Nihilist - Carnal Leftovers

Nihilist - Carnal Leftovers LP+7"


It still amazes me to this day how utterly perfect Nihilist were. For me DM doesn't get much better than this: pure barbarity, nicely played with a natural drum tone, heavy riffs and simple catchy melodies, and that dense chainsaw Production of Tomas Skogsberg.... Sure bands went on to copy this by the thousands ever after, but just imagine how groundbreaking that guitar tone was, going from the raw Death/Thrash on Premature Autopsy that was pretty typical sounding for its time, to only months later that impenetrable thick guitar buzzing on Only Shreds Remain. Its like night and day! Not only was it infinitely heavier but the sound is ultra clear yet never loosing any of the savageness or weightiness of Death Metal. The new production technique enhanced their music tenfold! And its just a fricken Demo...a demo that still sounds better than 99% of all DM that was ever produced! 1988/89 is such a wonderful year in Death Metal where a lot bands and producers finally found ways of recording this music properly making it thicker and more cohesive without loosing any of the intensity. Sure there were building blocks out there in the evolution of heavy Death Metal music, Slaughter, Master, Celtic Frost, etc... but for me it lead to perfection in those years of 89/90, and Nihilist were undoubtedly a key band to that evolution. They have the honor of being one of those bands in musical history that not only did they perfect their given genre but also changed the game forcing their peers to take notice. Total worship and respect for Nihilist...

10/10

History of BM as told through the eyes and ears of Mithy

(NOT FINISHED, NOT BY A LONG SHOT!!!!!-UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!)

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. As there is always constant debate whether Venom is or isn't BM and where BM really began and so forth. Stuff that I assumed everyone just sort of knew, but everyone and their blind uncle has their own version and opinion on this, so I might as well attempt to write up an impenetrable doctrine that I can show people any time this subject boils to the surface. Mind you this is all my perspective. There will be some facts, plenty of my own recollections, as well as my own blatantly arrogant opinions. All this in the hopes to come to some sort of balance, where I can get everyone to finally agree with "ME!"


A long time ago there was this little band called Venom. They were a Heavy Metal band from the UK that started out in the very late 70s and spewed forth many albums during the early/mid 80 (along with dozens of singles, EPs, live albums, etc.) One of those albums happened to be called "Black Metal." It wasn't uncommon for Metal bands to come up with these descriptors at the time. As the genre of Heavy Metal was changing and getting heavier and faster, these new descriptors were becoming a necessary evil. Therefor Black Metal, as well as Death Metal, Speed Metal, Thrash Metal, even Power Metal, all sort of came about around the same time without any real sound or style attached to them. You could just have easily called Kreator, Onslaught and even Slayer a BM band and no one would blink an eye at you. I also recall bands like Possessed, Metallica and Dark Angel, being referred to as Power Metal, and once again no one seemed to question this. Where do I get my information you might ask? Well for one I've been into Metal since the mid 80s and quickly gravitated towards the heavier and faster side of the spectrum. So I was constantly on the hunt for the most vicious and intense bands on the planet. I used to walk home from school, and on my way home I would stop by the Circle K, which had a news stand of dozens of Heavy Metal and Hardrock magazines. Metal Hammer, Metal Forces, Metal Mania, RIP, Thrash Metal Magazine, Power Metal, (not to mention MRR and Thrasher Skate Mag for the Punk side) etc...they were all there and I spent countless hours perusing through them, but seldom buying them (I was a kid, I didn't have much money.) Not to say this is the end all of historical perspective either, but it shaped me and much of what I know of the musical trends of the time I draw from the pages of those magazines and my own experience with the genre. I will also mention I have a healthy stack of fanzines dating back from the mid 80s to early 90s, some of which I purchased at the time or accumulated years later. No better place to witness the zeitgeist of the Underground during those days than looking through the pages of those fanzines. Many pages of these arcane tomes have been scanned and uploaded and archived on fine sites such as this: http://sendbackmystamps.org/


Back to Venom, they weren't the first to come up with the term Black Metal, Holy Moses titled their first demo "Black Metal Masters (1980)" two years prior to the release of Venom's "Black Metal" album. So it goes to prove that the term, BM was being floated about even before Venom tagged themselves as such. I even recall Black Sabbath being refereed to as Black Metal a few times, due to the similarities in their name as well as rumored to be a Heavy Metal band of Satanists. Venom on the other hand really were the first Heavy Metal band to be so blatantly, Satanic (okay, maybe Death SS too.) Whether they themselves believed in all which they wrote and sang about at the time is questionable. Either way they created a huge ripple and became a huge target for mothers and church groups everywhere, not to mention the more conservative side of Metal who hated them from the start. At the same time Venom was spewing forth blasphemies and hate for god as easily as they drank down a bottle of Jack Daniels the music itself was played at a sonic level previously unheard in the world of Heavy Metal. You did have the vibrant Hardcore Punk scene that was just as loud and aggressive at the time (early 80s), but Venom was just as fast and twice as heavy, not to mention the scenes of Punk and Metal during the early 80s were oddly estranged from one another. So Venom, undoubtedly injected a new aggression into Metal that prompted people to take notice. Sure there were other bands that were playing speedy Heavy Metal, Motorhead (a big influence on Venom), Jaguar and Raven to name a few, but none were nearly as brash and savage as Venom were. Venom never set out to 'invent' anything so whether or not Venom 'invented' BM, Thrash Metal, or whatever can be left up in the air. But the fact remains that Venom's style of HM was faster and heavier (not to mention more blasphemous and evil) then any band previous, and they undoubtedly had an influence on key bands that were just about ready to make waves themselves: Slayer, Metallica, Possessed, Hellhammer, Sodom, Bathory, Death and so forth. All these bands (aside from the lies of Quorthon) have claimed Venom had some influence on them when they were starting out. If Venom's claim as the earliest Black Metal band is in question, I don't see how anyone can question the validity of Bathory and Hellhammer as being some of the earliest and most influential Black Metal bands on the planet. But we'll get into that later...

For now I want to go back to the history of the terminology of Black Metal (as well as the other subgenres of Metal.) By the mid80s, those now familiar terms, Black Metal, Death Metal, Power Metal, Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Doom Metal, etc were used quite liberally to describe a multitude of bands that were playing a Heavier, Faster and more Aggressive style of Metal. Once again, Black Metal wasn't an uncommon term, I can recall numerous times when bands as diverse as Slayer, Mercyful Fate and Possessed referred to as BM. There wasn't a group of internet nerds shaking their fists and saying "that's not REAL BM, real BM hasn't been invented yet by the emaciated Norwegians!" or "Venom isn't REAL BM, that's just Thrash!" It was all just sort of accepted, there wasn't a genre police out there micromanaging every single band into it's appropriate subgenre. Metal itself around the mid 80s was going through some fast changes, and it was hard to keep up with all the new Thrashing and Raging bands that were coming out at this time. Thrash Metal seemed to become the dominate descriptor for this new breed of fast, aggressive Metal. Although Speed Metal was frequently used and for the longest time Thrash Metal and Speed Metal were one in the same. The division and definition between these two is a retroactive maneuver that came about sometime later. I will say by about 1986, these genres started to take shape and certain bands just naturally fell into their appropriate slot; somehow they just seemed to 'sound' like the genre they were a part of. The more Satanic and Evil bands who had more demonic sounding vocals were labeled as Death or Black Metal: (Bathory, Possessed, Celtic Frost, Sodom, even Kreator to an extent.) Power Metal seemed to be more about fast melodic playing with sung high end vocals. And of course Thrash Metal, settled into its own stylistic trappings that continue to define the genre to this day. Even Doom Metal made its mark with burgeoning bands such as Trouble, Saint Vitus and especially Candlemass' album "Epicus Doomicus Metalicus." Anyhow there's no doubt that Thrash Metal became the dominate force in Metal approx 86-89. Bands that may have started out with more Blackened and Deathly sounds, started to veer towards the more proficient and polished Thrash Metal style that was being made popular at the time by Slayer and Metallica. Destruction, Sodom and Onslaught are perfect examples of bands who started off as sloppy and evil Black/Thrashing Metal in the mid80s and then shortly afterward cleaned up their sound, changed image-wise and lyrically, and dumped the "Black Metal" side to their music entirely. Only if you were around back then will you remember, but the whole Satanic, Occult, Evil Metal thing was frowned down upon by the mid/late 80s. Even within the scene the Metal establishment and press seemed to police itself and constantly bash any bands who presented themselves with Satanic imagery. They would say it was out of style and immature and of course Metal was all about 'talent, tightness and solos' back then so their dove-like ears just couldn't handle the all the primitive noise being created by the ancestors of early Black and Death Metal. Sure the PMRC sucked, but these Megadeth loving, god fearing twats were just as bad. Therefor as exampled above a lot of bands who may have started out with more of a harsh and blasphemous style they eventually floated into safer territories for commercial reasons. Lyrics and imagery become more about societal issues and mental breakdowns and so forth (I cant tell you how many stupid Thrash Metal songs are about 'insanity' :yawn:) Just my opinion but during this time Thrash Metal itself, became a very conservative/PC genre. I wanted some bloody evil shit, goddamnit! One of the reasons why I gravitated towards Metal to begin with was for offensive and merciless songs about Death and Satan. I started out with Venom and Slayer and I was constantly on the search for something faster and heavier with Evil, Satanic and Deathly leanings. The safe Thrash of Metallica, Testament and Exodus just didn't cut it for me.

As Thrash Metal was a success commercially, and hundreds of bands were out there trying to carve out their own piece of the Metallica pie, the underground of Death/Black/Thrash Metal was vigorous and explosive! Approx 1985-1989 you had a huge growing network of demo bands, independent labels, zines, promoters, and tape traders, who were hungering for the fastest most viscous bands on the planet. The Underground was ripe and brimming with creativity and youthful exuberance. During these demo days you had tons of bands that fit somewhere in the triarchy of Black/Death/Thrash: Poison, Mefisto, Morbid, Slaughter Lord, Hatred, Necrofago, the list goes on and on hailing from all corners of the planet. So what terms were being used for these bands? Who knows...you could read 20 different zines reviewing these demos or talk to 20 different fans at the time and get one person saying, Thrash, another Black, and yet another Death Metal, still though I don't think anyone cared enough to argue whether it was Black, Death or Thrash, just that it was fucking raging!! Even Mayhem during the 80s I think fit into this Black/Death/Thrash quandary, as I'm pretty sure Euronymous didn't take the claim of Black Metal for his band until the early 90s. I will say, Death Metal, seemed to be the growing catchphrase for most of these underground bands that were forking away and becoming heavier and faster than basic Thrash. When Black Metal was used it started to lean towards bands in the vein of Venom's un-tight, blown-out out style and primitive Satanic imagery; many of these bands came from 3rd world countries producing some atrocious sounding demos (although you did have a few key bands starting to carve out their own BM path at this time Samael, Mortuary Drape, Tormentor and Master's Hammer to name a few...but still very obscure even by Underground standards.) I have tons of zines that I collected from this period (86-89) and indeed Death Metal as a style as well as the usage of the term was the growing trend. The Satanic/Goat/666, thing was becoming unfashionable, and once again seemed more associated with the crude sounds of Venom, Hellhammer and early Bathory. The early Underground Death Metal bands of the mid/late 80s were hugely inspired by Death, Kreator and Possessed, seemed geared more towards themes of Death and Dying and Suffering, also horror inspired lyrics, gore, creatures, and so forth... and maybe a few bands touched on some general occult themes as well. Bands like Morbid Angel and Necrovore seemed to convey their occult and demonic messages more eloquently then say Hellhammer and Venom. Signings and actual full-length albums of bonafide DM bands were almost unheard of during these years. Only a few bands like Death, Possessed, and maybe a few lesser known bands like Necrodeath, Messiah and Sepultura(and others once again from Brazil-Cogumelo Records) had actual full-length releases out, thus proving that DM (86-89) was still very much an Underground phenomena. At this time you also had the early Grindcore, Crust and UK Hardcore scene that sort of wove itself into the fabric of the Death Metal underground, and with this cross pollination you had the likes of Bolt Thrower, Carcass and Napalm Death making a huge undeniable impact in the worlds of both Metal and Hardcore Punk. By 1989 you also had people who new how to produce Death Metal and bring out it's true potential and power (as well as finally making it somewhat commercially accessible), therefor by 1989 and for certain 1990 you had an explosion of bonafide Death Metal classics that laid the ground work for all that was to come. I'm of the opinion that the golden years of Death Metal were 89-91, and DM was pretty much laying waste to everything in its path, no other scene of music in any genre at this time was as vital and groundbreaking as DM during its golden era.

So where does that leave Black Metal during the 80s? Well as we can see, Black Metal was a pretty nebulous term during the 80s. You had countless hybrid bands Black/Death/Thrash that could have been any of the three or all of the above. Some might say it was simply defined as Metal bands that had Satanic lyrics, thus you also have some evidence of Pile Driver, Death SS and early Running Wild being labeled as BM on occasion. And of course there's always been that divide whether Mercyful Fate should be considered an early purveyor of Black Metal as well. Venom and bands of similar ilk, Bulldozer, NME and Exorcist were frequently being referred to as BM back during the 80s and most people should at least think these bands as crude examples of early BM. And then you have Bathory and Hellhammer(early Celtic Frost.) Which to me, and I think most other right thinking people with ears, ought to acknowledge that these two key bands pretty much laid the groundwork for what was to be defined as "Black Metal" ever afterward. The riffs, the aesthetic, the vocals, the imagery, the general atmosphere, all BM that came after have a seedling of influence from these two prominent bands. With early Samael, Darkthrone and Burzum records you can hear those 2-note Hellhammer riffs are all over the fucking place, not to mention they are all cloaked heavily in that Bathory attire! I even hear a lot of Venom in a lot of the early 90s BM as well. Just check their epic "At War With Satan" and hear all kinds of soaring riffs that could easily be used in the standard BM canon. Not to mention the blown out crude production of Venom, which will always be synonymous with the raw BM aesthetic. Growing up with Venom and hearing that linage and the loose development of BM throughout the 80s and early 90s, those dots are easily connected on my end. But as we all know, whether we lived it or not, there wasn't a real Black Metal 'scene' or 'movement' during the 80s, nor even a defined sound. The term was loosely used and the examples of actual BM bands are scattered and not enough to say there was really any defined sound nor movement of BM. But you can say that about many genres during their formative and prototype stages: just check the earliest days of Punk, Prog and Industrial. The earliest bands in those movements were all radically different from one another carving out their own paths under the banner of their respective genres. After a while, the rules set in, bands start mimicking certain repeating patters and you eventually get a dominant and recognized structure that takes over and thus becomes the most defining sound of the genre. (I will get into this more in the early 90s BM segment.) I personally always loved the term Black Metal, to me it was the last frontier of darkness and evil in Metal so anything that was remotely called BM back then, I investigated and took note! And I confess to being pretty liberal when using the term Black Metal when I was young (and even now!) Even calling Slayer and Kreator Black Metal was common place with me, just to give them that extra gleam of evilness whenever I might have been discussing the music I liked with someone else.

Black Metal entering the 90s. Okay, I think everyone ought to know that Black Metal wasn't "invented" by the Norwegian's...that's just preposterous, yet I have run across some naive people who think this is true. Even early 90s BM, or as some people call it "Second Wave BM" didn't even start with Norway (aside from the Mayhem + Thorns component.) I personally don't mind the term: "Second Wave of BM." It's appropriate and at respectful towards the 80s era of early yet nebulous world of BM. Black Metal during the very early 90s was still pretty nebulous and thus wildly creative. While bands were starting to embrace the Black Metal term once again, you had bands all over the world creating some radically different sounds all under the banner of Black Metal. Samael, Blasphemy, Beherit, Master's Hammer, Mortuary Drape, Root, Necromantia, Rotting Christ, Varathron, Abruptum, Bestial Summoning, Treblinka, Sabbat(Jap), Ancient Rites, Tormentor, Profanatica, Von, Mystifier and of course Mayhem and Thorns. All of these bands were around before the BM boom in Norway. Many were on the outskirts of the Underground, with very little linking them together as an actual scene. They had a striking appeal though to the followers of the Underground Metal scene in that they were incredibly verbal about their Satanic and Occult beliefs and seemed to be more serious about it than the BM forefathers of the 80s. Seeing a band like Beherit, Samael or Blasphemy in a zine amongst their Death Metal counterparts in the early 90s had them sticking out like a sore thumb with the corpse paint, mystical and satanic symbols and Satanic ranting that went beyond the basic interview fodder. Their releases or demos were pretty hard to come by but when you finally heard something like Blasphemy or Master's Hammer or Rotting Christ for the first time, you could tell that these bands were tapping into something far deeper and darker than their dime-a-dozen Death Metal peers at the time. Death Metal was growing huge in popularity, Underground and Mainstream alike. And a lot of fans (count me among them) were irritated what used to be "our little DM scene" all of a sudden became "everyone's DM scene!" Bands also started to become slicker, less 'Deathly' in nature, and more normalized and conservative(or PC) leaving behind the more dangerous side of the genre. Therefor fans who still loved that evil and foreboding atmosphere in their Metal (count me among them) dug deeper and searched for alternatives. And seeing bands like, Blasphemy, Beherit and Samael, with their unashamed use of Pentagrams, Inverted Crosses and Goats, totally drew my attention. Listening to the music also brought back those same wicked and forbidding feelings that Venom, Bathory and Possessed did in years past. Bathory had always been one of my most cherished of bands so to witness a growing number of bands all of the sudden taking great influence from Bathory, (as well as early Sodom, Venom, and other 80s BM icons) brought great joy to my heart and I'm sure many other people who where getting stale of the current trends as well.



From my recollections it really wasn't until Euronymous (and Dead before he died) started his rantings about Black Metal (circa 90-92) in various zines that things really started to take shape. Never before was anyone so militant about their beliefs in Metal, and how things should be, and calling out other bands/trends for being False and unoriginal (well, then there is Manowar...and not to mention the Venom/Mercyful Fate feuds, teehee!) There might have been some general shit talking done before in Metal (see above), but Euronymous really took his declarations to a whole new level of spitefulness. Sure looking back now it was silly and immature but it shook things up and thank goodness for that! Soon afterward other bands seemed to have started doing the same thing, talking up BM as being true and shouting down DM for being False and calling out many bands for being trendy and unoriginal and playing "Life Metal" instead of real Death Metal. Around this time many DM bands stopped being "Deathly" and they somewhat went the same route as Thrash did creating music that was lyrically and thematically more conservative and PC, dropping anything to do with Death or Horror for reasons of maturing?....who knows, either way for those wanting Darker atmosphere in their Metal went down the paths of Black fucking Metal1 So Euronymous had a three pronged attack for turning the focus of BM towards Norway. First: his band for one, Mayhem, already being a veteran band of the Underground with 'some' notoriety (Dead's suicide also helped bring even more notoriety to Mayhem.) Second: his eccentric and charismatic personality. Once again with those damned rantings and declarations of war on "the enemies of BM" giving the impression of "us against them" created something that many outsiders and misfits of the Underground wanted to be a part of. And of course last but not least; his label Deathlike Silence-putting his money where is mouth is by releasing/signing Unique Black Metal bands; as well as having the shop, Helvete: a central place for people around the world to write to as well as a location for young local musicians to gather. Many of those musicians being in key bands to the Norwegian Black Metal movement; Thorns, Darkthrone, Burzum, Emperor, to name a few. Many/most of these young musicians had already cut their teeth playing and being in Death Metal bands previous, but Euronymous' influence was strong as you can see with bands like Darkthrone who were already an established DM act, turning towards the new ways of BM. The members of these bands also took up the hateful shit talking campaign of Euronymous, and you saw folks like Varg, Fenriz and Sammoth spewing forth the same vitriol all over the Underground as Euronymous did. The naming of, The Black Circle of Norway, gave the impression to the outside world that there was an actual 'gang' or 'cult' of Black Metal taking shape and people all around the world wanted to be a part of it! It's debatable whether there was much organization to this and of course after the infamous church burnings and murders this supposed 'BM mafia' didn't last much longer. But the rumors were already set in motion and the church burnings and murders were the icing on the cake, thus Norwegian Black Metal made it's indisputable impact changing the world of Metal (and music in general) forever. Due to these infamous events people were forced to take notice of Norwegian BM, whether they liked the music or despised it. By the mid 90s, Black Metal really started breaking through the mainstream of Metal, and Norwegian BM was no doubt at its center. Helped ushered into the mainstream and a wider market by labels like Century Media albums by Mayhem, Emperor, Samael and Darkthrone were made much easy to get a hold of. Norway undoubtedly became the face of Black Metal, and also the Norwegian style became the dominant sound of BM as well. Practically redefining the genre which for the most part continues on to this day.

Bands like Samael, Rotting Christ, Profanatica and Blasphemy, were just as important to the solidification of Black Metal in early 90s as Mayhem and Burzum. Many and most, of the non-Norwegian BM bands from this time period somehow became of lesser consequence. The disposition of Norwegian BM became the model that most bands/artists that later started playing BM emulated ever afterward, pretty much setting into stone the 'definition' of BM, at least what most people associate it with to this day. There is no doubt that early on Norway had a wealth of creativity going on, with bands as diverse as the primitive screech of Ildjarn to the synth heavy sounds of Limbonic Art, (and of course all the others and more, that have been mentioned already). So there is no doubt in my mind that the Norwegian scene deserves most the praise they ever got due to the volume of quality BM artists that they put forth. But for me Black Metal was defined during the early 90s, when it was more nebulous and there really wasn't any set definition, giving the impression that ANYTHING was possible within this revolutionary genre. Even Euronymous himself used to rave about the need for originality, he never said anything about how everyone should play the same kind of Black Metal forever. Just taking a look at the few bands he signed to his label, each band unique and diverse yet all fall under the banner of Black Metal (aside from maybe Merciless.) Of course Euronymous brought in his own set of Black Metal rules to the game thus being a contradictory soul, but that's par for the course in the world of BM and so goes... Being a part of that burgeoning BM scene of the early 90s pretty much set the stage for how I appreciate Black Metal to this day. Not only was it liberating and empowering but it also opened up my mind to the possibilities of music as a whole. With bands like Abruptum, Necromantia, Master's Hammer, they were doing stuff with their music that was very 'progressive' to these ears and blowing my mind, breaking rules left and right, proving that BM can be more than what was invented by Venom, Hellhammer and Bathory. I'd also point out that even with all the early 90s Black Metal bands, no members of these bands ever questioned whether Venom was BM or not, it was just sort of common knowledge. It really wasn't until maybe the very late 90s, or the 2000s, with the onset of the internet kids who came into BM late in the game and had no historical perspective nor first hand knowledge (nor did they really seem to care to learn really), that I started seeing this idea of Venom not being Black Metal floated about. So once again, during that nebulous and unrestrained period of early 90s BM, not only was Venom, and other now questionable 80s bands considered BM (or at the least hugely influential on BM)but you also had this crude experimental side coming out of these bands I've mentioned above setting the stage for the most radical side of Black Metal taking the music to the utter fringe! So during that 92-94ish period you could have bands as wide and diverse and Venom, Abruptum, Blasphemy and Burzum all living together in perfect harmony under the shady branches of the Black Metal family tree. But for me I've always been pretty liberal with the BM descriptor anyhow. The funny thing is you probably come across other people who have been into BM as long as I have and have a completely different opinion. Some who like to lay out the rules and make bold claims as to what BM is and isn't. Some saying it should only be bands who closely follow the primitive sounds of the 80s bands. It all becomes very personal and part of what I always liked about Black Metal, almost as a spiritual movement, is I see it as a realm in which you sprout wings and fly... and lord over on your own terms, your own rules. Even though there are certain genre specifics that make a genre what it is, Black Metal has always been the most malleable of all the Metal subgenres. And that pliability proceeded through the 90s (despite the dominance of Norwegian Black Metal) and continues on to this day.

still to come: the growth of BM through the 90s and post-9/11 BM...



(NOT FINISHED, NOT BY A LONG SHOT!!!!!)

a night with GRRM Sept 3, 2011

(possibly a few minor spoilers for ASOIAF)

It was an event held in support of local libraries, and because GRRM is a citizen of New Mexico he was kind enough to have a sitting with about 100 people. That's a great number considering and the event was well over 2 hrs long. First he talked about some local issues, upcoming bonds to vote for etc, all in support of the library fund. Then he went into some of his history when he began reading starting with kiddie books, then comics, and then coming across Heinlein's - "Have Space Suit—Will Travel" which seemed to be a corner stone in his young life of being a book worm. Of course that lead into other Science Fiction and Fantasy and then LOTRs, etc.

He talked much about the show, and more about books. And then there was a Q&A, in which I asked the big question:

Q: After AFFC and definitely now with Dance, there's an incredibly huge amount of unraveled plot lines, I know you've continuously stated that 7 was the magic number, but if need be--would you be willing to go further than 7?

A: It was a long answer and I wont draw it out here, but he basically said that when Tolkien wrote LOTR, it was one long completed story broken up into 3 parts. His story isn't complete yet, but when all is said and done, it will be ONE long story broken into 'multiple' parts. When he started ASOIAF he intended it to be a trilogy, and then later it was 4 books, after a while it became 6 and where we are at now its 7! So, all in all he still thinks he can do it in 7 but he said nothing is written in blood, so if it requires him to extend it into 8 or 9 books or more, then that's what will inevitably have to be done.
AWESOME!

Another question he got asked by some dude, which was a bit obnoxious, because it contained a major spoiler, and you can tell GRRM got annoyed because after the question was blurted out, he dropped and shook his head as if to say "you fucking idiot." Either way he still give an answer that contained some (not so surprising spoilers for those who have read ADWD) spoilers for TWOW.

Q: From Mouth Breathing Dummy - At the End of ADWD they didn't take back Winterfell when is that to come?

A: Somewhat brief, but he flat out said, there are 2 huge battles that start off the next book, and people who read ADWD undoubtedly know what's to come.

There's so much said 'unsaid' in that, but basically the letter that Ramsey wrote Jon, as Jon stated in the book, "there are some truths in there," so I'm sure we can safely assume that 'you know who -S' isn't dead after all. And as I predicted, we have yet to witness the true Battle of Winterfell.

After that we stood in line to get the book signed as you see. Being that it was such a small event there was no hurry so people were able to get good message singed in their books, ask a few more quick questions or get a pic taken with your cell phone. When it was our turn, I asked him to sign 4 small words "Where Do Whores Go?" He looked up at me and said "you really want that?" I was like, definitely! I couldn't care less about getting a nice sentiment with his sig....'To Mithy, from GRRM'...how boring. It's the most appropriate thing I could think of, and I cant imagine me being the first one to get that signed in my book. And we also got a quick pic which you can see above. Needless to say I was on could 9 the rest of the evening: the event was awesome and lengthy, I got a few spoilers, got a great sig in the book and an awesome pic that I will keep eternally!

Eloy a Decade in Space!

I've absolutely fallen in love with Eloy over the past few months! I remember seeing this band around all the time when I first started getting into 70s Prog 10 years ago. Not sure why, but I never really investigated them. Perhaps the breadth of their discography was intimidating and didn't really know where to start. And their name was kind of goofy, and it wasn't till recently that I discovered it was an ode to the race of people known as the 'Eloi' in HG Wells "The Time Machine." When I did get around to sampling them I don't think they hit me the same way bands like Gentle Giant and Magma were then so I pretty much ignored them since. As of late I've been wanting to immerse myself in a new 70s Prog band with a vast discography that I haven't touched on yet (considering there's always something new to discover in 70s Prog.) The problem with this is a number of great 70s Prog bands only had one or a very few albums. And the bands who had longer careers, either I'm already familiar with, or with many Prog bands who started strong in the late 60s/early 70s, by the time they got to the late 70s and definitely into the 80s, they started to stink pretty bad. What appealed to me about Eloy right off the bat, I was really wanting something drenched in keyboards, with lots of swirling spacey/fantasy sounds, but also where the keys don't completely dominate and play a complimentary and harmonious role along side the guitars. I absolutely adore primitive and early synthesizer sounds, there is something very cerebral about it all and it takes me back to the mythical era of the late 60s and 70s which is era of music I wish I would have been around for and experienced first hand. Well, I was born in the early 70s, but I was a baby then, and didn't really experience this stuff properly. Also seeing movies like the animated LOTR and The Hobbit as well as Fantastic Planet, Watership Down, Nausicaä, etc at an early age has always weighed heavy on my mind as non-musical inspirations on my taste in music, since a lot of this stuff went hand n hand with the musics I've always liked (Metal, Prog, etc.) So listening to a band like Eloy it brings to mind spacey images of winged warriors armed with both lasers and swords going off to battle some cosmic evil overlord in a fantasy realm of vast colors and psychedelic cheese. Hey that kind of sounds like Flash Gordon! We'll I'm no stranger to that fantastic movie, and there were some great synthesizer dominated anthems on the soundtrack done by Queen which I can also attest to being an early musical influence of my youth. Like Flash Gordon and it's memorable soundtrack, Eloy is histrionic and a little cheesy as well but that's part of the fun and what I like about them! Despite that, they were fantastic musicians that created some truly otherworldly and transcendent music without any shame. The first album I got from them was "Ocean" as it seems to be generally thought of as their best album. Well it's definitely awash in keyboards and epic fantastical imagery. The vocals (Frank Bornemann) actually threw me off a bit as they are heavily German accented English sung lyrics, but I've always had a thing for unusual vocals so they grew on me quickly. Sometimes they sound like a speak/sing style as he narrates the oceanic fairy tales. The album was great, but only had 4 long songs. I wanted more! So the next purchase was the previous album "Dawn." Which I was totally blown away by! After that I started to read reviews on the Prog archives on their other albums as well as listening to songs from various albums on youtube. With that I came to the conclusion that Eloy indeed had more great albums than just a few. So over the course of a few weeks I ended up getting all the rest of their albums from 73 to 82, which you see blow. I've been immersing myself in these albums over the past few months and it almost seems to be all I've been listening too. It's been fun hearing how this band progressed from the Hammond organ, jammy, Psychedelic Hardrock of their first few albums and slowing morphing into the spacey. symphonic juggernaut that they became in the late 70s and beyond.


This is actually their 2nd album, and I don't have their s/t debut album which seems to be currently OOP. The S/T is very much gravelly Bluesy Hardrock album (or early Heavy Metal), with the occasional "weird" Krautrock and psychedelic moments, lots of jammy parts, bluesy long winded solos, the works.... strangely no keys or organ present on this album, or very little. It's a beginning but doesn't excite me the way the rest of their albums do.
The 2nd album, Inside, they take their first step outside of the stratosphere. It's none more apparent then the first side long anthem "Land of No Body" with the great use of the Hammond organ as well as plenty of adventurous variety throughout the song which moves you higher and higher to the 3rd climactic act. This album still retains some of that Hardrock grit from the first album, but you can tell that they wanted to explore further in terms of sound and timbre.




Floating sees the band making even greater use of the Hammond organ as well as the first inclusion of other keyboards. There seems to be even more of a rocking energy to this album than the previous. Songs like "Castle In The Air" and the "The Light From Deep Darkness" are both highlights of the album, which are driving, melodic and adventurous with lots of parts and you can also hear the fantastical Epic side of Eloy starting to creeping in with these 2 songs. Great space rock here rivaling their contemporaries at the time Hawkwind. Frank Bornemann trademarked accented vocals seems to becoming more apparent on this album, oddly enough.
With Power and the Passion the band takes on its first concept album about time travel, and by this time you can safely say they are a full blown Progressive Rock band. This album, on a whole seems to be a bit more mellow then their previous works. They seem to concentrate more on the texture and floating atmosphere created by the organ, keyboards, moog and guitars. The vocals even seem to be a bit quieter for some reason. The only problem I have with this album is its non-imposing nature, sometimes the songs go by without you even noticing them. Not something to rock out in the car, but more for relaxing while lying in bed.



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These 3 albums are their highpoint IMO.
Right off the bat you'll notice a difference in production with Dawn. As its louder, clearer, and more powerful sounding from the previous album. The song writing on this album is refined and the structures are intricate well layered and the most sophisticated they've ever been thus far. The guitar is only up front some of the time, but for the most part shares the stage in perfect harmony with the rest of the instruments for the sake of atmosphere. There is string section added, as well as plenty of keys and synths making this a very dense and ambitious album. I think this is Eloy coming into their own and finally carving out their own musical language in the vast universe and Progressive Rock.
Ocean is an even grander attempt and generally thought of as their masterpiece. I think I prefer Dawn (as well as Silent Cries) just a bit more only because there seems to be more variety and tempo shifts present. Ocean is brilliant in its own right though and I can understand why its lauded as their best. Songs are slow to build but beautiful to behold, unveiling 4 ambient, monolithic songs..., each are like gods drifting slowly across the sky in all their titanic majesty! Probably best listened to without any other distractions so you can absorb all the detail and loose yourself in the grandiose nature of this album.
Silent Cries and Mighty Echoes follows the lofty symphonic path of the previous 2 although it definitely has some qualities that keeps it distinct from the rest.
This album has a slightly more 'modern' production of the late 70s, but still very 70s sounding. Lots of extravagant keys and synths drenching the songs in surreal beauty. And this time around they even have some deliberate hooks. Songs like "Master of Sensation" and "Pilot to Paradise" seem to construct somewhat pop structured songs with verse and chorus, combined with the spacey Prog style in which they mastered on the previous 2 albums. These songs are still very long and instrument driven so I would only say they flirted a bit with pop structures on this album, in which I think it came as a benefit as the songs have a memorable quality all the while still epic and complex. The song "The Apocalypse" is the longest sprawling song on this album, so if you didn't quite get enough of those giant tunes off of Ocean, you got one here to satisfy the pallet.



Now this album stands unique in all their catalog. You can already see a bit of a shift in style on Silent Cries, but Colours is very much a crossover from their Epic Prog into the shorter tighter style of songs they continued to write on their next 2 albums. Colour is the last album in which they still use an analog production keeping it grounded in the warmth of 70s tones. The late 70s was definitely a tumultuous time in regard to the trends in Popular music and a lot of Prog bands who had some great and creative albums during the early/mid 70s were left floundering in the winds of change. A band like Eloy was never going to find the success of a Prog band going Pop the way Genesis did, nor do I think they had the right frame of mind to create something truly progressive and groudbreaking as This Heat or Art Bears. So it would seem like they were heading for something more terse and accessible than ever before with Colours. Although they didn't go Pop, at least not on this album, they still retain some incredibly complex musical arrangements and I might even say it's the most rhythmically dense album of their career. On the surface one might think the album is simpler than their previous efforts but that's definitely not the case as Colours is very involved with a lot syncopation going on and can even be described as a bit funky at times. Not an easy album to wrap your head around though, there's a lot of melodic counterpoint and polyrhythmic passages to keep your mind busy. A challenging album that will guarantee much reward upon repeated listens. The spacey and fantastical trademarks and imagery are still in place as well making this very much distinctly an 'Eloy' album.




Planets and Time to Turn
These 2 albums definitely have the stink of the 80s on them. The production and keyboards are all digital now, and there's a bit of an AOR flavor as well. But you know?... I still really like these albums! And for my money these are both very worthy Eloy albums never betraying or scoffing at anything they've ever been about in the past. Songs once again, are still spacey and fantastical, still plenty of cosmic swirling synths, they don't go for more 'mature' lyrical content and keep everything grounded in fantasy and Scifi themes they've always been comfortable with. The synths are 'colder' and more sterile sounding which was a common trend at the time but to me that brings a new robotic and somewhat technical atmosphere which compliments Eloy's extraterrestrial style of Space Rock quite well. With that said, there might have been a bit of a stab at mainstream success by the some of the more simplified and hooky structures present here and I wouldn't say these are prefect albums by any means, but they are still incredibly enjoyable. Even if you don't like some of the Poppier elements found within these 2 albums, there are still songs like "End of an Odyssey" which is a slow building Epic hearkening back to the days of Ocean. And not to mention many other songs which clock in over the 6 min mark, which all display great complex structuring with plenty of variety and great key and guitar work.

And that's about as far as I went with Eloy. The band continued beyond this point but reading reviews on the albums that go deeper into the 80s and 90s the reviews seem to be mixed, but generally in the negative. I'll take the majorities word for it. I may check into the supposed 'back to form' albums "The Tides Return Forever" and "Ocean 2" somewhere down the line, but I'm pretty satisfied with the 9 albums I have now.

A Thought on A Feast for Crows

I find the negative flack this book has gotten to be unfounded and naive. Made by those who think everything should follow a linear path and operating under the faulty assumption that this series will end in some glorious conclusion that ties everything together. I have no such expectation. As we have already experienced throughout 'A Song of Ice and Fire' thus far is that nothing is safe and nothing stays the same. Personally I feel this book is as good as any of the others in the series, it's an intricate bridge between the first and second half of this saga and I personally can't wait for the second half to begin! "A Feast for Crows" is exactly what it states in the title: a fractured war torn country with the remaining powers-that-be picking through the carnage struggling to put itself back together again, amidst corruption, conspiracies and the constant grab for power amongst its players. We are finally being introduced to the Bishops and Rooks in this giant game of Chess. I know some people want to just focus on pawns, knights, and kings, but I would like to see how the whole game is played. I also like the focus on the feminine in this book. I think it helps set the table for Dany's return. Some have complained that Martin is misogynist in his approach to female characters. I don't agree at all. I think the gender rolls in this book are deeply rooted in the medieval histories that Martin draws upon. With that in mind I see the female characters as women struggling within the confines of those norms. I love the parallels between Sansa's emergence into "the game" and Cersei's fall from power. Cersei has always been one of the most interesting characters in the series and was glad to see her finally introduced as a POV character. Martin once again takes things deeper and makes her more ambiguous by taking us into the psychology and early childhood experiences of her flawed character. I also like the parallels between the Arya and Brienne stories. Another motif that seems to pop up repeatedly is that every commoner is talking about how they have some royal blood in them. I don't recall this being as central in the prior books and it seems to me that this reflects the beginning of a change in mindset as more and more common people start to hint that they might be just as good as anyone else. The Feudal system of Westeros still looks an awful lot like slavery at times and I can't wait to see how the entrance of the Free Folk and Dany's ideas about ruling start to impact the seven kingdoms and their fracturing houses. Some people bitch about all the random new POV characters and more seem to complain how he left out 3 of the most central characters (namely Tyrion, Dany and Jon Show.) It seems to me that this complaint is premature until the series is complete. We are only at a bridge section now. Minor characters in the first book are major characters in the third book and some characters disappear in the first book only to pop up again in the third. With this in mind I will assume that these 'filler' characters and the information revealed in their chapters is relevant to later parts of the story. I also hope these whiners didn't miss that several MAIN (Sansa/Arya) characters have changed chapter titles to reflect a change in their own self-concept. If they missed the "Alayne" chapters or "Cat of the Canals" then they missed out on important developments regarding several of the core characters in the book. I've always felt that THEE central character in 'A Song of Ice and Fire' is the world that Martin has created, not one individual (Same could be said for Tolkien's LOTR.) The great houses are turning against each other and power becomes more and more fractured amidst a spiritual renaissance. The emerging powers are these religious leaders but their competing faiths are clearly in moral conflict with one another. And let us not forget the rational/scientific side reflected by the Maesters. Few of them seem to respect or acknowledge the re-emergence of magic. I was so excited to finally get to know Oldtown and gain some insight into the Maesters and how they fit into the game as well.

Like many I'll be starting 'A Dance with Dragons' very soon, and it will be interesting to see how it reflects against this book... and for some reason I have a feeling that there will be plenty of complainers about that one as well. We'll have to see but it's nice to gather some thoughts on 'A Feast for Crows' at the cusp of ADWD so I can personally have this, at this date to look back on when I'm done reading book 5 of 'A Song of Ice and Fire.'

...a few more of my thoughts collected on AFFC that I posted on message board....

I can't see how anyone could have been disappointed with AFFC, as there's so much going on here for anyone to become bored with the story: finally baring witness to Cersei's flawed character, her fall from grace as well a making key mistakes that lead to that fall (militarizing the church, pissing on Kevan, her growing paranoia, etc), Jamie and his gradual change of heart, he actually seems to "mature" and see things in a new light during this post-handloss version of Jamie, not to mention him finally seeing Cersei as the flawed person as she's always been. You get more inside on Oldtown and the Maesters, Doran and Arianne Martell and the Sand Snakes (who I think are fucking awesome! I can't wait to see how these sly and beautiful women start bringing down the powers that be from the inside and out.) And of course a true inside to The Greyjoy's and the Drowned God, with Aeron and the Kingsmoot, Euron and the Horn, and of course Victarion who totally fucking Slays in his Reaver chapter.

There are 2 kinds of people who read this book. Those who go in expecting everything to tie up in the end in a nice pretty little bow, they don't want to put too much effort in memorizing much beyond the Stark children and their revenge, and Dany as some sort of flawless super hero thats going to come back to Westeros save all, and every time the story opens up beyond that delving further into complication and detail it frustrates them and they blame GRRM for not doing what they want.

Then there are those like us, who know you have to give and invest time and brain power in order to get the full potential out of this story. There comes a point in the story where you really need to start committing the details to memory, towns, castles, map locations, names, houses, histories and so forth. Its not just about the present and whats to come in the future but also the past and how it will all eventually tie together. I believe you get even more from re-reading the entire series (or at least listening to the audio while you work, like I do), or at least going back and re-reading certain parts in order to get some of the finer details down pat. . This shit just comes alive in your mind like no other. Tolkien's world was just as rich, but not as much text nor nearly as many players (which is saying quite a lot considering the histories of Beleriand and Middle-Earth still had an above average amount of named characters and players in them.) I don't even think any of the renowned Russian classics with all their character's can come close to the shear vastness created by GRRM. I've read War and Peace and it seems small in comparison. It boils down to this and a question I would pose to anyone wanting to start the series - my GF as well as coworker has started reading and what I ask is - how far are you willing to go? and how much are you willing to give in order to get the most out of these novels?

Supernatural Fairy Tales: The Progressive Rock Era [5CD Box set] - Impressions on this boxset then and now.

Supernatural Fairy Tales: The Progressive Rock Era [5CD Box set]
Impressions on this boxset then and now.

When I was first getting heavily into 70s Prog at the utter beginning of the 2000s, I'd just been on the internet for about a year and it still wasn't the place of resource that it is now where you can sample, investigate and Download bands by the dozens a day. So having genre focused boxsets like this was of great benefit. And while I did get some good stuff out of this, at the time, I can't help but think now how this could have been so much better. Not saying that it was completely worthless, as there are plenty of gems here for the Prog initiate. I just think this boxet could have been of even greater utility to me and all those who might have used this as a stepping stone into Prog, had greater care gone into the project at hand. Thankfully I never actually bought this thing, it was one of the many boxsets in music library at KUNM (radio station I used to host shows at), and I borrowed it, made CD-R copies and photocopied all the inserts. Around this time, I had been familiarizing myself with the big names, Yes, Genesis, King Crimson and barely started making my way towards that 2nd level of bands you discover once you started scratching beneath the surface, Gentle Giant, Can, VDGG, etc. So taking this boxset home and seeing all these obscure names that may just become some of your new favorite bands (and many did!) was exhilarating and a bit overwhelming. To be honest though at that time I wasn't completely blown away by all that I heard, and after listening to each of the 5CDs in full, only a few really stood out for me and those usually being the more blatantly technical or weirder sounding bands. It was actually the first time I really heard both ELP and Frank Zappa, those songs ("Karn Evil 9" + "Inca Roads") completely took my senses by storm and made me an instant fan of each! Also Henry Cow's tiny inclusion "War" caught my ear, it's quirky and catchy and I'd never quite heard music like it before. There were a few other highlights here and there but many of those bands would actually take a few years before I fully got into them, one song per band just wasn't going to be enough to win me over. You must understand that I was really branching out into a realm and era of music that I had little to no knowledge of but highly enthusiastic about, so some of this stuff took time to finally sink in and grow on me. Plus Progressive music is very challenging as well as being subtle and dense, so I shouldn't have expected many of these bands to immediately hit me. I also think flooding your eardrums and mind with so much great music at once, doesn't allow you to fully appreciate each band/song as they should be. Now, a decade later and thousands of hours of listening time and thought invested in Progressive Rock, I must bring this boxset under scrutiny and wonder if part of the reason why some of this music didn't resonate with me in the way that I had hoped for at the time was due to being a poorly put together compilation? Wondering if the songs choices were the best ones for each band? Also if some bands should have been left out while other more appropriate Prog bands been included to represent the vast and diverse genre and era of 70s Prog? One of the biggest shames of this project is how they were unable to secure songs by some quintessential Prog acts such as, King Crimson, Camel, Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, and many others. Ostensibly I can understand if there was some legal/licensing issues, but it seems like almost an embarrassment how they couldn't manage to get at least the mighty King Crimson, which is arguably THEE Prog band of the 70s. So going over this boxset compilation over a decade later I can't help but think that this project was a rush job and it has the feel of something haphazardly thrown together to get on the market. Also I call into question the compilers of this project, if they really were true fans of Prog, and if they were, why were some of these track choices so piss-poor and not very well representative of the band and the genre as a whole? The purpose of a good compilation is to provide a taste of many bands who all share a common theme or genre: in this case late-60s/early70s Prog. Sometimes one song just isn't enough so the song chosen should be a flagship song that embodies much of what that band is about. What I'm going to do is go down the line pick out each song and give my impression on two points; if the song not only is a good induction to this huge 5CD project on Progressive Rock, but also if its a song that well represents the band at hand.

CD 1: 67:18
(I like how they focused on this first CD making it mostly ProtoProg stuff from the 60s)

1. THE NICE: America (6:18)
(Might be their most well known track, but its also a cover song from Leonard Bernstein's, West Side Story. Something a little more individualistic for the band would have been better. You'll see a reoccurring trend towards these 'novelty tracks' throughout this boxset...as if the compilers couldn't be bothered to take the time to listen to more tracks from these bands and choose a better songs.)

2. TRAFFIC: Paper Sun (4:18)
(This is a pretty good, psychedelic, jazzy little number. I'm still not super familiar with Traffic, but they definitely deserve mention for their contributions in those formative days of Prog and Psych)

3. PROCOL HARUM: Repent Walpurgis (5:10)
(Another key band from the earliest days of Prog and definitely deserve some space on this comp. A nice haunting little instrumental number. I personally would have preferred something more w/ more vocals but this song really does hit the spot.)

4. The PRETTY THINGS: Private Sorrow / Balloon Burning (7:39)
(Credited as making the first concept album, The Pretty Things as well as this segment of songs hailing from the album in question "S.F. Sorrow", is a perfect induction into this boxset, plenty of diversification here which puts the band in a good light.)

5. The MOODY BLUES: Legend Of A Mind (6:47)
(Another quintessential early Prog/Psych/Experimental Rock band, this song is the somewhat well known tribute to LSD icon Timothy Leary, I'd prefer more of a deeper cut from one of their albums, but it really does showcase the band at the top of their game, very atmospheric with a wide use of instrumentation, including an early use of the mellotron.)

6. RENAISSANCE: Kings & Queens (11:00)
(Now here is somewhat of an odd choice for this band, while it does show an early Prog band that was hugely inspired by classical music, and a very good song at that, it's not what most would consider "classic era" Renaissance, approx 1972 onwards when the beautiful vocal talents of Annie Haslam entered the fold, became center stage for the band and gave them what most would consider their distinct Renaissance sound. I'd be like having a compilation on Heavy Metal and including a song from one of the first 2 Iron Maiden albums, instead of anything from the Bruce era (with all due respect to Paul DiAnno.) Good song no less, but just a very odd choice.)

7. RARE BIRD: Sympathy (2:38)
(This was a minor hit overseas, and while its an okay melancholic 'peace and love' track, I personally feel that some of the better songs off Rare Bird's 1969's debut s/t album that would have been far greater, the grandiose "Gods of War" for one.)

8. PETER SINFIELD: Under The Sky (4:21)
(A very calming earthy tune from this cat who was part of King Crimson during their early years, very poetic stuff, but I wouldn't want to have too many songs of this light airy nature representing Prog, a few, like this one, is good for variety's sake.)

9. KLAUS SCHULZE: Searching (12:18)
(Another great song that adds to the variety here, early spacey ambient music by the master. A Tangerine Dream song would have also been appreciated.)

10. Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come: Sunrise (6:49)
(The compilers actually get a few bonus points here for including Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come, instead of the much more well known Crazy World of...and their iconic hit "Fire." This sad little song here showcases that eclectic, and wild vocal talents of Aurthur Brown, but it doesn't really show the humorous side of this band in which ought to have been represented here. Once again, many of these songs of low key nature, maybe just a few too many IMO. The next CD picks up that pace though.)

CD 2: 63:33
(Starting to get into Progressive Rock proper, and a nice variety of international bands start making their appearance.)

1. APHRODITE'S CHILD: The System/ Babylon (3:22)
(This is taken from the most well known, and best album "666" which is also a concept album that plays out like one long schizophrenic track. So it would have been hard to choose which song/segment to include here, they took the easy way out and just put the first part of this massive album. The album has a few truly freaky tracks that I would have chosen instead, but what we have here is a decent enough choice though.

2. ATOMIC ROOSTER: Death Walks Behind You (7:34)
(While its their most well known track, I can't imagine a better more representative song they could have chosen from this seminal Heavy Prog band. Most of their later stuff is geared in a more Hardrock/Boogie direction, but the album that bears the same song here is a mandatory listen for anyone interested in early Heavy Metal. Track is also good for variety to showcasing, heavier, bluesier side of Prog.)

3. ASH RA TEMPEL: Der Vierte Kuss (6:25)
(There are better tracks out there by this cosmic Krautrock jam band. This song here, is basically bluesy jamming that could have been seen at any bar during that time. Very boring and disappointing inclusion.)

4. Van Der Graaf Generator: Killer (8:20)
(Now we reach on of my personal favs, and a giant in the world of Prog. I also think this song is about as perfect a track you could chose to go on a Prog comp as well as showcasing what this band has to offer.)

5. CAN: Oh Yeah (7:23)
(Another one of my personal favs, and one of the farthest reaching bands in terms of influence in Underground Pop music history. Another perfect song choice for both the comp and the band.)

6. ELP: Knife-Edge (5:08)
(One of two tracks included here by the mighty ELP. And now for one of my biggest complaints here; why do we need 2 songs by ELP? ...together taking up almost 20 minutes of CD space in this boxset? Really, everyone ought to know ELP by now, and they should have made space for a couple more deserving lesser known bands. And while I admit this was the first time I heard ELP (even w/o this boxset I'm sure I would have heard them soon enough), one song would have been sufficient enough.)

7. CARAVAN: In The Land Of Grey And Pink (4:59)
(I love this little song! I think when I first heard this boxset this is one of the many that I probably passed up, being that it's a relatively simple, non-imposing little number. But hearing it now it makes perfect sense for it's inclusion as well as summing up much of what the band has to offer in one good song.)

8. CURVED AIR: It Happened Today (4:58)
(It's nice to show a few female fronted bands here, and show that Prog wasn't all a big sausage fest. (The opportunity could have also been had in showing some amazing female vocals with Renaissance, but they fucked that one up!) However the choice is so fucking basic; the first song off their first album. Wow, what little time they took in choosing this song, pathetic. A much better song could have been found off their "Phantasmagoria" album IMO, had they made a bit of effort.)

9. FOCUS: Hocus Pocus (6:44)
(Eh, what a lame choice. While it may be their most known song, is definitely a novelty hit. A song that can actually still be heard on classic rock radio now and then and I believed was also used for a car commercial. A much better cut could have been found off their bombastic fusion opus, "3", which would have shown this band at their absolute best.)

10. WIGWAM: Prophet/ Marvelry Skimmer (8:40)
(After a couple of flops this CD gets some redemption by including this good set of tracks, 4th album "Being". A nice balance of talent and originality, are displayed here, as well as being the only band from Finland included here!)

CD 3: 69:56

1. YES: Perpetual Change (8:57)
(You can't go wrong with anything from Yes, circa 1971-1977, and this song is as good as any to showcase the brilliance of this important band. But once again, like the treatment of ELP in this boxset, Yes get 2 songs! Once again, if your into Prog, or getting into Prog, you're going to know Yes, regardless. So why take up so much space with the big names, while there are literally hundreds of other lesser known Prog bands that could have and should have been included.)

2. ARGENT: Lothlorien (7:54)
(I'm still not even sure who this band is, but this song is pretty darn good. It starts off bring that medieval sounding edge that's synonymous with Prog as well as leading into a jazzy side that keeps it all together, that last part of the song get a little to jammy and solo oriented for me. But a decent enough song none the less. I'll have to investigate further.)

3. ROXY MUSIC: Ladytron (4:24)
(It's good to show a bit of the Glam side of things, and Roxy Music is about the best band to do it. Song choice is decent enough, but there are other Roxy Music songs that might have been better. It would have also been nice to include some of the works off the early Brian Eno albums, which IMO, are milestones in the world of progressive and experimental rock/pop music.)

4. SUPERSISTER: Radio (4:02)
(This band doesn't even get enough praise and its nice to see them included here. Very quirky and talented band. Kind of like Caravan meets The Mothers. Decent enough song here that shows, a few sides of the band.)

5. SAVAGE ROSE: Dear Little Mother (4:25)
(Another, who the fuck is this band? Haha! A charming little number, and also bonus points for it having a female singer. But there are definitely better bands out there that should have been included.)

6. GENESIS: Musical Box (10:31)
(Genesis are about the greatest band that ever existed, but again, a big name band getting 2 lengthy songs included in this boxset is just a no-no. 20 minutes for Genesis could have been trimmed down to 5 or 10 mins, and another 2 or 3 bands been included in this set. It seems pretty lazy if you ask me.

7. ELO: Roll Over Beethoven (8:11)
(Yet another fucking novelty track, and a bad one at that. ELO might be a talented band, but one must question why they are even on this comp to begin with? Perhaps some of their earlier albums could be considered more progressive, but there are so many more deserving bands, yet they throw ELO on here with their goofiest novelty hit, it's just plain silly.)

8. The STRAWBS: New World (4:16)
(This band definitely deserves a place in a boxset on Prog, decent enough track that shows the band in a good light, but hark! what do I see below? another track from The Strabs, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!)

9. PFM: Celebration (3:53)
(Once again, they go with the novelty cut, proving that the compilers aren't as familiar with the music as they'd lead you to believe. PFM are the most popular band amongst the greater Rock Progressivo Italiano world, and its shame they couldn't have culled a more appropriate song to represent both the band and Italy's huge 70s Prog scene.)

10. ELP: Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pts. 1 & 2 (13:22)
(The 2nd ELP track, while this is 2 parts of their magnum opus, it doesn't need to be here considering they already had a song.)

CD 4: 63:10

1. GENESIS: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (8:02)
(Brilliant song!, but like ELP, one Genesis song should have been enough.)

2. YES: Siberian Khatru (9:23)
(Brilliant song!, but like ELP and Genesis, one Yes song should have been enough.)

3. ROXY MUSIC: Virginia Plain (3:02)
(WHAT!??! Another Roxy Music song? Fuck these compilers are now even lazier than I thought!!!. boooo!!!)

4. WISHBONE ASH: Warrior (5:57)
(This a great song, from a great album. Everyone into Prog as well as early Heavy Metal should own this album, "Argus". Also one of the earliest bands to use the dual guitar method who in turn was one of the biggest influences on Iron Maiden. Glad they included this.)

5. LARD FREE: Warinobaril (3:53)
(Here is a cool little induction of this Krautrock band that hails from France. Once again though this seems like it was handled with little care. First song off the first album which actually noticeably cuts at the end here because its just the first part of a side long piece, how fucking useless. Actually it's an okay part, one of the more abrasive songs on in this entire boxset, but their next 2 albums, are even weirder and more adventurous and would have made for a better song choice.)

6. AMON DÜÜL II: Mozambique (7:42)
(A pretty good spacey track, also has female vocals. Would have chosen something from one of their earlier albums like Phallus Dei or Yeti. Could have been better but not a horrible choice either.)

7. STRAWBS: Round And Round (4:44)
(Fuckin hell, Out of all the bands here why do The Strawbs get to have 2 songs as well? This should have been a very democratic endeavor: one song per band. Boooo! again!)

8. NEKTAR: Questions And Answers (5:07)
(Seminal band here that definitely deserves inclusion. The song is actually a clever segment taken for the larger "Remember the Future" concept album. )

9. ANGE: Fils De Lumiere (3:59)
(Small cut for a band as huge as Ange. But whatever I don't expect more from this comp at this point. Its a good track, french lyrics, full on mellotron, and nice melodic instrumenting ending. )

10. Le ORME: Ritorno Al Nulla (3:36)
(I love this track! But its an instrumental track, why not include one with the distinct vocal talents of Aldo Tagliapietra? Another great Italian Prog band that's under-represented. Again with the fail.)

11. CLEARLIGHT: Without Words (7:45)
(Another good French band, this time in the instrumental symphonic/fusion style. A lot of talent on display here, and therefor lot's of shred going on. Good individual song, that adds nice diversity to this boxset.)

CD 5: 62:04
(This CD I think was supposed to offer some of the most eccentric bands of the genre, but as you will see there is some severe missteps with this one.)

1. SEVENTH WAVE: Star Palace Of The Sombre Warrior (6:34)
(Heavy use of synths here by this lesser known British psych band. Very melodramatic, and cheesy and kind of reminds me of Eloy (who should have been on this comp as well) I think it was a good choice for the band as well as to show off the more super sci-fi synthy side of Progressive Rock.)

2. GONG: Perfect Mystery (2:29)
(This song is way too small for such a monolith band as Gong. While it is a good song with plenty to show for within its 2 and a half minutes, I just believe Gong should have at least gotten more space on this compilation. It's almost a bit of a snub or an off-handed choice by made without much care or respect for the band involved.)

3. GENTLE GIANT: Free Hand (6:17)
(Good song from these Prog legends. Bit of an easy choice, but its a well written tune that shows off much of the complex wizardry which GG puts in their songs.)

4. HENRY COW: War (2:27)
(Now I like this song, its quirky, somewhat angry and awkward. It's also the song that got me into Henry Cow, but having 10+ years now with Henry Cow, I feel that this might have actually misrepresented the band. As Henry Cow is an institution in progressive and experimental music, and the members went on to perform in so many, many, MANY more projects. You cant get very far in the world of Avant-Garde music and not run into a branch that somehow leads back to Henry Cow. They are also the fathers of the subgenre of Prog known as 'Rock In Opposition', and to see that style of Prog so highly lacking in this comp is sinful.)

5. SAMLA MAMMAS MANNA: Andra Satsen (5:41)
(Pretty good track choice here from this eclectic Swedish Fusion band Nothing negative to say here.)

6. HATFIELD & THE NORTH: Let's Eat (3:17)
(Well, no Soft Machine, no Camel, no Matching Mole, no Egg, etc, but at least we have Hatfield & the North being one of the very few here to represent the prolific Canterbury scene.)

7. BANCO: Traccia II (2:45)
(3rd Italian band in the boxset and its strike 3! for the compilers in regard to Rock Progressivo Italiano! They basically put an outro track for Banco's 3rd album "IO SONO NATO LIBERO." It's evident that there was absolutely no care in choosing this song for Banco. A 2 and a half minute instrumental outro song...what a fucking disgrace! And to no take into consideration the charismatic vocal talents of Francesco Di Giacomo is just pathetic.)

8. MAGMA: Tröller Tanz (3:40)
(And now for what I consider he biggest fuck up of the entire boxset! Magma being my absolute favorite band has been totally underrepresented here with the cut 'Tröller Tanz', off their "Üdü Ẁüdü" album. This song is basically a segue song in the middle of side one of the LP. One of the greatest identifying elements in Magma vast toolbox of sound is the polyrhythmic choral vocal chants. None of which is on display here in this song. Just a very minimal sung part by Klaus Blasquiz during the middle of the track. By itself its awkward, but makes more sense in the context and flow of the album, but makes no sense in having this piece stand alone in representing the godlike musical force which is Magma. It's almost like they purposefully chose this song that didn't have the vocal chants, cause they thought it was cheesy (because the compilers are no Prog fans themselves anyway) and assumed everyone else would think the same as their Nirvana-istheendallbeallofmusic, loving asses. (with all due respect to Nirvana, hehe.) But I know the type and this just shows the true colors of the compilers of this boxset in all their musically myopic shame.)

9. FAUST: It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl (7:30)
(I like this song an awful lot, it's a great nod towards the Velvet Underground. But Faust is very musically diverse and has an everything including the kitchen sink approach to creating music. I think one of their snipit, potpourri tape cut recordings would have been more representative of what the band is about.)

10. QUIET SUN: Mummy Was An Asteroid, Daddy Was A Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil (6:10)
(Now this was a great inclusion to this boxset. Queit Sun were of the Canterbury jazzrock scene but only had one great energetic album, which also featured Brian Eno. Charles Hayward the drummer, also went on to form the farseeing band This Heat, which IMO is one of the greatest and most groundbreaking experimental rock bands of all time. But of course they aren't featured in this comp cause the people who put his together aren't cool enough to know about This Heat, and if they do they probably don't consider This Heat to be Prog, but Post-Punk, cause Prog is just so inherently uncool. BTW, after This Heat, Hayward went on into the equally impressive Camberwell Now, which can be considered a more Proggy version of This Heat.)

11. GOLDEN EARRING: Radar Love (6:28)
(Upon seeing this one might say, WTF? As I did when I came across this song when I first listened to this boxset. To be honest though Golden Earring does have a progressive side and even this song, when listened to in the context of the whole album adventurous album of "Moontan" it makes much more sense and doesn't sound half bad. But really, one again I point the bone at the compilers at taking the easy way out and choosing the hit that is a mainstay on classic rock radio. Who hasn't heard this song? Not as big of a fuck up as the ELP choice but if they were going to include Golden Earring at all, then why not use on of their more progressive sounding songs?)

12. FRANK ZAPPA: The Inca Roads (8:46)
(One of the more well known Zappa songs, but its a complete circle of a song, that showcases much of what Zappa was about; humor, talent, and total musical discipline.)

Whew! There it is, my lowdown of every track presented in this boxset. As you can see my enthusiasm for this comp dwindles towards the end. Just thinking about how flippant they were about putting this together enrages me. Also noticing how transparent the compilers are in their, not only lack of knowledge on the genre but each individual band, and how callow some of these song choices really were. I'm going to attest that most of these people at Rhino Records, or whom ever the hell these compilers are, weren't really fans of Prog to begin with. And it becomes all so evident during my searches while writing up this entry into my blog I cam across a review with this Steve Hochman dude who wrote up the liner notes in the book let here....
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Read that and tell me how much of a fan of Prog this guy really is? What a fucking joke! Not only is he a fly by night fan of the genre, but he also seems embarrassed that he was asked to write up the silly essay in the booklet. Really, they could have found just about anyone who writes reviews for the Prog-Archives to write up a more enthusiastic and well informed entry to the booklet than this Steve Hochman character. It's like asking some egghead who does music reviews for the NY Times to write up a booklet that comes with a boxset on early 90s Black Metal....Am I right? The dude is so detached from the genre he writes about it's a total fallacy. He makes a round about statement that "Prog" structures in comparison to Beethoven are simplistic. Maybe so, but does that mean no can write any sort of rock music that displays any sort of complexity beyond a 4/4, 3/4 time? No one is allowed to inject any sort of intellect or sophistication in a rock song beyond the primal thump of a blues rock chord cause that's the act of pretension? Highly syncopated and densely structured passages are only reserved for jazz music or white haired classical composers? Lyrically it all has to be about falling on hard times, raging against the man, or pleading with your girlfriend for it to be 'real?' Music with utopic and transcendental ideals or cerebral science fiction themes have no meaning? As I've stated before, and my go to defense for the tired old "pretentious" crap people like to fling towards any kind of Progressive and/or Technical music: if you have a musical vision, and the chops to deliver on that vision, then there is no act of 'pretension' taking place. So what if Prog isn't on the same level as Bela Bartok? I like Prog for what it is, Rock music, for crying out loud!...not classical. I've listened to my share of classical, (Renaissance, Baroque, Contemporary, etc) and while I enjoy and appreciate much of it, it still doesn't speak to me in the way Prog does (or Black Metal, and other musics mind you.) Perhaps I'm just an unschooled blockhead when it comes to music, but I like the idea of 3,4,5 guys getting together and creating ambitious 'Rock' compositions with basically guitar, voice and drums (and perhaps a few more instruments.) It's very 'blue-collar' process to me, no more or less DIY than Punk or Folk. The dude likes to use phrases like 'this holds up' or 'that doesn't hold up', insinuating there is a dated quality to the music in question. That's such a dinosaur mentality, when the fact of the matter is music like King Crimson, Genesis and Yes will live on forever and continue to draw new fans by the day thanks to the democratic nature of the Internet, where music critics and centralized music outlets are a dying breed and people have more access to music then ever before and can make up their own mind on what they want to listen to. Seeing so many young folks out there picking up on said bands and allowing themselves to be blown away by the sheer power of the music is a timeless process that I don't see being broken any time in he near future. Is Yes, (the band), past their prime?...probably. But does "Close to the Edge" remain a timeless piece of art that becomes someones new favorite album just about every day?...damn straight! The sad thing is this boxset remains the biggest the Prog genre has going for it. And in this day of highspeed Internet and DLs where you can hear and sample just about every band to have ever existent, there probably will never be a project like this in the works to ever surface again.


If interested you can DL the entire boxset here

:::NOT FINISHED:::

June 2011 Album Reviews

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Sun Jun 05, 2011 3:07 pm


Island - Pictures 1977


What we have here is a young Prog band from Switzerland circa 1977, trying to keep their favorite music alive and vital entering the latter part of the 70s. This band no doubt wore their influence on their sleeves, but more than just a ripoff band it seems like the attempt was to throw many Prog elements into the pot in hopes for a new archetype for Prog. Perhaps the hope was for cerebral style of Prog that was darker, more dystopian, and uncertain about the fast moving technological future. They created a musical synthesis that few 2nd and 3rd generation Prog bands at that time could only dream of achieving. Well, as the counter-cultural tides rapidly changed and the onset of the immediacy in Punk and New Wave set in, we never got tons of bands out there all of a sudden playing like Island, and Island themselves seemed to have withered away into obscurity shortly afterward. Time and time again we've seen in all genres of music, bands that are this good from the start quickly burn hot and burn out fast, leaving behind a single gold statement to their name. So looking back at an album like "Picture" in 2011 we bare witness to an album that was pretty much fated to be a lost Prog gem of kvlt status...and thus will remain so ever after. But what a gem this is! This band has often been compared to Van Der Graaf Generator, and that's mostly due to the guitar-less, heavy sax approach. They take it even further being a 'completely' guitar-less band--also excluding the bass guitar, which they leave the bass-lines to the keyboards: just more original components to an already original band. Keys, sax, wicked drumming+percussion, and a very eccentric vocalist is the initial recipe here before its prepared, cooked and ready to taste. Aside from the VDGG influence, Island seem to be drawing blatantly from many other bands as well, hailing from Genesis, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Magma, even Henry Cow. This adds up to a very challenging listen which requires much attention. For one...the structures are unclear and move along in a labyrinthine fashion. First impression would seem like there are a lot of passages that have no connection whatsoever with preceding and/or succeeding segments. For me the songs are done in narrative style that unfolds in surprising directions at each turn of a page. Definitely not music for the neophyte who expects grounding in a constant beat and a foreseeable chorus. Not to say there isn't anything catchy throughout each composition because there is, but there are a lot of tempo changes here and just when you think you've anchored yourself onto a predictable beat and formula they take another turn into something ambient and atonal. The music can be incredibly dense and multifaceted, at times erecting heavy notes around a keyboard lead bass rhythm in a Zeuhl like fashion, at others bouncing complimentary melodies around the frame work in a hooky manner that will no doubt bring to mind, Gentle Giant and Genesis. In addition to the more complex and beat/rhythm driven segments, you get a contrast of gloomy and sprawling, slow-build, quiet and dissonant passages, causing you to lean in and grasp at every ominous sound given. The vocals from the start remind me of Peter Gabriel, especially during the more narrative moments. But while the singer bites off of Gabriel, he offers up his own twisted style of moaning, crooning, and strange A Capella bits scattered throughout, bringing to mind the vocal acrobatics of Klaus Blasquiz (Magma fame). There's also the use of strange whispers and even rhythmic breathy moments that adds more flavor the the already bizarre formula. The specially made album cover by HR Giger is totally appropriate and complimentary to the music. Keeping the artwork in mind while listening the the album bring visions of floating through the vast alien chambers of Giger's twisted-mind creations, especially during their more Avant-Garde atonal moments. To top it off, as haunting and cerebral as the music is, there are stabs at humor here and there, mostly in the odd lyrics and bizarre vocalizations: hearing lines about 'gastric juices' will cause the listener to have a few 'WTF?' moments! If there are any complaints I have with this album it's more of a personal one, and its that sometimes I might get a wee bit impatient for the more melody and rhythmic parts to kick in, so like I stated above it's an album the requires your undivided attention, and not really an album to throw on for an immediate injection of Prog Rocking fury while driving in your car. So like, Magma, Univerz Zero and the like, it's best listened to in bed with headphones on, enveloping yourself in the undiminished universe of the art at hand.

9.5/10

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