"Children of the underworld" by Tiamat

Tiamat:"Children of the underworld", (from the single "Brighter than the sun", 1999):

We are the children of the underworld
We are the children of the long lost dream
We lie in wait for our time to come
Floating on a neverending stream

Make no stay
Meet us all by break of day

We are the masters of decadence
We are the rulers of the deep
We aim for the final lucidity
The pristine, twentyfour carat sleep

Make no stay
Meet us all by break of day

(lyrics: I´m not sure, but I suppose the lyrics are written by Johan Edlund)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4oj1nvhaDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qepNdXud5WQ

FROM HEAVY-SKOV TO ALL OF YOU : HAPPY NEW YEAR :-) :-) :-)

"Halo" by Machine Head

Machine Head:"Halo", (from the album "The Blackening", 2007):

This is a call to arms,
will you stand beside me?
This is our time to fight,
no more compromising
And this blackened heart will sing
For sad solidarity

Halo over our demise
Following a god so blind
Sallow in their sickening
Swallow not, the shit they feed

This is a right to life,
not the Religious Right´s act
This is abortion´s knife,
aiming at the womb of
The Christian conspiracy
So open thine eyes and see, the

Halo over our demise
Following a god so blind
Sallow in their sickening
Swallow not, the shit they feed

Our time will come, our time will come
Our time is now, our time is now

And I won´t pray for you

Halo over our demise
Following a god so blind
Sallow in their sickening
Swallow not, the shit they feed

Your words will never hold us down
Prayers won´t be spared on you
Satisfaction denied
´Til you´re dead and gone
Gone
Dead and gone!
You´re gone!

(lyrics: Robb Flynn)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROm5ojKnXDI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTN2oKj4kmM&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-SohL691kc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBJPexjkhWA

(I remember quite well, when Oakland´s Machine Head back in 1994 released their classic thrash metal-debut "Burn my eyes" and sent positive shockwaves through the metal-audience....an absolutely unforgettable moment in the history of heavy metal :-) But to be honest, I´ve never listened that much to Machine Head since then....

A little time ago I was offered a copy of Machine Head´s "The blackening"-album at a cheap price, and I couldn´t really say no...."The blackening" has received a lot of fine reviews, but to be honest again, the album seemed to me a little bit boring the very first time I listened to it....But luckily "The blackening" is one of those albums, which grows by every listening, and now I definitely find the album well-entertaining :-) Especially a melodic yet aggressive track like "Halo".

Robb Flynn & Co.´s newest album "Unto the locust" was released 3 months ago, and I´ll buy a copy, that´s for sure, cheap or not cheap :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"In death´s embrace" by Dimmu Borgir

Dimmu Borgir:"In death´s embrace", (from the album "Enthrone darkness triumphant", 1997):

By the light of the moon
and the beings of the night
A curse has been laid upon us
To seek and tear celestial gloss
to pieces

By the power of death
and the shadow of the Reaper
A call has been brought upon us
To complete the infinite fall
of heaven

Without the wit or will to end this journey
we continue travelling towards our faith
Harvesting helpless Christian spirits
raping the sanctity of saints

The heavenly father is streching his hand
pathetically begging for mercy
We spit and piss on his sacred flesh
as we breathe the breath of the unholy

For with the sign of the pentagram
Hellfire rage is for us to come
as we shall wander the pit
Unhallowed by the infernal one
we are forever captured
by the embrace of death

(lyrics: Dimmu Borgir)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laTpy0i9J0g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9pn2RwTnWw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngu7uv7k_ao

(Dimmu Borgir is nowadays the best selling norwegian black metal-band, but actually I think they were a lot more interesting back in the late nineties than now....Their breakthrough-album "Enthrone darkness triumphant", released 1997, is definitely a masterpiece and one of my favorite black metal-albums by all times! For some reason I remember listening a lot to "Enthrone...." by christmas time 1997....I´m not satanist nor christian, so I suppose it was alright....ha ha....

....and now to one of the ultimate highlights from the album: track number 3 "In death´s embrace" :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Folklore" by Opeth

Opeth:"Folklore", (from the album "Heritage", 2011):

Hey you, will you be true
When you can see through what I do
Feel the pain in your brain, insane
Will I see my name in your scars

And you will see what you mean to me

Lust between the lines
Do you feel the need
When the night comes down
And when the night comes down
A father is waiting

And you will see what you mean to me

Lost control and called your name
Left a home in the pouring rain
In a sea of guilt and shame
Will we sustain

(lyrics: Mikael Åkerfeldt)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OleNkTc8D1E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2VzrPwUqUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnkdU4QhNUA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v2pMSu7EUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ht1seTCcDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6z5kFvhymU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK3pqM6hDP0

(If you are searching for the deepest most brutal death-growl ever, (and no one can blame you....ha ha....), the new Opeth-album "Heritage" ISN´T the right one for you! In fact there isn´t the slightest growl on "Heritage"....The swedes´ "death metal meets progressive rock" has turned in a very relaxed direction really based on progressive rock, with some metal-influences here and there! Actually I didn´t really like the album the first couple of times I listened to it, but time has made me wiser, and now I see "Heritage" as one of the highlights of the year 2011. It´s very hard to pick out the best track from "Heritage", but track number 9 "Folklore" is definitely a damn good choice :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Sanctus Diavolos" by Rotting Christ

Rotting Christ:"Sanctus Diavolos", (from the album "Sanctus Diavolos", 2004):

Is this the holy thing to see?
Is this the land that sun shines
above the heaven?
Hear those children´s desperate cries...
Oh - children do they cry?
Do they hear their fathers´ sigh?
Is this the fertile place to be?
Is this the land that sprouts
green reach gardens?
Hear those souls´ flickering cries!
Do they beg?
Do they smile?
Do they frame the long line?
Hear shines the sun of a lower God
The light of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Here is born the light for the blind world
The flame of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Here burns thy bright torch of soul
The flame of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Here reigns thy mighty crown of horns
The horde of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Well blossomed is his existence,
So unwilling in their souls to see.
So weak to face him from
The outcast angle of earth
So rapid do they flee.
When bells of order are echoed
Nemesis for the anxious heavy spirit
Nemesis for a generation free

GRANDIS SPIRITUS SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

Here shines the sun of a lower God
The light of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Here is born the light for the blind world
The flame of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Against on what prophets wrote
The aura of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Will reign, will prevail..
Tranquillize the human race

GRANDIS SPIRITUS SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

Here burns thy bright torch of soul
The flame of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

Here reigns thy mighty crown of horns
The horde of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Against on what prophets wrote
The spirit of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

Will reign, will prevail and
tranquillize the human race

GRANDIS SPIRITUS SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

Here burns thy bright torch of soul
The flame of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Here reigns thy mighty crown of horns
The horde of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS
Against on what prophets wrote
The spirit of  SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

Will reign, will prevail and
tranquillize the human race

GRANDIS SPIRITUS SANCTUS DIAVOLOS

(lyrics: Sakis Tolis)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE9lfSkJXmo

(Well, Greece´s black metal-kings Rotting Christ made their studio-debut in 1993 with the album "Thy mighty contract", but it took me several years to discover this awesome band! Actually it first happened in the year of 2002 with the release of Rotting Christ´s seventh full-length "Genesis", and now I´ve definitely become a very big fan of Sakis & Co. :-) One of the greatest songs from the band is in my opinion the titel-track from the album "Sanctus Diavolos"....listen and agree :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Hatework" by Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel:"Hatework", (from the album "Domination", 1995):

Hatework.......
Bringer of doom
Hatework.......

What I have in store
What has the devil got to do with it
I´m brewing my toil
So the brimstone comes this way

Nightwork.......
My life´s work
Nightwork.......world in flames

This calls for fire
This is a call for ruin
We will be departed
Leave the rot so lonely

Hatework.......
Bringer of doom
Hatework.......and the turmoil comes......

Hatework.......
My work
Hatework.......and the earth´s left burning

I call death...death is answering me
And a world betrayed is black forever......

(lyrics: David Vincent)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUll6JtXb0w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsygEZxW6Pg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t16fO-qxD78

(Well, as I´ve mentioned before, my favorite Morbid Angel-album is "Domination" released in 1995. The album is Morbid Angel´s fourth full-length and has a really strong songwriting, varied and very catchy! Hate Eternal´s mainman Erik Rutan, who was a member of Morbid Angel at that time, wrote the music for some of the tracks, for an example the closer "Hatework", a song which couldn´t hardly be a better way to end this superb death metal-album....MAJESTIC :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"A wayward soul" by Communic

Communic:"A wayward soul", (from the album "The bottom deep", 2011):

The earth has swallowed my pride
There is no need to believe
This god has left me anyway
A wayward soul - At the edge of the world

With a one way ticket - To the bottom deep
With a one way ticket - To the bottom deep
The deep..Come follow..into the deep..

The earth has swallowed my pride
There is no need to believe
This god has left me anyway
A wayward soul
At the edge of the world

With a one way ticket - To the bottom deep
With a one way ticket - To the bottom deep
A wayward soul, a wayward soul..

This image of a vulture´s head
Casting a shadow resembling death
Waiting while he listens to your breath
Its beak ready to pick up your flesh

An image of a livid face
Exposed over a stormy sky
I try to reach, but it fades away
Drifting on while I still search

This trauma triggers my thoughts
You are the one that I owe
For the influence of my return
The vague shape of better things to come

At anypoint I could shimmer
What in life that really matters
All these thoughts I put into form
Will there be light on the other side?

Time still tearing on me
A downward spiral that bleeds

Lost in this barren part of my mind
These tears still bleed within
In silence you speak to me
Please wait for me at the edge of the world

With a one way ticket - To the bottom deep
With a one way ticket - To the bottom deep

In silence you speak to me
You speak to me
Please wait for me
Please wait for me
At the edge of the world

(lyrics: Oddleif Stensland)

(Oddleif Stensland in the booklet: "I dedicate this album to my daughter Sofie. All these thoughts came from you. Rest in peace! - Oddleif ")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKzLFj04KtI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwHSFKNEYhI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAu78tDvfGI

(I must admit, that I had tears in my eyes, when I was writing down Oddleif Stensland´s lyrics for the song "A wayward soul". It´s really so sad, but I hope I got the lyrics right despite my tears....

The new Communic-album is really great just like the other ones: "Conspiracy in mind" (2005), "Waves of visual decay" (2006) and "Payment of existence" (2008), but I feel that Oddleif & Co. have stepped up further in quality with the new one :-) The new songs have....what can I say....some kind of hit-potential! They simply just stay a little longer in your head after listening....

So if you´re still not on the Communic-wagon, it´s really time to jump on...., because this band is absolutely one of the greatest bands ever from Scandinavia with their excellent progressive/power metal :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"I am morbid" by Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel:"I am morbid", (from the album "Illud Divinum Insanus", 2011):

We stand defiant
in this great big ugly world
do believe that the chaos
was our one true calling
first we muscled fate
then we brazenly call disorder
watch the normals cower
they just can´t take it anymore

Withstand together now
all the damning from on high
fist horns are roaring forth
as I scream into the sky

I´m morbid
morbid and
sordid
distorted
bring them to their knees
I´m morbid
morbid
won´t be thwarted
from celebrating morbid victories

We´re seen as monsters merely being...
is a threat to all
what can´t destroy us makes us strong
and in a twisted mind
oh everything´s so possible
and in a twist of fate
we make it all come down...crumbling down
oh we´ll bring them down

We stand invincible not just a dream
straight from the underground we scream

I´m morbid...

We stand invincible not just a dream
straight from the underground
the gods are screaming

Tear down the obstacles this is our day
We´re born to quake the world
There is no other way

I´m morbid...

(lyrics: Morbid Angel)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6C4BNZBX_E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GcmZWDVU2g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UUXvqJqEQE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_k_vD0JoHA

(There really appear some nice surprises on the new Morbid Angel-album "Illud Divinum Insanus". the first Morbid Angel-release since 2003´s "Heretic". Take for an example track number 5, the awesome sing-a-long "I am morbid"! A song I felt immediately in love with at first listening :-)

The "Illud...."-album as a whole is great and varied, but that said, I do not feel it quite matches my favorite Morbid Angel-record, which is "Domination" from 1995. But I accept less :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Du riechst so gut" by Rammstein

Rammstein:"Du riechst so gut", (from the album "Herzeleid", 1995):

1. Der wahnsinn
ist nur eine schmale Brücke
die Ufer sind Vernunft und Trieb
ich steig dir nach
das Sonnenlicht den Geist verwirrt
ein blindes Kind das vorwärts kriecht
weil es seine Mutter riecht
Die Spur ist frisch und auf die Brücke
tropft dein Schweiss dein warmes Blut
ich seh dich nicht
ich riech dich nur ich spüre dich
ein Raubtier das vor Hunger schreit
witter ich dich meilenweit

REF: Du riechst so gut
du riechst so gut
ich geh dir hinterher
du riechst so gut
ich finde dich
so gut
ich steig dir nach
du riechst so gut
gleich hab ich dich

2. Ich warte bis es dunkel ist
dann fass ich an die nasse Haut
verrate mich nicht
oh siehst du nicht die Brücke brennt
hör auf zu schreien und wehr dich nicht
weil sie sonnst auseinander bricht

REF: Du riechst so gut
du riechst so gut
ich geh dir hinterher
du riechst so gut
ich finde dich
so gut
ich steig dir nach
du riechst so gut
gleich hab ich dich
du riechst so gut
du riechst so gut
ich geh dir hinterher
du riechst so gut
ich finde dich
so gut
ich fass dich an
du riechst so gut
jetzt hab ich dich
Du riechst so gut
du riechst so gut
ich geh dir hinterher

(lyrics: Rammstein)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc0bekcMcVs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiz0VEzYVec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iREcL8BOJ4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGmz0ficRVI

(I remember back in 1998, a former colleague of mine, (Flemming), recommended me strongly Germany´s Rammstein, but what can I say....I wasn´t quite ready for Rammstein at the time, too much black, avantgarde, death, thrash, progressive, power, doom and gothic in my life :-) But now, several years after, I´ve finally seen the light....RAMMSTEIN IS AWESOME!!! Such a great and important part of the metal-scene :-) So let´s celebrate my revelation with the greatest track of the Rammstein-debut "Herzeleid": "Du riechst so gut". Enjoy!

Kind regards
Carsten

"Prosperity and beauty" by Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth:"Prosperity and beauty", (from the album "Ad majorem sathanas gloriam", 2006):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT2ezAH3tmc

(At first I would like to say, that from now on I´ve decided to write my comments in english instead of danish. (In fact I have more visitors from countries such as USA, Russia and Germany than from Denmark). There may be some misspellings and stuff like that, but I certainly will do my best, I promise :-) I´m not perfect in english, so maybe I´ll regret and return to danish, but now I´ll give it a try....

....and now to the norwegian black metal-band Gorgoroth, (from Bergen), one of the most controversial black metal-bands ever, to say the least :-) I was into the band by the release of 2000´s "Incipit satan" and couldn´t hardly wait to check out the follow-up: "Twilight of the idols" (2003). But by the release of 2006´s "Ad majorem sathanas gloriam" things definitely went in the wrong direction with Gorgoroth....Gorgoroth-founder Infernus (guitar) was kicked out of the band by vocalist Gaahl and bassist King Ov Hell, and things went to the court....Now Infernus owns the right to the Gorgoroth name, and runs Gorgoroth with new members....And Gaahl and King Ov Hell are surely not satisfied with the situation!

I love the "Ad majorem...."-album and especially the closing track "Prosperity and beauty", a damn fine black metal-song, but....sorry....I couldn´t find its lyrics, neither in the booklet nor the internet.  So you have to sharpen your ears....ha ha....

I´ll be back soon with another great heavy metal-song...with lyrics :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

Marduk´s "Accuser/Opposer"

Marduk:"Accuser/Opposer", (fra albummet "Rom 5:12", 2007):

Accuser, accuser,
Exhaustless fountain of poison divine,
I ate of death to cleanse my flesh of god
To make me thy entrance to the veins of the world,

Now as we turn to seek thy face,
Pour down on us thy redeeming wrath,
For you will ascend into heaven,
And will exalt thy throne above god,
And you will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
In the sides of north,

And you will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
And will be like the most high,
Yet where you brought down to the sides of the pit,
Which we now must merge with the skies.

Opposer, opposer,
Core, marrow and essence of my will,
I renounce this flesh in the name of thy praise,
To kindle the coals of salvation´s spring.
I drank of hell to cleanse my soul of god,
To reach the light in which thou dwellest,

Adversary, adversary,
Glorious slenderer and everything´s adversary.
Whose blade alone split the tongues of the world,
Yet shall the highest of truths mark thy crown,
Now as we turn to seek thy face,
Pour down on us thy redeeming wrath.

(tekst: Marduk)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsayWd5BveQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGPhzzN11fo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuQjEDx3p0I

(Det er lidt underligt at tænke på, at mit første herlige møde med de svenske black metallere Marduk var albummet "World funeral" (2003), som skulle vise sig at blive den mangeårige forsanger Legion´s allersidste optræden i front af de legendariske svenskere....Men jeg skal da lige love for, at hans efterfølger Mortuus har overtaget mikrofonen med manér! Mortuus´ vokal-arbejde på de foreløbige 3 fuldlængder "Plague angel" (2004), "Rom 5:12" (2007) og "Wormwood" (2009) er ret fantastisk. Dog skal det tilføjes, (og det har absolut intet med Mortuus at gøre!), at "Rom 5:12" er dét af de nævnte albums, som jeg bryder mig mindst om.....Men et nummer som "Accuser/Opposer" får altid det brede smil frem på mine læber :-)).

Ved Buens Ende´s "Den saakaldte"

Ved Buens Ende:"Den saakaldte", (fra albummet "Written in waters", 1995):

Listen, hear my demons dance
after a view and a fallen star,
they gather

Look, see my demons gleam
they´ve brought us stains
and my bubbles bother

Drifting us further away
really seems like a rainy day...

(tekst: Yousaf Parvez a.k.a. Vicotnik)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwimwdAF4k

(Man skal ikke lytte ret længe til norske Ved Buens Ende´s debut-album "Written in waters", før man forstår, hvorfor dette album er blevet en af de helt store klassikere inden for heavy metal-genren...."Written in waters" er en dybt original blanding af avantgarde metal og black metal, med hovedvægten lagt på avantgarde, og et album, som man slet ikke kan komme udenom, når snakken falder på en af metallens store personligheder Carl-Michael Eide, (Aura Noir, Virus). Desværre har "Written in waters" aldrig fået sig en opfølger, og iflg. Eide er det på nuværende tidspunkt udelukket, at det sker. På en måde ærgerligt, men samtidig kan man godt stille sig selv spørgsmålet hvorvidt "Written...." overhovedet kan overgåes eller bare matches i kvalitet....:-)).

Napalm Death´s "Distorting the medium"

Napalm Death:"Distorting the medium", (fra albummet "Utopia banished", 1992):

Saturating pre-assuming icon of the youth,
Ways and means to call the shots,
Fingers in the pies which resign us from vacant urges,
Facing the bombardment - no escape!

Stick your intentions!
Parade of puppets
Sickly sweet - you stink of vulgarity!

Sacrifice the faculties,
All you´ve achieved is synthetic scenes.

Next step is to gain approval from those ignore,
Those who recognise the charade,
To fabricate alternatives designed to be expensive
In hand with the regular facade.

Acquire acclaim with plastic actions,
Sickly sweet - you stink of vulgarity!

Sacrifice the faculties,
All you´ve achieved is synthetic scenes.

Fit into the cliche,
A legend in your own brain.
Shooted, motivated only for prestige

A mask for your inadequacy.

Preshaping to what´s required for slick
   Commerciality.
Censored for subversion,
Redundant machine.

Don´t let them mould your identity.

(tekst: Mark "Barney" Greenway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eskDe2H7MDU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCsVnPL9a84

(Det er så let at glemme Napalm Death´s tidlige udgivelser med Barney i spidsen, når man lytter til de nyere albums fra Birmingham-drengene....Men Napalm var også rigtigt fede i begyndelsen af Barney-æraen, som f.eks. på fuldlængden "Utopia banished" fra 1992. Dyrk lige tracket "Distorting the medium", hvor den nu afdøde guitarist Jesse Pintado i dén grad åbnede for riff-skuffen....Fantastisk medrivende nummer :-)).

Hate Eternal´s "The art of redemption"

Hate Eternal:"The art of redemption", (fra albummet "Phoenix amongst the ashes", 2011):

Conquer thy rebellion, destroy thy pristine
Bold, I must revel in the obliteration of the monotheist, so called mighty lord
Crush all man, burn down the temple of hope
Persecution of all your saint´s ideals
Behold, the end of days awaits
Whilst redemption now is at hand
The art of redemption
The final battle is at hand
Avenge me legions and hordes abandon
Triumphant in our stand
Confront me tyrant, absolve me messiah
Defy, I shall defy all those whom choose the path of lies
Lies, you cannot hide from nor deny
I cast thee out, out amongst slaves
Slaves amongst thieves, thieves amongst the fray
Amongst the fray may vengeance destroy you all
For victory now is within our grasp
The art of redemption
The final battle is at hand
Avenge me legions and hordes abandon
Triumphant in our stand
The art of redemption
With vengeance we shall command
In discipline we revolt against the tyranny
Defiant in our stand
Path of fury wrath of many
Insipid and insolent in our ways
Destroy all with pure ferocity
Vindication through annihilation
Redemption retaliate
Redemption obliterate
Redemption, annihilate
Redemption, we rule this world

(tekst: Erik Rutan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p-ADV4u7fw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOKK5W4KxYc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smUcirPQ43Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzWLZfIPghc

(Jeg har været fan af Florida´s Hate Eternal næsten lige fra det øjeblik, death metal-debuten "Conquering the throne" så dagens lys i 1999. Nu, 12 år senere, er bandet pladeaktuelle med 5. udspil "Phoenix amongst the ashes", som er brutal og kompleks død spillet i et forrygende tempo med mastermind og eneste originale medlem Erik Rutan i absolut storform. (Dyrk bare Rutan´s guitarspil på tracket "The art of redemption" :-)).

Musikken på "Phoenix...." er kompleks, endog særdeles kompleks, og det gør, at det er en skive, som man skal give tid til at vokse. Der er simpelthen så mange elementer i de enkelte numre, at man umuligt kan nå at få det hele med ved kun 2-3 gennemlytninger. Men væbner man sig med med tid og tålmodighed, er der utrolig meget guf at hente, og albummet bare vokser og vokser og vokser....Varmeste anbefaling!).

Napalm Death´s "Downbeat clique"

Napalm Death:"Downbeat clique", (fra albummet "Time waits for no slave", 2009):

For independence we alone define
Open-ended, not monopolised, it´s just as it is.

Does not need overstatement
Don´t broadcast it from the rooftops
It´s we alone that convene.

But radical actor there you are,
The radical statesman picking holes
But radical actor there you are,
The radical statesman´s checklist of faults

But radical actor there you are,
In radical terms this target´s soft
But radical actor there you are,
In radical terms it´s power to your lost soul

But radical actor there you are,
The radical heights alienating
To be a cut above - or below

Infighting starts to establish
A clearly marked distance because image is at stake

Mindlessly stifling downbeat clique
Down-at-heel tyranny downbeat clique

Infighting starts to establish
A clearly marked distance because image is at stake

Pitifully snipping downbeat clique
Re-branded morality downbeat clique

Exactly what are YOU achieving?

The faithful patron of one conclusion
With reflection, effects are null and void,
It´s just as it is

But racical actor there you are,
The radical statesmen picking holes
But radical actor there you are,
In radical terms it´s power to your lost soul

But radical actor there you are,
The radical slip into social structure
And your threatening alliance with the norm.

(tekst: Mark "Barney" Greenway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogY28_5ayDI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbWEodGvh2M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DUKK_P-g7I

(Objektivt set er Napalm Death´s seneste fuldlængde "Time waits for no slave" en lille tilbagegang for Birmingham´s stolthed i forhold til forgængeren "Smear campaign" fra 2006. Meeeeeeen jeg har i dén grad dyrket "Time....", siden den landede i min samling i det tidlige 2009, for selv et Napalm i en 90%-udgave er stærkt medrivende selskab :-)

I næste måned får "Time...." så efter sigende en opfølger, og mens vi venter på den nye Napalm-skive, hvad er så mere nærliggende end at brøle lystigt med på det ultra-fede og herligt rytmiske "Time...."-track "Downbeat clique"? Okay, du kan måske godt finde en ting eller to, der er mere nærliggende....ha ha...., men forslaget er hermed givet :-)).

Communic´s "At dewy prime"

Communic:"At dewy prime", (fra albummet "Waves of visual decay", 2006):

The vision was a test of deprived physical strength
Dipped in the ocean to be born again
My soul was naked without a surface
Then fingers folded around me and gave me a shell
This ship on its travel carried meaningful thoughts
Travelled over me and left their minds
Then a shadow unbound me and stretched me with skin
And adorned my soul with the memories of them

Sailor, sailor burning bright
On the stormy sea at night
Golden heart and undying pride
Their heart lies buried in a bay of Noeway

Bring back the memories bring me back in time
Bring back the colors and the scent of meadow lands
Bring back the memories bring me back in time
Bring back the colors and the scent of meadow lands

At dewy prime
Bring back the souls of the dead
At dewy prime - Bring back the souls
At dewy prime
Bring back the souls of the dead
At dewy prime - Bring back the souls

Bring me back in time to their homeland
Bring back their souls together with me
Bring back their souls to their homeland
Bring me back in time together forevermore...

In remembrance of this kind
That once came to round our land
What immortal hand of time
Made a frame and locked the symmetry

Our eyes contemplate
A transmission to the soul
Spectacle of this universe
The night veils its sadness in bloom

And one day will come
Suppress all the dark thoughts
Spirits of our destructive time
Even into plains of ether

Bring back the memories bring me back in time
Bring back the colors and the scent of meadow lands
Bring back the memories bring me back in time
bring back the colors and the scent of meadow lands

At dewy prime
Bring back the souls of the dead
At dewy prime - Bring back the souls
At dewy prime
Bring back the souls of the dead
At dewy prime - Bring back the souls

Bring me back in time to their homeland
Bring back their souls together with me
Bring back their souls to their homeland
Bring me back in time together forevermore...

The vision was a test of deprived physical strength
Dipped in the ocean to be born again
My soul was naked without a surface
Then fingers folded around me and gave me a shell
This ship on its travel carried meaningful thoughts
Travelled over me and left their minds
Then a shadow unbound me and stretched me with skin
And adorned my soul with the memories of them...

(tekst: Oddleif Stensland)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5_MOEt0_so

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYX44-81FcA

(Jeg er ikke meget for at indrømme det, men jeg havde lidt svært ved at se det fantastiske i norsk/danske Communic´s 2. fuldlængde "Waves of visual decay", da den udkom i 2006....Jeg syntes, at det var en noget skuffende opfølger til debut-braget "Conspiracy in mind", men som tiden er gået er jeg heldigvis blevet klogere :-) "Waves...." holder 100 %, hvis bare man giver sig selv lov til at lytte koncentreret til de 7 lange labyrintiske, gennemarbejdede, intelligente tracks. Det er power/progressive metal så englene synger, og især closeren "At dewy prime" har jeg lært at se/høre som et af Communic´s allerbedste tracks til dato.

I disse måneder er Oddleif Stensland & Co. pladeaktuelle med bandets 4. fuldlængde "The bottom deep", og er blevet et etableret band på den internationale metal-scene og i HEAVY-SKOV´s univers....:-)).

Triptykon´s "Shatter"

Triptykon:"Shatter", (fra EP´en "Shatter", 2010):

I don´t want to feel
I don´t want to see
I don´t want to love
I don´t want to live
I don´t wish to drown in the beauty of your eyes
I don´t wish to remember the warmth of your embrace
I don´t wish to bleed on your altar of demise
I don´t wish to wither among the petals of disgrace
why did you cast me into a bottomless pit of pain
my love a sacrifice in your temple of disdain
why did you cast me into a bottomless pit of pain
to feel is suffering
to feel is rejection
to feel is despair
to feel is to die
the air liquefies as it enters my shattered lungs
darkness enwraps my mind as my blood stains your skin
my heart pierced by thorns of words that now seem wrong
I yield to the darkness of the angry deep within

(tekst: Tom Gabriel Warrior)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrRi25jZRFY

(Det lykkedes mig endelig her i torsdags d. 25. august at få fingre i denne lille udgivelse fra Triptykon takket være FONA 2000 på Strøget i København. Jeg havde været til tandlæge, (0 huller :-)), og da....øh....kampen var overstået, skulle det på en eller anden måde fejres, så hvad var mere nærliggende end at aflægge nærliggende FONA 2000 et visit...., og dér dukkede "Shatter"-EP´en omsider op, efter flere måneders eftersøgning :-)

"Shatter"-EP´en kan måske godt opfattes som værende en bagatel, men jeg ser den snarere som et væsentligt supplement til kongeskiven "Eparistera daimones". Udover det skønne titelnummer bydes der på det ærketypiske Triptykon-track "I am the twilight" og den instrumentale closer "Cruxificus" inden det er tid til Triptykon-live-versioner af gamle Celtic Frost-vindere som "Circle of the tyrants" og "Dethroned emperor"!

Celtic Frost er definitivt lagt i graven, men Triptykon lever i allerbedste velgående :-)).

Arch Enemy´s "No gods, no masters"

Arch Enemy:"No gods, no masters", (fra albummet "Khaos legions", 2011):

Here I am, back to the wall
I pick the fight against the tide
Free at last, I go my own way
I will resist them ´til the day I die

I am who I am - my time has come!

I am who I am
Take it or leave it
A rebel at heart!
No gods, no masters
My time has come

No gods, no masters!

There is no sacred place
No perfect world
Your head is home
Freedom in your heart
Be strong
Take this chance
Make your way
A better future calls

What doesn´t kill us
Makes us stronger
Locked and loaded
Ready to strike
Here we stand
Loud and proud
United as one

(tekst: Angela Gossow)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR3kwe-mbB0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q8GYtkIax8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJZIHxalYkI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74fCMq2fOjI

(Okay....indrømmet....jeg havde ikke ligefrem de store forventninger til svensk/tyske Arch Enemy´s nyeste udspil "Khaos legions", som blev udgivet her i sommerens begyndelse. For efter de, i mine ører, halvtamme fuldlængder "Doomsday machine" (2005) og "Rise of the tyrant" (2007) var det svært at forestille sig, at de melodiske dødsmetallere kunne smide en svinesej skive på gaden...., men det er så ikke desto mindre, hvad der er sket :-) "Khaos legions" indeholder ganske vist lidt fyld hist og her, men generelt er de enkelte tracks gennemarbejdede og herligt fængende! Her er mildest ikke sjusket med sangskrivningen.....

....så selvom jeg er en af dem, (hvis der da overhovedet findes andre....:-)), som normalt savner Arch Enemy´s originale forsanger Johan Liiva ved mikrofonen, så gør "Khaos...."-albummets høje niveau og en Angela Gossow på toppen af sin growler-karriére, at jeg i tankerne sagtens kan abstrahere fra Liiva´s manglende tilstedeværelse :-)).

Napalm Death´s "In deference"

Napalm Death:"In deference", (fra albummet "Smear campaign", 2006):

Ethically aligned to the cause -
Or so I thought
A cause that decried the exploits
Where masses are coerced

Often, social justice is a cynical smokescreen
Only at their bidding

Close-circuit reach - don´t overstep my boundaries
Such boundaries that crumble under order

Sincerely you serve your own ends -
Do as I do
I can´t tell my left from my right -
Corruption blurs

Face the wrong direction
And we risk containment
Whilst they sanction murder

Close-circuit reach quickly erases all travesties
Such travesties waved away with feeble ease

It´s adjudged to be uncivil
You should be at lower reach
Bound over
Because open thinking is an act of complicity

Leaders are leading by example
"Rights" and "wrongs" on a sliding scale
Sit atop the order of importance
You too can reap the power harvest

The "deviant" young get in the way
We become suitably distraught
Whilst their judges take lives near and afar
And reap the power harvest

(tekst: Mark "Barney" Greenway)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw6ZFq0BVtE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hppI2oGTCq0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xos98Y_NGhg

(Det engelske grind metal-band Napalm Death fra England´s næststørste by Birmingham er forlængst blevet en institution inden for heavy metal-verdenen, og dette ikke mindst takket være energibundtet Mark Greenway, i daglig tale kaldet "Barney". Med sin nærmest amok-agtige sceneoptræden og sine samfundskritiske tekster er denne bulderbasse af en forsanger på en måde synonym med Napalm Death....Der var en periode i 1990´erne, (1996-97), hvor Barney var blevet "sparket" ud af Napalm, men blev taget til nåde igen af bassist Shane Embury og Co., simpelthen fordi de øvrige bandmedlemmer indså, at der ikke fandtes noget Napalm Death uden Barney ved mikrofonen :-)

Ligeså fandenivoldsk Barney er under diverse koncert-optrædener og studie-indspilninger, ligeså venlig, hyggelig og velafbalanceret virker han under diverse interviews, og det er måske i bund og grund den væsentligste årsag til Napalm´s succés....At der bag det voldsomme lydbillede gemmer sig en regulær menneskelighed og en lyst til fredelige forbedringer af samfundsmæssige skævheder :-)

Med disse ord er det her på Heavy-Skov blevet tid til den absolut største overraskelse i Napalm Death´s lange fornemme karriére....nemlig nummeret "In deference", hvor Anneke van Giersbergen, om jeg så må sige, lægger vejen forbi :-)).

Abscess´ "Dead haze"

Abscess:"Dead haze", (fra albummet "Dawn of inhumanity", 2010):

I screamed at the sun
While it tore at my flesh
An offering obscure
More absurd with each breath
Mind blown in a dead haze
Can´t look back or I´ll waste away
I talked to the night
With my brain set on fire
I drank from the moon
As it filled my desire
Reason torn in a black wind
I´ll live to suffer while the end begins

I followed the dawn
As it´s tongue flickered red
It told me it´s tale
As it squirmed in my head
Cyclone void in a deep daze
Can´t think ´cause it´s much too late
I fell into dusk
With my bones in a vice
It sucked at my soul
As my veins turned to ice
Goin´ home though it´s nowhere sane
Can´t help but melt away
Inside out of a dead haze
Inside out in a dead haze

(tekst: Chris Reifert)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzYg90FuRLM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gifeeDyMhsQ

(Det tog mig nogle gennemlytninger af amerikanske Abscess´ seneste og sidste fuldlængde "Dawn of inhumanity", før jeg så småt kunne begynde at tage pladen alvorligt....:-) Der hviler nemlig en ret så afslappet stemning over de 10 punkede gore-agtige death-tracks, som man liiige skal vænne sig til. Men når først man er kommet ind i universet, er det tydeligt, at der en mening med....øh....galskaben! "Dawn of...." er undergrunds-død spillet direkte fra hjertet, og et spændende alternativ til de "normale" death metal-udgivelser.

Desværre er Abscess nu opløst som følge af sanger og guitarist Clint Bower´s frivillige exit fra bandet, men det har banet vej for et seriøst og vellykket comeback til legendariske Autopsy, som er Abscess´ Chris Reifert og Danny Coralles´ oprindelige band. Autopsy er pladeaktuelle med fuldlængden "Macabre eternal").

The Gathering´s "A life all mine"

The Gathering:"A life all mine", (fra albummet "Souvenirs", 2003):

Razor sharp I cut
The bull from my life
Too blunt your knife
To slay this dreamer

We might be dogs astray
No running line will hold us
So rather kick and kill me
I´ll be buthered all the same

No words are spoken
But the world is broken

´Cause I want something
Something all wrong done
A life instead of mere living
Folding crumbling withering oh hell
What difference when working the way

The crown of my work
Is what I shall gain
At the end of my days

Daylight awake to a puppet world
No strings attach to this body of mine
Folding crumbling withering oh well
The punished pushed along the line
All my actions, all my moves
A life all mine to lose

The crown of my work
A life all mine to lose
A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days

(tekst: Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg a.k.a. Trickster G. & Anneke van Giersbergen)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT2-XRsLEOU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ7bmYsNurA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FtxhEvYIl4

(Hvis nogen havde sagt til mig i midten af 1990´erne, at Anneke van Giersbergen og Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg (Ulver) en dag ville synge duet på en The Gathering-plade, var jeg sikkert død af grin....:-) For dengang var doomede/gotiske Anneke og black metalliske "Garm" MEGET langt fra hinanden i sangstil! Men tiderne skifter, mennesker ændrer sig, og de dygtige kunstnere udvikler sig. Så da de to sangtalenter "fandt hinanden" på "Souvenirs"-closeren "A life all mine", kom det ikke rigtigt som nogen overraskelse for mig....Både Anneke, (med The Gathering), og "Garm", (med Ulver), havde i 2003 forlængst bevæget sig i en retning, hvor alt tilsyneladende kunne ske :-)).

The Gathering´s "Souvenirs"

The Gathering:"Souvenirs", (fra albummet "Souvenirs", 2003):

Jump in heat
Plunge to your truth
Agree with your youth
Consider defeat
Part and part
And separate
We will

Brand new paths
In ways to soothe
Never disagree with your youth
Part of your heart
Will separate
It will

The gift of your life
All what was concealed
No skin-deep a dive
Your childhood revealed

You jump in heat
Plunge to your start
Don´t underestimate
Your own point of view
Don´t part your art
Or hesitate
You will

The gift of your life
All what was concealed
No skin-deep a dive
Your childhood revealed

Peel all the layers of forever
You start the beginning of the end
Breathing is bridging the gap
Between black and light

And now you feel alive!
And now you learn to dive you know!
Breathing is bridging the gap
Between black and light

(tekst: Anneke van Giersbergen)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyOUdIj93H0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeqQHqyoFb0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3mjknq42Vk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tosr3JjdsjM

(Det er efterhånden nogle år siden, at jeg regelmæssigt lyttede til The Gathering´s "Souvenirs"-album, et album som skulle vise sig at blive bandets næstsidste fuldlængde med Anneke van Giersbergen ved mikrofonen. Men forleden aften "faldt" jeg over det skønne titelnummer på Youtube, og så fik jeg lynhurtigt fisket cd´en ud af samlingen og pustet det værste støv af....ha ha....

Det er mildest talt meget begrænset, hvad der er af heavy metal på "Souvenirs"-albummet, men det tusmørke der hviler over de 10 stille trip hop-influerede sange kan sagtens tilfredsstille mit behov, og så er Anneke jo ganske enkelt et gudsbenået sangtalent!).

Anata´s "The great juggler"

Anata:"The great juggler", (fra albummet "The conductor´s departure", 2006):

Desperate to be admired
But in the eyes of others, another clown
Spending and spoiling his energy
Forever lost in reverie

Joined the circus at seventeen
For many years, lived his dream
But on the outside where time passes by
The circus performer is still a child

"Look at me now using torches of fire
Look! Higher than anyone else
I am the great juggler!"
But in the end
When the circus days are gone
Who would dare to depend
On some great juggler?

Circus performers will be turned down
Juggler or not, still a clown
Small is his crowd
Compared to the outside world
Feelings of being left out of it
Always grow

"Look at me now"...

(tekst: Fredrik Schälin)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIqPbZ20EXI

(Jeg opdagede forleden dag, at de svenske dødsmetallere Anata er ved at indspille et nyt album, og det er jo mildest talt godt nyt....For det er efterhånden blevet 5 år siden, at Fredrik Schälin & Co. sendte bandets 4. og foreløbig seneste fuldlængde "The conductor´s departure" på gaden, en sand lækkerbidsken ud i teknisk death metal. Det der især tiltaler mig ved "The conductor´s...." er, at Anata har turdet give skiven et intellektuelt tilsnit, og tilmed er sluppet rigtig godt fra det! Så drenge, mere af dén slags, TAK :-)).

Burzum´s "Enhver til sitt"

Burzum:"Enhver til sitt", (fra albummet "Fallen", 2011):

Jeg følger etter hesten, inn i skgen.
Blødende; våt nedentil av eget blod.
Føttene føles stadig tyngre;
en bankende smerte i låret.
Buksene har blitt som gips
rundt beina der blodet har størknet.

Jeg faller, men reiser meg igjen.
Sjanglende, haltende, stumpende, fallende.
Min jakt når sin slutt, i den våte mosen
ved månetjernets ensomme bredd.
Månetjernets ensomme bredd.
Månetjernets ensomme bredd.

Hvorfor må jeg prøve skjebnen igjen og igjen?
Hvorfor må jeg glemme smerten når såret gror?
Hvorfor må jeg venne meg til en ødelagt kropp?
Hvorfor må jeg glemme hvor jeg falt sist?
Hvorfor må jeg glemme? Hvorfor må jeg glemme?
Hvorfor må jeg kjenne den gamle smerten igjen (og igjen og igjen...)?

En gang, denne gang, går det ikke å reise seg igjen.
Jeg forblir der, i den våte mosen, alene og døende.
Det går ikke å reise seg igjen, og jeg vil det ikke heller.
Månen speiler seg i vannoverflaten og blinker til meg.
Månen blinker til meg.
Månen blinker til meg.

Lyset blir sterkere.
Månegudinnen kommer til meg.

Jeg fryser ikke mer.
Jeg varmes av månelyset.

Hvorfor må jeg prøve skjebnen igjen og igjen?
Hvorfor må jeg glemme smerten når såret gror?
Hvorfor må jeg venne meg til en ødelagt kropp?
Hvorfor må jeg glemme hvor jeg falt sist?
Hvorfor må jeg glemme? Hvorfor må jeg glemme?
Hvorfor må jeg kjenne den gamle smerten igjen?

Jeg fryser ikke mer.
Jeg varmes av månelyset.
Jeg fryser ikke mer.
Jeg varmes av månelyset.

(tekst: Varg Vikernes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eRZYMN16lQ

(Yyyyyyyeeeeeeesssssss!!!!!!! Han er i dén grad kommet ud af fængslet, Varg Vikernes, efter at have afsonet 16 år for drabet på Mayhem´s Euronymous. Først leverede han albummet "Belus", som i mine ører er en af de allerbedste black metal-udgivelser fra 2010, og i marts måned i år kom så opfølgeren "Fallen", hvis titel er norsk og IKKE engelsk :-) Helt objektivt er "Fallen" et bedre album end "Belus", med en bedre produktion/mixning, mere variation og en meget vellykket ren vokal, som supplerer den velkendte black-vokal til noget nær det perfekte. Men "Belus" har bare så høj en stjerne hos mig, at jeg....øh....nægter :-) at sætte "Fallen" højere, selvom det nye album er rigtig, rigtig fedt!

"Belus" udkom i marts 2010 og "Fallen" udkom, som nævnt, i marts 2011, så man kan jo ikke andet end at glæde sig til marts 2012, hvis da ellers Varg kan holde udgivelses-tempoet oppe....:-)).

Suffocation´s "Pray for forgiveness"

Suffocation:"Pray for forgiveness", (fra albummet "Blood oath", 2009):

To pray for forgiveness
what have I done?
No one seems to care
Ask for guidance
but it falls on deaf ears
If there is one who will hear me
How does he not answer
look to the sky
Sins rain down from above
Once again I ask of thee to forgive me
A mishandling of a situation

Leaves me at your mercy
I only ask to look
at my life as a whole
why do you not answer

Can it be that there is no one to answer
after all we have been taught

Mislead teachings
lead to no conclusions
A false hope
that all would be forgiven
allows one to do as he pleases

So I ask of thee again to forgive me
Forgive me no answer to my plea

What I can´t hear you have left me to rot

(tekst:?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFbTcoO9ORU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj9GfNVwaX4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqDE4eSRkrs

(Det er efterhånden et stykke tid siden, jeg første gang tænkte på at lægge et nummer fra New York´s Suffocation´s seneste fuldlængde "Blood oath" ind her på Heavy-Skov...., men jeg har simpelthen ikke kunnet bestemme mig for, hvilket nummer det skulle være! "Blood oath" består nemlig af 10 death metal-vindere, hvor kvaliteten mildest talt IKKE er svingende, men albummets 3. track "Pray for forgiveness" er trods alt en anelse bedre end nogle af de øvrige sange :-), og så er det en meget relevant tekst omkring det at tro på en Gud.

Suffocation plade-debuterede tilbage i 1991 med den forlængst klassiske "Effigy of the forgotten", og har siden, i dén grad, skabt sig et navn på den internationale death metal-scene. Der er sket en stor udvikling fra "Effigy of the forgotten" til "Blood oath", og om man kan lide "Blood oath" afhænger i det store hele af, om man kan lide forsanger Frank Mullen´s growlen. Personligt finder jeg Mullen´s vokale udgydelser dybt fascinerende og....øh....beroligende :-), men, hånden på hjertet, så fylder han sgu´ ganske pænt i lydbilledet. Så hvis du ikke lige er Mullen-fan, kan "Blood oath" måske godt forekomme lidt svær at håndtere :-)).

Fight´s "In a world of my own making"

Fight:"In a world of my own making", (fra albummet "A small deadly space", 1995):

If I could find a place
To leave this world behind.
Somewhere in time and space
Where I could ease my mind.
I´d take you there;
Where we could be alone.

No one can find this place;
The secret will be ours.
With no more pain to face;
We´ll live amongst the stars.
In soilitude, and we can
wonder free.

Alone, at last just you and me.

Our island universe;
A world unto its own.
Forgetting all the worst
of times,
They´re gone.
You know we are as one
To make a life of peace.

Escape, into eternal sleep...

(tekst: Rob Halford & Brian Tilse)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewagyBkbPz8

(Det var min gode ven Jens, som i 1990 åbnede mine ører for legendariske Judas Priest i forbindelse med udgivelsen af deres berømte "Painkiller"-album. Jeg kan tydeligt huske, at jeg var helt overvældet af forsanger Rob Halford´s enorme sang-talent, så da Halford et stykke tid senere valgte at forlade Priest for at danne bandet Fight, fulgte jeg glædeligt med ham. Fight´s 2 fuldlængde-albums "War of words" (1993) og "A small deadly space" (1995) er begge habile power thrash-udgivelser, som dog er milevidt fra Judas Priest´s tårnhøje niveau. Men, men, men, til aller-aller-allersidst kommer den vidunderligt smukke sang "In a world of my own making", som afslutter "A small deadly space", og hver gang jeg lytter til denne sang får jeg både en klump i halsen, tårer i øjnene og et sug i maven :-)).

Death Angel´s "Buried alive"

Death Angel:"Buried alive", (fra albummet "Killing season", 2008):

One murder coming on
Say I´m wrong for all I´ve done
Are you God to judge us all?
Prophet false with a jury hung

Home, an empty shell of a living hell
A human zoo full of cannibals
Backwards life, it´s a dirty world
Where your dreams can´t be heard

A shallow grave is where I dwell
Buried alive within this cell
A shadow cast upon my fate
Deliver me to the one who waits

Guilt, regret and innocence
Full of lies and corruption
Suffocate while the worms infest
Underground, take one last breath

Home, an empty shell of a living hell
A human zoo full of cannibals
Backwards life, it´s a dirty world
Where your dreams can´t be heard

A shallow grave is where I dwell
Buried alive within this cell
A shadow cast upon my fate
Deliver me to the one who waits

Visions of life start to flash
As the dirt rains down
How does your so called God
Get off on this?

Blackness descending on me
In this hole in the ground
No longer will I see the light of day
The saints are gonna make the sinner pay
And maggots are waiting to feast on my flesh

(tekst: Rob Cavestany, Andy Galeon,  Mark Osegueda, Dennis Pepa)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofJQ55-bnnM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxAxZW4JjyE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv-0wLjAyns

(Thrash-legenderne Death Angel fra San Francisco startede oprindeligt ud som et rent filipinsk familie-foretagende (4 fætre) tilbage i 1982, men her i 2011 ser bandets line-up en del anderledes ud end dengang i de tidlige firsere. Eneste originale medlem er således lead guitarist Rob Cavestany. Jeg vil ikke sige, at jeg er ubetinget vild med Death Angel´s form for thrash metal, men jeg kommer ikke udenom den tunge kendsgerning, at jeg nyder at lytte til deres party-thrash i ny og næ...., og specielt et nummer som "Buried alive" er jo bare en vidunderlig ørehænger :-)).

Triptykon`s "My pain"

Triptykon:"My pain", (fra albummet "Eparistera daimones", 2010):

Fall asleep in my arms
never to wake up ever again
morning comes as a surprise
to the solitary heart
this world within my mind
did it ever even exist?
I wish my touch could mend your bleeding wounds
and mark my existence in your time
I fight the impending lure of belated sleep
for fear of waking up and you are gone

(tekst: Tom Gabriel Warrior)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1V8NFWjmXI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x-Wm1YqznE

(Et af de allerbedste heavy metal-albums, jeg nogensinde har lyttet til, er utvivlsomt schweizisk/tyske Triptykon´s "Eparistera daimones", som udkom sidste år. Fra asken af legendariske Celtic Frost´s opløsning har Tom G. Warrior skabt Triptykon, som mere eller mindre fortsætter, hvor Celtic Frost slap. "Eparistera daimones" er årets heavy metal-album 2010 i al sin ekstremitet, og nummeret "My pain" er sangen, som viser, hvor følsomt og tænksomt et menneske Tom G. Warrior i bund og grund er. Det er smukt som bare pokker, og et vidnesbyrd om, hvor smertefuldt livet kan være).

In Flames´ "Pinball map"

In Flames:"Pinball map", (fra albummet "Clayman", 2000):

As I aim for that bright white day
Conflict serum is my aura
It seems that life´s so fragile
I guess I´ll fly some other time

I lack from superhighway thoughts
Won´t live as long as the city lights
Soaked by underwater times
Electric splash on a midnight drive

Wish I could rape the day,
just something radical
Lost the sense of sweet things
Who´s gonna take me widely?

Guided by the pinball map
The driver - still unknown
Who was sent to glorify?
Before we injected this common pride

Sometimes I don´t belong
Release me from your world
Pacified by the small things in life
I wake for earthquakes to rearrange

Never been able to use the force
I´ve only had it read to me
Despite all the misguided faith
(Maybe) I´ll find a place in this mess

Early morning moments
A glimpse of joy
But soon it´s over and I return to dust
As I try to be
Everything and everyone

I waste away

(tekst:?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrcGUwEemgI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyXuhyJhrSY

(Jeg har lidt mistet interessen for det svenske band In Flames, (fra Göteborg), men tilbage i 1990´erne og de første par år af det nye årti havde In Flames en høj stjerne hos mig. Ikke mindst takket være albummet "Clayman" fra 2000, som er en herlig omgang melo-death, kulminerende med sangen "Pinball map". In Flames er sammen med bysbørnene At The Gates og Dark Tranquility hovedskaberne af den berømte "Göteborg Sound", (death metal med masser af melodi), som har dannet skole for rigtigt mange bands verdenen over. Desværre er In Flames i de senere år gået i en lidt for unuanceret retning efter min smag, hvor der fokuseres for meget på store energi-udladninger fremgår god sangskrivning, og det fænger sgu´ ikke rigtigt i mine ører....In Flames forlod "melo-death"-genren i 2002 med "Reroute to remain"-albummet, og vender næppe tilbage. Især ikke nu, hvor de for alvor er blevet ét af de helt store bands på metal-scenen....).

Absu´s "In the name of auebothiabathabaithobeuee"

Absu:"In the name of auebothiabathabaithobeuee, (fra albummet "Absu", 2009):

In the name
I give the powers to the spell
In the name
True visions of time are forthcoming
In the name
I confer brawn to incantations
In the name
Gray vapors begin to clamber high

Chorus
The great scimitar of Barzai
Alabaster statuette of Yebsu
The representation of Koth
Cobalt flames light the blaze of Laurel

In the day
Mars and saturn make collision
In the day
Place the ewer upon the fire
In the day
All the secrets are deaf in silence
In the day
I am the lord of every Spectre

In the light
Grant equal parts of rune and weapon
In the light
Place the green glass onto the seal
In the light
Four winds cry the words of control
In the light
Seven nights will unchain the soul

In the name
I give uproar to the Great Abyss
In the name
I give the powers to the spell
In the name
Of the unction inside the sigil
In the name
Vaporous smoke shall arise

(tekst: Russley Randell Givens a.k.a. Proscriptor McGovern)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOcx2JQrpuk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6uPQFMmpQ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7s4XaLvfy8&NR=1

(Som jeg tidligere har været inde på her på Heavy-Skov, så findes der nogle få rigtigt gode amerikanske black metal-bands, som f.eks. Chicago´s Nachtmystium. Men også Texas´ Absu er et band, man bør udforske, hvis man er til black metal-genren. Bandets hovedværk "Tara" gik totalt hen over hovedet på mig, da det udkom i 2001, og det var først 8 år senere, da opfølgeren "Absu" udkom, at jeg blev opmærksom på Texas-drengene. "Absu"-albummet var en af konge-udgivelserne i 2009, og førte Absu til bl.a. Danmark, hvor de gav koncert med blandt andre Nachtmystium som opvarmning. En koncert som jeg desværre ikke fik oplevet, men det må mildest talt have været underholdende at opleve disse 2 bands live på samme aften....:-) Og nu vi snakker underholdning, så dyrk lige titlen på track 8 på "Absu"-albummet...."In the name of auebothiabathabaithobeuee" :-) :-) :-) Jeg håber, at jeg har stavet rigtigt....ha ha....).

Morbid Angel´s "Visions from the dark side"

Morbid Angel:"Visions from the dark side", (fra albummet "Altars of madness", 1989):

Dark eyes, shadows grim
They come for me
Midnight chimes, blackened earth
The evils rise
Pits of hate open wide
Chasms of my dreams
Last of chimes - monks arrive
And take my mind again

Waste polluted memories
Acid rivers flow
Vigil for this land´s decay
Sounding from below
Dogs of war, satan´s own
Plotting all their sins
Weapons aimed at liberty
My vision - no one wins

Chorus
Take my mind
All the way
The darkside calls
I shan´t resist

Men forever not in pain
Mind machines control
Toxic rains scouring brains
Victimizing souls
Winds of war suffocate
Voodoo in the sky
Breathe the gases, breathe no more
My vision - all will die

(Chorus)

Cut myself and release the blood
Pains of a thousand years
Pathic sights - journey s end
Descent into another world
My time has come to meet the
Masters... all the corporate lounds
I´m not afraid to face all their
Trials - slavery - in the end they´ll
Still have no power over me

Daylight shines blind my eyes
Waken no another day
Tribulation now has passed
But the dreams remain
Walls of sleep fade away
Abandoment of wonders
Monks of knowledge bid farewell

(tekst: David Vincent)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW-Zur-LcL8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVVzgYDIbdk

(Der er flere fælles træk ved 2 af death metal-genrens klassikere: Morbid Angel´s "Altars of madness" og Obituary´s "Slowly we rot". Som f. eks. at begge albums udkom i 1989, og var de pågældende bands´ debut, men især hæfter jeg mig ved, at såvel "Altars...." som "Slowly...." indledes på helt forrygende vis med nogle rigtigt gode numre i starten, hvorefter musikken begynder at gå lidt for meget i tomgang efter min smag....Ikke at numrene på nogen måde bliver dårlige, men der er bare sat et alt for højt niveau til at starte med, som er rigtig svært at holde :-) Et af mine yndlings-numre på "Altars...." er 3. track "Visions from the dark side", som bare har det herligste drive, og så er det ét af forsanger David Vincent´s absolutte højdepunkter på pladen. Den mand har sgu´ en fed vokal!).

Opeth´s "Bleak"

Opeth:"Bleak", (fra albummet "Blackwater Park", 2001):

Beating
Heart still beating for the cause
Feeding
Soul still feeding from the loss
Aching
Limbs are aching from the rush
Fading
You are fading from my sight

Break of morning, coldness lingers on
Shroud me into nightmares of the sun

Moving
i am moving closer to your side
Luring
You are luring me into the night
Crying
Who is crying for you here
Dying
I am dying fast inside your tears

Plunging towards bereavement faster yet
Clearing thoughts, my mind is set

Devious movement in your eyes
Moved me from relief

Breath comes out white clouds with your lies
And filters through me
You´re close to the final word
You´re staring right past me in dismay
A liquid seeps from your chest
And drains me away

Mist ripples round your thin white neck
And draws me a line
Cold fingers mark this dying wreck
This moment is mine

Help me cure you
Atone for all you´ve done
Help me leave you
As all the days are gone

Night falls again
Taking what´s left of me

Slight twist, shivering corpse
Ornated with water, fills the cracks
Clasped in my lims by tradition
This is all you need

(tekst: Mikael Åkerfeldt)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmByeB7y5aw

(Et af de mest succésrige heavy metal-bands i de senere år er utvivlsomt svenske Opeth. Bandets kombination af death metal og progressiv rock fejrer triumfer over store dele af verdenen, og at det overhovedet er kommet så vidt, skyldes især Opeth´s hovedværk fra 2001 "Blackwater Park". "Blackwater...." er en helt igennem fantastisk lytte-oplevelse, som har noget vidunderligt healende over sig, især på nummeret "Bleak". Hver gang jeg lytter til frontmand Mikael Åkerfeldt´s skønsang på "Bleak", forsvinder mine problemer som dug for solen....Magisk!!!).

Essence

Enslaved:"Essence", (fra albummet "Ruun", 2006):

The question is this
By will alone
Does my heart carry the strenght
To see you burn
When I do not wish to part
To see them farewell
Does my heart carry the strenght
To leave you behind

The eternal search for purity
A fragile hope for the just and fair
Order feeds from the corpses
All beauty must die

Where is the essence
In beast or scripture
Where lie the laws
In stars or temples
I can not see my self
Not your orbit
I can not see the others
Not your eyes

It lasts for ever when you let it go
Purity and pain

Where is the essence
In beast or scripture
Where lie the laws
In stars or temples
I can not see my self
Not your orbit
I can not see the others
Not your eyes

If I told you I´d get you through
I´d have to let you fall deep down

Not because of malice
You needed to
And I´ll remember
What we had

It lasts for ever when you let it go
Purity and pain

(tekst: I. Peersen)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PgxBWhvExw

(Hver gang jeg lytter til Enslaved´s "Essence", kommer jeg automatisk til at tænke på en bestemt sommerdag i 2006....Jeg sad i køkkenet, og lyttede til albummet "Ruun", som jeg næsten lige havde købt, da det pludselig ringede på døren. Udenfor stod en kvindelig nabo, som fortalte, at hun skulle til at samle et skab, men manglede en hammer. Mens jeg rodede i min kasse med værktøj, slog det mig, at "S" kunne høre hver en tone af "Essence", som netop i dét øjeblik lød ud af højttalerne, og jeg overvejede et øjeblik, om jeg skulle slukke for musikken, men undlod....Her små 5 år efter har "S" og jeg stadigvæk et godt naboskab, så hun har nok hørt den musik, der var mere afskrækkende end Enslaved....ha ha....

Bergen´s Enslaved´s intelligente black metal med progressive elementer fra 1970´erne er virkelig frydefuldt for sjælen, når man føler, at tilværelsen mangler dybde...., hvilket jo mildelst talt sker af og til :-)).

The blue marble and the new soul

Nevermore:"The blue marble and the new soul", (fra albummet "The obsidian conspiracy", 2010):

Welcome to planet Earth
Tread your steps carefully
For the ground may twist and turn
Choose your friends wisely
For just when you think you know someone
They could abandon you with scorn
Oh little one
Your mother will hold you in her arms
Your father will teach you his dignity and charm

Welcome to planet hate
To this emotion that I berate
Yet some people force me to feed my violent seed
What have we become?
The damage remains and cannot be undone
Oh little one
Your brother may stab you in the back and laugh
Your sister will love you unconditionally
As all life should be

What have we become?
The damage remains and cannot be undone

Stare into the sky with newborn perfect eyes
Oh little one enjoy your time
There will be heartache there will be rain
And joy I can´t explain
My precious little one, explore your time

Your mother will hold you in arms and smile
Your father will teach you his dignity and charm

(tekst: Warrel Dane)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUMC_-F7Mbo

(Den har været længe undervejs, opfølgeren til Nevermore´s store succés fra 2005, "This godless endeavor", men sidste år kom den så omsider...."The obsidian conspiracy". Det nye album er lettere tilgængeligt end forgængeren og meget mere direkte i sit udtryk...., der er ikke så meget omsvøb her!
Rent faktisk synes jeg, at "The obsidian...." er endnu bedre end "This godless....", men det er jo en smagssag. En af mine favoritter fra det nye album er den smukke "The blue marble and the new soul", som ethvert barn bør have i dåbsgave :-)).

Fields of faceless

Shining:"Fields of faceless", (fra albummet "III/Angst - Självdestruktivitetens emissarie, 2002):

to walk the fields of faceless
to carry the burden of knowledge
to sail the seas of unbearable negativity
must walk these fields...
must carry these burdens...
must sail these seas...

(tekst: Niklas Kvarforth)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp5a7SG3dfM

(Det er vist den hidtil korteste tekst, der er havnet her på Heavy-Skov....ha ha....Niklas Kvarforth er inde på i et nyligt interview i Terrorizer, at han ikke betragter Shining som værende black metal, og der kan godt være lidt om snakken, når man lytter til "VI/Klagopsalmer", men på bandets 3. opus, fra 2002, "III/Angst...." er stilen umiskendeligt black. Jeg har elsket closeren "Fields of faceless" lige siden, jeg hørte dette smertefulde nummer første gang....:-) Det er bare isnende kulde af den slags, man i bund og grund kun støder på inden for black metal-genren. Fantastisk!).

The great pandemonium

Kamelot:"The great pandemonium", (fra albummet "Poetry for the poisoned", 2010):

one more down by the book of babalon
one more down in accordance with my fate
one long drift cross the lake of avalon
one more trip that I must create

and my eyes sweep a shore that was always there
a blood red line through the sonisphere
I can´t resolve where it´s coming from
I sense it
the great pandemonium

JUST ONE
JUST ONE MORE
JUST ONE
JUST ONE MORE DAY

one more day by the prts of hell
just one more when even yesterday was too late
one more thought that I had to sell
one last trick that you can debate

on a silent shore I confronted fear
I spoke to god but he wasn´t there
the sun is down and the war begun
assemble the great pandemonium

RED LIGHT
HIT THE BRAKE NOW
RED LIGHT
HIT THE BRAKE NOW

(tekst: Roy Khan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Trjxuc6Q2c

(Jeg lytter ikke så meget til power metal, men det er meget forfriskende af og til at lægge ører til denne....øh....poppede form for heavy metal :-), og når det skal være, så er norsk/amerikanske Kamelot blandt mine foretrukne. Sidste års fuldlængde "Poetry for the poisoned" er stærkt anbefalelsesværdig, og indledes med ørehængeren "The great pandemonium").

As virulent as you

Virus:"As virulent as you", (fra albummet "The black flux", 2008):

Your contaminated majesty
You live in my wounds
As I feast on your red dirt (scooping out your tunnels)
I find no answer to your riddle
Your matches spark close to my eyes
While I´m smoothing out the sands (leaving no trail)
In your dry alien deserts
Filtering out the stones on your prairies

We jumped off a cliff
You wanted to prove your luck
You came up clean (through the white noise)
I drowned close to your loathing
Your broken monstrous love (your jaded presence)
Naked and bare like a knife
My bed is a tomb
I live in your virulent womb

(tekst: Carl-Michael Eide (a.k.a. Czral) & Kvohst)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEZDOkI_Hro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nENOxYBSdd0

(Det var en begivenhed af de meget sjældne, da det norske avantgarde metal-band Virus i tirsdags gav koncert i London som opvarmning for landsmændene fra Ulver. Virus er pladeaktuelle med deres 3. fuldlængde "The agent that shapes the desert", som fik karakteren 9/10 i det engelske magasin "Terrorizer", og det var da også Terrorizer, som i 2008 åbnede mine ører for dette meget specielle band via anmeldelse & artikel i forbindelse med Virus´ 2. fuldlængde "The black flux". "The black flux" er et dybt, dybt og atter dybt fascinerende album, som læner sig en hel del op ad punk-genren, men også en svært tilgængelig omgang, som kræver masser af tålmodighed, hvis man rigtigt vil gøre sig fortrolig med universet. Selv efter at have lyttet til "The black flux" over 100 gange føler jeg ikke, at jeg er nået endeligt til bunds....:-)).

Plågoande O´Helga Plågoande

Shining:"Plågoande O´Helga Plågoande", (fra albummet "VI/Klagopsalmer", 2009):

Kom, kom, kom till mig lilla vän, lyssna till mit ord, min profesia
Ner, ner, ner på knä lilla vän, och bedja för din nya messias

Vartän du går och vartän det bär
Vartän du ser och vartän du är
Så kommer alla dina tusen misstag
Följer likt din skugga, hack i häl
Men du kan alltid gå och välja att blunda
Blunda för den onska som finns i vår värld
Du kan springa, du kan neka, du kan hoppas
Men du kommer aldrig undan, lyssna och lär

Följ, följ, följ min väg lilla vän, för den leder dig till svaren du söker
Bort, bort, bort från dig själv lilla vän, in i plågoandens kalla svarta mörker

Vartän du går och vartän det bär
Vartän du ser och vartän du är
Så kommer alla dina tusen misstag
Följer likt din skugga, hack i häl
Men du kan alltid gå och välja att blunda
Blunda för den onska, som finns i vår värld
Du kan springa, du kan neka, du kan hoppas
Men du kommer aldrig undan, lyssna och lär

Jag väljer att lida, framför et liv i ovisshet om vad som är sant
och vad som är falskt, så bli med mig när jag väljer att lida
framför ett liv i ovisshet om vad som är sant och vad som är falskt
bli med mig

Aldrig, aldrig, aldrig, aldrig mer lilla vän skall du behöva gå i människans skepnad
Dö, dö, dö, dö, dö lilla vän, för vår allas och din egen trevnad

Vartän du går och vartän det bär
Vartän du ser och vartän du är
Så kommer alla dina tusen misstag
Följa likt din skugga, hack i häl
Men du kan alltid gå och välja att blunda
Blunda för den onska som finns i vår värld
Du kan springa, du kan neka, du kan hoppas
Men du kommer aldrig undan, lyssna och lär

Lyssna och lär

(tekst: Niklas Kvarforth)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs2vNvMljRg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXFDVp4dZ8k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0W4icDm7dM

(Niklas Kvarforth dannede Shining tilbage i 1996 i en alder af blot 12 år...., og nu 15 år senere er det svenske black metal-band på vej med deres syvende studie-album "VII/Född förlorare", som såvidt det vides udkommer i løbet af året. Mit bekendtskab med Shining er relativ nyt, og startede med et...øh....brag, da jeg i sensommeren 2009 købte bandets 6. udgivelse "VI/Klagopsalmer", som tog mig med storm! "VI/Klagopsalmer" er en vidunderlig blanding af brutalitet og stille melodiske stunder, og så er Kvarforth´s svenske lyrik ret fascinerende, især hvis man, som jeg, kan se det smukke i det svenske sprog :-)).

Lack of comprehension

Death:"Lack of comprehension", (fra albummet "Human", 1991):

A condemning fear strikes down
Things they cannot understand
An excuse to cover up weaknesses that lie within
Lies
Laying your guilt and pain
On people that had no part in the molding of a life
That creates its destruction
Lies
Right before your very eyes
A reflection of the mistakes
To the end you will deny
Your part in the demise of a life
     Lack of comprehension
Thriving on your cliché
     Compelled by self-resentment

Reaching into the minds of those that created
The depression in which they
In which they drowned their flesh and blood
Lies
So easy to blame the
Everlasting fear on a pathetic attempt
To justify the ending of life
Lies
Right before your very eyes
A reflection of the mistakes
To the end you will deny
Your part in the ending of a life
     Lack of comprehension
Thriving on your cliché
Compelled by self-resentment

(tekst: Chuck Schuldiner)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkKOfB_g5rk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTK0MbOobQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ6MYB2-iYY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwxl6Z2Pa6Q

(Mit første møde med Death var albummet "Human", som jeg købte i en rigtigt god men desværre forlængst hedengangen pladebutik i det sydlige Danmark tilbage i 1990´erne. Jeg havde læst og hørt meget godt om Death og Chuck, og tænkte, at nu måtte jeg altså lige selv konstatere, om der var virkelig var tale om så fantastisk death metal, som rygtet sagde.....Rygtet talte, (surprise!), sandt, og i dag står "Human" som ét af mine allerbedste heavy metal-minder nogensinde, bl.a. takket være en vinder som "Lack of comprehension" :-)).