Horror Blogs > TheCabinet.com Blog > Track of the Week - 12/10/07

TheCabinet.com Blog - By TheCabinet

Track of the Week - 12/10/07
Your Rating: Sign in to add your rating
Average Rating: 0 (0 ratings)
Pestilence - Presence of the Dead Listen to Presence of the Dead on Rhapsody Death metal is perhaps one of the more prevalent forms of horror music today. I have to admit, I am not well versed in this genre of music as I should be, as it has always been somewhat elusive to me. Keep in mind that I was the heavy metal/hard rock fan growing up too, but even back then I struggled with death/black metal. I liked its aggression, but the death grunts (or rapid-fire cookie monster singing) always escaped me. I think it comes down to the simple fact that I'm a lyrics person. That is not to say that death metal does not have poignant lyrics - it does - but that I just couldn't understand a damn thing about what was being said. I never developed my "death metal ear" as it were. In order to tackle horror music though, you pretty much have to open yourself up to death metal and I have quite a bit. In fact, I've even grown to understand and appreciate it to some degree. Hell, I didn't get Skinny Puppy back then either and now I actually really enjoy their works. Life works that way I guess. Sometimes you have to step back and re-look at something that you never quite understood and sometimes a different approach makes all the difference. That said, with death (and black) metal, I've got a long way to go still. Pestilence has been a bit of a surprise for me. I will be honest that I fell under that "death metal all sounds the same to me" attitude for a long time. Fast, aggressive beats with equally fast guitars that typically takes the bass role and plays the rhythm, as opposed to playing along with the rhythm. The lyrics usually involve something dark, twisted, and frankly overly graphic, but doesn't really matter much because you can't understand anything anyway. So goes the stereotype, of which I was more than guilty of believing myself. The truth is that it is much more diverse than you can imagine and Pestilence is a great example of this. The band got their start in 1986 while based out of the Netherlands. They were something of a dark, thrash metal band that didn't really move into the death metal ring until their second album, Consuming Impulse, in 1989. This was not unusual for the band to re-invent themselves; in fact, they did it often. Each new album was a showcase for their musical growth, as well as evidence of their willingness to explore. Presence of the Dead was part of their third album, Testimony of the Ancients, which was sharper and more focused than their former works. After bassist/singer, Martin van Drunen, left the band following Consuming Impulse, guitarist Patrick Mameli was chosen to take over the lead vocals for the album. Mameli's vocals were also slightly less abrasive than van Drunen's, which is a good thing at least to a layman like myself. Whether that is a good thing or not to a death metal fan, you would have to ask them. Practicing of the sacred science Seek the shapeless company To reveal the secrets hidden in Dimensions we cannot see Presence of the Dead is basically about the art of the séance and communicating with those that have departed, maybe not for the most amiable reasons. However, the song takes a surprising twist shortly after the three-minute mark when the metal suddenly stops and a full-blown score kicks in, complete with piano and jazz overtones, before jumping back the death metal sound. It is interesting to note this since for their next album, the band would experiment with mixing the metal sound with that of jazz fusion elements. It would also be their last album, as the band tensions were rising and the members felt they had reached the creative peak with Pestilence. However, this type of experimentation has really opened my eyes (or ears as it were) when it comes to the darker metal genres. Death metal is not just about the death grunts, aggressive lyrics and equally aggressive instruments. There is depth there that I personally never realized until I took a deeper look. So, I might not be the best guide to the world of death metal, but I am willing to explore and report what I find. Of course, if you happen to be a fan of this particular genre, I'd be more than interested if you want to guide me (or others) on my way.
Filed under: Music, Track of the Week	December 10, 2007, 8:05 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Previous: Track of the Week - 12/5/07	Next: Dark Destinations in the News (12/10/07)
There are 0 comments in the database.
User Comments	Order by: Most Recent | Originally Submitted
There are currently no comments for this entry.
There are 0 comments in the database.
Add Comment | Return to Index

Horror Blogs Search

Find: All Words Any Words Exact Match   Search: TheCabinet.com Blog Horror Blogs All of General