Because of a post I’m doing tomorrow remembering the bombardment of Middelburg then seventy years ago, I thought I’d do MEtal Monday today… We’re at “I”, so let’s have an Iron Maiden classic first, eh?
In Extremo is a band I discovered one night in 2006 or 2007 when I was idly zapping past some German channels and found a live registration from Wacken 2006. I don’t know what kept me, but it might have been the extremely loud bagpipes. It was brilliant though; turns out In Extremo is a folk metal band who take their inspiration from all sorts of traditional songs and take them up to eleven, as the selection below will show.
Spielmannsfluch:
Villeman Og Magnhild:
Vollmond:
Not everybody’s cup of tea perhaps, but I love the combination of traditional instruments and songs with metal.
A flashmob staging of Queen’s Bicycle Race in the heart of Brussels Central Station, done as a promotion for a charity bicycle run. (Via Nicholas Whyte.)
Not to be outdone by either the Limeys or the Yanks, the Luftwaffe in Afghanistan releases its own fan video, featuring horrid yet strangely compelling German techno and YMCA style dancing…
Heavy metal is immensily popular in large parts of the world outisde Europe and North America; surprisingly so for a genre of music often seen as only belonging to white suburban scum. Yet bands like Maiden regularly sell out giantic stadiums all over South America, as well as all over India, as Rajan Datar discovered for BBC Radio Four:
With the collapse of The Iron Curtain in the 1980s, a new frontier was open for Western Music acts to exploit. For years, fans in Eastern Europe had been starved of live performances by Western bands and singers due to the difficulties involved in trying to perform in countries cut off by ideology and politics. So where is the new frontier now? Perhaps bands should look east? With the rise of India and China as economic powerhouses, complete with growing middle classes, are these now the new territories for bands and artists to target as they seek new audiences and revenue streams?
Presenter Rajan Datar follows legendary British band Iron Maiden as they head to Bangalore for a sold out festival appearance. With exclusive access Rajan hangs out backstage with singer Bruce Dickinson, who not only fronts the band, but is also the pilot of the specially-converted plane which they use to travel the world whilst on tour. He speaks to the promoters who are trying to make India the new destination of choice for Western music artists and hears from fans who have travelled for days from all parts of the sub continent to be at the concert. He also discovers, with surprising results, which musical genres sell in India and which don’t.
The actual programme is much less obsessed with filthy lucre than the description makes it sound; the best part is when it’s once again confirmed that Bruce Dickinson is a sweetie, as he calls out to the Indian fan the programme had been following. Worth checking out.
Meanwhile, over in Germany, it’s Power Metal that used to be king, with Helloween its masters. Naff as only a German band trying to make serious music can be, but I still have a not too secret linking for them. This is “I Want Out”:
I already linked to another “classic” song of theirs back in October 2007, but here are two more. First, “Dr. Stein” in a so new it’s still wet 2010 version:
Then, “Keeper of the Seven Keys”, the obligatory pseudo-fantasy story each metal band had to do in the eighties. Includes lyrics for optimal enjoyment:
Staying on a somewhat Belgian theme here this week. Stromae is a Belgian-Rwandian rapper/artist and this is his breakthrough single. Heard it for the first time last night (shows how much attention I pay to new music) and felt the need to share.