说实话,写这篇文章,完全因为最近的情绪使然.如果里面有错的地方,纯属正常,也不用抄砖拍死我.最近在听Kataklysm,一支来自加拿大的死亡金属乐队.让我突然想起之前我的一个论调:国家的足球实力和金属实力成正比,当然要排除一些国家.不过,加拿大的足球实力究竟如何,我还没得以亲见,单从Kataklysm和Cryptopsy两个乐队的实力来说,应该超越天朝国家足球队吧.

今天在水木社区的rock版看了一篇文章<摇滚精神与我们的时代>,是2007年12月22日,杨波在岭南大学的讲课记录.如果文中没有出现"主持人邱大立"字样,我还不会去认真看完.文章很好,有兴趣的人可以到http://www.newsmth.net/bbscon.php?bid=114&id=143698去查阅.不过,杨波老师可能出于场合,没有提到一些从来就没有被认可和接受的东西,比如许许多多的中国底下乐队,和他们做的音乐.这方面我也不了解,有幸亲见的也只有"窒息"一支.因为杨波老师说的是"摇滚",而非金属.

回过头来说,"摇滚"这样一个柔性的词汇都已经不被中国所接受,如何能让更"雄性"的"金属"一词被人认可?所以,现在有许多的评论,充斥着对摇滚的批评和批判,而我想写的"死亡金属",也被王晓峰老师定义为"这是一种贱民演奏给贱民听的贱民音乐".我自不认为听金属的人都是贱民,也不是为了推翻王小峰老师.

摇滚这一风格音乐的诞生,包括金属乐,都有着强烈的时代背景,无论是60年代还是80年代的美国.吃饱饭的人们,已经摆脱晚上只能创造人类的娱乐,创造出了更多丰富的欲望娱乐,并且在无政府主义和自由主义的冲击下,摇滚乐中夹杂了许多性,犯罪,毒品和暴力的内容,并且这些内容始终保留在摇滚乐的秉性中无法消除.举个例子你就很容易理解为什么摇滚乐在80年代进入中国时直到今天仍然被当作"洪水猛兽":Twisted Sister这支曾经在美国大红大紫的乐队,进入80年代后,被美国政府看作是"重金属毒害青少年"的一个典型例子,Dee Snider也为此进出法庭多次;最终,在他们解散后的1988年,为了对付躲藏在梵蒂冈大使馆的巴拿马强权者Manuel Noriega,美国政府骄傲地宣称,他们用Twisted Sister的歌曲对Manuel进行了谩骂和诅咒.例子不止这一个,Metallica在美国火热的时候,许多青少年在自杀前,都将Fade to Black的歌词当作自己的遗书;还有就是Varg在Christan Vikernes火烧教堂的事件.

作为摇滚分支的Heavy Metal,在性和毒品方面的问题比较不明显,但存在着暴力问题却不能掩盖.根据风格,Heavy Metal可以分为许多类,无论怎么分,怎么介绍,最后被提及的都是Death Metal,这个名字上看上去很让人抵触的,很让人浑身不舒服的音乐.

现在对于Death Metal的定义,多从其演奏风格,音乐内容和主唱唱腔出发,基本为:Death Metal,死亡金属:乐风以"鞭击金属"为其背景演化而成.电吉他快速的反复,几无旋律的和弦,速击狂踩的双大鼓,主唱咬牙不清的低吟狂吼(死腔),歌词以死亡仇恨为主题,充满了尸体,内脏,肢解,分尸,奸尸,恋尸癖,食尸,虐待等变态字眼."死亡金属"以来自佛罗里达州的重金属乐队最具代表性.代表性乐队:Death,Carcass,Cannibal Corpse,Suffocation等.

在Wikipedia上还有关于Death Metal的特点分析:

1.这些乐队的演奏极其朴实,不象普通重金属乐队,在乐器上加许多效果器,或是用点弦、大小泛音等花哨指法.然而他们的音乐一听就是"金属"味,噪而重,从乐器到主唱的噪音都有噪音成分,而且配合巧妙,有种出人意料的效果,并将"金属乐"这个概念表达得淋漓尽致.
2.这些乐队很突出的一点就是鼓的节奏异常惊人,他们采用双大鼓(或双踏),双脚轮踩,其速度之快难以言表.第二是钹的运用,比一般的乐队快而频繁的多,小鼓和钹同打,并且与大鼓切分,声音刺耳.第三是鼓的运用似乎代替了普通金属中的吉他独奏,占比重很大.
3.主唱的噪音基本上用"吼"(低)和"嚎"（高）两种,而且大部分主唱用真嗓,而非靠麦克风或录音技术做出来的.
4.反宗教意识非常明显,从乐队名到歌名,大量涉及宗教名词,晦涩难懂.内容多涉及死亡、虐待、精神错乱、人格分裂、道德危机等等.总体上反映人类社会的阴暗面,所以这种音乐本身也显得黑暗、丑陋，就象死尸散发着恶臭一样.
5.封面设计充满血淋淋的人体残片,或是人的肌肉神经解剖图,或是被钉在十字架上的死人,或是恐怖电影中的恶魔形象,一看就让人不自在.
6.每个专辑都象流水一样,没有任何停顿喘气的机会,鼓手自始至终快速击打,贝司和吉他发出巨大刺耳的爆炸声,主唱的高低兽吼都让人感到无法忍受,这是对人类听觉系统的巨大考验(摧残),当你摘下耳机时,会有一种如释重负的轻松感.
7.没有毒品的成分."死亡金属"是一代人忧虑怒吼,表明了青少年们有些不对劲.不管你父母怎么讨厌它,这是进入金属暴力世界的最后一班火车.METALLICA乐队同死亡金属乐队相比,他们只是大型现场演出的上帝和流行歌星;SLAYER遇上比他更具虐待狂性质的同名乐队更算不上什么.当你听过死亡金属之后,你会感到世界上所有其他的音乐都是轻音乐.

上面基本代表了死亡金属的特点,其中关于封面的介绍,也正是许多人觉得直观反感的原因.但并不是所有的死亡金属专辑封面都显得那么的血腥让人无法接受.而Death Metal在我个人观点中,也应该只是音乐表现的一种形式和风格,并非强制定义了音乐的内容和歌词内容,通过Death Metal音乐风格,内容不全是涉及人类社会的阴暗面.

个人认为,我对Death Metal接触的过程具有普遍性和代表性.

在厌倦了朋克的愤怒和一些重金属作品以及无法理解黑金属中晦涩的词汇和无法忍受哥特金属中的键盘和恐怖女声后,我开始尝试的接触死亡金属.听的第一张专辑是Amorphis - 1994 - Tales From the Thousand Lakes.出于对Death的字面理解,在我未看到歌词和认真听取节奏旋律时,我首先想到的是"死亡"这一中国人普遍抵制且觉得恐怖的词汇.在我们老家,白事是往往需要架设灵堂做法事,一系列夜间的活动曾经在我幼小的时候留下梦魇,而在碰上此类事件和场所时,尽量绕道回避.所以,在听到Amorphis的死嗓时,我始终觉得无法闭眼,在夜间更是觉得闭上眼睛就有许多不干净的东西在周围出现.然而在接触Death的作品后才发现,Chuck已经告诉你死亡是什么,白事还算是安详的.而其他如毕业于医学院的Carcass,赤裸裸的告诉了你身体结构,并在一系列解剖检查后宣告你已经死了,扑面而来就是血腥味.然而,在这些看似扭曲和阴暗的内容背后,是丰富的音乐表现形式,巨大的能量冲击和无法自拔的酣畅.

正如我和许多朋友讨论得出的结论一样:Death Metal并不是怂恿你自杀和从事扭曲的事情,只是让你明白对待死亡的态度,让你了解病态中的痛苦和珍惜现在的生活.

Death Metal同样只是音乐的表达方式,不只是和"身体"有关,他可以反映社会的现实还有用来谱写史诗,如同Katalysm的和和Obituary的.当然,如果从病态美学上来说,死亡金属音乐的封面还包括许多与撒旦崇拜,死亡图腾有关的图案,比如公羊,地狱,地域使者,堕落天使和倒十字架等等.

我们应当把握其中的本质去听这些音乐,而并不是让这些音乐中的糟粕去误导你的行为,你可以大声的宣布在圣诞节火烧教堂,但你绝对不会去做;你也可以画个尸脸戴上倒刺的护腕护腰和束腿,但你绝对不会割开自己的动脉开着血汩汩而出.

摇滚真是那么偏激吗?Heavy Metal真是噪音无法容忍吗?Death Metal真的那么恐怖无法接受吗?关键还是看你自己.

大家好,新年来第一次更新这里.前段时间一直在忙公司的事情,现在结束了,到年前是属于08年的欢乐时光,可以做一些无聊和有趣的事情,更多的事情放在年后考虑比较好.

去年年底的时候就开始在听Kataklysm等一些死亡金属专辑,都是非常出色的乐队和非常出色的专辑.1.6日晚上工作结束后,到厦大门口淘碟,50块买了3张Metal Blade厂牌和3张Nuclear Blast厂牌共6张碟,其中包含Cannibal Corpse的两张,Dimmu Borgir的两张,不过很长一段时间以来,都没什么兴趣和情绪听Black Metal,Dimmu Borgir的也只好被我先放在一边.回想07年,似乎也只有Forest of Fog的一张Rabenflug纯音乐演奏的Black Metal让我眼前一亮.

Cannibal Corpse这个乐队专辑封面都以血腥的和令常人作呕的图片示人,当你看了就浑身不舒服,感觉要从某个地方爬出虫来,但听过之后,你马上又会被里面的音乐所感染,在未明白歌词之前,你是一个超范儿的Headbanger!

这让我想起Carcass,这支从名字和风格上都与CC很相像的乐队,同样令人不舒服的专辑封面,但一样让人心旷神怡的音乐.当然也不止Carcass这一家,许多Death Metal的乐队都有类似的风格,比如Lord Gore,Disgorgel等等.

如果只从封面上去识别一个乐队,那我就错过了Kataklysm这支加拿大Death Metal乐队.Kataklysm自称"Northern Hyperblast",乐队在演奏技巧和其他任何方面都很优秀,最让我感觉不可思议的是主唱来回变换的嗓音和那种穿透力和爆发力.

时间过去了,我也就不做07年的top10或者top20了,但是08年肯定有许多新专辑会诞生,也会有更多优秀的作品展现在我们眼前的.

CC的专辑封面过于失常,就不放在这里了,Kataklysm这张Epic:The Poetry of War讲述的是古代落马战争,算是这几天听得很出色的专辑,从头到尾一气呵成,没得说!

夯!

以下引用自Ahteist博客:

可能old，但很rules的消息 - []

太快了,时间过得太快了!

转眼就到<怒放>一周年的纪念日了--12.26.这一年,围绕<怒放>发生了很多事情,比如认识了很多朋友,接触了许多新的事物,最主要的还是通过一年的积累,人有了很大的转变.通过一年的积累,我们的团队已经建立,也能作出很出色的策划和计划书,现在就等着资金投入和后期的运营了;在个人思维模式和思考方式上也具备了一定的前瞻性,战略性和整体性,虽然在周全方面受制于经验,还不能完善.

这一年看的书比以前少了,但是看了更多有用的书;这一年听的音乐基本上集中在纯Metal上,特别是接触了许多新的出色的专辑;这一年也亲历了人生中的第一个Metal Live -- Testament Live in Beijing;这一年我还是一个人,你们都还有机会.总之,这一年,比去年充实.

 小结年年写,年年有不同,明年又会是什么样的?谁清楚,只会更好!

From Matthew Barlow:

MATT BARLOW Comments on His Return to ICED EARTH.

I'm sure that you are all well aware of things that are happening within Iced Earth, and a statement from me is well overdue. To that, I can only say that I am sorry for the delay, but there is good reason. Last week, following Jon's announcement, my wife gave birth to our second son. Everything is well, but of course, those of you who are parents know how taxing the first week can be. During that time, after all things had begun to settle, I realized that there are a lot of things on my plate. At this point, I needed to address them. As you know, family always comes first. Of course, Jon knows that and understands my decision to leave Iced Earth four years ago. My wife and I wanting a family was a huge factor. Family, is also the reason for my return. There is a kinship that goes beyond the obvious. I will speak of that later.

First, I feel that I need to acknowledge my friend Michael of Pyramaze. If not for his inquiry and persistance in asking me to be a member of that band, I may not have realized how much I have missed and been missed within the metal community. In recent days, however, I have come to realize that my participation in Pyramaze cannot go beyond the recording of the bands current work. This is due in part, to the fact that I can't be all places at all times. Michael and I have discussed this, and have come to an understanding. I know that the future success of Pyramaze will not be based solely on individual performances of band members, but in the song writing and total performance of the band, which is excellent. I know that I will give everything I have to the record and will support Pyramaze on a lot of other levels.

Let me proceed on the topic of kinship. For a great portion of our lives, Jon and I dedicated our selves to creating music that pleased, angered, saddened, and inspired. Though it can be argued that my contribution was limited, I always felt very proud of what we accomplished with every song. Whether a song was about a true love, a best friend, a ghost, a devil, or a savior; The songs that Jon wrote gave me the desire to engage each one on a very personal level. When Jon and I began to discuss the future of Iced Earth and his feeling on it's success or failure, he conveyed to me the desire to rediscover the passion of the songs that made Iced Earth so very special to so many people. In my journey of the last several years, I've had time to acknowledge that there are great stories yet to be told. Moreover, I have recognized my desire to be a part of those stories. As mentioned above, there are obvious time constraints where it relates to family, career, and music. One of those issues has already been addressed.

As for my career in law enforcement, it will continue as normal. Without going into specific detail, Jon and I will work on recording on my time between shifts. As Jon stated before, live performances will be more limited but grander in fashion. We will do our very best to get to the metal masses as often as possible. Jon understands that this schedule will be tougher to work with, but feels that it will be the best for the fans in the long run. There will be critics, no doubt. It has recently come to my attention that some people don't like the police ;-) Let's see if opinion can change on that issue!

As for the music, I will bring to Iced Earth the best performance possible. That has always been my desire, and I'm really excited to work with Jon and the guys again, to give you the best metal possible. If you think you're ready... let's do this!"

MATT BARLOW

\m/

首先,这个消息太让我激动了!中午在偏执狂金属网论坛的时候,发现一个金属党发的帖子,关于Matthew Barlow回归的消息,立刻到IE主页上验证了!而且Matt回归后就将投入到Framming Armageddon的第二部分录制和明年的巡回演出.来中国?不是梦了!

以下是Iced Earth主页上的转载.无法形容我的激动,只能期待Iced Earth!    \m/

DECEMBER.11.2007

MATT BARLOW IS BACK WITH ICED EARTH!

Hello Dear Friends!

Once again the winds of change are upon us, and this time I can say that I am very happy about the result.

While out on the European tour I had several in depth discussions with many loyal Iced Earth fans. A common theme of these discussions was how much Matt is missed. I agreed with the fans that things were not the same and that it was a very special period in Iced Earth’s history.

When I heard several months ago that Matt was going to be doing a project in music again, I was thinking about contacting him and seeing what his intentions were. I didn’t act on this because I was so focused on the writing of the new epic, and frankly, it just didn’t seem realistic.

Well, after getting out on the road and speaking with many of you directly, I decided to call Matt and see how he was doing and if he was interested in working together again. I am proud to say that he is coming back to Iced Earth and we will be getting back to work in the studio very soon.

Matt will be singing on Part 2 of the Something Wicked concept CD and we will be looking forward to getting out on tour and delivering a series of Iced Earth shows that will rival any in the history of the band. And there will be a proper DVD filmed from this period, something we’ve all been waiting for.

I want you all to know that it was you who made this a reality. I have missed Matt’s presence onstage and in my personal life in a big way over the past few years, so I appreciate your honesty in our discussions. It did help me realize the decision to move forward with pursuing this. The fans have spoken and we have delivered!

You true fans know that I’m a straight shooter, I say what I mean and mean what I say. And though I value your opinions greatly, you must believe that this is a decision that comes completely from the heart and is not motivated by anything other than what feels the best for Iced Earth. This is the way that things have always been dealt with, for better or for worse, but always honestly and from the heart.

Tim Owens is a great and talented singer and I wish the best for him and his future on a personal and professional level.

There will be more news soon as to further developments and plans. This will push back the release of Part 2 a bit. Not because we couldn’t be ready to record in time, but because of a new addition to Matt’s family in early 2008!

I am very happy to announce that Iced Earth is truly BACK!

Have a great holiday season. We’ll be in touch very soon with more details.

Jon Schaffer

DECEMBER.16.2007

JON SCHAFFER Comments Further On Matt's Return/Tim's Departure.

Hello Dear Friends,

It will be sometime before I’m going to be doing press due to the holidays and the fact that I’m still deep in the final writing process of Part 2. I’m aware that the news of Matt coming back into to the band has taken many people by surprise so I’ll try to explain the situation a little better. I do love Tim’s voice and it is the kind of voice I hear when I write, and he’s really cool person. And I do not want an unnecessary war of words started because certain journalists like to create controversy to sell their magazines. I love Tim as a person and a musician, and I do not have negative feelings towards him at all. We would all appreciate it if the trash peddlers would respect the situation and keep their venomous speculations to themselves. An unlikely request I’m sure, but it would be nice.

On the other side, Matt and I are brothers and there was a very deep and spiritual connection that came through in the music that we created and performed together over the years. Iced Earth has always been about passion and honesty in the music, I’m talking about real, raw emotion. That’s what has always made the relationship between the band and the fans a very special thing and it is the thing that made the chemistry that Matt and I had together so special. When we split before, our relationship had suffered from various things, but mostly it came down to not communicating like we should have, which led to things being blown out of proportion. This, coupled with the uncertainty of earning a secure living in the music business, resulted in Matt coming to the decision that he did. I convinced him to stay in the band, which he did, but it was clear that while tracking TGB, he was already mentally finished with music and was moving on to different things and to a more secure future. All of that is behind us and we have grown and matured and will have an even more fulfilling relationship because of what we’ve experienced and learned from the past.

Iced Earth activities will be more limited now because Matt will still be carrying on his career as a law enforcement officer. I would rather we do it this way and have the shows that happen be very special events than to carry on and feel like what’s happening isn’t genuine. This is NOT a cut on Tim. It’s just that Iced Earth really began to blossom after Matt joined the band and for years we worked our asses off together towards a common goal, on stage and off. Those years of work and commitment defined what Iced Earth truly is, and frankly I would rather end it than to carry on without Matt involved. All of this has been coming to a head for a while, and the talks with the fans in Europe helped cement what I already knew needed to happen. It’s one thing to be pressured by our business partners for change, it’s something else entirely when the fan base is overwhelmingly telling me the same thing. This decision is by the fans/for the fans. I wish only the best for Tim, this is not a standard bullshit statement, it’s the truth. A guy with so much talent deserves the best in life and that’s what I wish for him completely.

Jon Schaffer

思绪勃发音者见.

原创音乐杂志<怒放>第四期,经过漫长的等待,在冬月与大家见面了.

再过两个礼拜,距离<怒放>创刊号出版就整整一年.在这一年中,<怒放>得到了许多人的帮助,也得到了许多人的认可.

就如之前的日志里提到的,看过Metal - A Headbanger's Journey这部纪录片后,我重新充满激情,赶在2007年过去之前,把<怒放>制作完成,也算是对大家的一个交代.

<怒放>作为原创的音乐杂志,并且是非主流文艺杂志,能够经过一年的发展,顽强的生存下来确实很不容易.面对现在的社会我们还能认真的去思考和总结,这本身就是好的.就像本期文章里Atheist说的那样,"我们都还有一颗Metal Heart!"

前面的日志上已经说过,明年开始,也许没有时间再兼顾<怒放>,但是<怒放>不会消亡,也许有一天,我能够有实力和资金将<怒放>继续运作下去.

回顾这一年,<怒放>很感谢大家的支持,特别感谢为<怒放>提供文章和制作的人,没有他们的努力,单凭我一个人,<怒放>也许至今还和创刊号一样,是单调而苍白的PDF文件;也只有他们的努力,<怒放>才能为大家带来越来越多的好文章.

这期<怒放>本来打算在9月份出版,结果一拖再拖.里面的内容包含了7月份美国激流金属乐队Testament在北京演唱会的实录,同时,还包含了一部金属纪录片的视频片段,所以,文件将很大.为此我也做了两个版本,完整版是包含所有视频的;简约版则没有视频而只有背景音乐.

大家可以根据喜好和网络情况选择下载,完整版大小为320M,简约版大小为82M.因为文件比较大,建议使用flashget等工具下载.

希望在将来,<怒放>不会被你们遗忘.

摇滚不死!金属永生!

完整版下载地址  http://shotdog.jmu.edu.cn/bloomingvol.4.exe
点击下载

简约版下载地址  http://shotdog.jmu.edu.cn/bloomingvol.4-1.exe
点击下载