All photos by Karolina E. Piwko.
February 14th was Valentine’s Day and what better way to celebrate our love for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal than to celebrate it on this Feast Day? The year 2015 marks Metal Express Radio’s 15th anniversary and to celebrate we created our own festival at Gamla in Oslo, Norway. It’s been 15 years since we started as a web radio but the story actually dates back another 15 years to 1985 when Stig G. Nordahl started Metal Express as a local metal radio station in Oslo.
To help us celebrate this grand event the local bands Sarpedon and Ghost Avenue played a set each and the host of the evening was our good friend Åge Trøite (pictured to the left, known from Chrome Division and Shot At Dawn). The local band Corna was also set to play but unfortunately, they had to cancel due to illness. However, Sarpedon and Ghost Avenue delivered the goods for the metal hungry audience.
We were streaming live from Gamla and not only could you hear the concerts in their entirety live through our radio stream but anyone could make requests for songs to play in-between the concerts. The radio stream from the concert started shortly after the soundchecks and lasted well after the last band had finished plucking their strings. Pictured underneath the title in this post is our President and founder Stig G. Nordahl enjoying an ice cold beer while doing some DJ work.
Sarpedon
Spearheaded by the brothers Eirik (vocals) and Torgeir Krokfjord (guitar) Sarpedon unleashed their unique style of Progressive Metal upon the audience at Gamla. Leiv Daniel Iversen (guitar), Jimmy Lu (bass), Andreas Wærholm (keys) and Carl Engstrøm (drums) complete their line-up.
Their critically acclaimed debut album Anomic Nation was released in December 2014. The album consists of heavy riffs and powerful vocals. They also have immense vocal arrangements that they recapture live in a good way. They mix influences from Black Metal, musicals and Heavy Metal bands like Nevermore into their music. The guys claimed it was their first real gig. Let’s hope for another one in a not too distant future!
Ghost Avenue
Ghost Avenue have two albums under their belt so far. They debuted in 2010 with The Engraving and released their self-titled sequel Ghost Avenue in 2013. Finally things are starting to happen for the band. They recently supported legendary Anvil for their gig in Oslo and their latest release has gained strong reviews from abroad.
The first thing you notice about the band are the catchy guitar riffs. The next thing is vocalist Kim “Ihzzy” Sandvik’s powerful voice. He alone is reason enough to listen to this band. The guys obviously have great chemistry and they sound tight as hell. Lots of great guitar solos and twin guitar action (ala Thin Lizzy at times) made the concert especially enjoyable and the audience loved it. In addition to the aforementioned Kim “Ihzzy” Sandvik (lead vocals), the band consists of Øystein Wiik (guitar/vocals), André Berger (guitar/vocals), Magnus Liseter (bass), Petter Lein (drums).
Overall, it was a great night in the Metal sign. The audience, the bands, the listeners and we had a great time celebrating our 15th anniversary. Did you miss out? Despair not it’s only 5 years until the next anniversary. In the meantime, you can check out the bands online!
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