Archive for 2006

The Internet Prophecy Experiment

I was surprised by the prophecies and other religious statements made by a Russian messiah in a recent topic at Ethical Atheist. This person claims, in poor English, that he has been to the afterlife and that the Beast shows a striking resemblance with the Xenomorphs of Alien fame. But besides all these and other unbelievable claims, this person has the strange notion that his websites existence is proof itself that the prophecies he posts on his website are true! Continue reading this post»

HPV Vaccine Aphrodisiac

A recent The Herald article titled Churches’ anger against vaccine for cancer in girls stated that Scottish church leaders are opposing a vaccine that could prevent the development of cervical cancer, because it would be “giving the ‘green light’ to under-age sex”. Scotland is not the first country where the “cervical cancer vaccine” has stirred quite some controversy. One of the other countries, needless to say, is religiously fundamentalist USA. Continue reading this post»

Christ’s Cannon Fodder in Iraq?

“Does the end justify the means? That is possible. But what will justify the end?” Asked the French philosopher Albert Camus. He answered: “To that question, which historical thought leaves pending, rebellion replies: the means.” But for Campus Crusade for Christ International everything is justified by Christ’s salvation, even if this implies taking advantage of orphaned children in Iraq to proselytize the rather questionably loving Christ… and Republican ‘values’. Continue reading this post»

Album Review: The Gathering, Home

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder” and so does sheer anticipation! It’s been three years since The Gathering released their last studio album, Souvenirs. Meanwhile, they’ve released an outstanding semi-acoustic live-album (Sleepy Buildings) and a DVD recording from the same gigs (A Sound Relief), and a collection of B-sides and rare tracks (Accessories). But now there’s Home, their eight studio album (ninth if you count the EP Black Light District).

Though they have lost a lot of fans after their transgression from Symphonic and Gothic Metal to what they call Triprock, the fan base has only grown through the years. Nowadays the Gathering is known for their mixture of experimental progressive rock with sampling effects and a faint echo of their metal days. With Home The Gathering takes a step back and focuses more on a progressive rock sound instead of the pure experimental compositions like in Souvenirs. Whether this is a good decision is a matter of personal taste. In my opinion Home does not live up to my expectation. Does this mean it’s a bad album? Not at all! Home is a terrific album, it’s just more in line with their older work. Home relies heavily on the rhythm section, softly distorted guitars and, as always, on the seraphic voice of the lead singer, Anneke van Giersbergen. More (trip)rock and less Pink Floyd-esque experimentation.

Home is must-have for any The Gathering fan and can be a great addition to any musical collection. However, do not expect a new milestone in their discography. My conclusion: as long as you do not let your expectations get the best of you, you will not be disappointed.

Artist: The Gathering
Album: Home
Duration: 13 tracks (1:00:21)
Label: Psychonaut Records
Released: April 15, 2006

Listen to Shortest Day (mp3 with annoying announcements through it)

Album review: The Sedan Vault, Mardi Gras of the Sisypha

Mardi Gras of the Sisypha: anyone who remembers their high school greek mythology immediately recalls the king Sisyphus who defied death and was therefore punished to roll a rock up a hill, but whenever he reached the top, the rock would roll back down. The Sedan Vault captures the Sisyphean task of life in a six tracks of post-noise rock, though with a lot of melody. This is a concept EP and follows the story of three different characters who are trying to escape their views of our world. But in the universe of The Sedan Vault our world is haunted with delusions and distorted imagery.

The style of The Sedan Vault is hard to describe and label. It can be called progressive rock, but don’t expect Pink Floyd. It can be called postrock or noiserock, but don’t expect Mogwai in their old-school days. The Sedan Vault sounds mostly like the little brother of The Mars Volta, although Sedan’s sound is less chaotic and more melodic. The Sedan Vault focuses more on rhythm and melody than on pure artistic noise. The vocals by Rutger, Marius and Frederik Meeuwis do sound a lot like Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the singer of The Mars Volta.

Beside the obvious similarities to The Mars Volta, The Sedan Vault stands out lonely along the firmament of progressive noiserock, with their compositions sharpened like a surgical scalpel and their lyrics reaching literary heights. The album, though short in duration, sounds and feels complete, and should grace the CD collection of any respected music lover. Mardi Gras of the Sisypha is the musical equivalent of surrealistic imagery… and that’s quite a feat!

Artist: The Sedan Vault
Album: Mardi Gras of the Sisypha
Duration: 6 tracks (0:33:36)
Label: Funtime Records
Released: beginning of 2006

Listen to (Are Burning Walls A) Hologram? (ASX file)

Scientology: Ground Control to Major Tom?

Scientology™, the name seems to imply a scientific religion. Science, taken from the Latin ‘scientia’(knowledge; ‘scire’, to know) and ology, from the Greek ‘logos’ (logic) like in the words biology, geology, etc. ^[1] Sounds like it does make sense: a religion based upon science and logic, a rational view of the world and teachings of well-reasoned knowledge. But how much of this is true? Is Scientology™ (yes, it really is a trademark!) really scientifically based? More important, is Scientology™ actually out to better our lives in this world and in the world hereafter?Well, I think you already now the answer, but still, it is quite interesting to look at some of the Scientology™ Church’s strange teachings. And remember, this is only a teaser trailer compared to the entire Sci-Fi movie called Scientology™. Continue reading this post»

mp3 Frenzy #3

Winter. Chilly wind, freezing rain, maybe even snow. So, stay inside for the next months and enjoy sulky winter music. This time, Parkside, Summer At Shatter Creek, A Northern Chorus, Death Cab For Cutie and Lawn for download. Continue reading this post»

Pandora: Find Music You Like

If you’re like me, a musicoholic, you’re probably always looking for the newest tunes and bands. If you’re like me, you’d probably enjoy Pandora, a creation of the Music Genome Project. It will find music based upon similar build-up, style, emotion, etc. Just enter an artist or the name of a song (or artists and songs!), and Pandora will create a slick “radio station”, exploring your “part of the music universe”. Give it a try and see if you can find some new tunes!
If you’re not a musicoholic like me, then what are you doing here in the first place!