Crowgrrrl's Perch 09-24-06

CROWGRRL’S PERCH 06-10-07

By Athena Schaffer aka The Crowgrrl

THE GOTHIC OCCULT EMPORIUM IS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS! SCROLL DOWN TO OTHER NEWS FOR DETAILS!

Spotlight: DIMMU BORGIR, KATAKLYSM, VINTERSORG!

CROWGRRL’S SPOTLIGHT - DIMMU BORGIR!

* Norway’s Dimmu Borgir new In Sorte Diaboli (Nuclear Blast) is a natural progression from their previous Death Cult Armageddon as they descend further down into Infernal regions planting them firmly at the left hand of Baphomet’s throne!

Debuting at # 43 on the Billboard Top 200 on the very heels of its release, this excellent new album is still chock full of the impressive Symphonic Black Metal musicianship we all know and love from their previous offerings, but infused with even more darkness and intensity! This is also the band’s first actual concept album, each song being a piece in a puzzle that when put together tells a story - following a Medieval priest’s disillusionment with his faith and gradually embracing the Dark Side of the Force. (The album’s title is Latin that translates to "In Direct Contact With Satan".)

Dimmu Borgir - vocalist Shagrath, guitarists Silenoz and Galder, bassist Vortex, keyboardist Mustis, and drummer Hellhammer - are currently on the road with The Invaluable Darkness Tour, currently storming through Europe fresh off the excellent U.S. leg of the tour (the U.S. leg included Unearth, DevilDriver, and Kataklysm). The Crowgrrl caught up with Vortex while they were here in the U.S.

How is the tour going so far?

I’m pretty happy! There are a lot of sold-out places. And the Billboard thing - we just heard about that a couple days ago when we were in Chicago. We entered the Billboard charts at Number 43! The American market is really very nice for us.

The new album sounds like a natural progression from Death Cult Armageddon. Was the songwriting process any different this time around?

No. Same as always. We get together with the ideas that survive and we arrange it together and pretty much just do the whole process as a band. That hasn’t changed.

The pre-production wasn’t as finished on this one as it was on the Death Cult album. It was lacking a bit of the vocal parts here and there. But the skeletons of the songs were all there. We did some parts in the studio, so maybe the sound was a little looser, but basically it was the same.

You have a bit more vocal parts on this album than you did on the previous one, didn’t you?!

Yes, one more I think. Yeah, that’s nothing that we were planning for months; it’s just something that happened during the pre-production time.

Any fun stories behind the filming of the video for The Serpentine Offering?

No, not really. It’s just a trailer for the concept of the album maybe. We are probably going to shoot another video. We were supposed to do a video here in the ‘States while we’re on tour, but we just don’t have time for it. We’ve been here and there continuously, and now there’s almost no days off at all.

So we’ll probably do another video when we get back to Norway in between festivals.

Almost no days off?! Isn’t that kind-of rough?!

Actually we have a day off the day after tomorrow. It will be nice. It’s like a week of playing, then a day off. It’s not too bad, but we need those days to collect ourselves. But it’s all good. It’s part of touring. That’s the way it is.

You put on one Hell of a show in Baltimore! It was excellent!

Thank you! But after that show we fired our sound engineer. We weren’t very happy with him. We have a new one now - a guy we know from other tours and stuff. He did Nevermore. We’re pretty happy with that.

If you liked the songs that night, that’s excellent, but we had some issues.

The sound was a little "off" in Baltimore. I could barely hear Mustis at all.

Yeah! There you go!

I just assumed it was the venue - that was the first time I’ve ever been to that venue. I blamed it on them!

Just as long as nobody blames the band!

No. You guys put on a great show as always.

That’s good to hear! We try. Yesterday I don’t think was a good show. We had a really hard core party in Chicago after the news broke that we made the Billboard charts. It’s always like that on the road. Sometimes the band thinks it could have been better or something.

Which new songs are the most fun to play live?

We just play two of the songs live now. I think the next tour we do over here it’s going to be more songs from the new album. I don’t know. I would say Serpentine, I guess. People get into it, and they know the lyrics and stuff. That’s definitely a good song.

When we were talking about the video, you mentioned it was a trailer for the concept of the album. So the album is tied together with one concept?

Yeah, well, we were talking about doing something a little bit different, but it’s not that different. It’s still pretty much the concept of every Dimmu Borgir album. It’s anti-religious and "think for yourself". That’s in all Dimmu Borgir. But this time we put a frame around it like in the Middle Ages where like this priest tries to find his own way.

Very cool! So for the video, did you guys have any input into how it was going to visually look?

No, not really. Patric, the director, is a good friend of ours. I’m actually proud of his videos. He’s the one we’ve been using. I don’t think we’re going to use him next time.

But he knew a blacksmith - a friend of his who is very much into live role playing. I don’t know if you guys have that here, but it’s very big in Sweden. So all the costumes and stuff, they just had those laying around. Being set in the Middle Ages, that just kind-of fit in. They just took it from there. We just went and had a couple days of shooting and drinking.

That’s always fun!

Yes, it was!

OK, The Sacreligious Scorn sounded a bit like Kings Of The Carnival Creation. Was that intentional?

I don’t think so. Kings is an excellent song, but we don’t try to copy ourselves to get something right the next time around. It was pure coincidence I guess!

The Invaluable Darkness was another great song!

Thank you! There are a lot of good tracks on the record. I think for me being a musician, I’ve lived with the material for so long I can barely listen to the album, because in each song there’s small stuff that I want to change. After the Death Cult album came out, I wasn’t happy with that either, but looking back at it now I think it’s a good album.

It’s just that in the early days I’m unhappy with stuff, but whatever. It’s nothing bad. Now what were we talking about?

The Invaluable Darkness.

There are a couple of really good guitar riffs in there! That’s always good.

What’s your personal favorite song on the new album?

Good question. I don’t know. I don’t think I have a personal favorite. There are parts in every song that I really, really like, but there’s nothing that really, really sticks out in my book. Which might be a good thing because that means it’s overall a good album. It lacks a Progenies song, but we’ve got Serpentine. We’ll see what happens.

I think for the next video, I want to see some of those Old School Black Metal expert style riffing and stuff like that. We’ll have to see what happens.

Very cool! Are you filming any shows on this tour for a possible DVD?

No, not really. We’re probably going to film Wacken again. I mean, they have their own camera crew there, so that should be filmed. That’s what they do.

No, we haven’t done very much filming. There’s no DVD planned for the future. We had the Misogyny video a few years ago.

Yeah, but we need the new material!

OK. Well maybe on the back end of the tour, maybe we should do that. I don’t know.

I know there are not a lot of video cameras going around. The sound engineer has one, but that’s not going to be very good quality.

I personally think the cover art is awesome! But I understand there’s some controversy about it - some stores are trying to ban the album because of the cover?

Yeah! It’s Baphomet, but I don’t think they can ban it just for that. But we just add on some stickers and stuff. It’s not a big problem, really. Controversy adds a little publicity, so it isn’t that bad.

I know when you guys took some time off, some of the band members were doing side projects like Chrome Division, Old Man’s Child, and the remake of Stormblast. What were you doing?

I made an album with Arcturus called Sideshow Symphonies, and I’ve been working on my own solo things, too. So, I have a record finished.

And there’s Lamented Souls for me, too. We have a record not recorded but very much finished. We’re lacking a few lyrics. I have another project called Cold, and that’s going to be recorded sometime during this Summer, I think. Or maybe it will get delayed like everything else.

Right now everybody is very focused on Dimmu Borgir.

Are you going to be doing videos with any of your side projects?

Yes. I think with Cold there will be a video. That’s about it, actually. I might do a video for myself when I get that far, but that’s going to take some time anyway. But we might let it go for this time and go in and write a new album. It depends on the tours and what-not.

After this current tour, you’re going to be doing the festivals?

Yes, there’s festivals, then South America, Japan, Australia, there’s a European tour and of course a Norwegian tour. Then we’re probably going to be back to the ‘States again. After that, I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.

Are you guys already working on songs for the next album, or is it still too early?

It’s still too early. We’ve never written music while on tour. It’s something we do when we’re at home in Norway. I don’t know why, it’s just always been like that.

So what do you guys do on your "down time" on tour? Do you bring videogames with you or anything?

Yeah, a couple of us do. I try to catch a few sights, walk around a bit. But usually it’s been that everybody’s too hung over to do anything. We get a lot of that, or at least we used to. We try not to drink as much as we did because the shows are going to suffer. But sometimes you just can’t help yourself, can you?!

I heard that! Which reminds me - you have new merch on the road like the flask and the belt buckles?

We have a flask? I didn’t know that!

Yeah, but they were sold out in Baltimore before I got to the merch table. They just had the sample on display.

It’s a Dimmu Borgir flask for putting spirits and shit in?

Yeah, very nice silver ones, but they were sold out before I could get one!

Goddammit! I didn’t even get to see one!

You’ll have to check with your merch guy. He still has the sample one. What have I not asked that you want to tell Perch readers about the new album or the tour?

Big question! It’s too early in the morning for that! It’s just killer to see the interest all of the fans are taking in the band right now. It makes us want to do another leg over here - just get it on!

SECOND SPOTLIGHT - KATAKLYSM!

* Canadian Extremists Kataklysm are still on the road supporting both their excellent In The Arms of Devastation (Nuclear Blast) and their recently released DVD, Live In Deutchsland. They’ve just recently wrapped up the Infernal Darkness Tour where they supported Dimmu Borgir, are making some Summer European Festival appearances, and starting in September will be back in Europe for a co-headlining tour with Behemoth!

Kataklysm are: vocalist Maurizio Iacono, guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, bassist Stéphane Barbe, and drummer Max Duhamel. There is a TON of news in the Kataklysm camp, and The Crowgrrl caught up with Maurizio to talk more about their relentless tour schedule, the band’s Washburn signature guitar, and much more including EXCLUSIVE first news about their upcoming next album! (Thanks again, Maurizio!)

You guys put on a great show in Baltimore!

Oh, cool! Thank you! You were there? Awesome! It was a really cool show! We had never played Baltimore before, so we were very happy to be there.

Very cool! Hopefully you’ll come back again!

We will! We’re planning on it.

So, how’s the rest of the tour going so far?

Phenomenal! It’s been a great tour for us, beyond our expectations! It’s hard when you’re just opening on tour and people are just getting into the club, feeling a little out of place and just having one beer or less in them. It’s kind-of a little bit difficult to get any kind of reaction sometimes. But that has not been the case for us on this tour! It’s just been wild every day! Absolutely great! There’s no complaints.

Are you filming any shows for a possible DVD? (Although I know you just put out Live in Deutschland.)

Right. We’ve filmed a few little parts here and there, mostly behind-the-scenes type of things that we never really did before. We haven’t really filmed any live footage yet. We’re concentrating more on making the effort of pushing the band more on that note - pushing the live show. We’re not focusing on filming shows right now because we have other tours that are being planned at the moment where we’re going to be able to do that.

So tell me a little about Live In Deutschland. Was that filmed over the entire German tour or just one show?

It was one show we did in Germany. It was an open-air festival that we headlined together with Hypocrisy. It was a real big festival, and we decided to take that opportunity and film it. We released it as our first DVD. Germany’s one of the biggest markets for Kataklysm in the world, and we just wanted to show the world a big moment for us, and wanted to give them back something. It came out real cool. We’re really happy with it.

It’s got a really eerie feel to it - smoke, dark, a lot of people there. It was really cool!

You guys have a signature V Guitar with Washburn Guitars?

Yes. We just made a deal with them to have two custom-made guitars that are used just for him. They’re really behind the band live. They love the band! It’s really cool for him to see that happen.

I guess they’re planning a mass production of them. It’s really, really cool that he’s going to have his own thing everywhere. He really likes the company, and they just gelled really well. He’s really happy with them. The guitars are really beautiful guitars. Everybody on tour who passes by them are like, "WOW!" It’s a good thing.

Very cool! It’s been awhile since In The Arms of Devastation came out. Are you working on material for a follow-up yet?

We’ve been working on material for a follow-up. We’ve been really well inspired to do In The Arms of Devastation. But when we finished it, there was still a lot more to say, a lot to write. We had more ideas.

We did a quick European tour for it right after the album came out, but then we took a break and didn’t hit the U.S. right away because we still wanted to write more. So we put ideas on ice for the next one. We’ve been writing a little bit here and there between tours.

We’re going to try to finish it this Summer. There’s a lot of stuff going on, so we don’t know if it’s going to be delayed a little bit or not.

Yeah, it’s been awhile. We re-released it for this tour, and it feels like a fresh record still. That’s one thing that’s really cool because it’s like a year old now. But it feels like the momentum for it is kind-of building now. So it’s really cool to see that.

It is an excellent album! What’s your favorite song on it?

I love almost every song on that record! Some of them - you can’t always have everything perfect, so there’s always a little thing I would have done a little bit different. But I would have to go with the first track: Like Angels Weeping (The Dark). For me it has everything, and kind-of represents Kataklysm. It’s got gloom, it’s got melody, it’s got blast beats, it’s got everything! I just feel it’s the song that represents us the best.

That’s my opinion, but of course everybody in the band has their own favorite song. But I think that one and The Road To Devastation, the last one, are really big.

Right! To Reign Again is another great one!

It’s a very big one! It has a more European feel to it than the rest of the album, but it’s a very big song for us, too. If we had more time, we could play it on this tour.

Morgan Lander made a guest appearance?

Yeah. She’s a friend of ours. I wanted to do something different. In the Death Metal scene it’s not really something that you see a lot - the Extreme Music Scene, I should say - like a duet type of thing but with screaming vocals. That’s not something you really see a lot.

She was totally down for it! She came down with her sister to the studios and just laid down the vocals. It just came out really cool! Their fans really loved it and our fans loved it too. There was a little bit of a controversy because their music is a bit more accessible than what Kataklysm does. So some people are like, "Are you doing that to sell more records?!" It wasn’t about selling more records. It was about doing something different.

The thing with Kataklysm is we’ve always pushed the envelope. We always want to do something either that hasn’t been done or that is refreshing to us. We think that was a good idea to do, and it worked out well. We thought it was more of an opportunity to showcase a different side of the band

You have a character called Heartbeast that’s the "fifth member of the band"?

Yeah. A fictional "fifth member of the band". It’s just something that - we were doing our album and the artwork done and all that. Then completely fell in love with it! It was one of those things where everybody - even the tour shirts for it were a huge seller for us. Everybody loves The Beast and says it’s our best artwork. We just thought about it, and our guitar player is a huge Iron Maiden fan, and they have Eddie. So, he was like, "We should have him as our mascot". I liked the idea. Why not?!

So, we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the future like in artwork and stuff.

The new material you have coming out - can you give us a bit of a preview? Tell us a little bit about it?

It’s going to be a hard-hitting record. You know, I hate when all the bands say, "It’s going to be our best album and it’s going to be this or that". It’s a little early for us to say how the end result will be.

But we do have producers that we already want to work with and are confirmed. We’re not allowed to say right now because we want to keep working on this album more still because it still has a lot of life into it. But it will be a more melodic album, and it’s going to be very much more intricate. The workmanship on it is going to be a little bit higher than the last record, but it’s going to have a Kataklysm feel.

On the last record we were very comfortable with where we were at with In The Arms Of Devastation. The new record is going to have a little more of everything, but we’re going to keep it Kataklysm style because that’s the way it is. We write songs. We’re not about being the most extreme band or this or that. It’s really about having good songs that people can relate to and have a good feeling about. I think there’s going to be a concept of self imprisonment on the album - that’s going to be the focus of it. So you’ve got the first information for our next record.

Thank you!!! So how does the songwriting process work for you guys? Do the lyrics come first or the music?

I need the music to write the lyrics because it gives me the motive, the feeling for being able to write something for a certain part. I do come up with choruses in my head, certain structures that I know I want to use, then I’ll talk to the guys about getting something like this. Then they’ll go with that and build around it.

We have a very weird way of writing. A lot of singers will write their lyrics and try to fit them to the music, then the music will compliment the lyrics. We actually do the music first and then I’ll put my lyrics in, or I’ll have a chorus or idea and we’ll build around that. There’s always a real foundation there somewhere. That’s how we mostly write.

I live in Chicago, so it’s a bit difficult for us to get together and just write. The other guys live in the Canadian city of Montreal, so they’re getting together all the time and writing, then I’ll fly in and put my ideas in. Then we go from there, and it’s really cool.

Have you thought about artwork for the new album yet?

Yes. We already have ideas for it. We’re a very fast working band. We’ve already got our year planned out. We’re very pro-active like that.

We do have ideas. I really don’t want to say what it is, but I think many people are curious. It’s going to have the Heartbeast in it, but I can’t say what it’s going to be like because I want to keep it a surprise. I think a lot of people are curious, they want to see when it comes out if it’s going to be a cool thing. So I’m going to keep that for us for now.

Do you have any songs written that you want to make into a video for the album?

So far we don’t because we don’t have the final album. The final album is not all written yet, so there might be more songs that have more potential. We don’t know. But we’re definitely going to do a video for it for sure. We’re going to try to use a really good producer for it. We’re looking at some people right now.

After this tour, you’re going to tour Europe with Behemoth?

Yes. We’re going to do actually two open air festivals - one in Germany, one in Italy in July. Then we’ve got a European tour. We’re going to do co-headlining with Behemoth and Aborted, and a Black Metal band from Germany, Lyfthrasyr. We’re going to do 4 weeks. Us and Behemoth are going to be doing 2 weeks together or maybe 3. Then the rest is going to be only us with Aborted.

It’s going to be really cool. We’re going to be touring with good friends of ours so it’s going to be cool to share a stage with them. We’ve never really toured with them before. We’d just always meet at different locations when we are always criss-crossing each other all the time. It will be fun to finally do it together.

So if you’re co-headlining, you’re going to have more time to play?!

Oh, yeah, definitely! We’re going to be closing most of the shows. They’re going to be closing some of them in different areas where they’re stronger and stuff like that, but we’re going to be doing most of the headlining. You figure both bands have been around for so long and both deserve to have long sets so the crowd is satisfied with both bands that they come to see. It’s going to be really fun!

Yeah! With 8 albums and the set you currently have, how do you choose which songs to fit in that small amount of space?!

It is a most difficult task. We try to make everything interesting. But we’ll always get this fan who says, "Why didn’t you play this song?" I’m like, "You know what? It would take us 2 hours to play everything that everybody wants to hear." We try to do the ones that people really want to come see.

I guess we’re concentrating more on the last 3 records. The big Kataklysm records are the last 4. So we’re trying to concentrate on the last 3 because we only have 30 minutes. That’s not a lot of time. Sometimes they’ll give us 35. The Dimmu guys have been really cool with us and really taking care of us. It’s really good on this tour! We’re really happy to get this chance.

Very cool! So which songs are you going to add for the European tour?

We’re definitely going to have a wider range. We’re probably going to pick anything from the Prophecy album all the way to the latest one. Maybe play a new one, I’m not sure yet. We’re going to see, and test the waters maybe. See what the songwriting may be by then. I think we’ll add some obvious big songs like Illuminati, and there’s probably going to be The Road To Devastation, of course. Those are songs we’re going to add.

It’s still kind-of far so we don’t know exactly how we’re going to do it. We just did a big headlining tour of Europe in January. We don’t want to play some of the same things even though we’re not hitting the same countries. People travel to see the bands, so we want to make it more interesting and different, you know?

Right! So what are your plans for after that tour?

Right now we’re looking for more U.S. stuff. We’re getting a lot of offers. Again, I can’t say because they’re not confirmed, but there are a lot of U.S. opportunities that we’re looking at right now, so we’re definitely going to do more. Maybe even before the European tour maybe coming back to do some more U.S. dates also maybe in November or December. So, we’re going to be very busy all year long. It’s probably going to be the longest run that we’ve done this year.

We’ve been gone since January, and we’ve been home maybe a month so far. It’s going to be a long year for us, but a very worthy one. We need to push this as far as we can.

So, what have I not asked that you want to tell Perch readers?

The live DVD just came out. It’s a good buy because you get 2 cd’s, you get to see the band live, plus if you’re in your car you can hear the same show. It’s a good way to really get familiar with the band, to see what Kataklysm’s about live, and also what you can expect. Also we have interviews like we’re talking to the fans - it’s not like we’re being interviewed by somebody; we’re talking to everybody about how we are.

I think it’s a good step forward if you want to check it out and see where this band’s at. People should get their hands on it. At the same time, our fans and everybody should only expect the best from us in the future. We won’t release any record unless the hair sticks up on the arm. We’re totally determined, and hopefully everybody’s with us

THIRD SPOTLIGHT - VINTERSORG!

* Vintersorg’s new <B>Solens Rötter ("The Origin of the Sun) (Napalm Records) is an ambitious yet organic work of art that celebrates Nature in all its forms - from peaceful sereneness to breathtaking beauty to fiercely dangerous. Musically the album blends reverent, hymn-like vocals with Nordic folk elements with harsh Black Metal sensibilities - a combination as awe-inspiring as Nature itself!

Of course there is Black Metal instrumentation that we expect, played with razor-sharpness, but tempered with the unexpected acoustic guitars, flutes, harps, and violins. Vintersorg the band is comprised of Vintersorg (Mr. V.) the man as mastermind, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, and vocalist extraordinaire; and lead/rhythm guitarist Mattias Marklund.

Do you both contribute to the songwriting, or do you do the lion’s share of it, Mr. V??

I’m writing the songs and the lyrics and then I present it to Mattias and then he sometimes come up with ideas regarding arrangements. Still many times the songs remain the same but with both of our "mark of performance" engraved in it. We’ve known each other for so many years and we share the same philosophy when it comes to the music and actually life in general, so we never run into conflicts with each other.

Do the lyrics come first? Does the music come first? What is the songwriting process like?

Mostly the music is the first thing that I concentrate on but sometimes a line of words pops up from within and also maybe a melody as well..and then I work from that. So, there’s no given formula how the songs will be written but for this new album I used an acoustic guitars a lot while writing as we wanted a more warm sound, so you can set your mind into specific atmosphere by choosing different tools to work with I feel.

Did you have the concept of Nature in mind before you started songwriting?

I always nearly write about nature and specifically the relation between Man and Nature, trying to dig into that subject from different angles. That relation comes in many forms and taking a look at Nature can also be done in many different kinds of aspects, from the cosmological to a more "romantic" and describing. This time we took a closer look at the nature in our surroundings and how we both benefit of it and effect it. But don’t worry…hehehe..it’s not environmental propaganda..it’s more like philosophizing about those things..and of course we have a scientific platform to view from as well.

"Döpt I En Jökelsjö" is absolutely majestic! What were your inspirations behind that song?

I don’t know..??? I just wanted to write a song with contrasts and with several musical elements/parts that is bit contrapositions but can still work together. I mean the harshness of some of the parts in the beginning and then it leads to a majestic and warm chorus. I don’t reflect that much from where the inspiration comes, it has a complexity that is hard to understand logically.

How about "Idetemplet", which has a dangerous edge to it?

It’s the same here I really don’t know where the inspiration came from I guess it was many things that lead to it. But for the mentioned song it was the last track I wrote for the album and I felt that it was a really good adding, it has drive that I like and also a symphonic touch that’s very attractive.

There seems to be an urgency and intensity behind "Att Bygga En Ruin"?!

Yes, we wanted to have some really hard and harsh song on the album and I think it was a wise decision as it balances up all the calmer and soothing parts perfectly. We wanted to have some raw black metal in there but with finesse, so the end of the song turns it into a more majestic and symphonic piece with all those vocal harmonies etc.

By contrast, "Från Materia Till Ande" has an almost dreamlike quality?

This one is and example where I had a title in my head first. The songs is about nature in the form of when man tries to tweak it to benefit of it, it’s about Alchemy and with that theme the atmosphere was kind of set. As you said a more dream-like of mystic atmosphere was something that I had in my mind writing and when we record it.

What’s your personal favorite song on "Solens Rötter"?

It changes on a daily basis so it’s a bit hard to tell actually. I really like all the songs as they all have different qualities but yesterday I listened to "Kosmosaik" I found it very inspiring.

Any stories behind the cover art?

Mr V: We wanted a clean cover, not noisy and blurry with hundreds of layers..I guess this is a result of that wish. It reflect the album as it’s an Alchemist holding the moon in one hand and the sun in the other, representing the duality of Man/Nature or more like the complexity of it.

Any video plans for any of the songs on "Solens Rötter"?

Doesn’t Borknagar’s "Origin" follow similar themes?

Naahh..it’s not the same thing as in Borknagar. We all write lyrics that has a vaster range of topics but still Borknagar work a a lot with Nature. I think it’s very natural as Nature is the foundation of everything..it’s the huge system and all other things are incorporated in it. Borknagar have not a specific theme that we work with all the time but you can find a pattern in there, we work a lot with cycles.

Do you spend a lot of time outdoors for your lyrical inspirations?

Yes, and at this moment I actually have Nature as my classroom. I’m studying to become a teacher and the course I’m taking now is called "Outdoor Education" and deals with how we can learn by watching Nature, explore and investigate it and from that learn stuff that is essential for us and so on.

Any tour plans?

No.

Do you add other musicians for your live shows to help recreate the multi-layers and textures that appear on the albums?

We’ve played a lot in the past but our current situation with studying, family, work etc. It’s not possible. But we have people that perform with us when we play live, local guys that are very skilled in their craft.

What is your live show like?

It’s hard to say for me that sits on the inside….but we focus mostly on the music and the lyrics..I prefer myself a band that does that so it sounds good. Of course cool live show with props and stuff can be nice..but if that is more in focus than the music I think it becomes very pretentious.

Does your live set list contain mostly songs from "Solens Rötter", or your other albums as well?

We play songs from every album.

Any long-form DVD plans?

No, we’ve been talking about it for some time but I’m quite bored with all the DVD’s that come out..I mean watching band on a stage performing..I rather be at the actual gig. I guess it goes hand in hand with my attitude towards live Cd’s as well. The last good live CD I heard was Uriah Heep’s live ’74..I guess that says it all.

Will there be another Cronian album?

Yes, we’re working on it right now, but we’ve been very busy with other things so it’ll take us a little bit longer than we expected to complete it. We’ll finish it during this year and hopefully it can be out at the end of the year or so.

Is there anything that I didn’t ask that you want to tell Crowgrrl’s Perch readers?

Check out "Solens Rötter" it’s an adventure.

MUSIC

* The Crowgrrl can't rave enough about Filii Nigrantium Infernalium who have left a bloody eviscerated offering on a Satanic altar with their new Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator. Hailing from Portugal, this band

describes their music as "SatanicAnarco Black Metal" - their phenomenal sound is

really a fresh, invigorating mix of Black, Thrash, and Old School Metal. The

musicianship is awesome throughout, with agonized vox and stellar fretwork over

rock-solid foundations.

Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator was the # 1 cd in the Crowgrrl’s Best Of

2006, the video for the song Calypso

was the # 1 Best Video for 2006, and the raw and real Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator: Live At Barroselas Live grabbed the # 2 Long Form DVD slot (being nudged out of the top slot by Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey). This is definitely a band

to watch - The Crowgrrl sees great things in their future!

Fellatrix Discordia Pantokrator IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE U.S. in the Gothic Occult Emporium! Grab a copy Here!

* Amon Amarth’s With Oden On Our Side is a fierce and valiant conjuration of both the souls of Viking forces as well as the very Gods of Asgard! Brilliant yet brutal musicianship throughout celebrates the victories and bravery of their Viking ancestors.

Valhall Awaits Me looks death in the eye unafraid in the midst of battle (and features an excellent guitar solo!). Runes To My Memory is a fallen warrior’s final request, set against riffs that stick in the cranium long after the album has finished playing! The excellent Asator sings the praises of the God of Thunder himself, while musically being every bit as powerful as the most dangerous of storms!

Hermod’s Ride to Hel is ripped directly from Norse Mythology - after the death of Balder when Hermod pleads with the Queen of the Dead to bring Balder back to life, and Hel agrees IF the whole world indeed mourns his death (and those of us who know the old tales remember that Loke is the only one who will not mourn, so Balder is trapped in the underworld). Gods Of War Arise is probably the catchiest song on the record - it depicts in detail a successful Viking raid on an unsuspecting village; triumph just oozes from this song! The ferocious With Oden On Our Side hands victory to the Viking warriors despite being outnumbered 4 to 1 on the battlefield.

I love the riffs and guitar melodies as warriors charge into battle in Cry of the Blackbirds, Odin’s sacred ravens watching on as the battle wages. Under the Northern Star is a dark but beautiful look at Vikings bringing home their treasures and preparing to face the frozen Northern winter. Prediction of Warfare brings history to life as King Olav leads a fleet of 50 ships for an invasion of Ireland. Excellent album!

* Testament are currently working on a new album - but are also conquering the world with their live assault! Fresh off the heels of a tour of Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South America, they’ve now got Europe, Asia, and a few lucky East Coast U.S. dates in their sights. Tour dates include:
July 06, 2007 - Mortegliano, Italy; Fest in Tenda
July 07, 2007 - Leeuwarden, Netherlands; Waldrock Festival
July 13, 2007 - Poughkeepsie, NY; The Chance
July 14, 2007 - Sayreville, NY; Starland Ballroom (Sounds of the Underground)
July 15, 2006 - Springfield, VA; Jaxx
July 16, 2006 - Southbridge, MA; ADC Performance Center
July 19, 2007 - Rieden, Germany; Earthshaker Festival
July 27, 2007 - Taipei, Taiwan; Formoz Fest
July 28, 2007 - Incheon City, Korea; Pentaport Rock Fest
Aug. 17, 2007 - Oulu, Finland; Club Teatria
Aug. 18, 2007 - Notodden, Norway, Tapperiet (Metal Heart Festival)
Aug. 19, 2007 - Gotenborg, Sweden; TBC
Aug. 21, 2007 - Kolding, Denmark; Godset
Aug. 22, 2007 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Hof Ter Lo
Aug. 23, 2007 - Deventer, Holland; Burgerweeshuis
Aug. 24, 2007 - Bergen, Norway; Hole In The Sky Bergen Metal Fest
Aug. 25, 2007 - Gemunden, Germany; Up From The Ground Open Air Festival
Aug. 31, 2007 - Rimini, Italy; Velvet
Sep. 01, 2007 - Palmaggio-Casserta, Italy; Route to Hell Festival

* The band Intense is aptly named - larger-than-life Power Metal delivered with full force! Their new album As Our Army Grows (Napalm Records) is testament to this. With lyrical influences such as the Prophecy movies and Videodrome and more, this is definitely a delicious album to relish! It finds its way frequently into The Crowgrrl’s CD player.

Anger of the Ancients is pure fury - a warning to treasure hunters and antiquity seekers that may not know what they’re bargaining for when they open ancient tombs. Mirror Shroud is full on in-your-face. Our Last Hope is an epic battle that shakes the heavens themselves with lyrics very reminiscent of The Prophecy. You Die Today is intricately complex musically as the Grim Reaper himself makes a dark appearance.

Insanity’s Call is a moving power ballad. The enchanting Temptress is an inescapable Siren’s call. Fear Is Not Enough is absolutely dangerous - with amazing razor-sharp fretwork!

The final three songs on this offering are three chapters of a trilogy telling the "Chronicles of the New Flesh" - inspired by the classic movie Videodrome. The intro warns that "the battle for the mind of North America will be fought in the video arena", setting the stage for the story that musically unfolds. Trojan Transmission is brutal with a jazz-inspired break, lyrically cautioning against subliminals that are controlling minds. Strange New World is keyboard-driven, a total departure from the rest of the album. Long Live the New Flesh retaliates, fighting back against the domination.

* Slayer and Marilyn Manson co-headline Summer tour dates! This is a match made in Heaven...or Hell...and a show not to be missed! Marilyn Manson and Slayer's 25-city co-headline North American tour will kick off on July 25 in West Palm Beach, FL, pillaging its way cross-country to wrap up in San Antonio, TX on September 1.

For this two-pronged-threat double bill, Slayer and Manson will each play full sets with Bleeding Through and one other support band, yet to be determined, opening all shows.

Marilyn Manson just wrapped up work on his upcoming June release to be titled "EAT ME, DRINK ME," which Rolling Stone magazine anticipates as "epic." Voted "Best Band in the World" by Kerrang! magazine, the army of noise behind Manson's bitterness is at once raw and massive when witnessing him live - "rousing the crowd with focused ardor," states the New York Times.

Celebrating its 26th year together, the always-uncompromising Slayer was recently named "Best Live Band" in SPIN's 2006 Readers Poll, and picked up their first Grammy Award in February for "Best Metal Performance." Their latest album, "Christ Illusion" - which debuted at #5 on Billboard's Albums Chart - takes on the U.S. Government about the War in Iraq, prompting one newspaper to speculate, "If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he undoubtedly would be listening to Slayer."

Confirmed tour dates for the Slayer/Marilyn Manson co-headline summer tour are as follows:

July 25, 2007 - West Palm Beach, FL; Sound Advice Amphitheatre
July 27, 2007 - Tampa, FL; Ford Amphitheatre
July 28, 2007 - Atlanta, GA; Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre
July 30, 2007 - Columbia, MD; Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 31, 2007 - Cleveland, OH; Tower City Amphitheatre
Aug. 02, 2007 - Philadelphia, PA; Tweeter Center
Aug. 04, 2007 - Worcester, MA; DCU Center
Aug. 05, 2007 - Holmdel, NJ; PNC
Aug. 07, 2007 - Quebec, QC CANADA; Centre de Foire
Aug. 08, 2007 - Montreal, QC CANADA; Bell Centre
Aug. 10, 2007 - Toronto, ON CANADA; Molson Amphitheatre
Aug. 11, 2007 - Detroit, MI; DTE Music Theatre
Aug. 13, 2007 - Chicago, IL; Allstate
Aug. 14, 2007 - Minneapolis, MN; Xcel
Aug. 16, 2007 - TBA
Aug. 18, 2007 - Denver, CO; Coors Amphitheatre
Aug. 21, 2007 - Sacramento, CA; Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Aug. 23, 2007 - Concord, CA; Sleep Train Pavilion
Aug. 24, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA; Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre @ Irvine
Aug. 25, 2007 - San Diego, CA; San Diego Sports Arena
Aug. 27, 2007 - Phoenix, AZ; Cricket Pavilion
Aug. 28, 2007 - Albuquerque, NM; Journal Pavilion
Aug. 30, 2007 - Dallas, TX; Nokia Theatre
Aug. 31, 2007 - Houston, TX; Reliant Arena
Sept. 01, 2007 - San Antonio, TX; Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

* "THE LOST TRACKS OF DANZIG" (This is already in the Crowgrrl’s personal Heavy Rotation Stack - review coming soon!) IS OUT! This 2-CD set is a veritable Goldmine for both the Casual or Frenetic Danzig Devotee. (And longtime Perch readers know the Crowgrrl falls into the latter category!)

If you've been craving new Danzig material, (I know I always am!) then get your music player ready. On May 29, evilive will release "The Lost Tracks of Danzig," a two-CD set comprised of 26 previously unreleased tracks that span Danzig's entire career. All of the tracks were recorded during the band's seven-album "arc" that began with 1988's "Danzig."

"Whenever I've made a new album, I've recorded more songs than were needed for the final CD," said Glenn Danzig. "The songs that make it onto the final album 'fit' or 'flow' together as a whole. Consequently, some tremendous Danzig songs have never been released, not because they weren't great, but because they didn't fit the overall vibe of the particular album, or for other reasons."

When Glenn began the "Lost Tracks" project, the songs were in various stages of completion - some were still in demo form, some had no vocals, some needed a different mix, a new bass or guitar track, or some other type of tweaking. So, after spending months tracking down and reviewing the original tapes, Glenn entered the studio and completed the tracks, handling the vocals and finishing all instrumental recording himself.

The 26 songs on "The Lost Tracks of Danzig" are presented in chronological order; the first two cuts are "Pain Like an Animal" and "When Death Had No Name," both songs that have their roots in late Samhain but evolved into two of the very first Danzig tracks and intended for the band's self-titled debut. Fans will also find a song entitled "Angels of the Seventh Dawn," originally recorded for the 1990 album "Danzig II: Lucifuge," "Crawl Across Your Killing Floor," considered for "Danzig 6: Satan's Child," and the controversial "White Devil Rise," which was recorded for 1994's "Danzig 4" and is Glenn's conjecture as to what would happen if Louis Farrakhan incited the passive white race to rise up against and start a race war with the Black Islamic movement.

Danzig also liked to include cover songs on his albums so "The Lost Tracks" will feature T-Rex's "Buick McKane" (1992's "Danzig III: How The Gods Kill"), David Bowie's "Cat People" ("Danzig 7"), and "Caught In My Eye" by The Germs ("Danzig 6"). One of the CD's true treasures is a sparse acoustic version of "Come to Silver," a song that Glenn originally wrote for Johnny Cash (who reportedly loved it), then recorded it (with Jerry Cantrell on guitar) for 1996's "Danzig 5: Blackacidevil."

"The Lost Tracks of Danzig" will also contain a special 12-page booklet with a forward personally written by Glenn Danzig, a sentence or two with the history or an anecdote for each track, and plenty of vintage photos.

Long before Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson or Guns N' Roses, there was Glenn Danzig. Danzig is arguably the most versatile talent to emerge from hardcore's first wave -- a graphic designer, photographer, comic book publisher and composer who writes all his bands' music. His songs have been covered by Guns N' Roses, Metallica and My Chemical Romance. He's written for Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. Glenn Danzig has received many titles, from the Godfather of Dark Metal to a man of integrity, but most agree that over his three-decades career, his intense musical and lyrical statements have left a permanent mark on rock music.

Founder of the Misfits, that band pioneered dark horror/hardcore punk and has become a seminal band of the genre, despite only six years and a few albums. The goth metal-punk band Samhain quickly followed and in just another few years became a noted outfit. Darker than Samhain, Danzig's music evolved into a potent mix of gothic metal and blues with a Satanic twist. In 2006, the ever-surprising Glenn Danzig released his second classical album, "Black Aria 2," which debuted in the Top Ten - imagine, the Godfather of Dark Metal keeping company on the Billboard classical chart with Itzhak Perlman and Andrea Bocelli.

The complete track listing for "The Lost Tracks of Danzig" is as follows:

DISC ONE
Pain Is Like An Animal
When Death Had No Name
Angel of the Seventh Dawn
You Should be Dying
Cold, Cold Rain
Buick McKane
When Death Had No Name
Satans Crucifiction
The Mandrake's Cry
White Devil Rise
Come to Silver (Acoustic)
Deep
Warlok

DISC TWO
Lick the Blood Off My Hands
Crawl Across Your Killing Floor
I Know Your Lie
Caught In My Eye
Cat People
Bound by Blood
Who Claims the Soulless
Malefical
Soul Eater
Dying Seraph
Lady Lucifera
Under Belly of the Beast
Unspeakable Shango Mix

* New England ’s own death-grind powerhouse The Red Chord delivers a brutal new record!!! The album, titled Prey For Eyes, was recorded at New Jersey ’s Trax East with producer Eric Rachel (Atreyu, Every Time I Die).

Plus, check out one of the tracks, "Send The Death Storm" online here.

A sprawling enigma, the album traverses nightmarish soundscapes with mind-bending time changes, gnashing guitars and schizophrenic vocals. Guitarist Mike "Gunface" Mckenzie couples bludgeoning riffs with haunting chord passages. Brad Fickeisen furiously propels the tracks with demonic double bass drumming as Greg Weeks bolts down a rhythmic freight train.

Vocalist Guy Kozowyk is the ringmaster of this sonic horror show. His lyrics delve into the psyches of insane inmates, anarchist recluses and gods with a vengeance for pop music. This is dangerous and thought provoking music that transcends genres. This is Prey For Eyes.

Guy had this to say about the new record: "We feel really great about the writing process for this album. We’re very proud of it. It’s as close to a defining Red Chord record as we’ve ever come."

The title, Prey For Eyes, was inspired by an experience Kozowyk’s brother, a prison guard, had with an inmate. "The prisoner won't talk and gets into this dialogue via a notepad. After documenting that he can no longer talk because the devil removed his tongue, my brother checks the con’s mouth with his flashlight. When he tells him that his tongue is definitely intact, the inmate replies with the cryptic message "Pray for Eyes."

Prey For Eyes is The Red Chord’s third full-length album and promises to be their most brutal offering yet!! To celebrate, the heavy metal journeymen have booked themselves a busy summer bringing their ‘must see’ show to fans across America .

"We’re starting our headlining tour today and that goes through July," says Guy Kozowyk. "We’ve also just confirmed a string of dates with Between The Buried And Me and Cephalic Carnage later this summer to hit some more markets and Canada . We’ve got some other big plans to announce in near future for the fall, so stay tuned for that. We’ll be all over the place for the next year or two to come."

Look for The Red Chord on tour all summer long! Prey For Eyes hits the masses on July 24!! And get an advance taste of the new record with "Send The Death Storm" here.

The Red Chord’s headlining tour dates with Through The Eyes of the Dead, Despised Icon include:
June 10, 2007 - Orlando, FL; Backbooth
June 11, 2007 - New Orleans, LA; The High Ground
June 12, 2007 - Houston, TX; Meridian Red Room
June 13, 2007 - San Antonio, TX; White Rabbit
June 14, 2007 - El Paso, TX; Chic’s Bar n Grill
June 15, 2007 - Phoenix, AZ; Clubhouse
June 17, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA; House of Blues
June 18, 2007 - Sacramento, CA; Boardwalk
June 20, 2007 - Denver, CO; Marquis Theater
June 21, 2007 - Lawrence, KS, Bottleneck
June 22, 2007 - Iowa City, IA; Picador
June 23, 2007 - St. Paul, MN; Station Four
June 24, 2007 - Chicago, IL; Metro
June 25, 2007 - Detroit, MI; Majestic
June 26, 2007 - Cleveland, OH; Peabody’s
June 27, 2007 - Toronto, ON; Reverb
June 28, 2007 - Montreal, QUE; Le Studio
June 29, 2007 - Poughkeepsie, NY; The Chance
July 01, 2007 - Farmingdale, NY; The Crazy Donkey

* Aesma Daeva bring a beautiful Symphonic Metal offering to lay on Olympian altars of the Parthenon itself with their Dawn of a New Athens. This is the first album with the band’s new vocalist, soprano Lori Lewis who joins the ranks of Earl Root (guitar), Tim Klatt (drums), John Prassas (additional guitars, bawu, compositions and arrangements) and Chris Quinn (bass).

Tisza’s Child starts with a haunting siren’s call beckoning someone to a sure death on the seaside rocks - then guitars as Rock-solid as those boulders are built upon that compelling foundation as a diva continues to call unfortunate souls to a watery grave. The Bluish Shade heart-wrenchingly mourns the death of a loved one, followed by a woman taking vows of purity to the lunar goddess Artemis, since she wants no one but the one love she lost.

Hymn To The Sun features blazing fretwork as the song tells the tragic story of Phaeton, Apollo’s son who attempts to fly his father’s solar chariot. The strong fretwork and blastbeats are the saving graces of D’Oreste, which was otherwise wayyyy too operatic for my personal taste. The Camp of Souls is a haunting lamentation set against some wonderful crunches.

The majestic Ancient Verses seems to show a priestess passing along ancient knowledge. By stark contrast, Since The Machine (see video Here) depicts ancient knowledge being suppressed or destroyed by early Xtian forces. The Loon is the perfect outro - as the cry of a beautiful waterfowl enchants someone just as the sirens did in Tisza’s Child, with the spellbound listener meeting the same fate.

* Baptized By Fire - Jesse Blaze Snider (vocals), Benjamin Clapp (drums), Danny Wacker (guitar), and Dan Carlysle (bass) - will be burning up the highways (and melting eardrums) soon! If you’re anywhere close to any of these gigs, BE THERE and witness some righteous ass-kicking! The Crowgrrl highly recommends this band. Tour dates include:
July 26, 2007 - TBA, NY; TBA
July 27, 2007 - Clifton, NJ; Dingbatz
Aug. 03, 2007 - Bladewood, NJ; The Cherrywood
Aug. 17, 2007 - Trenton, NJ; 449 Room
Sept. 14, 2007 - TBA, NY; TBA
Sept. 29, 2007 - Baltimore, MD; The Black Hole Rock Club
Oct. 05, 2007 - Brooklyn, NY; The Trash Bar

* VNV Nation - which stands for "Victory Not Vengeance", a message that people should try to achieve and not sit in bitter regret - are back with a gorgeous ebony astral journey with their new album, Judgement.

The instrumental Prelude ushers the album in with bewitching electronica. The Farthest Star reminds us we have the power to change the world. Testament shows the greatness Mankind is capable of, but instead descends to warfare and destruction.

It’s impossible to sit still with the awesome Momentum with its commanding synths and pulsating rhythms! Nemesis conjures the Goddess of Justice Herself! Secluded Spaces is beautifully ethereal musically while lyrically exploring a profound personal moment.

Illusion is a bittersweet plea for someone to avoid a self-destructive path. Carry You is powerfully positive, a reminder to never give up hope. As It Fades is a peaceful, calming instrumental outro.

* Sweden's Katatonia will return to headline their first American tour this fall. Kicking of September 4, the tour will make nineteen stops around the country and will feature an all European line-up with Sweden's Scar Symmetry joining up with Finland's Insomnium and Swallow the Sun.

The tour will be Katatonia's second visit to the US in a year, the band making their stateside touring debut last fall performing alongside Moonspell and North Carolina-based Daylight Dies. Touring in support of their first live album, Live Consternation, (Candlelight) it will be the first time long-time American fans will be able to experience a full set from the highly acclaimed band. Live Consternation, set for American release June 5, is a stunning 5.01 cd/2.0 dvd package features selections from the band's successful 2006 album The Great Cold Distance and choice cuts from their growing and popular catalog.

On-going acclaim for Scar Symmetry's 2006 virtuosic album, Pitch Black Progress, (Nuclear Blast) has yielded a second tour of North America for the melodic death metallers from Sweden. The band made their debuts in the U.S. and Canada a mere two months ago on the "Metal For The Masses" tour and have scanned close to eight thousand units of their sophomore release.

Insomnium will make their stateside debut performing selections from their current/third album Above the Weeping World. (Candlelight) "This is by far the best Insomnium album", says vocalist/bassist Niilo Sevänen. "It is the first time we feel we really succeeded in the studio. As a band we are very happy with the end result." Formed in 1997, Insomnium recorded two demos before signing with Candlelight Records.

Hope is the third album from rising Finnish doom/death band Swallow the Sun. Featuring a guest appearance by Katatonia vocalist Jonas Renske the album charted in the band's home country of Finland upon its release. The tour will be the band's first of America and comes as the band's profile is rising internationally. Confirmed tour dates include:
Sept. 04, 2007 - West Springfield, VA; Jaxx
Sept. 06, 2007 - New York, NY; BB King Blues Club
Sept. 07, 2007 - Bedford, NH; Mark’s Showplace
Sept. 08, 2007 - Poughkeepsie, NY; Chance Theater
Sept. 09, 2007 - Montreal, QUE; Le Medley
Sept. 10, 2007 - Quebec City, QUE; Imperial De Quebec
Sept. 11, 2007 - Toronto, ON; The Funhaus
Sept. 12, 2007 - Cleveland, OH; Peabody’s
Sept. 13, 2007 - Detroit, MI; I-Rock
Sept. 14, 2007 - Mokena, IL; The Pearl Room
Sept. 15, 2007 - St. Paul, MN; Station 4
Sept. 17, 2007 - Denver, CO; Bluebird Theater
Sept. 19, 2007 - West Hollywood, CA; Whiskey-A-Go-Go
Sept. 20, 2007 - Corona, CA; Showcase Theater
Sept. 21, 2007 - Phoenix, AZ; Brickhouse
Sept. 22, 2007 - Albuquerque, NM; Launchpad
Sept. 24, 2007 - San Antonio, TX; White Rabbit
Sept. 25, 2007 - Ft. Worth, TX; Ridglea Theater
Sept. 26, 2007 - Houston, TX; Scout Bar

* Although he’s also a bassist and songwriter, the one thing that sets Glenn Hughes apart from the pack is his distinctive voice. Throughout his illustrious career, he’s been frontman for Trapeze, Deep Purple, and even ‘80’s era Black Sabbath!

His rabidly and ever-growing fan base has followed his illustrious career from project to project. Currently, he’s busy promoting his newest and biggest selling Old School/Power Metal solo album, Music For The Divine.

I love the guitars and beautiful vox harmonies in The Valiant Denial, lyrically painting a tale about someone holding on to false faith or hope. Steppin’ On is a revved up ride down the fast lane. Monkey Man (also the first video from the album) is pure Rock & Roll Rebellion.

This House is an uplifting romantic ballad. You Got Soul has a funky vibe while lyrically giving praise or respect. Frail is a melancholic look at a lonely lady in the winter of her life. Black Light is an enraged cry for justice.

Although the crunches in Too High are addictive, lyrically this warns of the dangers of drugs. This Is How I Feel celebrates living in the moment (and has an impressive guitar solo). The Divine is a dark ballad about someone headed for tragedy. Glenn even puts his own stamp on the Moody Blues classic, Nights In White Satin.

* Diecast will spend the summer touring the U.S. with Sevendust, which kicks off on June 21st. This trek marks Diecast’s second North American run with Sevendust after the duo spent over 10 weeks on the road together this past spring. The group have also scheduled two special headlining Southern California shows this month, which marks the return of bassist Brad Horion to the fold. See below for their current summer touring itinerary

Diecast are currently wrapping up a month-long North American tour as direct support to Drowning Pool. They also recently posted a new video online, which features a live performance of the track "Singled Out," in addition to showing certain band member’s various preparations for touring life. Check it out here.

Diecast's new single for the track, "Hourglass," is going to impact Active Rock radio later this month following the success of the "Nothing I Could Say" single. Tour dates include:

June 18, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA; The Whisky (Diecast headline show)

June 19, 2007 - Anaheim, CA; Chain Reaction (Diecast headline show)
Diecast w/Sevendust:
June 21, 2007 - San Bernardino, CA; Hudson Theatre
June 22, 2007 - Las Vegas, NV; House of Blues
June 23, 2007 - Tempe, AZ; Marquee Theatre
June 24, 2007 - Tucson, AZ; Rialto Theatre
June 26, 2007 - Colorado Springs, CO; City Auditorium
June 28, 2007 - Pharr, TX; Graham Central Station
June 29, 2007 - Corpus Christi, TX; The Pavilion At Concrete Street
June 30, 2007 - Dallas, TX; Palladium Ballroom
July 01, 2007 - Wichita, KS; Cotillion
July 03, 2007 - Mokena, IL; The Pearl Room
July 09, 2007 - Baton Rouge, LA; Texas Music Hall
July 12, 2007 - Myrtle Beach, SC; House of Blues
July 14, 2007 - Fort Wayne, IN; Headwater Park Event Pavilion
July 15, 2007 - Knoxville, TN; Blue Cats
More dates TBA

Gold Storm Records releases Violent Storm’s album Storm Warning with guests Yngwie Malmsteen and Judas Priest’s K.K. Downing (who was also the album’s Executive Producer) on July 17th in the U.S.

More and more in the early 21st century, newer metal acts seem to be modeling their sound after the metal masters. And there's a reason why the debut full length by Violent Storm, 'Storm Warning,' bears a sonic resemblance to the aforementioned metal masters - two of the genre's most renowned guitarists, Yngwie Malmsteen and Judas Priest's K.K. Downing, have lent a hand.

Led by bassist/songwriter Mick Cervino (who has toured alongside Ritchie Blackmore and Malmsteen), alongside Mike Sorrentino behind the drums ( ex-Blackmore's Night), Matt Reardon on vocals and Martin Mickells on, guitars, Violent Storm instantly left an impression on Downing.

"There's a lot of bands out there now, but a lot of it is very 'nu metal' to me," Downing said." So when I heard Mick's stuff, I thought, 'This is pretty cool - it has a freshness about it. Very classic metal.' So I played a couple of solos and things went on from there. Yngwie played on the record, and later, I pushed them towards Roy Z to engineer and remix the record from the original. Roy and I were sending files back across the Atlantic, I actually went there a couple of times - once to L.A. and once to Las Vegas - and hooked up with Roy to listen to some stuff. And that's how it all happened, really - I've been involved ever since."

Although he's appeared on live recordings by Malmsteen ('Attack!!' and 'G3 Live: Rockin' in the Free World') as well as a song on a studio set by Blackmore's Night ('Under A Violet Moon'), Cervino hasn't had the opportunity to truly show off his bass chops in the studio, until now.

"That's another reason why I needed to do Violent Storm, because I've got

to be able to play the bass on an album sometime!" Cervino commented.

The result is a rockin' release that manages to appeal to metalheads both old and new, explains Cervino. "If you're in an aggressive mood, you listen to something fast, like

'War No More.' But sometimes you're more into a melody frame of mind, and

you listen to 'Alimentary Fable.' It really depends on the mood of the day - and that's what I intended to do for the listener, so they wouldn't be stuck with one style that is redundant."

* Kamelot, one of the planet’s top purveyors of melodic metal mastery, are pleased to announce the debut of their new video for "Ghost Opera" on MTV2’s Headbanger’s Ball which airs Saturdays at 10:00pm EST on MTV2.

Kamelot has also made their video available on their newly released limited edition album, "Ghost Opera", (<B>SPV Records) now in stores. Additional footage includes a brilliantly done "making of" for the Ghost Opera video. The video can also be seen online at Youtube.com/SPVAmerica.

After the successful release of "The Black Halo", "Ghost Opera" maintains the band’s reputation as a band truly bound to reach new heights. In support of the new album, Kamelot will be gracing the states with a full US tour from August through September.

Tour dates for the Ghost Opera North American Tour 2007 w/special guest Leaves’ Eyes include:
Aug. 17, 2007 - West Springfield, VA; Jaxx
Aug. 18, 2007 - Poughkeepsie, NY; The Chance Theater
Aug. 19, 2007 - New York, NY; BB King’s
Aug. 22, 2007 - Montreal, QC; Le Medley
Aug. 23, 2007 - Quebec City, QC; L’Imperial
Aug. 24, 2007 - Toronto, ON; The Opera House
Aug. 25, 2007 - Cleveland, OH; Peabody’s
Aug. 27, 2007 - Mokena, IL; The Pearl Room
Aug. 28, 2007 - St. Paul, MN; Station 4
Aug. 30, 2007 - Denver, CO; Bluebird Theatre
Sept. 01, 2007 - Santa Ana, CA; Galaxy Theatre
Sept. 02, 2007 - Los Angeles, CA; Key Club
Sept. 04, 2007 - Tempe, AZ; The Clubhouse
Sept. 05, 2007 - Albuquerque, NM; Launchpad
Sept. 07, 2007 - San Antonio, TX; White Rabbit
Sept. 08, 2007 - Ft. Worth, TX; Ridglea Theater
Sept. 09, 2007 - Houston, TX; Meridian

* Readers, check out Thor’s new Devastation of Musculation, which shakes the very halls of Valhalla itself! It’s as strong as Viking hordes intent on pillage and plunder. Some highlights: Lords of Steel (also the first video from the album) includes tolling bells calling the faithful to the temple of Metal. Cold White Ghost is like silvery moonlight as it spins a haunted tale. Queen Akasha and Lestat are resurrected with the homage to the movie Queen of the Damned. The first part of Tale of the Wolf/Warriors of the Universe is a Shamanic honor and emulation of a noble beast, then gives way to a rallying war cry.

* Lucan Wolf has taken a brief break from his distinct Vampire Rawk sound - which can be heard on his cd’s Night World, Vampire Nights, and Nocturnal. - and has embraced a more Country-Rock style on his new cd Outlaw, which is slated to hit the streets in June. In the meantime, check out some songs from it on his Myspace page.

SCREENS (Large & Small):

* Apocalypto is now out on DVD, and is a pure adrenaline-charged thrill ride! This plops us into the Central American jungles at the height of Mayan civilization.

The Mayan struck fear into the hearts of the other Native American tribes of that region - Mayan warriors would decimate entire villages, taking the women back to their city to be sold as slaves, the children left behind to survive as best they could in the cruel jungle, and the men to be used as sacrifices to their sun god. I swear to you, this was as intense and as blood-spattered as a horror/slasher movie, with a very strong and intense plotline.

Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is the son of a chief of one of the other jungle tribes. Their tribe leads a peaceful existence, and in the early frames of the film we get to know these people and glimpse their daily life. But all too soon that changes disastrously!

This village is in the Mayan sites for an early morning raid. Jaguar Paw tries to find a safe hiding place for his pregnant wife (Dahlia Hernandez) and son, lowering them into a small but deep subterranean cave before rushing back to aid his villagers. Although the fighting is fierce, it’s futile, and except for his wife and son trapped in the cave and some village children, those who didn’t die were taken to the Mayan city - the men, including Jaguar Paw, to be sacrificed.

En route, a child from another decimated village approaches the leader of the Mayan war team with a prophecy: I don’t remember the EXACT wording, but the gist was that after the "day the sun turns black during the daytime", a "man will bring a jaguar", "arise out of the earth", and then the "Jaguar Man" will "bring them to the destruction of the Mayan civilization". Pay attention to that part - you’ll see the strange and unbelievable way Destiny plays out!

But Jaguar Paw is oblivious to this. He only knows that somehow he has to survive to get back to his wife and child, get them out of the cave/hole. Odds are not in his favor, but desperation may be.

The FX were all too real, including the sacrifice scenes were still-beating hearts were ripped out of the men’s chests. Every detail was real, gritty, and brutal from start to finish. And for an added touch of reality, the dialogue was all in the Mayan language with subtitles.

Of course, there are bonus features such as "Becoming Mayan: Creating Apocalypto", deleted scenes, commentary by Writer/Director/Producer Mel Gibson and Writer/Co-Producer Farhad Safinia.

* New releases in theaters that look interesting: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Shrek The Third, Mr. Brooks, D.O.A: Dead Or Alive, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Nancy Drew, Spiderman 3, Hostel: Part 2, Disturbia, The Invisible,

* The Crowgrrl highly recommends that readers check out one of the most fun sites on the Web - Count Gore de Vol’s Creature Feature at www.countgore.com!

This week, hypnotist Sonny Nardone demonstrates the art of stage hypnotism on several volunteers, including Sally, the Zombie Cheerleader, as we bring you Bela Lugosi in "The Return of Chandu the Magician" in The Lab!

The Mad Skotzman digs up a plethora of models based on Lugosi characters in The Pit! Prof. Griffin has a superb essay on the subject of "Hostel 2" and the genre of "Torture Porn" in The Auditorium! Yours Truly reviews CDs by Aesma Daeva, Therion and Siebenburgen in The Chamber and an interviews John Prassas of Aesma Daeva by The Moat!

Mark Gross, your Scifi Guy, interviews Catwoman herself, Julie Newmar in The Atrium! The TombKeeper has two great reviews involving Ray Bradury in The Tomb!

There's a new Rock Savage short film in the New Blood Showcase!

We meet the man who hovers behind the stars at conventions....Chris Rose, Talent Manager! You'll find Chris On The Rack!

The Bone Jangler re-introduces you to a forgotten star who is also a noted singer. Meet Dana Gillespie in the Cemetery!

Renfield vents his anger in The Power Room and previews "Dracula" in The Dead Letter Office!

Count Gore reviews "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" in The Crypt

and the "Hannibal Rising" DVD in The Den!

* New on DVD - Ghost Rider, Primeval, Blood & Chocolate, Ashura, Black Cat Vol. 5, Black Sabbath: Up Close & Personal, Blue Murder Set 1, Creature Features Collection, David Bowie: Music In Review, Death Knows Your Name, Dr. Moreau’s House of Pain, Emerson Lake & Palmer: Music In Review, Genesis: Up Close & Personal, Hardcore Horrors, Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron, Hellsing Ultimate, Iron Maiden: Rock Case Studies, Led Zeppelin; Up Close & Personal, Madman: Real Monsters Are Human, Masters of Horror: The Screwfly Solution, Morbid Mutilations, Ninja Assassins 10 Movie Pack, Naruto Ova/Manga Vol. 1, Sci Fi Classics, Shock Cinema Collection, Silk, T. Rex: Music In Review, They Came From The Grave, Thin Lizzy: Videobiography, Zzyzx, The Messengers, .Hack//Roots Vol. 2, The 4 Musketeers, Absence of Light, Attack of the Super Monsters, Big Bad Wolf, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Canterville Ghost, Carnal, The Death of Poe, The Derby Stallion, Dr. Who: New Beginnings, Eureka Seven Vol. 7, Fullmetal Alchemist Season 1 (Parts 1 & 2), Ghidorah: The 3-Headed Monster, Hex: The Complete First Season, Highlander: Search for Vengeance, Inuyasha Vol. 54: Mistakes from the Past, Jackass The Movie, Kodocha Vol. 13: That’s A Wrap, Mama Dracula, Mott The Hoople: Under Review, Outer Limits: The Original Series Vol. 1, Red Mercury, Robin Hood: Season 1, Satan’s Storybook, Summer With The Ghosts, Hannibal Rising, The Call of Cthulhu, Bleach Vol. 4: Substitute, Kill House, Lethal Victims, Metal Mania: Stripped On The Strip, Naruto Box Set Vol. 3, Pokemon 10th Anniversary Collection, Rapid Fear, Yu-Gi-Oh Season 5: Dawn of the Duel Pt. 1, Yu Yu Hakusho: Episodes 57 - 70.

* The Crowgrrl and family are heading to the theatre to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End, so in preparation, we threw the second installation of the trilogy into the DVD player as a refresher before going. (Review of that’s coming soon). I recommend that readers do the same….it’ll enhance the total experience. So, let’s rerun that review! Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest provides even more swashbuckling fun than the first installment in the trilogy.

Picking up where the previous edition left off, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly)’s impending nuptials are interrupted by Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), who arrests the pair for helping Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) escape, and sentences them both to death.

However, Beckett will lift all the charges if Will brings both Jack and his compass back to Beckett. (Beckett seems particularly interested in the compass). Meanwhile, Jack owes the demonic Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) his soul in exchange for Jones granting Jack the Black Pearl years before - and Jones is intent on collecting.

Along the way, Jack is made a god by a tribe of cannibals, who intends to have him as the main course in a heathen ceremony. There is a search for a key that holds the secret to Davy Jones’ power. And the fearsome sea beast, The Kraken, is set loose on The Black Pearl.

This film is full of action and adventure, with never a dull moment! The FX are also very good. Very fun movie!

And, of course, there are plenty of bonus features - over 5 hours’ worth to be exact! Disc 1 (of the 2-disc special edition) has the extremely fun Bloopers of the Caribbean, and commentary by writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio.

Disc 2 includes the features Charting The Return, According to Plan, Captain Jack From Head To Toe, Mastering the Blade, Meet Davy Jones, Creating the Kraken, Dead Men Tell New Tales, Fly On The Set: The Bone Cage, Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer’s Photo Diary, and Pirates On Main Street.

* Director and horror visionary Frazer Lee has made it onto the short-list of Top 12 Directors in the Myspace MyMovieMashUp contest with his excellent short film On Edge! The Crowgrrl urges readers to go there and vote for it! (You can find details in Frazer’s Myspace blog.

There are no scarier "monsters" than the human ones - the seemingly "normal" people you wouldn’t suspect of having the blackest of hearts, ones who look just like everyone else and (even worse) may be in positions of trust. Frazer explores just that in the chilling On Edge, starring Doug Bradley (best known as "Pinhead" from Hellraiser).

A trip to the dentist’s office is always scary, but never more so than after seeing On Edge! An impatient car salesman Peter Thurlow (Charlie Boorman) is in pain, and demands to see a dentist. Dr. Matthews (Doug Bradley) appears to usher him back to an exam room. But the seemingly kind and professional Dr. Matthews is definitely not what he seems, and Thurlow’s visit turns into an absolute nightmare! On Edge won the Best Short, Halloween Filmfest in Germany, and deservedly so!!!

* Upcoming movies that look like they may be good: The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, Beowulf, AVP2, Hotel Transylvania, The Mummy 3, Babylon A.D., The Wolfman (Benicio Del Toro), The Dark is Rising, Rogue, The Other Boleyn Girl, In The Name Of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, War (ROGUE), The Walker, We Own The Night, Valkyrie, Magneto, The Spirit, Nowhereland, Bangkok Dangerous, Transformers, Stardust, Rush Hour 3, Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix.

* Now for the adrenaline-charged Disc 2 from the Robin of Sherwood Set 1 (Acorn Media), special 5-disc DVD - containing the episodes: Alan A Dale, The King’s Fool, and The Prophecy. This excellent series mixes sword & sorcery with familiar legends and gritty realistic visuals. The breathtaking results are absolutely Spellbinding!

In Alan A Dale, the Sheriff arranges a marriage with 16-year-old Lady Mildred to get her very sizeable dowry. But the man she truly loves, the minstrel Alan A Dale, doesn’t care about the dowry, only their undying love. And he’s willing to kill the sheriff himself to rescue his lady love.

Luckily for him, he’s intercepted in the forest by Robin and his men, where a much more sane (and probably more likely successful albeit risky) plan is hatched.

The King’s Fool shows King Richard the Lionheart’s (played by Lord Of The Rings’ "Gimli": John Rhys-Davies) much anticipated return to England from the Crusades. He’s heard the tales of the band of outlaws protecting his people in his name against his brother John’s unspeakable cruelties. In one of the tales passed along throughout the ages given a new twist, King Richard seeks out the men of Sherwood in disguise to gauge their true loyalty.

He does indeed pardon Robin and his men, and makes them part of his own personal contingent. Until Robin learns that Richard has a hidden agenda….that does not have the people of England’s best interests at heart!

The Prophecy shows Herne the Hunter telling Robin about a political prisoner, carefully guarded by Prince John. Prince John arrives at Nottingham Castle on his journey to bring that prisoner back to London. Robin is instructed to save this prisoner, without being told who he is or why he should be rescued.

The cast for the series includes Michael Praed as Robin of Loxley, Judi Trott as Lady Marion, Peter Llewellyn Williams as Much, Clive Mantle as Little John, Ray Winstone as Will Scarlet, Phil Rose as Friar Tuck, Mark Ryan as Nasir, Nickolas Grace as Robert de Rainault (The Sheriff of Nottingham), Robert Addie as Sir Guy of Gisburne, and John Abineri as Herne the Hunter.

This is a spiritual and magickal retelling of a timeless legend, yet one chock-full of adventure as well.

* Wii hits yet another major milestone: 100th Classic Game added to the Virtual Console! Gamers worldwide already have downloaded more than 4.7 million Retro Games, at a rate of 1,000 an Hour!

Nintendo is giving video game fans a way to access their favorite classic games, all without leaving the comfort of their homes. And gamers have responded en masse as the library of downloadable game classics continues to grow. The upcoming addition of Zelda II(TM) -- The Adventure of Link(R) on June 4 marks the 100th classic game available on the Wii Shop Channel. And since going online Nov. 19, owners of Nintendo's hot Wii(TM) video game system have downloaded more than 4.7 million classic games from Wii's Virtual Console, a rate of more than 1,000 games every hour since launch.

The top five classic game downloads globally to date, and their original system are:
1) Super Mario Bros.(R) (NES(R))
2) Super Mario 64(R) (N64(R))
3) Mario Kart 64(TM) (N64(R))
4) Super Mario World(R) (SNES(R))
5) The Legend of Zelda(R) (NES(R))

Wii lets players visit the Wii Shop Channel to redeem Wii Points(TM) to download classic video games from the original Nintendo Entertainment System(R), the Super NES(R) and the Nintendo(R) 64, and the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx16 consoles. These games are nostalgic totems to veteran gamers, and simultaneously, new, easy-to-play entries for younger players. These games demonstrate Nintendo's staying power across generations by letting veteran gamers relive their glory days while their children play them for the first time.

The addition of Zelda II -- The Adventure of Link brings a fourth Legend of Zelda(R) game to the Wii Shop Channel from three classic Nintendo platforms, providing exciting adventures that span the decades. Additional classic games are added to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday.

"With an Internet connection rate reaching 40 percent, Wii owners have more options than ever to find the kinds of games they love to play," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "Beyond the Wii Shop Channel, all types of people are getting connected and checking out the information and entertainment options available on the Wii Menu. Whether voting, creating a Mii or just checking the weather, everyone has a favorite channel."

* New Game Releases that might be fun: Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Dungeon Maker: Hunting Ground, Monster Madness: Battle for Suburbia, Nancy Drew The White Wolf of Icicle Creek, Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2, Zendoku, Biker Mice From Mars, Labyrinth, Shrek The Third, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Mario Party 8, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

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* Darren Shan’s Bec is the fourth installment of the excellent Demonata series. This one is a totally unexpected gem in the demonic crown! Not only does this focus on a female lead character for the first time in the series, but also delves back into history for origins of the demonic conflicts brought forth in the previous editions of the series.

We’re transported back to Ireland during the era when Patrick is trying to convert the island to Xtianity, but the old Pagan beliefs still have a good stronghold. Enter the Fomorii, otherworldly demons who have found a rip in the barrier between dimensions/worlds and are ravaging the land. The Irish traditions, beliefs, and history infuse the story with rich textures, making this the best in the series so far!

Bec is left outside a round wooden fort known as a "rath" by her dying mother, and is adopted by the clan’s priestess, Banba, who raises her as an apprentice priestess. After Banba dies, Bec is elevated to the rank of clan priestess, but she’s still a young teen with a lot of magickal training left undone. Regardless, she has to do her best, call upon her training and powers the best she can to help her clan as they’re attacked by the Fomorii.

One day, a boy - Bran - races to the rath to enlist help to fight demons elsewhere. Bec is among the small group of volunteers who leave with Bran (who is communication-impaired), partly as a self-discovery journey to see if she can find out who she is, who her mother was, what her birth clan is like. But the druid - Drust - that Bran brings them to has his own agenda that the group is caught up in, possibly with deadly consequences.

Along the way, Lord Loss appears. We learn some of his origins, get more inside what makes him tick. We learn more about the lycanthropic curse carried down to future generations. We even may get a glimpse into Lord Loss’ fascination with the game of chess. But the road is terrifying and blood-soaked almost every step of the way!

* THE MIGHTY THOR’S BACK! Long-time Perch readers know what a Thor otaku The Crowgrrl is (I’ve been collecting these comics since I was a kid!)

When Marvel’s mighty God of Thunder known as Thor disappeared while saving Asgard from Ragnarok, fans (including the Crowgrrl who protested loudly!) clamored for his return and this July their wish is granted in the brand new ongoing series Thor. Featuring scripts by award-winning scribe J. Michael Straczynski (Amazing Spider-Man) and rich, detailed art by superstar Olivier Coipel (House of M), this new ongoing series brings back Thor to the Marvel Universe-no clones, no robots, because this is the real deal!

What happened to Thor after Ragnarok? Who was the man that picked up the mighty hammer known as Mjolnir? And what about that little skirmish known as Civil War? The Marvel Universe isn’t the same place Thor left and when he returns, he might not be the same either!

"Blake will be back, stronger and more of a real character than in the past, and Thor will begin the process of trying to locate and restore the rest of the Asgardians, with mixed results," revealed JMS. "And the throwdown between him and Iron Man will be huge."

It’s the return of Dr. Donald Blake, the return of Thor and the return of…well, we can’t give it all away, can we? Featuring covers by both Olivier Coipel and Michael Turner, this red-hot issue is the perfect jumping-on point for fans new & old. You know where Thor’s been, but you’ll never guess where he’s going!

And did we mention that Arthur Suydam (Marvel Zombies) will be providing a special Zombie variant cover, available in stores July 25th?

* David "Avocado" Wolfe (author, foremost authority on raw food nutrition, and one of the Alts on the Sci Fi Channel’s Mad Mad House) has a special message to Perch readers. "Are you tired of eating food that’s sprayed with chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, larvacides; genetically modified ingredients, hormonally altered additives, preservatives, red dye #3, yellow dye #4, blue dye #5?"

Wanna know how to eat healthier? Make sure you’re putting the best foods in your body? The Crowgrrl recommends checking out his books Eating for Beauty and The Sunfood Diet Success System, or better yet – catch one of his lectures or retreats! (And don’t forget to check out www.rawfood.com for products like raw cacao and yummy vanilla beans!)

* Chapter One of my own book, Under Her Black Wings (yes, the title is with Glenn Danzig’s permission - I never would have used that title otherwise) is available to all my readers in the "Print" section of this site.

The chapter list (the actual titles of the chapters may be renamed, but the subject matter’s the same) includes:

here

All chapters are in progress, and as I research and as people share their stories, they’re included in the appropriate chapter. These should be available soon (to Crowgrrl's Flock Members only) to watch the work in progress.
Sign up here!

* Gothic Beauty Issue #22 is out! Be sure to grab a copy! Ad space is available for future Gothic Beauty issues. For specifics, go to www.gothicbeauty.com/ads and be sure to mention that Athena sent you.

Gothic Beauty Magazine has revamped its website, and it’s fantastic! Go to www.gothicbeauty.com and check it out. (Be sure to check the message boards there, too!)

* The Crowgrrl’s current reading stack includes: Vampire Hunter D 7: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea Part One by Hideyuki Kikuchi, The Flip Side by Flip Flippen, Kitty Takes A Holiday by Carrie Vaughn, The Devil You Know by Mike Carey, Tattered Souls edited by Frank J. Hutton, Horror Library Vol. 2 edited by R.J. Cavender and Vincent Vanallen, Natural Cures "They" Don’t Want You To Know About by Kevin Trudeau, an English translation of "The Kalevala", "Mind of the Raven: Investigations & Adventures With Wolf-Birds" by Bernd Heinrich, "How To Buy, Sell, & Profit on eBay" by Adam Ginsberg, "Teach Yourself Portuguese" by Manuela Cook, Rick Steve’s Portuguese Phrase Book and Dictionary, "Living Language: Portuguese, Complete Course", "Norwegian In 10 Minutes A Day’ [Amazon Links 119 to 130]

OTHER NEWS:

* THE GOTHIC OCCULT EMPORIUM IS NOW OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS! This unique store is like an online Shopping Mall to serve all your Gothic, Metaphysical, Occult, Musical needs AND MORE. Truly a magickal place to shop where you can fulfill some of your wishes and dreams.

You’ll find clothing, jewelry, footwear, medieval weaponry, exquisite chalices, Egyptian artifacts, Dragons, Gargoyles, Music, and much, much more! New items are constantly being added, so check back frequently! ENJOY!

* The Crowgrrl has a Myspace Blog! Keep even more up to date by checking it out! It’s at: http://www.myspace.com/crowgrrl or more directly at: http://blog.myspace.com/crowgrrl

* The Crowgrrl highly recommends that readers check out the website Bazaar Bizarre for freakish deviations on fluffy conceptions. Great online place to shop for fun and unusual items (and you can do some gift shopping there as well!)

* Hey, Readers, you’ve gotta check out a product called Body Balance by Lifeforce. My family takes Body Balance every day! It’s much better than a daily multi-vitamin, that’s for sure! And another "plus", if we feel down or over-tired, a little more Body Balance does the trick to pick us up.

It’s a liquid, ionic, phytonutrient dietary supplement made from whole foods, and it contains a mix of over 120 vitamins, minerals, and phytronutrients that your body needs on a daily basis to keep healthy.

Why am I telling you about this because an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. I felt I had to share this as one thing most of my readers may not know, in July of 2003, The Crowgrrl was diagnosed with breast cancer. This is something I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did. I’ve refused the "conventional" paths of chemo/radiation/surgery, and have taken a holistic naturopathy approach instead (which I’ll go into in more detail in future Perch editions, or readers can e-mail me). I’m supposed to stay on a specific holistic protocol for two years. Withing 14 months the tumor was supposed to shrunk to half of its original size. Much to our surprise as of December, 2003, the lump (tumor) is gone! I’m fine! I firmly believe the Body Balance helped accelerate the healing.

Also Exclusively for the crowgrrl's readers you can get your own FREE quart of Body Balance. Go to this website http://www.lifeforcefamily.com Then put in this special redeption code 20485805.

Another Lifeforce International product in the online store, The Crowgrrl and family regularly use is Colloidal Silver. Silver is a natural antibacterial element that can be used both topically and/or internally.

My son recently tried to take care of an in-grown toenail without telling anyone, which subsequently became infected. After a trip to the podiatrist and some toe surgery, our podiatrist told us to keep Neosporin on the toe until it healed. We didn’t – we used Colloidal Silver instead. When the podiatrist checked the healing process a couple weeks later, not only was the Colloidal Silver working, but the healing process was happening a bit faster than normal/expected!

The information provided at this site has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as a diagnosis, treatment, or prescription for any disease. Please consult your physician for advice.

* For those of my readers who experience annoying computer (pc/mac/linux) problems (or those of you techies who are annoyed at friends and relatives expecting you to be their personal tech-support 24/7), go to einnovations.juvio.com for around-the-clock help. I’ve personally done so, and my computer’s working like a dream since getting help from there.

* Anyone who hasn’t already done so, check out the Gallery section here on the Crowgrrl’s site. Prints and some originals are still available. So, buy ‘em already!

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