Showing posts with label radio show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label radio show. Show all posts

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

Happy Birthday H P Lovecraft, the Heavy Metal Radio Show



The Lovecraft Show

Broadcast 21st August, 10pm - 1am, Melbourne time (EST)
 

1. Behind The Walls Of Sleep - Black Sabbath

From the first heavy metal album ever, this is not a direct quote, nor are the lyrics explicitly Lovecraftian.  However, Geezer Butler, when asked about it, replied,

'I think I may have borrowed the title 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' from 'Beyond The Wall Of Sleep' (of which I have a first edition), but it's so long ago, I can't really remember'.  On whether 'Planet Caravan' from Paranoid is a Lovecraft song, he states, 'Planet Caravan' has nothing to do whatsoever with Lovecraft.' (The Strange Sound of Cthulhu' by Gary Hill)

2. E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) - Blue Oyster Cult

This song makes references to 'The King In Yellow' (1895) featured in a collection of short stories by Robert W. Chambers, read by Lovecraft in early 1927, and referenced in 'The Whisperer in Darkness' (1931). 

"I’m in fairy rings and tower beds
“Don’t report this” three men said
Books by blameless and by the dead
King in yellow, the Queen in red"

by Donald Roeser and Sandy Pearlman
©1976 B. O'Cult Songs, Inc.

The Blue Oyster Cult 1988 album 'Imaginos' is very much Lovecraftian in tone, especially the songs 'I Am The One You Warned Me Of', 'Les Invisibles', 'In The Presence Of Another World' and 'The Siege And Investiture Of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle At Wisseiria'.  The common thread through this concept album is mention of a 'starry wisdom' and while the album concept was envisioned as a trilogy of double albums, it didn't work out that way.  The final work appeared with songs in a jumbled order.

"Your master is a monster
Born of a yolkless egg
He has dominion over animals
He walks the world Entrail diviner
And when the stars are right
He locks the door behind the door behind the door
The milky way abyss inclines"
("In The Presence Of Another World")

by Sandy Pearlman and Joe Bouchard
©1988 S. Pearlman, Inc and B. O'Cult Songs, Inc.

More information here about Imaginos

Their 2001 album 'Curse of the Hidden Mirror' contains the song 'The Old Gods Return'. 

"Now is the time the old gods return
Now is the time the old gods return
Exactly when the world is not expecting it
Exactly when we're sure of ourselves
That's exactly when the old gods return
And sweep our cities back into hell"

by John Shirley, Eric Bloom and Donald Roeser
©2001 Triceratops Music/Six Pound Dog Music

3. The Thing That Should Not Be - Metallica

The second Metallica song to reference Lovecraft, the first was the instrumental "The Call Of Ktulu" from 'Ride The Lightning'.
The Thing That Should Not Be (Master Of Puppets) is based upon the short story "Shadow Over Innsmouth" (1936) and contains an abbreviated couplet from Lovecraft.

"Not dead which eternal lie
stranger eons Death may die"

(Hetfield/Ulrich/Hammett)

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons death may die"

from the story "The Nameless City" (1921)

4. Shadow Out Of Time - Rage

From the story of the same name (1936) and the album 'Black In Mind'(1995), the song pretty much follows the story.

"Like a shadow out of time its injected in my mind,
like a shadow out of time
Like a vision in disguise it took hold of all my ways,
like a shadow out of time.
They have told me Ive reacted like I was not from this earth.
I guess this something inside me was not.
When Ive got these visions that I look down at myself I get
scared. This is not my body, but its ... what ?"

(Music by P. Wagner, S. Efthimiadis / Lyrics by P. Wagner)

Rage have many Lovecraftian inspired songs, including "The Crawling Chaos" (another name for Nyarlathotep), and "In A Nameless Time" all from 'Black In Mind, "Beyond The Wall Of Sleep", from Trapped! (1992) and their 2003 album 'Soundchaser' is a modernised story based (loosely) on Lovecraft's ideas.

5.  Return Of The Old Ones - Manilla Road

From their 1988 album 'Out Of The Abyss', 'Return Of The Old Ones' mentions Cthulhu and The Old Ones directly.

"Here in the darkness
Black dreams of Chaos
I hear Cthulu's call
Forever The Old Ones
Shall be upon us
Until they devour us all"

The whole album is full of Lovecraft links, and Manilla Road have many other Lovecraftian-inspired songs.  '"Children Of The Night" and "Mystification" from the album 'Mystification' (1987) are Lovecraft-leaning.  Also from 'Out Of The Abyss' the title track, 'Black Cauldron' and 'War In Heaven' contain Lovecraft referencing. 'The Courts of Chaos' (1990) has a song "From Beyond" which references the Stuart Gordon movie (1986) (loosely) based on Lovecraft's writings.  "The Books of Skelos: I. The Book of Ancients” from the same album mentions 'Cthulu' and the Necronomicon.


The 2001 album "Atlantis Rising" is a concept album, dealing with a war between the Old Ones and the Gods of Valhalla first explored in 'War In Heaven'.

6.  Shackled to the Trilithon of Kutulu - Bal-Sagoth

Bal-Sagoth owe their inspiration much more so to Robert E. Howard, but manage to squeeze in a few Lovecraft references.  "Shackled To The Trilithon Of Kutuku" from the 2006 album 'The Cthonic Chronicles' reference Cthulhu and R'lyeh directly.

“Give forth Thy sign that I may know Thy will upon the earth…”
“Grant me the power to still the waves that I may hear Thy call.”

“In His house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.”
“Yet He shall rise, and His kingdom shall cover the earth!” 

Black Moon Broods Over Lemuria (1994) contains the instrumental "Hatheg Kla" from "The Other Gods" (1921), and 'The Cthonic Chronicles contains many references to Lovecraft, including the final song, 'Return to Hatheg-Kla'. 


7.  At The Mountains Of Madness - Necrodeath


From their 1987 album "Into The Macabre", 'At The Mountains Of Madness' refers to the story of the same name (1931).

"The flight toward the dead begins
A vast tableland appears
The Ancient begins charm my soul
Enter new world of fear

Hide or die in the abyss way

They're bounded in a cage of stone
Seeking safety in flight
The visions from Necronomicon
Ways of salvation are open wide"


From the same album, "The Flag Of Inverted Cross" recited a formula from "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" (1927)

"YOG-SOTHOTH
H'EE-L'GEB
F'AI-THRODOG
SABAOTH"

“Sauthenerom” mentions Yog-Sothoth, Hastur, Nyarlathotep, and Kadath.

8.  Age Of Agony - Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta's 1988 album "The Music Of Erich Zann is a concept album from the story of the same name (1922).  

"Who composed all this themes
that pursue me in dreams?
Messengers of downfall
(5th dimension nightmare)
(Age of agony)
(Death from the Rue d'Auseil)"
 

9. The Elder Race - Dream Death

Dream Death's only Lovecraft inspired song, from their 1987 album 'Journey Into Mystery'.

"Look through the mystic door at the hidden depths
Which all men share
Long and hard was the war when man usurped the
earth
Last to fall the serpent men, driven into the waste
and left to die
They returned as priests of their evil cult in human
guise"


10.  Re-Animator - Rigor Mortis (Dallas/Fort Worth Texas)  (Not to be confused with the 12 other heavy metal bands called Rigor Mortis and the one band called 'The Rigor Mortis'.)

From their 1988 self-titled album, this track is probably based more on the 1985 Stuart Gordon movie, rather than the 1922 story "Herbert West—Reanimator". 

11.  Nocturnal Fear - Celtic Frost

From their 1984 ep "Morbid Tales", 'Nocturnal Fear' is a mash of images, containing a Lovecraft reference to Azathoth

"The sleeping lord awakes
Tiamat pulls on her chains
The blind phantom rages
Azag-Thoth Howls
Vibrations at the black ethers edge
As nocturnal fear penetrates the land
Ecstatical celebrations at their zenith
The seven sharpen their claws"

The 1985 ep "Emperor's Return" contains a lyrical reference to Yog-Sothoth on the track "Morbid Tales".

"Agony and nightmare
To Yog sothoth they moan
Nightfalls, morbid affair
Beard the faceless one"

12. White Ship - Solitude Aeturnus

From their 1991 album "Into the Depths of Sorrow", 'White Ship' channels the Lovecraft story (1919) of the same name.

"I was but a traveler
Floating endless through the sea
On the other side of knowledge
Through the pliancy of dreams
And voices there upon the ship
Spoke of radiant place's splendor
Beautiful shores with sands of gold
Wherein exists no torment or pain"

13.  Stranger Aeons - Entombed

From their 1991 album, "Clandestine", the track 'Stranger Aeons' contains a twist on the infamous couplet quoted above.

"Stranger things that eternal lie
awaiting beyond the time to die"

14.  The Horror of Yig - GWAR

From their 1990 album, "Scumdogs of the Universe", 'The Horror of Yig' references the 1928 story "The Curse of Yig".  But, in typical GWAR style, the whole thing is a bizarre fancy-dressed comic metal-opera. 

"I saw Yig. Yig saw me.
We're together in dark concavity.
I saw Yig. He's so big. He smokes cigs.
Eats just like a pig.
Ooooohhhhhh! I saw Yig. I saw Yig. I saw, I saw Yig!
Yig now is shifting his gibbering mass.
He hides boils with maggots.
The pus-sac extrudes.
The horror that is Yig..." 

15. Lord Of All Fevers and Plague - Morbid Angel

Morbid Angel seem to eat, breathe and shit Lovecraft throughout their career.  Nearly every album has some reference to luminaries in the Cthulhu Mythos.  While it is apparent that their major source of inspiration is the Simon Edition of 'The Necronomicon' rather than primary Lovecraft sources, they make up for this by referencing Simon's Necronomicon nearly any chance they can get.  Their guitarist, Azagthoth, even took his name from the Cthulhu Mythos.  "Lord Of All Fevers and Plague" from their debut album "Altars of Madness" (1989) contains a Cthulhu-esque chant...

"Ia iak sakkakh iak sakkakth
Ia shaxul
Ia kingu ia cthulu ia azbul
Ia azabua"

"Blessed Are The Sick" (1991) song "Unholy Blasphemies" mentions Yog-Sothoth.  "The Ancient Ones" mentions 'Kutulu'.  "Covenant (1993) song "Angel Of Disease" references Shub Niggurath and Kutulu.  "Sworn To The Black" mentions the Ancient Ones.  "Formulas Fatal To The Flesh" (1998) track "Heaving Earth" mentions "Cthhuhlhu".  "Prayer Of Hatred" mentions the Ancient Ones.  "Umulamahri" mentions Chthhulhu.  "Hellspawn: The Rebirth" mentions Cthulhu.  "Prayer Of Hatred" is a blessing to the Ancient Ones.  There are many references to Simon's 'The Necronomicon' that can't be traces back to primary Lovecraft stories, but top points for keeping in the spirit of things.

16.  The Unknown Kadath In The Cold Waste - Thergothon

From the 1994 album "Stream From The Heavens", 'The Unknown Kadath In The Cold Waste' references "The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath" in the title and evokes a Lovecraftian atmosphere, complete with a piping flute...


"Colossal towers far in the horizon
a reflection from the dark past
a shadow from the Time before time
a memory of a divine dominion
distant piping of a cosmic flute
a hymn so high, a sound so strange
almost able to be heard
voices from the Outside"

Thergothon's 1991 demo, "Fhtagn-nagh Yog-Sothoth", contains the following songs. "Elemental" which more or less accurately quotes the famous couplet mentioned above, and attributes the quote to the Mad Arab 'Abdul Alhazred', author of the Necronomicon. 

"Evoken" finishes with:
 "NOW THE GATES ARE OPEN FOR YOG-SOTHOTH".

"Yet The Watchers Guard" has the lyrics:
"THE REALM OF WIND AND THE DARKENED DEITIES
THE BLACK GOAT OF THE WOODS WITH THE THOUSAND YOUNG" a reference to Shub-Niggurath.

"The Twilight Fade" evokes images of the Old Ones in their undersea imprisonment, without actually naming any particular Cthulhu Mythos entity.

17. Evilized - Tiamat

From their debut album "Sumerian Cry" (1990), "Evilized" mentions alignments of stars, a classic Lovecraftian concept.

"When the stars are right
They will rise from the sea
Creatures from out of time
Creatures out of mind"  

Their single "A Winter Shadow" released the same year contains the following quote...

"A shadow out of time
Hidden between different spheres"

referencing "The Shadow Out Of Time" (pub. 1936).

Their 1991 album, "The Astral Sleep" contains "Sumerian Cry (Part 3)" with a reference to Abdul Alhazred and the Ancient Ones.

18.  Breath Of Centuries - Vader

From their 1992 album "The Ultimate Incantation", 'Breath Of Centuries also quotes the famous Lovecraft couplet, as well as evoking images of Sunken R'lyeh...

"Buried in the frozen seas,
Tombs of forgotten Gods,
Who came forth from blackened stars,
A breath of centuries here.
A different, inconceivable cult,
Shreds of the eternal, endless Circle,
Gates to Hell for chosen ones,
Awake from morality."

From the same album, 'Dark Age' mentions the Edler Race from beyond the stars.  'Testimony' quotes the Simon 'Necronomicon' and evokes Lovecraftian imagery...

"Conquer your fear - IA! ZI AZAG!
Chant incantation - IA! ZI AZKAK!
Call the ancient ones - IA! KHTULU ZI KUR!
Ready to rule the black earth once again - IA!" 

Their 1990 demo "Morbid Reich" contains the demo version of 'Breath Of Centuries' as well as an instrumental entitled 'From Beyond'.

Their 1994 album "Sothis" contains an instrumental called 'R'lyeh'.

Vader credit the Simon 'Necronomicon' for lyrical inspiration on their 1995 album "De Profundis".

19.  Cthulhu - Therion

From their 1992 album "Beyond Sanctorum", 'Cthulhu' even gets some lines attributed to him...

"Cthulhu:
"My thoughts cry in this pit
I breed sorrows my thoughts for you"

On their 2004 album "Sirius B", the song 'Call of Dagon' references the 1917 story "Dagon".

"From a lonely star
Beyond the verge of universe
A sound is echoing
(A) call from another world
Lights from Sirius
Will take you from oblivion:
Dagon is here again."


20.  Rise Of The Eldar Gods - NecronomicoN (Can)

"Rise Of The Elder Gods" is the title track from the 2013 album from Canadian band NecronomicoN, not to be confused with the German, Italian, Japanese or Kyrgyzstani bands of the same name, or even 'Necronomicon Beast' from Brazil.  Which just highlights the popularity of the band name.  The album also has a song called "From Beyond". 

The band's demo featured all bar one songs influenced by Lovecraft. 

Their first album/ep, "The Silver Key", contains more Lovecraft-inspired songs. 
"The Silver Key" references Yog Sothoth. 
"Morbid Ritual" references Azathoth. 
"The Asylum" references Lovecraft's Arkham Asylum. 
"Hunting Horror" and its origins are not clearly remembered by Rob the Witch (vocalist, guitarist), but is something to do with a Haunting Horror, a Lurker in the Dark and a church (I know, metal, right!). 
"Cthonians" according to Rob "puts us in the context that tremors and earthquakes were related to wormy creatures who were living in the ground" (presumably Dholes, as mentioned in "Through the Gates of the Silver Key" (1932) by Lovecraft and E. Hoffman Price), and also contains the priceless expression "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh cthulhu r'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" which translates as "In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming." as explained in "The Call Of Cthulhu" (1926)

21.  Dead But Dreaming - Deicide

From their 1992 album "Legion", mentions Elder Gods and uses the phrase 'Dead but Dreaming' commonly associated with the imprisoned Cthulhu.

"Hanging from their primal sleep
Forbidden to be seen
Spirit of the elder gods
Are dead but must live on
Still to life and yet they breathe
Dead but dreaming..."

The track "Dead By Dawn" from their self-titled 1990 debut album seems ripped straight from the Evil Dead movies.

"Book of the dead, pages bound in human flesh
Feasting the beast, from the blood the words were said
I am unseen, dreamt the sacred passage aloud
Trapped in a dream of the Necronomicon"

22. Necronomicon - Hypocrisy (Sweden)

From the 1993 album "Obsculum Obscenum", 'Necronomicon' is all about that most famous of Lovecraftian insanity-inducing tomes.

23. Weird Tales - Electric Frost-Golgotha-Altar Of Melektaus - Electric Wizard

From their epic 2000 album 'Dopethrone" this 15 minute track drips with Lovecraftian imagery and mythos, from Yuggoth ("The Whisperer in Darkness", 1931) to Kadath. ("The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath", 1926-7)

"From ancient Yuggoth, black rays emit
Evils narcotic cyclopean pits
In dark babelian towers await
Lie dreaming until the time will awake

What man has seen unknown Kadath
Whose dreamy angles, confused and trapped
Beyond the frozen waste you will find
Hyperborean continent entombed from time

From ancient Yuggoth, black rays emit
Evils narcotic cyclopean pits
In dark babelian towers await
Lie dreaming until the time will awake, yeah"

Their 1998 ep "Supercoven" has 2 epic tracks.  The title track is explicitly Lovecraftian...

"Black sun master
Under starless sky
Black stone altar
They pray to the sign
The old ones were
And they shall be again
Yog Sothoth is the gate
Planetary alignment predicts their reign

Supercoven
Have awakened the Ancient Ones
Mindless slaves to the black god
Moan dark hymns to the sun
To the sun"

Their 2002 album "Let Us Prey" contains the track 'The Outsider', (The Outsider, 1921)

Their 2004 album "We Live" contains the track 'The Sun Has Turned To Black' referencing The Old Ones.

24.  Rite of Cthulhu - Samael (instrumental)


'Nuff Said.

25.  From Beyond - Massacre

The title track from this 1991 album references the story "From Beyond" (1920) in name and theme, without actually referencing any mythos creatures directly.

"Horror beyond description
Unnatural bizarre fear
Altered and disfigured
A strange macabre terror
Through the ultra-violet
From the bottom of creation
Past the cosmic barriers
Into this world...From Beyond!"  

""Dawn of Eternity" and "Symbolic Immortality" from the same album also evoke Lovecraft themes without actually quoting Lovecraft or referencing Mythos creatures.

26.  The Mad Arab - Mercyful Fate

From the 1994 album "Time", 'The Mad Arab (Part One: The Vision) is about 'Abdul Alhazred.'  

"The son of a shepherd, Abdul Alhazred
Shivering he saw Them coming, the mountain's evil priests
Black robes came together, around the floating rock
3 symbols in the dark"

Their 1996 album "Into The Unknown" contains the track 'Kutulu (The Mad Arab Part Two)', obviously continuing the story of Abdul Alhazerd.

"Can you hear the voices in my head...
Can you hear the voices in my head
Can you hear the voices, what they say?
KUTULU...KUTULU...KUTULU...KUTULU...
Hear me as KUTULU raises his EVIL head
Drooling for my soul
I must finish this book tonight
Tomorrow...I might be of the dead"

27.  Revelations Of Glaaki - Twin Obscenity (Instrumental)

The Revelations of Glaaki reference a series of 12 books mentioned in a post-Lovecraft story "The Inhabitant of the Lake" (1964) by Ramsey Campbell. 

28.  Entranced - Disincarnate

From their solitary 1993 album "Dreams of the Carrion Kind", the lyrics are distinctly drawn from "The Tomb" (1917)

"Ancestral home in the twilight deeps
Beckons to me with unseen fingers
Forefathers haunt
Calling to me from this dark charnel house
Corrupted through lifelong seclusion
Driven by an unnatural force
Drawn to this vault
Declivity where the light reaches not

Enigmatic crypt of my bloodline
Place of ancestral remains
Temple of my fascination
Possessing me"

Compare this extract from "The Tomb"

"...Close by my home there lies a singular wooded hollow, in whose twilight deeps I spent most of my time; reading, thinking, and dreaming. Down its moss-covered slopes my first steps of infancy were taken, and around its grotesquely gnarled oak trees my first fancies of boyhood were woven. Well did I come to know the presiding dryads of those trees, and often have I watched their wild dances in the struggling beams of a waning moon—but of these things I must not now speak. I will tell only of the lone tomb in the darkest of the hillside thickets; the deserted tomb of the Hydes, an old and exalted family whose last direct descendant had been laid within its black recesses many decades before my birth.
      The vault to which I refer is of ancient granite, weathered and discoloured by the mists and dampness of generations. Excavated back into the hillside, the structure is visible only at the entrance. The door, a ponderous and forbidding slab of stone, hangs upon rusted iron hinges, and is fastened ajar in a queerly sinister way by means of heavy iron chains and padlocks, according to a gruesome fashion of half a century ago. The abode of the race whose scions are here inurned had once crowned the declivity which holds the tomb, but had long since fallen victim to the flames which sprang up from a disastrous stroke of lightning. Of the midnight storm which destroyed this gloomy mansion, the older inhabitants of the region sometimes speak in hushed and uneasy voices; alluding to what they call “divine wrath” in a manner that in later years vaguely increased the always strong fascination which I felt for the forest-darkened sepulchre. One man only had perished in the fire. When the last of the Hydes was buried in this place of shade and stillness, the sad urnful of ashes had come from a distant land; to which the family had repaired when the mansion burned down. No one remains to lay flowers before the granite portal, and few care to brave the depressing shadows which seem to linger strangely about the water-worn stones."

29.  Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten - Nile

Nile are essentially an Egyptian-themed technical death metal band, but they have dropped in the occasional Lovecraft-inspired tracks.  "Von Unaussprechlichen Kulten" from their 2005 album "Annihilation of the Wicked" is based upon a Mythos book 'Unaussprechlichen Kulten' first mentioned in Robert E. Howard's stories "The Children of the Night" (1931) and "The Black Stone" (1931) and later mentioned in several Lovecraft stories, thus becoming an additional dread tome in the Mythos.

"I await the day
When the claws of doom shall rise
To drag down in their reeking talons
The weary and hopeless remnants
Of a jaded, decayed, war-despairing mankind
Of a day, when the earth shall open wide
And the black, bottomless, yawning abyss
Engulfs the arrogant civilizations of man
Chthonic retribution shall ascend
Amidst universal pandemonium
And those who slither and crawl shall rise again
Once more to inherit the earth"

From their 1998 album "Amongst the Catacombs of Nephren-Ka", a couple of Lovecraft-inspired tracks appear.  "Barra Edinazzu" appears in the form of a spell from the Necrononicon.  "Beneath Eternal Oceans of Sand" references "The Outsider" (1921)

"Now I ride with the undead
Across the night-sky
And play by day
Amongst the catacombs of Nephren-Ka
In the sealed and unknown
Valley of Hadoth by the Nile."

"Now I ride with the mocking and friendly ghouls on the night-wind, and play by day amongst the catacombs of Nephren-Ka in the sealed and unknown valley of Hadoth by the Nile. I know that light is not for me, save that of the moon over the rock tombs of Neb, nor any gaiety save the unnamed feasts of Nitokris beneath the Great Pyramid; yet in my new wildness and freedom I almost welcome the bitterness of alienage." (from 'The Outsider')

From their 2000 album "Black Seeds of Vengeance", The Nameless City of the Accursed", an instrumental is, according to the album notes, based on "The Nameless City" (1921).  


30.  In the Depths of R'lyeh - Catacombs (US)

From the 2006 album of the same name, 'In the Depths of R'lyeh' clearly references Lovecraft.

"He who sleeps, ageless, out of time
Awakens now from restless sleep
Stirring from the depths of his aqueous tomb
At the sound of the gathering
Of the neophytese of doom
Chants in unknown tongues
Echoes through accursed halls
The great eyes open...
The very cosmos shudder
At the awakening of the ungod
Arising from the watery chasm
As his acolytes of doom
Lurch forth from ebbing tides
As the world's doom
Arises from the deep
And they chant...
Ja! Ja! Cthulhu Ftaghu!" 

I am heavily indebted to the book "The Strange Sound of Cthulhu" by Gary Hill in compiling the information above.  Chapters 4 and 5, dealing exclusively with Heavy Metal music.  These chapters directed me to about half a dozen songs that appear in this list that I was previously unaware of, as well as providing most of the information regarding the exact references drawn from the tracks, saving me a great deal of research.  Several of the songs here appear after this book was published (in 2006).  These chapters contain much more metal than I could possibly fit into a few hours on a radio show.  Do check it out, it is a treasure trove!  And not just for lovers of Heavy Metal music either...


Further research on my part was done through sites mentioned below.

Further Reading

The Strange Sound of Cthulhu Music Inspired by the Writings of H. P. Lovecraft by Gary Hill.

The Simon Edition of 'The Necronomicon' for shits and giggles

The Necronomicon (1978) edited by George Hay (introduced by Colin Wilson)

http://www.hplovecraft.com/popcult/music.aspx  for more music references.

http://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/fiction/  for online copies of Lovecraft's stories.

Encyclopedia Metallum  as always for band bios, discographies, lyrics, and so much more.


Cthulhu Wiki  The Cthulhu Wiki

Wikipedia, as a last call cross-reference

Friday, 15 February 2013

Pink Floyd Heavy Metal Covers

Here's the playlist for my show, which aired on the 13th of Feb, 2013.

The Music Monster that is Pink Floyd covered by heavy metal bands?  Now there's a great idea for a show. 'The Nile Song', from Pink Floyd's 'Soundtrack from the Film More' (has anyone actually seen that movie?), is probably the heaviest Floyd song recorded, and lends itself to being covered by a heavy metal band.  And both Floyd and Heavy Metal are steeped in psychedelia, even if they went off in different directions.

Regardless of similarities, Pink Floyd have a towering repertoire of songs that can stand the test of various covers, and there's no shortage of great bands out there who have risen to the challenge.

A great place to start is a compilation entitled 'Like Black Holes In The Sky: A Tribute to Syd Barrett' featuring great artists covering Syd Barratt and Pink Floyd tracks.  A number of which appeared on my show and on this list.  Enjoy!

Most of the clips feature just the music, only one or two feature any video to speak of.  But, hey, the music, right?


1. Interstellar Overdrive - Kylesa


2. Welcome To The Machine - Shadows Fall


3. The Nile Song - Voivod


4. Another Brick In The Wall - Stahlhammer


5. Us And Them - Misery Signals


6. Welcome To The Machine - Queensryche

7. When You're In - Tiamat



8.  Fearless - Fish (ex. Marillion)


9. Cymbaline - Hawkwind


10. Arnold Layne - Intronaut

 
11. Time - Godsmack


12. High Hopes - Aesthetic Empathy


13. Run Like Hell - Kittie


14. On The Turning Away - Vanishing Point


15. One Of The Few - Angkagram


16. Chapter 24 - Jesu (feat. Justin Broadrick)


17. Any Colour You Like - Dream Theater


18. Astronomy Domine - Dredg


19. Another Brick In The Wall - Acid Drinkers


20. Astronomy Domine - Voivod
 
21. See Emily Play - Zodiak


22. Another Brick In The Wall - Korn

Amen!


Friday, 21 December 2012

Playlist for the 19th, guest programmers ABREACT


Heavy Metal Radio Show
Sleeping In The Fire

Guest Stars

ABREACT

Once again, Simon and Lee from ABREACT stormed onto my heavy metal radio show and took control.  The Boys from bendigo are making big moves, and their debut album is out. 

You can check it out here!

They played some tracks from their new album, they played some tracks from some other local artists, some of their favourites from international acts as well.

Remnants - ABREACT
Wolves At My Door - Converge
Transition - S E R I E S
Words And Phrases - Raised Fist
Shura - House Of Thumbs
Weight Of Disturbance - ABREACT
Asphyxiate - Artilah
Underwater Bimbos From Outer Space - Every Time I Die
Cull - ABREACT
Deathstar - Sevendust
Hollow - Alice In Chains
The Grit That Grinds - ABREACT
Scar The Surface - Disolved
For Those...(Dead On The Way) - ABREACT

Now there's a cool way to spend a Wednesday evening.

Check out the Facebook page for the show here

You're Welcome.


Saturday, 24 November 2012

Heavy Metal Halloween 2012


Another year gone, and the 3rd Annual 'Sleeping in the Fire' Halloween Special has been and gone, with some inescapable tracks, and some fresh additions.  Enjoy my playlist which aired on Halloween itself, nicely timed. 

Intro / A Cautionary Tale - Sabbat

It had to be done (again).  It's the perfect intro for a Halloween Special.

Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

Another must play song.  Classic!

Night Crawler - Judas Priest

Great Intro.  It didn't make it in the list for the last couple of years, it had to be done this year.


Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult

I played 'The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle at Wesseria' last year from the under-the-radar classic BOC album 'Imaginos'.  This year, I returned to the old reliable.


Bewitched - Candlemass

A cheesy, chunky song made for spooky holidays

Halloween - King Diamond

Another must-play track.  Oh, KD, you loveable, satanic goofball, you...

Come To The Sabbath - Mercyful Fate

A KD double feature?  Hell(oween) yeah!

Halloween - Helloween

I'd have my Heavy Metal Weilding Licence revoked if I didn't play this one.  Unavoidable.


Trick Or Treat - Fastway

Getting all the classics out of the way...


Ghostbusters - Vomitron

Ah Ha!  A recently-discovered track that fits in perfectly with the Heavy Metal Holiday.

The Big Bad Wolf - Macabre

Such Big Eyes!  Macabre are a great choice again.

Zombie Attack - Tankard

For the intro alone.  And it's a great song as well.  Also goes well with the Easter Zombie Special.

Vlad The Impaler - GWAR

All the classic scary characters get a song.  And performed by a bunch of guys who are arguably even scarier.

Jack The Ripper - Hobbs Angel Of Death

Melbourne's own with their ode to the original slasher.

Horrorshow - Hallow's Eve

The name says it all.


It's not a Halloween without a Cannibal Corpse song, preferrably about zombies.  No shortage to choose from...

The Exorcist - Possessed

Another atmospheric addition to the list.

Lost Reflection - Crimson Glory

Not exactly in line thematically, but a major atmospheric addition, this haunting (no pun intended) (well, maybe a little) track deserves a spot nonetheless.


Hatework - Morbid Angel

Pure evil in a song.  No-one does evil music quite like Morbid Angel, fast or slow.


Under Bergets Rot - Finntroll

Infectious song from Finntroll, with just the right mix of carnival, spooky and trolls.

Draculea - Necrodeath

Another great intro, and another star of Halloween

A Day Of Night - Battle Of Mice

I love this track all the way through.  It's a great finisher for a show, and the outro is just a little too real for a Halloween Special, but keep 'em on the edge of their seats, I reckon.



Thursday, 4 October 2012

Pedro's Pop Goes Metal Ultimate Playlist


Pop Goes Heavy Metal Playlist

What?!?  Heavy Metal covers of pop songs?  Are you insane?  That's too daggy for heavy metal.
Yeah yeah, get over yourself.  There are a lot of metal groups doing covers of pop songs.  Mostly they are fun, and (egad!) catchy (gasp!), sometimes they are sheer massacres of the originals (Ten Masked Men, anyone?).  And sometimes, they are solid gold.  Now that's real heavy metal right there.
Here's a playlist I whipped up when doing a couple of Metal Goes Pop shows on my weekly metal radio show.  Filmclips when I found them, all linked with much respect.  

My Top 40 Metal covers of Pop songs starts here.

Mr. Sandman (The Cordettes)  Blind Guardian
Blind Guardian kick off this list with this memorable little ditty from The Cordettes.

In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins)  Nonpoint
A seriously good Phil Collins metal cover?  I wouldn't have thought so either.  Nonpoint proved me wrong.  

Land Of Confusion (Genesis)  Disturbed
This works.  Good cover, and good original.

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police)  Ra
Another catchy cover, chunked up.  

In The Court Of The Crimson King (King Crimson)  Saxon
I would never have imagined Saxon could do such an authentic cover of a King Crimson song.  Proved wrong again.
 
 
Rasputin (Boney M)  Turisas
Solid Gold!  the filmclip is a classic, and an instruction on dramatic entrances.

Can You Forgive Her? (The Pet Shop Boys)  Finntroll
The Pet Shop Boys get Folk Metal-ized, courtesy of the irrepressable Finntroll.

Logical Song (Supertramp)  At Vance
Logical choice.

The Neverending Story (Limahl)  Dragonland
The Daggy-o-meter has just broken!

Cars (Gary Numan)  Fear Factory
Better than the original?

It's A Sin (The Pet Shop Boys)  Gamma Ray
German power metal cover of The Pet Shop Boys, to balance out Finntroll.

Rock Me Amadeus (Falco)  Megaherz
Solid chunk!

Crazy (Seal)  Mushroomhead
Crazy by Mushroomhead set to Transformers clips.  You know you want it.

Mongoloid (Devo)  Sepultura
A bit monotone, but searing and heavy nonetheless.

Ghostbusters (Ray Parker Jr)  Vomitron
A brilliant no-respect version.  Silly as all hell!

Losing My Religion (REM)  Graveworm
Black metal cover of REM?  Sure, why not?

Unbelievable (Epsom Mad Funkers)  Anal Cunt
Utter massacre as only Anal Cunt can.  Awful version, which makes it soooo good!

Oops!  I Did It Again (Brittney Spears)  Children Of Bodom
The hoik and spit at the start says it all.  No remorse.  

Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)  Bad News
Bad News give Queen a serving, and terrorize this classic pop anthem, with a little help from producer Brian May.  

Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd)  Korn
Seriously good effort, and chunky guitars from Korn.  

Welcome To The Machine (Pink Floyd)  Shadows Fall
Another Pink Floyd classic falls victim to a metal cover.  

Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)  Ten Masked Men
Ten Masked Men specialize in Metal Pop covers.  Bless.

Who's That Girl (The Eurythmics)  Mandrake
This works.  All good.

The Lotus Eaters (Dead Can Dance)  Imperia
A Metal Band taking on Dead Can Dance is a brave endeavour, I reckon.  This is a good one.

White Wedding (Billy Idol)  Deathstars
Doro has done a somewhat famous cover of this song, but I reckon the Deathstars did a better job.

Scarborough Fair (English Traditional Medieval Ballad, popularized by Simon & Garfunkel)  Queensryche
Geoff Tate has an amazing voice, and is suitable to tackle the big songs.

Blue Monday (New Order)  Orgy
Another song begging for a chunky cover.  

Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)  Moonspell
Not quite as bleak as the original (and who wants to go there), but Moonspell are an obvious choice for a cover.

Vienna (Ultravox)  Celestial Season
A solid doom metal cover of this new romantic classic.

Shout 2000 (Tears For Fears)  Disturbed
Another Disturbed cover.  Should they stick with just covers, and join Metallica?  (Wake the trolls and start the flame war!)

My Sharona (The Knack)  Destruction
German Thrash smash The Knack!

Red Rain (Peter Gabriel)  Queensryche
One epic voice covering another.  'Nuff said.

(Oh) Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)  Van Halen
Van Halen made this song their own.  But what about that clip?

Message In A Bottle (The Police)  Machine Head
The Police never sounded so good.  Or maybe they did.

Come Together (The Beatles)  Aerosmith
A classic band covering a classic band.

Stayin' Alive (The Bee Gees)  Ten Masked Men
Ten Masked Men do it again.  The lip-synching in this clip is awesome!

The Sounds Of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)  Heir Apparent
Forgotten gem of a cover from the 80's

Wicked Game (Chris Isaak)  HIM
For the record, I can't stand HIM as a band.  And I love Chris Isaak.  So, on paper, I would have thought this combination a disaster.  But it's actually a half-decent cover.  There are a few versions, and a few clips (all of which are awful), but the later version is better.

Kids In America (Kim Wilde)  Lawnmower Deth
A fun frantic cover. 

Light My Fire (The Doors)  Amorphis
Death metal voice and authentic synths?  The Doors deserve nothing less.

Bonus Cover:  All The Things She Said (t.A.T.u.)  The Berzerker
The cover isn't a great one, but the clip is solid gold!  Enjoy!!

Wednesday, 25 July 2012

Playlist for the 25th. Guest hosts and programmers, The Cosmic Psychos


Last night, Ross Knight and Dean Muller from the Cosmic Psychos, came in to the Phoenix FM studio, and wrecked my life.  By that, I mean, they sat in on the show, where we had a good old chat about stuff, and they guest-programmed the show. 
The Cosmic Psychos need no introduction in Australia.  They are a legendary underground band, cited with influencing major bands in the Seattle grunge scene, and Yob Rock pioneers, as well as single-handedly keeping Australia's beer-brewing industries afloat.
The boys and I had a yarn about Death Metal, Ball-gags, cleaning products and vomit tours of Germany, among other riveting subjects.
Here is the playlist for the show, as compiled by Ross and Dean, with a few suggestions by yours truly.    
Lost Cause - The Cosmic Psychos
Pub - The Cosmic Psychos
Anarchy In The U.K. - The Sex Pistols
Atomic Punk - Van Halen
Sonic Reducer - Dead Boys
Satan's Undies - The Cosmic Psychos
Cum On Feel The Noize - Slade
Motorhead - Motorhead
20 Pot Screamer - The Cosmic Psychos
Down On The Street - The Stooges
Rock Bottom - Kiss
Hell Raiser - The Sweet
Lost And Found - The Saints
Skirtlifter - The Cosmic Psychos
Most People I Know - The Cosmic Psychos


Here's a link to the Facebook page for the show





Sunday, 4 September 2011

Playlist for last night's show (3/9/11) The Hell Special



Spinal Tap  Hellhole  Tragically Good!

The Gates Of Hell - Black Sabbath
To Heaven From Hell - Diamond Head
Alison Hell - Annihilator
Welcome To Hell - Running Wild
Born To Raise Hell - Motorhead
Hell's On Fire - Steel Panther
Neverending Hell - Centinex
Helleluyah! (God Is Dead) - Vader
Go To Hell - Carcass
Full Of Hell - Entombed
Hell Awaits - Slayer
What Hell Can Create - Sodom
Into The Lungs Of Hell - Megadeth
Servant In Heaven King In Hell - Kreator
Hell Hole - Spinal Tap
Last Caress / Green Hell - Metallica
Hellbent For Jesus - Tankard
Hellbent For Leather - Judas Priest
Silence Of Northern Hell - Blood Stain Child
Hermod's Ride To Hell (Loke's Treachery Part 1) - Amon Amarth
Planet Hell - Voivod
Commanding The Legions Of Hell - Goatwhore
Send Them To Hell - Toxic Holocaust
Burn In Hell - Merciless Death
Master Of Hell - Witchburner
Hell Trucker - Gama Bomb
Bullets From Hell - Destruction
Cajun Hell - Exodus

Saturday, 27 August 2011

Playlist for last night's show (27/8/11)



Kyuss - Asteroid.  Stupidly Epic!

Beneath The Remains - Sepultura
Maximum Overchill - Cross Examination
Zombie Blood Nightmare - Gama Bomb
Revenge Is A Vulture - 3 Inches Of Blood
Strangled By Unseen Hands - Skeletonwitch
State Of Insurgency - HeXeN
Kill Your Guts Out - Lich King
Thrasher - Evile
Born Of The Ruins - Warbringer
Dragonaut - Sleep
Saruman's Wish - Orange Goblin
Funeralopolis - Electric Wizard
Asteroid - Kyuss
Total Death - Kreator
Thrash Till Death - Tankard
Metal Law - Vendetta
Perilous Nation - Testament
Metallic Crucifixion - Toxic Holocaust
It's Not A Tumor - Austrian Death Machine
War Metal Battle Master - Lair Of The Minotaur
Die In Pain - Fastkill
Lying And Weak - Decapitated
Target Dimension XII - Centinex
Duplicity - Silent Descent
Blood Of Faith (Stains My Hands) - Eternal Tears Of Sorrow
Alaskan Flounder Basket - iwrestledabearonce
Feed The Beast - Bonded By Blood

Saturday, 20 August 2011

Playlist for last night's show Guest programmers Simon and Tim from Abreact



Abreact - Sharks in my mouth live

Remnants - Abreact
Home - Sevendust
For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) - AC/DC
Crackerman - Stone Temple Pilots
Friends & Traitors - Raised Fist
Sharks In My Mouth - Abreact
Jerk Off - Tool
Come Alive - Doomriders
4 Words (to choke upon) - Bullet 4 My Valentine
The New Rule - Abreact
Dig - Mudvayne
New Noise - Refused
Day 1 - Abreact
Mauseum - Karnivool
Dark Horse - Converge
People Of The Sun - Rage Against The Machine
Grind - Alice In Chains
Cmnd Ctrl - Deftones

Saturday, 13 August 2011

Playlist for last night's show (13/8/11)



The Revolution will be digitized!

Barmy Army - Acid Drinkers
Revolution Decimation - Axis of Advance
Revolution Begins - Arch Enemy
Revolution of the Mind - Mortal Sin
Revolutionary's Hell - Phobia
Revolution - Running Wild
Heavy Metal Revolution - Metalucifer
London Leatherboys - Accept
Think Back and Lie of England - Skyclad
Run Riot - Def Leppard
All England's Eyes - Magnum
Kairos - Sepultura
Abolish Government / Superficial Love - Slayer
Uprising - Sabaton
Lindisfarne - Svartsot
Riot of Violence - Kreator
Deliver Me fromn Sanity - Autopsy
The Act of Rebellion - Coroner
Revolution Calling - Queensryche
Revolution - KMFDM
Battle Against Time - Wintersun
The Revolution Exodus - Deathstars
Under Surveillance - Destruction
The Uprising - Rebellion

Saturday, 6 August 2011

Playlist for last night's show (06/08/11) 1st year anniversary show!


Not that I need an excuse to drag this classic out...Twilight of the Thunder God  Amon Amarth

Dea Artio - Wolves in the Throne Room
Vastness and Sorrow - Wolves in the Throne Room
Twilight of the Thunder God - Amon Amarth
Pit of Zombies - Cannibal Corpse
The Lake Ladoge Massacre - Hail of Bullets
Yellow King - Anaal Nathrakh
Dusk Falls Upon The Temple Of The Serpent On the Mount of Sunrise - Nile
Cast Down The Heretic - Nile
Intrusion - Red Harvest
Ad Noctum - Red Harvest
The Principles And Practices Of Embalming - The Berzerker
Subtle Manipulation - Zyklon
Double Ahhnold - Austrian Death Machine
I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, Your Motorcycle - Austrian Death Machine
To Holmgard And Beyond - Turisas
Nancy The Tavern Wench - Alestorm
Kaktens Tid - Finntroll
Vargr Theme/Confrontation (Genetic Prophecy) - The Lord Weird Slough Feg
Trial Spiral - Blood Stain Child
Tastes Like Kevin Bacon - Iwrestledabearonce
Glimmer - Pelican
Weight - Isis
Mocking Solemnity - Sunn O)))

Saturday, 30 July 2011

Playlist for last night's show (30/7/11)


 
 
Messiah Marcolin...alone in a world he totally made. In one respect, I wish I had never seen this film-clip. Weirdly compelling, like a bus going off a cliff in slow-motion, only with bad hair and robes. Great song but...
The Candle - King Diamond
Traveller in Time - Uriah Heep
Do You Close Your Eyes - Rainbow
Sunset Superman - Dio
Slam The Hammer Down - Slade
Tattoo Vampire - Blue Oyster Cult
Fire In The Sky - Ozzy Osbourne
Dangerous But Worth The Risk - Ratt
Open Secrets - Rush
Bind, Torture, Kill - Suffocation
Holocaust - Bathory
Lobotomy - Sepultura
Instruments Of Torture - Warbringer
Cantico/Drought - Martiria
Midnight Highway - Accept
Hell's On Fire - Steel Panther
Living On Your Own - Budgie
Speedfreak - Motorhead
Bewitched - Candlemass
Saturday Night Special - Armoured Angel
Suffering The Tyrants - Satyricon
God Of Thunder - Entombed
Securicon (Police State 2000) - Fear Factory

Saturday, 23 July 2011

Playlist for last night's show (Wolf theme)


Playlist for last night's show (Wolf theme)
Sleeping in the Fire 10 pm - 12am Saturday nights Phoenix FM, Bendigo, Australia



 Subway to Sally - Wolfstraum

 
Wolfshade (A Werewolf Masquerade) - Moonspell
Run With The Wolf - Rainbow
Night Wolf - Krokus
Lock Up The Wolves - Dio
The Wolf - Motorhead
Wolfsong In Moonlight (Fenris Unbound) - Folkearth
Running With Wolves - Korplikaani
Wolfstraum - Subway To Sally
Wolves Of The Sea - Alestorm
Thrown To The Wolves - Death Angel
Wolf Among The Flock - Immolation
Centuries Of Wolven Hunger - Hecate Enthroned
Of Carnage And A Gathering Of The Wolves - Bal Sagoth
Wolftribe - Vader
The Sea Wolf - The Lord Weird Slough Feg
Follow The Wolf - King Diamond
The Wolf And The Lamb - Sodom
She-Wolf - Megadeth
I'm Cold And There Are Wolves After Me - Iwrestledabearonce
Lone Wolf Winter - Destroyer 666
The Wolf Is Loose - Mastadon
Wolverine Blues - Entombed
Wolf Man - Metalucifer
Naked Among Wolves - Heaven Shall Burn
Red Wolves Of Stalin - Hail Of Bullets

Saturday, 16 July 2011

The Playlist for 'Sleeping in the Fire' show 16-07-11


A stupidly funny film clip (obviously not by Finntroll) of Slaget Vid Blodsalv set to Tom and Jerry cartoons. Outrageously good!
Here is the playlist for last night's show (Feature Album 'Passion' by Anaal Nathrakh)
Volenti non fit iniuria - Anaal Nathrakh
I am a Cybernetic Organism, Living Tissue over (Metal) Endoskeleton - Austrian Death Machine
If I Don't Wake Up - Suicidal Tendencies
Arise - Sepultura
Post Traumatic Stress Euphoria - Anaal Nathrakh 
Le Diabolique Est L'ami Du Simplement Mal - Anaal Nathrakh
Slaget vid Blodsalv - Finntroll
Before The Morning Sun - Korplikaani
The Last We Wage - Blackguard
Tanczylabym - Silent Stream of Godless Elegy
Locus of Damnation - Anaal Nathrakh
Tod Huetet Uebel - Anaal Nathrakh
Disembowel - Autopsy
Reluctant Messiah - Immolation
Rabid Wolves (For Christ) - Napalm Death
The Rise of All the Fall - Blood Stain Child
Saft Und Kraft - KMFDM
Corrosion - Ministry
Spider Woman - Uriah Heep
Who Thinks of the Executioner? - Anaal Nathrakh
Nothing Up My Sleeve - Motorhead
Shades of Aqueous Essence - Heirophant
Turn Loose The Swans - My Dying Bride
Ashes Screaming Silence - Anaal Nathrakh 
Portrait of the Artist - Anaal Nathrakh