My own opinion became meaningless, and the invisible barrier between me and the artist as I routinely quizzed them, no matter how creatively, became unbearable.
I realized the only satisfaction I got out of the journalist lifestyle was during the rare moments when I wasn’t actually working…in which an artist would talk to me ‘off the record’, share a beer, or get lost in St. Louis looking for an open restaurant at 4am. Perhaps I was finally outgrowing the awe and worship stage of being a music fan, which inspired me to begin writing about bands as far back as 1995. Most of the artists I respect and love are the same age as me, or younger…it became more and more apparent that the perspective I share with them is beyond the marketing machinery, business grind and public relations.

Drinking myself into oblivion for 4 months was not a valid method of executing this kind of professional suicide. I turned instead to photography, something I had put aside for years while focusing all of my energy into writing for corporations (and don’t be fooled into thinking just about every metal mag is not a corporate entity, because they are too). I began to see music the way it sounded to me, fluid, moody, and real. No more were the contrived relationships, the preformatted conversations, and the video cameras or tape recorders changing everyone in the room. Instead there was the undeniable and unspoken communication in motion.
Have you ever listened to a song and the lyric and thought, “That’s just how I feel, that says it all.” Or what about hearing a particularily moving riff that conveys every ounce of your state of mind? This same connection is evident through the lens when I photograph a musician. The image I capture while their very special minds hear the note they are about to play, or contemplate their next action in the truly abstract way only musical beings do, captures a part of me within it as well.

I recently saw Opeth perform on the Melloboat Festival this past weekend - perhaps the 5th time I have seen them - along with Anekdoten and several others. I had chosen to go as a sort of induction to the next chapter of my life, having recently entered my 30s. I was actually the most excited to see Katatonia, a band I am thoroughly in love with, but Opeth holds a special place for me, both musically and personally.

I had no preconceptions of Mikael Akerfeldt, no expectations or observations on who I think he is or how he thinks. I only knew that I was eager to see what part of me he and Opeth would uncover once the images were developed.

He was relaxed, comedic, unassuming and beyond humble. He maintained throughout the entire experience, through seasickness, drunkenness, and constant social stimulus. I cannot say any of these qualities are ones I possess with any strength, but seeing now that the best of my images ended up conveying a kind of calm euphoria, I can only assess a deepened desire for these two things within my own life.

I took from this experience an understanding of the beautiful contrast between light and shadow, tender and raging, beautiful and harsh, which creates the tension, release, and glowing aftermath of Opeth’s sound. Listening to ‘Harvest’ with both eyes and ears, I was able to exist within that small moment the song was conceived in, quietly, privately, and distantly.

Do artists like Mike Akerfeldt understand the power held within their own creations? Probably not on the surface, but certainly in the instant the notes are conjured and words penned.

-Much in the way the images slowly drift into view upon the paper under the silvery waves of palladium.

~Vail

According to an article in “Geographical” magazine (April 2008), the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26th December 2004 was not the worst that the region could expect. Professor Costas Synolakis of the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California co-authored a paper in “Geophysical Journal International” which suggests that a future tsunami in the Indian Ocean basin could affect locations such as Madagascar, Singapore, Somalia, Western Australia and many others. The Boxing Day tsunami killed over 300,000 people with many bodies either being lost to the sea or unidentified. Some unofficial estimates have claimed that approximately 1 million people may have died directly or indirectly solely as a result of the tsunami.

OK the area surrounding Burma is one of the very highest in concentration of disease and poverty outside of Africa. While the loss of so many people…especially people who are mostly ‘innocent’ by world cultural standards…is sad, it is also natural cleansing in my opinion. Since the worlds sick and sick minded cannot conveniently gather on one island for the earth to euthanize, unfortunately it just happens where it needs to. This is metaphorically beyond the scientific mechanics that make it so. There is no use arguing that a car has wheels therefore it goes. It has wheels so that it can go. Burma is peanuts compared to the Iraq war or Sumatra, or new Orleans. Why is the US president offering them aid he doesn’t have?

In 1630 B.C., the Santorini volcano exploded, completely burying its thriving civilization of Akrotiri. Some historians believe the event also ushered in the demise of the entire Minoan culture, which flourished on nearby Crete from roughly 2700 to 1450 B.C.

In 2006 Bob Ballard (National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence who also discovered the Titanic) set out to investigate the volcano’s violent past. He found the event likely spewed 14 cubic miles (58 cubic kilometers) of magma onto the nearby islands. Massive tsunamis crashed onto shore and ash blackened skies for miles.

So, if Cyclades wants to blow itself up again, wouldn’t this be a good way of warming up? What if the autumn fires in Greece were really the result of a lava leak from a fissure and not some conspiratorial Serbian arson (no one was ever convicted)? If I die (or even survive in order to suffer immeasurably more than I do now) in the massive devastation that will desecrate Greece, Montenegro and most of Bosnia and throw lower Europe and northern Africa into the dark ages (Apocolypse as cited in the Bible and Egyptian heirglyphs anyone?), will I try to claim that it was untimely, sad, and unjust?
No, I will simply accept that I too was in line for culling.

…Politics have always been interesting for Steve and during the Gulf War he
followed the news all the time and sampled speeches of wellknown
politicians. This was part of the producing of the song with the working title
“Saddam Hussein”, which was supposed to be their next maxi. Machinery
[Jor Mulder's label] thought it was a too big risk to call the song “Saddam
Hussein” and release it right during the war. They waited to the end of the
war and then released the single under the name of “Aus der Traum”. The
maxi got a hearty reception and the sales beat the old records. Dance floors
all over Europe was filled and German Frontpage’s readers voted And One
for best new-comer in 1991.

And One were of course very satisfied and the profits from “Aus der Traum”
was given to Greenpeace, with the line “the true victim of the war is the
nature”. “Techno Man” became the next single and And One was a fact.
Their typical sound appeals to listeners all over Europe and in Spain they
sell more than for instance Bryan Adams and KLF. With this song the band
reached out to a wider audience and DJs who usually won’t play EBM took
it to their hearts. The following album “Flop!” was released under
Machinery’s anti drug motto: “Keine macht den Drogen!”, together with other
bands such as Oomph! and Snog.

Chris Ruiz leaves the band without any excitement. Why?

    - He was never interested in making music professionally but wanted to
have And One more like a hobby project. Chris didn’t find himself having
time with touring, interviews and so on. His ideas didn’t work with mine and
Alex’s, so he simply left us on our own.

Joke Jay is the name of the new member who was supposed to fill the place
Chris left on backing vocals and drums. Joke and Steve also writes songs
together.

    - Together we want to picture the problems of young Germans due to the fall
of the Wall and how we together can be strong and solve the problems.

The successes of And One continued with “Monotonie” were Steve’s and
Joke’s cooperation showed in the shape of the song “Turn the Nation”,
which became the next top hit. Neverending success followed And One and
the band they seemed to be comfortable with their newly won place at the
German EBM-top. An European tour followed with 25 concerts in Germany,
Belgium, Hungary and Spain.

    - We really love to play live and to see new places. There is always a lot of
nice people around you when you’re on a tour. I have always loved to dance
and to sing, Steve tells.It is very important for us to get out and see our fans
and talk to them. We try to vary ourself as much as possible and we always
make live remixes of our songs to make the music not too much like the
one on our records.

Are you going to release any live video?

    - It is possible. We already have material recorded, but it has to be mixed
together.

What has inspired you to these hits that have become such
successes?

    - First of all Depeche Mode, to whom I’ve been listening to since I was
twelve. I listen very much to all kind of music except jazz. Ice T, Panthera
and Ministry are bands I like a lot. But mostly it is the real life that brings
me inspiration.

Steve continues:

    - I often write the basics of new songs when we are out on the road. That’s
when I get good ideas and start playing them for instance on our bus on our
way to a new place. I always bring a small battery powered keyboard so
that I can play the melody lines I get on my mind at once, before they
disappear.

And One’s lyrics are a bit strange and often has an ironical undertone. Steve
tells that the lyrics are the most important of the song and he finds it
important reaching out with his message to the fans.

    - My lyrics often speaks of things I react over, positively or negatively. They
reflect the period of my life when the songs were written and contains both
sorrow and joy.

In January 1993 comes the single “Life Isn’t Easy in Germany”, were one
D-Mark per record goes to the saving of the East German youth clubs. This
is part of an action called “Rettet die Jugendklubs” that And One formed to
save those youth clubs that before the German unification was supported by
the DDR government. The project means that German mega artists like Udo
Lindenberg and Nina Hagen shall support one club each by giving the profits
from one of their concerts to their specific club. And One will perform such a
show in September during their tour. The project seems to work well, but
the band don’t want to comment it until fall when most shows will take
place. The action also means to increase the understanding between kids in
the West and kids in the East and work against that the East becomes a
cultural developing country.

For “Life Isn’t Easy in Germany” there has been made a video, but slighly
delayed. That due to problems during the shooting.

Steve tells:
    - During three days we ran around in Berlin to fix a funny and good video for
our new single. I drove all kinds of vehicles. Unfortunately, the recording was
too dark and we also managed to spoil some of the film because the
camera broke. It was just to start all over again…

Thanks to supportive fans And One kept the moods high and eventually the
final video product appeared at important TV channels like MTV, were it has
been played a lot. The video was especially produced as a presentation of
the band, but of course it also works as an important promotion.

    - Good promotion is very important for a band of today, Steve says. We
have got very good back-up from Machinery Records and we are satisfied
with their work. There is no point in changing to a major label now that we
have grown, since Machinery has grown with us. To be albe to do a good
job there is a need to have a working cooperation.

The result of the stay in the Machinery studio in Berlin turned up as the
album “Spot”, which was released in the middle of May this year [1993].
Here Steve and the others have taken help from a ten-year-old girl from
Serbia, who Steve met at McDonald’s in Berlin.

    - We needed a young girl’s voice for “Hall of Souls”, and Serbia is very
actual right now, so I asked her if she wanted to contribute, Steve adds.

On “Friends of the Stars” it was originally supposed to have Steve’s
girlfriend to sing, but Jor, the producer, wasn’t completely satisfied. The
record company then contacted the singer Ofra Haza, who at the moment
visited Berlin. She was positive to contribute and spent a couple of hours in
the studio together with And One.

Which one of your songs do you like the most, personally?

    - “Consequence of Time”, Steve says without a doubt. It will probably
become our next single in a dance version. We have already remixed it to a
radio version, with also will be the music for our next video. As b-side we
want to have “Wild Pain” in a club-song remix. However, this is not finally
decided yet, since we want to hear people’s reaction upon our material,
before we decide what songs to release as single.

The record company has also mentioned “Recover You”, “Wild Pain”,
“Friend of Stars” and “Hall of Souls” as possible singles. They have thought
of a voting where interested can send their votes for which song they want to
become the next And One single. (Machinery Records, P.O. Box 11 0226,
W - 1000 Berlin 30).

The lyrics on “Spot” Steve has a lot to tell about. For example “Tanz der
Arroganz”, which they made as an attempt to end all those malicious
rumours that have been spreading like rings on water during And One’s
increasing success.

    - When we haven’t been as much in media as other larger German bands
have there for instance been rumours spreading that we are very arrogant
and don’t want to give interviews. It is typical for when a band points out a
little and don’t follow common paths, they quickly get words on them saying
they are very strange. If we want to arrogant, for instance, well, let us be!

Talking of media, Steve was voted “Germany’s sexiest teenager 1992″ in the
teenager magazine Tempo. He seems most embarrassed and doesn’t
actually want to comment it.

    - I hope that people listen to our music because they like it, not because of
what we look like!

What about the electronic scene in Germany nowadays?

    - It feels like if the state is unchanged, but there were more and better
bands before. We try to make a compromise between EBM and pop to
reach out to a wider audience and to have a style of our own. Our music is
meant for everyone, not just a small group who just listens to EBM, for
instance.

And One will come to Sweden for a tour in September. Steve tells that it will
be fun to come here, since noone in the band has been here before.

- Sweden seems to be such a nice country with nice people. Not like
Germany with giant terrible dirty cities, there is so much hate here. I would
like to live in another country, but it is a big step to take!

What do you think of the reunion of East and West Germany?

- It was about time, but is has caused some big problems to both sides that
noone really had counted for or imagined. In a few years when the worst
things have gotten into order and both sides have got used to each other we
will probably feel like one country again.

What about your fans? Are they both in East and West?

- The majority and the most devoted fans are definetly in the East, but we
sell most records in the West, since it’s there where people can afford it.
Unfortunately, the differences are giant when it comes to the economical
standard.

What will And One sound like in the future?

    - We will follow the same path, but try to avoid to repeat ourselves. It is
important for a band to have a concept which is their sign, onto which the
fans can tie the music. I am still the same composer, but I will probably
surprise myself as usual.

St.Paul, Minnesota was on the eerily quiet hangover edge left by a freak storm that had raged the night before, another one brewing on the toxic green horizon turning to dusk beyond Station 4. The club is situated a block off the riverfront, is small, but is the only place in the Twin Cities where you can really catch a Real Metal Show. Ozzfest would be held an hour away in Wisconsin the following day, and I was thankful for the opportunity to see Taiwan’s Chthonic in such an intimate setting.

I was sitting comfortably on a couch inside the band’s home away from home, my (thankfully) socked feet swinging innocently just centimeters off the floor. My shoes had joined the enormous pile by the door, in a tradition I needed no reminding of, having spent many years focusing on the Japanese music business and going in and out of several Asian households and businesses. Doris, their bassist, had peeked out at me shyly from the back room, and Jesse (guitarist) was sitting nearby talking with the band’s photographer. Freddy appeared promptly and shook my hand firmly, his charisma and warmth immediate and stunning.

“How are you?” I grinned back, scooting over a bit to give him room to get comfortable. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the documentary crew settle into a crouch and tried to pretend they didn’t exist. Did I remember to wear a bra?

“Very good in fact, but I am not getting used to the American weather too much so…its hot and just different…Taiwan is very different too but not as humid, its hard to say…the food and everything…but I am the only one that does not get used to this kind of weather and food, everyone else is fine.”

I thought about Tanpopo Noodle down the street, a popular and very authentic spot, but a rumble of distant thunder distracted me. “Did you guys survive the storm last night?”

Freddy turns to someone on his right and repeats my question in Taiwanese. ”Yes, we survived!” He chuckles. “You slept through it?” I ask. “Yeah I must have slept through it,” he replies.

“It sounds like you have been having some rough times on this tour…” I begin.

Acknowledgment flickers in Freddy’s eyes and he explains,“We have played in some very large clubs here, like House of Blues…we are playing BB Kings next week, or the week after that…but some live clubs - smaller ones - like Peabody’s (in Cleveland), is not the way I understand it to work. There was only one staff. He had to do everything, and even everybody noticed that there was no sound from the violin, nobody can hear the violin! He didn’t do anything for it. So after like, three songs, I was just pissed off and I just stopped playing and I asked everyone to stop and to see what he is going to do to solve the problem. In the beginning he told us it’s our problem because the violin is quite different and a very modern instrument (ironically). In my thought, it was something about the pickup or something, but when I stopped the show he came on the stage and found out its something wrong with the cable and solved the problem. We were so close to canceling the show on September 9th because its in the same venue, and after the show the other day we just said ‘no more show in this venue!’ But we told ourselves…the fans that wear our shirts and attended the show, we have to try to make the next show work much better.”

“And those will be more off-dates from Ozzfest with Nile?” I wondered.

“From August 5th, we play every day to the end of the month, so its like 25 shows, so no off days during this 25 days,” Freddy replied. My eyebrows shot up.

“That’s crazy!”

“I know, it’s brutal,” he agreed. “But after that, in September, there is 2 -3 shows and a day off, so September will be quite good for us, and also there are many full set shows in September, some of the shows we are the headliner like the one in Peabody’s, so it will be very exciting… it will be longer, we will have more rest.”

Being only the second time Chthonic had ventured into the US, I wanted to understand how they became part of the current tour. I decided to get to the point quickly. “How did you guys get the gig with Ozzfest?”

“Our manager…well I should say ExManager,” Freddy coughs ”..he worked with Ozzy’s team. I think he was the booking agent or in the production team, I cant quite remember. So in March or February we just came to Sharon with some of our materials and talked with her and it seemed like, especially Sharon, she likes our DVD quite a lot and I knew there was a lot of competitors, because everyone wants to play in Ozzfest, of course, “he laughs.

“Yeah it’s a big deal over here.” I nod.

Freddy continues,”Yeah! So Sharon…we kept on sending things to her. She had to confirm that we are serious about that (being on the tour) because there are a lot of bands from overseas that want to play, but they are not so serious about the American market, so it is not good to have those kinds of bands to play in your shows, so she just wanted to confirm that we are serious. So we kept on sending her things and after that she said everything is cool and we got on the list!”

Although Chthonic have been around since 1995 and been on tour in the U.S. before, they only now have begun to muster recognition that could be compared to other Asian metal bands in the U.S. such as Dir en Grey. “Have you found it fairly easy as an Asian band to break into the U.S. Market? Do you feel the reception is good?”

“Yes the reception is very good,” Freddy begins, but then frowns,”but I don’t think its easy because, you know, from the beginning the initial cost of us are expensive compared to a local (American) band. We have to ship lots of stuff from Taiwan to the U.S., it costs thousands of dollars, and then we order airfares for the 11-12 people from Taiwan to here that includes the crew and staff and like, photographers, so it takes a lot more than a local band here. So, it’s not that easy. “Freddy shifts to lean forward a bit and then continues. ”We had to raise some money in Taiwan and then come here, and the label…they have to be strong, they have to have confidence. Right now, we are with SPV for our catalog…they have to have some confidence in us to spend more than others. So its not that easy,” he reminds me,” but about the music, yes, I have found that all the fans accept us quite easily. I think we have some exotic elements, we have some different instruments, and we arrange the music in different ways, so if we are talking about the music, we have enjoyed the shows very much and the fans enjoy the shows very much too.

“Before we came here, we saw lots of video clips on YouTube and found the American fans are not like the Asian fans …the fans there, they even listen to some bands they don’t like or they found out they don’t like the music (during a live), they will still stay there to the end and be polite - after the show even if they don’t like it. They won’t try to interrupt the show or something like that, but if you check on YouTube you will find lots of shows that the (American) crowds… they just throw something on the stage or they just leave the stage if they don’t like your music. So before we came to the U.S. we discussed a lot about this kind of situation, and if this situation happens, what we should do. We should keep our confidence, and continue playing and try. But nothing happens!” he giggles.

“Yeah I have heard nothing but people saying you are the best thing at Ozzfest.” I laugh.

“Haha yeah, and we are very happy about that!” Freddy grins, clearly satisfied.

Ozzfest is not the only thing on Chthonic’s daunting schedule this year. The band has played side shows with Nile, scheduled shows with Katatonia, Obituary, and Cradle of Filth, and in an amazing feat of dedication, even appeared in Germany for Wacken Open Air 2007 when they should have been sleeping.

“So how was it going all the way to Wacken and then have to come all the way back?” My telltale grin gave away the fact that I already knew half the story, but I wanted to hear Freddy tell it.

“You know, when we decided to still do Wacken, our managers and the other bands in Ozzfest all felt like we were crazy. And Lordi, they cancelled their Wacken show and our Exmanager, he was trying so hard to convince me to cancel Wacken because ‘its not gonna be possible to do that’ and blah blah blah,” I felt I had an idea about why the man was being called ex-manager at this point, and decided not to ask.

“There is a very important value in Asia, especially in Pacific Asia -Taiwan, Japan, Korea - to keep your commitment, because like…Wacken, they confirmed with me before Ozzfest, and the promoter even said ‘You can choose any slot you want, you can choose the best prime time’. They respect us very much; they appreciate our music very much, so we can’t cancel on them. We have to go, even if it’s a brutal journey, like out from America - have to come back within 55 hours just for a 40 minute show, nobody else will do that. We had to do that, because if we cancel the show, we would not feel right about that. There are lots of fans that went to our MySpace saying that we are the reason they are going to Wacken, so we had to be there. “

“But, in Frankfurt, the airport, they left all of our instruments in the (previous) airport, and then when we arrived at Wacken and didn’t have our instruments, we were so close to canceling. We told our promoter, we cannot make it without our costumes, our makeup, without the instruments, the VIOLIN, without the backline, we can do nothing like that…we can just enjoy the festival and other artists. The promoter tried to reschedule for us while we waited for all the packages to come in 5 hours, so we played later, but still only the costumes came but no instruments. So our violinist, he played another keyboard. We found out that there were some fans waiting in front of the stage and we discussed again and again, to see should we go out on stage. Now the promoter had provided a guitar, a bass, even if it was just for (practice). We still went on the stage; the fans enjoyed it very much. But the members…even now, I cannot remember any good feelings on the stage.” Freddy shakes his head and gives CJ (keyboardist), who has just wandered in to curiously eavesdrop on our conversation, a knowing look.

“You’re always going to be your worst critic.”

“Yeah…terrible. Just terrible “ He turns to CJ, now making himself a snack on their tiny stove, and asks him what he felt. “Oh yeah, he is talking about the same thing, he says the fans are just crazy.“ CJ says a bit more. “Yeah yeah,” Freddy translates, turning to face me once again,” we don’t like the feeling on the stage, we didn’t play anything of our own, everything just was not right, but we hope to go back to Wacken next year.”

There is no doubt Chthonic will be welcomed back to Wacken in 2008, but before then they will travel through Europe in from November 30th through December on stops in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, and several more with Ensiferum. With such a long time away from home, I began to wonder if Freddy was feeling homesick.

“Do you feel you are getting your message across about Taiwan?” I asked, knowing this was a subject Freddy was ultimately passionate about. His small frame straightened up immediately, and a familiar gleam lit his eyes.

“Yeah! There are many fans, more than I expected, sending email or messages on MySpace saying that they support Taiwan, asking how they would do it. There was a high school girl wondering what she can do…she said the only thing she can do now is write about Taiwan in her Social Justice action lesson and to let more classmates know about it, and I said ‘that’s very good idea to do that’ because who knows what kind of person you will become, right now you are just a student or you are just a very young girl or guy, you can still do lots of things. Just spread messages - that’s a very easy message. Right now if you go on the U.N. Website, the slogan of the U.N. is ‘U.N: It’s your world.’ So we deserve to have the same right as the citizens of the U.S. or of Japan or Korea and countries all over the world. It says ‘Its your world’… they can’t just avoid a specific country to join, its not right. We are not asking too much, we are just asking the same thing as everyone else. So it’s a very easy message to send and right now I feel very good about everyone’s responses to that. “ Freddy’s youthful conviction and strong belief in a political body such as the U.N. gave me mixed feelings when I initially read through several of his past interviews. The U.N. is not something that has served my country well over the years, and it is always a risk to trust any organization, but as Freddy went on I realized that he understood something very poignant and important about music. It is a universal language that does more than help us feel or express ourselves. I attempted to draw Freddy into that point a little deeper, “Are there other bands in Taiwan you feel should have the same recognition as you?” but he wasn’t finished with me yet.

“Yeah, most of the bands there, most of the citizens there should have the same recognition. Outside of Taiwan, people think we are seeking the independence of Taiwan, but that’s not right, we already are independent. We pay taxes to our own government, they don’t go to China. We have our own army and we vote for our own government and President. If you want to come to Taiwan, you have to apply for a visa from our government, not China. So we are as independent as Japan or Korea, but we have a bad neighbor. He always stops us from joining the international community. That’s the problem. We are independent, but there is this bad guy standing in front of us talking to all the other countries saying ‘don’t share with him, don’t be friends with him, don’t listen to him, he’s married to me’” we both laugh, and Freddy concludes, “So, we are not asking for independence, we are independent. We are asking to be a normal member in this international society just like all the other countries.”

Chthonic have certainly been accepted as a normal member of the musical community in the U.S. and Europe, and went on to play an excellent show that night opening for Nile, full of the urgency and perfection I had heard of from so many fans. I can only hope that this translates into the rich cultural lesson Chthonic brings to this side of the Pacific. The band’s current full-length, Seediq Bale, is available through Amazon and stops along the tour. To find out more, visit them on MySpace.

When I heard Abigor would be releasing a new album, my first thought was, ‘what the fuck, I thought they broke up?’ but somehow their myspace page was still being updated in spite of their rumored fatal permanence.Instead, Kubik and Tannenberger (TT) decided to join forces again after TT had his brief freak out in 2002. I hoped for a return to the old sound;Abigor has spent nearly 15 years sporadically desecrating the black metal scene with their unique eccentricity. I personally lost interest after former member Tharen (Dargaard, Dominion III, Amestigon) left the band prior to their ‘99 release “Channeling The Quintessence Of Satan”, for good reason since the album title is trite and the music left a bit to be desired after the purely classic nature of “Supreme Immoral Art”.
In contrast, Fractal Possession opens with an oddly industrial sound that is quickly shattered by (poorly mastered)artillery percussion and an insane tribute to Mattias IA Eklundh on guitars. Project Shadow isn’t a total failure though…it actually evolves into a fairly good song with interesting composition and more progressive vocals. Cold Void Choir reminds me more of this band’s musical roots, but Track 4 is really what brings a tear to my eye about this album. Not only is Lairf Of Infinite Deparation the most hilarious song title I have ever seen on a Black Metal album, but it took me two tries to realize its actually Lair of Infinite Desperation. There is nothing funny about the song though…it is a wicked assault of drums and bass with commendable guitar melodies flittering over the top. Like flies on a corpse more than fairies on a moor, but the song is entertaining to behold regardless. I don’t even know what to say about 3d Blasphemy, so I won’t try. Its fucking abstract, period.
The Fire Syndrome will give you nightmares of being tied to the front of a venetian gondola driven by a rotting dog. Injection Satan is background noise for the most part, but Abigor made a smart move by putting Libery Rises A Diagonal Flame after it, because its the best track on the album. This song shows a true desire for a more progressive sound, and is superbly designed. Layer upon layer of chaos, melody, and screams spiral upward and upward only to fade abruptly. Vapourized tears begins as typical genre fodder but later transitions into a dark and twisted picassoine interlude. Heaven Unveiled follows the same pattern, and ties off the main vein of the album suitably with a creepy acoustic outro.

So what is my overall take on this release? Absolutely grab it if you are a long time follower of Abigor, or have a quirky passion for the truly horrible underbelly of underground Black Metal. Sense of humor required.

Some sources claim the loss of Messiah as a big deal, however Candlemass has operated as a revolving door for several musicians in the nearly 20 years since Marcolin delivered his debut serenade to the masses on Nightfall in 1987. Despite this, the band stayed true to its sound, yielding 10 releases over 17 years, continuing to put on remarkable live shows and stealing the thunder of bands nearly half their age (Swedish Grammy awarded in 2006 against modern powerhouses Meshuggah, and contingent Hammerfall and Opeth). With the addition of Rob Lowe (Solitude Aeturnus), Messiah’s requiem is thoroughly drowned out by brilliantly structured bass composition and riff after riff of anguishing guitars supporting Lowe’s flawless operatic.

While the main buzz around this release is sure to be the vocals wherever you go, I will simply wrap up the subject now by saying Rob Lowe (along with a really solid pair of Senheissers), has made me a fan of Candlemass where they have failed to really impress me before.

King of the Grey Islands marks another progression in their legacy, and is a nice follow-up to the self-titled reunion album released in 2005. There is a measure of renewed youth the band exudes in some of the unconventional mixtures of archaic rhythms and old-school solos against a backdrop of modern doom. While Candlemass follows the same formula of old, I doubt fans would want anything else, and it is transfused so professionally on this record it’s impossible to be disappointed.

The album opens with a portentous instrumental, conjuring up a bleak landscape full of dark fluttering things and swirling clouds on the horizon. After 56 sinister seconds your ears are immediately assaulted with the driving riff of Emperor of the Void. Devil Seed, in turn, reaches backwards to touch on the roots of what Candlemass is all about…that timeless Black Sabbathesque lullaby. Of Stars and Smoke is more of the same, with an anthemic aria churning over a sweetly plucked solo. Demonia 6 and Destroyer up the amplitude via skull shaking drums, and are an appropriate build up to Man of Shadows, which is hands-down the most glorious and accomplished track on this release. Here they take every possible angle to fashion the perfect metal song, melding layers of molten bass with silky throwback caravan instrumentals, woven throughout with soaring solos and articulated vocal embroidery.

On the surface the music may portray fantastical environments and mythical encounters, but as Edling explains,” The album is a concept story about depression and suicide in the modern society…the road to ruin for ‘many kings of grey islands’ that can’t stand the everyday life, and want to do something about it. No need to say this is Candlemass` black album!!”

The last three tracks wind down the journey, the Opal city an appropriate soundtrack to the fictional demise you are about to encounter. Embracing the Styx wraps it up nicely, although this track is the weakest in its originality, lending too much to established metal cliché riffs in the melody. Don’t worry though, it leaves you with a sweet good night in the last minute and a half.

There are several deviations from conventional Candlemass on the album that lend to more experimental sounds that may affront you as a veteran fan, but as not, even I can testify to this being a worthy listen, not just a casual one. All in all, Leif Edling sacrifices nothing with ‘King of Grey Islands’, and promises to bear the flag of Doom until he dies. Let us pray this lineup holds on for a new era of soul ripping metal from this cannonized pioneer of the genre.

It can also be said that American record labels couldn’t market a dixie cup to a dehydrated camel.

I have had this opinion for a number of years while doing promo work for japanese bands. It first occurred to me when began wondering why japan doesn’t have (or doesn’t complain as much about) the problem with music piracy affecting their market share. Is it the size of the market? No. The number of music consumers in Japan is rather competative to the UK or Canadian market, for instance. So what keeps japanese kids buying CDs? Part of it is a leap on digital distribution. The next is the culture and self discipline of the consumers there…they just don’t necessarily differentiate downloading an mp3 and buying a CD…they do both. For a highly materialistic and grossly successful capitalist society, Japan’s music industry somehow comes up even with its supporters. Thats not to say they don’t have other problems, but that can be left for another post.

In the end its image. The typical consumer cares about the music, sure, but what percentage of them are hardcore connoisseurs? They want STUFF, something to touch, tangible objective appreciation. Something to signify their taste, to set their trend, to show them how to pose and how to dress and how to sing along, who to fall in love with now…how can that be done without the PACKAGING?

Japan is superior when it comes to packaging, with Korea only just behind. An artist will release a mega single bubble-wrapped in hype and promotional spleandor, it will come with an 8 page booklet and a trinket or poster, or a chance to get exclisive seats at the bands first concert or TV appearance. The full album will be preceeded by billboards and magazine ads, TV commercials and sidewalk posters. Kids will be handing out stickers in Shinjuku and when the CD comes out it takes you a week to fully discover everything that was included in the multi-layered rubix cube of a package it came in. While this method is a perfect marketing vehicle, allowing the money to flow in, it also allows these artists and labels to output more, and the result is that the fans win big. Perhaps this is successful because of a unified economy, centralized media and lack of cutthroat competition and dissent among broadcasting companies and media sources.

So who do you really blame for the chaotic music market in the US? The size of the country? Lack of broadcast participation? Artists who don’t want to cater that closely to their fans or don’t know how? Labels who lack imagination and passion for the music they release?

Its hard to say, I only know that if we want it to get better, we have to support the artists here trying to do something different and change the current.

And then is given the answer.

To: All employees
Fr: {name censored to protect the stupid}, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer
Re: Feel the Brand on Feb. 1

I invite you to mark your calendar for Tues., Feb. 1, when your senses will begin to Feel the Brand from the moment you get into work with sights, sounds and tastes that showcase what our brand is all about.

You’ll see:
How we’re Feeling the Brand through many brand elements — including a new brand architecture and logo system, a new look and feel for client and prospect materials and recently released new retirement ads.

At noon in {cafeteria} during our special lunchtime event, you’ll hear:
From {CEO} and me about how we are positioning ourselves to serve the retirement needs of the mass affluent market through various brand elements.
Live music in a 20-minute concert exclusively for employees by local great a cappella quartet Tonic Sol-Fa, whom the New York Times describes as “a vocal kaleidoscope of sound…unique to the human voice.”
You may even hear your name called out as a winner of a “feel good” prize like an iPod mini or Juut Salonspa certificate.

Play this flash file to get a taste of what Feb. 1 holds and stay tuned for more — you won’t want to miss it!