Tuesday, March 29, 2011

ROOTS BLOODY ROOTS 2.0

A Max Cavalera interview on the Australia-based I Heart Guitar Blog.


Max Cavalera may have left Sepultura well over a decade ago but he certainly hasn’t rested on his metallic laurels. Soulfly has kept him in the brutality game with album after album of metal fury, sometimes tempered with the tribal elements of the Seps classic Roots and sometimes more straightforward thrash. A few years ago Max re-teamed with brother Iggor in Cavalera Conspiracy, a thrashy new outfit which picks up right were Sepultura left off their thrashier elements around the Chaos AD era. New album Blunt Force Trauma is out now and Max couldn’t be happier about album #2.

Last time we spoke you said you’d actually recorded this album last year, before the latest Soulfly CD was released. Is the album exactly as it was when you finished it or did you take the opportunity to go in and tweak it?
No, we didn’t change much. It took a little while for the artwork to get done. I was doing the artwork with Iggor. We wanted it to look punkish, like European 80s punk – like GBH and Discharge – so we needed to find a special way to do this artwork. But we figured it out and it turned out really cool. We really love the way it got done. We also worked on a special edition. It comes with a DVD that was filmed live in France. It’s got a lot of great songs. It’s a full Cavalera concert. It’s a really cool show and it’s really cool for the fans. They get something extra, the full DVD along with the album, some more artwork, some more photos from the studio. But as far as the sound, the album is exactly the way it was finished. I didn’t touch anything. I love the way it turned out. I love the work that Logan [Mader, producer] did. It’s heavy, it’s crisp, it’s big-sounding, it’s aggressive, it’s brutal. It’s more brutal than Inflikted, and I wanted to get that result. Right now I’m just very excited to have people hear the record.


When you were writing it, were you like ‘That’s a Conspiracy song, that’s a Soulfly song…’?
When I write, I write all together. I just write riffs al the time, not really thinking which one it’s going to go into. It’s later on when I listen to the songs that I make that decision, whether it goes for Soulfly or if it goes for Cavalera. But when I’m writing I just write them all together. When I get in writing mode, it’s like a factory. Riffs come out one after the other and I don’t even stop to think about where it’s going to go. I just put it on a CD and put it aside then listen later. It’s working so far. It’s a good technique that’s been working for me for a couple of years. Since Sepultura days we did things like that. I started writing like that on Arise. That’s when I started getting my drum machine and my guitar and starting to write albums full of songs by myself. I really love doing it. It’s a therapeutic kind of thing. I lose myself with a guitar and a drum machine. They feel like a real song because of a drum machine. They have beginnings, middles, choruses, vocal parts. Some of them are really quite finished songs when you listen to the demos. I have some demos of Refuse/Resist that are like that… Arise, Dead Embryonic Cells… songs I wrote at home first then took to the studio to show the guys. It’s a technique that’s worked for me for years, and if it’s working it doesn’t need to be changed.

Read the full interview HERE

And the cover of an old classic. . .

Monday, March 28, 2011

SOME GOOD/BAD NEWS FROM THE FUTURE


A commercial break from all the blood and gore for a bit of sci-fi rhapsodizing. My article about The Singularity came out on GMANEWS.TV a couple of days ago. And the Transhumanists actually wrote me back a thanks letter. Much appreciated, too, Mr Tom McCabe.

Below are excerpts. Or you can go read the whole thing right away HERE.


In the future, there will be robots. And that future 
 will happen less than 40 years from now.  


Transcending the flesh: 

The coming Singularity

 

In the future, there will be robots. And that future will happen less than 40 years from now. If you believe that humans and machines will eventually become one, then the Singularity movement is for you. 

What is The Singularity? It is that point in time when humanity’s technological capacity so outstrips itself that a moment of near apotheosis for the race takes place. This means many things, but chief among them are: a) technology will become so small and cheap that body augmentation (through nanobots) will become as routine as an injection’ and b) we will give birth to machine artificial intelligence (AI) so smart it surpasses all the smart human brains of the world put together. 

Ray Kuzweil’s book The Singularity is Near (When Humans Transcend Biology) defines it thus: “The Singularity will represent the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots. There will be no distinction, post-Singularity, between human and machine or between physical and virtual reality."

If you experience a profound feeling of terror and shock at having grasped the full meaning of that statement, please don’t be alarmed. It’s a sane and valid reaction.

It’s pretty easy to dismiss the concepts and predictions of those who believe in the coming Singularity (they call themselves Singularitarians or Transhumanists —or even Post-Humanists) as wish fulfillment of futurists and tech-fetishists. Mad ravings, even.


Read the rest HERE.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

WE HAVE SUCH SIGHTS TO SHOW YOU

Free PDF of the Hellraiser comics prelude! Am already downloading mine : D. Check it out HERE.

Thanks, Clive!



Official Press Release:
March 23, 2011 - Los Angeles, CA - Today at comic book shops worldwide one of the genre's most celebrated franchises returns with Clive Barker ushering in a new vision of Hell in the all-new ongoing HELLRAISER comic book series! BOOM! Studios celebrates this launch with an all-new, all-original “PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1” PDF available for download FREE from your favorite horror and comic book news sites — both written by Clive Barker himself.

That's right, to kick off the release of HELLRAISER #1 — available in comic shops across the nation today — Clive Barker and BOOM! Studios is making available for download an absolutely free, all-new, all-original “PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1” to whet your appetite for the insidious horrors of HELLRAISER #1. So head on over to your favorite horror or comic book news site to get the “PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1” and check it out. After you’re done reading, spread the word, and share the PDF by emailing, tweeting, facebooking, and torrenting as much as humanly possible. Help us evangelize the new series to all those horror fans, Hellraiser fans, and Barker fans that may not know about the comic or haven’t ever been exposed to comics.

“This is an unprecedented chance to spread the word of comic books,” said BOOM! Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ross Richie, “with one of the biggest authors and with one of his signature creations. Non-comic book fans, lapsed comic book fans, and horror aficionados who don’t go into comic book stores will all be excited and interested in this. And we are calling on the fans to get the word out to them. Send this via Facebook, Twitter, torrents, and e-mails to everyone in your life that you think would dig this, and let’s increase the overall pool of people worldwide who read comic books! I can’t think of an easier way to share this great comic. They don’t call it Portable Document File for nothing!”

The biggest and the best comics and horror sites have joined BOOM! to launch this franchise classic with its original founding father, Barker himself. BOOM! will be updating its Twitter account with locations where you can download this must-have Hellraiser essential! Search the hashtag #HellraiserPrelude to suss out participating sites!

BOOM! Studios has made it easier than ever to join Clive Barker, who along with writing partner Christopher Monfette and HELLBLAZER artist Leonardo Manco, serve up a masterfully chilling trip through Hell and bring fresh nightmares to new and old fans alike.

This new comic book series marks only the third time Barker has written the character: first in the original novella THE HELLBOUND HEART, second in the original seminal horror classic HELLRAISER film.
“With all the tremendous work and effort poured into the HELLRAISER comic series, we're confident that the second readers feast their eyes on those first pages they'll be clamoring for more,” says Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Whether you're a regular comics reader or not, HELLRAISER and Clive Barker are unmistakable names in horror, and if you read the free PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1 I'm sure you'll agree HELLRAISER is a series worth picking up!”

“Have you ever heard of an offer like this from any comic publisher ever? I think not,” says BOOM! Studios Marketing Director Chip Mosher. “We know how die-hard HELLRAISER fans are and to show them we mean business we're offering this fantastic PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1 ready to download free! Are we crazy!? No, just BOOM! Studios.”

Visit your favorite horror and comic news websites to download your free copy of the all-original PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1, then run to your local comic shop to pick up your copy of HELLRAISER #1!
HELLRAISER #1 and the PRELUDE TO HELLRAISER #1 PDF are written by Clive Barker and Cristopher Monfette with art by the sensational Leonardo Manco (HELLBLAZER). HELLRAISER #1 is a 40 page giant with a back-up story by Larry Wachowski (THE MATRIX) and Marc Pacella and ships with A & B covers in a 50/50 split with art by Tim Bradstreet and Nick Percival respectively, as well as a very special 1-in-50 incentive cover drawn and signed by legendary master of horror Clive Barker himself! This title is suggested for Mature Readers.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

DOG EAT GOAT

From Discovery Channel. Well that's disappointing. 


Chupacabra Mystery Solved

Halloween stories about the ghostly "chupacabra" circulate every year, but now scientists have solved the mystery surrounding this legendary animal.

Instead of being vicious, fanged creatures that supposedly drink the blood of livestock, chupacabras turn out to be wild dogs inflicted with a deadly form of mange, according to University of Michigan biologist Barry OConnor.

The myth about chupacabras, also known as goatsuckers, started after reports of livestock attacks in Puerto Rico and Mexico, where dead sheep were discovered with puncture wounds, completely drained of blood. Similar reports began accumulating from other locations in Latin America and the U.S. Then came sightings of evil-looking animals, variously described as dog-like, rodent-like or reptile-like, with long snouts, large fangs, leathery or scaly greenish-gray skin and a nasty odor. Locals put two and two together and assumed the ugly varmints were responsible for the killings.

OConnor, however, and other scientists conclude that an 8-legged mite that burrows under the skin of coyotes can give these animals the "chupacabra" look.

He explains that the mite responsible for the extreme hair loss seen in "chupacabras syndrome" is Sarcoptes scabiei, which also causes the itchy rash known as scabies in people. Human scabies is an annoyance, but not usually a serious health or appearance problem, partly because our bodies are already virtually hairless and partly because the population of mites on a given person usually is relatively small---only 20 or 30 mites.
Humans have likely evolved natural defenses for this mite over the years. When we began to domesticate dogs, we likely spread the mites to them. When the mites then transfer to wild dogs, such as foxes, wolves and coyotes, the victims appear to be less able to fight them off. . . .

READ THE REST HERE.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The 20 Greatest Metal Guitarists Ever | Total Guitar Magazine | MusicRadar.com

The unbearable heaviness of being metal: The 20 Greatest Metal Guitarists Ever | Total Guitar Magazine | MusicRadar.com

GO BATTY

Paul Allender's PRS signature model now has a red and green finish. Dontcha just love the Cthulhu Emerald (the official color is actually emerald greenburst) color? Of course the winning cosmetic coup de grace here are the detailed bat inlays on the ebony fretboard.



“More metal that your gran’s left hip.” ~ Paul Allender


And here's some live stuff of the first purple finish.

WINTER IS NIGH

HBO has ordered a whole season's worth of the first book of George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.

This is Daeneyrs Targaryen, dragon princess, played by Emilia Clarke.


While some of the characters aren't as I pictured them in my head, the sheer production values and enthusiasm the crew have obviously put into this makes it stunning.



Can't wait to see the Greyjoys. And those zombies from the great white north.



Hmmm, Sean Bean's Eddard Stark looks a tad too much like Boromir here but I hope he pulls it off acting-wise. which he probably will.



We'll just have to wait `til late April. Meantime HBO's official website is getting exponentially more chok full of teasers and BTS stuff as the airing date nears.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Sunday, March 6, 2011

SALSA PLUS METAL

Salsa + Metal = P.U.Y.A. Well, mostly nu metal and rapcore-ish stylings but still quite heavy. The guys just call it Latin Metal. There's also lots of nods to Sepultura and generally the stuff the Cavaleras have become influential for.




Didn't know this was a 90s Puerto Rican band. Discovery courtesy of Poldo. I love the video, too. Reminds me of Gani's (illus for The Magdalene Fist) style. And the attack is reminiscent of SkinDredd and other metal fusion bands. You can dance AND bang your head to it!



Thursday, March 3, 2011

RESSURECTION

Darna Lives! By Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre. This thing is gorgeous in full color and such a teaser. Oh, and I love the new, 21st century, streamlined itsy bitsy suit.






















Read the whole nine pages HERE.