2017 A to Z Blogging Challenge reflections post

Let the reflective countdown begin:

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror; but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

5. Five reasons why this worked:

1.     The switch from a linkylist to using Facebook posts was a master stroke by the A - Z team. Much easier to participate and only active participants posted.

2.     I met, as always (this was my 4th year in the Challenge), some new people, discovered some cool blogs and learned a few things.

3.     From most of the blogs I visited and commented on, I received reciprocal action.

4.     I successfully challenged some people's perceptions of heavy metal.

5.     I enjoyed myself through discovering a whole bunch of new bands and expanding my knowledge of the diversity of my favourite music genre.

4. Four new bands I now want to hear more of because I've 'fallen in love" with them:

1.     A Breach of Silence (Australian metalcore)

2.     Hiranya (Spanish metalcore)

3.     Insomnium (Finnish melodic death metal)

4.     Taberah (Australian heavy metal)

3. Three bands which just missed the 26 cut. There were other worthy contenders but three notables who were very close were:

1.     Nightwitch   (US heavy metal)

2.     Barbie on Death Trip (German metalcore)

3.     Barbarion (Australian parodic metal)

2. Two top commentors. My thanks to all who visited and commented, but in particular let me name the following bloggers:

1. Keith Hillman Keith's Ramblings
2. Geraint Issit Penguin Ponderings

1. One reason why this was my best year so far in the A - Z: 

This year I wrote for myself. I wasn't trying to sell/promote my books, or increase traffic to/followers of my blog, I simply wrote about one of my passions. I guessed it would not be popular, but that wasn't the point. I write for myself, and that is the biggest thing I am taking away from the challenge this year.

I wish success and happiness to all of you, however you define those things, and I'll catch in 2018.

27 A to Z bands in all their glory (what? 27?)

Z is for Zombies Ate My Girlfriend

No judgments about whether the consumption of said girlfriend by

the un-dead is a good thing or bad thing, but this South African band was born in Capetown in 2012. They play high energy 'modern metal' with lyrical focus on social commentary and the human journey (and perhaps the inhuman journey as well). 

I don't know what 'modern metal' is, unless it is the context of ancient metal like Bach, but more accurately, Zombies Ate My Girlfriend's genres are melodic death metal and groove metal. They've also won awards and are considered one of South Africa's premier heavy metal bands.  

Gavin Marchbank (vocals), Adriano Rodrgues and Chris Hall (guitars), Marc Olwage (bass) and Ferdi Groenewald (drums) are the band members, and their debut full length release, Retrocide (2015) features this track: Jahan

I took quite a risk choosing heavy metal as my theme. I've come across very few metal head bloggers and although I am a member of a headbangers Facebook group, they are not very interactive and none of them visited me during the A to Z Challenge.

I very rarely meet people who enjoy heavy metal to the extent that I do, to the degree that they would happily name it as their favourite genre, and call themselves headbangers. Amongst my friends and family, I have no one with whom to share my music apart from my son who as I mentioned in a previous post still enjoys a bit of metalcore. My ex-wife often described heavy metal as music for people with mental problems, and my current partner has a similar view, although she is more tolerant of bands at the milder end of the spectrum.

My point is that most people like popular music, that is pop and rock. Heavy metal, particularly the more extreme genres are not 'popular' music, so I was never going to attract a huge amount of comments, followers or whatever, but that wasn't the point.

I love heavy metal music, and I hope if you've visited me and checked out some of the bands, then perhaps your perceptions of heavy metal have been altered somewhat. 

Anyway, it's been a hoot. Thanks for joining me.

15 songs that will make you love melodic death metal

Y is for Yaksa

The world's most populous nation was bound to provide at least one of the featured headbanging bands in this A to Z. Hailing from the Chinese capital, Beijing, Yaksa are described  as nu-metal by Wikipedia, but they are metalcore, and I like them.

They are Hu Song (vocals). Huang Yao and Dao Xu (guitars), Gao Yufeng (bass), and Ma Lin (drums). In 2016, they released their fifth studio album, Undercurrent. This track is the title track from their previous record, You are not the Loser.

X is for X-Mantra

Nepal? Really? The hardest letter of the A to Z 'X', and I find a

heavy metal band in this little Himalayan  nation of just over 20 million people. Well why not? These Kathmandau homies (Rojesh Shesthra on vocals, Sandeep Tuladhar, guitars, BJ Shresthra, bass, Bikram Shrestha, drums, and Nabin Mahajarn, guitars) got together in Y2K and have been rocking the subcontinent with their thrash metal ever since.

Their most recent release was Pralaya and this track is called 2012


I back my van up to the loading dock with the metal tunes blaring to gain the attention of the backroom boys at Chemistwarehouse. In fact the music does not do the trick so I press the bell, and talk with the young fellow who opens the door for me. Turns out he's a metal fan too. 'Do you like Trivium?' he says. 'Never heard of them," I reply.

Next time I rock up to collect their used syringes- a job I did with distinction for many years- the young headbanger has a disc for me. "Have a listen to this," he says.

The disc was Ascendancy, and as a result of it and the generousity of the guy at Chemistwarehouse, I became a Trivium fan. The year was 2007, and the band was between releases Shogun to come, featuring one of Trivium's all time classics, Down from the Sky, and The Crusade which in my opinion is one of the best heavy metal albums of all time.

W is for Wrust

Botswana melodic death metal band Wrust were formed in 2000, in the city of Gaberone, and consist of Stux Daemon (vocals and guitar), Ben Phaks (bass), Oppy Gae (guitar) and Dem Lord Master (drums).
Heavy metal is considered a niche genre in Africa which perhaps explains why there aren't many bands from this continent.

Wrust's sophomore album Intellectual Metamorphosis was released in 2013, and from it is this track called Hate 'Em All

V is for Voivod

One of the big four Canadian thrash metal bands, Voivod are from Quebec and, like many bands which achieve any longevity, they have evolved and experimented with different genres over the years: from speed to progressive to thrash. 

Formed in 2002, Voivod have released 13 studio albums as well as a number of demos, live recordings and compilations. They've been through a few line-up changes as well. Current members are Snake, Chewy, Black and Away, and they feature on the band's most recent release, Target Earth (2013), and this track is of the same name. Target Earth

A young fella at church gave me a copy of a CD by a metalcore band called As I Lay Dying, and I liked it a lot. So much so that I bought another of their releases, (and every one since.) This a truly great metal band in my opinion-or should I say was. In 2014, lead singer and lyricist, Tim Lambesis was arrested, charged and convicted for conspiracy to commit murder. He went to jail, and the band went into indefinite hiatus. Lambesis was released from prison in February this year, but AILD has not resurfaced; the remaining members having got themselves another singer, changed their name and their style a little as well.

Lambesis' lyrics are some of the most profound I have ever heard, and I still love to listening to AILD. I don't know any of the details of what led him to hire someone to kill his ex-wife, but I hope and pray that he is okay, and that he will once again start writing.