Danish Invasion...Again. But Less Bloody This Time.
Rage was a weekend music show and they would play heavy music in the middle of the night. As a result, I spent a lot of Friday and Saturday nights in the living room waiting, hoping, that they would play the good stuff (when they did, it was usually after midnight). I was introduced to loads of Metal bands that way. Thanks Australia!
Anyway, this post got me thinking about how underrated DAD are and how few people in the US even know they exist. But that also reminded me of an interview I heard years ago with some record exec who happened to be Danish. He was asked about the music scene in Denmark, and his response was that it was rather poor. Most people don't know much about the Danish music scene and, while Sweden is lucky, they have Abba, poor little Denmark has...Aqua. (Up until then I didn't even know Aqua was Danish...way to go record exec.) And that's just sad. I can hear my Danish ancestors freaking out, "We used to be a force to be reckoned with. People actually feared us!" Well, yeah, I'm thinking they still do...
So, thinking about that got me to thinking about all the great music that's come/is coming out of my little ancestral homeland (well, one of them anyway) and I felt the need to redeem Denmark musically. So, here's a smattering of the best that Denmark has/has had to offer, musically.
We'll begin with the obvious.
Credited with being one of the creators of the Black Metal sub-genre, Mercyful Fate was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1981 and contains one of the most well-known figures in the Metal world, King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen). I first came across the band in the late 80's thanks to the old Metal rag, Rip, when they did an article comparing the beliefs of King Diamond (self-professed Satanist) with those of the Sweet brothers from Stryper (self-professed Christians).
Moving along chronologically...
Pretty Maids is not a chick band. There are no females in it. They are also not wimpy. But they are epic. Also formed in 1981, in Horsens, Denmark, Pretty Maids is a bit Hair Metal, but not entirely. Some of their early stuff invokes images of Ratt and Dokken, but they are an entity unto themselves. I don't remember exactly when I first heard of them, but I remember where I was...my parents living room. I've been racking my brain to remember the exact song that made me an instant fan, but there are so many epic songs that it doesn't really matter which one it was. I'm posting here the one that I think it was.
BELOW: Epic, epic, EPIC! Pretty Maids. "Hell On High Heels," from Anything Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing. Did I mention that Pretty Maids is epic?
Formed in Copenhagen in 2001, Volbeat is a bit hard to classify...I first heard of them about 3 years ago from a former Finnish acquaintance who was constantly talking about them. I'm glad he did, otherwise I would've missed out! Another criminally underrated Danish band...
BELOW: Volbeat. "Maybelenne I Hofteholder," from Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood. I could have posted the official video...but it's a bit risqué and I want more people to listen.
Also formed in Copenhagen in 2001, the Raveonettes are an indie rock duo. I used to think I didn't like them, but as I'm listening to postable options I find myself reevaluating my original opinion. Maybe I'm mixing them up with some other band...
BELOW: Raveonettes. "Heart of Stone," from In And Out Of Control.
Obviously these aren't the only great bands from Denmark; if you're at all into Metal then you already know this; but this is a nice primer. So, if you heard anything you find interesting, that you've never heard before or had just forgotten about (or, like me and the Raveonettes, you notice you no longer find annoying) then check them out!
It's okay Denmark, you don't suck musically.
