Sunday 10 September 2017

The Smoking Barrel

Life is fit for opportunity:
Take the seat on your own,
Order the cappuccino,
Order the chicken tenders,
Smile and make yourself presentable
Even though you didn't have a shower this morning.
"Do you take sugar?"
I looked at the bottle of water,
The glass just poured. "Yes."
She brought me sugar.
Love the moment,
Hate the feelings,
Walk off rejection.
Your hair looks good to someone,
No matter how messy it fell.
Friends may come,
Friends may go;
Friends are not the ones who leave you alone,
Freeze you out,
Forget how much a phone call means,
How easy a phone call is to make,
Place your heart on a stake.
They will fade,
Their influence diminish;
You will start anew,
A bird with greater wingspan.
Order another coffee,
Stay up late,
Make no apologies for the past you had to live through
- that is yours and yours alone.
Some will never know,
Some won't want to know,
Some will understand,
Some play the advantage of their hand.
Fly, roll, run, walk,
This has all been said before.
Words, how they matter not,
For
The intent is to release the soul
From its prison of thoughts.

  • 09/09/17, Motueka

Thursday 7 September 2017

I want to stop, I want to keep going...

A part of me does just want to continue moving, though, because there’s not a lot of point standing still when standing still is uncomfortable.

Sunday 20 August 2017

Monday 7 August 2017

Why keep chasing
        what doesn't chase back?
Why keep calling
        what doesn't call back?

If you do,
        your life will be lost to waiting.

Friday 4 August 2017

You Have Moved On

You had moved on, dear friend
You had moved on.
Into another world, dear friend
One that left me behind.
Fourteen years ago, dear friend
We waved good bye.
Though no hands were involved
All was said with smiles and eyes.

You have moved on, dear friend
You have moved on.
Pictures on the wall, dear friend
Of years that are not mine.
Footsteps down the hall, dear friend
Go your straying eyes.
The most common thread runs
Now through those two homely lives.

You will move on, dear friend
You will move on.
Into another world, dear friend
One that leaves me behind.
Fourteen years ago, dear friend
We waved good bye.
Chasing was not your dream
Because chasing is a waste of time.

You have moved on, dear friend
You have moved on.
I returned for you, dear friend
To put the past behind.
But lost to years between, dear friend
The importance of desire.
The most common song sung
Now warms those two homely fires.



  • 04/08/17

A Trash-can of Memories

I could not keep chasing
What would not return the favour,
I could not keep pretending
I was a familiar member.


The culture you propagate
Is the culture that dictates
Who gets left in, who gets left out.
Sidelines are drawn
For those who wait their turn
Clinging tight to a trash-can of memories.
 

  • 03/08/17

Friday 2 June 2017

Mutoid Man: War Moans (Album Review)

Like a short, sharp, stabbing of hardcore, ‘Melt Your Mind’ comes at the listener with fast paced drums and bass setting up the flurry of attacks by the guitar. Brodsky’s vocals charge in with a scream before confidently singing “Feel the heat of a fire at your feet rising up one smoke-ring at a time, in this life we all get left behind so maybe, it’s gonna work out fine. Take it from me – don’t let it melt your mind.” Appropriate metal imagery has been reforged to bring positive balance to the thrashing instruments throughout and the album feels like an uplifting assault that sweeps the listener away with it. I can imagine crowds cheering and singing along to the line “Blow! Blow me a kiss of death” (‘Kiss of Death’).

In 2005 Cave In collaborated with Ben Koller from Converge on a two song single split ‘Shapeshifter / Dead Already’ and for the most part, this is where Brodsky and Koller decided to pick up from when they started jamming again in 2012. In 2013 the duo released the EP Helium Head, followed up in 2016 by Bleeder. Heart palpitating, unleashed fury is the best way to describe the music on these releases. It’s like the ugly offspring of hardcore and thrash metal who doesn’t care what you think but still wants to lift you up into the flames of rejuvenation.

‘Micro Aggression’ continues the bold attack while ‘Date with the Devil’ is a fun tale that ends with “Came inside her, Satan’s daughter; nine months later, who’s the father? Another day drags, tail between her legs.” Brodsky doesn’t discuss how the date came about, but the results are warning enough.

‘Irons in the Fire’ begins like an ode to both Iron Maiden and Metallica before quickly bringing back the thrash to remind the listener that this isn’t mainstream Heavy Metal here, it’s pure Metalcore!

‘Open Flame’ is a sleeper stand out that felt much like the rest of the album until I sat down and had a good listen to the song. “I tasted open flame, my tongue burned off again” rushes through two verses to get us to a bridge with pounding drums, and here the song breaks down with a guitar figure that feels like the protagonist has taken a much needed breather in preparation for the finale.

With Bleeder I felt there was a focus more on the rock and the melody, but on War Moans, while melody is still intact, the thrash has been brought to the forefront and propels everything forward with even more intensity. When the music slows down on the final track ‘Bandages’, that intensity is felt even more as Brodsky pines “Bandages on me – I’m wounded in love; Bandages on me – to cut off the blood.” A cutting guitar figure interplays with the bass over a trippy atmospheric backing, and distinctive vocals always make lines like “Scare, in the shape of my face, a version of me falling free” always feel heartfelt and sincere.

In a world where albums are getting unnecessarily longer to gain hit-counts on streaming websites, Mutoid Man reminds us at a mere 40 minutes the importance of not wearing out the listener by keeping songs at a 3-4 minute length and packing every second with tight playing, massive riffs and catchy melodies. I can’t personally claim to like this more than Bleeder, but that’s just my own taste and perhaps a bit more variety on the tempo and riff front on the previous album, but War Moans has everything that a listener of melodic metalcore could want: Riffs are furious, chords burn, bass thumps, drums pound, and vocals soar.





Mutoid Man - War Moans - Albums - Reviews - Soundblab

Sunday 14 May 2017

Saturday 29 April 2017

Just some thoughts...


"Why is this my life?"
Is almost everybody's question
I prefer peace
Wouldn't have to have one worldly possession
Life is a one-way street, and if you could paint it
I'd draw myself going in the right direction
When I was lost I even found myself
Looking in the gun's direction

  • Gnarls Barkley

Tuesday 28 March 2017

The challenge isn't to attack someone for their negative and unhelpful opinions, the challenge is to change the culture that has allowed those negative and unhelpful opinions to be formed and to flourish.