Friends since their school daze, CC Company is yet another infectious rock ‘n’ band outta Stockholm, in the vein of Hellacopters and Motorhead, but with some recognisable faces at the helm. It makes sense that the three-piece should consist of Enforcer guitarist and bassist, Joseph Tholl (also of Black Trip) and Tobias Lindqvist (also of Dead Lord) – after all there is that throwback vibe that all three of their other bands showcase so perfectly, but CC Company is pure, unadulterated rock swagger this time around. They’re joined on drums by Tribulation vocalist Johannes Andersson, but don’t call this a supergroup.

“We’ve had lots of side projects with this line-up during the past ten years,” weighs in frontman Joseph about the band’s formation. “It’s been all kinds of different stuff, depending on what we feel like doing for the moment, just for fun, you know?

This latest incarnation of their jamming habit was born last summer and they’ve already racked up gigs at the infamous Pussy-A-Go-Go bar and caught the attention of new label (and Fist cohorts), Bad Omen Records. “The songs came out very natural with a sound of rock ‘n’ roll and heavy metal,” Joseph explains. “Our first 7” is … Read More

He was one of the first to come out in support of Iron Fist, sending us constant emails of support (and scoldings when he disagreed with our Attic review), so it was a pleasure to interview the ultimate metal fan FENRIZ. Just so happens he had an album out, too…

Phone interviews can be a bitch for a number of reasons; let me give you a nice little example. So it’s almost 3pm on a dreary weekday afternoon, and I’m swearing like a lovesick sailor at my obstinately blank Skype screen. I’m meant to be calling Fenriz “Rock ‘N’ Roll Gas Station” Nagell for an interview in roughly ten minutes, and nothing’s working. A flurry of frantic emails to him and my long-suffering editor later, I realize – fuck, it’s Wednesday. Our interview’s scheduled for Thursday. I’m what someone on this side of the pond might charitably refer to as “a knobhead”. Fast-forward 24 hours and a few effusive apologies, and I’ve finally got the phone to ring.

“Hey, Fenriz? This is Kim Kelly from Iron Fist.”

“So, Sebastian Bach is quite a character, hey?” an excited, lightly accented Scandinavian voice squawks back at me. Without so much as a “hello”, black metal’s … Read More

“Twin guitar harmonies,” is what Hakim, lead vocalist and guitarist replies when asked what prompted the foundation of Dead Lord, a new revelation in hard rock from Stockholm only founded in January of this year and currently entrenched in Sun Studios in Dublin recording their debut album, slated for an early 2013 release through Germany’s High Roller Records. Stylistically Dead Lord have it down, completely, bringing into the 21st Century all that made classic rock so interesting, vital and vibrant with a slick amalgamation of Thin Lizzy, Scorpions and Kiss as well as The Hellacopters, who upon further prodding certainly come out as being somewhat of a standard bearer and ‘go to’ reference point for a whole younger generation of Swedish hard rockers. “Yeah, Nicke Anderson would certainly be a big influence on us when it comes to exploring deeper into music and he has generally been a measure for good music,” is Dead Lord drummer Adam’s view on the matter, which is reinforced by a collective of nodding heads.

So what then of the emergence of a whole new wave of bands rooting deeper into the recesses of rock’s turbulent history, particularly in Sweden? “There’s a much better situation now … Read More