Hottie of the Day: Doris Yeh

Posted on July 12, 2013 by necromoonyeti

I had only the most honest of intentions when I stumbled upon Ms. Yeh. I was sampling the new album by Taiwanese black metallers 閃靈 (Chthonic), and I casually plugged them into Google image search. Grim frostbitten glamor shots immediately bombarded me with all the force of Satan’s Almighty Penis thrust into my lusting goatholes of blasphemy. Doris Yeh has been playing bass for the band since 1999. On top of being a great musician, she has effectively employed her phenomenal body to both market the band and garner attention towards their political activism. Chthonic are actively involved in promoting human rights in Taiwan and throughout Asia, speaking out against Chinese imperialism in Tibet and their home country and advocating a greater awareness of women’s rights. Visually, Doris Yeh stuns me most in more traditional black metal attire and on stage (the last two pictures in this compilation), but she’s just as gorgeous in her modeling and goth photo shoots.

Musically, Chthonic are better than most at what they play. I give them props for incorporating that delightful and underrepresented world of Asian folk into metal, but their glossy, high production, symphonic brand of black, melodic death, and folk metal isn’t really my style. Here is a sample track from their new album, 武徳 (Bú-Tik), if you’re curious:

PAST HOTTIES

Hottie of the Day: Simone Simons

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Arleigh

SIMONE SIMONS

I’ve always wanted to profile a singer for latest “Hottie of the Day” but wasn’t willing to settle for the pop diva of the moment. Then it hit me. Metal is not all about angry frontmen. There’s some very fine ladies who front metal bands of all kinds. One of them is the latest “Hottie of the Day” in the form of the lovely Simone Simons.

Simone Simons is the frontwoman for the symphonic metal band Epica. This lovely redhead is a Dutch mezzo-soprano whose vocal range will surprise the uninitiated to the metal scene for being quite vast. She can sing circles around any of the pop divas doing shows during Super Bowl halftimes and whatnots. Some singers like to bale themselves with an alternate persona named Sasha Fierce, but they have nothing on the level of fierceness that Simone can bring to her performances on stage in addition to more subdued and emotional introspection.

Simone Simons is definitely a worthy and lovely addition.

PAST HOTTIES

Song of the Day: Faster (by Within Temptation)

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Arleigh

To help usher in the weekend I picked a new “Song of the Day” and this one comes from one metal band I’ve come to really enjoy listening to. The song I picked this time around is “Faster” by the Dutch symphonic/gothic metal band Within Temptation.

First off, this is the second time I’ve picked one of their songs for “Song of the Day.” A previous pick was “A Demon’s Fate” which also came from the same album as today’s pick and also one that was used on one of my favorite AMV in “Devil’s Game.” Just like that previous “Song of the Day” this latest pick of “Faster” was also used in a recent AMV that I had posted a couple months ago called “Fairytale of Lies”. Both songs make great use of the fast guitar tempo reminiscent of thrash meta that also makes use of some elements found in symphony orchestras to give the song that epic sound commonly found in power metal, but with a much more hard rock tempo.

“Faster” just takes off and soars from Sharon del Adel’s mezzo-soprano vocals that’s become the staple sound for most symphonic gothic metal bands. Sharon just belts out the lyrics like they’re coming out of the depths of Hell or coming down from the heights of Heaven. She’s not just a pretty face and with both “Faster” and “A Demon’s Fate” she’s proven to be one of the best female metal vocalists out there.

Faster

I can’t see, ’cause it’s burning deep inside
Like gasoline, a fire running wild
No more fear ’cause I’m getting closer now
So unreal, but I like it anyhow

I go faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster

I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies
And I can’t hide from the feeling ’cause it’s right
And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life
I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies

I can feel that you mesmerize my heart
I feel so free, I’m alive, I’m breaking out
I won’t give in ’cause I’m proud of all my scars
And I can see I’ve been wasting too much time

I go faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and faster

And I can’t life in a fairy tale of lies
And I can’t hide from the feeling ’cause it’s right
And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life
I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies

And I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies
And I can’t hide from the feeling ’cause it’s right
And I go faster and faster and faster and faster for life
And I can’t live in a fairy tale of lies

A fairy tale of lies

AMV of the Day: Fairytale of Lies

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Arleigh

The latest AMV of the Day comes courtesy of AMV creator Rider4Z. Outside of Chiikaboom, his amv creations have become some of the best I’ve seen and have earned a place on my favorite list.

This time around his latest anime music video takes a song from one of my favorite metal bands and uses it to score a well-edited selection of scenes from the romance-fantasy anime series, Romeo x Juliet. While some fans of the video has nitpicked and pointed out that it spoils the ending to the anime I just laugh at such fools. Fools I say! I mean how can an anime series adapting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet be spoiling anything.

I like the song choice of Within Temptation’s track “Faster” from their 2011 concept album, The Unforgiving. This is not the first time Rider4Z has used this band’s symphonic metal sound to score one of his videos. Each and everytime he uses this band’s music it just makes those videos very epic in tone and scope. This video has already won some early year accolades. It recently won Best Drama in the Katsucon 2012 AMV contest. I have a feeling this video will be making the rounds at this year’s anime conventions and should pick up a few more awards.

Anime: Romeo x Juliet

Song: “Faster” by Within Temptation

Creator: Rider4Z

Song of the Day: A Demon’s Fate (by Within Temptation)

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Arleigh

My love for metal continues to grow with each new recommendation and post made by site music writer necromoonyeti. I will admit that outside of thrash I do gravitate towards the more power and symphonic subgenre of metal. This is why for the latest “Song of the Day” to end the day and usher in Sunday I’ve picked my favorite song from Dutch symphonic/gothic metal band Within Temptation’s latest album, The Unforgiving, which also was used by AMV creator Chiikaboom for her AMV, Devil’s Game. This song is “A Demon’s Fate”.

This song just comes at you right from the beginning like a soundtrack to some fantasy or urban gothic film. This is an appropriate response since the album was created as if the band was composing a soundtrack for a film. This album is a concept one and while it doesn’t hit and win big with every track in the end they’re all worth listening to and my ears leaned towards “A Demon’s Fate” the moment I heard it.

The gothic sound of the band in past album’s has been tempered somewhat to make way for an even more symphonic metal sound. In this song, frontwoman Sharon den Adel (she definitely blows up the misconception that women who front metal bands are not hot) just sings her heart out. Sharon definitely has some impressive vocals and lungs with some of the chorus she had to belt out. At times, her vocals almost overpower the power of the music behind her but luckily she never crosses that line.

While Within Temptation doesn’t have fantasy themes of Blind Guardian or the speed and rough edge of thrash bands like Metallica and Slayer, they do seem to be making their stand as symphonic metal’s premiere group and all thanks due to Sharon den Adel.

A Demon’s Fate

Too many times
Seeing the violence
It’s feeding my mind
No one is saving you
How can you find
A heaven in this hell?

Leave it behind
Hearing your silence
It screams our goodbye
Cannot believe it’s an eye for an eye
Love is gone to waste

Angels have faith
I don’t want to be a part of his sin
I don’t want to get lost in his world
And this playing this game

When the shadows remain in the light of day
On the wings of darkness he’ll retaliate
He’ll be falling from grace
Till the end of all his days

From the ashes of hate
It’s a cruel demon’s fate
On the wings of darkness
He’s returned to stay
There will be no escape
Cause he’s fallen far from grace

What have you done?
Is this what you wanted?
What have you become?
His soul’s not forsaken
You’re walking alone
From heaven into hell
Now that you know
Your way in this madness
Your powers are gone
Your chains have been broken
You’ve suffered so long
You will never change.

Angels have faith
I don’t want to be a part of his sin
I don’t want to get lost in his world
I’m not playing this game

When the shadows remain in the light of day
On the wings of darkness
He’ll retaliate
He’ll be falling from grace
Till the end of all his days

From the ashes of hate
It’s a cruel demon’s fate
On the wings of darkness
He’s returned to stay
There will be no escape
Cause he’s fallen far from grace

Angels have faith
I don’t want to be a part of his sin
I don’t want to get lost in his world
I’m not playing this game

When the shadows remain in the light of day
On the wings of darkness
He’ll retaliate
He’ll be falling from grace
Till the end of all his days

From the ashes of hate
It’s a cruel demon’s fate
On the wings of darkness
He’s returned to stay
There will be no escape
Cause he’s fallen far from grace