MORS PRINCIPIUM EST « Hollywood Metal

February 22, 2010

Hollywood Metal Episode 84 (Nov-21-2009)

Saturday Nov 21st 2009: After a few weeks of schedule and time zone conflicts I was finally able to record a conversation with one of my favorite metalhead friends, Tero Tolkki. Hailing from Finland, Tero is the creator of Finnish news and band database MetalFromFinland.com. The timing of our conversation actually worked out quite well because I was right in the middle of a heavy concert week that featured two Finnish bands. KIVIMETSAN DRUIDI (Heathenfest, in support of ELUVEITIE, BELPHEGOR, ALESTORM, VREID and local support from STATIUS) as well as mighty ENSIFERUM on the North American leg of their From Afar Tour (Support from BLACKGUARD, LAZARUS AD and local support from EINVERA). In between those two concerts I also saw DETHKLOK!!! Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep this week but it didn’t matter because I was totally prepared for this conversation having had a few weeks to think about what I wanted to ask the dude who created my most trusted source of brilliant metal. In spirit of the conversation I kept the playlist strictly Finnish leading off with STAM1NA an excellent power/thrash band that utilizes and interesting vocal cadence in their songs. They truly have a unique sound and that is extremely hard to do these days. Along with STAM1NA, Tero and I share a mutual respect for MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, a fast pace, but extremely melodic band that is long overdue for some world attention. Every album these guys put out is flawless, yet they still seem to fly beneath the radar. Tero tells me that they are working on new material so hopefully it releases to much fanfare. Mighty ENSIFERUM and INSOMNIUM were also necessary for today’s show, both with new releases and both within my top 5 band list. Tero shares my sentiments on these bands including my appreciation for Petri Lindroos as Jari Maenpaa’s successor. Lastly, KIVIMETSAN DRUIDI was the last choice for today because I saw them on this night and I say, because I am writing this post after the fact, that this band is very good live. I enjoyed the album when I first heard it. I thought that they could use some finishing touches on their sound but I definitely like them more having seen them live. I hope they get the opportunity to come back soon. Big thanks to Tero Tolkki for taking the time to speak with me, Please check out his site for all things Finnish, metal and awesome.

Filed under: Showlog — Tags: Brendan Biryla, ENSIFERUM, Hollywood Metal, INSOMNIUM, KIVIMETSAN DRUIDI, MetalFromFinland.com, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, STAM1NA, Tero Tolkki — Brendan Biryla @ 6:01 pm

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February 21, 2010

Hollywood Metal Episode 13 (Mar-22-2008)

Hollywood Metal Episode 13 (audio)

Saturday March 22nd 2008: Episode 13 premiered the new epic intro taken from BATHORY “Prelude” off the Nordland I album. This is my favorite album intro, it really sets an epic tone for the show. Russian band SVARTBY was the first played today. These guys hail from St. Petersburg but the name of the band is Swedish for “The Black Village” and they sing in Swedish as well. (“Skogens Ursinne’) was the name of the track played and I really enjoy this one because its upbeat and the folk instruments mirror the rhythm guitars which gives the song a richer sound while keeping the song light and upbeat. Germany’s RIGER was next with (“Brandschiff”). This one is great because the melodic melody that hovers over the rhythm guitars is so clean and powerful. One can’t help but to rock during this one! Up next was Finland’s MORS PRINCIPIUM EST with (“The Unborn”) . As I mentioned on the show, I really dig how they used the keyboards in this song. It was the perfect amount and to the perfect effect of creating the uptempo atmosphere. That combined with the angelic voice of the female background singer produced a great track. England’s mighty BAL-SAGOTH were next with (“Shackled to the Trilithon of Kutulu”). This band produces some great keyboard driven symphonic black metal but the real gem is the band’s mastermind Byron Roberts. Byron’s signature voice over narrative vocal style created one of the most epic sounds in metal today. After a brief venting session, where I called out the loser who wrote the worst review ever about our last band on metal-archives.com, we played that very band… XIV DARK CENTURIES. That guy did not know what the hell he was talking about when he rated their 2006 album a 45% and to prove it we played (“Thing”) from that album and it totally rocked! If anyone out there writes reviews for metal archives, do the metal world a favor and write a new review for XIV DARK CENTURIES’ (2006 Skithingi).

Filed under: Showlog — Tags: BAL-SAGOTH, BATHORY, Brendan Biryla, Hollywood Metal, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST, RIGER, SVARTBY, XIV DARK CENTURIES — Brendan Biryla @ 4:50 pm

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