#vaceslav

[coiour-my-world]

lavender field, france ~ Vaceslav Romanov

[anastpaul]

Saint of the Day – 28 September – St Wenceslaus (907-935) King of Bohemia, Martyr – also known as Vaceslav, Vaclav, Wenzel, Wenceslas, Václav.  (907 at Prague, Bohemia (in Czech Republic) – 28 September 929 by assassination).   Patronages – brewers, Bohemia, Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia, Moravia, Prague, Czech Republic, archdiocese and the city.  Attributes – banner, crown, eagle, staff, soldier, horse, armour. (Image above -  St Wenceslaus Altar, at St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican)

St Wenceslaus was born around the year 907.   His father Duke Wratislaw was a Catholic but his mother Princess Dragomir practiced the native pagan religion.   She would later arrange the murders of both Wenceslaus and his grandmother Ludmilla, who is also a canonised saint.   During his youth, Wenceslaus received a strong religious education from Ludmilla, in addition to the good example of his father.   He maintained a virtuous manner of living while attending college near Prague, making significant progress both academically and spiritually.   But with the death of his father Wratislaw, the devout young nobleman faced a spiritual and political crisis.

His mother Dragomir, who had never accepted the Catholic faith, turned against it entirely.   She seized her husband’s death as a chance to destroy the religion his parents had received from Sts Cyril and Methodius, through methods that included purging Catholics from public office, closing churches and preventing all teaching of the faith.  Dragomir’s Catholic mother-in-law Ludmilla urged Wenceslaus to seize power from his mother and defend their faith.   His attempt to do so resulted in the division of the country into two halves:  one ruled by Wenceslaus, advised by Ludmilla;  the other ruled by Wenceslaus’ younger brother Boleslaus, who had absorbed his mother’s hatred of the Church.

Wenceslaus, who would have preferred to become a monk and not a duke, fortified himself in this struggle through fervent prayer, extreme asceticism, charitable service and a vow of chastity.   Meanwhile, his mother carried out a plot to kill Ludmilla, having her strangled in her private chapel.   St Ludmilla’s liturgical feast day is 16 September.

The Bohemian duke also faced the threat of invasion from abroad, when Prince Radislaus of Gurima demanded that Bohemia submit to his rule.   When Wenceslaus sought to avoid a war by challenging him in single combat, two angels are said to have appeared, deflecting the javelin thrown at Wenceslaus and immediately inspiring Radislaus to drop to his knees in surrender.

(Image above -  Statue of Saint Wenceslaus in St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague. The head of the statue apparently fits the measurements of Wenceslaus’ skull. This statue also includes the 2 Angels who protected St Wenceslaus in battle.)

During his period of rule, Wenceslaus received the relics of several saints from the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, who also conferred on him the title of “King Wenceslaus.”   But some noblemen of his own country resented the saintly king’s strict morals and allied themselves with Dragomir and Boleslaus.   Wenceslaus’ brother sought to appear as a peacemaker, inviting the king to his realm for a celebration.  When Wenceslaus was praying in a chapel during the visit, Boleslaus’ henchmen attacked and wounded him. Boleslaus himself delivered the final blow, killing his brother by running him through with a lance. St Wenceslaus died on 28 September 935.

Emperor Otto responded to St Wenceslaus’ death by invading Bohemia and making war against Boleslaus for several years.   He succeeded in conquering the region and forced Boleslaus to reverse the anti-Catholic measures he and his mother had taken.   There is no evidence that Dragomir, who died soon after the murder of St.Wenceslaus, ever repented of killing her family members.   Boleslaus, however, came to regret his sin when he learned of the miracles that were taking place at his brother’s tomb.   He moved St Wenceslaus’ body to a cathedral for veneration by the faithful.

St Wenceslas was considered a martyr and a saint immediately after his death, when a cult of Wenceslas grew up in Bohemia and in England.   Within a few decades of Wenceslas’ death, four biographies of him were in circulation.   These hagiographies had a powerful influence on the High Middle Ages conceptualisation of the rex justus, or “righteous king”, that is, a monarch whose power stems mainly from his great piety, as well as from his princely vigour.

Referring approvingly to these hagiographies, the chronicler Cosmas of Prague, writing in about the year 1119, states:

But his deeds I think you know better than I could tell you;  for, as is read in his Passion, no one doubts that, rising every night from his noble bed, with bare feet and only one chamberlain, he went around to God’s churches and gave alms generously to widows, orphans, those in prison and afflicted by every difficulty, so much so that he was considered, not a prince, but the father of all the wretched.

Several centuries later the legend was claimed as fact by Pope Pius II.

(via AnaStpaul – Breathing Catholic)

[bronyrockspotlight]

Can Pony Get On Rocksmith?

Hey guy, I’m not dead! Just very busy. One thing I want to share with my fellow connoisseurs of brony rock is my plan to get a brony rock pack into Rocksmith. Rocksmith is a game to Guitar Hero or Rock Band, except it teaches people to play the actual guitar parts. For those interested in playing their favorite songs, there could be nothing better. Best of all, Ubisoft accepts requests, and they’ve been known to feature songs from artists more obscure than many of the musicians from our fandom, so it’s entirely possible for brony songs to make it in. We might even get a whole pack! In order to maximize chances of getting ANY brony songs featured, I recommend that everyone who is interested submits this same song list that I compiled: 

1. AcoustiMandoBrony - Loyalty

2. Tarby - Nightmare Moon

3. Jeff Burgess - Leave This World Behind

4. L-Train - Lunar March

5. 4Everfreebrony - Honesty

6. PrinceWhateverer - Constellations 

7. Forest Rain - Hay Ms Derpy 

8. dBPony - Wonderbolt 

9. P1k - Fade To Grey 

10. ShinZm - Empyrean Flux

11. Survivors of the Siege - Alone (Celestia) 

12. Reverbrony - The Flightless Fury

13. Cyril the Wolf - The Night Seeker

14. GatoPaint - Endless Mist Of Nightmares

15. Screams From Equestria - Lyra's Secret 

16. Michael Pallante - Becoming the Alicorn

17. Metalcore Pony - Final Flight

18. HeyLasFas! - Trapped In Stone

19.  Caine the Doombringer - Welcome to Horrorville

20. Silent Night - Dear Sister Moon

21. Vaceslav - I Will See Them Fall

22. Cats Millionaire - Black Snooty

23. AcousticBrony - An Octave Beauty

24. MandoPony - Shining Armor

25. Secret Metal - Clopper (Actually, you should probably submit Hive by  Przewalski's Ponies instead. :P)

Be sure to submit them exactly as they are listed, as that’s makes it much easier for Ubisoft to recongize the demand for a given song. Also, if you’re a fan of any of the particular songs or artists, I suggest submitting 3-5 songs you like by them. This enables them to possibly get their own song pack. 

In other news. While there is still numerous artists I’d like to feature, I’ve found I no longer have time to write full spot light posts. Instead, I plan on doing a megapost for brony rock musicians I know of who I have not featured yet, with a particular emphasis on those who are still active. Remember you can submit things, and if any one else wants to be an admin for this blog I’m interested. 

[fimmusic]

Francis Vace’s Top Ten Pony Songs Of 2015

Hi friends, I’ve just finished putting together my top ten songs of 2015. This is a list of my personal favourite songs from last year, and as such will probably be quite different from any of the publicly voted top x lists. I’ve included songs that, for whatever reason, resonated with me and/or have left a lasting impression over the year.

So venture past the break to see, in no particular order, my top ten of 2015.

New blog in town^^^ Give them some support!

http://horsemusicherald.com/2016/01/29/francis-top-ten-pony-songs-of-2015/

[hackdart]

Francis Vace and Cherax Destructor - Wanting/Knowing ALBUM RELEASE! Be sure to grab your copy of Vace & Cherax’s incredible collaborative TwiLuna soft rock album! They’ve been working on it for months and it really shows. I was super excited and humbled when I was asked to work on art for them, and since then I’ve been attempting to push myself to new heights to produce something of the caliber that this project demands. I tried some new things and I think we’re all happy with the result. But anyway, like I said before, go treat yourself to some awesome new music, and consider throwing them a tip for their awesome work :D https://francisvace.bandcamp.com/album/wanting-knowing

[mlpmaressey]

Maressey - Still Ill

Dash is depressed, and quite bored of Ponyville. She has grand dreams that exist outside of this small town. With a town where nothing ever changes, and a relationship she now finds somewhat boring, she's finding a pull to move on to bigger things and to let the past go. It's also a ponified cover of a classic track by The Smiths. A massive thanks to Francis Vace (Vaceslav) for taking on the vocals of this track. i thought he did an awesome job and is an integral part of the project. https://www.youtube.com/user/FVaceslav Music and Mixing is by me. Freewave :) https://www.youtube.com/user/thefreewave We've had a bit of a break from the Maressey project and I hope people appreciate that we're back and putting music out again. If you like it plz let us know and even consider sending it in to EQD. The Flutterdash Album will be out rather soon. Expect 5 more songs put out weekly to get that storyline completed. Check out our blog on tumblr at http://mlpmaressey.tumblr.com/ The Awesome Artwork is by Art by Aruurara http://aruurara.tumblr.com/image/4737...

[hackdlife]

Luna Ticks vs. Skalestia EP

GUYS. YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS CONCEPT ALBUM. I LOVE THESE ARTISTS SO MUCH LIKE THEY’VE ALWAYS BEEN PRO TIER BUT THIS RELEASE IS INCREDIBLE.

Go grab it for free at their bandcamp or be a total baller and support them! These tracks are so fun THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD VIBES YEAH

[ponyconau]

A presence in the Queensland music scene since 2004, Vaceslav has been bringing his unique music to the masses for a good while now. He’s fused music of all genres, from Punk to Ska, and he and his band The Fun Team will be bringing their fusion to AD!You can check out his youtube channel here for a sample of some of his fine work: https://www.youtube.com/user/FVaceslav

[hackdlife]

So I got invited to participate in the second instance of the RAPONES parody project that does pony covers of Ramones tracks. Mine is a... hardcore something or other cover of “Psycho Therapy”.

Grab it here: https://raponesproject.bandcamp.com/album/volume-2

[bronyrockspotlight]

Brony Rock Spotlight #24 - Vaceslav

.

Vaceslav

Vaceslav is a 25th year-old Video Game Audio student hailing for Brisbane, Australia. While he’s only been making fandom music for the last two years, and didn’t really pick up until around six months ago, he’s been watching the show since the first hiatus, and playing music for much long, being in various local bands since 2005. Currently he is bandless as he is devoted to the pony-focused Vaceslav project, though he plans on forming a band for it in the future. 

His music is primarily punk rock, which a speciality in ska punk. My brother is a big fan of ska punk who often insisted that the brony fandom should start the fourth wave of ska, and is currently serving an LDS mission in Indonesia, so if he were here I’m sure he’s love Vaceslav. What stands out the most to me about his music personally is his voice; it just rocks so hard, and the way he switches between soft and hard vocals makes it very expressive. Somehow it sounds both rough and polished, making it perfect for expressing punk while still pleasant to listen to. 

While he is still small in the community, he has still featured in a few collaborations. On this duet with Itchigotchi he lets beautiful vocals shine through while showing that his instrumentation, while simple, can stand on it’s own. Another notable collab is the massive cover of friendship through the ages featuring six other talented musicians. He is also a member of the band Luna Ticks with idkQuicksilver where he’s primarily the vocalist, which also primarily plays ska punk though they play other genres such as heavy metal.

#1 - Uninvited

Along with the sillier “’Tis a Lie” from the same EP, it was this song that got me into Vaceslav’s music. The lyrics describes Luna’s reaction to finding out that once again she wasn't’ invited to an important event, this time the royal wedding. Aside from the superbly evocative vocal delivery of said lyrics, the thing that stands out to me this song is the interplay between the synth and the guitar. They are just beautiful during the intro and bridge.

#2 Porcelain Doll

As the title explains, this is a cover of a song originally by Injustrial. For those unaware, Injustrial creates some of the darkest music in the fandom, aggrotech featuring his distinctive distorted screams which are some of the most extreme vocals I’ve ever heard, IMO easily topping death metal. This cover takes the song in a very different direction, being soft for a Vaceslav song. Gone our the synth melodies of the original, being replaced with more ska-appropriate tunes. Naturally it has a very different feel, anger in the original seems to be replaced with melancholia. It’s almost a completely new song. Still, it’s filled with power, and both versions work their lyrics to their own ends. While the original gives the impression of Spike being about the tear Rarity’s face off, this version more makes me feel that he’s gradually building up the confidence to commit to his choice and free himself from an abusive Rarity. Ultimately it’s just as dark as the original, just more subtle. 

#3 - The Wings I Didn’t Want

In contrast to his usual punk, this is an gentle acoustic piece. This is likely a result of the change of emotion; this song was created for Derpy’s Wings IV where he was assigned the emotion “simplistic acceptance”. It might be contrived, but he pulled it off with Twilight relunctly accepting her princesshood. The instrumentation is really pretty too. 

#4 Just Your Problem

Another cover, another Luna song. What’s so special about this cover is that it originally wasn’t a Luna song; it’s from Adventure Time. By only slightly changing the lyrics, he got it to fit Luna perfectly. The music is also updated to fit the lyrics, transforming the minimalistic pop song into an extremely dark and more fleshed out punk one. The screaming of “WHY DO I WANT TO?” at the end is really what sells it for me. 

#5 I Will See Them Fall

As said before, my brother is a big fan of ska-punk. Whenever I did show him a ska-punk song from the fandom, his response was pretty much always “needs more horns”. Well this song has got plenty of horns. Of course, it’s not just the presence of horns which makes this song good. It’s bold and brash, just like Rainbow Dash. One thing that stands about this in comparison to his other songs is that it has a guitar solo. In contrast to your expectations for a solo in such a song, it’s a slow and pretty guitar solo, but it still oozes confidence, and that just makes the final chorus hit all the harder. 

[fimmusic]

ph00t's Favorites 2/4 - 17

Our staff member ph00tbag (AKA Sonic Rainboom) wanted to give a shout out to a lot of very special tracks this week.

Vaceslav - Porcelain Doll

It's kinda weird to see the names Injustrial and Vaceslav in the same place. Injustrial's style is intentionally harsh and forboding, where Vaceslav tends towards a smoother, melodic style. Understandably, this cover is totally different from its source material. While, in the original, the screams of "I hate you," feel more, well, hateful, Vaceslav's interpretation sounds mournful. I love the total change in mood; makes for a very interesting listen.

L-Train - Seaponies

The Seapony theme as surf rock is kind of an obvious interpretation. So why is L-Train the first, and really only person to make a concerted go at it? It's easy enough to appreciate this tune just on the strength of it being a call-back to some oldschool pony lore, but don't forget to pay attention to the solo. L-Train's musicianship is always worth a good listen.

Dalken Starbyne - Phases

I like the way this tune really slowly develops and changes character over the course of the tune. The thematic parallel to the Moon dovetails with the establishment of Luna as the subject in the lyrics. Dalken Starbyne's voice is smooth as silk, and his style complements the tune's droning nature quite well.

Sprocket ft. A Whole Lot of Bronies - TESTIPONY

It's really cool that Sprocket put this out there. I'm not really putting this one in this because of the music. It's excellent, to be sure, and the orchestration really supplements the impact of the words. But the reason I'm posting this here, is because, honestly, it's nice to be reminded of the power of this show, and this fandom, to truly do good things. While it's easy to get caught up in the drama, and fine-grained analysis, songs like this remind us that we're all here to hold onto that little bit of joy, and share it with each other.

Resonant Waves ft. Captainfluffaton - The Temple of Life

The atmosphere in this tune is absolutely phenomenal. I'm always blown away, and rather humbled, by how effortlessly ambient artists like these two guys can fill a space with a handful of well-designed synths and samples. My favorite parts of the tune are the percussive sound that seems to be coming from behind the head, and the slightly distorted pad that closes the tune out. They really round the tune out for me.

idkQuicksilver, Vaceslav, and Guitarbrony13 - Paranoia

I think I've said it, but in general growls tend not to do it for me. This tune is a rare exception, though. In part because of the detail in the instrumentation, especially the pad design in the breakdown, and the guitar work and edits in the climax. This is also a pretty massive collaboration, so I have to appreciate that, as well.

TenderFlutter - Tu Presencia

Before I really even know that I won't understand a word of this tune, the drum programming kinda has me sold. While I don't know Spanish all that well, I do know that I love TenderFlutter's singing, and I can definitely appreciate his decision to use several instruments from his home country's culture. More than anything, I love to see music from all over the planet represented in our humble fandom.

TheBurntMango - Past the Summer Clouds

Okay, so it's some feelgood music about Rainbow Dash. It stands to reason I'm going to like it. But this is some really good stuff regardless. Melodically, this tune captures that side of Rainbow Dash that we rarely see, but that everyone knows is there. I love when that's the focus of the tune. I also love the oh-so-subtle pad that follows the piano's sustain, giving the tune its airy atmosphere.

[fimmusic]

Ponycon AU announcement by Vaceslav.

[hackdart]

Decided to paint another sketch from last night's DrawPile. Tried using pressure sensitive opacity and color mixing. It's pretty fun actually. I guess this is kinda a dual tribute to Herny's Luna A.D. blog as well as vaceslav's new album. Yeah.

Seriously check out that album though fam.