Stagnation,” “formula,” “expectations” – these words have long been banned from the lexicon of LONG DISTANCE CALLING. It is this irreverent attitude that has fueled them to record three albums, play several tours throughout Europe, garner slots on renowned festivals such as Rock am Ring, Summer Breeze, Wave-Gotik-Treffen or Roadburn and even secured them an impressive #36 in the German Media Control Charts. But if you thought these successes would convince LONG DISTANCE CALLING to settle into form with their fourth album, “The Flood Inside”, the band instead attempted an even bolder metamorphosis.
Flashback: In early April 2012, LONG DISTANCE CALLING amicably parted ways with founding member and electronic wizard, Reimut von Bonn. Von Bonn’s departure however opened up new possibilities for the remaining members. The band had previously worked with guest-singers such as John Bush (Armored Saint, Anthrax) or Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) and they felt the new material was shaping up differently and gravitating away from purely instrumental rock. “We just noticed that adding a voice simply made sense. Stagnation and special formulas are not our thing, so making the step was easy.” Since all members in LONG DISTANCE CALLING have diverse tastes in music it was easy for them to decide what they were NOT looking for: no screamers or a whiny shoegazers. Instead, a timeless rocking voice in the vein of Faith No More or Soundgarden: a role perfectly suited for Martin “Marsen” Fischer (Pigeon Toe, ex-Fear My Thoughts). “We met Marsen on tours we did together. Hence, we knew each other on a personal level and we were certain that we would match perfectly when it comes to the music. The fact that he is playing keyboards is a nice add-on, as he is also in charge of them live.”
Despite the changes, “The Flood Inside” remains intrinsically LONG DISTANCE CALLING. “We questioned a lot and did a whole lot of fine tuning this time. A part is as long as it needs to be, but we took our time to discuss and revise every single one of them. Many ideas make many parts, but a good song always needs a certain flow. That was the overall aim.” The plan came together and resulted in countless parts that should cause the Serotonin to flow. The band further explains: “What really characterizes our sound is the combination of cool and heavy riffs with melodies that come without any kitsch.” The band had guest vocalists before, however this time you don’t just get one track with vocals, but four with the same vocalist.
“It is always exciting to see what other people can do with your songs. We as artists as well as our music can only gain from the input. It is all about adding talent and an extra level. The genre is secondary. The range of the album should speak for itself.” Indeed, “The Flood Inside” features collaborations will names as varied as Vincent Cavanagh (Anathema), blues talent Henrik Freischlader and Jahcoozi-mastermind Robot Koch (known from his work with Casper, Max Mutzke or Marteria). Additionally, there is the Norwegian singer/songwriter Petter Carlsen, Tuneverse co-founder Alex Komlew and Mario Cullmann (formerly known as DJ Coolman for Fünf Sterne Deluxe). “We have never bowed down to any rules for what you may or may not do as an instrumental band. It is only us making the rules.”
In art, rules exist to be broken. Atmosphere and diversity don’t always conform to the parameters of the 3:30 song structure. Yet “The Flood Inside” [produced by Martin Meinschläfer at Megaphone Tonstudios in Arnsberg, Germany] is a lot more focused and compact than any of its predecessors. “The past 12 months were emotionally draining: charts, splitting with a member, new album and new singer… The Flood Inside is a summary of everything and all the emotions around and within us. That is the not so simple idea behind the title. It shows the entire spectrum of life: joy, grief, euphoria, anger and everything in between. How to deal with emotions is a huge part of everyday life. Nevertheless a lot of things are happening in the grey areas – and we are trying to show those in our music.”
LONG DISTANCE CALLING didn’t only make an attempt, but also succeeded which will be underlined by their upcoming European tour that is kicking off March 1st, so right in time for the release of “The Flood Inside”. Be prepared for a versatile billing, because LONG DISTANCE CALLING will be supported by Solstafir from Iceland as main support whereas Norwegians Audrey Horne and Sahg will share the role as opening acts.
Sólstafir is an Icelandic metal band which formed in 1995 and currently has four full length releases. The band's unique style has made it hard to categorize Sólstafir into a specific genre or group of genres.
Sólstafir were formed by 3 friends, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, Halldór Einarsson and Guðmundur Óli Pálmason in January 1995.
Later that year the band recorded it’s first demo tape “Í Norðri” and at the end of the year the band hit the studio again to record what was to become the second demo “Til Valhallar”.
“Til Valhallar” was never released as a demo though and 4 of the 6 songs were released as a MCD by View Beyond Records. It was later re-released in 2002 with all the 6 songs.
In 1999 Sólstafir entered the studio to record it’s debut full length album. By that time Halldór had left the band and in 1997 and 1998 Sólstafir had released two promos as a two piece.
For the recording of the debut full length Sólstafir had recruted Svavar Austmann as Halldór’s replacement.
Although the recording of “Í Blóði og Anda” had started in 1999 the album wasn’t released until 2002, due to endless delays and mishaps, the band truly believed they were cursed.
In the meantime Sólstafir started playing live shows in Iceland, and for that had added a second guitar player, one Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson.
So for the first time as a four piece, Sólstafir recorded a new demo in 2002, eventually releasing 3 songs as Black Death: The EP.
In 2004 the band began working on the follow up to “Í Blóði og Anda” on their own with the help of a good friend. Although Sólstafir were becoming a quite well known name in the European metal underground the band found themselves without a recording label. Thus, the band decided to release 3 of the songs from the album as a limited edition promo to send around to labels. This, and a gig in Denmark (the band’s first outside of Iceland) ensured the band a deal with Spinefarm Records.
It was becoming clear by now that Sólstafir were a force to be reckoned with live in concert.
Sólstafir released “Masterpiece of Bitterness” through Spinefarm in 2005. The album got exceptionally good reviews almost everywhere and the band kept on making a really good name for themselves with really powerful live performances.
In December 2007 the band traveled to Göteborg, Sweden to record their third full length, "Köld."
“Köld” was released in early 2009 and like “Masterpiece...” it not only got exceptionally good reviews, but most critics also had a hard time pinpointing Sólstafir’s music into a specific genre. Descriptions like “Sounds Like The Hellacopters if they went to art school and did a lot of Valium”, “Imagine if Nachtmystium, Alice In Chains, and Neurosis got hammered while listening to Entombed’s DCLXVI - To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak The Truth - it would sound something like this” and “Sigur Rós goes metal!” were becoming really common.
Meanwhile Sólstafir kept getting equally as good reviews for their live shows all across mainland Europe and have played on many of Europe's biggest festivals including Roskilde Festival, Wacken Open Air, Summer-Breeze Open Air, Party San Open Air, Hole in the Sky Festival.
Sólstafir have also done two full European tours in 2009 and 2010 as well as a few shorter ones.
Sólstafir's 4th full length album, entitled "Svartir Sandar" was released on Season of Mist October the 14th 2011 in Europe, and October the 18th in the USA.
The album got exceptionally good reviews and was voted album of the year in a few esteemed publications such as Finland's biggest metal magazine, Inferno, Germany's Metal.de and Iceland's biggest newspaper Morgunblaðið. It was also woted the best heavy album of the year in Finland's biggest music magazine, Soundi.
For the first time Sólstafir also entered the charts, and "Svartir Sandar" topped at no. 7 in Iceland and at no. 11 in Finland.
The song "Fjara" also entered the single charts and topped at no. 1 in Iceland.
Meanwhile Sólstafir kept growing as a live band, and so did their reputation. Between February and April the band played over 30 shows, did tours in Iceland, Finland and central Europe, as well as playing esteemed festivals such as Roadburn in Holand and Inferno in Norway.
Right now the band has ahead of them a tight summer festival schedule that will take them to places like Holland, Germany, France, Finland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and even Transylvania.
Not many heavy metal bands can boast of chart positions and two-page bulletins in all the national newspapers for a debut album. Sahg can. With their gloomy chords, ten ton rhythms and a taste for the heavy rock pioneers of the seventies, the Bergen-based quartet had the audience and critics toss their hats in the air with excitement. Sahg I (2006) filled a void in the Norwegian metal fauna, and was an indisputable success in Norway, as well as abroad. The album got 10 out of 10 points in German Rock Hard Magazine, and 8 out of 10 in the UK edition of Metal Hammer. The success debut album brought the band on tour stateside, as opening act for extreme metal pioneers Celtic Frost, and made Sahg "the one to watch" at a string of metal festivals.
Two years later, Sahg confirmed their status as Norway's undisputable doom lords. Many considered Sahg II as a more refined album than the debut, and featuring spearhead tracks like Ascent to Decadence and Pyromancer, the album became another door-opener for the quartet. In the wake of the second album release, the band toured Europe as support act to legendary headliners Trouble, played arenas across India, and performed at prestigious festivals like Wacken, Inferno, and Metalcamp.
Fast forward to 2010. New songs and new opportunities. After a long, backbreaking hunt for a new permanent drummer, and years of hiring session musicians to handle the kit, Sahg eventually found their man. Front man Olav Iversen explains: "One night Thomas Lönnheim (ex-Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band) appears, out of a mist of electronic pop. Thomas was fed up with pretending to be a rock star as member of an electronica outfit, and had recently called it quits. Now he was looking for a band where make-believe could turn to reality. Timing was perfect, Jupiter aligned with Mars, and he walked straight into the arms of the band he was looking for – and which also was on the hunt for him."
With a fistful of potential heavy rock classics and buckets of regained energy, Sahg entered Earshot Studio in December 2009. In collaboration with producers Herbrand Larsen and Ice Dale of Norwegian viking prog metal masters Enslaved, the band was ready for album number three. This time, the vision was to make things more direct and immediate, and let the riff be in center without drowning it in complex arrangements and excessive instrumentation. Similar to the formula of thrash metal kings Metallica and Slayer in their 1980s prime. Just check out new favorites, like Mortify, Baptism of Fire, Hollow Mountain, and Shadow Monument.
Despite the obvious thrash metal influence, and a few elements of modern prog in the likes of Mastodon, there is no doubt who are handling the instruments. Olav Iversen's characteristic voice, along with Thomas Tofthagen's riff expertise, and the fine-tuned rhythm section consisting of Thomas Lönnheim and Tom Cato Visnes (aka. King Ov Hell), still carry the unmistakable Sahg signature. Sahg III is the sound of a band that have made a few clever moves to refine an already solid expression, and to keep the fans engaged and excited about Sahg – the music, the magic, the mystique and the myth. Doubtlessly the most immediate and dynamic album the band has accomplished to date. New and old fans have a lot to look forward to.