At the Solar gates

Absolutely deserving - Jonas Bjorler (At The Gates) gets his SOLAR signature bass. Looking forward to see more formidable names in metal getting their signature instruments, regardless of the brand name. it used to be that nobody wants to sign anyone playing metal; the music has a limited fan bass & not as far reaching as the pop counterparts. Not any more.

Pic: Solar guitars 

Haunting the Gates

I'm giving a close listen to these two albums.

At The Gates:

• Jonas Bjorler: Bass
• Adrian Erlandsson: Drums
• Anders Bjorler: Guitars
• Tomas Lindberg: Vocals
• Martin Larsson: Guitars

The Haunted:

• Jonas Bjorler: Bass
• Adrian Erlandsson: Drums
• Patrik Jensen: Guitars
• Marco Aro: Vocals
• Ola Englund: Guitars

Essentially, the rhythm section of both bands consist of the same people. Conceptually, they propel the same brand of heavy music with much emphasis on memorable riffs. More importantly, both releases do not consist of sub-standard music. This consideration is very much absent in much heavy music because, till today, many people still think that they can get away with distortion. If you have not checked these albums out, please do- it's worth the $$.

Worthy quote: Anders Bjorler (The Haunted/ At The Gates)

"In the past I experimented a bit with pedals, but it got too much. It was always in the way of making the show somehow. Too many extra things to concentrate on. But I don't think you need much more than to plug a guitar right in & just mess about with what's there, let the fingers do the work. This is my motto on guitar playing I think: If it sounds crap without effects- no effect in the world can help you."

This is not a call for everyone to ditch pedals & plug straight through but a reminder of the working fundamentals. The truest tone you can achieve is not having any pedals to come between your instrument & the amp. If you have to employ pedals, chances are, you prefer hearing your tone that way. You don't mind the compromise, in fact, you embrace it.