Videos - Anvil: The Story of Anvil: no comments

Gosh, I have been so busy I totally forgot to update this blog. For this entry, it is going to be a short one. The other day, I received an email from Simon Owens of Bloggasm, ushering me about this yet to be released 2008 documentary by Davis Guggenheim, who directed Al Gore’s The Inconvenient Truth for those who don’t know him. The documentary revolved around three greater than great guitarists, all three well known for their fondness of conducting weird and bizarre experimentations with their respective guitar sounds, all three were from three different eras of rock n roll, getting themselves cramped into a garage somewhere to talk about guitars, its unique sounds and their journeys in trying to get the guitar sounds that they have always wanted for their respective bands. It’s a must watch for those who are passionate about their guitars. It might get loud dude. Thank you, Simon.

Enough with the introduction let us go straight to the main content of today’s entry. I reviewed the book in my previous entry, now it is time to review the actual video. Anvil:The Story of Anvil is basically a documentary depicting the trials and tribulations faced by a forgotten Canadian Heavy Metal band comprised of two childhood friends, singer and lead guitarist, Lips and drummer, Robbo, in accomplishing their teenage dream to someday become rock stars. The book was like a more meticulous, prolonged and detailed excerpts of the video, so on the whole, what you got in the book is basically how it was in the video, except you will be getting a more thorough, detailed and comprehensive chronicle about Anvil in its earlier formation, the struggling years and their victory in Japan from the book. But still, the video was a fun watch.

The movie was directed by Sacha Gervasi who wrote Tom Hank's The Terminal. Gervasi was a friend they met while they were on tour back in the 80's.

There was this one part in the movie where Anvil was set to play at Metal Festival somewhere in Sweden, we can see Lips running around like a little kid trying to greet heavy metal personalities that he idolized and knew. Some of them didnt even know who he was. He was just like an innocent little boy running for Ozzy Osbourne for autographs.

Japan has always be a point of fascination to me for their fanatical fans, not to mention that it has the second largest music industry in the world, hot on the heels of good ol’ Uncle Sam. Note this all you heavy metal bands in Malaysia, if you really want to get rich with your unique music, try and get a distribution deal from any heavy metal record labels up there in Japan.

It was a good movie. I have to admit though that through out the whole This Is Anvil, I chocked in tears. You got to see it for youself to experience it.

Covers - Necrotic Chaos's Regime Grotesque: no comments

I am writing this entry while Regime Grotesque is destroying my speakers and spontaneously my eardrums too. The next album cover that I wanted to share is Necrotic Chaos debut full length entitled Regime Grotesque. Necrotic Chaos is a brutal death metal band hailing from Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. The band was formed in 1992, along with the surfacing of quite a number of Ipoh based Heavy Metal bands in the likes of Langsuyr (Black Death Metal), Athotorgh (Thrash) and Profane Creation (Death Metal) (Ipoh Metal militants as they called themselves), with 5 official releases under its belt. Regime Grotesque was released in 2003 by the cult label Ultra Hingax Productions containing 8 absolutely blistering, brutal, sick and quite technical death metal tracks. Oh there are no sappy or memorizable melodies here.

The undomesticated excellent drumming, which had always made an impact on me, was of the courtesy of one of the most brilliant and highly respected heavy metal drummer ever to emerge from Malaysia, the iconic Mr.Wira aka Old-T. On the other hand, the guitarist and one of the band’s founding members, Mr. Jadam, is also a legendary producer, highly regarded and well respected within the Malaysian heavy metal circuit. It was quite a disappointment that their Black As Incest EP failed to top the intensity shown in Regime Grotesque. The sound production was horrible too. Well, at least for me it was.

Now, enough about the band let us now examine the artwork. The cover illustration on this album was drawn by Desmond Sia, a local prolific illustrator known for his killer artworks battle fronting the epic releases of such distinguished bands in the likes of Impiety, Angel Corpse, Abhorrence and Profanatica. I have been a fan of Desmond Sia’s artwork since I first knew that he was a local and for his superb artwork in Impiety’s Skullfucking Armageddon. Total cult.

The cover gives a picture of images of skulls and ghouls the old school and analog way, if I may put it that way. Is there any other better ways to illustrate a cover for a death metal band than having skulls and ghoulish faces splattered all over the sleeve? Simple, horrifying and one look at the cover you know that you will be in for a sick treat. Decapitated bodies are so over rated these days.

With out any doubt, the illustration has managed to give proper justice to the title of the album. Notice two of the skulls were drawn to wear war helmets. I believe that would the interpretation for the word Regime. Do I need to point out that entire artwork is monstrous, gruesome and horrendous? That would be the artiste’s elucidation of the word Grotesque. Straight to the point.

Apart from the killer album cover, I have to say that this album was a very well defined album. From the name of the band, album title, cover artwork and the songs. Sick!

Get in touch with the band at:
http://www.myspace.com/necroticchaos

Videos - Metal : A headbanger’s Journey: 1 comments

Metal : A headbanger’s Journey, Banger Productions, 2005.

I know it is kind of late to write down a review about this incredible documentary. I watched this one last year and that is kind of late too taking into account that the documentary was released way back in 2005. Where the hell was I in 2005? What ever it is, I have to say that this is the documentary that everyone should spend some time watching to really understand what heavy metal is really all about. Either for those who long to appreciate and value the history and origin of this wonderful music we call heavy metal, or for those who, out of innocent curiosity, wanted to read through real reason why it had such an immense or superlative cultural impact on its devoted listeners, this is the documentary that will explain and answer some of your questions.

The video follows Sam Dunn, a devoted metal listener and a Canadian anthropologist turn film director, on a journey to all the significant places through out the globe, England and Norway for instance, both remain closely significant to the birth of New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the second wave of the Satanic Black Metal respectively, while dictating the origins of the music, the musicians and its cultural impact on youths to the viewers.

The video was neatly divided into several parts and primary contents where Dunn would help and introduce to the viewers to the inside world of heavy metal, step by step. I enjoyed the segments and it appears to me that the video was produced as a very much viewer friendly documentary by manipulating the easiest but the most effective and best ways, the mechanism to reach for the curious cats out there who really wanted to understand heavy metal, without just vomiting the superiority of the music all at one go. Dunn and his team really do want to edify and educate rather than doing a one off shot documentary with crappy contents and footage quality. It was this quality and dedication that impressed Iron Maiden, whose singer Bruce Dickinson also appeared in the documentary, so much that they invited Dunn and his crew to film the mighty Maiden on tour. The film was later produced and released as Iron Maiden: Flight 666.

There was also this chart on the evolution of Heavy Metal that really made me fascinated. The chart explained how heavy metal evolved from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple to Dio, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest to Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth to Mayhem, Darkthrone and Immortal so on so forth. Dunn and his team also released another documentary called Global Metal in 2007 as a follow up. I shall write a late review on that video too. This is recommended to all you Malaysian Heavy Metal enthusiasts out there.

While I was writing this entry, i listened to the newest album by a Greece melancholic and depressive Black Metal band called Sad, entitled Enlightened by Darkness. Really sets the mood. Haha.