(knjiga) Dave Grohl – Pripovjedač

Nikada nisam volio Nirvanu, ne volim je niti sad. Cijeli grunge pokret je za mene potpuni promašaj i svi bendovi su mi bili apsolutno nezanimljivi, dosadni i nikad se nisam mogao poistovjetiti s tom muzikom. No, srećom, Dave Grohl nije ostao zarobljen kao onaj bubnjar iz Nirvane, već je krenuo drugim putem i osnovao planetarno poznati rock bend Foo Fighters, koji svoje korijene ima u hardcore punk sceni, kao i uostalom Dave Grohl.

Moram priznati da sam se na Foo Fighters nakačio čitajući onu slabiju biografiju i ovu autobiografiju u izdanju Rockmarka koja je naprosto odlična. Knjiga je napravljena odnosno napisana u obliku priča o životu i glazbi, kao što naslov i govori. Nekako je kronološki poredana, od Daveovih dječjih početaka, do prvih turneja kao bubnjara hardcore punk benda Scream. Ona priča o Harley Flanaganu iz Cro-Magsa i njegovom divljem psu ispred CBGB-a je meni jedno od omiljenih poglavlja ove knjige. Što se tiče Nirvane i samoubojstva Kurta Cobaina, ovdje se ne dotiče puno toga, vjerojatno ga još boli u vezi tih svih događanja. Sve priče su odlične, od zatvora u Australiji, slomljene noge na koncertu, ludog putovanja na kćerkin prvi ples, do emocija i glazbe koja na kraju povezuje sve nas. Ova zvijer od 400+ stranica je moja apsolutna preporuka kao zanimljivo i lijepo glazbeno štivo.

(review) Pulley – The Golden Life (SBÄM Records, Thousand Island Records)

I witnessed Pulley playing their set live back in 2019 at Punk Rock Holiday when they headlined Monday and it was a disaster, at least in my opinion. Singer Scott Radinsky was just too drunk and all around him every song just fell apart, although music was not so bad, he spoiled everything for me, when I wanted to see one of the bands I so love since the nineties and their Epitaph releases. Anyway, this is their first full length album with new material after a long time and these twelve songs are a treat for every nineties skate/melodic punk fan out there. Songs are written great, Scott´s vocals sound better than ever along with backing vocal harmonies and superb melodies. In all, this album somehow evokes an atmosphere and vibe of melancholy and mixture of happiness and sadness at the same time. Maybe it is only me, maybe I remember all of the times and people that are gone now, maybe something else. But, it is a good record to listen to, my personal favorites are Wake Up, Sad Song, Golden Life. Just can´t wait to hear the new material live. Hope their set will be better next time I see them play live.

(review) Verikalpa – Tunturihauta (Scarlet Records)

It has been couple of months since this opus came out, but like they say in these Northern parts of Croatia, it is never too late for great music eh? Verikalpa are hailing from Finland and this is their third full length opus. Members of Verikalpa are playing or have been playing in Catamenia, Obsessive Art, Against All and many other, so they know how to make quality metal and write great songs. This one contains 11 songs of ‘troll beer drenched metal’ like Verikalpa say for themselves. It is basically a mixture of melodic black metal and folk metal with some death metal influenced parts here and there, sounding a bit like early Finntroll in couple of songs, but not polka metal, rather more straightforward metal, we can safely say that Verikalpa lean more on metal side of things than on folk. There are some harmonica and keyboard parts that are folk metal passages, but guitars are more often and they create such beautiful melancholic yet aggressive atmosphere and melody, like only Finnish bands can. Songs are all in Finnish, so I don´t understand a word but the music speaks for itself. Riitti, Tunturihauta, Verikauhu are my personal favorites on this opus, but I am glad that I discovered this band because I love the music they create.

8/10