#there's more than one metal band where I'm like I like this album except the ones you metal growled which don't work for me

[medicinemane]

On the other hand there's one song where I can say exactly what they did wrong and what I'd have them do differently

It's very simply doing the metal growl when it's like... no no no, this is an epic ballad you have here, and your voice is perfect for it. No metal growl in this song and skip the uh... bridge or whatever it's called where you kind of do a guitar solo

You did that and the song is perfect. I respect you doing it the way you wanted, and you made a fantastic song, but... the metal growling voice just doesn't fit the texture of this song

[ettawritesnstudies]

Not to be emo on main but I saw Twenty One Pilots at their hometown show on Sunday and it was such an incredible experience

Tumblr won't let me upload my videos because they're too large but I've been a fan of this band since 2017 and I love all their older music too. I expected them to play Clancy through and then maybe do a couple other hits but I was so surprised and excited when they covered something from every album and both of my favorite songs. (Holding Onto You and Migraine). When Josh showed up as the torchbearer it was in the section next to ours so we had a great view of him.

And the whole thing was recorded for a live concert album! So the camera views were broadcast for the seated people on the big screens and we got to see all the up close details too! I had the time of my life belting along to the songs and I still know nearly all the lyrics. I'm so excited to rewatch the recording when it comes out and hear how the audience mics picked up our voices. There was something so cathartic about hearing a whole auditorium scream lines like "I'm trying to sleep, but I can't when you all have Guns for Hands, DONT TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT!!!" and "Hey, kid, get out of the road!" And because it was a Sunday night and we wouldn't get home until after 1am with alarms set for work at 6:30... "WAKE UP YOU NEED TO MAKE MONEY." There was even a part where we sang the rap part of Ride without a cue.

It was great.

My fiancé didn't know the band at all except for a couple radio hits before the show and I apologized profusely for the Cringe™ before dragging him along to this but everyone was so nice and friendly and Tyler and Josh really know how to put on a great show. The stages were so amazing and the transitions between each part of the setlist was flawless. The crew was working so hard to keep the band safe and coordinated and all the effects looked awesome. Eric had a great time and said this was one of his favorite concerts of mine he's been to. He likes the rock/metal type songs most like heavydirtysoul but I'll have to pull up the lyrics to show him more.

This was my first TøP show I've ever seen and I'm really happy I went. I was debating about buying tickets at first but I'm really really really glad I did. This band has meant a lot to me over the years and gotten me through a lot of tough spots. I'm doing so much better now than I was at 16. While my life isn't perfect and the world is scarier now than it was back then, at 23, I can genuinely say I can envision a future that I look forward to every day.

Stay alive.

[therecordchanger62279]

The 10 Most Influential Debut Records of the Rock Era

It's been, oh, at least three days since I posted a list, so I thought it was time for another one. (I have a list-making gene - which, unfortunately, takes up far too much of my time. But if I don't make the list and post it, I begin showing signs of emotional stress because my brain becomes overloaded with pointless minutiae, and I need to empty it - much like the trash on a computer. Otherwise, my brain begins to operate more slowly, and I'm unable to download my thoughts into words and deeds. The little wheel in my eyeball just goes round and round. My head begins to smoke, and my wife has to unplug me, and call tech support.)

In any case, this is a list I don't actually recall ever seeing anywhere else. I was thinking about how important it is for any musical act to make a great debut record, and if you manage to accomplish that, how incredible that record must be to actually influence or change the direction of popular music your first time out. It would be far more difficult than, say, hitting a grand slam walk-off home run in your first major league at-bat.

When I began compiling the list, I was thinking first about the most influential records ever made, but not many of them were debut records. There are countless lists of influential albums out there, and many more lists of best debut records. But both at once? So, I compiled a list that I think is pretty impressive dating back 60 years - although this list ends with 1980. By then, I think most, if not all popular music's worthwhile changes and growth had happened or had been set in motion, and from that point forward, regression set in. We've reached a point now where there's nothing new under the sun, and we are devolving our way to some landfill in New Jersey keeping company with six-pack plastic rings, and styrofoam cups.

The list is in roughly chronological order, and I'll add a few comments after each in an effort to defend my choices.

Meet The Beatles - The Beatles (1964) Not technically their debut, you scream? Well, I don't live in the UK. This was the US debut record, and I would argue that if The Beatles had never made it in America, they would've come and gone like last week's latest Rap sensation. This is ground zero, and I'll accept no substitutes.

Freak Out - The Mothers of Invention (1966) Even today, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that a record like this existed in 1966. It opened up the whole world of record making to the avant-garde, and a whole new audience. No restrictions. No rules. From that day forward - bring it!

The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967) Do I really need to argue The Velvets influence at this point to anyone?

Music From Big Pink - The Band (1968) Eric Clapton left Cream because of a Rolling Stone review, and this album. Back to basics. You could argue it was the first "Americana" album long before they had a name for it.

Santana (1969) America and most of the world had not heard anything before like this marriage of Rock, Jazz, and Latin music, and it was there as if it was the most natural thing in the world - and maybe it was.

In The Court of the Crimson King - King Crimson (1969) The invention of Progressive Rock, and the influence of Folk, and Classical on the sound of Rock thereafter.

Black Sabbath (1970) The invention of Heavy Metal, and the importance of riffing, and a noise like laying down on a railroad track with a train bearing down on your exploding head.

Horses - Patti Smith (1975) Poetry fused with Rock 'N' Roll wrapped in a feminist sensibility, and an attitude that if you aren't saying something important, why speak at all?

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (1977) Some would argue The Ramones debut mattered more, but their debut was largely ignored except by critics, and the NY club crowd. It was The Pistols that fired the Punk shot heard 'round the world. Rock's last gasp, and then there was.....

The Sugarhill Gang (1980) The single, Rapper's Delight was released in the late summer of '79. If they had not followed up with a full-length album, it might've been viewed as a novelty hit. Instead it was the birth of Rap which would eventually overwhelm Rock as the most popular music of the day.

[cdvrdcmpstn6]

Album Review: Sort Vokter - Folkloric Necro Metal (1996)

Sort Vokter was an ambient black metal band active in mid 90s Norway. This album is their only release and has a bit of a cult following (a lot of people in the comments section of the video I'm listening to it on right now claim that it's "perfect"). Does it live up to the hype? Let's discuss.

The first thing to note is that on this album, every instrument is played by a different member of the band on each track, like the bassist on track 2 might be the vocalist on track 3 and the keyboardist on track 4. It's a cool concept, but I don't know how well it benefits this band's music.

The guitar on this album is one of the weakest parts. The guitar is SUPER fuzzed out and distorted, to the point where it's essentially just white noise, with no discernable riffs or melody (at least for the first couple tracks, and after that it cleans up a bit). However, even after the tone cleans up and becomes more melodic, the riffs aren't anything engaging at all, they're very generic and sound lazy.

Next is the bass. The bass is really audible, which is cool, except it also has a shit tone and is annoying as fuck. It's black metal, I don't wanna be blasted in the face with distorted ass bass every single track for like 40 minutes straight, it's annoying. And the only way you can identify any melody or riffs outside of the synths IS THE BASS, which is really just not something I like at all. It sounds like shit, it was a stupid idea, I hate it.

Third, the drums. The drums on this album are programmed, which usually isn't something I have a problem with, except they sound Really Bad on this album. I think it's the very clear, spaceus mix, but every time they play the crash cymbal on this album all I can hear is how fake it sounds. The actual programming isn't that bad, I wish it was more human, but the drums mostly just plod along with very basic blasts, not even particularly fast. They just hold the pace, which, given the stripped down nature of this album, is a positive. Overall the drums are a mixed bag, but ignoring the fake cymbal makes them pretty decent for what they're intended to do.

The synths are one of the highpoints of this album. They add a ton of great atmosphere, fill out the sparse mix, and add most of the melody to this album. I honestly wish they'd used them MORE if anything. However, it doesn't seem like this album was supposed to be very melodic, as the melodies are supremely basic, relatively boring, and overall just not satisfying or good enough to be a reason to listen to this album.

And now, the vocals. The vocals are probably my favorite thing on this album, which is crazy because they're pretty mid. They're very typical 90s norwegian black metal vocals, and I can't think of anything they do better than their contemporaries. They're not bad at all. In fact, they're quite decent. They're just not anything beyond that.

Finally, the BOGO deal of the production and atmosphere. These are very linked, so I'll talk about them together. As I mentioned a little before, the production on this album is very sparse and has a lot of space. I like this quality a lot actually, I think it fits the album well and gives it a somewhat light and airy feel that is genuinely quite pleasant. I'd be surprised if these guys hadn't gone to like... a legit studio and paid decent money for a mixing engineer too. However, it's still a VERY clean mix, almost slick. And this is black metal. This album, for the most part, is incredibly high fidelity, which isn't a positive. I tend to like RAW black metal specifically, and because this doesn't sound like it was recorded on a potato, it doesn't appeal to me as much as it could.

Overall, I think this album is pretty bland and underwhelming, as well as overproduced. I think it's worth checking out, but it's not the kind of thing I can see myself revisiting anytime soon if at all.

5.7/10

Standout Track: Tårers sang

[iwonderwh0]

Any more microtonal music recommendations? I'd rather get recs than hop blindly into the youtube unknown lol

YES, of course! I'm so glad you asked since now I have an excuse to share here more of my micro-obsession

Little disclaimer - at first most people find it absolutely unlistenable and some even find it deeply disturbing, but it's only because they are not used to it. It takes time

So it might be reasonable to start with

"King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard" - this is Australian indie rock band that often uses microtonal instruments for their music -- not all of it, but enough to be a good starting point to get used to some of it. I'd start with "Nonagon Infinity" - this album is FIRE, and the cool thing about it is that every song of this album flows flawlessly into the next one, and the last one flows almost flawlessly into the first one if you listen to them on loop. Other album I'd recommend is "Flying Microtonal Banana", and one specific song that I was absolutely obsessed with that I also want to link is Crumbling Castle This band is where microtonality is mixed within familiar type of music, so it feels comfortable and familiar and not intimidating

Okay, moving on to other microtonal examples on the beginner-friendly side

I remember really liking this one in 19EDO, here it's really gentle microtonality, just enough of it to be noticeable without overwhelming someone who'd listen to it for the first time. Also perfect example of how microtonal music can convey the kind of mood that would be impossible in 12EDO

Next, this one is really nice, and it's a pity there's not much more from this musician as I find it adorable.

Brendan Byrnes - Cave Dance I just realised I completely forgot that he exists, I only remember that this songs slaps, should probably dive into his discography myself

Now getting closer to my absolute faves - Xotla and Sevish. All of my following recommendations are just individual songs and albums of theirs. Xotla is probably more beginner-friendly, so I'll start with his songs

Xotla - Surprise me This was the song that made me obsessed with microtonality, here is where it started. I remember listening it on repeat just because 4:15 <-- MY GOD I can't even describe how amazing this place felt when I listened to it for the first ten times or so

Xotla - No Longer 2:50 ❤️

Xotla - Cosmic Microwave pure goosebumps the first listening

Xotla - Dance of the Forest Lights (Reimagined) - the new version of this song. I love both of them

Xotla - Robots Dream To Dance absolute bop

Xotla - Sipping Tea By The Sea already familiar to you, It's from "Seeds of Moonlight" album. If you liked this song maybe you should check out the rest of the album. My favourites from this album (other than that): Metallic Lilypads and Losing Connections. Although this album is not my favourite.

Okay, I realised maybe I should just recommend albums. All of them (except Planting Seeds of Microtones, it sounds too much like pop music and it's not the Xotla I love), my favourite is Science Fraction

Lastly in regards to Xotla I wanna note Funkrotonal (0:56 !!!)

Also Between Space (3:24 !)

Okay, now I'll link THE WHOLE SEVISH DISCOGRAPHY (no, but really)

But really, this is the most important place of this post

SEVISH

SEVISH

SEVISH

SEVISH

Sevish is the kind of microtonality that you probably shouldn't jump on when you're just getting used to microtones, because this is where most of my irls noped immediately. But if you're ready and your heart is open, his music is literally out of this world

Sevish - Outside (!!!!) - this is where my head exploded when I listened to it for the first time. The moment I realised that microtonal harmony is absolutely unearthly GEORGEOUS

Sevish - Better Left Unanswered - more of absolutely gorgeous microtonality

Sevish - Gleam - if you're using tiktok there's a possibility that you've actually heard this one, it was trending at some point. The moment from 0:50 specifically

Sevish - Horizons - I just want to leave here this comment that was written under this song on youtube:

Here I'll just link the whole Morphable album - I listened to it more times than I could count, but here are some songs from it that I like more than others:

Tritavium (absolute insane percussion at 1:17, I'm not normal about it at all)

Launch (1:29 is 🤌✨😩)

Smashing, actually damn I can just link every single song from this album, they're all uniquely amazing

Songs from other albums

Sevish - Freathy the end of this one is heaven-like (3:12) and I mean it, it's like church-choir

Sevish - Desert Island Rain - this was one of the first I listened by sevish and it scratched my brain in a way no other song ever did, also 4:34 here is a completely different vibe. This is also the song I tried to show to my irls that made them make such a face expression as if they're in physical pain. Well, definitely not the best one to familiarize anyone with microtonality, as this one is amazing if you're ready, otherwise it's miserable

Also check out "Formless Shadows" album if you love ambient

Damn

I LOVE microtonal music

I got so used to it that when I now listen to usual 12EDO it feels like something is missing

[scary-ivy]

Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band at the San Jose Civic 6/17/23 concert notes

I don't even know what to say except for simply that was great, but I'll try to put it into words

It was awesome to have floor seats for once, and in such a small venue, it felt very close and intimate. I swear Ringo pointed directly at us or looked right out way several times.

His singing voice sounded great tonight, I always think he somehow sounds better live than he does on his recent albums (less autotune?), and just as clear and strong as on any of the Beatle records. I think he might have actually gotten better at singing over the years.

If you've never seen Ringo Starr live, he continues to have an insane amount of energy for his age, dancing along to every song he sings, running and jumping around. He acts borderline hyperactive.

I think we missed Matchbox, we came in right as It Don't Come Easy started. Ringo threw in a little "hare krishna" into the song, which got applause and peace signs from the audience. So many peace signs.

Edgar Winter kept giving everyone in the band these big alliterative introductions

Steve Lukather was great on all the Toto songs, and I was really impressed with his guitar playing, he's like the lead guitarist of this version of the band. Everyone stands up for the Toto songs

Edgar Winter was soo good, he played keyboards, sax, and drums and sang. His keytar solos on Frankenstein were amazing. He wasn't part of the band the last time I saw them, but he's a great addition and elevated the whole show. He claimed to have invented the idea of the keytar, and his keytar was super cool it was more like a normal keyboard but with a strap and the note bending patch on the lower side of the instrument, which was a unique way to playing it.

Colin Hay was still my favorite though because I just love Men At Work so much, he sings so powerfully and I loved hearing his distinctive voice on the Toto songs. I almost started crying during Overkill because seeing Ringo Starr playing along with this song brought me back to my childhood.

The other members of the band were superb I just wanted to shout out my favorites

I loved watching Ringo play along with the songs, he really does have the exact same mannerisms and style of drumming as when he was in the Beatles, crossing his arms over each other and bobbing along. The only time I saw him go faster was their cover of Johnny B. Goode, I guess that's just a really fast drums song.

I need to talk about Ringo's outfit, he was wearing this black shirt with shinny metallic chevrons on it, very flashy, and flattering black pants. When he went away for the "magical musical moment" (which I think is just his way of distracting the audience from him leaving briefly) my mom said "I bet he'll come back in an outfit change", and somehow she was right because he came out wearing this black denim jacket with dark blue stars on it. Loved that flashy fit. And everyone in the band was wearing some type of flashy, dorky "rock & roll" outfit, I loved it.

I also love the set design Ringo Starr & the band have, it's a airbrushed psychedelic forrest scene on a screen, with big glowing stars having in front of it, and then they project even more stars on it. They also had screens this time, which was nice

Ringo told us that this was the only song attributed to Lennon-McCartney-Starkey, and then joked about asking them to change the order. What Goes On. Loved it.

Before "I'm the Greatest" Ringo said John wrote this song for him, and said the was only one John. Man I loved hearing him do I'm The Greatest, such a good song and such a uniquely Ringo song, like a statement piece for the whole show. He kept singing "what will you do with a drunker sailor" quickly during the little turnaround in the song, which was fun.

A moment I will describe later, but it ended with Ringo saying Love Is Love.

Their was a moment where he teased several different Beatles songs and then the band started playing them, but then he stopped them every time. Extremely funny.

He did Boys while playing the drums, and said he had been doing this song long before he joined the Beatles.

I loved hearing the rest of the band add extra solos to What Goes On, Boys, and especially I Wanna Be Your Man, which ruled especially on the verses

Yellow Submarine, I think I might prefer live to the Beatles version, everyone in the audience sings along. He did funny adlibs during the "boat straight ahead" part

'I took you on a Yellow Submarine, now I'll show you an Octopus' garden" loved this, just lovely to hear him sing it

Back Off Boogaloo had some type of funny intro.

"This song is about something I'm trying to do more and more everyday, which is Act Naturally" insanely cryptic thing to say. He literally started jumping up and down near the end of this song.

Ringo held up and read a sign from the audience that said "you're our favorite Beatle, please don't tell Paul"

""If you don't know this song, you're probably in the wrong venue. waiting for Led Zeppelin" band launches into Zeppelin song for a surprisingly long bit. And then he said just start it lads" or something like that and they did With a Little Help From My Friends, with the band perfectly singing the Billy Sheers intro and a nice Beatlesesque outro. He hit the long note at the end and everyone in the audience hit it with him.

Give Peace a Chance as sort of an encoure, love that.

Fucking superb.

[twinhood-2dot0]

More J-Pop :P

Yep, doing this again. I've discovered so many more songs that I wanna share.

Yorushika/ヨルシカ

Yorushika has become my favourite band in the past few... months? idk when my last post was. The vocalist is awesome and I really love their guitar and piano instrumentals.

Parade/パレード - I discovered this song yesterday so I haven't had the time to look into the lyrics yet. Will update when I do. I really love the instrumentals though. The violin is just awesome, and like in every other song, the piano is perfection. This is from the album That's Why I Gave Up On Music though, so it's sure to have deep lyrics, since the whole album is telling a story

Algernon/アルジャーノン - The music video doesn't have translations :(, so I didn't look into the meaning of this song either, but the music video looks awesome.

The next few songs I don't have too much to remark upon. (yet)

Say It./ヨルシカ- Okay I haven't looked into the meaning to most of these lmao. Gotta get on that. Has great guitars though.

Ghost In A Flower/花に亡霊- Awesome piano and guitar.

Setting Sun/斜陽

Spring Thief/春泥棒

That's Why I Gave Up On Music/だから僕は音楽を辞めた- Title track from the album. The album tells a story (that I haven't read yet) that concludes with this track. I especially love the piano-guitar duet after the opening verse, it's just, wow. Suis (the vocalist) did an exceptional job on this track, and lyrics are also just so good. The music video is just too good and you should read the lyrics so I'm dropping the youtube link for this one.

Also an English translated version by Rachie because she did a great job on it.

Minami/美波

Another artist I've come to adore very recently.

DROP - Just sounds really good. Will update if I look into meanings later, goes for every song I don't remark upon here.

Waiting For Rain/アメヲマツ- Words cannot express how much I love this song. One thing I really love about Minami is how expressive their voice is, and that is exemplified in this song. She explained that she did intend for this song to be conveyed through feelings and emotions more than words, and I think she succeeded in that. The lyrics are also awesome, the music video is awesome, the instrumentals are eargasmic. Music video for english translation and awesome animation.

Crying For Rain/カワキヲアメク- The first song I heard by Minami. It also does the same, being very expressive. It's the opening for an anime called uh Domestic Girlfriend. Not gonna be watching it purely for how weird the name itself is, but the song is awesome. As far as I can tell, no relation with Waiting for Rain.

Lilac/ライラック- The depressed gamer in me is in love the lyrics of this song, and the music lover in me loves the instrumentals. Seriously, just read these lyrics.

"Life's rough, Life's tough, It would be great if life could be as simple as a video game. There are even futures that I would like to bet on by pressing the A/B buttons."

yikes that's ugly, not doing that again.

"Life's rough, Life's tough, Genuinely, staying alive would be easier if life's a video gameThen a life where you can change the course of your future using A,B keys would exist."

The instrumentals are deceptively happy.

Monogatari series

It's an anime series I've heard good things about but haven't watched yet. Looks pretty long, but the songs are tantalizing. These songs are uh very cutesy and upbeat in a way I can't explain why I like it.

Chainsaw Man

One of my favourite anime as you already know. The S1 of the anime has 12 episodes, and it also has 12 ending songs. Anime usually have 1 for each season but they went above and beyond. I dislike metal, but I do like insanity so, despite that, I still love most of the tracks here for the sheer insanity. But Time Left by ZUTOMAYO and Chainsaw Blood are still my favourites tho. And can't forget KICK BACK, it's such a banger OP and the opening animatic itself is awesome with its foreshadowing and cinematic references. You can read more about what I think of KICK BACK at Alia's Corner.

Heh I just realised how ridiculous Chainsaw Man looks with chainsaws sprouting out of his hands and head and... a formal shirt and pants and a tie.

Song from Your Lie In April. Just sounds really good.

A jem from Attack On Titan that I somehow overlooked.

I hit the audio limit, damn you Tumblr, why you gotta make this so hard?

Anyways, you can sort by newest and see my newer favourites. Some particular standouts are 色彩/Color by yama, 三時のキス/idfk by Rokudenashi/ロクデナシ, again by YUI, 君のことじゃないよ by ZUTOMAYO, NIGHT DANCER by imase, Massarana Daichi by Higuchi Ai, from the same album as Akuma No Ko, the ED song for AoT Final Season Part 1, the two Natori songs, Overdose especially, Asphyxia, Kyouran Hey Kids!! by THE ORAL CIGARETTES and No Title by Reol.

Watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood now, you can read what I think of it in my page, and also updated my AoT thoughts.

[awsugar]

okay tbh confession time... no, I do not think there will be new music. however. I do Fear... that IF there were new music....what if it fucking sucks, Mack?? what if it sucks? cause like okay here's my thing. til the reunion. I had fully 100% accepted they were over and had zero expectations at all of a reunion and was like okay with that and accepted it. and I'd even talked about this before that I was sort of even glad they did end it when they did. cause their Legacy stayed intact if that makes sense? they stopped before they put out a shit album or a bad video or something like that. even if DD didn't do as good as TBP like commercially or whatever they went out when they were still on the top of the world and they remained that way. and that's smth I really appreciated ngl? it's like when a TV show goes past when it should have fucking ended and it ruins it's reputation and taints it's whole legacy. (I know I'm being way too deep here with all this "legacy" shit it's literally 4 nerds in a band) and I am Just Scared that If there's new music .. what if it sucks... ? or like, not even "sucks" but what if it just doesn't Live Up to their rest of their reputation?? even still today people see DD as not being as good as the others. (I like DD (and CW) this is not slander) but what if they peaked during TBP. and everything else will just go down hill. like listen I fucking LOVE Frank's solo work and I love Hesitant Alien and I love what little Ray and Mikey have put out. but it's not MCR. it's not MCR's legacy. and what if they can't live up to that now? and not just them but I worry that what if we, the fans, have such high expectations (bc cmon those 4 albums are like the best shit in the fucking world. they're untouchable dude.) that no matter what they did it wouldn't live up to what We expect even if it were great yknow??? what if it feels forced? what if they try to make something people expect and it feels inauthentic? what if they go in such a drastically different direction it loses all MCR-ness? (with the exception of black metal. I'd love an MCR black metal album. not joking.) even speaking personally I don't even know if I would want them to sound the same or different. idek in a perfect world where, theoretically they did make new music and theoretically it did live up to if not exceed all expectations, what that would even begin to sound like or look like. idk. if anybody can be as good as MCR, it's MCR. I just stress over the what if. they're the most dangerous band in the world, Mack. I just want them to stay that way.

i feel like i don't have much to add that you didn't say cause you said it all. i also don't think there will be music but i have the exact same fears. their current discography IS a legacy!!! its a perfect trajectory it tells a story there is a clear beginning middle and end. i was absolutely NOT ready for the breakup when it happened. but like in recent years, ive realized that danger days is like. the obvious completion of their story as a band and the evolution of their sound. the TRAJECTORY i talk about the trajectory all the time lmao. like it all just makes sense as one complete package and really doesn't feel incomplete to me.

i worry like if they just try to make a rock album, will it be disappointing? like what if it doesn't live up to the standards of an mcr album which is generall more than JUST an album. or like if they try to stay true to themselves which is to reinvent themselves, like i always felt like if they tried to level up from where they ended with danger days, would it even be recognizably mcr anymore?? like i love danger days like you said but it is my least favorite and it did like push the boundaries of what i expected for them. i have always feared that like evolving past dd would be a step too far.

anyway yea like. i am a huge new music skeptic. don't think it will happen. im perfectly content without it. if they DID drop something of course i would lose my shit. but the fear is there 100%. like what if its been too long and the version of mcr in 2022 isn't something i like??? that would be devastating.

[sabadorks]

I'm watching the Metal Evolution documentary series from 2011 and i have a few thoughts:

Episodes 1-3

lmao at Yngwie Malmsteen just having a bunch of Ferraris just parked as randomly as possible in his garden.

I was not expecting Ronnie James Dio's mantlepiece to be full of statuettes of princesses and dragons?

No Arthur Brown? Bruh I'm pretty sure his performance of Fire contributed more to the look of metal than anything else (although gay leather culture probably contributed just as much)

NWOBHM

my verdict is that yes, Def Leppard do belong to the movement just because I really like them

Glam Metal

despite what they claim in the episode, the genre had a renaissance and it did manage to attract an awful lot of young people. But I guess it was too hard to take a look to what was happening in Europe in the mid/late 2000s (especially in Swden where they had a whole movement called the New Wave of Swedish Sleaze)

also very important considering the two episodes that follow this one: i like that the glam metal dudes seem to have a sense of humor, self awareness and a tendency to mind their own business.

also after watching the following two episodes, very sad that is apparently a bad thing for a band to have a sense of showmanship and wanting people to be entertained and have a good time.

Thrash Metal

yeah yeah you're better than the glam metal band because you don't wear makeup and spandex.

I absolutely dislike Lars Ulrich but it is super funny to listen to him try to convince everyone that the black album was not them selling out tho.

hysterically funny to see the people who opened the episode mocking glam metal bands for wanting to have crossover appeal not only celebrating the popularity of the black album but trying to justify the fact that each and every one of them changed their sound to try and replicate metallica's success?

the episode about thrash metal really made me realize that i just don't like the way a lot of US bands sound (Megadeth are the exception). Gonna stick with the European bands.

Grunge

Holy fuck I thought the thrash metal dudes were unsufferable but jesus fucking christ the grunge people are so much worse. "Glam metal was ridiculous and stupid unlike us who are very smart and deep and original and have integrity and personality" like settle down dude, you're not the second coming of the christ.

we have here a grunge producer dude who just informed us that metal is noisy and the songwriting is shit unlike grunge which is intelligent and apparently full of musical geniuses. Not sure if the documentary people are trying to make everybody who was in a grunge band seem like cunts or if grunge musicians are even more elitist than metal musicians?

oh god now the grunge musicians are mad at the bands they influenced for being too derivative and not challenging enough. Very bizarre thing to criticise considering that grunge is overall really easy to digest both musically and lyrically?

these people just feel miserable like they have been complaining about everything, including grunge raising to mainstream popularity. Buddy I don't know how to tell you this, you decided to sign a contract with a major label?

why on earth did they dedicate a whole episode to grunge God only knows considering that everybody here made it pretty clear that they want nothing to do with metal.

[gretavanfleetposts]

Can I get a ship 🥺🥺

I’m 5’5 Virgo sun, Sagittarius Moon Sagittarius rising, I’m a little tiddy goth witch gf with a dump truck to haul around 🤣 my hair never stays one color but I am a natural blonde which I’m rocking currently (usually it’s pink or black or every other color at once) I have my labret, both nostrils, and my smiley pierced as well as a huge spider tat on my thigh with several small stick and pokes on my left wrist.

My favorite things to do are reading while jamming to music (of any kind really, except rap) I draw fashion designs but I don’t have the energy to actually make them lol. I love going for walks in nature and finding a spot to do yoga while connecting with the earth. I really love road trips and going on random spontaneous adventures with my friend or sometimes alone. I very much enjoy doing psychedelics and having very personal spiritual experiences on them. I have many other hobbies bc my ADHD likes to switch it up but my interest in music, art, and the meaning of life never fade. My favorite books are the twilight saga but that’s just bc I’m a nerd, but my go to favorite is actually the Ozzy Osborne Autobiography. Mans has had a crazy life 😮‍💨

My go to outfits are crop tops or tied band tees with bell bottoms bc they make my legs look 🤌🏻*chefs kiss* or skinny jeans but mostly I opt for a skirt or a dress bc I like to show off my spider tattoo and my thighs lol. I tend do go for a style that I would call fairy goth.

I have 2 cats, a small calico and a large black cat. They’re named October (tobi) and Dave respectively.

My go to song to make me feel better is either Cool With You by Her’s or Dreams by Fleetwood Mac. I have an extremely vast music taste, there’s not a lot that I don’t listen to. I tend to avoid modern music genres like rap and hyper pop type stuff just bc I prefer music made with instruments instead of computers and I’m not at all a fan of auto tune lol. My go to genres are metal, 60s-70s rock, indie and psychedelic rock, sometimes folk too if it’s not too twangy or country lol. I listen to certain pop artists but I tend to find songs I like rather than albums or artists.

There’s nothing I want more in life than to travel the world and just experience life from everyone’s perspective. I want to visit Japan and Europe the most. I’ve been trapped in a small town my whole life so all I wanna do is explore. I have no interest in being famous or rich, I just would like to be free to do what I want with people I love without having to worry about poverty anymore. When I’m old and withered I wanna be the lady in the woods that everyone in the town has different myths and legends about and every time someone stumbles across my cottage they’re greeted with tea and crystals 😋

Hey there, lovely!

❤: Little tiddy goth witch gf with a dump truck. Say no more, I ship you with me. No but really, you sound insanely cool. You clearly have great style, great taste in music, and great taste in books (I'm looking at you, Twilight saga). If you're looking for more friends, I volunteer.

Ship: Josh

Because: I think little tiddy goth girlfriend is exactly what Josh wants, to be honest. He would be obsessed with your witchy aesthetic. He would invite you on tour with the band so that you would be able to travel the way you have always wanted to. And he would love seeing you in the audience cheering him on wearing bell bottoms and a Greta Van Fleet t-shirt.

Scenario:

You weren't sure what had overcome you when you agreed to let Josh give you a tattoo but nonetheless, there you were, sitting on the table in front of him, needle in his hand, as Danny and Sam observed from a distance

It was just a simple stick and poke but something about Josh's excitement and Danny's nerves made you silently question the decision for a brief moment

Josh stretched out your leg with his hand, splaying it out in front of him

"Where do you want it, mama?" he asked, his grip tightening on your calf

You gestured to an empty spot on your ankle

He smiled and began filling the needle with ink

"You're really letting him do this?" Jake asked, having entered the room with a jack and coke in hand

Josh scoffed in front of you, as if to say 'Of course she's letting me do this' as Jake passed his drink to you for you to sip on

To Jake's amusement, Danny shut his eyes and winced as Josh moved to stick the needle against your ankle

It was a familiar pain, one that you had grown used to during your many tattoo sessions. But the weight of Josh's hand holding your calf steady dulled the pain

It warmed you. Kept you calm

Danny peeked out from behind his fingers at Josh's handiwork as he continued poking at your skin, occasionally re-filling the needle with ink as needed

Everyone other than Josh seemed to be holding in a collective sigh as he worked

You couldn't help but laugh at the tension and the nerves in the room

It was over almost as soon as it had started

Before you knew it, Josh was leaning back in his seat with a wide grin on his face

You met his eyes briefly then peered down at your newly exposed ankle, gazing down at a small heart etched freshly etched into your skin

Your heart practically did a somersault in your chest

You took a moment to file the feeling away as you returned your gaze to your boyfriend's face

He was beaming, of course

"Do you like it, mama?"

You practically jumped off the table and into his arms. You loved it

I hope you liked it! Thank you for the request!

-⭐

ships are currently closed

[ahoy-harringtonmuses]

@cursedvixens:

Chrissy knew it was unfair to categorize him as part of that. He'd always been one of the only people who saw her as a person and not Jason's girlfriend. Eddie saw when she was struggling and tried to help her. Maybe this was a chance to work through everything and let him in again. Like she'd wished she had before.

There was a shocked blink at his words. Apparently she'd missed how famous he'd been getting. There were backstage passes to his concerts now? "Yeah, that sounds really nice actually. If you can pull that off for just little old me." It felt natural and easy to tease him back. "I get off at 6 so.. probably not enough time to find something to actually wear to a metal concert but, I'll be here." Chrissy could do that for him. She owed him at least that much.

Of course she knew that he was the type to want to skip anything but practice or a concert. Or a D&D game. "I'll do my best to get you out as fast as possible so you can get some practice time in." Chrissy gave him a shy smile at that. "Just- wait here for a minute, okay? Don't go anywhere." She didn't want him to sneak out on her, perhaps not even just because she needed to double check his hand. "I'll get someone in to do the x-ray and then I'll be back. I'm not allowed to do the scans, not yet anyway." That was a conversation for another time though.

Corroded Coffin wasn't no where near as big as bands like Metallica or Guns 'N Roses. Though they had more recognition than being just a small band that played at a bar now. They'd released their first album, one song in particular rising in popularity. Enough to be on the radio a few times, but not to stay there long. It was still a major accomplishment for the band, and for their steady growing fanbase. A huge weight lifted from his shoulders as Chrissy teased him back. It felt like old times. At least she wasn't completely shutting him out. "Yeah?~" He asked, a slight purr in his tone. He was doing it on purpose. To either get her to giggle or become flustered. Either one would give him satisfaction. Hope already rising within him as she talked about clothing choice for the concert. Was she really considering going? Shortly she confirmed she would make an appearance. He could feel his heart swell with excitement. He kept it hidden, with the exception of giving her a smug smile, tilting his head slightly to the left. "Anything you wear will be great. " He complimented her slightly. "It's settled, I'll talk to management. Make sure they give you a VIP badge before we head back to the concert hall." Eddie definitely didn't like the idea of missing out on too much practice. He also wasn't the most patient person on this earth either. Still, you do what you have to do. "Thanks Chris.." He thanked her while using a shortening of her name. His smug smile softening. He nodded as she explained to him she couldn't x-ray his hand. "And here I was hoping you would be with me every step of the way. What if I need you to hold my non, soon to be casted, hand?" He teased her yet again. "I won't go no where. Dungeon master's honor." He confirmed to her he'd stay put. Bouncing his right leg as a sign he was getting slightly antsy.

@cursedvixens:

Keeping her hands steady was a lot harder than it normally was. Even if he was the best memory she had of Hawkins, he was still a reminder of the worst part of her life. It wouldn't be easy to just be okay with seeing him. She'd need to process it first.

Slightly glossed lips tugged into a smile at the mention of thousands of drunks coming to watch him. "Well, that's... something. Maybe I should come see you play before you leave then. I never did make your up and coming shows back before you had groupies." Now that she was slightly more comfortable and focused on taking care of him, it was easier to joke with him.

Five hours was fine, she could give him some good medicine to make sure that he wasn't in pain and that he could play. "Well, just by looking at it, it doesn't look broken. But.. I'd like to get it x-rayed before I just send you off with some painkillers and demands that you ice it and rest it as much as you can. ... and no carrying amps. I'll even give you a brace to lay it on thick to make Gareth feel bad." She teased. "Can you spare an extra... thirty minutes?" It would give her time to x-ray his hand and see what she needed to do to help. And time to be able to stay around him and calm down.

Edward seemed to be the opposite. She was the light of that whole traumatic encounter. The fact that he was able to save her had been a great weight off his own shoulders. Considering he was being hunted down by the police and her bat shot crazy boyfriend for her disappearance. He felt victorious as her lips seemed to curl into a small smile. He'd hoped he could move her mind away from what was troubling her. Even for a brief moment. He had a pretty good idea at what was troubling her. The moment her saw her it had peaked from the back of his own mind. In her defense, there was no forgetting.. Especially when seeing each other. His thoughts were knocked away when she mentioned coming to watch him play. "If you wanted to make it up to me, now would be your chance." He teased her slightly, a grin forming. "Could work out a back stage pass for you. So that way you'll, have the best front row seat." He wasn't kidding. He'd make it happen if she really wanted to come. He breathed and sigh of relief that he had forgot he need the moment she expressed that it didn't seem broken. Listening intently as she continued on with her suggestion for the problem at hand. His grin growing into a mischievous smirk as Chrissy told him she's wrap it just to make Gareth feel bad. "Perfect." He said in a bit more of as chipper voice than he intended. "Yeah, I can spare some time. "Eddie confirmed to the nurse. "We don't actually start our show till around eight tonight. We were settling up early to get practice in." He didn't like the idea of missing practice, but if an x-ray was needed, Eddie really didn't have a choice.

[mantraisrepeated]

so, this year sucked, obviously. unfortunately, so did most of the music released this year, even among artists i really like; this is probably the shortest list i've made so far, and not because i listened to less music lol. one prevailing theory is that many artists' labels have been urging them to hold off releases until 2021 when they can (maybe?) tour again. at this point i really hope that's the case. still, 2020 was - with all its death, injustice and disappointment - able to cough up enough impressive & creative albums to help me get through the year. here they are:

1. Protomartyr // Ultimate Success Today

(yeah, i know a fuckin donkey's on the cover. just listen to it, it's great. absurdly consistent, great songwriting. for fans of Parquet Courts, Idles, and Interpol.)

2. Fiona Apple // Fetch the Bolt Cutters

(experimental-yet-barebones pop that - for millions - will be THAT record that gets conjured when they're out walking down the street and hear a certain familiar drum pattern or piano melody off in the distance...the one that transports and puts them right back in 2020...and this is the only bad thing i can think to say about this album.)

3. Viva Belgrado // Bellavista

(screamo imported from Spain. but it's kind of - dare i say - soft? [even as far as this melodic band's stuff goes] they even have a pop song in here!)

4. Loathe // I Let It In and It Took Everything

(what most metalcore heads will say is album of the year, hands down. suuper creative. sounds like if Deftones were younger and grew up listening to djenty stuff. probably where the future of metalcore is headed and i'm not mad about it.)

5. Frail Hands // Parted/Departed/Apart

(a short, very good screamo album with thoughtful chord progressions and

beautiful clean sections.)

6. Post Animal // Forward Motion Godyssey

(psych-rock w/ heavy 70's influence. sounds like if King Gizzard and Tame Impala's Currents had a baby.)

7. Svalbard // When I Die, Will I Get Better

(a female-fronted melodic screamo four-piece from Bristol, U.K.)

8. Nø Man // Erase

(another great screamo album. well done, lads [& lass].)

9. Envy // The Fallen Crimson

(Japanese metal with big chords, grand crescendos and melodic hardcore influence.)

10. The Strokes // The New Abnormal

(your fav "indie" band has done it again.)

11. Tame Impala // The Slow Rush

(chill, 70's-influenced psychedelic pop-rock. def more laid back than Currents.)

12. Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever // Sideways to New Italy

(indie rock for the beach. for fans of Wavves, Real Estate, Beach Fossils.)

13. Everything Everything // Re-Animator

(alt/indie rock for fans of Radiohead, Depeche Mode, Yeasayer.)

14. Ratboys // Printer's Devil

(country-tinged indie rock that's usually pretty mellow, but doesn't shy away from distortion. suuuper good songwriting.)

15. Adrianne Lenker // Songs

(an acoustic album. this super-songwriter of Big Thief fame could breathe and i'd save that shit to my spotify. christ.)

16. End //

Splinters from an Ever-Changing Face

(ridiculously good metal/hardcore supergroup [including Brendan Murphy of Counterparts on vox]. for fans of Vein & Code Orange.)

17. Floating Room // Tired and True EP

(shimmering, shoegaze-inspired indie rock out of PDX. really good songwriting.)

18. Real Estate // The Main Thing

(mellow indie-surf rock/dream pop.)

19. Ringo Deathstarr // self-titled

(shoegazey. grungy. punky. beautiful.)

20. Nuvolascura //

As We Suffer from Memory & Imagination

(yet another female-fronted screamo band killing it this year, except this one's more frantic-sounding and kind of cerebral [think math rock].)

21. Sufjan Stevens // The Ascension

22. Bumper // Pop Songs 2020 EP

(chiptuney, anime-ish video gamey music featuring @jbrekkie and the dude from Crying who does the crazy guitar solos.)

[averbaldumpingground]

Song prompts: Personally, when I'm feeling particularly bad I like to listen to things like Mudvayne's 'Cinderella Story' and 'Happy?', Sonata Arctica's 'Don't Say A Word', Dethklok's 'Murmaider', Korn's 'Here To Stay' to scream alongside the music (silently works too) and then I'll start dialing down to Ill Niño´s 'Everything Beautiful', Dope's 'With Or Without You', Serj Tankian's 'Sky Is Over', Korn's 'Make Me Bad', Slipknot's 'Snuff'... Hope u give'em a chance and this helps somehow. G'Luck!

Thank you for sending all this Anon! I really appreciate the time you took to respond and put together a playlist and I did actually listen to everything! Metal in general isn’t really my music genre of choice, but I do really like Kittie and Dir En Grey (and the Vegan Black Metal Chef guy on Youtube), so there are definitely exceptions. And I vaguely remember owning Korn’s Issues in middle school (though I admit that was mostly because it was from a music recommendation in one of those mail order CD catalogue things that don’t exist anymore). I was (and still am) a big fan of Orgy (I just pretend they broke up immediately after their second album and didn’t release any more music after that), which is where I think that CD came from. Pretty sure I gave it away to someone in high school though...

Honestly, I lean A LOT more toward the metalcore (I Prevail, We Came as Romans, etc.) and punk (Die Arzte, Rancid, Die Toten Hosen, the Dead Kennedys, Les Fatals Picards) end of the spectrum. I also spent a decent chunk of my teenage years listening to hardcore and post-hardcore bands like Thursday, BoySetsFire, Saves the Day (though they were probably more emo), so those genres are where I usually turn for my screamy, loud music when I need it. And there is also something to be said for righteous feminist outrage a la Ani DiFranco cranked up at full volume. :) But I do really appreciate all of the recommendations and will listen to most kinds of music.

That unnecessarily long response aside (very probably my single longest block of non-story text on this blog), I’m kind of stumped about what to do with your prompt because you sent me so many songs at once. Of these, “Snuff” was probably the most my speed. And “Make Me Bad” did bring back some memories (of when MTV still played music videos back before the invention of the wheel). But I’m having a really hard time coming up with something, so I apologize that my actual response will be a lot shorter than this rambling aside.  If you would like to prompt me any individual songs, please feel free to do so and I’m sorry for whatever this mess ends up being!

It isn’t very often anymore that he’s reminded of Abby Nowakowski, smiling at him from the hood of her cousin’s old Buick the times that they skipped homeroom English to smoke in the rear parking lot by the poplars. The sweatshirts she wore always hung past her wrists and her blue, chewed up nails tapped along to the beat of her headphones. She liked grape soda, garage bands, and worked most nights at the Shop Rite on Elmhurst, usually restocking the shelves in a part of the store where her piercings went largely unnoticed.

They had lost touch when he moved to Wisconsin for college. She’d given him a homemade CD at the party that Hannah Lane threw him, the two of them sitting outside under the pool lights, their feet dangling in the water and fireflies flickering to life in the backyard while their friends laughed and smoked marijuana in the dark, half-finished basement.

Hannah told him later that she’d enrolled in community college and got a job as a waitress somewhere that made her dye her hair back to auburn. That was the last that he’d heard about her directly. Hannah’d shipped off to Fort Jackson by then.

He’s still not sure exactly what happened to Abby. She was long gone by the time that he’d come home for Christmas. He’d thought about trying to call her, asking her out for a movie or pizza or something, but it was almost like she hadn’t really existed at all, just a few blurry photographs that somebody took with a disposable camera and a book of Emily Dickinson’s poetry she’d forgotten on his parents’ coffee table when she came over to finish a group project what might have been their sophomore year. He isn’t sure why he didn’t. She’d tried to call him a few times too, but he was always in class.

The newspaper article doesn’t say very much to allow him to fill in the gaps of the years since they graduated. She worked at a pet store in Sussex. Her stepfather died of cancer a couple years back. She had two kids but their father was out of the picture.

He put the newspaper down and remembered. Maybe things could have gone differently for the two of them. Maybe she wouldn’t have needed to be in that car Thursday morning.

[clouds-of-wings]

mardigrasdeathpostage said:

I admit I have no idea who these people are (I know you mention Jari a lot but I filed him under "blorbo, unknown" in my head and mostly ignored those posts) but if you feel like saying what is going on with either of them I would actually pay attention this time.

(Reblogging bc links and bc long - I figured it was easier to type it out myself than to try to find an unbiased history lol.)

Jari is the main guy behind the Finnish melo-death band Wintersun. Their first album from 2005 is a classic that pretty much everyone loves, but the release of the second one (called Time) is a never-ending drama that has basically been a running gag in metal since the late 2000s, and it's still not out. The first half (Time I) finally came out in 2012, after a lot of arguing and delays, and is also generally seen as very good, but Time II is still not even on the horizon tbh.

The never-ending development of Time 2 used to basically just be a meme that both the band and the fans had fun with and it wasn't really mean-spirited, after all there's enough other music to listen to in the meantime, right?

That's how it was until in 2017 Wintersun announced a series of 3 crowdfunding campaigns with the aim of raising 750k€ in order to build their own studio (which was necessary according to Jari - he said that the techs/producers/whatever idk in normal studios don't understand his vision and he needs the exact hard- and software he likes plus limited studio time is too constraining, he needs to be able to record at 3 in the morning if inspiration strikes etc.) and finally fucking release Time II. The whole thing was pretty controversial (look at the publication date of the article though), but the first crowdfunding was also a spectacular success that got them 500k€ right away in return for an album with *ahem* low production value, and it was exciting because now it would probably only take 2 crowdfundings for them to reach their goal and get recording. They already had concrete plans with some kind of architect, knew how much it would cost, taxes etc.

Six years later the second crowdfunding still hasn't happened and except for one short instrumental a few weeks ago, no new music has been released. Jari said that he has used part of the crowdfunding money to buy equipment for his "apartment studio", which is like just a room in his apartment. This isn't what he said he'd do and this kind of spending can become a black hole for money pretty easily since that new equipment will have to be replaced or repaired again eventually etc., so not great. I gave to his crowdfunding too back in the day, I thought it was a good idea to think long-term, and wasn't too pleased to hear he'd dipped into the fund for such short-term investments while the real studio still isn't being built.

(And then came The Patreon, where only one tier (10€/month) is available and where you can participate in Q&As and get behind the scenes footage or something. They only have about 100 followers, still, 1000€ per month! Which pissed lots of people off even more.)

Why it has happened this way is something that no one knows who isn't personally close to the band. My speculation on it is here, and speculation is all it is, but there are a lot of fans and "fans" (who may not have cared about Wintersun in the past, idk) who are just... exaggeratedly and delightedly angry about the whole thing and maintain that Jari is a scam artist who must be bullied into releasing new music for great justice. In any Wintersun comment section these days, there are a lot of really vicious comments directed at Jari in particular, not at anyone else in the band, that seem to be solely intended to tear him down. Whether it's aggressive insults, mockery or tirades about how "pathetic" he is, it's basically a huge circle jerk, just shitting all over him for fun, probably in order for the speaker to feel better about themself because "at least I'm not that guy", and all under the guise of righteous indignation, because clearly having misspent 50€ six years ago is such a terrible fate that you have to hound the person you gave it to for the rest of your life.

(Though I just checked again and it seems they're running out of steam a bit lol. I think Jari actually releasing music is like their worst nightmare, because then they'll have to find someone else to bully.)

(Also I did a crowdfunding for him which went really well and I'm convinced that's why he released music for the first time in 6 years a month after.)

--

Drachenlord's (Drache = dragon) situation is much sadder. He's a German YouTuber who's basically been bullied by thousands of people, mostly young men, for the last decade. It started with mean comments under his videos about his looks, his lack of intelligence, his eccentric content, his temper etc., but when he got really angry at that (maybe bc he'd already been bullied at school), this seems to have delighted the bullies especially and things escalated pretty dramatically.

Pictured: the only Drachenlord gif on tumblr

They found out his address and went there. For years there would be people standing around his house (in a tiny village) nearly all the time, either just staring or chanting insulting slogans, throwing things at the house or trying to lure him out of the house and provoke him into a fight. The police came sometimes, but never protected him from the harassment, basically just trying to make sure there was no physical confrontation (which still happened of course). There were also other "fun" episodes like when a woman pretended to be in love with him only to humiliate him on camera when he proposed to her, or when his haters spread the rumor - which was believed by some newspapers - that he was behind the bow-and-arrow mass shooting in Norway a few years back, or when his father's grave was defaced.

For many of these bullies the explicitly stated goal is to drive him to suicide or to otherwise destroy him. They also operate under a facade of righteous indignation by provoking him into saying offensive things and quoting him out of context in order to present him as someone who doesn't deserve anyone's sympathy, and therefore the bullying is clearly justified. Drachenlord videos are an entire video genre on German YT. Of course the entire thing didn't leave him unaffected, so he started acting in increasingly bizarre ways, as probably anyone in his situation would, which only stoked the flames further (for example he started a porn channel and linked it in his livestreams).

Aaaand, as is usually the case with bullying, the ~authorities~ didn't care super much until he started handing out punches to the people who hounded him. At that point he was brought to court :))

As of now, he's out on probation (Edit: he only got probation). He sold his house, where he can't live in peace anyway, and is apparently homeless, and very recognizable. Everyone knows how he looks and his haters are tracking him with an online map, as I learned today. Now he apparently just got attacked by a group of men at a train station.

And I said that Drachenlord is already the Drachenlord of metal because. His channel started out being about metal before becoming more about him and his life, his confrontations with his bullies and so on. A strange situation in which hate-clicks financed his life while also ruining it I guess. It's like he was a professional bullying victim.

---

Basically a short overview, I'm not too familiar with the entire Drachenlord saga since the way he's being treated is disgusting and I try to keep my distance, so I might have gotten some details wrong. Also it's really hard to find unbiased sources on the topic.

This whole "bullying under a guise of righteous indignation" works so horribly well. Even an old friend of mine who usually has a very strong moral compass and was bullied herself when she was in school was persuaded into losing regard for his basic humanity because his offensive statements and physical violence against his bullies made such a convincing rationale for the terror he is being subjected to. It's not quite as bad in Jari's case obviously, but the basic dynamics are the same - someone who seems to be in a bad situation, who is easy to single out, being hounded for fun, and the people doing it present themselves as a the good guys who have a lofty goal. In Drachenlord's case, some witnesses even presented their bullying of him as some kind of social justice activism in court!

Jari is a bit like the Drachenlord of metal, except Drachenlord is already the Drachenlord of metal.

[happymetalgirl]

Batushka - Hospodi

I went into this album quite like many others aware of the shadiness involved in its culmination, ready to hate it and deride Krysiuk for his leechcraft against Drabikowski and bastardization of the Batushka name and legacy. And I think a lot of people are letting the indeed disturbing context surrounding Hospodi’s release really influence their perception of the album, which I’m not saying they don’t have the right to take into account when listening to it and deciding whether or not to financially support the apparent thievery at play here. But I think most of the vehement disdain for Krysiuk’s version of Batushka would have you think he was just some random trickster who walked in and snatched the rights to the band name like a phantom from out of nowhere. It seems like a lot of people forget that he was indeed part of Batushka since 2015, and part of the highly acclaimed Litourgiya; even if Drabikowski was the driving artistic visionary, Krysiuk was there and very much part of the band and immersed in their sound for a long time. So it would make sense that he be at least somewhat capable of rehashing the band’s aesthetic without Drabikowski’s assistance.

I should explain that I’m not saying this to vindicate any of Krysiuk’s unethical actions, more to provide a perspective from outside the tribal mindset that this ownership dispute has formed. It would be easy if the bad guy who stole the rights to the band was also terrible at his masquerade and obvious in his inauthenticity. It would be easy if it sounded like it was an obvious rip-off. But maybe Krysiuk isn’t as inept as so many of those critical (and justifiably so) of his sinister deception would like to see him as being.

I bring this up because so many people seem to be basing their criticism on this album being audibly distinguishable as inauthentic when I don’t think that will appear to be the case to those outside this whole debacle who might see the criticism as baseless and shrouded in bias. And I completely agree with the criticism of this album not being separable from the theft that spawned it and that needing to be addressed, but I think letting that criticism of artistic integrity spill carelessly into criticism of the art itself is inaccurate and potentially irresponsible. Again, it would be easy if it was obvious Krysiuk was a crook; Metal Blade maybe wouldn’t have signed him if they thought he couldn’t reproduce Litourgiya’s aesthetic at least superficially. It’s just one of those things that can be tempting to treat as black and white, good and evil, when (at least on the musical front) it’s probably best to treat as being a bit more nuanced.

Also, just before I get into the content of this album, I would like to clarify, just in case I came across as condescending to those who have expressed their hatred for this album, I’m not trying to act holier than thou or put words in your mouth, I bring this up because I can closely sympathize with your position. Like I said, I went in ready to hate this album, but the level of competence I heard here caught me off guard and forced me to re-evaluate my approach to assessing this contextually complicated album. From what I’m hearing, to argue that Bart is clearly not the rightful owner of the Batushka name because he’s making some kind of amateurish mockery of the name that anyone can hear is just not convincing enough. I'm not trying to act all high and mighty or be a dick, I promise. With that, I suppose it’s a good time to get into what the hell is actually on this album.

What the teaser tracks from Hospodi suggested of it being (kind of a combination of standard ambient black metal, symphonic black metal, and Batushka’s signature choral chants) are indeed representative of the album, and it’s this use of blackgaze-y tremolo picking and more build-up-focused post-metal song structures that many have pointed out as kind of the smoking gun that proves this album to be a half-baked attempt by a con artist to fraudulently recreate something that was never his to create. And I would agree that the long-winded and sometimes dragging and unfulfilling builds are the most notable difference between Hospodi and Litourgiya (and Panihida). The lengthy shoegazy guitar drones on songs like "Dziewiatyj Czas" and "Polunosznica" aim for the traditional post-rock/metal crescendo but don't really pay off or even get there and seem to serve as time filler to possibly mask a lack of other ideas of how to build anticipation. Indeed, Krysiuk seems to only have one or two ideas of how to do that crescendo when he gets there.

But just because Hospodi doesn't sound like an unaltered continuation of Litourgiya doesn't mean it sounds like complete trash. In fact, the production on here is pretty well-done with fine attention paid to the choral vocals to help them sound as lush as possible. Along with the sinister groove it transitions into, the choral backing over the rapid double-bass of "Wieczernia", while not as dynamic as similar sections on Litourgiya, is certainly a bright spot. As far as other highlights go, the incantation of the choirs that open the song "Utrenia", along with its uncharacteristic palm-muted chugging section are some of the better implementations of the choral metal sound, as well as the ethereal highs of the choir on "Szestoj Czas".

But it is certainly the choirs that carry this album and its noticeably less imaginative lead guitar work and drumming, to the point of being a crutch for the atmosphere of the traditional metal instrumental to lean on and quite possibly to provide cover for a certain artist's lack of confidence in his own ability to represent the Batushka sound at every angle. And even then, often the choirs aren't enough to prop the songs up in their barest sections, which are many.

As immersive and dicey as the whole conflict surrounding this band is, this is certainly just the beginning of it, as hardcore day-one fans, largely aligned with the legally stripped Drabikowski, will support him in any kind of square-up he gets into with the Metal Blade and Polish court-backed Krysiuk. And as interesting of a situation as it will be to see unfold, it's also a profoundly sad and disgusting one, one where it seems like a prominent metal label cosigned and thereby endorsed artistic, and therefore monetary, thievery and a subsequent miscarriage, or at least unfortunate procession, of justice. I know I was tempering the vitriolic reactions to this album's music in my intro, but after sitting with these two albums (Panihida and Hospodi), it's clear that Panihida is a more natural expression of what what at the heart of Batuska on Litourgiya, while Hospodi plays like an expensive, but distinguishable replica of the real thing. Despite Drabikowski being pressed for time to release his project, Hospodi is the album that sounds rushed. I mean if this was just some new band trying to blend the Eastern orthodox elements of Batushka with the sounds of American blackgaze and this was their debut album (which it kind of is), I wouldn't have any problem rating this a 6 or something and hoping for future refinement of the prototypic sound and artistic progress, but being that this is supposedly Batushka itself, this feels off. Krysiuk might claim artistic evolution for the significant change in sound, but this sounds like senseless regression at best, but more easily explained by it being a borderline amateur imitation rather than the real thing. And I can't help but see what so many other Batushka fans see in this conflict: a true artist robbed of his creation and unable to get it back except perhaps by the potentially futile fight for it through the continued output of music itself. And it's tempting to view that in a kind of romantic light, but again, I definitely don't want to downplay or understate the gravity of the injustice of the situation in the seemingly very likely case that Drabikowski is telling the truth, as his music suggests he is. For that reason, it being very likely that it was created through highly unethical means, as much as I might not hate the sound of it as much as most Batushka fans, I can not endorse this album. For all this terrible situation's dicey facets, at the end of it all at least one thing is left very simple. When the desire to hear the beauty of Batushka's music arises and presents a choice of listening to either Hospodi or Panihida, at least the most likely ethical choice is also the most pleasurable one. At least that part of all this is easy./10

[quandale-dingle-guitar-academia]

Narrative Post #1

 During this first week, I underwent listening to multiple artists and studying their techniques. Since my ability to identify notes by ear helps a lot when listening, I can translate what I hear to what I play. Going into to detail of what I've studied, I took a step back in my tastes. A while ago (by that I mean a couple of months) I listed to a lot of psychedelic rock from the 60s and 70s. Consisting of Jimi Hendrix, early Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Cream, etc. I mainly looked at the work of Hendrix, being one of the most unique and looked at styles in all of guitar history. Mainly his use of the guitar, many said he used as more than just an instrument. His heavy use of feedback and modulation left a heavy impact on his listeners. Even birthing some of the earliest metal techniques. Another great 70's band I'd like to mention would be Pink Floyd, I will mainly be focusing on their second and most well-known guitarist, David Gilmour. Gilmour's style diverges from the blues scene that was very prominent at the time. His style is very soothing at times yet also very aggressive. As is his voice. Examples of an aggressive yet soft playing style would be in the song "Echoes" from their 1971 release "Meddle". I just mentioned blue and forgot to bring up one of the many kings of blues, B.B. King. His work starting as early as 1951 has influenced many throughout the years. Personally, I'm a big fan of his late 60's and early 70's work. "Chains and Things" is just an utter masterpiece. Since I am Latin-American, I'm exposed to a lot of Latino music. Most of which I've grown very fond of. I've been exposed to a lot of Peruvian sounds since both of my parents were born and raised in Peru. I've tried learning some classic Latin-type techniques on guitar, taking on from Spanish Flamenco style playing. Andean playing styles have also been a big inspiration since, of course, its deep connection with my Peruvian roots. Returning to the rock of things, I love I some 70's funk. And when you mention 70's funk, you are bound the hear the words "Funkadelic's" and "Parliament" pop up. Two of the most popular funk god-like bands to roam this earth. They've gone through a handful of guitarists in their time, one of the most notable was Eddie Hazel. One of Hazel's most outstanding works was on Funkadelic's 3rd studio album, "Maggot Brain" (bottom right in the image above). Where the title track of said album has an eight-minute guitar solo, which served as a showcase of Hazel's amazing talent at the time. Another great, 6+ member band of the 70's where Bob Marley and The Wailers. Not only were their songs outstanding,, but the solos that appear mainly on the live album "Babylon By Bus". With The Wailers switching artists constantly except for about 6 or 7 or so, this recording had two lead guitarists, Al Anderson and Junior Marvin. Both of which deliver marvelous solos on the performances of "Rebel Music (3 O'clock Roadblock)" and "Concrete Jungle". Skipping forward a few generations, we reach the early 2000's. Introducing one of my personal favorite modern prog-rock bands, The Mars Volta. Guitarists Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is just an absolute master of his craft (I'm actually listening to them as of writing this :). Rodriguez-Lopez's use of effects has given him a reputation similar to that of Soda Stereo's Gustavo Cerati. A great example on his use of effect would be on the song "Cassandra Gemini: Faminepulse" off their 2005 release "Frances the Mute". Specifically at the 2:56 mark of the track is where he gives a great example of noise manipulation using a simple analog delay. Aight, that's enough studying for now. Join me in the second narrative post to see me include this into my practice routine! Goodbye for now!