Norse Battle Hymn

Many are there who travel in search of peace.
They believe it is on this middle-earth (middingard) to be found.
Truly, solace there is, but not in the way they seek it.
Some believe they can buy peace; others, that solace comes from wisdom and learning.
There are those who believe that peace is only achieved during the bitterest winters of their days, and in this, they are not far off.
But as for me, peace I find in none of this. But still yet it is to be and has been and ever will be found.
The high sounding diatribes of the wise sooth me not; for truth, fools are closer to the end than they.
Nor does sparkling gold, grown heavy in my hand, hold any promise of peace.
Nay, for myself and those of my ten thousand Cymry, it is the call of the rams horn, the pounding of the war-drums, it is these, my brother, which draw me to my peace.
All is seen in startling serenity, even in the midst of battle, for this is the element, the order, the awen that I am given.
The War Leader's bellowing commands are as the greeting of an old friend, long lost.
My armor glides over my skin like a woman's lightest touch.
My heart pounds in rhythm to the drums while the horns ring out the attack, sweet music to my ears.

It is almost here.

Invincible, we lift our voices of one accord, with a mighty shout, a song of praise and victory bursts from our lips; we sing of everlasting glory and the destruction of our enemies.
It has been a black night; now it will be a red day.
In this midst, I can feel my sword calling me, begging for release, just as a harp longs for the bard's touch, so does my steel desire my hand.
No bard has ever struck such a chord as I have struck with my sword.
As the bard sings and plays with the skill of the ancient druids, hallowed on their wooded island, so do I ply my skill, on this field of battle, hallowed with blood.
Lost in the cosmic song that the Greeks claimed to hear, I finish, complete my task, my end.

Music Reviews through my Ipod

So, What Imma gonna do, is go through my Ipod list and review all the bands that I have in there.*

* I will not being doing bands that I only have one song of, which usually denotes that I tried a song and didn't like it, so I'm just gonna do the bands that I either really like, or have at least a whole album of.**

**Also, unless, of course, I also like the band, I am not going to do any of the bands my wife has put on my Ipod seeing as usually either I don't know them enough, at all, or just don't like them.***

***Essentially, if you haven't guessed, I'm just doing what I want.


So, the first band up for review is All That Remains

The band debuted in 2002 with "Behind Solace and Solitude". They're done three more albums since, "This Darkened Heart," "The Fall of Ideals" and "Overcome"; released in '04, '06, and '08 respectively.

I don't have the first two albums and I rather suspect they are some "growing" albums. What I mean by this is that they most likely sound pretty good but not that great, which is why they haven't been on too many people's radars until recently. The Fall of Ideals was their first that I ever bought and it's really pretty good. They've got most of their rough edges worked out yet they still feel new and un-mainstream. Their latest album Overcome is still very good, you can just tell that it's been polished a little bit more by more mainstream producers and "ideals."

All That Remains mixes lyrics that seem, at times gut-wrenchingly, learned from the writer's own experience with metal riffs and solos that mix well with the drummer's fondness for the double bass pedal. The front man's voice is somewhat near perfect for this type of metal. Not too lost in low growling as some bands are prone to do, his voice remains rough and edgy enough. While they have not perfected the art of the metal band, as As I Lay Dying seems to have done (more on this awesomeness to come later), they are well on their way to having a decent career in the metal scene, just as long as they keep their roughness.

Songs of Note:

From The Fall of Ideals
- This Calling
- It Dwells in Me
- We Stand - mainly just cause of the awesome breakdown at 1:54
- The Weak Willed - the first 18 seconds will drag you in - you can't escape - so just enjoy it
- Emtpy Inside - My personal favorite from this album and probably our of all their work - simply has everything. Also, the words of the song have a lot to do with that, just good.
- Indictment - cause they're not saving face

From Overcome
- Before the Damned - They added another screamer, sweet. Also, the driving drums will help you mosh
- Two Weeks - "Cause I can see the fear in your eyes, I've seen it materialize, growing stronger each day.
- Chiron - seems to be their anthem song for this album
- A Song for the Hopeless - the mix of the acoustic and metal will make your skin prick (i.e. goosebumps, people)
- Overcome - "I should never have thought that this would never end"


So, there you go. Think on it, or whatever. Any reponses, ideas, or, again, whatever, let me know.*

*Not that many of you listen to this stuff anyway