The Reminder

I have been pondering a great deal about the recent meteorite incident in Russia, California, apparently in other places as well. Ugh, shame on me, I'm not digging into researching where else there were meteors. Maybe because meteors happen, just not usually over highly populated areas, because the earth is 70% water. But nonetheless it puts life into perspective. Namely, how fleeting and fragile existence is here on Earth. How vast and filled with unknown peril space is, and it is so beautiful. I hope it is a wake-up call that there is no point in living in fear of Earthly matters. Some would say that is counter-intuitive, but it isn't, at all. Be alive, enjoy being alive. You never know when and how it will end, or change. Now science will seek the fragments of The Reminder, examine and experiment with it to understand further that which reminds us of our place in the Universe. That which reminds us of our fragility and our resilience at the same time, because although asteroids and meteors happen, the Earth has been revolving and rotating predictably and diligently for 4+ billion years now. Depending how you look at it, that could be luck or an accomplishment. Either way, the Universe has sent a Reminder.

Space, in all it's vastness and unknowns, can evoke the emotion of sheer terror. This is perfectly captured in art by Darkspace. I will post a link to Darkspace III, my intention is not to be redundant. My intention is that it relates, and the prior link was interrupted. Enjoy the album. Then buy it.

Upon discovering Darkspace, I visited their label, Avantgarde Music, which as been around for ages, and has under its belt dealings with early Mayhem, Katatonia, and others. The label has been around in the black metal world for a very long time.There, I discovered many more bands, very diverse in style but all dark. They have an MP3 player/Soundcloud link were you can listen to the music, and I highly recommend doing it. There, I discovered Manii, whose song "Endelaust" is enchanting, especially the way it starts off with the piano music. Laburinthos' "The Great Brothel of Mankind" is also an excellent piece of music, as well. You can buy hard-copy cd's and digipacks from them. If you have the space, still like hard copies, or are just a wonderful nerd, this is right up your alley! I know as soon as discretionary spending allows, I probably will be.

I had recently, within the last 2 years, transitioned from buying CD's to actually buying from iTunes, etc, but my recent purchase of Forest Stream's The Crowning of Winter made me feel nostalgic of the hard copy. ( I purchased from the Ebay seller Madrushmedia, and I must say the speed with which my CD arrived was astounding. I have never received something that quickly from purchasing online.) All the art and creation that goes into it, it kind of gives one an inkling of the artist's mind's eye, even if it isn't the musician him/herself who created it. Forest Stream is a departure from the black metal I have been posting about recently, it is more of a gothic melodic death metal. They do a great job creating a wintery sound, and I can almost smell the winter when I listen. I imagine icicles, snowy mountains, and a solemn, grey scene where one still finds a strange warmth and comfort in being alone. Other times, I envision one of those miniature ballet dancers which spin around when one opens a jewelry box, and evokes a certain nostalgia. The album is great for the mind's eye. On a side note, I would love to see a ballet set to symphonic black or death metal. Parts of Samael's Passage makes me envision the same. Oh how I miss my double-disc of that album, which had the Xytras keyboard interpretation of the album.