Turquoise of Winter Video Clip

A slideshow video clip of sorts

A slideshow video clip of sorts for the Turquoise of Winter instrumental by Dead Admiral (from the album Queen of Clubs, 2009).

November 2009 Special

Ten anthology film scenes

A small anthology scene collection from famous, less famous, and even infamous innovative and influential films through the decades.

The Gloomster: 13 moments of death

On the pathway of doomed souls

13 moments of death by The Gloomster (yet another project by the poet Arne Pahlke) is described by the author himself as the "soundtrack" to a "film" depicting the many different ways to die. Death by accident, recklessness or illness, by law (execution), by the hand of a murderer or by one's own hand. Being killed in a war is a serious possibility as well, but that would be an entirely different story and what mostly interests Arne here is, I believe, the view of death as a private, individual experience - a more or less unpredicted occurrence in the routine of an otherwise peaceful, or at least ordinary life (with the obvious exception of Long way to the electric chair) - though "ordinary" is actually a term too generalised to apply to the vicissitudes of each particular person's way of living.

Ralph Buckley: Mary Magdalene & The Song of Solomon

An armful of modern protest ballads

In the materialistic, hypocritical apathy of our century, Ralph Buckley is one of those stubborn voices of protest - a modern troubadour of freedom (which in itself has ended up being a fairly relative concept, especially considering the way this world has turned out and what it threatens to become in the future).

Die Schatten: Solanum

Black nightshade

Solanum or "nightshades" is the generic name for a variety of plants most of which are terminally toxic; in particular, black nightshade (Atropa Belladonna in Latin) is a subshrub of the Solanaceae family, whose poison is used in medicine to enlarge the pupils of the eyes - an effect provoked naturally by darkness itself, as vision strives to adapt to it.

Melanculia: maldita

Eternal melancholy

Sensitive acoustic rock ballads with well-written lyrics and this slightly scorched, unpretentiously appealing voice that conveys pure and sincere emotion. The title, Spanish for "wretched one", adds a touch of mystery but also determines the entire album's tone and mood.

Project System 12: Blood and Roses for Lady McBeth

The Dark Lady, the blood and the roses

A beautiful and gripping title and an alternation between darker and luminous, tender and energetic themes, with the eponymous track being one of the highlights of the album. The reference to a "canonically" sinister literary character such as Lady Macbeth could not be better accompanied than by blood and roses, both symbols of femininity and metaphors for the dangerous facets of the human soul.

Nehoryn: Cyberfire Inside

Fiery the angels fall

There is no "immaculate conception" in art any more, but on the other hand there is an abyssal gap between this undeniable fact and the currently dominant mentality in the music industry, according to which everything new that is created has to be an almost identical copy of something already known and "officially recognised", so that it "has the right" to fit into a strictly defined category or genre. But genuine music (and art in general) is, and should be, what defines, redefines and/or defies the existing genres and categories; totally indifferent to the established "rules", it forms its own if necessary, only to do away with them when they are no longer needed.

Die Schatten: Yggdrasil

Half-life, half-darkness

Yggdrasil is, according to Norse mythology, the "world tree" that forms the link between the heavens and the sources of pure cold water and wisdom. A brilliant title for a musical work whose "branches" and "roots" extend into the many different aspects of our world - the heaven/hell of everyday life; the fragility of human relationships; the frightening night of the soul; and last but not least, the potential existence of intelligent life in outer space.

Vanessa & Annabella Video Clip

A first attempt at a video clip

Video clip for the Vanessa & Annabella instrumental by Dead Admiral (from the album Pareidolia, 2009). Poor image quality is due to age and low resolution of source film excerpts.

Betty Donelly: Alone & No Title

Bella donna of cracked porcelain

As is the case with many fortunate events in life, my discovery of Betty Donelly and her universe was exclusively due to chance. While running a search for songs with the word "belladonna" in the title (for some reason that is of no importance at the moment), I came across one entitled The Belladonna Saucer Eyes. The melody and accompaniment brought memories of Marc Almond back in his glorious Mother Fist & Her Five Daughters days, while the vocals and singing style were reminiscent of The Cure - but still, the originality of the result as a total could account for a really unique musical identity. The voice had something tormented yet powerful in its "texture", the lyrics told a strange, melancholy story, an unexpected melodic twist in the last phrases of the refrain took me completely by surprise. I was hooked.

Melchiades - Kouki: 3908

Acid post-apocalypse

3908 is the fruit of an unexpected, if not improbable, collaboration between two artists whose diametrically opposite musical temperaments promise an intriguing (at least) auditory experience. The extremely minimalistic cover and laconic, enigmatic title do a really good job at disguising the tumultuous richness hidden within. This is an album that should by all means be seen - and most importantly, listened to - in conjunction with the personal view of art expressed by each one of its contributors.