Katatonia - Night is the New Day

This year is turning out to be one of the best years concerning metal releases in the last 6 or so years. The latest release by Sweden's Katatonia is no different. I always thought that Katatonia's music was lacking something. Sound wise and vocals wise, one album gets a little bit repetitive. That doesn't make Katatonia albums bad in any sense, but repeat listens can wear down the listeners. The monotony of albums like Last Fair Deal Gone Down was somewhat offset by great records like Viva Emptiness and The Great Cold Distance. With the release of Night is the New Day, the music of Katatonia just got a major upgrade. This is not a revolutionary album, it's still the good ole' Katatonia, but musically it's an evolution towards a rich and varied sound.

Already, the first two songs offer a glimpse of the new Katatonia and the possible future of this talented band. Forsaker offers a soft, insanely melancholic voice of Jonas. The sheer amount of cold this singer can express is unreal. The song The Longest Year introduces a lot of electronic orchestration and sound snippets. Something not seen, or seldom seen, in their previous records. Many songs are augmented by violins, electronic orchestration and ambient soundscapes. Ashen is a great example of it. The singing style of Jonas is also much more varied compared to previous releases. Lyrically, it's the usual Katatonia: dark, twisted, haunting and anti-conformist subject often laced with fatality or despair.

Night is the New Day is a big evolutionary step in Katatonia's journey. The album is a melancholic trip, cold, soulless (in a good way), downright depressive (again, in a good way). The band has added a lot variety with electronic orchestration, the record feels rich and varied, Renske's voice is phenomenal, the album is a joy to listen to (no pun intended). This album is probably Katatonia's best and their most complete record so far.

Hand of a leader
Bleached by snowfall
Position is a drug
The great end is sweeping in
- Katatonia, Forsaker

The Gathering - The West Pole

Whenever a vocalist leaves a band, the replacement has a big weight on its shoulders. If this vocalist is the signature of the group, the replacement has an even bigger pressure to deal with, not to mention in many cases it just won't work, as it did not with Tim 'Ripper' Owens and Blaze Bailey. Some vocalists are more than just the singer of the band, and those are extremely hard, if not impossible to replace. Iron Maiden is Bruce Dickinson. The Gathering was Anneke Van Giersbergen.

Anneke left the band to pursue a solo carrier, for many this meant the end of The Gathering, including for yours truly. But the band kept going on, a new singer was picked, and a new album was recorded. After the first listening round, I felt dirty ... weird. My initial reaction to The West Pole was: "Anneke who!?". I know I just committed the ultimate blasphemy, but I can't help it. Can Silje Wergeland, the new singer of the band be better than Anneke? Blashpemy! Or is it?

Right off the bat the band sends a clear message, gone are the grungy guitars of the last few albums, back are the more metallic lush sounds. The sound goes back to Nightime Birds and How to measure a planet? with rich layered lush melodies versus the recent simplified grungy sound. This doesn't make The West Pole a metal record by all means, but it goes back to the band's early sound. After the first song (instrumental) the wait was over, I got to hear the new singer! And then my jaw hit the floor, the songs like 'Treasure', 'No Bird Call' and 'Constant Run' showcase her voice in a way that one forgets the band had a Godess as a singer. The voice of Silje is similar to that of Anneke, however, Silje's voice seems a bit smoother, less nasal than Anneke (I know, I know, Blasphemy!). Her control of the voice is left to be seen in concerts, but if the album gives us a preview, we'll be spoiled.

The album itself starts fast and slows down as songs flow by. There is a return of lush melodies, heavier sound, lot of instrumental parts, all in the same direction as How to measure a planet?. Every song rests on the voice of Silje, and she does deliver. The song structures are more complex than the last two albums. Non grunge guitar riffs and great keyboard layers also complement these long instrumental parts extremely well by adding layer after layer of lush atmospheric soundscapes. The guitars have taken the front again, keyboards are used as background melodies/arrangements, no better example than 'Capital of Nowhere' or the two minute outtro in 'Constant Run'. One of the masters or atmospheric rock are back in full force.

Not many bands can re-invent themselves after their singer leaves, especially if this singer was revered as a deity. This is The Gathering's resurrection (then again, maybe not, they never left). The record is fantastic, guitar oriented with a new singer that can replace Anneke without problems. This is their 5150, their Back in Black, their The Number of the Beast, their Black Gives Way to Blue.

Light travels through black winter skies
Unravels pieces of the mind
And slowly the heart opens
- The Gathering, Capital of Nowhere

The great anti malware scam

My favorite Evil Empire has released a free anti malware software suite: Security Essentials. It didn't take long before the entire pack of anti malware vendors from Symantec to Trend Micro to start criticizing it. Nobody wants to be the next Netscape, however with EU looking at Microsoft like a hawk, this won't be possible. However, if all the anti malware industry would go belly up, I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep, because anti malware software is a scam. With today's technology, there shouldn't be a reason to need any anti malware.

While most 'experts' claim that Windows is not secure and it's the cause of the malware infestation, these 'experts' are simply wrong. Don't get me wrong, I hate Windows and Microsoft like Rush Limbaugh hates Obama, but one has to sit back and look a bit objectively to realize that the single point of failure in computer security is always a human being. The number one method for malware elimination shouldn't be a bloated piece of shit software, but a few simple changes in the way computers are used. So without more delay, the rules for using a computer:

(1) Thou shalt not use the computer logged on as administrator.
(2) Thou shalt not use the computer logged on as administrator.
(3) Thou shalt not use the computer logged on as administrator.

Ok, that said, some more tips:

(1) Thou shalt not use the computer logged on as administrator. Malware won't be able to install itself into the system, only to currently logged on user thus it's trivial to remove because it can't write itself to system area. Worse case, nuke the infected user account and create a new one.
(2) Install Firefox or another solid browser like Chrome. Internet Exploder is the prime target of malware writers, avoid it as if it was the Black Plague.
(3) Install Privoxy or Adblock Plus Firefox add-on or something similar. Ads are often the channel of delivery of malware.
(4) For the more paranoid, install a JavaScript blocking add-on like NoScript.
(5) Treat every email attachment, IM links, files your friends send you or anything you download as a virus. Only install/execute files you are absolutely sure about their safety.

By not running the computer as administrator, by using third party browsers with small security add-ons and with a little bit of common sense, one can avoid viruses without having its own PC bogged down by anti malware bloatware. Anti malware software is a scam, not needed. I never used anti-malware programs and probably never will.

My security setup:
(1) PC has 2 users: administrator, peon (no rights user).
(2) I do my backups and system maintenance on administrator account, rest of tasks I do it on the peon user.
(3) My NAS keeps the backup, I use my admin account to save files on it. It's RAID 1, powered off after use. If I virus wipes my user files, I still have a backup. Minor inconvenience.
(4) Browsing is done through Privoxy with Chrome or Firefox.
(5) Questionable executables downloaded are tested on a Virtual Machine. I prefer Open Source programs or software from companies with good reputation.
(6) Sensitive files are encrypted, in the case they get off my disk.

It's a bit extreme, but saves me from the hassle of updating the anti malware bloatware and saves me money from subscription fees.

"I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image." - Stephen Hawking

The Great Vampire Squid

If there is one single article you read this year, make it be 'The Great American Bubble Machine' written by Matt Taibbi, a brilliant journalist. Most notably he wrote another great article on our current financial clusterfuck, 'The Big Takeover'. While the articles are a bit hyperbolic, no one has so far refuted the facts written in them, even economists like Simon Johnson have pretty much said the same thing as Taibbi.

These articles are just the top of the iceberg from current Goldman Sachs news. While the economy is reeling in the Great Depression II, Goldman Sachs had a record quarter. The good folks over at Zero Hedge have brought something in the view of the mostly useless mainstream media: flash orders and high frequency trading. Companies like Goldman Sachs, pay the New York stock exchange a handsome fee to be able to listen, or in tech speak, sniff, on the orders placed by companies.

Here is how it goes: Trader X decides to buy 10,000 shares of Google. Before the order reaches the stock exchange's trading desk (computer), Goldman is able to see the order. Their computer algorithm immediately decides if it's worth buying Google stock, usually when people buy a stock, it goes up in price. Let's say the stock is at 300$, before trader places the order at 300. Goldman's computer judges that it's a go, and places a buy before the trader for an amount of stock. Since Goldman Sachs have insane network infrastructure and probably insane computer systems, their order always goes in before the trader. Trade goes in, both trader and Goldman buys the stock, stock goes up to let's say ... 301, Goldman then immediately sells their share. Making 1$ profit per share. In most cases this profit is much smaller, a cent or two, or even fractions of cents. Now this doesn't sound a lot doesn't it? But wait, what if Goldman makes one million of these trades a day? Now the 1 cent profit turns into millions and during a year's time, billions.

Millions and billions of dollars made, zero social benefit. A true vampire squid, sucking out every cent out of humanity. This is what Taibbi was so outraged about, a mega company, totally ruthless and greedy without regard for society, who without Uncle Sam's help would have been dead. To make matters worse, they will be paying out record bonuses. The only glimmer of hope is that the populist rage is growing and the SEC, New York general attorney and a senator are looking into the practices of Government Sachs. Then again, Goldman Sachs owns the place, everyone from secretary of treasury to Obama's financial advisers are ex-Goldmanites.

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies." - Thomas Jefferson

The Miskolc Files

There is one thing missing in North America (ok, more than one thing), most notably concert variety. We have no Wacken Open Air, no Summer Breeze, no Female Metal Voices, no M'era Luna, etc ... Despite North America being a cultural melting pot, cultural event wise it's very narrow. Great bands like Agalloch are virtually unknown, Iced Earth has a record contract with a german label, only the dinosaurs like Slayer get any exposure. Montreal tried with the Heavy MTL festival, lasted for one occasion, despite big names like Iron Maiden and Mastodon being on the bill. Then there is Ozzfest, prime example of Corporate America. What's left for the people who hunger for diversity, interesting music, non record label pushed garbage? Why ... there are DVDs and live CDs!

Chutulhu has been smiling upon me lately, blessing me with two awesome performances of some great bands captured on CD/DVD. The 2007 edition of the Miskolc Opera Festival brought out two incredible performances by Epica and Therion. Ever wanted to hear "Dies Irae" by Mozart, Wagner pieces or "Summer: Presto" by Vivaldi with electric guitars, base and drums? Ever wanted to hear "The Imperial March" by John Williams (the Darth Vader song for pagans)? Look no further than the Classical Conspiracy by Epica or The Mikolc Experience by Therion. But before, the basic form of these performances is as follows: Symphonic metal band plays with a classical orchestra. First half of the show are mostly known classical pieces by known composers, followed by a set of the band. In both cases, the band is supported by a classical orchestra and choir. The result is simply out of this world.

Epica: The Classical Conspiracy

Epica is a hit and miss band. They have a very talented singer, Simone Simons, but the band isn't using her talents to the fullest (Yes, I complained about it before). Too much emphasis is put on the whole Beauty and the Beast type of singing: talented soprano and some guy growling or using harsh vocals. However, when Epica lets Simone use her talents, the result is simply pure bliss. Sensorium, Quietus and plethora of slower ballads showcase her voice. The Classical Conspiracy starts up with a few classical, neo classical, movie soundtrack pieces. Some notable ones include "Dies Irae" by Mozart, simply stunning. Not to be outdone by one of the classical pieces I was hoping some metal band will play: The Imperial March. I don't even know if I can go back listening to the original one anymore, this one is so much better. Now, I hope someone puts this into the The Empire Strikes Back remake when the Executor shadows all those Star Destroyers. One can dream ...

The only thing lacking from this CD is a ... DVD. It's a shame the band wasn't able to afford it, or they didn't publish it, or who knows, raccoons ate it? Playing with an orchestra and choir is probably one carreer defining moment. Not having it on video should be a crime. But I digress. The CD is fantastic, great song selection (where is Dance of Fate!?), Simone's vocals are stunning, the non Epica musical selection is also very good. As a bonus, you'll get a non butchered, fantastic performance of Quietus.

Therion: The Miskolc Experience

Clavicula Nox.
Lemuria.
Via Nocturna.
The Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Grand Finale - Postludium.

These five songs alone played by Therion and a symphonic orchestra is all one should need to be motivated to pick up this DVD/CD. However, these masterpieces are only the tip of the iceberg, this performance by one of the best metal bands alive is simply mind blowing. If someone has any doubt of maestro Johnsson's ability to write beautiful music, this DVD/CD will put those doubts to rest. The set starts up with Clavicula Nox, without modern instruments (electric guitar, base and drums), only within a classical setting. This is version 3.0 of the song (1.0 = male + female opera singer, 2.0 = male only), this version is only with female opera singers. And look who's the lead soprano ... Lori Lewis. Right of the bat, her voice is impressive, just as last time I saw her fronting Aesma Daeva and Therion, on all hallow's eve. The set goes on with a few classical pieces by Dvorak, Mozart, Verdi and of course, Johnsson's favorite classical composer: Wagner. The classical pieces are fantastic, and one can hear echos of Secret of the Runes or Lemuria/Sirius B in these pieces. After listening to the classical set, it becomes obvious that each Therion album is inspired by one or more classical authors.

The real jewel of the performance comes with the Therion material. The non classical set has an almost perfect song selection (Sirius B, WTF?!) and lo and behold, one of the best if not the best Therion songs: Via Nocturna. This almost eight minute epic is pretty much written in a classical mindset: no repetitions (repetitions are the modus operandi of rock music). The incredible musicianship this piece showcases along with the great choir arrangement makes this song probably the highlight of the DVD. The DVD also has some mega classics like Rise of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lemuria. Lemuria is especially sweet with a real flute as a sonic backdrop and the vocals of Lori Lewis are just the icing on the cake. The set ends with Grand Finale - Postludium, one of the great instrumental classics of Therion.

This DVD is the best live performance by a band, period. It has made it into the top spot of my list of live DVD/CDs. Sorry Alive in Athens, your reign must come to and end. May Chtulhu bless the great beast!

PS: Maestro Johnsson, please sign Lori Lewis as your permanent singer.