Hellfest 5 gig

Just want to shamelessly plug yet again a gig to be held (yet again! is there an echo here?) at the Boss Grill @ Mango Ave, Cebu this coming March 14, 2009 . My lousy band will (yet again, sheeesh!the band : AGNAS, we are a deathmetal cover band)be taking part again hopefully, if all goes well and we get to actually jam and practice again, last time I checked was from the last gig we did a month ag0. Check out the poster (I was asked again to do the poster so as with the other 3 gigs that came to past even if I sucked at doing it, FYI hehehe) for more details and stuff:

The Week in a bun

I have'nt been idling really for this past week, the usual suspects such as work and personal stuff that needed to be done all added up to my time as usual and made me not have some time to post something. Anyways, that doesn't sound like a good reason for the absence of post here. Nuff said.

During those times, other than the usual, me and my wife last Friday went on an island hopping trip via Alona, Bohol. Sorta like a romantic get up and stuff courtesy of my attorney bro as a gift of sorts. We went dolphin watching and Balicasag fish sanctuary snorkeling. We stayed at some resort which was way out of our price range and we have to find some reasonably priced place to eat out, luckily there were some but still steeply, however. The fish sanctuary I think was the highly of all the trips, unfortunately we were unable to do underwater photo shots with our meager camera. It was like swimming inside a huge marine aquarium. Lots of thriving colorful fishes in them coral communities. I even got the chance to feed them which was awesomer, them fishes nibbling at me hands. Dolphin watching was kinda like hide-and-seek though but lucky for us we had many moments where them elusive dolphin pack (are dolphins in a collective called packs?)would show their fins or even glide near our boat. It was a relaxing and unique experience for us city dwellers.

The Thursday before that me and a friend of mine recorded at the House of Indies recording studio(@ Mango Avenue, Cebu)a couple of industrial laden songs that were originally composed and released ages ago by the infamous Sodom and the Gahd Machine, a local avant garde-industrial laden progenitors of the Cebu local scene. It was our rendition their songs, "Then You'll Die" and "Christianity Syndrome". A tribute to the progenitors of this brand of music, Industrial Metal (from Wikipedia: a musical genre that draws from industrial music and heavy metal. It is usually centered around repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals.Founding industrial metal groups include Ministry,Godflesh,and KMFDM)). An homage even. We haven't got a name to our outfit yet so I can't download the songs here or on Myspace music just yet, maybe these coming days when we finalize things, planning on making an E.P. as soon as we record some original material which my friend will be cooking up. I am actually just a hired hand, my friend, we'll all just call him ECPFlesh for reasons undisclosed just yet, does everything else except for the bass parts which is what I'm asked to do. It was his idea in the first place. I have my own industrial laden tunes but are put on hold as usual, uhmmm..heheh...nuff said.

MySpace Music

Wow, how cool is that?! I've decided and finally accepted the potentials of MySpace for my band. Almost all of my friends who happen to have bands have a MySpace Music accounts and so I was tempted to give it a view and all I can say is that its way cooler than Friendster (I rarely visit my Friendster accounts, sometimes its just out of habit to check it once or twice in a week) and its really tailored for the bands be it international, local, indie, unreleased or bigwig metalgods. I have had a MySpace account before, way back before Friendster but got bored with it. Now I'm viewing it with renewed interest. Hope I can update it from time to time though if theres band related events and such, aside from updating this blog and my Multiply, geez, I think I've got my hands full now. A place where bands can really connect and stuff.  You can even download our song from there. RakenRol!!! I've updated this blogs sidebar so you can click and have a visit there if you'd like or just click here.

My Top Five Metal Album List of All Time

I've just recently observed that I am an album lover rather than a song lover. Meaning, I much prefer, unconsciously, to like a band or an artist by his/her album (overall output) rather than individual songs of the album. Which relatively kicked off this post into letting me make a list of the top ten metal albums of all time.

When a typical band comes to mind, I always associate them on what album that I liked that they did. An example of which is posted on this blogs sticky sidebar entitled "Musick: There's No Accounting for Taste", a ripped-off title from a the quintessential Metal Maniacs Magazine which I frequently read and borrowed from a metalista friend to update myself with when the Internet was still scarce or steep. So, as an update of this sidebar and a little bit of background on why I picked such and such, the top five (not ten like the usual list because I'm too lazy to do a ten item list, hehehe) list thus far:


1. Slayer-Reign In Blood (1986)

This album started it all for me as a jaded metalist. Tom, Kerry, Jeff and Dave nailed it on this one and this was their 3rd official release. From the first track down to the last, all the tracks are flowing and are filled with all the essentials of brutal punishing metal music, fast and steady and full of kick ass imagery. All this lasted only for a mere 30+ minutes, purely perennial dude. Funny that I only bought the tape because a High School classmate of mine said that the Goat Lord cover looked evil and cool so I checked it out and wham! It hit me.


2. Metallica-And Justice for All (1988)

Although at present they suck big time (still hoping the new release this year would be a killer now that Rick Rubin is producing it) there was a time when I liked them and ..And Justice for All was I think is their best offering so far and I still am fond of listening to it up until now (thats why its part of this list, stupid me). James' vocals here were heavy and angst ridden, not the lousy bluesy wimpy type nowadays and the guitars on this album were so heavy on the mix that the bass parts were veering to non-existence.  A very heavy album and their heaviest even.

3. Death-Symbolic (1995)

Main man Chuck Schuldiner's second to the last offering before forming the band Control Denied. It is by far the pinnacle of the bands tight heavy musicianship. Death is a band not only focused on brutallity, hard and fast playing but are more into the technical precision and dynamics and the possibilities of the genre. They are even dubbed as progenitors of the Progressive Death Metal genre. This album is by far their most melodic yet still brutal, albeit even catchy at times, so musically refined that Chuck's lyrics are at its most profound and thought provoking. When I listen to this album, it takes me to another place, its not trippy but like when your reading a good book, you get entranced. Chuck Schuldiner is a true metal hero in my book, it is unfortunate that he died too soon.

4. Morbid Angel-Covenant (1993)

Hail the Ancient Ones!!! Blasphemes David, Trey and Pete as they always do on there releases which makes this the 3rd official release and can be vindicated by cleverly imposing the letters of the alphabet on each subsequent release they make starting with the letter A for Altars of Madness and so on and so forth. If Death was technical and melodic, these guys are technical amd melodic but more sinister and evil and brutal. This one and their Blessed Are the Sick release I considered to be there bestest bet but I had to pick only one and this one I decided, I much prefered this over the other based on feel and vibe of the album its much darker, but both can be considered still. I'm a bassist as some of you know and Morbid Angel's bassist and frontman David Vincent was what I aspired to become until laziness caught up with me. He is like Sting of the Police is to Death Metal when he plays his instrument and sings at the same time without breaking a sweat.


5. Napalm Death-Fear, Emptiness, Despair (1994)

They're dubbed as the Godfathers of Grindcore and they are still grinding today and making their fans wriggle into the moshpit and making ears bleed but this release up until Words from the Exit Wound were more deathmetal laden but still with some grind tossed here and there. This release is even more deathmetal and even hints of Industrial Metal among the bunch. When you get to listen to this one the title cover of the album really resonates in every song into a very effective theme. Fear, emptiness and despair oozes out in every track in this one that you can almost taste it (yeah right, poetic me). Barney's hate call coupled with drooning guitars and bass courtesy of Shane adds to the mix with misery, alienation and discordance. Over all a very heavy album and I'm still happy (so ironic, isn't it) listening to it through all these years.

Well, that's a wrap. It's just my list, whats yours?...

Tortured Times April 2008 Issue No. 1

Hey guys and ghouls, just received my copy of Cagayan de Oro based Metal Underground Fanzine maiden issue Tortured Times as conceptualized by my friend and leading frontman Drei of Vercelum (Black/Thrash Metal band from Iligan/Cdo) and his crew. The cover features the Manila Speed/Thrash based band BLOODSHEDD which me and the band had the privilege to play back o back with during the Visayan Metalfest last year. The contents of the fanzine are interviews from the said band and bands hailing from down south of the Philippines including the Cdo/Bukidnon based Black/Thrash Metal band Barabas which me and Killoyed started way back 2005 when I was still in Cdo. Their are also review materials on demos and full lengths released by the bands there including Human Mastication and Vercelum and plugings from various Distros (metal distribution units ). I hope the fanzine would strive on to future issues and best of luck and kudos to the men and women who made it happen. I just want to spread the love and scanned the front and back view of the aforementioned fanzine including the Barabas interview page  (page 22 and 25, do try to zoom in and read it if possible, my scanning abilities suck) which passingly mentiones yours truly as the progenitor of Barabas. For inquiries just look at the scanned images for further contacts or contact me for contact info on the men and women behind the fanzine. Its a very cool effort and helps keep the metal fire burning. Bang your heads and support the metal music movement. Hail!!!

Finally some Hellfest IV shots

Finally got hold of my usb cable for my digicam and now I'm able to upload some of the shots at HELLFEST IV, its me and the band...(ill be posting some tomorrow of other bands present)

...its in true metal underground fashion with the ragtag backdrop and makeshift stage 
(or lack of it, notice that me and the audience are leveled) and PA systems without sound monitors for the performers.
 

CEMP:The Reckoning CD playlist on imeem

For inquiring minds only.

Someone over the net commented on my previous post about the above mentioned cd review that I could atleast upload the songs or make a link playlist on the songs I've mentioned there. Well, conviniently enough the CEMP organizer told me he already uploaded a playlist via iMeeM and I'm just pasting the embedded link here as an addendum to the previous post. Don’t hesitate to comment about the songs, it will be much appreciated.

Agnas version 2.1

Hello nothingness...

The band has been busy of late due to us being included in the CEMP compilation CD and gig which will be happening this saturday at Kasadja parking lot as I've mentioned in the previous post. We re-recorded an old composition for the compilation because we don't have any new material to date coz we never had time to sit and write something as a band due to our unstable drum helm. So we do covers mostly and when asked to be part of the compilation we were forced to re-record old material written by the previous members circa 1995 (Keryll Demeterio, Chuck Tomelden, Nel Cellacay and yours truly). I've already made known my intentions and permissions way back, be it in passing and just yesterday evening via text (hehehee... di bah chuck and mik?). We recorded at Edz Guitar Studios and last night mastered the copy at home via PC software and Rico doing the necessarry adjustments to the tracks and retakes were made by Jerry and Kenny on there respective guitar parts. Bless the gods for computers, imagine the possibilities one could do via home recording.

All in all, the final edit will be done today via Rico's PC and hopefully would be publishable tonight for the compilation. By the way, he will also be responsible in normalizing and finalizing the other bands tracks who will be included on the CD. So things will be hectic for him and CEMP production crew coz times running, 2 days more to go before launching gig. Hope everything goes well today. No hitches and bitches.

P.S.

Thanks to Mik-mik, Chuck and Nel for letting us re-use the composition, honestly, our version years ago was more heavy and killer (maybe due to the old school analog track recording), but hey who’s complaining, we (agnas v2.1) are a bit pressed for time now…hehehee…


Agnas returns 10/26/2006


The earliest incarnation of Agnas

CEMP's Legion of the Unlighted gig, 9/8/2007

Hello nothingness...

Last night I was able to witness CEMP (Cebu Extreme Metal Production) produced gig at the ZZUBU Rock bar entitled Legion of the Unlighted. As usual, my band wasn't able to play and we still have no drummer to date. I was there as supporter for the metal music scene. The gig consist mostly of upcoming metal bands here in Cebu, except for the guest performance of Comatose and the resurrected Abyss (known for their anthem song Rock Against Drugs). Though I arrived a wee bit late with Jerry (co-founder of CEMP), around 9:30 and I haven’t witnessed the entire gig and went home around 12:30, I only witnessed the performances of Suicide Autopsy, Skitzophrenia, Comatose, The Abyss, Garden of Nero, Kremate and Black Diary and wished to have witnessed the first band to perform that night which I terribly can’t recall their name for now (my apologies), a lot of people told me what I’ve missed, their set was tight and to top things of, fronting the band was a female death metal vocalist. That alone is worth mentioning and witnessing. Maybe they’re Cebu’s answer to Archenemy. I can recall liking Skitzophrenia’s set, they all played Pantera covers and they quite pulled it off, maybe I just miss hearing Pantera songs. The other bands were just so and so (unpolished, raw performances which is still cool in my book) but they have the heart and passion and dedication of waving the banner of the Cebu Metal Scene to the public and hope to make a dent in the scene, except for Comatose and the Abyss, they have a more polished sound because they’re veterans in the field. I had to bail out early, orders from my better half, a.k.a. commanding officer. I was getting uncomfortable anyway, from the smoke and the near claustrophobic floor area of the bar itself, wish it were a larger venue. All in all, the event boosted my jaded metalista side and hope that my band could take part again in the future CEMP produced events to come (a storm is brewing come this November), now all we need is a drummer, again. Tough luck.

For all you death Heads

This video is pretty hilarious, I respect and listen to death metal all my life and Cannibal Corpse is a great band to bleed your ears at and this guy quite actually pulled it off in making a rendition of "Hammer Smashed Face" in Lounge music style with the original lyrics intact. Creepy things is, the song is starting to grow on me, maybe I'm just a jaded Death Metal fan.