Review by UMUR — “De profundis” is the 2nd full-length studio album by Polish death metal act Vader. The album was released through Croon Records in September 1995, three years after the release of their debut full-length studio album “The Ultimate Incantation (1992)”. While a four-piece lineup were credited for recording the debut, it was in reality only recorded by Piotr “Peter” Wiwczarek (vocals, guitars, bass), and Krysztof “Doc” Raczkowski (drums). Those two remain from the lineup who recorded “The Ultimate Incantation (1992)”, but Jaroslaw “China” Labieniec has been added as a second guitarist (one of the guys who were credited but did not play on the debut album).
Stylistically the instrumental part of the music has become more death metal oriented than the more thrash metal oriented death metal sound of “The Ultimate Incantation (1992)”. The rather dominant Slayer influence is still there (in particular in the screaming atonal lead guitar work), but I hear a more obvious (early) Morbid Angel influence in the way the riffs and drums are constructed and played. Wiwczarek raw throaty semi-growling delivery sets Vader a bit apart though, and although I mention the influences above, the material on “De profundis” are not a clone of those influences.
The material on the 9 track, 34:07 minutes long album are relatively well written, but the tracks aren´t easy to tell apart, and the music style is a bit one-dimensional. It´s not a major issue considering this is a death metal release, but a few more hook laden moments wouldn´t have been a negative. One of the great assets of the album is the solid musicianship. Everything is delivered with fierce energy and raw conviction, and I´d like to give a special mention to drummer Krysztof “Doc” Raczkowski for his performance on the album. He is a fast and skilled drummer, and especially his blast beats sound really tight.
“De profundis” features a sound production, which is raw, powerful, and detailed. The snare drum has a rather distinct tone, which probably wouldn´t have sounded that great in other types of music, but here it serves the purpose that you are able to hear every snare drum hit, even during the really fast blast beat parts. So upon conclusion “De profundis” is a good quality death metal release by Vader. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
Published at Sun, 07 Mar 2021 07:40:37 +0000
Lately, the topic of guilt has been coming up while I (Barry) have been working with my therapy clients on video-conferencing. So I’d like to focus this article on the healing of guilt.
First, what is guilt? Most people know the answer. It’s the feeling of responsibility for doing something wrong or having done something wrong in the past. I would say we all have this feeling of guilt. It’s universal. We’ve all made mistakes, sometimes big ones. And feelings of guilt are too often the result.
Correcting Mistakes
In 12-step recovery programs, “making amends” is an important step. If there are mistakes that can be corrected, wrongs that can be righted, hurts that can be apologized for, by all means, do so. Many years ago, one of our assistants stole quite a lot of money from us as well as Joyce’s diamond engagement ring, and then quickly moved away. Many years passed and then, a few years ago, she called and got Joyce on the phone. Through her tears, she admitted that her guilt has been a huge burden, holding her back in her life, and she wanted to make it right. Joyce was loving (because that’s who she is) but she was also firm about the importance of paying us back. This young woman enthusiastically agreed, but we have never heard from her again. We can only imagine how the continued weight of her guilt is keeping her unhappy until she can make things right.
Sometimes, we can’t correct our mistakes. Like hurting someone who we can’t find to make an apology. When I was a teen, I was angry with a neighbor who used to frequently yell at us when our ball landed on their lawn. One night, I exploded a large firework outside their window which probably deeply frightened them. I feel bad for having done that, don’t know their names, and realize they are no longer alive. Even so, I apologized to them inwardly, which helped me release this particular guilt.
Then there’s existential guilt, feeling that just being alive is doing something wrong.
This form of guilt is much more difficult to correct. For many of us, we have somehow gotten the message that we are problems. Rather than our behavior being condemned, we have felt condemned as persons. Until I corrected her when I was in my forties, my mother used to label me as an “incorrigible child” when I was young. Now of course I understand that I was simply strong-willed, and my mother wasn’t strong enough to stand up for herself. But the damage was done, and, for many years, I was left feeling that there was something inherently wrong with me.
Guilt keeps us from doing good things for ourselves or limiting the time we spend on self-nurturing or creativity. I love singing with my harmonium or piano and writing songs. But I notice that little voice in my head that tries to limit my creative time because it’s not “productive.” I can be really enjoying myself when I suddenly hear that inner guilty voice saying, “Time’s up. Now get back to work.” I understand workaholism. I am a recovering workaholic. Guilt is at the heart of workaholism.
Guilt has us doing more for others, and not enough for ourselves.
“How dare we nurture ourselves! Don’t be selfish!” The message in all this is clear: others are more important than we are. But this would have us try to put an oxygen mask on our children, or anyone else, in an airplane cabin that loses pressure. Unless we first put our own mask on, we risk passing out and not helping anyone. Likewise, unless we give enough to ourselves, we will have nothing to give to others. I love the Native American saying, “Humble yourselves to receive before you can truly give.”
Healing Guilt
So how do we heal guilt so we can live a guilt-free life? At the core is the feeling of unworthiness, not knowing that we deserve the fullness of love. As we write in Risk to Be Healed:
If we’re running away from love because of a feeling of unworthiness, then we need to stop and remember who we are: children of the Creator, sons and daughters of the light, rightful heirs to all the love and power of the universe.
And here’s the truth: nothing we have ever done can take away our inherent worthiness. Some years ago, I had a pivotal moment in a cave near the top of a mountain above Poggio Bustone in Italy. Saint Francis went into this cave 800 years ago, determined not to continue his ministry until he knew for sure that he was forgiven for his many sins as a young man. His wish was granted, and this cave is now known as the “place of forgiveness.”
The first time Joyce and I visited this cave, which required a steep hike up the mountain, I also wanted this certainty of forgiveness for all the many misdeeds of my own younger life. I went into the cave prepared to sit for a long time in meditation, going through my long list of transgressions one by one, seeking forgiveness. I sat down, was about to start with the first item on my list, when suddenly I felt a heavenly energy and the words came to me, “Barry, you are completely forgiven for all of it.”
I felt light as a feather and jumped up for joy.
Not one item on my long list could take away the worthiness of my soul, my divine birthright. Joyce, knowing every item on my list and was prepared to wait for a very long time for me, was surprised, and then overjoyed to see this divine miracle.
The guilt-free life is ours for the asking. Know this: Every time you do something loving for yourself, you are helping everyone else. Every time you do something creative, like art, music, dance, writing from the heart, or growing flowers, you bless the world. When you take care of your body with healthy eating and exercise, you take care of the whole body of humanity. When you quiet your own mind through meditation or contemplation, you help quiet all minds. And every time you take a conscious breath, taking in the pure energy of creation, you can then breathe out your unique gift to the world.
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The Vissells’ new books, To Really Love a Woman and To Really Love a Man, can be ordered from their website with free shipping or from Amazon.com.
Call 831-684-2299 for further information on counseling sessions. Visit their website at SharedHeart.org for their free monthly e-heartletter, their updated schedule, and inspiring past articles on many topics about relationships and living from the heart. For opportunities to bring more love and growth into your life, please visit Barry and Joyce Vissells’ events page.
Published at Fri, 05 Mar 2021 23:33:49 +0000
week
Bethesda Softworks and id Software have announced that the upcoming second DLC for Doom Eternal – titled The Ancient Gods Part II – will be showcased next week.
The studios announced the news via Twitter earlier today (March 8). The reveal will come by way of a teaser trailer on March 15. It is currently unclear if a release date for the DLC will be announced alongside the teaser trailer.
The tweet also came with new artwork, which depicts a massive battlefield in which the Doom Slayer goes to war against a legion of enemies. The artwork also reveals a menacing new enemy type that appears to be wielding a variant of the Crucible sword, while the Doom Slayer appears to be holding a Crucible-type sledgehammer.
Check out the artwork below.
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part Two
Teaser trailer on 03.15.2021 pic.twitter.com/77pXRpqNqg— DOOM (@DOOM) March 7, 2021
Perhaps most interestingly, the artwork also depicts a giant mech suit and giant demon facing off. The mech suit was first seen in the first DLC. It is currently unclear if players will be able to control and play as the mech suit, or if it will just serve as a backdrop during one of the game’s battles.
The artwork and teaser confirmation comes a week after it was reported that Doom Eternal made US$450million in the first nine months of its release. The game’s supposed revenue was shared by id Software’s former monetisation designer for the game in a now-deleted LinkedIn post. The post was captured and shared by ResetEra before it deleted from LinkedIn.
In other Doom Eternal news, game director Hugo Martin recently revealed during a Twitch stream that he has given “a lot of thought” into introducing a female Doom Slayer, and the impact it would have on the franchise. He noted that if a female Slayer were to be introduced, the gameplay would have to be tweaked to best showcase the character’s “different type of aggression”.
The post ‘Doom Eternal’ will showcase its second DLC next week appeared first on NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News.
Published at Mon, 08 Mar 2021 06:56:20 +0000