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331
Metal / Spiritual Music
« on: September 30, 2009, 12:10:50 PM »
The way I see it there are basically two types of 'content' in a piece of music. Firstly there are things we can quantify, pitches, rhythms, pattern based inter-relationships, we can call this intellectual content. Secondly there are qualitative aspects, moods, colors, implied states of being, we can draw a correlation between these things and quantitative elements, but they are not identical.
Modernist classical music fails because all composers care about is intellectual content, it is obvious to anybody with the ability to process information, so it impresses people of linear intelligence, it's all about appearances.
Some music I have come across, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss being the prime example, attempts to completely strip away any unnecessary intellectual content to clearly outline the fundamental idea which drives the music. Any intellectual content emerges as a consequence of a spiritual impulse. Hence we might only find two or three musical ideas in a piece, but a subtle qualitative shift creates a journey of metaphysical significance. This is what I call spiritual music.
This kind of thinking also emerges in religious minimalist music and ambient music, although not with the same degree of success as the best black metal. Theoretically music can incorporate both intellectual and spiritual content, see classical music and later Gorguts, but in my opinion in the age in which we live, where appearances dominate reality, it may be best to avoid unnecessary complications in order to deter foolish listeners. Burzum has for the most part successfully deterred idiots, whereas Obscura and Beethoven will continue to attract them, unfortunate but true.
Modernist classical music fails because all composers care about is intellectual content, it is obvious to anybody with the ability to process information, so it impresses people of linear intelligence, it's all about appearances.
Some music I have come across, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss being the prime example, attempts to completely strip away any unnecessary intellectual content to clearly outline the fundamental idea which drives the music. Any intellectual content emerges as a consequence of a spiritual impulse. Hence we might only find two or three musical ideas in a piece, but a subtle qualitative shift creates a journey of metaphysical significance. This is what I call spiritual music.
This kind of thinking also emerges in religious minimalist music and ambient music, although not with the same degree of success as the best black metal. Theoretically music can incorporate both intellectual and spiritual content, see classical music and later Gorguts, but in my opinion in the age in which we live, where appearances dominate reality, it may be best to avoid unnecessary complications in order to deter foolish listeners. Burzum has for the most part successfully deterred idiots, whereas Obscura and Beethoven will continue to attract them, unfortunate but true.
332
Metal / Re: Future of metal: change or obsolescence
« on: September 30, 2009, 10:58:18 AM »
The quote isn't quite to the point, the problem is not stylistic purity (which can produce good results), but writing music based purely on stylistic considerations. I think everyone here realizes this because they are just as willing to criticize cosmopolitan neo-metal bands as they are pure&tr00 to tha old skool black metal, provided the band has no real musical quality.
I think what we should take away from this is that every metal composer should have at least a basic knowledge of the history of metal in terms of technique and idea. Not so they can create a new cosmopolitan meta-style, but so they are aware of the continuity of the tradition that they are working within and (hopefully) expanding.
I think what we should take away from this is that every metal composer should have at least a basic knowledge of the history of metal in terms of technique and idea. Not so they can create a new cosmopolitan meta-style, but so they are aware of the continuity of the tradition that they are working within and (hopefully) expanding.
333
Metal / Re: Guillaume de Machaut - Messe de Nostre Dame
« on: September 29, 2009, 07:45:09 AM »
Great piece, and of great historical importance. I would advise you not to give up on plainchant though, if you pay attention to it closely enough you'll realize it's one of the most metal forms of music in history.
334
Metal / Re: Metal and classical convergence
« on: September 29, 2009, 07:41:25 AM »
In terms of musical theory metal and classical are completely different, metal theory is closer to early music in terms of style, mode etc. On a more subtle level we can observe similarities in the construction of metal songs and classical pieces, not so much in terms of structure (ABA ind of crap) but in the inter-relationships between ideas manifested as themes. I think classical theory leaves a lot to be desired in terms of its range of expression, it certainly falls short of early music and eastern music in this regard, so metal really has the best of both worlds.
335
Metal / Re: Metal Score Project
« on: September 27, 2009, 11:09:00 AM »Just a suggestion for getting it out there: why not upload these to YouTube instead of megaupload - with whatever kind of video accompaniment you feel would be appropriate?
When I have time to book a studio and record a few of these properly I will, but I'm not letting people make judgments based on midis. The files on megaupload are sheet music only, no sound.
336
Chasm / Re: Hi, everybody, also looking for some advice
« on: September 25, 2009, 12:59:37 PM »
A painting can have exactly the same degree of universality as music, it's geometry is analogous to the symbolic dimensions of a musical piece. As for language it is a way of organizing sound waves just as music is, it's meaning is not by necessity more limited. People shouldn't be so quick to assume that their favourite art form is the 'best one'.
337
Chasm / Re: Did all music die in the 1990s?
« on: September 25, 2009, 09:21:06 AM »From what I gathered, the music is not intended to have much compositional value, the purpose is to create an atmosphere and rhythm for bodily expression. For me drugs would have enhanced this atmosphere. I didn't chat to many people, so I wouldn't know about their intelligence but if we used the same standards at metal shows we'd have to conclude most metalheads aren't very intelligent. I'm not recommending everyone go to raves, just thought I'd mention that it seems a much more spiritual place than the way it is portrayed, people aren't just there to get drunk and laid like nightclubs or your average local metal show.Why listen to music with no compositional value and only atmosphere and rhythm when music with compositional value that also has rhythm and atmosphere exists? I *might* be able to understand using sacred mushrooms or something similar for a special experience, but it appears the drug most commonly used at raves is MDMA, which is likely a neurotoxin. I also have a hard time believing people go there for "spiritual" purposes and not just low hedonism. I might be jumping to conclusions, but how you are defending raves as reminds me of the many people (mostly teenagers) who romanticize drug use as some way of breaking out of modern society, when in fact it is more likely to drag you into the depths of decadence that you despise. Particularly drugs such as MDMA. Psychedelics are a waste of time and money. At the end of the day, no matter how beautiful of an experience you have, it was all just an illusion.
The function of the music is tied up with the event, it wouldn't make sense to experience outside of this context. I really don't see the issue with allowing the atmosphere of a rave to absorb you. It may not serve a 'higher' spiritual purpose' but it's a good form of exercise which gives the individual potential for creativity and transcendence of ego, the drugs simply aid this. Dance music in this context basically unifies the consciousness of the audience, especially if everyone is high as a crackhead on welfare check day.
338
Commerce / Re: New Gorgoroth sample
« on: September 24, 2009, 12:38:13 PM »
Good god, do they want to be a pop-band? This stuff is so bland I can't believe it's written by the same guy who wrote Pentagram, how does this happen to someone who was so inspired back in the day?
339
Chasm / Re: Did all music die in the 1990s?
« on: September 24, 2009, 01:42:33 AM »
Hip-hop went through the exact same life-cycle as extreme metal, despite having less ambitious artistic goals to begin with. The 1st generation in the mid to late 80s got by on sheer energy, the 2nd generation perfected the craft, the 3rd generation had no ideas of their own and became successful on the back of their predecessors. Surprisingly hip-hop fans are in general more aware of this than most metal-heads are.
340
Chasm / Metal Philosophy
« on: September 23, 2009, 12:53:16 PM »
Now I guess I'm probably uttering what a lot of you guys have already read in the anus, but I don't make any claims to originality, I'm just trying to come to terms with all of this...
Transcendental Idealism:
We come into being because Reality is, soon we shall return to our origin, Reality will continue, but our fragmentary existence will end. In the intervening time we are confronted with a multitude of fragments, which, given their singular source share organizing principles, they therefore form patterns which coincide with our mental patterns and are therefore assimilated by us.
Our intelligence allows us to discern the nature of these patterns according to varying degrees. Minerals manifest structures which harmonize with external patterns and therefore they continue to exist as long as this state of harmony remains. Plants allow themselves to be passively motivated by their environment. Animals perceive external patterns directly and adjust their behavior to create harmony, their intelligence is therefore active.
Humans (provided that they exceed animal intelligence sufficiently) are able to perceive these patterns not only in a tangible way, but can become aware of the fundamental unity of these externally divided elements, this is
spirituality.
If we have been granted the degree of intelligence necessary to understand this, what better way to repay our debt to nature than to devote our life to the understanding of these patterns in light of their source. This, in my mind, is the underlying motivator for all of man's great achievements.
Evolution:
The existence of any structure is determined by its stability. As the complexity of structure increases, it becomes less stable and in danger of collapse, any structure which reaches a critical point will cease to exist. Complexity of structure increases provided it can retain a harmonious
relationship with external patterns. The inter-relationships between patterns are equivalent to musical harmony, certain relationships will destroy
each other, whereas others can exist simultaneously. Natural selection is the necessary disintegration of patterns which cannot integrate themselves into the whole.
The Eternal:
Despite the fact that I agree with what is stated above, I must make the reservation that all patterns exist in principle regardless of their temporal manifestations, therefore evolution is essentially illusory. The immutability of the origin of this pattern language is more essential than the language itself, and I think it is this same immutability which we discern in great works of art, a stillness which we may liken to the state of the human being after death.
What does this mean for metal:
Metal must express both the evolution of patterns (riffs) towards either death or higher complexity, but more essentially it must retain its underlying structural unity. A sequence of riffs should be thought of not only in terms of temporal succession, but also in terms of spatial simultaneity. This does not mean using simplistic structural mechanisms such as the serial method. I think a qualitative understanding of basic musical material (intervals, modes etc) would be a start. This kind of qualitative evaluation of pitch (and rhythmic) relationships is foreign to western theoretical practice because of egalitarian thinking over the past 500 years, but it is common to Indian, Islamic and Medieval Christian philosophies of music.
Transcendental Idealism:
We come into being because Reality is, soon we shall return to our origin, Reality will continue, but our fragmentary existence will end. In the intervening time we are confronted with a multitude of fragments, which, given their singular source share organizing principles, they therefore form patterns which coincide with our mental patterns and are therefore assimilated by us.
Our intelligence allows us to discern the nature of these patterns according to varying degrees. Minerals manifest structures which harmonize with external patterns and therefore they continue to exist as long as this state of harmony remains. Plants allow themselves to be passively motivated by their environment. Animals perceive external patterns directly and adjust their behavior to create harmony, their intelligence is therefore active.
Humans (provided that they exceed animal intelligence sufficiently) are able to perceive these patterns not only in a tangible way, but can become aware of the fundamental unity of these externally divided elements, this is
spirituality.
If we have been granted the degree of intelligence necessary to understand this, what better way to repay our debt to nature than to devote our life to the understanding of these patterns in light of their source. This, in my mind, is the underlying motivator for all of man's great achievements.
Evolution:
The existence of any structure is determined by its stability. As the complexity of structure increases, it becomes less stable and in danger of collapse, any structure which reaches a critical point will cease to exist. Complexity of structure increases provided it can retain a harmonious
relationship with external patterns. The inter-relationships between patterns are equivalent to musical harmony, certain relationships will destroy
each other, whereas others can exist simultaneously. Natural selection is the necessary disintegration of patterns which cannot integrate themselves into the whole.
The Eternal:
Despite the fact that I agree with what is stated above, I must make the reservation that all patterns exist in principle regardless of their temporal manifestations, therefore evolution is essentially illusory. The immutability of the origin of this pattern language is more essential than the language itself, and I think it is this same immutability which we discern in great works of art, a stillness which we may liken to the state of the human being after death.
What does this mean for metal:
Metal must express both the evolution of patterns (riffs) towards either death or higher complexity, but more essentially it must retain its underlying structural unity. A sequence of riffs should be thought of not only in terms of temporal succession, but also in terms of spatial simultaneity. This does not mean using simplistic structural mechanisms such as the serial method. I think a qualitative understanding of basic musical material (intervals, modes etc) would be a start. This kind of qualitative evaluation of pitch (and rhythmic) relationships is foreign to western theoretical practice because of egalitarian thinking over the past 500 years, but it is common to Indian, Islamic and Medieval Christian philosophies of music.
341
Metal / Re: Metal Score Project
« on: September 22, 2009, 10:28:42 AM »
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=76SR0AG7 Darkthrone - Skald av Satans Sol from Transilvanian Hunger arrangemed for piano.
As I have already mentioned, it would be a good idea for people to try and organize recitals where these type of arrangements are performed. If you play piano or know someone who does, do it at their house, invite friends, family and academic acquaintances. Use the DLA reviews as program notes etc. If we as hessians want metal to be taken seriously, this is the type of thing we have to do.
A note on the arrangement itself, this is not a note for note transcription, as that simply wouldn't work on the instrument. The material in Gorguts is complex enough to stand by itself, this however requires additional harmony to compensate for the lack of 'harmonic noise' provided by distortion. I've kept it relatively simple, triadic harmony and droning bass notes to retain the ethereal texture of Transilvanian Hunger. Without this type of adjustment, the clean tone provided by the piano will sound hollow.
I also included a brief quote from the classical repertoire, playing this is optional though, I don't have the score handy so I can't be sure how accurate the quote is. For those interested the quote is from Rachmaninov's C# minor prelude (can't remember the number) and I used it to extend the climactic riff in this track.
As I have already mentioned, it would be a good idea for people to try and organize recitals where these type of arrangements are performed. If you play piano or know someone who does, do it at their house, invite friends, family and academic acquaintances. Use the DLA reviews as program notes etc. If we as hessians want metal to be taken seriously, this is the type of thing we have to do.
A note on the arrangement itself, this is not a note for note transcription, as that simply wouldn't work on the instrument. The material in Gorguts is complex enough to stand by itself, this however requires additional harmony to compensate for the lack of 'harmonic noise' provided by distortion. I've kept it relatively simple, triadic harmony and droning bass notes to retain the ethereal texture of Transilvanian Hunger. Without this type of adjustment, the clean tone provided by the piano will sound hollow.
I also included a brief quote from the classical repertoire, playing this is optional though, I don't have the score handy so I can't be sure how accurate the quote is. For those interested the quote is from Rachmaninov's C# minor prelude (can't remember the number) and I used it to extend the climactic riff in this track.
342
Metal / Re: We are Hessians, not metalheads
« on: September 22, 2009, 07:41:45 AM »How would hessian structural architecture look like? A combination of Minimalist, Neo-classical and Gothic?
Nah, more like Romanesque or Islamic architecture. Minimalism is obsession with trivia, neo-classical architecture is boring and decadent, Gothic architecture is awesome but doesn't have the purity of spirit or the sheer intensity of Romanesque architecture. The greatest works of architecture give one the impression of being a microcosmic incarnation of the entire universe, this is the case with Mosques, Cathedrals, Hindu Temples and so on, but certainly not with any modernist or post-modernist architecture, which is just as worthless as everything else these movements produced.
343
Chasm / Re: Nationalism?
« on: September 22, 2009, 12:52:49 AM »I've noticed that a few people around here seem to be pro-nationalism. The way I see it, nationalism came into being in the 19th century, paved the way for world war, after which it was recognized as a failure and gave way to a bigger failure, globalism. This being the case I'm not really sure why anyone would support nationalism, surely the way Europe was divided before the nations came into being was a much more sustainable system. To my mind nations are political identities whose goals are situated in the political plane, and are therefore illusory, whereas the independent city states of pre-nationalist Europe (and ancient Greece) have a closer relationship with culture and ethnic identity.
You have confused nations with nation-states.
Well in that case it's a semantic issue, the term nationalism usually implies the political nations that were born in 19th century Europe.
344
Metal / Re: Metal Score Project
« on: September 21, 2009, 10:45:30 AM »
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=48LP6C9S (piano arrangement of Obscura (song))
I think piano arrangements are good because it shouldn't be too hard to organise performances, which is something people around here should endeavor to do if they wish to promote metal ideals. String quartets are also a good medium provided you are on speaking terms with at least one.
Concerning the arrangement here, I haven't written in expression or articulation, but given that this lacks the drums or vocals, it will be necessary to make use of the myriad possibilities of variation on a classical instrument. Seeings as most people who take the time to learn this will be aware of the core values of extreme metal, I think it is best to leave such decisions up to the instrumentalists.
PS. fixed
I think piano arrangements are good because it shouldn't be too hard to organise performances, which is something people around here should endeavor to do if they wish to promote metal ideals. String quartets are also a good medium provided you are on speaking terms with at least one.
Concerning the arrangement here, I haven't written in expression or articulation, but given that this lacks the drums or vocals, it will be necessary to make use of the myriad possibilities of variation on a classical instrument. Seeings as most people who take the time to learn this will be aware of the core values of extreme metal, I think it is best to leave such decisions up to the instrumentalists.
PS. fixed
345
Chasm / Re: Universal tolerance
« on: September 21, 2009, 06:17:52 AM »
I had hoped to make my point with greater brevity but here goes, this thread is absolutely, 100% useless. I suspect the OP realizes this and simply wants to provoke discussion, but that isn't the point. The point is that even if the OP is right, then the responsibility to act on this principle rests with him, convincing people on a forum that people with sub120IQ must die is not an achievement.
What will remain of humanity after such a task is carried out? A super-race of highly intelligent humans, or a group of disturbed sociopaths who, despite their ability to rationalize their decision, cannot overcome their guilt? The OPs vision of this event is one-dimensional, it is focused directly on a quantitative end, and completely ignores the possible consequences of the means. It is incredibly naive to think that the problems facing humanity have such a simple solution, or that it would even be possible to achieve what is suggested by the original post.
What will remain of humanity after such a task is carried out? A super-race of highly intelligent humans, or a group of disturbed sociopaths who, despite their ability to rationalize their decision, cannot overcome their guilt? The OPs vision of this event is one-dimensional, it is focused directly on a quantitative end, and completely ignores the possible consequences of the means. It is incredibly naive to think that the problems facing humanity have such a simple solution, or that it would even be possible to achieve what is suggested by the original post.