A Guide to Electronic Music: Volume 2.0

Five thousand years ago, the present author created a guide to the main acts associated with the classic 70s-style electronic sound. The response was generally quite positive in nature (which the present author humbly appreciates), and several individuals requested a sequel focusing on later acts and developments in Electronic music.

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Vargrav – Reign in Supreme Darkness (Werewolf Records, 2019)

Article by Belisario

Among the latest newcomers of note to the realms of underground metal we find Vargrav, a Finnish one-man-band with a debut album released in 2018 and a sophomore effort published just a few months ago. Under the title Reign in Supreme Darkness, this latest album has stirred some attention not only on account of the material itself but also owing to its recent live debut as part of the notorious SteelFest festival which takes place in Hyvinkää, the very city Vargrav hails from.

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Bizarre Curiosities: A brief foray into unexplored genres

Sometimes it is essential to completely stray away from Metal for short periods of time. Like all passions, one must be willing to step aside and to distance the mind from it so that it does not morph into a constantly bombarding blur of tropes. This time I decided to shock my understanding of music by exploring styles that did not interest me or that I had strayed from over the years. Here are some of the more tolerable finding in what can be described as a sea of idiotic music comparable to the like of Metallica’s Lulu

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Miles Richmond and Peter Grenader featuring Steve Roach – POV (2019)

Ambient Allah Steve Roach has released his second effort of 2019. Like February’s HelioSphere, this new offering is a collaboration album, however this time he is working strictly in a “Guest Artist and Production Support” role as aid to a primary work by artists Miles Richmond and Peter Grenader.

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Extreme Metal in Cinema


article by Belisario

There are many movies that portray heavy metal, but the ones addressing extreme metal could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and all of them are rather recent. In such a mainstream format as cinema, it is no wonder why extreme metal has remained largely out of radar, although it has to be pointed out that the treatment received by more conventional heavy metal has actually never been really thorough. Since the popularity peak of the genre in the late 70s, almost all its appearances on the big screen have portrayed a musical genre essentially grounded in rock music, with no clear differences discernible between both fields. That is the case of Wayne’s World (1992), Airheads (1994) or, for those familiar with Spanish cinema, the two parts of the Isi/Disi saga, Amor a lo bestia (2004) and Alto voltaje (2006). All of them share a stereotyped and humorous vision, which on the other hand always eschews any disquisition of the music itself or its fans.

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Accidental Suicide – Deceased

Accidental Suicide hail from Wisconsin and were formed at the end of the eighties and managed to release one full length in ’92 at a time where Death metal, despite its explosion still remained an underground genre as the band were quickly forgotten before finding a cult following and releasing a compilation in 2017. Accidental Suicide play a Death/Doom style that is firmly entrenched in many schools of Death metal and have managed to produce a minor gem that deserves an occasional spot on any Hessian’s playlist.

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In the Pursuit of Power: The Hessian Playlist

When training various elements can influence one’s psyche and it is essential to “program” one’s mind to be as productive as possible in the little that most Hessians can dedicate for training. Music can strengthen certain emotions and conjure up feelings of strength, fortitude and determination which are mandatory qualities to progress in any domain. At times the flow of an album doesn’t correlate with a training session and it can be interesting to create playlists of different artists. Here is a playlist that I personally use when working muscular endurance/cardio for upcoming competitions.

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Ice Ages – Nullify (2019)

About a week before the writing of this present review, Richard Lederer (a.k.a. Protector of Summoning) released Nullify, the newest album from his Electro-Industrial/EBM project Ice Ages after 11 years of inactivity, on Bandcamp as somewhat of a minor surprise with this resuscitation only announced a few days before release.

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