In The Pit #32 - Numina

Malice wrote: »

What got you into Rock & Metal in the first place and what keeps you interested in it?

What got me into it in the first place was my brother. He's a few years old than me so when I was around 11 or so he's listening to Metallica and the other popular choices of early 2000's, so Korn, Deftones, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Fear Factory and others. So there I was now exposed to all this music which I'm drawn to because of it's power and how different it is to other stuff I've heard before. When I think about what songs I liked as a child it seems inevitable that I would get into Rock/Metal eventually. I loved Micheal Jacksons "Earth Song" and there was a CD that came with Nintendo Official Magazine which was this except it only had 5 songs on it. But I latched onto the Primal Scream song on it. Oh yeah, and my Dad had 45s of Queen which I would hear pretty regularly when I was post-toddler, so I was listening to We Will Rock You while I was trying to use child logic to understand the turning of the vinyl and feeling the foam over the speaker.

As for what keeps me interested, innovation and the discovery of niche genres would be the two main draws for me I suppose. Also just generally the amount of genres to pick and choose from helps keep it fresh for me if I feel like it's time to mix it up and try out a genre that isn't really my cup of tea.

Malice wrote: »

How did you come across the Rock & Metal forum on Boards?

Well, I was first introduced to Boards by the one and only Rozabeez when we were in school. Once signed up it was really just a case of going through all the catagories "Oh hey, Rock/Metal, that sounds good."

Malice wrote: »

What keeps you coming back to the forum?

Ah sure the craic, like. I'm not really much of a poster so I come to see if there's any gigs on that I missed while looking or any bands that are worth giving a try. There's a bunch of events I wouldn't have found out (and hence been disappointed about, looking at you GOJIRA) about if it weren't for this forum.

Malice wrote: »

What do you do when you're not rocking out?

Play some guitar (not very well), watch some anime, play a lot of PC games. I am but a simple man.

Malice wrote: »

What album do you feel had the greatest impact on you?

And so this question comes full circle. I originally asked this in the first or second installment of In The Pit. I remember Dara Ó Briain saying once that the stuff you experience in your teens is the stuff you think is the best. I've read many responses to this question from previous boardsies doing In The Pit, and it seems to ring true, most peoples answer is their first Rock or Metal album, lots of people answering GnR or Metallica or whatever.

Of course, the same kind of goes for myself. With the selection of albums that my brother had, there were 2 that I latched on to more than others, and those were System of a Downs S/T, and probably most important one for me, Deftones - Adrenaline. I think I can hear some of you 70's and 80's kids going "pfft, Nu-Metal."

Adrenaline from start to finish is just a masterpiece to me, the latter half of the last song "Fireal" really just fascinated me as to how a melody could be so perfect. Of course, like everyone else having never really listened to a metal or rock album before, it really left an impression on me. With SOADs S/T, I loved that album so much I knew it inside out. I remember sitting in class in primary school, probably 5th or 6th class, and I went through the entirety of that album start to finish all in my head, knew all the lyrics, knew how long certain sections carried on for.

They aren't the only albums that had an impact on me though. There have been other albums that have contributed to or supported a change in mindset, in sort of a 'right album at the right time' kind of way. Deftones S/T, a brilliantly dark album, was the first album I actually bought. I was 14 at the time (really? felt like I was younger.) That album has a lot nostalgic weight attached to it for me, so much so that I actually avoid the album because once I listen to it I'm transported back to those days, so I don't keep it on my iPod for that reason.

Other albums are Nine Inch Nails "The Downward Spiral." Listening to it during my teens opened me up to more electronically based music and to the obsession for me that was Nine Inch Nails. I think for at least a year or 2, not a day would go by that I wouldn't listen to NIN. GY!BE's "Lift Your Skinny Fists..."and Eluvium's "Lambant Material" had a big impact on my musical writing style moving from metal to a much more relaxed and calmer style. Lycia's "Cold" opened me up to more chilled out style of music and made me want to seek out more albums of it's style, which is how I came across Projekt Records, thus finding a label full of music that I really enjoyed which I probably wouldn't have been so keen to consider at an earlier point. Virus' "The Black Flux" kind of set the standard for me when it comes to how strange and dissonant I like my music to be. I could continue, but I think that's enough to show that there isn't just a single album that made a greater impact than all others, there's many that made different kinds of impacts.

Malice wrote: »

Where did your username come from?

On Deftones - S/T there's a song called Minerva. At the time I was using some terrible username based off my real name for forums because I was an unimaginative 12 year old. So when I decided it was time for a better username, I saw inspiration in Minerva, I had never seen or heard that word before. So using whatever search engine was popular at the time, I came to find that Minerva was a Roman God, so I went looking through a list of other Roman gods with the goal of finding another god with a cool name that I had never heard of before. And so I came across Numina. I can't remember what it was listed as being the god of, but I know that it has since changed with the internets growth. Now it's defined as some kind of omnipresent spiritual energy. But yeah, that's pretty much the story of how I chose this name.

What's the song you save for your darkest moods, what's the song that'll guarantee you'll be smiling by the end of it?

What did you think of Deftones live when they played the Ambassador Theatre around the release of Saturday Night Wrist in 2006?

Oh man, that sounds brilliant. I ask because I couldn't make the feckin' gig, I had a ticket for the second night but I had to work.

Yeah a demo of "Beware" or "Beware The Water" as it was called then was leaked onto YouTube months before the release, it's still there. "Hole in the Earth" was put up on their MySpace. I remember it well because I was the only regular Irish poster on Maverick Records' official Deftones message board at the time (which has since been removed). The board was a free for all with literally no moderation, and nobody on there was that interested in the band anymore. Those that were interested were bullied over to the Sharing Lungs board. I persevered with the official one and was almost the first to get banned for posting so much; I was smoking a hell of a lot of dope during the process so exactly what I posted is kinda hazy. I remember getting laptop recommendations from Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed on there. It was a pretty funny board, the band was asked about the lack of Deftones discussion several times in interviews, with their response being "Ah, they're just having fun". I was so chuffed when they announced the two Dublin dates, I regret not going now. I'm glad it was good craic; maybe we'll see another Irish visit over the next few years.


/deftones discussion

TheStickyBandit wrote: »

I had to comment on your responses in this thread; they're top notch man!


My question is (and I think it's been asked by someone else before in the 'In The Pit' series.

If you could instantly play another instrument, what would it be? and what songs would you love to be able to play?

Thanks for the compliment! I've been very mindful to put in as much effort as I can to make this entertaining for whoever is reading. I've read previous installments of In The Pit where the people being asked the questions just gave 1 sentence answers which was really just boring and disappointing and also slightly baffling to see, I mean, they volunteered to do it after all.

Now for your question. When you say another instrument, I guess that would mean that it has to be the instrument that I don't main, so guitar should be out of the question. This is definitely a multiple answer question though, I can't choose just one.

Piano because of how versatile it is. Yeah, there's regular piano, but there's also synthesizers, although I guess it wouldn't count because I'd know how to use the keys, not the hardware or software.
Cello. I just love the low, dark sound of cello. It's this song that made me fall in love with it in the first place. And no, it's not Apocalyptica.
Harmonica. What a cool instrument. I've only recently begun to appreciate it from listening to the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack and I'd love to find more harmonica based music when the time is right, but here's the song that wins me over to harmonicas side. It also has the added bonus of being pocket sized so you can bring it with you wherever you go and can entertain yourself and others pretty much at any time. The downside is that harmonicas are key exclusive meaning that you'll have a harmonica in the key of F# or in C# and that's all it'll be, so if you want to play songs in different keys, you'll need different harmonicas.

A question arises from this question though.

If you could choose one, would you pick technical skill of an instrument at master level, or knowledge of musical theory at master level?

With me, I'm not that musically minded. I'm fairly clueless when it comes to putting musical pieces together, knowing what works and knowing what should work, what attributes define a style, etc. I think I would rather have the theoretical knowledge than the technical skill. I'd rather to be able to play an instrument at a mediocre level but know exactly what I'm doing and know how to choose my notes than to be able to shred like a complete boss but have everything I play accidentally sound like a Fredrick Thordendal solo because I have no idea what I should be doing. I feel like there's so much more you can with do with an instrument when you understand the purpose of the notes rather than just how to get those notes to play at 1,000,000 bpm.

What's your favourite album artwork?

lord lucan wrote: »

What's your favourite album artwork?

Probably Virus's "The Agent That Shapes The Desert." While it's not detailed like an Iron Maiden album that would bring you on an adventure akin to Where's Wally, searching around for all the little jokes, it stands out against other album covers because of how monotone it is, especially the actual colour which you don't see on many album covers as a primary colour. The skeleton really drives home the desolation it tries to get across, which is pretty much a main theme of the album which is face-slappingly obvious when you take a look at the tracklist. With such classic hits as Parched Rapids, Red Desert Sands and the family favourite Dead Cities of Syria. The album really tries to paint the picture of deserts littered with carcasses buried for decades by scorching winds, where time is completely warped and if you enter you are lost to it, a wandering soul from then onward. At least that's what it does for me.

We'll move on to the next in line but i'll leave this open if Numina wants to answer the last few questions.