Never Say Die - Black Sabbath

Hellz yeah! \m/

Good evening Legions,

As I was updating myself about the recent occurrences within the world of Metal, I stumbled upon an interesting analysis, done by Tom from Terrorizer, about the upcoming return of the legendary Black Sabbath. Some of the questions discussed by him include:

Will this BS (Black Sabbath, that is) be an updated version of Heaven and Hell, with Ozzy?

If so, 

Do we really care? 

Or , 

Are we willing to compromise for the sake of having them back for good?

Will they be too rusty to play live?

If so,

What do we do?

What about the upcoming album? 

No pressure, right?

Either way, I will let you come up with your own conclusions.

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Never  say die - Black Sabbath

By Tom from Terrorizer

Will the Black Sabbath reunion end up being heaven or hell, and does it matter? We discuss.

So, the dust is beginning to settle on the Black Sabbath reunion. They're back, love it, like it, loathe it or not give a frozen fuck (I had never heard the expression frozen fuck but from now on I will be on a never-ending quest to use it - MM) about it. They're headlining Download and doing a new album (amongst other things). But will the founders of heavy metal be heaven or hell? Will they master reality or sabotage their legacy? Will I run out of shitty Sabbath-related puns by the end of this post? [Oh we hope so...- Ed]

Broadly, there are two entirely separate issues here. The first - will Sabbath be any good live? - should be a no-brainer up there with "do heavy metal fans like beer?" and "is 'Diabolus In Musica' a festering sack of shit that should be listened to by no one with ears and even the vaguest vestige of sanity or taste' ?". It's Black fucking Sabbath, ladies and gentleman.

Is there really anyone that doesn't want to see this again?

It's an occasionally overlooked point that this whole heavy metal malarkey that those now-legendary musicians invented probably wouldn't have taken off the same way - if at all - if Sabbath hadn't been stupendous. They may be revered as pioneers, but the "pioneer" bit is not a slightly backhanded compliment in the way that it sometimes is with other genre progenitors. "They did it before anyone" is not a sentence with a pregnant pause implying "...but someone else had to come along and perfect it" in this case. Black Sabbath did what they did perfectly (Amen to that - MM).

Those tunes haven't got worse in the act's absence. The reality is with this band is that they could play the first five albums in their entirety, back to back, and wouldn't leave an obvious place to run to the bar or the bog. More relevant, we know Tony and Geezer are in superb live form from their outings with Heaven & Hell (RIP, Ronnie - we still miss you), and Ozzy's in a better state vocally than he's been recently - not that it really matters, as the crowd are likely to be roaring the songs back at the band so loudly any bum notes or wrong words will be inaudible. Bill Ward's form is a bit of an unknown, but let's have some faith that he's still got it. Over and above all this, the band appear outwardly to be happy together, which should avoid any System Of A Down-esque looking-they-hate-each-other cringe-induction.

In short, their headline show at Download should fucking rule, whether you've seen them before or not - and, if we're honest, for a generation of metal fans that's probably "not".

This is what Tony and Geezer did last...

Another matter entirely is the prospect of a new album. The form guide leaves a fairly large margin for error. 'The Devil You Know' is killer, but in part that's down to Dio's astounding voice. 'Scream' was good, but there were precisely no songs you'd ditch 'Electric Funeral' or 'Hole In The Sky' from a live set to make way for. In reality, we don't have a fucking clue what will happen next - they haven't done an album together for nearly 34 years. Putting that into context, this month's cover star Shagrath was one year old at the time, Motorhead only had the one record out, black, death and thrash didn't exist yet and Dave Mustaine hadn't started any feuds yet.

...and this is what Ozzy did. Draw your own conclusions.

The album could end up being anything from Sabbath's 'Cold Lake' to their finest hour (admittedly unlikely, but possible) and everything in between. But when you get right down to it, that's not really the point.

The point is that this is likely to be the final chapter of heavy metal's first band, and one of its very finest. It should be great, but even if it isn't, at the very least it's a momentous set of events. Bring your cameras.

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-Stay Metal- 

MM Dre-dnklschwrz MMXI

THE EYE OF THE TIGER - Vital Remains

Dobyi vecher Almighty Legions,

I'm feeling Russian this evening for some odd reason (I may be craving a White Russian, or maybe 5 for that matter. I'm talking about the alcoholic beverage by the way, before you start speculating...).Before calling it a night, I am compelled to share with you some of the shots I took at the Vital Remains concert, in the city of Bogota, this past Sunday evening. Even though I have expressed several times that these are perhaps not the best shots I have ever taken (this Mama place, yes the same one from the HxC shows, is a really tough venue, particularly when you are not allowed to get close to the stage), people have responded quite well to them, which obviously makes yours truly really happy. As a matter of fact, they will be featured on the Factor Metal website this week -Hooray! Additionally, Mr. Tony Lazaro himself has chosen one of the my shots as his profile photo on CreepBook. EPIC WIN!

Overall remarks about the show:

I was left speechless by the band. Mind you, this was my first Vital Remains experience and, well, I must admit that it was quite exciting, and rather rewarding. Beside the band's quality, let me reiterate as I have expressed several times already, watching a Metal show in a country like Colombia is a bonus. The energy of the fans, the overcrowded venues, the gory mosh pits, the contentment of band members, among other factors, makes every single show an unforgettable experience! Oh, how I love this country... And apparently I am not the only one. 

As I was sharing tobacco with Mr.Gator Collier, he expressed the same passion for this nation, by unconsciously and voluntarily becoming an Ambassador of the Colombian Tourism campaign: Where the only risk is wanting to stay (By the way, I have seen this ad in airplanes, at the airport, on billboards, on buses, on TV, you name it... Call me crazy but I don't know if the genius behind this campaign is fostering a self-fulfilling prophecy in our heads on purpose (Either way, it has had its desired impact on me and on many other foreigners).

Yes, This campaign. If you have not seen it yet, Click Here

Aside from the it factor provided by the Latinness of the situation, the guys are truly committed to their music, as they have continued working for their fans and not for the sake of pleasing a record label, as it tends to happen quite often. The fruits of their efforts can be seen during the shows (well, at least I saw them this past Sunday). Something that I will always find gratifying, as one cannot simply deny one's roots, is their support and admiration for the Latin American scene, which happens to be a devotion of yours truly -sigh. Oh and, by the way, the guys are incredibly authentic, which becomes a relief when dealing with many artists. Even though I have been relatively idle when it comes to that aspect, I will never forget what dealing with a Metal Diva (I refuse to give names... oops!) feels like. In other words, it was a pleasure sharing air with the guys from Vital Remains. I truly look forward to my next VR experience |m|

For now, it's time for me to leave you with a song that is expected to break havoc anywhere, anytime. Please join me in headbanging motion, as we press play on the next track. 

One more thing: the Metal Horns are sooo last century. What's cool now a days is THE EYE OF THE TIGER! If you don't believe me, ask them ^.^

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

11.11.11 is National Metal day!

Happy National Metal day Legions! \m/

Damn Right we have a Holiday! \m/

It was about time that someone (anyone organized enough, for that matter) got their beans together and declared a National celebration that would unite us all across the borders. Hooray for VH1 (even though every time I flip the channels and I end up in VH1, all I see is associated, in one way or another, with some serious booty rubbing/shaking and some fucker singing about how he wants to screw a woman - or multiple women, as he claims to have the stamina required- through every single orifice in her body... Charming, isn't it?)! While I rejoice here in my chair, daydreaming about how I am going to break havoc this evening, let me share with you what 11.11.11 is all about:

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Taken from BW&BK - VH1 Classic proclaims 11-11-11 as National Metal Day, a day-long celebration of all things Metal. The metal bonanza begins November 1st, 2011 with metal-focused concerts, specials, movies and videos each night leading up to grand finale on 11-11-11. On National Metal Day catch the highly anticipated premiere of Banger Films' groundbreaking documentary series, Metal Evolution at 10 PM ET/PT. 

Nobody is more metal than VH1 Classic," said Ben Zurier, EVP Programming Strategy, VH1 & VH1 Classic* (NB: I personally don't agree with this statement but w/e, they are getting shit done around here - MM). "Celebrating National Metal Day on 11-11-11 gives us a platform to honor metal artists, and take metal music one step further than anybody has before. We've lined up a tremendous collection of concerts, movies and specials, highlighted by the brand new series Metal Evolution"– the ultimate history of metal and the larger-than-life characters who have written it." 

Kicking off the countdown to National Metal Day, VH1 Classic will program The 11 Days of Metal, beginning November 1st, 2011, featuring one of metal's most influential artists each night. Artists including BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA, LEMMY, MÖTLEY CRÜE and more will be showcased in various VH1 Classic concerts and specials. Programming details will be announced in the coming months.

On National Metal Day, 11-11-11, metal maniacs can catch the premiere of Behind The Music Remastered: MEGADETH at 9 PM ET/PT followed by the premiere of Banger Films' (Metal: A Headbangers Journey, RUSH: Beyond The Lighted Stage) groundbreaking documentary series Metal Evolution at 10 PM ET/PT on VH1 Classic. The premiere episode of Metal Evolution will focus on Pre-Metal, the earliest sounds of metal that can be heard in the music of LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and JIMI HENDRIX. Subsequent episodes of the series will explore genres ranging from British Heavy Metal to Glam Metal to Thrash Metal, and artists from IRON MAIDEN to KISS to Metallica and more. New episodes of Metal Evolution will premiere every Friday night at 10 PM on VH1 Classic. 

Metal Evolution is an 11-episode docu-series produced by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn of Banger Films and is based on the groundbreaking Heavy Metal Family Tree. The Heavy Metal Family Tree is a 26 sub-genre genealogical chart which reveals the vast complex progeny of heavy metal – from early metal and shock rock to thrash, from progressive metal to grunge and nu metal. Using the chart as his road map, host/producer and metalhead turned anthropologist Dunn, crisscrosses the globe exploring the vast history of heavy metal across its 40+ year history and beyond. From bars and back alleys to the biggest open air festivals, Dunn will visit the pioneers of British and American hard rock who laid metal's sonic foundation, as well as the current leaders of contemporary metal. Whether you love metal, documentaries or just great stories, Metal Evolution will be the ultimate examination into the history of heavy metal music. 

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That does sound like a plan VH1! Thank you kindly, by the way. On a side note, if there is one person that knows how to educate us and entertain us both at the same time, when it comes to Metal, is Sam Dunn. I have a great admiration for his work, because he starts off from his humble fan perspective and then goes beyond that, in a way that, at least to me, makes me feel included in his Metal Journeys. Moreover, the fact that he is the sweetest man alive makes me like him 3 times more. 

Whether you choose to be a couch potato, order a delicious pizza and educate yourself at home, or you choose to be a bit more productive like yours truly, and commemorate this day by ingesting unbelievable amounts of booze, lest we forget about all the martyrs that have sacrificed their lives to bring us an important part of who we are today.

Lest we forget

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

Photo Update - Leishmaniasis

Servus Mighty Legions,

All apologies for going MIA once again. Yes, I know I should stop doing that and not neglect this stupendous blog, but you know, shit happens.... You will be glad to know that my disappearance has not been purely in vain, as I have been working like a dog. Still, I have managed to spare some time to honor our glorious Metal -yes, yours truly is the queen of multitasking, sometimes. 

I am hoping to share the findings of my sporadic quests very soon, but for now I ought to focus on some serious proposal writing, completely non-Metal related unfortunately (yes, very sad but someone is gotta save the world, you know!).

On a more interesting note, I am here to share some of the shots I managed to capture at one of Leishmaniasis' rehearsals a few months ago. Yours truly had never worked in such an enclosed space, but that was not an issue. The guys were practicing for their upcoming album, and all I can say about that is that it is going to be freakin' brutal, which serves me some serious pleasure. I thought about capturing a tiny little sample to delight you but I thought that would have been a bit too abusive on my end, so you will all have to wait 'til the record is out.

In the meantime, enjoy injuring your while headbanging to Whore Smashing Hammer (Romantic, eh?).

Below, the shots I promised ^.^

-Stay Metal-

MM Dre-dnklschwrz MMXI

Divas of Metal: The Colombian Chapter - Laura Paez

Greetings Almighty Legions,

And now, all the way from her comfortable bed in Bogota, Colombia, Yours Truly would like to report some serious Metal activity after being part of an event titled A Night of Pleasure at the Rottenblock (or Cuadra Picha, as it is most commonly known around here) this past Saturday night. Initially, I had gone for two reasons:
1. One of my new friends, whom I like to call Rocio Nocturno, was organizing the gig and made me promise her over a month and a half ago that I would attend, and
2. To support a friend's band who does a tribute to Manowar, called Pleasure Slave.

In all honesty, Manowar and I are in absolutely no way compatible, so whatever I say about the tribute itself will be completely bias and unfair to those who do enjoy that kind of music. Thus, I will reserve my opinion of the tribute to myself, and encourage you to check it out and see whether you like it or not. However, one is still ought to show some support, specially here, as bands really put their hearts and souls into what they do. On that note, I give the Manowar tribute an A+ for effort :)

Moving on... I had no expectations, whatsoever, about the bands that were going to play at the event. From what I was told a few weeks ago, I was to expect some Thrash, some Death and a serious Black Metal cult band, c'est-à-dire. After such vague description, all I could truly do was to go with an opened mind, bring lady camera along, and be alert to any surprise that potentially awaited for me.


I got there at around 8:30pm, which was supposedly an hour and a half after the show was scheduled to start. As I have mentioned before, this country and punctuality are not exactly synchronized, so as you may expect, the show had obviously not started by the time I arrived to the fine venue. By then, there were only around 20 bodies inside, which was not surprising at all, given that on that same evening another show was taking place on the other side of the city (Oh, it was just nothing, you shouldn't mind it, really. It was only Spain's most GORE-FIC BRUTAL DEATH METAL BAND OF ALL TIMES, AVULSED -so, nothing really...- Jesus "Sweet Lobotomy" Christ! GOD DAMN IT times 87256! and I FUCKING MISSED IT. I DESERVE NOTHING LESS THAN TO HAVE MY EYES EATEN BY CARNIVORE PLANTS AS LEMON IS POURED ONTO THEM, UGH!).


Anyway... back to where I left off (I am still trying to get over the last parenthesis). While waiting for Lethal Warrior to finish setting up, I made my way towards the bar and purchased a delicious beer just to kill sometime (that beer became more like 5, by the time the band managed to get its beans together. It was quite challenging not to succumb to the arms of pleasant sleep at that point; yet I gathered all my energy and remained awake like a champion ^.^). After a while of having my ears continuously bombarded by annoying feedback due to an awful sound setup, the band started playing what seemed to be a cover of Metallica's Seek and Destroy. Fair enough, there were some coordination problems among the musicians, and quite frankly I really think that even a band like, let's say Cannibal Corpse, would have had issues with that atrocious sound engineer. Anyway, that was something I was willing to overlook due to various reasons:

1. As I just mentioned, I had the alcohol of 5 beers running around my circulatory system, making me quite  forgiving and understanding,

 

2. I really, REALLY, like that song and the fact that they chose to open with it was a nice thing to do, and

 

3. I had bigger problems at the time, as I was trying to figure out a way to protect my eardrums from the horrendous feedback, which apparently was a challenge impossible to overcome by the person in charge of the sound. Jesus "Ouch, my fucking ears are bleeding" Christ.

So, back to the band. Something I had completely forgotten to mention (which is the main point of me writing this entry. Pardon me silliness) was that the band playing this spectacular song had two vocalists: a dude that looked like a Slayer fan and a lady with really long hair, fine facial features and a Gothic corset. First thought that went through my head: I am about to hear something that will probably sound like Nightwish or Tristania, which was not the frame of mind that I was in at the moment (had you asked me at the time, I would have said: Fuck that shit and I want my money back....), as I was looking for truly raw Metal.

Anyway, the music started:

♫tuntun tada tada tadadada

♫tuntun tada tada tadadada

♫tuntun tada tada tadadada

♫tadadadadad, tuntuntun tururu♫ 

And then goes the part of what usually sounds like James Hetfield going: 

Alright!♫

We are scanning the scene ♫

in the city tonight. ♫

...

♫

Not in this case (no, the lyrics weren't changed, but there was no sign of Hetfield influence). The voice that emanated from that stage sounded more like freakin' Martin Pedersen from Visceral Bleeding. Sweet Mother of Kirk Hammett and Rene Iguita! I was so perplexed that I even tried to associate such gruesomely awesome voice to the male counterpart of the band, yet after paying close attention, I realized all the power came from the lady singer. I got goosebumps from the excitement. 

I mean, how often do we come across a lady that does incredible guttural singing, without sucking some major African member? Yes often, but certainly not always. Pardon me if this sounds a little sexists, but the most extreme divisions within Metal are truly not meant to be sung by women, especially when the end result turns of to the something like Kitte (ew...). Fortunately, every rule has its exceptions, as it is seen in the following cases:

Ms. Angela Gossow from Swedish DM legend Arch Enemy 

Otep's Shamaya

Canadian Melodic Death Metal Queen, Alissa White-Gluz from The Agonist (Canuck Pride All the Way!!!)

Maria "Tristessa" Kolokouri, from the Greek Black Metal Band, Astarte

Bolivian Queen of Melodic Brutal Death Metal, Zdenka Prado, the lead vocalist of Cincinnati's Estuary

Candace Kucsulain from Walls of Jerico

Viktoria Belikova from Russian Nu-Metal Band, Save

Grindcore Princess, Mallika from Marlborough's Abnormality (this girl kicks some serious derriere!)

Pyrrah's Lead Vocalist, Christine P. Newman from my very own Toronto, Canada (Canuck Pride, all the way!!!!!)

Josephine, ex-Decompose my Dying Daughter (filthy naughty Brutal Grind)

And the list goes on (and yours truly is quite happy about that, by the way). This time I am thrilled to introduce a new name to the list above, and even more excited to announce that she's 100% Colombian product:

World: Meet Lady Laura Paez, Colombia's Death Metal Diva!

Her name is Laura Paez and she's the lead vocalist from Thrash/DM band Lethal Warrior from Bogota. The power behind this woman's vocal ability goes beyond anything I have ever seen live (hence me writing about it), and believe me, I have seen plenty. Even though things didn't work out that evening for Lethal Warrior, as an ensemble, I must express my contentment about having been a part of the event. Fortunately enough, I witnessed her full potential last night, as we ended up having a few drinks after Congregation Fest, where lady Laura and Mr. Bizzarrio from Cuentos de los Hermanos Grind had a full-on Brutal duet to Metallica's Enter Sandman. Oh, the power of booze makes moments like this priceless ☺.

From what I was told recently, they are working on a video and on more music, which will be posted on their Myspace website. For now, I will leave you with a rehearsal video of the band playing Seek and Destroy (the quality may not be the best, but I hope you are able to get a good grasp) and with the photos I took at the show.

Hails to the Diva of Colombian Death Metal! |m|

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

It's finally Friday and I feel like Death, do you? - Scream Bloody Gore

Good Morning Legions,

After surviving a hectic week, overloaded by work and running on a drained body due to the Oreo Cookie show this last Tuesday, here in Bogota (some like to call them Panda bear, either way they kicked ass and, FYI, I will be blogging about how I survived an Immortal show in Colombia, this weekend), I cannot help it but to be excited about a day like today. Hooray, It's finally Friday! That being said, it's time to get your Metal On |m|

Even though I should be getting ready for work as we speak, the Friday factor has encouraged me enough to spare at least 30 minutes of my morning to recommend some marvelous things for the day to come.

This past weekend, I had the chance to attend a festival called Independent Night, at a place called Bbar, located in the area of Chapinero. Main reason for going: Simple, to see my beloved Aire Como Plomo (that's a whole different story that I will not get into at this moment; otherwise the 30 minutes mentioned above will become more like 50 hours).

Either way, I was fortunate enough to come across a kick ass tribute to American Metal legend, DEATH, who opened the night at Bbar. These guys are called Scream Bloody Gore and watching them on stage was just like seeing Chuck Schuldiner's spiritual energy. Jesus "Spiritual Healing" Christ! In other words, Holy Shit times 5.

Mind you, yours truly never had the chance to see Death in concert, but from seeing all their freakin' videos, I say that this tribute band is probably the closest thing I will ever get to seeing Death live. In other words, I am quite pleased :)


I was trying to fetch a video on Youtube and this is what I came across:

Pretty, eh? Mind you, the sound quality is not the best but it is certainly not bad.

Since I was armed with valor and my beautiful lady camera, as I often am, this past Saturday night, I did manage to capture some of their mightiness through my lens (Hooray for me!). There aren't many shots, though, and the reason behind it is that I was too busy taking my bloody time headbanging to their music. That's probably something you would have done had you been there, right?

I shall keep my eyes and my ears open to get a chance to catch them again (hopefully at a bigger-better-lit venue, to bring you some fantastic audiovisual material). For now, you will have to settle for the videos available on Youtube and some of their music, which I found on their website.

Have a Frickin' Gory Friday!

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

Photo Update: Pitbull At Teatro Metro

Before calling it a night, I must leave you with the shots from Pitbull's Concert last week at Teatro Metro, in Bogota.

Enjoy :)

-Stay Metal-Fraulein Andrea MMXI

Pick of the Day: Binging on Max Cavalera

Saudações Mighty Legions,

I am really enjoying the language greetings BTW ^.^! On a completely different note, I honestly cannot believe it is already October 9th, can you? As my dear Barney Greenwood would say: Time Waits for No Save, which is exactly how I feel at this precise moment. Thus, it is crucial that we do not let go of this day as if it didn't matter. On that note, I have been craving a serious overdose of omnipotent Metal, which can only be satisfied by the best of the best, and who would be better at the task than Brazilian legend, Mr. Max Cavalera.

Aside from the whole debate of whether or not Sepultura lost its essence after Max left, and whether Derek Green (whom I truly admire after seeing him live in Toronto) will ever be 10% of what Cavalera represents, I have decided to stay loyal to band regardless. I have also followed what Max has been doing afterwards, including his new band Cavalera Conspiracy (which kicks some serious derrière), as well as his musical contributions to other projects. My favorite being the song that I will be recommending on this lovely evening.

Before I get into the song, I will tell you a bit about the album itself. American Metal (the word Metal becomes questionable, when you sign a band like Nickleback and decide to include it under this particular genre...) record label Roadrunner commemorated its 25th year anniversary by putting together an album, called Roadrunner United: The All-Star Sessions, with la crème de la crème among their artists, which include Joey Jordison of Slipknot; Dani Filth from Cradle; Andreas Kisser from Sepultura; Mr. Glen Benton from Deicide; Mikael Akerfeldt from Bloodbath and Opeth; Dino Cazares of Fear Factory, Asesino and Divine Heresy and formerly of Brujeria; Robert Flynn of Machine Head and formerly of Vio-lence and Forbidden, and OBVIOUSLY Mr. Max Cavalera, among many others. I hope that painted a pretty picture in your head and if that didn't, well, I honestly do not know what would (and you should suffer a horrible death). I mean, just imagine seeing all these masters playing incredible music on the same stage! That right there, my fellow Metalhead friend, is a situation where many of us would consider giving away one of our limbs just to be able to see it happen (at least I know I would give both of them without blinking. Fortunately, for the sake of mankind, and for my own well-being, I own the DVD so we can skip all the gory details about how I would be delivering my arms to the HQ or RR).

I personally think every single song in this compilation is a masterpiece in its own way, BUT because tonight is a special night that we all wish to remember, I feel that Brazilian flavor is the only thing that will satisfy my deepest headbanging desires (and hopefully yours), I have picked the 7th song of this album, called Independent (Voice of the Voiceless), whose lyrics were written by Master Cavalera himself. The masterminds behind it include Robert Flynn, Jordan Wheland (Still Remains), Jeff Waters (from Canuck Pride Annihilator ^.^), Christian Olde Wolbers (Ex-Fear Factory), Andols Herrick (Chimara), and of course, Mr. Max Cavalera as front man. From the bottom of my heart, I had been meaning to post this song for a while now, but quite frankly, with all the things going on around yours truly, I hadn't found the time to do so. La-voilà! Please join me, as we all headbang to such an incredible tune. Enjoy |m| 

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

Recommendation of the day - Fleshgod Apocalypse

Ciao Onnipotente Legioni,

This morning I did not wake up feeling completely Italian by the way. However, as it has become quite usual, destiny had a piece of pie waiting for me to munch on it (I really don't like pie, maybe the metaphor would work better if life offered me a slice of Pizza on pesto sauce, with sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese, roasted red peppers, fresh tomatoes, and tons of spinach. I would probably accompany that with orgasmic creamy garlic sauce from Pizza Pizza. Oh Life, how I would love thee if that were true).

Either way, as I was trying to work on some stuff, one of my Care bear friends took the time to disturb my peace (thank you kindly Care bear Javier) and sent me a marvelous song that led me to the publication of this short, but very important blog. Unfortunately, I have been experiencing monotonousness syndrome, and thus, I don't think I can completely elaborate on my thirst for new sounds. As much as I love music, I was getting tired of listening to the same 5 songs on repeat (particularly after being ipod-less and berry-less for over a month). Thus, when the time is right, I have to highlight those tunes that simply rock my world and make me want to continue gasping on air. This time, it is my pleasure to share with you Italian Tech. Death Metal sensation, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and one of the songs from their latest album Agony, called The Violation.

This song is brought to you by the letter T, as 9 out of 10 songs in this album start with the letter T, and eight of them have the word "the" at the beginning of their title. I really wonder why.

So I went ahead and clicked away on the link sent to me. What I heard at first was something that reminded me of another great band known as Thou Shalt Suffer, whom I had not heard in a while (By the way, anything associated directly with Ihsahn has my sign of approval). Yours truly started getting quite amused. The atmosphere of the song starts as something rather obscure and wintry, highlighted by the presence of cellos, which slowly introduce the sound of a higher pitch violin - It gets arousing. As I continued listening, the pleasant melody gets even more beautiful as an oboe is introduced into the song. At this point, my imaginary phallus climaxed. The melody starts picking up its pace, into what seems to be a slow get-away (picture little red ridding hood trying to be as quiet as possible, to avoid being eaten by a huge-ass wolf), which rapidly becomes a desperate escape on tippy toes. I was really drawn into an intense trance when my fantasy was suddenly torn in a rather delightful fashion by the brutality of Death Metal (climax times 2).

I am usually very skeptical about melodic introductions to violent riffs, given that in many cases it becomes a make-it-or-break-it factor that can either draw me me madly towards a song, or simply disgust me like there is no tomorrow. Timing is key, yet it is not everything. It all comes down to the it factor, which is what makes a band great, and not mere pot-smashing, tile-scratching noise followed by distorted voices.


After watching and listening to The Violation several times (that statement right there sounds really comical hehe), I find that what makes this song so magnificent is the fact that both streams -heavy and melodic- accompany each other throughout the duration of the song and do not let go of the other. It is as if they where both ballroom dancing, and depended on one another not to screw up. Each one takes the lead at a given point, but also yields, almost voluntarily, to the input of the other. That's brilliant! At the end, the classical instruments finish it off very glamorously as if directed by a great Conductor. Meanwhile, the more aggressive side of the band culminates in an equally elegant fashion- touché Now, if what I just said is not enough to convince you, it may be time for you to take a look for yourself:

-Stay Metal- 

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

The Epiphany of a pointless war - Serj Tankian

Servus Almighty Legions,

After working steady and hard for a few hours, I decided to take a break before going out to fetch myself some lunch. I went on creepbook to see what people were up to at this time of the day and to ensure that the world is still revolving around Social Media. To my surprise, I stumbled upon a rather interesting video: Serj Tankian's Empty Walls. My reaction: What a macabre piece of reality. I decided to outline this exact reaction below, starting off by saying that, in no way am I against what he portrayed. Yet, I am still quite shocked and I think it is absolutely necessary to continue producing materials with such strong context, as we all have become so bloody desensitized by the issues that surround us day by day.

The video starts off at what looks like a regular day at kindergarten, where children are playing and being all gay (not that kind of gay, you turt!). There is a girl playing with cubes and building some towers, and on the other side, there is a boy playing innocently with a small airplane. Add them up and, voilà, shit hits the fan - that was something I kind of saw coming, but did not dare to foreshadow for the sake of my mental health (I don't like it when I find myself lost in conflict-induced/inspired thoughts). After the fall of the towers, the situation in the innocent classroom got quite agitated. Tanks, bazookas, grenades, and somewhere in between an analogy of the day Sadam's statue fell and the way the crowd danced around it signaling victory, are included in the video. There is even a part where some children recreate a situation where intruders go into someone's home, and soullessly "shoot" an innocent "man" in front of their family. My jaw dropped with astonishment.
  

As cute and cuddly as children in this video may be (I don't know if I want to go as far as including Serj in that statement), the context goes beyond fun and games. Empty Walls reminds me of the first time I was looking for an internship and came across one at the Gaza Strip, where a grassroots organization was working with children being raised in a war environment. One of the aspects they included in their needs assessment was that children (as young as 5 y/o) were constantly recreating the armed conflict between Arabs and Jews within their games, due to PTSD. I would have loved to get involved but unfortunately it was not as easy as it seemed.

Violence has always prevailed among childhood games, particularly among boys, but this video goes beyond that. It reenacts a reality, from a different perspective that would disturb even the most perverse mind. I am not attacking Serj's idea in anyway whatsoever. On the contrary, I think what he did here is absolutely brilliant and I am still pleased to know that musicians like Serj take the time to expose the issues that many do not dare to even acknowledge. This is the case of the United States of a Godless America. I cannot stop wondering how the younger generations perceive conflict and how they will eventually act upon it. It is as if we were already too accustomed to all the useless violence around us. The bottom line comes to whether there is really a reason to stop it. That is, after all, the world we have been raised in and if those in charge could care less about the lives of the innocent and helpless, why would we? That, right there, is indeed our terrifying reality.

The last scene in the video is a reinforcement of the tragic actuality that is fueled by a pointless war, where the death of thousands of innocent beings has yet become a way to justify the prolongation of conflict: a coffin covered by an American flag being put away by soldiers, right in front of the same kindergarten where the action was taking place. Deep...

I apologize if what I wrote above seems like ranting in a way. I truly couldn't let this one go and I felt that, as a citizen of this world, I needed to share, not only my opinion, but the video itself, in the hopes to raise some awareness about events that we may otherwise ignore. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Serj.

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI