A Tribute to Black Metal (Poem)

Sprawling black roots of sound

extended below by mammoth Tree of Odin.

Bark grey and chipping with age.

Planted in times of pagan gods and Viking raids,

thriving on modern misanthropy

Ravishing grimness overtakes underground.

Chords of obsidian darkness

play to the lost and the damned.

Hel at the reins

directing roots of horrific essence

throughout the bleak countryside of the Eastern front,

the bustling city of liberty,

the jungles of Myan descendants,

the frostbitten forests of the north.

A befouled metallic creation.

Odin stands triumphant.

Prowler in the Yard: A Poem

If you read my last post, I gave a link to my review of the CLASSIC album Prowler in the Yard by the mighty Pig Destroyer. It is truly rock out material of the highest degree, so feel free to read my review of the album and give it a listen when you have the time. In fact, I love the album so much that I wrote a short poem about it! Here it is.

New Reviews!

Hi guys. I've been lazy lately, so I've been forgetting to post my sputnik reviews on my blog. So instead of copying and pasting each one here, I'll continue to be lazy and just give you links to all of them. So here they are!

A Tribute to Jeff Buckley

Technical ability in the music world can only take you to a certain point before something unexplainable from outside the four walls of a practice room, or perhaps from deep within the musician occupying the room, has to take over and lead you the rest of the way. You can call it “soul” or “spirit”, or maybe it’s something otherworldly that inspires the artist. Whatever it might be, this force coupled with outstanding technique is what truly great musicians are made of. This force guides the fingers across the fretboard, tugs at the vocal cords, and controls every musical step of the artist. Jeff Buckley, I believe, is unquestionably one of those artists who was in complete control of this force.

The Blair Witch Project - MOVIE REVIEW

Hey guys. So this isn't going to be a formally written 3rd person review like my album reviews are, nor does it give a plot summary; it will merely be my thoughts on a movie that might go down as one of my favorites: The Blair Witch Project.

Oathbreaker-Eros|Anteros ALBUM REVIEW

Metal and hardcore have been successful and productive allies ever since the first half of the ‘80s when bands like Metallica and Slayer began injecting punk-like speed and ferocity into their signature brand of heavy rock. The “crossover” of metal and hardcore has since bared many delicious fruits including D.R.I., Cro-Mags, The Accused, and more recently the violently aggressive Converge and the very popular Hatebreed. And while some metal fans want there to be a considerable distance between metal and hardcore (a “like one and hate the other” mentality) it cannot be denied how tightly intertwined the genres have become, especially since the oft-maligned metalcore subgenre has become so accepted and widespread over the last decade or so. However, if the decidedly whiny clean vocals and copious breakdowns of metalcore aren’t your style, then you have some more-than-decent options at your disposal, and the Belgian black metal/hardcore crossover band Oathbreaker and their latest album Eros|Anteros is well worth taking a look at.

Yung Lean-Unknown Death 2002 ALBUM REVIEW

Swedish teen rapper (as well as self-identified “sadboy”) Yung Lean’s debut album is puzzling to say the least, and it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s good or if it’s really, really bad. You would be contemplating this as well if your first exposure to the kid was the mind-bogglingly bizarre music video for the song “Hurt” which features a barrage of imagery that’s heavy on the Pokémon, Nintendo, and Arizona iced tea, of all things. He’s an enigmatic and polarizing figure in today’s hip-hop scene who will certainly attract haters like crazy, and it’s difficult to determine if he is a joke (which would be wonderful) or if he’s 100% serious (which would be even more wonderful), but for the sake of this review we will take Yung Lean and his music as seriously as possible. Welcome to Unknown Death.