Changes

My photography is hibernating at the moment and I’m mostly occupied with metal (listening/playing/writing/recording) this blog will also be hibernating for a while and I’ve started another blog dedicated to those other things instead (basically what I usually write about anyways).

So from now on, that’s where I’ll be posting instead when it comes to music and things that bothers me (religion mostly).

Check back, ‘cos sooner or later I’ll be picking up my  camera gear again, but otherwise move your pointers and click HERE

What the fuck is this shit?!

This has to be a joke. A fucking band called VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE!, just check them out, it’s horrible and I want them dead, now.

How incredibly gay can a band get? This is too much, please dear Satan, kill them now!

Look at the tracklist to their album, it’s too much!!

”Kiss The Sun Goodbye”

01. Bury Me Alive
02. Immortal Love
03. Undead Heart
04. Ashes to Ashes
05. Kill the Chemicals
06. Bleeding Rain
07. Carnage At the Castle
08. Embrace
09. Lipstick Lies
10. Children Of The Night
11. Call Out The Dead
12. Silver Bullets Don’t Kill Vampires

And their names, holy fuck….

Michael Vampire
Zak Night
Aaron Graves
Jay Killa
Alexander Rogue
David Darko

Aaaaarrrrggggghhhh!!!! XD

EVH Wolfgang Stealth

(un)Holy fuckaroo!

I’ve totally missed (until yesterday) that they’ve released this bad-ass of a guitar. I’ve always loved the Wolfgang guitars and I own one myself (a Peavey EVH Wolfgang Special, USA made before they went Korean or some shit and it’s the nicest guitar to play that I have ever tried) and they’ve always looked awesome to me, but not very “brutal”. But this new EVH Wolfgang Stealth looks totally fucking killer with its matte black stealth looking paint job. The new line of EVH guitars designed by Eddie Van Halen and the guys from Fender are supposed to be an even better version than the previous ones and maybe some day I’ll pick one up.

Look at it, it wants to kill YOU!

Omega Lithium…WHAT THE FUCK!?

I stumbled over this Croatian “gothic metal” band Omega Lithium, by mistake and oh what a mistake that was.

Take a look at them, don’t they just look cool and like they fucking slay? Well, for your information, they don’t. They just look like they’ve left a Shock store (kinda like Hot Topic, but in Sweden) with the gothic costume model 1.

The band is supposed to play some gothic metal, but where’s the “gothic” part and where’s the metal? The guitars are playing Rammstein left-over riffs and the chick is doing her best to look like one of the world’s most overrated “artists” ever, Lady GaGa. Or maybe it is Lady GaGa? It sure is as awful. If you want to take a look at the mess for yourself, here’s an “awesome” video.

And here I’m handing over the soapbox to my dear rant-heavy fiancé, to have the last word on this subject.

“Derivative dribble.. I will freely admit that “gothic” metal is not my thing, but -to me- to even be called metal, music has to have certain qualities, none of which are present in this husk of a song.
It is apparent that more work went into the production of the (dismal) video clip than into the creation of the accompanying noise.
Riffs: (I should say “riff”) snore-fest, no guts, rammstein on valium.
Vocals: pop-esque tone, lack of range, no guts there either.
Lyrics: Evidently found when a 13yo girl left her diary on a bus somewhere.
Breakdown: fucking breakdown.
Good qualities: it’s short and completely unmemorable enough that this song (as well as my watching-it-induced suicidal ideation) was out of my brain within seconds of witnessing this monstrosity.
I sincerely doubt that any member of this band is passionate about what they do. And THIS, people, is why chicks are largely considered a useless gimmick when it comes to metal (someone fucking remedy this). FUCK YOU. “

Facebook posts

Just talked about this thing with my fiancé, the thing about people telling everyone on Facebook what they’re doing. Things like “hey all my Facebook-”friends”, I’m going to the toilet now, woohoo isn’t that awesome? BRB after doing some poos” or “I’m gonna eat now” or “I’m watching TV”. I mean, who gives a flying fuck about that? And why do people seem to think that everyone else is so interrested in their lives? Facebook has really got the ego and self-importance to go to the roof (yeah, I know, to write a blog is a bit of the same thing, fuck you!). And all the posts from people’s iPhones (or similar), showing where they are? Yeah, I’m gonna get an iPhone when I move to Australia and I like the fact that it has an built-in gps (since I’m gonna need it, ha ha), but only so I know where I am, and NOT to show everyone else! Aren’t we already being watched enough today by the authorities for example? Our internet is being watched and controlled (by the way, FUCK YOU, yeah YOU who’s sitting there reading this before I’ve even posted it! I hope you’ll get yourself a tasty dose of AIDS) and there’s constantly popping up these CCTV’s everywhere to watch what we’re doing (oh yeah, it’s sooo much for our own protection against crimes), and we’re leaving traces when we use our credit cards. The fact is that the reality of George Orwell’s 1984 is already here in many ways, and still people wants to decrease their own personal integrity even more? I don’t fucking get that?! End of rant.

King Of Asgard – Einharjar

Kinda like this song by these guys from Sweden. A bit in the same melodic death metal vein as fellow country men Amon Amarth and quite groovy.

Ray Comfort

Wow, this guy must be one of the dumbest people on the planet. I have actually seen trailer trash on classy shows as Steve Wilkos or Jerry Springer that seem to be nuclear scientists compared to this guy. And that this evangelical christian is really cool and big in those circles pretty much prove that those people have a severe mental retardation.

Just watch him making a fucking fool of himself, pwning his own statements and proving to everyone that he simply does NOT understand the basics of evolution and doesn’t have a single clue of what he’s arguing against, in this rather long, but very entertaining interview on The Atheist Experience.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13612645

Oh the ignorance, the ignorance…..

The Atheist Experience

These guys are awesome and really interresting to watch and listen to and it’s lots of fun when they constantly pwn stupid christian cunts who are calling the show, trying to be smart among other things. I can’t recommend it enough. So head over to either their YouTube channel, tv channel or website.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AtheistExperience

http://atheistexperience.blip.tv/

http://atheist-experience.com/

Studio II

Yeah, the home studio. I’m not one of the really big gear nerds around, but of course technology is fun and technology used to create music is perhaps even more fun. But still, I don’t think I’ll ever have either the money or the will to just go on buying stuff that isn’t really needed. But since I’m still stuck in fucking Sweden, waiting to be able to move I thought that I could think-out-loud and share some thoughts about gear that I want to get when I finally have a new place in AUS to build or set up my home studio. And except for a new powerful desktop computer and a couple of flatscreen monitors so I can see what I’m doing, these are some things I can come up with right now.

Would probably start off with something like this. Not the sweetest looking, but it’s alright. I don’t want to overdo the mixing-area and spread my stuff all over the place, so I want to keep it close, comfortable and ergonomic. So this one seems big enough for what I’m aiming at.

Need a pair of nearfield monitors and the active Adam A7X seems to be a good choice. I’ll have to listen and compare a few different ones when it’s time though.

Next thing to get will be a guitar amp (or two) and since I’ve really liked both the Peavey 5150 and the ENGL Powerball that I have previously owned, maybe it’ll be one of those or both again. Or maybe something different, we’ll see.

Depending on the living situation, maybe the Randall Isolation is what I have to get to be able to record guitars. We’ll see.

This old thing, the Ampeg SVT-IIP bass tube preamp is something I would like to get a hold of, or something similar to it. I’ve used it quite a lot in the other studio I used to own and it always made the bass sound really good.

Since I’m not actually planning on recording anything then my own stuff I probably won’t need more mic-preamps and converters, but who knows and maybe I’ll get something like the RME Octapre II to hook up to my RME Babyface for more I/O’s.

An additional preamp and also compressor like this awesome Universal Audio LA-610 Mk II would also be nice (a bit pricey though).

Empirical Labs Distressor is a good little thing to use for guitar (also a bit pricey), maybe get one of these too.

Probably will be getting some version of the Universal Audio UAD-2 dsp-cards to run plugins for Cubase to take off some stress from the processor. They’re a bit pricey too, but gives you a wide range of goodies to use for mixing.

Shure SM57, the Swiss armyknife of audio recording. Will get a couple of these since they’re good for recording lots of stuff including guitars and also really cheap.

Sennheiser MD 421-II another classic microphone that I might also get.

The Manley Ref C is maybe something I won’t get since it’s a bit on the expensive side, but it’s nice to look at though.

The australian made BeesNeez Elly is maybe something to look into though. Seems to be good value for money.

Neumann TLM 103. Who doesn’t want a Neumann? For example the U87, U67, U47, M49 and U47 FET are classics and expensive, but the TLM 103 seems good since it’s basically a more basic version of the most used one but nearly 3 times as expensive U87. This is actually a possible buy and I might end up with this one.

Might also get one of these sE Electronics Reflexion Filter instead of building an actual vocal booth. This one is mobile, which is a good thing.

Add to this some acoustic room treatment and then I’m good to go. Off coarse, things will be added or subtracted from this list and it’s hard to say right now what it will end in, but I have to admit that it’s fun to just think about gear.

Studio

Yeah, I used to own a recording studio a few years ago together with my oldest friend. Got tired of it after a few years since it took all my spare time and I had no time or actual “hunger” for recording my own stuff, even if I had everything I needed. So we sold it.

But lately the hunger for building a new home studio and start recording my own stuff (and stuff together with my kick-ass fiancé) has taken control over me. It’s definitely a bad time to start buying gear since I’m gonna move to Australia (whenever the fucking immigration gets their acts together and make something happen) and I can’t wait to leave the country of feces (Sweden that is) and get everything together and start a new life, my new job, and build a new home and studio.  But I’ve got some stuff already and I’ll just show it here (not my pictures, I’m too lazy to take some and it’s too messy here) but here it comes.

My laptop. For music production a laptop is always a compromise and I will get a new fat desktop computer with double LCD monitors in Australia, but for now a laptop is movable. It’s an ASUS N53J with Intel Core i7 processor, 8Gb RAM and bla. bla. bla. and I use an external eSATA drive for recording audio.

Ahh, Cubase 6, the DAW of my choice. Just got the upgrade from Cubase Studio 5.5 and it’s nice. Some might think that recording extreme metal (preferably black metal of some kind) maybe should be recorded in a cave on an old 4-track, but that’s stupid. Digital FTW!

For drums I use this cleaver VST plugin called Toontrack EZDrummer. Makes the hard work of programming drumtracks so much faster and easier. It’s an awesome tool.

RME Babyface is the audio interface of my choice. I need a USB interface since I don’t have FireWire on my laptop (and getting FireWire to work on a PC laptop is also a tricky one anyways) and since since there’s nothing better than RME Babyface (well, there’s two other RME with USB, but they’re too pricey and I don’t need all the I/O’s they’ve got since at the most I record in stereo and also that I don’t have a lot of outboard gear either) it had to be that one.

The Steinberg CC121 Controller is a nice piece of hardware for controlling Cubase and it makes it so much easier while working and especially mixing in Cubase 6. Pretty much awesome.

Need to hear what I’m doing, so these old trustworthy Tannoy Reveal Active sits here on the table. They are actually not mine, since it’s stupid to buy a pair and then have to sell them again (shipping them is too expensive) when moving. But they’re good.

AKG K240, these old guys I’ve had for 10 years or so and they’re great.

For now the only mic I’ve got is the Behringer B-2. It’s a pretty good one when it comes to overhead micing of drums and micing acoustic guitars, but not so much for singing since it’s a bit sharp for that. Gonna invest in some good microphones while in place down under.

Line6 POD 2.0 is an old workhorse. It can’t really replace the “real deal”, but who can either afford a whole bunch of tube amps+cabs or be able to record them in an appartment (beneath are two amazing amps I’ve  owned, but wouldn’t even be able to use right now). So as a substitute, I think the POD works pretty ok and I’ve used it a lot, both while recording other bands and with working on my own stuff.

Peavey 5150 & ENGL Powerball + 4×12 cabs. I used to own both of these monster tube amps, but they’re both sold, but it’s likely that I get either one (or both) of them in time, after the move.  They’re fucking awesome!

This screaming demon I just ordered today. While the Line6 POD 2.0 works very well as an allround and pretty versatile sound, I don’t seem to be able to get the brutal sound I want for my music (just face it, the POD isn’t either a Peavey 5150 or ENGL Powerball for example) but the German handbuilt OKKO Dominator is fucking brutal! I don’t like distortion pedals in general, since they usually sound like a swarm of angry bees, and while that can be suitable in many cases (it’s pretty typical for many black metal recordings) it’s not what I want. But the OKKO Dominator got the bottoms, power and aggression to rip your head off! And that’s what I want.

The Behringer Bass V-Amp is nothing that I use that much, but it’s there and I might figure out some day to get something good sounding out of it.

Okay then, on to the actual instruments. My Jackson Dinky DKMGT is my main “axe” when it comes to metal. It’s awesome in many ways, easy to play, great build quality and great sounding (EMG 81′s are awesome for metal riffing) and I’ve downtuned it to B.

My Charvel 475 Deluxe is and old one from 1990 and it’s a bit modified today. I’ve locked the Floyd Rose tremolo since I don’t use it, the pickups are replaced with one single EMG 81 (brutal) and downtuned to B.

Peavey EVH Wolfgang Special (yeah I know, the image sucks but I couldn’t find anything better), probably my favorite guitar and it is an amazing instrument. This one is kept in original standard tuning and nothing else is done to it. This is not a metal guitar as much as it is a rock and hard rock, but for that it is perfect. Very very easy to play and it sound just amazing (Eddie Van Halen knew what he did when he designed it together with Peavey).

Ovation 1861 Standard Balladeer (I’ve got the natural wood color), a really great acoustic guitar with a clear punchy sound (thanks to the Lyrachord composite back), great finish/build quality and extreme playability (basically as easy to play as an electric guitar). Not used that much, but for some acoustic stuff when it’s suitable.

Yamaha RGX 375, a great 5-stringed bass (it’s actually my fiancé’s). Great build quality and playability, actually a perfect bass for metal.

Last and least, my old trusty synth module, the Roland JV-1010. A half rack module, jam packed with sounds of great quality even if it’s like 16 years old or something. It’s not used much since I’m not making electronic music or any synthesizer based metal, but it’s usable now and then and I’ll never get rid of it.

This turned out to be a monster of a post, but shit happens. I’ll be writing more and probably be posting some music when I’m done or at least half done. We’ll see. If anyone wants to discuss or ask anything, you’re free to do that as usual.