Christian “Metal” is Torture

Back in the hazy 00’s, psychologist Philip Zimbardo released his book ‘The Lucifer Effect‘, which its title derives from the metaphorical transformation of Lucifer into Satan. It was a study about how good people can do bad deeds, and its substance was mainly on his findings about how prison guards turn to abusing inmates. The ultimate point Zimbardo was trying to make was that there is no good or evil person, since each person can be seduced to “good” or “bad” undertakings.

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However, torture can be a very sufficient way to throw your enemy into turmoil. With the outright contradiction that is ChristianMetal“, it can catapult the listener into a world of confusion, thus becoming a very suitable device for torment.

According to Esquire Magazine, a gaggle of Navy SEALs were using the music of Metallica to torture Iraqi militants. Once  Metallica received notice that their music was actually resulting in something proactive, they issued a press statement requesting them to cease. “Part of me is proud they chose Metallica, and then part of me is bummed about it. We’ve got nothing to do with this and we’re trying to be apolitical as possible – I think politics and music, at least for us, don’t mix,” said James Hetfield.

Saddened by Metallica‘s decision, the Navy SEALs embarked onward to take things into their own hands and forged the most psychologically destructive torture device known to man: ChristianMetal“. They enlisted the imagery and audio idiocy of Demon Hunter to show the militants true patriotic strength.

Demon Hunter said, ‘We’re all about promoting what you do.’ They sent us CDs and patches. I wore my Demon Hunter patch on every mission – I wore it when I blasted Bin Laden,” one Navy SEAL stated.

One could assume that lunatic Osama Bin Laden took the easy route out. Death before ChristianMetal“.

Source: RT

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Death Melodies Series: Sergei Rachmaninov

The Death Melodies Series (DMS) continues with one of the last Romanticist composers.

rachmanRachmaninov was born in Russia in 1873 and died in 1943. After the Russian Revolution, he spent most of his time in the US and Europe. He’s known as a late Romanticist while Modern styling was becoming prominent. He’s widely considered a virtuoso on piano, which his piano concertos have become standard in classical music performance.

Toward the end of Rachmaninov’s life he drifted from American lifestyle and would rather speak in his natural Russian tongue. His circle of friends that he would regularly visit were mainly Russian nationals.

When Rachmaninov was in Paris in 1907, he stumbled upon Arnold Böcklin’s fourth version of the painting ‘Isle of the Dead‘, which inspired him to compose his symphonic poem about it. The fourth version was black and white, which Rachmaninov stated that if he had seen the colored version that he wouldn’t have forged his somber symphonic villanelle. The fourth being rather recondite, it’s easy to see the correlation to the temperament Rachmaninov sets in the first half of his piece.

The painting depicts a man being ferried to an island. Böcklin never mentioned the meaning behind it, but others surmise it’s of a lifeless man being transferred to afterlife. It has been a source of inspiration for Salvador Dali and many others. Hitler was also noted to having a version in his office.

After the austere waves of sound passes in the first half, it shifts to pure beauty.

On the piano front, Rachmaninov composed many pieces. When he was 19 he wrote his “The Bells of Moscow” Prelude in C Sharp Minor. This piece gained enormous popularity. At one point he stopped composing and would just perform shows to earn money for his family. The crowds always wanted to hear this piece. He was embittered to it as he grew older.

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Massive Sale on Extreme Metal CDs

Forbidden Records has slashed their prices for the time being on CDs in their distro.

Most CDs are listed as $5 (and an additional 10% discount for today only). With Valentines day around the corner, why not relish in the devil’s intonation and offer your significant other a soundtrack or few to fuel their metal lust?

Purchases can be made at forbidden-records.com


cdsale

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Death Melodies Series: Marin Marais

Marin_Marais_2The Death Melodies Series (DMS) continues with more Baroque.

Frenchman and basse de viol master Marin Marais lived from 1656 to 1728. He was hired as a court musician for the royal court of Versailles in France. During and after his stint appeasing the wigs upstairs, he wrote numerous books for his instrument.

Not much is known of this composer’s personal life after he reached adulthood.

Ironically, former Morbid Angel and Nocturnus drummer/vocalist Mike Browning was recently hospitalized for having enormous kidney stones. His surgery to remove them was successful. Marin Marais‘ morbid work ‘The Bladder Stone Operation‘ for viol and harpsichord would have been a suiting victory soundtrack.

Q&A with Mike Browning regarding his surgery:

When did you realize something was odd in your body?

About 3 weeks ago I started getting a very bad pain on my left side, right in the area above were your leg and body meet. This is the 3rd time I have had kidney stones, so instantly I knew what it was. The pain got so bad though that I had to go to the emergency room!

How long did the procedure last?

They used a laser on me to crush up one large and several small stones in my left kidney, the whole procedure lasted almost 3 hours, luckily I was under anesthesia!

What type of medication did the doctors give you after the surgery?

They only gave me a bottle of hydrocodone 5 mg, which is not much more than taking a couple aspirins!

Did you at any point think about Marin Marais while you were hospitalized?

No, until now I have never heard of Marin Marais! The only thing I thought about was pain and when it would all be over!!!

Mike Browning prepping for surgery.

kidney stoneLe Tableau De L’Operation De La Taille (in 17th Century French)

L’aspect de l’apareil – Fremißement en le voyant – Resolution pour y monter – Parvenu jusqu’au hault – descente dudit apareil – Reflexions serieuses – Entrelaßement des soyes – entre les bras et les jambes – Icy se fait l’incision – Introduction de la tenette – Icy lon tire la piere – Icy lon perd quasi la voyes – Ecoulement du sang – Icy lon osteles soyes – Icy lon vous transporte dans le lit.

English Translation:

The depiction of a waist surgery – The appearance of the operating table – A shudder on seeing it – Determination when mounting it – Climbing in – Climbing out and dismounting – Grave thoughts – Knotting the silk restrains for arms and legs – Then the incision is made – Introduction of the forceps – Then the stone is drawn – Then you nearly lose your voice – Blood flows – Then the silks are unknotted – Then you are taken to bed.

Here we have a viola da gamba and harpsichord performing Marin Marais‘ bladder stone song.

Aside from composing about his own surgical encounters, Marin Marais was also very proficient at creating a simple motif and building complex structures upon it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSRuwF2rNts

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Death Melodies Series: Johann Sebastian Bach

johann_sebastian_bachThe Death Metal Underground (DMU) is proud to present the Death Melodies Series (DMS).

The primary function of the DMS is to expose metalheads to Classical Music that they might enjoy.

If it’s Baroque, don’t fix it.

Our first in the Death Melodies Series will feature some Baroque pieces. The Baroque Period followed after the Renaissance Period and was roughly from the beginning of the 1600’s to mid 1700’s. The emphasis on tonal harmony was established during this time. Opera was also introduced amid the Baroque term.

This article will focus on Bach, which is one of the most prolific Classical composers that ever lived. Bach gradually became blind as he aged, however his disability didn’t stop him from composing. Other noteworthy composers of this era were Handel, Scarlatti (x2), and Vivaldi. Nevertheless, the DMS will be showcasing more of the dark, ominous, and powerful pieces.

Bach’s most assaulting weapon was the organ, though he also played and wrote pieces for violin, viola, and harpsichord.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtOgB_oFAw

There is debate about transcriptions for Bach’s organ work for other instruments. Hipsters like Glenn Gould would claim that they do justice transcribing it to piano, though piano was invented during Bach’s life and he didn’t compose any melodies for it because he found it somewhat lacking. Glenn Gould just wanted to be hip, different, and make money doing it. Orchestrated versions of Bach’s work tend to add more parallels, which Stokowski portrayed:

Here is another example of an orchestrated rendition:

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“Black Magic Evocation of the Shem ha Mephorash” Occult Book Released

Some classical music incorporated morbid themes, but most metalheads look back to Black Sabbath being the first to incorporate occult themes into their music. Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler have both been noted for dabbling in the dark arts, while their vocal counterpart Ozzy Osbourne publicly denounced any Satanic undercurrents. Their label Warner Bros was more than likely the cause to establish their occult image in the press. From this point on, the dark arts have been subject matter to innumerable musical acts and has become steeple in the extreme metal community.

Gilles de Rais from US Black Metal band Teratism has released his grimoire, “Black Magic Evocation of the Shem ha Mephorash“.

Excerpt from its press release via Negativity Records:black magic evocation

“The Shem ha Mephorash or Explicit Name is a list of 72 angels derived by ancient occultists. Combined, these spirits are believed to comprise the secret name of the Creation of the Universe. Now, for the first time, these angels are uncovered and illuminated, presented with detailed information and spirit signatures, enabling witches and left-hand-path magicians to access their energy and interact with them through ceremonial conjuration and black magic. In essence, Black Magic Evocation of the Shem ha Mephorash dissects the Abrahamic creator Deity into 72 segments and empowers brave witches everywhere to ritually evoke them into conscious interactive manifestation. Included are exhaustive tables of hours, days, weeks, months, planets, elements, and sacraments, all the information needed to bring the spirits of the Shem ha Mephorash, the most powerful name in western occultism, to life within the magician’s ritual chamber.”

 
Q&A with Gilles de Rais:

Where do you think the occult first gained momentum in Metal?

I don’t know: Black Sabbath? But that thread really goes back to the Blues, which is a form of apostate gospel sung by those who wanted to get drunk and laid on Saturday night more than they valued getting saved on Sunday morning. Moreover, the idea of magick hidden in music (or music as a form of magick) goes back to the dawn of civilization. The book of Genesis talks about the fact that music and musical instruments were invented by Jubal, one of the sons of Cain, the first murderer and a symbolic type of the Antichrist. Even though the book of Genesis is fictional, its poetry, symbols and imagery derive from archetypes in the shared collective unconscious going back to before Sumeria. To quote the old adage: the Devil writes the catchiest tunes.

You go by the saying ‘Do What Thou Wilt’, which stemmed from Aleister Crowley’s teachings. My personal take on this saying is more of a metaphysical one; meaning that we should harness our wills into the most impactful manner possible. Then again, there must be meaning behind our wills. If they are aimless, they shouldn’t be focused upon. How do you equate this saying in your day-to-day life?

The statement “Do What Thou Wilt” is misunderstood. Everyone seems to want to take orders and always looks for some new commandment. It is not a commandment. It is a simple admission that the laws of physics provide the limitations of human experience, not what your priest, pastor or rabbi tells you. It is simple, elegant, flatly amoral statement and should be left as such and not tagged with any asterisks, addendums, modifications or apologies. The morality should come from your own conscience and the fact that the temporal lobe of your brain gives you the ability to ponder the consequences of your actions and act accordingly.

What inspired you to write this grimoire?

I wrote it to consolidate the wisdom of a growing library of books on the occult — 700+ and counting — that I have collected over a lifetime, and from my knowledge of those books, synthesize a functional, cohesive, unique system of left-hand-path meditative and mystical Satanism as a way of providing a foundation of legitimacy to creating music under the titulary umbrella of Black Metal, which I personally believe begins and ends with the transmission of Satanism and demonology.

In the process of researching for that book, on which I am still working, I attempted to gain some understanding of the Shem ha Mephorash (Shemhamphorash) due to the fact that (1) it is ubiquitously referred to in Satanism and black metal, and (2) i could not find any authoritative, complete books on the subject. This book (Black Magic Evocation of the Shem ha Mephorash) is the result of my findings.

How would you differentiate Luciferianism and Satanism?

Etymologically, Lucifer means light bearer and the name primarily refers to Satan as the descending archangel who brings forbidden illumination to witches (and mankind). Satan means “adversary” or “accuser” and it refers to the role of Satan as an enemy of the herd, as a liberator from the commandments, restrictions, subjugations, and shackles of the right-hand path, and an instigator of insurrection against the tyranny of Light and the murderous blindness it engenders in its devotees.

Esoterically, some schools view Lucifer as Satan in his “pre-fallen” state as an archangel, and so their roles often differ in terms of how they are approached in occult ritual when accessing the two figures within this specific mythological paradigm.

Generically used, however, the two words can be interchangeable because you are drawing water from the same well. It should be noted though, that my answers are terribly condensed and incomplete, and that these two words also have as many meanings as there are practitioners of both disciplines.

What literary work would you impose on our readers that are interested in the Dark Arts?

Start with the Bible and the Koran to gain a healthy sense of contempt and rage for the mindless, savage, hysterical, phobic herds of the Right-Hand Path. When you are sufficiently outraged and ready to take action and see what the sitra ahra (other side) has to offer, you might begin Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Henry Cornelius Agrippa, which is a graduate course on Western occultism. In terms of taking the elevator all the way down to basement level 666 and drinking the poison of Sammael right out of the genie’s bottle, go to Amazon and enter “Satanism” and “Black Magick” and enjoy.

Is there a direct correlation to your book’s subject matter to Teratism’s lyrics?

That’s best left for an interview with Teratism. They’d flay me alive and put me on their altar if I went into that here.

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Smite Hipsters with Decapitated Sheep Heads

True Metal has cut the surfeit fat, declared posers and wimps irrelevant, defied commercial principles and kept a small steadfast fan base. However, it all appears to be rather divergent. In order for True Metal to thrive, quality must be spread like a plague.

This new Disma track, “The Manifestation”, has been made available to listen to.

https://soundcloud.com/disma/disma-the-manifestation

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Setting the Atmosphere (intros)

Most metal bands apply intro tracks to greet and set the mood before their music takes form. Metallica used ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’, which readied their audiences and became somewhat their trademark (which suits their country-metal).

Death metal on the other hand went a bit further. From Deicide’s goats in anguish, to Carcass’ surgical salute, to Morbid Angel summoning the Ancient Ones; it’s become standard to employ sounds outside of what bands typically use in their songs. What are your favorite intros?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCP-No1DcQI

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Last copies of death metal book ‘Glorious Times’ for sale

Alan Moses from Glorious Times (A Pictorial of the Death Metal Scene 1984-1991) has announced that less than 40 copies of their book remain for purchase.

A collaboration between zine enthusiasts Alan Moses (Buttface zine) and Brian Pattison (Chainsaw Abortions zine), this relic features rare photographs and stories from the bands themselves. There are no outside influences to censor or alter what is displayed.

Bands featured:

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Acheron – Autopsy – Baphomet – Brutality – Cannibal Corpse – Cryptic Slaughter – Dark Angel – Deceased – Deicide – Derketa – Disharmonic Orchestra – Exmortis – Groovy Aardvark – Hellwitch – Hideous Mangleus – Immolation – Impetigo – Incantation – Incubus – Insanity – Lethal Aggression – Malevolent Creation – Massacre – Massappeal – Master – Morbid Angel – Napalm Death – Nocturnus – Nuclear Death – Overthrow – Paineater – Possessed – Prime Evil – Revenant – Righteous Pigs – Ripping Corpse – Sacrifice – Sepultura – Slaughter – Soothsayer – Terrorain – Tirant Sin – Unseen Terror – Vomit – Wehrmacht – Where’s The Pope?

The rumor mill has been pirouetting around Glorious Times, and there was a leak that a new book “Glorious Times 2” is in the works.

Information for purchasing the remaining copies is located at their blogspot page.

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Abyssal releases 2nd Album “Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius” (2013)

On January 1st, England’s Abyssal released their second album of decomposing death metal via digital download.

Deriving influences from early Immolation, Incantation, and most noticeably Arkhon Infaustus; Abyssal executes their lust for decay and molds it into a good mixture of modern death/doom metal. If a rat gnawing at a corpse manifested into a soundtrack, this would be suiting.

“In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay.” – Ernst Fischer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFoxRK8f4fw

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