Slayer on a Sunny Saturday Morning....

Yes, it is a bright Saturday morning, and I started off the day with a pretty good writing session.  Accompanied by Slayer albums on vinyl, and then some Slipknot, I delved into the darker realms with some new Hellscapes material.  I think a strong second volume is emerging for sure! Today I was working on the story that will start the second volume... a rather nasty introduction to hell for one unfortunate, doomed soul! Got an idea for a pretty creepy little beast to put into one of the scenes too.

Followed up that with some intense song lyrics, as I am finding myself able to write lyrics these days, which still kind of surprises me since the first ones jumped out not so long ago.  This was a rather intense set, definitely suited for something heavy-edged.  Kind of an ode to the kind of guys I absolutely despise.  Not playing nice in this one. ;)

Yes, my muse is in a pretty hardcore mode today!  But I love it.

I have enjoyed the new Machine Head album a LOT this week, Bloodstone and Diamonds.  Lyrically, it is fantastic, I got the cool edition with the hardcover book that has killer illustrations accompanying the lyrics (from a publishing standpoint, great layout and compositions!).  I personally think this one is one of their best, without question, and potentially the metal album of 2014.  Of course, I was more than jazzed when I saw a seven-pointed star on page one of the book and the song "Now We Die" has lyrics like "Black steel and iron, a Lionheart is forged from these bones".  Seven-pointed stars and a lionheart.  Gotta like that.   But make no mistake, this is music that comes from the heart, you can't fake that.  Rob Flynn really crushes in this one!

I also picked up the new Foo Fighters' release, Sonic Highways.  A great set of songs recorded in many different cities, each one with its own extensive story.  Melodic and often hard-rocking (note the very Dio-esque, Holy Diver-ish riff in the first single), this is a great CD that shows a band that you can depend on to come through with great rock albums.

I'll definitely be jamming out to Slipknot and Korn CD's this week, getting ready for the big show in Rupp Arena on the 22nd.  I managed to get tickets just two rows off the floor, probably the best place to be if you don't want to immerse in the huge pit that will inevitably break out.  I'm proud to support this show, as Corey Taylor of Slipknot has increasingly been stepping forward as an unabashed spokesperson/champion of the genre at the time that it really needs someone to do that.  No other genre has the kind of worldwide brother and sisterhood that heavy metal has, it is something totally unique and something that I've personally experienced in my travels out of the country.  It is truly the music of the underdog and those who persevere, to paraphrase what Dave Mustaine one said, and it has gotten me through so many dark times in my life, and is currently helping me so much during this time.  I'm proud to support Corey, Slipknot, and Korn and join 10,000+ of my metal brothers and sisters this Saturday night for a thunderous night.  Will be awesome and to hell with the naysayers.  Rock and metal ARE alive!

Until then, I'll keep doing as best I can... writing to be done, guitars to be played, training to be undertaken... probably too cold for the motorcycle though! LOL  

Song Lyrics...On an Election Day...Go Figure!

First a small vent, then some fun stuff. Here we are a day after the elections in the USA, something that always leaves me with distaste as I watch the public shift from one "party" to the other expecting things to change or be different in the future.  Beyond the rhetoric, things continue to slide in the wrong direction, irrefutably, whether a D or an R is in charge.

I always get a kick out of comments where those supporting one side say the other side voted against their own interests, when in truth, in 99% of major level elections, you are voting against your own interests when you elect someone from either wing of the Bird of Prey that is the two-party "system".

The fact is, these jokers in DC (or Mordor on the Potomac as I affectionately call it) are relieved that they don't have to cater to the voters and they can get back to the real business with the big money lobbyists and special interests.  If you really want to know how things work in the DC cesspool, here's a book I recommend to start with, that explains the dynamics wonderfully and has plenty of damning data to prove its points:

Throw Them All Out: 

How Politicians and Their Friends Get Rich Off Insider Stock Tips, Land Deals, and Cronyism That Would Send the Rest of Us to Prison 

by Peter Schweizer

http://www.amazon.com/Throw-Them-All-Out-Politicians-ebook/dp/B0062N35X8

Start there, continue researching for yourself, and I am confident you will see what I am talking about. 

Now, on to a little surprising stuff on the personal front.  Having recently picked up the guitar again, I've been surprised at how quick it is coming back and also how I am hearing and understanding music on a deeper level as a guitar player that I know comes from being an attentive music listener.  

Another thing that has emerged, and caught me totally by surprise, is for the first time in my entire life I have written some song lyrics.  Yesterday, while doing some writing, I felt an impulse for what became the lyrics for a song that I have titled "Heaven is Burning".  It is a very personal and heartfelt kind of song, likely a slower tempo, more melancholy piece, but it is unique in that this is the first set of song lyrics I have ever constructed.  Following that, this morning I had the core of two others emerge, on that I am calling "For Tomorrow" and the third "One Day Closer".  All of these came from somewhere deep within and deal with some of the things I have been going through.  

Even though the subject matter of these is a little heavy in nature, I was really glad to see this emerge, as I think song lyrics are a powerful mode of expression and it opens up another artistic dimension I can explore.  

I just have to keep moving forward.