The Forest Wanderer

"The ship is a symbol of temporal existence, the forest a symbol of supratemporal Being. In our nihilistic epoch, optical illusions multiply and motion seems to become pervasive. Actually, however, all the contemporary display of technical power is merely an ephemeral reflection of the richness of Being. In gaining access to it, and be it only for an instant, man will gain inward security: the temporal phenomena will not only lose their menace, but they will assume a positive significance. We shall call this reorientation toward Being the retreat into the forest (Waldgang), and the man who carries it out the wanderer in the forest (Waldgänger). Similar to the term “worker” (Arbeiter), it signifies a scale of values. For it applies not only to a variety of forms of activity, but also to various stages in the expression of an underlying attitude. The term has its prehistory in an old Icelandic custom. The retreat into the forest followed upon proscription. Through it a man asserted his will to survive by virtue of his own strength. That was held to be honorable, and it is still so today in spite of all commonplaces to the contrary.

Wanderers in the forest (Waldgänger) are all those who, isolated by great upheavals, are confronted with ultimate annihilation. Since this could be the fate of many, indeed, of all, another defining characteristic must be added: the wanderer in the forest (Waldgänger) is determined to offer resistance. He is willing to enter into a struggle that may appear hopeless. Hence he is distinguished by an immediate relationship to freedom which expresses itself in the fact that he is prepared to oppose the automatism and to reject its ethical conclusion of fatalism. If we look at him in this fashion, we shall understand the role which the retreat into the forest (Waldgang) plays not only in our thoughts but also in the realities of our age. Everyone today is subject to coercion, and the attempts to banish it are bold experiments upon which depends a destiny far greater than the fate of those who dare to undertake them. The retreat into the forest (Waldgang) is not to be understood as a form of anarchism directed against the world of technology, although this is a temptation, particularly for those who strive to regain a myth."

Ernst Jünger Der Waldgang (1951)

PREVIOUS RELATED POST:

 Ernst Jünger - 102 Years in The Heart of Europe 

May 1453 - Before The Fall

May 28th, 1453
The final speech of  last Byzantine emperor Constantine Palaiologos to the last defenders of Constantinople. Greeks and Italians (from Genoa and Venice).

     “Gentlemen, illustrious captains of the army, and our most Christian comrades in arms: we now see the hour of battle approaching. I have therefore elected to assemble you here to make it clear that you must stand together with firmer resolution than ever. You have always fought with glory against the enemies of Christ. Now the defence of your fatherland and of the city known the world over, which the infidel and evil Turks have been besieging for two and fifty days, is committed to your lofty spirits.

    Be not afraid because its walls have been worn down by the enemy’s battering. For your strength lies in the protection of God and you must show it with your arms quivering and your swords brandished against the enemy. I know that this undisciplined mob will, as is their custom, rush upon you with loud cries and ceaseless volleys of arrows. These will do you no bodily harm, for I see that you are well covered in armour. They will strike the walls, our breastplates and our shields. So do not imitate the Romans who, when the Carthaginians went into battle against them, allowed their cavalry to be terrified by the fearsome sight and sound of elephants.

    In this battle you must stand firm and have no fear, no thought of flight, but be inspired to resist with ever more herculean strength. Animals may run away from animals. But you are men, men of stout heart, and you will hold at bay these dumb brutes, thrusting your spears and swords into them, so that they will know that they are fighting not against their own kind but against the masters of animals.

    You are aware that the impious and infidel enemy has disturbed the peace unjustly. He has violated the oath and treaty that he made with us; he has slaughtered our farmers at harvest time; he has erected a fortress on the Propontis as it were to devour the Christians; he has encircled Galata under a pretence of peace.

    Now he threatens to capture the city of Constantine the Great, your fatherland, the place of ready refuge for all Christians, the guardian of all Greeks, and to profane its holy shrines of God by turning them into stables for his horses. Oh my lords, my brothers, my sons, the everlasting honour of Christians is in your hands.

    You men of Genoa, men of courage and famous for your infinite victories, you who have always protected this city, your mother, in many a conflict with the Turks, show now your prowess and your aggressive spirit toward them with manly vigour.

    You men of Venice, most valiant heroes, whose swords have many a time made Turkish blood to flow and who in our time have sent so many ships, so many infidel souls to the depths under the command of Loredano, the most excellent captain of our fleet, you who have adorned this city as if it were your own with fine, outstanding men, lift high your spirits now for battle.

    You, my comrades in arms, obey the commands of your leaders in the knowledge that this is the day of your glory — a day on which, if you shed but a drop of blood, you will win for yourselves crowns of martyrdom and eternal fame.”

 CHECK ALSO:
The Fall of Constantinople
Sailing to Byzantium

Συνέντευξη Dreadful Relic στο περιοδικό ''Φανταστική Λογοτεχνία'' (Δεκέμβριος 2016)

Συνέντευξη με το ελληνικό black metal συγκρότημα Dreadful Relic

 του 

Σταμάτη Μαμούτου 

  Οι Dreadful Relic αποτελούν ένα από τα σχήματα της ελληνικής black metal σκηνής  που διακρίνεται για τον πρωτογενώς «μαυρομεταλλικό» μονολιθικό του ήχο, καθώς επίσης και για τις στιχουργικές του αναφορές που σε αρκετές περιπτώσεις είναι εμπνευσμένες από έργα της λογοτεχνίας του φανταστικού. Στην συνέντευξη που ακολουθεί, ο κιθαρίστας τους Hjarulv Henker μας μιλά για την μέχρι τώρα μουσική διαδρομή της μπάντας και για τις επιρροές των μελών της.

-Hjarulv, θα ήθελα καταρχάς να μου περιγράψεις συνοπτικά το ύφος των δυο κυκλοφοριών σας, δηλαδή του demo «Archaic Conjurations» και του Ep  «Warlords of Cosmic Sovereign». Πότε κυκλοφόρησαν; Από ποια δισκογραφική εταιρία; Ποια η μέχρι στιγμής ανταπόκριση του κοινού στην χώρα μας αλλά και στο εξωτερικό;

Οι Dreadful Relic παίζουν Αρχέγονο black metal, πέρα όμως από τα επιτηδευμένα «ρετρό» ανέμπνευστα αναμασήματα που βλέπουμε σήμερα να αναπαράγονται από πρόσωπα που δεν είχαν καμία επαφή με το black metal της δεκαετίας του ‘80…Τα «Archaic Conjurations» και «Warlords…» κυκλοφόρησαν το 2014 και το 2015 αντίστοιχα από την εταιρία του Commando Wolf, «Frost & Fire». Η ανταπόκριση ήταν ικανοποιητική, λαμβάνοντας υπ’ όψιν ότι δεν ακολουθούμε τις μοντέρνες τάσεις της υποτιθέμενης «σκηνής». 

  -Εκείνο που έχω να σχολιάσω ακούγοντας τις δυο κυκλοφορίες σας είναι η άρτια παραγωγή, ο στιβαρός σας ήχος και τα ποιοτικά αισθητικά γνωρίσματα ιδίως στο «Warlords of Cosmic Sovereign», το οποίο κυκλοφορεί σε ένα εξαιρετικά προσεγμένο βινύλιο. Αν μου ζητούσε κανείς να χαρακτηρίσω με μια φράση το ύφος σας, θα απαντούσα πως στην περίπτωσή σας έχουμε να κάνουμε με ένα συγκρότημα που παίζει «πρωτογενές black metal». Είναι όντως έτσι; Ποιες θεωρείς τις βασικές μουσικές σας επιρροές;

Ακριβώς! Το Μυθολογικό Black Metal των Dreadful Relic έχει βαπτισθεί στις σκιές των Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, των Bathory και των Mercyful Fate.

 ΓΙΑ ΣΥΝΕΧΕΙΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΕΔΩ....

TANGERINE DREAM on Edgar Allan Poe

"This work is the beginning of a new series by Tangerine Dream: Eeatgate's Sonic Poem Series. Edgar Allan Poe definitely is worth a start, a novelist who long enough has been labelled as dark, mysterious and gloomy only -- Poe was more than that -- a true visionary. Edgar Allan Poe's The Island Of The Fay has been set to music by Edgar and Thorsten in a very exciting, dynamic and partly experimental way -- a new violinist sets her maverick accents with electric sounds. It's the art of breathing life into a tale through strong music. Enjoy this true masterpiece of finest Tangerine Dream music -- we don't promise too much.... 

PS: You will find the whole but short tale of The Island Of The Fay within the booklet! Enjoy reading but above all: enjoy listening!!"

CHECK ALSO:

Dante's Inferno

No Death for Edgar Froese

East of The Sun, West of The Moon

Remembering Dominique Venner

 

"I am healthy in body and mind, and I am filled with love for my wife and children. I love life and expect nothing beyond, if not the perpetuation of my race and my mind. However, in the evening of my life, facing immense dangers to my French and European homeland, I feel the duty to act as long as I still have strength. I believe it necessary to sacrifice myself to break the lethargy that plagues us. I give up what life remains to me in order to protest and to found. I chose a highly symbolic place, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, which I respect and admire: she was built by the genius of my ancestors on the site of cults still more ancient, recalling our immemorial origins.

While many men are slaves of their lives, my gesture embodies an ethic of will. I give myself over to death to awaken slumbering consciences. I rebel against fate. I protest against poisons of the soul and the desires of invasive individuals to destroy the anchors of our identity, including the family, the intimate basis of our multi-millennial civilization. While I defend the identity of all peoples in their homes, I also rebel against the crime of the replacement of our people.

The dominant discourse cannot leave behind its toxic ambiguities, and Europeans must bear the consequences. Lacking an identitarian religion to moor us, we share a common memory going back to Homer, a repository of all the values ​​on which our future rebirth will be founded once we break with the metaphysics of the unlimited, the baleful source of all modern excesses.

I apologize in advance to anyone who will suffer due to my death, first and foremost to my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, as well as my friends and followers. But once the pain and shock fade, I do not doubt that they will understand the meaning of my gesture and transcend their sorrow with pride. I hope that they shall endure together. They will find in my recent writings intimations and explanations of my actions."

 

CHECK ALSO:

The Self Sacrifice of Dominique Venner

In Memory of Dominique Venner

Dominique Venner - In Memoriam

The Metaphysics of Memory

The Polytheism of Charles Maurras

The Black Metal Voice of The Past

"Life is a well of delight; but where the rabble also drink, there all fountains are poisoned."

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

  

 "Given the bleakly modern aesthetic that has surfaced within the work of bands such as Shining, Anaal Nathrakh and The Axis of Perdition. Its easy to forget
that prior to Satyricon and Moonfog Productions` urbanization of the genre in the late nineties, black metal was almost exclusively obsessed with the ancient past.
Seemingfly denying the entire industrial revolution conceptually speaking, the movement was dominated by Old English fonts, primitive analog productions, old supertitions, folklore, references to folk and classical music, and numerous paeans to the glories of untainted nature and pagan religions."

Taken from "BLACK METAL: Evolution of The Cult"  Book 2014

Previous Related Posts:

Norwegian Black Metal - Anno 1992

Steel Romanticism in The Steel Rose

Echoes from The Tower of Set

"For all my fellow Conan The Barbarian fans, I have improved the quality of the existing Tower Of Set music. The original version, Las Cantigas De Santa Maria (The Snake) - Conan The Barbarian Complete (found here on youtube), sounds flat and muted, with static noise making it worse, so I mixed it with Clemencic Consort - Cantiga 166 (Como Poden) which is the recording Poledouris used.

Clemencic Consort sounds far superior to Las Cantigas De Santa Maria but lacks the female chorus Poledouris added for the movie, and since Poledouris edited it, cutting and repeating certain sections, the recordings do not sync up. It took some time to edit both pieces to sync properly.

I also reduced the noise in the Las Cantigas version so that the resultant mix is almost noise free (but not completely noise free, as removing too much distorts the music).

This was a small labor of love. I hope you enjoy!"

SWORDS OF STEEL - A New Chapter Begins....

Just when you thought the dust had settled, the scriveners of arcane metal lore invoke a fresh wave of dark and twisted dreams from worlds beyond our own.

 Join a cast of eight writers both new and old including Byron Roberts (Bal-Sagoth), Howie Bentley (Cauldron Born), Mike Browning (Nocturnus), E.C. Hellwell (Hellwell) and many more, PLUS a terrifying host of illustrations and an exclusive introduction by the legendary Mark Shelton (Manilla Road). 

 Charge into the fray with SWORDS OF STEEL III at your side!

Contents:

Introduction by Mark "The Shark" Shelton (Manilla Road)
"Thannhausefeer's Guest" by Howie K. Bentley (Cauldron Born)
"A Paean to Mine Wolfen Self" (poem) by Howie K. Bentley (Briton Rites)
"The Pirate Prince of Terran" by E.C. Hellwell (Hellwell)
"The Key" by Mike Browning (Nocturnus)
"The Chamber of Juleptsu by Jaron Evil (Almuric)
"Eldon" by Chris Shoriak (Ice Sword)
"Stormchaser" by Jeffrey Black (Gatekeeper)
"The Scion at the Gate of Eternity" by Byron A. Roberts (Bal-Sagoth)

Available May 21, 2017

Available from DMR BOOKS:

 http://dmrbooks.storenvy.com/

https://www.facebook.com/DMRBooks/ 

SEE ALSO:

SWORDS OF STEEL - A Book of Dark Heroic Fantasy

The Castle Ghosts of United Kingdom

To continue where it left off in the previous post. 

Here is a four-part series about the ghost castles in the United Kingdom. Breath-taking landscapes, nice background music , in-depth narration (without these smart-ass comments that nowadays documentaries are filled with) and well maded dramatized scenes. 

You can check all four parts below.

 "BBC Blockbuster Miniseries Hosted By Sir Robert Hardy. Presented in a "Four" part Format.. Featuring England,Scotland,Wales And Ireland. Each episode "One" hour in length. Brings us face to face with some of United Kingdom's most infamous Haunted Castles and their Unearthly inhabitants."

CHECK ALSO:

Kenneth Clark's "Civilisation"

"THE MEDICI: Godfathers of the Renaissance"