LP Review: "Darkness..." by Mordor

Darknes...

In the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair...

It's been almost fifty years since Robert Plant put that line on wax in the classic track, Ramble On.

In 1986, that was the first time I'd ever heard anyone say Mordor that I could recall. The Rings cartoon movie...never saw the whole thing and never got past Frodo talking about his missing finger

Yes years later, those Peter Jackson movies....they're on my shelf on blu-ray, but Randall Graves was right.

He was right.

Today's Mordor isn't a Led Zeppelin clone, nor do they seem to be writing songs about The Lord of the Rings. It's just that their name made me think of other things and past experiences that make me smile.

LP Review: "Where All Hope Fades" by Ataraxy

Where All Hope Fades

As of this writing, it's nearly the middle of February and since the world has changed, all of our winters months have become largely the same in St. Louis.

They are cold, warm, hot, cold, warm, cold, cold, and grey.

It's usually around this time, after the Suberb Owls have flown, before baseball heats up, and when hockey is in its slumber that St. Louis finds itself here.

Where is here?

It's a place where there is very little. The people are staying inside of their homes. The bands are staying away.

The salt remains all over the ground and the trees still sport their barren look. It's the ugly underside of winter here. If we still got snow, it would be glorious. My daughter and I have only had a single snowball fight this year...

LP Review: Self Titled by Hell

Hell

In these current days, my family is attempting to be healthier.

The wife is dragging me along into movement.

Ever since giving up hockey, the life led by me has been rather sedentary. Yes, clearly this is not an optimal lifestyle for one who's been living in an existential crisis since swearing off organized religion.

The climate inside my noggin has gotten even stranger than normal now.

Before, it was only the icy breath of Death that harangued my consciousness repeatedly. Death is no longer solitary in the this mess. The cheery, vice-like grip of life is now squeezing into the very small space that Death has chosen to un-occupy.

As time moves, they move. When one leaves a square inch available, the other moves into it. This is a difficult situation as the crushening is now coming from more than one place.

LP Review: "Anatomy of Loss" by The Crawling

Anatomy of Loss

Before I go to sleep at night, reading is typically the last thing I do. The current book is Don't Try This At Home by Dave Navarro.

There was a conversation in that book about Steve Vai.

Mr. Vai is a very divisive figure in the musical world. That's not to be meant as an insult. It's just that there are a few camps here.

Many folks, even some instrumental bands I've interviewed, have said how do you connect to Steve Vai?

The prevailing opinion amongst them is that Vai is simply flexing his muscles for 90 minutes each night.

Well this is something that a goodly number of metal bands do each night. There's the constant blast beats that run concurrently with the unchanging demonic vocals. Distort the bass from note one and what we have is a preening tosser on the beach.