Scott's Stash: Somewhere Far Beyond

This one is easy:

Blind Guardian- Somewhere Far Beyond (1992)

Not as bombastic as later Blind Guardian albums- i.e., not as much synth and orchestral stuff- and much faster than the last record of theirs I heard (A Twist in the Myth from 2006), this is an excellent example of why the phrase "power metal" is so often proceeded by "German."

When I think of Blind Guardian my mind jumps to my brother's bedroom c. 1998-99, when he played some of Nightfall in Middle-Earth for me. A whole metal album based on The Silmarillion was pretty fucking cool in my book, so BG has stayed in my mind over the years. I'm no connoisseur of power metal, but Blind Guardian's good at what they do and have earned their reputation.

This is a good soundtrack for doing homework, too. The vibe is so positive and soaring and, despite the technical skill and musicianship, uncomplicated, that I got a lot more done than I would have if I'd been listening to, say, any of the albums I've bought lately. (Jex Thoth, I'm looking at you.) It's a good feeling.

One last stray observation before I wrap up. This particular disc is a reissue from 2000 and has three "CD bonus tracks." They're unnecessary and distracting on two levels: they throw off the album's general feel, and the addition of "CD" to "bonus tracks" in 2000 AD is baffling. C'est la vie, or however you'd say it in German or Elvish.

"West Lake"

One day I walk by the lake.
One day I sit by the lake.
One day I stand by the lake.
One day I lie by the lake.

-袁宏道/Yuan Hongdao, 1568-1610 (translated by Jonathan Chaves)

Categorization.

I've never tagged any of my writing here, mostly out of laziness but partially because of my disinterest in sorting my posts into categories that would feel either forced or merely convenient. I'd say that my muttering does often lend itself to tagging- poetry, personal stuff, music, etc.- but I don't see any reason to label individual entries in what is essentially an ongoing chronicle of, let's face it, whatever happens to capture my attention long enough to write about it online. I don't have any problems with categories (if I did, I wouldn't haunt the stacks at the library as often as I do), and I'm certainly not claiming that my, ahem, "work" defies categorization. I'm just not interested in doing it myself.

I probably should have joined LiveJournal a long time ago, I guess, but fuck it. The Corpse Speaks: music, writing, nostalgia, beer, books, life's small triumphs and looming defeats, and anything else are all fair game, unsorted save by date of publication. Just like a notebook, or that journal you wish you'd destroyed after senior year wound down and left you with a knot in your stomach, wondering what the hell would come next.


now playing: The Human Instinct, Stoned Guitar

Scott's Stash: Birth of the Dawn

What? Two posts in one day? Why is that, you ask? Because yours truly doesn't feel like tackling his Chinese homework yet, that's why. My procrastination gives you...

Orodruin- Birth of the Dawn (1999)

This pick looked dubious from the start. The liner notes have that ragged desktop printer thing going on, but since this is a remastered demo (not listed on the Encyclopedia Metallum, by the way, though the demo is), shitty packaging is acceptable. There are three songs here, or more accurately two songs, the first of which is a two-parter. The CD is completely unlabeled.

I have no idea how my brother acquired this, but I'm glad he did. This is fuckin' rad. "Birth of the Dawn/Sons of Nature" opens with some speedy traditional metal riffage that continues on for a while before the vocals show up- I thought it was going to be an instrumental. The overall sound of this first track brings to mind something that never happened: my brother's old band Last Eve playing Iron Maiden's "Losfer Words/Big 'Orra." Which probably means nothing to you, but that's not my problem.

"Creation Through Death" hits the brakes and lurches into doom mode. Whether this song's as good as the first is a matter of taste, but it's no slouch in the musicianship department. For a demo, this has remarkably clear production; I wonder what the unremastered original sounded like. My main complaint is that the vocals aren't as strong as the music demands. They're adequate, but not much more than that.

Birth of the Dawn is a nice little find for a Wednesday afternoon, and proof that the heavy metal demo is as cool as ever.

Scott's Stash: The Grand Leveller

This one comes from the batch of albums that Drew gave my brother:

Benediction- The Grand Leveller (1991)

Once more I find myself holding an album belonging to a band whose name I've known for ages but have never listened to. At some point I'm going to stop even bothering to mention this, as it'll probably be the norm for this series.

Actually Benediction's music isn't completely new to me, at least in part. Dave Ingram replaced Karl Willetts as the vocalist for Bolt Thrower from 1998 until 2004. I've always liked the one album Bolt Thrower released with Ingram on vocals, so when I went searching for an album to listen to while driving down the toll road and saw The Grand Leveller, I knew that even if the music sucked, the vocals wouldn't.

Of course, I didn't expect that the music would actually suck. Lo and behold, it turned out to be damned good. The production and overall tone of the instruments dates the album in the best way possible: it's the sound of British death metal a few years past its infancy but well before death metal's general decline into frustrating mediocrity in the late '90s. Not that nothing good came out of those years, but the early '90s produced some really good shit, and the response to some of it (i.e., black metal) was inspiring, too. The Grand Leveller is a good example of that time, if a lesser-known one.

Dave Ingram sounds good here, as does the rest of the band (not that I have a point of comparison). The songs are varied in tempo and mood, but not in a predictable, slow-doomy-number-now-something-faster-now-a-couple-midpaced-ones way. The riffs are killer, and the solos are too. As I mentioned earlier, I like the production; the heaviness of the music doesn't rely on it, and it accentuates what I think of as the outer edges of the sound. The lyrics aren't awful, but they're not particularly good, either. (I'm leaving the issue of the importance of lyrics alone.) There's a Celtic Frost cover here that's cool enough, but feels unnecessary, as covers often do.

Overall, Benediction surpassed my expectations. One thing I've noted as I've listened to this album a few times is that it works well as a complete unit, to the point where I don't have a favorite song. That could be a reflecting on how I listen to music, but I think it's more a sign of a well-crafted and well-played album. This isn't unique in death metal, but it's always a pleasure to put on a record and be able to listen to it all the way through, knowing that there's a sick riff or real headbanging part just around the corner. Good shit.


P.S. The photo of Dave Ingram in the liner notes is priceless.

星期四跟星期五一样吗？

Despite four weeks of gainful unemployment, Thursday nights still feel like the equivalent of Friday nights. It'll change with time, I'm sure, but old habits die hard. It's past midnight and I'm done beating my head against the wall working on the new potential novel, so I've been delving into the PDFs that came with my recent purchase of Lamentions of the Flame Princess: Weird Fantasy Role-Playing. It's all great stuff- so much so that I'm having a hard time reading one particular rulebook and keep switching between them. It doesn't help that I bought a couple-three modules as well, all of which seem rich with potential.

Life's all kinds of busy these days. There's school, moving in with the wife, planning for the wedding, planning for my summer study and honeymoon in China, figuring out what classes to take in the fall, adjusting to a new laptop (and a new OS, which is Windows- blargh), plans to edit/rewrite Critical Hits, research and writing for the new novel, trying to keep my AD&D game together, schemes for the LOTFP game I want to run in the fall... this is probably the busiest year I've had in a long time, and I'm sure there are events and activities I'm forgetting.*

It's late. I should go to bed, but I think I'll keep reading the LOTFP rules. I never followed James Raggi's old heavy metal zine of the same name that closely, but I'm pleased to see that the dedication he put into it has transferred to his role-playing efforts.

G'night!

*I just remembered the "Scott's Stash" series- I've got a couple albums lined up for it, but haven't posted my writeups yet. Soon enough, soon enough...

"Awe. Yeah." (+coda)

"Awe. Yeah."

Sometimes in the middle of the afternoon
you run across some amazing mo
ments
nothing that you expected or created or decided
upon
against all good timing and all good sense
you see something
hear something
feel something
that hits the switch in your tired brain bank
and pops that vault wide
open
doesn't matter if the words come out wrong
much less if the scansion's weak as Pong
gotta push rhymes sometimes
to get through the interstitial gristle
and address the joy that comes with moments like
this all alone with a beer and a mind that knows
despite knowing better on all fronts
fuck the words
moon pointing at the finger and shit
no crossed signals blink
of the eye
knuckles against palm
words in cat's ears
string it out bounce it off the walls
the walls
oh shit! oh shit!
the smile's pushed the rhyme scheme
out the room (out the room)
check the fridge for caffeine
the savior of later
ignore the hater that's you put 'em in lockdown
like history and Nader vote two thousand
oops got it backward
and things fall apart
things chinua achebe wants nothing to do with
this is the end when my eyes scan
up and down
and up and down
but it doesn't
mean that this motherfucking poem
isn't a heart: split 'em!
paean to what me and them and you
and the rest of the world can do
even for a long-assed head-bobbing
summation of the moment
when all the weirdness is pooling
and the pituitary's drooling
down the CNS
There's nothing better than right now.
Stand back
head back
bask in the tracks and strings and ho
liness of what makes you smile unabashed.

Awe.
Yeah.

---

This shitty poem is dedicated to, in no particular order:

my fiance, Saint Arnold beer, shit poetry, growing up nerdy, Orange Kitty, Matt "Scientist"/"Poet" Swulius, the first frustrating hour of Phantasy Star II, Red Pine, 8-Bit Boys, Youtube videos, studying Chinese, fresh headphones, Last.fm on Netflix on Xbox360, all the other loves of my life, and yours fuckin' truly.

Live life, but no more than conscience dictates. Don't do what I've done and let the past capture and paralyze your imagination. Don't sweat perfection. Good times are now Dissect the past like the Renaissance man dissected human bodies. Learn. Right now is it, and this is it.

Scott's Stash: Maiden America

Today's edition of "Scott's Stash" covers one album and eleven bands:

V/A- Maiden America- Iron Maiden Tribute & American Metal Compilation

This is a two-disc set: the first being a series of Iron Maiden covers by underground and/or lesser-known American metal bands c. 1999, and the second being original songs by those bands. I haven't listened to the second disc, because I didn't know it was included until I was halfway through the Maiden covers disc, and I went into this album with Iron Maiden on the brain. Maybe I'll write up the second disc sometime, but don't hold your breath.

In the paragraph above I mentioned "American metal bands." This simultaneously means "metal bands from the United States" and "bands that play American heavy metal," which in turn means, by my lazy and imprecise definition, "heavy metal inspired by late '70s metal, the NWOBHM, and offshoots thereof such as thrash and speed metal, melding the lot into what might also be termed 'traditional metal'."

Enough heavy metal etymology. I'd venture to guess that my brother got this album from one of the Agalloch dudes when he was a regular correspondent with/web designer for them. Agalloch, one of the greatest bands ever, shares members with Sculptured, who appear on Maiden America and whose debut album I remember seeing reviewed in the pages of Sentinel Steel.* Sculptured provides the only really memorable cover here, pretty much by virtue of being Sculptured- i.e., the weird metal-jazz band on the compilation that doesn't sound "like Maiden if Maiden had a different vocalist/guitar tone/faster riffs/whatever."

Not to say that the other bands suck, because they don't. There are some good covers here; hell, they're all competent, but the problem is that they're almost all forgettable. Even when there's something that stands out- Final Prayer's growling intro to "Killers," the quicker pace of Twisted Tower Dire's "Powerslave," Sadus being Sadus on "Invaders," and what I'll call the standard-plus (or Standard+) approach to "Hallowed Be Thy Name" provided by Edenrot- the compilation as a whole suffers from half-assed production and a slavish love of the source material. These factors combine to give the impression that the bands played their hearts out of songs they love, but under horrible recording conditions and without any interest in or ability to make these Iron Maiden songs their own.

I hate saying things like that because the bands involved inevitably sound like amateurs. I don't think that's the case here, because the musicianship is completely up to snuff with the original Iron Maiden songs; there's just not the level of individuality I like to see on tribute albums. (See Nativity In Black, where the songs were identifiable as Black Sabbath tunes, but with the artist's own spin on them.) There are flashes of it here and there, and the bands don't all sound the same, but there's an undeniable similarity across the board. Sculptured, and to a lesser degree Sadus and Edenrot, are the exceptions.

I admire the spirit that went into this. Iron Maiden is a force of nature in the metal world, and the bands on this compilation proved their appreciation. They just did a relatively undistinguished job of it, which is hard to fault given the constraints of the album's theme.

The more I think about it, the more likely it is I'll give disc two of this album a spin. No, scratch that- I'll look into the bands' own work. I'm really curious to see how everyone does for themselves without having to try and live up to Iron Maiden.

And, honestly, I'm looking forward to the next album in my brother's collection.


*I think. According to the Encylopedia Metallum, Sculptured's first album wasn't released until 1998, when I would'nt have had access to Sentinel Steel, but I could swear I saw it mentioned or discussed before then. Who knows; memory is a fickle and untrustworthy thing.

High of semntysome'n.

It's begun: the light is falling differently as the seasons shift, and my brain moves accordingly. I love this time of year, these lengthening sunsets, the sense of manageable urgency as days fade into nights that, when I was younger, felt like new phases of the day, but as of late are over before I know it, in bed by 11 PM and nodding off over a page of Mason & Dixon or In Search of Lost Time.

Doesn't matter, this shit is still pretty rad. I hope you think so too. Enjoy your spring, folks.

DAS

now playing: Brant Bjork, Gods and Goddesses

Scott's Stash: The Dark Saga

Today, folks, I'm listening to...

Iced Earth- The Dark Saga (1996)

I don't know who was responsible for my brother getting heavily into Iced Earth not long after we moved back to Texas in 1997, but they deserve a handshake. While never groundbreaking, Iced Earth was (and still is, at least the last time I heard them) a solid metal band with roots in traditional American metal. Their endless parade of band members has, vocalists aside, never seemed to hurt the band, because sole original member Jon Schaffer has always stuck to his guns.

Anyway, The Dark Saga is Iced Earth's fourth album, and second with Matt Barlow, who's been the best singer they've ever had. It's a strong album- again, there are no great surprises- until the last three songs, which are components of a greater song called "The Suffering." This trio of songs packs less punch than the rest of the album ("The Hunter," where I really dig the drumwork, and "Vengeance is Mine" stand out) and things lose some steam. It's a shame, because the first seven songs keep up a good pace. "The Suffering" strikes me as a forerunner to some of IE's later multi-song concept pieces, none of which really worked that well for me. Don't think I'm saying the last 30% of The Dark Saga sucks, because it definitely doesn't- it's just not as good as the rest of the album.

All in all, this is a metal album you can throw on without being blown away or disappointed by. Better than background music, but nothing you really need to wrap your head around. Dependable records like this aren't exactly rare, but there never seem to be enough of 'em.

P.S. The whole album is a concept album, really- or maybe I should call it a thematic record. What's the theme? Spawn. As in "Todd McFarlane's," "Image Comics," "parodied in the pages of Cerebus," "made into a shitty movie" Spawn. Don't sweat it too much. It works well enough, and this is heavy metal, after all.

Scott's Stash: Introduction/Triarchy of the Lost Lovers

Before my brother hit the road for California, he asked me if I wanted his CD collection. Not only has he embraced digital storage of music more than I, he didn't want the hassle of packing so many CDs. I haven't counted them, but there are probably a couple hundred. Like me, my brother is a metalhead, so I was eager to take the discs off his hands.

Some of them I already own, but there are a lot I don't; there are also many I've heard over the years, but don't remember. And, best of all, there are plenty I've never heard at all- things I didn't know my brother had, stuff his friend Drew gave him, or CDs I'd see around the house or in his room that I never got around to checking out. Now's my chance.

My plan is to listen to as many of Scott's old albums as I can- ones that aren't duplicates of things I have in my collection, or dumb shit like U2, the presence of which is Drew's fault, according to my brother- and write a little bit about each one. Not reviews, necessarily, just some thoughts about the music and all the things that come with listening to music. Since I'm quitting my job next week, time shouldn't be much of an obstacle, so I hope to make this a regular feature.

First up: Rotting Christ- Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (1996)

A name I've known for a while, Rotting Christ has nonetheless never received much of my attention. I know I listened to this album at least once- the band's name and the cover art all but guaranteed that- but that would've been sometime in the late '90s. I always think of my old friend Fran when I think of Rotting Christ; I recall he was a big fan.

A name I've known for a while, Rotting Christ has nonetheless never received much of my attention. I know I listened to this album at least once- the band's name and the cover art all but guaranteed that- but that would've been sometime in the late '90s. I always think of my old friend Fran when I think of Rotting Christ; I recall he was a big fan.

This album is really good. Mid-paced black metal from a period when black metal was starting to inform other metal styles and vice-versa. It's neither raw and simplistic nor symphonic and overblown; Rotting Christ has something unique going on here, though maybe someone more well-versed in Greek black metal could contest that. I thought the overall tempo would wear on me, but the songwriting and the understated atmosphere keep things interesting. Some great guitar work doesn't hurt, either. Generally speaking, everything works together quite well- I listened to the album twice without feeling like I had to skip a song, which is always a pleasant occurrence.

I hope there's another Rotting Christ album somewhere in the stash. Even if there isn't, this is a good start to this project. Later, folks.

Edge of nowhere.

Awesome, yet rough, night. My mind moves back to where I want to be, where I'll never be. Heart swells to a tune that I'll probably never fully share. It's all views from 45 here, dreaming about what happens in that house I've never truly left...

There's no going back, but fuck me if I don't feel like I'm some kind of traitor if I don't try. Synthesis is inadequate. So is everything else.

Sleep now. Read Edward Whittemore's books. ASAP.

Otra vez.

Classes start tomorrow. I'm staying up late tonight out of principle, by which I mean "in defiance of common sense." I've barely kept up with my Chinese over the past month, and while my on-and-off-again studies have surprised me with how much I've retained, my active memory feels atrophied. There's a precedent for this- last winter break, to be precise, and the yawning chasm that is the summer between semesters- so I'm not terribly worried. That said, I am worried, because I've established a good reputation in the Chinese Studies department and I don't want to let it slip due to laziness.

Ah, laziness, the most underrated of virtues and most maligned of vices. I'm almost ashamed to say that I'm unsure whether I've used this weblog to expound on laziness in the past, but that's probably the case. At the moment I'm not inclined to do so, because the Ourobouros of idleness refuses to let go of its tail, which leaves me here at two-something in the morning, relishing the last minutes of this long interstitial period, its attendant heavy metal and beer dregs and exhausted wonder...

This is it, folks. This is how it's always been and always will be.

Your humble Corpse as husband-to-be.

Yep, I'm getting married.

I've been with Tracey for almost four years now, and it's been great. So great that, after several months of serious thought, I asked her to marry me last week. It wasn't a grandiose, romantic thing- that's not really my style, and the proposal was as much a result of circumstances as deliberation- but it felt right, and still does. I love this woman dearly, and I easily see us spending our lives together.

It's an interesting and exciting time, but not in a conventional sense: I'm not a giddy twentysomething in the throes of heady romance, but rather a dude who's immensely lucky to have had several years of solid happiness with another person. Marriage will be a continuation, and deepening, of that happiness, and that's what I find awesome. Of course, it's not exciting only on my end; if I wasn't sure that she felt the same, I'd be far more nervous than I am. (To my delight, I'm not really nervous at all, except when I contemplate all the logistical worries that come with impending marriage.) We're a great pair made of a couple solid individuals, and the overlay of the two will make for a fulfilling life together.

I'm stoked. So is Tracey. So are our friends. This is gonna be a blast.

Catch y'all soon. Love always.

-DAS

Man, oh man!

Big news forthcoming. Dig thee the Bully soundtrack in the meantime.

2011!

Happy New Year, folks.

So far, so good. New Zealand wine, a late night banging out what will be the first of many projects for the year, Type O Negative mini-marathon through the new headphones... yeah, so far so good.

Other folks have expressed great expectations for 2011, but I honestly have no clue what I expect from this year. Nothing, really: I'll take it as it comes, though I won't say I have no hopes for the next 360-odd days. I'm just not sure what they are.

For now, I'll just say all hail Type O Negative's version of "Paranoid" and writing, which go hand in hand in the small hours.

Yule MMX.

Here we are, approximately 2,010 years after the birth of a near-mythical figure whose life and death are supposed to have delivered mankind from the uglier results of death. I've got a cup of wine, a few salvaged cigarette butts, a slow internet connection, heavy metal, and the prospect of sharing a room with my (literally) snotty nephew before me. It'd be easy to deride the value of Christmas if these banal things constituted the whole of my holiday experience, but seeing as how they don't- it's only 00:49, and my family awaits when I drag my corpse from bed- I'll venture to say that while Christmas ain't what it was when I was a kid, it's still worth celebrating even if you don't care about Jesus or Mithras or Saturnalia or the solstice. It's good to be here: Christmas reminds me of that, and that's enough for me for now.

Merry Christmas, folks. Here's to you, whether you're enjoying family or sweating it out alone. Without you, this wouldn't even exist.

My love always, for each and every one of you.

Yours,
Dave Smith

Axis Mundi Sum in e-book form!

Behold, my novel in electronic (and much cheaper) form! Buy yourself, and everyone you know, a copy for Christmas. I get a fistful of coins, you get hours of entertainment, and everyone wins.

"Hey! What's cool?"

"Oh nothing."

NOTHING IS COOL.

So sayeth Blockhead Skateboards, back in the day. I sometimes feel like they got it right (though I'm sure it was just a funny ad and not an existential statement). But then I remember stuff like

/b/
MC Frontalot
8bc.org
Judas Priest
Welcome to the NHK
oil pastels
nutritional yeast
glasses
writing

etc. etc., and life is good. (If still confusing.)

Musical selections as of late.

Winterfylleth- The Mercian Sphere
Fen- The Malediction Fields
MC Frontalot- Zero Day
Twin Stumps- Live 10.17.09
Grails- Black Tar Prophecies vol. 5
The Sword- Warp Riders
Marblebog- Forestheart

Research, listen, enjoy.