Let's speak with Fierce Deity (Stoner/Power Metal, 2020)

This was a love upon first sight. I just watched the video on YouTube and the warrior at the fire instantly woke my interest. 

To my further pleasure the music and further progress of the lyric video spoke from my heart. It felt like being back in my childhood days listening Iron Maiden for the first time. I simply had to know more about who stands behind Fierce Deity. Happily my questions where listened to so here's what I was able to find out...

Heavy Metal Underdogs: Hey! Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions of the Heavy Metal Underdogs blog.
Fierce Deity / Jonathon Barwick: Really appreciate you having me, Jens!

- Where does the inspiration for the warrior at the campfire on the cover come from?
I call him ‘The Traveller’ (or ‘Trav’ for short) and I got inspiration for the images a few years ago when my life was chaotic. I grieved by reading The Witcher and travelling to Japan. Witchers and Samurai share many philosophies that helped me move forward and find peace - well, that and a little LSD.

- Do you practise meditation for yourself?
I started in July 2017. I found a group of Tibetan Buddhists in my city that allowed the public to join in their meditations. I wrote ‘The Path’ after my first session - I got home, picked up my guitar and all those riffs fell into place.

 
- Do you play retro-games? If so: which systems and games/genres do you prefer?
My first console was a SNES but I spent most of my childhood on a Nintendo 64. I don’t prefer any system and I love all genres. My favourite games always seem to be single player adventures - Zelda, Witcher 3, Fallout 3, the Souls games… Also I’m the best in the world at Mario Kart 64.

- What do the japanese letters underneath the band name stand for?
It translates to “INTENSE GOD”. I visited Japan in 2018 - I was blown away by their culture and I haven’t seen life the same way since. It opened my eyes to the big wide world and the possibilities of life. A year later Fierce Deity was born but without a doubt the idea was conceived in Japan.

- Could you imagine converting the one-man project Fierce Deity into a full band if there was a demand for shows?
I sure can but I have a wild imagination! If the music catches a strong wind I’ll put a show together - and I mean “a show”. I have zero desire to do the local grind. I’d rather do something special a few times than do the same mediocre thing over and over again. I like the idea of Lemmy and Motorhead - he had a bunch of awesome people come through his band creating a different sound from his writing over the years.

Keep in touch with Fierce Deity with a subscription on Facebook.

Wacken 2016 livestream coming up feat. full Iron Maiden set

It's this time of the year again! Wacken Open Air will soon start and celebrate three days of Heavy Metal music. For all those who cannot make it there or didn't had the chance to get their hands on one of the tickets that sold out quickly at the blink of the eye I've got good news. :-)

That's how live shows used to be recorded back in the analogue age. Good old VHS tape, I still love it.

Arte Concert has announced to stream a good amount of shows through a internet livestream. Amongst the bands that have been listed to have their shows included on the stream are metal legends Iron Maiden who will perform a extended set which will see them close the touring circuit for the "Book Of Souls World Tour".

But I'm also glad to see that smaller bands will also find the way on the screens of the users. Here's the schedule so far, all times are MEST.

Update 08.08.2016: If you missed out the whole thing don't worry. Most of the shows are currently up in the archive of Arte Concert as video on demand. But don't wait too long since these stuff mostly is only online for a limited time.

Update 04.08.2016: The playing times have slightly changed. Iron Maiden will do a shorter set, the same goes for Therapy? and one more show from 0:15-00:45 has been added. It's still not confirmed which act will be streamed at that time but I think it will be revealed soon. The schedule below has been updated with the latest info.

Thursday, 04.08.2016

16h50-17h35 Henry Rollins

17h40-18h05 Hämatom

18h10-19h25 Saxon tbc

19h30-20h30 Panzerballett

20h35-21h25 Phil Campbell’s All Starr Band

21h30-23h30 Iron Maiden

23h35-00h15 Therapy?

00h15-00h45 (tba - to be announced)

00h45-01h00 Born to Lose, Lived To Win (A Farewell to Lemmy Kilmister)


Update 05.08.2016: Some changes again. First of all: the link to the stream for today has been changed to this subsite. Bullet For My Valentine will not be streamed since the artist didn't gave their permission. The Saxon show will be broadcasted instead. The Tarja set has been shorted. 


Friday, 05.08.2016

16h20 17h20 Entombed A.D.

17h25-18h25 Axel Rudi Pell

18h30-19h45 Eluveitie

19h45-21h00 Saxon (Replay)

21h10-22h15 Tarja

22h30-00h00 Blind Guardian

00h15-01h30 Ministry

01h45-03h00 Testament


Update 06.08.2016: The times for the today's schedule have been changed and some bands been removed from the list. The timetable below has been updated to the latest info available.
Additionally german TV station 3Sat will broadcast live via TV and maybe also through the stations own Livestream directly from the event starting at 20:15h (MEST). They will show footage of  Steel Panther, Triptykon, Blind Guardian, Tarja and Ministry.

Saturday, 06.08.2016

15h50-17h05 Borknagar

17h05-18h20 Metal Church

18h20-19h35 Therion

19h40-20h55 (tba)

20h55-22h10 Steel Panther

22h10-23h25 Triptykon

23h25-00h40 Clutch

00h40-01h55 Arch Enemy

As always check back here often for updates since all the bands and times are subject to change or see the Facebook page for this blog.

The stream itself will be located at this page of Arte Concert.

Hellfest livestream coming up next weekend

Finally we arrived at wednesday - the middle of the week. Time to see what the weekend may bring. This time you're in for another treat. :-)

Hellfest 2016 is coming to a screen near you.

The french Hellfest is going to be broadcasted in 2016 and big and small bands have already been confirmed to have their sets shown online. Currently the schedule looks like this:

Friday 17th June 2016 (all times MEST)

Altar & Temple Stage

18:35 Inquisition
19:30 Sacred Reich
20:30 Korpiklaani
21:35 Overkill
22:40 Aura Noir
23:45 Testament
00:45 Abbath

Mainstage

17:40 Turbonegro
18:35 Bullet For My Valentine
19:40 Mass Hysteria (Différé)
20:45 Volbeat
22:05 Dropkick Murphys
00:45 The Offspring


Saturday 18th June 2016

Altar & Temple Stage

17:40 Entombed A.D.
18:35 Archgoat
19:30 Asphyx
20:25 Moonsorrow
21:20 Terrorizer
22:15 Primordial
23:15 Napalm Death
01:00 Dark Funeral

Mainstage

17:40 Sick Of It All
18:35 Joe Satriani
19:30 Disturbed
01:00 Korn


Sunday 19th June 2016

Alatr & Temple Stage

17:40 Insomnium
18:35 Taake
20:30 Empyrium
21:30 Grand Magus
22:35 Enslaved
00:45 Deicide

Mainstage

15:50 Tarja
17:40 Blind Guardian
19:40 Amon Amarth
20:45 Megadeth
22:05 Ghost

You can find the overlook page right here on the ARTE concert page. Just select the date and stage you want to see and the link will take you to a subpage with the stream on it.

Underneath every stream you can also find the updated schedule for each broadcast. Things may be changed so make sure to check in every here and there to keep up to date.

Rock Hard Festival 2016 to be streamed and recorded by Rockpalast.de

The open air festival of the paper magazine Rock Hard has become well known in germany and many other countries around the world. It's based at a small location at a historical theater in Gelsenkirchen and features mostly smaller bands. It's said that the bands don't play there to make some cash in but instead play for the fans and thank them this way.

Most of all the Rockpalast crew confirmed on Facebook that there will be a live stream this year. So far Turbonegro has been announced as a band that has agreed to have their show streamed online.

The Rock Hard Festival 2016 will be streamed and recorded by the legendary TV format Rockpalast

Info on the Festival-Livestream

But there's more to come - here is the timetable for

Friday the 13th 2016 (all times are MEST)

Year Of The Goat       16:00 - 16:40 h
Satan                          17:05 - 17:50 h 
Tankard                      18:15 - 19:15 h
Destruction                 19:45 - 21:00 h
Sodom                       21:30 - 23:00 h

Saturday the 14th 2016 (all times are MEST)

Grand Magus       15:35 - 16:20 h
The Exploited       16:45 - 17:45 h
Kadavar               18:15 - 19:15 h
Metal Church       19:45 - 21:00 h 
Turbonegro          21:30 - 23:00 h

Sunday the 15th 2016 (all times are MEST)

Orden Ogan                                15:15 - 16:00 h
Moonspell                                   16:30 - 17:30 h
Riot V                                         18:00 - 19:00 h
Best Of Rock Hard 2015            19:05 - 21:00 h
Blind Guardian                            21:15 - 23:00 h 

You can find the livestream at the homepage of the Rockpalast web presence.

I'll update the schedule on the upcoming days if things should change. You can also connect with Heavy Metal Underdogs via Facebook - I'll post updates on the streaming schedule there as well.

Update 2016/05/24: In case you missed out the livestream of the Rock Hard festival 2016 or want to watch some of the gigs again follow this link. The first batch of live recordings is online now thanks to the hard working people of the Rockpalast crew.

Update 2016/05/14: Rockpalast has uploaded some live footage as well as interview material and pictures of the Rock Hard Festival 2016 on their homepage.

For all those who can't make it to the festival or watch the stream the legendary german TV format Rockpalast will also make recordings of the performances and air them later via the TV station WDR.

 

Info on the TV broadcast

Here is the TV broadcast schedule for the recorded material (all times are MEST please keep that in mind).
There is a livestream of the TV station available from their homepage but I cannot say if you access it from outside of germany.

Update 2016/05/24: Updated the schedule once again. The show on 27th June 2016 is a completly new announcement.

Update 2016/05/20: Updated the TV broadcast with exact starting and ending times and added the bands that will be shown during the shows.

23. May 2016, 23.55 - 03.25 h @ WDR Fernsehen
Bands:
SODOM
KADAVAR
TANKARD
YEAR OF THE GOAT

30. May 2016, 00.05 - 03.35 h @ WDR Fernsehen
Bands:
TURBONEGRO
DESTRUCTION
THE EXPLOITED

6. June 2016, 00.45 - 04.15 h @ WDR Fernsehen
Bands:
BLIND GUARDIAN
RIOT V
MOONSPELL

27. June 2016, 02.15 - 04.15 h @ WDR Fernsehen
METAL CHURCH
SATAN
GRAND MAGUS
ORDEN OGAN

The following band list shows which other band will also play at the Rock Hard Open Air 2016:

BLIND GUARDIAN
TURBONEGRO
SODOM
CANNIBAL CORPSE
METAL CHURCH
DESTRUCTION („Mad Butcher“-Set!)
MOONSPELL
THE EXPLOITED
RIOT V
TANKARD
KADAVAR
GRAND MAGUS
SATAN
ORDEN OGAN
TRIBULATION
BLACK TRIP
NIGHTINGALE
YEAR OF THE GOAT
SULPHUR AEON
SORCERER
ACCU§ER
DISCREATION

More information on the festival itself can be found on official Rock Hard Festival Homepage.

Win tickets for the Wacken Open Air 2016

As hard as it is to believe but the 2016 edition of the world's biggest Heavy Metal Open Air has already sold out. So what can I do if I would like to be there anyway I can hear you say? (the same thing I do say :-)

There is at least one chance for people living in germany, swiss or austria. The record company Warner Music is currently running a raffle where you can win a ticket for yourselves and one more person. Just follow this link and fill out the form. All you have to do is to name three of your favorite songs of bands that have ever been performed at the festival. But be quick: the deadline for the raffline is Sunday 16th August 2015.

The organizers will use all the song titles that have been send in to create a Spotify playlist that should help to skip the waiting time 'till the next festival for all of us.

Besides the festival tickets there's also a chance to win CD/Vinyl packages out of the special price campaign of the record company that features bands such as Nightwish, Saxon, Motörhead, Napalm Death, Alice Cooper, Airbourne, Annihilator, At The Gates, Sabaton or Sepultura.

The following bands have already been confirmed for Wacken Open Air 2016:

Blind Guardian, Axel Rudi Pell, Ministry, Dragonforce, Unisonic, Therion and many, many more.

7 Seals

It's often nice to have band suggestions from friends or contacts. Those people most likely know what might be of interest for you. It was like this when a friend of mine came around with 7 Seals, a band I'd never heard of before.

And to be honest it turned out to be a blast! The band can be said to be a combination of bands like Rhapsody Of Fire and Blind Guardian, so they do play powerfull riffs mixed with blasting drums and vocal hooklines that will you make remember even a long time after you've heard the songs.

What I like so much about this band is the fact for me that they keep things a bit more straight forward. There are of couse this these church like chorus elements but things never turn out to get on your nerves because you know that the next neckbreaking fast riff is waiting around the next corner. That makes this band a bit more enjoyable if you like it a bit more straight forward.

Here's the song "To forests wild and free" for you to check out:

To forests wild and free

If you want to hear more of the album "Moribund" then visit the media section of the website, it has a fine player with all the songs of the album.

Give the band's website a chance and surf to it here.