Written on August 5th, 2008 by GlowStormLion4 shouts
We’re back for your weekly dose of utterly demoralizing musical extravagance which is my way of describing TerrorTrack Tuesday. At least this time I’ll actually be throwing this up on the actual day that it’s supposed to appear, so that means we’re off to a good start!
Today, here in my chunk of the ever-burning Phoenix we experienced a massive torrential downpour that lasted around thirty minutes or so. Of course, it’s dry now, but we got a rather wicked display of nature’s homebrewed pyrotechnics – lightning! Thunder, too, and a nice purplish sky that city lights create. Quite an inspiring atmosphere for me and goes great with this week’s track which is Mad World by Gary
Jules.
PCGoddess, one of the newest members of our horror forum mentioned that she liked this song in the Dark Music thread. I didn’t think I’d heard it so I looked up the YouTube video (which I’m including at the end of this article). Come to find out I absolutely did know this song but I never knew the name or really what it was saying. Kind of like that song Tarzan Boy that they used in the old Listerine ads, if you remember those. A song that you get into but doesn’t always register strongly enough that I go out and look it up. I’m glad I did, though.
Turns out Gary Jules version is a cover of the original performed by Tears for Fears, the rockin’ English New Wave band that you’d have to be older than me to really know much about. Gary Jules is considered a folk/blues musician and he hails from California. The guy doesn’t just sing and play piano, he also wields the guitar, harmonica and the ever intimidating mandolin!
This particular version of Mad World was used for the cult classic Donnie Darko, a movie I’m still to lazy to go find and watch despite all the fervent praise I’ve heard from its fans. It’s been used in various American TV shows and also the XBox 360 video game, Gears of War. Over in the UK it managed to make the UK Christmas Number One single which goes to prove those gloomy Brits are scraping new lows for
inspirational holiday music. Sad.
I figure this is about all I need to yap about and right now you probably just want to hear the song/see the video. Well, before you go, in case you wanted to learn more about our ole pal Gary, you can visit his website and buy T-shirts and stuff or hear his music if you’re into that kind of thing.
That wraps us up for this week’s Terror Track and I’ll be back next week with something alot more violent and aggressive, I promise!
Welcome, once again to Terror Track… um… Wednesday! Yes, I got caught up doing another review and neglected this week’s Terror Track, so please Merry Readers, forgive me. And as a side note I already had this track ready to review two weeks ago. Why, you ask? Well, I have Amazon set up for "One Click Purchase" and that means if I accidentally click to see the full album I might wind up hitting "Order" instead, which is precisely what I did. As a result I’m now the proud owner of this very song in MP3 format because I doubted they’d believe I accidentally downloaded it so I didn’t pursue a refund. My bad.
Turns out, this is the theme song to the original Lost Boys movie, re-done by the band Aiden for Lost Boys: The Tribe. Yes, Lost Boys has a sequel I, a huge fan of the original, didn’t even know it! That’s because it’s a straight-to-video production but you know what? It still has Corey Feldman! Not Corey Haim, though, because he was apparently unable to remember his lines and act according to what I’ve read. Too bad, would’ve been great to see both of the Frog Brothers back at it again.
Since Red Hawk’s promising us a review of this sequel I won’t go into the whole thing here except to tell you that it’s supposed to share a great deal in common with the original. That first film featured Cry Little Sister by a performer named Gerard McMahon (now known as G Tom Mac due to the media’s inability to correctly pronounce his name during interviews) and his version sold some 7 million copies its release in 1987. Reportedly, that version blew director Joel Schumacher away and I know that it’s incredibly catchy, the kind of song that burns into your brain.
So can Aiden bring us a decent cover? And who the hell *is* Aiden? Other than the name itself being the number one boy name for babies born in 2006, I’d not heard of Aiden. Turns out they’re a post-punk band out of Seattle. When the formed back in 2003 they took their name from the little boy featured in The Ring movies (which you can find reviewed on our site by using the search function to your right) and have been through three record labels already: Unfun Records, Dead Teenager Records and Victory Records. Sounds like an upward progression to me, even if I do think Dead Teenager Records sounds like a catchier name. Aiden’s toured with acts like Lostprophets, The Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Taking Back Sunday and HIM (His Infernal Majesty) so they’re nothing to sneeze at. Not only this, but they’ve got quite a fanbase in Kerrang! magazine, as well. Not only have they released three albums and two EPs, they’ve got songs in the following movies – Underworld: Evolution, Dead Silence and Resident Evil Extinction. You’ll also find their song Die Romantic featured on the video game NCAA MVP Baseball 2006.
With a resume like that, I expected a lot from the song heading in and I have to say the band delivered. It’s got enough similarities to the original that this version of Cry Little Sister certainly brings back memories, yet at the same time they added their own flare and brought a distinct sound to the table. In the end, I can recommend picking up this track and just may do a full review of an Aiden album in the near future. If you’d like to pick up this track, you can grab it right here: Aiden – Cry Little Sister.
Welcome once again to the Happy Horror mainstay known resoundingly throughout all the dark recesses of our known universe ASTerror Track Tuesday! I wanted to go off the beaten path and bring you another band you might not know of and they’re called A Lower Deep. Why might you not have heard of them? Well, from the statistics we get it appears we don’t have heavy traffic originating from Alabama, the band’s home state. And for two, you may be aware that Clear Channel pretty much owns the radio waves now and they’re not terribly great about promoting metal.
That’s where I come in! I went searching for some music and found myself in a metal kinda mood, so I crawled my way through the tentacles of Google and came across the band’s 2007 offering Black Marys, their fourth studio album. Today I’m covering the song, which is also the title track of the album which bears the same name. It’s over six minutes long in total and you’ll find the video at the end of the article, so make sure to check it out because after all if it’s on YouTube you KNOW it’s good, right?
"Black Marys" is actually a phrase taken from a series of books named The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone by Greg Keyes. In the books they refer to Black Marys when they mean terrible nightmares that are so horrific they scar the dreamer or even waking moments that transcend into, well, a black and hellish nightmare. The band intends to refer to these same events be they physical, emotional or otherwise and when you watch the video you might get the impression that I did that it’s pertaining particularly to addiction related realities where peoples lives pretty much turn into living nightmares.
The video’s imagery is very compelling and surprisingly well-crafted for an unknown band. The imagery shifts between the band performing and a backdrop of surrealistic images that feature its lead singer, Billy Mullican, suffering at the hands of his own Black Mary. Though it reminds me of other videos along similar lines, A Lower Deep definitely have their own flavor of metal to offer and it doesn’t come off cheesy or contrived.
The most inspiring point is that these guys have worked their asses off to get where they’re at. After over a decade of struggling with other lesser-dedicated musicians and bands, they came together and got to work, introducing their debut recording in 2002. Since then they’ve dedicated themselves to keeping their downloads out there and touring through the Southeastern states. They’ll be playing at the Kansas City Power Metal Festival in August of this year (2008) so if you’re in that neck of our woods I think you’ll find they’re gonna offer a terrific performance.
They’ve been described as melodic thrash and I agree with that assessment. In the video you’ve got a lot of variety from Mullican’s brooding vocals right on up to a guitar solo that will keep you quite entertained if you’re into those and really, who isn’t? I admire these guys for sticking to their art and keeping it out there for fans. Metal’s quite a bit more popular than it may seem from time to time, because despite the prevalence of hiphop and emo (both of which I enjoy, for the record), metal consistently meets the number one goal of all music genres: it sells records.
So take a look at A Lower Deep and see if these guys don’t pique your interest. If you’d like to visit the band’s well-built website head on over to A Lower Deep’s Official site or you can friend them on MySpace right here. We also invite you to discuss them and any other band you feel like in our horror forums!
Until next time, this has been GlowStormLion, threatening to blacken your mary if you don’t watch that mouf!
Suicide was always about life. But we couldn’ t call it Life. So we called it Suicide because we wanted to recognize life.
- Alan Vega of Suicide (1985)
Well, it’s late once again, but yet you shall have your deeply longed for Terror Track Tuesday this week! And this one I’d love to take credit for and cite my deep musical knowledge and comprehension of how punk has evolved over the decades and stretched out into various veins such as industrial, etc etc. However, to do that I’d be merely lying, Merry Readers, and if you’ve come to know one thing about me then you realize that I’m a man of rock solid integrity that you should never question simply because when I tell a lie it so grandiose, so completely over the top that you’ll be able to tell immediately. I boned your mom.
With that out of the way, I’d like to give special thanks to one of our founding members over at our horror forums who goes by the enigmatic name of Sio. She made a great big post where she listed off not only favorite horror flicks but a bunch of music she likes, too. This one song caught my eye: Frankie Teardrop by Suicide. I’d not heard of it but since the title bears a passing similarity to Fuck Frankie, a Marilyn Manson song, I couldn’t help but check up on it to see if it might be equally disturbing. I found the YouTube video and I’ll be slapping that on at the end of this article. And yes, Sio introduced me to a song that’s quite disturbing in a strange kind of way.
First off, Suicide’s a "band" that’s really a duo. Two guys who go by Martin Rev and Alan Vega. They’re synthesizer musician and vocalist, respectively and were part of the proto-punk or No Wave movement back in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m painting in broad strokes because I want to cover alot here so if you’re a diehard Suicide fan (LOL!! ahem), then please bear with me and feel free to leave angry comments safe in the knowledge that I won’t give a damn either way.
If you’re like me then when you like a band you hit Google like a crank addict and you look up every freakin’ thing you can possibly find on said artists. Then you try to piece together the ’scene’ that they came from or, in rare cases, founded. That’s how I found out about Coil, Acid Bath and a bunch of other totally groovy bands I’d never have encountered otherwise. Sucide’s no exception and it very much looks as if these guys made a major impact on the industrial scene and quite a few other music genres, as well.
The band’s sound (at least in terms of Frankie Teardrop) ends up being pretty easy to describe on the surface. You’ve got Alan Vega, who’s been described as a ‘dark Elvis’ talking a bit with an occaisional scream or two for emphasis (and you better be ready for that when it happens because it’s a touch shocking if you’re as into the music as they’re intending for you to be). Then you’ve got Mr. Rev on the synthesizer putting out a painfully simple beat and a touch of music dashed in there with all the frugality of a Nazi minimalist painter. Sounds easy, right? Yeah, not exactly. Yes, that’s what the song is and it’s got very few lyrics but it’s the FEELING of the song, the ambience that really makes it pack a punch.
Now for those of you who like a more pop-oriented feel you probably won’t care for this song and video so I’d just skip it if that’s the case for you, Merry Reader. This is definitely some ‘avant garde’ shizz right here. It’ll probably take a few listens to grasp what all’s happening as the piece plays. Vega’s got a very rockabilly sensibility to his vocals that reminds me of the Butthole Surfers or maybe if Johnny Cash went bone-deep crazy. Rev on the other hand seems to be able to lay out the barest musical touches ever and instead of making the song frustrating, actually allows you to ‘plug into it’ – that’s the only way I can think to describe the effects.
So that’s Suicide and their life-altering track, Frankie Teardrop. Oh and in case you’re wondering (HERE IS A SPOILER the song’s about a Vietnam vet. I find it to be a moving piece and that it’s really turned me on to this band so if you want to buy me a random gift please send me the CD or better yet the documentary about ‘em! They win a resounding 5 out of 5 and Sio does too, for mentioning ‘em to me!
That’ll do it for this week’s Terror Track and remember, if you have a suggestion be sure to let me know because I WILL review it as long as it’s dark.
Tuesday rolls around, once again. Which means, Merry Readers, I’ve finally decided upon yet another dark track to offer for your audial approval. A track that, strangely enough, makes me further like a band I pretty much gave up on a few years ago. That band happens to be one of the larger name brands in the industrial music genre. In fact, some might say this band brought industrial from the underground onto rock radio.
The band we bring you today? Nine Inch Nails. These guys, headed up by Trent Reznor, decided to give their album The Slip away free via their band website. Yes, absolutely free and it will remain free even after the CD’s available for purchase. You get the cover art in PDF format, as well, in case you might want to print it out. I mentioned this all in the previous Terror Track Tuesday, but I now that the album’s had time to truly sink in with me I’ve chosen a favorite track: Discipline.
For those of you familiar with the angsty musical (and business!) genuis who goes by the name of Trent Reznor, you’ll get what you’ve come to expect from him. By that, I mean a grinding industrial tune and powerful, yet minimist lyrics speaking about personal turmoil. While not quite as shocking as Closer (the song where he explained that he’d get closer to god if only he appeased his desire to "[boink!] you like an animal"), it’s equally potent in its own way. The rage and melancholy NiN’s known for shines here so even if you’ve not been a fan up until this point, it’s certainly worth a listen!
Discipline’s lyrics embody the typical highly interpretive style Reznor’s known for as a songwriter. It’s a song about the fear that one might be losing their edge, going out of style. Personally, I figure it’s referencing the age of Nine Inch Nails (particularly Reznor himself) and the possibility that they may fail to live up to the expectations of those who adored them in their glory years.
"I need your discipline, I need your help," starts the chorus. It left me wondering if perhaps the term discipline refers to some sort of bondage-oriented activity or if Reznor’s merely stating his admiration for a person he finds truly self-disciplined. Impossible to know for sure, but the chorus finishes with "You know once I start I cannot stop myself." Therefore I feel confident in my logical deduction that he’s talking about either fire water or blow.
You know how these rock stars are! If you’re looking for song that’s catchy without being annoying, then Discpline fills that notch while adding the additional element of sincerity. In fact, I recommend the entire album because come on, it’s free! In the end, you’ll be glad that Nine Inch Nails gave us The Slip. Grab it right here. However, if you’re looking to purchase the actual CD album, this is where you want to go.
Written on June 10th, 2008 by GlowStormLionone shout
Another Tuesday means yet another dark, dismal offering from yours truly in the form of an MP3 download (this is where you can grab the song), but that MP3 is a shorter version of the epic 11:11 minute original from the album Bloody Kisses which is what I truly recommend. I touched upon dark before, but Type O Negative’s a different twist as I’ll explain in the assumption that some of you may never have heard of the band.
Basically, it goes like this: Type O Negative formed in the 90’s (more or less) and they’ve made a real name for themselves among the darker shades of metal. Then it gets tricky. Sometimes they call ‘em ‘doom metal‘, ‘gloom metal‘, ‘goth metal‘, ‘death rock‘, ‘dark alternative‘ and who the hell knows what all other genres and made up categories they get shoved into. Bottom line ends up being that Type O Negative made gloomy, depressing music with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that you’d have to be a corpse not to laugh at. Black No. 1, in particular, exemplifies the morbid comedy in its lyrics. They’ve got a very unique style that reminds me of what would happen if Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds took a turn towards black metal.
I actually did not encounter Type O Negative until the very tail end of the 90’s when a brooding, gothic friend of mine introduced me to them. He had very particular opinions regarding the group and pronounced ‘Black No. 1′ to be the theme song of ignorant posers of the goth scene. Well, fuck him, cause I like it anyways. He’s right though, in a way, many people don’t realize the song’s somewhat mocking (while still paying tribute to) the stereotypical ‘goth girl’ (which has mutated into today’s ‘emo girl’). Black No. 1 being the hair dye she uses, forgetting her roots don’t lie in the goth scene, etc etc. Enough philosophizing, though, we’ve got a few more details to cover before I hit you with the music video.
Peter Steele, the man, the myth, the legend. Steele’s booming bass voice and iconic appearance (he tended to play an upright bass in the style many people play guitar, using a chain for a strap) pretty much gave the band a look, if you will. Standing a whopping 6′6" tall he pretty much embodies what the Gods of Metal are supposed to look like. In fact, I bet the lead singer of Metalocalypse’s Dethlok (Nathan Explosion) was modeled after Steele even if the creators don’t feel like mentioning that.
Oh, and did I mention the video for Black No. 1 actually got reviewed by Beavis & Butthead? Yep, and the little weirdos LIKED it.
Beyond downloading the MP3 above, you might want to visit the band’s official site or perhaps friend them on MySpace, so here’s their profile in case you’re like me and add famous people.
Here’s an ‘official’ 4:41 minute version of the video:
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