Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Death Magnetic

For many heavy metal fans worldwide, September 12th is a much anticipated date. It's the day that Metallica will release their 9th studio album entitled "Death Magnetic".

Metallica has been ridiculed by numerous fans for the direction they took their music in 1991 when they released their self titled album "Metallica" also referred to as the Black Album.

Subsequent releases have veered away from traditional old school heavy metal to become more commercial and radio friendly if you will. Sadly, a lot of Metallica fans have come to call the band sellouts. Now I have an issue with this term. Is it really selling out to experiment with one's music style and try to evolve their sound? In my opinion this is certainly untrue. Many bands in the past and present have done this. This is the natural process of creating music.

Without treading into unexplored territory, a band can easily become stagnant and uninventive. Certainly there are bands that stick with a distinct sound and rarely if every stray from a formula that works. AC/DC comes to mind and they have been very successful. However, this isn't always the case as anyone who listens to music knows all too well.

Many fans, including myself find Metallica's earlier albums to be the best work put forth by this iconic metal quartet. However, unlike these fans, I have enjoyed every album they have released and have the utmost respect for their decision to go in a different musical direction. Does this mean that I like every song? Hell no! There are some songs I simply don't like, but I don't say they suck or other such things.

Two of the new songs on the upcoming album, "The Day That Never Comes" and "Cyanide" can be heard on YouTube. Both songs are very good, but "The Day That Never Comes" really grabbed my attention. It sounds like Metallica has rediscovered their roots while maintaining some of their newer sound to some degree. Will this be Metallica's return to their old school metal sound? We will find out soon enough.

Peace,

Chris

Monday, August 4, 2008

A New Love

I have a new love in my life now. No, I'm not referring to a new girlfriend. Although, I would just about kill to have her LOL. She is Simone Simons of the Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. Not only does she have the voice of an angel, but she is also extremely beautiful in my opinion. I have a thing for red hair and a pale complexion. Don't ask me why, but I do. Anyhow, here's their song "Higher High" accompanied by a slideshow of Simone herself.

Peace,

Chris



Fireflies are flying higher
They draw their wings up in the sky
Something I cannot read now
For my vision is blurred

We are all ruled by our fears below
Higher high
We are stuck and can't get out again
There's more than we deny
And there's more than meets the eye

Fortune, fairytales; we've all been told
Our pattern, never built, never begins (?)
I can tell you there can't always be
A happy end to every tale

We are all ruled by our fears below
Higher high
We are stuck and can't get out again
There's more than we deny
And there's more than meets the eye

We are all breathing the same air
That we share
We all just have to live
We are all equal
No matter black or white

We are all ruled by our fears below
Higher high
We are stuck and can't get out again
There's more than we deny
And there's more than meets the eye