Once again, The Headbanging Moose takes Finland by storm, this time to talk about the amazing classic rock singer Graham Bonnet and his awesome band playing in Helsinki.
As already mentioned by Renata in the Brother Firetribe gig review, The Headbanging Moose is now also in Finland, and I, Giovanna, am more than thrilled to be part of this great team! To celebrate my first contribution to THM, nothing better than Graham Bonnet, an absolute classic Rock and Roll legend showing that age is just a number and what matters in the attitude and will to rock.
The evening filled with pure quality Rock and Roll started with a performance of the Helsinki local band WISHING WELL. The band first released their material in 2015, but it has been a long-term project of the leader and guitarist, Anssi Korkiakoski. During the concert, the band played their classic songs, greatly influenced by the 1970s and 1980s classic rock bands, leaving a nostalgic and energetic feeling in the house, making the audience eager for more good rock and roll. It is worth it to check out the band’s material if you are also a fan of classic rock.
After the usual break to exchange the gears for the next band, we were finally gifted with the presence of Graham Bonnet and the band members on stage.
The gig started with some technical difficulties making the public unable to hear the bassist Beth-Ami Heavenstone’s chords but after a short complaint and some screams at the sound table everything was sorted out and the gig started for real. The band opened the night with the Rainbow Cover “Eyes of the World” and the British singer showed that 76 is just a number and there is no such thing as being too old to rock and roll. The band continued with a few more Rainbow songs and although my particular favorite “Love’s no Friend” was one of the highest moments of the show in my opinion, the crowd went crazy with ”Since You’ve Been Gone” leaving a super energetic atmosphere for the keyboard solo by the Italian Allessandro Bertoni.
After the short break, the singer came back to the stage and the band played songs from Bonnet’s Solo career emphasizing the quality of the musicians present in his solo albums.
I must confess that being a Michael Schenker fanatic, I was anxiously awaiting for the Assault Attack album songs, and when the band finally played “Desert Song” it was an absolute delight. The Brazilian guitarist Conrado Pesinato showed in every step of the concert that he is more than capable to carry the legacy of the astonishing guitarists that were part of Graham Bonnet’s career. Pesinato presented his version of the songs and solos, never letting the audience down and filling the concert with great technique and soul.
After The first Michael Schenker cover, the band played my personal favorite from their album “Day Out in Nowhere”, the song “Uncle John”. Something that made the concert even richer was the stories told by the members about the songs and events surrounding the band and the singer. For example, Graham explained that he wrote the lyrics of the song ”Uncle John” for a teacher who was beloved by his students but was lately charged and arrested accused of pedophilia.
Next, came the “Jet to Jet” drum solo, and we were presented with the energetic drummer Francis Cassol, also a Brazilian musician. Francis was chosen to be part of the Swedish and Finnish leg of the European tour and I think they could not have chosen any better! After the solo, the band played more songs from the singer’s solo career and covers. ”Assault Attack” and ”Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live” made the crowd sing loud, leaving the space for the final and vibrant song ”Lost in Hollywood”. The charisma of all band members made the night more than special. I am hoping they come back next year for another spectacular and nostalgic evening.
Setlist Eyes of the World (Rainbow cover) All Night Long (Rainbow cover) Love’s No Friend (Rainbow cover) Makin’ Love (Rainbow cover) Since You’ve Been Gone (Rainbow cover) Lazy/Keyboard Solo (Deep Purple Cover) Imposter S.O.S Desert Song (MSG Cover) Uncle John Jet to Jet/Drum Solo (Alcatrazz cover) Night Games Into the Night Assault Attack (MSG Cover) Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live (Alcatrazz cover) Lost in Hollywood (Rainbow cover)
Band members Graham Bonnet – vocals Conrado Pesinato – guitar Beth-Ami Heavenstone – bass Allessandro Bertoni – keyboards Francis Cassol – drums
Three Welsh girls are ready to bring the noise armed with their first full-length album, always in the name of our good old Rock N’ Roll.
With an impressive array of live shows and festivals under their belt, including Download Festival, Monsters Of Rock Cruise, Rock The Boat Cruise and Hard Rock Hell, Cardiff, Wales-based all-female Hard Rock trio Häxan is ready to take the world of rock and metal by storm with their brand new album White Noise, a lecture in classic rock tailored for fans of the music by Led Zeppelin, Suzi Quatro, AC/DC and Black Sabbath. Recorded at Stompbox Studios in Wales, the album was produced, mixed and mastered by Todd Campbell (Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons), who’s helped lead singer and guitarist Sam Bolderson, bassist Harriet Wadeson and drummer Jess Hartley reach a higher level with their music, all embraced by a straightforward and strong artwork by Matt Riste Illustration, and if you think the COVID-19 pandemic would stop the girls from embellishing the airwaves with their music you’re absolutely wrong. “We debated postponing the album launch until there was more certainty in our (and your) lives. We ultimately decided that so many of our fans and friends had been asking for this album for so long, that it was only right to continue with its launch and hopefully help to give everyone a little something to look forward to. We want White Noise to be able to mask the sounds of the uncertain outside world that’s around all of us currently, to allow people to escape it. It’s an opportunity to shut everything else out and enjoy the incredible potency of music.”
Let’s cut to the chase as it’s time to rock together with the girls from Häxan in the opening tune Damned If You Do, presenting elements from classic rock with the electrifying punk-ish sound blasted by bands like Volbeat, with Jess sounding fantastic on drums while Sam delivers sheer adrenaline with her spot-on riffs, followed by Killing Time, a mid-tempo headbanging tune led by the pounding drums by Jess accompanied by the crushing bass punches by Harriet, bringing a Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” vibe and, therefore, resulting in a lesson in 80’s Rock N’ Roll for admirers of the genre. After such great start the band offers us all Nine Lives, a Volbeat/Misfits-inspired composition by the trio where Sam and Harriet slash their strings beautifully while Sam blasts her delicate but potent vocals for our total delight. Needless to say, this is an amazing option for their live performances, which is also the case with Grave Digger, where the band ventures through more Blues-ish, Southern Rock lands. Furthermore, Sam poetically declaims the song’s lyrics while Jess keeps the song’s pace smooth and vibrant at the same time, not to mention the thrilling guitar solo blasted by Sam. And they keep smashing their instruments powerfully in the Hard Rock extravaganza Louder Than Words, with Harriet and Jess making the earth tremble with their thunderous bass and drums, also bringing to our avid ears soulful guitar riffs and solos and endless stamina.
In Black Sheep the trio gets back to a darker and groovier sonority, with Harriet hammering our heads with her fiery bass while Sam brings forward more of her charming vocals, sounding almost like a grim, badass rock ballad, whereas uniting the groove of Southern Rock with the old school Hard Rock by AC/DC Häxan offer us all the dancing Crash and Burn, with Sam’s vocals being nicely complemented by some crisp backing vocals, rockin’ guitar riffs and incendiary solos. In the flammable Skeletons, we’re treated to a high-speed, dirty pounding Rock N’ Roll party by the girls where Jess is unstoppable on drums, providing Sam all she needs to scream the song’s catchy chorus flawlessly (“Your skeletons are out to play, you thought you’d take them to your grave / You’ll always be the second best to demons that you’d laid to rest / Your skeletons are running wild, haunting you til the day you die / You believe what’s done is done, but you won’t ever run / From all your skeletons, skeletons”), before Living Dead closes the album in great fashion, albeit not as inspiring as the rest of the album, but still showcasing all the dexterity of the girls with Jess once again kicking ass with her beats together with Harriet’s rumbling bass jabs.
The talented and hardworking girls from Häxan are waiting for you on Facebook, on Instagram and on Spotify to rock your world like there’s no tomorrow, bu of course in order to show them your true support and to prove you deserve a place in the Rock N’ Roll heaven, go grab your copy of White Noise from their own BandCamp page, from Apple Music or from Amazon. In a nutshell, White Noise might not be a revolution in rock music, but that has never been the band’s intention anyway. Sam, Harriet and Jess just want to play pure, unfiltered rock music and give us all a very good reason for smiling, banging our heads and dancing the night away. After two astounding releases, those being their 2017 debut EP Breaking Down the Walls and now the top-of-the-line White Noise, what’s next for the girls from Häxan? Well, only time will tell, but we can all rest assured they will never sell out and will keep bringing the noise to our avid ears for many years to come, always in the name of our good old Rock N’ Roll.
Best moments of the album: Damned If You Do, Nine Lives and Skeletons.
Worst moments of the album:Living Dead.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Damned If You Do 4:50
2. Killing Time 4:07
3. Nine Lives 4:45
4. Grave Digger 5:03
5. Louder Than Words 4:07
6. Black Sheep 5:35
7. Crash and Burn 4:07
8. Skeletons 5:34
9. Living Dead 4:27
Band members Sam Bolderson – vocals, guitar
Harriet Wadeson – bass
Jess Hartley – drums
As part of our annual tradition here at The Headbanging Moose, the first metal chick of the year must be a badass bass player to properly kick things off with a lot of thunder and heaviness just the way we like it in Heavy Metal, and in 2020 that couldn’t be any different than that, of course. Having said that, get ready to venture through the realms of Alternative and Nu Metal with the one and only Nadja Peulen, a German-born bassist and backing vocalist currently based in Los Angeles, California, in the United States known for bringing tons of groove to our avid ears as the bassist for American metallers Coal Chamber from 1999 to 2000, again between 2002 and 2003, and one last time after a huge band hiatus from 2013 until 2016 when the group disbanded once and for all.
Born on January 10, 1975 somewhere in the always beautiful Germany, our 1.73m-tall blue-eyed, red-haired bassist started her life in music at a very early age due to her family travelling a lot and staying at several different places, always on the road in the name of Rock N’ Roll, always surrounded by distinct people, and always attending music concerts. Of Polish and German descent, Nadja grew up in the Netherlands and listened to a lot of 70’s music such as Motown, disco and classic rock at home because of her parents, being highly influenced by those styles in her current way of playing bass. Originally starting out studying art with aspirations to be a painter, Nadja naturally decided to switch to music, playing drums before becoming a bassist and continuing her career as a drummer after moving to Los Angeles when she was only 18, learning from renowned drummers and jamming with several different musicians (while at the same time working in different jobs such as tiling bathrooms and working as a waitress in a strip bar).
After a while, when Nadja decided she wanted to get more into songwriting, she was given a bass guitar (a cheap $100 one, by the way) and started playing with one finger only, gradually evolving to a couple more fingers and never having a single lesson in her life. Three months later, she was already in an all-girl band named Tail, playing around Hollywood for a couple of years at Whisky a Go Go, The Viper Room and whatever clubs were there at the time. After a couple of years, Nadja was invited to join Los Angeles-based Nu Metal outfit Coal Chamber in 1999 while bassist Rayna Foss-Rose was on maternity leave, and again after the recording of the 2002 album Dark Days when Rayna left the band for good, playing live with the band in several domestic and international tours with bands like Drowning Pool co-headlining the tours. Despite not having recorded the bass lines in Dark Days, Nadja is featured in the official video for Fiend, one of the band’s most well known songs which is thought to be about how the band and the Nu Metal genre were getting heavily criticized at the time. In addition, Nadja was also featured as the band’s bass player in the excellent concert Live at the Maritime Hall, San Francisco, CA, 1999 in the bonus DVD from the 2005 special re-release of their 1997 debut album Coal Chamber.
Then after a long period of silence from 2003 until 2011, Coal Chamber reunited for a short run of international shows with bassist Chela Rhea Harper instead of Nadja, but our talented red-haired bassist officially returned to the band in October 2013 shortly before the band signed to Napalm Records to record a new album. “Beyond happy and excited today to announce my return on bass with Coal Chamber,” Nadja wrote on the day of her official return to the band. “I’ve missed my brothers and can’t wait to rock the stage with them again and see all of you!” It was in May 2015 that Coal Chamber released their fourth album in thirteen years and their only studio album with Nadja on bass, entitled Rivals, adding a touch of Groove Metal to their musicality while at the same time distancing themselves from their previous Gothic Metal style. From Rivals, you can enjoy Nadja’s rumbling bass punching you in the face in songs like Another Nail In The Coffin, Suffer In Silence (featuring Ministry’s driving force Al Jourgensen on guest vocals), and I.O.U. Nothing.
Apart from her awesome stints with Coal Chamber, Nadja was also the bass player and backing vocalist for a Los Angeles-based Theatrical/Alternative Avantgarde Rock duo known as Vera Mesmer, together with vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Christopher Mesmer, formerly of Reveille, as well as guest drummer Bones Elias (Julien K, formerly of Dead by Sunrise), from 2010 until 2013. Vera Mesmer left two very interesting releases to the world before the duo parted ways in 2013, those being the 2012 EP Orphans and the 2013 single Down the Hole, showing a different and very theatrical storytelling side of both Chris and Nadja, as you can see for example in the official video for the song Back from the Dead. “We’re constantly brainstorming and creating. We’ve completely let go of templates and we don’t stick to the genre game,” said Nadja about the artistic freedom she found with Vera Mesmer while the band was still active. “We encompass all music styles while still undeniably retaining that Vera Mesmer sound.”
You can also find Nadja lending her thunderous bass lines to a project entitled Roadrunner United from 2005 to 2008, having recorded the excellent single and video The End together with Dino Cazares (Fear Factory), Roy Mayorga (Stone Sour) and Matt Heafy (Trivium), among others, for the 2005 album The All-Star Sessions, as well as the 2008 DVD featuring a making of and a live concert with several artists such as Ville Valo (HIM), Scott Ian (Anthrax) and Tim “Ripper” Owens, with Nadja kicking some serious ass in songs like Type O Negative’s all-time classic Black No. 1 together with Ville Valo on vocals, Andreas Kisser on lead guitar, Dino Cazares on rhythm guitar, Joey Jordison on drums and Rob Caggiano on keyboards, and Tired ‘n Lonely together with Mina Caputo on vocals, Matt Baumbach on lead guitar, Acey Slade on rhythm guitar, Joey Jordison on drums and Rob Caggiano on keyboards. Furthermore, between 2004 and 2006, Nadja was also featured in the music videos for the songs (Rock) Superstar and What’s Your Number? as part of the backup band with Tim Armstrong (Rancid) and Christian Olde Wobbers (Fear Factory), both by American Hip-Hop group Cypress Hill.
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As already mentioned, Nadja has a wide and eclectic taste for music, with her primary influences lying along the Trip Hop, Industrial and Alternative Rock and Metal vein the likes of Massive Attack, Killing Joke, The Cult, Faith No More, Jane’s Addiction, Ministry, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, David Bowie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Grand Funk Railroad and Stevie Wonder, with the one and only Iggy Pop being part of one of the most exciting moments in her career. A friend of hers called Whitney, who used to play guitar for Iggy Pop, invited Nadja for a jamming session one day, but she initially said no. “Why don’t you come down to the Swinghouse and jam with me and a couple of friends?”, said Whitney, and she promptly answered “Well I’m in bed. My bass is dusty and I’m watching TV. I really don’t feel like jamming with you right now.” Whitey called back a couple of times and finally said, “Well, it’s Iggy and he wants to jam with you.” Nadja didn’t believe her friend, saying “Yeah you’re fucking with me. You just want me to come down there and hang out.” Then she got another phone call from Iggy’s manager, which turned out to be his son Eric. He said, “Yeah, Iggy Pop is down here and he really, really wants to jam with you.” She still thought it was a prank, when she finally got a phone call from Iggy himself where she recognized his voice and nearly pissed her pants. Iggy said, “Nadja, I have heard a lot of really good things about you. I want to jam with you. Come down here – can you be here in 10 minutes?” Needless to say, Nadja joined her idol and they jammed for a few hours, with Nadja later saying in one of her interviews that she was always afraid to meet someone like Iggy Pop because she believed a person like that would probably be an asshole and she would never be able to listen to his music the same way. However, he was really nice to her, a humble guy exactly how anyone would expect.
Regarding her life on the road with Coal Chamber, Nadja mentioned in one of her interviews that she really loved playing the songs Another Nail In The Coffin and Bad Blood Between Us live with the band, both from the album Rivals, and that she would have loved to be in a tour co-headlined by Coal Chamber, System Of A Down and Korn, the latter with whom Coal Chamber only played at the same festivals such as Heavy Montreal in 2015 and Graspop Metal Meeting in 2013. When questioned about the fact she was the only female on the tours with Coal Chamber, she said that it was indeed challenging as she had for example to get dressed in the bathroom of the bus, which was a very small space. However, Nadja also said she was fine being the only girl in a “boy’s club”, complementing by saying that being utterly professional was what kept everything working well. Also, on a side note, Nadja mentioned being on stage, being in that moment, is when her mind stops and she can achieve some peace of mind, having also achieved that peace by doing yoga, more specifically Kundalini Yoga, a school of yoga influenced by Shaktism and Tantra schools of Hinduism.
Nadja also launched in 2003 her own T-shirt and apparel company called CruelTees, selling her products not only online but also through stores such as Hot Topic. Owner and head designer of CruelTees, Nadja has always loved painting and sketching, having even been in Art Academy before quitting it to move to Los Angeles, with her designs fusing dark Gothic and wild Rock N’ Roll images with clever slogans. However, if you click on the official website for CruelTees, it will redirect you to her website Sonic Dominion without any products available. There are a few items in her webshop, though, but nothing related to CruelTees. Perhaps Nadja is working on a new collection for the future? If you’re curious to know more about CruelTees and ask Nadja for any updates on the brand, you can message her directly through her official website contact form, and who knows, maybe you’ll be one of the first to receive news on a new series of CruelTees shirts and apparel.
Endorsed by Schecter Guitars, Mesa Boogie, Dean Markley Strings, Monster Energy Drink and Monster Cable, our skillful bassist, who by the way thinks labeling a music style is not really that relevant, commented in one of her interviews that she’s happy to see an increasing number of female bass players (as well as guitarists and drummers) out in the market playing with their bands, which is always a good thing in heavy music, also saying she likes the fact that several of those bassists are adopting the finger style when playing their instruments, something that was a taboo in the past. Nadja herself is a finger bass player, as mentioned before, and the fact this old school technique is becoming popular again brings a lot of joy to her heart. And last but not least, Nadja’s relationship with her fans is quite healthy, with some of her fans even becoming her personal friends. She said that she can’t obviously answer everything to everyone due to her busy schedule, as she doesn’t consider herself an Internet person with enough time for social media. She actually doesn’t enjoy engaging on social media on a personal level, focusing on her work as a musician and as a designer instead. We have to agree with Nadja on that, and if you want to know more about her professional career you can either follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, or watch some of her interviews and other videos on YouTube like the BIAS FX demo, an interview during Heavy Montreal in 2015, an interview to INDIEPOWER TV! in 2015, or an interview she gave to Dean Markley at NAMM also in 2015. What are you waiting for to let one of the most badass female bassists of all time show you all she got? Nadja kicks some serious ass, and she will crush you like an insect with her thunderous bass, no doubt about that.
A melodic and psychedelic journey through the realms of Death, Doom and Post-Metal by a weird and extremely competent band from Finland.
There’s no specific meaning for the word “ovenizer” if you look it up in any dictionary, not even the informal ones, and trying to find an explanation to the music by Finnish band Ovenizer is also a tall order. If you don’t believe it can be that hard to label the music by a band, simply take a listen to SWM, the brand new album by this power trio from Tampere, Finland, and you’ll see why there are so many things in our world that are better off unknown or at least non-stereotyped.
Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to listen to the music by Ovenizer and perceive all the nuances from all types of rock and heavy music found in the album. According to the band members themselves, their style is “somewhat Doom-ish Post-Metal, with some Death Metal vibes on to it”. Whatever that’s supposed to mean, Ovenizer indeed deliver a very cohesive and creative Melodic Post-Metal music with huge doses of Doom Metal and psychedelia, making the final result very difficult to understand but at the same time very pleasant.
That musical fusion becomes already evident in the opening track, kindly entitled Standing On the Shoulders of Giant, where the listener is invited to a world full of Doom Metal riffs and beats with a strong 70’s Rock N’ Roll influence, with its rhythm being perfect for live performances. In addition to that, lead singer and guitarist Kvist does an excellent job on vocals, ranging from deep guttural to harsh rock music lines. And things get even more unusual in Satan’s Washing Machine, with its interesting psychedelic start before the heavy stuff comes bashing. You’ll find lots of elements from Folk Metal in this song, which is kind of expected from a Scandinavian band, and despite its “evil” name there’s so much melancholy in it I’m pretty sure it will sadden your heart a bit. Naturally, in order to properly complement this great tune there’s a simple but excellent chorus, and pay attention to the official video for this song where drummer Feather seems to be having a great time while smashing his drums on fire.
S&M does not only sound like pungent North American Stoner Metal, but Ovenizer truly show us how to create the darkest imaginable atmosphere with acoustic passages and desperate screams, with the last part of the song offering the listener more of the band’s Doom side with highlights to the low-tuned riffs by Kvist. In the following tune, Paddling In the Sky, the band invites us to join them in a somber tribal journey, as if they want us all to go dance in the sky with them. Its rumbling riffs and pounding drums will rise some good evil inside you, right before it turns into some sort of Death/Black Metal feast, including some crazy blast beats to make things even better. With a strong Melodic Death Metal vibe, S.I.B. (Standard Issue Breathing) is a lot more instrumental than atmospheric, making it a good choice for their setlists, while Incubatory is exactly what you get when Ovenizer unite their doom-ish side with the melody and harmony found in classic rock. Furthermore, the bass lines by Phinx get richer and more vibrant, and pay attention to the fact that Kvist’s vocals are closer to Death Metal than to what the music itself proposes, creating an interesting paradox.
The last two ditties in SWM are Watch, with a sorrowful intro that grows until it becomes a great mix of Doom and Progressive Rock, with its lyrics translating the sadness of the song into words, and finally Don’t Trust Me, I Know What I’m Doing, which albeit having a curious name it’s somehow true. It’s yet another interesting Doom Metal track about how regretful our lives can be, with its second part representing a man’s mental breakdown or maybe his downfall into madness.
In case you enjoyed the challenge of trying to label the weird music by Ovenizer, please go check their official YouTube channel and also go buy their music at their BandCamp page or at the Record Shop X webstore. As mentioned before, it’s an interesting melodic and psychedelic Death Doom Stoner Post-Metal extravaganza directly from the land of ice and snow, or anything else you want it to be.
Best moments of the album:Satan’s Washing Machine, Paddling In the Sky and Don’t Trust Me, I Know What I’m Doing.
Worst moments of the album:Watch.
Released in 2015 Norwegian Pope Records
Track listing 1. Standing On the Shoulders of Giant 3:04
2. Satan’s Washing Machine 4:18
3. S&M 4:34
4. Paddling In the Sky 5:16
5. S.I.B. (Standard Issue Breathing) 3:22
6. Incubatory 3:28
7. Watch 3:38
8. Don’t Trust Me, I Know What I’m Doing 4:05
Band members Kvist – guitar, vocals
Phinx – bass, backing vocals
Feather – drums, backing vocals
As already mentioned by Renata in the Brother Firetribe gig review, The Headbanging Moose is now also in Finland, and I, Giovanna, am more than thrilled to be part of this great team! To celebrate my first contribution to THM, nothing better than Graham Bonnet, an absolute classic Rock and Roll legend showing that age is just a number and what matters in the attitude and will to rock.
After the usual break to exchange the gears for the next band, we were finally gifted with the presence of Graham Bonnet and the band members on stage.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 