Asta Kask live photage Kägelbanan

Asta Kask and the Crowd at Kägelbanan in Stockholm, May 31 2014

Asta Kask Re-Releasing All Their Classic Tunes

Swedish punk band who´s legacy is undiputable is re-releasing all their old 80ies EP´s, remastered and with linernotes in English. Release date March 14 2014.

Asta Kask - Välkommen hem, samlade EP 1980-86 (Swe)
(2014)

Sorry, I fucked it up yesterday...

Sometimes you do stuff you regret, like yesterdays Asta Kask record review. It is a piece of shit review, forget about it. It was hard to write and I fucked it up. Bear that in mind reading it. On the other hand, done is done.

...

Asta Kask - Handen på Hjärtat (CD Review)

Asta Kask
Handen på Hjärtat

(CD, Vinyl, iTunes, Spotify)
2013

Review made from listen to CD and Spotify.

Before the release of the first Asta Kask studio record in seven years they warned us, some might be disappointed in the new direction this record will take. When Asta Kask say they will move in a new direction it might be laughable to most bands, because the new direction is done in millimeters not in kilometers. It´s so far from the Clashs new sound on every record you can get. It is parts of fractions of it. But the small changes feels like huge steps in the Asta Kask Universe. So consistent they have been. It is all there like before, the over distorted guitars, the fluid bass guitar swimming in the sound waves of the guitars, fast drumming that seems like it all over you ears and the razorblade voices. But something is different, a bit more melodic a bit more Trallpunk with its influences from Swedish folkmusic.

First tune is ”Världens räddaste land” (The Worlds most scared country) a spokingly, up to date, song about US foreign policy that generates more fear in the USA than security. Right from the first bar, it is like they want to build up this catchy tune with a dramatic intro riff to be a tune to last. I can feel they want to make both an classic Asta Kask record as well something new. The last they confirmed in interviews close to the release. There are tempo changes that we heard in “AB Böna och Be” for instance. The song is maybe a bit less angry and aggressive than expected. The whole record is, in comparison with the record before “En för alla ingen för nån”. And that is almost my only negative criticism about this record. It could been a bit more desperate and a bit less beautiful. Because in the second tune “Låt dom inte komma in” the lads seems like they wanna show that they can sing in a beautiful manner, the tune isn´t living up to normal Asta standard. Not that it is bad in any way. But Asta standards to me, is world class. The third tune “Sista Brevet” seems like it have borrowed some from big arena skate punk. That isn´t an A+ in my Asta Kask reference book. Not a bad tune but…well you get it. The same goes for “En Bättre Man”….WTF, have their hanging out with Mimikry resulted in Asta trying to sing in that Swedish folk music Trall punk manner that don’t suit them at all?  Song 5, “Folkets Armé” (People´s Army) is a rather silly tune about the Russian revolution and how it come to fail in an oppressing Communist dictatorship. If I wanted to be mean I would say they borrowed that tune from Sabbaton, but I am not a mean guy, am I? And fuck me if not that tune crawl under your skin after a while, and it will slowly possible make it all the way to the ones that I like.

Now on to the good stuff.

“Vredens Barrikad” (The Barricade of Wrath) is possible the Punk hit of 2013, WOW this is WHAT Asta Kask is about. About all the bitter and let down people that takes it out in street riots. One rock for every dream that disappeared. Wow, this is punk poetry at its best. It is beautiful and clever written. A tune that I can´t get enough of.

Then another history lesson tune, “Död åt er alla” (Death to you all), Think Robespierre and you will get the message. Not bad, it sticks after a few listenings.
After that, a tune that lyrically could be sequel, a part two, of last records “Än finns det hopp” (Still there is hope) but in this tune there is just a sad end. “Fredagsmys” deals with the subject of domestic violence. A rather sad and disturbing story, taken from any family where the man is beating the woman behind the closed doors. In this case witha lethal outcome. The song then ends with a catchy message to women to break away from men like that, which also makes me think of this song as a development of “Lasse Liten”. The cult classic tune of the bullied boy “Lasse” that in his desperation of being accepted dies in a car crash in front of them all. The oppressed that tries to get a piece of the cool. The rather childish, ironic but funny conclusion of “Lasse Liten” in the lalalala part is made much more mature in “Fredagsmys” but just as catchy.

En “Annan Väg” is a bit too Trallpunk to be a true Asta but it is good anyway.

“Jag Är En Idiot” is taking the album into the Asta Kask inferno of everything they are as band. It is like they climax here. Fast and furious, this is Asta Kask.

The closing “Tack För Allt” is good tune but way to much Trall-inspired to be at the end of this good second half of this record. At least according to my Universe.

All over this is a good record. Not as good as I hoped for, but I rank Asta Kask as one of the top bands in the world so bear that in mind. Still it is, so far, one of this year´s top records. And I am glad that Asta Kask sounds like Asta Kask and not followed The Clash way of totally change their ways.

Worth buying? Yes, One for your home, one for your car. 

Asta Kask and Alonzo Fas 3 at Debaser Slussen (Live review)

Asta Kask (first ever releasepaerty) with
Asta Kask and Alonzo Fas 3 onstage.
at Debaser Slussen, Stockholm

All good summers are defined by a certain event or party in the beginning of it. You know when all is right. Last night the sun decided to take a break and give away for the rain. The rain took a break in time for us to show up at the Debaser Slussen outdoor bar for a beer before the in advance sold out concert with Asta Kask at their release party of their new album “Handen på hjärtat”, with Alonzo Fas 3 as support. The weather didn´t look like it was this night the summer parties started. But the band that played last night did have a word in it, they made it happened. I spoke a few words with Micke Alonzo before the gig and he seemed very relaxed. As the crowd started to gather up for entering the concert area inside the club the amount of punk rock stars teamed up in numbers, Troublemakers, Psykbryt, Baboon Show, Ligisterna, Nasum… you name it. This magic moment no one wanted to miss. But many did to their anoyment missed it. Note, that Kiss played for 50 000 at Friends Arena and there was a punk festival going on in town at the same time.


Alonzo Fas 3  

The concert started with the KSMBs album “Rika barn leka bäst” intro then they went into “602” and then the party was on. I can´t say I ve heard them better onstage. The band was perfect tight, the sound good and the connection between the crowd and the band was there from the first chord. Even the new song “Matilda” that I´ve been a bit doubtful about, was in its right element. There was no question that a record means a lot to a band like this, to any band. All the new songs got sing a´longs after the record was released last month. People were now familiar with the new songs. The mosh pit was on and I bet there was more sweat there than in the Stockholm Marathon than had been going on the same morning. The crowd response seems to trigger the men on stage to an excellent job.
“Dörrterror”, “Klockan 8”, “Det förlovade landet”, “Dansa som en fjäril”, “Det bästa som hänt” etc.
In between Alonzo get personal and told us that he was a battered kid in his childhood. I realize that the stage persona Alonzo can talk about matters that might be harder to tell in person a bit like theraphy. And I think it´s one of the reasons he and the band have gotten from good to great.

The crowd demanded an encore in a very loud way. And so they did. With Blomman from Troublemakers, Micke and Bonni from Asta Kask doing “Aomreaggae (Harrisburg)”  and “Jag vill dö” as rather chaotic numbers all in the tradition of punk all the legends on stage brought to us a long time ago,
a perfect start to the evening.

Asta Kask

Asta Kask got a gigant moshpit from the first down stroke on the distorted guitars. Like Asta kask was here to prove that they are the main band of Swedish old school punk. It was already sweaty and full of adrenaline in the moshpit when Alonzo Fas 3 went off stage, Asta just turned up the heat a bit. Got some more to join the pit. “Psykiskt instabil”, TVn” and more did the job, Just to cool it down a bit with a bunch of new songs that most people never heard before.  Due to technical problems the Spotify release of the new album “Handen på hjärtat” wasn´t up until a few hours before the concert. And the most new songs were unfamiliar to me so I didn´t went berserk during them, but I backed off a bit to look upon them with a bit of others glasses. On stage I could see a band that have grown from a 2:30 fast tune kängpunk band to a band that could be a big stage main band. The new songs was like they were having a big stage in mind for the epic concerts . And possible will that be so when people know the new songs. What made me go berserk was “Inget ljus” and in the moshpit I thought, if I die of a heart attack now it would be great. “Patriarkatet”, “AB böna och be” and “Psykopaten” made people sing along like they never done anything else. Like “Dom får aldrig mig” steered up violent pogoing.
 The old crowd pleasers got the crowd sing a long in a volume that was incredible “Especially during the slower “Psykopaten”. I never heard such loud calls for encores like last night. That’s when the stage diving began. And the band invited ex band members to join them on stage. “Ringhals Brinner”, “Vill inte va med” was excellent crowd pleasers. Even if they played a long set, they left out tunes like “Lasse liten”.

But we wanted more. The whole crowd demanded a second encore, that, the

band hadn´t planned for…so they made a lottery where members of the audience could pick a song written on a bit of paper. “hjärndöd” was one of them.


And so…

Outside the sweaty club, in the outdoor bar, the party was in full bloom, but as much I enjoyed the moment, the perfect start of the summer, I also felt numb and empty, now it was all over. Others said they wanted to find another party or club to keep them in that terrific mood. I doubt they did found that.

Worth the money, 180SEK?  I can´t help feel like I wanna do it again, and again and again.

Asta Kask - Handen på hjärtat (album)

...

Asta Kask - Vill Inte Va Med

After the break up in the mid eighties, they claimed they did break up due to the elitism that grown into the punk movement, they all of a sudden did strike the punk world with atstonishment by realising their first studio album in 20 years in 2006, "En för alla ingen för nån"
and what a comeback that was...

Asta Kask - Vill Inte Va Med (Swe)

From the album "En för alla ingen för nån"

Asta Kask- Handen på Hjärtat album teaser 2013

Teaser from the First Asta kask studio album in 7 years.
Release party tonight at Debaser Slussen Stockholm.

Support act the excellent band  Alonzo Fas 3

Be there or be elsewhere.

....

Asta Kask - Vredens Barrikad (new song free download)

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/3x9aq2jhdv0ouim/Vredens%20Barrikad.mp3?dl=1

Stockholms suburbs, especially the Husby suburb been the center for nightly riots the last week.




And just like it was a planned publicity stunt masterminded by the guys in Asta Kask (or did they have a crystal ball?),
they will have a song about something similar on their new album released next week.
Vredens Barrikad (transl. The Barricade of Wrath).

They give it away free, just click and play.

https://dl.dropbox.com/s/3x9aq2jhdv0ouim/Vredens%20Barrikad.mp3?dl=1

...

Asta Kask- Världens Räddaste Land

Asta Kask - Världens räddaste land (Swe)

Single from the album "Handen på Hjärtat" 2013


...

Asta Kask- Handen på Hjärtat album teaser 2013

Teaser from Asta Kask new album "Handen på hjärtat", Release this spring.


More records to come, Alonzo Fas 3, Knark, Rancid 1,2 FYPR waits breathless by exitement.

Asta Kask - New Album

Pictures from Facebook     Micke
Legendary Swedish punkrockers Asta Kask anounce on their Facebook profile that they in the studio again for their first studio album in 7 years. Read mor in their own words taken from Facebook.



"New album! 

As some of you might have guessed we have had something up our sleeves. Since one 

week we have been been in Gothenburg at the infamous Studio Fredman with F. Nordström 

and Henke Udd recording a new album, our first in 7 years! The new LP / CD will be 

released on our new label Kloakens Alternativa Anti Produktion in a few months. More info 

about that and much more is coming soon! Cheers from Asta Kask"

Bonni

Asta Kask - Den enes bröd /Rehearshal feb 2013)

On the Colombian tour Asta Kask promised Catalina something on his birthday.
So direct from the rehershal room they send a birthday greeting.

Best and Worst of 2012 (The 1,2, Fuck You List)

2012 I will remember as one of the best Punk Years ever. I doubt that I even back in the early 80ies during the punk and Oi! years saw as many good concerts as this. Both new fresh bands and old timers still going strong. There was both biiiiig events as the West Coast Riot festival and Dropkick Murphys, Iggy and the Stooges and The Hives filling up Gröna Lund to the max. As the were a few people showing up in a club or at Gula Villan for some amazing well played, whitty and hard punk. Infact there was so much going on that I missed some, didn´t had the energy to attend some.

What can we look forward to make it even better the next year? Well, the crowd could get bigger at many clubs. The bands deserve bigger crowds and you deserve to see theese bands.
There are new records comming next year with bands like Rancid, Vänsternäven and Dropkick Murphys. And Possibly will Ligisterna get it going as well. Not to mention all the bands that Im not aware of their struggle for the perfect mix for their next masterpiece, is Nej among those? Cheers all you Punx, Skunx, Muses, Chix, Skins, Progs, Metals and Others.

Tim and Lars from Rancid at WCR
Buy West Coast Riot Prints here

Best Concert
Rancid at West Coast Riot (Gothenburg)
Street Dogs at Debaser Slussen (Stockholm)



Best Concert Promotor/festival/club
West Coast Riot,
Pike

Best full length record 
Hyper Actives – Rock n Roll lives again

Best Single (Vinyl, CD or Digital)
The Dräperz – Välkommen till Råby

Records of other interests
Rebel Riot – Puppet Society (Full length CD)
Rancid – Fuck you (single)

Niklas of Ligisterna

Best bands

Rancid,

Street Dogs, 

Ligisterna, 

Asta Kask, 

Positive new discoveries

Rebel Riot (Bur), 

Louise Linggs and the Bombs (Fra),

Nej (Swe), 

Chix n Dix (Can)

Beorn of Nej

Best Singalongs

Mata asen med bly (Ligisterna), 

Staden Göteborg (Troublemakers), 

Ronka (Troublemakers)

Tobey Got a Drinking Problem (Street Dogs)

Iggy and the Stooges at Gröna Lund

Best Revivals

Alonzo and Fas3 (ex KSMB, Stockholms Negrer) , 

Bitch Boys, 

Iggy and The Stooges

Fjodor (Ex Ebba Grön) singing Staten och Kapitalet at Cellstock

Heaviest

Link (Bel)

Hardest 

Knark (Swe)

Ultimate Punk Heros

Pussy Riot (Rus)

Worst Disapointment

That I missed Hudson Falcons playing in Stockholm

Worst Let down

Social Distortion at Circus

Cellstock (Festival)

The Hives Live at Gröna Lund

Worst Pseudo Happening

The Refused reunion

I saw the light! a Review of the West Coast Riot

Find pictures from WCR here.

Bruce Springsteen checked out Against Me and Rancid

What did the Boss think of Rancids concert?

The Event

West Coast Riot is by any comparison Sweden´s biggest punk festival. Not the biggest rock festival, but the biggest just for punk. Fat Wreck record have dubbed it the best punk festival in the world….hm, I haven’t been to them all so, well…but anyway, it was one of the best festival I been to. Just the location this year, just at the sea side with the open sea in sight was stunning. And this year´s line-up was something extra. I havn´t bothered to go there the years before, but when I saw that Rancid was headlining, it was a must to go. And then one good band after another was added to the bill, I would say it was mandatory to attend. Good that people didn´t do that. It was enough with people as it was in the rather narrow festival area not really dimensioned for the size of the crowd. Normally it is just an empty spot next to the art museum Röda Sten. This sunny Thursday in July it was Heaven and Hell at the same time, at least hot as Hell.

The Crowd, the Museum and the Bridge


The Location

I have already been on about the marvelous placement by the seashore. The smell of the salty sea water made me in a good mood. It smelled like vacation, the Baltic Sea at Stockholm doesn´t smell as good.
The concert area was easily reached with the tram. According to some WCR veterans logistics was much better this year. It was surreal to spend the festival right under the huge bridge, Älvsborgsbron.
The only thing to complain about was that there was too few food tents so the lines was long, too long for me. I went outside the festival area for a Bratwurst. While eating it a Mohawk drunk decided to take a dump next to me, squatting down a few meters from me taking a shit. Well, that´s punk…or? It reminded me on a song we wrote in my band Streetwalking Jesus about the “Braune Bratwurst”. Enough of filth now.

The Crowd

There´s an expression about Gothenburg fellows, “Goa Gubbar” (Nice Lads), and that was a fact. The west coasters are so much friendlier and easy accessible that the east coast Stockholmers. It was like everybody was my best friend, or something. Not a meat head in sight. The bands was in for the same treat. Singalongs, mosh pitting, dancing, cheering from the first chord to the last. Rancid, Asta Kask, Street Dogs and Anti Flag pointed out that. The Swedish Punk veteran Alonzo took a photo of us in the crowd because he wanted to keep this moment in his photo book. Over all everyone was in a good mood, helping each other up when someone tripped in the sometimes rather wild mosh pits.


The Bands

Gatans Lag  
and Dystra Li

Both bands opened the festival in a tent each. The Oi! Skinhead band Gatans Lag didn´t take any prisoners. It was full aggression from the first chord. And the crowd was there. Dystra Li did show some hesitation. Maybe because their tent was much less attended then Gatans Lag´s. The playing time for all bands was rather tight so why waste it on doubts and “excuse us mentality” like Dystra Li did, The only disappointment this day. I ran back to Gatans Lag´s stage again to catch the last of it. Gatans Lag proved that their best song was "Skalla, sparka sluta aldrig slå". Not only because the Lyrics is venting some serious anger against the middle class that modern society is designed to please, the tune is catchy as well. This is the working class town of Gothenburg, welcome!

Asta Kask opening the main stage, Photo talen from Micke Blomqvist´s facebook

Asta Kask

Swedish punk legends Asta Kast got the honour to open at the main stage. It was as usual full throttle from the start. It took them only three chords to have me in the mosh pit. I am close to my 50ies now, beer bellied and with a strong refusal to both play Golf, get a Labrador or got to the gym. This was my exercise.
Best song? All of them, it´s hard to choose one.
The sound wasn’t perfect but fair enough. And Asta proved them self again, they are NOT any lame ass punk revival band, they got the punk in the blood and their hearts beating as fast as their drums.

Street Dogs

I was prepared to be a bit disappointed in Street Dogs after seeing them doing one of the best shows I ever seen, in Stockholm a few week ago. But I wasn´t let down. The Massachusetts lads showed that they master the fine art of Punk Rock. Best song? “Tobey´s got a drinking problem”, but all of they were as good. Rancid might be better because better tunes, but Street Dogs are terribly hard working leaving nothing to ask for.

Beer pause and some bands I didn’t cared for too much about.

After that I was onto a serious beer pause. A chat with both new found friends and some Stockholm people that’s in the Stockholm scene. Mr Kjell Hell, one of Sweden´s best punk bloggers told me sad news, that he didn´t update his blog any more. To bad.

In the background I hear Anti Flag, The sound is good, but they doesn´t have as good songs at the opening bands. I catch a bit of the end of their set and saw they were working as hard as the rest of the bands. And some thought they were great. I wasn´t expecting to much so there wasn´t any disappointment. The same goes for some of the other bands that I wasn´t too interested in or impressed by. And some bands was missed because they was playing at the same time as someone else. Gallows I should have seen, however, but you can´t have it all, can you?

Beer, sunlight, more beer, chatting, saying hello, just feeling fine I the heat. This is all what a vacation should be like.

Alonzo & fas 3

Next band was Alonzo & fas 3, the punk veteran Micke Alonzo was a singer in classic Swedish bands like KSMB and Stockholms Negrer, Micke´s vocals dominated the set or should I write his punk,top of the lung screaming. At the same time Against me played with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen and the E street Band in the audience. The Boss then stayed to watch Rancid´s excellent performance. At facebook, I later noticed, The Boss and Alonzo had a chat. About what? How to yell as a madman onstage? I´ll ask him next time I meet Micke.

Micke Alonzo entered the stage with barly any voice telling us to help him sing his songs. That he didn´t had to ask twice. Then the 50+ gentleman started to scream his lung out in a way that could scare even the most hardcore growler. The band seems a bit shellshocked at first and didn´t match the aggression Micke poured on stage. But they catched up and found themself and did a decent job in the end. OK, it was not like KSMB or Stockholms Negrer was back in the days. But fair enough. The new songs that I wasn´t too fond of on record, was excellent live. Best song? Tonight it was Atom Reggae, even if almost all his songs are a part of our proud Swedish punk history.

Picture taken from Rancids Facebook


Rancid

Then there was an end of a long wait. Not only that Rancid havn´t been here for ten years, and as one punk at the festival put it, the band we been following and liked for a long time but havn´t seen live. Also a long wait for the concert we were all there for. To be honest, this wasn´t a festival, it was a Rancid concert with a long list of great support acts. Almost all I spoke to was there for Rancid.

And then we met God. Divided into four entities
Tim, minus his iconc hat with his skull tattoo on display (shaved head) and a beard that made him look like he gonna join ZZ Top. Lars, with his new skin head look and with his constant pissed off look. Even when he expressed apreachiations he looked like he really ment to smash our faces in. Matt, the man who looks like he came directly out of the bowling alley, who´s fingers out speed most bass players around. And in the back Branden that took over Brett role in the band in an excellent way.


The four of them, with their different stage presents melt together to one big punk love that includes the crowd. I got the feeling that the security barriers annoys the band. Tim tries several times to build a bridge over it. And in the end they call up a guy from the front row to sing a song with them. Tim Armstrong just played his Gretch and let the boy sing it. Possible the moment of his life.


Me, the rest of the crowd, including Bruce Springsteen, the Swedish punk legends was in it for a holy moment. There was something beyond the music, their world class tunes that got me. I was in the mosh pit and singing along for the most part of the nearly two hours show. But there was something extra added to it just see them live, feel their mental enery. With the risk to sound like a hippy (like if I cared?), this was just what I in my wildest dream wished for but wasn´t expecting. How could I doubt in God? Best song? Well, I repeat myself here. All of them. but there was one line that refused to leave me after. “When I got the music, I got a place to go” from the Let´s Go CD. I looked at the face of God realizing that Tim not just sang it, he delivered the ultimate truth. The God incarnated in the bodies and music of Tim, Lars, Matt and Branden.


Turbonegro

After I was struck of a feeling of fulfillment, perfection and emptiness. Deadly tired, the beer was sold out, so a glass of wine had to do. Then one look into the tent where Turbonegro was up next as the closing band. a most unpleasant task if you ask me, was enough. Then I was on it a gain, when I got the music I got a place to go. The Turbojugend logo, the leather cap in Neon as a backdrop just made me wanna go and see them. The new singer that was to replace the egocentric Hank von Helvete, did an excellent job. Not as crazy and unpredictable as the good old Hank. But with a certain edge in the voice that was refreshing. Initially the sound was very good, at the end it was just loud. "All my friends are dead was the best song". The Turbo´s did steer the ship to the destination. They managed to do the impossible to match Rancid´s holy punk quest. If Rancid was the Light, Turbonegro brought us back to hell where you give them worms.

Finally

I was in heaven in a field hotter than hell. I saw the light it was great.

Worth the money? What a question! Just Rancid been worth the travel, the room, the expenses and the ticket of the ca 80 Euros. And I got all the other bands as well.


    

Tomorrow .....West Coast Riot, Yippie!

Rancid (US)

Asta Kask  (Swe)

Turbonegro (Nor)





Street Dogs (US)



And More.....

West Coast Riot, all stages all bands all where and whens!

Asta Kask - TVn

Asta Kask - TVn

From the EP Plikten Framför allt
(1984)

On Your Miixed Tape 3 Asta Kask

On your punk mixed tape there are a minimum of one Asta Kask tune.
I choose an old classic, Inget Ljus (no Light)(covered by bands all over the world)

Asta Kask - Inget ljus

originally published as a 7inch single 198? something.

Rancid, Asta Kask, Street Dogs all on West Coast Riot 2012

Gothenburg Punk festival West Coast Riot Presents a program that look pretty good. Rancid been on since a few weeks. Asta Kask, Alonzo & Fas 3, anti-flag and more will be
added.