MUSTAINE!!!!!

This is why Megadeth rules.

And you know what? If I was Mustaine, and I was at where he's at in his career, I'd fucking tour with Lacuna Coil too. Those whiny kids.

Drummer! --Adventures in Band Practice

So Born Without Blood has a drummer now. Mind-blowing, I know.

Finding him was interesting--I had to search pretty extensively. Bandmix, where I  first noticed him, only allows you to contact other users if you pay for an account. Since I'm not that stupid, I went looking at profiles from my free account. Found him--long-hair Seattlite drummer dork who likes metal--definitely up our alley.

He goes by Kane Blaireau. I figured Facebook was a pretty safe bet to catch him--everybody's on fucking Facebook these days. After five or six FB searches got me nowhere, I Googled his name. Guess what the first hit was? Just guess. His Facebook page! It was a band page, not a personal one, which explains not getting it in the initial search results.

Finally. I'd found him. Sent him a message and a friend request--and voila! Instructed Justin to befriend him too, and those two got to talking. I then joined in, and after the whole goddam holiday season was over, he came over for his first jam with us.

Justin and I, band founders and sole members since then, had a few reservations about Kane. These were cast aside when the jamming ensued.

Firstly, has plays on an electric kit. "Lame!" we thought.

Too quick, boys. Too quick to judge. Turns out the maneuverability of the sound was a boon, for jamming and recording both. We had him running through a PA speaker, on top of and jacked into my small, old, janky Peavey combo amp as a pre-amp, and set between our two half-stacks. Let me tell you, being able to turn the drums' volume up and down makes a HUGE difference.

We used two microphones, placed equidistant between each amp and the PA speaker. Left-to-right, you'd have seen Justin's half-stack, a mic pointed between it and the PA, the PA, the other mic pointed between the PA and my half-stack, and my half-stack. It created a useable recording, which is a little surprising, given the jury-rigged, small-time setup.

Usually, of course, you'd want a mic dedicated to each instrument. We had a third mic and chord, but the problem was figuring out how to record three mics at once through my Gearbox UX2 and Sonar. Not sure it's possible.

The recording yielded two tracks, obviously. On one, we had Justin's guitar and Kane's drums, neither of which I could manipulate independently. The other track contained my guitar and drums, in the same fashion. The trick during recording was making sure each guitar was as similarly leveled as possible, so that turning one or the other down in editing didn't take out too much drum sound. As it turns out, the mix turned out all right. It's a pretty effective way of recording two guitars and drums.

Now whenever bass enters the mix, I'll be scared. Holy cow. I was thinking we could use two laptops, with two mics hooked up to each. Turns out Kane has not only audio recording software on his lappy, but mixing and mastering equipment as well! I'll have to tag along on one of his mastering excursions for his other band to see what the process is like.

Secondly, Justin and I were apprehensive about whether or not Kane could match our speed. We play pretty fucking fast--168 bpm on average, with lots of 1/16-note picking with the right hand.

But when he sat down on that thing, he stayed right with us, sometimes even going TOO FAST! Oh sweet gods, where did we find this boy? One thing is--he hasn't even been drumming a whole year, if I remember correctly. So I could hear some inconsistencies in his tempo and rhythm, which I chalk up to first-practice learnings/jitters/familiarizings. He kept up and had that double kick pedal rocking. He's not perfect, but damn it he's more than good enough.

Not only that, but he brought out a new side of Justin and I's playing that we'd never really explored before. By the end of practice, we'd gone through all three of our solid songs, two of our songs-in-writing, and three new jams to pick stuff out of!

New drummer, new regions of metal to explore, new dynamic to our band. The practice went better than I'd expected. After jamming for an hour or more, we all sat down, had a breather, and did some talking. I told him he didn't have to join our band, that he could make his own decision. If I remember correctly, he said, "No, I want to! Yeah, definitely." No hesitation. The indoctrination went better than expected, as well. He was all about BWB right from the start.

We've only had the one practice with him so far, three days ago. We're designating Sundays as band practice days, but this Sunday, which would be our second practice, we're putting Kane to use in a whole different way: Dungeons and Dragons!

That's right. Justin and I are players, and we've had this go-to DM for a long time. This Sunday, Kane takes up that mantle, and our DM friend becomes a player alongside Justin and I. We're all Facebook chatting about it and geeking out hardcore.

All in all -- drummer joins party. Born Without Blood level up. Glenn and Justin make a friend.

Zeni Geva on Soundcloud

THE ALBUM VERSION'S DRUMMER'S DRUMMING

Here's a Soundcloud page containing a live recording of Zeni Geva's "Alienation," from their 2010 cd Alive and Rising.

I've loved ZG since my friend Edweird introduced me to them when we played in Porkfist together, many years back. "Alienation" is the first track on ZG's 11th album, 1995's Freedom Bondage.

If you compare the live version of "Alienation" I linked to above with the album version, you'll notice different drumming styles. That's because ZG's brought on Ruins' drummer Tatsuya Yoshida in the last few years. The  dude can play drums like such a crazy, methodical motherfucker that he'll either confuse the fuck out of you or blow your mind straight outta the water. I like TY's drumming better than the album version's drummer's drumming.

Search for Ruins or Tatsuya Yoshida on YouTube if you want to see some freakyass, talented, and mathy percussion.

Search for Zeni Geva to rock. I recommend the albums Desire for Agony and Freedom Bondage.

My too most appreciated Too Dark Park songs

Skinny Puppy's Too Dark Park (1990) had a profound impact on me in my developing years. Here are the album's two songs I enjoy most.

Neither are singles. ...which means I'm cool.

"Tormentor"

Movement crosses crimson light
Washes darkened corners gently
Forces open wide and lingering a while
Pouring thoughts electric fingers
Blinding pressure sockets stream
Matter grey the nerve free fall
Safely buried out behind a face
Let it out
Be careful watching living masks misshapen
Tumors ride the pressing tinted nightmare breeze

"Morpheus Laughing"

Album version:

An extreme solution
No fossil fuels mimicking exhaust rattles
Troublesome
A madman's vast, direct, iron-grooved world
Primary state average distance closer to the sun
Draws a comet nearer to a complex destruction

The well-established greed and pain inflicted on the animal model
Still nothing no cure
The ravaged instincts' silent waking to a chemical perversion
Wartime underground
Imperfect plotting grows the seeds of time
Imperfect plotting grows the seeds of time

2010 live version:



2009 live version:

What Spotify has taught me today

WowOverrated

Drake and Gym Class Heroes are annoying and they suck.

victim of modern production

Florence should slow down her vocals in the song Bedroom Hymns. Let a measure or two run by without any singing. It sounds rushed--like the song began as a slow-building piece, and her producer told her to speed it up to make it more poppy, more radio length. Cool song, though. I like how it's sorta gospel, sorta roots blues.

But then when I read myself describe those styles together as something cool, I hate myself. It sounds exactly like what those douchebag Rolling Stone music reviewers say to make all this new crap sound interesting.

Somebody likes these guys?

I talked to an adviser yesterday at skool and she said that all her friends make fun of her when she wants to listen to some Justin Beiber cause Spotify posts what you listen to on Facebook. But I can understand wanting to put some Beibs once in a while.

...but musically?

Lady Gaga is pretty annoying. She's better at visuals than audials.

Little Wayne can actually make some pretty chill grooves. This surprises me. I'm listening to She Will. Holy crap this song is dirty. Okay. My mind is blowing out my ears right now--not that LW is great, but that I'm enjoying letting him get me into his groove. Hate the lyrics, mostly. And I'll never listen to it again, because he's a spoiled brat of a motherfucker.

For idiots

Laconist is brutal and decrepit and I enjoy it.

The good music (for whatever taste you have) is out there, but you have to search for it. Sure, Spotify loves to throw music at you without you having to search, and that's a good thing. But it's not good music--it's just POPULAR music. Big difference.

More my style

Want to know the difference? Here ya go:
POPULAR music is for idiots
GOOD music is not popular
(definitions of terms "popular" and "good" may vary)

Yes I suppose I do like to set myself apart from the crowd. But it's only because the crowd holds nothing I want.

Judas Priest's "Diamonds and Rust" - an analysis

Addendum:
I wrote all this without doing my research and realizing Diamonds and Rust is a Joan Baez song. Fuck. Dammit! Sorry. 


I'm not taking the post down. Her version of the song is awesome too. I've gotta give her credit--those lyrics are so awesome, they can be conveyed thru her or Halford.


But in all the parts where I credit the lyrics to Halford's writing ability, just... ugh, aaahh, realize I didn't know what I was talking about.

Okay, on the same day, two friends recently told me they went to see Judas Priest on their Seattle tour stop. It got me thinking, I should immediately start becoming familiar with this band; the time is long past. They won't be around forever.

I discovered the song Diamonds and Rust when Spotifying them. This is now my favorite Priest song. Here it is from YouTube.


When I watched this video and read the lyrics along with it, even though I'd listened to the song three times since last night, I immediately started getting misty. It brought up many memories. I began thinking about the possibility of an old friend calling me up, and me having to turn him away, because our memories together are too painful. They represent a time in my life when I was not proud of myself. A time I'd rather not relive. And of the pain of having to turn away a doe-eyed, old friend.

That's probably not even what he meant when he wrote the song, but that's what it made me feel. It's my unfiltered interpretation of it, one of them anyway. That's what artists want you to do with their art, right? To let it lead to you an immense feeling, whether or not it's strictly their aim when creating and publishing it, is always most attractive to me. It's an approach I leaned from watching Lynch, who explains almost nothing in his massively affecting stories.

We both know what memories can bring, they bring diamonds and rust. Diamonds, diamonds and rust.

In short, Diamonds' lyrical theme is instantly relatable. Halford doesn't sing above you, he sings with you. Yet, somehow, he is elevated to a king's status by his choice of words. By my impression of this song alone (and that badass new one Judas Rising), Halford does exist on a higher plane. He's full of some kind of fantastical energy.

He's is a lyrical genius. A showman. A metal master: metal was not good enough for him, so he had to take it as a lump of clay in his hands, his eyes burning with fire, and shape it, vocally, the way he wanted.

Look what he's become. Respected, globally recognized, gay, evil, wonderful, entertaining millions.

I'm sure he felt nervous when coming out to the world, but god bless him for it. He's made metal into a genre where prejudice doesn't matter. If you're metal, and honest, and brutal, you will be respected. And yes, I see Halford's style as brutal, even though he's not grunting like a barbarian. He rises above all that.

Now here's a version of Diamonds and Rust I found when YouTube searching to see if the song has a music video. (I'm still not sure.) I avoided hits like, "Diamonds and Rust Acoustic."

Though its title lacked the word "live" or "acoustic" in its description, the vid immediately below indeed turned out to be a live, acoustic version. I was hooked anyway, if for nothing else than for the way Rob enters the stage from the side, walking reflectively, his focus within himself and yet totally with the crowd, looking totally metal in his leather coat and studs, singing the tune perfectly, with palpable feeling in his voice, totally at peace with himself. Like a master opera singer.

I love his fuckin shaved, tattooed head and big ass goatee.



One of metal's few ruling kings. Thank god for you, Halford.

Now here's a version that blows both of them away just for sheer excitement and metal capability. The song comes from a live album, recorded in 1979, Tokyo. In their early, rougher days. The album version does not do this live version justice, even without the vocal harmonies.

Funeral Age, Gravenloch, Blood Etchings at the 2 Bit, 11.10.28

So last night Justin, Shannon and I attended a black metal show at the 2 Bit Saloon in Ballard. It was fuckin awesome. I rocked out like I haven't in a long time.

The lineup was Blood Etchings, Gravenloch, Funeral Age, Scorched Earth, and Ceremonial Castings.

Funeral Age was the coolest. Justin and I got physical with a couple of them. We didn't start it! The bassist did! He grabbed my arm, pushed me back into the crowd, making his war face, carrying his bass the whole time, chest puffed out, head high, just before they played their first song. Thus the evening's tone was set.

It was brutal. I was waving my hair and making fists all over the place. The music was perfect--black metal. Fast. Crazy. Madness- and middle finger-inspiring. There were plenty of other metal people around there making lots of metal hand shapes, like the devil horn, the middle finger, the holding-a-ball-of-fire hand, the come-on-come-on-come-on finger wavings, and who can forget the standard fist in the air. I was getting tossed around, but I held my ground, didn't fight back, much, stood there and let myself get tossed around. Never fell, but came close a few times.

After that first song Justin and I took our coats off, along with the bassist (who happened to be a fill-in), and put them up on a bar-bench thing on the side of the stage, and proceeded to spend the rest of the set butting heads into chests and other heads, shaking my hair around wildly, getting some of it caught and ripped between spikes and guitars or something, busting metal moves, high kicks and somersaults, not really, and basically keeping the metal flow going from band to audience and back and forth.

It was most fun getting my jaw poked by the headstock of the frontman's guitar, and generally all the physical interacting. It was pure metal love. The three guitarists set up on the floor in front of the stage, letting the drummer fill up most of the tiny stage with his massive badass kit. Band was free to mingle with crowd. Having them walk out into the crowd to get a little rowdy while playing their crazy metal. It was always welcome. Fun stuff. Really macho, sort of. Really cathartic.

Haven't had that fun a time at a show, or anywhere, in a good few months. Years, even. I want to go back to the 2 Bit for a metal show again sometime soon.

Gravenloch was super sweet. Fast as hell. They appear to have lost a singer--I checked their MySpace and a live video shows them playing live with one. I like them better sans the vocalist, as I saw them last night. The rhythm guitar player was singing, sweating bullets, soaked in it, beard and long hair and all, with his octupus-painted guitar, playing fucking solos and rhythms really fast and doing sweet, low ass death metal doom growls.


Lots of times, all three guitarists would be doing death metal growls at once. It was a HUGE sound, combined with the two guitars, bass and drums.

I'm so glad I brought earplugs.


Incidentally, the vocalist has a shaved head--losing him make Gravenloch a long-hair-only band.

Justin and I may have recruited a few people to do bass or drums for Born Without Blood. We handed out flyers, sold ourselves to people we thought kicked ass and whom we wanted all for ourselves. To devour. I mean, to induct them into BWB.

The evening began with Blood Etchings. They were totally into the theater aspect of black metal. Blood splattered everywhere. Corpse paint. Fucking skulls, candles, ornaments, blood-soaked ornaments, blood-soaked bone necklaces, a tall guy in a robe playing both keys and bass guitar, Wolves in the Throne Room-type long passages of cool dreamy-ish black metal.