You be the judge. Here is the official video for Liquid by Mnemic, one of my favorite bands. Possibly also one of my favorite songs. For some reason this metal band has a lot of videos, and a lot of the same formula. Just look agressive and very _stereotypical metal_. I hear a completely different band when it is their music I listen closely to, yet I’m presented with such a… oh come on it’s such a standard. I love Mnemic, at least listen to that band 3 times a week. It’s just so testies without meaning, these videos. ^o^ Sometimes that’s fun too, but on some songs that just doesn’t cut it.

I’m really stuck on this song by Mnemic. Here’s the lyrics.

I actually hate it when I’m stuck on a song like that, it’s going to take me days to get out of it. And here I was thinking I was getting out of my Mnemic craze. Apparently not.

I got out the old FF dvd I still had. ^_^ Ah!~ The good old times.

It’s just about the only American band I really am crazy about. For two reasons: the pits and the topics covered in their music. That DVD I love to watch because of the crazy mosh pits. xd.

Just so you know, my 64 year old mom even likes this song.

How can you choke up by a metal song? I was listening to the last song on the new Fear Factory cd ‘Mechanize’ . It immediately grasped me because of it’s intensity. Plus, the lyrics and in-between sounds make me snicker a bit: “Final Exit“. A morbid sense of humour.

“Contemplate your last breath as you see the face of death”

The song has a rather depressing undertone so I thought at first, but then, I realized it’s also a celebration of life at the same time. It’s full of pride and stoicism. I really like that. I don’t care how old Burton must be by now, he’s still got one fine voice. It left me thinking, that’s how I want to go out. When I have to go, I want to go out like that!

my souuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul~

I do hope they’ll do a world tour before their “Final Exit”, because I’ll be there as one of the few chicks in the room, making sure I’m not in the dangerous pit area to enjoy the ear violence. It’s sentiment to me, this band. I luffs!

Fear Factory
That’s a long forgotten past, isn’t it? It’s actually one of the bands that got me into metal in the first place. It’s the very first concert I went to, as well. Now after years of silence, they have a new album out this February called ‘Mechanize‘. From what I’ve seen on the intarweb so far, it might not be the best ever made, but it’s impossible for FF to fail. My favorite now is Industrial Discipline. Starts a bit boring, but then at around 0:49 they nail it.

Mnemic
I went on a Mnemic spree not so long ago so I was really happy to discover they already have a new one out (recent). It’s called “Sons of the system“. Absolutely brilliant band, the new album is a quite nice addition to the other 3 of the awesome. Just listen to the title track “Sons of the system“. Don’t let the loudness in the beginning scare you but listen to it until the end (that is, if you usually don’t listen to this type of music).

Music is supposed to be “big” imho, can’t get any “bigger” than this. 03:23 and upwards, it just doesn’t get any better than that. C’est of the awesome!

Therion
Quite a different genre in this list: ‘symphonic metal’. The new one by Therion is called  ‘The Miskolc Experience‘. Therion always manages to capture the link between baroque/ heavy classical music and metal. This time there’s even interpretations of Wagner, Verdi, Mozart. Haven’t been listening to it much yet, since I have to be in the mood.

There are two other bands I’m looking out for in the coming weeks: Unheilig [Grosse Freiheit] and Crematory [Infinity]. Both of these bands can be brilliant, though I wasn’t too happy with Pray by Crematory. I recently got to know Unheilig and I have to say I stick to Puppenspiel a lot. So if it’s a bit like that, I’m happy.

[Industrial Discipline lyrics]
There is no dissension when lives have been broken
Enslaved and beaten
Lies have been spoken
Pure manipulation
Whatever soul was left has been erased
Only a machine remains
Beaten into submission
That’s what it is to be slaved
I will not be defined, no longer stand in line
Your opposition
Stand in reflection
Pure abomination
Whatever soul was left has been erased
Only a machine remains
Beaten into submission
That’s what it is to be slaved
Undisputed truth in repression
A paradigm of your aggression
Beaten down to believe
Beaten down to concede
Control is key to suppress me
Whatever soul was left has been erased
Only a machine remains
Beaten into submission
That’s what it is to be slaved
Slave

Haven’t checked out the new stuff for a while, so I continue now with some more ‘real’ metal I would be inclined to listen.

A metal band called “Contradiction”: “Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done” by a voice I recognize to be Bush with two gunshots fired. Shame it’s not my kind of music. It’s almost “the only good h00min“… I’m seriously in love with that intro haha.

A metal band called “Divinity“: Beg to Consume. Very anti-capitalism. I’m not sure how else to call it. I always think, it’s not necessarily capitalism that’s prominent in the ‘anti’ of it, just the emptiness of existence it tends to hammer on. I’m also not very sure about people that are turned off by metal simply because it contains ‘anarchistic’ messages. I always say it’s just how you wish to interpret it. Not completely my kind of metal,  but an incidental listen it’s ok.

A metal band called “Ashkira“: I liked the title for some reason. “The honor of defeat”. You’re a poor winner if you never experienced defeat. Other than that… not really my style. Usually metal bands get the Feles-kun ™ approval if they don’t start every song the same, the tempo is different and the vocals are interesting. That’s a hard standard to reach for any metal band.

Nailbomb, Cadavera spin off. Is he even alive now? I’m not even sure. Never much liked Sepultura except for that “collab” with the late Pavarotti. Am in love with the Nailbomb song “World of Shit”, opening “Hate is reality”. Funny enough that song really sounds like Sepultura.

Finally! A name I love: Disarmonia Mundi (The Isolation Game). A band that basically collabs with Bjorn Strid (Soilwork). I haven’t heard from Soilwork anymore, but Disarmonia Mundi just released something this year. So indeed it was a new album they were talking about on their site. Perhaps dates on the news archives are a good idea. Though probably better than most albums in this entry, not my favorite Mundi album either.

Sometimes I can’t resist checking out a band because of “insane song titles”. I checked out  “Human” with their new album “Cadaver Academy”. The name already sent me in a giggle. Among the song titles: “Centrifugal skin removal, endangered faeces, roid rage, anal devastation”…. UH…

That was a good laugh I tell you XDDD> “Oh dear it’s a bit of roid rage I’m afraid”… “Oh well, no harm done” -> Start brutal metal. Rite. Ies funny though.

“WE COME IN PIECES” HAHAHAHA.

I need to have my sense of humour checked out with a doc, I think. Too many years of the binary.

The new Townsend album, Addicted. I never really was a big fan, though I could appreciate some songs. I always come up with the analogy “wall of sound” when it comes to Devin, pretty much the correct saying. My very very first metal concert was Strapping Young Lad (Townsend) & Fear Factory. It is _still_ the most memorable concert imho. I’ve never seen mosh pits as active as that, unless if you count festivals.

It’s been a while since any of my favorites released something new, but here are another two!

SYBREED – The Pulse of Awakening
I must say this album is a little tamer compared to the previous two albums. Less “vocal abuse” lol. I usually need time to get used to a new album, so I won’t make any judgements yet. Antares could really get my blood flowing, I think the feeling is going to be different with this album but time will tell what kind of response it will get out of me.

Scar Symmetry – Dark Matter Dimensions
Scar Symmetry has some of the best guitar solo’s in the universe; so that’s what attracts me to this band most of all. Not to mention: louder than hell while still being melodic and a lot of vocal changes. Dark matter dimensions has the same formula ~ so I can’t be anything but really happy with this release.

Listening by Grooveshark!~

I went to look up some new stuff. Google is walhalla these days. So is blogspot.

It was the weirdest collection of bands I’ve ever seen. Stuff like Genitorturers. I would have expected it be worse with that kind of name, but it’s actually quite tame: the music and the lyrics. I did know Gothminister though, since it’s a german band. Bionic Angel sounds pretty cool when the main vocal shuts up. It remains so hard to find good industrial metal bands. It always come up with industrial gothic, something I do like occasionally, like Death Stars, but it’s not my main peeve. As you can see they usually tag it as ‘industrial metal’ also, which makes it hard to look new bands up without any black makeup. Noo! I mean stuff like SYBREED, Mnemic, Fear Factory, (…).

Besides that, I always come across a few bands that sound like 20 big fat pigs are having feeding time. OINK OINK GRUNT GRUNT. There are only very few metal bands that can succesfully pull that off. It’s not cool, it’s just funny. The last one I came across which I liked was Thy Final Pain. Cryogen perhaps, Himsa, Psycroptic but the list pretty much ends quickly.

This has been quite some time ago I listened to this, was about the same time KoRn was really popular (beginning to get popular). I got to know the band Orgy because they toured with KoRn / Limp Bizkit, etc on the Family Values Tour.

I still love KoRn’s older works though. Anything Issues and older though my favorite are the first two albums: self titled and ‘Life is Peachy’. And yes, the ‘Significant Other’ album by Limp Bizkit still rules.

Enjoy the nostalgia.

So I’m in love with another Mnemic song. I was totally digging it and yosh! totally cool and all. Until the picture of the laughing cat came upon the area between my two ears.

This song, the nothingness black, has one of the coolest drum parts I’ve ever heard. Usually when I think of metal I think of little grunting piggies, but not this time, no… Can you scream “NOOOOOW”?

Just listen to it, you may think you’re hearing MIAUUUUUUUUUW.

Uh… I think Johnny’s have a bad influence on me. lol.

Usually I say ‘if the metal sounds like chaos it’s a crap band’, though it’s the same chaos that makes metal so great. Firstly you will need to be able to brain shift fast enough to tolerate the changes in tempo, speed, rhythm. The second chaos parameter is that the band does manage to get something recognizable in there. It’s okay to confuse the mind for a while, but every song must go back to melody at some point.

Mnemic is possibly the ‘screamiest/loudest’ industrial I’ve ever listened to, but in addition it is the most chaotic. Sometimes they completely miss what I described above and sometimes they get it right with a vengeance.

Check out how fast that song changes and tries to confuse your brain! The trick is to find the new ‘recognizable’ part a.s.a.p. I’m a hardened metal listener so I know what to listen to very fast (drums, guitar, vocal). You kind of mentally block out the rest (or give it second place). Then about 2 minutes in you notice the melody again and your brain leaves a big sigh of relief. XD. Really cool rif btw. I’m deaf now. Had this on in the car this morning.

It took me a while to find them since I know so many of these bands already. Also: not every metal band makes cool music (doh). Though if you ask the average metalhead he’ll think anything is cool as long as it’s not the more established names. Yeah, how cool. You’re listening to uncontrollable chaos with pigroast squeels. Good for you.

Zonaria (Melodeath, Sweden)
I like these guys because they have a pretty cool drum track under most songs.  The more (and faster) the bass the better. <3!  Plus, if there’s grunting vocals, Zonaria’s is actually low enough to enjoy. Trust me, it’s pretty hard to find a vocalist that does that well. If it still sounds h00min, and not vermin, this metal is besides the point. This one spawned right out of hell. Pretty good job.

Old Man’s Child (Meloblack, Norway)
I actually read something about ‘an attachment to Dimmu’. I didn’t read on, wasn’t interested. Some of the influences can be heard though. I don’t care if your tru0ness doesn’t agree to the commercial Dimmu Borgir. I still think they’re cool and so is Old Man’s Child. It does miss that extra bite here and there though. It differentiates just enough for me to like it, but if the genre wasn’t meloblack I think I would have passed on it.

Enter Shikari (genre “Wtf”, UK)
That music is just insane. I have no way to label it really. Last.fm says it’s trancecore/post-hardcore. It combines hardcore and (…) trance music. Now that’s a weird combination. I like! I absolutely don’t like hardcore metal, but for some reason this strange combination is totally cool.

Diablo (Melodeath, Finland)
This metalband has been around for ages so it seems from the last.fm profile page. Howcome I never noticed them? It may be because of the lame name. It kind of reminds of that 80s hair metal type thing with pink leather pants. In any case, it’s nothing like that. Definitely good, straight melodeath. I have yet to discover a song that sticks out. Good vocalist and includes regular singing!

Before the dawn (Melodeath, Finland)
Not one of the greatest bands, but definitely enough to keep my interest. Sometimes I think they have this thing going that’s the same as the Haunted. I’m not much a fan of that, but as long as they make songs that stay away from that sound I’m good.

Circus Maximus (Progressive, Norway)
Waw, now this is interesting music like I haven’t heard interesting in a while. You’ll have to listen to the track “Sane to More” to find out what I mean. Progressive has always had enough differentiation for me to find the genre attractive, but they take it to a new level entirely.

Blinded Colony (Melodeath, Sweden)
Very much like In Flames, which I used to love before that last album they put out. It has some of that old glory, though not quite up to the standard yet.

Mnemic (Industrial, Denmark)
Aaaah, wonderful! I was looking for this for quite some time. When I started liking metal I started out with Fear Factory, and ever since, I just wanted to hear more good industrial. That was barely ever rewarded. I found some of it back in SYBREED, and I’d definitely like to add this band to the list too. Finally! Some industrial as industrial is meant! More agression than any kind of other metal: death and black is basically for pansies if you count industrial.

And again I review my list and go “Why wasn’t I born in Gothenburg?”. No US bands as usual. For some reason US metal really turns me off.

This song from Lacuna Coil’s new album, it’s not the best song on it, but I’m completely in love with one small piece of it. Forgive the shitty quality because it’s a youtube embed. Just go to 2 minutes 37 seconds. I’m crazy about that part.

People sometimes say I look like her, eh, only taller and usually without makeup because I’m arse lazy and wake up too late. Another song I quite enjoy is “Wide awake” (how contradictory) because of it’s powerful vocals. There’s not many female vocalists I like, but Cristina Scabbia can count herself to the lucky few.

Some more examples this way!

Massively cool guitar solo at 4:30m, isn’t it? Listen closely you’ll think there’s 3 guitars at the end! I’m not sure if there are, but who cares. lol.

This song is the awesome anyways. Try starting from about 2:50 to about 3:20. Ha, you play that, I orgasm.

How about drums @ 2:15 min and onwards to 2:38? Yaaaa, what a rush.

I just checked all the metal bands I like to see which one of them is going to release something in the [near] future.

Ayreon: just released 01011001, but announced new project “The guilt machine” in February.
Evergrey: just released Torn, and is having problems with the tour schedule right now. Usually I always go see these guys.
SYBREED: new album name “The pulse of awakening”, finishing up in April but so far I see no release date.
Ensiferum: announced new album, no title known (unless it’s 13/4?), to be released September 9th.
Scar Symmetry: no news, and I missed their April 8th gig. Shit. *COME BACK GODDAMNIT*
Disarmonia Mundi: Bjorn Strid continues with this band (also known from Soilwork). New album is titled “The isolation game”. Boy do they need dates on their news archive.
In Flames: Still jester racing. Nothing new.
In Extremo: releasing a new live DVD on the 15th of May “Am Goldenen Rhein” (I so want it!).
Mercenary: Probably taking a well deserved break.
Mors Principium Est: Recently announced new guitar player, are working on something after a long long time.
Naildown: welcomes a new drummer, and are going to work as well.
Nevermore: been dead for a couple of years. This is one of those bands everyone expects to retire lol. Do not want!
Threat Signal: Has finished recording new album “Wearing a martyr’s crown”. June 23rd is mentioned, but I think it might be later (wording not clear).
Opeth: always slow to release. Last thing they did was a live album I believe. Am waiting for the new stuff, but long back to the early days.
Rammstein: 4 years of silence.
Skyfire: releasing a new album called “Esoteric”. No known release date.
Symphony X: last thing they did was “Paradise Lost”. Wants new! But no news.
Threat Signal: Just completed recording, so something is in the loop. Oh yes, was on the Fear Factory homepage and saw their name there as well. I don’t care. I want Fear Factory to release something new. lol.

I have totally depleted the melodeath genre, that I’m sure of. Got tips? Send them in. I want to hear new stuff.

I’ve been playing this record grey. Especially the song “The mark of the gun”. Excellent album. It called “Night electric Night”.

The D is for Destroy.
The E is for Enforce.
A is for Absolute.
And D is for Darkness.