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.

Mega Colossus European Tour starts tomorrow

Some news come in late. This one reached me saying that traditional heavy metal masters MEGA COLOSSUS will embark on a European tour starting already tomorrow. The tour will see the band playing shows in Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Greece.

A look up the Mega Colossus "V" EP cover, (c) by Mega Colossus

The band will release their latest EP "V" independently in North America on March 2. So you'll surely be able to pick up a copy of this one at their shows. One more reason to go.

Mega Colossus 2019 European tour dates:

March 2 - Hell Over Hammaburg festival, Hamburg, Germany
March 3 - MTS Records, Oldenburg, Germany
March 6 - Arena Beisl, Vienna, Austria
March 7 - MC Pakerna, Maribor, Slovenia
March 8 - Legends Lounge, Olching, Bayern, Germany
March 10 - P8, Karlsruhe, Germany
March 12 - Szenario, Marburg, Germany
March 14 - Up the Hammers pre-show, Athens, Greece

For updates on these dates and closer info check out the band's Facebook page.

Here's a little snippet so you can quickly check out their music. The band can be described as a mixture of Iron Maiden with Thin Lizzy.

Medevil stream full album for limited time only

If you've read my article about Medevil's video "Nightwalker" you probably know about the band's qualities. Don't worry if you missed it out. You're still in for a treat.

Photo Credit - Kevin Eisenlord,  L-R - Eric Wesa (Bass/Backup Vocals), Ross Collingwood (Drums), Liam Collingwood (Vocals), Gary Cordsen (Lead Guitar), Brett Gibbs (Rhythm Guitar)

A little dream has come true for me with this band. Medevil capture all the things I love so much about metal. They combine elements of the best oldschool bands like Metal Church when it comes to the riffs, add the songwriting abilities of Iron Maiden and put in vocals that Udo Dirkschneider couldn't have layed down better on tape.

I guess many of you out there that have heard and seen the video can't wait to hear the full thing. Happily we are in luck and I can share a stream of the full "Conductor of Storms" record as a stream right here. But seize the opportunity. It will be up for a limited time only (from Aug 26-Sept 9).



If you like what you hear you can order a copy of the album over at medevilmusic.com or catch the band on the road in Canada these days (and maybe pick up a copy of the CD directly at the show).

Tourdates

Aug 28 - Chilliwack, BC - Main Street Night Club
Sept 5 - Kelowna, BC - Muninn's Post
Sept 8 - Calgary, AB - Verns
Sept 9 - Edmonton, AB - DV8
Sept 10 - Calgary, AB - Overtime Sports Bar

I'm sure this is a band we're going to see and hear of a lot in the coming years. I hope for that. Make sure to follow them via Facebook or Twitter.

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.

Interview with Eternal Voyager (2015)

Introduction

Eternal Voyager came to me as a sort of good surprise. Being someone who grew up with the old classic bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal I always loved the old style that these bands represent with their classic songs. Just think of Judas Priest with their Screaming for Vengeance album or Iron Maiden's Piece of mind.

Of course times have changed ever since. It's good to see things evolve - these days productions sound very different, much brighter, heavier and often brutal. But it's always running through my head that I still love the old way of doing records.

Eternal Voyager seems to be the answer to what I am longing for. They keep their traditionell Power Metal in the old fashioned way of songwriting and production. For example there are songs on their album "The Battle of Eternity" that repeat the theme that is presented at the beginning of the track at the very end of it again. I instantly had to think of the old Omen albums again.

Eternal Voyager 2015, (c) by Eternal Voyager used with kind permission

I gave the album some spins and was so curious to find out more about them that I asked the band for a interview. I am glad guitarist and vocalist Brian Blake took the time to answer my questions in a very extended way. Get to know more about how the album came together, the myterious man on the front cover of the album and what they are going to do next.

The Interview

Heavy Metal Underdogs: 
The production on the CD sounds very oldschool. I love this, today's albums are often overproduced in my eyes/ears. I grew up with the old sound so I prefer it. Was the old-school production form something you had clearly on your mind as you went into the studio or how did it all come together?

Brian Blake:
It was a natural thing that happened it wasn’t really planned but it came out that way because of the producer’s style. I too enjoy the old school sound and production to albums. But this time around it was not planned out this way. Of course there are a lot things I would like to change but it captured the songs well enough.

The band underwent a lot of line-up changes and is already around since 1998. How did you manage to keep up the motivation?

It went through a lot of lineup changes for various reasons mostly because many people just didn’t make the cut or ended up with life and musical differences, which is a natural thing that happens. It has never been easy because I have been the original member having to carry the weight of the band through all of it and it was very hard; there were many times that I wanted to give up but I kept going. This new lineup has given me a newfound hope and positive outlook on the future of this band. The album itself finally getting recorded was very motivating and gave me more confidence because prior to that we never had the right people all of those years and I was never successful in getting a good professional recording done.

Did the fans maybe also took part in this by constantly requesting new shows or recordings?

Yes there were a few that followed us somewhat distantly through the years but we made a lot more new fans when the album came out because it was a solid recording . For about 4 years before the making of the album we had a big gap of silence due to lineup complications and member issues.

As for the lyrics of "The Battle of Eternity" - does it have a concept behind it? Is there also a relation to the cover artwork?