Free Music Shout-Outs

I decided to give a few shout-outs to some other musicians like myself who create and distribute their music for FREE. Yep. We give it away. We're not whores, we're just a little slutty. That's better, right?

Inappropriate, I know. Sorry. I apologize to all the clean-minded, innocent young folks for my horridly "adult" language. Anyway - I'd simply like to recognize some interesting musicians who may not always be the most technically skilled, but are still creative and capable of making some interesting music that I guarantee you will never hear on the radio. They deserve our appreciation, so let's visit their various websites/pages and give 'em a try. You may find something you like, and it's FREE.

Vortech - now here is a guy that IS very technically accomplished. A one-man band with some guest vocals, Vortech create technical death-metal very inspired by Morbid Angel, but with an industrial undertone via some interesting synth backdrops and atmospheres. Heavy, fast riffage over blast-beats and deep-growl vocals. For fans of Morbid Angel, Zyklon, Deicide, Vader, etc.

Disciples of Zoldon - another tech-death one-man band. The lyrical themes revolve around the fictional God of Metal, Zoldon. I like when an artist uses their imagination to create a whole backdrop for their music, not just spew out violent, Satanic chants.

DIS - otherwise known as Aaron Schilling, from Nunya, Indiana, yet another one-man band with supreme technical mastery of his various instruments, played, programmed, or otherwise created. His project is reminiscent of a more death-metal oriented Emperor. Part Symphonic Black Metal, part Technical Death, always interesting, always heavy, and not at all cliche. I've been a fan for years, first finding his stuff at Soundclick (it's still there!) and now through Myspace and The Internet Archive.

David Fang - on a lighter note, how about some great symphonic classical music? David Fang composes soundtrack music for various video games, but his best work is composed in tribute to the TV Series, Andromeda. He has two different soundtracks available, both over an hour and a half long. You can find download links through his Myspace page, and his Soundclick page. You won't believe the great, full sounds he creates with a computer, some great orchestral sample sets, and super compositional skills.

Thulnar - still along the symphonic lines, but with some black metal mixed in, this Italian duo create an interesting mix of, well, symphonc black metal. Imagine a cross between Austria's Summoning and Italy's Rhapsody In Fire. Or if Rhapsody In Fire created a black metal album, this is probably what it would sound like.

Novistador - one-man band black metal from the frozen wastelands of Canada. Icy riffs played over blast-beats, the guitars feature a warmer, "woolier" tone than usually associated with most raw black metal. Some interesting harmonies greet us over spacey atmospheric backdrops. Harsh vocal screeches vomit forth from the glacial cavern-demons. The production on his self-titled full album is raw, yet clear, allowing us to hear every instrument. The linear song structures are just different enough from most "normal" metal to keep you listening. Highly recommended.

Jacker - here is a musician that does some great progressive-metal (in the vein of Dream Theater), without any real guitars or drums. You heard me, NO real guitars or drums (well, except for ONE guitar solo provided by the singer on one song, but THAT's ALL!). Actually very little is known about this artist. I discovered him through the Toontrack (makers of Drumkit From Hell) Forum, and didn't even realize there were no real guitars in his music until I had listened to most of his album, "The Devil Inside". He offered free downloads of the songs from this album, plus a bunch of other bonus songs at a French Music website called Audio Fanzine. I noticed that this page has recently disappeared, and his posts at the Toontrack Forum are no longer updated, so I uploaded the original album to the above link so that anyone willing would get a chance to hear his incredible music. I hope he hasn't vanished from the music scene, because it would truly be a great loss to us all.

That's all for now. Musicians like these are why I am still interested in music after 32 years of head-bangin'. And it's all FREE. Yep. These are not illegal downloads. They are authorized by the musicians themselves because they enjoy making music for people to hear. Like me.

ThanX.

Just checking in, ...

Howdy kids. No I have not "blogged" here in a while, ... been busy with work, family, life-in-general, and trying to figure out what my next music project will be. I really haven't a clue what to do next.

I have been listening to a boat-load of different music. Everything from the new Cryptopsy, to swedish black-metallers Craft, to Ihsahn's new one, to dISEMBOWELMENT (old-school death-doom from Australia), Satyricon, Septic Flesh, Woods of Ypres, The Disciples of Zoldon, Thulnar, etc., ...

Out of everything so far, I really like Craft. Yup, raw, old-school thrashy black metal. These guys just have great head-bangin' rhythms, with very raw, yet clear production. Not as "lo-fi" as I read they would sound. The production is actually very good, and fits the music perfectly. Sure it doesn't sound like an Andy Sneap or Fred Nordstrom mix, but it's not supposed to.

And I've learned about a few more artists like me who creat music for fun and post it for all to hear FOR FREE. I mentioned them above, and will provide you all with links to these artists.

The Disciples of Zoldon. This is a one man band of a guy named Luke Brimblecombe from New Zealand. He records and/or programs everything: Vocals, Guitars, Drum Programming. But the coolest thing about his music is that he's concocted a whole fictional theme and concept - that of Zoldon, the God of Heavy Metal. Cheesy, ... sure, but Immortal look like a bad Wrestling Tag-team, and I still love 'em to death. Go to Luke's website and read the whole thing. It really is a very cool concept and is perfect for creating heavy metal music.

Luke also has a Myspace page for Zoldon, and a last.fm page. Try going to the Encyclopedia Metallium and do a search for Zoldon. This page will also have links to his various pages.

now the next band, ...

Thulnar. Two Italian musicians by the names of Elric Blackcrow - vocals, trumpet (also of Mors Tua) and Al Walker - guitar, bass, drums, synth have provided us with an insanely great combination of the over-the-top epic symphonic metal of Rhapsody with the black darkness of Summoning. Their whole demo is available for free download at the link, along with high-resolution cover art. They also have a Myspace page and more music available through download.com. Also a page at the mighty Encyclopedia Metallium.

As I said above, fans of Rhapsody and Summoning will be able to pick out the references from Thulnar's music. Actually, I am reminded of an internet rumor I read that Rhapsody was going to record a black metal concept album called "Rhapsody in Black", and Thulnar's music is exactly what I would imagine that music would sound like.

Some great stuff here to check out. I also recommend all metal fans to check out a blog called Free Metal Albums. This is a blog that posts links to, well, Free Metal Albums. No, not illegal downloads, but links to music that the bands themselves have endorsed and have posted themselves. This is a large (and growing larger) source of free music for all of us metal-heads that like good stuff cheap.

Until I figure out what my own new music is going to sound like, I will continue checking out as many new artists as my sponge-of-a-brain will allow. There is so much out there just waiting to be sound. Just dig deep enough and you may be surprised at how good some of these artists are.

ThanX.