Category: Jam Session
This post will be the first of an everlasting series of posts I will make pertaining to metal bands and potentially other metal-related subjects, such as tours, album releases, album reviews, lyrics, etc.
It is important to note, when I say metal, I mean, extreme metal. Therefore, I'm not referring to artists like Ac/Dc, Boston, Journey, Marilyn Manson, Skillet, 3 Doors Down,, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc. I could mean anything from as old as Black Sabbath to as new as Season of Suffering (death metal from Oregon). I will do my best to cover a variety of metal genres in my posts, but keep in mind, the majority of them will be covering the subgenres I know and listen to most frequently: death metal, black metal, and grindcore.
Without further adue, I honestly don't have any structured discussion to write about in this particular post. I am only orienting myself to the community boards, for I am a returned ZoneBBS user from 2007-2008.
Since it is specifically relevant to me at this time, I will first speak of tours coming into my domain, which is Louisville, Kentucky.
This past Tuesday, the 8th of December, at a local strip joint known as Trixies Entertainment Complex, was death metal legends, Deicide. They were directly supported/accompanied by Oregon-based death metalers Season of Suffering, as well as the local bands Stone Cutters, Savage Master, and Faithxtractor. As mentioned above, Season of Suffering hasn't been in the metal scene for too long. Their first extended play, Annihilation Race from 2010, was relatively impressive. However, with the recent release of their debut album, Devolve to Extinction, I'm almost certain their fan base immediately sprouted. Check out the second track from this stellar album below (thus far my favorite one), entitled "Lay to Waste":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LQJPDyOUEY
(If the link doesn't successfully take you to the YouTube link, simply select the link, copy it to your clipboard, open a new tab or different browser, and paste it into the URL search bar). If you have any questions or issues with accomplishing this, feel free to ask me and I'll give you more detailed instructions.
Now, I could also provide demonstration links for Deicide, but they are such a great death metal band that it'd be more convenient for individual readers to type different titles or simply Deicide's name into the YouTube search bar. Some songs I would recommend are Homage For Satan, Death to Jesus, Lunatic of God's Creation, Bible Basher, When Satan Rules His World, They Are The Children of the Underworld, Once Upon The Cross, Scars of the Crucifix, Mad At God, Trifixion, In Torment In Hell, In The Minds of Evil, etc.
If you haven't noticed, yes, Deicide are renowned for their satanic, anti-religious lyrical content and imagery. If interested, Google search "Deicide controversies" and see what you think about those messes.
Concise, not too complicated or lengthy. I have to turn my attention to other responsibilities now. By the way, I'm going to another show tonight, at a small bar called Gillian's. I will be seeing the thrash metal band Havok from Colorado. Check out their song "Under The Gun".
Keep it metal.
Hey everyone.
I’ve been getting more in to Extreme Metal for a while with groups such as Mayhem, Gorgoroth, Burzum and Emperor. Those are mainly Black Metal Bands, but they’re definitely not in the mainstream, at least I don’t see them as such. Gorgoroth for example has had several controversies with respect to one of the members who the mainstream media says tortured a man at his home, where as Mayhem has had their own sorted history with Varg Vikernes murdering Oystein Aarsoth. Oystein was the lead guitarist for Mayhem and Vikernes played base for their first full-length album.
As for Emperor, they’ve had their own run-ins with the law when the first drummer of the group killed a man in the forests of Norway and claimed that the man tried to make a pass at him. While I don’t condone the acts of these people, and I especially will speak out against the anti-gay attitude and act resulting from said mind-set committed by the drummer, I enjoy the music, not the people behind it. Actually though, and I find this rather funny, but no one has found it odd that I listen to this type of music, given my attitude of speaking up for minorities such as people who are GLBT. I’m still waiting for someone to say something like: “Wow James, I’m surprised that you listen to those bands and it’s odd that you would knowing what we know about what you stand up for.”.
What I say to that is that again, I enjoy the music, not the people behind it. It’s like people who like the Classical Music of Wagner. The way people talk about him, you’d think he was a true humanitarian. The reality is much different in that he was an anti-Jewish bigot who hated the Jews. He didn’t go as far as Adolf Hitler and like-minded people in his bigotry, but it was there, and yet people myself included, enjoy his music. It comes down to picking our battles. The same people who would be shocked that I listen to Black Metal and who try to connect that with me not only being openly gay, but standing up for the rights of gay people to live in freedom are the same ones who find ways to agree with the slaughter we’re bringing and have been bringing to Iraq since 2003 and to other parts of The Middle East, so as far as I’m concerned, they can suck it if they don’t like those contradictions in me, if that’s what they can be called.
Finally, let’s not forget also, that these people who would express shock at these extreme groups I listen to are the same ones who use the most violent passages of The Bible in order that they can beat the shit out of their kids and call that discipline. Bottom line, before judging us Metelheads, look in the fucking mirror, and to those who can’t see who would judge, I guess you’d have to look in the mirror and have it audio-described for you.
Keep it Metal Bitches!,
James
Why are all of your posts James so combative. As you yourself point out, no one has attacked you for your views or your taste in music. You seem to be trying to provoke a fight rather than just exchanging views. It actually seems completely logical to me that you like metal as much of it is angry music and you seem really angry. Personally I like some of it, but I tend to like more melodic music and that with a more positive message. But the musicianship of many of the bands is exceptional. I wish the song writing ability was better though. None of us would ever buy or listen to music if we had to agree with the life styles or politics of the performers.
Me, combative, LOL.
Hey, it's what I do. It's just how it is. LOL.
Hey Bobby. I've never been to Kentucky but I do know a couple of guys from there; I think they live in Louisville as well. They're also metalheads but more into the old-school cult metal stuff. We were all in Detroit Michigan last weekend and it was a filthy great time.
James, good post about Norway et al. I think it's important to remember that Faust was sixteen years old when that shit happened. That was a long time ago! While black metal will never be known as a humanitarian sort of music that doesn't mean that the people involved can't express those concerns in other areas, and can't move on from stuff that happened a long time ago. Now I don't really think Varg is a good character; I've read his statements and heard him speak and have no desire to know him realy, but certainly the 90s Burzum stuff (as well as the "Belus" album) are powerful, evocative and deeply immersive music.
Bob, I love those first two Deicide albums. I'm glad you mentioned "Lunatic" and "Trifixion". Sadly they're a band that somehow lost it for me later on, though I still like the Serpents of the Light album and think it may even be underrated.
Varg is an interesting person though I'm not cool with his racism.
I'm not either. I never have grown to like him as a person, but at least he knows what he's doing when he makes music.
I find the writings about Norse paganism much more interesting than his music.
I used to read stuff he wrote and be kind of fascinated by him, but after he got out of prison I realised I just don't care. His music is all that I need. Belus was a great album and I think the one ace thing he's done since his release from jail. Makes sense as apparently much of that stuff was written in the 90s.
Yeah, Varg can be rather charming, as I’ve seen him give interviews and he’s not what one might expect. He’s soft-spoken and has a friendly tone to his voice depending on the context of the conversation. That being said, his writings when you understand the danger of utopian ideas end up showing themselves for what they are, just easy answers as well as a call to destroy others in the name of a utopia for the white race and I think we know where we’ve heard all that before.
Varg does have a couple of points he makes that are valid, both of which have to do with the danger of capitalism in that it can be easily used to exploit others as a means by which to make money, as well as the fact that we are doing things to actively destroy the earth. Unfortunately, these points are used for him, especially the viewpoint about capitalism no differently than how Karl Marx used it. Marx did understand that unfettered capitalism is a danger and he has materials that speak of this truth, but unfortunately, he used this in the end as a means by which to advocate violence, wear as with Varg talks of certain dangers of capitalism, but as Marx used these truths as a means by which to scapegoat people, Varg does this, but scapegoats Jews as well as people with disabilities, so it just goes to show how truth can at times be in the service of evil.
That being said, to the extent he leaves that shit out of his music, I’m good with it.
James
Never cared for his vocals on the first couple albums. By Hvis Lyset Tar Oss (probably butchered that spelling) he was getting better. The prison albums made me laugh because I basically have some of the same synth sounds on my own keyboard. I should dust off the old 4 track and record some covers of those songs haha.
Haha, true, the first prison album especially had some pretty low-end synth sounds. But nowadays anybody can have pretty much any synth patch they want. You can sound exactly like Kraftwerk without having to build anything! :D
James, it's true that Varg knows how to present himself as a laid -back, affable individual. It's one of his strengths; unlike some sociopaths he does possess charisma. I've never watched his youtube channel but he's quite friendly on the "Until the Light Takes Us" documentary.
He's certainly quite a bit more intelligent than a lot of the other guys.
Most of those fellows are pretty level nowadays. As far as personalities go, not that it really matters much, but again I gotta go for Fenriz...always had a sense of humour, but a profound affinity for music too. His interviews used to really crack me up. Then one day he suddenly got the Internet and now he's all over the place. He even likes my band's stuff! hahaha
I saw the “Until the Light Takes Us” Documentary and yeah, he was definitely friendly on that one. You definitely didn’t need to see his facial expressions to see that when he spoke of killing Euronymous, he didn’t feel any pain over what happened.
Also, I saw a few things Fenrez had to say in the documentary and also on Youtube and he definitely seems like a nice and funny guy.
James
The documentary was interesting because when you think about it it wasn't really so much about the Norwegian black metal scene at all. It was more about how people get older and how things that were once beacons to them become diluted or changed over time. Fenriz did come off well in that piece. There was the bit where the girl interviewer was giving him a hard time for being into techno or something and he just handed it to her. But then when he went to the gallery and saw all that kind of superficial stuff dedicated to black metal, apparently he has a kind of sad expression on his face, like "what's become of what we wrought"?
Actually I dont' remember if she gave him a hard time about his techno affinities, I think it was mostly over Darkthrone not sounding like Transilvanian Hunger anymore...