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
One thing is clear straight from the start, that you get something for your money with 15 songs. I honestly have to say that I wasn’t sure from the few of the first samples that the band had put online, that the album will be well received: the songs were pretty rough and the transitions still sluggish, simply a demo, but what you now get to hear on the debut album of AHOLA is just: WOW! The question is if you can even describe what “Stoneface” has to offer. Already the first song “DonWana” convinces with a mixture of melody and raw rock charm. By the way, you can clearly hear that they all are pros. Antti Mäkelä (Drums), Jari Laitinen (Bass) and Antti Karhumaa (Lead Guitar) use their skills to get the best out of each song, and that is what they managed without a doubt. The songs are a perfect mixture of melody and roughness. Especially “Restless” is for me the absolute burner and should become, because of this harmony, a hit. Jarkko Ahola (vocals, guitar) shows on “Stoneface” totally different facets which one wouldn’t have given him credit for, I think I can claim that he surpassed himself with this performance. No matter if emotional or with a certain hardness, with his singing he always hits the bulls eye. The influences of Ahola’s idols can be clearly heard, e.g. “I walk alone” reminds me of Queen, but there is no need to be ashamed about this. It’s no use to examine every song in detail. “Stoneface” is a demanding record, something for conoisseurs who wanna experience pure Rock with catchy melodies and emotional lyrics. A felicitous debut-record.
