Tribute to Blogs – The Specialist (Pt.2)

As said before, specialization is always intriguing. It tends to provide a comprehensive look over something that would otherwise seem trivial from a generalized point of view. The only problem is it’s mostly a love-it-or-hate-it situation with such limited taste. Of course, on the other hand, it also provides a chance to satisfy peculiar fetishes as the following great blogs shall represent.

Cerebral Art

It’s always intriguing how much one can philosophize on the circumstances surrounding the late 90’s underground extreme metal scene, let alone the corpse-paint ridden one in Norway. Nevertheless, here is yet another rare blog doing exactly that, and in a quite intriguing way too. If the parallel between Mayhem’s Euronymous thinking (as well as bullshitting) and Bataille/Baudrillard’s sophistry is the sort of thing that keeps you awake for days on end in ecstatic bookworm orgasm, then please be advised – this is definitely where you should go (and die).

Nerd haven

Industrialized Art

As the machination of musical expressions grow by leaps and bounds, inanimate ministries have been set up all over the blogosphere, to spread the advent of cold, indifferent musical art known as the industrial-collective. It is precisely in such a metallic nihilism, that Industrialskad, in my modest opinion, surely stands as the mother hive of the mechanical-collective. Get loaded with engine oil ejaculations and monoliths of emotionless fetish, for this is the mother shit-load of all industrial music manufacturing galore…   

Hail, Deus ex Machina!

The Art of Being Lost

I know an individual once, who decided that backpacking through exotic places is just not enough to free one’s sense of direction and meaning. The individual thus decided to scrap every nagging details, backpack; ID cards; credit cards; mobile phones; bag of clothes; wedding ring; family photographs etc, and just go where the feet walks. What a great day that was, especially when the adventurer showed up a couple years later being burnt and mutilated by an unknown individual. A fellow traveler perhaps?

Get Lost

Tribute to Blogs - The Archeologists

Archeology has always fascinated me as a kid. Nothing in those days seemed remotely as important as digging through cool ruins and finding mummies and all sorts of creepy shits as only an archaeologist could do. The same naïve fascination seemed to have lingered with extreme underground music. I just love people who gave the effort to collect, preserve and share all manners of obscure and rare snail-mail day underground releases. They are part of the minuscule of reasons why life can still be enjoyable sometimes.

Suomi Relics

I suppose it’s pretty obvious for most people that Finland has a great Death and Black Metal scene. But, how obvious is it when we talk about Finnish Hardcore or Punk or Heavy Metal? Thank shit we have such blog as this to inform us of the highly important facts regarding the multi-faceted Finnish underground scene (well, at least before Death & Black Metal become the hype, I suppose?).

Scandinavian Fossils

Metallic Artifacts

I think the idea that demonic/satanic imagery always fits metal music is quite true, and yet also overrated. The sight of a steroid-drenched muscular barbarian/medieval warrior has also hold a pretty impressive and fitting imagery for the music. It almost makes the music feels fit only for warriors, and that if you’re not one then listening to the music makes you (feel like) one. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when you have a collection of great, rare and kick-ass metal music to top it off.

Bloody Artifacts

Dusty Metal Ruins

Heavy/Speed/Thrash Metal, NWOBHM, spikes, hair sprays, eyeliners, one off singles, EPs that drowned in oblivion. If these sound unfamiliar for you then the word ‘metal’, in any type of combination referring to any specific musical styles, is a voluminous lesson that needs to be surmounted before you can ever profess to like the genre. There is no better place to start such a lesson, if you dare, than through the meticulous archives of this great blog. Be dusted in the depths of Metal ruins.

Rarities of the Metallic Kind

Ruins of Psychedelia

What would drive anyone to decide in pursuing a vast and detailed collection of everything created in the 60s and 70s psychedelic Rock saga? Is it the fuzzy, methamphetamine induced groove of the era? The corny and colorful attires, album covers, freezer magnet and stupid VW vans? Whatever it is/was, I am surely glad that some people do pursue this highly amusing and trivial form of collecting.

Psychebiblioteca

Tribute to Blogs - The Specialists (Pt.1)

Specialization is always intriguing. It tends to provide a comprehensive look over something that would otherwise seem trivial from a generalized point of view. The only problem is it’s mostly a love-it-or-hate-it situation with such specialized stuffs. Of course, on the other hand, it also provides a chance to satisfy peculiar fetishes as the following great blogs shall represent.

Scaremongering

It’s one thing to read a review of a horror movie from people making a living out of such undertakings, and to read a review from someone who has nothing to gain from it (except for the thrill of watching and crapping oneself to shit with such movies). When morbid movies are your fetish, you can’t go wrong with this blog.

Scaremongering Galore

Filth, Par Excellence

Lust is lust, and flesh is of course flesh. Combine the two and we have the reason for our viral-existence and procreation in this wasteland called earth. It’s a lot of fun though, that’s for sure, especially when people start doing it not for procreation and just for recreation. Depopulation is always more welcomed, and it’s a hell lot better when it’s done in the proper, joyful spirit.

Fleshy Cult

Cult of the Undead

Some things are so important that life would be rendered meaningless unless they are sought after with great perseverance! One of those things is the ever important need to collect all manner of 20th and 21st centuries’ relics of the living dead myth. Yes. You read and heard it right. The zombies. The walking stinks. The things that go bump in the dead of night. The quintessential thing to do in the banality of nowadays swarm of a suffocating overpopulated shithole called life. Click and learn people.

Zombified Fetish

Inanimate Beings

The skill to put together an inanimate entity to paper, out of fantasy alone, is a most intriguing trait any humans could ever aspire to achieve. I just fucking love these morbid, menacing, lusty drawings. They look so much better not just because the artist seemed to be a highly gifted fellow, but also because they are inanimate. Things just tend to look better when they are inanimate, don’t you think?

Sine Anima

Tribute to Blogs - The Cerebral Ones

After a long tedious day of 9 to 5 slavery, sometimes it feels good just to think of something else than this stupid fucking life. Like, thinking of extreme underground music and lifestyle, for example. One or two joints later, and it all becomes a mighty, psychedelically amusing cerebral exercise. Just like the following bloggers have always provided during those morbid moments.

Contemplating Extreme Art

What goes on in the mind of such true Black Metal gentleman as Euronymous, for example, regarding life? What can be learnt from personal correspondence written by such a figure during his heyday in the snail-mail underground music scene? If such questions begs or nags for an immediate answer, you couldn’t come to a better place than this blog.

Surreal philosophy

A Theory of Darkness

I suppose it’s not enough just to have music capable of stirring people to murder others or themselves, some just have to dissect it through philosophical ponderings too. I think I’ll let the blog’s own official description to reveal the depths of oddity that it is all about: “Information and archive site for black metal theory events. Not black metal. Not theory. Not not black metal. Not not theory. Black metal theory. Theoretical blackening of metal. Metallic blackening of theory. Mutual blackening. Nigredo in the intoxological crucible of symposia.” Right. Feel free to up the dosage down there, if you dare.

Not not BM theory

Decent Taste & Insight

Sometimes you get a good blog that features more than just a decent choice of musicians/musical works. Other times you get blogs that features more than just a decent amount of thoughts and information on each musicians/musical works posted. Once in a couple millennia, you get a blog that actually defy the laws of banality and features both decent aspects: taste & insight. Fucking-A!

Intriguing taste & insight

Tribute to Blogs - The Super Hoarders

Is hoarding really such a bad habit to have? Not when it’s about meticulously collecting extreme music releases it’s not. Bearing that in mind, I’m just blown away with the range of stuffs presented by these blogs. They are for me the super hoarders of extreme music blogging.

Compendium Metallicum

There’s a lot of blogs featuring lots of extreme/alternative music genres out there. Nothing, however, is as impressing as the angry chairs (or is it ‘angrier chairs’ now?) The blog doesn’t only parade awesome collection of albums after albums, spanning decades, but it also provide concise, easy to understand info on each musician. Heck, it even grouped them into a sort of ‘discographic’ thread with all the necessary albums featured. Definitely, an awesome way to browse for lost and longed musical stuffs of the filthier kinds.

superb hoarding #1

The 70s Galore

The 70s is a magickal era in music, as far as I’m concern. Almost nobody is playing the exact same way as others do even when they practically played the same genre. So, to cut the crap short, finding a blog that actually features well selected collection of 70s Hard and Progressive Rock (with good, succinct info for each featured musician[s]) is really a treat. Good, ever expanding 70s stuffs. Long live the fucking blog.

superb hoarding #2

Hell’s Radio

What would a Metal Music museum be like in a world of blog? Me thinks ‘radio666sw’ might just be the answer. The collection is really awesome. Even with the lack of any information (other than what particular business-music-defined genre a certain musical work is) the collection that this blog hoarded is just amazing. I suppose not all of the infernal radio’s collection accounts for everyone’s taste (whatever the fuck that should mean), but with a logo featuring Iron Maiden’s iconic mascot ‘Eddie’ an old (or die hard) metalhead just can’t go wrong.

superb hoarding #3

Stained to the Bones

The name, the artwork just wrung me by the neck like stupid cows to the slaughter. Granted, it doesn’t seem to be updated regularly, but who gives a shit anyway? This blog has the right feel and type of collection for any old and diehard headbanger to dig into. Most of the stuffs here are Heavy Metal, the good ole way. The rest are some of the most intriguing, rather rare Doom/Speed/Thrash Metal galore. Fuck, it feels like being in a candy store here.

superb hoarding #4

Tribute to Blogs - Second Batch

The Haus of Witches (?)

Lemme see, house music can also muck around with spooky themes and images, can’t it? Maybe even slowed-down the sound-mixing tempo as well to add a ‘dark’ tinge to the music? So what do we call it then? Occult Trip? Hell Disco? Heck no, let’s call it Witch Haus. That’s what the genre’s pioneer said wasn’t it? It don’t matter that the guy was just joking around. It’s a catchy pigeon-hole moniker. It’s a catchy marketing buzzword. It makes House music sounds ‘dark’...Now if only we have a whole blog dedicated to this shit....

Witches’ Haus

The Eclectic Bizarre

Is there anyone who is not eclectic in his/her musical preferences? I suppose not many people are monolithic in their taste of music, but those who are eclectic beyond standard expectations are just as rare and bizarre. This blog is -in my view- a perfect example of how bizarre an eclectic taste of music can be. You have a somewhat bewildering mix of mainstream, classic Jazz all the way to neo-classical stuffs, hybrid Darkwave/Jazz/Free jazz stuffs, Black Metal and -hell yes- Grindcore. Anyway, the great informative description of the jazzier-side of things in this blog is quite a treat for a sore mind.

Jazz and Whatnot

The Bygone Days Galore

The word ‘bygone’ might refer to nothing more than OSDM or first/second wave BM for those familiar with the underground extreme music scene. Others might also think of NWOBHM or FWOSHM. However, this time the word goes even farther back in time to the medieval dark ages. Well, maybe not that too far back but I’m still digging in this ‘archaic’ stuff so I could be wrong. Anyway, this blog is -as far as I know- the one and only that focuses on medieval music and the collection is absolutely fantastic.

Gettin’ Medieval on Your @#$

Tribute to Blogs - First Three

Black Metal of the Anti-Gravity Kind

As far as I’m concern, there is no limit to what kind of dark and satanic theme Black Metal can incorporate into its fold. Who says evil should only be constrained on this ball of dirt or a Judeo Christian-centered myth anyway? So, it’s definitely nice to see a whole blog dedicated to the less obvious of Black Metal’s legion. I’ve also heard in passing that many North Americans find the subject of UFOs and Aliens far more unnerving than the typical “Satan/Devil” things. Sounds like themes that would fit perfectly with Black Metal.

Space Full of Vile

Hungarian Delight

There is one thing about Hungary that I’ve learnt since the great snail mail & tape trading days: this country never produces mediocre, easy to pigeon hole kind of bands. They always have that bold and original mark of identity even when playing the most obvious of underground clichés. Which is why, a whole blog dedicated to the scene is just too much to pass by.

Tasty Hungarian Treat

Beautiful Dementia

Going home from a long, tedious office bullshit day, trapped in a sea of traffic jam where people are swarming like maggots, one can really conjure some of the most demented pictures in mind. This blog, with all of its haunting and almost ethereal parade of ‘dark’ pictures is a real catharsis for such moments. No words. Just a gallery of morbid thoughts, and maybe some experiences too. I wish this could go on a public exhibition near my hometown. Can’t wait to see the reaction of those self-righteous art-snobs.

A Morbid Stroll

Tribute to Blogs - Prologue

I know there’s a lot of good blogs out there that I have yet to check out. I also know most bloggers put their preference of blogs on a side bar ‘blog list’ or whatever it is supposed to be called. That is how others do it. I’m of course doing it my own way.

The blogs I’m going to list, from time to time, are those I found to be most uncanny, be it from the type/quality of stuffs featured or the extent/coverage it presents. I just think these bloggers have really shown the true meaning of being creative when it comes to music blogging.

Since this is going to be a long post, I’ll probably post it on two-three parts.

Well, maybe four parts.

Then again, maybe five...or six.

I just hope these blogs sticks around long enough for more people to enjoy them.