We went into the eighteenth century assuming that man-made or artificial systems could do better than nature, based on the “me first” individualism of The Enlightenment.™ People assumed that this would free us of the kings and the crazed mob both, but they were all deceived.
6 CommentsTags: censorship, jesus, Singapore, watain
We find ourselves at one of those terrifying and exciting points in history, like standing on the narrow point of a mountain ledge and feeling the cold northern breeze. The old system has failed; we are going to change to something new, although most are still kicking their feet in a tantrum of protest at the threat of change. This opens up new spaces and possibilities.
19 CommentsTags: Black Metal, far-Right, national socialism, nationalism, Nazism, racism
This article attempts to pseudophilosophize on religious awe and its connection to black metal through the analysis of two songs that are connected beyond time. Herein, we shall Enter the Eternal Fire and Walk the Infernal Fields in pursuit of the archetype of the first romantic hero, that is, Satan. (more…)
8 CommentsTags: Bathory, Bridge of Death, darkthrone, enter the eternal fire, manowar, nietzsche, Paradie Lost, Satan, walk the infernal fields, will to power
In an industry crammed with anti-hero biopics, Lords of Chaos follows the self-destructive rock star trope while sensationalizing the events that occurred during the black metal movement in Norway. Instead of simplifying the story to tell a more accurate tale of actual events, it adopts the more complex and clunky Hollywood cliché of the anti-hero rockstar who must “confront his own demons” instead of the more interesting story, as happened in real life, of a clash over artistic, philosophical, and personal differences. (more…)
7 CommentsTags: attila csihar, Blackthorn, burzum, Euronymous, faust, hellhammer, Jonas Akerlund, lords of chaos, mayhem, mental retardation, Metalion, movie, varg vikernes
When all the bands that were terrible fifteen years ago still release music, there is no way that the desperation and attention whoring won’t come out in the music. Here are some of the worst songs to curse metal not only in these times but since the birth of the genre itself.
17 CommentsTags: abhorrence, Assault Attack, avantasia, blind guardian, Candice Night, cenotaph, dream theater, in flames, linkin park, Michael Shenker, Pawns of Christ, testosteruins
Another rare breed of artists who use modern technique of slamming grind-death within old-school death metal structures. For all their shortcomings, this approach is aligned with their vision of telling a good horror/slasher story and the result does not disappoint.
1 CommentTags: deeds of flesh, Methods to Delusion, scalpel
One genre which often attracts the admiration of Metal musicians is Electronica. When musicians from Germany, France and elsewhere began experimenting in the third quarter of the 20th century with various newfound technologies in order to create monumental landscapes of synthetic psychedelia with cosmic scope, the uncanny wave of influence unexpectedly resulted in the arising of everything from the modern club scene to many of your favourite Black Metal bands.
Tags: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Ambient, ash ra tempel, ashra, brian eno, canada, cinema, classical music, conrad schnitzler, Cosmic, drugs, edgar froese, electronic, electronic music, electronica, film, film score, france, futuristic, germany, greece, jean-michel jarre, keyboards, Klaus Schulze, kraftwerk, krautrock, manuel gottsching, michael hoeing, michael stearns, progressive rock, Romanticism, science fiction, sinoia caves, Soundtracks, space, steve roach, surrealism, synth, synthesizers, synthpop, tangerine dream, terry riley, UK, USA
On the Black Mirror episode Bandersnatch, the young programmer protagonist, under the instructions of an Aldous Huxley inspired game developer, has the option of picking up a record by Tangerine Dream – Phaedra. As the young programmer and the viewer struggle with paradox in order to finish his game, we find a chance to do a casual DMU reflection on the parallels between metal and game programming, madness and the collapse of western civilization by substituting learning for entertainment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URssLwPXkVk
11 CommentsTags: Bandersnatch, Black Mirror, cannibal corpse, convergence, Creativity, cryptopsy, de mysteriis dom sathanas, Dead, divergence, Euronymous, gorguts, Jon Levasseur, Luc Lemay, mayhem, Phaedra, plasticity, psychology, tangerine dream
It was an early day in the winter of 1999 when I awoke from a horrific vision of immense despair. I saw a desolate land, littered with waste and overcrowded with wandering souls in torment. Skeletons danced basking in the moonlight, and the light did not reach the wandering souls. Many were stuck in a swamp polluted with syringes. Others frantically dug through a graveyard searching for a cadaver but finding only a few rotting limbs. Some sought to create a fire but could not create a single spark. A large crowd gathered around the statue of a hammer but could not get it to move. And I saw a well, the waters of which were poisoned by a river of sewage from a foreign land. And above the well it was written THE WELL OF INSPIRATION.
20 CommentsTags: Baroness, candlemass, carcass, tomb mold, triptykon, Vltimas
Amidst the soulless mediocrity of the Nowadays era labeled by some as “modernity”, there exist certain currents of contemporary music which hearken to a perennial spirit, evoking reminiscences of an ancient and timeless existence of a more vibrant, numinous nature – ultimately putting the listener in contact with a deep intimation of the greater Reality of which they are a part. It is assumed that many readers of this site intuitively recognize that the best of Metal exemplifies this. Many fans and musicians of Metal also tend to recognise similar expressions as they emerge in other styles of music, whether it be Classical, Electronic, Prog, Punk, Folk, Industrial, Goth, or whatever. One enduring group which especially stands out to the sensitively attuned is, of course, the eternal Dead Can Dance.
Tags: 2018, Anastasis, Australia, Brendan Perry, darkwave, Dead Can Dance, Goth rock, Into the Labyrinth, ireland, Lisa Gerrard, New Age, Post-Punk, Spiritchaser, Spleen and Ideal, UK, Within the Realm of A Dying Sun, World Music
