Metal news and more......

Some great news from the metal world and the bands that i absolutely adore and respect!

A new Iron Maiden tribute album ==> here
The track listing for the new album by Metallica called "Death Magnetic" ==>here
The first video for Death Magnetic ==> here
The headline acts at Bloodstock 2008 in Derby England ==> here

Charge of the light brigade!

A piece of poetry right of out of my yester years, one of the very best. A classic from the hand of the great Lord Alfred Tennyson. This piece of writing also did something to inspire some little known band called Iron Maiden to write a not so well known song called "The Trooper". :D.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.


"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.



Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.



Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.


Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.



When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!



P.S. :Found this website. Contains works from most of the great English poets ==> here

Our deepest fear....

Ripped this off a movie called "Coach Carter". Real nice!

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. "

Omerta

"Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man, is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, "If i die, you are forgiven. If i live, i will kill you." Such is the rule of honour."

Have been reading about the Sicilians and the Mafia a lot lately. so this post should not come as a surprise. The mysterious, enigmatic and fascinating law of Omerta (sacred silence) has kept that fraternity where it is for hundreds if not thousands of years. Violation of this seemingly sacred rule calls for nothing less than the death penalty.

Burgled but Alive............3

All 3 caught! kudos to Crime branch sleuths!
Now we are in the pipeline..............of the long and patience testing judicial process.
Lets hope this ends soon. For now, it just good to know that the trio is behind bars and won't be getting out any sooner.

Burgled but Alive .........2

One mother fucker caught!
The police caught him using one other stolen cell phone!
And then just to get him to his wits cause he was trying to act tough, threw him down from the first floor.............sends out only one message............."Don't mess with the law. when it gets inot its own you are not tough enough to handle the heat...............or the beating........."
i had to identify that lame asshole in the police station, which i very happily obliged to.

For now i can feel a little better...........

Burgled but Alive !

Hey friends,
Just wanted to share an incident with you. What happened shook all of us. But what was worse was it could have been avoided. Well better late than never. Hope we all can learn from it and take solace from the fact that none of us were hurt.

This past Saturday, me and a couple of friends had been to Tamhini ghat on our bikes.
The climate and all was fantastic and the place was very inviting. It was all good.
We stopped at a point which looked deserted, no people around (mistake no. 1 ) and went to have a closer look at the Mulshi dam reservoir. There were huge warning boards put up asking us not to go into the water or on the banks as the banks are known be prone to visits from
snakes, crabs and alligators. We did not heed any of the signs and still in the holiday spirit proceeded towards the bank (mistake no. 2).

The bank was some distance from the road, a steep slope downwards and a distance of like 20 metres and thick bushes all around. The bikes were not visible from the place where we left our bags and the bank was even further down (mistake no. 3). We were enjoying the environs and
when it was time to get back, these 3 thugs pounced on us with large knives (koitas) and brass knuckles (popularly known as known as a fighter). The close range of the attack did not give us any chance to have any other ideas. On the contrary we completely blacked out (mistake no. 4 and according to me the most fatal one) and offered our presence of mind down the throats of fear, created by chopping branches and yeah also brutally attacking my helmet which was lying there. It still carries the mark if any of you still need any proof of the incident. They calmly relieved us of our mobile phones, jewelry and cash and then proceeded to remove the fuel pipes off our bikes to escape to some nearby place.

We came back to our bikes, called out for help and lucky for us a bunch of bikers did help us get our bikes started again. Completely conked out , the only thing on our minds was that we were short of petrol and not that we had to lodge a complaint as soon as possible (mistake no.
5). We did manage to reach the Paud police station 2 hrs later completely wet and lodged the complaint. Before that we encountered those thugs again on the road when they were fleeing on a motor cycle and we were by the road side fixing a fuel leak on my bike. We were
so self absorbed and shaken, that we could not even look at the number plate of that bike. (mistake no. 6). Well we did lodge the complain and the police were very co-operative and made every effort to ease our minds of the incident. Lucky for me I still do remember the face of
one of those thugs very clearly. So I could describe it to the cops. Hope it helps them.

Well , I don’t say don’t go out for rides or as such. But there are some precautions which can be taken to prevent such things from happening:

1. Plan such rides in a large group. A small group like the one which ambushed us would be ineffective in that case.
2. stop at a place which is inhabited and not completely deserted.
3. carry ample fuel in your bikes and carry its tool kit always.
4. if possible carry some small arms, but please do know how to use it. (ignorance could lead to death).
5. Park your bikes such that they are always visible from where you camp.
6. Carry cell phones of various providers and also the local police station number. Helps in contingencies and to catch the crooks at the earliest.
7. Have some cash with you, like 500 bucks and or some jewelry like a ring or such. Since such people are desperate in the need of money, they might end up hurting somebody if they do not find anything.
8. Presence of mind can save a lot in such times. Create a ruckus if confronted by such a situation. Attract attention.

Lets hope none of us have to go through anything like this again.

Cliches and Cliques!

"you don't smoke?!?!?! dude u are a blot on the Metal community! you are not even a real metalhead!!!"

"You gave up booze?!?!? lets just keep this amongst us..........and please do not hook up with me at any gig. otherwise i will be the laugh of the place."

"Clean on dope? what?!!! have you lost your marbles? dude if you want to be the next James Hetfield, u got to have a PhD in shooting stuff in your veins!"

"where are the piercings man? are you scared man? do they puncture you........???"

"Long hair man! sign of the true head banger!"

"satan rules man!! down with the conformist shit!!"

"how can you listen to rap and hip-hop man? that ain't music man. that is crap!"

Been there and faced that!

(SELF) CERTIFIED : CONTEMPORARY UNUSUAL METALHEAD!

\m__m/..........heavy metal...........the music rocks...........nuthin else matters!

Head Rush...........................

Wrote something more. Enjoy!

Five missed calls already. The sixth one was on its way. And I was there still giving some advice to one of my mates on phone. I knew I was in trouble big time. You do not keep people waiting on their birthday. Its way too special for them. And especially beware if the person in concern is a girl.

So, there I was on the phone, jumping up and down like I had red ants in my pants. I had to disconnect at the earliest. I had to get ready, get the bike out and just vroom away. “I am all decked up,” she had told me over a chat conversation we had earlier in the day. Now who wouldn’t want to check out what “decked out” was all about. I could barely contain myself. In the energy of things I sort of reprimanded my mate on the phone for wasting my time, then realized I had made a mistake, apologized and then quickly hit the red button.

Jeans, a new “Converse” tee and a dash of some new deodorant I had brought would be my armor to the “decked up” onslaught. But I rather knew I would be losing the draw hands down. Ironical isn’t it? Checked my watch. Gosh I was late. A hurried sprint on my bike and I reached the rendezvous point. She was standing there, but my puny brain chose not to look at her rather ordering my hand to call her up. Which I did. And then she slyly comes up on me from behind. Sweet Lord. She really was decked up. She looked lovely. A red coloured dress is the sort of panacea to cold hearts. It sets them on rage.

“Kahan jayenge?” she asked , half smiling, half concerned.

“Your choice madam…………..your birthday!”

“I dunno a lot of places. You do. You are the one roaming around.” And she winked. I did not want to answer. Just keep looking at her. But I just had to. Scruff.

“ ok , 2 choices, KP or FC?”

“That’s easy. KP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Hop aboard then.”

Wasn’t near that place. But that was not at all the concern. She climbed on the pillion seat, made a million and one adjustments, completely oblivious to the fact that I lost half the fuel I began with in that time.

“I am ready! Lets go!”

She was sitting really close to me. It was very awkward. Someone sitting so close to me. For the first time. She was close to me. Mentally , spiritually. Physical is just taboo though. But tonight was very very different. I shuddered when her hands touched my shoulder. My vision went slightly blurry. I had to let go the handle to regain my focus. Her perfume was so intoxicating, it just would not let me think of anything else. The only other thing I could really remember was “Careless Whisper” by George Michael. The sax piece around which his words float is just as intoxicating.

But we had to go. And I had to ride the bike. And she was beautiful. How could I do it? But I had to. Slowly at first. But then I managed to work up the speed. And when we were really going fast, she suddenly just gripped me. My God!!! The warmth from her body fusing into mine. Mellowing down. Like butter that melts over a piece of warm bread. Holy Lord! How do I rein in my senses?? I would just stop the bike mid road and do either of the things: ask her politely to maintain a “distance” or just go faster and ……………..

We reached the hotel. Famished by the time we got there, an empty table was good to see. “Order something”. She said. But who was paying attention? I just grunted every time she asked my opinion on some dish. Who wanted to look at the menu card when the she was there, in front of me. Her face bathed in candle light. Warm yellow around her, encircling her like an aura. Just making me feel chivalrous. Like a noble knight from the 17^th century, going down on his knees and asking the damsel to be his woman. “Wilst thou care to spend the rest of your precious life with this ignorant man???” Will she? I could have waited generations for that answer.

She kept talking about something or the other. And I was replying briefly. Come on. I mean you can not expect me to be strong enough to ignore her beauty while sitting straight in front of her. And when her mom called (I think she was slightly embarrassed when it happened), I gave up all the shame I possessed and was just straight staring at her. An up market restaurant guaranteed that a lot of “pretty” girls would be present. Who are they? Did I care?

I think she realized that but still went on. Fair enough I think. She likes me I know. I do too. Just known each other 11 months. Does it really matter when each moment spent together feels like 11 millenniums?? I hope she knew what was going on in my mind. Did I?

On our return journey she was fast asleep. Head resting on my back. Her arms draped around my shoulder. Again the warmth of her body, the fragrance of her perfume. My right hand could not resist the urge to go faster. Faster towards the faraway lights. Faster to get away from this pleasing sensation which had completely flooded my senses. Faster, before I went crazy. Faster towards a temporary liberation from that which is good. Faster. Faster still.

Reached her place. Was time to say good bye. I was sleepy. Ooops sort of a heavy dinner. Never realized it. Her hair was disheveled. The kajal spread around her eyes. The make up slight ruined. Smudge of marks of some make up thing on my tee. What would I want to realize? All I could really think about was her. Rather the vanity of her. Rush of mad affection. A very sweet head rush.

“Good night. Sweet dreams of your…..ahem. Hehehehhe” she said. Keep talking dear. Please do not stop.

“Yeah good night.” My stupid mouth blurted out.

Oh I would have loved to have a few more moments alone with her. And then some more. Exhilaration of the encounter? I would not count that out.

Twilight..................

Just tried a hand at penning prose. Hope if at least someone can like it.

I am going to meet her today. It is fairly important we have a sit down. Cause this concerns our lives. And on my mp3 player, Led zeppelin is playing “Kashmir”. Groove beat. Strings. Bass. The bus is moving. Familiar scenes. This is an oft visited area. Again the high on that drum roll. All I can think about is the song. How can someone make the song so good? The simple drumming, the crescendos et al. Bus takes a right turn. Time for me to get down. I move down the aisle, shoving my bulk around on everyone, rousing them from their everyday sleeps. I am not a regular on this bus. The one that takes me to my haven is usually half empty. Not this though.

But I had to get down. The ice cream parlor. The bus heaves to a sighing stop and I descend to check my watch. 5 minutes before time. The Robert Plants wail. The groove. It was still there. Nothing better than an ice cream, I thought and helped myself to one.

Nodding my head to the seemingly lazy beats. Not long before, I managed to finish the cup. Still Kashmir playing. Puzzled? Oh then remembered that I had put the song on repeat. Just can’t get too much of it. Hmmmm.

She was 7 minutes late. I could spot her from a mile off. She looked pretty. As always. But today was different. I was not the same as always. Listening to that song, had introduced in me that kind of lust, that ecstasy that comes from kissing ones lover and nothing else can satiate it. Obscene is the right word for me now.

She stops her bike, looks at me and smiles. She parks it and looks around for any whistle toting police men. No one in sight. One sigh and she heaves it onto the stand. Oh god she looks wonderful. Those large eyes. Innocence. Calm. She looks at me again. Smiles. Only Kashmir was stopping me from having panic attacks. She crosses the street, very careful. Extra careful, my dear, I seemed to say.

“Hi. Wassup?”

“Nuthin. Was just reading a book. How are you?”

“Shall we get something to eat?”

“I am not hungry, but if you are I will give you company.”

I had the slyest smile anyone could have, on my face. Evil. Lusty.

We entered the nearby Pizza hut outlet and ordered something. She sat opposite to me, the twilight casting a brilliant red and violet on her face. Lovely. Anyone would be in love with her. But the one-on-one was for some reason.

“So……” I began “how was your day?”

“Nothing much. Actually I spent pretty much all my time thinking about why you like me. I mean an extrovert person like you could find a like minded girl for yourself easily. Why me?”

“Is it such a crime? I can not say that I did it on purpose. It just happened. “

“No no, it’s not wrong for someone to love somebody. But in this case why me? What was so special in me? We barely know each other……………….”

She kept talking. Rather she kept asking questions. And I vehemently defended myself. For every question of her. I did not even have to think. All the while I had this little voice in my head go

“Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been…………………………..”

Where? How? I run my hand into my shirt pocket, to find the mp3 player resting there, switched off. Where was the sound coming from? And all this happening when I am replying to her questions and her reasons for denial. How is this possible?

“Oh, pilot of the storm that leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream
You've the map that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that blows high in June, when moving through Kashmir………….”

I am walking in Kashmir, the cold evening. Hand in hand with her. She looks beautiful. More than ever. And as the sun sets. I turn around to cover her from it. And kiss her.

“Hey you here?”

I wake up with a jolt. Oh, day fucking dreaming!!! But I did not sweat for one strange moment. Why? How is that possible? You have to be at least surprised when you wake up like that? But I am not thinking any of that. I want to kiss her. The sun is going down. This is the time. Aahhhhh………..

We kept talking till it was way past all time. Dinner time. She asked me to come to her place for a homely simple dinner.

“Yes. Yes I am coming. How can I not come?”

But that’s not what came out of my mouth. Rather a very stupid,

“No I will be heading home. Need some sleep. Have to be in office early tomorrow.”

Bloody hell, how could I say that?

“Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years
with no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear
ohh……………………………”

Sweet lord no, Kashmir again. She is waving me goodbye. Her bike billows up a puff of smoke. She is gone. I know I will meet her again. But what did I tell her all this while. Oh boy, I am going to have a hard time figuring that out.

How I wished I had kissed her before she left. That I had not let go of her hand. Not let her get out of my sight. But the twilight is gone. It is dark now. I shout out to an auto and ask him to carry me back to my place. “Half return honar sahib.” “Chalel.” Stick the earphones in my ears, switch the mp3 player ON. There it is again. Kashmir.