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Brett Stevens Nihilism: The First Lecture

by D.A.R.G. on January 24, 2018

In Brett Stevens Nihilism, the author introduces an article consisting of a series of twelve lessons which he describes as an awakening to the reality of life. A tinge of morality seemingly colors the lessons, but upon closer look, the prescriptions given are described in a way that one can see them arising from causal, qualitative observations.

In all this, there is, of course, the singular opinion of the author. In approaching a discussion and description of said ideas, the latter will be kept in mind, opting to expand, interpret and focus. Also, in order to respect the integrity of the book wherein these appear, they will not be spelled out either in their titles nor in their original exposition.
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6 Comments

Tags: books, brett stevens, lifestyle, literature, nietzsche, Nihilism, Philosophy

Gorguts – Pleiades’ Dust (2016)

by Jerry Hauppa on January 11, 2018

Gorguts is a band that for a majority of its career has resembled an act that is at war with itself artistically. After a serviceable debut comprised of purely death metal notions and peaking with its most dense and progressive release in The Erosion of Sanity, the band chose to scale back its arrangements while imbuing its approach with a discordance that may have laterally trespassed its prior unsullied metal constructs but at the same time gave Gorguts an identity all their own. With regards to their contemporaries, you cannot currently say a band “sounds like Gorguts” without indirectly focusing on the sound created on Obscura, and the band’s own knowledge of that most likely has controlled their writing ever since — to the detriment of their overall intents in each record from then on…

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23 Comments

Tags: death metal, gorguts, Progressive Death Metal, Technical Death Metal

Somber Lands: The Harmonic Minor Scale

by Brock Dorsey on January 3, 2018

Dark, brooding, and long cloaked in obscurity, the harmonic minor scale is a compelling collective of notes that has historically been used as an accent to minor key compositions. For centuries only a handful of pieces had been written within its bounds as composers instead opted to weave in for a number of measures before an eventual progression into the natural minor scale. From there it appeared again in a few folk songs, took a strong spiritual presence in Islamic culture, and later became an integral part of horror movies when they progressed into the frightening mediums they became in the 1970s. But it wasn’t until the musicians of the early Swedish death metal scene discovered how to fully harness the scale’s potential that lengthy songs and even the majority of some albums began being composed within its bounds. A truly grotesque wedlock, the scale gave he who wielded it the power to craft the most sinister and foreboding compositions possible within the laws of music. It is for this reason one could attest that the minor harmonic scale has found a home in heavy metal that no other genre of music could provide.
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19 Comments

Tags: Beethoven, Black Metal, celestia, classical music, death metal, dissection, harmonic minor, minor key, music theory, mütiilation

A Discussion on The Metal FAQ: Section 1.1

by Nicholas Vahdias on December 30, 2017

The Death Metal Underground FAQ is an ancient yet valuable and reliable document full of information to help the less initiated grasp some of the simpler aspects of metal. It is also a wonderful attempt to actually explain the Hessian ideals, culture and music. The music section is particularly small and contains a fairly large amount of information and therefore it is time to open it up and go into the details of the points mentioned and what needs to be changed, for it is only through constant analysis of past work can we build upon them and progress.

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14 Comments

Tags: faq, Heavy Metal, metal, music theory

Ritual Chamber – Obscurations

by Brock Dorsey on December 28, 2017

Hidden in plain sight, there is some fine metal being released- even in recent years. Nestled in the convoluted release schedule of one of the most popular indie rock labels (although in fairness, Profound Lore has gotten death metal right before) is a rare foray into dissonant death metal grandeur that is certainly worthy of praise. The newest solo project by Numinas/Crom/Dario Denerio, whose well-ventured resume also includes Infestor, Khrom, and Evoken, Ritual Chamber’s 2016 full length debut Obscurations (to Feast on the Seraphim) masterfully imports the lost wisdom of classic death metal spirit into a contemporary flesh of sound and production. Suffering from poor marketing through mainstream channels and tired aesthetic trends that mask its originality, this cultured release flew well off the radar of the audience it was most suited for and was not digestible enough for the retro/rehash death metal crowd of hipster swine it mostly reached. But although it initially evaded the underground’s most trustworthy mediums, Death Metal Underground’s undying commitment to unearthing the best in the genre now gives us a late opportunity to acknowledge a great work of elegance.
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19 Comments

Tags: 2016, 2017, death metal, good albums, metal, reviews, ritual chamber

Metal Vocals are Obstructive. Remove them.

by Brock Dorsey on December 24, 2017

There are many well cultured intellectuals who, when presented with metal music, will immediately be tuned out by the vocals. This results in much of the metal collective being comprised of hold-my-beer normies and most of the world’s high IQ population never grasping a music genre that has both the depth and the complexity they yearn for. Moreover, vocals in metal have not progressed AT ALL since the 1990s and therefore vocalists have been rendered indistinguishable from one another. Through this understanding comes the ultimate revelation: metal vocals, more than any other factor, are hindering the next great wave of metal.

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47 Comments

Tags: 2018, Black Metal, culture, death metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, innovation, Instrumental, metal, music, Philosophy, trends

Morbid Angel – Kingdoms Disdained (2017)

by Brett Stevens on December 9, 2017

There are twelve notes. There are twenty-six letters. We can form them into combinations/patterns. The ones that stay with us are the ones that communicate. This takes us above the level of riff (metal), harmony (jazz/rock), and into the realm of melody, which uses phrase and harmony as means of strengthening the expression of a melody, or a unique combination which resembles the psychological sensation of a certain experience.

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21 Comments

Tags: cash grab, death 'n' roll, death metal, Heavy Metal, inside-out, morbid angel, outside-in, review, Steve Tucker, trey azagthoth

Roots of Evil: The Origins of Metal

by Johan Pettersson on August 15, 2017

With the fiftieth anniversary of metal music around the corner, forthcoming years will witness an increase of publications dealing with the history, legacy and defining characteristics of the genre. This could finally resolve the lack of consensus that still exists regarding the definition and origins of heavy metal.

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25 Comments

Tags: Ambient, article, black sabbath, cream, electronic, Genesis, hard rock, Heavy Metal, heavy metal history, heavy rock, metal history, origins of heavy metal, progressive electronic music, progressive rock, proto-metal, psychedelic rock, punk, tangerine dream, the stooges

Retortion Terror / Invidiosus – Split (2017)

by Daniel Maarat on August 12, 2017

Retortion Terror and Invidiosus serve up a high-speed, fourteen minute technical grindcore split with one stronger half holding up the weaker side as on most split releases.

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8 Comments

Tags: 2017, death metal, deathcore, Grindcore, invidiosus, retortion terror, review, split, Takafumi Matsubara, techdeaf, technical metal