Category Archives: Weekly Song

The Weekly Song category.

Asura – El Hai

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This is one intense piece of soul-blowing song. The ethereal mystic vocals, the hypnotic percussion and the melancholic strings are woven together into a noble flow that graces the beauty of existence upon the eardrum. It’s one of those melodies that I’d use to describe life without using words (as long as, like me, the listener doesn’t understand the lyrics). I’m curious if anybody can translate what she’s saying.

You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase Asura’s album :).

https://ultimae.bandcamp.com/track/el-hai-featuring-ayten^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srcUpaNb2fY^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/6yEiiWULxtjkwfUENzqlXL^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/7428378^

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Savoy – Cata (feat. LoBounce)

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It’s like setting yourself on fire, but worse, ‘cause there are no flames to save you by melting your ear drums. Instead, the merciless drilling-bass will proceed to creep its way into your every fiber, flanked by strafing raw rhythms. This sounds bad, doesn’t it? Paradoxically, it’s not. It’s one of the best dark techno tracks I’ve heard back in 2016. It is, however, definitely not for the faint of heart, or, should I say, not for the faint of mental resistance.

I think the album’s cover fits this song perfectly. There’s a whole lot of magic alien snake skeleton venom flowing through this track. Calling this a “melody” would do it an injustice. Not because it’s not melodic, but because the word “melody” is too fluffy for this monolithic piece of dark beauty.

You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on SoundCloud, which is a great outlet for both emerging and established artists.

https://soundcloud.com/savoyband/05-cata-w-lobounce^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQfPJJJUMWw^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/5SJ6KivyJRhhGr1xY6s4jX^

And what a gorgeous album cover. Totally in tune with the song!

Savoy - Self Predator
Savoy – Self Predator

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Hybrid – Enjoy The Silence

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Leave it to Hybrid to turn an already good song (by Depeche Mode) into a mixture of lush, rich sound with a convincing buildup and a beautiful detour that leads to a sparkling climax. This is a hybrid made up of all the goodness of electronica and the richness of the human voice. Oh, and it’s anything but silent, of course :).

“All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable”

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW-Ai2jdZR8^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/6YvRdKMzdyuD1u2oJwzlsi^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/43265751^

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Conjure One – Center Of The Sun (Solarstone’s Chilled Out Remix)

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Here’s a sweet, dreamy mental enhancer and remedy. It’s a song of remarkable gentleness, a creation that flows straight into the hungry soul of imagination. At times like this, I am grateful that the artist wasn’t shy to prolong the pleasure towards the 10 minutes mark. Life is more beautiful when accompanied by art such as this.

Do make sure to see the amazing video below. Words are simply not enough to express the beauty of this song-video combination. Even though the video was not made for this song and the song was not made for this video, an inspired fan put them together and the result is a staggering emotional roller-coaster. It’s one of the best song-video combinations I know.

The original melody is wonderful as well and I linked it below. But the (well-named!) chilled out remix of the track, combined with the right visual weaponry have brought tears to my eyes and not only once.

“When I close my eyes
I am at the center of the sun
And I cannot be hurt
By anything this wicked world has done

 

I look into your eyes
And I am at the center of the sun
And I cannot be hurt
By anything this wicked world has done”

YouTube (decent quality, MUST-SEE video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1h_VqYFgTE^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/08Pur2k6IuhO7IrbXzqTZu^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/84855595^

And here’s the original version of the song:

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc7ij2hm9I0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc7ij2hm9I0^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

http://open.spotify.com/track/0joY2zmEGdady0ey6Vi4y8^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/69817255^

This Weekly Song entry has been brought from the FaceBook archive of Weekly Song^. This exploration was originally started through a FaceBook page, about 13 months prior to launching Mentatul. Slowly but surely, the entire FaceBook archive will be brought here.

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Vitalic – Poney

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Follow the gentle wavy sound bridge right into the heart of this disco cathedral. The relentless pounding will try to nail the sailing melody into the ground, but the sound beast still ends up soaring higher and higher. Will it eventually escape? It’s up to the listener to decide.

Oh, and make sure you check the YouTube version. The song’s video is awesome!

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JukJgxLiFLE^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/1mp7mkTmB1tIAWdpHzQX5P^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/3834127^

[ax_meta lnimgurl=’http://mentatul.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/02132-VitalicOKCowboy-Thumb.jpg’ lnimgw=’250′ lnimgh=’250′ title=’Vitalic – Poney’ desc=’Follow the gentle wavy sound bridge right into the heart of this disco cathedral.’]

Ghostpoet – X Marks The Spot

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Duets are a weakness of mine and I’m sure I’m not alone. It’s beautiful when singers can make a melody stand out like this. It’s even more beautiful when that melody also gives them a solid foundation to build on. And that’s exactly what happens here, ‘cause otherwise the story wouldn’t be told.

The contrast between Ghostpoet’s disengaged act and Nadine Shah’s tempting whispers is in perfect balance. Through it all, we’re accompanied by clever songwriting. Topping it off, we have a video that fits quite well with the song. It’s not often when a treat like this shows up on my radar.

“Used to think you were true
But I was washed up, confused
Grasping, gasping, no room for hope
Nowadays, path seems clear
But no I won’t turn around and celebrate
You always seem here”

You can listen to the song for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location.

https://ghostpoetofficial.bandcamp.com/track/x-marks-the-spot-feat-nadine-shah^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OmtRTqeW2s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OmtRTqeW2s^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/3ltP3aaxTS5Hd1I4KNJe5i^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/96022628^

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ATB – Trace Of Life

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This one will take you places. Just close your eyes, relax and let the brain massage begin. The song is a bit repetitive, but it’s one of those fortunate cases when that’s exactly the point. Some melodies let you sit still while they show you their many different landscapes. This song is more like a vehicle. Get on board and navigate your own imagination. The rhythm is steady and reliable, the sound is rich and stimulating. And don’t be surprised if you’re tempted to move your body either.

This song, as well as the album it comes from, came as a rather big surprise for me. I hadn’t listened to ATB in many years. For me, the name was synonymous to his famous single, “9PM (Till I Come)”^. I was quite impressed by the difference in style between 1999 and 2014. 15 years is a long time so evolution isn’t that much of a surprise, but I was really happy to see where the evolution of ATB led. There are a lot of great tracks on “Contact”. It’s an album I can highly recommend.

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPMmcQ_kqEg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPMmcQ_kqEg^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/6eLqKDNuQ315gvPna7J7ib^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/73781286^

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Dimmu Borgir – Eradication Instincts Defined

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Marching forth with cruel precision, an ominous orchestra serves as the starting point for this lovely ride of terror. There are moments of hopefulness, but these will be quickly extinguished by the bleak landscape that follows.

It takes a lot to make me feature metal music in this space, especially when it comes to this extreme variety. It takes a perfectly executed song, featuring one of the best synergies between electric guitars, merciless artillery percussion, choirs, raging howls and a full-fledged orchestra. Completing the apocalyptic picture, the song showcases some of Dimmu Borgir’s finest lyrics, bringing forth the murderous aspect of man and punishing it with the image of nuclear Armageddon. Even the title of the song is perfect.

“A living hate smoldering abyss
Nurtured through centuries with quietly exercised wrath
Seeks the easiest way to the feed the engine
Praising the final bloodbath

Uncertainty and guilt
Will no longer endorse our fate
There will be no remorse, we kill to kill again
Killing all

Go ahead end it all, we deserve no better
As a forever unblessed detonation
The great plutonium chord fulminates
Blinding the eyes of creation

Cutting off all life support
Sweeping away existence instantly
Iced desolate ruins linger
Leaving traces of our lovely humanity”

Unfortunately, the label upon which album is released, Nuclear Blast, seems to still be part of those annoying, backward-thinking content-police organizations. No YouTube version is available for this song and, of course, it’s difficult to buy the album in DRM-free format. Luckily, the song can be listened for free on Deezer, which requires only a Google or FaceBook profile to login.

I provided links for the orchestral-only version of the song too. I highly recommend listening to it as well.

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/0FTMaa5IV5gJr87D1Hn8FL^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/89100471^

Orchestral version (unfortunately, only live versions are available online, “thanks” again to content police not allowing people to get to know this music and potentially buy it):

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/0MDrHjDoX4KCSHEbxd1788

https://open.spotify.com/track/0MDrHjDoX4KCSHEbxd1788^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/348155401^

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Alice In Chains – The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here

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This is a story about how people are manipulated by organized religion and media. Case in question: the way various religious cults try to explain away the existence of the dinosaurs – a fact of biological history which contradicts certain interpretations of the Bible (namely that the Earth is roughly 6000 years old).

What genre could be better suited for combating outrageous ignorance if not some compositional-diverse, well-produced, perfectly-balanced metal. This melody is a mental sword. Wield it proudly and enjoy its symmetric construction. There’s also a magnificent array of vocals, making this one of my favorite metal song ever. And that’s not all…

It is not often that I recommend seeing the video for a song, but this one is amazingly well made! Starting with the totally apathic employees seen “behind the scenes”, it delves into all the dirt that is shoved down our children’s throats and goes back to the same sad and disappointing view on the developed world, a place where apparently happy adventures are in fact the work of deranged individuals employed by conniving corporations. The video gets quite violent for a while, but it’s all with good reason and, I daresay, well-executed.

“Come to me, I’ll fill the hole
Why would I be lying
End fan, all planned out
Offering a wonderful
Peace of mind worth buying
Bow down last round up
I am wise and you don’t know
A cloud is my home
Only some get in
Got a ‘maginary friend
The devil put dinosaurs here
Jesus don’t like a queer
The devil put dinosaurs here
No problem with faith just fear”

YouTube version (decent quality, MUST SEE VIDEO):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0_2Wq9Aos4^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

http://open.spotify.com/track/54HJyWn9phxNWONNtlfLfG^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/67520183^

This Weekly Song entry has been brought from the FaceBook archive of Weekly Song^. This exploration was originally started through a FaceBook page, about 13 months prior to launching Mentatul. Slowly but surely, the entire FaceBook archive will be brought here.

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Sync24 – Dance Of The Droids

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This is one song where the rather lengthy intro is totally worth it and does a great job of laying the ground for the coming of the mighty dancing droids. The melody sparkles to life soon enough, like a champagne that was rattled for far too long.

It doesn’t take long for the “opposing forces” to show up. To contrast the happy tinkling come the rowdy bass worms. These party animals waste no time in burying deep into the eardrum. They proceed and engage in a thoroughly good time. As the song progresses, the lows get lower and the melody becomes a panorama of a shifting canvas of well-rounded sound textures.

It’s one of the best songs I’ve heard this 2017.

You can listen to the melody for free, in good quality, on BandCamp, which is one of the best websites when it comes to supporting artists. You can also purchase the song (or album) from this same location. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I did purchase SYNC24’s album :).

https://sync24.bandcamp.com/track/dance-of-the-droids^

YouTube (decent quality):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joI6Dg1uNBY^

For Spotify Users (high quality):

https://open.spotify.com/track/4ETrYR73v4sKb7hHez5Dbo^

For Deezer Users (high quality):

http://www.deezer.com/track/126776947^

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