monti_84's BLOG

Samantha Escarbe is the lead guitar player of the extraordinary doom/gothic metal act Virgin Black. Along with singer and keyboardist Rowan London, she founded this Australian band back in 1995, gaining fans and critics praise since their first demo that same year.

She also plays the cello in the band's albums and she shares the weight of the composition with Rowan. Virgin Black plays an obscure and melancholic form of metal based primaryly in gothic and symphonic elements plus some clear doom metal influences (mainly in the slow tempo and oppressive, sad atmosphere).

Samantha's guitar playing technique is simple and effective.......

Band: Symphony X

Genre: Progressive Power Metal

Discography: "Symphony X" (1994), "The Damnation Game" (1995), "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" (1997), "Twilight in Olympus" (1998), "V: The New Mythology Suite" (2000), "Live on the Edge of Forever" (Live Album, 2001), "The Odyssey" (2002), "Paradise Lost" (2007)

When getting to know metal music, one good strategy is to find the landmarks for every subgenre in order to get the ear use to the large number of styles and variations of the metal spectrum. With a classification system that is not clear and often......

Band: Necrophagist

Genre: Technical Death Metal

Discography: "Onset of Putrefaction" (1999), "Epitaph" (2004)

What happens when talented musicians mix brutal death metal vocals with neoclassical/technical guitar playing and progressive bass and drums? To find the answer one just needs to listen to the twisted german band Necrophagist. Resting comfortably in the elite of death metal, Necrophagist is one of the more influential bands around when entering the technical field. With only two demos and two studio albums at their behalf, they raised the standard line so high that nothing less than great musicians can say......

Band: Nevermore

Genre: Power Metal

Discography: "Nevermore" (1995), "The Politics of Ecstasy" (1996), "Dreaming Neon Black" (1999), "Dead Heart in a Dead World" (2000), "Enemies of Reality" (2003), "This Godless Endeavour" (2005)

Most metalheads roaming around began their romance with metal music while listening to either heavy metal or power metal. That is a fact. In my case, I started my road through transcendental music with grunge (Nirvana, Pearl Jam), moved towards heavy metal (Iron Maiden, Accept, Judas Priest) and ended up for quite some time listening to power metal......

One With Silence

As I walk towards twilight's glory

To reach the safety of the obscure

My mind gets caught in a story

Majestic, unheard and so pure

In solitude I summon my old friend

He who knows me better than myself

The one who leads me to transcend

Into the desolate moors of my inner self

Overwhelm by the symphony of stillness

I can clearly hear my thoughts and emotions

Away from modern life and its illness

I float free in silence's soothing oceans

Darkness my shelter, silence my guide

There is nothing I can not achieve

With them titans walking at my side

Until the final hour......