It's always easy to complain about a venue, that it lacks this and that, the beer is too expensive or that it's too far to get there properly. Sure, the facilities on the stage weren't the best ones at Tantogarden but a cozier place to hang out is really hard to find. And I say were because the place burned down, almost all the way to the ground just a week after this concert.

But there were something burning on stage this Sunday evening too. SONIC RITUAL really blew me away. Looking like any Garage Rock band they really surprised me with their high energy Punk-Metal. Like MOTORHEAD on Speed or something. I didn't see that one coming and that's what's so fun with not checking up bands before a concert, I really love the feeling when bands get to me like this. I'm sure I would have liked SONIC RITUAL anyway though because they sounded awesome musically too. Tight, fat and mean and these are just spectacular in this genre. Most of the time, it feels like bands has forgotten the distortion at home. Not for SONIC RITUAL; everything was well played and the sound was clear. Perhaps they could work a little on their performance though, it felt a little awkward and not at all as mean as the music. But I must say that sometimes it's really charming when main character has no idea what to say about the next song.

I frankly had no idea what was on the schedule this evening. The poster said something completely different and I can't say I was too thrilled about the appearance of the band-members lurking around in the venue. I just wonder when I shall learn not to judge by looks until I heard the freakin' band. What SONIC RITUAL lacked on stage STAR RATS had to the limit. I bet they could have killed each other if any of them had made the slightest mistake and moved in the wrong direction. Arena Rock ala BON JOVI (with a big doze of filth though) performed as BON JOVI does it on a massive Stadium stage looks really crazy at a small place as Tantogarden but it sure was a pleasure to watch. Yes, STAR RATS had it all, tricks with electric toys (both for matinee and adult shows), water and fire. I must say it felt a little scary looking at a band pouring flammable liquid on the cymbals and setting them on fire in this cute little wooden cabin from when the 19th century was new. No, it wasn't this show that destroyed Tantogarden but the staff did look a little worried when they started playing. Normally bands like this has either the music or the show, it's very rare they can show off both. I think STAR RATS did really well, they had great melodies that got stuck immediately. Tragedy from coming album tells of a great future and I'll be really surprised if this band won't make it. They're absolutely too good to be ignored.

With such a great start of the evening I started to look forward to the third band on the bill. Perhaps the name should have warned me a bit though. O-KULT screams Goth and Synths really and that is absolutely not my cup of tea. So, the next 40 minutes wasn't as pleasurable as the first couple of hours at Tantogarden. If you can't say something nice you shouldn't say something at all so I probably shouldn't review this band at all. But since I was there I need to say something. The intro was really cool though with the smoke and the lights, ghostly music and the band marched up on stage looking like count Dracula on his way to his coffin. But then what happened? The instance they started playing the mystique was gone and an infinitely lazy grinding started. No, I don't understand this type of music at all I admit that but I CAN appreciate good music, even if it isn't my type at all, but this... Nope, don't get it at all.

Every now and then it can get a little scary to stand in the front line at a small club. Especially when the band is used in bigger stages with a little more distance from the crowd than Tantogarden offered. I could really feel the draught from Kory Clarke's mic-stand when he started waving that around during the first songs. Even if close connection with rockstars can be a pretty cool experience I wouldn't wanna go into clinch with a couple of kilo of iron or a hard-heeled boot. Last time I saw WARRIOR SOUL both horror and delight bubbled through my body, this time I knew what was coming so it was only joy I felt this time. It's hard to find the words to describe how I felt watching this, and it's hard to put the right words to describe it even slightly objective. Raw, filthy, sweaty, angry just scratches on the surface and almost can be referred to for the weakest parts of the gig. WARRIOR SOUL was an angry band, with a lot of criticism about society. It's always a question if bands with this angle to the music can feel the same and deliver the same fury 20 years later. Kory seem to have a good time and jokes about a lot of things, he don't seem very angry at all but the feelings he delivered through the music was raging fury. The only breathing space they gave was through Lullaby, else everything was Rock'n'Roll.

A full set of songs from all their albums like Down Town, We Cry Out, Love Destruction but not the hit The Loosers which was a strange but understandable choice. Nothing else was commercial about this so why play the hit? Well, since the nature of the stage at Tantogarden almost allows any sort of behavior it was perfectly ok for Kory and the rest to take a break, sat down and jammed for a few minutes. Improvisation is certainly not very common on concerts nowadays. And that was such a relief with WARRIOR SOUL, no back-tracks, nothing added just pure Rock. Yes, it's wrong to call them a Metal band and with that, they should be out of my area of taste. But as I said, good music can't fail and I sure can appreciate it when it's this good. Today half the band is Swedish so hopefully WARRIOR SOUL will make it a standard to tour here twice a year. I wouldn't mind since I love WARRIOR SOUL, always has, always will.

(photos by warrior Erika)

SONIC RITUAL

STAR RATS

O-KULT

WARRIOR SOUL