Happy New Year 2026!

Happy New Year 2026, everyone! ♥ ♥ ♥  

 

Unlike the past two years, 2025 did not include attending a concert just a few days before Christmas. Instead, there was a live album release - Priest's "Live In Hollywood" on 19th December 2025 - and I wrote an album review of it.

   

 

After kicking off the autumn concert season 2025 with Priest in Sweden's capital Stockholm and then attending the Haunt Fest Halloween Party with DJ Jonas "Skinny Disco" Kangur (Deathstars / The Heard) in the same city, things stayed surprisingly quiet on the concert and party front for the rest of the year. Instead, I was kept busy with a lot of technical stuff. First, I had to get a new laptop with updated software, and then I needed a new phone - and even a new mobile subscription. While the laptop situation had been anticipated for a long time (Windows 10 support ended in mid-October 2025), the phone issue came completely out of the blue, thanks to Sweden's decision to shut down its 2G and 3G networks as early as 1st December 2025. I only found out about it by pure chance, around the time of the Priest concert. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with modernising technology, I thought that the three months' notice was pretty short. And, as mentioned before, I only found out about the whole thing by chance. So the first step was to find the perfect phone, and once I knew what I wanted, it wasn't that easy to get my hands on it. I still haven't taken the plunge into smartphones (and I don't plan to do so until user-replaceable batteries for smartphones are back in 2027, thanks to a new EU law), and feature phones have really become a niche product here in the Nordic countries. Shortly before my new Nokia phone finally arrived, I realised that my mobile subscription was outdated as well, since it didn't support 4G, just like my previous Nokia phone. Changing a mobile subscription in Finland turned out to be a surprisingly time-consuming process, even though the whole system is designed around the idea that one should ideally switch operators every 1-2 years to get the best financial deal. That was something I hadn't had to do at all over the past 8-9 years, since the basic monthly fee for my non-smartphone subscription was already very low. So now I basically have a smartphone subscription with unlimited internet - for a feature phone. Oh well.

 

 

Just like the autumn concert season 2025, the spring concert season 2026 got off to an early start, with one of the wildest and best weekends of this year already taking place a week ago: Two concerts, two hotels and veeery little sleep in Stockholm. Soon, you can read all about it on this blog... Stay tuned!

 

Halloween with Deathstars' Skinny Disco in Stockholm & The closure of "Mammut Bar"

After the perfect early kick-off to autumn 2025, things were surprisingly quiet on the concert and party front in September and October. At least until the last day of October 2025, Halloween, when I quite spontaneously decided to travel to Sweden's capital Stockholm to attend the Haunt Fest Halloween Party with DJ Jonas "Skinny Disco" Kangur (Deathstars / The Heard). It was far from his first DJ session at "Mammut Bar", but it was the first one I heard about early enough to attend. And so we attended and had a great time that night. 

 

 

Further snapshots from the Haunt Fest Halloween Party can be found here. And here is an audiovisual impression of the event at "Mammut Bar"...

  

 

Little did I know that when I published the photo gallery of the event, "Mammut Bar" was also publishing something: The surprising announcement that the bar would be closing its doors later this month. Wow, what a blow! I really did not see that one coming. As I have written in the past, the days when there was a wide range of rock and metal clubs in Stockholm are long gone. That's why the opening of "Mammut Bar" in March 2024 - with regular exclusive events such as DJ sessions with well-known musicians and official record release parties - was all the more enriching. "Mammut Bar" itself says that "Mammut may yet take another form, somewhere, sometime, soon". If the bar does reopen elsewhere, I hope that the closing time will be 3 AM instead of 1 AM, because the early closing time of 1 AM has often prevented me from stopping by after concerts. 

More details about the closure of "Mammut Bar" can be found in my news article. And to end this blog post on a high note: They say that the best ideas are often the spontaneous ones, and in this case, thanks to one of those spontaneous ideas, I managed to catch at least one of Skinny's DJ sessions at "Mammut Bar".

 

 

The synth gig of the year with Priest in Stockholm

As promised a few days ago, this blog post is all about why I travelled to Stockholm again just five days after the music video shoot for Midnight Danger's "Nocturnal Immortal". It was for a concert. Surprise, surprise. It was the first and only Priest show in Sweden's capital in 2025, the first of only two performances this year in Sweden and Northern Europe overall (They played in Jönköping the following day), and the second to last show before the band's reboot.

  

Speaking of which, if you missed my review of Priest's current EP, "Chaos EP", you can read it here. And you can read everything about their sold-out headline show at "Patricia" on 29th August 2025 - presented by "Klubb DÖD" and supported by Hatif - in the corresponding live review. Last but not least, here are some audiovisual impressions of Priest and Hatif...

  

 

It was a bit unusual to have two such special events in August, especially within a single week, given that concert season usually starts in September. At the same time, it felt like a great end to summer 2025 - or a perfect early kick-off to autumn, whichever way you want to look at it. Let's see what autumn 2025 will bring...

 

 

Music video shoot for Midnight Danger's "Nocturnal Immortal" in Stockholm

It's been a while since my previous blog post, and while there is a lot to share - both from spring 2025 and more recent stuff - and I've also been sick in bed for a week and a half now, I still want to share this one thing with you in real time... 

On 24th August 2025, I travelled to Sweden's capital Stockholm, in order to take part in a music video shoot for the first time in many, many years. Midnight Danger taped the party scenes for their music video at "Garlic & Shots". The filming was a bit unusual. For one thing, you never knew when you would be on camera, "to keep things natural", so filming anything yourself or taking pictures wasn't an option. For another, the actual song from the music video wasn't played on set. Instead, we listened to Hardcore Superstar, amongst other bands, which I, of course, didn't mind. Like most people, I only heard the actual song - "Nocturnal Immortal" - for the first time yesterday when the music video was released. As I wrote yesterday on my social media channels: "Wow! What a song, what a music video - and what a plot... I did not see that one coming. Proud to be a part of this music video... ♥ ♥ ♥" 

You can kind of see me in close-up at 1:35. 

 

 

The result turned out great, and the day of filming was just as great. I met a lot of lovely people there, some of whom are also mentioned in my news article about the release of "Nocturnal Immortal". On location, I only managed to snap two shots, featuring frontman Chris Young, the male lead (Trench Dogs' rhythm guitarist Erwan "Stone" Lengliné) and Rëdlite guitarist Johnny Flame Lee, after the party scenes had wrapped.

  

 

This time, it would only take five days before I returned to Stockholm, but more on that in my next blog post... 

 

 

Henric de la Cour & Bluesky

Exactly three weeks ago, on 31st January 2025, Henric de la Cour released his fourth studio album "My Bones, Your Ashes", and I wrote an album review of it. 

 

And in honour of the occasion, here is an older video from my YouTube channel, showing Henric de la Cour performing at "Dalhalla" in Rättvik / Sweden on 24th July 2019...

 

 

Furthermore, I joined Bluesky at the beginning of January 2025, so feel free to follow me on Bluesky. I am still active on X / twitter, currently sharing all the links to my work on both platforms. Time will tell how these two platforms develop, and especially whether Bluesky will establish itself as a social media platform in the long run.

 

 

Happy New Year 2025!

Happy New Year 2025, everyone! ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Unlike in previous years, there was a bit more going on here on the blog, although not nearly as much as on my account on X (formerly known as twitter) where I share all the links to my work. In other words: If you want to know what I'm up to (or simply want to stay up to date in the world of rock, metal, goth and punk), feel free to follow me on X / twitter. 

Like last year, there was a concert a few days before Christmas, the sixth and last one for 2024, and it was again a concert with Priest, so we were basically celebrating the first anniversary since we discovered the band. Further parallels: The concert took place in Sweden's capital Stockholm, there were three bands performing that night, and Priest were the second act on stage (aux animaux was the first act of the evening, and Combichrist were the headliner). 

 

Photo Credit: Krista Sainio

 

You can read everything about the show at "Kollektivet Livet" on 19th December 2024 in the corresponding live review and also check out the photo gallery. And here are some audiovisual impressions of Combichrist, Priest and aux animaux... 

The wish is, as always, that there will be more concerts in the new year, and I think that 2024 was a good start. At the same time, there would have been more opportunities to attend live events in 2024, but even before the year 2024 had reached its end, I realised that, in most cases, it was a good thing that most of those opportunities were not used / could not be used. For very different reasons. On that note: May the choice of live events in 2025 be as wise as it was in 2024. ;o) 

 

 

Apocalyptica in September, PAIN in October

As promised a few days ago, this post will be about the fourth and fifth concert this year. After the third concert, Priest in Linköping, a completely quiet summer followed. Then, in September 2024, we travelled once again to Sweden's capital Stockholm: Apocalyptica.

 

Photo Credit: Krista Sainio

 

It was actually during the planning phase for this concert that I started to consider going to concerts outside of Sweden instead, because first it was said that one small bag per person, with a "maximum size of an A4 paper", would be allowed, despite the nationwide "väskförbud" ["ban of bags"] in Sweden. Then, suddenly, there was talk of a "totalt väskförbud" ["total ban of bags"], before the whole thing was reversed again the day before the concert. In other words: Much ado about nothing, but definitely a stress factor. However, once we entered the venue "Kägelbanan" for the very first time, everything ran super smoothly, and you can read everything about the show on 21st September 2024 in the corresponding live review and also check out the photo gallery. And here are some audiovisual impressions of Apocalyptica and their tour support The Raven Age...

 

 

 

Basically, it was a night of premieres. It was our first time at "Kägelbanan", which is part of the larger venue "Södra Teatern". Later, after "Kägelbanan" had closed, we visited the impressive premises of "Södra Teatern" for the first time, and before heading to the party at "Kollektivet Livet" as planned, we made a spontaneous detour to "Mammut Bar" in the Gamla Stan district of Stockholm, because a friend of mine, who I had not seen in 10 years, was DJing there. "Mammut Bar" and "Kollektivet Livet" were also new venues for us. "Kollektivet Livet" (also known as "Stadsgårdsterminalen") opened in March 2023, and "Mammut Bar" opened in March 2024. The days when there was a wide range of rock and metal clubs in Stockholm are long gone, so it was all the nicer to have so much to choose from that night, and we obviously took advantage of everything. ♥ 

 

The next concert took place just two weeks later, in the Swedish city of Falun on 4th October 2024: PAIN.

 

Photo Credit: Krista Sainio

It was the kick-off show of their 2024 Nordic tour and also a kind of a home game for PAIN frontman Peter Tägtgren. You can read everything about the show at "Heymakers" in the corresponding live review and also check out the photo gallery. And here are some audiovisual impressions of PAIN and their tour support Metalite...

 

 

 

On the way to the venue, the city centre of Falun looked like a ghost town in the middle of the night, even though it was a Friday evening, and it looked exactly the same when we left the venue at around 1 AM (The venue closed at 1 AM), so it was a sharp contrast to the night after the Apocalyptica concert in Stockholm. But I ended up in a YouTube video published by PAIN... ;o)

 

 

 

Blind Channel in April, Priest in May

If you follow my work for Chaoszine (the easiest way to do this is to follow me on X / twitter), then you already know that the number of concerts I attended in 2024 is back to pre-pandemic levels. That's still only five concerts, which is a lot less than I'm used to and would like to attend, but the circumstances for attending concerts have become anything but easier in recent years. In Sweden, for example, a nationwide "väskförbud" ["ban of bags"] was introduced on 1st November 2023. Due to the increased risk of terror attacks in Sweden, one is no longer allowed to bring bags to bigger events. Some venues make exceptions, but even that doesn't always go smoothly. It seems that concert organisers and venues have to renegotiate the "väskförbud" with the authorities for each concert. Storing larger luggage in the paid cloakroom is usually not an option, as the authorities do not consider the cloakrooms to be suitable for this (jackets and the like are ok, though). While the security measure is understandable, in practice, it may be a stress factor that could deter some potential visitors from attending an event in the first place. I am one of those potential visitors. For example, I never attend events with a "totalt väskförbud" ["total ban of bags"], as a matter of principle, and I have also started to consider going to concerts outside of Sweden instead. If the "väskförbud" forces one to book a hotel room every time one attends a concert in Sweden, one might as well just travel to another country. 

As for the number of concerts I attended in 2024: There is still a month and a half to go before the year 2024 ends, so... Let's see. 

The first concert was Priest in Sweden's capital Stockholm in March 2024, where we celebrated our birthdays. The second concert was in April 2024, also in Stockholm: Blind Channel.

 

Photo Credit: Krista Sainio

 

It seems like a lifetime ago that Blind Channel finished in a glorious sixth place with "Dark Side" at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, and, unfortunately, it took me just as long to finally catch a show of the "Backstreet Boys of the metal scene". Even more unfortunate is the fact that Blind Channel recently announced an indefinite hiatus, so it will be a while before I can see them live on stage again. Their show at "Nalen" on 23rd April 2024 was so intense and energetic... Definitely worth seeing live more than once. You can read everything about the show in the corresponding live review and also check out the photo gallery. And here are some audiovisual impressions of Blind Channel and their tour support Rock Band From Hell...

 

 

 

 

 

The third concert took place in May 2024: Priest's pre-release party for their 4th studio album "Dark Pulse" in the Swedish city of Linköping (The corresponding album review can be read here). 

This event was special in many ways. Amongst other things, I had never been to Linköping before. You can read everything about the pre-release party on 17th May 2024 in the corresponding live review. And here is an audiovisual impression of the event at "Centralbryggeriet"...

 

 

Apart from the show, I wasn't particularly active with the camera on this trip, but for the Swifties among you, I took the following snapshot when I was back in Stockholm... 

Taylor Swift had played three completely sold-out stadium shows in Stockholm on the same weekend, which resulted in high travel and accommodation costs in and around the capital of Sweden, so Priest's choice to host their pre-release party about 200 kilometres away from Stockholm can also be seen as a favour for many attendees. 

Soon, you can read more about the fourth and fifth concert on this blog... Stay tuned! 

 

Celebrating our birthdays with Priest in Stockholm

A post on this blog that is not a "Happy New Year" post? Yes, that's right! :o) After a few years of the corona pandemic, we are now more or less back to normal life, and for the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic, our birthdays are celebrated at concerts again. 

As already mentioned in the previous blog post, one week before Christmas, on 16th December 2023, we attended Deathstars' home game in Sweden's capital Stockholm, with Liv Sin as opening act and Priest as main support. Or as I would say, especially in retrospect: Some nights are just magical. While working on the corresponding live review and photo gallery, I mainly listened to the songs from Priest's performance ("Neuromancer", "Obey", "The Pit"...). And when Priest started dropping hints a few days later via their facebook profile ("//STOCKHOLM// Tack för en fantastisk lördag på Slaktkyrkan - vi ses snart igen!" and "News coming soon.."), I wondered: "Could it be that...?" Could it be that Priest will play another show in Stockholm soon, maybe even on our birthday weekend? And on 11th January 2024, it turned out: Yes, that is exactly what Priest were going to do... What are the chances?!? So, I was pretty over the moon, and the birthday plans were fixed. 

Right before the concert, I could have even met Then Comes Silence, who had a DJ session in honour of their single release of "Ride Or Die" in Gamla Stan already from 5 PM. Unfortunately, I only found out about this event afterwards, despite thorough research on my part about what could have been done during that weekend. Oh well! 

The concert itself was great, and you can read everything about it in the corresponding live review and also check out the photo gallery.

Photo Credit: Krista Sainio 

 

Priest vocalist Mercury and I during the show (Photo Credit: Marisol Correa / musicstage.se)

 

Here is also an audiovisual impression of Priest's show at "Slaktkyrkan"... 

 

 

As can be read in the live review, by 10.30 PM, everyone was swept out of the club, due to a subsequent event that was never mentioned on the official website of the venue. That was definitely not cool. We thought that we would be at "Slaktkyrkan" until midnight, like last time. And the days when there was a wide range of rock and metal clubs in Stockholm are long gone. There is this one venue that was repeatedly suggested to us, where mostly cover bands play, including that night, but especially after seeing something original like Priest, I didn't feel like seeing a cover band. And so we had our own little party...

 

Our hotel room in Södermalm 

 

Lordi frontman Mr Lordi on TV 

 

My birthday cake 

 

The additional cake (or what's left of it in the picture): A pink leopard cake, baked by me 

 

Our birthday presents

 

 

 

The next concert we will attend is already in the pipeline, and it will be another show in Stockholm. One might think that all these events in Stockholm have something to do with my love for the capital of Sweden, but that's only partly true these days. Cancellations of concerts, tours and festival appearances, sometimes at the very last minute, have become common practice for musicians long before the corona pandemic, and there are currently also other risk factors such as strikes, which is why I continue to refrain from longer "gig trips". Within Sweden, the network of public transportation is not that well developed, and it has recently also become quite notorious for its unreliability. That's also why Stockholm is more or less the only option at the moment. Well, there are certainly worse things than being limited to Stockholm for a while... ;o)

 

 

Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year 2024, everyone! ♥ ♥ ♥

As in previous years, while it has been pretty quiet on this blog, my twitter account is all the more busy, not least thanks to my job at chaoszine.net where I mainly contribute to the news section and then share the corresponding links via twitter (or X, as twitter is supposed to be called these days). 

At the end of the year, however, there was a live review, written by me, about Deathstars' home game in Sweden's capital Stockholm. It took place one week before Christmas, on 16th December 2023, with Liv Sin as opening act and Priest as main support. It still seems surreal that this event actually took place. It was absolutely wonderful and definitely one of the highlights in 2023. The live review can be read here, and additional pictures of the event can be found in the photo gallery here. 

 

Photo Credit: Krista Sainio

 

The Deathstars show in Stockholm was one of two concerts that I attended in 2023. Yes, once again, it was very little. Of course, the wish is, as always, that there will be more in the new year, but as already mentioned in the live review, cancellations of concerts, tours and festival appearances, sometimes at the very last minute, have become common practice for musicians long before the corona pandemic, hence one has to plan carefully. 

If you want to know what I'm up to (or simply want to stay up to date in the world of rock, metal, goth and punk), feel free to follow me on twitter / X.