Archive for August, 2011

Transylvanian Hungerrr: A Tribute To Carl-Michael Eide (Ved Buens Ende / Virus)

Posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

R o a d b u r n S p e c i a l

in the presence of greatness
a personal tribute to Carl-Michael Eide

Words and live photos by Stefan Raduta

The real beauty of the Norwegian underground to me always lied in the lesser known / publicized / accepted acts that dared to go somewhere different, bands / artists that stepped outside of the box and provided something unique, challenging, distinctive. I’m talking about names like Ulver, Arcturus, Dødheimsgard, Borknagar or Solefald, Code, Red Harvest, Slagmaur and more recently Vulture Industries, Leprous, etc.

Even if bands like Strid, Thorns, Tartaros, Fleurety or Mysticum were only active for just a bit, they did something different and that’s what always appealed to me more, those who broke out of the norm, the visionaries, the gambling weirdos. And above all, I’m talking about Ved Buens Ende and Virus. Or simply put, a genius by the name of Carl-Michael Eide.

There is absolutely not a doubt in my mind that today, Virus is one of the finest, most exquisite musical exports Norway ever had to offer. Period. If you want real value for your buck, place your bet on this name because Virus is the new kind of music, very much like Ulver always had the potential to be and eventually became. Come to think of it, you put Virus and Ulver together on a bill and nothing can touch it, nothing. It’s no surprise Czral and Garm have are still friends, even if Ulver went further than anyone could have anticipated.

In fact, Virus’s first ever show was this year on March 22^nd in London as direct support for Ulver. If Agalloch were not playing their first ever New York City show that very night, I would have totally gone…and now that I think about it, considering that I really don’t remember too much from that night (don’t ask…), I really regret not being there. Alas, Hole In The Sky can’t come soon enough, just a few more weeks..

If there ever was any doubt, those who once fell under the spell of Ved Buens Ende sixteen years ago can today once again affirm the obvious: that Carl Michael Eide always was and always will be the daddy of all things weird, disharmonic, alien, psychedelic, avant-garde, both brilliantly fucked up and yet constantly alluring, addictive to the fucking bone. To me, he remains the daddy of all that and nobody can touch him.

It’s very hard to describe the universe of Virus, simply because no one writes / plays music like this today. This is completely new… initially it could be perceived as a mixture of 70’s psychedelic and kraut rock fusion with jazz and metal, but it’s just so damn weird and trippy man. I just don’t get it how this man writes music so bizarre while being catchy as hell. It may seem all over the place and rugged at a first listen, but give it a chance to grow on you and you’ll see it’s in fact very well polished, full of class and elegance.

Listening to Virus today it becomes painfully obvious that this is once again a whole different ball game, it’s a higher class of musicianship dragging you into yet another crazy, demented dance between eternity and oblivion. It’s music either to smother the demons inside or give them a completely new life, you don’t really know what the hell is going on, but one thing is certain: once you take the bait you have this dirty old fish hook in your lower jaw, you’re being pulled in all directions but you’re just loving it man, you can’t have enough of it. To hell with the term progressive, what Carl-Michael Eide does is otherworldly, sublime.

Every time I listen to Virus it’s as if I take a syringe and inject hundreds of trolls on a bad acid trip in both my knees while laughing hysterically and hitting a 4 foot bong packed with psychosis. And that’s right after I head butted the mailman and set my neighbor’s house on fire. Seriously, it’s as if embracing the severe mental disorder I always knew I had but never really wanted to deal with… over and over and over and over again. This is Virus, the new kind of music for the eternally demented. Try it, see what happens.

Continue reading: Transylvanian Hungerrr – A Tribute To Carl-Michael Eide

The return of Agressor at Inferno 2011, welcomed properly by the fans:

Tags: Aura Noir, Cadaver Inc, Carl Michael Eide interview, Carl-Michael Eide, hole in the sky, Roadburn Festival, Stefan Raduta, Transylvanian Hungerrr, Ved Buens Ende, Virus
Posted in 2011, Interviews, Roadburn Recommended | 1 Comment »

Album of the day: Blut – Grief and Incurable Pain

Posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: Apart from a sample at the beginning of the first of its two tracks that’s soon swallowed whole by a distortion tsunami and some screams peppered throughout both tracks, there is no discernible speech anywhere within the just under 70 minutes of Blut’s second full-length ...read more

Kyuss Lives!: Performance Footage With Scott Reeder Available

Posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

Fan-filmed video footage of Kyuss Lives!‘ August 2 performance at Lokerse Feesten in Belgium can be seen below. This performance marks the debut of Scott Reeder, who’s currently filling in for Nick Oliveri.