Empty words

Death:"Empty words", (fra albummet "Symbolic", 1995):

Ashes and promises share a bond
Through the winds of change
Words are blown away
When visions that should be
Are tattoed in your mind
The power to let go
Is sometimes hard to find

The answer cannot be found
In the writing of others
Or the words of a trained mind
In a precious world of memories
We find ourselves confined

Claws so razor sharp
Ripping at the spirit

Chorus:
Promises a potential to hurt
Is anything real?
When forever is to be until
Deep inside, in the world of empty words...
No escape from those haunting
Empty words...

Do you ever feel it?
A craving that is so strong
To by thought rewind in order to find

Expectations that shined through the doubt
That soon would turn into the price
Of what a word will be worth
When tomorrow comes
To be and we are left
Standing on our own
And seeing what is real...

The answer cannot be found
In the writing of others
Or the words of a trained mind
In a precious world of memories
We find ourselves confined

Claws so razor sharp
Ripping at the spirit

Repeat chorus

(tekst: Chuck Schuldiner)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OZqmUS6uGA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIUEkZ0jU5E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=474qf-frcG8

(Det er egentlig lidt underligt at tænke på, at en så tilsyneladende fredsomlig fyr som Chuck Schuldiner havde denne snerrende småuhyggelige kraftfulde vokal, som virkelig formidler frustration/desperation....Men man skal jo ikke altid skue hunden på hårene :-) Jeg sad i går aftes i køkkenet og lyttede til "Symbolic" for gud-ved-hvilken-gang, og som sædvanlig, da jeg nåede til track nr. 3 "Empty words", blev min opmærksomhed ekstra skærpet....Chuck´s vokal-arbejde på "Empty words" er Chuck, når han var på sit højeste :-)).

Sacred serenity

Death:"Sacred serenity", (fra albummet "Symbolic", 1995):

Whereever we go, whatever we do
Your shadow is not far behind our steps
And our breath
Protecting and watching all...
Observing spirits on the wall
What are they telling you?

Following all instincts that are pure
Oblivious to time that they may be the cure

Chorus:
Sacred is the gift that they
have without knowing
Serenity is knowing it´s safe
from destruction of time

Maybe we could take a step back
And discover what leads us to attack
Time that is short - distance unknown
For them, each day life has just begun
Observing spirits on the wall
What are they telling you?

Following all instincts that are pure
Oblivious to time that they may be the cure

Repeat chorus

(tekst: Chuck Schuldiner)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-as4LausEok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1qEUxxnAuo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvSJp_oWN7A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrMzbQp25E0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8yvTJU-ADc

(Ét af de absolut mest suveræne death metal-albums, der nogensinde er blevet udgivet er helt klart Death´s klassiker fra 1995 "Symbolic". Når mit humør ikke er så højt, plejer det at hjælpe at tage "Symbolic" frem fra pladesamlingen og lytte til albummet :-) "Symbolic" blev desværre Florida-bandets næstsidste studie-album, inden frontmant Chuck Schuldiner ulykkeligvis døde af kræft i hjernen i december 2001, i en alder af blot 34 år. Jeg elsker rigtig mange af numrene på "Symbolic", og specielt en sang som "Sacred serenity" bliver jeg næppe nogensinde træt af. Især når Chuck på "Sacred serenity" synger "Maybe we could take a step back and discover what leads us to attack"....DET ER RENT BUDDHISME-GUF!).

Double the pain

Heaven & hell:"Double the pain", (fra albummet "The devil you know", 2009):

A STAR IN THE BACK
IS WORTH WAITING FOR
TONIGHT
HE´S SEEN ENOUGH JOY
FOR TODAY

A sudden attack
Would just start the
evening right
And maybe a penance to pay

Thunder and lightning
Electric machines
These are the devils
That shout in his dreams

Games of the heart
Not fair and you can´t win
But torture and anger
can play
You´ve never said no
To just another spin
And losing is one step away

Friendly confusion
Like nothing you´ve seen
These are the demons
That shout in his dreams

A slap in the face
To bring him back around
It´s a touch-like cool
morning rain

He´s fallen from grace
And slammed to the ground
And begs for some more of
the same

Thunder and lightning
Eccentric machines
These are the devils
That shout in his dreams

Double the pain
I´m sure I saw him smile
Double the pain
Let´s kick him for a while
Double the pain

(tekst: Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi & Geezer Butler)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zx1Y6wbqyM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5fi_gjlB38

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZeQyJS6N0U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47CjshSuWHY

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

(Det var en sorgens dag d. 16. maj sidste år, da den legendariske heavy metal-sanger Ronnie James Dio døde af mave-kræft i en alder af 67 år. Jeg tror, at uanset hvor meget man kigger tilbage i fortiden, vil man aldrig nogensinde finde en forsanger inden for heavy metal-genren, som bare tilnærmelsesvis besidder Dio´s kvaliteter....HAN VAR GANSKE ENKELT UNIK! I 2009 udgav han og Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler og Vinny Appice albummet "The devil you know" under banneret Heaven & hell, men i virkeligheden var der tale om endnu en fantastisk Black Sabbath-udgivelse...."The devil you know" er et meget flot punktum på Dio´s flotte karriere inden for heavy metal, og "Double the pain" er en vidunderlig sang, som jeg næppe nogensinde glemmer :-)).

Nightfall

Nachtmystium:"Nightfall", (fra albummet "Addicts: Black meddle PT II, 2010):

This is the exit*
I´m always lost below
Unwashed and callous
Between unholy waves
Eyes never close
Hands are black and cracked
I choose my poison
May not see me again

This is the answer
I´m living lost again
Rewind electric terror
Indulge our dying end
Drown down in ice
Just to keep my stomach full
Cursed to levitate
My spell is chemical

Nightfall
I´m cursed again
Nightfall
May it never end

Nightfall
I´m cursed again
Nightfall
May it never end

I´m the wizard
I live in hell you know
You will never see me
But I exist below

(tekst: Chris Black)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6Mf8onaUbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSGue9ZEk-o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbgnQ_-2MFs

(Det er ikke ligefrem black metal-genren, de amerikanske metal-musikere dyrker allermest...., men der findes nogle enkelte rigtigt gode amerikanske black metal-bands såsom Absu, Wolves in the Throne Room og Nachtmystium. Sidste år udgav Nachtmystium, (fra Chicago), "Addicts: Black meddle PT II", som er opfølgeren til bandets gennembrudsplade fra 2008 "Assassins: Black meddle PT 1". Jeg elsker, som så mange andre, "Assassins....", men der gik noget tid fra "Addicts...." udkom, til jeg fik mig taget sammen til at lytte til den nye plade! Jeg læste nemlig i kølvandet på udgivelsen af "Addicts..." et par lidt lunkne anmeldelser af pladen, men nu er det jo heldigvis ikke alt, hvad man læser, som man skal tro på....For faktum er, at "Addicts..." udmærket matcher det høje niveau på "Assassins....". Vi har at gøre med en herlig omgang småsyret black metal i gennemgående mid-tempo, hvor de enkelte sange sidder rimelig klart i hukommelsen efter ganske få gennemlytninger, specielt det nærmest radio-venlige track "Nightfall" :-)).

Rival the eminent

Immolation:"Rival the eminent", (fra albummet "Unholy cult", 2002):

Not all of us choose to believe
Some of us choose to live
Not all of us follow so blindly
And accept all that we hear

Maybe you´re no so smart
To look outside yourself
Maybe you´ve chosen unwisely
In the God you´ve made your own

I´ll be my own leader
I´ll be my own saviour
I´ll be the strenght that carries
I´ll be the light that guides...me
I will make you see
Your devotion is in vain
I´ll be the one left standing
When all of you are kneeling
And smiling, so content
I´ll wipe the smiles off your faces

Don´t you dare pity me
I´ve made my choice and I´ll prove you wrong

My voice will thunder through the heavens
And my flames of hatred burn
I believe in me and only me
And I bow to no sovereign

(tekst: Ross Dolan, Bill Taylor, Robert Vigna, Alex Hernandez)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbgIUv9kcTM

(Det amerikanske band Immolation, (fra New York), plade-debuterede i 1991, og hører dermed til blandt veteranerne på death metal-scenen, men det var først i 2002, da Immolation udgav deres 6. fuldlængde-album "Unholy cult", at jeg stiftede bekendtskab med bandet. "Unholy cult" er en god death metal-skive, som dog bør nydes i mindre doser, da der generelt er noget underlig depressivt over de enkelte numre....Men holder man lidt igen med gennemlytningerne, er der meget fedt at komme efter, især på et catchy track som "Rival the eminent").

Amity

The Gathering:"Amity", (fra albummet "if_then_else", 2000):

The torture won´t part you
Motherly breast won´t warm you
You fail and foam from your mouth
why is this so loud. this sound?

All the sense you´re capable of
does not seem to save you
You heed the glance of a smile
Was it impossible to float for a while?

Restless is carrying fever
burning you to pieces
In search and need of a friend
Will I bow down to this in the end?

I lay in the hands of my maker
and I want to spend the rest of it awake
Why do I get the feeling they´ll break it
It´s a fight...it´s a fight...

The torture won´t part you
Mother´s lap can´t seem to warm you
You strain. you clamp up and frown
Why is it so loud. This down?

All the sense you are capable of
does not seem to save you
You heed the glance of a smile
Was it impossible to float for a while?

I lay in the hands of my maker
And I want to spend the rest of it awake
Why do I get the feeling they´ll break it
It´s a fight...it´s a fight...

(tekst: Anneke van Giersbergen)

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

Godt Nytår / Happy New Year :-) :-) :-)

The cry of mankind

My Dying Bride:"The cry of mankind", (fra albummet "The angel and the dark river", 1995):

You can´t expect to see him and survive

You´ll swallow his tongue of thorns

His mouth, dripping with flies

In his glorious kingdom of fire

But I believe he wept

I will make them all lie down

Down where hope lies dying

With lust, you´re kicking mankind to death

We live and die without hope

You tramp us down in a river of death

As I stand here now, my heart is black

I don´t want to die a lonely man

This is a weary hour

This is a weary hour

(tekst: Aaron Stainthorpe)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-UE-KbCQD8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiBMkhu3KTU

(Hvis der er et heavy metal-album, som jeg i dén grad forbinder med vinteren, så er det utvivlsomt engelske My Dying Bride´s 3. fuldlængde-album "The angel and the dark river". Albummet er så fyldt med mørke og kulde, at det er noget nær umuligt at forestille sig en hvid sandstrand, mens man lytter til musikken....Jeg vil ikke ligefrem påstå, at åbningsnummeret "The cry of mankind" er mit yndlingsnummer på pladen, men med sin iskolde stemning af modløshed, er det en genial optakt til, hvad der venter forude...."The angel and the dark river" er og bliver et af hovedværkerne inden for gothic/doom metal :-)).

One second

Paradise Lost:"One second", (fra albummet "One second", 1997):

And for one second I lost my head and for one second,
I wished that you were dead and for one second,
you wish that you were here all alone
hold back the tears that could fall for me.
And for one second, I lost my breath and for one second,
I cherish what you said and for one second
it seemed that I was here all alone.
Hold back the tears that could fall for me.
And for one second I understand and for one second,
my life was in your hands and for one second,
you wish that you were here all alone.
Hold back the tears that could fall for me, they fall alone.

(tekst: Nick Holmes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MDSUuHYzlo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ORCb1JQ3s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u0TIqYEM70

(Jeg har tidligere her på Heavy-Skov været inde på, at jeg ikke ligefrem er begejstret for snevejr og kulde, så det har været nogle drøje uger her i december måned i Danmark, hvor sneen bare er faldet og faldet....Men mens jeg er gået rundt på mere eller mindre glatte og ufremkommelige fortove, med huen trukket godt ned om ørerne, har jeg rimelig ofte haft Paradise Lost´ smukke sang "One second" fra albummet af samme navn kørende oppe i hovedet, og det er en sang, der varmer!! Albummet "One second" var unægteligt et skridt i den forkerte retning for Paradise Lost efter udgivelsen af "Draconian times", men lige præcis titelnummeret er ganske enkelt uimodståeligt....Og med "One second" ønsker jeg alle besøgende på Heavy-Skov, fra Danmark og andre lande, en rigtigt glædelig jul :-)).