Because this is the kind of thing I do with my spare time.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Flashback Episode
Unable to sleep despite my present state of complete mental exhaustion, tonight I found myself browsing back through some of my old posts. In the process, I got to thinking about how, even for someone like me whose "writing" consists of random crap on a blog hidden away in a corner of the internet, there are certain pieces you look back on fondly and think "That was good stuff. I'm glad I wrote that."
More than that, in some respects this blog has served as a kind of diary from time to time, chronicling the events in my life that were (or seemed to be) important to me at the time. Obviously I don't write all, or even most, of my day-to-day experiences here. I have, however, occasionally touched on some specific things that were important moments in the more recent period of my life.
Well, in the spirit of both of these considerations, I've taken the liberty of collecting together a dozen of my favorite entries from this blog's short and unremarkable past, and organizing them chronologically in this single location. I'm including a link to each original post, and a short remark or explanation of why I picked it. This may be a pointless exercise as far as readers are concerned, but I'm feeling nostalgic and introspective, so I'm putting this together for myself even if nobody else cares.
To the ladies:
This was the second post I published on this blog, but I'd written it prior to that. A desire to post this somewhere online was actually a big part of why this blog came into existence. It's basically a short essay about the men who grow beards, and it may be weird but I remember this post and those fledgling days on Blogger fondly.
My Top 25 Metal Bands
A flawed and ambitious list, I still enjoyed writing this. I like lists, and this was the first big metal one I put on here.
Strange Karma
This was just a post where I related one of those peculiar "butterfly effect" type series of events that happened to me one day. The post is nothing special, but it reminds me of a day that had a strong impact on me.
Death Metal Extravaganza
As part of the fallout from my initial "Top 25" list, I got to thinking about bands I hadn't included, and eventually that devolved into writing about a series of what I felt were underrated death metal bands. After a few such posts I decided to knock the rest out in one big post. I like this one because I got to talk about one of my favorite death metal albums, and because it's the only post where I ever used a star-based rating scale.
Tribal Metal
The post where I talked about Native American folk metal. It's a topic I keep thinking I'd like to return to in a new post at some point, but so far I really haven't.
A Guitar Called "Plan B"
This is another selection that isn't so much about the post itself as the subject matter. It's where I talked about, and showed pictures of, the guitar that my dad and I built starting from rough lumber over the course of one winter. It was a great project, and it was a bonding experience with my dad that I'll never forget.
Album 4 of 12
My favorite entry into my "12 Albums That Changed My Life" series, where I talked about the impact Blackwater Park had on my development as a music listener.
Oh Deer!
Another strange event that happened to me, this time on a late night drive back to my parents' house. It's one of those memories that just lingers in the back of your mind, and when you think about it you can put yourself back there as though it were happening right in front of you.
Internet Hiatus
One of my prouder moments, this was something I felt strongly I needed to do. At times I drift into bad patterns and I forget the lessons this exercise taught me. I also am often far too willing to be complacent and just take the path of least resistance. This manifesto (of sorts), though, stands as a testament to one of the few times where I really stepped up and took control of my own life. I know that sounds awfully dramatic all things considered, but it was a bigger deal psychologically than it probably seems to an outside observer.
My 25 Favorite Metal Songs
On a lighter note, this was another of my attempts at an essentially impossible list, but a list which I still had a lot of fun assembling.
"Great" Metal Albums?
This was the post where I set about destroying my own metal credibility by discussing some of the defining metal classics that I just don't like or don't understand. Beyond my enjoyment of ripping on Mayhem, this post is probably more fundamentally "me" than anything else I've ever written about music.
Swedish Death Metal - Part 1
The first of 5 segments on my auditory tour of Swedish death metal. I really liked the style and concept of that series, and I'd like to do a similar one again at some point, because that was a lot of fun to put together.
So there you have it. From serious to silly, twelve of my favorite episodes from this little corner of my world.
More than that, in some respects this blog has served as a kind of diary from time to time, chronicling the events in my life that were (or seemed to be) important to me at the time. Obviously I don't write all, or even most, of my day-to-day experiences here. I have, however, occasionally touched on some specific things that were important moments in the more recent period of my life.
Well, in the spirit of both of these considerations, I've taken the liberty of collecting together a dozen of my favorite entries from this blog's short and unremarkable past, and organizing them chronologically in this single location. I'm including a link to each original post, and a short remark or explanation of why I picked it. This may be a pointless exercise as far as readers are concerned, but I'm feeling nostalgic and introspective, so I'm putting this together for myself even if nobody else cares.
To the ladies:
This was the second post I published on this blog, but I'd written it prior to that. A desire to post this somewhere online was actually a big part of why this blog came into existence. It's basically a short essay about the men who grow beards, and it may be weird but I remember this post and those fledgling days on Blogger fondly.
My Top 25 Metal Bands
A flawed and ambitious list, I still enjoyed writing this. I like lists, and this was the first big metal one I put on here.
Strange Karma
This was just a post where I related one of those peculiar "butterfly effect" type series of events that happened to me one day. The post is nothing special, but it reminds me of a day that had a strong impact on me.
Death Metal Extravaganza
As part of the fallout from my initial "Top 25" list, I got to thinking about bands I hadn't included, and eventually that devolved into writing about a series of what I felt were underrated death metal bands. After a few such posts I decided to knock the rest out in one big post. I like this one because I got to talk about one of my favorite death metal albums, and because it's the only post where I ever used a star-based rating scale.
Tribal Metal
The post where I talked about Native American folk metal. It's a topic I keep thinking I'd like to return to in a new post at some point, but so far I really haven't.
A Guitar Called "Plan B"
This is another selection that isn't so much about the post itself as the subject matter. It's where I talked about, and showed pictures of, the guitar that my dad and I built starting from rough lumber over the course of one winter. It was a great project, and it was a bonding experience with my dad that I'll never forget.
Album 4 of 12
My favorite entry into my "12 Albums That Changed My Life" series, where I talked about the impact Blackwater Park had on my development as a music listener.
Oh Deer!
Another strange event that happened to me, this time on a late night drive back to my parents' house. It's one of those memories that just lingers in the back of your mind, and when you think about it you can put yourself back there as though it were happening right in front of you.
Internet Hiatus
One of my prouder moments, this was something I felt strongly I needed to do. At times I drift into bad patterns and I forget the lessons this exercise taught me. I also am often far too willing to be complacent and just take the path of least resistance. This manifesto (of sorts), though, stands as a testament to one of the few times where I really stepped up and took control of my own life. I know that sounds awfully dramatic all things considered, but it was a bigger deal psychologically than it probably seems to an outside observer.
My 25 Favorite Metal Songs
On a lighter note, this was another of my attempts at an essentially impossible list, but a list which I still had a lot of fun assembling.
"Great" Metal Albums?
This was the post where I set about destroying my own metal credibility by discussing some of the defining metal classics that I just don't like or don't understand. Beyond my enjoyment of ripping on Mayhem, this post is probably more fundamentally "me" than anything else I've ever written about music.
Swedish Death Metal - Part 1
The first of 5 segments on my auditory tour of Swedish death metal. I really liked the style and concept of that series, and I'd like to do a similar one again at some point, because that was a lot of fun to put together.
So there you have it. From serious to silly, twelve of my favorite episodes from this little corner of my world.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Cannibal Corpse - Torture
I have long made a habit of calling Cannibal Corpse "Death Metal For Dummies". Partly that's because of their relatively wide fan base of otherwise death metal illiterates. You know: 15-year-olds who think Immolation is just a spell in World of Warcraft. Partly it's because Cannibal Corpse often serve as a kind of gateway band into real death metal, and the fans who worship them eventually move on to other idols within the death metal world. Mostly, though, it's because if I had to play somebody a song by one band to answer the question "what is death metal?", I'd play them Cannibal Corpse.
The more I think about it, though, the more I question my application of that title. It makes them sound simple, basic, and uninteresting. With their newest release "Torture" back in March, Corpsegrinder and company took another big chunk out of such notions. You see, it would be easy for a band of their stature to just sit back and release the same album over and over for a couple decades (I'm looking at you, Obituary). Instead, as time has passed Cannibal Corpse have grown and progressed and, in my opinion at least, become a much more impressive band than they ever were back in the Chris Barnes years. The basics are all still there: the gut-wrenching vocals, the pummeling drums, the meaty guitars, and the pure monstrous spirit of of unfiltered death metal brutality all still pour from every track. But the quality of their musicianship has improved. The vocal hooks are sharper. The guitar riffs are faster and more complex. The tightness with which the band executes their performances is far better. Frankly, they're now a more skilled band producing more interesting material that is surprisingly energetic and much more fun to listen to.
Of course I've been talking in broad strokes, briefly summarizing my opinion of Cannibal Corpse's collective body of work rather than talking specifically about this album. There are two main reasons I've chosen this approach. The first is that I'm making the assumption that most of my readers are familiar with the band and how they sound. As such I've chosen to skip the traditional preliminaries. If that's an inaccurate assumption then I apologize, and hopefully you'll find the next review more to your liking. The second reason is that this is how I look at the new album. In my mind, it's a perfect illustration of the "now" on a "then and now" journey of musical growth which has steadily continued in plain sight for many years. I realize how weird and unhelpful that assessment may well seem to many of you, but I think there are at least a few people out there who understand exactly what I mean.
Grade: A-
Excellent death metal from the masters.
Incidentally, if this review was just too unhelpful for words, please leave me comments to that effect so I'll know to keep things more collected and to-the-point in the future.
The more I think about it, though, the more I question my application of that title. It makes them sound simple, basic, and uninteresting. With their newest release "Torture" back in March, Corpsegrinder and company took another big chunk out of such notions. You see, it would be easy for a band of their stature to just sit back and release the same album over and over for a couple decades (I'm looking at you, Obituary). Instead, as time has passed Cannibal Corpse have grown and progressed and, in my opinion at least, become a much more impressive band than they ever were back in the Chris Barnes years. The basics are all still there: the gut-wrenching vocals, the pummeling drums, the meaty guitars, and the pure monstrous spirit of of unfiltered death metal brutality all still pour from every track. But the quality of their musicianship has improved. The vocal hooks are sharper. The guitar riffs are faster and more complex. The tightness with which the band executes their performances is far better. Frankly, they're now a more skilled band producing more interesting material that is surprisingly energetic and much more fun to listen to.
Of course I've been talking in broad strokes, briefly summarizing my opinion of Cannibal Corpse's collective body of work rather than talking specifically about this album. There are two main reasons I've chosen this approach. The first is that I'm making the assumption that most of my readers are familiar with the band and how they sound. As such I've chosen to skip the traditional preliminaries. If that's an inaccurate assumption then I apologize, and hopefully you'll find the next review more to your liking. The second reason is that this is how I look at the new album. In my mind, it's a perfect illustration of the "now" on a "then and now" journey of musical growth which has steadily continued in plain sight for many years. I realize how weird and unhelpful that assessment may well seem to many of you, but I think there are at least a few people out there who understand exactly what I mean.
Grade: A-
Excellent death metal from the masters.
Incidentally, if this review was just too unhelpful for words, please leave me comments to that effect so I'll know to keep things more collected and to-the-point in the future.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Things That Don't Happen
Ever since it came out back in February, I've wanted to do a review of the new Coldworker album Doomsayer's Call. I don't actually know a ton about the band beyond what you can find on the Metal Archives, but something about the album art really intrigued me. Well, I've been unable to get a copy and the list of other things I want to look at keeps piling up, so I'm going to just skip it and instead give you a quick sample from the album.
In other news the quarter is winding to a close, I've been sick the past few days, and my guest review is slated to appear on Full Metal Attorney tomorrow. I'm also hoping to get a new review or two up this weekend, but I'm not going to make any promises.
In other news the quarter is winding to a close, I've been sick the past few days, and my guest review is slated to appear on Full Metal Attorney tomorrow. I'm also hoping to get a new review or two up this weekend, but I'm not going to make any promises.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Dangers of Shaving
Posting that recent photo of my mutton chop sideburns got me thinking about that fact that in recent months I really have abandoned the topic of facial hair on this blog. Well, in the interest of putting some of the beard back in Beards etc, I offer you this short animation from Toonhole.com.
I think the message here is clear: don't shave off your cool facial hair, or you'll turn evil.
I think the message here is clear: don't shave off your cool facial hair, or you'll turn evil.
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