Resisting the Urge to Self Indulge

If I had the luxury of being self indulgent at the moment, this would be high on the priority list. Sometimes I can't resist the urge to online 'shop' for things that I can't actually afford. Especially when most of the gothic-styled clothing that I like tends to come from Britain and other European countries. 

(While this is supposed to be a metal blog, it seems appropriate for a female metal head to have a post or two about clothing...)

Living Dead Souls Magenta gothic dress

A Game Of Pagan Metal

Like seemingly everyone else, I have watched a few seasons of Game of Thrones, and have managed to read most of the novels in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. Thus, I found these to be quite interesting, and wished I could have found larger copies of the images:

As far as I can figure from wading through the unfamiliar waters of Tumblr, the images originally came from here:
http://song-til-stormen.tumblr.com/post/57526516169

Top Ten Metal Trends That Sucked

Upon going through some old Metal Hammer magazines, I came across a top ten list that may cause a bit of a chuckle... 

From the February 2009 edition of Metal Hammer:

Top 10 Metal Trends That Sucked

1. Spandex

Even the most attractive and well-proportioned genitals fail to make this skin-tight nightmare add anything to the metal scene other than a new level of horror.

1. Rapping

Rage Against The Machine made it seem like a decent idea. But then every chubby berk in massive strides decided to have a go. We cheered when it stopped.

1. Make-Up And Hairspray

As much as we love Mötley Crüe and Poison, did they really have to look like mutant glamour models after a car accident? We were never confused. Honest.

1. Pretending To Be Evil

Ooh, he’s standing in the forest! Ooh, he’s scowling! Ooh, he’s waving a fiery torch in the air! Ooh, his name’s Tarquin and he’s late home for his tea. Pillock.

1. Actually Being Evil

A bit of inter-band rivalry is one thing, but stabbing up a fellow musician because he called you ‘pooface’ is really pushing it. We’re looking at you, Varg. Behave!

1. White Metal

These days, Christian metal has somehow shrugged off it’s general air of 

über-lameness. But did anyone ever take Stryper seriously? Sweet Lord in

heaven, no!

1. Loincloths

It doesn’t get much more metal than Manowar. However it doesn’t get much more homo-erotic than Manowar wearing tatty bits of cloth around their oiled-up 

nadgers. Yikes.

1. Cybergoth

 Nothing dates faster than half-arsed visions of the future. And nothing looks more

eye-rapingly dismal than grown men with ratty dreaklocks wearing rubber string vests. Cybergit, more like.

1. Comedy Beards

Blame Scott Ian. Blame that bloke from System Of A Down. Whoever started it, the beards-plus-dye look is never going to stop sucking. Fact.

1. Kung Fu Dancing

 One minute, you’re enjoying a nice pint. The next, it’s been jettisoned into orbit by some gurning tool in a vest. Kindly bring back the mosh pit before we get

cross.

Comedy Beards? Does this look like a comedy beard? 

Wintersun with Fleshgod Apocalypse, Arsis, Starkill

August 20th, 2013

Unfortunately we arrived too late to catch any of Starkill’s set. Having seen them within the last year, it didn’t feel like a huge loss. As most people could be overheard highly praising this band, it seems likely that the up-and-comers will be back on a future date anyways. 

Arsis delivered a fairly formulaic, predictable set. While they have albums that are quite good, it didn’t feel as thought it translated onto stage this evening. While there was nothing to genuinely complain about regarding Arsis’ set, it lacked the kind of excitement that one hopes for from a live act. Perhaps it was the slightly muddy sound and not being able to clearly hear vocals, or perhaps it had something to do with seeing Arsis on other occasions where the performance had that spark, but I just couldn’t get into their set. There were, however, numerous Arsis fans in the crowd who appeared to be quite satisfied.

Fleshgod Apocalypse was welcomed to a myriad of cheers from the audience. The presence of a female vocalist was a new, and great, addition to their live show. While the female vocals were lost for the first part of the set, they were clearly discernible by the end. Fleshgod was exciting, providing enough well orchestrated musical variety and energy to draw the crowd in. Raised fists and enthusiastic fans were abundant during the Italian’s time on stage. They worked as a well-oiled unit, incorporating vocals from several band members and never producing a dull moment. Dare I say it, but they stole the show on this night.

The headliners, Wintersun, were greatly anticipated by the crowd, appearing on stage to chants of their name and exuberant cheers. The Finns played for over an hour, with individual songs containing both faster tempos and slower breaks. While there wasn’t as much movement from the crowd as during the openers, this seemed appropriate considering Wintersun is a band that demands being watched rather than moshing to. Not being too familiar with Wintersun’s material, I still found them to be enjoyable, fronted by perfectionist Jari Mäenpää. With a sold out crowd, Wintersun left their many fans still wanting a few more songs at the end of the evening and anticipating the next time these Finns tour.

County Fair Controversy

While Godsmack isn’t really anywhere in my preferences of metal/rock music, I am finding the controversy that they have managed to cause simply by being booked to play a county fair in Jackson, Michigan, USA, slightly enraging and yet incredibly hilarious. 

Why enraging? It's not that it’s a question that even needs to be asked by any reasonable person. The people involved in this situation seem to be anything but reasonable. That’s why it’s slightly enraging. It’s another case of religious zealots attempting to force their (very wrong) opinions onto others. Metal and rock music seems to be an easy target for these ignorant types because it apparently has everything to do with moral decay, satanism and anything else unsavory. Stereo-types that are not true, as the majority of metal heads and those who actually take the time to see the person beyond the long hair and leather jacket can attest to. In fact, I have rarely seen a metal head attempt to force their views onto members of the surrounding community. Perhaps attempt an explanation, but never ignorantly force their opinion about religion (and most other contested matters) onto others. Perhaps being considered a pariah by certain segments of society has led to this, or perhaps it’s a certain type of person that is drawn to metal in the first place. 

Anyways, why should this also be considered hilarious? Read the articles and see if you don’t laugh, or at least shake your head. Some of us tend to laugh at things this outrageous, simply because there isn’t much else to do. For Godsmack to be singled out as a satanist band, and into witchcraft and the devil is laughable to begin with. I can think of plenty of other bands that would be more likely to receive this title from ignorant groups of people. (And a few bands who might actually be interested in those occult, anti-family, anti-christian ideals). The wing-nut crusader who actually wanted to have her name published in the articles (and the church mentioned) seem(s) to truly believe that allowing a rock band to play will cause moral decay in the community. How many times has that been brought forward, without any real evidence? That is what truly makes it funny. Turning it into ‘concern for the community’ instead of a personal crusade against something as trivial as someone else’s choice of listening material. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it. If you don’t want your children listening to Godsmack, don’t take them to the fair that day. Simple as that. 

The organizers of the fair seem to have handled this laughable matter in a professional and reasonable manner. They have other acts that are more ‘family-friendly’, and are responding to a request for more varied entertainment. I mean, if they’d really wanted to set the zealots and crusaders off, they could have invited Cannibal Corpse or Mayhem to play instead. 

If you want to read the original articles, they’re available here:

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2013/07/group_of_jackson_residents_exp.html#incart_river_default 

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=193013

W.A.S.P. - "30 Years Of Thunder"

W.A.S.P. - "30 Years Of Thunder"

I stumbled upon this a few days ago, and having been a W.A.S.P. fan for well over ten years now, couldn’t resist giving it a read. It’s a bit lengthy, but worth a read if you’re interested in the band. I often find it interesting to read about the thought processes that went on behind particular albums and songs, especially if I’m quite familiar with the material beforehand and have drawn my own conclusions as to what may have transpired. Making the comparison with what I think and what the artist was thinking always leaves room for more thought. I guess that’s one of the big positives about music: It doesn’t really matter if it evokes the exact same emotion as what the artist was thinking or intending, but it matters that it makes people think, or just enjoy it for the sake of enjoying something creative. 

Either way, there’s a few good tidbits in this piece. Concerning W.A.S.P. itself, I’ve never been able to figure out why they never seen more popularity in North America than what they did. As far as I’ve observed, and confirmed in this article, W.A.S.P. has always been embraced in Europe. Then again, Europe has always embraced metal much more than North America, for several reasons that I can think of that I will not dare go into...

W.A.S.P. has always struck me as harder, heavier and edgier than several of their contemporaries coming out of the Sunset Strip (and other areas) at the time. I started out my metal fandom partially by listening to eighties ‘hair metal’, and gradually moving onto what can be classed as being more true metal. W.A.S.P. was always one of my favorites, and provided the perfect bridge between the two. I would still love to see this band live. I missed them by one day (due to flights) both times I was in Finland. I missed them the last time they played anywhere near my home due to being well under legal drinking age. Maybe one day....

Still one of my personal favorite albums. 

Kalmah - Seventh Swamphony Review

Track Listing:

1. Seventh Swamphony
2. Deadfall
3. Pikemaster
4. Hollo
5. Windlake Tale
6. Wolves On The Throne
7. Black Marten’s Trace
8. The Trapper

Kalmah seems to be little-known gem in comparison to some of their Finnish counterparts. Their seventh studio album continues on in the style of melodic death metal that they have become known for.

Seventh Swamphony begins with a powerful opening track of the same title. While all of the songs flow and are capable of causing pause for thought, two tracks really stand out. Hollo slows the pace, incorporating some clean vocals to balance out the track. Hollo is a strikingly tragic track, reminiscing on the destruction that humans have caused to the natural world and likely inspired by an actual place in Finland. Black Marten’s Trace opens with a short keyboard segment that immediately piques interest and brings visions of a crisp, winter night. The marten itself is an animal which demonstrates both the ingenuity and cruelty to be found in the forests. This theme is vindicated throughout the entire album. 

The entire album pays tribute to beautiful simplicity to be found in nature, and to those traditional occupations that could not exist if the forests, swamps and lakes did not have a bounty to provide. It speaks to the brutality of the climate and the harsh reality that nature can conjure. Many of the tracks, in sharp contrast to this, show great disdain for the havoc that humankind, in a struggle to become rich and prestigious, has caused. This band, hailing from the northern Finnish city of Oulu, has provided a message that resonates loud and clear, backed by technical and catchy melodies. Seventh Swamphony is a polished near-masterpiece of melodic death metal, and well worth a listen.