Christians could learn a lot about life from heavy metal, says cleric

Here is a really neat article about female Anglican priest, who, according to the article, is also a heavy metal musician.

The article is here, and I originally found it on Blabbermouth.

Horns up, Rev. Rachel Mann!

Metal Rant: Tarja's What Lies Beneath Marketing Issues

With Tarja's new album just on the horizon, I have decided to do a new series entitled "Metal Rant", where I (and Canuckfan) rant about various things in the world of metal that really piss us off or give us a hard time! While Tarja may have good intentions on releasing her new album, there are some things that I just do not get! So sit back and enjoy my first entry!

Okay, for some who are not aware, Tarja is going to release multiple versions of her album to different markets and in different parts of the world. The song "I Feel Immortal", which is her "International" song, is one of my biggest complaints. From what I heard, this song is not going to be released on the North American version of her new album. Why is that? Why make a music video of a song that you are not going to include on your release for the North American version, especially when pretty much every North American like me or Canuckfan have heard it (Internet anyone?)? Why make us suffer? Why not make every international release the same with every track on it? I think this may have been strictly a record label deal, but nonetheless, it is a very bad marketing scheme since people in North America are expecting that song to be on the album they will pay good money for! What a shame!

The other problem with What Lies Beneath is the different album art for each release. Here they are as follows:


Standard (or European) Edition:















Special (or North American) Edition:
















The Non-Deluxe Edition (no 2nd disk):














The Falling Awake" single cover (This is my favorite one):













Okay, so why must there be different album covers for this release? Why not just have the same art like a normal album would? I don't know! I know I am nitpicking a little, but this is a bit ridiculous if you ask me! The label should have just stuck with one picture.

So yeah, I will be reviewing the new album once in comes out, so stay tuned for that as well as my review of Nightwish's From Wishes To Eternity DVD review! I just had to get this little rant off of my shoulder!

Ben Moody Speaks Out

Here is something very interesting: Ben Moody speaks out about his split with Evanescence & the resulting dramas.

Perhaps we could apply his points to another well-known, devisive split in the metal world? Hm?

4000

We just reached 4000 visits! Thanks everyone for coming here & reading - Eric & I really appreciate it! We do this blog solely for fun and when we have the time & inclination, and we love to see all the visitors appearing on our sidebar widget with all the cool flags (it's been very educational for me, actually! I now know what the flag of Aruba looks like!). Don't be strangers! Comment! We don't bite!

Another Crimfall Update...

Here is part two of Crimfall's studio diary, released on August 13.



Many more clips of the upcoming tunes, and the more I hear, the more excited I get!

On another note, Within Temptation's new album will be out in early 2011, according to their web site. I will cross that off my list for 2010 and put it on a 2011 list, if I get around to making one!

Tarja's Latest Video

Well, this woman certainly has been incredibly busy! I saw on Blabbermouth just now that Tarja has a new video for "Until My Last Breath."

I'm a little confused about all these singles, though. Lots of releases, but I'm not sure what's being released where & when. Not that it matters to me at all; it just seems that there's an awful lot of activity going on around this album before its release. I see that this song is indeed included on the US version of the CD that I have pre-ordered, thank God.

Enjoy!



I really like the look of this video, and I love her outfits here, too, especially the white one.

Edit @ 12:29pm: Apparently, this is where the diving footage came from.

Edit @ 1:16pm, Aug. 24: It pays to have friends who are on the ball! My friend Lizzie from MFF sent me a link to Tarja's site that explains this video a little further. Here is a quote from Tarja herself about UMLB's vid, found here:

Since we decided to shoot the video for I Feel Immortal in Iceland, we agreed to make a video for this one too, since the country and it’s landscapes were so inspiring. I am a scuba diver and I love the underwater world, so the story for the video is very connected with me. The director Jörn Heidmann found amazing free diver footage from Guillaume Nery at Dean's Blue Hole, near Bahamas.
It seemed a good idea to have a similar video for Until My Last Breath and for I Feel Immortal as both songs are supposed to be released simultaneously in different territories.
There is another video on the planning for UMLB that will be broadcasted later on when the song will be released as a single in GAS.

So, this explains the diving footage. But one question remains: what is "GAS?" If anyone knows, leave a comment!

Amberian Dawn Update!

Amberian Dawn is another of my fave Finnish metal bands and their upcoming album is on my list of albums I'm really looking forward to in 2010. Well, the wait now has a definitive end!

The new album, End of Eden, is to be realeased in Europe on October 20th. The band is streaming it's first single from the album, "Arctica" on it's MySpace page, and you can listen to that here. You can read more about the CD, including a track listing, here at the band's site.

Totally loving this cover art!

I just hope I don't have to wait for freaking ever for this CD to become available in Canada!

Almora Review x2 (Sort Of!)

When I first stumbled upon Almora last year, I was blown away. I honestly thought it was one of the best musical discoveries I'd made since Nightwish. Combining romantic and fantasy themes with rich classical vocals, classical instruments like the flute and violin, and some Turkish folk elements with wicked melodies made for a powerful mixture. Composer Soner Canozer, like Tuomas Holopainen, knows his shit, even though he lacks the epicness Holopainen produced in songs like "Ghost Love Score"; almost all of Soner's songs are under six minutes long and have fairly simple constructions. But I think the simplicity of the music is its strength. The songs are just so damned pretty and well-executed, and in this case the "more is less" philosophy serves Almora well.

The jewel in Soner's crown, in my opinion, is Kıyamet Senfonisi, sometimes in English translated into Judgement Symphony. I love pretty much everything about this album, even though I don't speak a word of Turkish (this is Almora's only Turkish-language album; previously there have been just a mere scattering of Turkish-language songs on their other CDs). This is a case where the language of the music itself transcends language barriers. I didn't care that I couldn't understand the lyrics; I was just transported by the music, and I loved that feeling.

After looking for this CD in Canada for almost a year now, I finally found it on an American site for a decent price. Amazon.ca doesn't keep Judgement Symphony in stock and will special order it for you at the special price of nearly $40. That is absurd. The site I used, The End Records, sold it for $12 - and it was in stock. Luckily, I had a birthday recently, so I splurged (I also pre-ordered Tarja's new CD from this site, incidentally, as at the time it wasn't available on Amazon.ca).

When I finally got the CD in the mail, I was pretty stoked. Even though I don't understand Turkish, however, I was able to glean a few things from the CD's insert. For one thing, the singer of my favourite song on the album, "Tılsım", is Bilge Kocaarslan, Almora's flutist and long time backing singer. I was surprised because I always remember her as a blonde bombshell with more of a backseat role, but in the video she looks like a completely different person! It made sense, though; the vocal style of the song is not classical and differs from the rest of the songs on the release.

Speaking of the rest of the songs, I also discovered from the CD booklet that Almora went through another vocal change. Gone is Nihan Tahtaişleyen, who also used to play violin. Previous to her departure, lead vocalist Ahmet Söğütlüoğlu left the band in 2005, according to Wikipedia (where I got that piece of info; it's hard to find facts on Almora in English!). According to the CD booklet, the vocalist in Judgement Symphony is Duygu Şahin, and she's really good. I don't know if she's a permanent fixture with the band, but I certainly hope so.

Which brings me to the second part of this post: Soner's solo album with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, Masalcı'nın On Beş Yılı. I have no idea what this translates into, but this CD is essentially Soner's celebration of 15 years in the music business, and the 10 tracks are remakes of Almora songs completely unplugged and performed 100% with a full orchestra. I got this from the same place as Judgement Symphony and for a similar price! It doesn't even make an appearance anywhere on Amazon.ca, so I felt really lucky to get a copy at all.

There are a few interesting guest vocalists here, including Doro Pesch, who guests on a remake of "Princess of Rain" from Kalihora's Song. I really love this CD; it's relaxing, it's beautiful, but it has one weakness: that remake of "Princess of Rain". Even though it features Doro, it's much more boring than the original. The highlight for me was the revisioning of "Candle in the Night"; this is from Almora's debut, The Gates of Time. The original singer was Almora's original vocalist, Ahmet Söğütlüoğlu. I found her voice quite sharp, but this newer version has a much softer-toned classical vocalist named Umut Akyurek, and she sounds lovely. Another song I have always loved is "Kaf Daðýnýn Ardýnda" which I always thought very beautiful, and the version on Soner's solo album is also a treat to listen to.

So there you have it; horns up to both these releases! \m/

I really encourage you all to give Almora a try; they are unique in the metal scene, in my opinion, and I think they need way more attention because they are such a talented group!

Interesting Article!

James brought this article to my attention, and I have to say, I was quite impressed with it, and I felt quite validated by it. Check it out!

Scientific study shows that intelligent kids listen to heavy metal!

This article really speaks to me, especially about metal being a stress reliever, the catharsis of listening to metal, and the feelings of alienation being represented in the music. Definitely worth a read!

Crimfall Update

A bit behind the ball here, as this was posted on Crimfall's site early last month, but I just found it.

In addition to Tarja's new album, one of the upcoming releases I'm most excited about is Crimfall's new CD. I fucking love this band, and judging from this video update, which features some clips of the new music, I don't think I'll be disappointed! Can't wait!

Tarja's "I Feel Immortal"

Here it is!

Love it!



I'm so excited about this album I can barely contain myself! I pre-ordered it from an outfit in the States last week because Amazon.ca didn't offer it at the time, but I see in the last few days they have gotten their act together and finally are offering it for pre-order. Fellow Canadian Tarja fans can do this here. I still got it for cheaper at the US site: $15.99 plus $4 for shipping, and the dollar is excellent right now so I won't pay too much more in exchange, and I also won't have to pay our new HST (harmonized sales tax), which is always a good thing. Anyway, I am stoked!!

Edit: OMFG! I have just discovered that "I Feel Immortal" is not included on the North American release! WTF?????

Linkin Park's "The Catalyst"

LP's new single, "The Catalyst", is now streaming on the band's MySpace page, here. There are a bunch of other versions of this song where the band has allowed fans to collaborate online with them.

All I can say about this song is...Hmmmmmmmm....As for the alternative versions, all I can say is...no comment.

Liv Kristine's "Skintight"

OK..............

Interesting................



People who read this blog should know what a huge fan I am of Liv, however, I am not sure how I feel about this video. I was totally expecting a pop album, because her solo stuff is pop for sure, and as far as pop goes, I'd much rather support Liv and listen to her than any other pop idiot out there (you know...Rhianna, Britney, Beyonce, and basically most American female - and for that matter, male - pop singers/acts) but I guess this video is a bit, I don't know..."fashionista" for me. Don't get me wrong, the woman is ridiculously gorgeous! But the purple outfit, for one thing, kind of disturbs me because it looks like she's wearing granny undies! Anyway, I am very interested in listening to the album, which comes out in Canada September 14.

Sabaton's Uprising

Here it is! I love it!


Sabaton - Uprising (2010)

Sabaton | MySpace Music Videos