In The Pit #32 - Numina

Malice

Here is the latest In The Pit. The next victim volunteer on the list is Numina.

A quick recap of the rules:
1. Questions should be Rock & Metal related although some leeway is allowed.
2. Let's not have questions that are too personal. The poster doesn't have to answer anything they don't want to and as moderator I suppose I'll have the final say if something is appropriate or not.
3. Don't discuss any of the answers on the thread and only the poster should be answering the questions.

Hopefully that's clear enough so let the questions commence...

If you would like to take part in this and you're not already on the list, please post here and I'll add you to the queue.

Malice

What got you into Rock & Metal in the first place and what keeps you interested in it?
How did you come across the Rock & Metal forum on Boards?
What keeps you coming back to the forum?
What do you do when you're not rocking out?
What album do you feel had the greatest impact on you?
Where did your username come from?

Angron

What has been your favourite album out in 2011?
What band/artist in rock/metal can you not stand the most? (not over-rated, actually hate)
What other sections of boards do you frequent?
Do you prefer rock or metal, and which sub-genre of them is your favorite?
If you could go drinking with 5 people in metal, who would they be?
What would be the lineup of your dream gig?
Assuming you like any of them, which of the big 4 of thrash is your favourite?
What was the last rock/metal album that really let you down, cause you expected huge things from it?

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.

Numina

Denny M wrote: »

What has been your favourite album out in 2011?

Going through my music library, there isn't much I have that's of 2011. But I do see 3 notable albums. Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction, Virus - The Agent That Shapes The Desert and Glassjaw - Colouring Book EP. I guess I would have to choose Deconstruction since it's probably the one I come back to the most out of the 3. When weighing in length and quality of content throughout, I think Dev comes out on top out of the 3. The comparison isn't really fair though, they're all different styles.

Denny M wrote: »

What band/artist in rock/metal can you not stand the most? (not over-rated, actually hate)

Axl Rose for being an ego first, a human second. Other than him, I'm not really sure, I don't really spend any time paying attention to the politics of bands like Fear Factory or Sepultura and I don't really feel it's my place to pass opinion on stuff like that most of the time, because usually the important info isn't getting out to the public. I guess this is how I'd sum it up.

Denny M wrote: »

What other sections of boards do you frequent?

Pretty much just Anime, Gigs & Events, sometimes AH if I want a cheap laugh, and then off to look at various subreddits better tailored to my tastes.

Denny M wrote: »

Do you prefer rock or metal, and which sub-genre of them is your favorite?

When you consider how light rock can get and how heavy metal can get, I guess I lean more onto the side of metal. I'm not sure if I could pinpoint a genre and be like "yeah, this is my favourite." I guess if I assess what it is about music that I like then I could give some guidance about what I look for, but I really have albums that will only fit certain moods. I couldn't listen to Meshuggah "I" and then put on David Bowies "Low" or be listening to Combichrist and be like, "Y'know what'd be good right now? Some Spastic Ink." Sometimes I find a band that I really like, check out the genre that they're said to be, and everything else in it is just crap. So I guess I don't really go by genre as much as I go by recommendation.

Denny M wrote: »

If you could go drinking with 5 people in metal, who would they be?

Trent Reznor (just because), Devin Townsend, Mikael Åkerfeldt (they'd both be good for a laugh), Stephen Carpenter and a pre-2000s, Reznor compatible Marilyn Manson. And screw just drinking, lets make it a drunken day at Disney Land or a Chilean miner situation, I'd like to see who cracks first and how they crack.

Denny M wrote: »

What would be the lineup of your dream gig?

Lets stay modest and keep this to a single day, single stage show shall we?

Also I'm not adding electronic artists or anything, keeping this strictly rock/metal.

Dillinger Escape Plan (12:00pm Starting the day with Farewell Mona Lisa)
Rolo Tomassi (13:00)
Glassjaw (14:00)
SOAD (15:00)
Meshuggah (16:00)
Devin Townsend (17:00)
Mindless Self Indulgence (18:00)
Virus (19:00)
Sunn 0))) (20:00)
NIN (21:00)
Deftones (23:00 until they run out of songs to play)

God, I'm really a popular bands kind of guy, ain't I?

Denny M wrote: »

Assuming you like any of them, which of the big 4 of thrash is your favourite?

Metallica would be the one for me. I've tried Anthrax and they just don't work for me at all. I find it hard to listen to Megadeth because of how obnoxious Mustaines voice is and the attitude he tries to give off just doesn't work for me also. While I do like Slayer, their catalogue is comprised of decades of rehashing the same formula over and over.

Denny M wrote: »

What was the last rock/metal album that really let you down, cause you expected huge things from it?

I can think of 3.

Alcest - "Écailles De Lune" is one. It just doesn't live up to the album preceeding it or even Le Secret, I wasn't interested in the melodic choices made on the album really.

David Galas - "The Happiest Days of My Life." What a boring album, except for 3 or 4 songs, most of the album is just riffs that should not have been repeated for as long as they were in order to make up a mass of sound that people generally refer to as a song.

Nevermore - "The Obsidian Conspiracy." Loomis has lost it, useless solos and riff that just sound like he's going through the motions. I did not see one word about that album before it came out, and I really think it's because people just did not care anymore.

viadah

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?

Numina

viadah wrote: »

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?

Sorry for the wait. College stuff to do.

When you say darkest, do you mean the violent kind of dark or depressed dark?

I think for depressed dark I'd have to rely on Lycia for it. Slow moving songs, slow echoed drum beats, long drawn out notes and lyrics generally revolving around hopelessness Here's what I feel is their most depressing, but I just love me that chord progression. Lyrics are also in the description, so that's handy too. Hmm, what else? I think Korn's Issues is can be a pretty depressing album at times, especially with the last song on the album. Also Android Lust - Leave it Behind is a fairly depressing track, pretty great artist too, reminiscent of 90's NIN style electronic rock.

So now that depressing is out of the way, lets move on to the violent kind of dark. Stuff like Marilyn Mansons Irresponsible Hate Anthem and NIN's Mr. Self Destruct and Big Man With a Big Gun, all of which and the kind of songs I latch onto when I'm in the mood to emulate those kind of feelings. Also Dillinger Escape Plans "Option Paralysis" album is one of the most wonderfully violent albums I've heard in a long time. It's just that sense of unhinge that makes those kinds of songs much darker than say, Necrophagist or Nile songs, where there's a whole method and approach to creating songs of theirs. And especially with Slayer lyrics where they're just like "we gotta write evil stuff." That approach just makes the lyrics so empty of any meaning.

EDIT: I remembered a part of a Glassjaw song with pretty dark lyrics

I'll hold my child's head underwater.
If it's a boy, I was joking
if it's a daughter, I'll say I did what I did
because I had to...
And if you find my kid later
tell her I laughed too.


And on to happy songs. The songs I can think of aren't within the rock metal genre. I was listening to Nino feat Round Table's "Groovin' Magic" (damn, wish it wasn't a K-On! themed video, that show sucks.) yesterday, that song is an instant upper. It's like a japanese version of Elton Johns "Are You Ready For Love." I wouldn't say Tchaikovskys 1812 Overture makes me smile (although when I had the pleasure to see it performed live, I did end up smiling uncontrollably to the point of almost laughing because I was so happy I was actually seeing it) but it definitely gives me a satisfied feeling when you're coming up to the big end and you're rewarded with a payload of awesome. If I have to stick to Rock/Metal though, I suppose I'd go with Andrew W.Ks "I Get Wet", it's such a super upbeat album.

xerces

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

Numina

xerces wrote: »

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

One of the best times of my life.

Went on the first night. Waiting in the queue I'm pretty sure we saw Chi walk right through the front entrance, but nobody could recognize him because of the hair. Shortly after that, Stephen came along and the crowd bum-rushed him "omgomgomgomg Steph."
When people were asking him to sign stuff, he was like "I don't have a pen" so I, having anticipated the chance that I might meet some of the Deftones, decided to bring a marker with me which I then handed to Steph, to which he responds "HE CAME PREPARED!" I got my picture taken with him (throughout the entire encounter I had pink glittery eye-shadow on because when you're with 2 girls in the queue for hours, people tend to get desperate for entertainment so I was convinced to let them put it on me.) After Steph was done signing everyones stuff, he came back to me to return my marker, which I took home and still have as a memento.

So that all happens, it's time for admittance, we're all underage (I think we're all 17 at this point) so we get sent upstairs. The logic of this being that they were selling alcohol on the floor, but not up on the balcony, I think I actually was cleared to go on the floor, but my friends couldn't so I opted to stay with them.

Deftones come on, I already knew the setlist and all the songs. Beware the Water had been leaked (or they put up a rough cut on their myspace, didn't they?) a week or 2 before the show, so it was nice to already know it. We stayed up on the balcony for the half of Deftones set, during which I met a great guy called Rob, had a laugh and such.

At some point during halfway through the set, Rob had gone and we spotted him on the floor, we were wondering how he got down there so one of us checked the stairs. As it turned out, the security guy keeping watch on the stairs up to the balcony had gone on a smoke break, so we rushed down and made our way onto the floor. I remember I was conflicted in doing this because they were playing RX Queen and it was killing me that I wasn't watching it because we were making our way down to the floor.

So we get down there and watch the rest of the show there. Theres not really much else to say, I rocked out and had a great time. And they played Fireal and Birthmark, so I couldn't have been happier.

xerces

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

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?

Numina

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.

Wrongway1985

Yeah I was also impressed at your responses especially those about Deftones, the Saturday Night Wrist album is one I actually have new found love for listening to it a lot lately never gave it the time of day when it first came out (Shame On Me) never seen them live and hope to cross them off my list someday.

My Question is related to the recent news that Roadrunner Records UK is shutting. Obviously this is bad news for rock and metal and the label is one that it would be unusual for fans of the genre to not own a few releases from it. So the question is simply...

What would be your top 3 releases from Roadrunner Records?

lord lucan

What's your favourite album artwork?

Numina

Wrongway1985 wrote: »

Yeah I was also impressed at your responses especially those about Deftones, the Saturday Night Wrist album is one I actually have new found love for listening to it a lot lately never gave it the time of day when it first came out (Shame On Me) never seen them live and hope to cross them off my list someday.

My Question is related to the recent news that Roadrunner Records UK is shutting. Obviously this is bad news for rock and metal and the label is one that it would be unusual for fans of the genre to not own a few releases from it. So the question is simply...

What would be your top 3 releases from Roadrunner Records?

Another compliment! Oh you're too kind.

Saturday Night Wrist is my least favourite Deftones album. While I love pretty much all songs on it excluding Pink Cellphone, it's just never been that kind of album where once it's done I'd play it again from the start. Songs like Cherry Waves and Xerxes clicked for me, but the album as a whole just never did.

Looking through Roadrunners back catalogue I really can't find much that I've listened to out of it. My top 3 in no order are these.

Opeth - Watershed: I wasn't big on the preceeding album, Ghost Reveries, and on first listen I was sort of disappointed by it because it clashed with what I was expecting from it (Long build up during Porcelain Heart with no pay off) but I came to appreciate each individual song. Starting the album off with a song that uses mostly major scale chords and female vocals and having that lead into a song where the opening riff is in 15/16 and the mood has changed dramatically, it still has Akerfeldt's signature style of songwriting all over it and there are tons of memorable riffs, especially the openings of Porcelain Heart and Hex Omega. They're things I love about the album.

Glassjaw - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence: Oh jesus I love this album. Glassjaw are one of those bands that I initially found to be obnoxious but also found their music strangely compelling. I was aware of them back in 2003 when Ape Dos Mil and Cosmopolitan Bloodloss were getting play on Kerrang and I completely forgot about them until around 2009 (a year after their only Irish show) and I kind of regret not listening to them during all those when I could have been. The album itself is a work of art. It really has a 'heat of the moment' feel to it thanks to the vocalists fairly erratic performances and the times when you can hear the clicks and pops of the guitars in between playing. When it comes to the songs that don't come across as bitter and vitriolic (which a lot of the album is), it gives off a pretty sentimental vibe. Also the album starts off with a 16th note displacement and switches back and forth between it and normal which is just brilliant.

It's a shame about the relationship that Glassjaw apparently had with Roadrunner though. As it goes, the producer of the album, Ross Robinson, pushed for Roadrunner to sign them, which they did, but Roadrunner didn't really do much with the album. Glassjaw ended up being pretty unhappy on Roadrunner and signed a deal with Warner Bros for the next album.

Fear Factory - Obsolete: This album ties for me with Archetype as my favourite FF album. Rhys Fulber did a fantastic job with the electronic sounds, nothing over the top, just complimenting and accentuating the cyber part of Fear Factorys sound. I'm not sure if it's the colour scheme of the booklet and the video for Resurrection that has influenced me, but when listening to the album I associate it with a rustic coppery orange colour. Considering that Demanufactures primary colour was blue (the album cover and disc, when they play songs from the album live they use blue lights,) the way they moved onto a fuller guitar sound and turned up the bass sort of supports how I associate orange with the album. I don't know, it's hard to explain.

Favourites off it are Freedom or Fire for that excellent, brooding riff throughout the song, Securitron for it's outstanding chorus, sure, many of the songs follow the formula of screamed verse + sung chorus = FF song, but Securitron had more of what I wanted than the others. And obviously Resurrection and Timelessness have endless replay value. (I do Youtube video covers, I've done Resurrection.) I think Resurrection may be a song for Fear Factory where they feel that it was a pinnacle of theirs and they have to actively try to make another song equal to it. They already had the conflict about their style when Transgression was pretty much rejected by the fanbase. They changed it back to what it was so it feels like there's an element of Fear Factory doing things because it's what the fans want to hear, which is why when Mechanize came out, Final Exit seemed to be their attempt at a Resurrection part 2, considering that it was positioned as the last song on the album like Resurrection (I know Timelessness is actually the last song on Obsolete, but I consider Resurrection to be the last proper song and then there's the ambient-ish closing track just like their other albums), and it had an overall much more positive feel than the rest of the album, also like Resurrection did, so Final Exit felt contrived because of that. And that's all I got to say about that.

Numina

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.

Malice

Who's the most famous musician you've met?
Who do you think is the biggest idiot in metal and why?
Who would be your favourite metal babe?
Do you dress like a metalhead?
What was the last album that you bought?
What was your favourite gig this year?
Any upcoming gigs you're looking forward to?
Do you keep up to date with the Irish rock/metal scene and, if so, any bands we should watch out for?
Could you name your all-time favourite band?
What is your favourite aspect of the rock/metal scene and, conversely, what is your least favourite?
Is there a rock/metal band out there with loads of fans that you just don't get?

lord lucan

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

Numina

lord lucan wrote: »

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

Sorry, I intend on answering but I'm doing stuff for college currently, do leave it open and I'll finish them all off soon.