Metal Merchants Festival og Grasrotandelen

The following is only relevant to Norwegian residents.

Norsk Tipping har nå begynt med noe som heter «grasrotandelen». Det betyr at man selv kan velge en «veldedig» organisasjon som inntil 5% av det man tipper for skal gå til. Og hva er vel mer veldedig enn metal og øl? Nei, nettopp! Så here it is, Metal Merchants og Trond Giske hånd i hånd!

Vil du gi din støtte til METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL? Grasrotandelen er en ordning fra Norsk Tipping, hvor du som registrert spiller kan velge ett lag eller én forening som du ønsker å støtte – din Grasrotmottaker. Vi oppfordrer deg til å støtte oss i METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL!

Tenk deg at du kan spille favorittspillene dine – Lotto, Tipping og Joker for eksempel – og samtidig gi noe mer til det laget eller den foreningen du selv ønsker å støtte. Dette er nå mulig via Grasrotandelen. Ved spill hos Norsk Tipping vil 5 % av innsatsen gå direkte til ditt lag eller forening (gjelder ikke Extra og Flax). Merk at Grasrotandelen ikke på noen måte går ut over innsatsen eller premien din – du blir ikke belastet noe for å være grasrotgiver. Du trenger Norsk Tipping Spillerkort for å knytte deg til Grasrotandelen. Spillerkort får du kjøpt hos kommisjonær, eller du kan bestille det på www.norsk-tipping.no.

Vi oppfordrer deg til å knytte deg til ordningen allerede i dag, og du gjør det på en av følgende måter:

1. Hos Kommisjonær: Ta med deg strekkoden (se under) og ditt spillerkort til en av Norsk Tippings mange kommisjonærer.
2. SMS: GRASROTANDELEN 993200832 til 2020 (tjenesten er gratis).
3. Internett: grasrotandelen.no eller norsk-tipping.no.
4. Norsk Tipping Mobilspill.

Mer informasjon finnes på www.grasrotandelen.no. Her vil du også kunne følge med på hvor mye Grasrotandelene genererer for de enkelte Grasrotmottakerne.

Takk for at du støtter oss via Grasrotandelen!

Metal Merchants Festival
6. mars 2009

Strekkode for Metal Merchants Festival:

The past and the future –
one giant THANKS to all of you!

So Metal Merchants Festival 2009 is history. But what a great piece of history! We won't mention names, because people competed in being the best, the nicest and the most motherfucking metal beings the world has ever seen. We've had feedback from bands, crew, audience, parents, girlfriends, mothers in law, the owner of the venue, every god damned soul ever affected by heavy metal in Norway, that this was one for the books.

And to be honest, we totally agree. We won't make this very long, but it goes out to all of you when we say "THANK YOU, HEADBANGERS!" We've added a few pics to the site, but if you want to check out even more pictures, look up Audun Nordseth on Facebook, or Red Art on Myspace.

And for the last issue that everyone's been asking; is there gonna be another Metal Merchants Festival? It's no secret that we lost some money on this. Not to mention all the work we had to put into it, maybe leaving both girlfriends and jobs behind. Besides that, we really wouldn't like to have a reputation of giving too much beer and too loud music to metal fans all over. Really, we'd prefer staying home, having a zip of wine, watching Desperate Housewives. Or....? Fuck that, we'll see you all around for METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL II IN 2010!!! TAKE CARE!

Sigurd, Ronny and Stian
February 7th 2009

Stage times

The stages times have now been set, to go with the new and complete line-up:

Friday
4 pm – doors
5.30 pm – Enforcer
6.15 pm – Vendetta
7.30 pm – Pagan Altar
9 pm – Beehler
11 pm – Mekong Delta

Saturday
1 pm – doors
3.30 pm – Vesen showcase
5.00 pm – Valhall
6.00 pm – Assassin
7.30 pm – Artillery
9 pm – Hirax
11 pm – Warning

Newsletter #10 – Finished with the TALES,
now to the UPCOMING!

Allright, pistoleros and señoritas!

It seems we finally have landed on a lineup for METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL, unfortunately very late, but fortunately DAMNED GOOD!

For our last spot, we're proud to present one of the classic acts from European Thrash Central, namely Germany, and that act is none less than terror experts ASSASSIN! With their 1986 classic The Upcoming Terror, ASSASSIN made a name for themselves far beyond the borders of Germany, and amongst many others, a couple of guys at METAL MERCHANTS have followed and loved ASSASSIN ever since.

This means that things are shaping up, and although the times are yet to be finally adjusted, this is the order of our awesome lineup;

Friday
Enforcer
Vendetta
Pagan Altar
Beehler
Mekong Delta

Saturday
Vesen showcase
Valhall
Warning
Assassin
Artillery
Hirax

And the tickets are flying, so if you're planning to go but haven't bought Your festival ticket yet, you should do it, and do it fast.

Best regards,
NemeSIGURD, Fight – To Stop the TyRONNY and ASSASSTIAN!

January 20th, 2009

Newsletter #9 – Please welcome PAGAN ALTAR!

Hi again, metal heads!

We're extremely proud to announce that we've added the no less than legendary NWOBHM band PAGAN ALTAR to the bill! Over 30 years has gone since Terry and Alan Jones founded PAGAN ALTAR, and despite many years in the dark, the doom pioneers never really gave up, and will now bring their black mass to Norway and our humble festival! PAGAN ALTAR will play on friday, and adjusted times will soon be up on this webpage.

For those of you not familiar with PAGAN ALTAR for some sick reason, please check out www.myspace.com/paganaltar.

As for the second cancellation, we're still working on a replacement, and we bet that you can tell from this email that we're not settling for anything less than extraordinary when it comes to making you all happy.

So, until we all get a judgement of the dead, best regards once more from
Sigurd, Ronny and Stian

January 16th 2009

Newsletter # 8 – Hallows Eve cancellation
but still hell uva party to come!

Hi again, friends!

Unfortunately we have to inform that Hallows Eve has been forced to cancel their show at Metal Merchants Festival. It was with great sorrow we received the following message from our friends and allies in Hallows Eve.

"Hello, people:

It is with deep regret that Hallows Eve will not be able to play the upcoming Festival in Oslo, Norway.

The bottom line is our vocalist, Stacy Andersen, has a bleeding ulcer in his upper respiratory system that is bleeding into his stomach. Surgery will more than likely occur before the festival. Recovery time will be 2-3 months.

We sincerely apologize to the promoters of the festival and all our fans, as we have been looking forward to this opportunity for over a year. Look for a new album later this year and thank you all for your understanding and continued support.

Horns High and keep it metal,
~Hallows Eve"

But that's history for us now! We won't be kept down, and we're still looking forward to the rest of the program which you all know is of the finest quality. We will of course also provide another band to fill their space, and believe me, the bands we've contacted is nothing but top notch metal bands that you're gonna love!

As most of you already know, Norwegian prog metal classic Trivial Act also had to cancel due to musical challenges, and they will of course also be substituted with a kick ass alternative!

All in all, we're looking forward to the festival, and to presenting two brand new names for the Metal Merchants lineup!

Best regards,
Sigurd, Ronny and Stian
MMF

January 15th 2009

One cancellation + stage times

A happy new year to you all! Firstly, we are sorry to announce that Trivial Act has cancelled the festival due to musical challenges. We are working on a replacement, and will keep you posted on this.

In other news, we are now presenting the band order and stage times for these two days of metal mayhem:

Friday
4 pm – doors
5 pm – TBA
6.15 pm – Enforcer
7.30 pm – Vendetta
9 pm – Beehler
11 pm – Mekong Delta

Saturday
1 pm – doors
3.30 pm – Vesen showcase
4.30 pm – Valhall
5.30 pm – Warning
7 pm – Artillery
9 pm – Hirax
11 pm – Hallows Eve

January 8th 2009

Newsletter #7 – One early X-mas present for you all!

Hello again, friends!

Time is ticking, life is grand and METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL keep on keeping on, giving you more treats to fill your awesome weekend in Oslo with.

Special Vesen showcase
Turning ten years in 2009, Norwegian thrash metallers VESEN is releasing their new album "Desperate Mindless Aggression". But before their anniversary celebration, and even before their release party, VESEN is visiting the Metal Merchants Festival on saturday January 31st to give you a taste of things to come. This will not be a full concert, but a short set of new material, and if I have a saying in it, one or two older songs. Members of the band will also be available for the press throughout the day, and if time allows it, the new album will be for sale. If so, get it first at METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL!

Official website
MySpace-page

Regards,
Sigurd Finkenhagen, Ronny Finkenhagen and Stian Finkenhagen.

November 18th 2008.

Newsletter #6 – Full lineup feat. HIRAX!!!

Joy to the metal world, people. Here is the latest news from the northern defenders of great metal and the eternal underground.

As stated from their homepage, www.blackdevilrecords.com:

HIRAX began in Los Angeles in 1984, but because of the weak metal scene in their area, they spent most of their time playing in San Francisco along with Slayer, Metallica, and Exodus, who were all part of the exciting new metal emerging from the Bay area. The original lineup was Katon W. De Pena (vocals), Bob Savage (guitar), Gary Monardo (bass), and Brian Keith (drums). They released a four-song demo in 1984. Their songs at the time were more similar to the metal bands such as Saxon, Tygers of Pan Tang, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal period. This demo was widely circulated and the band became known and respected worldwide through the metal tape trading underground.

The rest is, as usual, history. HIRAX is what METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL is all about. Staying real, staying tough, staying METAL, Katon and his crew will come to Oslo to do the METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL. Those of you that surprisingly haven't decided yet, now has no more reasons to stay home the last weekend of january. With HIRAX completing what we would call an excellent lineup, this is what you can expect so far (but still with a surprise or two up our sleeves, you shouldn't wait any longer with ordering your tickets from mail@metalmerchantsfestival.com):

HALLOWS EVE
HIRAX
ARTILLERY
BEEHLER
MEKONG DELTA
WARNING
VENDETTA
VALHALL
TRIVIAL ACT
ENFORCER

DJ crew: Geir Fosby (High Voltage Radio Show), Götz Kühnemund (Rock Hard Magazine), Fenriz (Darkthrone and Tyrant Syndicate) and Leif Kringen (Scream Magazine).

The place is still Kanonhallen in Oslo, and the dates are January 30th and 31st.

We can also inform you that APOCALYPTIC EMPIRE RECORDS will show up with plenty of great merch, as well as official merchandise for the bands and the festival. Festival shirts can also soon be ordered from the METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL'S webpage.

Until we meet again and the case is solved, as a wise man once said,

Best regards
Sigurd Diablo, Ronny Diablo and Stian Diablo
METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL

November 3rd 2008.

NEWSLETTER #5 – LONG LIVE THE LOUD!

Hi again, friends and metalheads!

Ticket sales for the festival is up and running, and it could be the time to order YOUR tickets for January's METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL now. Just drop us a mail at mail@metalmerchantsfestival.com, and we'll send you the payment details.

In addition to the last DJ, Norway and Scream Magazine's own true metal guru, Leif Kringen, we've got a real treat for the real headbangers amongst you. From Canada we've got four blokes by the names of Dan, Al, Sean and Scott. The two first mentioned of course original members of legendary EXCITER, but more important now, they're one half of maniacal thrashers BEEHLER, who have decided to pay us all a visit in january. We've got a hunch that the set list won't entirely be consisting of BEEHLER demo material, so if You're a HEAVY METAL MANIAC, You know just what to do! This leaves us with the following billing so far, but still with one more band to come;

HALLOWS EVE
ARTILLERY
BEEHLER
MEKONG DELTA
WARNING
VENDETTA
VALHALL
TRIVIAL ACT
ENFORCER

DJ crew: Geir Fosby (High Voltage Radio Show), Götz Kühnemund (Rock Hard Magazine), Fenriz (Darkthrone and Tyrant Syndicate) and Leif Kringen (Scream Magazine).

The place is still Kanonhallen in Oslo, and the dates are january 30th and 31st.

The last band as well as billing order will be out in short time, so stay tuned to METAL!

Please visit us at
www.myspace.com/metalmerchantsfestival


Pounding metal regards,
Sigurd, Ronny and Stian
Metal Merchants Festival

October 18th 2008.

Tickets for sale

Tickets are now for sale at Sound of Noise and Neseblod Records in Oslo. Go get them! You can also order tickets through e-mail.

September 20th, 2008

Newsletter #4

Hi again, friends!

A couple of updates for the METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL.

First of all, we're proud to announce classic Norwegian stoner doom band VALHALL to the billing, for the first time live on stage (or alive at all) in years. A big treat for us personally, as we go a long way back with the band, and we feel it's our duty to help you all hear the great VALHALL.

Besides that, the new and refreshed homepage is now up and running with the help of KB at www.multipleks.no, and ticket sales will start next weekend, on september the 20th. Tickets will be available through the webpage and the record stores SOUND OF NOISE and NESEBLOD RECORDS in Oslo.

So, with only 2 more bands remaining, this is the lineup so far:

HALLOWS EVE (US)
ARTILLERY (DK)
MEKONG DELTA (GER)
VENDETTA (GER)
WARNING (UK)
VALHALL (NOR)
TRIVIAL ACT (NOR)
ENFORCER (SWE)

DJ's: Geir Fosby's all MAUSOLEUM RECORDS extravaganza, Götz Kühnemunds international true metal recordspinning circus and Gylve Fenriz Nagells "just visiting the civilization since I'm always camping" special!

We hope you all agree with us that this is turning out to be one hell of a lineup, and are looking forward to seeing as many as possible of you in Oslo january 30–31st.

Best regards
Sigurd Swordmaster, Ronny Rampage and Stian Skywalker
of METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL

September 14th, 2008.

NEWSLETTER #3

Greetings!

We have yet another update for the METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL, Oslo, january 30-31 2009.

WARNING (UK)
From England comes the brilliant traditional doom trio WARNING, the band behind the critically embraced and genius work "Watching From a Distance". We are quite proud to welcome Pat Walker's gang to Norway, and this will not be soon forgotten by Norwegian doomster fans and travelling friends from all over.

HALLOWS EVE (US)
Many of you has (rightfully) suspected what band lurks in the shadows of the METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL. And you were right... There aint no fucking stars, but this is as close as you get in our opinion, as we await the tellers of terrors.

If you were in doubt earlier, we hope these two magnificent bands help the scale tip our way.

Also, the page http://www.myspace.com/metalmerchantsfestival is now up and running, so feel free to add us, as well as visit us on Facebook. The homepage will also be up and running in a few days now.

So, until next time, THERE ARE NO RULES!

Sigurd, Ronny and Stian
Metal Merchants

August 1st, 2008.

Metal Merchants Festival at
Darkthrone's official MySpace blog

Our good friend Fenriz aus Darkthrone gives us a helping hand and guaranteed quality-time also inbetween the live-acts. Greetings and hails to the old geezer!
See the blog here.

NEWSLETTER #2

Hi again, and welcome to the 2nd newsletter from the METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL. Some additions to the lineup along some other updates.

- German thrash veterans VENDETTA added to the bill. Go and live... Stay home and suck!

- Tech innovators MEKONG DELTA will join the party! You wouldn't wanna miss this!

- Homepage will be up within the first week of august.

- Tickets for sale medio august.

- Logo and poster will be presented at the time of the famous HOLE IN THE SKY festival in Bergen ultimo august.

- Two of four well known classic metal dj's are booked, names to be revealed with poster.

- Myspace page to be finished and regularly updated together with poster release.

Best regards,
METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL

July 23rd 2008

NEWSLETTER #1

It is time to honour the nearly forgotten, the soon rising, and the always underground kinds in the metal world. Therefore we are very happy to present to you the three first bands for next years festival, which is held at KANONHALLEN, Oslo, january 30-31 2009. Any questions can ble sent to this email.

As for tickets, they will be available asap after the summer holidays. Still, tickets can be pre-ordered at mail@metalmerchantsfestival.com, but there will be a NOK 10 fee for postal coverage using mail. Tickets for picking up, will be at the brilliant SOUND OF NOISE shop in Oslo from a later decided date. The prizes will be NOK 250 pr. day / NOK 400 for the whole weekend (approx 31/50 EUROS).

Merchs, stands, and of course BEER will be represented at the festival. The venue will be open in good time before the concerts starts, for all you shoppers out there.

There will be a fine mix of old and new, small and big names, and much something for everyones liking. Therefore we wait no longer, but give you the three first names for METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL 2009.

ENFORCER (SWE)
The most eager of concert audience have already taken ENFORCER to their hearts. This Swedish speed metal band has taken a new generation of Exciter-fans off their feet, and we promise you that "Mistress From Hell" and other heavy metal anthems from ENFORCER will not be soon forgotten.

TRIVIAL ACT (NOR)
I know there are people out there getting goosebumps reading that name on a live billing. Sound sleeper TRIVIAL ACT, doers of Norwegian prog metal classic and critically acclaimed "Mindscape" didn't hesitate long before accepting our invite to MMF. Neither did we, when the prog metal pioneers accepted!

ARTILLERY (DEN)
Oh yeah. For the first time since the early 90's, danish dynamite and thrash veterans ARTILLERY will come to Norway. And they will play. Fast. Hard. And they will win!

So people, mark january 30-31 in your schedule, and get ready to party the old school way!!!

Best regards,
METAL MERCHANTS FESTIVAL

July 9th 2008