Music in the Blood

What is Black Metal ?

Sulav — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:11:00 +0000

David Wood: Founder of Neat Records.

” Black Metal is like Black Magic without the chocolate”Vincent Crowley: Vocalist with cult Black Metal band Acheron”Venom, the true gods of Black Metal started this whole thing. So to me, it is a music that you can take to an unholy extreme. Songs about Satanism, The Occult, Myths, Blasphemy, and Hell, takes the listener on a journey to the Dark side. Satan always is the center of attention in Black Metal. And band members always have a dark aesthetic. But the main thing is Black Metal has to be the most demonic music ever!”

Malcolm Dome : Rock journalist

Black metal is whatever you want it to be…just think of a number, double it and hey, presto, it’s black and inventive. That’s the beauty of the bestial side. Anything’s possible. Everything’s probable.

Gavin Baddeley [ author of Lucifer Rising]

Black Metal is, as these genre labels almost always are, something of a misnomer. Most rockers have always worn black, and more than one outsider has seriously wondered whether the term refers to some kind of afro-Caribbean rock sub-genre. The other alternative to using the termhowever, where special pleading by bands leaves you with as many genres as acts – vampire metal, occult metal, hate metal, and whatever the hell else – is an even more confusing situation. I guess Black Metal as a term is then, appropriately, something of a necessary evil. And if you think about it, even the term Heavy Metal itself is hardly descriptive of the genre,but it’s stuck for want of anything else.Eighties boozy Satanic thrash pioneers Venom have the best claim to having coined the Black Metal moniker, and even they have distanced themselves from it to an extent. Thankfully, subsequent bands have appeared who have taken the term – and ironically Venom’s back catalogue – more seriously than Venom ever did. Most serious fans also concede that Black Metalpredates Venom by decades.

Indeed many contend that Black Sabbath’s eponymous 1970 debut was the first Black Metal album, and in my opinion the first true Heavy Metal recording. But rock act Black Widow predated Sabbath’s Satanic imagery by some months – so are they Black Metal?I’d say yes, inasmuch as the lyrical content was better researched than Sabbath’s, though they never pioneered an ominous new sound in the way Ozzie’s outfit did. This perhaps is significant. I think one component to Black Metal is demonic imagery and lyrics, but the other is a musical approach as daring or innovative as the visuals and ideas. These tend to gotogether organically. People attracted to the extreme concepts and aesthetics of the Devil tend to enjoy and express themselves in a similarly outrageous and passionate fashion. That this has been almost exclusively in rather monotone terms of anger and aggression among Metal musicians has alienated many Satanists, who also perceive subtlety and seduction in their chosen archetype. Demonic music, they argue, is not just older than Venom, or indeed Black Sabbath. It is far, far older than that, in which grand context either band represent little more than fascinating ripples in a profoundly dark ocean. Ultimately, this has driven something of a wedge between the established Satanic community, who dismiss Metal as adolescent angst, and Black Metal fans who see such Satanists as tedious old bores. This is a shame – but I’m optimistic that the best of both groups are finding some common ground. More authentic Satanists are appearing with a grounding in the darker fringes of rock, and more reputable Black Metal musicians are launching increasingly brave and interesting projects that draw on influences which go back not just decades but centuries.

CRIN: Godreah Zine/ Records

Apart from the obvious Satanic imagery, Black Metal is an institution built on the rise of extreme metal in the eighties and solidified by the very real evil of the Norwegian Black Metal explosion of the early nineties. Like Punk, Black Metal transformed a previously unseen select group of outcasts/ bored teenagers into a socially abhorrent reality, sticking two fingers up at the system and to hell with the consequences.It was an exclusive institution where kids could feed from the brutalisation of a genre through startlingly inhumane acts of violence and an apparent disregard for the stringent laws of the land. A freak show for the masses if you like that has been polished into a musical entity far stronger than it’s punk predecessor .Black Metal has outgrown the underground and become a marketable product much to the disdain of Black Metal purists. The very term Black Metal is now hard to define to an actual style but I would cite the likes of Dark Throne, Marduk, Immortal and Burzum to embrace every hideous echelon of the genre. Every evolving.. is but a new addition of remarkable music loosely entwined within the genre as a whole but never exceeding the archetype of the original blueprint. In all extreme metals sub-genre’s’ Black Metal is also one of thee few havens for right wing/ neo nazi purists who are thankfully few and far between and mostly emanate from the former eastern block countries. Black Metal like any other musical embodiment has proved itself a worthy addition to the Metal fraternity and like Death Metal is here to stay, like it or not.

MEGADETH

Sulav — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:31:00 +0000

Early Days:
After being kicked out of Metallica in 1983, guitarist Dave Mustaine started Megadeth. The original lineup included bassist David Ellefson, guitarist Kerry King and drummer Lee Rash. Shortly thereafter Kerry King left for his old band Slayer and was replaced by Chris Poland and Lee Rash was replaced by Gar Samuelson. In 1985 their debut album Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good was released.

Thrash Titans:
The success of their debut drew the attention of major labels, and Capitol Records signed Megadeth for their second album, 1986′s Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying. It was huge successful, and the band was poised to battle Metallica to be the most popular thrash metal band.

Problems:
Mustaine’s behavior was becoming erratic due to drug and alcohol problems. Prior to their third album he fired Poland and Samuelson, who were replaced by guitarist Jeff Young and drummer Chuck Behler. There were several more lineup changes over the years, culminating in the acrimonious exit of original member David Ellefson in 2002.

Injury and Recovery:
In 2002, Mustaine suffered a nerve injury and it was initially thought he may not be able to play guitar again. He used the downtime to remaster Megadeth’s previous releases with added bonus material. Luckily he recovered and reformed the band with a new lineup to release 2004′s very well received The System Has Failed. Mustaine also put together the Gigantour Festival that Megadeth headlined in the summer of 2005.

Current Megadeth Band Members:
Dave Mustaine – Vocals, guitar (Fallen Angels, Metallica, Panic, Sanctuary)Glen Drover – Guitar (Dimension Infinite, Eidolon, King Diamond)James Lomenzo – Bass (Black Label Society, White Lion)Shawn Drover – Drums (Dimension Infinite, Eidolon)

Megadeth Discography:
1985 Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good! (Combat)
1986 Peace Sells….But Who´s Buying? (Capitol)
1988 So Far, So Good, So What? (Capitol)
1990 Rust In Peace (Capitol)
1992 Countdown To Extinction (Capitol)
1994 Youthanasia (Capitol)
1997 Cryptic Writings (Capitol)
1999 Risk (Capitol)
2000 Capitol Punishment (Capitol)
2001 The World Needs A Hero (Metal-Is)
2002 Rude Awakening (live) (Metal-Is)
2004 The System Has Failed (Sanctuary)
2005 Back To The Start: Greatest Hits (Sanctuary)
2007 United Abominations (Roadrunner)

BLACK SABBATH

Sulav — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 16:24:00 +0000

Mixing equal parts bone-crushing volume, catatonic tempos, and ominous pronouncements of gloom and doom delivered in Ozzy Osbourne’s keening voice, Black Sabbath was the heavy-metal king of the ’70s. Despised by rock critics and ignored by radio programmers, the group sold over 8 million albums before Osbourne departed for a solo career in 1979 [see entry]. The band’s original lineup reunited for a two-year tour in 1997.The four original members, schoolmates from a working-class district of industrial Birmingham, first joined forces as the Polka Tulk Blues Company, a blues band. They quickly changed their name to Earth, then, in 1969, to Black Sabbath; the name came from the title of a song written by bassist Geezer Butler, a fan of occult novelist Dennis Wheatley. It may also have been an homage to a Boris Karloff film. The quartet’s eponymously titled 1970 debut, recorded in two days, went to #8 in England and #23 in the U.S. A single, “Paranoid,” released in advance of the album of the same name, reached #4 in the U.K. later that year; it was the group’s only Top 20 hit.The single didn’t make the U.S. Top 40, but the Paranoid LP, issued in early 1971, eventually sold 4 million copies despite virtually no airplay.

Beginning in December 1970 Sabbath toured the States relentlessly. Despite the band members’ intense drug and alcohol abuse, the constant road work paid off, and by 1974 Black Sabbath was considered peerless among heavy-metal acts, its first five LPs all having sold at least a million copies apiece in America alone.In spite of their name, the crosses erected onstage, and songs dealing with apocalypse, death, and destruction, the band members insisted their interest in the black arts was nothing more than innocuous curiosity (the sort that led Ozzy Osbourne to sit through eight showings of The Exorcist), and in time Black Sabbath’s princes-of-darkness image faded. Eventually, so did its record sales. Aside from a platinum best-of, We Sold Our Soul for Rock ’n’ Roll (1976), not one of three LPs from 1975 to 1978 went gold. Osbourne, racked by drug use and excessive drinking, quit the band briefly in late 1977 (ex–Savoy Brown–Fleetwood Mac vocalist Dave Walker filled his shoes for some live dates). In January 1979 he was fired. Ronnie James Dio, formerly of Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, replaced Osbourne.Although Dio could belt with the best of them, Sabbath would never be the same. Its first album with Dio, Heaven and Hell (1980), went platinum; its second, Mob Rules (1981), gold. But thereafter, the group’s LPs sold fewer and fewer copies, as Black Sabbath went through one personnel change after another. Ill health forced Bill Ward out of the band in 1980; Carmine Appice’s brother Vinnie took his place. Friction between Iommi and Dio led the singer to quit angrily in 1982; he took Appice with him to start his own band, Dio. Vocalists over the years have included Dave Donato; Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan; Glenn Hughes, another ex-member of Purple; Tony Martin; and Dio again.

By 1986’s Seventh Star, only Iommi remained from the original lineup. He had to wince when Geezer Butler teamed up with the phenomenally successful Osbourne in 1988, though the bassist did return to the fold three years later. Despite bitterness expressed in the press between Osbourne and Iommi, the original foursome reunited in 1985 at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, and again in 1992, at the end of what was supposedly Osbourne’s last tour. Throughout 1993 word had it that Osbourne, Iommi, Butler, and Ward would tour, but by year’s end Osbourne had backed out, allegedly over money. The indefatigable Tony Iommi went right back to work with Butler, rehiring vocalist Tony Martin and adding former Rainbow drummer Rob Rondinelli. That lineup proved as unstable as the previous one, with drummers coming, going, and returning over the following years. Despite hiring Body Count’s Ernie C to produce 1995’s Forbidden (and inviting guest vocalist Ice-T to sing on a track), Black Sabbath seemed increasingly out of touch with the times, and at the end of the Forbidden Tour, the band unofficially went on hiatus.But not for long, as Iommi, Butler, and Osbourne reunited to headline Ozzfest 1997. Ward was not invited (he was replaced by Faith No More’s Mike Bordin), but he did participate in two shows in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, England, in December 1997. The resulting live album, Reunion (#11, 1998), also featured two new studio tracks, including the single “Psycho Man.” The album went platinum in the U.S., and the live version of “Iron Man” earned the band its first Grammy for Best Metal Performance – nearly 30 years after the song was originally released. The ensuing tour lasted two years and ended in December 1999. (Ward, who suffered a heart attack in May 1998 before the European tour kicked off, rejoined the group in December 1998; Appice sat in for him while he recuperated).

Tony Iommi released his first solo album in 2000; a prestigious roster of guest singers (Osbourne, Billy Corgan, Henry Rollins, Dave Grohl) handled the vocals. Among metalheads, Iommi is something of a guitar god, due in part to the fact that he plays spectacularly despite having lost the tips of two right fingers in a welding accident at age 17. His hero was the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who also lost two fingers and yet continued to play. In mid-2001 it was announced that all original members were writing material for a new Black Sabbath album.

METALLICA

Sulav — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:29:00 +0000

FORMED: 1981, Los Angeles, CA

The most consistently innovative metal band of the late 80s and 90s was formed in 1981 in California, USA, by Lars Ulrich (b. 26 December 1963, Copenhagen, Denmark; drums) and James Alan Hetfield (b. 3 August 1963, USA; guitar/vocals) after each separately advertised for fellow musicians in the classified section of American publication The Recycler. They recorded their first demo, No Life Til’ Leather, with Lloyd Grand (guitar), who was replaced in January 1982 by David Mustaine (b. 13 September 1961, La Mesa, California, USA), whose relationship with Ulrich and Hetfield proved unsatisfactory. Jef Warner (guitar) and Ron McGovney (bass) each had a brief tenure with the band.At the end of 1982 Clifford Lee Burton (b. 10 February 1962, USA, d. 27 September 1986; bass, ex-Trauma) joined the band, playing his first live performance on 5 March 1983. Mustaine departed to form Megadeth and was replaced by Kirk Hammett (b. 18 November 1962, San Francisco, California, USA; guitar). Hammett, who came to the attention of Ulrich and Hetfield while playing with rock band Exodus, played his first concert with Metallica on 16 April 1983.

The Ulrich, Hetfield, Burton and Hammett combination endured until disaster struck the band in the small hours of 27 September 1986, when Metallica’s tour bus overturned in Sweden, killing Cliff Burton. During those four years, the band put thrash metal on the map with the aggression and exuberance of their debut, Kill ‘Em All, the album sleeve of which bore the legend “Bang that head that doesn’t bang”.This served as a template for a whole new breed of metal, though the originators themselves were quick to dispense with their own rule book. Touring with New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands Raven and Venom followed, while Music For Nations signed them for European distribution. Although Ride The Lightning was not without distinction, notably on “For Whom The Bell Tolls’, it was 1986′s Master Of Puppets that offered further evidence of Metallica”s appetite for the epic. Their first album for Elektra Records in the USA (who had also re-released its predecessor), this was a taut, multi-faceted collection that both raged and lamented with equal conviction.After the death of Burton, the band elected to continue, the remaining three members recruiting Jason Newsted (b. 4 March 1963; bass) of Flotsam And Jetsam. Newsted played his first concert with the band on 8 November 1986. The original partnership of Ulrich and Hetfield, however, remained responsible for Metallica’s lyrics and musical direction. The new line-up’s first recording together was The $5.98 EP – Garage Days Re-Revisited – a collection of cover versions including material from Budgie, Diamond Head, Killing Joke and the Misfits, which also served as a neat summation of the band’s influences to date.

Sessions for … And Justice For All initially began with Guns ‘N’ Roses producer Mike Clink at the helm. A long and densely constructed effort, this 1988 opus included an appropriately singular spectacular moment in “One” (a US Top 40/UK Top 20 single), while elsewhere the barrage of riffs somewhat obscured the usual Metallica artistry. The songs on 1991′s US/UK chart- topper Metallica continued to deal with large themes – justice and retribution, insanity, war, religion and relationships. Compared to Kill “Em All nearly a decade previously, however, the band had grown from iconoclastic chaos to thoughtful harmony, hallmarked by sudden and unexpected changes of mood and tempo.The MTV -friendly “Enter Sandman” broke the band on a stadium level and entered the US Top 20. The single also reached the UK Top 10, as did another album track, “Nothing Else Matters”. Constant touring in the wake of the album ensued, along with a regular itinerary of awards ceremonies. There could surely be no more deserving recipients, Metallica having dragged mainstream metal, not so much kicking and screaming as whining and complaining, into a bright new dawn when artistic redundancy seemed inevitable. Metallica was certified as having sold nine million copies in the USA by June 1996, and one month later Load entered the US charts at number 1. The album marked a change in image for the band, who began to court the alternative rock audience.

The following year’s Reload collected together more tracks recorded at the Load sessions, and featured 60s icon Marianne Faithfull on the first single to be released from the album, “The Memory Remains”. Garage Inc. collected assorted cover versions, and broke the band’s run of US number 1 albums when it debuted at number 2 in December 1998. The following year’s S&M, recorded live with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, evoked the worst excesses of heavy rock icons Deep Purple. In January 2001, Jason Newsted announced he was leaving Metallica after almost fifteen years service with the band. During spring 2001 Metallica entered the studio again, although with no bassist, and began recording the new album which they hoped would be released by christmas that year or early 2002. However, in July 2001 James Hetfield announced that he was in re-hab for alcohol and ‘other’ addictions. The recording of the new album was put on hold until he recovered.Robert Trujilo is the new bass player!

IRON MAIDEN

Sulav — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:19:00 +0000

Known for such powerful hits as “Two Minutes to Midnight” and “The Trooper,” Iron Maiden was and is one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre. The often-imitated band existed for over 20 years, pumping out wild rock similar to Judas Priest. Iron Maiden has always been an underground attraction; although failing to ever obtain any real media attention in the U.S. (critics claimed them to be Satanists due to their dark musical themes and their use of grim mascot “Eddie”), they still became well known throughout the world and have remained consistently popular throughout their career. Iron Maiden was one of the first groups to be classified as “British metal,” and, along with Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and a host of other bands, set the rock scene for the ’80s.

Iron Maiden was first formed in 1976 by bassist Steve Harris, who would soon join up with rhythm guitarist Tony Parsons, drummer Doug Sampson, and vocalist Paul Di’Anno. Before finally obtaining a record deal, the group played in local areas throughout the ’70s, receiving a fair amount of London airplay. Parsons replaced Dennis Stratton, and the band made its record debut in 1980 with the self-titled Iron Maiden album. Although the release was recorded in a hurry, it was nonetheless a hit in the U.K. due to the single “Running Free.” Iron Maiden’s 1981 follow-up, Killers, displayed a harder approach to their music than before, and also saw the replacement of Stratton with Adrian Smith. Due to his uncontrollable alcohol addiction, Di’Anno was forced to part company with the group and would soon be replaced with vocalist Bruce Dickinson in 1982 for the band’s groundbreaking Number of the Beast. This album, boasting such songs as the title track and “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” would come to be known as one of the greatest rock recordings of all time. Since the unexpected worldwide success of Beast made Iron Maiden international rock superstars, they changed very little of their style for their next album, Piece of Mind. They undertook two major tours before recording 1983′s Powerslave, which would go on to be another cult hit. The product of Powerslave’s 11-month tour was 1985′s Live After Death, a double live album that featured all of their biggest hit singles.

By the release of Live After Death, Iron Maiden had already established themselves as a powerful and unique metal band. Their long-awaited 1986 supplement album, Somewhere in Time, showed a bit of departure from their past releases, showcasing the use of synthesizer guitars and songs more relevant to the same themes. 1988′s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, a concept album like its predecessor, featured the singles “The Evil That Men Do” and “The Clairvoyant,” and soon became Iron Maiden’s most critically acclaimed album since Number of the Beast. After another exhausting tour, Smith departed and the band took a one-year hiatus. With new guitarist Janick Gers, they resurfaced with No Prayer for the Dying in 1990, a record that returned to the classic sound the group used when recording their earlier releases. One of the album’s singles, “Bring Your Daughter…to the Slaughter,” was granted the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Song of the Year, but it nonetheless gave the band their first number one U.K. hit. By the time the group finished their 1991 tour, Dickinson expressed desire to leave and work to promote another band he had founded, the Skunkworks. Fear of the Dark, the band’s last album with Dickinson, debuted at number one on the U.K. charts and became one of their biggest-selling albums to date. After their supporting tour, two live albums were released in 1993: A Real Live One, which contained live versions of their newer hit singles, and A Real Dead One, which featured the more “classic” Maiden songs live.

Dickinson’s replacement, Blaze Bayley, marked his debut in 1995 with The X Factor. While the record failed to chart as well as some of its predecessors, it was still a minor success in England. Iron Maiden marked the end of 1996 with Best of the Beast, a double compilation album. In 1998, little interest in the Virtual XI album prompted Bayley’s termination; Dickinson and Smith returned to the band for a tour in 1999, and a new album, Brave New World, emerged the following year. The band toured throughout the early 2000s, releasing the live Rock in Rio and the greatest-hits collection Edward the Great in 2002, followed by a new studio album, Dance of Death, in 2003. They followed DOD with the Rainmaker EP, as well as the live DVDs History of Iron Maiden, Pt. 1: The Early Days and Raising Hell in 2004. Sanctuary put out the two-disc The Essential Iron Maiden in 2005 to coincide with the group’s co-headlining Ozzfest tour with Black Sabbath. They released the live CD/DVD Death on the Road in September of 2005 and a collection of new material, Matter of Life and Death, in 2006.

CRADLE OF FILTH

Sulav — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 16:09:00 +0000

The cradle is rocking, the dead are rising, the seas will boil and the skies will fall. As the world stands poised on the edge of mass destruction, the freaks, fools and monsters who rule us are about to be taught a real lesson in the use of power, for Cradle of Filth have created the greatest album of their career to date. ‘Damnation and a Day’, has been carved out of the darkness that is about to engulf what we know as civilisation.The recordings, spawned from the loins of five of the most controversial Lords of darkness ever to walk the earth grew to their full strength at Parkgate, a studio set in the blood-soaked town of Battle, set in darkest Hastings. Inspired by their surroundings, the five Horsemen of the Apocalypse fed on the blood of Doug Cook who was unwittingly drafted in to co-produce and engineer the album. Little did he know that he was merely a victim.

Cradle sucked the knowledge out of their hapless victim and used his withered shell of a body to help direct them in their quest to create the darkest album they could possibly imagine, before disposing of his corpse in a ritualistic shooting. The bullet still lays lodged in his face. The corpse of course has never been found.But the blood letting did not stop there. Daniel Presley, was hung, drawn and quavered after scoring the final pages of music for the live orchestra.The death toll now standing at 10 (that’s including the rest of the staff at Parkgate, who died slowly over the five months of recording), Cradle still weren’t satiated, so a week spent in Budapest saw the death toll rise to 82 as they massacred the 40 piece orchestra and the 32 piece choir.Hungary has once again fallen under the shadow of evil. Elzabeth Bathory will pale into comparison when this news gets out.’Damnation and a Day’ was scripted by the prince of darkness Dani Filth, whose quest to decipher the truth behind the Bible, brought him to summon forth Lucifer during a ritualistic killing. The once expelled angel willingly gave his side of the story from beginning to what will be the inevitable end for us.

You will bear witness to his tale, during the 17 tracks of the concept album ‘Damnation and a Day’ which lies before you. Your death is nigh, so listen carefully and then offer your soul to the Filth and you might be saved, deny them and your destruction will come in many forms.They will choose it, they will watch it and they will undoubtedly laugh in your tortured face.The sonic soundscape that encapsulates the satanic readings were finely crafted from the cries that resonate from the depths of Hades by lords Dani, Paul, Martin, Adrian and Dave. The final stage was the mix. The two disciples known as Rob Caggiano and Steve Regina were called upon to aid the dark lords in their quest, along with the reanimated tortured soul of Doug Cook.Once you have listened to what is to come, you will bow your heads to one of the finest albums to rise from the cradle. Sony have now embraced the darkness and under the influence of evil have become slaves to the dark powers that have been engulfing them for over a year, all have committed their souls to spreading the message and will by the March 10th 2003 release unto us the future.So go forth and cut out the tongues of the unbelievers, lay waste to the trash that assaults our ears every day, for that is merely a smoke screen to numb your minds from the truth, and beg forgiveness for your past sins. World domination takes apart society as we know it in mid March when the Cradle swings into action and takes to the road to hell, first into Europe and then back to the US to follow up last year’s sell out tour. So all the petty little people out there with their bombs and their guns better run away now, because it’s show time and they haven’t got a hope in hell, even if they do have an access all areas pass.Cradle of filth have finally arrived at the palace of righteousness, ready to drain the blood from your face and whatever is left of your miserable pathetic carcass.

Suicide note: Kurt Cobain

Sulav — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:07:00 +0000

The Suicidal Note of Kurt Donald Cobain, 1967-1994

To Boddah
Speaking from the tongue of an experienced simpleton who obviously would rather be an emasculated, infantile complain-ee. This note should be pretty easy to understand.
All the warnings from the punk rock 101 courses over the years, since my first introduction to the, shall we say, ethics involved with independence and the embracement of your community has proven to be very true. I haven’t felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music along with reading and writing for too many years now. I feel guity beyond words about these things.
For example when we’re back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins., it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the the love and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you, any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun. Sometimes I feel as if I should have a punch-in time clock before I walk out on stage. I’ve tried everything within my power to appreciate it (and I do,God, believe me I do, but it’s not enough). I appreciate the fact that I and we have affected and entertained a lot of people. It must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they’re gone. I’m too sensitive. I need to be slightly numb in order to regain the enthusiasms I once had as a child.
On our last 3 tours, I’ve had a much better appreciation for all the people I’ve known personally, and as fans of our music, but I still can’t get over the frustration, the guilt and empathy I have for everyone. There’s good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too fucking sad. The sad little, sensitive, unappreciative, Pisces, Jesus man. Why don’t you just enjoy it? I don’t know!
I have a goddess of a wife who sweats ambition and empathy and a daughter who reminds me too much of what i used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function. I can’t stand the thought of Frances becoming the miserable, self-destructive, death rocker that I’ve become.
I have it good, very good, and I’m grateful, but since the age of seven, I’ve become hateful towards all humans in general. Only because it seems so easy for people to get along that have empathy. Only because I love and feel sorry for people too much I guess.
Thank you all from the pit of my burning, nauseous stomach for your letters and concern during the past years. I’m too much of an erratic, moody baby! I don’t have the passion anymore, and so remember, it’s better to burn out than to fade away.
Peace, love, empathy.Kurt Cobain
Frances and Courtney, I’ll be at your alter.Please keep going Courtney, for Frances.For her life, which will be so much happier without me.
I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!

Quotes for aeons

Sulav — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:02:00 +0000

Quotes
“I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown, which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.”

“I think the highest and lowest points are the important ones. Anything else is just… in between. I want the freedom to try everything.”

“I think I was just fed up with the image that had been created around me, which I sometimes consciously, most of the time unconsciously cooperated with. It just got too much for me to really stomach and so I put an end to it one glorious evening.”

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.”

JIM Morrison: A poet

Sulav — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:55:00 +0000

Jim Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was a singer, songwriter and poet.
Born James Douglas Morrison in Melbourne, Florida, he was the lead singer and lyricist of the popular American rock band The Doors. He was also an author of several poetry books. James Douglas Morrison was the son of George Stephen Morrison and his wife Clara Clark Morrison, both employed by the United States Navy. His father was a strict military officer, who served as an admiral. Jim was raised by his conservative parents but would grow to express drastically different views than those taught to him. According to Jim Morrison the most important event of his life came in 1947 during a family trip in New Mexico. He described the event as follows:
“The first time I discovered death… me and my mother and father, and my grandmother and grandfather, were driving through the desert at dawn. A truckload of Indians had either hit another car or something- there were Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death. I was just a kid, so I had to stay in the car while my father and grandfather went to check it out. I didn’t see nothing- all I saw was funny red paint and people lying around, but I knew something was happening, because I could dig the vibrations of the people around me, and all of a sudden I realized that they didn’t know what was happening any more than I did. That was the first time I tasted fear… and I do think, at that moment, the souls of those dead Indians- maybe one or two of them-were just running around, freaking out, and just landed in my soul, and I was like a sponge, ready to sit there and absorb it.”
Morrison growing up, became a seeker, interested in exploring new avenues and new sensations, and led a bohemian lifestyle in California, attending UCLA, drifting about and sleeping on couches and rooftops, reading books voraciously. After graduating UCLA, Morrison read some poems to fellow student, Ray Manzarek and they both decided on the spot to start a rock band. To complete the band, two more members, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore joined the group. (The name The Doors came from an Aldous Huxley book, The Doors of Perception, in turn borrowed from a line of poetry by William Blake), “When the doors of perception are cleansed/ Things will appear as they are, Infinite”. He developed a unique singing voice and a style of poetry leaning heavily on mysticism. Jim Morrison took for himself the nickname “Mr. Mojo Risin’”, an anagram of “Jim Morrison”, and which he eventually used as a refrain in his final single, LA Woman. He was also called The Lizard King from a line in his famed epic poem Celebration of the Lizard, part of which appeared on the album Waiting for the Sun and which was adapted into a musical in the 1990s. Even before The Doors formed, Morrison began consuming a variety of drugs, drank alcohol consistently, and indulged in various bacchanalia, sometimes showing up for recording sessions while inebriated (he can be heard hiccuping on the song “Five To One.”) Jim Morrison’s performances have influenced many, including Patti Smith. Live shows often possessed shamanistic qualities. Morrison moved to Paris, France in March 1971 with the intention of concentrating on his writing. Jim Morrison died in Paris, France on July 3, 1971, in his bathtub at the age of 27; many fans and biographers have speculated that the cause of death was a drug overdose, or possibly an assassination by American government authorities. Morrison remarked several times near his death that he was “number 3″. Referring to himself as likely to be the third person to die mysteriously; Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin being the first two. The official report listed “heart attack” as the cause of death. Morrison is buried in the famous Le Père Lachaise Cemetery in eastern Paris: because his fans there are generally perceived as nuisances, leaving litter and graffiti behind them, it has been suggested that a new burial site will have to be found.
Some fans believe that Jim Morrison faked his death in order to escape the spotlight. Conspiracy theorists point out that Morrison’s longtime girlfriend, Pamela Courson, initially told the press that Morrison was merely “very tired and resting in a hospital”, that very few people had actually seen the corpse prior to its burial, and that Morrison,in the months prior to his ‘death’, had often talked jokingly with his bandmates about “splitting to Africa”. Doors drummer, John Densmore, upon visiting Morrison’s grave for the first time, is said to have remarked that it was too short. To some, Jim Morrison was a rebel, to others a rock-n-roll poet.

Nirvana Biography

Sulav — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 05:02:00 +0000

Kurt Cobain Biography

Kurt Donald Cobain was the leader of Nirvana, the multi-platinum grunge band that redefined the sound of the nineties. Cobain was born on the 20th of February 1967 in Hoquaim, a small town 140 kilometres south-west of Seattle. His mother was a cocktail waitress and his father was an auto mechanic. Cobain soon moved to nearby Aberdeen, a depressed and dying logging town. Cobain was for most his childhood a sickly bronchitic child. Matters were made worse when Cobain’s parent’s divorced when he was seven and by his own account Cobain said he never felt loved or secure again. He became increasingly difficult, anti-social and withdrawn after his parent’s divorce. Cobain also said that his parent’s traumatic split fueled a lot of the anguish in Nirvana’s music.After his parent’s divorce Cobain found himself shuttled back and forth between various relatives and at one stage homeless living under a bridge. When Cobain was eleven he heard and was captivated by the Britain’s Sex Pistols and after their self-destruction Cobain and friend Krist Novoselic continued to listen to the wave of British bands including Joy Division the nihilistic post-punk band that some say Nirvana are directly descended from in form of mood, melody and lyrical quality. Cobain’s artistry and iconoclastic attitude didn’t win many friends in high school and sometimes earned him beatings from “jocks” Cobain got even by spray painting “QUEER” on their pick-up trucks. By 1985 Aberdeen was dead and Cobain’s next stop was Olympia. Cobain formed and reformed a series of bands before Nirvana came to be in 1986. Nirvana was an uneasy alliance between Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and eventually drummer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl By 1988 Nirvana were doing shows and had demo tapes going around. In 1989 Nirvana recorded their rough-edged first album Bleach for local Seattle independent label Sub-Pop In Britain Nirvana received a lot of recognition and in 1991 their contract was bought out by Geffen, they signed to the mega-label, the first non-mainstream band to do so. Two and a half years after Nirvana’s first C.D. Bleach was released they released Nevermind, a series of different, crunching, screaming songs that along with it’s first single Smells Like Teen Spirit would propel Nirvana to mainstream stardom. Smells Like Teen Spirit became Nirvana’s most highly acclaimed and instantly recognizable song. Not many people can decipher it’s exact lyrics but Cobain used a seductive hookline to hook the listener. Nevermind went on to sell ten million copies and make a reported $550 million (US) leaving Nirvana overnight millionaires. Cobain was shocked at the reception of his highly personal and passionate music repeatedly telling reporters that none of the band ever, ever expected anything like this. It quickly became obvious that the obsessively sickly and sensitive 24yr old was not going to cope well with the rock’n roll lifestyle. “If there was a rock star 101 course, I’d really have like to take it,” Cobain once observed. Cobain fell into heroin in the early 90′s, he said he used it as a shield against the rigorous demands of touring and to stop the pain of stomach ulcers or an irritated bowel. Through the touring and pressure Cobain continued to write his very personal acutely focused lyrics. Cobain was distressed to find out that what he wrote and how it was interpreted could quite often be miles apart. He was appalled when he found out that Polly a heavily ironic anti-rape song had been used as background music in a real gang-rape. He later appealed to fans on the Incesticide liner notes “If any of you don’t like gays or women or blacks, please leave us the fuck alone.” It was to no avail, Cobain found that as an overnight millionaire musician control was something he had very little of. Cobain also worried that his band had sold-out, that it was attracting the wrong kind of fans (i.e the type that used to beat him up.) In February 1992 Cobain skipped off to Hawaii to marry the already pregnant Courtney Love. Later in the year Nirvana released Incesticide and in August Cobain had hospital treatment for heroin abuse. Shortly after Frances Bean Cobain was born. In early 1993 In Utero was released into the top spot on the music charts. In Utero was widely acclaimed by the music press and it contains some of Cobain’s most passionate work. In Utero was a lot more open than Nirvana’s previous albums. Songs like All Apologies and Heart Shaped Box detailed aspects of Cobain’s sometimes shaky marriage, other songs like Scentless Apprentice detailed the agonies and struggles of Cobain’s experiences. Nirvana embarked on a support tour and recorded and filmed an “unplugged” (acoustic) performance for MTV in November of 1993. Nirvana’s choice to honour bands and people that had influenced them and Cobain’s passionate and intense vocals especially on “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”silenced many of their who had labeled Cobain talentless. Rumors circulated that the MTV Unplugged compilation would be Nirvana’s last album and the band were splitting up. Cobain was a gun fanatic and always had several in his possession or in various forms of confiscation. In the northern winter of 1993-94 Nirvana embarked on an extensive European tour. Twenty concerts into the tour Cobain developed throat problems and their schedule was interrupted while he recovered. While recovering Cobain flew to Rome to join his wife who was also preparing to tour with her own band. On March the 4th Cobain was rushed to hospital in a coma after an unsuccessful suicide bid in which he washed down about fifty prescription painkillers with champagne. The suicide bid was officially called an accident and was not even made known to close friends and associates. Several days later he returned to Seattle. Cobain’s wife, friends and managers convinced Cobain, who was still in deep distress to enter a detox program in L.A. According to a missing person’s report filed by his mother Cobain fled after only a few days of the program. Cobain was cited in the Seattle area with a shotgun. Days later on the 5th of April he barricaded himself into the granny flat behind his mansion, put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. On Thursday April the 7th ~ two days after a medical examiner says Cobain shot himself and the day before his body was found police say Courtney Love herself was taken to hospital in L.A. for a drug overdose. Released on bail, Love checked herself into a rehab center but left soon after a friend called her the next day with news of Cobain’s death. Cobain’s body was found when an electrician visiting the house to install a security system went round the back of the house when no one answered the front door and peered through windows. He thought he saw a mannequin sprawled on the floor until he noticed a splotch of blood by Cobain’s ear. When police broke down the door they found Cobain dead on the floor, a shotgun still pointed at his chin and on a nearby counter a suicide note written in red ink addressed to Love and the couples then 19 month old daughter Frances Bean. The suicide note ended with the words “I love you, I love you.” Two days after Kurt Cobain’s body was found about 5,000 people gathered in Seattle for a candlelight vigil. the distraught crowd filled the air with profane chants, burnt their flannel shirts and fought with police. They also listened to a tape made by Cobain’s wife in which she read from his suicide note. Several distressed teenagers in the U.S. and Australia killed themselves. The mainstream media was lambasted for it’s lack of respect and understanding of youth culture