Musician Gab

By mid-May, the broadcast networks must make some tough calls as to which series will return for the 2018-19 TV season, and which… won’t.

As that deadline draws near, TVLine is singling out a few “bubble” shows and sizing up their prospects — based in large part on creative strides (and stumbles) and future potential, but also with a requisite nod to cold, hard numbers.

Next up in TVLine’s Keep or Cut series is Fox’s vampire-apocalypse drama.

THE SHOW | Fox’s The Passage (Mondays at 9/8c)

THE CASE FOR KEEPING | The Passage is an adaptation of several of Justin Cronin’s novels, and Season 1 barely scratched the apocalyptic surface of the sprawling story. The pre-epidemic period in which we meet Amy (Saniyya Sidney) and Brad (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) makes up a relatively short section of Book 1; viewers got the tiniest taste of what a potential Season 2 might hold via a far-flung fast forward at the end of the Season 1 finale, when a more mature-appearing Amy shot a viral in the year 2116 as she arrived at one of humanity’s last strongholds.

Yep, Amy’s story is just beginning as Fox’s adaptation takes its first breather. But thanks to several page-to-screen changes, even those who’ve committed Cronin’s works to heart don’t know exactly how the story will unfold. Lila’s daring trip to the CDC, the Lacey/Jonas partnership and Brad’s continued existence as a human all are departures from the book that fit well within the Season 1 story — which is even more reason to keep the supernatural sci-fi tale going.

Finally, the father-daughter relationship between Gosselaar and Sidney’s characters is absolutely golden and eminently watchable, and the chance to continue it — in whatever time or place — seems like a no-brainer.

THE CASE FOR CUTTING | One thing that hasn’t been bloody amazing? The Passage’s ability to hold onto an audience. After debuting to 5.2 million total viewers and a 1.3 demo rating, the heavily serialized drama gradually slipped most every week, eventually wrapping its 10-episode run with season lows (without The Resident as a lead-in that night). And while its average audience of 3.7 million and 0.92 rating rank fifth out of Fox’s 11 dramas (ahead of fellow genre shows The Orville and The Gifted), it’s a sharp drop from time slot owner 9-1-1‘s 6.2 mil/1.5.

Vote below, then hit the comments and make your own case for keeping or cutting The Passage.

(Our Russian friend Comrade Aleks has reappeared at our humble abode, this time with a new interview in which he picks the brain of Carlos D’Agua, vocalist of the part-Portuguese, part-Finnish band Collapse of Light.)

Collapse Of Light is an international atmospheric doom/death project started in 2010 by three ex-members of local doom/death act Before The Rain (Carlos D’Agua (vocals), Carlos Monteiro (guitars), Gonçalo Brito (guitars)) and vocalist Natalie Koskinen (Shape Of Despair and Depressed Mode, amongst others). They weren’t fast, and their debut full-length album Each Failing Step appeared only in 2018.

This impressive material needs some development, which I hope to find on their sophomore album… Being a fan of its soothing depressive vibe I’ve contacted Carlos D’Agua and learnt few things about the band.

Hi Carlos! How are you? What’s going on in the Collapse Of Light camp?

Hi Aleksey, we are all doing well, thanks for asking. Answering your question, Collapse Of Light is now focused on working in a new project. One year after our debut album and following last December’s gigs, it is more than time to prepare our second album.

It’s said that the band was formed in 2010, but your debut album Each Failing Step was released only one year ago in April 2018. How did you spend the first years as a band?

That’s right, it took some time to complete the line-up. It was difficult to find and work with people who identify themselves with Collapse Of Light’s musical vision and attitude. That being said, many came and many left before we were able to go to studio and finishing the recordings.

However, I would say that the main reason to postpone the Collapse Of Light project was my departure from Portugal to Norway where I’m actually living, which lead to a subsequent hibernation.

What was your vision of the debut album? What kind of influences or general ideas did you want to perform through it?

The thematic behind Each Failing Step’s music and lyrics reflects very personal and shattering life experiences. We tried to create a soundtrack for all of those who somehow share a similar existence and paths.

Do you feel that you have coped with that task well enough? In other words, are you satisfied with Each Failing Step?

The balance is quite positive. Collapse Of Light was able to manage and actually overcome considerable challenges and technical hurdles which had been arising to us when we started and kept popping up along the path, allowing us to be stronger and grow as a band.

The album ended up to be really well-received by both the public and the critics, which was something we weren’t really expecting… We didn’t have any demos, no one knew who Collapse Of Light was… It was a shot in the dark.

There are three members of the doom/death band Before The Rain in Collapse Of Light. How much of this band do you see in Each Failing Step?

It’s not a band or a company that defines who you are as a person, your work, and your music, but your inner-self, existence, vision, and beliefs, and how you apply them in everything you do, no matter what it is.

If you gather some people who share the same common ground, you are able to create and excel in anything. By some reason we all got reunited after Before The Rain. Although Before The Rain is part of our past, our musical experience and learning path, I would say Each Failing Step is a bit darker than One Day Less…

Collapse Of Light – Each Failing Step Trailer

Carlos, where did you record the album? And how was the recording session organized?

Each Failing Step was recorded at Quinta Dimensão Studios, in Portugal, with João Bacelar. I had the chance to meet and work with him before when recording One Day Less with Before The Rain and I really enjoyed it. That’s the reason why we decided to pick this cozy place.

There is a gap of 5 years between the two recording sessions. It’s crazy if we think how we had captured the drums, bass, and some guitars in the recording sessions back in 2012. In 2017, we have added guitars, strings, keys, and vocals, in what was a very intense process.

The mix was done in the beginning of 2018 with Dehá in Belgium.

You have a guest drummer and bass-player on the album, and they’re your countrymen. But Natalie lives in Finland, so how did you work with her? Did you communicate digitally or did she visit you in Setúbal?

As mentioned before, it was a long process before we were able to have Collapse Of Light’s complete line-up. It was a pleasure to have Gonçalo from Process of Guilt recording the drums, Jorge (who was my bandmate in Evisceration) recording the bass lines, and other guests recording strings and Remains of the Day orchestration.

Living in Bergen, Norway, allowed me and Natalie to work very closely together preparing and combining the voices before traveling to Portugal to record them. Being a band, we strongly believe that Collapse Of Light must always record and spend time together creating the space to grow as a group and share ideas to better improve our work.

Does the fact what she lives in another country limit Collapse Of Light’s live activity? How many gigs did you perform with the full line-up? And how often? What are your most bright and hard memories from touring with the band?

Actually, Collapse Of Light’s vocals are both outlanders. She is in Finland and I’m in Norway. As anything else in life, a challenging situation does not turn into a problem if there is a solution.

Being a band, we are all committed to perform with the full line-up, otherwise it does not make sense to have a group project.

Collapse Of Light was invited to perform in 4 gigs at the end of 2018 in Portugal. With a 4-track debut album, we all agree that there is not enough to start touring. However, and working at the moment on our new project, we believe that our 2nd release will allow us to be more active and take part in European touring. Being on tour gives us the opportunity to be with friends, and to know new bands, new people, new places, and best of all, to share our work and let others know us better. Hard memories …. I would say hangovers … ufffff

Speaking about the full line-up: A few months ago you recruited bassist Paulo Bretão, but you still don’t have a drummer. Who does perform the drums during gigs?

Currently, the drums are being held by Miguel Ledo, who also played for a while with Before The Rain, and was a founding member of Ethereal. He’s an experienced drummer and a long-time friend, so let’s see how it unfolds in the future.

Rain Without End isn’t a big label, but it’s known for the honest approach of its owner, and now you have even a vinyl version of Each Failing Step. Is it comfortable to work with Robert?

As of yet, Collapse Of Light is not a “big” band either, so it makes perfect sense. Thus far, working with Robert has been a very positive experience, and it’s easy to work with him. Naturmacht is getting bigger, and I believe that in a very near future it will become a big label, within the genre.

What are your plans considering the new album? Won’t you wait for eight more years before release of the sophomore recording?

Not at all. It won’t certainly be another 8 years. We have a whole new batch of songs to start recording, and we plan to get into the studio just after summer, although we’re still deciding the best studio option. If all goes well, we’re planning to release it by the end of the year.

Can you give some hints about how this new material differs from Each Failing Step?

Hmmm… that’s a difficult one. Each Failing Step was recorded in 2012 and we are all older, more mature, and more experienced as musicians now. The new songs sound amazing. For sure, all those who liked the Each Failing Step album will like what’s coming soon … very soon …

By the way, Carlos, your band Sculpture released the EP Like A Dead Flower in 1997. Was it your first encounter with doom metal?

You’re right. At that time, I had a Grind/Death band called Evisceration, and when the doom boom emerged, I was hooked on some of the bands, which was the trigger and the beginning of everything. Unfortunately, Sculpture only released that EP.

Okay, thanks for your time Carlos! I wish you all the best with finishing the next Collapse Of Light album. Did’ we miss anything concerning the band?

There is always something that’s left behind… ☺ Thanks for the support Aleksey.

To all of those who still have not had the chance to know Collapse Of Light and our debut album, feel free to get in touch with us and check our Bandcamp. Cheers!!

BANDCAMP:
https://collapseoflight.bandcamp.com/releases

FACEBOOK:
https://www.facebook.com/Collapse.Of.Light/

Illinois has canceled a state fair appearance by the Southern rock group Confederate Railroad because of its use of the Confederate flag.

Emily Bittner, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, said Tuesday (July 9) that the administration prohibits using state resources “to promote symbols of racism.”

The group was scheduled to play the DuQuoin State Fair on Aug. 27.

The band’s logo features a steam locomotive flying Confederate flags. The flag has been criticized as a racist emblem of slavery and segregation, but supporters say it represents history.

Frontman Danny Shirley says in a statement that the band is disappointed, but thanked their fans.

Confederate Railroad was to appear with Shenandoah and Restless Heart. Shenandoah says it will still play but that “this ‘political correctness’ has to stop. It’s tearing our country apart.”

Here’s a little mental exercise, in three steps. Step One: Gaze upon these names and the roles they perform in the new band named Coffin Birth:

Frank Calleja (BEHEADED) – Vocals
Giulio Moschini (HOUR OF PENANCE) – Guitar
Francesco Paoli (FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, ex-HOUR OF PENANCE) – Guitar
Marco Mastrobuono (HOUR OF PENANCE, BUFFALO GRILLZ) – Bass
Davide Billia (HOUR OF PENANCE, BEHEADED) – Drums

Step Two: Imagine what these men might do if they fully embraced the filthy, corrosive wonders of the HM 2 pedal in capturing, through a nasty amalgam of old school death metal, rock ‘n’ roll, and punk, the sensations of “being forced out of a dead body by its own gasses, drenched in the slime of bodily fluids and reeking stench”.

Step Three: Consider further what might happen if they did all this in a song about a post-apocalyptic scenario — with a title inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Are you still with me? Are you maybe a little bit excited by our thought experiment? Well you should be, because this isn’t just a mental exercise, it’s a musical reality.

Here’s what the band have told us about the conceptual focus of the Coffin Birth track we’re premiering today through a lyric video — “Red Sky Season“. It’s intended to depict:

“A post apocalyptic scenario in which Earth has rid itself of the most unwelcome guest … the human race. In its solitude the planet is now a lifeless and uninhabitable environment for any being or organism, and the terrain is covered in thick, blood-filled rain which pours incessantly from the sanguinary red skies”.

And this is what the band’s vocalist and lyricist Frank Calleja has explained about the song’s title (which will warm the hearts of many of us):

“Being an ’80s kid, one of the most popular shows back in the day was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a show that aired for the first time in 1987. It went on for 10 seasons going into the 90’s with the last 3 seasons seeing the show go through dramatic changes in an attempt to make it more appealing for a more ‘mature’ audience. The animation became darker, the humour was toned down, and the color of the sky in each episode was changed to a continuous and ominous dark-red sky. These last 3 seasons in fact are commonly known by viewers as the ‘The Red Sky Seasons’ and that is where the inspiration for this song title came from. I took that title, re-imagined the concept and gave it my own twist”.

The final reality is, of course, the music itself.

And oh hell yes, the song is drenched in that much-loved and completely filthy HM-2 tone. The riffs are heavy and toxic and as aromatic as a roiling vat of sewage. Those molasses-thick tones generate currents of melody that are diseased and dismal, but the song is anything but lethargic — because (hell yes) it rocks and romps, batters and bruises, stomps and slaughters. And if the  impact of the instrumental execution by these experienced musicians (accented by a sinuous and sickening solo) weren’t ravaging enough, Frank Calleja‘s ravenous howls and grotesque retching expulsions give it an extra measure of horror.

“Red Sky Season” is one of 10 hell-raising tracks on Coffin Birth‘s debut album, The Serpent Insignia, which will be released on November 30th by Italy’s Narcotica/Time To Kill Records with support from MiBACT and SIAE. The genesis of the project was explained as follows by Giulio Moschini:

“One day Marco and myself started experimenting with the legendary HM2 pedal from the ’80s in an attempt to add some new flavours to the Hour of Penance sound but it turned out that we simply could not incorporate its sound into the music because of the tremendous amount of gain and noise that this small pedal produces. However, since we are both huge fans of that exceptional, vintage yet brutal tone we started writing music on the side. Unknowingly and in a short time we ended up with 10 kick-ass songs ready to be recorded. It was at this point that we decided to turn this into a proper band and went on to give a call to some friends with whom we’ve travelled and toured throughout the years. This was the right occasion to make some kick-ass music together!

“The first person we called was our close friend Francesco Paoli (Fleshgod Apocalypse), who also was part of the Hour of Penance line-up from 2006 to 2010. Shortly after we contacted Davide Billia and Frank Calleja from Maltese deathmongers Beheaded to complete the Coffin Birth line-up, which we are extremely happy with”.

We’re extremely happy with it, too, from the music to the horrifying cover art by Roberto Toderico (Asphyx, Pestilence, Sinister).

And now we present “Red Sky Season” — as well as a video for “The 13th Apostle“, which premiered at DECIBEL.

PRE-ORDER:
https://timetokillrecords.bigcartel.com/product/pre-order-coffin-birth

COFFIN BIRTH:
https://www.facebook.com/coffinbirthofficial/

TRACK LIST:
01. Throne of Skulls
02. The 13th Apostle
03. Godless Wasteland
04. Red Sky Season
05. Christ infection Jesus Disease
06. From the Dead to the Dead
07. Casket Ritual
08. Sanguinary
09. The Serpent Insignia
10. Zombie Anarchy

We can safely say that nothing beats a fun trip to the beach during the hot summer days. The revitalizing energy of the sun, the warm sand, and the beautiful water can relax you like nothing else. However, there are many different beaches on our planet that you might not be familiar with. Here are some beaches from around the world that are extremely bizarre and unusually beautiful.