The Miscellaneous Goings On Of Tom - Fjordhammer's 200th Post Special! ⚒️

🎉 FJORDHAMMER'S 200TH POST! 🎉

Seems like yesterday that I was setting up this blog to discuss my love for music and review the albums I love and the new music that was being shown to the world. It's crazy to think that a year and a half on I've had 8,000 page hits across the world, been retweeted/shared by some of my favourite bands, been approached for reviews and made connections with PR companies whilst having a platform to promote my own music as well. It's expanded beyond my wildest belief! So, thank you all for continually supporting Fjordhammer, long may it continue! Even though the world is going through a tough time, I want to thank Coronavirus for giving me the time to invest into my music and blog this year whole heartedly and find my love for it again. I'm now sat here as part of a highly ambitious doom/sludge/stoner/psychedelic rock/metal duo in the form of Witchwood Wizard & The Psychic Yeti and a continually growing community with my blog. So in that sense, lockdown has been very kind to me as I've been able to read my books, listen to loads of music and write, record, and produce an album (release date TBC). I've also started a life changing process that will see my finally exorcise myself of the mental demons that have been plaguing me for years, already I have noticed a significant change in myself. I want to thank all my friends and family that have helped me get to this point and start a process that should have begun much earlier. One think I've learned is that it takes balls to face your problems and take them head on, but in the last 3 weeks especially I've absolutely started upper cutting the bastards. It's not been all plain sailing though, with various easing of lockdowns and government endorsed confusion I've made my opinions very clear over the past few weeks. As I prepare myself to go back to work, for a company more concerned about its profits than it's people, now is the time for me to ride the accomplishment wave and reflect on what I have managed to do over the last 3 months.

It's also strange to think that we are now part of a dark chapter of history, but, any future historians who have dug this up from an archaic web archive, there have also been positives. We've started the fight for change to dismantle the 400 years of systemic and institutionalised racism through the Black Lives Matter movement. Also, the music community has banded together to save our industry and our venues. I have whole heartedly followed and pledged to the #SaveOurVenues and #LetTheMusicPlay campaigns launched by the Music Venues Trust and UK Music respectively. I have pledged to save my favourite pub and venue in Bristol, The Gryphon. In the last 3 months, I have shown myself how passionately I want to be in this industry and how much I want it to survive, it has given me new determination to write words and music that show my support for the right to express my art. Community is a word over used and meaningless these days, but today I feel it, all of us do. No matter what confusing Government rhetoric comes out, we the people have all stood up to it and challenged with devastating effects. We have all that to reflect on, and as my 200th post now proves, we're a determined generation.

On another note, I've also grown a kickers moustache in this time, and I am absolutely loving it!

What I'm Listening To At This Very Moment

Some of Bristol's finest punk. This has probably been one of my favourite summer songs this year, along side Mother, which has the best lyric I have heard for a while that relates to all of the UK, "The best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich". Definitely a band I've really enjoyed shouting along to at the top of my voice. 

What I've Been Jamming Out To This Week

I've been listening to a vast variety of things this week. However, I have been revisiting some of my Bath College roots of my guitar playing and listening to a lot of Clutch, safe to say I had some ideas generated out of it and there is a song waiting in the wings. Anyway, Clutch have always resonated with me with Neil's seemingly nonsensical lyrics having quite deep meanings from my perspectives. Also, I love his voice, some rough soulful notes come out of that voice box. I also love their brand of stoner rock, there is always a solid groove to move your head along to and they are just ultimately a feel good band for me. One of my favourite albums has to be Strange Cousins From The West, because Motherless Child is an amazing opener. Having seen them live in 2016, I've realised multiple times that I need to see them live again.



Making My Way Through The Norse Sagas

One of my last furlough spending blow outs has been on various books contains various sagas, its's cost me a fair bit but I am lapping up the reading material like no tomorrow! I've almost finished Jackson Crawford's translation of the Poetic Edda and I've enjoyed it exponentially. Reading the myths in the style they were originally composed in, originating from the Oral tradition of storytelling is quite moving in some ways, as it feels like those people are speaking to you directly through their alliterative poetry. Its also been good to spend my money on educational things and not beer, although my Northern Monk subscription box has been outstanding the last two weeks!

🍄 Witchwood Wizard & The Psychic Yeti🍄

As some of you may have seen, we revealed our new logo on Wednesday, and we couldn't be more prouder to show off The Yeti's face! It has also felt like it has cemented our status as a band, and it feels so rewarding to be making the decisions and taking the right steps to take the project live. It makes me so happy to think that a few bedroom demos recorded just before and in the beginning week of lockdown has turned into a band with a mind of its own. Me and Sabrina have invested a lot of time in creating a world for our music as you shall soon see, and it's glad to see it have so much backing so early on. I want to thank everyone who has supported our musical endeavour so far by liking the page and streaming our debut single Deep Rooted Black Magick (Available on all major streaming services and Bandcamp, the latter you can download the song FOR FREE!). Keep spinning the single you wonderful and awesome people, and don't forget to pre-save our next single Witch, Wizard, Warlock which is out 13th July!

Deep Rooted Black Magick

⚒️What A Year And A Half For Fjordhammer Music! ⚒️

It's honestly been a whirlwind year and a half that has had a rollercoaster style of ups and downs but I'm so glad that I stuck at this blogging stuff! The blog is in such a great place right now, so my biggest and most humble thank yous' to everyone who has taken the time to read a review or have a look into my crazy ass mind! So you can have this picture of me sat in a tree the other day as a present, keep rocking, keep shouting for what you believe in and big love to all of you! 🤘🖤