MOTHER OF GOD

WHAT

A haft

For a very long time I thought the word "have" is spelled as "haft".


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haft_%28sword%29

Better yet: nobody corrected me; ever. Except once and then I stopped typing it wrong.

Well that's what I get for being a filthy foreigner

Glorior Belli - Meet Us at the Southern Sign

Glorior Belli is a relatively new band that started out in some dodgy times. It was the year 2005 and their debut album seemed to me more or less like a copy of Deathspell Omegas, at the time, current full length that sort of shaped the future of (at least) French scene. In all honesty I didn't think much of it at the time and I avoided this band for quite a while. In 2007 they made another album which flew under my radar (apparently it's their best effort so far but I can't seem to remember how it even sounds) simply because there were far more interesting things to listen in that year. 2007 was a very fruitful year for metal.

Then came their third album in 2009. I was intrigued by the name since it wasn't the usual devil worship gibberish so I checked it out. Finally on this album the band tried something different! This was something that actually gave them identity and a unique sound. They took the concept of blues and sort of merged it with black metal. Musically it resembles blues but it still is largely based on black metal. Good black metal and great mixture of raspy yet clean vocals. It's an interesting take on black metal and music itself. Blues and black metal isn't something people generally mix together and this came out really great and innovative.


Certainly worth a listen or two even if your aren't much into back metal.

Download.

In every grief stricken blues.

Paysage d'Hiver - Nacht

Paysage d'Hiver is usually known in the metal world as the ultimate collectors wet dream. It's one of those black metal one man bands that were (are they still?) popular during the 00s. This particular "band" comes from Switzerland and, unlike many other lo-fi black metal bands, it delivers good enjoyment in all aspects of this genre. I also enjoy the fact how the guy refuses to put out anything other than demos and EPs (according to Metal Archives) even though he's considered a top tier project. This is probably why his stuff is very sought after and it usually sells really fast. And I mean really fast. Nacht, apparently, was sold out in just one day.

Is the hype around this guy justified? Well, sort of. Paysage d'Hiver is not a genre breaking outstanding music. It's just black metal but it's black metal done right. The low production, the ambient passages, the riffs, the fuzzy sounding vocals and the somewhat cheesy thematic that Paysage deals with is done good and has depth. It does not sound corny or superficial. It actually does a really good job in immersing you into this whole wintery theme that it presents.

Nacht is a good album to start with this band if you're new to it. It holds all of the musical directions in which the author flexes his artistic muscles and on top of that he is also an experienced  composer and player by now. So yeah, I don't really see why you should miss out on this one if you're into black metal.

Oh and did I mention he is also in Darkspace?

Apparently fake and real version.

Hideshi Hino - Panorama Of Hell

Ah, the madness that is Hideshi Hino. Lately I've been rereading most of my library of peculiar and strange mangas so I remembered just how much good Panorama of Hell is.

I've read just three of Hinos comics so I can't really say this is the best he ever made but as far as my opinion goes this made the biggest impact on me while I was reading it. The art as well is a tad bit better from the previous works that I posted some time ago.

The story of the whole book revolves around a painter and his family. He "talks" with the reader and goes on to explain various things he uses for inspiration and tells you the story of his life. This could easily be a premise of a melodramatic Hollywood film directed by Wes Anderson with quirky camera angles and hip characters. But hey, this is Japanese comics we're talking about and the main protagonist is peeling his face off on the front cover so I think by now you realize how this is more of a fucking morbidly disgusting mockery of human existence and violence. In fact I think this is the most violent Hideshi Hino manga I've read so far. So preferably read this while listening to your favorite old school death metal band.

Despite the fact that the characters in this story (or any other story that Hino ever did in fact) have absolutely no redeeming qualities or any good intentions something inside me made me feel sorry for these characters. I rarely feel anything towards fictional characters but this time around this whole concept made me very depressed after reading the whole thing. I think it's very sad that these characters have to live through such atrocities and even sadder is that this is the only world they know. They actually enjoy this torment that they experience on an hourly basis. It is not something they have chosen to be, it's just that a series of misfortunes through generations piled up and brought them to this point.

This might not click with you as it did with me but I think you should give this one a try anyway.

Recommended.

Download.

Jackie McLean - 4, 5 And 6

Jackie McLean was perhaps the most talented Charlie Parker follower. He followed him since from his teen years (around those years Parker was very much the most popular guy in jazz) and sometimes he was even placed to play at Parkers concerts until Parker arrives.

Aside from being a very good Parker apprentice he devised a style and sound of his own. 4, 5 and 6 is probably my favorite album of his. The opening track is probably the best. A 10 minute work based on Sentimental Journey is a reason good enough to get this but other tunes on this record are exceptional as well. I can't really say anything more. It's bebop and it's good.

Download.