Turns out I was wrong

Go to Alice in Chains website and download a brand new track from AIC. Or if you so chose, I guess you can purchase said track, "A Looking in View" from iTunes, Amazon, etc. I personally chose the free way. So what was I wrong on? Well, I thought due to the teaser trailers the band released, it would be a new video. Wrong, it's a new single. So how does it stack up? Read on.

It is, first off, really heavy. Not in that death metal, speed/trash heavy but in a ominous, minor chord, groove heavy. Just like "We Die Young" off of Facelift the track starts off as a straight up heavy handed affair. It's kind of a menacing track, but it no where doesn't sound like AIC. It stacks up remarkably well. Of course that should be expected, as except for the late Layne Staley not being present it's the same band that's been together since 1993. The big question, how does William DuVall stack up with Layne Staley?

DuVall is no replacement. He sounds remotely nothing like Staley and I think this works in the bands favor. There have been dozens of bands that have attempted to recreate Staley's vocals and be the AIC replacement, and failed miserbly (I'm looking at you Godsmack and Staind) and I think that the refromed AIC is better off finding someone who can both hold his own and harmonize with Cantrell, which they have found in DuVall. The man isn't quite as powering of a voice as Staley was, but he fits and most importantly doesn't drag the song or the band down. All AIC fans can breathe easy now, as there is no horrendous vocalist to tarnish the band's legacy.

I was half expecting some sort of solo from Cantrell in the song, but considering half the band's previous material didn't contain solos, I don't know what I was thinking. I am satisfied with the song and as someone who was literally forced by my birth and when I got into heavy music to miss out on AIC's heyday finds the song refreshing. Let's face it, modern hard rock is pretty banal and Alice In Chains releasing a straight up bruiser/mind trip of an excellent return record could be a godsend. On the other hand, it simply could be seen as another old band getting together again. I mean, let's face it, BrokenCYDE is a far cry from the days of grunge and alt-metal and Nickelback, for some unholy reason, continue to be popular. Then again, the Creed renuion is not pulling them in like they used to, so maybe there is hope.

It is a sad day

When this debuts at #83 on the Billboard charts. Wait a second, why should I be sad about that? I wrote off the radio and pop music years ago! Still, it's fun to hate.

Brokencyde- Booty call feat. E-40


On another note, the dudes in the reformed, Layne Staley-less Alice in Chains keep posting trailer videos for their new album, Black Gives Way to Blue. Here's the latest trailer.



The visuals are the same as the last video, but good God almighty does that sound heavy! Oh, and just for the record, the full video that this teaser is promoting, A Looking in View, comes out... TOMORROW!! The album drops September 29.

Now this is what a music video should be!

Here's the crazy thing, I was feeling a little underwhelmed by a lot of what's "up and coming" in metal for awhile there. Then I re-examined Gojira and found them to be even more amazing than I originally thought. Then, I began hearing things about this band called Hacride. So I did a little searching and OH MY FREAKIN' GOD!!! Not quite up to Gojira status, but still some of the more inventive and interesting and utterly crushing metal I've heard as of late. Both bands have pretty awesome music videos and, guess what, they are both French bands. Yes, French metal bands. Good French metal bands. I think I need to re-examine my former dislike for these folk. On another note, the French (and most of Europe for that matter) don't have the same problems with the human body that we do, i.e. there's boobs in these videos. Enjoy!

Hacride- Perturbed


Gojira- To Sirius


Gojira- Vacuity


Why must I be short on cash right as I'm finding music I actually deem worthy to buy>!?

In all due respect

I would like to state that I feel deeply for the families and friends of Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. All three of these near legendary entertainers passed away within the last couple of days (McMahon on the 23rd, Fawcett and Jackson yesterday, the 25th). I have no doubt the loved ones and those who loved these three are mourning deeply. So my condolences are given. With that said, I think that there are some things to keep in mind regarding at least one of these individuals, one Mr. Michael Jackson.

I, unlike what seems to be a strange amount of people in my generation (I'm 24), did not "grow up" on Michael Jackson. My first memories of the "King of Pop" have absolutely nothing to do with his music, rather it being his voice over appearance on The Simpsons. I guess you can throw up the video premiere of "Black or White" too but outside of those instances I have no memories of MJ other than as a weird, psychologically unstable and maladjusted pedophile. He was, for most of my life a strange, scary, weird individual who at one time was aligned with some of the greatest pop songwriters out there. I have no doubt that MJ was a very kind and decent person to those he loved and early on in his life he was most likely a pretty average individual. For whatever reasons though, whether it be some genetic predisposition or the early spot light or his own father being not much of a father, Jackson went nuts. It is entirely normal for people to view only the positives of a person after they die, it is one of the coping mechanisms we humans use to deal with the absence of someone in our physical lives. Having recently lost two close family members, I understand this very well. So, please, if you have a love for the man's music and that part of his legacy, by all means celebrate it! He made a lot of people happy and no doubt inspired countless musicians. However, I don't think we can forget the fact that he did some really reprehensible things and that if he were not the "King of Pop" and just some other once black, now white, waifish child molester we'd be celebrating his death. One more perv gone.

I don't think he should be held up to the revisionist history of being blameless and I also don't think he should be seen as a total creep with no redeeming values. He was a human being like all of us and his good and bad should be taken as such. He was crazy but a fantastic entertainer who gave millions a bright spot in their lives. I know how much the music I love affects me, so I won't dare take that away from those who cherish his music. Long story short, he ain't no saint, but he ain't no demon and his good should be remembered equally with his bad.

Ladies and gentlemen... get your haterade ready!

A preface; I use wikipedia a lot in this post. Sorry. Bad English major. I also happen to use bad grammar. Bad, bad English major. I would also like to mention that while I did read everything on the websites I link to, I very well could have misread or missed something. So, if you all find something that makes me look like a complete tool, please feel free to point it out. Just try and do it nicely instead of like anonymous poster who felt it was his/her right to tell me I'm an idiot. I already knew that, so please be kind. Now...

I'm gonna piss everyone off. Yep. Everyone. I'm gonna write about religion. Not just any religion though, no sir. I'm gonna write about Christianity, but not just any old Christianity, I am gonna write about... get ready for it... SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIANITY!!! Yep, here I go writing about the Apostolics, Charismatics, and everyone's favorite evidence of "yep, Christians are crazy, look at them babble!" For those of you who are wondering what a spirit filled Christian is (as I wanted a few more denominations to mention) here is a Wiki-Answer to the question 'What is a spirit-filled Christian?"; A spirit filled christian is a person who has accepted the Lord as their savior they then are filled with the holy spirit. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad I now know absolutely nothing about their theology, lifestyle, services, worldwide impact, etc. etc. Really though, I can sum up what this whole thing is for you, as good as any wiki answer can.

The term "spirit-filled Christianity" is something that I have recently had some experience with, but for most of my life I knew it as Pentecostalism or Charismatic Christianity. My first one on one experience was with a friend I had my freshman year of high school who assured me that the evidence of being filled with the holy spirit was speaking in tongues. This didn't sit well with my 15 year old mind, which more or less took him as saying, "you aren't a true Christian because you don't do x." This has been my view of the whole issue for sometime. It still is. I have always viewed this particular "manifestation" of the spirit serving one purpose in the early church, if you are going to follow the Bible as your authority on the matter. It was meant to speak the words of Christ to people in their own language, i.e. no translator. The original Greek phrases used to describe the act of speaking in tongues are the root words of glossa and dialektos which mean, respectively, "tongue" and "language." They are used synonymously and can therefore be seen as the disciples speaking in known languages to the crowd they were speaking to (check out Acts 2:7-8). It was a means to spread the word of God, not a means to communicate to God. That was the gift of no more intercessor, i.e., no more rabbi. The important element in the Pentecost was to allow the direct interaction of everyone with God through prayer, not simply so a select few "chosen ones" who have the "manifestation of the Spirit" can.

There is more though. Did you know that studies have show a heightened sense of emotion that comes with "speaking in tongues?" By the way, from here on out I will simply refer to it by the scientific term of glossolalia, which is the combination of Greek words glossa"tongue,language" and lalein"to talk" Yep, that's right, all those intense moments you see on t.v. where people are crying, babbling, and raising their arms are emotionally charged. It's very easy to follow a crowd when the emotions run high. Think about it in terms of music concerts. How charged up and emotional can you get seeing your favorite band play. Your brain is a delicate instrument and when something gets too much activity and is too focused upon one thing, like emotions, the rest of your brain functions suffer. However, this emotional element does not discount it altogether as there is evidence that glossolalia is still similar to human speech. It has rhythm, intonation and syllables. However, there is no structure, coherence, or intentional methodology associated with forming glossolalia. In essence, it appears close enough to human speech to be able to be picked up, but not close enough to be understood.

So why does this happen? That, I don't know. I'm on the fence. On the one hand, if God is as all powerful as he is supposed to be, then why not? But then why would God chose such an esoteric and foreign way to communicate with his children? If glossolalia is simply some sort of learned, emotional, trance-hypnosis babble, the why can seemingly normal people suddenly become infatuated with it? Are we all open to being "hypnotized" by incredibly emotional experiences? Or, on a far out limb, could this whole movement of "spirit-filled Christianity" be one huge ploy by the dark spiritual forces of this world to lead the faithful astray? Could the second largest movement in Christianity today be one big, misleading, emotional fraud? Hey, at least I'm seriously considering spiritual things again.

Told you I wasn't going to make any friends.

P.S. Read more Here and here.
P.S.S. This is not meant, in anyway shape or form to be the final authority on the matter. I plan to read far more and talk to more individuals about this, including ones who claim that glossolalia is for real and they participate in it. Like everything on this blog, it's something that sparked my interest and I wanted to see if anyone else's interest was sparked.

The most exciting news I've heard all day.

Here was the top story on my news feed this morning.
Woman gets most boring story nod of the month!

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I think we all should start using this device.



I promise to have something more serious up in the next week here. I'm simply waiting for time to sit down and write it. I have tomorrow off and plan on doing ab-so-freakin'-lutley nada. Except clean. Maybe.

Joy and comfort,
-D

In which Faith No More eased the pain

To whit;

This is not metal.
Attack! Attack! -"Stick Stickly"


For all requests of your 3:34 seconds of life back, give me a comment. I'll gladly give it back to you. Metal Sucks however is not so kind.

Now that the first sign of the apocalypse is done, watch something GOOD!

Faith No More -"Midlife Crisis"


Panckaes,
-D

In which we will sanction North Korea

It appears that tensions between the U.S. and North Korea will not get any better anytime soon. In a recent Reuters article we see that the U.S. is in talks with South Korea about financial sanctions against North Korea. It appears as if the Obama administration is doing exactly what it was meant to do, be a prettier version of a Bush administration. I am no political guru and I certainly don't have time to visit every news site out there, but what I have noticed appearing recently in Obama is a strong desire to make friends and be liked. His first 100 days seemed to be filled with bill after bill being signed and the start of an economic stimulus package. However, the shit stained reality is hitting and it seems that most of his promises will go unfulfilled. We might look better to the world, but we are still having the same issues. Bolstering of forces in a war (this time Afghanistan), a prison not being closed, jobless rate at it's highest, etc. And in all honesty, I'm mostly pissed that we are still sanctioning another country. Really, all this does is reaffirm that we are a self interested empire trying to keep a lesser country from gaining a destructive advantage. I don't particularly want N. Korea to have nukes, but I don't want to piss them off more and make them hate us further. All that's going to do is make them nuke the U.S. first chance they get.

I guess this means the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade is getting it's wish. Oh wait, Obama's the communist. I forget.

Fuck politics.

Coffee shops make me sleepy

Or maybe it's my lack of sleeping at night. Whatever. I've got a show on Friday (tomorrow) back in the old hometown of Colorado Springs. Good old Conservachristtown will be assaulted by the tunes of current musical endeavor, Ruins of Tomorrow, and former musical endeavor, Marriage of Convenience. In case you are wondering if playing with a band that I was ceremoniously kicked out off and quit simultaneously is weird much like this awkward sentence, the answer is no. So if you are anywhere near the 719 around 8 tomorrow night, go to Union Station, have a drink and see some metal. It's good for you.

On another note, I am recording the bass lines to a new Ruins of Tomorrow song on Saturday. So far it's sexilicious and no doubt the addition of mastering, bass and vocals will make it that much more enticing. Look for it to be up on the internets around late June-ish.

I've been spinning the recent Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky album and it sounds nothing like what you would expect it to with such a stupidly long name. Think short bursts of modern Floridian style brutal death metal and you've got an idea. Good stuff indeed. Also, the new Daath. I've talked about it before, but dammit did those guys pull out a good record!

Lastly, Pres. Obama has recently been wandering around the world trying to make friends. He has called for a "new beginning between US and Muslims," and stated that "Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire," in a recent Associated Press article. I can agree with half of that (not all Muslim people fit the stereotype, I'm sure) but America as a country, well, I wish I had a bullshit button. That's all the politics I'm going to do today, so until whenever, keep your nose clean.

Updte... as if anyone gives a shit.

Alright, to start things off I have a correction to make. In my blog entitled "Grrl Powered Cock Rock!" I mistakenly referred to bands such as WASP, Ratt, Poison etc. as "Power Metal." I realize that power metal is a legit, if equally cheesy, genre of metal and these hair bands have no right to be spoken in the same sentence as Stratovarius, Sonata Artica, Blind Guardian, etc. So I apologize, I need to learn how to proof read. As for the poster who remained anonymous and basically told me my view sucks and I am an idiot, well, fuck you and the birth canal that your mother spewed you from. In all seriousness, I am trying my best to see what I am mistaken on and where exactly my "politics delude reality." As human beings we have the mental capacity to break free from traditionally put upon gender roles and traits. Even if those gender roles and traits are defined by chemical reactions to incoming stimuli, it still doesn't mean we have to go back to men being men, women being women. The only thing that is truly different between myself and any woman walking the street is that I was ascribed a Y chromosome that gave me a penis and non lactating, undeveloped breasts. Everything else is societal, familial, and cultural (and yes, culture and society are different). Once again, I appreciate any and all comments, criticism and editing on these blog posts. I like new information being thrown my way. Just be prepared for a rude, snide, not to be taken seriously, colorful response. I like those.

Alright, now that that's off my chest, I'd like to take a poll. How's that economic stimulus working out for you? It should be happening right? I know that I'm definitely feeling it after only a few months of an Obama administration. It's not like these things take time or something. To be honest, I haven't kept up with the news as of late. I honestly have been wrapped up in my own world as my family has had a time of it. So I guess when I have something more important to write I will. Otherwise, go check out Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Tombs, and Psalters. I'm digging on all of them recently. Til next time.