Eternal End

(Instrumental)

- Poenarian Mist (ca. 2009)

Hailing from Spain, Poenarian Mist is the project of a man known only as Belial. He started the project in 2007 so he could make music that his main band (which is unknown to me at this point) could not play. Most of the works are instrumentals. In fact, I've only heard 1 song where singing has taken place. I discovered this band while perusing the metal section of an indie record store here in Houston. The price was US$3, so I figured what the heck.

Since this song has no lyrics, I will describe the feelings it invokes when I hear it.

The beauty of this song lies in its simplicity. The song is simple and haunting both at the same time. The soft introduction followed by the piano kicking in evokes a darkness inside. It builds with a high and low key mix in a semi-crescendo, almost as if the darkness itself is building inside, followed by a dark sadness. It's almost a feeling of lament over a loss and then a peace that follows. The sadness, however, never really leaves.

Anyway, that's my take on the song. I bet Mardi never thought she would have to answer for an instrumental, did she? Let's see what she thinks about this one.

Fade to Black

Life, it seems, will fade away
Drifting further every day
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters, no one else

I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free

Things not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly lost, this can't be real
Can't stand this hell I feel

Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now he's gone

No one but me can save myself, but it's too late
Now I can't think, think why I should even try

Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye, *Goodbye*



Metallica 1984

Arguably the best heavy metal ballad ever written, "Fade to Black" is a staple in most hard rock fans play lists. This song was written by James Hetfield after the band's gear was stolen and they had been kicked out of their managers home. This was Metallica's first ballad. Coming off an album with songs like "Fight Fire with Fire" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" this song was certainly a change.

The song is pretty straight forward, there is no hidden agenda yet it is open to perception. One might argue this is simply a suicide song. You can hear the depression, the hopelessness and what appears to be the end. You can feel the gloom in the song, the utter despair. James and Lars were obsessed with death at the time of this album so it makes sense this song ends in "Goodbye".

I have a different take on the song, of course from the beginning I pull the depression, I hear the despair. I hear the loss of oneself. Being so lost and depressed you don't think anymore, you don't see yourself when you look in the mirror is heard in the tone. Yet after the goodbye the song takes off, I hear strength in the guitar. I hear the "f*ck you, it's not over". This song to me is about pulling yourself out of that hole and make into life.

What do you think?

In Shrouds Decayed

I am your shrine
I am your womb
You rest inside of me
My flesh shall be your tomb

Your words decay
To foulest rain
A shroud of mildewed lies enwrapping your remains

Your body draped
Next to mine
Exposed to all unless they've chosen to be blind

You caused my sweat
To drop as blood
Soiling this meager ground of desecrated mud

Your mind depraved
You've crucified yourself upon my barren grave

I am your shrine
I am your womb
You rest inside of me
My flesh shall be your tomb
My fingers tenderly
Caress your face
I shall preserve my hatred until the end of days

I am your shrine
I am your womb
You rest inside of me
My flesh shall be your tomb

I've conceived you
I've destroyed you
You were stillborn
Inside of me

I am your shrine
I am your womb
You rest inside of me
My flesh shall be your tomb
My fingers tenderly
Caress your face
I shall preserve my hatred until the end of days

- Triptykon (2010)

From the ashes of the legendary metal band Celtic Frost comes Tom Gabriel Warrior with Triptykon. As this new band sounds very different from Celtic Frost and does not have much history, we can dispense with that and get right into the content.

Musically this is perhaps one of the darkest songs I have ever heard. The slow, plodding sound at the beginning, coupled with Warrior's low voice, is ominous to say the least. It almost dares the listener to keep going into the song. When the heavy part kicks in, you feel the full rage of the lyrics.

In the album liner notes Warrior talks about a poem he wrote in 2008 that described how he felt over the dissolution of Celtic Frost. The lyrics are direct from the poem, so ostensibly this song seems to be about laying his past to rest and harboring quite the grudge how it came to pass.

Interestingly, that's what I took from this song the first time I heard it. Laying to rest something one loves, especially when an event out of one's control is the cause of the demise, is never an easy thing. The darkness comes from a lack of closure over those events and twists the mind to where we feel not only the dead love, but also the hatred felt toward the source of misery.

I personally love this song, but I don't know if Mardi will even like it. Let's see what she has to say.

Lateralus

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be,
reaching out to me, lets me see.
As below so above and beyond I imagine,
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing,
separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be,
reaching out to me, lets me see.
There is so much more and it beckons me to look through to these,
infinite possibilities.

As below so above and beyond I imagine,
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing,
Separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, leaving opportunities behind.

Feed my will to feel this moment, urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to...
I embrace my desire to...
feel the rhythm,
to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow,
to feel inspired,
to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty,
to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral,
to swing on the spiral,
to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground,
I move myself between the sounds and open wide to suck it in.
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out.
I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me,
whatever will bewilder me.

And following our will and wind,
we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.

Tool 2001

Hi, again. Here we go!

I am not even going to start on the Tool lesson for two reasons. First I don't like Tool in general so I know little about them. Second, Rick will own me on this subject. Let's dive into the words.

All right so I know there has to be a ton of interpretations on this song. I have heard everything from industrialization to being born to just life in general. I pull this song as strength. The main point being keep going. Move forward. When you get to the very bottom black is what you see, slowly becomes white and than color. Over thinking or analyzing can drive a person crazy hence the separation. We need to live in the moment to move forward. I know Rick is going to have a lot more to say about this song so I will let him get to it.