Way above the arctic circle in Kiruna, Sweden, I listened to some of the best swedish music. Miriam Bryant, Veronica Maggio, Markoolio, Hank von Hell, Petter and Linnea Henriksson among them. They where all there. It was on Kirunafestivalen, a music and rock festival bang in midtown Kiruna. With two large stages and a couple of beer tents with semi-big stages there was always something going on. And it was all so well orchestrated that you had time to hear almost everything. And with the festival area in the midtown park we did not have the shabby tent towns round the festival. And all ... lit by the sun, 24 7. Since it's a above the arctic circle the sun was up all night making it hard to track time without a watch.
But there was also a festival within the festival. In one of the beer tents they had a teaser festival for the big event Backyard Rock in august. Called backyard Beer. Aha. A mini Death Metal festival. Kiruna being the Death metal capital of Sweden. It's not my music of choice but it's always interesting to see how they do, how they get the sound and ... I often end up amazed with the music, because it's good. This is the case with Disregard the Blood.
Disregard the Blood is a Piteå / Kiruna Death metal band who got their first EP out this spring. You can hear it on Spotify! Their stage act is all you expect from them with intensity, blood and the motions of Death metal. And they are really good. I especially like that they have a good sound so you hear the instrument and singer. I find that often it end up just a wall of sound from bands like'em.
On the bass I have a relative to be. My youngest son has a new fiancee and the bass player is her dad. Kenneth "The Shadow" Lasu. Cool and steady he plays the bass in Disregard the Blood. And not always full pelt. This is one reason the sound is so transparent and nice although fast, loud and super heavy. He actually played the bass in an other band too, Chaos within.
Well, I was impressed by Disregard the Blood and the festival as a whole. Don't miss out on it. And the surrundings of Kiruna is spectaculare as well. West you have the mountains and north, east and south the flatlands, woods and the emptiness. And under, yes under, there is Europes biggest iron ore mine. It's super big. In fact it's so big that it has undermined the city it self and it's slowly sinking in to the pit. So the city is on the move, houses, roads, traintracks and everything, to a place a couple of km away were the ground will stay stable. All in all, it's worth a visit. And if you do, chooce the first weekend after midsummer, because? Yes, Kirunafestivalen ... and the midnight sun!
/Gus
