Dez Marinkov x Diana Komitova – The Serpent Queen
You’re probably wrong about most of the things you know, and especially about history. Don’t worry, though! It’s not your fault! The things that we accept as historic facts are, to be fair, usually far more attractive than actual events. Plus, to boot, you can never confirm that something actually occurred in the way that the stories tell it.
Heavy metal and fantasy fiction, in particular, in modern times, have found a clever, attractive way of blending together elements of history from various periods and from a multitude of cultures. However, these subcultures have their fans and, most importantly, these admirers find their desires answered within these imaginary worlds.
Dez Marinkov x Diana Komitova’s “The Serpent Queen” is a dramatic, theatrical, modern heavy metal track. It’s a song that functions by invoking mythological creatures and ancient tales. It’s a collaboration between Bulgarian artists. And while it has little in common with Eastern European mythos, this is hardly important. “The Serpent Queen” is part of history that we are all creating together.
Gnarwhal – Lucid Machines
I’ve never been able to make myself afraid of AI and the giant computer world that seems to be surrounding us more and more each day. This imaginary world simply cannot provide the right kind of thrills to make me fear it. It just cannot summon enough strength. And it never shocks or surprises you with any of its ideas.
I guess it’s back to boring old humans spending their time on this planet trying to perfect their skills. I guess I’ll just have to get my thrills from folks who’ve spent years learning to play old-fashioned instruments, or making their human voice sound like something that could snap your back in two.
Gnarwhal makes rock music meant to overpower the senses. Using their human abilities and a marvellous kind of ambition toward creating heavy, spooky sounds, Gnarwhal creates music that picks you up and throws you around the room. But, on “Lucid Machines,” the band also is forced to meditate on how much longer this will be possible with all these computers and the people who program them working against everything that is real, honest, human. Frankly, with what they can provide, Gnarwhal has nothing to worry about.
