Death Metal Underground: Mike Arsenyev

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

by Mike Arsenyev on January 12, 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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SA Symphony to Perform Brahms

by Mike Arsenyev on December 27, 2012

brahms facial

Even with lingering budget woes, the San Antonio Symphony is proceeding with their plans to perform Johannes Brahms’ inflectional contributions to Classical Music. 2012 saw the SA Symphony successfully stage a Beethoven Festival which received good reviews.

Created and curated by Sebastian Lang-Lessing, the program consists of all four Symphonies, both Piano Concertos, the Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, and more. It starts February 8th and concludes February 17th, at the rustic Majestic Theater in Downtown San Antonio.

Known as a nature enthusiast and sarcastic, akin to Beethoven, Brahms’ First Symphony has often been referred to as a ‘Beethoven’s 10th’. There is no doubt that Brahms was both intimidated and inspired by Beethoven, which contributed to the late bloomer’s compositions.

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Tags: brahms festival, san antonio symphony

Wrangling Furtwängler

by Mike Arsenyev on December 19, 2012

“…after having learned the art of conducting with second class orchestras, he became a reputed conductor from 1922. But the nazi era imposed him to make a choice : Furtwängler stayed in Berlin, but as an exiled in his own country, as he used to say. With the end of the war, he was given the opportunity to come back at the head of European musical culture, promoting humanity in music. But times were changing, and he was perceived more than ever as distant from “modernity”, as this concept was understood then.” – www.furtwangler.org

Furtwängler believed that he captured the time signatures that the composers intended. Though, not as popular as Karajan and others, the unique standpoint which Wilhelm Furtwängler displayed shouldn’t go unnoticed.

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Tags: Beethoven, conductor, Furtwangler, nazi germany

Hipster Whale Metal is Not Metal

by Mike Arsenyev on December 10, 2012

The days of acceptance to bulk should be forgotten. Bulk is excess. Excess leads to destruction (not the destruction which infuriates society), but rather an influx of estrogen that supports cute things. Cute things are cute, but not part of the spirit of metal.

What metal captured was something desolate, isolated, and most importantly; realized.

As most Romantic art captured the joys and fears of life, our society tends to suckle on the opposite. Quick fixes for a quick stimuli, with no real objective. Actually, there is an objective. It’s money and acceptance.

Art is meant to challenge, which an abyss would. We could attribute art to the abyss.

Say no to Hipster Whale Metal.

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Tags: gojira

LaSanche (ex-Necrovore) releases demo Death Magick

by Mike Arsenyev on December 8, 2012

Like Necrovore?

LaSanche is the contrivance of guitarist Bjorn Haga (Ex-Necrovore, Thornspawn, HOD).

Demos offer what a band is capable of being. This demo, “Death Magick” (2012), presents a most favorable foundation, though leaves enough space to not exact a direct conclusion of how it’ll stem to the debut.

Seeing LaSanche perform live with new members promulgated a more solid line-up, which had drums pummel the audience into oblivion.

There appears to be a resurgence of the old school. It’s only fitting that those from the pioneering times throw their weight around.