Articles by Ivor

A train of thought of sorts was triggered by the outrageous prices at the merch stand at the gig. Suddenly it highlighted the harsh reality of the world we live in and outlined the complicated nature of this particular event. A work of art can die by the hands of the author; an artist by the hands of…

Ozzy Osbourne was larger than life. He was larger than his genre, than his work, than anybody else. His absence creates a void that no one will ever fill. But he left behind a legacy that few artists in any medium could ever boast of, and we of Metal Storm's community put together some words to…

A festival geared towards international rock and metal acts and of this particular size was bound to surface eventually to fill the niche that's been unoccupied since the previous guardians called it quits over 10 and over 15 years ago. The birthing of this one is not without controversy, though,…

There is something oddly charming and quaint about municipally funded events. Relieved of the immediate pressure to turn a profit, they are free to challenge cultural conventions. Of course it's easier said than done and the result can be viewed in terms of various and somewhat questionable degrees…

It was probably something like eight to ten years ago that I had the need to cross over to Finland for a Halestorm gig. For one thing or another it was not to be at that particular time, and with all that's been happening since, the idea of such a gig kind of fell off the radar for me. Well, somewhat…

It's been a while since I filed anything under the Progventure series proper. The origin of the title came from the admission that prog pickings are slim where I reside; to see the bands I like I usually have to do the legwork. And while I've been to many prog concerts and festivals in recent…

It was by sheer accident that I stumbled on Gangar's gig on the ticket marketplace searching for something else entirely. What caught my eye initially was the advertised mix of folk, jazz, metal, and prog. What sealed the deal, however, was the description, which quoted, of all things, Metal Storm's…

Concert review in five haikus.

Back in February I got an opportunity to go to Stockholm for three weeks on short notice. As Swedes were very liberal with their pandemic restrictions, I started looking for concerts I could attend. I found five! Once there, however, not a single one of them happened. Among those postponed shows was…

The impacts of the pandemic can be felt far and wide. Touring bands alongside restaurant businesses are probably the ones that have suffered the most from the travel restrictions, lockdowns, and isolation requirements. After a sit-out period of two years, the test for bands is not only to overcome their…

Metal Storm turned 20 years old in 2020. That's a pretty big milestone, one that we are honored and fortunate to observe together; some of the past and present MS staff have gathered a few memories and thoughts to share to celebrate this important occasion.

Post-rock as a genre is an experience of sailing the sea of certain moods and a specific mindset for me. It can be rewarding, but it can also be such a drag. While I enjoy such concerts every now and again, I can't in all honesty say that I've ever contemplated going to a full festival of post-rock-related…

The first show of the tour is no small matter for any band, not even for experienced troopers who have been treading the stages of the world for the past four decades. Before the event I was planning on starting this review off along the lines of sucking and blowing, something to the extent of how the…

It's been so long since the last time I was at Hard Rock Laager. It's, to put it bluntly, quite embarrassing. When I looked it up, it turned out that I have skipped 6 editions. It's surprisingly 2 less than I initially thought, though. The reasons have varied from Hellfests to conflicting…

Evergrey have been long-awaited guests around these parts. Even though they come from a country so close, it's apparently still a lengthy journey to drop by. To some, Evergrey are a band about 10 years past their prime, but their latest album seems to have gotten the blood flowing again and has…

Entry #53. These strange men came to visit us yesterday. They didn't look like they were doctors because they dressed funny and they sometimes spoke in a weird language. They asked if anyone had been to Iceland. I was mildly surprised that quite a few in our ward stated for a fact that they had.

The less you know, the better it is. This seems to be a recurring pattern with smaller gigs. It holds true that the lower your expectations are for a class act, the more room you have for a pleasant surprise. Even though I didn't go into this instrumental jazz-influenced rock night blindfolded,…

Amorphis seem to swing by Estonia regularly enough in recent times that I'm slowly starting to lose count of how many times I've seen them play. With a little jog down memory lane, I've come to the conclusion that this concert was the 5th for me, and my 4th in Estonia. However, since Amorphis…

It seems that my Progventure prog searching trips are not only a convenient excuse to travel new places, or more often the only way of seeing bands I like I wouldn't otherwise get to see, but in some cases they are turning out to be events of a fairly unique kind. Another Night Under the Dam - the…

"Holy shit!" doesn't even begin to describe my initial reaction when I found out that Freak Kitchen was coming to Estonia, and not only for a concert in Tallinn, but for one in - here you should imagine the back end of nowhere - Võru as well, with two Freak Guitar Clinics to boot.

So, Estonia may be a tiny, lost speck on the grand scale of things, but apparently it is not totally forgotten. Had we known back in the cold winter days that Riverside would be showing up here only half a year later, we might have reconsidered going on our little Progventure trip to Belgium in March.

"Good news, everyone!" That's exactly what I thought when Leprous were announcing their European tour day by day, and finally Tallinn came up. Moreover, good news was that Ørkenkjøtt were to be a support band, until, suddenly, they weren't a support band any longer and…

Summer festival season is already upon us. Which means there are loads of events to choose from, at least for those of us who happen to be around in Europe. Some are better, some are worse, some have longer traditions than the others, and some are more specialised than the others. So, if you are like…

In the times of the on-going non-existence of Porcupine Tree, one has to wonder if the band will be coming back at all in the near future. Especially if you take into account how Steven Wilson is faring as a solo artist. He's just released his third album that has sold really well. He's got…

Having seen Threshold and company just two days earlier at the same venue, I was rather curious to find out how this would turn out and compare to the previous show. Would the venue sound as great as before? Would Riverside draw in more people than Threshold? Would it be at least as awesome? To be honest,…

Do you hear it? No?! Well, I do! Every once and a while the calling can be heard. And when it is heard, the time has come to spread your wings, to rise up and fly, to soar beneath the golden globe and above the silver clouds, to fly high, to travel far. This is the time to see destinations yet unseen,…

Prog. Whenever I want something prog live, I have to travel. That's just the way things are sometimes. Or rather the way things are all the time. After five years of Hellfest, I finally decided to break the tradition and skip it, the line-up being not what it used to be - more than a bit mundane…