| Damascus Steel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 31, 2005 | |||
| Genre | Experimental metal, black metal | |||
| Length | 61:25 | |||
| Label | Supernal Music | |||
| The Meads of Asphodel chronology | ||||
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Damascus Steel is the third full-length studio album by the United Kingdom-based experimental black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was their last album to feature contributions from Max Rael (History of Guns). [1]
Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the Near East from ingots of Wootz steel either imported from Southern India or made in production centres in Sri Lanka, or Khorasan, Iran. These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water, sometimes in a "ladder" or "rose" pattern. Such blades were reputed to be tough, resistant to shattering, and capable of being honed to a sharp, resilient edge.
Manowar is an American heavy metal band from Auburn, New York. Formed in 1980, the group is known for lyrics based on fantasy and mythology, as well as numerous songs celebrating the genre and its core audience. The band is also known for a loud and emphatic sound. In an interview for MTV in February 2007, bassist Joey DeMaio lamented that "these days, there's a real lack of big, epic metal that is drenched with crushing guitars and choirs and orchestras... so it's nice to be one of the few bands that's actually doing that". In 1984, the band was included in the Guinness Book of World Records for delivering the loudest performance, a record which they have since broken on two occasions. They also hold the world record for the longest heavy metal concert after playing for five hours and 1 minute in Bulgaria in 2008. They also have been known for their slogan "Death to false metal". The band maintain a strong cult following. As of 2019, Manowar has sold more than 20 million records worldwide.
Bulat is a type of steel alloy known in Russia from medieval times; it was regularly mentioned in Russian legends as the material of choice for cold steel. The name булат is a Russian transliteration of the Persian word fulad, meaning steel. This type of steel was used by the armies of nomadic peoples. Bulat steel was the main type of steel used for swords in the armies of Genghis Khan. Bulat Steel is generally agreed to be a Russian name for wootz steel, the production method of which has been lost for centuries, and the bulat steel used today makes use of a more recently developed technique.
Wootz steel, also known as Seric steel, is a crucible steel characterized by a pattern of bands and high carbon content. These bands are formed by sheets of microscopic carbides within a tempered martensite or pearlite matrix in higher carbon steel, or by ferrite and pearlite banding in lower carbon steels. It was a pioneering steel alloy developed in Southern India in the mid-1st millennium BC and exported globally.
"What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single, which topped the pop charts in the United Kingdom, though it performed poorly in the United States because Larry Newton, the president of ABC Records, disliked the song and refused to promote it.
Into Glory Ride is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Manowar and the first to feature drummer Scott Columbus. The album's title is a reference to the title track from the band's previous album Battle Hymns. After 'Into Glory Ride' released, Manowar became one of the most influential bands to the development of this "epic" style of heavy metal and had a critical influence on the genre.
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse was active from 1995 until Linkous' 2010 death. Prior to forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Family and Salt Chunk Mary. Only one song, "Someday I Will Treat You Good," survived from these earlier bands to be played by Sparklehorse. Linkous stated that he ultimately chose Sparklehorse for a name because the two words sounded good together and it could loosely be used as a metaphor for a motorcycle. At its inception, members of Sparklehorse included Paul Watson, Scott Minor, Johnny Hott, and Scott Fitzsimmons.
The Meads of Asphodel are an English black metal band with pronounced medieval, Arab, punk, and progressive metal influences from Hertfordshire, England.
Jan Axel Blomberg is a Norwegian heavy metal drummer known professionally as Hellhammer. He is best known as the drummer of Mayhem, which he joined in 1988. In 1987 Blomberg formed the avant-garde black metal band Arcturus with Steinar Sverd Johnsen, which broke up in April 2007 and reunited in 2011. He named himself after the Swiss extreme metal band Hellhammer. Praised as a talented musician, Blomberg is a three-time winner of the Spellemannprisen award.
History of Guns are an English cross-genre group combining elements of industrial, punk, electronica, goth, edm, rock, metal and avant-garde from Hertfordshire, England. The current members are Del Alien, Max Rael and Jamu.
Symphony Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas is the third studio album released in April 1993 by Swedish band Therion. The album was remastered and re-released by Nuclear Blast in 2000 as part of The Early Chapters of Revelation box-set.
Byron Roberts, also known as Byron A. Roberts, is the vocalist/lyricist and founder of the British symphonic extreme metal band Bal-Sagoth. He is also an author, having had several short stories published in fantasy and horror fiction anthologies. Originally hailing from Yorkshire, England, and also holding full Canadian citizenship, due to many years spent living in Ontario and Quebec, Roberts graduated from Sheffield Hallam University with an Honours Degree in English, writing his final year thesis on the genres of pulp fantasy, science fiction and horror, and more specifically the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Roberts originated Bal-Sagoth's concept and writes all the lyrics for the band, having performed the vocals on all six Bal-Sagoth albums to date as well as the band's 1993 demo.
Rhapsody of Fire is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre.
"Wonderful Life" is a song by the English singer Black from his 1986 album of the same name. It was released twice as a single and was successful the second time, becoming a top ten hit in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. Black, who wrote the song while broke, commented: "I was really being ironic... Most people took it at face value."
Jihad / Freezing Moon is a split album with music by the black metal bands The Meads of Asphodel and Mayhem. Tracks one through six were performed by The Meads of Asphodel. Tracks seven and eight were performed by Mayhem. Tracks five and six are only available on the CD version.
The Excommunication of Christ is the first full-length studio album by the black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was released on Supernal Music in 2001. The band's debut album, this featured A.C.Wild from Italian thrash legends Bulldozer re-working the narrative originally found on Bulldozer's first album, The Day of Wrath. It is an exorcism in Latin and sets the tone of the rest. Huw Lloyd Langton plays lead guitar on the Hawkwind cover, Assault and Battery. The track Jezebel and the Philistines was contributed by History of Guns in collaboration with Metatron.
In the Name of God, Welcome to Planet Genocide is the first EP released by the black metal band The Meads of Asphodel. It was released on Firestorm Records in 2006. This is a short glance at human hatred, looking upon the theme of Genocide beyond the archetypal Hitler associated atrocities.
Sacred Steel is a German metal band.
A Song of Ice and Fire, the series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, has formed the basis of several works in different media.
