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PhilipsenPhilipsen Blog (558)

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Gojira

In my previous blog, I introduced you to Meshuggah. Now it's time for an introduction to another, technical band called Gojira.

They were formed in 1996, in the French town of Bayonne. The band consists of 4 people: Joe Duplantier on lead vocals and rythm guitar, Mario Duplantier on drums, Jean-Michel Labadie on bass and Christian Andreu on lead guitar, whom I blogged about one month ago. It was the guy who got a face full of fire at a show in the US.

Anyway, this is a post dedicated to the band, and not the guitarplayer.

The lineup has remained unchanged since 1998, and they have released six albums, the latest one is called Magma. How do Gojira sound like? Like this:



Their music is VERY technical, and Mario is widely considered one of the best drummers in modern metal, which is fully deserved. The guy is a machine, and he is extremely powerful live.

I have seen Gojira live twice - once at Download Festival and then once in Copenhagen, on their Magma headline tour. Let me tell you: They are VERY loud! They also care about the world. One of the organizations they support, is the Sea Shepherd Whaling Group. Gojira's sound is not easily classifiable as they blend several styles. They are a technical death metal band that blends death metal, groove metal, and progressive metal. Gojira have been influenced by heavy metal artists such as Godflesh, Slayer, Sepultura, Death, Morbid Angel, Meshuggah, Tool, Metallica, Pantera, and Neurosis.

They play a technical and rhythmic style of heavy metal with precision drumming along with blast beats, unusual rhythm patterns, and start-and-stop riffs. The band have also been known to incorporate textured atmospheric elements and instrumental songs into their music. Their songs have progressive and uncommon song structures, rarely using the standard verse-chorus songwriting. The vocal style is varied, using the screamed style often employed in extreme metal, with the death growl style predominantly used in death metal, in addition to clean vocals and higher screams. At times, death metal growls and clean vocals are mixed to create an aggressive but melodic effect.

The lyrics that Joe writes, tackle themes of life, death, rebirth, spirituality, and nature. In particular, their 2005 album From Mars to Sirius is a concept album tackling environmental issues and broader themes of life, death, and rebirth.

They really are a fantastic live band, that anyone should see in concert. I met them once, at Download Festival, and they are all fantastic humans! I really am a fan of them!
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Possibly visiting the New York next year!

I have a few friends in the US, and I have always wanted to visit, so I went on Google to see, how cheap it would be for me to take a round trip in May 2020.

$473. Not that expensive, if I am honest. I have written to one of my friends there, to see if she would be able to entertain me at that time. I am just waiting to hear back from her. Or maybe I will do what I have always thought of doing - go to the US on the 1ts of July and then leave again on the 8th. That way I get to see how the US celebrates their independence day. But for now, I will focus on the 1st of May 2020, since I can't see dates further than May 2020. It gives me just under 11 months to save up for spending money to bring with me. If I use 100 dollars per day, that means I need to save up at least 800 dollars in total. 1000, just to be on the safe side. I also need an ESTA, but that isn't expensive. I might go for that next month.

The place I will be flying to, hopefully is New York. I want to have a slice of NY style pizza, as they say it's the best in the World. I have only had Danish, British and Portuguese pizza, so I look forward to try it. If it's as good as they say it is, I might become so addicted, that I will move to New York on a permanent basis, lol.

I don't need a visa, because Denmark is a part of the Visa Waiver Program, meaning that I can stay up to 90 days in the US without a visa. But for now, I will just be there for one week. If I love it, I can always come back.
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Meshuggah!

Meshugaas, also Mishegaas or Mishegoss: Crazy or senseless activity or behavior; craziness, meshugaas, from Hebrew:, m?šugga‘ath, a form of the above; OED, AHD)

It is therefore perfect for this band I am about to introduce you to!

This is the band Meshuggah

Embedded image from another site

They were formed in 1987 in Umeå, Sweden. The band consists of Jens Kidman, Fredrik Thordendal, Tomas Haake, Mårten Hagström and D ick Lövgren.

Their style of music is a mix between extreme metal, progressive metal and avant-garde metal. Other people say, that the lead guitar player, Fredrik Thordendal, is the creator of the djent genre, which is a subgenre of progressive metal, named for an onomatopoeia for the distinctive high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, low-pitch guitar sound. Fredrik has been on a hiatus from the band since 2017, and in true Swedish fashion, they broke the news like this:

"So...we had to send our interdimensional Kazoospecialist Dr Thordendal on a mission to explore some interesting stuff. He's been asking for this assignment for quite a while and it seems now is the time to realize his aspirations. This would however leave the rest of us unable to deliver our usual tonal obscenities for quite some time... and obviously we can't have that!
So we put our five blocks of wood together and came up with a brilliant plan that we thought would be productive, intelligent and artistically mature.
We took some rolls of duct tape, a black hood, a sock with a cue ball and some rope and drove north from Stockholm in a sketchy van to fetch ourselves the prey we wanted, to fill the Kazoospot for a while. We won't get into the messy details but we can now proudly present our interim Lead Kazooist for the duration of "The Thords" hiatus: PER NILSSON!!
MAN he knows how to Kazoo!! You will meet him first time on our summer run in North America with Megadeth and be all the better for it!! Honestly, we could just send Per by himself but we decided the rest of us will tag along for moral support
*End of transmission*"

I love these guys, man!

Meshuggah is one of those bands, where the drummer constantly amazes you. Tomas Haake, is the guy. They made an album called obZen, and on that album was a song called Bleed


The thing about this song in particular, is that it took Tomas SIX months to learn. He had to invent a completely new style of play, that really took dedication from him. The entire band in general is extremely talented.

Jens Kidman is the lead singer of the band, and his style of singing is extremely challenging, namely because his voice is so high when he sings. I have never had the pleasure of seeing the band live, but I have met the drummer, Tomas. He is a super down to earth guy, who loves to talk to his fans.

I know there are some out there, who are going "Raaaaaa metal is just noise and shouting and evil stuff and no talent and just strumming some instruments"

Not Meshuggah! Their music have so many layers, that you can spend a week analyzing Bleed and still find new stuff in the song.

If you want to check out Meshuggah for yourself, their music is on YouTube and Spotify, and on tour in the US and in Europe.
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Double standards in American politics? Maybe!

A story broke recently about Trumps alleged s*xual misconduct against a woman.

Let's pretend for a minute, that a similar story broke 10 years ago, but the accused was Barack Obama. Some of you will go "But this isn't relevant" - I assure you it is!

Let's say that a woman came forward, accusing Barack Obama of sexually assaulting her in a dressing room. Same situation as E. Jean Carroll describes with Trump. Exactly the same situation.

Obama has the same reaction as Trump: Comes out, denying the story. Saying it's a made-up statement, because the person is trying to sell a book, and will do ANYTHING to get that book more press and hype.

Alright, the scene is set. Obama has been accused of raping a woman in the eighties.

What would the reaction be? I can guarantee that EVERY single Republican member of Congress, Senate and across the United States would DEMAND Obama be impeached and put in jail for the rest of his life. Why? Because he is black. It's as simple as that.

The US Penal system is designed to incarcerate blacks. Black people are 3.6 times more likely than white people to be incarcerated, even for small misdemeanors. We recently saw the treatment of black Americans with that 4 year old girl, who walked out of the Dollar Store with a doll, that she didn't pay for. The police SWAMPED the area, guns drawn yelling "Get out of the f*cking car", and "I will put a cap in your dome". Really, that's what they said. Video evidence here:

All this for an unpaid doll.

There is also a story about a black gentleman, who was facing an arrest when he was spotted picking up trash at the dorm where he lived. The cop in question has since quit the police force.

https://metro.co.uk/2019/03/07/police-harass-black-man-who-was-just-picking-up-trash-in-his-own-front-yard-8857150/


I am not saying that every single white cop in the US is a racist, but there are a few out there. A few hundred of them, are members of groups called “White Lives Matter” and “Death to Islam Undercover.”, just to name a few.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/14/18679598/facebook-hate-groups-law-enforcement-police-officers-racism-islamaphobia


What will it take for those cops in America to be less racist? What will it take for racism to be COMPLETELY gone? You can never truly stop or kill racism, which kills a bit of me every single day. There are also cops out there, who are loved by the black community. Cops like Tommy M Norman, from Little Rock, Arkansas. You might know him as Social Media Cop, and he is by far the shiniest example of how a cop SHOULD interact with the community.

But for now, the racial tension in America is, sadly, rising.
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Feedback from Greece!

So earlier today, my phone rang, and it was from Greece. I picked up, but the voice on the other end told me, that I was unsuccessful in getting the role in Athens. Apparently, they found one better than me. So now I am back to square one, at least when it comes to job hunting. I have applied for hundreds of jobs, and 90% of them never return my email, or call me to inform that the job has been given to someone else.

Now, I could go on a mad rampage, about how the job market sucks, and that nobody wants to hire me, but i am not going to. Instead, I am going to take it slow, relax and then learn a new skill online. I will then use said skill to take over the world.. No, I will use it to bag my dream job!

I really want to work in the US, but I don't have a visa that allows me to go there. So I am stuck here in Europe - for now! At one point, I WILL get a visa and fulfill my dreams.

Unless someone, who reads my blog, knows someone who knows someone who can hook me up with a job WITH visa paid. My skills are matched with pretty much any employer I look at - I just don't have that dang visa.

One day!
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TV work went as expected!

Up early, at 4.45 am. Not my preferred time to get up, but I made the best of it.

I was meeting up with a friend, who is also a fan. We made it to the tv studio on time, got some breakfast and then got mic'ed up. Then it was time for the 8 minute segment on the band Slipknot, who is headlining Copenhell this year. We went through what song we preferred, what mask we both liked and what the band meant to us.

I named this mask as my favourite
Embedded image from another site

When I was asked why, I said it was because it just looks creepy! Like a mix between Leatherface and an axemurderer. That comment made everyone laugh, which made me feel good. But the entire thing went off without a hitch.

Well.. There was ONE thing.. Remember when I told in my previous blog, that I would try not to make a fool out of myself? Well, someone managed to screenshot this of me

Embedded image from another site


..at least I look passionate about the band, which is exactly what I wanted to achieve!
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Going on national tv!

One of my Facebook-buddies wrote me, and said that I would be expecting a call from a producer on Denmark's biggest tv station. They are doing a segment on Slipknot, and I am the admin of the largest Danish Slipknot group. My buddy is going as well, so I will not be alone. Anyway, they want to invite me on their show, to explain why I love Slipknot so much. So tomorrow morning, at 6.30 am, I will be on screens nationwide, trying not to make a fool of myself!

I have done it once before, been on tv that is, so it's going to be a cakewalk. It's gonna be great talking Slipknot with a friend, and to educate/chat all things metal on NATIONAL tv on a wednesday morning :D
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Post-interview stuff!

I had my Greek job interview today via Skype. I said it was gonna be a short one, but it wasn't. It took 40 minutes, but it was a good talk. I will know more tomorrow.

Now I just need to relax!
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Job interview later today!

I got a call yesterday from Greece, where I had applied for a job. They want to talk to me in 4 hours time, at 12.30 Danish time. It's via Skype, so I need to find my best shirt for that.

It's just a short interview, so I should be able to nail it just fine. If I do, I will be heading to Athens to work, starting in July.

I am looking forward to it!
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Jinjer - Micro. A review!

The first time I heard about this band, was when they set the internet on fire with their song Pisces. If I am completely honest, I wasn't blown away when I finally heard it, so I kind of put the band aside, and listened to other stuff.

But then I started listening to it again, and again, and again, and again. For good measure, I listened to it once more. I came to realize, that Jinjer is one of those bands that slowly creep up on you. You need at LEAST five listens before you go "Yeah, this is good!"

But who are Jinjer?

Embedded image from another site


It's them on the picture, and they are a Ukranian metalcore/progressive metal/death metal/groove metal/djent band from Horlivka. The members are Tatiana Shmailyuk on vocals, Roman Ibramkhalilov on guitar, Eugene Abdiukhanov on bass and Vladislav Ulasevich on the drums. Many of the male metalheads mainly listen to the band because of the way that Tatiana looks. She's a good looking woman, but that doesn't have to be the ONLY reason why you like the band. Granted, she does a mean growl, and she switches from sounding like an angel to an absolute demon.

Jinjer released the 5-track EP called Micro earlier this year, and I have only just gotten around to hearing it now. So, how is it? Is it terrible or is it brilliant?

I liked it a lot, actually. I didn't really expect it, since I haven't been a fan of their older stuff. A welcome surprise in an otherwise stagnant world of metal!

9/10
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Done with volunteering, Le Mans 2019 and other stuff!

I was supposed to help set up camps at my favourite metal festival, Copenhell. However, I missed the train, so I rang them up and told them, that I was going to be late. They said, and I am quoting here: "You should have thought about that before you signed up. Stay away, please. You are out!"..

Excuse me, but what a lame excuse! I didn't get up too late, and I wasn't faffing about. I just missed the train. I would be 20 minutes late, at most. But no, apparently that's a no-go. So now, I can safely say that I am done with volunteering there. If this is how they treat people, then I don't want to be a part of if. There are other festivals out there that treat people better.

I was forced to go home, which made me remember, that Le Mans was on. A 24 hour endurance race from France, which was fantastic! It finished 12 minutes ago, at 3 pm Danish time, so I had a good few hours with that.

My friend was supposed to come over tonight, to shoot some stuff tomorrow, but she decided to cancel it, since she wasn't feeling completely up for it. She's been suffering from an illness these past few weeks, and she's still not feeling her best. I told her that it was a bit sad, but that health comes first. We decided to meet up at a different date, so now we just need to find out when that is going to be. I am in no way angry with her at all, because she's been sick for so long. I just miss her, and I was looking forward to see her today :).

Now I just need to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. I could go to the cinema to see John Wick 3, or I could just stay in and play some video games. But before I decide on any of that, I am gonna take a shower!
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Political meeting cut short!

In my previous blog, I wrote a tribute to my nations flag, Dannebrog. All over the country, people were celebrating this icon, that still looks amazing! At the same time as the celebrations for the flag took place, our politicians were assembled on the small island of Bornholm. I say it's tiny, because it is. You can walk the entire island in a day, and the population is just 39,695 people.

Sidenote: It's the same island my friend lives on. I have been there once, and it's a true gem! Anyway, back to the topic at hand!

We are currently in a period of extreme weather here, because cold air meets hot air. That means thunderstorms and torrential rain. One such thing hit Bornholm, forcing the politicians to seek shelter in the nearby houses. My friend told me, that when she got off work, the rain was hammering down. Before the rain came, though, the lightning started to show itself. They were yellow and quite violent, so it was pretty dangerous.

I have checked the lightning radar, and it seems like they aren't put of the woods yet for at least another hour! I will ask her tomorrow how long it went on for.

In other news: I have to be up at 5 am tomorrow, so I am gonna go to sleep soon. After I finish my dinner, of course!
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