söndag 30 augusti 2020

GUITARS - MAKING MUSIC - FUNERAL MIST and COLLECTING VINYL

So hello there! It's been quite awhile to say the least. I’m not really into social media or writing at the moment. Well here I am again love or hate it.

Mainly because of the LTD Explorer in this picture (my Jackson & Ibanez before). That means my posts here and on Instagram isn’t happening. Well I've done a few posts now in August I want to share here also.

Decided in January to pick up the guitar again after some 20 years... Much do to the Covid pandemic that lead to me spending so much time at home.

Especially when I was let go from my work in the beginning of April and being paid just sitting at home until June.

Today's standard to play the guitar so much different than back in the late 90's/early 2000. I mean one only has to own a computer to be able to record ones creations. It also sounds amazing! Not like back in the straight to a boombox days and press record unto a cassette-tape.

It’s an such an amazing and rewarding hobby. Just the playing, creating my own riffs/music, adding solos, program drums and work on recorded songs.

It's such a giving experience especially when one feels like one is improving all the time. I don't learn to play a bunch of covers sure some riffs here and there but prefer to do something original.

Play in all sorts of tunings. All the way from E-standard to tuned down to B-standard. Also drop-D and drop-C. But what I've tuned my guitar to most of my recordings is DADFAd.

For some reason I get very inspired playing the strings in that tuning. Don't ask me why though.

This is and will remain a one man project. But I will buy a bass some cheaper 200-300 Euro one someday. Also I really want a cheap keyboard. Nothing fancy though. 

Don’t plan to release any of my music. It’s mainly for my own "self sanity", haha. Like writing was a relaxing thing for me the guitar has become to same thing for me if I ain't sociallycing 

I’m hugely inspired by Death Metal bands but also Black Metal of course. To be specific especially these albums/releases:

  • ANGELCORPSE - Hammer of the Gods; Exterminate and The Inexorable
  • DEATH - Scream Bloody Gore; Leprosy; Spiritual Healing; Human; Individual Thought Patterns and Symbolic
  • FUNERAL MIST - Devilry; Salvation; Maranatha and Hekatomb
  • MARDUK - Fuck Me Jesus; Here’s No Peace; Dark Endless; Those of the Unlight and onwards...
  • DISSECTION - The Somberlain; Storm of the Light’s Bane and The Past Is Alive
  • MORBID ANGEL - Altars Of Madness; Blessed Are The Sick; Abominations of Desolations; Covenant and Domination
  • DISMEMBER - Like An Everflowing Stream; Indecent And Obscene and Death Metal
  • ENTOMBED - Left Hand Path and Clandestine
  • MESHUGGAH - Destroy Erase Improve; Catch Thirtytree and obZen
  • KRISIUN - Conquers Of Armageddon; Southern Storm and The Great Execution
  • DEATHSPELL OMEGA - Si Monvmentvm Reqvires Circvmspice and Drought 

There’s a lot of other inspirations like:

Albums - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas; Necroticism Descanting The Insalubrious; Unquestionable Presence; Tales From The Thousand Lakes; Master Of Puppets; Ride The Lightning etc.

Bands - Burzum; Bathory; Darkthrone; Isengard; Kreator; Sepultura; Pantera; Black Sabbath; Atheist and many North American Death Metal bands etc.

Rock guitarists - Jimmy Page; David Gilmour; Jimi Hendrix; Keith Richards; Pete Townsend; Duane Allman and even Eddie Van fucking Halen etc.

Could’ve mention so MANY more. Too many to mention here! These ones are all very inspiring right now. Also take note that all those bands listed aren’t my favorite bands. Some might be!

Obviously a white Explorer with EMG 81/60 pickups is a homage to James Hetfield during the 80’s. Also it sounds and looks amazing. But nah ain’t gonna be putting “EET FUK” on it sometime soon. Am aware he used a ESP and not a LTD for that guitar, but you know who owns LTD.

To describe my sound (dislike the word "tone") Blackened Death and if I have to mention some band Angelcorpse comes closest also more North American Death than Swedish. Btw. finally got a 1st print LP of Angelcorpse Exterminate masterpiece last year (or early 2020?). Being 40 years fucks with my memory I tell you, haha.

At times Death comes to mind, but far from as technically amazing as Chuck Schuldiner. 

The Krisiun albums listed also resemble my music. Unintentionally! Don't get me wrong they’re a brilliant band. I’m not however even near any such perfection as any of my 5 main influences.

Incorporate early Marduk like Fuck Me Jesus; Those Of The Unlight also Heaven Shall Burn..; the Obedience EP and the early Mortuus albums. Plus Funeral Mist especially Maranatha and Salvation are extremely inspiring.

The solos by Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah are also a huge inspiration when I record leads.

Want to share my new Funeral Mist merch in this post also. It's obviously the Hekatomb hoodie at the beginning of the post that was released recently. The white t-shirt is a Maranatha also just released, like all others in the post and is limited to 110 copies at Holy Poison.

During the hellish 2020 Arioch/Holy Poison & NoEvDia has been quite busy releasing a cassette-tape album collection box, a hoodie; the DomJord album Sporer & t-shirts (5 new? In Manus Tuas; Maranatha; Pallor Mortiis; Trisagion; Metamorphosis). Maybe some reissued shirt I already own, also ordered a DomJord). Got to get them all of course!

As far as other music collecting during this year I still got a bunch of new releases on vinyl. Of course my ever growing Marduk collection has gotten a bunch of more. On Wednesday I bought a Dark Endless LP (front cover variation) over at Sound Pollution during a Stockholm visit. The first ever official Funeral Mist hoodie arrived on thursday.

Although I’m just happy for him releasing the DomJord project. Sporer is my favorite record of 2020 thus far. Don’t know if any ambient album has become my favorite of a year?

My hope is that Arioch puts together another Funeral Mist album. Even if Hekatomb still feels fresh. The timing seems very fitting for another one.

Another Marduk release would also be fantastic because I don’t see how any concerts will happening in Sweden until 2022.

So my hope is that the guys creativity is high. But just that Fenriz’s Isengard will release a “new” album Vårjevndøgn (recording from 1989 thought to have been lost forever) is more than satisfying. Really looking forward to the new Necrophobic also what I heard so far sounds amazing.

The only t-shirt to be limited to 50 copies is the Trisagion (the one above). My favorite out of the 4 ones is probably the white Maranatha one. The hoodie is really the best here, a top-3 Funeral Mist in my entire collection of theirs and I got MANY.

As far as I know this hoodie isn’t released in limited quantities. My DomJord t-shirt was another 50 copies one.Thanks for your time and hope it doesn't take me forever to do another post. The ranking of all 14 Marduk studio albums has been finished for 8 months and its been 3 years since my original... 

Anyway as always remember to PRAISE HAIL FUNERAL MIST & MARDUK!!