November | 2015 | Metal Gaia

Veteran’s Day Warrior Metal Playlist

Happy Veteran’s Day! I just want to issue a hearty thank you to all the brave warriors who have risked their lives to keep us safe and free.

Yet today our veterans are often discarded by society after their courageous sacrifice. Over 1.4 million veterans are at risk of becoming homeless. There are 300,000 homeless veterans sleeping on the streets and this number is rising. An estimated 460,000 veterans suffer from PTSD. They have an increased risk of getting a divorce. And in the time it takes you to watch the first video below – somewhere, a veteran took their own life.

So I put together this metal list to celebrate the brave sacrifice of our vets. Some of the songs are meaningful, others are just fun and uplifting. The first one is a very powerful video about the problems facing veterans today.

Death in battle is not a failure, but a study in triumph of the spirit. May the warriors of our time find their final resting place in Valhalla, where they will be remembered and honored until the end of time.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’m not saying these are the best songs for the subject. Just my opinion. Also, someone complained that I added Five Finger Death Punch, but the video itself actually addresses the problems faced by today’s vets better than anything other music video I’ve seen, so it deserves to be on here.

METAL PLAYLIST FOR WARRIORS

TRACK LIST

Five Finger Death Punch – Wrong Side of Heaven
Judas Priest – Halls of Valhalla
Ensiferum – In My Sword I Trust
Turisas – Stand Up And Fight
Amon Amarth – War of the Gods
Ensiferum – Victory Song
Orden Ogan – The Things We Believe In
Motorhead – Dogs of War
Sister Sin – 24-7
Tengger Cavalry – Hero
Amon Amarth Twilight Of The Thunder God
Amon Amarth – Tattered Banners And Bloody Flags
Judas Priest – One shot at glory
Tyr – By The Sword in my Hand
Amon Amarth – The Hero
Metallica – The Day That Never Comes
Iron Maiden – The Trooper
Kataklysm – The Ambassador of Pain
Amon Amarth – Warriors Of The North
Fortress – Victory or Valhalla
Manowar – Warriors of the World United
Sabaton – The Price of a Mile

November 12, 2015 | Categories: Music | Tags: day, metal, music, playlist, veterans | 9 Comments

Burzum – Lost Wisdom

Genre: Black Metal

Country of Origin: Norway

Themes: Rediscovering the ancient Pagan ways

For many people, the old school black metal is difficult to listen to because of its low production quality. However, for others, this is a big part of its appeal. After metal music became over commercialized in the 1980’s, the scene of Norwegian Black Metal that emerged in the late 80’s/early 90’s was appealing in a primordial, and natural kind of way. The music seemed a sort of dark, pagan magic re-emerging into a world that had become fake and synthetic.

Burzum evokes a gritty brutality that is quite captivating. Burzum itself means ‘darkness’ in the Black Speech, a fictional language from Lord of the Rings. The song above came from the album ‘Det som engang var.’ The album cover was visually inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. So there is obviously an interest in fantasy at work here.

Varg himself, the man behind the Burzum solo act is quite the controversial figure. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the murder of Mayhem guitarist Øystein ‘Euronymous’ Aarseth and the arson of three churches. What’s interesting is that Varg stabbed Euronymous a few days after the release of the album listed above.

After Varg’s release from prison in 2009 he recorded three further black metal albums.

Varg is also a controversial figure for his racist and anti-semitic views. However, amidst a lot of his rantings about race and the Jews, he does sometimes have some pretty brilliant things to say about the return to the ancient wisdom and truth.

Here is piece of an interview with him from the movie ‘Until The Light Takes Us.’ (The background music is Bathroy’s ‘One Rode to Asa Bay’)

November 4, 2015 | Categories: Black Metal, Music | Tags: black, Burzum, lost, metal, Old, pagan, ways, wisdom | 1 Comment

Ancestor Prayer

Prayer found at The Sleepy Firefly

November 4, 2015 | Categories: Poetry | Tags: ancestor, prayer | 3 Comments

Celtic Wheel of the Year

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

I decided to share the article above because it has a great description of the Celtic wheel of the year. The Celtic year was lunar based, with thirteen months. Extra days were added in as needed at New Years as a ‘time between times.’

November 4, 2015 | Categories: Celtic | Tags: Celtic, of, the, wheel, year | Leave a comment