As we dismember you, we shall remember you …
Mass shootings, stabbings, threats of war … yep, just another week in the world at large, and I am once again glad to have metal at my side to meet and cancel out the push of violent (and virulent) human darkness listed daily on the interwebs. Barring the assumption that music choices largely depend on listener mood, how much, if at all, does the misery displayed in the news media affect your weekly listening selections? Let us know! Also, enjoy an all-black metal reviews week covering the new Mayhem, Funereal Presence, and a few others that are as of yet unknown to me, heh heh. Onward!
Jim Clifton Playlist
Motörhead – Overkill
Motörhead – Iron Fist
Motörhead – Orgasmatron
Motörhead – Rock ‘N’ Roll
Venom – Welcome to Hell
Venom – At War With Satan
The Misfits – Box Set
Horn – Naturkraft
Vex – Memorious
White Medal – Guthmers Hahl
Marty Rytkonen Playlist
Svarti Loghin – Empty World
Svarti Loghin – Drifting Through the Void
Taake – Gravkamre, Kroner go Troner
Strid – S/T
Timeghoul – 1992-1994 Discography
Howls of Ebb – Vigils of the Third Eye
Slough Feg – Atavism (My 4 yr old son LOVES some songs on this album. So does dad)
Sacrilegium – Sleeptime
Infernum – Farewell
Ancient – Svartalvheim
Worm Gear 
I don’t think world events have much influence on my music choices. Things happening in my life and mind, well yes of course.
This week’s playlist (leaving out Swans, whom I’ve been spinning obsessively since I saw them the other day.They were transcendent. Made most metal bands look like they’re very much paddling in the shallow end):
Negative Plane – Et in Saecula …
Twlight – III
Monolithe – III
Witch Mountain – Cauldron of the Wild
Lanskap – I
Bretwaldas – Battle Staffs in the Mushroom Woods
Craven Idol – Towards Eschaton (just can’t connect with this. I don’t know why, as it ticks all my boxes, but I’ve been unable to find anything memorable about the album)
I generally tune out most of the noise in this world and music helps with that. Current events don’t so much influence my listening habits as they do to help me turn up the volume.
Hoth – Oathbreaker
Hypocrisy – End of Disclosure
Karg – Von den Winden der Sehnshucht
Trap Them – Blissfucker
Christopher Lee – Metal Knight
Mayhem – Esoteric Warfare
Wêdruj’cy Wiatr -Tam, gdzie Miesi’c op“akuje ‘wit
Forest of Tygers – Bruises EP
Diocletian – Gesundrian
Freedom Call – Beyond
Master’s Hammer – Vagus Vetus
Hott – Guaranteed to Destroy!
Metal Inquisitor – The Apparition
Keep of Kalessin – Reclaim
Ephel Duath – Hemmed By Light, Shaped By Darkness
Waldgeflüster – Meine Fesseln
Nasheim – Solens Vermod
Vader – Tibi et Igni
High Spirits – You Are Here
Obsidian Tongue – A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time
Yellow Eyes – The Desert Mourns
Noisem/Occultist – Split
Sargeist – Feeding the Crawling Shadows
Mongol Horde – Mongol Horde
Menace Ruine – The Die is Cast
The life and times we live in certainly do affect our tastes. How could it not? No matter how buried one’s head is in the sand, the anxiety, fear mongering, bullshit, wars, violence, waste, etc…….all impinge on our sensibilities, either via our own pursuit of knowledge or others around us. Metal is a good outlet for that. Top 40 people are in denial. Metalheads admit their surroundings via their darkness. Metal rose upon the fore of the cold war and Vietnam War. Threats of existence were in the subconcious of all men and women, yet times are darker than ever now. We know the end is coming, just not exactly when. Soon, but not too soon : ). Ain’t it exciting?
Playlist:
The Exploited – Massacre
Sadhak – S/t Demo
Sacrificio – S/T Demo
Heavy Death – Demo I
Mortuary Drape – All the Witches Dance
Temple Below – Temple
Order From Chaos – Rehersal 92′
Mortvvs – De Comtemplanda Morte; De Reverencie ….
13th Moon – Abhorrence of LIght
Vallenfyre – Splinters
Begravingsentrenpenorena – 10″
Immediate ‘environment’ always has a profound affect upon
any individual.
‘Global environment’ undoubtedly has a similar impact,
albeit in a much different and inevitably ‘filtered’ way.
Such that, I do not pretend to know exactly how ‘remote’
news or happenings truly influence us as observers from
afar.
The increased connectedness of the world today (and the
awareness it affords us) brings us face to face with
emotions and situations that we would not otherwise
experience in our day to day lives. Not only do we deal
with our own daily trials and tribulations, but now we
vicariously share in those of the entire globe.
It is easy to feel inundated by it all; but
simultaneously, I think it often further alienates us to a
great extent.
The bad news now seems commonplace, and I think people can
become desensitized to things that are extremely serious.
To me, even from early childhood, the world has appeared
to be a mess (or shall we say Circus, ScarPump? Ha!).
There are undoubtedly a plethora of amazing, beautiful,
and wondrous facets to this cracking diamond we all live
upon; but, when it comes right down to it, it IS cracking.
Not necessarily beyond hope of repair, but much of what
humankind has become (and is doing) is completely
loathsome. Sorry to ramble … back to the actual
question. I would have to say YES.
The news/media (or world events) does affect what I listen
to, but more on a ground level instead of a daily basis.
The world, and particularly how I perceive it, has surely
helped guide me toward my natural inclinations; but I do
not believe that the top story on the news necessarily
determines what I spin that specific day.
I do not have tv, and the radio is pretty easy to shut
off. I do not necessarily call that ‘head buried in the
sand’, more like just ‘sick of the nonsense, and tired of
the platter it is served on’. This does not mean I am
apathetic. I just find the incessant barrage to be
counter-productive on many levels. I do not isolate
myself from the world strictly for escapism. I fully
realize what is going on out there. I simply choose not
to dwell on the things I cannot control anymore. I find
it much more constructive to focus on the things in my
daily life that I can control. Empathy, patience, a good
work ethic, and having the conviction to follow through
with what you believe is the most appropriate course of
action can make any human ‘great’ in my opinion.
Seeing/hearing the news just makes me wish everyone was
‘great’. Second bout of rambling over …
Thanks for the reviews, and hails to all of you who
contribute. You guys all rule.
Hey Marty, are you going to be carrying the Vanhelga and
Strafk albums in the distro?
It is time for this world to step up
Back to basics
Rural Finnish Consciousness
Release the Van Helden
And I would like to end with …
Unaerth – agreed. I think with the amount of info coming in all directions, if one doesn’t actually make a concerted effort to block info/data/news, one can either become crazy or easily paranoid quickly. And there is sure is a tremendous amount of evidence to support that. I used to take matters very seriously and was passionate about various topics, be it political, social, environmental etc…But once I came to the harmonious understanding that humans lack the capacity to engender a healthy future (and are too easily duped to know otherwise largely due to the festering economic disease we all worship as the new God, Capitalism), I decided to look at things in a different way, i.e. the world has become an infinitely more interesting place to watch and observe than fight for. The arrogance of those that think they can make a difference is hilarious. The only possible way to remotely make things tenable would be a global violent revolution. That ain’t gonna happen. So, in the meantime, the Earth is finding every possible way to kill us. And it will.
Right back at you ScarPump … agreed. The Earth is already battering us year in and year out with ever-increasing manifestations of ferocity. We are in for a slow, steady, violent grind … until the seams burst, and all hell breaks loose. That ‘burst’ may be centuries (or more/less) into the future; but if we continue with our standard MO, it is surely coming. I do believe that we have the ‘theoretical’ capability of averting/reversing much of this … but do we have the will or immediate capacity? I agree … sadly, I do not see it happening.
I think most people would not be able to accept the sacrifices and/or immense effort/work/innovation/restructuring it would ultimately take to bring things to fruition. Essentially, by our own actions, we are ‘programming’ the Earth to provide us with a spectacular demise.
Thanks for mentioning Mortuary Drape. Your reminder has coaxed me to pull their albums out of my collection and enjoy them all over again. Thanks also for mentioning 13th Moon. Great stuff, that I will surely be supporting by decreasing the numeric value of my bank account.
Pete … Hell yes, Wêdruj’cy Wiatr, new Master’s Hammer, Hoth!
An old favorite, before sleep: