My first semester as a graduate student has ended. One of the most important things I've learned after coming here is the true depiction of the word 'HYPE'. From the amount a grad student has to toil to the winter weather, its pure unadulterated hype. Yes, grad students have to work much harder, especially if you led a carefree lifestyle in your undergrad. But its not like you've no time to catch up with old buddies, or watch your favorite sitcoms and movies, or game a bit, or freak out, as some people portray it to be. And the winter isn't a bitch, really. Its white and serene, making you feel some kind of emptiness inside (I know, I've started looking at things differently after melodic death/doom metal..). -20ºC can be very pissing and a major barrier to venture outside though. But then, there really isn't anything like a long winter walk to refresh you, apart from an ice-cold shower.
The Black Friday sale after Thanksgiving in the mid-west isn't anywhere near a 'must-experience' thing. We were expecting huge queues in the chill weather, but ended up walking directly into the mall at 4 AM :-/ One thing that did live up to the hype is the academic competition. The final was worth just 15%, so that should give you the picture.
Something very evident here, which we could use in India, is the fact that you get to choose what you study as an undergrad. You don't need to declare your major until a few weeks before you graduate. So instead of being forced to study stuff you disgust (which happens even in the very best institutes in India), there is that freedom which reflects in the performance in class. You'll find some of the most nerdy and geeky people who come up with fascinating stuff in the projects, and many-a-time, they're undergrads. I really like the whole concept of part-time jobs and funding your education/monthly expenses to a certain extent. Over here, I kinda feel responsible for the first time in my life. BITS was more of a nice long dream, the feeling that whatever happens, your friends were always there to help you out. Here, you see the stark reality. Sure, you meet a lotta nice, new people, but its everyone for his/herself. You meet students from horticulture, music, tourism management, etc., which is kinda refreshing as they look at things is such a different way than engineers.
On a completely different note, I've found some inspiration finally =]
Come to think of it, I've never really idolized someone at anytime in my life. I might have cooked up some stuff for the english essays in school, but I never really found anyone so inspiring. Sure, sportsmen do make you feel wtf-am-i-doing-in-my-life, but it kinda dies out after a while.
So what is my current inspiration?! Lesser known music artists, who work for a living and create breathtaking music in their spare time. As you might have guesssed, a major example is Insomnium. The lead and main composer is working his way to a PhD in evolution sciences, the other guitarist is a surgeon, the vocalist/bassist is a truck driver (its a respectable job unlike in India) and the drummer is studying environmental technology.. and after all this, they create such magnificent music. Since I'm a biiiiiiiiiiig fan of theirs, I follow this blog, where they kinda document the whole touring life. Its so much different from what you'd think it would be. Its a whole new way to think about life, very non-Indian to say the least. Geez, have I become philosophical or what :-o?!
P.S: No offence to Indian culture, lifestyle, etc. Just my thoughts on some differences.
Dec 27, 2009
Nov 22, 2009
Intermission - Lessons from Amrika
Being my extremely innovative self, I'm proposing having intermissions in blogging as well. As if Google Adsense wasn't enough..! This post is going to be all about promoting Insomnium.
.............................. I N S O M N I U M ........................
In case you didn't close the window (which I know you didn't as you just love Insomnium and hate to admit it as it makes me feel good about myself :P), I caught you with my classic joke. As Sheldon says, "BAZZINGA"!
So now that the ever-so-funny prank is over, let me resume from where I left off last time.
The first week I was here, I couldn't help but admire the greenery all around. So many freaking trees. It makes up for the global warming caused by the obscene size of the cars (?) people drive around here. Actually, I'll deviate a bit here since this is to be some kind of intermission.
I don't quite believe in this 'global warming'. I'm heavily influenced by the capitalistic nature of US, wherein the hype created upon some new tragedy to me is more to do with the green bills (read money) than anything else. I don't know why I'm like this, but then that is me, and Insomnium is just awesome, and nothing else matters in life, does it :P? [muahaha, u wish u cud kill me don'ya?]
So, what I feel is, like some people who oppose the whole global warming thingy, that the 'polar ice caps' melting, the sea level increasing has been happening all the while the earth has existed. We just never noticed it because we didn't have the technology and devices to measure all this a century back. And its just that some people have such great insight into making this a new technology called 'Go Green', where green stands for the US $ bill. Sure, our fossil fuels are getting over slowly and the ozone layer is finally seeking a divorce with Earth for farting so badly, but what is this new green technology doing about it? You were asked to celebrate 'Earth Hour' and switch off your lights to show you 'truly' realize this impending disaster, but what happened after that? You got back to your normal life and stopped thinking about it till your read this (ok a little exaggeration at times..)? The best thing that came out of it was some cool photography, showing the lights slowly go off and come on. That is about it!
Bloody hell, over here, frugality in switching off lights manually doesn't exist. You need sensor networks to do all this stuff for you. Its just become a new industry to fool more people! The progress is so slim, yet new products claiming all sorts of stuff keep coming out.
I admit, there are some nice things, like increased recycling importance in manufacturing that have become more prevalent, but what is the magnitude of money that has gone into research in this direction? All just because people in the developed countries fear that their place will become another Chennai (i'm so dead, all you chennai folks are gonna thrash me for this :| ).
Anyways, this was quite a long intermission and my Insomnium playlist has just gotten over, so adios, stay metal, promote bands like Insomnium instead of worry about your weather becoming a little warmer.
.............................. I N S O M N I U M ........................
In case you didn't close the window (which I know you didn't as you just love Insomnium and hate to admit it as it makes me feel good about myself :P), I caught you with my classic joke. As Sheldon says, "BAZZINGA"!
So now that the ever-so-funny prank is over, let me resume from where I left off last time.
The first week I was here, I couldn't help but admire the greenery all around. So many freaking trees. It makes up for the global warming caused by the obscene size of the cars (?) people drive around here. Actually, I'll deviate a bit here since this is to be some kind of intermission.
I don't quite believe in this 'global warming'. I'm heavily influenced by the capitalistic nature of US, wherein the hype created upon some new tragedy to me is more to do with the green bills (read money) than anything else. I don't know why I'm like this, but then that is me, and Insomnium is just awesome, and nothing else matters in life, does it :P? [muahaha, u wish u cud kill me don'ya?]
So, what I feel is, like some people who oppose the whole global warming thingy, that the 'polar ice caps' melting, the sea level increasing has been happening all the while the earth has existed. We just never noticed it because we didn't have the technology and devices to measure all this a century back. And its just that some people have such great insight into making this a new technology called 'Go Green', where green stands for the US $ bill. Sure, our fossil fuels are getting over slowly and the ozone layer is finally seeking a divorce with Earth for farting so badly, but what is this new green technology doing about it? You were asked to celebrate 'Earth Hour' and switch off your lights to show you 'truly' realize this impending disaster, but what happened after that? You got back to your normal life and stopped thinking about it till your read this (ok a little exaggeration at times..)? The best thing that came out of it was some cool photography, showing the lights slowly go off and come on. That is about it!
Bloody hell, over here, frugality in switching off lights manually doesn't exist. You need sensor networks to do all this stuff for you. Its just become a new industry to fool more people! The progress is so slim, yet new products claiming all sorts of stuff keep coming out.
I admit, there are some nice things, like increased recycling importance in manufacturing that have become more prevalent, but what is the magnitude of money that has gone into research in this direction? All just because people in the developed countries fear that their place will become another Chennai (i'm so dead, all you chennai folks are gonna thrash me for this :| ).
Anyways, this was quite a long intermission and my Insomnium playlist has just gotten over, so adios, stay metal, promote bands like Insomnium instead of worry about your weather becoming a little warmer.
Nov 17, 2009
Part 1 - Lessons from Amrika
This is the first in a series of posts of my learning's from this country (which will continue until they deport me) very similar to how Borat expressed his views in the movie with the longest name ever... so uhm... boratically.
First thing you will notice when you land in an airport, anywhere en route, is that it isn't India. You won't find people when you need them, you'll need to figure of things yourself, rather than just ask the nearest person. And all this will make sense when you try to call home. They charge you 1$ for 2minutes if I remember right, and at Frankfurt, it gets worse. You need to get a calling card which is the shittiest thing ever for what its worth.
Once you step out of the airport, if its your first time abroad, you'll be startled by the cleanliness and the wide roads and the size of the four-wheelers that more often than not, carry just one person. What the hell are they talking about global warming for? Shops are powered all the time, as though electricity is ubiquitous. Oh wait, in this part of the world, it is :-/
As computers love binary and excel at such computations, an Indian in Amrika will excel at multiplying by 50. But after a while, you tend to realize that it isn't all that costly for the amount you can make over here, with a part-time job, if you're lucky to get one that is.
The transportation system and the amount of planning that has gone into a city is just :-O
The number of people jogging is insane, its like some race to be fit and makes you feel completely out of shape :-x.. and every jogger has a few wires attached to some apple product.
After a few months of graduate skool (its kewl 2 type school dis way), you will figure out just why very few Amrikans choose the graduate path. With the amount of distraction they have, its quite impossible to focus on academics. The beauty that you see around during the Fall is just unbelievable. The colorful flora and the oh-so-many-hot girls make for a deadly eye straining combo. Hence, it is highly advised to bring an extra pair of spectacles or contact lenses with a higher power index when you come here. If your hostel life wasn't enough to make you miss Mummy's cooking (like atish's mess), then living abroad definitely will. I'm really glad I took some lessons in culinary before coming. Not only is my capsicum curry the talk of Madison, I've actually started to like cooking :-~~
You also learn that some guys are really good at cooking, and its good to learn new recipes now and then.
And graduate life isn't really as hard as others tell it is. At least if you're in Computer Science, where life is always easy and binary. Don't have your hopes set too high for funding before you come, like me, else you'll feel pretty bad after a while :-/ You're bound to meet some characters when you come here, and that adds to all the fun :-D
Okay, time to watch big bang theory now :D Geeky humor is something graduate students can associate to really well! More on the weather, wal-mart, etc next time around.
First thing you will notice when you land in an airport, anywhere en route, is that it isn't India. You won't find people when you need them, you'll need to figure of things yourself, rather than just ask the nearest person. And all this will make sense when you try to call home. They charge you 1$ for 2minutes if I remember right, and at Frankfurt, it gets worse. You need to get a calling card which is the shittiest thing ever for what its worth.
Once you step out of the airport, if its your first time abroad, you'll be startled by the cleanliness and the wide roads and the size of the four-wheelers that more often than not, carry just one person. What the hell are they talking about global warming for? Shops are powered all the time, as though electricity is ubiquitous. Oh wait, in this part of the world, it is :-/
As computers love binary and excel at such computations, an Indian in Amrika will excel at multiplying by 50. But after a while, you tend to realize that it isn't all that costly for the amount you can make over here, with a part-time job, if you're lucky to get one that is.
The transportation system and the amount of planning that has gone into a city is just :-O
The number of people jogging is insane, its like some race to be fit and makes you feel completely out of shape :-x.. and every jogger has a few wires attached to some apple product.
After a few months of graduate skool (its kewl 2 type school dis way), you will figure out just why very few Amrikans choose the graduate path. With the amount of distraction they have, its quite impossible to focus on academics. The beauty that you see around during the Fall is just unbelievable. The colorful flora and the oh-so-many-hot girls make for a deadly eye straining combo. Hence, it is highly advised to bring an extra pair of spectacles or contact lenses with a higher power index when you come here. If your hostel life wasn't enough to make you miss Mummy's cooking (like atish's mess), then living abroad definitely will. I'm really glad I took some lessons in culinary before coming. Not only is my capsicum curry the talk of Madison, I've actually started to like cooking :-~~
You also learn that some guys are really good at cooking, and its good to learn new recipes now and then.
And graduate life isn't really as hard as others tell it is. At least if you're in Computer Science, where life is always easy and binary. Don't have your hopes set too high for funding before you come, like me, else you'll feel pretty bad after a while :-/ You're bound to meet some characters when you come here, and that adds to all the fun :-D
Okay, time to watch big bang theory now :D Geeky humor is something graduate students can associate to really well! More on the weather, wal-mart, etc next time around.
Oct 5, 2009
What should i get kod on ..?
It has come to my attention that this very question haunts many of you, be it thanksgiving, x-mas, 23/05, new years, diwali, brothers day, gamers day, metal heads day, any day in May, 23rd of any month, etc.
I thought being my philanthropic self, I would compile a top 10 things to get me list.
1> A ticket to Wacken Open Air for August 2010 [ and may be the flight ticket as well..]
2> An all expenses paid trip to watch Insomnium/Dark Tranquillity/In Flames/AmonAmarth/Eluveitie LIVE [ I give so many sub-options, the generosity is everywhere..]
3> A BOSE home theater system
4> A BOSE noise cancellation headset
5> Canon DSLR
6> Mclaren Mercedes F1 [Tip : you could start a 'Fund KoD his Mclaren' NGO]
7> Ticket to Federer v/s Nadal game
8> A job with Blizzard to work on Warcraft4
9> Teach him how to play Insomnium's tracks on guitar [not guitar hero for the puritans]
10> Make a time machine to make him go back to BITS.
So there you have it. A very feasible, simple and down to earth list of stuff to gift me.
I thought being my philanthropic self, I would compile a top 10 things to get me list.
1> A ticket to Wacken Open Air for August 2010 [ and may be the flight ticket as well..]
2> An all expenses paid trip to watch Insomnium/Dark Tranquillity/In Flames/AmonAmarth/Eluveitie LIVE [ I give so many sub-options, the generosity is everywhere..]
3> A BOSE home theater system
4> A BOSE noise cancellation headset
5> Canon DSLR
6> Mclaren Mercedes F1 [Tip : you could start a 'Fund KoD his Mclaren' NGO]
7> Ticket to Federer v/s Nadal game
8> A job with Blizzard to work on Warcraft4
9> Teach him how to play Insomnium's tracks on guitar [not guitar hero for the puritans]
10> Make a time machine to make him go back to BITS.
So there you have it. A very feasible, simple and down to earth list of stuff to gift me.
Jun 10, 2009
Why play DotA?
Ok this is gonna be a short post. A question that many people ask, for which even a Googling results in
Did you mean "The dumb equivalent of asking why you should use Google to search the web"?
Let me try to help a poor soul asking this.
Top 11 reasons to play DotA
----------------------------------
- Counter Strike started to get boring [actually means you are a noob in CS and will always be]
- The guys in that wing play it all the time, its gotta be good.
- I don't want to have/have a girlfriend yet.
- I hate friendly fire in CS.
- I've played Warcraft 3 and it was freaking awesome
- Its the best game ever! At least that is what the others say.
- I love hearing Holy Shit! all the time (and thats why I want to play with KiSSofdeAtH :P)
- I want my CG to fall so much that others will notice me.
- DotA makes you more of a man [Based on a research at MIT, 2006]
- The girls in my college have a mush, need I say more?
- Nothing beats stress like pwning nOObs.
Did you mean "The dumb equivalent of asking why you should use Google to search the web"?
Let me try to help a poor soul asking this.
Top 11 reasons to play DotA
----------------------------------
- Counter Strike started to get boring [actually means you are a noob in CS and will always be]
- The guys in that wing play it all the time, its gotta be good.
- I don't want to have/have a girlfriend yet.
- I hate friendly fire in CS.
- I've played Warcraft 3 and it was freaking awesome
- Its the best game ever! At least that is what the others say.
- I love hearing Holy Shit! all the time (and thats why I want to play with KiSSofdeAtH :P)
- I want my CG to fall so much that others will notice me.
- DotA makes you more of a man [Based on a research at MIT, 2006]
- The girls in my college have a mush, need I say more?
- Nothing beats stress like pwning nOObs.
Mar 15, 2009
Dawn of DotA
Caution: The article below contains a lot of complicated names and words which are below the understanding of a normal person. I suggest you take an WTF-DIDILWOPD (WTF did i do in life w/o playin Dota) test and if you get more than 98, you can proceed.
It all started in the first semester of my third year at college. Counter Strike and Age of Empires were ruling the roost in LAN gaming at campus. Dota was initially 'just another' Warcraft map for the most of us, but little did we know that this game would be more addictive than even Counter Strike. Looking back on how I got hooked to this game, I seem to have forgotten most of it :-/
[The story below is based on Mojo aka the-guy-who-played-beast-master-most-of-the-time 's memory]
(or was it controlling the pig more than the hero.. hence we saw the pig surviving more than the hero :P)
Buster, chimp, mojo and I used to play the traditional Warcraft maps and one fine day, they told us about this map (citation needed..). There was this nice competitive feeling when we played against the Bh3 guys and hence we wanted to learn this new map asap. The nights of the following week were spent playing a lot of 2v2 games. sc[chaitu aka the guy-who-does-not-know-time] mave[ani] mojo[mr. TI] and myself found everything so confusing. Especially mave! He took Axe aka Mogul Kahn in his first game and skilled Taunt [Berserker's call] first. He used it thinking that it would damage us [mojo&me v/s ani&sc] and ended up dying immediately :D
"WtF" was his reaction. All of us had played the warcraft campaigns and hence knew a thing or two about warcraft, but DotA was a total puzzle initially. And in case you're curious, my first hero was the ever beautiful Crystal Maiden [:D] for obvious reasons. Many items needed 1 wood and we wondered how to acquire that resource. After some googling, a lot of it started to become clear. Sc's Eye of Skadi build became THE build for all heroes as +10 stats for every orb was a nice deal for noobs :D
For CS reasons I picked sniper a lot [lesser than the famed sniper of Bits, Chattis ofc.] I can't forget that game with the Bh3 fellows when I was 17-0 with sniper :-) It was then that we came to know of Bh4's Dota craze [I think it was chimp/buster telling us to help them beat bh4..!]. It was 3v3 and rajukiller took balanar. The nights we spent anazlysing the heroes in Dota occupy sector 51 of my brain. Just unforgettable. When we saw Balanar's ultimate as "Change to night", sc and I were like ' WTF? Thats all? Omfg Rofl useless hero' and dismissed him from our list of useful heroes. That was to change very soon. We got totally owned that game and my sniper was a sitting duck :-x . Apparently, Bh4 started playing Dota a lot earlier and hence were much better than the rest of us [And for the curious few, Chattis picked enchantress that game :-/ and tanked her..]
As with most other games, we knew the best
way to become pero's was to watch replays. Many and nights followed with analysis of replays featuring CoL (Complexity) and then MYM, SK, VP, EG, KS, etc etc.
Ah, the number of games spent in learning this marvel of a map and the fun we've had in playing it over and over again can't be expressed in words. Its unbelievable what computer programming can create. The gpa loss of playing is worth all the fun you have in the game :)
What started of as 10-15 people playing DotA is now the craze in Bits. I've drastically reduced the amount I play this game, though I can't quite get it to zero. And yes, that pic is the load screen of v6.48, my favorite!
The green game, as my mom calls it, is something I can't ever forget.
It all started in the first semester of my third year at college. Counter Strike and Age of Empires were ruling the roost in LAN gaming at campus. Dota was initially 'just another' Warcraft map for the most of us, but little did we know that this game would be more addictive than even Counter Strike. Looking back on how I got hooked to this game, I seem to have forgotten most of it :-/
[The story below is based on Mojo aka the-guy-who-played-beast-master-most-of-the-time 's memory]
(or was it controlling the pig more than the hero.. hence we saw the pig surviving more than the hero :P)
Buster, chimp, mojo and I used to play the traditional Warcraft maps and one fine day, they told us about this map (citation needed..). There was this nice competitive feeling when we played against the Bh3 guys and hence we wanted to learn this new map asap. The nights of the following week were spent playing a lot of 2v2 games. sc[chaitu aka the guy-who-does-not-know-time] mave[ani] mojo[mr. TI] and myself found everything so confusing. Especially mave! He took Axe aka Mogul Kahn in his first game and skilled Taunt [Berserker's call] first. He used it thinking that it would damage us [mojo&me v/s ani&sc] and ended up dying immediately :D
"WtF" was his reaction. All of us had played the warcraft campaigns and hence knew a thing or two about warcraft, but DotA was a total puzzle initially. And in case you're curious, my first hero was the ever beautiful Crystal Maiden [:D] for obvious reasons. Many items needed 1 wood and we wondered how to acquire that resource. After some googling, a lot of it started to become clear. Sc's Eye of Skadi build became THE build for all heroes as +10 stats for every orb was a nice deal for noobs :D
For CS reasons I picked sniper a lot [lesser than the famed sniper of Bits, Chattis ofc.] I can't forget that game with the Bh3 fellows when I was 17-0 with sniper :-) It was then that we came to know of Bh4's Dota craze [I think it was chimp/buster telling us to help them beat bh4..!]. It was 3v3 and rajukiller took balanar. The nights we spent anazlysing the heroes in Dota occupy sector 51 of my brain. Just unforgettable. When we saw Balanar's ultimate as "Change to night", sc and I were like ' WTF? Thats all? Omfg Rofl useless hero' and dismissed him from our list of useful heroes. That was to change very soon. We got totally owned that game and my sniper was a sitting duck :-x . Apparently, Bh4 started playing Dota a lot earlier and hence were much better than the rest of us [And for the curious few, Chattis picked enchantress that game :-/ and tanked her..]
As with most other games, we knew the best
way to become pero's was to watch replays. Many and nights followed with analysis of replays featuring CoL (Complexity) and then MYM, SK, VP, EG, KS, etc etc.Ah, the number of games spent in learning this marvel of a map and the fun we've had in playing it over and over again can't be expressed in words. Its unbelievable what computer programming can create. The gpa loss of playing is worth all the fun you have in the game :)
What started of as 10-15 people playing DotA is now the craze in Bits. I've drastically reduced the amount I play this game, though I can't quite get it to zero. And yes, that pic is the load screen of v6.48, my favorite!
The green game, as my mom calls it, is something I can't ever forget.
Feb 27, 2009
Review - Delhi6
This has been something I wanted to do all week. The tragedy took place on Friday when we went for the first day show for this I'm-not-gonna-reveal-so-soon-how-it-was movie. As usual, the movie scheduled at 4:30 starts at 4:45. Frankly, those 15 minutes were better than the whole movie. Basically, Abhishek wants to bring his grandma to India, see her die in peace and then go back to USA. That is the whole story. Well, almost. I forgot the main hero [or was it villain] of the movie. The 'Kala Bandar'. Apparently, the producer assumes we are naive and love repetitive humo
ur and so the same shit goes on the whole movie. Initially, its hilarious. But then he tries to make you laugh at yourself for coming to watch the movie. But even kala bandar was tolerable to this poor soul. Where I lost it is Abhishek taking innumerable snaps with his Motorola phone. That is the absolute tip of the iceberg of patience. The phone seems to take 10 mega pixel clear pictures. I have vowed never to buy a Motorola equipment as long as Mr.Flaunter is their brand ambassador.
Coming back to the horrific movie, the story is more of songs+crap+ a for loop+crap. The loop contains the Motorola advertisements, our lady trying to become an Indian idol and dear old kala bandar. The crap contains numerous Hindu-Muslim fights and a never-ending Ramayana drama. The only good part of the film are the unbelievably short songs [or so to say, as I didn't quite enjoy them; but my friends did :-P]. The producer wanted us to remember Kala Bandar more than anything else throughout the movie. I think the concept of Kala Bandar has been stolen from the evil monkey is Chris's closet in Family Guy. The latter is a slapstick comedy show and hence can have totally dumb stuff [which is what makes it so funny], but this is a goddamn movie ffs! I haven't been to Delhi and so I couldn't 'feel' the effect or whatever other Delhi-ites claim to feel. Afaik, they showed only Delhi-6 [Chandni Chowk] as the name suggests which really wasn't so Delhi-to-see. Acting wise, most of them were good. But the script was just so freakishly dumb that acting skills would go unnoticed. As usual, Abhishek does his wrist-movement dances. Well, he just redid whatever he used in the Motorola ads as he obviously doesn't know to dance. Leg movement = -10 , Wrist and Elbow [Rapper style] = +1000 to summarize his dance. What the producer didn't know is that Abhishek dancing in itself would be a comedy scene and hence, the full potential of the actor wasn't used. I don't find Sonam Kapoor that 'beautiful' [though one Mr.Tinku begs to differ :P] and hence I didn't have much to do the whole film other than abuse it. I thought Abhishek dies in the end and hence felt much happier, but even that wasn't to be. Three full hours and 200 bucks lighter, it was the perfect way to celebrate TGIF. In short, the review would be WTF?!?. So, those of you who haven't watched it yet, STAY AWAY.
Moral of the Story: Read the review and then go to the movie, else get owned.
ur and so the same shit goes on the whole movie. Initially, its hilarious. But then he tries to make you laugh at yourself for coming to watch the movie. But even kala bandar was tolerable to this poor soul. Where I lost it is Abhishek taking innumerable snaps with his Motorola phone. That is the absolute tip of the iceberg of patience. The phone seems to take 10 mega pixel clear pictures. I have vowed never to buy a Motorola equipment as long as Mr.Flaunter is their brand ambassador.Coming back to the horrific movie, the story is more of songs+crap+ a for loop+crap. The loop contains the Motorola advertisements, our lady trying to become an Indian idol and dear old kala bandar. The crap contains numerous Hindu-Muslim fights and a never-ending Ramayana drama. The only good part of the film are the unbelievably short songs [or so to say, as I didn't quite enjoy them; but my friends did :-P]. The producer wanted us to remember Kala Bandar more than anything else throughout the movie. I think the concept of Kala Bandar has been stolen from the evil monkey is Chris's closet in Family Guy. The latter is a slapstick comedy show and hence can have totally dumb stuff [which is what makes it so funny], but this is a goddamn movie ffs! I haven't been to Delhi and so I couldn't 'feel' the effect or whatever other Delhi-ites claim to feel. Afaik, they showed only Delhi-6 [Chandni Chowk] as the name suggests which really wasn't so Delhi-to-see. Acting wise, most of them were good. But the script was just so freakishly dumb that acting skills would go unnoticed. As usual, Abhishek does his wrist-movement dances. Well, he just redid whatever he used in the Motorola ads as he obviously doesn't know to dance. Leg movement = -10 , Wrist and Elbow [Rapper style] = +1000 to summarize his dance. What the producer didn't know is that Abhishek dancing in itself would be a comedy scene and hence, the full potential of the actor wasn't used. I don't find Sonam Kapoor that 'beautiful' [though one Mr.Tinku begs to differ :P] and hence I didn't have much to do the whole film other than abuse it. I thought Abhishek dies in the end and hence felt much happier, but even that wasn't to be. Three full hours and 200 bucks lighter, it was the perfect way to celebrate TGIF. In short, the review would be WTF?!?. So, those of you who haven't watched it yet, STAY AWAY.
Moral of the Story: Read the review and then go to the movie, else get owned.
Soaps
Yeah, one of the things I just can't comprehend is the Tamil and Hindi soaps on TV. Its just mind-boggling how people watch them. Unfortunately, during dinner time, I am exposed to extremely harmful radiations from them. What these radiations do is absolutely mind-fc*k you. The screenplay is outrageous. Its like a 5 page story written on a piece of rubber paper and extended for some 100 shows. And to top that, the amount of glycerine used [for tears] would be a guiness record in itself! The tamil (and hindi, as well..) soaps begin with a 4minute song that features every character dancing. That in itself is enough for an advertisement at times. I don't understand whats with all the dancing, coz when the story starts, its almost always 'all crying'.
The most hilarious (and seriously dumbest) part is the camera tricks and video editing. Its like some 5 year old video editing software is being used [obviously downloaded free of cost, as it is so feature-poor] and during the so-called-climax scenes, they use some cheap tricks and add some horrible music to it. Some of them remind me of powerpoint animations, like bring a pic from the left, center or right...how lame. And with all this, you have a rip-off story that contains approximately 40% crying/disappointment, 30% crap, 15% video-tricks and 15% story. And unfortunately, these are the only programs that run on soap-channels during dinner :-/
If you have seen at least one english sitcom in your life, watching 30 mins of unadulterated-tamil/hindi-soap can be the absolute torture. I think this technique should also be used to make criminals and terrorists submit :P When it comes to hindi soaps, the equation changes a bit. Instead of obscene amount of death and crying as in the tamil soaps, here you have omdg amount of dances and marriage ceremonies. Its like everyone in the crew gets married at least once during the course of the serial [ Unfortunately, these are based on very vague memories of high school. Things might have changed now, for the worse..]. What I would like to know is how they get the sponsors. I have to admit, during the 30 mins of programme time, 12 mins goes in ads [ and yeah, 4 mins for the intro of the soap :-D]. Thats about enough of venting out my frustration. I shall leave the remaining for DotA.
The most hilarious (and seriously dumbest) part is the camera tricks and video editing. Its like some 5 year old video editing software is being used [obviously downloaded free of cost, as it is so feature-poor] and during the so-called-climax scenes, they use some cheap tricks and add some horrible music to it. Some of them remind me of powerpoint animations, like bring a pic from the left, center or right...how lame. And with all this, you have a rip-off story that contains approximately 40% crying/disappointment, 30% crap, 15% video-tricks and 15% story. And unfortunately, these are the only programs that run on soap-channels during dinner :-/
If you have seen at least one english sitcom in your life, watching 30 mins of unadulterated-tamil/hindi-soap can be the absolute torture. I think this technique should also be used to make criminals and terrorists submit :P When it comes to hindi soaps, the equation changes a bit. Instead of obscene amount of death and crying as in the tamil soaps, here you have omdg amount of dances and marriage ceremonies. Its like everyone in the crew gets married at least once during the course of the serial [ Unfortunately, these are based on very vague memories of high school. Things might have changed now, for the worse..]. What I would like to know is how they get the sponsors. I have to admit, during the 30 mins of programme time, 12 mins goes in ads [ and yeah, 4 mins for the intro of the soap :-D]. Thats about enough of venting out my frustration. I shall leave the remaining for DotA.
Jan 4, 2009
Melodeath \m/
I've gotten addicted to this genre of melodic death thrash metal. From various sources, I've managed to make a list of some of the really good bands in this genre. I'm gonna rearrange the whole post so that the latest updates are always at the top.
In case you've just stumbled across this post for the first time, start reading from bottom-up as thats what they taught me in computer science for 4 years.
So from now on, the latest update is on your face. So m2l2 :D
And yes, no bias, but Amon Amarth was the best band ever until Dark Tranquillity came into my life which has fallen to I N S O M N I U M. And so if you haven't heard any of 'em yet after all my advertising (also called persuading) in gtalk/facebook, mebbe its time you did that. I've been listening at least one of them almost everyday for the last eight months and I'm still awestruck by everything from vocals to guitars to the drumming.
_____________________________________________________________________
Update13: HELL YEAH! The beautiful number 13 turns out to be a good one for this post!
I've got my dose of melodic death metal for the month alright..!! \m/ <(0.0)> \m/
Last week has been a great one for melodic death/folk metal. Two outstanding albums have made their presence felt in the web. Dark Tranquillity's We Are The Void and Eluveitie's Everything Remains As It Never Was. I've been waiting for these high profile releases ever since they put up a few of their songs in MySpace last year, more so for Eluveitie because this album is MUCH harsher, much more METAL than the last. Not that any of the folk instruments have lost their importance, just that some of the songs have a lot more melodic death metal elements.
The songs I recommend from DT's latest are 'The Fatalist', 'In My Absence', 'The Grandest Accusation', 'At the point of ignition', 'Her Silent Language' and 'Iridium'. This actually makes up more than half the album! Its not as brilliant as The Gallery or Fiction, but its still great to listen to. Keep in mind, DT has been making music for more than 15 years and the quality of the band hasn't diminished like most other bands that tend to go mainstream in order to attract the metal core fans. Examples of the latter sell-outs would be In Flames, CoB, Metallica...
DT is still MELODIC DEATH METAL, with almost the same lineup that it had 15 years back. We Are The Void has definitely stood up to the literal meaning 'Without DT, Melodic Death Metal does indeed have a void..'
Now coming to my highly anticipated release! Eluveitie! The magical folk music mixed with metal, like a metalchemist!
Their first video 'Thousandfold' was just out of the world. I find it better than their very famous Inis Mona!
They've put up their album in MySpace for the next one week for all their fans to find out what their latest album is about.
Clearly, that shows their confidence in having made an album that exceeds fans expectations. The album is just mindblowing, from start to finish. You can check out their songs (for the next one week) at this link. Its been just over 2 days since they put up all the songs of this album on MySpace and the number of plays has crossed 100,000! Isn't that insane?!
My recommendations? Plenty of them!! In my order of preference, it would be Lugdunon (it is just out-of-the-world, feels like an old song, with all those folk instruments making you feel like listening to it over and over again), Thousandfold (need I say more? The video is just awe-fcuking-some) , Quoth The Raven (Eargasmic, mixed vocals from Chrigel and Meri {she lets a scream go.. its just :O :O}, awesome tempo, lotsa guitar, violin and cool drumming, one of my favs!), (Do)minion (I'm losing adjectives here.. another masterpiece, though the concert version seemed a lot more harsher, its really different and nice!), Isara (I forgot to mention this the first time I wrote the post. If this song were to be copied by ndian musicians, it would become a mega hit..its instrumental, so do check it out ;)), Kingdom Come Undone, Everything Remains As It Never Was .. HUFF!
Its a breath-taking album, I think I'll just order it once it releases here. This band doesn't fail to impress. They visited IIT-G a week back! And guess what I heard, BSB is headlining India's Rockfest, an event that was headlined last year by one of the greatest bands of all time 'Iron Maiden'. Just when I thought my country was going towards becoming a metal hub, this gay shit happens. All the girls (how the hell did you end up reading this anyway?!), if you're in India, go have a ball, and this Valentine's Day, Quit Playing Games With My Heart....
Update12: Boy o' boy, have I got some awesome updates lined up this time or what?! Lets start with yet another Finnish band, which stormed into the doom metal scene in 2003. Its a band that is supported by Insomnium when on tour (how sad.. Insomnium so very much deserve to be the main show). Anyways, it took me a while to start liking their music, but now, I'm really into them. The band is Swallow the Sun aka StS. I've just started to explore their stuff and I find a stark resemblance to the pattern I experienced with Insomnium. It takes a while to appreciate certain tracks, so give 'em a few listens before judging. And since this is a doom band, the tempo is generally slow, but the melodies are great. Aleksi Munter, the StS keyboardist features in many epic tracks of Insomnium's last 2 albums and does a great job in providing the doom atmosphere. The tracks I recommend are Don't Fall Asleep (very powerful song, you just wanna listen to it over and over again!), Hope (the reason they are so popular in USA), Falling World (this one has clean vocals throughout), These Lowlands (melodiously melancholic), Out of this gloomy light (godlevel), Swallow, Doomed to Walk the Earth.
And their live performances are a treat. 5 musicians headbanging synchronously is always great to watch \m/ So go ahead and swallow the sun, at least musically!
The next band is also Finnish. Its a melodic death metal band called Mors Principium Est. I've just heard a few tracks of theirs and two of them stand out for me. Pure and Pressure. Check it out, very unique stuff!
2010 is gonna be off to a great start. Eluveitie, Dark Tranquillity and Kalmah are slated to release their latest albums, so there's a lot of melodious music to look forward to. Eluveitie released a video of Thousandfold, one of the tracks from their new album 'Everything remains as it never was'. Its just brilliant. Do check this one out if you thought Inis Mona was eargasmic! Another track that was played live recently is (Do)minion. I didn't quite like it initially, but after a couple of relistens, I can't wait to hear the studio version of it, it does seem to be a cracker of an album!
So I'll stop here.. hope you enjoy some of the stuff I've recommended (p.s comment section feels lonely)! Adios \m/O.O\m/
Update11: Finland seems to be a magical place for melodious metal music. Eternal Tears of Sorrow is the band in the limelight of this update. Music is very melodious with a lot of keyboard elements mixed with beautiful guitar work. The songs I recommend are Autumn's Grief , Prophetian, Aeon, The Last one for Life, Angel Heart: Raven Heart, Blood of Faith stains my hand and Aurora Borealis.
Hmm, I don't have much to say really. These are some of the songs I really enjoyed. Check them out :-)
Update10: This update is all about Insomnium. If you don't like Insomnium, just close this tab right now, add this blog link to those that you must never go to and add that to your gtalk status.
There are so many adjectives (positive) in the English language that this band are to be associated with, but since I didn't fare too well in the GRE, I won't show off my ignorance. Their fourth album 'Across the dark' has been the talk of the metal world in Europe. Though I've had their discography for almost a year, somehow, for no scientifically plausible reason, have I managed to not realize the beauty in some of their lesser known compositions. May be, I was blinded by the sheer talent that this quartet have, or may be DotA was responsible. Either way, this update is to spread the joy of listening to such tracks.
The Bereavement, Nocturne, Day it all came down, Death walked the Earth, At the gates of sleep, The Killjoy are a few of their masterpieces.
Its just nerve racking that some slutty female singers or gay male 'singers?' command all the attention in iTunes, while some of these Scandinavian bands, signed to not-very-known-labels are not even listed in the searches. The music tastes of people might vary, but to have such over whelming responses to such artistes is just a disgrace. It goes to show how most of the world is brainwashed in different aspects. Anyways, if you've read so far and liked some of the suggestions, there is a link called 'Comment' at the end of the post.
Update9: So I return after a long layoff. May be the recession had something to do with it! [haha what a sad joke :D] In less than a month, Insomnium's latest album 'Across the Dark' releases. As usual, a leaked version is out on the net and being the pirate that I am, I downloaded it. The first time I heard it, I felt that not much had changed in their music apart from adding clean vocals to a few of their songs. And then, I heard 'Weighted down with sorrow'. I was dumbstruck in awe of how one could make such sorrowful music seem heavenly. This has to be the best song that I have ever heard in my life. Pure magic. The vocals take a backseat and the melancholic mood is evident the whole song. And this is just the leaked out version..! In case you haven't checked it yet after all the advertising in the last few weeks [I get paid a few bucks for this..], then hell with you, close this window and jump out of yours :P
You can listen to the entire album on Youtube or get the leaked out shit at rapidshare, etc etc.
I checked out some of the pro-reviews on this album and was quite disheartened to see some experts say that Insomnium hasn't developed a bit on the music, and that it is the same stuff as in the last 3 albums. I might be their fanboy and hence applaud every bit of music they create, but then everyone is gonna have their own views. What Insomnium have created works for me =)
Update8: I never thought I was gonna eat my own words :-( Amon Amarth which has been one of my most favorite bands for almost a year finally loses its position to Dark Tranquillity. DT is one of the pioneers of the melodic death metal genre that I crave for. In spite of mentioning it earlier, I had to make a new update for them coz only when you listen to the entire discography of a band, you get to know how imba they are.
In case you've just stumbled across this post for the first time, start reading from bottom-up as thats what they taught me in computer science for 4 years.
So from now on, the latest update is on your face. So m2l2 :D
And yes, no bias, but Amon Amarth was the best band ever until Dark Tranquillity came into my life which has fallen to I N S O M N I U M. And so if you haven't heard any of 'em yet after all my advertising (also called persuading) in gtalk/facebook, mebbe its time you did that. I've been listening at least one of them almost everyday for the last eight months and I'm still awestruck by everything from vocals to guitars to the drumming.
_____________________________________________________________________
Update13: HELL YEAH! The beautiful number 13 turns out to be a good one for this post!
I've got my dose of melodic death metal for the month alright..!! \m/ <(0.0)> \m/
Last week has been a great one for melodic death/folk metal. Two outstanding albums have made their presence felt in the web. Dark Tranquillity's We Are The Void and Eluveitie's Everything Remains As It Never Was. I've been waiting for these high profile releases ever since they put up a few of their songs in MySpace last year, more so for Eluveitie because this album is MUCH harsher, much more METAL than the last. Not that any of the folk instruments have lost their importance, just that some of the songs have a lot more melodic death metal elements.
The songs I recommend from DT's latest are 'The Fatalist', 'In My Absence', 'The Grandest Accusation', 'At the point of ignition', 'Her Silent Language' and 'Iridium'. This actually makes up more than half the album! Its not as brilliant as The Gallery or Fiction, but its still great to listen to. Keep in mind, DT has been making music for more than 15 years and the quality of the band hasn't diminished like most other bands that tend to go mainstream in order to attract the metal core fans. Examples of the latter sell-outs would be In Flames, CoB, Metallica...
DT is still MELODIC DEATH METAL, with almost the same lineup that it had 15 years back. We Are The Void has definitely stood up to the literal meaning 'Without DT, Melodic Death Metal does indeed have a void..'
Now coming to my highly anticipated release! Eluveitie! The magical folk music mixed with metal, like a metalchemist!
Their first video 'Thousandfold' was just out of the world. I find it better than their very famous Inis Mona!
They've put up their album in MySpace for the next one week for all their fans to find out what their latest album is about.
Clearly, that shows their confidence in having made an album that exceeds fans expectations. The album is just mindblowing, from start to finish. You can check out their songs (for the next one week) at this link. Its been just over 2 days since they put up all the songs of this album on MySpace and the number of plays has crossed 100,000! Isn't that insane?!
Its a breath-taking album, I think I'll just order it once it releases here. This band doesn't fail to impress. They visited IIT-G a week back! And guess what I heard, BSB is headlining India's Rockfest, an event that was headlined last year by one of the greatest bands of all time 'Iron Maiden'. Just when I thought my country was going towards becoming a metal hub, this gay shit happens. All the girls (how the hell did you end up reading this anyway?!), if you're in India, go have a ball, and this Valentine's Day, Quit Playing Games With My Heart....
Update12: Boy o' boy, have I got some awesome updates lined up this time or what?! Lets start with yet another Finnish band, which stormed into the doom metal scene in 2003. Its a band that is supported by Insomnium when on tour (how sad.. Insomnium so very much deserve to be the main show). Anyways, it took me a while to start liking their music, but now, I'm really into them. The band is Swallow the Sun aka StS. I've just started to explore their stuff and I find a stark resemblance to the pattern I experienced with Insomnium. It takes a while to appreciate certain tracks, so give 'em a few listens before judging. And since this is a doom band, the tempo is generally slow, but the melodies are great. Aleksi Munter, the StS keyboardist features in many epic tracks of Insomnium's last 2 albums and does a great job in providing the doom atmosphere. The tracks I recommend are Don't Fall Asleep (very powerful song, you just wanna listen to it over and over again!), Hope (the reason they are so popular in USA), Falling World (this one has clean vocals throughout), These Lowlands (melodiously melancholic), Out of this gloomy light (godlevel), Swallow, Doomed to Walk the Earth.
And their live performances are a treat. 5 musicians headbanging synchronously is always great to watch \m/ So go ahead and swallow the sun, at least musically!
The next band is also Finnish. Its a melodic death metal band called Mors Principium Est. I've just heard a few tracks of theirs and two of them stand out for me. Pure and Pressure. Check it out, very unique stuff!
2010 is gonna be off to a great start. Eluveitie, Dark Tranquillity and Kalmah are slated to release their latest albums, so there's a lot of melodious music to look forward to. Eluveitie released a video of Thousandfold, one of the tracks from their new album 'Everything remains as it never was'. Its just brilliant. Do check this one out if you thought Inis Mona was eargasmic! Another track that was played live recently is (Do)minion. I didn't quite like it initially, but after a couple of relistens, I can't wait to hear the studio version of it, it does seem to be a cracker of an album!
So I'll stop here.. hope you enjoy some of the stuff I've recommended (p.s comment section feels lonely)! Adios \m/O.O\m/
Update11: Finland seems to be a magical place for melodious metal music. Eternal Tears of Sorrow is the band in the limelight of this update. Music is very melodious with a lot of keyboard elements mixed with beautiful guitar work. The songs I recommend are Autumn's Grief , Prophetian, Aeon, The Last one for Life, Angel Heart: Raven Heart, Blood of Faith stains my hand and Aurora Borealis.
Hmm, I don't have much to say really. These are some of the songs I really enjoyed. Check them out :-)
Update10: This update is all about Insomnium. If you don't like Insomnium, just close this tab right now, add this blog link to those that you must never go to and add that to your gtalk status.
There are so many adjectives (positive) in the English language that this band are to be associated with, but since I didn't fare too well in the GRE, I won't show off my ignorance. Their fourth album 'Across the dark' has been the talk of the metal world in Europe. Though I've had their discography for almost a year, somehow, for no scientifically plausible reason, have I managed to not realize the beauty in some of their lesser known compositions. May be, I was blinded by the sheer talent that this quartet have, or may be DotA was responsible. Either way, this update is to spread the joy of listening to such tracks.
The Bereavement, Nocturne, Day it all came down, Death walked the Earth, At the gates of sleep, The Killjoy are a few of their masterpieces.
Its just nerve racking that some slutty female singers or gay male 'singers?' command all the attention in iTunes, while some of these Scandinavian bands, signed to not-very-known-labels are not even listed in the searches. The music tastes of people might vary, but to have such over whelming responses to such artistes is just a disgrace. It goes to show how most of the world is brainwashed in different aspects. Anyways, if you've read so far and liked some of the suggestions, there is a link called 'Comment' at the end of the post.
Update9: So I return after a long layoff. May be the recession had something to do with it! [haha what a sad joke :D] In less than a month, Insomnium's latest album 'Across the Dark' releases. As usual, a leaked version is out on the net and being the pirate that I am, I downloaded it. The first time I heard it, I felt that not much had changed in their music apart from adding clean vocals to a few of their songs. And then, I heard 'Weighted down with sorrow'. I was dumbstruck in awe of how one could make such sorrowful music seem heavenly. This has to be the best song that I have ever heard in my life. Pure magic. The vocals take a backseat and the melancholic mood is evident the whole song. And this is just the leaked out version..! In case you haven't checked it yet after all the advertising in the last few weeks [I get paid a few bucks for this..], then hell with you, close this window and jump out of yours :P
You can listen to the entire album on Youtube or get the leaked out shit at rapidshare, etc etc.
I checked out some of the pro-reviews on this album and was quite disheartened to see some experts say that Insomnium hasn't developed a bit on the music, and that it is the same stuff as in the last 3 albums. I might be their fanboy and hence applaud every bit of music they create, but then everyone is gonna have their own views. What Insomnium have created works for me =)
Update8: I never thought I was gonna eat my own words :-( Amon Amarth which has been one of my most favorite bands for almost a year finally loses its position to Dark Tranquillity. DT is one of the pioneers of the melodic death metal genre that I crave for. In spite of mentioning it earlier, I had to make a new update for them coz only when you listen to the entire discography of a band, you get to know how imba they are.
Their music is just orgasmic to the ears as some folks in you tube put it :-)
The tracks that should form your playlist for the next month (!) are Wonders at your feet , Lethe , Terminus,
Haven, Mundane and the magic, Focus Shift, Misery's Crown, Hedon, Punish my heaven, Lady in Black, Monochromatic Stains. I could go on and on, but I don't like spoon feeding :P
And oh yeah, you should check out the lyrics coz its worth reading.. and growling along with ;)
Its time for me to headbang to these tracks.. adios.
So, go on, hear 'em and spread the word! Music for life ^_^
Update 7: Its heartening to finally see some comments for this post :-) This update will definitely change your current playlist for the next week. Guaren-damn-teed!! Even if you're someone who hates metal, the stuff I've mentioned in this update will mesmerise you. The music is completely different from any of the other bands mentioned earlier. The band comprises a mammoth 8 member group and uses at least 6 different instruments. The genre is not really melodic death metal, rather its Folk Metal. Its a swiss band called 'Eluveitie'. Their best tracks till now are Inis Mona , Of Fire Wind and wisdom, Gray Sublime Archon, Your Gaulish War, Andro, Uis Eluveitie and this amazing instrumental called Anagantios. The first four are just terrific masterpieces and will blow you away. I guess adding you tube links will help the lazy bums, so I'll try to do that from now on.
Update 6: Its been a long time since the last update! After some 20 GB of melodic metal downloads and a lot of listening to different bands, I finally took time out to check out many songs by one of the pioneers of this genre, Dark Tranquility. They simply own. So many classic tracks and so many albums, this band is a must-hear for those who crave for melodeath. Some of the omfg-this-is-so-wow tracks are Punish my heaven, Lethe, Gallery, Terminus, Wonders at your feet, Focus Shift, Misery's Crown... let me stop here :P This band is just super duper amazing. Vocals are extremely good and the music is very very different.
Okay, I'm waiting. Hear 'em and temme how it was :-D! Njoi \m/ F
For more info on the best tracks by them, you can check out this facebook link
Update 5: It seems beautiful melodeath songs are a rarity. In spite of searching a lot, I don't have much to include in this update :-( I'm yet to check out old albums of In Flames (which I hear is EPIC). After so many new discoveries in the last few weeks, I got carried away and started comparing Kalmah and Insomnium to Amon Amarth. Now, that I've managed to abosrb most of their songs, I can surely say that Amon Amarth is the best damn Melodic death metal band I've heard of :-D
Some of the bands that failed to impress me are Ensiferum, Norther, Arsis and Sonic Syndicate though I checked out only a limited number of thier songs.
In case you wanna do some research in this genre, you could start here :P
A melodic death metal experts view
and
Ob Wiki :P
Update 4: Okay, a few more songs from the above bands :D Check out 'Drawn to Black' by Insomnium. A very catchy intro with some superb melody elements throughout the song. 'Moon of my nights' by Kalmah is another brilliant song. Its right up there with 'Heroes to us'. Awesum beats, really nice melody and as usual godlike guitar. Very addictive :P Also, 'At the gates of sleep' by Insomnium. Just open the lyrics and listen to it. An amazing song.
I've just started exploring one of the little old melo death bands, 'Dark Tranquility'. You should check out 'Lethe' and 'Focus Shift' by them. Really awesome stuff for any melo death fan.
Update 3: The last few days, I've been listening to the song 'The Elder' by Insomnium like crazy and it seems I still can't get enough of it! Its got a beautiful intro, pretty similar to Mother Earth by Within temptations, but then once the drumming starts you just get hooked to it. Superb transitions from normal voice to growls with some brilliant guitar work. I'd rate this song right there with 'Fate of Norns' ! Its just beautiful :-) Spare 3 mins and check it out in youtube :-D
Update 2: Insomnium has some fantastic melo death tracks. Right now, I'm downloading their stuff, so I'll update their best stuff soon ;-) For a start, check out 'Mortal Share' and 'The Elder' , they've got some awesome riffs. 'The Elder' is something I've heard like 30 times in a span of 24 hours... you get the picture right..?!
Okay, I've heard quite a number of their tracks now. 'Daugher of the Moon' is a must-listen! I suggest you open a window with the lyrics of this song, coz its a beautiful poetic one!! The music is really melodious with the death growl elements intact. Makes for a fantastic song, one of Insomnium's very best. The other songs I've listened to are 'In the grooves of death' , ' Drawn to black' and ' At the gates of sleep'. All of them are really good and pretty long. The beauty of this band is the amazing peotic lyrics in most songs :D . So go check 'em out.
Update 1: My latest OMFG discovery is the Finnish band 'Kalmah', which means 'To the death'! Their music is so refreshing and melodious with some of the absolute best guitar magic you can hear. The track 'The Blind Leader' is totally addictive after you listen to it a few times. The start sounds a lot like Metallica and then the real song unfolds. The solo from 2:30 to 3:10 is IMHO the BEST ever (at least from what I've heard). I really don't understand why this isn't rated on par with the legendary solo's in 'Stairway to heaven', 'One, 'November Rain', 'Fade to Black', etc. You don't find many Scandinavian bands in the top metal bands list, which is so sad for their potential. This genre called 'Melodic Death' metal, originally called Gotenburg Metal, originated in Sweden. Most of the top bands in this genre are from the Scandinavian side. The other songs by Kalmah such as ''Heroes to us' and 'Hades' are freaking god-level as well. For those who don't like the growling in death metal, you could actually listen to all these songs, as the music dominates for almost 70% of the song and has a keyboard touch to it. So, what are you waiting for..? Go ahead and feel the Kalmah experience.
And yeah.. a site thats caught my attention is http://www.tastekid.com/ , its a pretty amazing site when you wanna explore stuff similar to what you like, for books, music and movies.
I'd really appreciate it if you leave comments on what you liked/disliked ^_^
_____________________________________________________________________________________
So here's the list :-) Njoi!
1)Dark Tranquillity (mentioned earlier)
The tracks that should form your playlist for the next month (!) are Wonders at your feet , Lethe , Terminus,
Haven, Mundane and the magic, Focus Shift, Misery's Crown, Hedon, Punish my heaven, Lady in Black, Monochromatic Stains. I could go on and on, but I don't like spoon feeding :P
And oh yeah, you should check out the lyrics coz its worth reading.. and growling along with ;)
Its time for me to headbang to these tracks.. adios.
So, go on, hear 'em and spread the word! Music for life ^_^
Update 7: Its heartening to finally see some comments for this post :-) This update will definitely change your current playlist for the next week. Guaren-damn-teed!! Even if you're someone who hates metal, the stuff I've mentioned in this update will mesmerise you. The music is completely different from any of the other bands mentioned earlier. The band comprises a mammoth 8 member group and uses at least 6 different instruments. The genre is not really melodic death metal, rather its Folk Metal. Its a swiss band called 'Eluveitie'. Their best tracks till now are Inis Mona , Of Fire Wind and wisdom, Gray Sublime Archon, Your Gaulish War, Andro, Uis Eluveitie and this amazing instrumental called Anagantios. The first four are just terrific masterpieces and will blow you away. I guess adding you tube links will help the lazy bums, so I'll try to do that from now on.
Update 6: Its been a long time since the last update! After some 20 GB of melodic metal downloads and a lot of listening to different bands, I finally took time out to check out many songs by one of the pioneers of this genre, Dark Tranquility. They simply own. So many classic tracks and so many albums, this band is a must-hear for those who crave for melodeath. Some of the omfg-this-is-so-wow tracks are Punish my heaven, Lethe, Gallery, Terminus, Wonders at your feet, Focus Shift, Misery's Crown... let me stop here :P This band is just super duper amazing. Vocals are extremely good and the music is very very different.
Okay, I'm waiting. Hear 'em and temme how it was :-D! Njoi \m/ F
For more info on the best tracks by them, you can check out this facebook link
Update 5: It seems beautiful melodeath songs are a rarity. In spite of searching a lot, I don't have much to include in this update :-( I'm yet to check out old albums of In Flames (which I hear is EPIC). After so many new discoveries in the last few weeks, I got carried away and started comparing Kalmah and Insomnium to Amon Amarth. Now, that I've managed to abosrb most of their songs, I can surely say that Amon Amarth is the best damn Melodic death metal band I've heard of :-D
Some of the bands that failed to impress me are Ensiferum, Norther, Arsis and Sonic Syndicate though I checked out only a limited number of thier songs.
In case you wanna do some research in this genre, you could start here :P
A melodic death metal experts view
and
Ob Wiki :P
Update 4: Okay, a few more songs from the above bands :D Check out 'Drawn to Black' by Insomnium. A very catchy intro with some superb melody elements throughout the song. 'Moon of my nights' by Kalmah is another brilliant song. Its right up there with 'Heroes to us'. Awesum beats, really nice melody and as usual godlike guitar. Very addictive :P Also, 'At the gates of sleep' by Insomnium. Just open the lyrics and listen to it. An amazing song.
I've just started exploring one of the little old melo death bands, 'Dark Tranquility'. You should check out 'Lethe' and 'Focus Shift' by them. Really awesome stuff for any melo death fan.
Update 3: The last few days, I've been listening to the song 'The Elder' by Insomnium like crazy and it seems I still can't get enough of it! Its got a beautiful intro, pretty similar to Mother Earth by Within temptations, but then once the drumming starts you just get hooked to it. Superb transitions from normal voice to growls with some brilliant guitar work. I'd rate this song right there with 'Fate of Norns' ! Its just beautiful :-) Spare 3 mins and check it out in youtube :-D
Update 2: Insomnium has some fantastic melo death tracks. Right now, I'm downloading their stuff, so I'll update their best stuff soon ;-) For a start, check out 'Mortal Share' and 'The Elder' , they've got some awesome riffs. 'The Elder' is something I've heard like 30 times in a span of 24 hours... you get the picture right..?!
Okay, I've heard quite a number of their tracks now. 'Daugher of the Moon' is a must-listen! I suggest you open a window with the lyrics of this song, coz its a beautiful poetic one!! The music is really melodious with the death growl elements intact. Makes for a fantastic song, one of Insomnium's very best. The other songs I've listened to are 'In the grooves of death' , ' Drawn to black' and ' At the gates of sleep'. All of them are really good and pretty long. The beauty of this band is the amazing peotic lyrics in most songs :D . So go check 'em out.
Update 1: My latest OMFG discovery is the Finnish band 'Kalmah', which means 'To the death'! Their music is so refreshing and melodious with some of the absolute best guitar magic you can hear. The track 'The Blind Leader' is totally addictive after you listen to it a few times. The start sounds a lot like Metallica and then the real song unfolds. The solo from 2:30 to 3:10 is IMHO the BEST ever (at least from what I've heard). I really don't understand why this isn't rated on par with the legendary solo's in 'Stairway to heaven', 'One, 'November Rain', 'Fade to Black', etc. You don't find many Scandinavian bands in the top metal bands list, which is so sad for their potential. This genre called 'Melodic Death' metal, originally called Gotenburg Metal, originated in Sweden. Most of the top bands in this genre are from the Scandinavian side. The other songs by Kalmah such as ''Heroes to us' and 'Hades' are freaking god-level as well. For those who don't like the growling in death metal, you could actually listen to all these songs, as the music dominates for almost 70% of the song and has a keyboard touch to it. So, what are you waiting for..? Go ahead and feel the Kalmah experience.
And yeah.. a site thats caught my attention is http://www.tastekid.com/ , its a pretty amazing site when you wanna explore stuff similar to what you like, for books, music and movies.
I'd really appreciate it if you leave comments on what you liked/disliked ^_^
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So here's the list :-) Njoi!
1)Dark Tranquillity (mentioned earlier)
2)Amon Amarth - Simply the best music I've ever heard in my life
(Best songs :- Fate of Norns, Arson, Cry of the black birds, Victorious March, ...And soon the world shall cease to be, Runes to my memory, Death by fire, Under the Northern Star)
(Best songs :- Fate of Norns, Arson, Cry of the black birds, Victorious March, ...And soon the world shall cease to be, Runes to my memory, Death by fire, Under the Northern Star)
3)Insomnium (mentioned earlier)
4)In Flames (Check out My Sweet Shadow, Only for the weak, Swim, Episode666, Come Clarity, Alias)
4)In Flames (Check out My Sweet Shadow, Only for the weak, Swim, Episode666, Come Clarity, Alias)
5)Eluveitie (mentioned earlier)
6)Kalmah - Amazing band with very original n different stuff, just started to hear them
(Recommendations :- Heroes To Us (WOW), Hades(unbelievable music start), The Blind Leader (has one of the best solo's), My Nation (Keyboard special), Outremer (Sexy Intro), The Black Waltz, They Will Return, Dance of the Water, The Groan of Wind)
7)Children of Bodom - A band that started off with a bang and now fallen with some horrible albums of late
(Favorite songs :- Everytime I die, In Your Face, Angels don't kill, Trashed Lost.. , Tie my knot(forgot exact name)
Other good bands
(Recommendations :- Heroes To Us (WOW), Hades(unbelievable music start), The Blind Leader (has one of the best solo's), My Nation (Keyboard special), Outremer (Sexy Intro), The Black Waltz, They Will Return, Dance of the Water, The Groan of Wind)
7)Children of Bodom - A band that started off with a bang and now fallen with some horrible albums of late
(Favorite songs :- Everytime I die, In Your Face, Angels don't kill, Trashed Lost.. , Tie my knot(forgot exact name)
Other good bands
-Norther
-Scar Symmetry
-Soilwork
-Winter Sun (Death and the healing is a superb track)
-Nightrage
I'll keep editing this post with nice songs/bands. So till then \m/ ^_^ \m/
-Scar Symmetry
-Soilwork
-Winter Sun (Death and the healing is a superb track)
-Nightrage
I'll keep editing this post with nice songs/bands. So till then \m/ ^_^ \m/
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