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Death- Individual Thought Patterns

I can run about a quarter mile now seven weeks after the knee surgery. I have to keep my knees high though, otherwise its hurts quite a bit. Start physical therapy tomorrow. Surgery on the left knee scheduled for November.

Blut Aus Nord - 777: The Desanctification

My Dying Bride - Turn Loose The Swans

The difference, of course, being that for me, it was just a phase.

Replace "fossils" with "bodyparts" and "drawings" with "photographs" and I have a similar notebook!

Right on dude, lots of great bands again this year. I bought my ticket on Wednesday, so let me know if you end up making it and we'll meet up. Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

It's true that metal and classical are both heavily scripted (though Pyrrhon, an NYC band, is putting free improv sections into their songs...!). I'd say classical is more cerebral by a long shot - the underlying theory is more deeply understood, the available structures have been more thoroughly explored. And a much higher caliber of musicianship is required to play the stuff. Metal tends to be less cohesive, less centrally planned, and more intuitive; it often defaults to "verse-chorus-bridge-etc" pop structure, and some bands wind up mining the same boring melodic veins for years. At its best, its intuitive nature is a strength - classical composition can be so sterile. The success or failure of crossover acts depends on their sensitivity to the nuances of arranging for the instruments they're playing. That goes both ways; if the person doing the arrangement doesn't have a deep familiarity with the potential of the instruments they're writing for (or if they're just lazy), the piece will be lifeless. That's how I feel about Apocalyptica. I can't stand them. To the question of where one "draws the line" - I'd rather not. After my experiences of the past few months, I think it's a better approach to consider a piece on its own terms. That's vitally important when writing a crossover piece (and I'd say the same holds true for the genre-blending within metal, too). Very easy to wind up with unexplored potential, or a cheesy, predictable piece that's the worst of both worlds. The successes, though, can be transcendental. Earlier this year I did death metal vocals with a string quartet at a few shows in and around the city, and my take on mixing these genres is very much influenced by that association. They're all excellent musicians and playing with them has inspired me to take my own writing further. Here's a video, which I've posted to the forum before: https://vimeo.com/115837284