"The enemy" by Paradise Lost

Paradise Lost:"The enemy", (from the album "In requiem", 2007):

Why can´t you say; sorrow
Why can´t you say; I think I believe
Thou must not steal; borrow
Why must you steal things
I receive

Why can´t you say; sorrow
Why can´t you say; I think I believe
Why must you steal; borrow
Always conceal cling to belief

Damaged this way; hollowed
Living the lie that you can´t take
Damaged maintained; solemn
Living for rules you only break

How can you say?

The enemy is thrown into the sadness
For the enemy there´s only pain and sadness then death

(lyrics: Nick Holmes)

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLFPRcUVD7A

(Paradise Lost....well....they come and go in my life....I was a big fan of this legendary english gothic/doom metal-band around "Icon" (1993) and "Draconian times" (1995), but they don´t seem that interesting to me anymore. But that said, I definitely can´t help buying their albums....ha ha.... It´s just a matter of time before I´ll get their latest offering "Tragic idol", released recently :-)

The case is, that though Nick Holmes & Co., in my opinion, no longer are at the same high level as before, they still create some fine memorable metal-songs, like this one...."The enemy" :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"The beginning and the end" by Anathema

Anathema:"The beginning and the end", (from the album "Weather systems", 2012):

Inside this cold heart is a dream
That´s locked in a box that I keep
Buried a hundred miles deep
Deep in my soul in a place that´s surrounded by aeons of silence

And somewhere inside is the key
To everything I want to feel
But the dark summer dawns of my memory
Are locked in a place that can never be

Can someone please show me the way?
Can someone please help me?
For I cannot see and the silence is raging

Silence
Silence
Fade into silence

Memory
Memory
Inside is the key to a memory

(lyrics: Daniel Cavanagh)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtkaUCu3PqM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t-VBXYcqTo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX1kROZannc

(In the early days of my blog I was mentioning, that my favourite metal-album with no doubt is Anathema´s "The silent enigma" (1995), (and I guess it always will be :-)). A more than great atmospheric doom metal-masterpiece, which takes the listener into a....erm....fascinating state of darkness and hopelessness! Many years have passed since "The silent enigma" was seeing the light of day :-), and the Liverpool-guys/girl are definitely no longer in the doom-area....Now we are talking a musical style, which can be called something like "atmospheric progressive rock with well-hidden metal-parts"...:-)

Latest Anathema-album "Weather systems", which is actually brand new, is currently finding its way to my ears, and it´s so great experiencing the band still keeping the flame high and making otherworldly music!

One of the most recommendable songs on "Weather systems" is in my, (and I suppose many others), opinion track number seven....the very fine "The beginning and the end".

Kind regards
Carsten

"I am the earth" by Watain

Watain:"I am the earth", (from the album "Casus luciferi", 2003):

He lives through me
All of what I am
The needle of hamartia
injected in the flesh of man
With the soul of a carrion
Sleeping, yet awake
For underneath this skin
crawls eden´s cursed snake

Hic est draco caudam suam devorans!

You may have felt it´s cold
carressing down your spine
Gently yet with strength
and with a morbid touch
For its real shape is a razor
Smeared with the Devil´s seed
and infected with its plague
are the scars from which I bleed

I am the earth
chained to horns
Its ground is my flesh
pierced by Holy thorns
I am the earth
burning deep within
Its water is my blood
blackened by my sins

Swallowed by His mystery
Lots within its maze
The bridges behind they burn
from the pyres of Hell´s grace
One after another
the stars fade into black
He has called my name
There is no way back...

Pierced by His will
Trapped within His lair
My flesh shall be the sign
of that fires are to fear
For those who walk upon me
shall be punished for their turns
I am the earth
and within me the Devil burns!

I am the earth
in the shadow of the Lord
A crucifix of flesh
yet sinfully adored
I am the earth
as your life with me does blend
For I am His truth
the world without end...

The world without end

(lyrics: Watain)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wie9RwBmcw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7AhTe7_uBI

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

(Sorry for the late update, but now I´m back :-), and this time we are talking Watain....

....I´ve been into Sweeden´s Watain, since they released their third album "Sworn to the dark" in 2007, and I definitely have to say, that I am not proud of the fact, that I didn´t discover this great band much earlier, but I had been quite too busy with other metal-things....ha ha....

Normally, when we´re talking black metal, it´s Norway, who´s the leader...., but Sweeden have, among others, Marduk and Watain, and they are definitely something to be proud of :-) For the last couple of weeks I´ve been listening regularly to Watain´s second album "Casus Luciferi" (2003), and it´s absolutely a great black-album with this damn fine highlight...."I´m the earth"!

Watain rules :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Seeds of the doomed" by Autopsy

Autopsy:"Seeds of the doomed", (from the album "Macabre eternal", 2011):

Strangled daylight fading, soon I´ll crawl out
To whisper to the bones I´ve scattered about

Arranging the bones
The bones on the moor
Seeds of the doomed
So perfect they are

We draw closer every time when we speak
They want others like them to be complete

Arranging the bones
The bones on the moor
Seeds of the doomed
So perfect they are

Below the ground when the sun is high
In solitude I deconstruct my prize
I chew the mangled meat right off the bone
In the darkness down here all alone

Skeletal sockets peering out through the mist
Sun bleached fingers point while the stale winds hiss

Arranging the bones
The bones on the moor
Seeds of the doomed
So perfect they are

I´ve stripped the pieces from their counterparts
Nocturnal placement as a work of art
This place is mine, nobody else comes here
If they do they´ll only disappear

(lyrics: Chris Reifert)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11zGuSC1Fk4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eew6Y_3jTHE

(Well, here´s absolutely an album-titel, which perfectly suits the music....ha ha....I´ve been listening a lot lately to the return from the american death metal-veterans Autopsy and their come back-album "Macabre eternal" is definitely one of the best death metal-albums, I´ve been listening to for a long long time :-) But that said, I have to admit, that I had some serious troubles getting into this dark and disgusting universe the first couple of times, I listened to "Macbre eternal"....But I´m a very patient soul, and I succeeded....YES!...."Macabre eternal" is definitely gore-death metal, as we wish for :-)

I´ve found two ultimate winners on "Macabre eternal": track number two "Dirty gore whore" and track number six "Seeds of the doomed", and if I really really really have to choose...."Seeds of the doomed" goes all the way....such dreamy riffs :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Veil of maya" by Cynic

Cynic:"Veil of maya", (from the album "Focus", 1993):

In maya´s grip illusion transforms verity
perceiving thus a delusive world of
duality

veil of maya
balance every joy with a grief
dual scales of maya
earth´s unending law of polarity

ahamkara...veil of maya

illusion works impenetrable
weaving webs innumerable
her gay pictures never fail
crowd each other veil on veil
charmer who will be believed
by man who thirsts to be deceived
maya subjects you

veil of maya
chops and divides god´s dream thoughts
the great divider
as we be subject to likes and disgust

ahamkara...veil of maya

maya subjects you
charmer who will be believed
by man who thirsts to be deceived

veil of maya
balance every joy with a grief
dual scales of maya
earth´s unending law of polarity

veil of maya
chops and divides god´s dream thoughts
the great divider
as we be subject to likes and disgust

ahamkara...veil of maya

(lyrics: Cynic)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_09IAg12q8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UZ88vgGa0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5SjJqdOgiI

(My dad loves jazz and don´t ask me why....ha ha...., but when jazz is combined with death metal like on Cynic´s debut-album "Focus", released in 1993, I suppose it´s alright!

There are a lot of classic albums put out from the floridian death metal-scene back in the late eighties/early nineties, and "Focus" is absolutely one of them, with its great combination of technical death metal and....well....jazz :-) (Despite the fact, that the album is not THAT death metal!). But "Focus" simply took the well-known death metal-genre a step or two further....

There are some damn good songs to find here, but the opener "Veil of maya" will in my opinion allways go as the ultimate "Focus"-winner :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Unseen" by The Haunted

The Haunted:"Unseen", (from the album "Unseen", 2011):

Familiar as it may seem
I wish I had never been
here before
The re-occurring pattern
of dysfunctional,
the power and control
it´s not as if
I´m new to any of this,
but I wish there was a way
to reach your inside
and set you free

And so it stays unseen
Under the surface
Right out of touch
right out of reach
Until we shine the light of
truthful loving trust
it´s never going to change

You were the one
I was supposed to turn to
when I needed someone
and I realize that
I´m powerless,
but at least I´m not alone.
So turn your screws on
any which way cause
I´m not playing along
You carry this like a trophy,
when you could have been
so strong,
But I am not the one
to judge you anymore
I promise you.

And so it stays unseen
Under the surface
Right out of touch
right out of reach
Until we shine the light of
truthful loving trust
it´s never going to change

(lyrics: The Haunted)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av2AqT2BvrA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s3NNfPq83s

(To compare the sweedish thrash metal-band The Haunted´s early releases to their newest one "Unseen" (2011) is like comparing Ozzy Osbourne to Britney Spears....ha ha....Alright, maybe "THE EXAGGERATION OF THE YEAR", but there really is a difference!

I´m a big fan of the The Haunted´s early career with "thrash metal-straight-in-your-face"-albums like the debut "The Haunted" (1998) and "Revolver" (2004), but on "Unseen" the sweedes have turned in a....erm....popmetal-direction?! Not that bad actually, because the new songs have in general fine catchy choruses and are quite memorable, but perhaps a little too boring seen from a real metal-perspective....

But anyway, I´ve been listening a lot to the album without actually falling asleep, and especially the titel-song keeps me awake :-)

(News: Frontman Peter Dolving has recently left The Haunted, and the band is looking for a new singer....So the future of the band might seem a little uncertain at the moment, but we´ll cross our fingers :-)).

Kind regards
Carsten

"Ghosts of grace" by Nachtmystium

Nachtmystium:"Ghosts of grace", (from the album "Assassins: black meddle part 1, 2008):

The alleys of hell where we wonder
What´s eternal, now it begins
The fate of the earth, where we were born
No last echo, pull the plug

And the storm left nothing
And the storm left all
And the storm took nothing
And the storm took all

The winds of disease burn your fields
So unhallowed, so unclean
The face of extinction raw and pestilent
White with terror, tainted eyes

And the storm left nothing
And the storm left all
And the storm took nothing
And the storm took all

The ghosts of grace want your bones
Your spirit left for dead
The course of the mourning, lay in grace
Like nations raped with praise

And the storm left nothing
And the storm left all
And the storm took nothing
And the storm took all

(lyrics: Chris Black)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odPToK35mNE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuZZLNVmDU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1X9gQKOzEc

(Nachtmystium....well....the very first time I saw this awesome bandname was on the front cover of the UK-heavy metal-magazine Terrorizer, and I remember clearly thinking to myself: "Carsten, this definitely is a joke!". But it wasn´t :-), just like Nachtmystium´s music....

It´s been a while since, I´ve been listening to "Assassins....", which turned out to be kind of a breakthrough-album for the Chicago-guys, but a couple of weeks ago it found its way back to my ears, and it´s really that relaxing listening to such experimental black metal with a Pink Floyd-touch to it :-)

And the ultimate Assassins-track??????? It definitely has to be "Ghosts of grace"....RIFFS :-)

Kind regards
Carsten

"Careful what you wish for" by Testament

Testament:"Careful what you wish for", (from the album "The gathering", 1999):

Grace - in a perfect world
On shines the light
Praise - an angelic song
But there´s another side you´ll see
Now
Hide
Salvation easily denied

Reigns - down with misery
Life´s not always what it seems
False
Hope
Written in the testament of old
Take
Heed
Stop believing every word
You read
Truth
Inconsistencies
Distorts the lie
False
Imprisonment
Forever lost inside your mind
Fates
Door
Just be careful what you wish for
Deaths
Door
Just be careful what you wish for

Peace of mind
I can´t find
Don´t be blind
Take the ride

Hey...we live in a fucked up world
Walking on through the demise
We step into the unknown
You better save yourself...

Hey...we live in a fucked up world
Hiding behind the disguise
Never let your feelings show
Why can´t you be yourself...
We live in a fucked up world
Walking on through the demise
We step into the unknown
You better save yourself...

(lyrics: Chuck Billy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oraI4Whwj8A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uarjwxkza0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCl3U875D8c

(Actually I got this Testament-album as a birthday-present from my parents, when I turned 30! (It´s always great to have parents, who really appreciate their children....ha ha....). My cd-collection includes two Testament-albums, this one and "The formation of damnation" (2008), and both are, if I can say so, thrashing good quality :-)

In fact I could have posted any of "The gathering"´s eleven tracks and still be satisfied with myself, but track number seven "Careful what you wish for" is to say the least quite irresistable: Party-thrash as we all, (I suppose :-)), like it....

....and by the way, there´s a new Testament-album, "The dark roots of earth", set for an release this year!

Kind regards
Carsten