Revelations of a Music Junkie

Opeth

2010-06-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to this band by a friend of mine in my first year.He claimed it was the best band at present and might be considered to be in league with metal giants like Slayer,Megadeth etc.After two years of being an Opeth listener,I can now surely say there's no way in hell he could be wrong.

The band has maintained their typical dark,spooky feel to their music.The vocalist-guitarist Michael Akerfeldt is a genius.He is a virtuoso at both clean and growling vocals.He is half the reason why Opeth is capable of such wide variations in their music,whilst still maintaining that spooky feel which defines them.The drummer is also incredibly talented in that he can consistently bring in variations in the beats and keep their 10+ minute songs free from monoteneity.

Although,the genre of the band is primarily progressive death,the band have tried their hand at mellow songs.Songs like "Harvest" and "To Bid You Farewell" are proof to the multi-dimensional talent overflowing in them.However their sound has evolved towards the heavier side over the years.

My favourite album is Deliverance.The band themselves claim it to be their heaviest piece.I personally think the album is probably one of the best metal albums ever.The sound is so brutally heavy and so startlingly original.The title track is a 13 minute long piece with some really powerful double bass drumming.The guitar solo in the interlude is just fabulous.

Personally,my favourite Opeth song is "Master's Apprentices".I just cant seem to get enough of that song.The intro itself is so damn powerful that you'd feel like crashing into your nearest wall right away.The guitar riffs accompanied by the double bass on the drums are just brilliant.It's amazing how they've introduced so many variations in a single song.

This and more Opeth for y'll here:

1.Master's Apprentices
2.Deliverance
3.A Grand Conjuration
4.To Bid You Farewell
5.Face of Melinda
6.Porcelain Heart
7.Heir Apparent
8.Atonement
9.Hope Leaves
10.To Rid The Disease

So when you see some old ass complaining that there are no bands presently in league with Black Sabbath,Judas Priest and the other 70's giants,tell them bitches to suck it hard.Opeth has arrived and is here to stay. \m/

cheers,

Tyrant

The Mars Volta.

2010-06-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

There's a new Jimmy Page in town. His name is Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. There is a new Robert Plant in town. His name is Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Led Zep fans who have not listened to these guy will probably jump on me and beat me to death. They'll be very Grr. So, listen. To a band called The Mars Volta, popularly known as TMV.

The Mars Volta is something that very few can have an ear for. The music is chaotic, some might say. And yus, I agree, it does sound chaotic. They use so many instruments and effects in their songs that it can sound that way. But listen to them songs on good earphones or good speakers and you'll realize that there's more to their music than chaos. The first track I listened to was Ouroborous. I was like WTF is this!. But that was because I had listened to it at a very low volume and on laptop speakers. Then, I gave it another shot. On my Creative speakers. And I was like WTF is this!, but this time with my jaw down there. The song blew my fucking brains out of my fucking skull and out there, somewhere far far away. The drumming was insane. The effects were like out of this world. Then I gave another one a listen. This time, it was Tetragrammaton. And I died. I was like :O.

TMV, when they were young, and when they didn't have enough musicians of their own, they used to hire orchestra people to play those weird instruments. They used to give them the score-sheets but due to the complexity of their compositions, the hired people were mostly left clueless. It was only after the proper recording that them outside people understood what they had played and where and how all of it had fit.

The vocalist, Cedric Bixler-Zavala is beyond awesome. His girlish voice, those high pitched orgasmic screams, his style, all of it. And the guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, with his fast, jazz-ish/indian-classic-ish/eh-ish solos defines awesomeness-maxx. Both of them are like modern day Page and Plant. The comparison's right there! No one can deny it.

Their live performances are something to die for. Characterized by heavy drug abuse, the members are usually in a frenzied state and their behaviour is a vessel full of disarray. And that is fun, right? Omar usually goes all twitchy as if he's been Crucio-ed upon and all. Its all very fun-fun.

The best part about TMV is not the fact that they change scales, but the key that they sing in. The songs often change, wrt feel, sound and pace. That's what makes this band awesome. Listen to them in a dark room with eyes closed and half a litre of the maroon liquid in you, and you'll go Wheeeeee in no time. Their songs are long. Some of them, as long as 25 minutes. Half those songs have just effects being played on the synth for more than half the play-time. But everything fits so beautifully that if you know how to listen, you'll be amazed at how one could even come up with such compositions. All of them, masterpieces.

I would so like to see this band live.

Anyway, if u're a TMV-noob, go for these songs :

Ouroborous.
L'Via L'Viaquez.
Tetragrammaton.
Metatron.
Asilos Magdelena.
Vicarous Atonement.
Viscera Eyes.
Goliath.
The Widow.
Inertiatic ESP.
A-Part I, B-Part II, C-Part III, D-Part IV - All in continuation, and in a drunk state.

Listen to these and I bet your ass that you'll be a fan before you can even spell A-S-S.

P.S. : Remember, good speakers or good earphones. There are so many effects in their music that most of them will go unnoticed otherwise.

All hail TMV. :D \m/

My Top 25 Favorite Death & Black Metal songs

2010-01-20T07:23:00.000-08:00

These are some of the darkest, fiercest and most brutal songs I have ever heard. I suggest you listen to them and surrender yourself to the world of Total Fucking Darkness \m/.
P.S. For best results, hear the FLAC versions(hard to find, I know :P ) and ONLY on high-bass woofer systems or noise-eliminating headsets. And the list is in NO order of preference: So go ahead and take your pick !

1. Slaves shall serve - Behemoth
2. Carving a Giant – Gorgoroth
3. Mannequin- Cradle of Filth
4. Sorgens Kammer Del II – Dimmu Borgir
5. I am the Black Wizards- Emperor
6. The Pursuit of Vikings- Amon Amarth
7. Guardians of Asgaard- Amon Amarth
8. Black Crow on a Tombstone- Satyricon
9. Mother North- Satyricon
10.No Sympathy for fools- Behemoth
11.Sacrifice Unto Sebek-Nile
12.Nothing Left- As I Lay Dying
13.Monochromatic Stains- Dark Tranquility
14.Kissing the Shadows- Children of Bodom
15.Mourning Palace- Dimmu Borgir
16.Devil's Harlot- Ov Hell
17.Ascendant- Keep of Kalessin
18.Nemesis- Arch Enemy
19.Havenless- Enslaved
20.Tale of Revenge- Ensiferum
21.Ghostflowers- Otep
22.A Grand Conjuration- Opeth
23.Black Metal- Venom
24.Nymphetamine- Cradle of Filth
25.Hammer Smashed Face- Cannibal Corpse

Cheers
Count Grishnackh " Conqueror of Rage "

Top 25 Metal Songs for the week

2010-01-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

A little while ago,my co-author William Deng Deng K showed me a list made by his friend consisting of 25 metal songs he liked the most.This struck me with an idea to keep this blog more active than ever and help my co-authors get their lazy asses off their cozy beds and start contributing more.We'll be updating the blog with our top 25 favourite numbers from various genres every week.I'd choose 20 best but I got so many to recommend to you with just one semester of leisure left.Here goes:

1.Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
2.Alice In Chains - Man In The Box
3.Megadeth - Holy Wars
4.Carcass - This Is Your Life
5.Eternal Tears Of Sorrow - Sweet Lilith Of My Dreams
6.Metallica - The Four Horsemen
7.Slayer - Seasons In The Abyss
8.Lamb Of God - Hourglass
9.As I Lay Dying - Through Struggle
10.Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
11.Anthrax - Armed and Dangerous
12.Arch Enemy - Nemesis
13.Children Of Bodom - Angels Don't Kill
14.Judas Priest - Painkiller
15.Behemoth - Ov Fire and The Void
16.Nightwish - Over The Hills and Far Away
17.Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name Of
18.Testament - More Than Meets The Eye
19.Cradle Of Filth - Scorched Earth Erotica
20.Sepultura - Refuse/Resist
21.Judas Priest - A Touch Of Evil
22.Lamb Of God - Grace
23.Opeth - Atonement
24.Eternal Tears Of Sorrow - Prophetian
25.Children Of Bodom - Are You Dead Yet?

P.S: The numbering is purely for namesake,I like the 25th no less than I like the first one.Just add them to your playlist and lose your minds.

peace,

Tyrant

Slayer

2010-01-10T08:59:00.000-08:00

Slayer.You've got to say the word with your eye balls protruding and a powerful voice with an expression of ultimate supremacy silencing the world around you.As evidently seen on this blog,I'm presently on a thrash metal listening spree and will now pay my respects to the band that defined thrash metal in it's true sense,arguably the biggest of "The Big Four".

Slayer is what you need when your mind thinks of blood,corpses,decapitations,painful deaths and the gory details.It's dark,sinister riffs get my mind on a voyage through some haunted cemetery under a pale grey sky.The vocalist,Tom Araya also brings a shade of pain in his extremely energetic voice.And of course,the brilliant solos by Kerry King and Hanneman are just unmockable.That's a factor that makes Slayer so different from any other band.

Slayer has proved it's worth right from their first album,"Show No Mercy".You can almost imagine a brutal moshpit clouded with dust when you listen to the intro for "Black Magic".In their next album they gave us "Hell Awaits" and "Necrophiliac".However,their storming success came from their third album "Reign in Blood" in the year of thrash,1986.It succeeded in giving the world a kind of music never heard before.

While their lyrics might seem neo-nazi,the vocalist has made it clear that they are merely interested in Nazism,and do not necessarily advocate it's principles.Although a transition is seen in the band's music over the years,the energy in it has not reduced one bit.It now enjoys critical acclaim too having won the Grammy Award for "Best Metal Performance" for two consecutive years.

The succeeding albums "South Of Heaven" and "Seasons in The Abyss" continued with it's dark spooky riffs.The title tracks of both albums are phenomenal.In the albums "God Hates Us All" and "Christ Illusion",the music is a little different.Nevertheless,till date Slayer continues to give the thrash lovers what they yearn for,even in their latest album "World Painted Blood".

The music might not appeal to one and all.But if you listen too,then listen to and get slain:

Raining Blood
Angel Of Death
Altar Of Sacrifice
Blood Red
Seasons In The Abyss
South Of Heaven
Mandatory Suicide
Americon
Bloodline
Psychopathy Red
Eyes Of The Insane
Blood Red

peace,

Tyrant

Megadeth

2010-01-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

I go back to my third year addiction.Megadeth is what got me started in the thrash genre.With the start of this post,let's sincerely hope they come again to India and hope even more strongly that we don't miss them again.The only thought of being in their gig in insane moshpits brings clenched fists and pulling teeth to me.

Let's start with some gyaan on how Megadeth happened.An unfairly talented guitarist,Dave Mustaine played with Metallica in their early years.He was later kicked out of the band for not having control over his alcoholism and heroin addiction.An angry Mustaine left the band to form what's now Megadeth,which is the second-best selling thrash metal band in the world,much to his despair,second to Metallica.

While many argue that Mustaine in Metallica is a dream unrealized for the thrash junkies,I personally feel his departure was for the best.Had it not been for that,we would have missed the powerful riffs of Megadeth blended with his immense talent in vocals.We would also miss Hammett's solos for Metallica in the coming years.While it is natural to compare both the bands,I feel they are both good in their own place.Oh wait,Metallica was good.But we'll talk about that some other time.

While Mustaine's guitar skills are unquestionable,he has also earned a reputation as a bad-ass in the metal scene.With his tremendous ego and any abysmal level of humility,he can't come to terms with the fact that Metallica has been more commercially successful.Get over it,Dave.You rock more than you know!!You've equalled them if not surpassed them,when you just gave us the two albums,"Peace Sells" and "Rust In Peace".You don't earn a place in "The Big Four Of Thrash" for nothing.

And yeah.How can I forget Marty Friedman!I don't think Megadeth would have been half of what it now is,had it not been for him.His solos for "Hangar 18","Holy Wars","Peace Sells.." are simply phenomenal.Too bad Marty is now over with the metal genre and has begun a solo career.His solo albums too are awesome,only of a diffferent genre.

What's unique with Megadeth is their consistency with their style of music.While Metallica has outrageously transitioned from its fast,powerful style to a noisy,sluggish piece of crap,Megadeth continues to rock on like they did 20 years back.While they have had their peak when Marty Friedman played,even now their music has not changed too much.Their latest album,"Endgame" is proof enough to what I just said.

Lets list down some of the Megadeth numbers you ought to listen to,well right now.Later you can listen to some more:

Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
Hangar 18
A Tout Le Monde
Architecture Of Aggression
Train Of Consequences
Sweating Bullets
Kill The King
Peace Sells
Good Mourning
Prince Of Darkness

All hail Megadeth!!

cheers,

Tyrant

Blackfield

2010-01-09T04:41:00.000-08:00

Blackfield is an amazing collaboratory musical group between Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen. In other words, it’s a side-project of Wilson.

Contrary to the general trend, I was hooked on to Blackfield far earlier and in a much greater degree than the immensely popular Porcupine Tree band. I wouldn't blame anyone claiming to be a huge fan of PTree or even Wilson for that matter to have heard of Blackfield. Blackfield for one is a side project with very few live performances round the year(some not even including Wilson !!! )and just 2 albums old.

If you are a big Porcupine Tree fan and want to discover as much of Steven Wilson's music as possible, you have another musical fiesta to enjoy in the form of Blackfield. The music is incredibly beautiful, the lyrics very bohemian and there is an underlying thread of melancholy which is more strongly visible than the songs of PTree. Aviv’s musical sense and backing vocals add an exotic flavor to Wilson’s established style.

Personal Note :

So far every single soul I have recommended this band to has thoroughly savoured it; more importantly this blog's co-authors-cum-music aficionados who have unlike me, been for longtime listeners of other bands in this genre of music.

Speaking about Steven Wilson and his compositions, I have literally no words to describe the musical genius he is and the impact his music has on me. Very few things/people in my life can bring a smile or a deep sense of relief to me irrespective of the mood I am in and 'Blackfield' definitely is second to the top there :D. Sadly, for no GOOD reason whatsoever I made the grave mistake of recently not attending the Ptree concert in Bombay. Not a lifetime of listening to them or Blackfield on my PC is gonna compensate for that ‘eargasm’ of a Live experience :( .

Anyway, here are a few songs I recommend strongly:

Album : Blackfield-I

Glow
Blackfield
Cloudy Now
Hello
Perfect World
The Hole in Me

Album : Blackfield-II

My Gift of Silence
Where is my Love
End of the World

And incase, you are left wanting more ( which I am darn sure you will be :P ), I suggest you check them out on Youtube or last.fm or Hell, listen to all the songs in both their albums( only 20 odd songs should be NO BIG DEAL for you, eh :P ).

Cheers !!
Count Grishnackh

Pink Floyd

2009-12-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

For most bands,critical acclaim and mass appeal vary rather inversely.Pink Floyd is a band that has enjoyed both to an enormous extent.Yes,we're talking about the band that has laid down the definitive text for what we call today,"psychedelic rock".

Starting out to be an art rock band like "The Who",it was the departure of the rather eccentric vocalist Syd Barrett which gradually brought about a transition to psychedelic music.David Gilmour was brought in as a replacement for guitars and vocals and together the band has produced some of the greatest pieces of music mankind will ever probably hear.

If you really want to experience Pink Floyd in the true sense,listen to the complete album in a go.The sequential arrangement of the songs and the compositions are such to trigger the drug induced experiences that the music is known to give.I would especially suggest you to listen to "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "The Wall" in a single go.

Here are some of the songs that you just should'nt miss out on,they've been regularly feauturing in my playlist since two years now.

Echoes:A very beautiful song with some really great music blended with the smoothest voice of David Gilmour.Check out the "Live At Pompeii" version of the song for some wonderful variations.

Comfortably Numb:Another brilliant piece.The song is lyrically a conversation between a doctor and a patient and has one of the best guitar solos you'll ever hear.

Another Brick In The Wall:It's the song that most people came to know about Pink Floyd from.The intro guitar solo itself triggers a war-against-the-system feeling in you.

Speak To Me/Breathe:It's the first song from "The Dark Side Of The Moon".Listen to this one and then play "Time",you'd know why I asked you to listen to the whole album at a stretch

Time:A brilliant song with very deep lyrics.The long intro really builds the energy for the song to then take your mind on a flight.

High Hopes:A very smooth song with brilliant-as-always vocals by Gilmour and an awesome guitar solo towards the end.It really sends you looking back into the pages of your life.Watch out for the "Pulse" version of the song,it's a treat to look at Gilmour play the solo on the Hawaiin guitar.

Coming Back To Life:Very very psychedelic in nature.The intro guitar solo and the start of Gilmour's vocals really give you a sort of mini-orgasm.A very beautiful song,one of my all-time favourites.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond:This is the song that Waters wrote for their previous vocalist,Syd Barrett.An eccentric song for an eccentric personality.Listen to this one and you'd know how a twenty-five minute piece can still be brilliant.

On The Run:Even if you had an almost lethal dosage of heroin,your high would still be missing something if you're not playing this song.The music itself carries the title for this song,listen to it when you're at least two nips down.

The Great Gig In The Sky:A rather different song with a female opera giving the vocals.It's a toast to life and it's grandeur.

Learning To Fly:Psychedelic need not always be dark and spooky in nature.This song's associated with a rather happy feeling and has some really great music.Check out the "Pulse" version for another good variation.

Wish You Were Here:Beauty in simplicity is all that this song is about.Beautiful lyrics and some very simple but brilliant guitaring.

If you're new to Pink Floys,then these songs should be enough to get you in the fan club,or religion I should say.And to those who are already there,I'm sorry.I know I have left out so many other brilliant songs while trying to keep bounds to the length of this post.

Here are some others:

Interstellar Overdrive
Astronomy Domine
Bike
A Saucerful Of Secrets
Set the Controls For The Sun
Jugband Blues
Mother
Obscured by Clouds
Goodbye Blue Sky
Hey You
Marooned

Help me undo some sin by describing these and any I must have left out in the comments section.

Facts:

1.The strange name that Syd Barrett bequeathed to his band was suggested, not by a drug vision according to the popular belief, but by two obscure names in his record collection:Pink Anderson and Floyd "Dipper Boy" Council.

2.Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" set a record 742 weeks i.e 13 years on the Billboard top 200.

3.The introduction to the song "Wish You Were Here" was recorded from David Gilmour's car radio.

4.Drummer Nick Mason is the only member who has remained in the act for it's entirety.

5.Pink Floyd is known for over-the-top grandeur and visual experiences in their live performances.

6.Pink Floyd has been an influence to present day popular psychedelic and trip-hop acts like Porcupine Tree and Radiohead.

Notes:

1.Try to get hold of some high quality music for Pink Floyd.128 kbps MP3 format will do no justice to music so divine

2.Don't download music,buy original CD's.:)

3.Alright alright,I'm leaving.

cheers,

Tyrant

Jimi Hendrix

2009-12-01T04:45:00.000-08:00

This was expected, wasn't it? But then, Lord Deng's first Mlog just has to have Dead God written on it, no? People ask, Why Dead God? or tell He's dead. So get over it. and all that. But then, Bhagat Singh's dead too. And so is Che. Are we over them? No. They did something great. And great-doers cannot be forgotten. Such is the case with Jimi Hendrix as well.

The reasons why he's considered such an amazing guitarist are obvious. As obvious as chocolate sauce on a chocolate-chocodip ice cream. Or maybe spiked black leather on Rob Halford. And those who don't appreciate his almost official title should either die, or read this Mlog.

As it might become quite strenuous for Lord Deng to write long shit early in the morning when he should be in deep slumbers instead, he will do it point wise, if he may. So, here are a few noteworthy reasons as to why people should get wasted on his birthday or get together and walk the cryway on his death anniversary.

1. He was born in November and died in September.

2. He learnt to play guitar by playing a broomstick.

3. His music feels like heaven.

Lord Deng first started to listen to Hendrix's numbers when he was emotionally unstable and was on the verge of a breakdown. He didn't come out it, as people would think he would have. On the contrary, owing to the extremely whee!-whoa! feel of his music, he became even more insane, which wouldn't have happened if he would have exposed himself to Behemoth instead(Yes, Count, I bow before thee), but he discovered a God nonetheless.

The world before Hendrix saw artists like B.B.King et al. The world before Hendrix saw clean and simple. Hendrix opened eyes to distortion, wah, and complex. His style was unique and full of versatility, something the world was unaware of. Led Zeppelin, yes. But Page's style wasn't blues. He was rather the pioneer of shredding. Hendrix gave the world a kind of music people were able to enjoy anytime, anywhere; be it getting wasted or driving a car or having sex.

With stage antics like using his teeth to play guitar, burning the guitar on stage, rolling all over the stage while playing, his concerts were dope for the eyes. The giant crowd of people that stayed back for an extra day at the Woodstock of '69, just to see his show, is the biggest piece of evidence. When I saw his performance at Woodstock, I was so shocked and surprised and fascinated that I had to control this urge to bring shit loads of booze and drink it all up in one go. I remember having had to settle with a coffee instead.

One great thing about Hendrix's music is, its so perfect, so articulate, that it can almost make one cry, if the mood's right, appropriate. And his vocals are so orgasmic(yes, orgasmic. :| Thou heard me right), well, I get an orgasm everytime I hear him sing. With popular blues bands like The Who and Ten Years After also in the spotlight, this curly haired guitarist gave the world something that they were not able to. Hendrix marked the onset of electric blues. He marked the onset of extensive Wah-use. One great example is Satriani's music, which is full of Wahs as he was a big fan of Hendrix.

Who should listen : People who like blues. People who dig weed.

Who shouldn't listen : People who like Psyopus(Seriously, if you like artists like Psyopus, there's nothing else EXCEPT Psyopus that you should be listening to).

What songs should a noob listen to :

All Along The Watchtower : My favorite song. Yes. All time favorite. This song has one of the best guitar leads the world of music has seen. Look out for the ghostly moaning sound in the third solo. Hendrix played that part using a cigarette lighter as a slide. Very very orgasmic.

Little Wing : Again, a wonderful song. Short but beautiful. Played using a weird, unique technique that is beyond the level of understanding of Lord Deng.

Purple Haze : This song's got a very weedy feel to it. Very popular, which is why its one of the songs people start listening to Hendrix with.

Voodoo Chile : That weedy thing again. And again, very popular.

Crosstown Traffic : Colorful song. Colorful vocals. Especially the chorus. I bet it'll have u singing along with it.

Hey Joe : One of the awesomest numbers by Hendrix. Also known for the I Shot The Sheriff-ish lyrics. Brilliant solo as well.

Red House : This song has to be the best song using the 12 bar blues progression, others as good as this being songs like Texas Flood and all.

Hey Baby(New Rising Sun) : Not that popular. Don't know why. Its got amazing guitar work and a feel-good feel to it.

Jelly 292 : Very radical. Something that should be played at a rave party. And no, not an ordinary rave party. One where stoned people dance naked and make out on the dance floor. That kind.

Izabella : Similar to Purple Haze.

Listen to these and I bet you'll be hooked to Hendrix before you can say Mlog. Its difficult to say it anyway. Its sad that someone like him died at a small age. 27! I wish he was still alive. The music scene would have been so radically different. And people, much happier. The world would have been a more peaceful place than it is now. But since he's not, all I can say is, may he rest in peace.

Biggest Hendrix Fan,
William Deng Deng K.

BEHEMOTH

2009-11-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

BEHEMOTH is a force to be reckoned with; so intense and violent, it may leave a blood stain on the music world for years to come. This Polish Blackened-Death metal band has done a damn good job of creating an out-of-bounds hell for the average listener. The music’s ugly but with hints of absolute beauty, crass but far smarter than any other band playing music today. Songs whose lyrics are ridden with bits and pieces of orchestration and progressive elements from various pagan subcultures like our own Hinduism , Buddhism , the Egyptian religion and the Greco-Roman beliefs. Backed by a thunderstorm of riffs (courtesy Seth and Orion ) and rapid, machine-gun double bass or sometimes quad-bass drumming ( >300 BPM , courtesy Inferno ) which characterise each of their 9 studio albums as an extreme metal classic work , these guys are truly behemoths of the extreme metal genre in their own right.

It’s hard to describe music this brutal; if extreme metal is not appealing to you I would suggest you run… now. Run far, far away. For the rest of us: rejoice. Songs like ‘No Sympathy of Fools’ , ‘Slaves Shall Serve’ and ‘Ov Fire and the Void’ when played on loud speakers at full volume transport the listener to a whole new world , a world where he experiences an inexplicable volume of energy and power. Infact, I would recommend every song of Behemoth , even the slow-paced ones like ‘Inner Sanctum’ or ‘Lucifer’ to be ONLY played on loud speakers at full volume. Trust me, music this extreme deserves such a setting without which it’s distinct elements often spiral into a noisy and chaotic soundtrack.
I believe vocalist & guitarist Nergal has the deadliest growl in heavy metal, sounding like it comes from such a dark place that he doesn’t necessarily need the demonic makeup or corpsepaint to be scary (though that’s something I certainly wouldn’t complain about ).

A page on the web says the following about Behemoth “ Believe this horrific hype or not but, please, do not play this around your kids. They will have nightmares and grow up to be socially awkward men and women (like most metal fans do) thanks to this train collision of musical desecration. It’s a stab at something a little less blistering but is all the more intimidating due to the creepy black metal riffing of Nergal and guitarist Seth, conjuring the best of Immortal and Mayhem.”

Interestingly , Nergal is the sole member remaining from the original lineup ( Trivia : One of the first members , Baal aka Desecrator later left the band only to become a top computer-science researcher at Harvard today :P ) . In one of the pre-concert interviews I noticed how he nostalgically charts out Behemoth’s long journey from being something of a pastime of a bunch of 13-yr old’s like him in 1990 to the multi-award winning band that they are today. His creativity has caused the early Behemoth style of old-school Black Metal to be replaced by a more popular Death metal variant only still staying true to it’s BM roots through the lyrical themes. FYI , these guys have used and will continue to use instruments and elements as diverse as sitars( in ‘Shemhomfarash’ ) , the French Horns( in ‘Demigod’ and ‘Daimonos’ ) , Buddhist chants( in ‘At the Left Hand ov God ‘ ) and epic choruses in their works.

One of the most popular misconception ( which BTW even I harboured for a long time until recently ) is that Behemoth is a Satanic Black Metal Band . No, for the record , they ARE NOT ! They are more like a Pagan Band who love taking music to the extremes while articulating their views on Christianity which they feel is an overrated plagiarisation of the predating Pagan faiths.

My current favourite is ‘ Slaying the Prophets ov Isa ’ . Five minutes of plodding, banging and stomping: a teenage wet dream of the perfect metal crusher is complete with a wicked solo at the end.

Anyways, the reason I start this blog with a review on Behemoth is simple. In all my life, I have been hooked on to many bands starting from Linkin Park, Children of Bodom etc. only to find myself bored with it in a few months time or at max. a year. But NOT with Behemoth !!Infact, the co-authors of this blog as well as my few close friends would vouch for this fact for I have often tirelessly tried to pass on my obsession with Behemoth to them. It’s been 2 long years since I first liked Behemoth and my ardor for them just grows more and more. Personally, if I were to rate Behemoth, it would be a full FIVE STARS . I know its biased , but Hell to all those who think otherwise . All Hail Behemoth and Stay Fuckin’ True to the Devil’s Horns \m/ .

Count Grishnackh

P.S. Here’s the Myspace Link to Behemoth.
http://www.myspace.com/behemoth

Enjoy !

Intro

2009-11-29T23:10:00.001-08:00

Greetings, One and all ! Welcome to this brand new blog of ours .

For long , we have been contemplating on penning down reviews on our favorite artists . I, for one have tremendously benefitted from this practice of music reviews and learnt about countless artists whom in normal circumstances , I would have never heard of. The views on this blog aren't being forced on anyone , so please use your own discretion in liking/disliking the artists we suggest.

After almost 4 years of listening to music day in and 'night' out ( :P ) , we do feel we are quite capable and ready to post concrete music reviews . Each one of us shares a common liking for music while retaining a strictly unique genre of interest. To end this long intro-blah ( which wasnt intended to be long in the 1st place :) ) , here is a short music-centred bio. of the authors.

Girish a.k.a Tyrant : Thrash metal junkie and is a sucker for popular good music like the Beatles , Mark Knopfler ,Yanni ...altho. thrash still reigns in his blood more than anything else :) .

Nikhil a.k.a Count Grishnackh : Listens to almost any shit in the name of music....but largely a fan of Symphonic Black , Blackened Death ,Melodeath Metal and Prog./Indie/Indian Rock . Rumored to be a'secret' listener of sad Brit-Pop and Soul :) .

Ravi Popat a.k.a. William Deng-Deng K : Big time Blues aficionado. Old-school hard rock and heavy metal fan of Led Zep , Slayer etc. Has recently been reported to be on a DEATH-METAL listening spree and we all hope that stays for a long time :) .

Keep checking out this blog regularly for some real good shit on music .

Till then... MAKE MUSIC NOT WAR !!