A quick note on the subject of Whitney though. I'm not sure how she died although I'm guessing it wasn't due to natural causes, depending on your definition of natural causes I suppose. I guess if somebody puts an axe through your head then it's quite natural to die consequently of the wounds such an action would inflict, just as if you spend every day of your life eating dinner at McDonald’s then it's also quite natural to die of a heart attack, just as if you spend the best part of your adult life shovelling cocaine up your nose then maybe it's natural to die lying in your bath tub sooner or later...I don't know. But I'm losing my train of thought. The thing that caught my attention about Whitney's death was not the actual fact that she'd kicked the bucket, but rather the fact that within thirty minutes of the bucket being kicked, Itunes had raised the price of her Greatest Hits album from five quid up to eight quid. Thirty minutes.. I know it's a cut throat business but that strikes me as pretty cold...
No, the real tragic news this week is that apparently Herätys have played their last ever show! Only last weekend they played at the OCCII in Amsterdam for Seein' Red's own farewell show (in itself a sad occasion even though we were prepared for it). I've been told by a few friends that were in attendance that night that it was an amazing show. The latest we heard from the Herätys camp was that they'd recorded some new songs for an upcoming 7” and that they'd be playing the Chaos in Tejas Festival this summer, so the rumours that are now abound that they've called it a day come as a bit of a shock.
In my opinion the Herätys lp is not only one of the best hardcore records of the last few years, it's one of the best records of the last few years full stop! Unfortunately I only had the chance to see them live the one time, when they played with us at the Punk Illegal Festival in Göteborg a couple of years ago. They were absolutely amazing that day! One of the best shows I've ever seen. It was one of those shows that created that buzz, when you walk away knowing you've just witnessed something a bit special.
There doesn't seem to be any official word yet, so I can only hope that the rumours turn out to be heinous tittle-tattle, but the trusted sources on the hardcore grapevine all seem to be saying the same thing...
A couple of the guys already play in Hårda Tider (who also played the Seein' Red show), who themselves are a great live band, but I really hope to see Janne back on stage again soon. He's a frighteningly good front-man and a great vocalist, not to mention a gentleman and a scholar.
It appears, as is too often the case in the world of hardcore punk, that Herätys' era was a short one. They did at least leave us with a couple of killer releases, and they will continue to remain a proud part of my record collection. I hope that the new songs they recorded will still see the light of day, even if we never get to see them played live..
R.I.P.
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