The cabin was surrounded by all manner of strange artefacts: flags, Arctic hieroglyphics, old drums and reindeer hides, rusty axes, saws, a huge pile of timber. The roof of the cabin was decorated with carved animal skulls and bone sculptures. Thick black smoke curled greasily from the iron chimney. The wind and snow had ceased completely, and when we cut the ice bikes’ engines a supernatural silence descended. I looked at the night sky. I could hear the North Star – it sounded like Chinese wind chimes. The aurora borealis threw gentle swathes of colour against the Prussian blue infinity. I thought I was at the most desolate and most beautiful place on earth. The air smelled thousands of years old. Peace and tranquillity. Egil’s reindeer-skin boots squeaked in the tight snow as he walked to the cabin door. We followed him in to his brother’s home.
We are greeted by barking dogs and what can only be described as a seriously inbred Lapp leprechaun.
The little smiling guy gave me a high five and asked me if I dug Metallica. I was dumbstruck.
music Van Halen - Fair Warning Van Halen - II Van Halen - 1984 Van Halen - Gene Simmons demos Van Halen - Van Halen III (weird one...) Old LaTense recordings
books Ian Christie - Everybody wants some: The Van Halen Saga
music Nifelheim - Envoj of Lucifer Svartsyn - Timeless Reign Bonnie Prince Billy - I See A Darkness John Coltrane - Transition Sunn0))) & Boris - Altar Stereolab - Switched On
books Sven Lindqvist - Myten om Wu Tao-tzu
movies Letters From Iwo Jima Inland Empire The Planet Earth series
And then it happened. Leviathan stirred in the Stygian depths of a black ocean; beachboy Apollo glided across the heavens on a gold surfboard drawn by swans; mountains imploded and stars fell from heaven. I left my body and circled the earth three times, faster than the speed of thought; snap, crackle, synapses popping like an electric toaster. Wagnerian Valkyries riding Harley Davidsons side-saddle sped across the Milky Way, lactating; the sun went nova; black lightning showered red sparks and set my hair on fire; the bible spontaneously combusted; a million angels sung hosannas to the sphinx. The past, the present, the future and something sideways spun backwards on a huge golden merry-go-round; the pantheon of every god and hero ever invented danced amongst the wooden horses. The pinball machine of creation banged out twelve million replays. I was speeding faster miles an hour on a moebius rollercoaster, twisting infinity. The music of the spheres had a Rock ‘n’ Roll beat. Teams of tag-wrestling Buddhist monks on flying carpets sent me reeling backwards with double cosmic clotheslines and I understood everything and nothing.
Retired: Jesper - drums Andreas - drums Ola - vocals
Biography
Started 1997 in a northern suburb of Stockholm called Upplands-Väsby, the breeding place of giants Europe and Candlemass. The big move to the city tightened the punk attack and LaTense started terrorizing the clubs with free flying dissonance. The pure volume and living heart attack zen punk of the band made ambulances frequent the shows. Full-length recording in 2000, pure fucked up passion. Bumping heads, wrenching arms, tearing thoughts, blabbering screams, shows with three to 150 people. Always full throttle, never backing off. Sadly, it came to an end. But the noisy beast keeps coming back to life. In 2007 it is resurrected with new blood added to the mix.
LaTense is about: the randomness of pop culture and namedropping, general philosophy and narrow outlooks on life, the noise of yo mama, the punk of jazz, the ugly entertainers you might find in the gutter of beauty, the pat on the head and the stab in the back.
A little bug with large wings. The punk of zen-poetry.