is dirty, raw rock. It leans a bit towards Stoner Rock and occasionally a bit psychedelic and has a very creepy interlude.
The music itself is very atmospheric and takes one in really well. All of the band members master their instruments well and together they create strong, quick beats as well as smoother sounds. The band is a trio, but occasionally it sounds like there could be five people playing. The opening track, “One Time” is quite brilliantly executed; the fat bass riffs get your head nodding and hips swaying and Waters´ voice switches between raspy, lower levels to higher notes without getting on your nerves.
One could point out several similarities between iLL and Soundgarden, but I always found Chris Cornell´s voice very forced, whereas Waters and the rest of his band play a lot more naturally. If you find Alice in Chains, Queens of the Stone Age, or something in that general direction in your collection, you should definitely look into this album. The only real minus points anyone could give would be if this wasn´t their genre as well as the fact that I did not go apeshit after hearing the album.
