First of 2012

Been a while since I've said anything on here. I'm doing some very personal work at the moment as part of my Initiation within the Temple of Set, which will bare some kind of visual and later audible fruit in the not so distant future. I've sort of been plotting out some points of personal interest that have led me to where I am now, and where I'm going which has been both fun and interesting to do. More about that nearer completion.

TRANQVILLITAS MARIS - The Longing

There are times when I am in dire need of something to listen to that is just utterly miserable.  And I occasionally search bandcamp for that.  I found some absolute treasure a couple of days ago, and it really does feel like I've robbed some ancient tomb of it's fortune, because this album is completely free to download.

I am utterly in love with the first track in particular, although the whole of the album has been on repeat more than a few times since I downloaded it.

Daniel Paiva is responsible for just about everything in this project, with the exception of the unclean vocals which are handled well by Mike Bertemes. Daniel's clean vocals are truly hopeless, reminding me of Aaron from My Dying Bride in some places, and Malfeitor Fabban from early Void of Silence albums.


So go and download this album, and let those responsible know of your enjoyment of it.

Quiet

Yeah, so I've been busy.  The good news is I have now finished my SVQ for work.  At some point in the near future I'll get my certificates for that.  Whilst October is ready and available also on Amazon right now, some other vendors are taking their sweet time in making it available.

I'm doing a lot of research for the Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697 project these days, but at the back of my mind there are some musical things brewing.  Not BNIIPOTD, by the way.  Something older.

On Google Plus Pages

Yesterday I made a google plus page for BNIIPOTD, and I wasn't impressed at all.  There isn't any way to implement features that would make such a page any different from my own personal page.

So today I had a look at some other blogs to see what the main differences are between a google page and a personal profile.

They're just not as good for my purposes as my personal profile is, and seem to be quite limited.  It's sad to say, but I also recently made a facebook page and it appears to me to have more use.

Asmodeus X - The Bright Ones

Alright, so I let this spill over into November. Big deal, right? Asmodeus X has always been a name I'd heard, often mentioned in the same sentence as words like "awesome", but not really listened to myself. A couple of months ago I decided to have a look into this EBM/Industrial outfit after quite a few recommendations.

 At that time, they were on the verge of getting ready to release "The Bright Ones", and had posted the title track from the album for listening. Pardon the intrusion of Myspazz player

  The Bright Ones

 I think I might have listened to the track once or twice and I remember liking it, so I resolved to somehow acquire "The Bright Ones" in the future. I downloaded the album from AmazonMP3 two or three days ago, as I haven't so far been able to find a CD version of the album. 

And I've listened to it repeatedly since then. The album is furiously catchy, and tracks like Fallen Angel, Seasons End and The Bright Ones in particular have plagued my mind at work with hindsightly sage wisdom "Next time, charge your mp3 player...those half hour breaks at work are too dull". I'm not overly exposed to EBM, I'll confess. I've got a couple of VNV nation albums, and beyond that my only other exposure has been through a monthly event at Glasgow's Queen Margaret Union, "Bedlam".

 An event and venue that would not find Asmodeus X out of place at all, and in fact better to my ears than what I could make out during those occasions where I had went to "Bedlam". I particularly like the vocal style in the album, something not quite human sounding...humans-impersonating-cyborgs-impersonating-humans. But on the last couple of tracks, there is a different vocal style used that I think channels industrial style rather well. This is an album you can't help but find yourself move to, arms, legs, feet and other appendages may become entranced and march to the beat of Asmodeus.

 I had read somewhere that this would be the final Asmodeus X album, which if correct is a shame because after hearing this album I would definitely like to see what would come next. That said, if it is the last then it's definitely a final work to be proud of.

 And now for some LBM folks I'd gladly buy this again in CD format, or something other than MP3 as I'd love to hear this album at its best quality. MP3s are good, but I've become somewhat of a snob for digital downloads as of late. So CD or FLAC please! Now, if Asmodeus X were so inclined to do that in the future, WHERE ON EARTH MIGHT I FIND IT ON SALE?!!?

Renfrewshire Witches Project

So tonight I was able to attend my first meeting with the organizers of the project. It's early yet, and there's plenty of room for others come along and join in. At the moment I've got a couple of tasks. One is to read the book I ordered, and get to grips with the lore. And the other is to put a spell on the person who does the rota at work so that I have every Thursday where I'm working, as an early shift. It was quite a fun meeting, with some discussion about the background and what we'll be doing in the weeks ahead. Tonight I did some role-play as John Shaw, getting into some serious shit from his wife for leaving her and their daughter Christian at home while going off to work and stay overnight in Greenock.

Eric Kauschen - Exile in the Sunset

Let's be clear about one thing first.  Eric Kauschen is a guitarist.  I mean a guitarist.  Not somebody who plays a guitar, not somebody that picks up a guitar and plays a couple of songs and claims to be a guitarist, but a GENUINE guitarist.

Eric takes a somewhat different approach to dealing with the Season than I do in my music.

"I came up with the name for this album after a suggestion of an old friend of mine, Derrold Purifoy. Exile in the Sunset is a take off on Exile on Main Street, but while many people think of a Sunset as a nice thing, it refers to the Sunset District of San Francisco that on some days can seem as inhospitable as parts of Antarctica. It is a place of fog and gloom and rarely sees the sunlight except in our Indian summer in September and October. Even though it can be a gloomy place for some, I’ve tried to bring some light and happiness to it through my music."

The tracks on the album are mostly under 5 minutes in length, and so much is going on in each track that they feel like condensed epics.  They are the kind of tracks that would not be out of place in any of the Guilty Gear games.  Fast, intricately played rock music.  

That said, the track "All alone"  seems to have the most breathing space (those other 'guitarists' might manage to do a cover of it), and at nearly 6 minutes in length is also the longest track.  It appeals to my mood more than the others, so I think I could call it my favourite and possibly a stand-out track.

Overall this is an album that would be great for going fast in a car down a long, deserted highway.  Some people might have it in their ipods, (yeah it's on Itunes too) and go out jogging.  Salut! Joggers of unappealing weather, this may not just spur you on but inspire others to cheerfully join you (if you've got a speaker dock that is small enough to wear) like in the montages of Rocky films.

Enough talking.  Go listen.  Go buy.