Concert News: ChthoniC 閃靈 To Perform In Singapore This August

Taiwanese Symphonic Black metal band, ChthoniC 閃靈, is coming to Singapore this August to bring their unholy brand of political desecration to Republic Polytechnic!

Exact ticket prices are not known yet, but have been estimated to be around S$50+. For those new to Singapore, or who are hardcore ChthoniC 閃靈 fans who will be coming all the way to Singapore this August for the band's virgin performance here, the address to Republic Polytechnic is as follows: 9 Woodlands Ave 9, Singapore 738964

If you do not drive a car, are tight on cash for cabbing, or do not have anyone to drive you there, click here for routes to the venue utilizing public transport.

Tour shirts are most probably going to be available, going for maybe S$30+ for each. There will be no meet-and-greet session with fans before the concert day itself, but fans can hijack the band after their concert is over (which can be late though, because the standard time length of concerts are ~ 1 hour +, without factoring in possible technical problems beforehand and the band's post-performance fatigue).

Be wary of suffocating clouds of cigarette smoke, jostling crowds of metalheads, and pickpockets though. Everyone who waits for the band members after their concert all probably want a photograph/autograph just as much as you do.

This post will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.

UPDATE (02/06/2010): The concert will be held on 14th August, 2010. Venue will be a lecture hall in Republic Polytechnic, estimated to be around 400 tickets available for sale. Exact ticket prices not known yet, stay tuned for further updates!

UPDATE (10/06/2010): Pre-sale price for the concert tickets will be at S$55, and can be bought at 2nd-hand CD shop, Inokii: #03-30, Far East Plaza. Pre-sale will last for roughly 1 month starting from today, and door price will be at S$70, so for interested people, better get your tickets quickly. Meet-and-greet session with fans after the concert have not been confirmed yet, but hopefully there is one, I want a picture with Doris Yeh!! xP

UPDATE (21/06/2010): I just bought my ticket (and am the 27th person in Singapore to do so). The band picture printed on the ticket is the same as the one featured prominently on their MySpace page and my review of "Mirror Of Retribution", but the band logo is red in colour instead of white. It also says ChthoniC are on their Mirrror Of Retribution tour, yep, there is a typo on the ticket. Can't wait for 14th August. \m/,

UPDATE (06/08/2010): Finally, it is 1 week and 1 day more to the concert! Tickets have been completely sold out on Inokii's side by now, so for those who have yet to buy the tix, try out Hell's Labyrinth at Peninsula Plaza... or just wait until next time. :P

Song Of The Week: Man Must Die - Gainsayer

GAINSAYERRRRR!!
Ignore the truth, inhale the lies. [2x]

Double standards in the values they preach.
Hail Mary and all your sins forgiven.
Segregation in the name of peace.
Keep them down, keep them scared.
Controlled.
Outdated is every fucking part of your ideology.
I'm sick and tired of people dying in the name of peace.
No peace!
Brainwashed under their control.
Denounce all that you think you know.
I've stood on the brink.
I've watched the world tear itself apart.
Conditioned not to think.
A meat puppet deceived from the start.

Our fear is their weapon.
Forever destined to crawl.
I'm going to fight, I'm going to win.
My life is mine.
And I will retake it by force! [2x]

I've stood on the brink.
I've watched the world tear itself apart.
Conditioned not to think.
A meat puppet deceived from the start.

Your words aren't worth the fuckin' paper they're printed on.
A work of fiction bastardised through misinterpretation and delusion,
You expect me to believe that your god loves everyone equally,
Yet you wage war on anyone who opposes his will?

FUCK YOU!!! [2x]

My mind's made up, I've had enough!

FUCK YOU!!!

*Guitar Solo*

GAINSAYERRRRR!!
Ignore the truth, inhale the lies. [2x]
Double standards in the values they preach.
Hail Mary and all your sins forgiven.
Segregation in the name of peace.
Keep them down, keep them scared.
Controlled.
Outdated is every fucking part of your ideology.
I'm sick and tired of people dying in the name of peace.

THERE IS. NO. PEACE!!!

Our fear is their weapon.
Forever destined to crawl.
I'm going to fight, I'm going to win.
My life is mine.
And I will retake it by force! [2x]


Deathcore bands can be some of the sickest bands around on the underground metal scene. All the brutal guitar shredding and breakdowns, blood-curdling death growls, overpowering double bass drumming, misanthropia, and morbid artwork just spell out loud the word S-I-C-K.

I have got to say, in terms of misanthropia, Man Must Die is the most human-hatin' deathcore band I have ever come across so far. Their name is self-explanatory, their album name for this Song Of The Week is titled "No Tolerance For Imperfection", and look at the angst-filled lyrics targeting mankind's helplessness and weakness. Whew, what a band.

Human-hatin' humans: From left to right - Matt Holland, Alan McFarland, Joe McGlynn, Danny McNab

A ferocious and blazing fast masterpiece by Man Must Die, headbang to this piece if you are a lover of any of the musical traits I mentioned in the first paragraph.

My SotW's are getting shorter and shorter now, and that is probably because I am getting too lazy and tired of repeating things I have mentioned before in older posts over and over again. =P

Song Of The Week: Carnifex - Hell Chose Me

With weapons of war in my hands I will become what begs to be forgotten.
With weapons of war in my hands burning to purge this faithless nation.
These are the eyes, I am the mastermind sent to open God's gates and tear down heaven.

Tear down heaven.

You are the programmed dead set to look me straight in the face and I'll tell you what separates Truth from faith.
These lies I preach ever extending my reach inside of your head. [2x]

And with my scriptures I will summon the serpent's tongue, these words will become walls keeping angels from the light of the Son.
This congregation rains like cinders from the sky.
The product of childhood nightmares.
Empty hopes behind empty eyes.
Open your ears, hear my sweet tragedy, open your mouth and drink my sick blasphemy.

Empty hopes behind empty eyes.

I'm crushing the hope of the saved.
Haunted, dark and driven insane.
This is my unholy rapture.
Oh Lord is this not your desire?

With weapons of war in my hands I will become what begs to be forgotten
With weapons of war in my hands burning to purge this faithless nation.
These are the eyes, I am the mastermind sent to open God's gates and tear down heaven.
Tear down heaven.

You are the programmed dead set to look me straight in the face.
I'll tell you what separates Truth from faith.
These lies I preach ever extending my reach inside your head.

God damn this world!
God damn my life!
I didn't chose hell!

Hell chose me!! [4x]

Whew, what a thoroughly brutal and blasphemous anthem from Carnifex.

Admittedly, there is a limit to how much the Deathcore genre can be explored, because there will come one day when no drummer will be able to double-kick the bass drums any faster, and no band can let the breakdowns get any slower and heavier. But! There is still much room for experimentation with the harsh vocals, and Carnifex sure could use that in future.

While the guitarists and drummer kick-ass, they play very similar to fellow peers in the Deathcore genre such as Suicide Silence and The Red Chord (as any experienced metalhead would be able to tell) , and this is probably why most conventional Deathcore haters hate Deathcore - almost all the bands in the genre seem to sound like one another. Ever since I heard Carnifex on their 2nd full-length album "The Diseased And Poisoned" (which was also their first with Victory Records), I thought they would be a promising band to follow in this genre, and I have not been proven wrong with their nasty new album "Hell Chose Me". As you can see, this Song Of The Week is the title track and first single off their latest album, and it deserves to be up here for all its misanthropia and unholiness. Oh yeah, throw in typical but brutal guitar riffs, rapid bass drumming + catchy snare drum beats, and inhuman screaming too. It is not an excellent song (there is hardly anything excellent in Deathcore these days), but good enough to sate that voracious thirst of the Deathcore-lover or be a good illustration of what one can expect from standard "listenable" songs of the genre to a metal newbie.

The executioners are: From left to right - Fred Calderon (Bass Guitar), Ryan Gudmunds (Guitar), Scott Lewis (Harsh Vocals), Shawn Cameron (Drums), Cory Arford (Guitar)

I can emphatize with the Deathcore haters though, for the genre really needs a dose of creativity. Honestly, if this banal onslaught of Deathcore music continues, the genre would start killing itself off.

Until next time.

Between The Buried And Me: The Great Misdirect Tour (First stop in Asia - Singapore!)

Wow, this is such an overdue post.

Anyway, BTBAM came to perform in Singapore for the first time ever on March 16, 2010 at The Substation, and boy was it a blast (literally).

Honestly speaking, although the dear Webmaster and I listen to a lot of metal and have even set up a site like this, we have never been to a single metal concert before. Ever.

That is until we went for the BTBAM one nearly 1 month ago of course, and I have got to admit that live bands do sound much better than their studio recordings. Is it because of the amped-up volume of the music? Or is it because the live music has more spirit than the studio recordings? I would say it is due to both aspects people. If you have never been to one before, and are a self-professed fan of metal, do take this "person-who-was-once-skeptical-of-live-concerts"'s advice and go for at least one in your lifetime. It is a rewarding experience, I assure you.

Alright, here are some pictures I snapped on that night:

Look at the crowd...

Tommy at the keyboards and microphone

Paul headbanging, I love his mane

Artistic shot of rhythm guitarist: Dustie looked emo that night

Blake and Dan shaking hands with fans after the concert

And of course, I took videos of some of their all-time classics as well:







Although I came out of the concert with my ears ringing in protest, and my body tingling from little vibrations all over the body, I enjoyed the concert very much. Listening to and adoring a band through their studio recordings alone is satisfying, but being able to watch a band perform live is the pinnacle of aural masturbation. The way the band connects with the crowd, their showmanship, and the enthusiastic (and often fanatic) response from the crowd all just blend together to form the unique and heart-thumping experience known as a concert.

BTBAM's gear

The only thing that disappointed me though, was that it was too late for me to linger around and get the autographs of the band members and a photograph with them by the time their performance ended. This was because earlier on, the concert was delayed by an hour and a half due to technical difficulties. Man, I will be sure to catch them again the next time they visit Singapore (and will definitely get them to sign copies of their albums which I own + take a photo with them as well!).

Click here to view all of the photos I took on the night of the concert

Song of the Week: Grand Alchemist - Down Again

Sorry for the long period of absence, we return today with a song by the symphonic black metal band Grand Alchemist. After the release of their first (and only to date) album, Intervening Coma-Celebration, in 2002, Grand Alchemist have pretty much disappeared. Their official site is down, with the last update made in 2006, there isn't a lot of activity on their myspace page either and all news of progression for a new album seemed to have trickled off. After listening to "Down Again" however, I am absolutely flummoxed by this standstill in their career because they seem in every aspect to be a quality band who really know their stuff.

If "Down Again" is any indication, Grand Alchemist is heavily keyboards driven, but that doesn't mean that the guitars are neglected in any way. Both elements work together very well to form varied melodies that makes the song worth listening to again and again. The opening intro particularly appeals to me for its "Alice in Wonderland" feel. Harsh vocals are nicely pitched, and go pretty ok with the tempo. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, "Down Again" is catchy in the way that only a metal song can be, in its musical intricacies and not simply in its chorus or melodies. The only slight drawback is a typical one, the lyrics are not quite up to par. There is structure, and rhyming, so that the singing is in sync with the song. But the meaning of the song is sketchy at best and apart from the general negativity you're not likely to know what the song is trying to put across.

Overall, "Down Again" is less dark than it is melodic and at some points, melancholic, but remains a fine example of symphonic metal that holds true to the latter term as it does to the former. But the mastery of Grand Alchemist reveling in its chosen genre of symphonic black metal is expressed through the hint of creepy eeriness that presented itself in the beginning and lingered throughout the song. This is undoubtedly metal, and fine metal at that.

The rather interesting thing about their music video is that for a song that might be accused of having too much synths and keyboards in it, there is no 'boardist featured at all. In fact, the keyboards strike up even as the band members are shown to be entering the room and picking up their instruments, as if its a supernatural phenomenon. Maybe there's some sort of implication there hmm..

On Hiatus

Hi to anyone who has been reading this blog frequently or infrequently, sorry for the looooooong hiatus. We have been rather busy of late, but there will be a new post coming up soon.

It will be of our coverage of Between The Buried And Me's kickass concert in Singapore last week! Stay tuned!

P.S.: Actually, for me personally (Shadori here), I have been preoccupied with Pokemon SoulSilver recently. Yeah, I am a huge fan of the Pokemon video games too. xD

Cain's Offering: Gather the Faithful

Year released: 2009
Website: www.cainsoffering.com
Label: Avalon (Japan), Frontier Records

Tracks:

1. My Queen of Winter [4:15]

2. More Than Friends [5:38]

3. Oceans of Regret [6:31]

4. Gather the Faithful [3:50]

5. Into the Blue [4:25]

6. Dawn of Solace [4:18]

7. Thorn in My Side [4:07]

8. Morpheus in a Masquerade [6:51]

9. Stolen Waters [4:35]

10 Elegantly Broken [2:46]

_________________________________________________________________

A Finnish power metal supergroup. Wow, does that sound impressive or what. Ironically though, for a band featuring musicians who are already accomplished in their own rights within the metal scene, Cain's Offering sounds more radio-friendly and pop-ish than really metal. At least, that's what their debut album, Gather the Faithful, gives the impression of. Their label, Frontier Records, is notable for working with bands that play melodic music, and that's a sure indication of what's to come for anyone who just got their hands on this album.

To their credit, Cain's Offering sound graceful and classy. That is mainly because of their vocalist. Fans of Stratovarius will agree with me that Timo Kotipelto has an amazing voice. Its soft but powerful, with a type of soulful flair that makes the relationship themes of the lyrics suit him very well. Mind you, not that the lyrics are well written. I reckoned former Sonata Arctica guitarist Jani Liimatainen was a romantic when I learned "My Selene" from SA's 2004 album Reckoning Night was written by him but this is bordering on the ridiculous. His attempts at poetry are not succeeding and luckily Timo is such a good singer coz it takes one to not make the lyrics sound crass really.

Other than that, there isn't a lot to find fault with in the music. Its heavy on the keyboards though, so its generally more accessible to the mainstream audience but it depends on how you like your metal really. Despite that, the guitars also do their part to form very enchanting melodies, such as in "Morpheus in a Masquerade", which just changes and shifts into different beautiful melodies. And to represent the speed that is indicative of power metal songs are tracks like "Dawn of Solace" and the opening track, "My Queen of Winter", where the drums are not loud or heavy, but definitely rocket off at a relatively comfortable tone. Keyboardist Mikko Härkin, another former Sonata Arctica member, really stands out though, in the ballad "Elegantly Broken" where only the piano complements Timo Kotipelto's emotion-filled voice. Add to the fact that its the only song where the lyrics are slightly well-written, and there we go, its positively one of my favourite ballads ever.

Left to right: Jukka Koskinen (bass), Jani Liimatainen (guitars), Timo Kotipelto (vocals), Mikko Härkin (keyboards), Jani "Hurtsi" Hurula (drums)

Ultimately, Cain's Offering sounds very good, which isn't something common for power metal bands these days. But we shouldn't expect less from the likes of Timo Koltipelto, Jukka Koskinen and the rest. I also appreciate the lyrical theme better than the fantasy stuff that most of their peers are doing, its a personal preference. But aside from the theme, the lyrics are really not up to par. Someone else should do the writing, I think its absolutely crucial. Gather the Faithful is still highly recommended though.

There doesn't seem to be an official music video, so below is just the youtube vid I found for "Oceans of Regret" and just for a treat (which means I feel like it XD), the ballad, "Elegantly Broken".

Verdict: 9.2 / 10