Hour of 13 release new song for friend, Jason McCash

On Saturday, April 6th 2014, it was officially announced that Jason McCash, bassist for The Gates of Slumber, had unexpectedly passed away. Though the group had already disbanded in 2013, his death can be assumed to have marked the decided end of their career, owing to McCash’s close friendship with former frontman and vocalist Karl Simon.

 

Following on from the news, which has shaken various people within the doom metal community such as Hampshire trio Witchsorrow and esteemed writer and PR person Kim Kelly, the band Hour of 13 temporarily returned with a new song to mark Jason’s passing.

 

Though reverted to its roots as a one-man band, as founder Chad Davis performed all instruments and lyrics by himself, Hour of 13 released the song, ‘Upon Black Wings We Die’, in memory of their deceased friend and fellow musician.

 

However, in response to youtube questions regarding the possible resurrection of Hour of 13, Davis had confirmed that this is the final piece of music from his project.

 

She’s singin’ my song, Sam…

Before we get back into the swing of things, here’s another look at male and female singing energy, with Metalucifer and Crystal Viper!

In this corner, we have the original song from Japanese old school heavy metallers, Metalucifer, fronted by Gezolucifer (Masaki Tachi):

And in this corner, a cover of their song from fellow heavy metalheads (and friends) Crystal Viper, which is fronted by Marta Gabriel

(Interesting how she also tries to mimic Masaki’s Japanese accent, too… )

Art drawing from Art – Ann talks to Chris Hector (AHAB)!

Whenever it comes to pointing out the merits of heavy metal against the complaints of its (often repetitive) detractors, the connection between genre classics and lyrics (be it JR Tolkien, or even the Bible, if we think about it that way) is one that frequently comes up time and again.

In itself, this isn’t anything unique to metal – music as a whole constantly returns to this or other cultural forms to create its own concepts and direction, and the relationship between literature and music is only testament to the knowledge that art does not exist in a vacuum.

In the case of particular niche genres of extreme music like funeral doom metal, such a relationship makes for immensely dark sounds [best heard with the lights down if not switched off – Ann’s recommendation], as heard from the German band AHAB. To listen to an album of theirs is to feel dragged down into the bottomless pits of the ocean, owing to the grand role played by Moby Dick and other whaling adventures in their work.

I managed to catch guitarist Chris Hector, so he could tell me more about this relationship between music and words, and how it came to be for the newest record ‘The Giant‘.

Christmas and You – Partners in Liberty

While I didn’t grow up with Christmas, here at Me(n)tal-Meltdown we strive to recognise the importance of spreading goodwill and festive cheer to each and everyone of you. Christmas – or Yule, as it’s known in parts of Europe – is a time to reflect upon ourselves and what we can do to make the people around us a key part of our lives.

Wolves In the Throne Room (Supersonic Festival), The Custard Factory, Birmingham; October 22nd, 2011

For what may be the last round of live shows ever in a band’s career, picking a multi-genre festival is not usually a first choice for many within the extreme metal field across a country like the British Isles. Yet for Washington’s black metal-influenced Wolves In The Throne Room, the Birmingham-based Supersonic 2011 Festival was right there in the band’s string of final UK dates.

The Thing That Should Not Be

…or should it?

Originally, this was going to be a post about Metallica, which was to contribute to the many other posts out there on the Internet about Metallica. In particular, it was going to be a commentary on their collaboration (accurately, mash up) with Lou Reed, formerly of the Velvet Underground.

Those of you who have yet to hear this “project”, have a listen to the released single right here.

The commentary was to entail how I feel disillusioned with Metallica’s current efforts, but in fairness this came about not from their recent, inferior fare but a combination of reading more about the band’s history, watching ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ and picking up on what the hell other metalheads were going on about when they praised the Cliff Burton era.

Not to mention discovering what else thrash had to offer.

Nonetheless, I was prepared to delve into a post where I’d likely pour much of my heart out into a long, self-reflective lament on losing that special part of my youth to reality…

then a friend of mine had posted this.

Italian oil, English water?

Or, ‘Metal/Rock covers that should not exist’.

If you’ll recall, I took a look at what happened when Grecian black metallers Astarte decided to cover Accept’s ‘Princess of the Dawn’. The result was a fitting example of not only placing a (band’s) individual stamp on a previous song, but also a well-illustrated analogy for the evolution of heavy metal into one of its many, more extreme subgenres.

It was a case of when a song is covered right. But what happens when the reverse is true – when the artists’ rendition of another song, though somehow connected musically, comes out wrong?

The Me(n)tal Meltdown show – Take ONE!

At long last, it’s the Me(n)tal-Meltdown show!

Starting this week, Me(n)tal Meltdown is no longer just a blog – it’s a radio show, too! K. Ann Sulaiman (Invisible Oranges, ex-Terrorizer Wretched Spawn) aims to bring together the best of the Metal World in about a half hour time slot every two weeks.

Tune in to discover bands from all over the world, and check out what else goes on in the underground! If you miss this week’s episode, you miss out – not only on Metalucifer, Anathema and Cruachan but also K. Ann herself! You’ll have to excuse her a bit – she’s caught some of that Royal Wedding fever and it shows.

Hear it for yourself and find out!

Hearing is believing.

Before I head off, I would like to leave you all with an interesting comparison. Some of you in the audience may love it, others may… well, just listen and judge for yourselves.

While we’re trailing the globe

…here’s something I found earlier!