Category Archives: Free Music

So… “CNET | Poll: Should music be free?”

Posted on by Standard 4

Not that it’s never been brought up before… but, the debate rages on.  I find it interesting that it’s a CNET poll, and that there are people quite passionate on both sides of the issue.  Check out this poll:

Poll: Should music be free? | Paying for music is now a voluntary act, so why would anyone ever buy a CD, LP, or download?

English: The crossed out copyright symbol with...

English: The crossed out copyright symbol with a musical note on the right hand side is the free music symbol, signifying a lack of copyright restrictions on music. It may be used in the abstract, or applied to a sound recording or musical composition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not exactly sure where I fall.  Obviously, as a musician… I see value in the songs & the entertainment.  It’s great when I have a product to sell.  It’s awesome that people would want to pay to purchase noise that I make.  To me it’s more of a lifestyle/hobby though.  I don’t mind playing just to make gas money, or selling music barely above cost… or even posting it for free.  I dig that people enjoy it.  But, and this is a big but…  If it was my sole means of income, I sure would not be happy giving much away for free.  Although, radio and now online streaming are the way to get heard, and… that’s free.  You almost need that to advertise yourself, unless you gig non-stop like Metallica in their early days.

Are people like me who don’t mind giving away music devaluing music for everyone?  I certainly like free stuff.  I also buy CD’s & merchandise from local & smaller touring acts like a madman.  I realize I’m not normal in that practice.  I see the value in others’ art.  It’s important to me to reward their efforts.

The again, I’m a huge fan of freeware, shareware, and open source stuff when it comes to software.  What’s the difference?

What’s the new model?  Albums are free, shows and T-shirts make you money?  Every band releases a documentary & a bunch of live DVD’s?  Government sticks its’ nose into streaming and it becomes an ad-heavy payola nightmare?

I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts in the comments.

Related Articles

One-Stuck Can Opener

Posted on by Standard 15

I have a problem.  The problem is the One-Touch Can Opener.  It’s a rather expensive useless plastic & metal rock.  In fact, they ought to market it as “Pet Rock: With Batteries!”  Maybe an actual rock would be more dependable in opening cans.  We just recently bought our 2nd One-Touch Can Opener.  I have no idea why we’re on a second one.

The first one was fine for a while, but it didn’t get much use unless we were making Nine Can Vegetable Soup or Chili or something where we had to open a bunch of cans at once.  One day a lid got stuck.  The can lid was successfully removed from the can, but remained under the blade of the One Touch.  It remained securely under the blade.  It wouldn’t come out with a gentle pull, or a labored tug.  Pressing the button to try & turn it back on didn’t do anything.  I think I eventually got some pliers to yank it out.  After that (of course) it ceased working.  Perhaps I yanked too hard?

Figuring it was my fault and that I broke it… I bought another.  I thought that the lid getting stuck was a fluke & it didn’t occur to me that it may (would?) happen again.  Boy, was I naive.  It happened again.  This time I didn’t try to dislodge the lid.  I have tried pressing the button.  I gave it several touches, to no avail.  I set it down & took some photos… intending to write to the manufacturer wight a verbose ranting “WTF?” kind of letter.  (You know, my usual.)  The problem being that I couldn’t find the damn manufacturer.

One Touch Can Opener - with Stuck Lid

What a wonderful piece of engineering! What excellent modern technology! I mean… What a blunder of engineering! What excrement passes for modern technology?

One Touch Can Opener - with Stuck Lid (Closeup)

What a grip!

English: A typical "As seen on TV" l...

Unless you were watching another channel.

I mean, I have some pretty cool photos to send, and I had no idea where to send them.  Googling One Touch Can Opener brings up several “As seen on TV” websites.

I emailed one of them, and they basically told me to go fornicate with myself…

From: As Seen On TV Customer Service
To: _____________@_____.___
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 11:50 AM
Subject: One Touch Can Opener [Incident: 120523-000134]

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

Subject
—————————————————————
One Touch Can Opener

Discussion Thread
—————————————————————
Response Via Email (Allana) – 05/24/2012 08:50 AM

Dear Eric,

Thank you for your email. We are sorry to inform you that we do not have the referral contact information you seek. Please feel free to do a general web search for more information.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Best regards,

Allana
Customer Care Center

Customer By Web Form (Eric Carroll) – 05/23/2012

Hello, can you put me in touch with the manufacturer of the one-touch can opener?  (Email or mailing address preferred.)

I’m having problems with my 2nd one now.  It’s terrible.  The lids keep getting stuck.

https://www.asseenontv.com/one-touch-can-opener/detail.php?p=296306

Thank you,
-Eric

Question Reference #120523-000134
—————————————————————
Category Level 1: Product inquiry
Date Created: 05/23/2012 09:13 AM
Last Updated: 05/24/2012 08:50 AM
Status: Solved
Order Number:

[—001:001194:41928—]

Beans!

It’s great for sitting on top of cans & doing nothing until you press the button 4 times & have 2 false starts. (Photo credit: Carol Browne)

What helpful chaps who stand behind the products they sell!

Taking Allana’s wonderful advice I tried to Google One-Touch Can Opener Manufacturer.  As you can see, there are several possible foreign manufacturing services for this tiny incredible modern convenience.  I think I have it narrowed down though, to the correct one… It appears that Daka manufactures all of the One-Touch Products.

So, I sent them an email:

From: Eric Carroll <____________@_____.___>
To: “USA@onetouchproducts.com” <USA@onetouchproducts.com>; “info@daka.com.hk” <info@daka.com.hk>; “info@onetouchproducts.com” <info@onetouchproducts.com>; “Customerservice@cricketholdings.com” <Customerservice@cricketholdings.com>
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2012
Subject: One-Stuck Can Opener

Ciao Can Conquerors!

I’m writing to you today with an issue that you must have encountered before.  I’m currently on my second One-Touch Can Opener… and it has been incapacitated by a stuck lid.  Please see the attached pictures to literally illustrate my predicament.  As you can see, the lid is still securely in the grasp of the One-Touch Can Opener.  This is not the first time that this has happened to me with this unit.  Sometimes I am able to persuade the can opener to relinquish the lid after an extra press of the button.  This time, all the extra touching is not working.  Right now I am left with what amounts to an expensive plastic and metal rock with batteries on my kitchen counter.  This can-opener-come-rock currently has no purpose (other than annoying me each time I see it).  I have only had it for a month or two.  It has fresh batteries.  Prior to it being rendered useless, it did not get much use.

I had previously owned a One-Touch can opener that eventually encountered the same problem.  I was able to look past the fact that the product named One-Touch took several touches (after many many false starts) to operate.  I was able to handle the fact that would occasionally cut tiny ribbons of the can label and drop it into my food.  The scraps were generally easy to find and pick out.  I was able to accept that it would occasionally tumble off of a can when finished removing the lid, possibly also knocking over the can in the process.  It was still a time saver when making things like my award-winning chili or my easy comfort-food nine can vegetable soup.  (Although, were I a betting man… I would place money on me being faster at opening a can with a P-38 army can opener.)

I had assumed that when I tried to forcibly remove the lid from my first One-Touch can opener I possibly broke something.  It no longer responded to my touch.  I checked the batteries.  I tried different-sized cans.  I tried to use the Force. (I tried the light side at first, and eventually the dark side.  Anger does lead to hate, just like Yoda said.  Hate also eventually led to my wallet suffering.)  All of my peaceful attempts were to no avail.  Perhaps using pliers to savagely pry the lid from the mighty grip of the mindless One-Touch was a bad idea.  I had chalked it up to me being an idiot, and resigned to just purchase a new one.

I did purchase a new one, from Bed Bath & Beyond I believe, and we have arrived at the situation which I presented at the beginning of this email.  I am left with the stuck can lid and useless One-Touch can opener in the attached photos.

I’m not exactly sure what my end game is here.  My plan was to write to you to inform you of the situation, see if there were others who have encountered the same problem, and see what you may offer as a solution.  I would say that acceptable courses of action would include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Advice as to how to properly get the One-Touch Can Opener to relinquish the can lid that it so dearly embraces.
  • A new improved functioning One-Touch (if that exists).
  • About $20 worth of U.S. Army issued P-38’s or other functioning non-electrical can openers.  I arrived at this figure for roughly (and I’m rounding down): $15 for the One-Touch and $5 for name-brand batteries.

Of course if you would like to offer a more agreeable recompensation, I’m open to suggestions.  I feel that I deserve at least something after two of your products have failed on me in rather rapid succession.  Surely you concur?  Most reasonable people would.

Thank you for your time and assistance.  I look forward to your reply and suggested resolution.  I’m anxious to remove the $20 plastic & metal decorative functionless One-Touch rock from my kitchen counter.

May the Force Be With You,
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI

I hope I get some sort of response.  Until then, I will stick with my favorite can-opener: The P-38.  I will race a functioning One-Touch (if you can find one), and I will win.  It’s simple, small, and for the cost of one One-Touch I can get 50 of them from Ralph’s Army Surplus.  I’d even take a P-51, or an Australian FRED.  My grandma always kept a P-38 inside an old pill bottle in the drawer beside the silverware.  I learned to use that before I learned to cook, I think.

Size comparison of P-51 and P-38 openers

Size comparison of P-51 and P-38 openers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: A can opener that incorporates a smal...

F.R.E.D. – Currently employed by the Australian Army and New Zealand Army in its ration kits. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What kind of can opener do you use?  There is a ridiculous amount of different types of can openers out there.  May I persuade you to not waste your time or money in purchasing a One-Touch?  You will most certainly have to touch it several times.  It’s false advertising.  I feel stupid for having to have purchased two of them before I realized that it was not operator error, but a terrible product.

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What’s in Cheerios that’s also in pee?

Posted on by Standard 10

Cheerios

Cheeri-uh-ohs.

TMI Alert! Sometimes, my pee smells like Cheerios.  I bet yours occasionally does too.  It happens when you’re dehydrated.

I don’t eat Cheerios that often, but if I did… I might stop.  I don’t know if the generic Cheerios smell like that too, or if it’s just the original.

I might need a scientist to chime in here.  What is the common ingredient?  More importantly why do Cheerios and urine share an ingredient?  Why does it smell like that?

Not so cheery O's.

Not so cheery O's.

It’s just crazy to me.

Why would I want to eat something that smells like urine?  Didn’t anyone at the Cheerios factory ever think “Wow, it smells like pee in here?”

Seriously.  I need answers.  Cheerios doesn’t answer tweets, I guess.  I’m also guessing that they probably won’t address my concerns.  They don’t address this issue on their Q&A page.  There’s not even a submit button on their contact page.  Well, there is, but it disappears after you fill out all the fields…

What's My Pee Telling Me?

Dr. Stool Might Know?

Can anyone in the medical community chime in here?

I understand that if my pee smells like Cheerios, that I need to drink more water, but again… why would my pee smell like Cheerios, and why on earth would Cheerios smell like pee?

What’s in my pee that’s also in Cheerios generating that smell?

This is crazier than the whole asparagus thing.

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☘ Happy St. Patrick’s Day! ☘

Posted on by Standard Reply

☘ Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘

☘ Happy St. Patrick's Day! ☘

Some Irish toasts & songs for my blog readers…

–☘☘☘–

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings, slow to make enemies and quick to make friends. And may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward.

-☘☘☘-

May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.

-☘☘☘-

May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent.

-☘☘☘-

We drink to your coffin. May it be built from the wood of a hundred year old oak tree that I shall plant tomorrow.

-☘☘☘-

May God grant you many years to live,
For sure he must be knowing,
The earth has angels all too few
And heaven is overflowing.

-☘☘☘-

Here’s to a long life and a merry one.
A quick death and an easy one.
A pretty girl and an honest one.
A cold pint– and another one!

-☘☘☘-

I drink to your health when I’m with you,
I drink to your health when I’m alone,
I drink to your health so often,
I’m starting to worry about my own!

-☘☘☘-

Here’s to women’s kisses,
and to whiskey, amber clear;
Not as sweet as a woman’s kiss,
but a darn sight more sincere!

-☘☘☘-

There are good ships,
and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be.

-☘☘☘-

Here’s to you and yours,
And to mine and ours,
And if mine and ours ever come
Across you and yours,
I hope you and yours will do
As much for mine and ours,
As mine and ours have done
For you and yours!

-☘☘☘-

May your heart be light and happy,
May your smile be big and wide,
And may your pockets always have
a coin or two inside!

-☘☘☘-

Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.

-☘☘☘-

May neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

-☘☘☘-

May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been,
The foresight to know where you are going,
And the insight to know when you have gone too far.

-☘☘☘-

May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.

-☘☘☘-

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

-☘☘☘-

May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.

-☘☘☘-

May you have food and raiment,
A soft pillow for your head.
May you be forty years in heaven
Before the devil knows you’re dead.

-☘☘☘-

May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And a smooth road all the way to your door.

-☘☘☘-

May the lilt of Irish laughter
lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
shorten every road…
And may all your friends remember
all the favors you are owed!

-☘☘☘-

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

-☘☘☘-

For each petal on the shamrock.
This brings a wish your way
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

-☘☘☘-

May the good saints protect you,
And bless you today.
And may troubles ignore you,
Each step of the way.

-☘☘☘-

-☘☘☘-

Share with me below… your favorite toasts, blessings, photos, music or video with a Celtic influence.  It can be Irish, Scottish, Welsh, or even Japanese.  It can be Celtic folk, punk, metal, rap, rock, traditional, or a blend of all of the above.  I’ll accept anything but U2.

☘✟☘

Related articles

Nostalgia…

Posted on by Standard 13

So, I upped a bunch of old songs to SoundCloud.  Some aren’t bad.  Some are terrible.  (There’s some AiXeLsyD, some Gasoline Dion, & even some Ernie and the Berts for good measure.)  Feel free to enjoy and/or ignore.

AiXeLsyDI have had many many fun times writing songs & jamming with all of these cats over the years. We have recorded some good stuff, met interesting people, and played some absolutely wild parties & shows.  It’s awesome to have played at parks, in basements, on small stages, in garages, in countless dive bars, on big stages, in back yards, a sports bar, band battles, in cool rock bars, an Elks lodge, a dorm room, American Legions, skate parks, VFW’s, theaters, Fire Halls, and even live on the radio.  (Places I haven’t played yet… on a boat, under-water, on a moving flatbed, outside of the U.S., on TV – Ernie, can you get on booking that?)  Some people even dug our stuff.

Gasoline DionI’m glad to be able to continue to rock out with some old faces & some new faces.  I enjoy that I’m still playing shows, going to shows, rocking out with talented dudes, & continually meeting & being influenced by local musicians & those that are just passing through.  We get together to rock out & have a great time doing so …all while trying to be as goofy as possible.  I’m glad I fell into punk rock as there’s a sense of humor about it all.

Ernie and the BertsI enjoy the exchange of knowledge, whether it’s music trivia geekery, guitars & amps & how they work & how to play them, or just general rock n’ roll legends.  I enjoy being obsessed with goofy guitars yet able to appreciate a nice normal axe.  I enjoy making fun of bands that are doing absolutely terrible things, taking too long to set up, playing too long, or have terrible names.  I enjoy being the target of the same kinds of jeers.

In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day coming soon, I’d like to toast my fellow musicians whether I’ve been in a band with you, shared a stage with you, or just been to one of your shows and told you how much it rocked.

☘  Here’s to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking! ☘

If you cheat, may you cheat death.
If you steal, may you steal a woman’s heart.
If you fight, may you fight for a brother.
And if you drink, may you drink with me.

Please, share with me some memories of the crazy paces you’ve played, the fun (or terrible) times you’ve had with your bands… whether you were in one with me or not.  Share some of the music too!

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AiXeLsyD and Gasoline Dion Mazes

Posted on by Standard 21

I’ve obviously been in a maze mood lately.  I found some old AiXeLsyD & Gasoline Dion themed mazes.  At the request of a friend, I also made some AiXeLsyD & Gasoline Dion music available for download.

Help AiXeLsyD get to the American Music Café!

Help AiXeLsyD get to the American Music Café!

✪ Download AiXeLsyD Vol. 1-3! ✪

Help Gasoline Dion get to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern!

Help Gasoline Dion get to the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern!

✪ Download Gasoline Dion’s Loading Noise! ✪

I’m going to have to make up an Ernie and the Berts maze!  At any rate, print these out, and try to solve them while jamming to my extinct musical projects, and send me a photo or scan of the completed maze!

The downloads are zip files.  If you don’t know how to unzip files, learn.  Also, check out my other mazes if you liked these ones.

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New music from Snuff and Ann Beretta!

Posted on by Standard 7

I’m expecting two killer albums from two incredible bands this year.  What do these bands have in common?  Well, almost nothing I guess.  (It’s 11 whole steps at BandToBand.com!) They’re both punk bands, but they really sound nothing alike.  They are, however, in my all-time top favorites.

My wife tells me all the time that every band that I talk about is my favorite.  But that’s how I am, I guess.  If I like a band, I really like a band.  I try to acquire all of their music.  I get into side projects & related bands.  I sometimes even look for live stuff & bootlegs.  Snuff & Ann Beretta are bands that have that hold over me.

I got into both of these bands right around the time I started playing in my first real band, AiXeLsyD.  I was really into buying punk compilations some time after 1995… and whenever ’98 or ’99 rolled around and AiXeLsyD was writing and playing shows, I was absorbing everything and these bands just lit me up.

Snuff

Snuff

I had purchased Fat Music Vol. II: Survival Of The Fattest for the Me First and the Gimme Gimmes cover of “Country Roads”, and was instantly drawn to Snuff’s “Walk” & “Nick Northern”.  I’ve blogged about them before.  I was hooked immediately.  They really blend pop, punk, metal, thrash, ska, soul, & anything else they feel like at the moment absolutely seamlessly.  It’s crazy.  One minute they’re blistering through riffs that could be on a Metallica album, and the next there’s horns or an organ or they’re covering the specials and there’s no “what happened?” feeling.  It’s just natural.

Snuff has been dropping updates via their Facebook Page, and it’s all great news so far…

Happy new year to all. UK tour in april and new songs on the way. oi oi

Excellent rehearsal, great start to the new year, new songs sound stonking, dead excited now. Looking to record at least 8 new songs by the end of the month.

Two more new riffs up at last nights rehearsals. One mod/thrash/pretty thingy and one dangerously retro 82 hardcore beast. oooooof!

I’m incredibly pumped for this, or anything that Duncan Redmonds puts out.

Ann Beretta

Ann Beretta

With Ann Beretta, I can pin it all down to one song.  I heard “Bottlecaps” on  Fueled by Ramen‘s Year of the Rat comp, and that was it.  These cats are incredible.  Hearing their songs is like being dropped right into the middle of a story, situation, or town that you know every inch of despite having never been there.  I’ve seen them more than once in the ‘Burgh, and have even road-tripped to Cleveland to see them.  I helped make buttons for them, and they crashed at my buddy (& fellow AiXelsyD bandmate) Andy’s place after a show one time at the Rex.  The music is not unlike Rancid… without so much ska & snarl, but with honest Willie Nelson-like storytelling.  These guys wear RVA on their sleeve, and certainly make their hometown proud.  Their cover of All‘s “Long Distance” is incredible.  (The original is of course flawless in its own right.) “Love’s Easy Tears” is one of the catchiest songs ever, and I love the chaotic ending.  “Russ’Song” always gets me going, too.  Inquisition, Sixer and Foundation are worth checking out too.

The major update on this front comes from the driving force behind Ann Beretta and Foundation, Rob Huddleston…. via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/#!/robhuddlestonva/status/156134190595842048

https://twitter.com/#!/robhuddlestonva/status/156513501798612993

https://twitter.com/#!/robhuddlestonva/status/156367138507063296

https://twitter.com/#!/robhuddlestonva/status/156788477420253185

Get it before it disappears!

And there’s some stuff on their Facebook page:

Drums for 8 songs tracked so far with @RobHuddlestonVA of Ann Beretta. 5 so or more over the next few days. Go like their new FB page www.facebook.com/AnnBeretta

Back in the studio today!

First round of mixing begins today!

3 months of bronchitis & finally back to the studio w Pedro Aida – Producer/Engineer/Songwriter to get back to some vocal tracks.

Fantastic.  This is going to be a great year for music.  Black Sabbath, another Slash solo album… maybe some Aerosmith, new DLR Van Halen.  Now we just need Nerf Herder, The Bloodhound Gang, The Teen Idols, The Eyeliners, Peelander-Z, Bars, & The Unseen to start making music again.

What do you think about Snuff & Ann Beretta?

What music are you looking forward to in 2012?

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Happy Halloween! (Misfits Tribute 2004)

Posted on by Standard 5

This is an oldie but a goodie from 2004.  At the time it was the basement of the Dion Den.  It was a crazy party & a great night.  This set was thrown-together, and it was a ridiculous amount of fun:

☠ Misfits Tribute Set – Oct. 30th, 2004 @ the Dion Den ☠

Filmed like a stalker would film, by a guy that eventually became to be affectionately known as “Creepy Dan”, the lighting, “effects”, & continual shots of Mike’s crotch are kind of disturbing.

Misfits Tribute 2004

Misfits Tribute 2004

Suggested Reading…

Posted on by Standard 2

Description unavailable

Image by Walt Jabsco via Flickr

So recently I finished two books that my reader(s) might enjoy.

The first is Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg.  It’s a great book, & gives you insight into Pegg’s fanboy roots, aspiring to be an actor, and some really funny stuff thrown in.  Also, in a bit about how Revenge of the Sith should have ended… he couldn’t have been more spot-on.  I won’t go into crazy detail as you can find many reviews online… but I have to say for fans of films like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Paul, and the new Star Trek… you need to see this.  It also reminds me that I need to get my hands on some Spaced DVD’s.  Also… where/when in the hell can I see Burke and Hare in the US?

https://i0.wp.com/www.27bslash6.com/images/spiderdrawing.gif

"I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead"

The second amusing book is probably old, as I picked it up at a discount book store…   It’s called The Internet is a Playground: Irreverent Correspondences of an Evil Online Genius, and it’s by David Thorne.  You can tell from the title why it piqued my interest.  If you’ve been around the internet long enough, you’ve seen the infamous spider.  You should check out 27b/6 some time.  It, like the book… is rather amusing.  This brings to mind the now seemingly prehistoric Idiot Letters and Letters From a Nut series that I love, as well as Emails From An A**hole and Little Billy’s Letters.  I won’t go into too much detail as again… there are enough online reviews.  But, I would suggest checking this one out if you’re a fan of goofy email exchanges.

Those are my suggestions for you.  What are your suggestions for me?

Epic Metal :: It’s not too late to join the quest!

Posted on by Standard 7

So, the warriors of Dethlehem have dropped a second album, aptly named The Ghorusalem Codex Vol. 2: Of Magick and Tyranny.  (This would be a follow-up to their 2009 disc, The Ghorusalem Codex Vol 1: Enthroned Upon A Spire.)  If you’re a fan of metal, or a fan of chaos involving things like trolls and dragons and wizards… you need this album.

DETHLEHEM | The Ghorusalem Codex, Vol 2: Of Magick & Tyranny

DETHLEHEM | The Ghorusalem Codex, Vol 2: Of Magick & Tyranny

Listen to this and try to tell me I’m wrong:  Dethlehem “Hypergates of Infinitude”  It’s one of my favorite tracks off of the album.

I’m big a fan of their first album, but this one blows it away in terms of recording, production, and overall album cohesiveness.  The interludes in between songs have become a much better over-all narrative to help guide you along the quest.  (The full story is coming soon to their website.)

Bovice and Hildor are the six-string men-at-arms, and the musicianship here makes me sick.  The guitars are ridiculous, it’s almost too over the top… but with what Dethlehem has going on, it needs to be ridiculous.  I’m talking shredding, sweeps, blazing riffs, and all manner of fretboard insanity.  If I didn’t know these guys, I’d hate them… they make a punk rock power chord chump like me almost too embarrassed to pick up a guitar.  Luckily for the Ernie and the Berts fan(s), I have no shame.

A slight lineup change on this album, Davidicus the Black replaces Galagore… not sure what the official story is, if Gallagore was eaten by a dragon or transformed into a toad by an evil witch or what.  Davidicus is a wizard, and adds a dynamic both in story & in playing style.  You can hear less doubling of guitar parts by the bass, more restraint where called-for musically, and stomping all over the place where appropriate.

Overlord Brom bangs on the drums like nobody’s business, and even my untrained ear can tell there’s all manner of math going on here with time-signature changes.  This is not 4/4 rock n’ roll.  Plus, when he plays live… he starts out with a bucket-like Helmet on his head where it must be impossible to see anything.  (By the way, funniest character voice ever in the narratives.)

Lord Bonecrush has developed what I can only call a battle-hardened confidence in his vocals.  While they were strong on Vol. 1, on Vol. 2 they’ve progressed to a point where any shred of vocal uncertainty is gone.  The vocals are honed sharp like any good weapon should be before going into battle… yet there’s a double-edge… clean for slicing backed up with growling with a ferocity akin to aurally ripping you asunder.  The backing vocals also stand out a little clearer on their own on this one… not sure who’s where… but it’s all done sparingly, tastefully, and appropriately.

While not a technical review by any means, I hope to have conveyed the overall feel of the album, and to have piqued your curiosity.

These guys put on an incredible live show… I suggest you buy the album to learn their songs, and then go see them when they come to plunder and pillage a venue near you.  I’m not sure if you can fully appreciate the epic-ness through just a recording or video.  They’re on tour now if you can catch them!

(In the interest of full disclosure, this may not be a completely objective review… I do know the guys, and they awesomely thanked me in the liner-notes of this disc…  But I’d like to think that those who know me know I wouldn’t push crappy music on anyone.)