thedarkproject | Between-updates update

Instead of being out at the Halloween party, I'm indoors, partly to get stuff done, partly because I didn't feel like socialising - especially not at a fancy dress event - and also because I've felt a bit ill again. When I got home from seeing

jen_whitewave at the pub last night (where I also saw my Dio-listening next-room-neighbour, who didn't recognise me!) I felt really dizzy. At the time it seemed a bit excessive considering I'd only drunk a tiny amount, but I thought I'd sleep it off. How wrong I was when I woke up this morning with the world seeming to lag about 250 milliseconds behind my mind whenever I moved or looked around, and my balance being completely shot. Fun. Still, I dragged myself to work and it seemed to get a bit better as the day drew on.

In musical news, I have been furnished with a large batch of lyrics for The Band. My task is to record a mere 4 or 5 lines of these to see how bad I am at it. Wish me luck. Oh, and does anybody have any hints on recording vocals? (I'm looking at

soldatengrab especially, among others.) I seem to have trouble getting them to sound right, even after rolling off the bass, pushing up treble and presence, compressing it so stuff isn't too quiet, adding a bit of reverb, etc.

Mini CD-review time, on stuff I've got since last time, just over 4 months' worth:

5/5
Dawn Of Solace - The Darkness (gothic metal)
Forest Of Shadows - Departure (doom metal)
Funeral - From These Wounds (doom metal)

4/5
Ablaze In Hatred - Deceptive Awareness (doom metal)
Amorphis - Silent Waters (progressive metal)
Fields Of The Nephilim - Mourning Sun (gothic rock/metal)
Keen Of The Crow - Hyborea (doom metal)
Keen Of The Crow - Premonition (doom metal)
Moonsorrow - Viides Luku- Hävitetty (progressive/black/symphonic/folk/metal/whatever)
Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress (funeral doom metal)

3/5
Amorphis - Tuonela (progressive metal)
Before The Dawn - 4:17am (melodic death metal/gothic metal)
Canaan - Brand New Babylon (gothic/ambient)
Cemetery - The Beast Divine (industrial/gothic metal)
Charon - Downhearted (gothic metal)
Diabolical Masquerade - Death's Design (black metal/progressive/soundtrack)
Funeral - Tragedies/Tristesse (funeral doom metal)
Keep Of Kalessin - Armada (black metal - or 'hyperspeed death thrash' as one nitpicky person called it on Last.fm)
Lilitu - The Dolores Lesion (though only listened to it once...) (gothic metal)
al)
Lake Of Tears - Greatest Tears Vol. 1 (gothic doom metal to rock)
My Shameful - The Return To Nothing (funeral doom met
Octavia Sperati - Grace Submerged (gothic/doom metal)
Tiamat - Wildhoney (gothic rock/metal)
The Gathering - Nighttime Birds (gothic rock/metal)

2/5
Keep Of Kalessin - Agnen - A Journey Through The Dark (black metal)
The Meads Of Asphodel - The Excommunication of Christ
Mistress Of The Dead - Buried (funeral/drone doom)

1/5
Apocryphal Voice - Still Trapped (no fucking clue, and I don't think the composer knew either)