I am amazed

It staggers my mind how ignorant people can be about metal. Fuuuuck.
First, it is "Megadeth" not "Megadeath".
Secondly, Underoath, My Chemical Romance, and the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus are not metal.
Thirdly, metal is far from dead, you just don't hear shitty radio-rock/metal that much anymore because it has been replaced by emo/screamo rock.

Pure fucking metal

Apologies for the profanity in the title, but that is the only way I can describe last night. Soilwork at the A38, Paul Menn front row. It was insane.
Thankfully, there was only 1 opener, and they were mediocre at their best (the only thing that was good about them was their Frankie Goes to Hollywood cover "Relax"). One Way Mirror, a mix of Nu-metal and industrial and psuedo-melodic death.

And then came Soilwork.

In all honesty, their last two albums just have not done it for me. But they fucking slayed last night. They played about an equal mix of new and old songs. About 3 from "Sworn to a Great Divide", 2 from "Stabbing the Drama", 1 from "Figure Number Five", 3 from "Natural Born Chaos", and 1 from "A Predator's Portrait" and "The Chainheart Machine". Roundabout. I mean, I could go check the setlist because no big deal or anything Peter Wichers simply gave it to me after the show.
Speaking of Mr. Wichers, it is nice that he is back in the band - he seemed totally at ease and was insane while playing the guitar last night.
One of the things I do really enjoy about Soilwork is that they have massive stage presence. Not just "Speed" who is totally imposing as the vocalist, but Peter Wichers (guitars) and Ola Flink (bass) were totally hilarious, dancing around, powerstancing at every opportunity, and generally just being entertaining.
I could probably write a lot more, but I will you with this...
...you have not experienced fear at a concert until you see a 6'4", 250 lbs Hungarian man take a flying stagedive directly at you.


Also, I wish my internet worked better so that I could listen to Primordial's myspace. But ever since hearing them at Heidenfest, I've been craving to listen to their blackened doom metal. Totally sweet band.

I am my fathers son
And his deeds
Cannot be undone...

"Empire Falls" - Primordial

Oh shit, another one?

In my effort to do anything that isn't my Hungarian Politics paper, I am updating again! Also, I am feeling in the writey mood, and this helps me write regularly.
So, here's a quick question - how do blogs become popular? I suppose they don't become popular by whining about their personal life and stuff, so maybe I should alter my blog to target a wider audience? But then, how would people ever find my blog? I don't even have the foggiest idea how people read this blog. Is there a way for me to get some kind of...visitor counter?

So, maybe I should start some kind of super pretentious music blog. Those are popular, right?
It would be like whenever I write for Chimes because I usually just use those articles as a vehicle to make snide remarks about indie kids. And apparently, I developed quite a reputation for myself in indie-circles at Calvin. Several of the indie-hipsters are on this trip, and one of them confided in me that they were all a bit curious as to how meeting me would be, because I was always super angry and bitchy in my articles and trashed the music they liked. And apparenty I am super militant/aggressive in class. Also, they saw me at a party this summer. I was leaving, and they saw me crash into a tree. And then fall into the road. And mostly just make an ass out of myself.
But much as I am not into the vast majority of indie music and the hipster lifestyle doesn't really appeal to me, the people are still super nice. Music isn't as defining a lifestyle choice as some people make it out to be. So, hooray for that?

And speaking about music, I know that Ska is dead and that the vast majority of ska bands were terrible/won't stand the test of time (or even the test of a decade or so), but goddammit, I think Less Than Jake is still one of the best bands out there. Sure, they are more punk than ska, but the point is still valid.

One final thing, here is a link to my last.fm site, so that you can see what I've been listening to. I think Last.fm is pretty much the coolest idea in the world because it lets me see what stuff I've been into recently and what my most listened to bands are. So, everyone should get a Last.fm, and then you can friend me!

http://www.last.fm/user/Avalost

A few notes on my Last.fm - I am currently waiting for Porcupine Tree to overtake Placebo for 2nd place (I don't think Kill Hannah will be dethroned anytime soon). I'm happy that Cult of Luna has made such a good showing since typically their songs are a lot longer than other bands'. Innerpartysystem is sitting at #12, but I only got their cd a day before I came to Hungary, so it is pretty amazing that they shot up in the charts so fast, especially since their cd only has 6 tracks on.. Finally, Rapture (the metal band, not that other band called The Rapture) is sitting pretty at #13, but that is a testament to how fantastic they are because for the longest time, I only had 1 of their cds.

Who's Got the Fire?

So, in order to make up for the emo-fest that was my last post, I am totally listening to some stoner metal. How is Corrosion of Conformity so damn good all the time? Seriously, when listening to their music, I can almost smell the booze, sweat, and old cigarette smoke. If it wasn't 11.30am, I'd be drinking whiskey and smoking hardcore.
Something about Southern metal/stoner metal/southern doom really makes me happy. I can tell you that it makes me feel more like a man than when I listen to electro-dance music..
Other than that, I have a paper to write today. About Hungary and the EU. Yeah...we'll see how that turns out.


Broken hearts toast another round
And drink to the lost there's not a soul to be found
Lonely boy says, "Come what may."
I hate to see it always end this way...

"Redemption City" - COC


PS - Stanton Moore's drumming on "In the Arms of God" does wonders for the album. I think all drummers should be jazz drummers.

Metal

Fucking Finntroll tonight.
It is going to be pure fucking mayhem.

Also, dance mixes rock my world. Especially ones that involve Katy Perry.
(also, "Hot N Cold" might just have been written about me)

Metal vs. Indie

Ahh, God I love the Scots (and anyone from the UK). A study was recently conducted linking personality types to types of music.
Here is what it says about Indie - Low self-esteem, creative, not hard working, not gentle.

Metal was closely linked with Classical music.

So you can have your damn stereotypes about metalheads being all depressed and angry and such, but Bach and Beethoven would be chilling with metalheads today (if they were alive), not indiescum...I mean indiekids.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7598549.stm (click for the full story)

Europa

So, I am so far a fan of Hungary, but I really want my classes to start! I am hoping to rack up about 20 credits this semester (hopefully more). Of course, that means that I won't be able to travel as much, but travelling costs money, and I really don't like to spend money. Unless it is on Death/Black metal concerts. Like tonight. I am slapping down roughly the equivelant of 30$ to go see some quality Death, Black, and blackened death metal bands - Nile, Grave, and Belphegor.

Other than that, the cd "The Galilean Satellites" by the band Rosetta really speaks to me. It is about an astronaut who becomes dissatisfied with Earth, so he leaves for Europa (one of the 4 Galilean moons of Jupiter) in order to find peace. But once he gets there, he realizes that everything meaningful to him was back on earth.

So, take that as you will.


Finally, I don't see why so many people are freaking out about Sarah Palin. Okay, so her daughter likes to drink, dropped out of highschool, and is pregnent. So she herself may have made some bad choices in college and whatnot. Chill out. If anything, this all makes me want to vote for her more because she seems to be a lot more relatable than Obama/Biden. Obama is some messianic visionary with a picture perfect family and Biden is a tool. I can relate to neither of those.


I may give up my only belief,
this borrowed time is over now,
pay the price,
forgotten years and pieces of Eden.

I miss them all, the other halves of me

"Itinérant" - Rosetta

First Post

I've decided to join the hordes of other cyberwaste out there and start my own blog. Mostly, I am doing this because Xanga is dead, Myspace is full of pedophiles, and nobody likes a person who constantly writes notes on Facebook. So I blog.
This blog will probably just be a collection of my thoughts. It will range from what music I recommend/like to social commentary to recaps of everyday life. And everything in between.

To get things started, I think I'll just give a rundown of what I have been currently listening to. So far, my summer has been overwhelming dominated by post-metal/doom/atmospheric hardcore. All three are essentially the same, but it really depends on who you are talking to.

• Rosetta has been on constant rotation when I am at home. I got their cd "The Galilean Satellites" this past Spring and wasn't blown away by it at first. The more I listen to it, however, the more fantastic I realize it is. It is double cd, one disc composed of post-metal songs while the other cd has accompanying songs of atmospheric sparseness. Apparently, if you play both cds at the same time, it creates a mindblowing experience (because tracks 1, 2, 3... on both cds are the same length, and therefore the post-metal is supported by the atmospheric track)
• Minsk is another band that has really taken my cd player by storm. "The Ritual Fires of Abandonment" is one of the best post-metal albums ever made. It has a real tribal feel to it, a raw primal energy that gets me fired up everyday as I drive to work. Especially good is the track "Circle of Ashes" which has J. Robert Oppenheimer's quote about the successful testing of the nuclear bomb.

Those are the two main bands I've been listening to, supplemented by Cult of Luna, My Dying Bride, and Neurosis.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog about America's Independence Day and why I am opposed to the Revolution.