The headline looks like a contradicion in terms, but americana music is well rooted in Norway. Now the organisation Norsk Americana Forum is established, and their goal is to promote americana music in Norway and to make more people aware of this music.
Austin band Deadman has a name that implies a former existence. That is not far from the truth, since this is the second incarnation of the band. They started out in Dallas, but front man Steven Collins moved down to Austin and restarted the band when the first version broke up. Yesterday they played at Buckley’s in Oslo, Norway.
If you are in Austin on a Tuesday or Wednesday, you have a good chance of seeing James McMurtry at the Continental Club – either solo or with his band, The Heartless Bastards. Whichever version you choose, you will have a great time with one of the best contemporary American storytellers.
Kaizers Orchestra at Sentrum Scene.
Now you don’t have to go to New York, London or LA to be updatet on what’s hot and what’s not. Oslo and Atlanta have been declared by The Independent as the two main trend-setting cities. For Oslo, much of the honour goes to the showcase festival by:Larm. But there are other important contributors to Oslo’s new status that deserve to be mentioned.
Mayhem was formed in 1984 and is the longest living Norwegian black metal band. They have had their problems during the years but are considered to be the pioneers of Norwegian black metal. In February this year they were the closing act of the Norwegian showcase festival by:Larm.
Shortly after founding member of Celtic Frost, Thomas Gabriel Fischer had left Celtic Frost in 2008, he announced his new project, Triptykon. The band has released a full length CD and an EP since then, and Thursday night they played the Inferno Festival.
Except for Mayhem, Arcturus is one of the longest living Norwegian metal bands. The started in 1987, and split up in 2007, then reunited in 2011. There were great expectations to their closing gig at the Inferno Festiival Saturday night, and they met these with flying colors.
Sweden has many great metal bands like Opeth, Meshuggah, In Flames, Entombed, Bathory and the Haunted. Witchery is an interesting Swedish band, mixing elements from several styles in their music.
Tsjuder is one of the oldest Norwegian black metal bands, being formed in 1993. They have been off and on for the last 19 years, with different members, but reformed a couple of years ago. Friday night they played at Rockefeller Music Hall during the Inferno festival.
Norway has many black metal bands, and 1349 is one of the best and also well known. When Aborted had to cancel their gig at the Inferno festival, 1349 stepped in. They did a great job at the Rockefeller Music Hall Thursday nught. Here are some pictures from the concert.
Artist Pictures Blog 