Monster Magnet
Mastermind European Tour 2010
Seventh Void – support act
Kulturbolaget
Malmoe
Sweden
November 13, 2010
Review and live pictures by: Anders Sandvall
2007 was the year that Monster Magnet last released an album and it has been two years since I last saw them on their 4-WAY DIABLO tour. 2010 is the year that the band has, at least in my eyes, their great comeback with the excellent album MASTERMIND. Unfortunately the band lost their long time guitarist Ed Mundell so he wasn’t on stage when they visited Malmoe in November. Along with them on tour had they brought the Brooklyn act Seventh Void that includes members from the iconic act Type O Negative. When in Malmoe they of course played at the best club in town – Kulturbolaget where else?
The doors opened at 7:00 and Seventh Void was to go on stage an hour later with the entire evening scheduled to finish at 11 because after that it was time for the club to kick off the night club. A lot of people had already gathered inside the venue when me and my friend arrived and I could also hear that a lot of Danish people had come to see the band even though Monster Magnet was gonna play in Copenhagen the day after the Malmoe gig.
Seventh Void
As I mentioned earlier Seventh Void consists of a few members from Type O Negative but the entire line-up is:
Kenny Hickey – lead vocals, guitar
Matt Brown – guitar
Hank Hell – bass
Johnny Kelly – drums
Hickey said that it was nice to be playing in Malmoe and thanked everyone in the crowd for being there but besides that didn’t he do much talking. Theirmusic sounded like a mix in between ordinary metal and faster doom metal and from my point of view the music sounded unfocused and a bit sloppy. Hickey’s voice was also a bit tired and hoarse but that didn’t seem to be worrying the audience that clapped their hands and did their best to give Seventh Void a warm welcome this cold November evening.
Hickey also thanked Monster Magnet for letting them be a part of the tour because after all Seventh Void are only a simple band from Brooklyn New York. He also said that the audience could buy their debut album, that hadn’t been released in Europe yet, at the merchandise stand and that the band was going out after the show and talk to the fans. Seventh Void played for about 40 minutes and after that it was time for the crew to prepare the stage for Monster Magnet. It felt like the crowd liked Seventh Void but I was a bit reluctant towards the bands music. However, my hesitance depended on the fact that I’ve never heard the band before and therefore it was hard to give the band a fair judgement.
It seemed like the club was nearly sold out and more and more people arrived the closer it came to Monster Magnet going on stage. About 15 minutes later it was time for the evenings headliner to go on stage.
Monster Magnet
The members all arrived on stage and the line-up consisted of:
Dave Wyndorf – lead vocals, guitar
Phil Caivano – guitar
Bob Pantella – drums
Jim Baglino – bass
Garett Sweeney – guitar
“Dopes To Infinity” kicked off the show and the song sounded absolutely brilliant. “Crop Circle” followed immidiatley and both the band and crowd seemed to love each other. Wyndorf sure knew how to treat a crowd and everyone in the audience sang a long from the very first minute of the show. A new track from MASTERMIND followed and it was the song “Bored With Sorcery” and it looked like Wyndorf had a great time on stage. Last time the band was here Wyndorf didn’t look good at all and he seemed tired and not in the mood for performing. This evening was the total opposite from last time and now Wyndorf happier and more content and his voice also sounded a lot better.
“Tractor”, “Dig That Hole” and “Medicine” continued on the show and the club exploded when “Tractor” was played. No doubt that the song was a crowd pleaser. The temperature had risen by now and the club felt a bit sweaty but despite the heat did Wyndorf keep his jacket on. I thought that session guitarist Sweeney did a great job both on lead as rhythm guitar and I felt no loss or longing for Ed Mundell.
“Look To Your Orb For The Warning” followed as well as “Radiation” and “The Right Stuff”. In the middle of the first song there was a longer guitar solo during which Wyndorf went off stage to catch his breath for a while. The audience loved the songs and especially “Look To Your Orb For The Warning” in which everyone again sang a long during the entire song. Both Wyndorf and the rest of the members seemed to be really happy for the huge response from the audience.
The sound system worked perfect however the club didn’t use its huge lighting system to the fullest and used mostly blue and red light. The ordinary set closed with the bands monumental hit “Space Lord” the first verse was only vocals and guitar and in between the lines Wyndorf said to the audience that it sounds better if you sing this with me Malmoe can you do that? The audience screamed yes and all the audience sang and it sounded really cool to say the least. Wyndorf let the crowd sing every time the song came to the chorus and it sounded really majestic. Wyndorf thanked the fans for being there and said it had been really nice to be playing in Malmoe.
The fans screamed for more and the band once again came on stage and kicked off the first encore which was “Gods And Punks” and a really intoxicated guy that was standing next to me said that this was a fucking great song and I couldn’t but agree with him. Monster Magnet have written some really strong and amazing songs throughout their long career and the evenings set list had proof of their amazing back-catalogue of songs. The rest of the encores were “Mastermind”, “Nod Scene” and “Powertrip”. The band was under some time pressure because the show was supposed to be over at 23.00 and the band kept within the time frames with 10 minutes to spare.
It was an amazing show and it was a hell of a lot better than the ones they did at Kulturbolaget two years ago. The only minor negative thing was the really loooong guitar jam parts that were squeezed in here and there. If you haven’t listen to the new album MASTERMIND yet make sure you do it because you won’t regret it. Those who have doubted Wyndorf have to think again because this was a brilliant show by one of the most legendary stoner metal acts alive today.
Set list
Dopes To Infinity
Crop Circle
Bored With Sorcery
Tractor
Dig That Hole
Medicine
Look To Your Orb For The Warning
Radiation
The Right Stuff
Negasonic Teenage Warhead
Space Lord
Encores
Gods And Punks
Mastermind
Nod Scene
Powertrip
Thanks to the head of KB Totte Lundgren and the head of press Kristian Kornhage for help with press/photo pass to the show and a big thank you to crew and staff at KB, it’s always a pleasure coming to the club.
www.kulturbolaget.se
Facebook page
www.facebook.com/pages/Malmo-Sweden/Kulturbolaget/134912500486
More info about the band
www.seventhvoid.com
Myspace Page
www.myspace.com/seventhvoid
Label
www.napalmrecords.com
Myspace Page
www.myspace.com/napalmrecords
www.border.se
Myspace Page
www.myspace.com/bordermusic
