#darkrevelations

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Anthony Zuiker

[brianwhitedarkdaily-blog]

July 2018 Listening List

I began working on a new project this month that I hope to turn into a book series called Quantum Mystics. As a result, I searched for a lot of music that embodied the chaotic, surreal themes of the scenes I was writing. Some were calming and dreamlike, others were action packed, and still others were weird and psychedelic. I started to create a playlist of songs pulled from the albums I listened to while writing the story. The bands and albums themselves don’t differ much from my normal listening, however, I did spend more time listening to instrumentalists that I have not listened to in a while, and found new gems in some staple favorites.

Orange Mathematics by Frontierer – I had listened to this album once before and simply dismissed it. It was still downloaded on my device and I was scrolling through looking for something different and decided to give it another listen. I think my previous dismissal was due to the fact that this is extremely heavy, jarring music. When this album starts, it feels like a gun going off next to your ear right as you are about to fall asleep. I also believe that the sounds of pick scrapes, screaming, and high pitched, distorted, high E guitar bends manipulates your brain waves and makes you instantly insane. Which, as it so happens, was exactly what I was looking for. As a result, I found a new appreciation for this album and band. Collapse was one of my favorite songs and was what I picked for the playlist.

The Yngwie Malmsteen Collection by Yngwie Malmsteen – If you’ve never heard of Yngwie then you’ve just never heard some of the best classical metal fusion ever created. Yngwie is a master, both musically and technically. His chops have stood up to the test of time and he is still at the top of the list of one of the fastest players of all time. Some may disagree, but I also believe he expresses a true passion for music and his songs are the type that stick in your brain. Black Star an original Malmsteen instrumental classic was the song I chose for the playlist and displays everything that makes Yngwie great.

Conquering Dystopia by Conquering Dystopia – Jeff Loomis has been one of my favorite guitarists since hearing him when he fronted Nevermore. I believe I’ve written about this album before but the dueling guitar of Merrow and Loomis is simply amazing. It manages to groove while being technical, quickly vacillating from screaming solos to toe tapping riffs. This is one of those albums that can immediately change my state of consciousness, which is why I returned to it. Ashes of a Lesser Man and Lachrymose made the playlist.

Plains of Oblivion by Jeff Loomis – Don’t need to say anything more about Loomis’ guitar playing. On this album he displays his harmonic range and brings in some guest singers and players such as Ihsahn but the female vocal lead on Tragedy and Harmony made this song my favorite and made the playlist.

Concrete Gardens by Tony MacAlpine - It had been a long time since I had listened to Tony. I remember the early Shrapnel Record days with Keel, Paul Gilbert, Richie Kotzen and of course Tony with his debut album, Insanity, which was exactly that, insanity on six strings. Well Tony has added two more strings to his insanity and his playing has never been better. Added to his technical wizardry and shredding capabilities are some great riffs which pull you into his every expanding garden of guitar insanity. The King’s Rhapsody was one of my favorites, along with Red Giant. Both were added to the playlist as well as some of the songs from Tony’s earlier albumns such as Autumn Lords (Maximum Security) and Dream Mechanism (Tony MacAlpine).

Lesser Key by Lesser Key – Lesser Key was formed by x-Tool bass player Paul D’Amour and has a similar sound. This is a great album that drags you into its embrace with hypnotic repetition and excellent, occult lyrics. Folding Stairs and Parallels were the two that I added to the Quantum Mystics playlist but all the songs are excellent.

Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards by Joe Satriani – I am a longtime Satriani fan. He is one of the few artists I have seen multiple times in concert and each time was memorable. Aside from being an accomplished shredder and guitar virtuoso, Satriani has some of the “tastiest” rhythms and riffs of any instrumental guitarist I know. He has guitar lines that feel as if they should be sung and I often find myself humming to his groove rhythms as if they were refrains. I’ve not kept up with all the albums he’s been releasing throughout the years, but as I was looking for something different and I was writing about quantum mystics, the album title immediately grabbed my eye. As it turns out Wormhole Wizards is one of the songs I added to the playlist. It has a great funk rhythm typical of Satriani. It draws you in and keeps you for the whole song, adding subtle changes and awesome displays of guitar wizardry in the process. God is Crying, is the other song I added. There are many categories Satriani’s playing could be placed in, but I always put them into either Blues/Funk Fusion that makes you want to move, or slow, dreamy, captivating, awe inspiring music that makes you reflective and emotive. Songs like Circles, I Believe, and God is Crying fall into this latter category. Great album from one of my favorite guitar legends.

Alien Love Secrets by Steve Vai – Vai is another one of my favorites. If you are looking for odd music that can make you cry, dance, cringe, sing or have you asking “what the f*** just happened,” look no further. Vai has it all. Vai is one of the few guitarists that can make you feel like you just listened to a song that had lyrics but that you know didn’t. His guitar sound can be lyrical and at times he’s even made it speak by answering lyrically posed questions. But my favorite thing about Vai is he manages to always be fun and at times comical. If you have ever had the pleasure of watching him play, it is immediately apparent how much he loves music, the guitar, and what he is doing. He gives everything he has, and it comes through in his music. He is the only guitarist I can listen to and find myself actually laughing. I can’t explain how he does it so I’ll put it in the musical mystery category. Ya-Yo Gakk from this album perfectly illustrates his ability to make his guitar sing and laugh.

The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall by Pink Floyd – Pink Floyd is something I find myself listening to when I want to get into a weird, psychedelic, philosophic mood. And I used these two albums to channel that emotion while I was writing because there are quite a few scenes in which the characters are exploring concepts that cannot be properly examined with normal consciousness. Hey You, from the Wall and Breathe, from Dark Side are the two songs that most brought me into this mode of thinking. In this case I didn’t pay any attention to the lyrics but went purely by the state of mind that was evoked while listening to these songs.

Savages and Savages (Instrumental) by The Dali Thundering Concept – Loved their previous album Eyes Wide Opium and this album extends their surreal technical wizardry to new heights. Their use of odd time signatures and the battle between thunderous bass, blazing squealing guitar, and growled vocals, keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next as you are taken on a jarring journey from, The Myth of Happiness to being, Blessed with Boredom, which does everything but bore you. As much as I like Sylvain Conier’s voice and lyrics the instrumental version of this album is awesome allowing you to focus on how truly amazing the guitar playing from Leo Natale is. I was amazed while listening to the lyrical version and then awestruck when listening to the instrumental.

Podcasts:

Didn’t listen to much spoken word this month. Even while driving I wanted to keep Quantum Mystics on my mind and stay on a roll. Music always allows me to retrieve an emotion or an idea, so I spent a lot of my commuting time listening to the playlist and going over the plots, scenes and characters in Quantum Mystics while listening to the playlist. I did listen to one lecture given by Robert Anton Wilson where he discusses his book, Prometheus Rising, covering topics such as neural linguistic programming, the eight neural circuits, and imprinting, in his often comedic but always intriguing way.

That’s it for this month.

Enjoy!

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[brianwhitedarkdaily-blog]

June 2018 Listening List

Another great month of music. Did not listen to as much variety this month as new albums from Ghost and Yob kept me quite occupied as well as some longer podcast binging.

1. Death Will Reign by Impending Doom – A little Vildhjarta, some Humanity’s last breath and a whole lot of energy makes for a great album. Drums are a standout on this album. Especially some of the interludes in the middle of some of the songs where they slow everything down and the drums become a deep heartbeat that is hypnotic, bringing you under its spell before delivering the crushing crescendo. Death will Reign with its slow, off-key string bends and tempo changes was one of my favorites. They have a new album coming out, The Sin and Doom Vol. 2, which I will be sure to check out.

2. Prequelle by Ghost – For the second month in a row I found myself enjoying music that I would usually consider out of my norm. Ghost fits into that category. At first listen it sounds very rock/pop which usually results in me immediately choosing something else but I was mowing the lawn and was too lazy to stop and find something else. So I listened to the album all the way through. And to my horror, somewhere about halfway through the second listen, I started to like it. Part of the reason for this is that I like Tobias Forge’s (previously known only by his stage persona Papa Emeritus until former members of the band filed a law suit, making his name public) voice and delivery. It has an odd quality to it where it lilts or changes in tone or pitch on phrases or syllables I wouldn’t expect, which made it different and piqued my interest. Ghost also makes good use of a lot of instruments. There was piano, flute, bells, and one of my favorites, saxophone (which I had missed on the new Ihsahn album). Rats is one of my vocal favorites. I love the way Forge spits out the word rats while rolling the rrrr, and Faith was my favorite from a guitar standpoint with a great solo.There were also some lyrics that I definitely took note of. In fact, the album was peppered with lyric gems, but here are a few of my favorites:

Witch Image

While you sleep in earthly delight, someone’s flesh is rotting tonight.

See the Light

But of all of the demons I’ve known, none could compare to you.

Everyday that you feed me with Hate I grow stronger.

Drink me, eat me, then you’ll see the light

3. Christ 0 by Vanden Plas – Vanden Plas is one of my regulars but I haven’t listened to this album in a while as it does not have the energy that many of their other albums have. However, Fireroses Dance and Getsemane are two of my favorite Vanden Plas songs which drew me to listen to the album again. Still great songs and worth the listen as they depart slightly from Vanden Plas’ usual operatic slash metal. Fireroses Dance has some great piano and excellent singing and is really more of a ballad than a metal song but carries a lot of energy with some beautiful vocal moments.

4. Oransi Pazuzu (all albums) – I know I’ve covered Oransi Pazuzu in previous months but last month I began using their albums as meditation music. I am one of those people that finds it much easier to get into a meditative state listening to complex music that has a great rhythm and is either instrumental or has lyrics written in a different language. This allows me to not focus on the meaning of the song and be drawn deeper into a meditative state while focusing on the complexity of the music. Oransi has all of these qualities combined with great rhythmic patterns led by great percussion and bass. In addition, all their songs have a surreal dreamlike quality to them adding elements that can conjure vacillating emotions of dread and elation while also hypnotizing you with the background beat. The fact that the vocals are sung in another language makes the voice another instrument in this beautifully dark cacophony. Never write Metal music off the list of meditation music selections. Other bands like Sunn O))), Rotting Christ and Stomb are other great bands to check out but thus far nothing has been as consistent and offered the range of selections that Oransi Pazuzu offers. If you are someone who has always had a hard time meditating, likes Metal, and are a little on the high strung side (such as I am) this may offer a great opportunity to try something different.

5. Our Raw Heart by Yob - For fans of the band you may already know that Singer/Guitarist Mike Scheidt had a brush with death last year due to various infections from diverticulitis and a bout of MRSA that resulted from the surgeries to remove the pockets of infected colon. Scheidt continued to write music during his recovery and his gratitude for making it through that experience seems to bleed through the songs of, Our Raw Heart.

Yob has long been one of my favorites and this album delivers signature Yob sound. In my opinion Scheidt has one of the most unique voices in metal. It’s one of those that when you hear it, you know who it is. There are moments of passion, anger, revelation and gratitude throughout the album not just a gentle rise but a roller coaster of sonic emotions. Which I can only speculate is much like the life of the band during the creation of this album.

Even the song titles speak to this emotional roller coaster Ablaze, Beauty in Falling Leaves (which is an extremely moving song), and In Reverie. Beautifully constructed album with everything that makes metal great. I am sure this will make it into a Dark Tunes or Metal Meditation episode at some point.

One of my favorites from Yob and easily one of my favorite albums of this past year.

Podcasts and Lectures

Chaos Magick in Theory & Practice, Sigils, Tailsmans, Shapeshifting, Baphomet, Andrieh Vitimus - If you have never been exposed to the concepts of Chaos Magick this is a great introductory overview. The Leak Project has quite a few good episodes on different areas of the magick, philosophy and the occult. Vitimus, an author of practical magic books breaks down the theory and practice of chaos magic, removes a lot of the hype and fear surrounding the topic and genuinely tries to get people enthused about trying magick before assuming it doesn't work.  

Gordon White -Chaos Magick Formula, Spells, Sigils & Manifestation Techniques - White is a very interesting character (I am too but I'm talking about Gordon now) and has some interesting stories to tell about interactions with royalty, secret organizations, and occultists. He also has a breadth of knowledge in philosophy, the occult, and magick and went through a brief history of magical thought, showing how these thoughts evolved to create the current currents occurring in chaos magic and other magical systems.

Real Enochian Magick - Matrix Keys That Work - Jason Louv - This was one of my favorite videos of this month. Jason Louv has written a new book, John Dee and the Empire of Angels, which he discusses during this interview. Although I have heard of John Dee as an occultist I did not know he was also a spy for the English crown, a court astrologer, and one of the original medieval magicians. One of Dee's claim to fame was working with a powerful scryer to talk with angels and documenting the Enochian language, or the language of the angels. Believe it or don't, this was a great story with a lot of intrigue. The book is in my queue to read and Louv brought this historic tale to life.

CHAOS MAGIC, THE OCCULT AND SHAMANIC SIGIL CREATION - There is a reason the title is in all caps, Grant Morrison, starts off this lecture with a scream and the energy only increases after that. If there is anyone that can get you to believe in Chaos Magic, and Sigil Magic and make you eager to give it a try, it is Morrison. Strangely enough I had never heard of Grant and was led here by allowing the YouTube algorithm to send me to dark places. Fascinating speech, but even more fascinating are his comics. After watching this I decided to read, The Invisibles, The Filth, and Nameless, and have quite a few more in queue to read. Grant is one of those interesting people that lives great fiction and then shares it with the rest of us in a unique way.

Grant Morrison - Talking with Gods - I usually follow my interests down the rabbit hole. One month it was Alan Moore and this month is was Grant Morrison. There is definitely an attitude and creative impression I get from watching Grant that I identify with. I also really enjoy what he has done with his comic writing and enjoyed listening to how he uses life to inspire his work and vice versa. I'm also naturally drawn to occultists and have always been intrigued with people's use of magic in their artistic, creative process.

That's it for this month. Working on a lot of new columns for Dark Revelations Media. I'm creating some new Metal Meditation episodes, which should be out next month. I'm also working on an entire new series called, Dark Parallels in which I explore topics such as physics, magic, psychology, philosophy, technology and popular culture. The first episode, Black Mirror, Morphic Resonance, Theories of Everything and Zombie Cats, speculates on the relationship between Rupert Sheldrake's Morphic Fields, Quantum Uncertainty and Entanglement, spooky cats that are both alive and dead, and examine how the interaction of these "things" can modify our perception of reality by comparing them with ideas presented in episodes of the popular science fiction show, Black Mirror. It only get weirder from there! So stay tune.  

Enjoy!

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