I have had a bit of bad luck of late...The superstitious side wants to blame it on my continuing investigation of extreme/orthodox black metal.
Remember when you were a kid and you had ideas that there were people who worshiped the devil? You really didn't understand how they did, you just knew that is what they did. Well, it turns out those folks were just shtick. A few crosses here, a thrusted horn salute there; it was a means of keeping the outsiders out and the scenesters in.
Sure Venom played with the energy and Bathory too. Slayer had some scary songs ("Praise Hail Sataaaan!") but you knew they were either atheists or church goers.
Then, there is this, well, this other shit...
Watain, Deathspell Omega, anything on Norma Evangelium Diaboli...These folks actually worship the dark forces of the universe!
Anyway, they are all EXTREMELY talented musicians/bands. Makes it darn hard to criticize them...
Now, we African-Americans have deep devotional/evangelical Christianity hardwired into our brains; when everything was taken from us (names, drums, religion, freedom, property etc), all that was left in its place was Christianity given by the slavemasters. So, even in the enlightened aughts, we can be a superstitous lot.
Therefore, when investigating these bands and the Temple of the Black Light, a sort of Gnostic Satanism, I fell back on conditioning when my car crapped out the week of an appointment that was years in the making.
Of course the Watain and Deathspell Omega music research wasn't part of it, right? RIGHT?!?
Anyway, good albums, good bands...Check them out, but make sure you have no pressing engagements...
Monday, February 22, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW
Your intrepid blogger went to see "Until the Light Takes Us" tonight directed by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell. After making sure all was right in the homestead, I journeyed out in the not-so-northern darkness to the Starz Film Center in Denver. I was almost completely alone in the theater save two young women slightly across from me. I had my popcorn, some paper and a pen to sketch out some notes on this film about the wildness of the Norwegian Black Metal movement in its earliest days. (They even sell beer here but I was unsure of the proper liquor to imbibe during a movie about church burnings, suicide and murder. It was late too, so, I passed).
I admit to passive-aggressive action on my part in seeing the film. First off, its $9.75 to see a movie at Starz (!) and the prospect of sitting in a darkened theater at 10 p.m. with people who could possibly be into Norse boogeyman/Eugenics fan Varg Vikernes was a bit daunting. But I was alone save the young women across the aisle. No need to use peripheral vision like I have to at black metal concerts (damn NSBMers!)
The movie opens with Fenriz from Dakthrone saying that the typical Norwegian stands in line a few meters away from one another; a statement that seems to echo the movie's undertow of isolation. We are treated to a few too many shots of Fenriz walking through the forest in black leather jacket and cargo pants or listening to music on trains or smoking cigarettes in bars. These shots are easily 20 minutes of the movie and do get old after awhile. But the isolation of the scene, Norway and Fenriz in particular is deeply conveyed.
For those that don't know, a 'Reader's Digest' version of the story.....The Norwegian Black Metal 'scene' in Norway in the late 80s early 90s centered around the Helvete record store and a handful of bands including Mayhem, Emperor and Darkthrone. They wanted to stand apart from 'commercial' death metal. Apparently Morbid Angel must have been played alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna. I don't remember this in the 1980s. A few lads were pro-Pagan and anti-Christian, and burned some very old churches. A lead singer (Dead) killed himself and pictures were taken by other band members. Varg of Burzum, killed Euronymous, of Mayhem. Faust of Emperor killed a homosexual acquaintance because of his homosexuality....Fun bunch you say? Yeah...
Now, most metal fans know a bit of this story and I mean no insult in this curt description, but the movie in trying to build mood and, apparently trying to do a film version of the rustic (some would say crappy) production of early black metal releases, does scarcely a better job than the above description. If you know this story already, NOTHING new will be shown to you. When you see the gleam of pride when Hellhammer (drummer for Mayhem) speaks of how Faust killed that "f*****t", you realize slowly, almost glacierlike, that whether you like the music or not, these bunch of folks are royal douchebags. Even Immortal come off a little like rock star idiots. This is fine because really, how many documentaries have likable protagonists as the main characters?! Everyone gets off light; very little examination of the activities themselves outside of fond remembrances. By makings caracatures of those that were upset by the church burnings and such, the directors eliminate a well-rounded examination of the scene.
If you don't like black metal or the artists of black metal, this movie will not convert you. If you are like me and like black metal, some of the sheen gets worn off and the curtains expose some of the wizards for the frauds they are. We followers of art forms often project our deepest realizations onto the works we are enthused by. We imbue transcendental/intelletual wisdom where there is none. If one were to take this movie as the definitive examination on the black metal culture in Norway at its beginning, then we ALL would need therapy to not idolize folks who haven't the mental maturity to show even a multifaceted opinion on their pasts. Don't get me wrong, I do think there was amazing creativity in the scene but this movie shows precious little of that (a song here, a corpsepainted grimace there).
Part of the problem is the fact that the directors have all of the subjects speak English which makes them sound like they are speaking some form of Scandinavian ebonics. I feel all the subjects would have been better served speaking their original language and allow for more depth in the interviews rather than minutes of stumbling over words.
If Fenriz is the Seasonal Affective Disordered soul of the movie, its brooding heart if you will, then Varg is its brain. He eloquently, and in my opinion, retroactively and revisionistically, cast the movement in terms of a rejection against American capitalism and Christian hegemony of Norway. I do believe his nationalistic tendencies were the esprit de corps for him and a few who idealized him but this seems contradictory when given the lyrical content of the bands at the time... At one point early in the movie, Varg complains about the fact that Euronymous controlled the storyline of what was going on and why and that he didn't have a chance to correct that storyline as he was incarcerated. It seems as though this movie has only switched who gets to control the history now that only Varg is alive to tell the tale.
When Varg comes of as the most eloquent and reasonable man in the picture, well-spoken and thoughtful, you're film has problems. Now, there's no need to paint Varg with a broad brush but his viewpoints aren't that out of step with the Germany of the 1930's (sorry kids, no links to his site. I don't need to receive spam from Stormfront or other supremacist websites). Not exposing Varg for some of his wackier sentiments lets him off the hook and cuts the depth of the film in half. If it weren't for a few pix of him in Hilter youth haircut and garb, you'd never even have an inkling of some of these views. In becoming 'friends' with the elder scensters, the directors castrate any criticism that could possibly arise.
I really wanted to like this movie. I didn't hate it by any means and there are moments, particularly when Varg is discussing the religious oppression Christianity has conducted on cultures all over the world when the film gets both interesting and challenging. Other elements belong in the "WTF?!" category. The performance art piece of Frost, while gripping, seems out of place save for the fact he is in Satyricon, a black metal band that was not even in the first generation of artists.
Fenriz seems mostly frustrated that this child called black metal that he fathered has snuck out of the house and become a whore. You really feel bad for him as no-one else seems particularly apologetic, not that I needed them to be. Nor do they mention much about the music itself. It leads to this static feeling; a sense that any dynamism that characterizes black metal itself does not attach itself to its creators. It is this fact that really gives the subjects this sort of regressed quality that makes you as a film-goer feel that they haven't really evolved much or thought about their actions as being incorrect or immature. Varg seems a little penitent in a half-hearted way. This is most obviously apparent when Fenriz attends a photo exhibit of Bjarne Melgaard's depicting pix of the movement and its members in its infancy. Fenriz looks as though he is a bashful adult sheepishly explaining his 'movement's' past indiscretions. Aside from him, nary an element of real self-awareness, just nostalgic reminisces. I don't need self-awareness from documentary subjects but in not showing that or really much about the music, we are left to fill in the blanks, which if I knew nothing about the scene at all, would make for an empty experience. The movie avoids sensationalism but the dynamism too.
I am reminded of the story of Icarus and Daedalus and flying too close to the sun. In the case of this metal movement, they flew too close to one another and the spiked armbands pierced the bubble of their solitude. One of the first things Fenriz says in the picture was that the distance the Norwegians have with one another says it all. Perhaps a close group such as the early Norwegian black metallers just got too close to one another where isolation and solitary misanthropy is the rule. To get too close caused passion but the psychic distance, still intact, allowed for reactionary violence. Essentially a movie about people that didn't know how to deal with other people and the movie doesn't show that had changed for any of them.
ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: A movie with no new info and poorly edited cult-of-personality documentary done by film students with no previous knowledge of the music or the scene who eliminate an even-handed portrayal of a unique sub-culture.
I admit to passive-aggressive action on my part in seeing the film. First off, its $9.75 to see a movie at Starz (!) and the prospect of sitting in a darkened theater at 10 p.m. with people who could possibly be into Norse boogeyman/Eugenics fan Varg Vikernes was a bit daunting. But I was alone save the young women across the aisle. No need to use peripheral vision like I have to at black metal concerts (damn NSBMers!)
The movie opens with Fenriz from Dakthrone saying that the typical Norwegian stands in line a few meters away from one another; a statement that seems to echo the movie's undertow of isolation. We are treated to a few too many shots of Fenriz walking through the forest in black leather jacket and cargo pants or listening to music on trains or smoking cigarettes in bars. These shots are easily 20 minutes of the movie and do get old after awhile. But the isolation of the scene, Norway and Fenriz in particular is deeply conveyed.
For those that don't know, a 'Reader's Digest' version of the story.....The Norwegian Black Metal 'scene' in Norway in the late 80s early 90s centered around the Helvete record store and a handful of bands including Mayhem, Emperor and Darkthrone. They wanted to stand apart from 'commercial' death metal. Apparently Morbid Angel must have been played alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna. I don't remember this in the 1980s. A few lads were pro-Pagan and anti-Christian, and burned some very old churches. A lead singer (Dead) killed himself and pictures were taken by other band members. Varg of Burzum, killed Euronymous, of Mayhem. Faust of Emperor killed a homosexual acquaintance because of his homosexuality....Fun bunch you say? Yeah...
Now, most metal fans know a bit of this story and I mean no insult in this curt description, but the movie in trying to build mood and, apparently trying to do a film version of the rustic (some would say crappy) production of early black metal releases, does scarcely a better job than the above description. If you know this story already, NOTHING new will be shown to you. When you see the gleam of pride when Hellhammer (drummer for Mayhem) speaks of how Faust killed that "f*****t", you realize slowly, almost glacierlike, that whether you like the music or not, these bunch of folks are royal douchebags. Even Immortal come off a little like rock star idiots. This is fine because really, how many documentaries have likable protagonists as the main characters?! Everyone gets off light; very little examination of the activities themselves outside of fond remembrances. By makings caracatures of those that were upset by the church burnings and such, the directors eliminate a well-rounded examination of the scene.
If you don't like black metal or the artists of black metal, this movie will not convert you. If you are like me and like black metal, some of the sheen gets worn off and the curtains expose some of the wizards for the frauds they are. We followers of art forms often project our deepest realizations onto the works we are enthused by. We imbue transcendental/intelletual wisdom where there is none. If one were to take this movie as the definitive examination on the black metal culture in Norway at its beginning, then we ALL would need therapy to not idolize folks who haven't the mental maturity to show even a multifaceted opinion on their pasts. Don't get me wrong, I do think there was amazing creativity in the scene but this movie shows precious little of that (a song here, a corpsepainted grimace there).
Part of the problem is the fact that the directors have all of the subjects speak English which makes them sound like they are speaking some form of Scandinavian ebonics. I feel all the subjects would have been better served speaking their original language and allow for more depth in the interviews rather than minutes of stumbling over words.
If Fenriz is the Seasonal Affective Disordered soul of the movie, its brooding heart if you will, then Varg is its brain. He eloquently, and in my opinion, retroactively and revisionistically, cast the movement in terms of a rejection against American capitalism and Christian hegemony of Norway. I do believe his nationalistic tendencies were the esprit de corps for him and a few who idealized him but this seems contradictory when given the lyrical content of the bands at the time... At one point early in the movie, Varg complains about the fact that Euronymous controlled the storyline of what was going on and why and that he didn't have a chance to correct that storyline as he was incarcerated. It seems as though this movie has only switched who gets to control the history now that only Varg is alive to tell the tale.
When Varg comes of as the most eloquent and reasonable man in the picture, well-spoken and thoughtful, you're film has problems. Now, there's no need to paint Varg with a broad brush but his viewpoints aren't that out of step with the Germany of the 1930's (sorry kids, no links to his site. I don't need to receive spam from Stormfront or other supremacist websites). Not exposing Varg for some of his wackier sentiments lets him off the hook and cuts the depth of the film in half. If it weren't for a few pix of him in Hilter youth haircut and garb, you'd never even have an inkling of some of these views. In becoming 'friends' with the elder scensters, the directors castrate any criticism that could possibly arise.
I really wanted to like this movie. I didn't hate it by any means and there are moments, particularly when Varg is discussing the religious oppression Christianity has conducted on cultures all over the world when the film gets both interesting and challenging. Other elements belong in the "WTF?!" category. The performance art piece of Frost, while gripping, seems out of place save for the fact he is in Satyricon, a black metal band that was not even in the first generation of artists.
Fenriz seems mostly frustrated that this child called black metal that he fathered has snuck out of the house and become a whore. You really feel bad for him as no-one else seems particularly apologetic, not that I needed them to be. Nor do they mention much about the music itself. It leads to this static feeling; a sense that any dynamism that characterizes black metal itself does not attach itself to its creators. It is this fact that really gives the subjects this sort of regressed quality that makes you as a film-goer feel that they haven't really evolved much or thought about their actions as being incorrect or immature. Varg seems a little penitent in a half-hearted way. This is most obviously apparent when Fenriz attends a photo exhibit of Bjarne Melgaard's depicting pix of the movement and its members in its infancy. Fenriz looks as though he is a bashful adult sheepishly explaining his 'movement's' past indiscretions. Aside from him, nary an element of real self-awareness, just nostalgic reminisces. I don't need self-awareness from documentary subjects but in not showing that or really much about the music, we are left to fill in the blanks, which if I knew nothing about the scene at all, would make for an empty experience. The movie avoids sensationalism but the dynamism too.
I am reminded of the story of Icarus and Daedalus and flying too close to the sun. In the case of this metal movement, they flew too close to one another and the spiked armbands pierced the bubble of their solitude. One of the first things Fenriz says in the picture was that the distance the Norwegians have with one another says it all. Perhaps a close group such as the early Norwegian black metallers just got too close to one another where isolation and solitary misanthropy is the rule. To get too close caused passion but the psychic distance, still intact, allowed for reactionary violence. Essentially a movie about people that didn't know how to deal with other people and the movie doesn't show that had changed for any of them.
ONE SENTENCE REVIEW: A movie with no new info and poorly edited cult-of-personality documentary done by film students with no previous knowledge of the music or the scene who eliminate an even-handed portrayal of a unique sub-culture.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
February is for lovers...
Looking at the calendar, there is a surplus of concerts in March and April but February is severely lacking... Lucky for me actually as my wife was getting burned out by my concert going which was only just beginning!
February is going to be a concert free month ('cept seeing Dave's band Havok on Friday). This month will be posts about metal; genres, hang-ups, philosophy etc., rather than concert reviews.
So, February is going to be for lovers: my wife and, for readers of this blog, lovers of metal...
February is going to be a concert free month ('cept seeing Dave's band Havok on Friday). This month will be posts about metal; genres, hang-ups, philosophy etc., rather than concert reviews.
So, February is going to be for lovers: my wife and, for readers of this blog, lovers of metal...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Anvil! My Story of Anvil
Dear reader,
Your intrepid blogger had EVERY intention of going to see Anvil at the Gothic theater tonight but forces greater than myself conspired to thwart even this most determined metal fan...
First off, it was a late Saturday at the 'Metal as Art' show at the Lion's Lair...That show (see previous post) started late and had four bands. These travellers were not giving short shrift to those of us in attendance and it was well past 1:00 a.m. when headliners Hypno5e collapsed in a pile of sweat and feedback on the tiny stage. This, and the tickle at the back of my throat assured me I was to have a long night.
My wife has a hard time sleeping without me home and was cranky about the Mike situation (buying him drinks) and the lateness of the hour. Had this been an Andy Capp strip, she might have had a rolling pin behind her back waiting for yours truly to arrive.
By the morning, with a full 4 hours of sleep (!), I wrote my previous blog entry, and scooted off to work at my second job of pizza guy. That tickle at the back of my throat was slowly but surely turning into heavy petting.
Work at Pudge Brothers was what it always is when you are the only driver, are sick and haven't slept; busy. I had a ton of "coast to coast" deliveries; trips from one farthest point of our delivery area to the opposite farthest point in our delivery area.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't ever seen Anvil...I haven't heard Anvil...My relationship to Anvil is seeing the trailer and the trailer alone. It was enough to get me to support these sad sack workhorses with my dinero. I suppose like many folks, I just passed over them because of the name. I mean, it is a stupid name right? Sure, its heavy and gets beaten on but does anyone younger than 50 know what the hell an anvil is?! or what its used for?! I guess they belong in the list of great bands with stupid names (I am looking at you, Decrepit Birth, Psycroptic, Baroness, Moss, Celtic Frost, Gojira...man the list is practically endless).
Alas it was not to be...
After work, I had to go to my friend Jim's house. Jim is a friend I met when I was a meter reader for Public Service and we hit it off because he was into comic books just like I am. I had been putting him off for days in helping him fix his computer because my schedule has been crazy. He's a bit of a shut-in and has terrible luck with computers. I am that dude; the one who fixes his relatives' and friends' computers. Earlier in the week I had to move a big dresser from my mother-in-law's storage facility to our house, take a woman I help take care of to the dentist TWICE and get a person I take care of a physical, H1N1 shot and a new winter coat. When my unmarried, childless friends say they're busy I usually say "BULLSHIT.".
I was starting to get more sick as the hours were going by and there was nothing I could do about his computer. My head was feeling like it was half helium and half water. After the looks my wife was giving me last night, there was no way I was going to push my luck and go a SECOND night to a concert. Plus, not much money thanks to paying for drinks for Mike and his date and cheapskates wanting pizza today but not tipping. That tickle that turned to heavy petting before? Now was full on molestation.
I was disheartened, tired, broke and sick. I just didn't have the energy or the WILL to go to the show...
How do they do it? How did these guys, on whom the rays of fame never shined on save the reviews about the movie 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' showing their pathos, keep going? Bungled tours, manager problems and just being ignored by the media? Am I a total wuss, because a little sinus infection and lack of funds got me down? not. very. metal.
I even showed the trailer to my wife who got misty and said I should go, but quickly recanted. I did have to help with Ruby, our 8 year-old, I don't have any extra cash and I do need some rest to keep being the provider I am for my family and to recover from whatever this is... The boys in Anvil will have to wait; see you next time around fellas.
My wife wondered aloud whether or not Anvil's historically bad luck was just that everyone around them has bad luck in dealing with them? How strange would that be? The story of Anvil could just be a circle of people connected loosely to Anvil, (fans, managers, friends and family), that are just being beaten like the item of the band's namesake and its Anvil that suffers for it. Strange indeed...
Your intrepid blogger had EVERY intention of going to see Anvil at the Gothic theater tonight but forces greater than myself conspired to thwart even this most determined metal fan...
First off, it was a late Saturday at the 'Metal as Art' show at the Lion's Lair...That show (see previous post) started late and had four bands. These travellers were not giving short shrift to those of us in attendance and it was well past 1:00 a.m. when headliners Hypno5e collapsed in a pile of sweat and feedback on the tiny stage. This, and the tickle at the back of my throat assured me I was to have a long night.
My wife has a hard time sleeping without me home and was cranky about the Mike situation (buying him drinks) and the lateness of the hour. Had this been an Andy Capp strip, she might have had a rolling pin behind her back waiting for yours truly to arrive.
By the morning, with a full 4 hours of sleep (!), I wrote my previous blog entry, and scooted off to work at my second job of pizza guy. That tickle at the back of my throat was slowly but surely turning into heavy petting.
Work at Pudge Brothers was what it always is when you are the only driver, are sick and haven't slept; busy. I had a ton of "coast to coast" deliveries; trips from one farthest point of our delivery area to the opposite farthest point in our delivery area.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't ever seen Anvil...I haven't heard Anvil...My relationship to Anvil is seeing the trailer and the trailer alone. It was enough to get me to support these sad sack workhorses with my dinero. I suppose like many folks, I just passed over them because of the name. I mean, it is a stupid name right? Sure, its heavy and gets beaten on but does anyone younger than 50 know what the hell an anvil is?! or what its used for?! I guess they belong in the list of great bands with stupid names (I am looking at you, Decrepit Birth, Psycroptic, Baroness, Moss, Celtic Frost, Gojira...man the list is practically endless).
Alas it was not to be...
After work, I had to go to my friend Jim's house. Jim is a friend I met when I was a meter reader for Public Service and we hit it off because he was into comic books just like I am. I had been putting him off for days in helping him fix his computer because my schedule has been crazy. He's a bit of a shut-in and has terrible luck with computers. I am that dude; the one who fixes his relatives' and friends' computers. Earlier in the week I had to move a big dresser from my mother-in-law's storage facility to our house, take a woman I help take care of to the dentist TWICE and get a person I take care of a physical, H1N1 shot and a new winter coat. When my unmarried, childless friends say they're busy I usually say "BULLSHIT.".
I was starting to get more sick as the hours were going by and there was nothing I could do about his computer. My head was feeling like it was half helium and half water. After the looks my wife was giving me last night, there was no way I was going to push my luck and go a SECOND night to a concert. Plus, not much money thanks to paying for drinks for Mike and his date and cheapskates wanting pizza today but not tipping. That tickle that turned to heavy petting before? Now was full on molestation.
I was disheartened, tired, broke and sick. I just didn't have the energy or the WILL to go to the show...
How do they do it? How did these guys, on whom the rays of fame never shined on save the reviews about the movie 'Anvil! The Story of Anvil' showing their pathos, keep going? Bungled tours, manager problems and just being ignored by the media? Am I a total wuss, because a little sinus infection and lack of funds got me down? not. very. metal.
I even showed the trailer to my wife who got misty and said I should go, but quickly recanted. I did have to help with Ruby, our 8 year-old, I don't have any extra cash and I do need some rest to keep being the provider I am for my family and to recover from whatever this is... The boys in Anvil will have to wait; see you next time around fellas.
My wife wondered aloud whether or not Anvil's historically bad luck was just that everyone around them has bad luck in dealing with them? How strange would that be? The story of Anvil could just be a circle of people connected loosely to Anvil, (fans, managers, friends and family), that are just being beaten like the item of the band's namesake and its Anvil that suffers for it. Strange indeed...
Metal As Art 1-30-10 French Reactions and Alternator Dung
Many things need be sacrificed on an altar of madness on my way to being the Lester Bangs of heavy metal journalism...Health, hearing in my 60s, rest, time with my long-suffering wife and patience with friends. For those of you whippersnappers unfamiliar with the Great Lester, he was a Hunter S. Thompson of rock journalism (now, if you don't know who he is, Cobalt's 'Gin' was dedicated to him and maybe pick up a book for Chrissakes!) All sacrifices were worth it to see the 'Metal as Art' tour sail in.
Vince Neilstein of Metalsucks.com said I should check out the "Metal As Art" tour and, after finding out it was $6, (!), I figured it would be worth the time to support some bands. I invited my oldest friend, Mike, who was the first kid I met in 1983 into metal, to go with. I remember back in the day taking his jean jacket to the mirror to see if his Dio patch spelled 'devil' when looked at backwards...This was the early 80's mind you when evil intentions in bands were hidden rather than proclaimed loudly from corpsepaint and pigs' blood. He had a lady-friend Sheree that wished to go as well...(More on this later).
As soon as we got to the Lion's Lair, I could smell the hunger from the bands. It was like when Burgess Meredith was talking to Rocky in 'Rocky III' saying he needed to be hungry for it right before he croaked in the movie. These bands were sweating for their art; this was metal at its purest. A bunch of guys making shit money, drinking shit beer (PBR all around!) in a bar known for its shit ambiance. You know the kind of bar; stickers of bands plastered all over smoke-blackened walls (and toilets), long-suffering bar mistress with tattoos and worn eyes looking at you like she just knows you aren't going to tip(which you probably can't afford to).
Mike and his date were much more into consuming alcohol than watching bands, but I was trying to find out who was who... I first bumped into Dan Gargiulo, touring guitarist for Revocation. They are trying him out for the tour to add a dual guitar attack. The band, along with tour mates Binary Code have had some van troubles. The lads in Revocation broke down a stones throw from Mexico. (Binary Code had it worse and were forced onto a guardrail by some crazy driver which totaled their van). Anyway, I talked to Anthony (bassist) and Phil (drummer) about actually getting one decent meal on the tour at the Buckhorn, a famous eatery in Colorado that serves all sorts of animals including alligator, elk and hometown favorite Rocky Mountain Oysters (for the uninitiated, they're not from the sea).
Turns out the Revocation guys had some of the bulls balls and found them quite chewy. A local patron then regaled us with stories about how he got to do dome snipping and cooking himself. A laugh was had by all at the expense of the cows tasty testes. The guys from Revocation also have an informal bet with Binary Code to see who can go the longest without an actual shower. My sinuses have been screwed for days, so I smelled nothing...
First up was a local band Frozen Eternity; well, by local I should say the same state. This Colorado Springs band were all probably half my age (remember, dear reader, I'll be 40 this year). Still, their musicianship was strong; I felt a 'Children of Bodom' sound emanating from the speakers. Now, anytime a keyboardist is thrown into metal, the comparison goes 1 of 2 ways; Bodom or Norwegian Black Metal wankery. Luckily, the keyboardist was restrained unlike Bodom and our Scandinavian 'ELP/Yes' men. Tight and well rehearsed, and hard-working, they were enjoyable in the small venue. I spoke to bassist Michael Hylands who had just been added to the lineup along with rhythm guitarist Stuart Hetzler about about how they were excited to play with the other bands. A good opportunity for a young band.
Next were Binary Code. I got to meet Jesse, the lead guitarist, who apparently works for the Metal Sucks website that Vince (Ben?...your secret identity is OUT) runs. Before the show, we had a good talk on his band and the tour thus far. He was initially concerned with the bands that were to tour together but now feels the "flow of the line up" has been great. Anyone can see that the camaraderie of all the bands is strong...I know the image of touring bands being a ship of pirates sailing through the lands is about as old as likening traveling musicians to cowboys; but you do get a "take no prisoners Jolly Roger" vibe.
Now, Mike and his date were getting drinks on my tab...This of course, sucked...I was assured I would be paid back but between Mike, the perpetual "starving artist" and this 23 year-old (!) woman I don't know from Adam, how the hell was I going to get paid back?! Plus, I have one rule about these shows; I have to buy merch to support these road-trippers. After ordering 2 more drinks on my bill (~@#$!), they decided to get something to eat...They came back shortly with Mike saying they couldn't hold out, specifically SHE, couldn't hold out for the rest of the show. I was pissed but didn't show it...I wanted to do this concert write up as a writing sample for SkullNBones, I was NOT leaving. So, they got some more money from me (cue storm cloud over my head and daggers from my eyes) and were taking a bus back to Westminster, a northern suburb of Denver. Their tab made this an expensive show.
Binary Code had a little bit of a "Between the Buried and Me" sound and progressive touches. There's was a high energy set with lead singer, Mike Appritch running off the stage and the bassist, Brett Bamberger, flailing like a metal version of Flea. Also a tight band with interesting slow melodic passages in the maelstrom of their deathcore-ish center. Song structure seems to be the Binary's key. (Also, do I hear Zappa in there? NICE!)
After the Binary Code was Revocation, easily the group of guys who I hung out with the most. Between talking about Colorado's quirky cuisine and van troubles, I got to talk with touring guitarist, the previously mentioned Dan, a bit. I was wondering how the young guitarist, who reminded me of Vincent Gallo in looks not temperament, would fit. He was a friendly fellow and had that 'hungry' quality I mentioned before. I had talked to David Davidson, lead guitarist, earlier who is, along with the rest of Revocation, staying at Dave's place (from the local band Havok). David is a HILARIOUS guy, and we bullshitted with Dave and his penchant for the cougar-ish ladies of the world. This was AFTER a grizzled barfly patron tried to suck on his neck like an elderly Vampira.(Dave, its because of the Troy Polamalu locks, buddy!)
Revocation's show was a twisting, turning, thrashy, technical death-ish, musical meltdown. David and bassist Anthony Buda do the majority of the vocals with Phil keeping crazy time on the drums. I did like the addition of Dan on rhythm guitar; the band has been a trio for a decade but the addition of Dan for the tour allows for probable prodigy Dave, to showcase his stellar playing. Then you get the twin guitar attack ala Tipton and Downing (look it up if you don't know who they are and bow your head in shame when you do). The rhythm guitarist of Binary Code would share his PBR with the band members while they were playing to keep the good vibes alcohol propelled. All of the chaos of this show was NEVER an interruption on the musicianship and the band was excellent live.
See, I don't buy that a metal band has to be a group of assholes who you wouldn't leave your kid alone with. Guess was jerkwads, you can play metal and NOT be a douchebag. Why do I need to fear my entertainers?! Isn't paying taxes and living in a world of sociopaths who blow up buildings fearful enough? I don't need my metal musicians to be as horrifying as the music. I got into a conversation with a guy named Todd who was there to see Revocation and he was as pleased as I was about their show...(He told me to get the New Megadeth and Alice in Chains which I must remember to do).
Anyway, a solid set that was followed by Hypno5e, a French band of post-metal experimentation. While they were tuning up, a woman in one of those Nordic ear flap caps that you see hippies in Boulder wear in the winter was playing jokey songs. Nothing wrong with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl playing ukulele and singing indie versions of rap songs while you're waiting for the band.
Hypno5e play a crunchy, atmospheric, post-y kind of metal; slow and fast mixed with precision. When I was talking with Anthony from Revocation, he was saying that Hypno5e get drunk before they play every time and still sound great. He also told me that the band did a 2 minute song and dance about Taco Bell when they were in Spokane when they found out they were going to go to the eatery...TACO BELL! There was plenty of dancing before the show and during from their entourage. They were a beautiful mess; the music was practiced and tight but the band was loose limbed and jovial. A sort of serious playfulness. By the end of the set, lead singer and guitarist,Emmanuel Jessua, was on the ground with Binary bassist and rhythm guitarist hovering over and the stage was a shambles. Anthony from Revocation remarked "You can tell the tour is almost over, huh?"
So now, let's do the numbers...The sheer joviality and camaraderie of all the bands plus the professionalism of the playing plus the doing it for the love of the music times the originality of all of the acts equals a solid 5 points of the pentagram from me. Were there sound problems, sure, did the ship sail in late, yeah, but the sheer,pure FUN of the 'Metal as Art' show made even paying my friend's tab worth it... So, support this tour...With all the hipsters talk about tr00 metal when referring to tours that dwarf a U2 show, this is what the scene is really about...Word of mouth about bands hungry to play you their original music...
Vince Neilstein of Metalsucks.com said I should check out the "Metal As Art" tour and, after finding out it was $6, (!), I figured it would be worth the time to support some bands. I invited my oldest friend, Mike, who was the first kid I met in 1983 into metal, to go with. I remember back in the day taking his jean jacket to the mirror to see if his Dio patch spelled 'devil' when looked at backwards...This was the early 80's mind you when evil intentions in bands were hidden rather than proclaimed loudly from corpsepaint and pigs' blood. He had a lady-friend Sheree that wished to go as well...(More on this later).
As soon as we got to the Lion's Lair, I could smell the hunger from the bands. It was like when Burgess Meredith was talking to Rocky in 'Rocky III' saying he needed to be hungry for it right before he croaked in the movie. These bands were sweating for their art; this was metal at its purest. A bunch of guys making shit money, drinking shit beer (PBR all around!) in a bar known for its shit ambiance. You know the kind of bar; stickers of bands plastered all over smoke-blackened walls (and toilets), long-suffering bar mistress with tattoos and worn eyes looking at you like she just knows you aren't going to tip(which you probably can't afford to).
Mike and his date were much more into consuming alcohol than watching bands, but I was trying to find out who was who... I first bumped into Dan Gargiulo, touring guitarist for Revocation. They are trying him out for the tour to add a dual guitar attack. The band, along with tour mates Binary Code have had some van troubles. The lads in Revocation broke down a stones throw from Mexico. (Binary Code had it worse and were forced onto a guardrail by some crazy driver which totaled their van). Anyway, I talked to Anthony (bassist) and Phil (drummer) about actually getting one decent meal on the tour at the Buckhorn, a famous eatery in Colorado that serves all sorts of animals including alligator, elk and hometown favorite Rocky Mountain Oysters (for the uninitiated, they're not from the sea).
Turns out the Revocation guys had some of the bulls balls and found them quite chewy. A local patron then regaled us with stories about how he got to do dome snipping and cooking himself. A laugh was had by all at the expense of the cows tasty testes. The guys from Revocation also have an informal bet with Binary Code to see who can go the longest without an actual shower. My sinuses have been screwed for days, so I smelled nothing...
First up was a local band Frozen Eternity; well, by local I should say the same state. This Colorado Springs band were all probably half my age (remember, dear reader, I'll be 40 this year). Still, their musicianship was strong; I felt a 'Children of Bodom' sound emanating from the speakers. Now, anytime a keyboardist is thrown into metal, the comparison goes 1 of 2 ways; Bodom or Norwegian Black Metal wankery. Luckily, the keyboardist was restrained unlike Bodom and our Scandinavian 'ELP/Yes' men. Tight and well rehearsed, and hard-working, they were enjoyable in the small venue. I spoke to bassist Michael Hylands who had just been added to the lineup along with rhythm guitarist Stuart Hetzler about about how they were excited to play with the other bands. A good opportunity for a young band.
Next were Binary Code. I got to meet Jesse, the lead guitarist, who apparently works for the Metal Sucks website that Vince (Ben?...your secret identity is OUT) runs. Before the show, we had a good talk on his band and the tour thus far. He was initially concerned with the bands that were to tour together but now feels the "flow of the line up" has been great. Anyone can see that the camaraderie of all the bands is strong...I know the image of touring bands being a ship of pirates sailing through the lands is about as old as likening traveling musicians to cowboys; but you do get a "take no prisoners Jolly Roger" vibe.
Now, Mike and his date were getting drinks on my tab...This of course, sucked...I was assured I would be paid back but between Mike, the perpetual "starving artist" and this 23 year-old (!) woman I don't know from Adam, how the hell was I going to get paid back?! Plus, I have one rule about these shows; I have to buy merch to support these road-trippers. After ordering 2 more drinks on my bill (~@#$!), they decided to get something to eat...They came back shortly with Mike saying they couldn't hold out, specifically SHE, couldn't hold out for the rest of the show. I was pissed but didn't show it...I wanted to do this concert write up as a writing sample for SkullNBones, I was NOT leaving. So, they got some more money from me (cue storm cloud over my head and daggers from my eyes) and were taking a bus back to Westminster, a northern suburb of Denver. Their tab made this an expensive show.
Binary Code had a little bit of a "Between the Buried and Me" sound and progressive touches. There's was a high energy set with lead singer, Mike Appritch running off the stage and the bassist, Brett Bamberger, flailing like a metal version of Flea. Also a tight band with interesting slow melodic passages in the maelstrom of their deathcore-ish center. Song structure seems to be the Binary's key. (Also, do I hear Zappa in there? NICE!)
After the Binary Code was Revocation, easily the group of guys who I hung out with the most. Between talking about Colorado's quirky cuisine and van troubles, I got to talk with touring guitarist, the previously mentioned Dan, a bit. I was wondering how the young guitarist, who reminded me of Vincent Gallo in looks not temperament, would fit. He was a friendly fellow and had that 'hungry' quality I mentioned before. I had talked to David Davidson, lead guitarist, earlier who is, along with the rest of Revocation, staying at Dave's place (from the local band Havok). David is a HILARIOUS guy, and we bullshitted with Dave and his penchant for the cougar-ish ladies of the world. This was AFTER a grizzled barfly patron tried to suck on his neck like an elderly Vampira.(Dave, its because of the Troy Polamalu locks, buddy!)
Revocation's show was a twisting, turning, thrashy, technical death-ish, musical meltdown. David and bassist Anthony Buda do the majority of the vocals with Phil keeping crazy time on the drums. I did like the addition of Dan on rhythm guitar; the band has been a trio for a decade but the addition of Dan for the tour allows for probable prodigy Dave, to showcase his stellar playing. Then you get the twin guitar attack ala Tipton and Downing (look it up if you don't know who they are and bow your head in shame when you do). The rhythm guitarist of Binary Code would share his PBR with the band members while they were playing to keep the good vibes alcohol propelled. All of the chaos of this show was NEVER an interruption on the musicianship and the band was excellent live.
See, I don't buy that a metal band has to be a group of assholes who you wouldn't leave your kid alone with. Guess was jerkwads, you can play metal and NOT be a douchebag. Why do I need to fear my entertainers?! Isn't paying taxes and living in a world of sociopaths who blow up buildings fearful enough? I don't need my metal musicians to be as horrifying as the music. I got into a conversation with a guy named Todd who was there to see Revocation and he was as pleased as I was about their show...(He told me to get the New Megadeth and Alice in Chains which I must remember to do).
Anyway, a solid set that was followed by Hypno5e, a French band of post-metal experimentation. While they were tuning up, a woman in one of those Nordic ear flap caps that you see hippies in Boulder wear in the winter was playing jokey songs. Nothing wrong with a Manic Pixie Dream Girl playing ukulele and singing indie versions of rap songs while you're waiting for the band.
Hypno5e play a crunchy, atmospheric, post-y kind of metal; slow and fast mixed with precision. When I was talking with Anthony from Revocation, he was saying that Hypno5e get drunk before they play every time and still sound great. He also told me that the band did a 2 minute song and dance about Taco Bell when they were in Spokane when they found out they were going to go to the eatery...TACO BELL! There was plenty of dancing before the show and during from their entourage. They were a beautiful mess; the music was practiced and tight but the band was loose limbed and jovial. A sort of serious playfulness. By the end of the set, lead singer and guitarist,Emmanuel Jessua, was on the ground with Binary bassist and rhythm guitarist hovering over and the stage was a shambles. Anthony from Revocation remarked "You can tell the tour is almost over, huh?"
So now, let's do the numbers...The sheer joviality and camaraderie of all the bands plus the professionalism of the playing plus the doing it for the love of the music times the originality of all of the acts equals a solid 5 points of the pentagram from me. Were there sound problems, sure, did the ship sail in late, yeah, but the sheer,pure FUN of the 'Metal as Art' show made even paying my friend's tab worth it... So, support this tour...With all the hipsters talk about tr00 metal when referring to tours that dwarf a U2 show, this is what the scene is really about...Word of mouth about bands hungry to play you their original music...
Thursday, January 28, 2010
OPINION: Black on Black (part 1 of, who knows how many...) Some initial thoughts...
As a metal fan, while not required to listen to every genre, one typically gives every one a chance.
Black metal, that rather petulant and rambunctious bastard child of a three-way between Wagner, punk and metal, comes across every metal fan's plate at some point in time and reactions certainly vary...Some feel it to be pretentious and cartoonish, others find it the only tr00 metal genre around... Whatever your opinion, it probably has dozens of forum posts from dozens of sites agreeing with it or disagreeing with it. I am still working my opinion on it out...
Now, my first exposure to the form was scant proto-black metal artists like Bathory and Venom. I had a little bit of curiosity in college in 1988 after my friend Sam turned me on to metal, so, I figured I check stuff out. Outside of Anthrax, Motley Crue and Priest, my experience with metal was minimal. I eventually would get into all genres, strangely enough, in order of their appearance in the history of the music scene. In college towns, (mine was Ft. Collins, Colorado) there are plenty of good record stores. There was a local shop named Finest Records that I would go to and pick up vinyl (!) and cassettes (!!) for my Walkman (!!!).
I was a new wave/punk/industrial/alternative kid, but I would look at the metal and found the Venom covers just friggin' intimidating. At the time, the Norwegian Black Metal kids scarcely could play instruments much less play with fire...I also remember seeing Black Sabbath's "Born Again" cover and just wrote off ALL metal as satanic conformity. See, I was given a ton of $#@! for liking the music I liked in my black Baptist family. College, being the time of questioning, would eventually lead me to shed the anti-life, anti-truth, anti-reality aspects of Christianity in favor of the non-theistic, non-religious, philosophical and scientific Buddhism and actually break down and buy some metal records. (Some?! I probably have over 300...)
Off and on, it was the sheer audacity of black metal I was intrigued by. Death metal was intimidating with its overtly satanic lyrics and technical proficiency but it was its kid brother (that sometimes was thought to be the older brother)that seemed to grab the headlines... Burning churches for goodness sakes?! Really?! WTF!
Now, outsider art and pop surrealism has always been interesting to be; Joe Coleman, Robert Williams and Robert Crumb were necessary extensions from my love of comic books...These artists and others were always interesting to me. John Waters, John Woo, George Romero, Gus Van Zandt and Russ Meyer were outsider directors that I loved. As an 'alternative' kid in the 80s (we really didn't have a name outside of 'new waver' or 'weirdo' or 'fag'), I wasn't threatened by the odd... but this was... WHOA!
The corpsepaint, inverted crosses and, did I mention burning CHURCHES?!?
But still, there was something there...There was some primal need for expression, a proto-civilization vibe that was just... enticing...
Now, hearing that first Mayhem record or Emperor or Immortal... That felt like what it felt like to listen to Zepplin's "Houses of the Holy" for the first time; kinda scary in that wow-this-is-cool-but-am-I-going-to-hell-for-this??? kind of way.
I DON'T want this blog to be about race but the National Socialist vibe of some of the Norwegian Black Metal bands makes listening to the records daunting. (Satanists AND Racists?!? What the hell?!)
I can't help but enjoy the genre but investigation has been difficult. I know the stories about Euronymous, Dead, Varg and Faust. I am not bothered by them (Easy E and Suge Knight would eat those kids for breakfast). However, this strain of fascism that has been hinted at in the lyrics and band imagery in metal for a long time now, is metaphor, not as something actually to embrace. Not with some of the Norwegian Black metal guys though...
This side of black metal seems to be a de-evolution to a naturalistic nationalism and suffers from the Pre/Trans fallacy; the notion that going back to some sort of way of experiencing reality of the past is a transcendent state rather than just going backwards... Nationalism and a desire for a simpler time of warriors and the like is not an advancement either spiritually or psychologically and is doomed to find itself clashing with modernity.
Plus, is anyone really more intimidated by a group of folks from the place on earth with just about the lowest crime, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and the highest standard of living? It sometimes makes me think the whole Norwegian Black Metal thing is a product of Seasonal Affective Disorder and a good dose of vitamin D and Zoloft would have saved a bunch of folks a great deal of heartache...
...Still, the music is raw, creative and primal...And mostly good.... I still have thoughts about it rumbling around my cranium, so, I'll have to continue this in part 2 of, who knows how many.
Black metal, that rather petulant and rambunctious bastard child of a three-way between Wagner, punk and metal, comes across every metal fan's plate at some point in time and reactions certainly vary...Some feel it to be pretentious and cartoonish, others find it the only tr00 metal genre around... Whatever your opinion, it probably has dozens of forum posts from dozens of sites agreeing with it or disagreeing with it. I am still working my opinion on it out...
Now, my first exposure to the form was scant proto-black metal artists like Bathory and Venom. I had a little bit of curiosity in college in 1988 after my friend Sam turned me on to metal, so, I figured I check stuff out. Outside of Anthrax, Motley Crue and Priest, my experience with metal was minimal. I eventually would get into all genres, strangely enough, in order of their appearance in the history of the music scene. In college towns, (mine was Ft. Collins, Colorado) there are plenty of good record stores. There was a local shop named Finest Records that I would go to and pick up vinyl (!) and cassettes (!!) for my Walkman (!!!).
I was a new wave/punk/industrial/alternative kid, but I would look at the metal and found the Venom covers just friggin' intimidating. At the time, the Norwegian Black Metal kids scarcely could play instruments much less play with fire...I also remember seeing Black Sabbath's "Born Again" cover and just wrote off ALL metal as satanic conformity. See, I was given a ton of $#@! for liking the music I liked in my black Baptist family. College, being the time of questioning, would eventually lead me to shed the anti-life, anti-truth, anti-reality aspects of Christianity in favor of the non-theistic, non-religious, philosophical and scientific Buddhism and actually break down and buy some metal records. (Some?! I probably have over 300...)
Off and on, it was the sheer audacity of black metal I was intrigued by. Death metal was intimidating with its overtly satanic lyrics and technical proficiency but it was its kid brother (that sometimes was thought to be the older brother)that seemed to grab the headlines... Burning churches for goodness sakes?! Really?! WTF!
Now, outsider art and pop surrealism has always been interesting to be; Joe Coleman, Robert Williams and Robert Crumb were necessary extensions from my love of comic books...These artists and others were always interesting to me. John Waters, John Woo, George Romero, Gus Van Zandt and Russ Meyer were outsider directors that I loved. As an 'alternative' kid in the 80s (we really didn't have a name outside of 'new waver' or 'weirdo' or 'fag'), I wasn't threatened by the odd... but this was... WHOA!
The corpsepaint, inverted crosses and, did I mention burning CHURCHES?!?
But still, there was something there...There was some primal need for expression, a proto-civilization vibe that was just... enticing...
Now, hearing that first Mayhem record or Emperor or Immortal... That felt like what it felt like to listen to Zepplin's "Houses of the Holy" for the first time; kinda scary in that wow-this-is-cool-but-am-I-going-to-hell-for-this??? kind of way.
I DON'T want this blog to be about race but the National Socialist vibe of some of the Norwegian Black Metal bands makes listening to the records daunting. (Satanists AND Racists?!? What the hell?!)
I can't help but enjoy the genre but investigation has been difficult. I know the stories about Euronymous, Dead, Varg and Faust. I am not bothered by them (Easy E and Suge Knight would eat those kids for breakfast). However, this strain of fascism that has been hinted at in the lyrics and band imagery in metal for a long time now, is metaphor, not as something actually to embrace. Not with some of the Norwegian Black metal guys though...
This side of black metal seems to be a de-evolution to a naturalistic nationalism and suffers from the Pre/Trans fallacy; the notion that going back to some sort of way of experiencing reality of the past is a transcendent state rather than just going backwards... Nationalism and a desire for a simpler time of warriors and the like is not an advancement either spiritually or psychologically and is doomed to find itself clashing with modernity.
Plus, is anyone really more intimidated by a group of folks from the place on earth with just about the lowest crime, poverty, unemployment, homelessness and the highest standard of living? It sometimes makes me think the whole Norwegian Black Metal thing is a product of Seasonal Affective Disorder and a good dose of vitamin D and Zoloft would have saved a bunch of folks a great deal of heartache...
...Still, the music is raw, creative and primal...And mostly good.... I still have thoughts about it rumbling around my cranium, so, I'll have to continue this in part 2 of, who knows how many.
...No High on Fire, but...
For those of you that don't know(and I assure you, I will tell the tale throughout these posts), my interest in metal bands follows the actual metal timeline. I was first interested in doom (Black Sabbath, natch) then NWOBHM bands like Judas Priest. I moved on to Slayer almost simultaneously with my interest in NWOBHM. Then onto death and black metal with some sludge thrown in.
So, when I heard that High on Fire was playing FOR FREE tonight, I was super stoked. Alas, dear reader, I was scheduled to work at my second job as a pizza guy for Pudge Brothers Pizza. I consider Sleep, and by extension, High on Fire part of my doom necessities. And as doom/stoner metal is my first love in metal, I was super bummed by not seeing them...
On my last delivery, the one that sealed the deal of me not going by occurring after 10 p.m., I met Nick, who was wearing a Whitechapel t-shirt. We started talking about bands and it turns out A) he was at the Nile show and the Devildriver show and knows those guys, B) can get into shows for nothing and C) would perhaps be able to help yours truly in his quest for metal show supremacy. Turns out he used to roadie and may be able to get me into some shows! More importantly, I may have a new metal friend and someone to hang with while seeing bands, Pretty cool...
So, when I heard that High on Fire was playing FOR FREE tonight, I was super stoked. Alas, dear reader, I was scheduled to work at my second job as a pizza guy for Pudge Brothers Pizza. I consider Sleep, and by extension, High on Fire part of my doom necessities. And as doom/stoner metal is my first love in metal, I was super bummed by not seeing them...
On my last delivery, the one that sealed the deal of me not going by occurring after 10 p.m., I met Nick, who was wearing a Whitechapel t-shirt. We started talking about bands and it turns out A) he was at the Nile show and the Devildriver show and knows those guys, B) can get into shows for nothing and C) would perhaps be able to help yours truly in his quest for metal show supremacy. Turns out he used to roadie and may be able to get me into some shows! More importantly, I may have a new metal friend and someone to hang with while seeing bands, Pretty cool...
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