Merry Christmas to me ^.^

To commemorate this year's holiday season I decided to be selfish enough and get me gifts instead of cherishing my loved ones (or at least that's what I tell myself, to justify my lack of economical fluidity during this gift-giving season). Beside, isn't the world supposed to end in exactly two years from today? No point in being egoistic with one's self... right?   

Inspired on that mentality, I gave myself a pre-Christmas gift today, which was completely unplanned for, but has kept me smiling all night long ^.^

I got meself a copy of Cradle of Filth's Cruelty and the Beast, S.P's Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (which I think was the equivalent of Muse in 1995) and the latest edition of Decibel, which has a crap-load of interesting bands I had completely forgotten about. Now THAT'S a gift!  

Merry XMAS Dre <3

-Stay Metal-

MM Dre - dnklschwrz, 2010 

Tribute to Drowning Pool

Today is Humor-me Friday ^.^
I just stumbled onto this amazing video on Asher's Blog and literally ROFL (well, more like Rolled on my bed laughing).  Enjoy!Have a Brutal Friday night

 -Stay Metal-

MM, Dre - dnklschwrz, 2010

GIMME MORE Black Metal!

Good evening legions,

As my academic semester comes to an end, I find it easier to focus on exploring new musical horizons, in the hopes to share some interesting things with all of you. I myself get bored of listening to the same 3 songs over and over again, so I like to venture into little musical quests ^.^ 

Tonight I wasn't particularly looking for anything; it came to me on its own... Really! The band that caught my attention came into existence in 1993 in the city of Bialystok, Poland. They disbanded in '98 but reunited in '03 (best move they could have done, for the sake of great Metal). If I had to choose one word to describe them it would be BADASS!

Enough of the mystery; I am talking about Hermh.

 Even though I have had their music for two years, sometimes it isn't obvious to me at first how great certain music can be. It only takes a bit of time to appreciate. This is a great example of what I would call musical serendipity. On that note, I must admit that I did not know much about them before the release of their latest album Cold Blood Messiah (2008), which came to me when I was still the Music Director at CSCR Fusion Radio.  What really stroke me was how flawlessly they managed to incorporate both Atmospheric and Symphonic elements into their style of Black Metal. Simply incomparable. Even though their previous releases were more of a fusion between Gothic and Black Metal, what they accomplished on their latest album is a balance not only hard to achieve musically, but also hard to come by as a fan.


 I personally enjoy the almost-Gregorian choir in songs such as Instrumentum Diaboli,  Lord Shall be Revealed,  I Bring you Fear, Eyes of the Blind Lamb (SIMPLY BREATH-TAKING BEAUTIFUL, by the way) and finally, my personal pick of the day: Hairesis.  The video left me completely speechless. Not only it is as good as the song; it also has that emotive feeling behind it, which makes it more engaging. So, I have posted it below for you to enjoy.

  
As Far as I know the band has been relatively inactive for the past year and a half. The last thing I heard was that the vocalist, Mr. Bart Krysiuk, made an appearance on Vader's version of Black Metal (Venom Cover) on their 2009 Necropolis. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly hoping that they are secretly working on something that will leave me completely astounded. Until then I shall wonder into their older releases for the sake of comfort.





-Stay Metal-MM Dre - dnklschwrz, 2010

Last acknowledgement of the evening

Before I either forget or run out of inspiration, there is one more band that needs to be acknowledged before I call it a night: Exodus 

I am very comfortable speaking about certain kinds of music, certain genres of metal but I am well aware that thrash metal has never been my strength. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until very recently that I started  paying attention to this genre. Before that, I refused to even recognize it as something worth of my time. Now that I have started to think about it, this all may have to do with May 3rd 2006, which was the first time I saw Exodus in concert. I remember I was moving out that day and The Governor invited me to go check out Exodus at the Lee's Palace.  The only thing I remember from that concert, aside from falling asleep and getting stepped on by a guy who was like 6"3 (mind you that yours truly is only 5"4) was getting a cool sticker, which eventually ended up on the lid of my laptop at the time.   This may be the reason behind my serious aversion for Thrash metal. Either way I am glad it's slowly fading away. 

Anyway, that whole blur came up because I wanted to illustrate how the fourth track of Exodus' The Atrocity Exiiibition - Exhibit A continues to drive me up-the-wall insane (in the best way possible) every time I hear it.  The song is called Children of a Worthless God.   I would never hesitate, not even for a slight second, about recommending this song to anyone, whether or not you happen to be a Metalhead. The power of Gary Holt's guitar riffs and the energy behind Rob Duke's voice have what it takes to create that one song that you will never get tired of listening to.

For that reason, I am still awake writing about it in the hopes that next time you are searching for a song that will make you feel alive, you will consider listening to one of my favorite songs of all times. I shall leave you with the song so that you can check it out for yourselves and discover the mighty energy of some great Thrash freakin' Metal!

-Stay Metal- MM Dre - dnklschwrz, 2010

Daily Pick: Cuentos de los Hermanos Grind

Beloved legions, 


Before getting into details about why I am recommending the following band, I must admit that I should get into the frequent habit of keeping up with the blog. On that note, I would like to thank all my recent visitors from Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Slovenia, Russia, Colombia, Canada and the US for staying loyal to my not-so-frequent posts. I would have never expected such a diverse audience. A billion thanks for your support \m/

Now, let's get into our first order of business. 

And today's recommendation is... Cuentos de los Hermanos Grind, from my very own Bogota, Colombia. 

In all honesty I have not paid the this band the attention they truly deserve; however, the few songs I have heard are absolutely mind-blowing brutal! Forget about Aeon or even Devourment for a second, this band has absolutely nothing to envy the great ones of the genre. On the contrary, the fact that they are still relatively unknown gives them a sense of authenticity that would be questionable on any mainstream band. I personally do not know the guys but it doesn't take rocket science to see that their intrinsic drive to generate only the most extreme metal is what makes them so appealing.

I still must confess that I am not entirely crazy about their lyrics but like a true Brutal Death Metal fan once said to me, at that level of musical complexity you cannot expect lyrics to matter. On that note, I guess I should be grateful this band is actually talking about something as opposed to simply screaming onto a microphone.  

Musically speaking, CDLHG has what it takes  to satisfy the craving for great Brutal Death Metal.  I recommend them to all those people looking for new and obscure bands.
 I give this band **** stars.

I shall leave you with  one of their videos, titled  "La Caperuputa y el Lobo Culion"

- Stay Metal -

MM Dre - dnklschwrz, 2010

Cradle of Filth makes a come back, really?

Definitely exam time is the best time to blog about more interesting things, such as music and new album releases.

Oh boy, where to start!? Oh yes, the almighty Cradle of Filth... ^.^

Personal perspective:

Since the release of Midian (2000) I have been skeptical about their new musical direction. Damnation and a Day (2004) had a few interesting songs but not enough to make a tremendous impact (no point of comparison between their earlier albums, of course). Then, there was Nymphetamine... which is when I really started to question whether or not to give up on their music completely, as they seemed to be focusing on selling albums rather than making real music. The only track I would save from that album would be Nymphetamine (Overdose); the rest are really fillings and a way to justify the release of an album. After that there was HOPE, or at least that's what I thought at first, with the release of Thornography, but once again I was not completely sold on it. I enjoy listening to songs such as Dirge Inferno, The Byronic Man, The Foetus of a New Day kicking and for a while Temptation, but at this point I wonder if my acceptance for those songs has to do with my loyalty to the band vs. whether or not I really like those songs. Regardless, I have kind of gotten used to listen to them.

As I was hoping that some weird ass miracle would take place and they would come to their senses eventually, before releasing a new album, Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder came out when I was least expecting it. I listened to it once, twice, three, four.... and who knows how many times, really, and I could not find it attractive! Aside from the theme behind it (and the whole Gilles de Rais story narrated by the spectacular voice of Doug Bradley), there was NOTHING appealing about it, not even the artwork... To tell you the truth I was hoping for great raw-ass-demented COF but once again they had let me down. Out of loyalty, and aside the fact that I was interviewing Mr. Dani Filth himself on January 20th 2009, I went to the show ready to rock on but to my disappointment (and to illustrate the discontentment of the crowd) I was the only one screaming for an encore (very sad indeed). That night Satyricon stole the show completely and even though my beloved COF (yes, I am still loyal to them) was the main act, at least 40% of the audience was gone before they were done their set. I think you got the picture.

Anyway, back to discography and possible HOPE. I just found out that the band had released their ninth studio album titled Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa about a month ago. I have been kind of too busy to keep track of new music, so I got very excited when I found out about it! Before listening to some of the main tracks, I stumbled upon a few interesting reviews where the album seems to be that very-expected comeback. This build up even more expectations and right now I am glad I chose the right track to begin with: Lilith Immaculate Comments: Truly refreshing, indeed! That makes me think that not everything has been lost. I have been listening to the other tracks of the album and they are very decent. I am very VERY content at the moment with my recent discovery, HOWEVER there is one thing that already bothered me (well, actually two things): "Forgive me Father (I have Sinned) and ITS TACKY VIDEO! Yes, we know you guys are doing incredibly but honestly, could you not have come up with something more creative? High Definition does not automatically make it better. I would much rather you used the same quality of The Ghost in the Fog, which looks a lot more macabre and authentic (for lack of a better term).

As usual, I am willing to give Cradle a second chance (or this may actually be the fifth or sixth chance I give them) to get their act together and to stop messing around with ways to make their music more appealing to a general audience. I will be at the Sound Academy on February 26th 2011, hoping to see the COF that made me fall in love with songs such as From Cradle to Enslave, The Forest Whispers my Name, To Eve the art of Witchcraft, A Gothic Romance, Malice Through the Looking Glass, Haunted Shores, Cruelty Brought Three Orchids, Her Ghost in the Fog, Creatures that Kissed the Cold Mirrors among many other great classics. The same Cradle of Filth that made me say WOW to Hollowed be Thy Name, which got me into countless arguments with many Iron Maiden fans about which one is better (I will always think that COF outdid that cover!).

Quoting an old saying: "Amanecera y veremos..."

Dre - dnklschwrz -2010

Greetings after a period of sabbatical

Fellow Metalheads,

I acknowledge that I have been away for quite a while, and for that i would like to apologize. Now that school is coming to an end it has been hard to focus on other things that are still crucial to my life. Nevertheless, i realize i have left this space behind and i think i should make up for the absence. Just bare with me for a few months and i will be back on track bringing you some exciting metal news, for now i only have one thing to talk about:

Rammstein!

From their latest album “Liebe ist für alle da”, this German super monster has released the video of their single “Ich tu dir weh” (I hurt you). After watching this, could only picture their upcoming Canadian performance that will take place in Quebec City at le Festival d’été on July 18th of this year! So far, this is the only North American performance that the band has scheduled so far. There are rumours that the band will be touring around North America during the fall, but we’ll have to see about that.

Tickets will go on sale on April 28th and online tickets will be available on May 1st. More details about the festival itself are to be released during the last week of April. Keep an eye on the website for more details.

I have never been to a Rammstein show, but since I recall, i have always dreamed about the chaos and the energy that only they can create through the entire show they put on. I own the Live aus Berlin DVD and there are some really wicked scenes about their previous concerts, which simply make me drool! I am very excited about this opportunity and I can't wait to get my tickets and head on an unforgettable journey to see them LIVE before the idea of breaking up is reconsidered AGAIN... better safe than sorry ^.^

I will leave you with the video, hope you enjoy it as much as I did.





-Stay Metal

MM