Imágenes De FEAR FACTORY

Fear Factory pasó por Buenos Aires, y acá tenemos algunas imágenes, incluyendo la previa en el backstage, cortesía de Martín DarkSoul (click en todas para agrandar).

Falsa Alarma

Ernesto resultó ser un huracán sólo por un breve período de tiempo. En su paso por Cuba se debilitó lo suficiente como para convertirse en una mera tormenta tropical, y para cuando finalmente pasó por sobre nuestros techos sólo trajo lluvia y vientos moderados. Nada que no se vea todas las benditas tardes de verano acá en Florida.

Una falsa alarma, entonces. Pero seguro ya vendrán tiempos peores.

Y Dale...

¿Adivinen qué? Se viene otro huracán para estos lares: Ernesto (Aimar, moríte de risa) Por ahora es sólo una tormenta tropical, aunque se prevee que su intensidad va ir en aumento de acá al martes, y el miércoles nos debería estar pegando con vientos de más de 120 km./h. Así que ya saben: si no me leen seguido por acá esta semana, será porque no tengo electricidad... o me puse a escuchar black metal vikingo abajo de los relámpagos y la lluvia.

El Extasis De MORRICONE

"The Ecstasy Of Gold", del filme "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly", compuesta por el gran Ennio.

American Idol... Versión Black Metal

Patético.




Más acá.

Humor Lovecraftiano

Fuente: Unspeakable Vault (Of Doom)

Soundtracks A Rolete...

Este asunto de los blogs no deja de sorprenderme. Ultimamente descubrí montones de sitios en los que uno puede descargar soundtracks de forma absolutamente gratuita. Y no me refiero a lanzamientos contemporáneos que pueden conseguirse en cualquier programa P2P al estilo del Limewire o el e-Mule, sino rarezas ultra-bizarras y agotadas desde hace años, o décadas incluso. Cosas como las bandas de sonido de "The Pit And The Pendulum", "Il Polizioto Della Brigata Criminale", "Navajo Joe" y reliquias similares del gran Ennio Morricone, las versiones completas de "Dune" o "Blade Runner" (esta última doble), la dupla de "Blood For Dracula" y "Flesh For Frankenstein" (¡de no creer!), e innumerables joyitas de gente como los Goblin, Riz Ortolani, Stelvio Cripriani, Basil Poledouris o Fabio Frizzi, y un largo etc. Mi favorito: el soundtrack de "Conan The Destroyer", algo que venía buscando desde que tengo memoria (no confundir con el de "Conan The Barbarian" -mi banda de sonido favorita de todos los tiempos, dicho sea de paso-, que se consigue sin problemas en lugares como Amazon).

Y pensar que yo gasté fortunas (no exagero) en material de este tipo durante los últimos diez o quince años. Siempre es mejor tener los originales, claro, pero al menos de esta forma uno puede investigar y tantear las aguas antes de entrar en gastos exorbitantes o dedicarse a rastrear algún lanzamiento pre-jurásico.

Péguenle un vistazo a los siguientes blogs, entonces:
http://7blacknotes.blogspot.com
http://italianhorror.blogspot.com/
http://soundtracksharity.blogspot.com/
http://my.opera.com/NiceGuy%20Eddie/blog/?startidx=0


Adictivo.

Bob Esponja... Versión Death Metal

Imperdible.

Se Suicida El Líder De DISSECTION

A tan sólo meses de la salida de "Rainkaos", el tercer larga duración de Dissection (editado a 11 años de su predecesor, el clásico "Storm Of The Light´s Bane"), se suicidó Jon Nodtveidt, líder de la emblemática banda sueca. Según la página oficial:

As rumours have started to spread we feel obliged to confirm Jon Nödtveidt's death.
Jon Nödtveidt was a man who lived his life according to his convictions and True Will. A couple of days ago he chose to end his life by his own hands. As a true Satanist he led his life in the way he wanted and ended it when he felt that he had fulfilled his self-created destiny. Not everyone will have understanding or acceptance for his personal path in this life and beyond, but all must respect his choice.

Those of us who have met him in his last days can assure that he was more focussed, happier and stronger than ever. It is our full conviction that he left this world of lies with a scornful laughter, knowing that he had fulfilled everything that he had set up for himself to accomplish. The empty space that he leaves behind will be filled with the dark essence that he manifested through his life and black-magical work. His legacy and Luciferian Fire will live on through those few who truly knew him and appreciated his work for what it really was and still is. As our brother's goal in life and death never was to "Rest in Peace", we will instead wish him victories in all battles to come, until the Acosmic Destiny has been fulfilled.

For the glory of the Dark Gods and the Wrathful Chaos!

Y más información en Blabbermouth.net:

Swedish heavy metal musician Jon Nödtveidt, 31, was found dead on Wednesday, August 16 at his apartment in Hässelby, a suburb of Stockholm. He shot himself in the head and was surrounded by lit candles, Expressen reports. Shortly before the ritual suicide, he had sent farewell letters to his father and his girlfriend and explained to a friend, "I'm going away for a long, long time. I'm going to Transylvania."

Sometime between Monday (Aug. 14) and Wednesday, Nödveidt, vocalist and guitarist in the popular Swedish black metal band DISSECTION, chose to take his own life.

At 7:21 p.m. CET on Wednesday, a police patrol reported to the police communication center in Stockholm that a man had been found dead, the apparent victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to several of Expressen's sources, the singer had placed an open copy of "The Satanic Bible" in front of him before pulling the trigger. "He shot himself in the head and lay dead in a ring of lit candles," says a police source.

At 5:44 p.m. on Wednesday, the police received a 911 call from Jon Nödtveidt's family who hadn't been able to establish contact with him for a couple of days. "They were very concerned," says his legal representative and manager, Per Nordqvist. "His girlfriend and his family called after their fears that something terrible had happened had been bolstered." The reason for their concern was a farewell letter that Jon Nödveidt had sent to his girlfriend in Germany. His father, Anders Nödtveidt, had also received a postcard asking him to contact a number of people and thank them for everything. "What it said is personal. I want to keep it to myself," Jon's father says of the postcard's contents.

"I met him in Stockholm just a week and a half ago. Everything seemed great then. I've always had good contact with Jon during his upbringing and throughout his adult life. I don't understand what has happened to make things turn out this way. This weighs even more heavily on us considering everything that has happened. This is very difficult for the entire family."

Jon Nödveidt's father likes the photo in which his son wears a black leather jacket and has asked for that picture to be published. "It's a good photo. Jon thought so as well," says Anders Nödtveidt.

The suicide is believed to have been planned for a long time. "At the scene there was also a will and a suicide note," a police source tells Expressen.

In December 1997, Jon Nödveidt was arrested for the murder of Josef Ben Meddaour and served seven years for accessory to murder and possession of an illegal firearm. The highly publicized murder in Gothenburg is depicted in the movie "Keillers Park". What has come to be known as "the Satanic murder" in Sweden has led to both a movie and a book.

"It affected me immensely," the movie's director, Susanna Edwards, tells Aftonbladet.

"Keillers Park", which is named after the park in Gothenburg where the murder took place, opened in theaters in Sweden in March 2006. "Josef Ben Meddaou was a naive and open person with a big heart," says Edwards. "He was a victim of a grotesque act of homophobia."

The murder was also the basis for last year's "No Tears For Queers", a book about hate crimes by Swedish journalist and author Johan Hilton. In 1997, at the time of the murder, Jon Nödtveidt explained that he lived in a world where Satan was God and that they drank blood and sacrificed animals. On DISSECTION's web site he revealed that he was a member of MLO — Misanthropic Luciferian Order.

On September 22, 2004, two weeks after his release from prison, Jon NödveidtExpressen about the murder and his time in prison. "I want to put the murder behind me and move forward," he told the newspaper. "It feels like I'm a new person after my time in prison. The time before the incarceration feels like another life. I've been through so much since. I've become more mature, older and look at life and death in a totally new way."

When asked about the crimes he was convicted of, Nödtveidt said, "No matter how you twist and turn it, it can't be undone. What happened happened and I must move forward with my life. I have taken responsibility for my actions by having served my time in prison. I'm not proud of the fact that I have to watch my mother cry, but I'm working with new strength and look ahead."

When asked if he regrets what happened, Nödtveidt said, "Out of respect to the victim's family, I don't want to discuss what happened. The only thing I want to say is that I'm not proud of it."

Josef Ben Meddaour was a 37-year-old Algerian homosexual man who was killed by a shotgun blast to the head and the back. "I'm absolutely not a racist," Jon Nödtveidt told the newspaper. "There's nothing that makes me more sad and upset than people who say things like that. These are people who know nothing about me. Everyone who knows me knows that I have friends, brothers and sisters from all over the world."

"Jon was an open person who enjoyed life," explains his manager, Per Nordqvist, to Expressen. "He was easy to get along with and very accomodating. Still, what happened happened and that is something you always carry with you one way or another. All people have baggage."

Per Nordqvist tells Aftonbladet that the suicide of his friend has left him feeling totally empty and that it's terribly saddening. "I've spent the last few years collecting the rights to his music," Nordqvist tells Aftonbladet. "Jon felt that he was losing everything during the time he was incarcerated."

Johan Hargeby at the Swedish distribution company Sound Pollution worked closely with Jon Nödveidt for 15 years. "I met him as late as Monday (Aug. 14) when he was here for a short meeting," Hargeby tells Expressen. "I am shocked and dismayed."

"I drown in the colour of your eye
for a black heart will only find beauty in darkness
I breathe it's eternity to absorb the sky
where the shadows of death may lie..."
"Night´s Blood"

MAELSTROM #14

Próximamente en su puestito de revistas amigo...


El #14 de MAELSTROM (click en la tapa para agrandar) incluye notas a Satyricon, Cathedral, Cannibal Corpse, Agalloch, Fear Factory, Evergrey, Ancient Rites, Rage, Head Control System, Tony Martin, Beyond Fear, Hugo Bistolfi, Kampfar, Lacrimas Profundere, The Vision Bleak, un informe especial sobre el metal y la literatura fantástica, y mucho más... Y por primera vez en nuestra historia, ¡un CD de regalo!

Pronto.

MY DYING BRIDE: Nuevo Track-List

Nada como un compendio de títulos ultra-doom para alegrarle a uno la mañana... Péguenle un vistazo al track-list de "A Line Of Deathless Kings", el nuevo CD de My Dying Bride que se espera para fin de año (personalmente me encantaron los nombres del tercer y sexto track):

U.K. doom metallers MY DYING BRIDE have se the tentative track listing for their new album, "A Line of Deathless Kings", due later in the year via Peaceville/Snapper. The follow-up to 2004's "Songs of Darkness, Words of Light" was recorded at Academy Studios and was mixed at Chapel Studios.

"A Line of Deathless Kings" track listing:

01. To Remain Tombless (6:06)
02. L'Amour Detruit (9:08)
03. I Cannot Be Loved (7:04)
04. And I Walk With Them (6:37)
05. Thy Raven Wings (5:22)
06. Love's Intolerable Pain (6:14)
07. One of Beauty's Daughters (5:40)
08. Deeper Down (6:28)
09. The Blood, The Wine, The Roses (8:21)

De Calores Y Cristina Scabbia

muéranse de envidia...

Ayer me pegué una vuelta por el Ozzfest. El evento se llevaba a cabo a unos 80 kilómetros de mi casa, el calor había literalmente superado los récords históricos (97 grados en la escala de fahrenheit, es decir unos 37 Celsius, y les juro que la sensación térmica andaba cerca de los 45), y la lista de bandas francamente no era de mi interés (All That Remains, Norma Jean, Atreyu, Unearth, A Life Once Lost, Hatebreed, Disturbed... no, gracias, yo paso....), pero en medio de la sobredosis metalcore con olor adolescente se colaban cosas como Strapping Young Lad (a quienes ya había tenido suerte de ver en un lugar mucho más chico), Dragonforce... y Lacuna Coil.

Una foto con Cristina bien valía un tanque de nafta.

Agarré la autopista, enfilé para el norte, y me encontré con los italianos a eso de las 2. "Hasta ahora el Ozzfest fue una experiencia fantástica, pero el calor es insoportable", me decía Andrea Ferro, mientras Cristina y los demás miembros del grupo movían sus cabezas reafirmando el sentimiento. "Menos mal que sólo tocamos por media hora... sino, no sé cómo haríamos"...

Y sí, les respondo sin vueltas la pregunta del millón: Cristina es hermosa. Incluso más de lo que parece en las fotos. Durante el reportaje (que probablemente aparezca en un futuro número de MAELSTROM) confieso que casi me puse colorado. Los ojos de esta mujer son de no creer, y para colmo ella lo sabe, porque te mira bien fijo y te mata bien muerto. Apenas pude contener mi tanada. Al final de la nota nos despedimos con un "tante grazie" y les desee suerte para el show de la noche. Pero Andrea me agarró del brazo y me dijo "no, pará... vos también sos italiano... mirá esto...". Y en mis manos puso una colección entera de púas para bajo y guitarra, pintadas con los colores de la bandera italiana y una ilustración caricaturesca de cada miembro de la banda. Forza Italia!

Un regalito para su servidor de parte del grupo:
púas personalizadas. Las de arriba pertenecen a Andrea y Cristina.

Salí del micro de gira dentro del cual estaba refugiada (una palabra más que acertada, dada las circunstancias) la banda, y la idea era esperar hasta eso de las 7:30PM para ver el show de Cristina y sus amigos. Pero faltaban unas 5 horas. Ahora el sol estaba justo arriba de nuestras cabezas. El olor a pancho berreta era profundo. De fondo sonaba una bandita metalcore. Una botellita de agua mineral costaba 6 dólares. Adolescentes haciéndose los malos y oscuros por todos lados. Calor. Ruido. Metalcore. Y ni siquiera cerraban Ozzy ni Sabbath. Faltaban 5 horas para Lacuna Coil. Calor. A Strapping Young Lad ya los había visto. Calor. Metalcore. Calor... Revisé la cámara. Las fotos salieron bien. Genial. Calor... Pero ya tengo las fotos. Listo.

Me fui a casa.

Loreena McKennitt

No sólo de metal vive el hombre. Por suerte, también hay gente como la canadiense (de descendecia escocesa e irlandesa) Loreena McKennitt, cuya garganta redefine el significado de la belleza y desconoce rivales. Sus composiciones podrían ser definidas como "música celta", aunque las influencias son cuantiosas y con múltiples trasfondos culturales. No obstante, remitirse al término "new age" o "world music" sería demasiado simplista. Tampoco faltan las comparaciones con Enya, pero una cosa no tiene realmente mucho que ver con la otra. Lo de esta mujer es único, y cada uno de sus álbumes (editados de forma independiente bajo su propio sello, Quinlan Road) se centra en un tópico y una cultura diferente. Sin ir más lejos, su website se encuentra disponible en 14 (!) idiomas. McKennitt no sólo es una vocalista extraordinariamente conmovedora, sino que también suele sentarse detrás de un piano o un harpa para orquestar sus hechizos, uno más encantador que el otro. Si te gusta la música medieval, celta, ambiental o folk, y soundtracks como los de "Braveheart", discos como "The Visit" (el más logrado de todos), "The Mask And The Mirror", "To Drive The Cold Winter Away" y "The Book Of Secrets" son de escucha obligatoria.

Y hoy, a casi 10 años de su trabajo anterior, McKennitt está a punto de editar un nuevo álbum: "An Ancient Muse". Más información en el sitio oficial: http://www.quinlanroad.com

Loreena McKennitt’s new recording, An Ancient Muse, released this autumn worldwide
August 8th, 2006
This autumn will see the release of Loreena McKennitt’s seventh full-length studio album, An Ancient Muse, worldwide.

As with her earlier albums, McKennitt takes her inspiration from the Celtic peoples, fusing the melodic sensibility of Scottish and Irish balladry with musical traditions from Greece, Turkey, Spain and even Scandinavia. The recording is McKennitt’s first new studio album since 1997’s The Book of Secrets, a multi-platinum success worldwide.

The album, which was recorded at Real World Studios in England and features a host of internationally acclaimed musical guests and exotic instrumentation, takes the listener on a journey from the Scottish borders to the caravanserais of the Silk Road and the wine-dark seas of Homer’s Odyssey.

An Ancient Muse will be released on Quinlan Road/Verve in the United States, via Universal Music in Canada and a number of other territories, and in collaboration with a further range of labels in selected countries.

Visit the Quinlan Road/Loreena McKennitt official website in the coming weeks for further details on our release partners for An Ancient Muse.

Clips De WACKEN 06

Péguenle un vistazo a este link: http://streaming.wacken.com/content.html. Incluye clips del Wacken Open Air, acaso el festival más importante del género a nivel mundial. Hay para todos los gustos, desde Emperor a Motorhead y desde Orphaned Land a Gamma Ray. Y es todo material gratis, por supuesto. Vale la pena.

Lo Nuevo De MY DYING BRIDE

Fuente: Blabbermouth.net

Croatian webzine Sound Chaser recently conducted an interview with MY DYING BRIDE bassist Ade Jackson. An excerpt from the chat follows:

Sound Chaser: Your new album should be out later this year... Can you give us some basic info about it?

Ade: "Well … the album will be called 'A Line Of Deathless Kings' and I'm listening to it now. It has nine songs and is approximately one hour long. We recorded it at Academy Studios in Dewsbury and it was mixed at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire — the same place that '34.788%' was mixed. We are all tremendously proud of this album. It hasn't been easy to record, not just a case of turning up at the studio and recording something — there has been a lot of writing, re-writing, changes, cuts, additions, discussion, thought, ideas (good and bad) and a whole host of other emotions and the end result really reflects that. Listening back to some of the early recordings and comparing them to the final product there is a world of difference and I hope it shows to everyone else as well. I wish you could all hear the evolution as well rather than just the final polished product."

Sound Chaser: Where will the new album go both lyric and music–wise?

Ade: "The album will be typically MY DYING BRIDE. We never set any boundaries; we just write what feels good to us. We write music that we would like to listen to, in a way. I played it to one of my good friends and he commented that, if you didn't know who it was you would know it was MY DYING BRIDE immediately. We seem to have our own particular sound and way or writing songs — something I can't explain. When we get together, 'it' happens."