Ghrankenstein's Top Ten Retro Videogaming Moments
IGN (http://www.ign.com/) recently posted its Top 100 Video Game Moments of all time. It's a great read, with tons of video footage to back up their exceptionally debate-worthy arguments.
As part of that debate, I have several of my own alternatives, since my own top 100 can only have so many Zelda / Final Fantasy plot twists, really pretty backgrounds, and thumb-numbing marathon boss fights.
To make my list different, and because many of you are from the post-retro gaming age and could stand to learn a thing or two about how it used to be, I'm using only elements from the pre-1990 gaming experience.
Credits 01Ready!
10: Looking through a "Viewfinder."
Game: Battlezone
http://www.richieknucklez.com/product_images/b/562/DSC02085__76225_zoom.JPG
There was no way to more thoroughly immerse yourself in your video game in 1981. Dull black and white pixels were suddenly blue and underwatery. You understood how a real submarine commander would have felt when the submarine commander's mom threatened to leave if they didn't get over there right now. On the downside, it was a technology that was pretty much limited to submarine games and tank games. You had no way to scope out the game before actually trying it, and there was no way for a crowd to gather to see your mad skills. If you saw a BATTLEZONE game right now, you'd pour so much money into it you'd expect a degree.
9: Sitting down.
Example: Pole Position (oof!)
http://www.moneymachines.com/polepositionsitdown.jpg
You were way too close to adulthood to ride the little coin-operated horsey right outside the front door. This, this was a big kid's ride. Everybody knows, real drivers sit down, and real men are willing to pay 50 cents instead of a quarter to do so.
8: Posthumous Rank: Garbage Scow Captain
Game: Star Raiders
http://youtu.be/3_VDM8nC9sM
The Atari 2600 was not designed for genius of this level: space navigation, map strategy, dogfighting and reverse-dogfighting against enemies with different strengths and weaknesses, fuel consumption, and damage control. Your "score" was a military rank rather than points, and if you really sucked, they demoted you at your funeral. "Captain" wouldn't have been so bad, but they wouldn't have explained what a "Scow" was, and you wouldn't have had the nerve to ask. So it all worked out.
7: Kicking Elves
Game: Golden Axe
http://youtu.be/0gOKT5KHsuI
There was so much to love about Golden Axe, from the screams of death to the rideable dragons, and head-conking. Your magic technology predated mana. You had to collect potions, and the only way you could get them was by pounding on the chuckling little elves that occasionally scurried around. After that, you drank your way to victory.
6: The Saurkraut Tastes Terrible!
Game: Castle Wolfenstein
http://youtu.be/3uTBVapjyYA
I remember the original Castle Wolfenstein, only it was on an amber monitor and not like this. What I specifically remember is that you frequently encountered saurkraut, which could be good or terrible, and schnapps, which made you hiccup. But it was a game where you could fight, sneak, and investigate back in 1981, and it wasn't limited to being text only. Chances are, if you played it, you loaded it from a cassette, and that in itself is awesome. This playthrough is the closest thing I could find.
5: Nailing the Syreen
Game: Star Control 2 (The Ur-Quan Masters)
http://youtu.be/PHYkNrDYZgo
Star Control 2 was from 1992. So sue me. It was so far ahead of its time it's not even funny. It's open-source now, so you have no excuse to live without playing it. It was a brilliant early excercise in open-world gaming with amusing and endearing characters. Here is where we first saw the dialogue menu, and choice-influenced plotlines. One such plotline could get you laid.
4: Four Person Co-Op
Example: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
http://www.pinballzarcade.com/wp-content/uploads/wpsc/product_images/teenate_mutant_ninja_turtles_video.jpg
You had two choices, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Simpsons. You couldn't lose. This wasn't just a game; if you had a friend who could drive and twenty bucks in change it was an evening to remember with exactly three of your closest friends. There would be a bit of strife over who got to be Donatello, but after that teamwork and communication never came faster to anyone in their lives. You didn't just beat Beebop and Rock Steady. You did it together. Excelsior.
3: Jumping on Alligators
Game: Pitfall!
http://youtu.be/IYlwJ8FCe1o
Not even Indiana Jones could do this, but in Pitfall, you could. A pool of exactly three alligators was the ultimate threat, but with your mad skills you could not only pass that obstacle, you could dance across the heads of death. Or stand on them if you played your cards just right. Riding on turtles that could dive at a moment's notice in Frogger was way harder, but these were alligators.
2: Knowing the Pattern
Game: Pac-Man
http://youtu.be/brVsGL4cPzE
I remember when the first Pac-Man game arrived in Springfield. It was at Battlefield Lanes, and I remember pushing and leaning around a crowd of people four deep just to get a glimpse. For those of you who still don't get it, this game was Donkey Kong BEFORE Donkey Kong. If you were a stud, you couldn't just be good at Pac-Man. You had to have it memorized, and you had to know the names of the patterns that you'd studied and practiced so hard.
1: Shooting Through Your Shield:
Game: Space Invaders
http://youtu.be/b3dL18fSBck
The '80's was the golden age of standup video games, and Space Invaders was the game that started it all. Space Invaders took video games beyond more-or-less having a point, where you might play a dot or a line. You were some kind of moving-around gun turret and you fought layers of differently shaped space beings. You had the tactical advantage of big disposable shield bunkers to protect you from the descending hail of enemy... um... lasers and squiggly lasers. Younger kids gasped when you had the audacity to actually shoot into your own shield bunker until your efforts revealed a neatly edged firing channel through which you could destroy your enemies in slowly-eroding relative safety. You were the god of left, right, and shooting.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Therion- Gothic Kabbalah: Album of the Year
http://www.myspace.com/therion
Therion: Gothic Kabbalah
I look forward to Therion recordings the way that many metalheads anticipate the next release by Opeth. Both bands are among metal’s aristocracy, for their dedication in furthering their art through continuous improvement in songwriting and technical musicianship. Incidentally, both bands are closely linked to the Swedish death metal scene of the early 1990’s that helped to revolutionize metal before the uprise of Norway in international metal.
Both bands have sought acclaim with the mindset that metal, even extreme metal, is a legitimate art form that is worthy of pursuit with excellence and expertise, and deserving of eclectic appreciation. Opeth is a relative newcomer, but has close ties with Dan Swano and the now disbanded pioneer act Edge of Sanity. Therion, meanwhile, was among the founders, but like Edge of Sanity, grew bored with the death metal simply trying to outdo itself when its musical edge was already ahead of extreme metal in the United States and the United Kingdom.
A detailed history of Therion can be found at Wikipedia, and I’ll comment only briefly on the early albums. Of Darkness was the first effort in which Therion made its mark, and death metal it was. Today, it’s less than run-of-the-mill, and more Florida-style than Swedish. Therion’s first classic was Symphony Masses: Ho Draken Ho Megas, which was very progressive for its day, among the early death metal albums to incorporate jazz elements and comparable to progressive death from Canada and Australia. The followup effort, Lepacca Kliffoth didn’t quite work for me, but it inaugurated Therion’s direction toward darker and more melodic music.
The world of heavy metal was in the process of complete upheaval by a group of American jazz musicians who took a huge step by challenging the intelligence and sophistication of a fan base that was still considered stupid and low-brow by the rest of the music industry. Longtime metalheads know exactly of whom I speak, and I’m envious of those of you who got to see this act live. For you younger metalheads, this was Cynic, and the album was called “Focus,” and it is as essential as “Paranoid” or “Master of Puppets.” If, nearly fifteen years later, “Focus” were to debut today, metal would be changed just as profoundly. That’s how brilliant “Focus” was, and how enormously it affected metal.
The impact of “Focus” should also give you an idea of the shadow in which other metal innovators existed. Among those was Therion. When “Theli” was released, Norway was in vogue, and Sweden was out. Many of today’s classics in the subgenres of black metal, Florida death metal, and grindcore were hitting, and many new international scenes (Greece, Switzerland, Germany, UK doomdeath) were getting a lot of attention.
In that flurry of context, Therion’s “Theli” still completely rocked my world, and changed my idea of what metal could be. Metal had for some time sought for legitimacy in classical influence, and even operatic influence, but so far the best examples were from UK-style doomdeath, which were accepted mostly by the people pretending to be vampires that inspired me to pretend to be a frankenstein. UK-style doomdeath produced some enduring metal classics (My Dying Bride: “Turn Loose the Swans,” Anethema: “Serenades,” and The Gathering: “Always”), but it never crossed the line to metal revolution.
“Theli” did. It was the first metal album that was full integrated with classical orchestrations and choral vocals, to the point that it was not simply metal adorned with classical elements. It was heavy, but it was both high-brow and legitimately beautiful, and it was unlike anything metal had heard before. The orchestration was largely sampled (from the London Philharmonic), but frontman Christopher Johanssen used two choirs and his visionary songwriting to produce a distinctly classical metal album of grandeur and majesty. Therion got a good amount of acclaim for the work, and what Johanssen thought would be his swan song and masterpiece ended up being a new beginning. A masterpiece it remains, and it is among my favorite metal albums of all time.
The followup was “Vovin,” and like future Therion albums, sought to further integrate the chorus and orchestration into the “symphonic metal” sound. More of the strings were live, and production improved. “Vovin,” was darn good, and I enjoyed it a great deal before my copy was stolen by anti-metal individuals who thought they were censoring some kind of “bad” music. Still, “Vovin” had lost a bit of the edge that “Theli” had established, and I adhered to the reviews of future Therion releases that sounded parallel. What can I say? I was destitute at the time.
A couple of weeks ago, though, I was perusing my local music shelves. I prefer to buy music on impulse, and a new double-CD by Therion certainly qualifies. The albums I really wanted (Ihsahn’s “Adversary,” and another copy of Nile’s “Black Seeds of Vengeance”) are notoriously difficult to find without giving out a credit card over the internet, and the impulse factor would not have led me to such jewels as Amon Amarth’s “With Oden By Our Side.” Or the new Therion, called “Gothic Kaballah,” which was a complete surprise.
With the troubles Therion has experienced, seeing a new and unrecognized CD on the shelves at Best Buy represented an immediate sale. Never mind that it’s a double CD, with no “bonus tracks,” live editions, remixes, or videos. Johanssen has simply put together something that required more space to accomplish. That might come as a shock to you guys, but that’s something I can appreciate.
“Gothic Kaballah” strikes a chord with me. The concept of the kaballah, of encrypted and symbolic knowledge the original subject, is one that speaks loudly to me. It is, to me, the story of life as a constant metaphor and parody of itself, and the idea of higher knowledge to those who seek it in solitude, for themselves, in the truly intended language of the author. I haven’t delved into the symbology, or potential cryptology of the album, but perhaps I might… once I’m done being blown away but the sheer music and impact.
“Gothic Kaballah” is better than “Theli” and “Vovin” combined. Where more recent Therion efforts focused on integrating the classical and choral elements, “Kaballah” is a proud expression of metal first. You won’t hear blast beats here, but at the same time you wouldn’t remotely expect simple strings hung upon stand-alone metal. I hate to say it, for fear of diminishing what “Theli” accomplished, but it makes that landmark album seem loose and disorganized in comparison. What you’ll hear is a colossus of structure that would make Samael envious, but not representing metal for its own sake. It’s all about the music, and it completely outdoes itself.
That means that the metal, while at the forefront, doesn’t drive the music beyond what it should. It’s heavy, but it’s beautiful. It’s fraught with Old-Testament symbolism upon which I’m not really qualified to comment. The music is composed with grandeur, but with aggression and confidence reflected in its preference for solo soprano, baritone, and tenor vocals, accompanied with rock vocals that sound all the world like Bruce Dickinson.
What I especially like about “Gothic Kaballah” is its use of a central musical theme, a majestic anthem invoking the recurring image of the lion, and recycled in variation repeatedly throughout the album. It cements “Kaballah” as a metal album, to challenge the listener of metal and non-metal alike, and solidifies its concept in a distinctly orderly and elegant Persian atmosphere beyond the Sumerian elements of earlier Therion. Metallic solos once again contribute, but they are engineered to feel and sound as if they were integral to the album. And thus they are.
What I see “Gothic Kaballah” contributing to the wider metal landscape is its immaculate use of multiple styles of vocals, and its rich writing and arrangements. No metal album in my memory has been so ambitious or successful in its vocals. The musical and academic pursuits that support this are no less brilliant.
In this effort by Therion, those endeavors are heavier, and more metal, than ever. Those who care to read this should know that I have found my official Album of the Year.
Sincerely, and with mighty hails,
Ghrankenstein
Therion: Gothic Kabbalah
I look forward to Therion recordings the way that many metalheads anticipate the next release by Opeth. Both bands are among metal’s aristocracy, for their dedication in furthering their art through continuous improvement in songwriting and technical musicianship. Incidentally, both bands are closely linked to the Swedish death metal scene of the early 1990’s that helped to revolutionize metal before the uprise of Norway in international metal.
Both bands have sought acclaim with the mindset that metal, even extreme metal, is a legitimate art form that is worthy of pursuit with excellence and expertise, and deserving of eclectic appreciation. Opeth is a relative newcomer, but has close ties with Dan Swano and the now disbanded pioneer act Edge of Sanity. Therion, meanwhile, was among the founders, but like Edge of Sanity, grew bored with the death metal simply trying to outdo itself when its musical edge was already ahead of extreme metal in the United States and the United Kingdom.
A detailed history of Therion can be found at Wikipedia, and I’ll comment only briefly on the early albums. Of Darkness was the first effort in which Therion made its mark, and death metal it was. Today, it’s less than run-of-the-mill, and more Florida-style than Swedish. Therion’s first classic was Symphony Masses: Ho Draken Ho Megas, which was very progressive for its day, among the early death metal albums to incorporate jazz elements and comparable to progressive death from Canada and Australia. The followup effort, Lepacca Kliffoth didn’t quite work for me, but it inaugurated Therion’s direction toward darker and more melodic music.
The world of heavy metal was in the process of complete upheaval by a group of American jazz musicians who took a huge step by challenging the intelligence and sophistication of a fan base that was still considered stupid and low-brow by the rest of the music industry. Longtime metalheads know exactly of whom I speak, and I’m envious of those of you who got to see this act live. For you younger metalheads, this was Cynic, and the album was called “Focus,” and it is as essential as “Paranoid” or “Master of Puppets.” If, nearly fifteen years later, “Focus” were to debut today, metal would be changed just as profoundly. That’s how brilliant “Focus” was, and how enormously it affected metal.
The impact of “Focus” should also give you an idea of the shadow in which other metal innovators existed. Among those was Therion. When “Theli” was released, Norway was in vogue, and Sweden was out. Many of today’s classics in the subgenres of black metal, Florida death metal, and grindcore were hitting, and many new international scenes (Greece, Switzerland, Germany, UK doomdeath) were getting a lot of attention.
In that flurry of context, Therion’s “Theli” still completely rocked my world, and changed my idea of what metal could be. Metal had for some time sought for legitimacy in classical influence, and even operatic influence, but so far the best examples were from UK-style doomdeath, which were accepted mostly by the people pretending to be vampires that inspired me to pretend to be a frankenstein. UK-style doomdeath produced some enduring metal classics (My Dying Bride: “Turn Loose the Swans,” Anethema: “Serenades,” and The Gathering: “Always”), but it never crossed the line to metal revolution.
“Theli” did. It was the first metal album that was full integrated with classical orchestrations and choral vocals, to the point that it was not simply metal adorned with classical elements. It was heavy, but it was both high-brow and legitimately beautiful, and it was unlike anything metal had heard before. The orchestration was largely sampled (from the London Philharmonic), but frontman Christopher Johanssen used two choirs and his visionary songwriting to produce a distinctly classical metal album of grandeur and majesty. Therion got a good amount of acclaim for the work, and what Johanssen thought would be his swan song and masterpiece ended up being a new beginning. A masterpiece it remains, and it is among my favorite metal albums of all time.
The followup was “Vovin,” and like future Therion albums, sought to further integrate the chorus and orchestration into the “symphonic metal” sound. More of the strings were live, and production improved. “Vovin,” was darn good, and I enjoyed it a great deal before my copy was stolen by anti-metal individuals who thought they were censoring some kind of “bad” music. Still, “Vovin” had lost a bit of the edge that “Theli” had established, and I adhered to the reviews of future Therion releases that sounded parallel. What can I say? I was destitute at the time.
A couple of weeks ago, though, I was perusing my local music shelves. I prefer to buy music on impulse, and a new double-CD by Therion certainly qualifies. The albums I really wanted (Ihsahn’s “Adversary,” and another copy of Nile’s “Black Seeds of Vengeance”) are notoriously difficult to find without giving out a credit card over the internet, and the impulse factor would not have led me to such jewels as Amon Amarth’s “With Oden By Our Side.” Or the new Therion, called “Gothic Kaballah,” which was a complete surprise.
With the troubles Therion has experienced, seeing a new and unrecognized CD on the shelves at Best Buy represented an immediate sale. Never mind that it’s a double CD, with no “bonus tracks,” live editions, remixes, or videos. Johanssen has simply put together something that required more space to accomplish. That might come as a shock to you guys, but that’s something I can appreciate.
“Gothic Kaballah” strikes a chord with me. The concept of the kaballah, of encrypted and symbolic knowledge the original subject, is one that speaks loudly to me. It is, to me, the story of life as a constant metaphor and parody of itself, and the idea of higher knowledge to those who seek it in solitude, for themselves, in the truly intended language of the author. I haven’t delved into the symbology, or potential cryptology of the album, but perhaps I might… once I’m done being blown away but the sheer music and impact.
“Gothic Kaballah” is better than “Theli” and “Vovin” combined. Where more recent Therion efforts focused on integrating the classical and choral elements, “Kaballah” is a proud expression of metal first. You won’t hear blast beats here, but at the same time you wouldn’t remotely expect simple strings hung upon stand-alone metal. I hate to say it, for fear of diminishing what “Theli” accomplished, but it makes that landmark album seem loose and disorganized in comparison. What you’ll hear is a colossus of structure that would make Samael envious, but not representing metal for its own sake. It’s all about the music, and it completely outdoes itself.
That means that the metal, while at the forefront, doesn’t drive the music beyond what it should. It’s heavy, but it’s beautiful. It’s fraught with Old-Testament symbolism upon which I’m not really qualified to comment. The music is composed with grandeur, but with aggression and confidence reflected in its preference for solo soprano, baritone, and tenor vocals, accompanied with rock vocals that sound all the world like Bruce Dickinson.
What I especially like about “Gothic Kaballah” is its use of a central musical theme, a majestic anthem invoking the recurring image of the lion, and recycled in variation repeatedly throughout the album. It cements “Kaballah” as a metal album, to challenge the listener of metal and non-metal alike, and solidifies its concept in a distinctly orderly and elegant Persian atmosphere beyond the Sumerian elements of earlier Therion. Metallic solos once again contribute, but they are engineered to feel and sound as if they were integral to the album. And thus they are.
What I see “Gothic Kaballah” contributing to the wider metal landscape is its immaculate use of multiple styles of vocals, and its rich writing and arrangements. No metal album in my memory has been so ambitious or successful in its vocals. The musical and academic pursuits that support this are no less brilliant.
In this effort by Therion, those endeavors are heavier, and more metal, than ever. Those who care to read this should know that I have found my official Album of the Year.
Sincerely, and with mighty hails,
Ghrankenstein
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Transcendence into the Peripheral
I guess reviews of really old metal is starting to be a theme, but it's my blog, and it's something that I want to write about.
Disembowelment is a stupid name for a band of this style. Transcendence into the Peripheral is far more appropriate for a musical concept that remains unique in all of metal as far as I can tell. The members junked the idea after one record, to make more conventionally ambient music (Trial of the Bow) closer to the Dead Can Dance vein.
Ego, namely expressing one's self with humble honesty is a common theme in the music that I admire. Transcendence is a perfect example. The music sets out to be what it is and nothing more, even if it does so on a pace that would make Opeth seem simple and direct. The songs are more like journeys, some with ends, some without. It works for me, but I'll be the first to admit that it will bore the crap out of a lot of people. To me, the journey is always more important than the destination.
Transcendence is all about atmosphere. I'd describe the sound as slow-style grindcore performed with a doomdeath mindset. This is probably the slowest grindcore you'll ever hear, though you'll catch the occasional blast beat as a random act of nature. Everything is squared-off, and the riffs trudge benignly in simple structures. The guitars play new-agey explorations upon the slow-riff foundation with the same reverence for the timeless. Doomdeath cliche's such as female vocals and cello are used with zen-levels of restraint. The vocals aren't anything special, death vocals meant to sound like ghostly whispers. They work reasonably well.
The effect is sludgy and swampy, but not evil. I really don't like the metaphor of the evil swamp; I like the peaceful, ancient swamp where life arises almost miraculously all around you once you choose to accept the calm. Still waters are disturbed by insects and amphibians, and dappled sunlight decorates the undergrowth. Solitude is its own reward. That's the atmosphere conveyed by Disembowelment, and I find it immeasurably effective. This metal does not rock, and it sacrifices tremendous levels of listenability for its dedication to its concept. Transcendence into the Peripheral will never be among my most frequent listens, but it returns to my player when I want to escape, to ponder reality without prejudice, and to seek an alternative perspective without the burdon of disgust.
Uncompromising does not always mean the heaviest, the fastest, or any of the other superlatives associated with extreme metal, and I admire those who are willing to be headstrong in such an unconventional manner. Transcendence into the Peripheral was released by Relapse, and is pretty tough to find. If you have the chance to snag a copy, don't pass it up.
Now I can get on to business.
Ghrankenstein
Disembowelment is a stupid name for a band of this style. Transcendence into the Peripheral is far more appropriate for a musical concept that remains unique in all of metal as far as I can tell. The members junked the idea after one record, to make more conventionally ambient music (Trial of the Bow) closer to the Dead Can Dance vein.
Ego, namely expressing one's self with humble honesty is a common theme in the music that I admire. Transcendence is a perfect example. The music sets out to be what it is and nothing more, even if it does so on a pace that would make Opeth seem simple and direct. The songs are more like journeys, some with ends, some without. It works for me, but I'll be the first to admit that it will bore the crap out of a lot of people. To me, the journey is always more important than the destination.
Transcendence is all about atmosphere. I'd describe the sound as slow-style grindcore performed with a doomdeath mindset. This is probably the slowest grindcore you'll ever hear, though you'll catch the occasional blast beat as a random act of nature. Everything is squared-off, and the riffs trudge benignly in simple structures. The guitars play new-agey explorations upon the slow-riff foundation with the same reverence for the timeless. Doomdeath cliche's such as female vocals and cello are used with zen-levels of restraint. The vocals aren't anything special, death vocals meant to sound like ghostly whispers. They work reasonably well.
The effect is sludgy and swampy, but not evil. I really don't like the metaphor of the evil swamp; I like the peaceful, ancient swamp where life arises almost miraculously all around you once you choose to accept the calm. Still waters are disturbed by insects and amphibians, and dappled sunlight decorates the undergrowth. Solitude is its own reward. That's the atmosphere conveyed by Disembowelment, and I find it immeasurably effective. This metal does not rock, and it sacrifices tremendous levels of listenability for its dedication to its concept. Transcendence into the Peripheral will never be among my most frequent listens, but it returns to my player when I want to escape, to ponder reality without prejudice, and to seek an alternative perspective without the burdon of disgust.
Uncompromising does not always mean the heaviest, the fastest, or any of the other superlatives associated with extreme metal, and I admire those who are willing to be headstrong in such an unconventional manner. Transcendence into the Peripheral was released by Relapse, and is pretty tough to find. If you have the chance to snag a copy, don't pass it up.
Now I can get on to business.
Ghrankenstein
Friday, March 23, 2007
Embracing Doom
http://www.myspace.com/embracingdoom
Xeper is a great guy, and a scholarly devotee of the guitar, not just as an instrument of music, but an instrument of chaos. His band is called Embracing Doom, and their effort is a worthwhile combination of both.
I've been meaning to visit Embracing Doom's myspace page for quite some time, but "quite some time" tends to be about the interval before which I get down to shit. In that time, several million babies, most of which will mature into useless oxygen thieves have been born, and several thousand of them, who could have grown into world-changing scientists and innovators have died.
The proportions are the same, but the spin is vastly different. Since this post is for Xeper and the guys in Embracing Doom, as well as anyone else who cares to hear my opinion about their blood effort in expression, I'll advise up front that I'm not into spin when it comes to projects like this. I'm not into hollow butt-suck reviews for friends, nor do I use hyperbole to describe music (or anything that involves personal effort) that I don't like. I'm telling it as I see it, and hear it, based on my minimal exposure, to their online music. I'll also mention that I have no posting restrictions, and that ED afficionados are welcome to respond in their own voices.
Embracing Doom sounds like a young band. That's not a bad thing, in that I hear a solid foundation that could evolve in infinite directions. I like the current result, a team that is all on the same page musically and working for technical synchronicity. ED has decided as a group that it must perform each-others' ideas before proceeding to the next innovation. It's conservative approach that will lead to greater understanding and co-interpretation later on, with the side effect of a tight live program today. There will be time to build, and it's up to the members to decide upon which scale.
I'm surprised at the influences they list: Slayer, Megadeth, Unearth, Six Feet Under, Shadows Fall, Machine Head. I'm from an earlier age, and what I hear is a Texas-style (e.g. Pantera plus...) Celtic Frost. Celtic Frost was riff-oriented, thickly structured, and featured the entire band as a collective rhythm instrument. The Norwegian bands that revolutionized extreme metal in the 1990's were heavily influenced by Celtic Frost; the difference was that they were largely dominated by a single personality. In the case of Embracing Doom, it's an established common ground, and a limitless blank slate.
The sound is currently defined by a tight rhythm section. The double-bass percussions and bass act as one unit; they're emphasized in the demo recordings, and they provide a feel of heaviness, coherence, and expertise. I have a hard time differentiating the guitars, which isn't a detriment to the band at this stage. The guitars add texture mostly, with the occasional adventure into solo, but I like the care that has been taken in defining chord structures for mood and aggression. As a whole, Embracing Doom plays behind the beat, an approach that adds to the heaviness and crunch; for an extreme example, think of Pantera's "Primal Concrete Sledge."
This is music theory that isn't afraid to take its time to clearly understand itself, its limits, and its place in time. As before, this approach won't compromise performance value for experimentation until time permits, when the sound as a whole can take the next step. In this respect, it's a lot like Metal Church, who chose to progress deliberately as a band-unit, but whose advance could be measured by effort rather than divergence and "new direction." Metal Church always played a brilliant live show, and I wish more had recognized their band-level proficienty in the razor-sharp execution of their smoothly rounded riffs. I hear the same level of dedication in Embracing Doom.
One aspect that loses out in the online demos is the vocals, and I can't access the lyrics. The vocalist has his own unique style, and that's cool with me. Extreme vocals are the emotional fingerprint of an extreme band. Personally, I like the fact that John and Jane Q. General Public think of it as just talentless screaming. They'll never understand, and those of us who feel things that sound exactly like the extreme vocalist's invocations always will. I just can't hear the vocals all that much, and I can't index those vocals against the lyrics. I know that this is sincere extreme metal, but I can't honestly evaluate beyond that. Based on what I've heard so far, I feel like you guys know your personal issues and your opinions, and I can reliably assume that your vocals accurately reflect that. It's kind of a "benefit-of-the-doubt" conclusion, but I have faith.
Embracing Doom is a band that I'd love to see live right now; If you plan on hitting the Ozarks fucken let me know. This is a show that those of us on the floor live for: close riff-crunching comeraderie, unison headbanging, and slow pits bent on "fuck-yeah" energy.
Personally, I can't wait to hear what ED does next. The "blank-slate" compliment might sound hollow, but I don't want it to be construed as such. Rather, I feel that the whole band can embrace any direction it wants, and make it work.
In my ancient wisdom, I'd recommend that you guys check out anything that you feel is worthwhile, but I'll add:
Progressive metal extremism (musical): Cynic, "Focus"
Progressive metal extremism (atmosphere): Disembowelment, "Transcendence into the Peripheral"
Extreme metal vocals: Obituary (John Tardy), Morgoth (Marc Grewe, Cursed and Odium), Bethlehem (controversially, Landfermann; Dictus te Necare)
Band coherence and following passions: Ankla, Anacrusis, Kyuss
Just my thoughts. I appreciate the opportunity to write critically equally to the opporunity to hear criticism.
Sincerely,
Ghrankenstein
Xeper is a great guy, and a scholarly devotee of the guitar, not just as an instrument of music, but an instrument of chaos. His band is called Embracing Doom, and their effort is a worthwhile combination of both.
I've been meaning to visit Embracing Doom's myspace page for quite some time, but "quite some time" tends to be about the interval before which I get down to shit. In that time, several million babies, most of which will mature into useless oxygen thieves have been born, and several thousand of them, who could have grown into world-changing scientists and innovators have died.
The proportions are the same, but the spin is vastly different. Since this post is for Xeper and the guys in Embracing Doom, as well as anyone else who cares to hear my opinion about their blood effort in expression, I'll advise up front that I'm not into spin when it comes to projects like this. I'm not into hollow butt-suck reviews for friends, nor do I use hyperbole to describe music (or anything that involves personal effort) that I don't like. I'm telling it as I see it, and hear it, based on my minimal exposure, to their online music. I'll also mention that I have no posting restrictions, and that ED afficionados are welcome to respond in their own voices.
Embracing Doom sounds like a young band. That's not a bad thing, in that I hear a solid foundation that could evolve in infinite directions. I like the current result, a team that is all on the same page musically and working for technical synchronicity. ED has decided as a group that it must perform each-others' ideas before proceeding to the next innovation. It's conservative approach that will lead to greater understanding and co-interpretation later on, with the side effect of a tight live program today. There will be time to build, and it's up to the members to decide upon which scale.
I'm surprised at the influences they list: Slayer, Megadeth, Unearth, Six Feet Under, Shadows Fall, Machine Head. I'm from an earlier age, and what I hear is a Texas-style (e.g. Pantera plus...) Celtic Frost. Celtic Frost was riff-oriented, thickly structured, and featured the entire band as a collective rhythm instrument. The Norwegian bands that revolutionized extreme metal in the 1990's were heavily influenced by Celtic Frost; the difference was that they were largely dominated by a single personality. In the case of Embracing Doom, it's an established common ground, and a limitless blank slate.
The sound is currently defined by a tight rhythm section. The double-bass percussions and bass act as one unit; they're emphasized in the demo recordings, and they provide a feel of heaviness, coherence, and expertise. I have a hard time differentiating the guitars, which isn't a detriment to the band at this stage. The guitars add texture mostly, with the occasional adventure into solo, but I like the care that has been taken in defining chord structures for mood and aggression. As a whole, Embracing Doom plays behind the beat, an approach that adds to the heaviness and crunch; for an extreme example, think of Pantera's "Primal Concrete Sledge."
This is music theory that isn't afraid to take its time to clearly understand itself, its limits, and its place in time. As before, this approach won't compromise performance value for experimentation until time permits, when the sound as a whole can take the next step. In this respect, it's a lot like Metal Church, who chose to progress deliberately as a band-unit, but whose advance could be measured by effort rather than divergence and "new direction." Metal Church always played a brilliant live show, and I wish more had recognized their band-level proficienty in the razor-sharp execution of their smoothly rounded riffs. I hear the same level of dedication in Embracing Doom.
One aspect that loses out in the online demos is the vocals, and I can't access the lyrics. The vocalist has his own unique style, and that's cool with me. Extreme vocals are the emotional fingerprint of an extreme band. Personally, I like the fact that John and Jane Q. General Public think of it as just talentless screaming. They'll never understand, and those of us who feel things that sound exactly like the extreme vocalist's invocations always will. I just can't hear the vocals all that much, and I can't index those vocals against the lyrics. I know that this is sincere extreme metal, but I can't honestly evaluate beyond that. Based on what I've heard so far, I feel like you guys know your personal issues and your opinions, and I can reliably assume that your vocals accurately reflect that. It's kind of a "benefit-of-the-doubt" conclusion, but I have faith.
Embracing Doom is a band that I'd love to see live right now; If you plan on hitting the Ozarks fucken let me know. This is a show that those of us on the floor live for: close riff-crunching comeraderie, unison headbanging, and slow pits bent on "fuck-yeah" energy.
Personally, I can't wait to hear what ED does next. The "blank-slate" compliment might sound hollow, but I don't want it to be construed as such. Rather, I feel that the whole band can embrace any direction it wants, and make it work.
In my ancient wisdom, I'd recommend that you guys check out anything that you feel is worthwhile, but I'll add:
Progressive metal extremism (musical): Cynic, "Focus"
Progressive metal extremism (atmosphere): Disembowelment, "Transcendence into the Peripheral"
Extreme metal vocals: Obituary (John Tardy), Morgoth (Marc Grewe, Cursed and Odium), Bethlehem (controversially, Landfermann; Dictus te Necare)
Band coherence and following passions: Ankla, Anacrusis, Kyuss
Just my thoughts. I appreciate the opportunity to write critically equally to the opporunity to hear criticism.
Sincerely,
Ghrankenstein
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Inspired By...
http://www.whack.org/~ken/
If Sepultura was my "Slayer," then Anacrusis was my "Metallica." As a long-haired high-schooler, and later a longer-haired college student, Anacrusis was the be-all and end-all of heavy music as far as I was concerned. The fact that they were local (St. Louis), and I could see just about every show they played was only part of the equation; I probably would have caught this band anyway.
Being angry, sad, alienated, and everything else involved with life isn't anything different. How Anacrusis dealt with those things was unique for a metal band, in the use of thought, reflection, and even logic instead of tired posturing as a substitute for angst. Making the music reflect the difficulties and emotions realistically and beautifully without sacrificing intensity is what set them apart in my eyes.
I like all of their work, even the primitive enthusiasm of Suffering Hour. They took a lot more influence from Slayer and Forbidden in those days, but they arrived at many of the same musical conclusions as the Norwegian black metal bands independently. Suffering Hour's crappy production and ripping speed, gripped by dark semi-melody aren't all that different to early Emperor, Enslaved, Mayhem, and Darkthrone. Even before Sepultura hit the mainstream, early Anacrusis proved that thrash metal could approach death metal in visceral appeal. Since Suffering Hour was largely music written by Nardi and Kevin Heidbreder prior to the formation of Anacrusis, the band concept hadn't really congealed yet.
Reason was more polar, and uglier, but the real exploration of members' emotions, and subsequent evolution of the "real" Anacrusis began here. Reason is very uncompromising, sacrificing beauty for the pure statement. The main device was unpredictability, with quiet interludes erupting into violent thrash with a deliberately awkward aesthetic. When you're young, and you haven't quite learned to control the things in your own head, it's an approach that lends itself a lot of empathy. In many ways, Reason "made" me. "Quick to Doubt" is among my personal anthems. Sometimes I still realize that I'm subconsciously forcing myself to screw up, and I remember "Quick to Doubt" long enough to refocus.
Manic Impressions was cold, stark, and chilling. The digital production format honed the guitars into single razors of metal on metal, scraping against each other with leaping sparks. Bass player John Emery got a lot of deserved recognition for his contributions, and the use of the bass as a third guitar rather than a rhythm source enhanced the chill and reduced the mass of the sound. It was almost as if the notes were afraid to hit solidly. Nardi apparently thought it was a failure, but I dug it from the start. Struggling against isolation by yourself is frightening thing. So is giving up the protection that isolation affords (see "Afraid to Feel," in Reason). In Manic Impressions, Nardi and the others faced both challenges eloquently. Just as eloquently, even tragically, the music failed to overcome them; there's no shame in that. It's extremely moving to follow in metal that was shaping itself similarly to Voivod. My favorite quote from Manic is the last stanza on the album (from "Far Too Long"): "I hope in my heart of hearts, with all of my soul and mind, that it's not irreversible; that this isn't all there is."
Most people like Screams and Whispers over the other Anacrusis albums. You're probably thinking to yourself, "Yeah, I was wondering if you were just going to keep butt-trumpeting about the other albums." It has the best title, and I probably listen to it the most because it tends to be more positive in its overall outlook; I've been more positive myself lately. Screams is more about communication and relationships, and it features warmer, slower, and more organic sounds than Manic. Brass and string synthesizer works its way into the music, which is much more technical than before. Most of the tracks involved the entire band in the songwriting, and the multidimensionalism of Screams is worthwhile pondering in itself. As with the other releases, Screams is thoughtful, honest, and moving.
If I've put this much effort into writing an article time and time again, differently on each occasion, you can bet that Anacrusis comes with my highest possible recommendations.
It seems that the official website is largely dead now. The MP3's don't want to download, at least not for me, but you're welcome to give them a shot. Metal Blade still has some Anacrusis music for sale, so that might have something to do with it.
Another triumphant workout for the old semicolon.
Sincerely,
Ghrankenstein
If Sepultura was my "Slayer," then Anacrusis was my "Metallica." As a long-haired high-schooler, and later a longer-haired college student, Anacrusis was the be-all and end-all of heavy music as far as I was concerned. The fact that they were local (St. Louis), and I could see just about every show they played was only part of the equation; I probably would have caught this band anyway.
Being angry, sad, alienated, and everything else involved with life isn't anything different. How Anacrusis dealt with those things was unique for a metal band, in the use of thought, reflection, and even logic instead of tired posturing as a substitute for angst. Making the music reflect the difficulties and emotions realistically and beautifully without sacrificing intensity is what set them apart in my eyes.
I like all of their work, even the primitive enthusiasm of Suffering Hour. They took a lot more influence from Slayer and Forbidden in those days, but they arrived at many of the same musical conclusions as the Norwegian black metal bands independently. Suffering Hour's crappy production and ripping speed, gripped by dark semi-melody aren't all that different to early Emperor, Enslaved, Mayhem, and Darkthrone. Even before Sepultura hit the mainstream, early Anacrusis proved that thrash metal could approach death metal in visceral appeal. Since Suffering Hour was largely music written by Nardi and Kevin Heidbreder prior to the formation of Anacrusis, the band concept hadn't really congealed yet.
Reason was more polar, and uglier, but the real exploration of members' emotions, and subsequent evolution of the "real" Anacrusis began here. Reason is very uncompromising, sacrificing beauty for the pure statement. The main device was unpredictability, with quiet interludes erupting into violent thrash with a deliberately awkward aesthetic. When you're young, and you haven't quite learned to control the things in your own head, it's an approach that lends itself a lot of empathy. In many ways, Reason "made" me. "Quick to Doubt" is among my personal anthems. Sometimes I still realize that I'm subconsciously forcing myself to screw up, and I remember "Quick to Doubt" long enough to refocus.
Manic Impressions was cold, stark, and chilling. The digital production format honed the guitars into single razors of metal on metal, scraping against each other with leaping sparks. Bass player John Emery got a lot of deserved recognition for his contributions, and the use of the bass as a third guitar rather than a rhythm source enhanced the chill and reduced the mass of the sound. It was almost as if the notes were afraid to hit solidly. Nardi apparently thought it was a failure, but I dug it from the start. Struggling against isolation by yourself is frightening thing. So is giving up the protection that isolation affords (see "Afraid to Feel," in Reason). In Manic Impressions, Nardi and the others faced both challenges eloquently. Just as eloquently, even tragically, the music failed to overcome them; there's no shame in that. It's extremely moving to follow in metal that was shaping itself similarly to Voivod. My favorite quote from Manic is the last stanza on the album (from "Far Too Long"): "I hope in my heart of hearts, with all of my soul and mind, that it's not irreversible; that this isn't all there is."
Most people like Screams and Whispers over the other Anacrusis albums. You're probably thinking to yourself, "Yeah, I was wondering if you were just going to keep butt-trumpeting about the other albums." It has the best title, and I probably listen to it the most because it tends to be more positive in its overall outlook; I've been more positive myself lately. Screams is more about communication and relationships, and it features warmer, slower, and more organic sounds than Manic. Brass and string synthesizer works its way into the music, which is much more technical than before. Most of the tracks involved the entire band in the songwriting, and the multidimensionalism of Screams is worthwhile pondering in itself. As with the other releases, Screams is thoughtful, honest, and moving.
If I've put this much effort into writing an article time and time again, differently on each occasion, you can bet that Anacrusis comes with my highest possible recommendations.
It seems that the official website is largely dead now. The MP3's don't want to download, at least not for me, but you're welcome to give them a shot. Metal Blade still has some Anacrusis music for sale, so that might have something to do with it.
Another triumphant workout for the old semicolon.
Sincerely,
Ghrankenstein
Monday, March 19, 2007
Why This Copycat Blog isn't a Copycat Blog
Welcome to Screams and Whispers.
This was the name of an old blog of mine, taken from an inspired recording of the same name by a metal band called Anacrusis that seems to be forgotten by almost everyone but me. As before, this will be my venting source. It's not meant as a destructive forum, but dealing with the negative often means fighting through a lot that is genuinely destructive.
That's nothing special; a lot of blogs are similar. If you're reading this it's because you're probably familiar with my more legitimate writing elsewhere on the internet. I write about the automotive industry elsewhere, and this is not an automotive blog. I don't intend to talk shop here, except on an elemental level. There are some obvious things that I think I should get out of the way, but beyond that it's just me. If reading Ghrankenstein about Ghrankenstein is worthwhile to you, I'm genuinely touched, and I'm glad to hear from you.
The first item up for business is the incidental spawning. I'd been thinking about resurrecting my webjournal for quite a while, and in a few particularly high-anxiety episodes I actually sat down and started. The clincher is HoeyHimself's blog, since I had to create a blogger account to post there anyway. Killing two birds with one stone is efficient, and hey: free birds.
Sincerely,
Ghrankenstein
This was the name of an old blog of mine, taken from an inspired recording of the same name by a metal band called Anacrusis that seems to be forgotten by almost everyone but me. As before, this will be my venting source. It's not meant as a destructive forum, but dealing with the negative often means fighting through a lot that is genuinely destructive.
That's nothing special; a lot of blogs are similar. If you're reading this it's because you're probably familiar with my more legitimate writing elsewhere on the internet. I write about the automotive industry elsewhere, and this is not an automotive blog. I don't intend to talk shop here, except on an elemental level. There are some obvious things that I think I should get out of the way, but beyond that it's just me. If reading Ghrankenstein about Ghrankenstein is worthwhile to you, I'm genuinely touched, and I'm glad to hear from you.
The first item up for business is the incidental spawning. I'd been thinking about resurrecting my webjournal for quite a while, and in a few particularly high-anxiety episodes I actually sat down and started. The clincher is HoeyHimself's blog, since I had to create a blogger account to post there anyway. Killing two birds with one stone is efficient, and hey: free birds.
Sincerely,
Ghrankenstein
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