In sickness and death

The sick feeling that oozes from all of Miko A's works is unparalleled. Stabat Mater is my favourite of his personal projects and it's first full length is upon us.
A bit more "colourful" than SM's previous works yet ironically bleak, dark and oppressive as fuck. The self titled track is Miko A's magnum opus.

This is the dirge for the death of mankind. Only it does not lament... It prays for it.

The evil seed

Tiamtü seems like a far superior work now, 10 months after it's release than it did at the time. The seed of Lucifer planted in September is growing strong.

Other releases that I'm currently listening:
The first couple of spins of Pantheon I's Worlds I Create are revealing the most interesting "symphonic" black metal (excuse the use of stupid tags) since the first couple of Emperor LP's.

Semargl's Manifest is a record a couple of years old that I recently discovered and like a lot. A fine example of "modern" black metal (more stupid music labeling).

AMSG

Only death is sacred

The holy union of Ofermod have performed their first ritual a week ago. The ritual is now up on Fuck You Tube. My opinion on performing black metal live was stated in this blog a few months ago. It seems that Ofermod didn't fail the believers.

Photo is stolen by Legacy of Leviathan


Only death is sacred...
AMSG

Tamo Gde Pupoljak Vene...Tamo Je Moje Seme

I had heard of the existence of Dead Shell of Universe almost eight months ago but I didn't pay any attention nor did I show any interest in listening their work. The Serbian black metal bands I was aware of, like May Result and The Stone seemed to be nothing special. DSoU share members with said bands and that was a factor that didn't encourage further investigation.

I only listened to their Tamo Gde Pupoljak Vene...Tamo Je Moje Seme EP after a friend whose taste and opinion I value highly, recommended it to me. And he was absolutely right. This is a quality ep that although it lasts almost 35 mins leaves you hungry for more. The band plays black metal with eyes to the future. Since Deathspell Omega's rise to global domination I have heard many bands being compared to them or seemingly being influenced by them but all attempts were mediocre at least. Dead Shell of Universe is an exception to this rule. They walk a parallel path to DSO's, leading to the same destination and they are doing it with devotion and in a convincing way. This is black metal of the highest order, this is MUSIC of the highest order, not following specified channels and fearing not to incorporate non black metal elements that add to the fierceness and the darkness within. I only wish they had avoided the trap of the "obligatory" ambient track.
I am waiting for a full length...
Until then...there is His seed.

Other records I've been listening:
Shining - VI Klagopsalmer: Although I am not fond of the suicidal blah blah, to just describe Shining using said tag would be a great mistake. I believe Shining are utterly Satanic to their core and this is an excellent record. The record label's repeated incapability to release the album on time, has added to the thrill.
Behemoth - Ευαγγέλιον: I had written Behemoth off many years ago. For the last 3 or 4 years they are everywhere you turn your eyes. A complete triumph of public relations. I don't know what impulse led me to download the new LP (yes, guilty), but I really like it a lot. This is one I am going to buy when it's out. If only they were keeping a lower profile.
Weapon - Drakonian Paradigm: Thrashier than their earlier releases but equally good. A band on a mission, thus worthy of my attention.



AMSG

What once was

This used to be a respected band. Now those times seem to be very far. To call it a fucking joke would be a complement.


True norwegian black metal...Ha

Phosphoros

The direction Entombed had taken after the first couple of records was never of my liking, but one cannot deny that Chief Rebel Angel is one of the most brilliant examples of death/thrash metal written in the last decade.

And death'n roll is one of the stupidest tags in the history of music.

Many my name
But one and the same

ΟΦΙΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΡΙΝΟ (Snake and lily)

From time to time I tent to return to habits that have shaped me but the everyday turbulence of life, has led me to forget.

For the last year I have almost stopped reading, as I am rarely in a mood to do so. An other thing I realised recently is that I haven't read any greek literature since I was a kid. Why so? I think this wasn't a conscious decision. It probably just happened. It came a time that my interests and concerns didn't come along with most of the greek writers' ones. Talk about arrogance...

Things weren't always like that. I was lucky to grow up reading the works of Nikos Kazantzakis, whom I consider the greatest novelist I have ever read and also one of the greatest thinkers. I read most of his works at a really young age and consider them guilty for shaping a big part of my personality and the way I think and behave.

Here are some details about his life and work that I consider interesting, taken from various sources. Some of the titles' english translation is mine so excuse the roughness.


Nikos Kazantzakis was born in Crete in 1883. He was raised among peasants and although Kazantzakis left Crete as a young man, he returned to his homeland constantly in his art. He studied four years at the University of Athens, becoming Doctor of Laws in 1906. From 1907 to 1909 he studied philosophy in Paris at the College de France. His first book, "Οφις και κρίνο" (Snake and lily), was published in 1906. In the same year appeared his play "Ξημερώνει" (Dawning). During the Balkan Wars he fought as a volunteer in the Greek Army. Kazantzakis spent many years in public service and in 1919 he was appointed director general at the Greek Ministry of Public Welfare. After the Wars he travelled to many European and Asian countries in 1918 - 1919 to Switzerland and Russia as a senior civil servant, assisting in the repatriation of Greeks from the Caucasus. 1922 - 1924 he lived in Vienna and Berlin. In 1924 returned to Greece and to Crete. 1925 - 1929 made three journeys to Russia. publishing travelogues from his trips (Spain, Egypt-Sina, China-Japan, What I saw in Russia, England etc.). In 1927 he published the book "Ασκητική" (Ascetism), the main work of his philosophy.1932 - 1933 Travelled to Spain for several months and in 1935 to China and Japan. In 1936 he reported on the Spanish Civil War as a foreign correspondent for the "Kathimerini" newspaper. Between the 1910s and 1930s Kazantzákis also wrote dramas, verse and travel books, Kazantzakis's major work was the enormous poetic work "Οδύσσεια" (Odyssey: A Modern Sequel), 33 333 lines long, which he wrote seven times and published in 1938. Although Kazantzakis wrote a number of his novels in French, his most celebrated works were composed in the colloquial language of the Cretan working classes. His best-known novel is "Βίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Zorba the Greek)". He became famous, however, during the last years of his life, when he turn to pezography. During that time he published, among others, Zorba the Greek, The Last Temptation of Christ (Ο τελευταίος πειρασμός), Freedom and Death (Καπετάν Μιχάλης), The Greek Passion or Christ recrucified (Ο Χριστός ξανασταυρώνεται), and his autobiography Report to Greco (Αναφορά στο Γκρέκο). His book, The Last Temptation of Christ, was considered quite controversial when first published in 1955, and prompted angry reactions from both the Roman Catholic Church which banned it, and from the Greek Orthodox Church which excommunicated him!

MAJOR WORKS: 1927- Askitiki (or Salvatores Dei) A concise philosophical text, in which Kazantzakis expresses his metaphysical beliefs.
1927 - 1941 - Travels Several volumes of the author's reflections on travels in Spain, Italy, Sinai, Japan, England, Russia, Jerusalem and Cyprus.
1929 - 1938 - Odyssey An ambitious work divided into twenty-four "Rhapsodies" comprising a total of 33 333 lines of iambic decapentasyllable verse.
1938 - 1948 - A series of plays on themes from ancient and modern history: Prometheus, Capodistrias, Kouros (or Theseus), Nicephorus Phocas, Constantine Palaeologos, Christopher Columbus, Sodom and Gomorrah, Buddha, Melissa.
1946 - Zorba the Greek
1948 - Christ Recrucified
1950 - Freedom and Death
1951 - The Last Temptation
1953 - God's Pauper
1961 - Report to Greco (published posthumously)
Nikos Kazantzakis died in 1957 in Freiburg, Germany. His body was buried on one of the bastions of the Venetian fort surrounding Iraklion, Martinego.

Nikos Kazantzakis' grave 50 years ago.

Today on his tomb there is engraved one of his most defining quotes (pictured above) which roughly translates into:
I hope for nothing
I fear nothing
I am free

PΛΑΥΛIST

More than half of the year has passed and here's me trying to organise the records that stand above the rest, so far. Without any (more) words.


1. TEITANBLOOD - SEVEN CHALICES

2. Funeral Mist - Maranatha


3. 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame4. The Axis Of Perdition - Urfe

5. Beherit - Engram

666. Katharsis - Fourth Reich

7. Grigori - Principivm Et Finis

8. Urna - Iter Ad Lucem

9. Spiritus Mortis - The God Behind the God

10. Nefandus - Death Holy Death

With the exception of Teitanblood's Seven Chalices which is by far the best release of the year, the rest of the list is in random order.
Everyone interested should check Teitanblood's interview at The Left Hand Path.
Also I've been listening to Weapon's Drakonian Paradigm for the last couple of days and I have to say that I like what I hear so far.

AMSG