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Apoc

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Went yesterday (Sunday) to a concert with 2 folk metal, and 1 sympho-black metal band (at least that's how they declare themselves). It was hell of a good show, even more because I love all 3 bands. Killer riffs, drum beats and guitar melodies got me headbanging for good 2.5 hours total (with breaks between bands of course). Now it's Monday, 10:45 as I write this and my neck still doesn't hurt...which concerns me...maybe I actually headbanged the right way and didn't go nuts like a maniac. Plus I haven't slept since Sunday 5am. Gods know how I'll get up for work tomorrow.

Anyway, although all bands are from Russia, I was lucky to have a friend with me who knows Russian, so we had a little chat with the bands after the gig, and took some pictures. Also bought a shirt and a patch from one of the bands. Really great time to remember. Wish they come again soon.

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20 hours ago, MacabreEternal said:

We went out last night with another couple for the first time even though I have known my friend for over 10 years on and off.  He recently remarried and me and my better half have committed to being more "social" so seemed like a good opportunity to get to know them both better.  I am not very good in couple situations and tended to just rattle on with my mate like it was some regular lads night out.  Anyway, I got the gist eventually and soon found myself in a Tequila Bar slamming shots and then following them up with tomato juice shots to calm the pallet (apparently).  A few more bars of the Northern Quarter of Manchester got a visit before we ended up in a Champagne & Cocktail Bar and I died a little inside after looking at the drinks menu.  Luckily, found a kicking Irish Bar downstairs and drank Hop House 13 until the early hours.

Good times.

In other news I am on a much needed detox until our holiday to Edinburgh in November now, need a rest from the beers and spirits for a while as they are (once again) a nightly occurrence.  Nice to finish off on a high note last night before becoming focused on cleaner living for awhile.

Sounds awesome.

We often go out with other couples and it's usually hit and miss - it's always dinner though and none of these Macabre antics, slamming shots. We mostly go out with my wife's friends = non metal/'regular' people. Wine is a very useful tool in those circumstances. The last couple we went out with, they just spoke about themselves for a good two hours. I was getting pretty tipsy but it didn't dull the pain...

Tomorrow night I'm going out solo for dinner with a music friend of mine at a pub. It's going to be totally mega. 

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So I guess I skimped on the details with my hiatus announcement hey? I'm not going in depth with everything but after some recent events I'm now seeking help to deal with clinical depression.

 

Dropping this place cold turkey may not have been necessary but I needed a break from well from everything really. I'll be around when I feel up to it.

 

Also my fellow mods just letting you know in the short term I really won't be very involved in behind-the-scenes goings on.

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4 minutes ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

So I guess I skimped on the details with my hiatus announcement hey? I'm not going in depth with everything but after some recent events I'm now seeking help to deal with clinical depression.

 

Dropping this place cold turkey may not have been necessary but I needed a break from well from everything really. I'll be around when I feel up to it.

 

Also my fellow mods just letting you know in the short term I really won't be very involved in behind-the-scenes goings on.

Best wishes, do what you need to do, we'll try to keep the place from burning down.

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On 08/03/2017 at 1:08 PM, FatherAlabaster said:

How did you escape? :D

 

Everything about the Wintersun campaign strikes me as funny - how much they're asking, what they're going to use it for, what they're offering in return. "You have the UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY to give us €50 towards a new building filled with tons of sick gear so we can record the album of your dreams!!! and make self-produced videos for songs that don't yet exist!!!, and IN RETURN, you get a genuine real complete download of the proposed album!!! as well as some other downloads of stuff you probably already have!!! OR, you can wait until we finish the album and pay €10 like everybody else... So what are you waiting for!?!"

Pffft.

I'm all for crowdfunding in theory, but if I was gonna do it, I'd at least have a realistic album budget and offer some good merch as fair compensation.

Hey Alabaster, check out the credits page from the booklet of Wintersun's 'The Forest Seasons' album that just arrived in the mail. Do you think Jari gets a kick out of seeing his name in print? I've never seen anything like this before...

 

Jari.jpg

 

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1 hour ago, Requiem said:

‘All vocals by Jari’, except for all these other people who contributed vocals.

Concept by Jari Maenpaa
Execution by Jari Maenpaa

Annoying but Crucial Details Handled by Some Other People

Font Selected by Jari Maenpaa
Jari's Hair by Jari Maenpaa
Wardrobe by Jari Maenpaa
Jari's Ass Wiped by Adoring Fans

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3 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

Concept by Jari Maenpaa
Execution by Jari Maenpaa

Annoying but Crucial Details Handled by Some Other People

Font Selected by Jari Maenpaa
Jari's Hair by Jari Maenpaa
Wardrobe by Jari Maenpaa
Jari's Ass Wiped by Adoring Fans

Man this album was such a disappointment after Time I. It was decent enough, on the level of your average Russian atmospheric BM bands on the Nihil Arts label, but nowhere hear the quality I expected given the previous album. Maenpaa set himself a goal and failed it because aside from the Winter track none of the songs really evoked the seasons. Occupational hazard of being a black metal artist? I wouldn't think so, Wintersun's not pure black metal by a long shot. It should have been relatively easy to do it on a basic level but harder to execute masterfully - and I figured it was well within Maenpaa's reach. Still think it is. Looking forward to Time II, if/when it's ever made.

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1 hour ago, Iceni said:

Man this album was such a disappointment after Time I. It was decent enough, on the level of your average Russian atmospheric BM bands on the Nihil Arts label, but nowhere hear the quality I expected given the previous album. Maenpaa set himself a goal and failed it because aside from the Winter track none of the songs really evoked the seasons. Occupational hazard of being a black metal artist? I wouldn't think so, Wintersun's not pure black metal by a long shot. It should have been relatively easy to do it on a basic level but harder to execute masterfully - and I figured it was well within Maenpaa's reach. Still think it is. Looking forward to Time II, if/when it's ever made.

Welcome back iceni we where wondering when you are going to come back we miss you dude 

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6 hours ago, Iceni said:

Man this album was such a disappointment after Time I. It was decent enough, on the level of your average Russian atmospheric BM bands on the Nihil Arts label, but nowhere hear the quality I expected given the previous album. Maenpaa set himself a goal and failed it because aside from the Winter track none of the songs really evoked the seasons. Occupational hazard of being a black metal artist? I wouldn't think so, Wintersun's not pure black metal by a long shot. It should have been relatively easy to do it on a basic level but harder to execute masterfully - and I figured it was well within Maenpaa's reach. Still think it is. Looking forward to Time II, if/when it's ever made.

Wintersun doesn't have anything to do with black metal in my book. I actually really like 'The Forest Seasons' - at least I like it quite a bit more than 'Time I' which bored me a little bit. 'Time 1' really sounded like a computer album, it was so digital. I get a lot less of that feeling with 'The Forest Seasons', it seems to breathe a lot better and it's got some great big epic hooks all over the place. I'm actually a little less sceptical about this band's quality after this release. 

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18 hours ago, natassja7 said:

Premature reports and insensitivity here has been disgusting. The urge to throw my tv through the window grows daily.

When you are an Icon you will endure a little vulgar appreciation, but there is a lot of real warmth for Tom Petty in the world.

18 hours ago, Iceni said:

Man this album was such a disappointment after Time I. It was decent enough, on the level of your average Russian atmospheric BM bands on the Nihil Arts label, but nowhere hear the quality I expected given the previous album. Maenpaa set himself a goal and failed it because aside from the Winter track none of the songs really evoked the seasons. Occupational hazard of being a black metal artist? I wouldn't think so, Wintersun's not pure black metal by a long shot. It should have been relatively easy to do it on a basic level but harder to execute masterfully - and I figured it was well within Maenpaa's reach. Still think it is. Looking forward to Time II, if/when it's ever made.

How fun to return and see that Iceni is back!

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