Years ago I had a neighbor who played drums. I have never seen him in action but I guess at least a half of the huge apartment building, that I lived in and, moreover, there were more or less 140 apartments, could hear him while he was vigorously mastering his skills barely 2 floors away from me. My mom, who loves rather singer-songwriters than hard rock, has been describing him in those words: he’s a good child but he throws pancakes through the window from the 5th floor and plays drums like a caveman. I’m wondering now what would she say about Ottoman’s drummer since even I am able to say that he mistreats his drum-kit… in a good way.
But going back to the point, before I will tell you a story how crazy Ottoman stole the show at Gaukurinn on March 21st a band called Alchemia deserves to get a few words. Those guys put a special emphasis on playing different shapes and shades of rock and metal. I suspected it’s gonna sound well but melodic rock metal they performed exceeded my expectations. For sure those seven years they have been playing together is hearable in their music and visible on stage. They have fun and are so lightly confident during the performance. Definitely, the band deserves more attention than it has already received especially that they proudly presented a good material from two albums (Alchemia and Insanity). I had this weird weird feeling that while observing Alchemia live on stage I moved back in time maybe 5 years or so and ended up in some dark basement in the royal city of Cracow. My unconsciousness can really surprise me, you know why? I discovered lately that Poland was a good inspiration for the band’s name. Woohoo, see you at Eistnaflug!
Next stop is called Ottoman and sounds like heavy/stoner rock. Seeing them live for the second time in my life that evening I tried to remember what was that first catchy thing that made me put Ottoman on the list of the promising bands I should follow. As soon as they played Burn the witch a light bulb in my head went on. You could expect a cover of my favorite song by Queens Of The Stone Age and then you get… an original composition that is able to kick you in QOTSA’s rough style.
The energy on the stage had escalated even though there were some technical problems. Anyway, the energy was not in the least forced, you know? Heretic or Royal Flush showed that the drummer can survive til the end, what is even more important, making it look effortless at the same time. He didn’t show any grimace on his face that could suggest the tempo was terribly high or it was too hard or anything else. Quite impressive. Along with crazy Ottoman’s drums you could hear guitar that had been played with robustness and massive and powerful bass lines. Altogether, it made you, at least, wobble. The sound of the band was rough and heavy but still they performed catchy songs that are capable to stick around in the ears. They have already released EP entitled Heretic but I’m looking forward to hearing more. Moreover, I can bet it’s gonna be wild.
And, oh, could I forget to mention that it was impossible not to notice that Ottoman’s singer can howl, scream, sing and… squeal?
Hence, do feel the power – one of the strongest I have felt among other young Icelandic bands. That night I was reached by two bullets. You could learn their names (just saying…) – one is Alchemia and the other is Ottoman. Beware, you can get them in the head.
