How fitting, the darkest time of the year, yet one of the most festive, let's bring on the black metal!
1) Venom - Welcome to Hell (1981) - can definitely see, given the year (1981), of Motorhead's influence, mix of punk and rock, yet adding this satanic imagery, taking the "dark" gimmick to its most extreme, so here comes a dividing line (in terms of performer): was it only a gimmick? to be used as imagery from which to work with certain issues? or was it an extension of belief, are the people i'm listening to really believers in satanism? LaVey brand? is it so important that they be believers? what is the use of authenticity if we have the so-called "suspension of belief" necessary for fantasy/science fiction? whats the difference, if the stage/recording sets us apart as consumers, for the takers it is up to them to decide what is important to them, if and how they will understand what is being performed...
"In League With Satan" great song!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Halloween Music 2011: Goth
Explored the realm of Goth music this month, this month of Halloween, the decaying nougat of scary sentiment pouring out your eyeballs in an ecstasy of ne'er-do-wellin' goodness, or badness, or chaotic black hole in hearts smashed into strandy bits left in the mouths of wolves full of bloody cherokee tampon heads...anyways, there was none of this sap, as i have a strict aversion to such things, the over-heightened drama of what goth has become, yet drama has always played a part in it has it not? the idea of "gothic", perhaps but not so in the victorian sense, that verge of change, that intermediary between two worlds smashing, colliding, pummeling (great word)...dracula, frankenstein, the classics, right? goth. what is it, really? gothic architecture of the 14th century, what makes it so, goth? as before mentioned, could it be that meshing of difference, and the struggle to adapt? old and new?
Then how has the sense of "darkness" come to play an integral, if not stereotypical, role in such discussion? these be my own musings of the subject, (have no research done) there could be the idea that darkness prevails in times of change, in times of struggle, the conflict brings about the dark, that surely is where struggle takes place, our first struggle in the darkness of the womb? our refreshing capture of the light seems to take us, entranced, into the realms of completion, of arrival, the transformation is complete here in the light, could it be otherwise? the gothic, the transferal, transitive exploration of struggle, for is it not in the forest out on the rim where our mysteries dwell? the unknown? the dark? tis where our unconscious is brewing, tis where it works, out in those hidden woods...
Here are the musics i checked out:
1) Xmal Deutschland - Fetisch (1981) und 3 EP's: GroBstadtindianer, Incubus Succubus, Sickle Moon great band, Fetisch and the first two EPs are golden, full of gothic/horror imagery, lo-fi production and a lot of imagination...memorable hooks as well as in "Incubus Succubus" and "Orient", need brush up on me German but really not necessary to enjoy their soundscapes...sadly, like so many, through the years they became more and more polished, more mainstream, and regrettably just awful, i mean by the third album the vocals are in English, as in, "we want commercial success! please love us america!" talent and ingenuity gave way to access, no good. Sickle Moon EP starts in this direction as well...at least we still can appreciate their real work: the early years!
2) And Also The Trees - And Also The Trees (1984) intense vocals, impish guitar, nice early goth!
3) UK Decay - 1979 to 1982 Singles (a fan compilation?) started out: delicious UK punk, soon morphing to the goth sound, perhaps could always be known as proto-goth?
4) Danse Society - Heaven Is Waiting (1984) and 3 EPs: There Is No Shame In Death, Wake Up, and We're So Happy great archetypal early goth sound from the UK, great EPs, the album not so much, tends to become lifeless and bland for a whole listen, you could get just as much out of the EPs and two songs from the album, "Come Inside" and "Wake Up", both are enough to satisfy your gothic black heart's desire!
5) Bauhaus - In The Flat Field (1980) too bad i missed the live show! great stuff, namely "Dark Entries" and "Double Dare"
6) The Cure - Pornography (1984) and whats a gothic review study without a little Cure, huh? heard this one before, threw it in the pot for thickness, this album to me (and as i found out part of a gothic trilogy of albums, the point when the cure found their niche, their classic goth sound) is a little raunchy for the cure, and helped to define their moody, dark sound
Then how has the sense of "darkness" come to play an integral, if not stereotypical, role in such discussion? these be my own musings of the subject, (have no research done) there could be the idea that darkness prevails in times of change, in times of struggle, the conflict brings about the dark, that surely is where struggle takes place, our first struggle in the darkness of the womb? our refreshing capture of the light seems to take us, entranced, into the realms of completion, of arrival, the transformation is complete here in the light, could it be otherwise? the gothic, the transferal, transitive exploration of struggle, for is it not in the forest out on the rim where our mysteries dwell? the unknown? the dark? tis where our unconscious is brewing, tis where it works, out in those hidden woods...
Here are the musics i checked out:
1) Xmal Deutschland - Fetisch (1981) und 3 EP's: GroBstadtindianer, Incubus Succubus, Sickle Moon great band, Fetisch and the first two EPs are golden, full of gothic/horror imagery, lo-fi production and a lot of imagination...memorable hooks as well as in "Incubus Succubus" and "Orient", need brush up on me German but really not necessary to enjoy their soundscapes...sadly, like so many, through the years they became more and more polished, more mainstream, and regrettably just awful, i mean by the third album the vocals are in English, as in, "we want commercial success! please love us america!" talent and ingenuity gave way to access, no good. Sickle Moon EP starts in this direction as well...at least we still can appreciate their real work: the early years!
2) And Also The Trees - And Also The Trees (1984) intense vocals, impish guitar, nice early goth!
3) UK Decay - 1979 to 1982 Singles (a fan compilation?) started out: delicious UK punk, soon morphing to the goth sound, perhaps could always be known as proto-goth?
4) Danse Society - Heaven Is Waiting (1984) and 3 EPs: There Is No Shame In Death, Wake Up, and We're So Happy great archetypal early goth sound from the UK, great EPs, the album not so much, tends to become lifeless and bland for a whole listen, you could get just as much out of the EPs and two songs from the album, "Come Inside" and "Wake Up", both are enough to satisfy your gothic black heart's desire!
5) Bauhaus - In The Flat Field (1980) too bad i missed the live show! great stuff, namely "Dark Entries" and "Double Dare"
6) The Cure - Pornography (1984) and whats a gothic review study without a little Cure, huh? heard this one before, threw it in the pot for thickness, this album to me (and as i found out part of a gothic trilogy of albums, the point when the cure found their niche, their classic goth sound) is a little raunchy for the cure, and helped to define their moody, dark sound
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)