Scarling. - City Noise

Room 404's staff is on vacations right now (which might justify the lack of updates lately), but we couldn't let you without knowing about Scarling.'s first music clip, City Noise. So I've just uploaded it and you can see it here:

If you like it, and want to find more about Scarling., you might want to read our previous article that covers it.

Enjoy!

BRUMA OBSCURA / GORGONIAN - Inner Hell / 2006 - split demo

The sixth release of the Portuguese black/death metal label "Hell Unleashed Records", that is already making some fuss in the Portuguese underground scene, is a split-demo tape limited to 100 copies that presents us the last work of the Portugese bands Bruma Obscura and Gorgonian. Gorgonian had already a release with this label in the compilation "Colheita 2005", with bands like Amphion, Deep Odium, Infernal Kingdom and Tenebrarvm. Bruma Obscura have a tape released by "Mistress Dance Records" title "Murmúrios da Serra".

Bruma Obscura is a project leaded by Hell M., declared as misantrophic, and yet inspired in the Mother Natured, specially in the mists of Serra da Estrela. After their Murmúrios da Serra demo there were some line-up changes, and in this split we have two cold, cutting, and obscurely and atmosphericly intense tracks, now growled by Varg's voice, in Portuguese.

But the great revelation here is gorgonian: a "One Man Band" executed by Lord Quetzalcoatl (in the press-release that came with the demo he is presented this way, and not like he was used to be called - Lord Quental) that shows us a strong yet melancholic and depressive feeling in a distinct and original sonority - leading us to thing that Gorgonian has finaly it's sonority defined. With a track being an Ode to Death, after one other - a dialogue between L.Q. and Lucifer, this split lets us waiting for a Gorgonian release where we can finaly appreciate what this band promises us and yet didn't deliver yet.

All in all, this is a cool demo to have, but we wouldn't loose our sleep if we didn't.

Jessicka Fodera

After so many posts about Marilyn Manson, I couldn't but introduce you to another conceptual music act - Scarling. - by telling you about its singer, Jessicka Fodera.

If you notice in the inners of "Portrait of an American Family", the first album from Marilyn Manson (released in 1994), you'll see that he thanks to a band named "Jack off Jill". Later an album was released, called "Humid Teenage Mediocrity", an album with the demos of "Jack off Jill" from 1992 to 1995. Why am I talking about this? Well...

Before the world was introduced to Marilyn Manson, before the world even knew what sweet dreams were made of, there was Ft. Lauderhell, The Spooky Kids, Jack Off Jill and a club called Squeeze, which would later become a headquarters and home away from home for both bands. There, Manson became the great Oz to Jessicka's Dorothy. And Ft. Lauderdale their yellow brick road of sorts. A golden trail leading them out of humid hell and onto bigger and better things. Humid Teenage Mediocrity is a collection of recordings produced during that Golden Age. The now defunct Jack Off Jill hit the South Florida scene in 1992 and was hailed by critics as a "childrens puppet show meets the Exorcist." The band lasted eight years, with only Moulder and Fodera remaining through all its lineups. The Original (all-girl) line-up consisted of Jessicka: vocals/lyrics, Agent (Robin) Moulder: bass, Michelle In-Hell: guitar, and Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha: drums. Jack Off Jill played with a relentless fuck-all attitude and sound that could rarely be duplicated by its predecessors. Releasing Children 5 And Up, Cannibal Songbook and Cockroach Waltz and touring with riot girl legends L7, Babes In Toyland , 7 Year Bitch as well as Goth icons Switchblade Symphony and fellow Floridian shock rockers Marilyn Manson, Jack Off Jill's live show was one to be seen. They commanded the stage ruling it as their own private playpen complete with dolls-candy-blood and a plethora of toys for singer Jessicka to fashion into weapons in order to injure herself or her unsuspecting band mates. Jack Off Jill took the stage taunting you to play their game and play it on their turf.

Humid Teenage Mediocrity is a 25-track collection of songs from the Florida-based punk goth legends, and was produced by Marilyn Manson. The album includes 13 previously unreleased tracks and nine songs that went on to be re-recorded for the classic debut Sexless Demons And Scars. Manson also supplies liner notes with a Jack Off Jill history and guitar parts to "Swollen". Essential for all JOJ and Marilyn Manson fans.

Jack Off Jill released several independent records: "Children 5 and Up", "The Boygrinder Sessions", "Cannibal Song Book", (produced by JOJ and Manson) "Cockroach Waltz", and several 7" singles. It was not until they played a benefit show with legendary Minneapolis based grrl band Babes in Toyland and 7 Year Bitch from Seattle, that Jack Off Jill caught the eye of record labels. Drummer Lori Barbero from Babes wanted to sign them to her now defunct Minneapolis label Spanish Fly, but it was not to be. Jack Off Jill then caught the eyes and ears of Risk Records, who signed them in January 1997. They replaced both Ah Cha Cha and Inhell with new members because the two were not ready to leave Florida. The band released their first national 7" "Girl Scout"/"American Made" in March of 1997. On September 9, their full-length Sexless Demons and Scars (produced by Don Fleming who produced early Hole) was released to the public.

After moderate underground success, touring with Lords of Acid, and playing to sold-out crowds in 1997, Jack Off Jill headed to Los Angeles in order to complete 1998's Covetous Creature, a remix EP of songs from Sexless Demons and Scars with the help of SMP (Scott Putesky), a founding member of Marilyn Manson, and new drummer Claudia Rossi. The new manifestation of Jack Off Jill hit the road on a national tour with Psychotica, joined along the way by Switchblade Symphony.

The band road-tested new songs in March of 1999 when JOJ were asked to take the opening slot on the Marilyn Manson / Monster Magnet / Hole tour after Hole departed. With Putesky no longer in the guitar position, JOJ enlisted the help of Jessicka's then-boyfriend gutarist Clint Walsh, original JOJ guitarist Michelle Inhell (Oliver), and drummer Norm Block and for the tour. In 2000, JOJ released their second full-length CD, Clear Hearts Grey Flowers on Risk Records, that featured a cover by arist Mark Ryden and was produced by Chris Vrenna of Tweaker and Nine Inch Nails, right as the label was preparing to close its doors. Due to pressure, poor publicity for C.H.G.F, several line up changes, tension between founding members Jessicka and Robin, and management problems, Jack Off Jill played its last show at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in April of 2000. They were joined onstage by guitarist Helen Storer of the UK all-girl band Fluffy and producer Chris Vrenna on drums. JOJ officially called it quits in late 2000, and Jessicka told that she was never going to do a band again.

After taking a break and making Los Angeles her permanent residence, Jessicka was invited in 2001 by guitarist Christian Hejnal to perform guest vocals on his solo album. The pair had only met a few months earlier through their mutual friend Lisa Leveridge at a Los Angeles night club. They began recording and rehearsing together and eventually recruited the musicians who would form Scarling. in 2002. After the new duo had written a number of songs together, they began a search for additional band members and eventually cemented the first and very short-lived lineup of Scarling.

In early 2002 Jessicka was introduced to Long Gone John, owner of Sympathy for the Record Industry, by mutual friend Mark Ryden. On March 19, 2003 Scarling.'s debut single, "Band Aid Covers the Bullet Hole", (produced by Chris Vrenna) was released on John's label. Its cover featured an illustration entitled "Wound 39" by artist Mark Ryden. In April of 2004, Scarling. released their debut album, Sweet Heart Dealer, a seven-song, thirty-three-minute amalgamation of sound and texture which again utilized the team of Ryden and Vrenna.

In the autumn of 2004, Scarling. was invited to join the lineup of the Robert Smith-curated Curiosa Festival, performing on select West Coast dates alongside Interpol, The Rapture, Mogwai, and Jessicka's long-time favorite, The Cure. Smith described the band's music as "dark, desperate, chaotic, gorgeous pop music, the sound of the end of the world" and nominated "Sweet Heart Dealer" for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize.

After a series of 7" singles on Sympathy, Scarling. announced in early 2005 that their second album, So Long, Scarecrow, would appear later that year; it was preceded by the single "We Are The Music Makers" and was released on August 23, 2005. Scarecrow was produced by Rob Campanella, formerly of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, at his studio, Committee to Keep Music Evil Headquarters. The album features the band's new bass player, Derik Snell. In December of 2005, Scarling. embarked on its first UK tour, creating a buzz for themselves and selling out most venues. While in Europe, Jessicka attended long-time friend Manson's wedding to burlesque performer Dita Von Teese on December 3, 2005, in a secular ceremony in County Tipperary, Ireland. In 2006 Jessicka continues to tour in the US and Europe with Scarling. Along the way, touring with such bands as UK shoegaze outfit Amusement Parks on Fire and opening for The Wedding Present and Depeche Mode. Scarling. are expected to begin working on their third full length album in early 2007.

In the meantime, and introduced as a CD single that conceptually connects "So Long, Scarecrow" and the upcoming album, "Staring to the Sun" was released. It was presented to the fans like this:

SCARLING.’s latest attack to redefine noise and chaos within the context of their beautifully painful melodies is the first single from their latest full length release So Long, Scarecrow. “City Noise”, showcases the SCARLING. desperate, powerful and melancholy sound perfectly and is quickly becoming a trademark to throngs of the lost and lonely. Singer Jessicka’s perfected juxtaposition of sugar vocals and abrasive, yet welcomed outbursts have never collided better with the roaring guitars and pure wall-of-sound, creating a force to be reckoned with on this new release. This CD single also features a 2 brand new unreleased, non-album tracks entitled "Staring To The Sun" and a rather exciting cover of The Pixies "Wave Of Mutilation" making this a must have CD single for all scarred and non-scarred alike that is sure to leave you with a soundtrack to your next nervous breakdown. Original cover and back photos by Piper Ferguson.

As a matter of fact, "Staring to the Sun" is being called by Scarling. members as "SLS2" (So long, Scarecrow 2) as we can see in the picture above. That has an obvious reason: when you get to listen this single you'll notice that this "new track" is something like a "joyfull version" of the "So Long, Scarecrow" song, preparing us to another Scarling. era.

Here's a video (listen to it rather than just watching) with a snippet of an intervew made to Jessicka.

Marilyn Manson News

First of all, let me transcribe to you to and enterview that Mr. Manson gave to i-D Magazine:

[iDM]How did you discover Lewis Carroll in the first place?

[MM]As far as I know, it’s the second most read book after the bible. Everybody’s been forced to read Alice in Wonderland, or they’ve chosen to read it as a kid. The interesting thing is Disney has imprinted us with the idea of a blonde girl with a blue dress but the truth is when you read it there’s no real description of the characters. So it gives you the opportunity as a director, without having to change an artist’s work, to interpret it in different ways. I wanted to stay as close as possible to his work, with the idea of trying to find out who he was through his work, because I think that’s where the story really laid.

[iDM]You could apply that to yourself maybe?

[MM]I think it does go for me as well. People want to ask me questions about my life, but if you simply look at the things I’ve written, that’s where you find the story.

[iDM]Didn’t you initially plan the film as an interpretation of Alice in Wonderland?

[MM]The whole premise changed from my digging deeper and finding that the creation of Lewis Carroll is a more interesting story than the creation of Alice in Wonderland. Charles Dodgson and Lewis Carroll were two very different people, much like Robert Louis’ initial description of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

[iDM]What was your starting point?

[MM]A lot of the film is inspired by his diaries. It’s not widely known but the family tore out a lot of passages from his diary, so that gives you a bit of leverage to use your imagination.

[iDM]So, what’s your take on him?

[MM]I think the mythology of Lewis Carroll has completely changed over the years, some people think of him as a paedophile or someone who was obsessed with young girls, but he was someone who was very much tied to his childhood. I think when he eventually found that he had nothing left to hold onto from his childhood he just gave up on life. The only thing he felt very prolific and accomplished with was his photography, and when photography became easier to do, he gave it up and that was shortly before his death. I think he felt he had nothing else to add to the world, I don’t think he realised at the time that his creativity was the one thing you can’t reproduce. Anyone can buy themselves a program me to write a song or book, but you can’t create the human soul and that’s what the movie is about. It’s the darkest story I could ever tell.

[iDM]Why did you decide to cast yourself in the lead role?

[MM]It wasn’t a vanity project. If anything, it was out of humility, because the character is very vulnerable. I think it just came out of me finding myself relating to a lot of the sorrow that he was living in him. It made me see a lot about myself just reading the work and looking at in a different way – and he had two names, which was something I could really relate to.

[iDM]There was a rumour Angelina Jolie was considered for a role in the film…

[MM]I have met and spoken to Angelina Jolie, but it’s something the journalists have turned into something else. But I do know she was quite taken by the teaser trailer and liked the idea.

[iDMHow extreme will be the sex, violence and dismembering?

[MM]I don’t think there will be any dismembering, there was already a lot of “Off with their heads” in Alice in Wonderland. It’s strange, there’s probably more violent references in the writings than what I plan to actually do. There is sex and there’s obsession, because here is a person who is believed to have lived and died, without ever having a woman or having a family, and I think that consumed him and it was definitely part of his insomnia and his depression. So there’s a lot of fantasy, it’s seen in his writings and I wanted to interpret it in a way that pushes people to see something they haven’t seen in the cinema before. I’m not trying to set out for anything, other than to redefine the horror genre and put it back where it once began with great directors like Polanski.

[iDM]Wasn’t one of your intentions for the film to scare people shitless?

[MM]Well I don’t want to be merely shocking – that’s elementary. I think that as a challenge wouldn’t be a big ask to be more frightening than the current horror movies. While they’re very successful, I don’t see myself alongside the horror films of today. Of course, people are assuming I will make a music video for one-and-a-half hours bit that’s not the case.

[iDM]You mentioned Polanski, are you looking to do psychological horror like Rosemary’s Baby and Repulsion?

[MM]That’s my favourite type of horror films, but it’s hard to compare. As far as making you walk away and feel something different, then yes. They’ll be moments of sadness and characters you can relate to. I aspire to make something that is very original most of all.

[iDM]There has always been a macabre sensibility to all your work. Do you feel it’s given less value artistically, because of the knee-jerk reactions it often provokes?

[MM]I’m so sick of people who think that art has to be beautiful and pleasing to the eye. Art can be beautiful but at the same time it can be scary, grotesque and frightening. It doesn’t make it less valuable. If people are scared or shocked, they should question why, rather than seek reactionary censorship.

[iDM]You paint as well, so I take it you consider yourself an artist as well as an entertainer?

[MM]Yes. The difference between the two is an entertainer will stop when they finish performing but artists live for art.

[iDM]You’ve changed the people you’ve worked with over the years, including your band members, has this been due to your evolvement as an artist?

[MM]There was a real conflict with the people that were working with me, so I’ve changed the people who I surrounded myself with in my life. I wanted to find a group of artists and friends who would be able to approach life the way I see it: that art isn’t art unless the artist is living it. I wanted to find other people like that, and I did and it became this window that opened and the window this window led to the film.

[iDM]You’re one of the pioneers of horror in terms of music, with the nightmare visions of your videos and art shows. How do you see the film adding to your palette?

[MM]I’ve always felt I’m more a student of film rather than a student of music. Every time I’ve made a record, in my head, I’ve tried to see it was a movie, and film is a place I see as home, a haunted home maybe. With film you get performance, music, cinematography and all these things I love and when I put them all together I think I’d be able to convey a much more important message than I’ve ever been able to in any other art form.

Now, let me quote Perous Secret Diary:

after dinner, drove a bit further into london town to catch up with m.manson.

ms cole was there when i arrived.
she is incredible.
an alien for sure.
much more stunning in 3d than 2d.
could easily get lost to the point of no return, looking in her eyes.

spent a while working on the children's story me and manson are doing.
his words, my photos.

and left for the eastside some time later once again.
nights out in london will be more difficult to arrange soon.
i was glad to only be driving back to hackney and not 66 miles further east into kent.

So, it seems that our Mr. Manson is writting his own version of a young children illustrated primer, heh?

To end, here are some scanned pages you might want to read, titled "Marilyn Manson and Lily Cole: Beyond the Pale":

Tenebrarvm - Invoke Wrathful Lore

Tenebrarvm, from Beja, Portugal, was crafted as an old-school black metal project in the Summer of 2001 by Mordred under the name of Full Moon. In 2002 Seth (guitar) and Ragnarok (drums) joined. In the beginning of 2003, they were followed by Abnos (vocals) and Venom (keyboards), completing the first line-up, along bringing a definitive change of name to Tenebrarvm. Although without the participation of Venom and Seth due to a growing lack of time from their part that eventually led them to quit, the first recording came out one year later, in the Fall of 2003, a 3-track promo demo called ...For Doom And Decay.

By the end of 2003 a new guitar player, Anubis, joined, and about one year later, a 6-track EP, Under The Shade Of The Moon, was finally released, by Hell Unleashed Records. Right after this, Anubis quit and Ragnarok and Abnos left Beja, so the band was considered over.

However, some months later, Abnos and Mordred were invited to do some tracks for an Hell Unleashed Records' compilation, called Colheita 2005, and thus the band was back on the active, this time with a symphonic black metal sound. After the decision to continue was taken, a new EP started to take shape, and by the end of 2005, bearing the title Invoke Wrathful Lore and a brutal black metal sound, this same EP was finally finished. Following its release on the beginning of 2006, Tenebrarvm regrouped with Ragnarok and Venom.

Here I'm going to review this second EP from Tenebrarvm: "Invoke Wrathful Lore". This EP was released in February 2006, in a K7 100 hand-numbered edition from Hell Unleashed Records, which is composed of 4 tracks plus 2 interludes and a Dead Can Dance cover. Featured is a more brutal approach though with an ethereal edge.

The first thing you'll notice, above all, in the EP is that Tenebrarvm deserve to get a better studio and prodution: they don't practice a raw black metal as their production seems to lead, but a complex scheme of brutal strings that would be way more appreciated with a clearer distinction between instruments and sounds. The drums should have way more complexity added, because despite having some powerful and well-done breaks, as we can hear, for instance, on "Tears for Eternal Monuments", the base rhimes are from monotunous to tireant... Something that is easable forgotten if you take in consideration the powerfull guitar riffs that, unfortunately, aren't as shown as they should be.

But don't let fool yourselves by the harsh criticism I'm making on this guys: I'm doing it because Invoke Wrathful Lore lets them show some of the true potencial they have to do something really better, and this EP shows us a really good piece of black metal, brutal yet melodic, sometimes almost symphonic. That vein from them starts to show at the end of the third track, "The Shade of Ancient Towers", and the forth and last track from side A, "Aurora's Lunar Rise", shows us a completely new face of Tenebrarvm, probably with Burzum influmences, and that lets us thing how would it be to have a black ambient record from Tenebrarvm - something I would certainly like to hear.

Against the odds, this black metal band is one of those who make real sense from their lyrics, while avoiding the easy, one more point that makes me believe that they'll have a rising future. Scars Over the Firmament, a brutal statement that opens us to the side B of this EP, shows us their potential also in that vein.

All in all, this is an record you should have if you like to keep track of bands while they grow as artists. I won't say it is an excelent record, but I'll say that these guys have the potencial to do something great - and I'll be here to hear them grow. Although, if you intend to buy this EP, probably if should be better for you to wait for the upcoming re-release of the EP in CD - with a preferable format that edition will bring us some bonus tracks.