Dozer Continue 20th Anniversary Video Series
Swedish heavy rockers Dozer press on with their 20th anniversary video series, this time bringing out classic tracks from their second and third albums, performed live in their hometown of Borlänge, Sweden, and in Helsinki, Finland. Both recorded in 2002, possibly a couple nights apart, I suppose, the songs featured are “Rising” and “Soulshigh,” both of which exemplify the shifts the band was going through at the time. Though they had a consistent lineup between them of guitarist/vocalist Fredrik Nordin, guitarist Tommi Holappa, bassist Johan Rockner and drummer Erik Bäckwall (later replaced by Olle Mårthans, seen in the photo above), 2001’s Madre de Dios and 2002’s Call it Conspiracy were wildly different records.
The former continued in the desert-minded style of 2000’s debut, In the Tail of a Comet, but with their third outing, Dozer pushed further into their own brand of heavy rock and roll. Riffs were still at the center, as “Rising,” which was the second song on that record, demonstrates, but there was more adrenaline. The songs on Call it Conspiracy hit harder, were more intense, and that would be the model, by and large, that Dozer would develop through their two subsequent LPs, 2005’s Through the Eyes of Heathens and 2008’s Beyond Colossal. What’s most striking about watching “Rising” and “Soulshigh” back to back is just how quickly that switch happened. It was the next year. It’s not like Dozer let it sit for three years and then decided to change things up sound-wise. I’d love to know what drove that shift, whether it was something conscious on the part of the band, and if so, motivated by what.
I don’t have that answer, sadly. I do have two live Dozer videos that the band put up as they continue to celebrate their 20th anniversary, so I guess that’s no reason to complain. Check those clips out below, and please enjoy:
Dozer, “Rising” Live in Borlänge, Sweden, 2002
Dozer, “Soulshigh” Live in Helsinki, Finland, 2002
20 years is a long time but it sometimes feels as yesterday when we started the band back in 1995. In the following weeks we´ll be putting up some live footage from these past 20 years, recorded with a simple camcorder, so bear with us that the audio and video is not top notch. We enjoyed watching these old vids anyway and hope you do too.
Soulshigh live from Helsinki, Finland 2002 supporting Henry Rollins.
The song Rising from Peace & Love Festival, Borlänge, Sweden 2002.
Tags: Borlange, Dozer, Sweden
Perhaps they dont read this site , but if they do…
… a new album guys !!!!!!
cmon!!!!!!!!
Lowrider are the other band that is taking forever to have a new album out , I have been waiting like two years by now since they annouce their plans to release a new one.
Just imagine if Bowie were waiting for that :(
“I’d love to know what drove that shift, whether it was something conscious on the part of the band, and if so, motivated by what.”
Hi, there wasn´t an outspoken plan to change the sound or anything as far as I can remember. We just wanted the new record to sound better. We rehearsed a lot in those days and focused on writing new songs all the time. Some songs on CIC were written on the road. We rented a rehearsal space in Belgium for example, for at least two days there on some days off on a tour (the foundation of Man Made Mountain was written there). We also used some of our soundcheck time to work on some stuff ( Feelgood Formula being one example). CIC also marked the first time we worked with a real producer (Chips K) and that made a huge difference I think. He spent time in the rehearsal room with us, making suggestions and questioning. I think he made the songs sound a bit more to the point. Cheers – Erik, former drummer of Dozer
Hi