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

Moonspell's shots from the Portuguese Festival in T.O

Good evening fellow Metalheads,

I have finally updated my Moonspell set on flickr with some of the photos I took during their performance at this year's Portuguese Festival, at the Trinity Bellwoods (I know, it took me for ever...). I have not finished uploading all the shots, but I do hope to be up-to-date before Wednesday.

In the meantime enjoy the ones posted, while you listen to the following song:

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

Dar A Cada Uno Lo Que Es Suyo - Photos

Before I fall into delicious REM, I gotta leave you with the last set of photos I took at the Amistad Para Todos show.

This band is called Dar a Cada Uno lo que es Suyo and they kick serious ass. In all honesty, when it comes to HxC, my style fits more along the lines of Abismo and Pitbull, but I cannot simply say that these guys can be overlooked because that would be lying.

Either way, I shall let you be the judge on that one:

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

Pitbull's Photos

Good Evening Legions,

As promised, I am posting the shots I took of Pitbull. Enjoy :)

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

OHAI from the Land of HxC (Part II) - Pitbull

OHAI again from the Land of HxC: Bogota, Colombia!

Justice to my new experience will not be made if I selfishly highlight only one of the various bands that I got to see this past Saturday – No Sir. As I mentioned previously, aside from having formerly established a commitment to go see Abismo, the main reason I wanted to be at this show was to finally see the guys from Pitbull. This wish of mine goes back to 2007, when I first developed a cyber-friendship with Edgar de Castro (the band’s guitarist) and I started promoting their album at the radio station.

Even though I had not had the pleasure to personally meet any of the band members, to me Pitbull was more than just a noisy band with screaming vocals. It was a statement against injustice and a way to promote equality in a world that has undermined the fact that we need more people with the same thirst for change. I got closer to the band’s ideology after one of their members, Julian Prieto (Requiescant in Pace, amen) got murdered by a whole bunch of minds, whose frivolity of thought empowered them to end with the life of another human being, for absolutely no reason (and even if there was one, the means do not justify the ends). Little kids whose lack of direction never allowed them to see the repercussions of their actions. To this day, I am not exactly sure what happened to them (I would much rather not share my opinion with regards to what yours truly would have liked to do to these beings). I wouldn’t be surprised if they are still roaming around the streets of Bogota, as that is the justice of a country that has no memory. Many people already forgot about that day; I did not. That is because, in the most humble way possible, Edgar sent me a set of words to tribute an irreplaceable mind, a friend, a son, more than a band member a brother, a human being, just like you and I, whose light could not be extinguished in vein. I never met Julian, but I did shed more than a tear for his lost. Even though four years have gone by since his lost, this is my way to give tribute to Julian. You will never be forgotten.

As sad as that last paragraph was, let’s try to get back to the joy of HxC, the one that got me on this blogging-binge in the first place. Sooooooo, where was I…? Oh yes, I was really pumped up about this HxC thing that I had just discovered (thanks to Abismo) and I just wanted to see more – Yes, I’m Hardcore like that, how suiting ^-^. It was like a bad craving, where I just could not get enough. I met with Edgar outside the venue and he took me backstage, where I got to say hi to the guys from Abismo and after that, I found a terrific spot about 10 meters above the stage. Perfect for shooting (of the photographic kind, that is). I took a few photos of the band that was playing, and got to see an interesting perspective of how the fans display their loyalty to their idols; the way they sing along, the way they mosh, how others who don’t want to mosh kick the shit disturbers, and such.

The moment that I had been waiting for came: it was Pitbull’s time to get on stage. They grabbed me and I got the balls (I probably borrowed them from one of the girls who was moshing) to get on stage. The moment they said hi to the crowd, the whole Mama roared… Jesus “HxC Lion” Christ! They started playing and it was like a dream come true. There was a moment when I wanted to cry but I couldn’t look like an absolute sissy, particularly while being on stage. The kids started to get on the stage and the energy was so strong, it was practically pushing me off the stage into the crowd. I managed to capture some incredible shots that I will be posting very soon; I just have to go through a few things (color-correct and such) and they will be available for your viewing pleasure in no time. In the meantime, I will leave you with a video of the show. The song is called Todo Nunca es Todo (Everything is never everything)



BTW, Look who is in a skirt taking photos ^.^

When Daniel (whom I enjoy referring to as Pupi – meaning snob, even though he ain’t really one, it’s just me wanting to bust his balls. Maybe one day he’ll let me borrow them to mosh like they do here) speaks, the crowd listens. He becomes kind of like an icon that everyone respects. His words go beyond just wanting to rock on; it’s really more than that. There was a moment were he spoke about injustice and about how killing each other because of different musical tastes is thoughtless and moronic. Killing another person simply because he wears a Metalcore shirt is not alright (Really? Damn). He went on to illustrate, with such authority, what the real problems in the world are. He talked about the issues that do not face most of us on daily basis: farmers being displaced by the armed conflict, innocent civilians being killed for no reason, people killing each other because of different political ideologies, and things like that. Those are the real problems of the world. The crowd listened and supported his message. I was flabbergasted, not because I didn’t think he could utter those words, but because of the way they were being conveyed. Suddenly, I wanted to just hug him and cry and thank him at the same time for sharing such a strong message with the rest of us. I did nothing, but I do owe him that hug.

Later on, he asked for 30 seconds of silence to honour the memory of Julian, and aside from one drunken bitch that just wanted to be the center of attention, everyone submitted. My eyes watered. It was a beautiful moment and I am very glad I got to be a part of it. Looking back on this whole experience, I think I got a bit too emotional, which is something I usually don’t face during a concert. I know there is going to be a next time when I’m going to get even more emotional, and that will be the day I finally get to see Aire Como Plomo playing live. I will make sure to bring a box of Kleenex that day and not to wear any dark make-up.

They went ahead and played Irreversible and something inside of me just wanted to explode. Definitivo, Negativo, Irreverisble… and Jesus “Slam-dancing” Christ, the fans started going BANANAS! What a terrific feeling, I demand at least 10 encores and I want them NOW GODDAMNIT! 

After the show ended, I had the chance to meet with some of the guys and everyone was so incredibly content. Some were already slightly intoxicated, some others were on their way to become slightly intoxicated, and there I was… fully sober (thanks to a rock-&-roll night that left me with a horrendous hangover, which I am still trying to overcome – Mind you, it’s already Wednesday). We shared our experiences of the show and I just couldn’t stop talking about how amazed I was. Some dared to question the amount of shows I have attended (I didn’t bother refuting their opinion), some others wanted to hear more about it, and some were curious about the photos taken. Overall, I was just pleased to be part of this whole episode. I made some new friends, each of whom has a very interesting spark. I am really looking forward to the next time we meet, as I really believe there is more to experience about the Bogota HxC scene through the eyes of those who still believe in making music from within.

-Stay Metal-

Fraulein Andrea MMXI

OHAI From the Land of HxC - Abismo

OHAI from the Land of HxC: Bogota, Colombia

Never in a million years did I think that I would EVER say this, but HxC kicks some serious ass, particularly the one made in this city -It freakin’ rules! Jesus “Madball” Christ (or should I say, Jesus “Abismo” Christ?), I had never been to such an incredible concert as the one I attended last Saturday at the Mama Place. As I mentioned in my “warming-up” entry, I was a bit sceptical about this new experience for many reasons (the lighting, the groupies, the not-so-groupies, the music, the lack of booze available inside, my inability to bring in tobacco, etc, etc…), but you know, what the hell, especially after wanting to see my buddies from Pitbull for so many years (Disclaimer: Pitbull is a Hardcore band from Bogota. Do not mistake with the reggaeton singer, as it may cause some serious thrombosis to sensitive brains).

After seeing Abismo’s video, Odio, I was quite interested in witnessing at first hand exactly what the band’s capacities and public aptitudes were while on stage. Even after the video, I was still not fully convinced about HxC. To me, the presence of this scene in my life would never go beyond a friendship bond, which includes supporting band I could never truly like. On this note, I think it is vital to start telling my experience from the beginning, because every single detail of this story is absolutely crucial. Failing to comply with the details might inspire me to perform hara-kiri on myself for not painting in your mind exactly what I saw (believe me, it means a lot to me. You may not understand but I really HATED HxC).

So, I got to the venue at around 5pm (remember how I mentioned that shows at the Mama are a freakin’ matinee?), even though I had agreed to be there before 3pm to see Abismo (their show actually started at 5pm sharp. Hooray for Latin American unpunctuality ^.^) but a terrible hangover won over my desire to be on time. Once I finally recovered, I got myself together and not even knowing what to wear, I gather the most neutral outfit I could find (you don’t want to piss off anyone around here and that includes the groupies, the punks, the OIs, the ironic neo Nazis –oh yes, those ones are here too- or anyone else for that matter).

45 minutes later I got off the bus and walked up to the venue. Unlike the previous show that took place a week ago, where everyone was outside hanging out, drinking beer, smoking one substance or another, this time there were less than 5 individuals outside. At this point two thoughts went through my head:

1. The place is dead

2. The place is packed

I was hoping that it would be more along the lines of somewhere in between the above speculations, simply because an empty space is great for photographic purposes. After all, there was only one way to find out, so I bought my ticket at the door, where a young lady recommended I took good care of my camera (unnecessary piece of advice, but highly appreciated), after telling me that more than one person had evacuated the premises because of Mosh pit injuries. Little did I know that fun times awaited...

Obviously, as I walked into the venue, I realized that it was absolutely packed. From the previous show I learned that great photos can be taken from a level above the ground. On each side of the main area at this Mama place there are two scaffolds (to me they look fully improvised but who knows, they may be a legit part of the design) that apparently resist more than 50 people each - betcha no one knows how, but that's absolutely irrelevant at this point. Something else I have learned in this country is that one does not need to ask for permission to do anything; you simply go ahead and do it. Oh, and something else: an Excuse me is completely useless; only those who push prevail.

As I mentioned before, I walked right on time to see Abismo. I found a great angle to see the band, to take decent photos, and to watch how the fans physically demolished one another in a brutal Mosh pit. The band started playing right away, and this is where the true HxC Colombian experience begins. Mind you that where I come from, the concept of band is basically a euphemism for elite and back-off-bitch-I'm-popular-and-you-are-not attitude. Not here. The band had not been on stage for over 5 minutes and suddenly, what began as 4 people on stage, became 50. Jesus WTF Christ! I could not believe my eyes and I also couldn't stop wondering what these 4 individuals felt on that stage, as they watched an entire venue, not only accompanying their songs, but freakin' stealing the microphones away from the front man and the backup voicalists. Once again, only those who push prevail.


The energy transmitted throughout this entire eco-system was unbelievable: the frenzy of the fans, the soul behind every song the band played, everyone wanting -and being able- to crowd-surf, the freakin' girls moshing harder than men with moves that not even Jean Claude Van Damme could pull off, and yours truly completely in shock. I can bet my left pinky that no one in that place was experiencing what I went through. I mean, I have seen so many different bands, in so many different venues, in so many different cities, but I had never seen anything like this. It was INSANE! The only thing I could possibly do was simply watch the show and document it through my lens, period.


I don't know if HxC fans headbang (nor do I care), all I know is that I couldn't stop headbanging and feeling how 3/4 of my body wanted to jump into the crowd (I actually saw someone do that BTW) and rock on as the band continued to shed all its energy among the people present at the Mama (good thing I still have 3 rational neurons left in me that do not let me act on desire during critical times like this). I am still astonished about the whole show and very much in love with Abismo and I could go on and on and on and on about them and my first HxC experience, but I will leave that for another occasion.


However, there is one last thought that I would like to leave you with. Bands like Abismo, and all the other HxC bands that shared the stage this past Saturday have one thing in common that many bands (yes, Metal included) have lost. They are still making music from the inside-out and not the other way around, and that is what makes a tremendous difference. That is the main reason why fans go above and beyond to support these bands and, in this case, to push their way through to get to the vocalist and scream the lyrics of a song into a microphone for everyone to know that they are proud to follow a group that still does music because they both (band and fan) truly believe in what they are doing. They make music from the heart and it becomes obvious that regardless of how popular they may get, they will always remain faithful to the main reason that led them start a band, in the first place. To these bands, my eternal respect, admiration and loyalty.

- Stay Metal 

Fraulein Andrea MMXI