Written by:	Lucas
Published:	February 15, 2008

So here it is. My first blog ever. Wow. What a jolly new experience. Anyway, I thought I'd use my superspecial and extra-exclusive Staff powers (which come in a tightly wrapped in bubbled paper with a bonus DVD and the ability to post a blog) for the good cause, for a change.

Don't expect daily diary entries from me though. I reserve those for my Myspace page -> search for prettypinkpussy91. What I want to do with these blogs is to publish a couple of reviews for bands that have no place on MetalStorm. In other words, to write reviews for bands that are not metal.

Draw your own conclusion from that. If you do not like any music besides metal I’d like to say goodday and goodbye. To the ones that are interested, hello (a bit late, but still, hello) and welcome.

One more thing, the bands and albums selected for these review-blogs, are mostly my personal favourites. No objectivity, or at least as little as possible. Who cares about it anyway? Also: no deadlines. I already got enough of those. So expect (slightly/really) biased and irregular reviews in these blogs. Still interested? Fool. But thanks, and have fun with them. (Oh yeah, you are supposed to listen to them after reading. )

Kent – Du & Jag Döden

In my memory, which looks an awful lot like a swiss cheese, I remember checking this band out because the frontman of Shining, Kvarforth, mentioned them as one of his most played and favourite bands. Since I am a great sucker for Shining and always want new music and have a broad taste in genres, I had no choice but to check them out.

Any Swedes among us may be confused now. What the hell has Kent got to do with Shining? Shining create some of the most bleak, misanthropic music the ears of the world have been submitted to. Kent is one of Sweden's most popular rockbands and every new single is a garantueed radio-success.

So what do the two bands have in common? What could possibly interest a man like Kvarforth in Kent? The thing is, if you listen closely to the music of Kent, you will hear a lot of sad undertones. Hell, their music is a sad undertone. It might even be some of the saddest music I have ever heard.

Perhaps the formula is simple, but oh-so incredibly effective. Polished guitars, clean bass, simple drums and most importantly: a great singer. His vocalwork is absolutely outstanding and I am yet to hear a pop-singer that has such a piercing sadness in his voice. He earned my respect. Above that all, the album is blessed with a very transparent production. All of this effectuates a tranquility unheard.

This transparent sound evokes the darkest and deepest emotions that my little body contain. They sound just so.. innocent. It is a feeling that cannot be translated into words. It revolts my stomach, it drowns me in mourning. Imagine a choir of angels slowly descending and surrounding you, then taking you up to the heavens. A new life awaits you, yet you must leave your old life behind you. This conjures a confusion and a clash of emotions so strong, it almost becomes a physical nausea. A mixture of euphoric joy and serene melancholy, to create the perfect white bliss.

At least, that's my personal feeling about this album. I got a bit carried away, and perhaps it nobody else agrees. No worries. To at least give this review some objectivity, think of a Coldplay and give them a Swedish vocalist. They share much of their sound, except Coldplay does not even come close to what Kent does. So well, if you are in for something new and like depressive music in all its forms, definitely give this band a shot. They are damn well worth it.