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Saturday, March 27, 2010

Claim Me

 So close to home, close to my blackened heart
The burden of truth on my horrid voracity
Hit me hard and swift, upon sight of innocence
I had to resist, I couldn't take the life of a kid

For death is my only friend
As I've brought many lives to an end...

I'm sinking into this ever deepening abyss
I believe in the karma that is coming my way
I'm sinking into this ever deepening abyss
I know I will see the face of death I truly deserve

For death is my only friend
As I've brought many lives to an end...

So I welcome you, taker of souls replete with sin
I'm far too inhumane to coexist
With those whose humanity I had once shared
I had to resist, I couldn't take the life of a kid

For death is my only friend
As I've brought many lives to an end...

I'm sinking into this ever deepening abyss
I believe in the karma that is coming my way
I'm sinking into this ever deepening abyss
I know I will see the face of death I truly deserve

For death is my only friend
As I've brought many lives to an end...

My abyss, from the blackest pit of my being
Consumes me in the time where truth has hit
I can't live anymore
I can't know anymore
I can't accept anymore
The monster I've become

For death is my only friend
As I've brought many lives to an end...

I'm sinking into this ever deepening abyss
I believe in the karma that is coming my way
I'm sinking into this ever deepening abyss
I know I will see the face of death I truly deserve

My abyss claims me
Consumes me from dark truth
I am a monster
I am a monster...

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Washed Of Weeping Days

Keep your weeping inside
Now is your time
Now is man's time
To shine a light on hope

Living in style

Living easy life

Can take its toll on you

When things turn down

You hold the key
Every single second
It's inside of you
It's inside of us

Living in style

Living easy life

Can take its toll on you

When things turn down

So soon
So soon it'll all come around
So soon
So soon it'll all come around
So soon
So soon it'll all come around
So soon
So soon and we will all see

Life can take its toll on you

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Charm

Madam Starlight
You're so bright
Lay unto me

Your charm...

The every night
I catch a glimpse of you
Your very light
Works to help me through
The bustling days
My every day
Don't go away
Don't go away

Madam Starlight
You're so bright
Lay unto me

Your charm...

Grab hold of us
With your charm
Take hold of us
Light so warm

Madam Starlight
You're so bright
Lay unto me

Madam Starlight
You're so bright
Lay unto me

Your charm...

Sunday, March 21, 2010

GAD

Don't you worry
You can't know of everything
And the worst doesn't always happen
So don't you worry

See through to positive
See through to the best
Keep your cool
Keep it real

And don't you worry

If It's Not Made In Heaven

If it's not made in heaven...

You think grand, you know what you want
Seen a future with someone you love
It's true, and only true if you want it to be
And if you need, I'll be there always by your side

That's the truth, for love is life
But as with anything
Nothing comes easily

If it's not made in heaven
Don't let that stop you
For if you hang in there
The love you seek will find you
Nothing comes so easily
The best in life doesn't come
If it's not made in heaven

You know who your heart is for, she's the one
Only think of the good things that could come
Love the every moment that you get
If you persevere, the goodness will be with you

That's the truth, for love is life
And as with anything
Nothing comes easily

If it's not made in heaven
Don't let that stop you
For if you hang in there
The love you seek will find you
Nothing comes so easily
The best in life doesn't come
If it's not made in heaven

She's the one, let her feel you
Let her know who you are
Nothing comes easily
Nothing comes so easily

The best in life doesn't come
If it's not made in heaven

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Gemini

Gemini, Gemini, Gemini

Come to me! Come to me! Come to me!

Gemini

Take my life, give it an end
To set me free, forever I so dread!

Gemini, Gemini, Gemini

Come to me! Come to me! Come to me!

Gemini

Give me peace, of heart & mind
To know that my life will end in time

Gemini, Gemini, Gemini

Come to me! Come to me! Come to me!
Answer me! Answer me! Answer me!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Converge: Axe To Fall Review



Converge
Axe To Fall

"For a very long time, we've wanted to do a collaboration album where we could include people we're close with or friends with and who we gel with musically and socially. Now, we did that and it's pretty seamless. [Axe to Fall] doesn't feel like a big rock record where the guest vocalists come out and a spotlight is being thrown on them. It's much more involved than that. It's much more refined."
-Jacob Bannon (vocalist/album artist)

What a fun album to listen to! Converge have done it again with 'Axe To Fall', a powerful and frenetic bullet-train of unsteady and unruly chaotic hardcore. And since the band wanted to change the formula a bit by featuring guest musicians (hence the quote above, where Jacob mentions doing a collaborative effort), all kinds of new musical territory, in terms of the band's resume, are explored. It's great when a band progresses as they please, and they know what they want to do with it as well, thus coming out gloriously.
The progressive-metal stylings of the first song, with extremely fast drumming by Ben Koller, and then machinegun like power-metal guitar work by Kurt Ballou, all make the opening track (Dark Horse) a huge blast to listen to. It's definitely worthy of an ecstatic and energetic concert crowd, ready to pounce and dance in every way imaginable. Jacob's vocals aren't all screaming either, he yells as well, during the verses. It's somewhat new territory for fans who are used to how he sang in previous records. And as usual for Jacob Bannon's lyrical prowess, it's a solid effort on his part. Very good way to start off what works out to be a very good album.
The next track, Reap What You Sow, features ex-Hatebreed guitarist Sean Martin on lead guitar, shredding the poor thing to good use. Sean couples his sold hardcore punk skills with Jacob's crazy vocals as well as providing backup vocals, and blesses the listener with a fast-paced heavy metal solo. The song closes with a quick scream of lyrics by Jacob, then the next song immediately continues where the previous song left off. This is Axe To Fall, the title track of course. It's their first single. Kurt Ballou picks up the lead guitar again, and George Hirsch of Blacklisted backs up Jacob's sonic assault with some vicious howling. This song slows down a little bit mid-way, but the song is heavier overall than the second track. 
The guitarists of Cave In, a side-project that Kurt Ballou contributes to, take the appropriate positions on the album. The way they deliver in this song is wild, making Effigy, the fourth track, a wild and ambitious mosh-pit driver.
The band itself returns in full for Worms Will Feed/Rats Will Feast, a very slow, Doom Metal styled song full of hard hitting bass lines. The latter half of the song is the best part overall, with intriguing grooves laden with a more focused rhythm. I also like the lyrics, they're very hard-hitting, and are fitting for the style the band is executing in the song.
Wishing Well is one of the most hardcore punk styled songs on the album, by a landslide. From the drum tempo delivered by Koller, to the hardcore inspired lead guitar from guest musician Ulf Cederlund of Disfear (indeed, the band sounds very much like Disfear in this track, thanks to a Disfear member's contributions), the track is fun to listen to. As usual, the theme of the lyrics fit a "cause & effect" story, especially because of the lines: "your words can't touch me/while your past ways down your life/your heart can't love me/while your past (still) haunts you inside."
Just like Worms.../Rats..., the next song, Damages, is a different style and pace for the album. The song does pick up a bit after 1:05 or so. It's also a somewhat slow song, just like the previously mentioned Doom metal stylings of Worms.../Rats... The lead guitarist of Hindi-Hardcore punkers "108" lends a hand, making this a very heavy track. Koller's drumming is also very effective because it's very loud, but it doesn't detract from the rest.
The next four tracks all clock to under three minutes, most of them only a minute and a half. They pretty much pick up the pace from Damages, and are, like usual with Converge fare music, absolutely bristling with energy.
Then the album really starts going into interesting territory. Cruel Bloom is a wonderfully executed track featuring Steve Von Till of "Neurosis", an awesome hardcore punk/ambient/industrial group. It's gloomy nature is pronounced by the haunting piano. Also, the choruses are very moving, with great melodic effect from several vocalists thanks to their soft voices. Then the band kicks in with a massive guitar riff, and throaty, more heavy metal styled growls from Von Till. Personally my favourite track on the album.
Wretched World sort of follows the same formula as the previous song, but is twice as long, which works for the song very well. Mookie Singerman of Genghis Tron is the lead vocalist, and has a softer, but less gloomy voice than Steve Von Till. This is not a falling grace at all because overall, the song simply kicks ass. Like the band's last epic track, "Grim Heart/Black Rose", it changes pace a little bit and Jacob jumps back into the lead role, closing the track aggressively.
So basically, the album builds on everything good the band has done so far, and goes into all sorts of new directions. Because of the experimentation, it should reinvigorate any listener, especially previous ones, into listening to the band's efforts further on. The talent at work here deserves praise, especially from the performances on the final two tracks. If anyone felt Converge was waning with "No Heroes", then this album will convince such skeptics otherwise. As I said before, what a fun album to listen to!

9.3/10

Breakdown:
- Many guest performances that serve the sound of the album very well.
- Notable guests, such as Sean Martin of Cage, Steve Von Till of Neurosis, and the backing vocalists on "Wretched World" should receive praise!
- Kurt Ballou flexes his guitarist muscle big time, especially on the thrilling opener, "Dark Horse."
- Jacob's singing is crazy as ever.
- So are his lyrics. Though they do depart a little from the rather personally-oriented stylings of their previous works, especially the masterpiece Jane Doe.
- Cruel Bloom is a magnificently executed song, and is overall the best on the album.
- Converge sort of plays with the Grim Heart/Black Rose formula on Wretched World, and to great effect. 
- The fact that the band experimented with new styles shows that they are not afraid to think outside the box. This suggests that the band feels a lot more enthusiasm in making great music than some may think.
- Neat artwork.



Thursday, March 11, 2010

Hands To The Fallen

Amongst the scattered scarred people
I drive home a shattered fate
I've set the benchmark for a new world
A world free from all the hate
Infecting all the open minds
With content and full grace
For the fellow man
For the fallen man

Truth sets us free
Knowledge is power
Truth lets me be
Knowledge is everything

Infect all the open minds
With content and full grace
For the fellow man
For the fallen man

I'm alive in a world beset with choices
Our choices make us
Rid of the malice I've sought to erase
We can all just try again
Infecting all the open minds
With content and full grace
For the fellow man
For the fallen man

Truth sets us free
Knowledge is power
Truth lets me be
Knowledge is everything

So Many Questions In Life

"What am I?"
What you wish to be

"Who are you?"
A friend or an enemy

"Where to go?"
Where the river flows

"When I'll know?"
Only you will know

"How can I stand on my two feet
After my energy seems replete?"
You've seen so much hardship
Been through so much heartache
I can only give you the best tips
That I know from my own mistakes

"What if my life turns around
And turns around again, back to hell?"
That will only happen if you let it
You've got to define your own way
It's easy to miss the path you've lit
But you're curious and that's okay

Tension In Chances

Senses
Tension in nests
Home
Gone in wind

Fight back
Don't give up
Unclear
Path is your's

Hard
Feel your misery
Rise
Take the chance

Senses
Mention of tense
Past
Haunts you now

Fight back
Don't you fear
Unsure
Path is your's

So hard
I feel your misery
Just rise
And take another chance

Monday, March 8, 2010

Sarah Palin: Kidding or Serious?

I always feel giddy when I think about the future Republican U.S Presidential runner, at least potential, Sarah Palin. I feel giddy because I know one thing that any realist out there also perhaps knows; she will be laughed out of the race.

What a joke she is! She's simply the biggest tool ever glimpsed in political history, for any nation in the world. In fact, I have a feeling that she will be dignified (gasp) by having her name recorded in a history book, of absolute mockeries in the political world of the United States of America. You may be asking, why is she the biggest tool, politically? It's because she was used to appeal to a viable, but disenfranchised group of people, who happen to hold the majority of the world population (even considering China's horrid maltreatment of infants); women.
Anyone who knows anything about the Republican party of the U.S, and of their standpoints in the last few decades, knows that they are NOT in favour of anything to do with women. They don't care to empower them, they want to empower men. It's a chauvinistic corporatist party, for the most part anyway (Ron Paul may spring to mind), and a lot of female voters in the U.S know it. Sarah Palin, simply a misinformed fool, foolishly trying her hand at governship in Alaska, was the Republican party's desperate means to (trying to) win the approval of female voters everywhere, especially feminists. The scam they ran by having her as the VICE PRESIDENTIAL FUCKING NOMINEE worked to get the support for a few of the gullible ones around the nation, but thankfully, not enough.

The media helped show that truth. The woman is, at best, fit for municipal politics, not national! The bitch hardly knows dick-squat about her own once-governed state for shit sake. (On her apparent foreign policy experience with Russia) "They're our next-door neighbors, and you can see Russia from land here in Alaska." What a fucking dropkick. This would mean that, given merely one requirement of any major political figure, like a Vice-President, is to have foreign policy experience, millions upon millions of Americans AND Canadians would be as qualified as she is, perhaps more, to serve in the upper echelons of either North American governments. Yeah, and I'm Wolf Blitzer you fucking joke.

Some people seem to be even threatened by her, or afraid of her. Gosh gee, why don'tcha just relax there, meester, you've nothing to feel low about. Sarah Palin keeps digging her hole deeper and deeper, she's a MASSIVE train-wreck waiting to happen, considering what she's been through already, and I guess the media realizes this. Hell, even Faux Noise is perhaps in the game. They are milking her soap-opera status, which is all she fucking has, for all it is worth until she finally hits the ground hard enough to make her realize what a joke she's been running with for so long. All thanks to the campaign organizers for John McCain, a corporatist wingnut who, even if he became the President, probably would have died of old age in office. The people who vouched to have the bumbling housewife buffoon that is Sarah Palin are perhaps bigger idiots than Sarah Palin is.

The bitch doesn't even seem to realize the stupidity of her every move, and that's not an exaggeration! Even if a million people across the United States support her in any way, that's only a million out of three-hundred eight million! She's got absolutely no chance if she runs for President, either this year or in 2012. The people who are egging her on are probably eager to see her finally gasp in amazement at how stupid she's been the past couple of years, and smarten up enough to realize that politics is not her game. I certainly am waiting for it because I am growing tired of her antics.

She may be in the mid-forties physically, but she acts like she's a god damn teenager emotionally as well as mentally; she does anything she can to get lots of attention. Campaign organizers blew the whistle on that one. Or the utter joke of a speech for the Tea Party (in which she was paid $100,000 by a bunch of racist idiots). If an utterly embarrassing failure to win the mid-term or end-term elections does happen, will she finally throw in the white towel and call it quits? One can only hope. She used to be an intriguingly pathetic joke, now she's just boring, and comes off as desperate as hell. For this fact alone, she needs to go.

So she should run for President. No one needs to be afraid of her becoming the next one because she simply won't. She's so obvious in her lack of experience and smarts that people will see her on the podium and nod in dumbfounded amazement. Anybody who has even a moderate level of self-respect and intellectual honesty will withhold the votes she'd need to get the highest position in U.S politics, and she'll be laughed right out, probably never to be dignified with our time again. Sarah Palin, or should I say, Sarah Failin, you bet'cha she'll loose, darn it, big time.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Mars and Venus

Once in a while, and it's not a rare occurence either, I see a woman who has been burnt by previous relations with men expressing her disdain for them in some form. I realize each time I see that, though, that it's only disdain for the past, not the present nor the future. However, it's a victimization response, and is telling of a passive-aggressive personality. That'll be explained in a few moments' notice, but in a sense, each woman pretty much asked for her bad experiences.

What a lot of inexperienced girls/women do not realize about the average man, is that they have hunter instincts. Men use them in order to secure a mate, or even simply a person they can lay every day or two. There's always exceptions to every rule, but the GENERAL rule is that they will use whatever bait tactics they can think of. Not all men know, but a handful do know that a lot of women, especially young adults and teenagers, are looking for the "Knight In Shining Armour" archetype. Well I have some advice to all female readers; anyone can pretend to be your "Knight In Shining Armour", it's not difficult at all, even I, a more honest guy than usual, can do it. The guys who have experience fulfilling, at least for a while, this fantastical hope that a handful of women have, they know how the process works to come off this way. It's simply a bait tactic, and it hardly reveals what the man is really like. It's sad that a lot of women, and young adults fall for it, but a lot of women do.

These kinds of guys put on a show; they act like they are noble heroes, make a girl feel like he can sweep her off her feet and make her life whole, and they pretend to know all about chivalry. Chivalry is dead, ladies, and you killed it (forwarding the wisdom of David Chappelle). You see, I can spot a faker a mile away, especially when they play the KISA routine, typically when a girl has a broken heart, or has recently had her heart broken. But it seems women can't. There are some strong women out there in this case, strong enough to resist the temptation brought on by the KISA who happens to come around, interested in what he may get from her in her time of emotional weakness, but not a whole lot (from my experiences, anyway) are strong enough it seems.

This past August, one Saturday night, I sat right next to a girl, whom I adored and cared for so much, when she was extremely vulnerable emotionally. Beautiful and intriguing as she was, I knew, at the time, that if I wished, I could have at least gotten close to seducing her. This is because the KISA player appeals to every "recovery" emotion a girl can feel at such times. Every man has that side of him that wishes to get laid no matter what the cost, but I was in control. Out of sheer respect and adoration for her, I resisted the temptuous situation, and the primal urge to satisfy myself, knowing that those minutes I spent with her that night are only dreamed of by sex-starved jackasses who, if kept in the cage for too long, could possibly commit rape. This is not what I wanted to do to her, given her and I have talked quite a bit about personal issues in the past, and I knew her inside and out. I can guarantee, though, that perhaps 7 or 8 out of ten guys in the same situation would have at least tried to take advantage of her, appealing to her emotions to make her feel like the hero she's waited for all her life is right there beside her, even though he actually intends to get laid. Sad but true. I'll have nothing to do with it, thank you very much. Onward, though...

Girls & women alike need to be careful about guys that play this game, because in many cases, this is exactly what KISA players do. Men who play this game tend to be vultures of sorts, looking for (emotionally) wounded "prey", or women metaphorically speaking; swooping in and doing what they have to do get what they want; in this case, sex. I know of a few girls who have been taken advantage this way, one of them even got burnt by "Knights In Shining Armour" multiple times! And after a female realizes she has gotten burnt by a guy who seemed so "nice" and "caring" and all, she feels embarrassed, naive, and stupid of herself. I can't really blame them, though, because emotions can be manipulated quite easily in some circumstances, especially if a person feeling such emotions has little experience in dealing with them. But I would never wish a girl to go through this kind of manipulation.

Then there are guys who are simply not fit for a mate, at least when they are seeking one at first. They are guys who are not all that respectful; they are the "bad boys", or so they pretend to be as well. I can also spot guys like these, but they are almost exclusively limited to high-testosterone rowdy male youth trying to get at least one girlfriend on their belt. If a guy really wants something, he'll do anything to get it, even pretend to be something they are not. It's another tactic of a man who is very much in touch with his hunter instincts to get some poon-tang, in a matter of speaking. Doesn't fool me, though. Not to mention, a lot of these guys hardly put effort into how they approach a girl they're attracted to. Some of them even act stupid. Stupidity is not a virtue, ladies! It's something that we need to weed out. Stupidity only thrives when you allow it to proliferate, like having stupid children with stupid men. This may seem as if it were a rant, but in actuality, it's purely that.

There's one thing in common with both of these archetypes of men who approach women; deceit. But the women who fall for them may not think so at first. They'll get drawn in to the false promises they are given by the guys who play these games, and I personally feel it's because they're not srong enough to realize otherwise. And this is why I agree with Dave Chappelle in that chivalry was killed, unfortunately, by women themselves. The average girl has lower standards than in the past. Men, including myself, need to truly demonstrate his capabilities, if he has any at least. He needs to prove himself. After all, you can't survive in nature without demonstrating your best abilities, right? I bet you a handful of these guys couldn't survive an hour in the wilderness, if dropped in one with nothing but his hands and feet and his brain. But it seems that the overall confidence that girls, I think, should feel in themselves, has diminished enough so that they don't truly believe in their own abilities. Let alone the overall ability to judge properly their surroundings or experiences. What happened to cause the general dwindling of these things for women, especially the current generation, and quite possibly the next generation? How many factors are at play here, picking apart at a girls' self-esteem and confidence, lowering her standards in the process?

There is a very close-minded view, somewhat made obscure & subtle over time, to the point of subliminal messaging, that women can only prove themselves if they are with a guy. This is not true, because it doesn't encourage women in any way that they should do what every single person in this world should do for themselves; gather their independence. Every girl, and I mean every one, should be encouraged to feel security in themselves. This is the only way you can truly know what you want out of life, let alone in a man. When you don't have the independence you so sorely need to get the most out of life, how can you have anything figured out? You haven't truly been tested by the challenges of life if you haven't gained independence. and I feel there are things in our culture, and even in the way people raise their children, that are causing the loss of confidence that is necessary to gain self-security, or independence. I can't name them all, but the idea that women are not truly women until they get together with men and stay with them, is definitely one of them. It's not a healthy attitude to have, at all, especially since it doesn't encourage strength in character.

I personally want all women to have strength in themselves. Only then, will they hold men to the fire, and only then will the truly fit survive once again. Men who are not truly worthy of women, need to be shot down. It's a necessary character builder, that if not accepted by the one who is shot down, shows whether or not a man is, at least at his time of life, is fit for a mate. This needs to happen more. It's kind of why I am with George Carlin in his views against the self-esteem movement, where people teach their children that they are all special; that they are all winners. You have to prove yourself. And men need to prove themselves to women. Pretty much every other animal in the animal kingdom does this, why can't we? It makes sense, after all.

So, ladies, there's no need to complain just because you got yourself hooked up with an inexperienced jackass who didn't deserve you in the first place. We're not all the same. Some of us do give a shit about how we approach you, and we do give a shit about how we run our own lives. We're just not the ones who will do anything to attract you. We're much more subtle than the pretenders, and that is your hint at finding the real men. Don't lump us all in the same boat; you just didn't look in the right direction. Learn from your mistakes, and get yourself some standards