29th June 2009: Monday Mosh #8
Welcome to Monday Mosh #8, which in reality should be called Tuesday Mosh #1. Yes, it was inevitable that one of these weeks I wouldn’t get a chance to do the Mosh on a Monday. Apologies to all for the delay. I’ve had a very busy couple of days, not to mention coming down with a bad cold on Thursday. Suffice to say this is the first time I’ve been on the computer for a number of days now. All is good however, and I have some interesting updates for you all.
I’ll start with this month’s Mosher Crew download. I was thinking during the week, “What can I make available?”, and then it hit me. I could put one of the songs from the old Katara EP up. My band before Grave Forsaken was called Katara, and in 2001 we recorded a 4 track EP called “Welcome To Katara”. Believe it or not, we actually did this with Daniel Holmes, our current producer. The song I’ve put up is called “Crux Of My Dreams”. Some keen listeners may even recognize some elements of the song that were used later in Grave Forsaken. The line up for this recording was me on vocals, Matt on bass, Ben Travia on guitar, Chris Connor on guitar and Luke Battistessa on drums. If you aren’t a member of the Mosher Crew and want to check out the song, simply join up for free through the Mosher Crew section of our website. The mp3 is available in the members area now.
We are having our “This Day Forth” album launch on Saturday July 11th at the Castle in Northbridge. The last gig there went really well and we’re hoping for 100 or more punters to come down to the album launch. We have a stellar line up booked - Archaic, Morghl and Psychonaut. It promises to be a huge night. Entry is $10, or $15 dollars with a copy of This Day Forth. If you are in Perth it would be great to see you there. We are in intense rehearsal, and will cranking out Holy Blood and Mother Of Harlots live for the first time. Can’t wait!
Elias and I have been quite busy on Monday nights lately. As I’ve mentioned in previous Moshes, we are constantly composing and demoing new material. This particular material we are working on is really exciting, and has an epic feel to it. We are actually considering doing an album project separate from Grave Forsaken some we can bring in some more diverse influences. We are still in the planning stage, but we think it would be a great idea to record tracks here at my home studio and then make them available to you all via download. The first song we are working on is called “In The Beginning”, and we intend to make it next month’s Mosher Crew download. As we talk more, I will keep everyone informed as to the progress of this project via the Monday Mosh. I mean who knows, maybe it will evolve into a Grave Forsaken album, or perhaps it will go on an entirely different tangent. It’s hard to know, but it is exciting waiting to find out.
Our Grave Forsaken work at Fattdog Studio continues to go well. We have arrangements for 5 new Grave Forsaken songs sorted out, with a few more in the pipeline. I’m currently working on vocal lines and lyrics for the songs that we’ve arranged. It is without doubt the most intensive songwriting process we’ve ever put ourselves through. There is a real emphasis and quality riffs and arrangements. It is fair to say that up until now most of our songs have developed in a fairly organic way, in that we build them up in the rehearsal room and then record them when the time comes. We know that the next Grave Forsaken needs to have killer song writing and production, and we are putting a lot of time and effort into getting the song development just right. I definitely feel we have improved with each album, and I really want the follow up to This Day Forth to be a further improvement. The new songs are 100% thrash in the Mother Of Harlots and No News vein. That is definitely where the band is headed over the next few years.
Thanks again for checking in, and once again, my apologies for the delay. I will endeavour to ensure that next week we are on schedule.
God Bless and MOSH ON!
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Monday, June 29, 2009
22nd June 2009" Monday Mosh #7
22nd June 2009: Monday Mosh #7
I sit here on a freezing Sunday night in Perth typing out this week’s mosh. I’m feeling kind of relieved because this is the only task I’ve set myself this week. I’ve been insanely busy at work, and last week I was on school camp down in Albany, I think around 4 or 500 km’s south of Perth. It was a good week, but it’s straight back into the Monday Madness tomorrow.
This week we are streaming our 2008 album “Destined For Ascension” from our website in it’s entirety. I hope you all enjoyed having a listen to “This Day Forth” during last week. I’ve had a look at the hit counter, and quite a few people had a listen. Obviously we’re hoping that translates into some more sales, but at least people can have a listen before making up their minds.
I’m just in the final stages of putting together our merch and mp3 store. I’ll let you know when it is up, but it will be very soon. We’re really looking forward to being able to sell downloads direct from the site. We have lots of cool things we can do with this. Stay tuned.
Sometime in the next few moshes I will be able to give more details about our live release. This has been an ongoing project for sometime, and as we’ve been promising it will see the light of day in some capacity. I have been delayed in the mixing process as a whole stack of other stuff has been taking my time, but rest assured it is coming. It looks as though we will be experimenting with a “pay what you like” setup through the Mosher Crew Members page. Essentially, we won’t set a price for the recording – but if you want to make a financial donation to the band, you will be free to contribute some money. It will be interesting to see how that approach goes.
This afternoon the band met again at Fattdog Studio to work through some new riffs. These latest riffs are a direct follow on from the thrash approach on This Day Forth. As always, I’m very excited to hear some ideas come into fruition. I was listening to some bouncedowns tonight as I marked my year 10 exams and there was distinct Slayer vibe going on. We seem to be heading more and more in that direction. These songs are still incomplete, but these days I like to give the tunes a lot of time to mature. Lyrics will be challenging as Tim is no longer in the band and he used to write a lot of the lyrics. There is a bit of a theme of destruction coming through in the fragments I’ve written so far, but at the core of it all is hope through Jesus. I have been taking my video camera to all the sessions, so maybe there is material for another doco if all these ideas come together to be the next album.
Elias and I have been working together on a Monday night on some other ideas as well. We are best mates, so we love just sitting down, talking rubbish and recording demo’s. We like to keep busy, and you never know where the next song is coming from. If we can get one of our demos to a reasonable state tomorrow, I’m going to make it the Mosher Crew download for June. Just remember these demos are not Grave Forsaken songs just yet, simply ideas for future projects. Elias and I have literally dozens of song ideas recorded in various states of completion, but many of them never see the light of day. Perhaps you guys can be judge of what should go through to the next round!
As I’ve been away all week, I don’t have a great deal more to report on. Keep the website visits coming – last week was the highest average in the history of the site. Also, I’m still answering a number of emails that have backed up from last week, so if you haven’t heard back from me, you will shortly. Thanks for your continued support. Oh, and check out Boarders – I finally got their album last week and it is killer. Soundmass have some in stock – support them and buy a copy!
Until next time God Bless and MOSH ON!
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
I sit here on a freezing Sunday night in Perth typing out this week’s mosh. I’m feeling kind of relieved because this is the only task I’ve set myself this week. I’ve been insanely busy at work, and last week I was on school camp down in Albany, I think around 4 or 500 km’s south of Perth. It was a good week, but it’s straight back into the Monday Madness tomorrow.
This week we are streaming our 2008 album “Destined For Ascension” from our website in it’s entirety. I hope you all enjoyed having a listen to “This Day Forth” during last week. I’ve had a look at the hit counter, and quite a few people had a listen. Obviously we’re hoping that translates into some more sales, but at least people can have a listen before making up their minds.
I’m just in the final stages of putting together our merch and mp3 store. I’ll let you know when it is up, but it will be very soon. We’re really looking forward to being able to sell downloads direct from the site. We have lots of cool things we can do with this. Stay tuned.
Sometime in the next few moshes I will be able to give more details about our live release. This has been an ongoing project for sometime, and as we’ve been promising it will see the light of day in some capacity. I have been delayed in the mixing process as a whole stack of other stuff has been taking my time, but rest assured it is coming. It looks as though we will be experimenting with a “pay what you like” setup through the Mosher Crew Members page. Essentially, we won’t set a price for the recording – but if you want to make a financial donation to the band, you will be free to contribute some money. It will be interesting to see how that approach goes.
This afternoon the band met again at Fattdog Studio to work through some new riffs. These latest riffs are a direct follow on from the thrash approach on This Day Forth. As always, I’m very excited to hear some ideas come into fruition. I was listening to some bouncedowns tonight as I marked my year 10 exams and there was distinct Slayer vibe going on. We seem to be heading more and more in that direction. These songs are still incomplete, but these days I like to give the tunes a lot of time to mature. Lyrics will be challenging as Tim is no longer in the band and he used to write a lot of the lyrics. There is a bit of a theme of destruction coming through in the fragments I’ve written so far, but at the core of it all is hope through Jesus. I have been taking my video camera to all the sessions, so maybe there is material for another doco if all these ideas come together to be the next album.
Elias and I have been working together on a Monday night on some other ideas as well. We are best mates, so we love just sitting down, talking rubbish and recording demo’s. We like to keep busy, and you never know where the next song is coming from. If we can get one of our demos to a reasonable state tomorrow, I’m going to make it the Mosher Crew download for June. Just remember these demos are not Grave Forsaken songs just yet, simply ideas for future projects. Elias and I have literally dozens of song ideas recorded in various states of completion, but many of them never see the light of day. Perhaps you guys can be judge of what should go through to the next round!
As I’ve been away all week, I don’t have a great deal more to report on. Keep the website visits coming – last week was the highest average in the history of the site. Also, I’m still answering a number of emails that have backed up from last week, so if you haven’t heard back from me, you will shortly. Thanks for your continued support. Oh, and check out Boarders – I finally got their album last week and it is killer. Soundmass have some in stock – support them and buy a copy!
Until next time God Bless and MOSH ON!
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Sunday, June 14, 2009
15th June 2009: Monday Mosh #6
15th June 2009: Monday Mosh #6
Welcome to another edition of the Monday Mosh. This is Vaughan here, and I’m having a particularly good weekend (I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon). We just had our first gig with Simon on guitar last night, and I have to say it was great success. The gig was organized by Rowland “ironguardian” Gwynne and held at the Castle. 79 payers came through the door, which is quite good for one of these local Perth gigs. We were all very happy with the way we played. I think the dynamic of having 5 of us on stage really worked well, we were able to interact in a really fun way. I have to admit though, I wasn’t physically ready for the demands of being sole lead vocalist – without the safety net of my mike stand and guitar I got quite breathless quite quickly. Still, it was a lot of fun and we all pushed through. We played an 8 song setlist, kicking off with Warriors Of Light, then Wasting Power, The North Wind, Harder To Hate, No Eye Has Seen, Perish The Thought, This Day Forth, finishing on Death On The Cross. This week’s edition of Mosher Crew Confidential features some backstage footage of the gig, as well as our full performance of This Day Forth from the night. If you’re not a member of the Mosher Crew, make sure you join up and check out the video. We are looking forward to the next show on July 11th, also at the Castle. That will be a This Day Forth album launch, so it will be good to see some more of you Perth Moshers down there.
We are very excited to be able to do this – with thanks to our great friend Adam who runs Soundmass, we are bringing a full stream of “This Day Forth” in it’s entirety on our website. That’s correct folks, we are streaming the entire album from www.graveforsaken.com for your enjoyment. So head over to the site (if you’re not already there now), have a look around and have a listen to the album. Of course, if you enjoy what you hear, head over to soundmass.com and purchase a copy. There are still some copies of the album with the bonus DVD available. I have received a number of emails from people who have the DVD and they all love it – it’s the best insight into our band you will get.
On the subject of the website, I’m pleased to say that this Friday just gone we had our best day yet for unique hits. Thanks to the efforts of Soundmass and all of you guys, word is spreading about the album, and we are seeing results first hand with website visits (and myspace hits). At the end of the day, it’s about getting the gospel out, the only reason we have ever done this is to present Christianity to as many people as possible. As I’ve always said, we plan to be in this for the long haul, and hopefully we’ll be able to reach many more people in the future. One online radio station that has played us is the Refinery Rock ( www.therefineryrock.com ).We’d really appreciate it if you could head over there and follow the links to request songs from the new album.
We are asking a big favour of all our supporters out there. We have recently entered ourselves in the Australian Metal Awards. This is a prestigious competition organized by some heavy hitters in the Australian scene. The website is www.australianmetal.com.au and you have to follow the mainsite link to get to the voting page. To maintain the integrity of the vote, the page does require a sign in. We are in the “Best Live Band”, “Best Live Clip”, and “Best Album Cover” categories. We would really appreciate you all heading over to the site, creating an account and putting in a vote for us. It would be a big deal for our standing in Australia if we could score well in these categories. I know for a fact that some of you people in the Mosher Crew have already voted, thanks so much for that.
I have been in contact with the Blackstump organizers this week. Things are looking pretty positive about us going over there this year. We’re particularly excited about catching up with the East Coast Mosher Crew members. We have a good contigent of supporters over there, and we can’t wait to bring the show over. Also, I’m particularly looking forward to catching up with our good mates in Fearscape. If a metal night does go ahead, it will be an event not to be missed. As we get more details I will continue to update you on the situation.
Well, that just about finishes the mosh for another week. I need to let everyone know that I’m on a school camp this week, so I won’t be able to answer any Grave Forsaken email in that time (unless they have web access at the campsite). I talked last week about God teaching me patience. Well, what’s been really interesting is that in the weeks since Simon came into the band, we have had a series of gig opportunities come our way with absolutely no instigation from me. We’ll tell you more about those as they solidify. The thing is, I often run around like a headless chook trying to contact this church or that pub to enquire about gigs. I really felt God tell me that “what I’ve got is what I first must be” (paraphrased from Pushin’ Broom by Tourniquet) so I made a conscious decision to pull back, and be patient and wait. Well, some great things have happened. Now I’m definitely not saying sit back and let God do the work, but I truly believe there are times when we have to hand control over. Everyone who knows me knows I like to control all aspects of the band, some would even call me a control freak, so it has been really humbling and really difficult to take a back seat. But like I said, a string of opportunities have popped into my inbox during this time. To me it’s proof positive that God is in control. I think we’re onto something with this 5 piece lineup, and I for one am excited about the future. You’ll all hear from me next Monday.
God Bless and MOSH ON
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Welcome to another edition of the Monday Mosh. This is Vaughan here, and I’m having a particularly good weekend (I’m writing this on Sunday afternoon). We just had our first gig with Simon on guitar last night, and I have to say it was great success. The gig was organized by Rowland “ironguardian” Gwynne and held at the Castle. 79 payers came through the door, which is quite good for one of these local Perth gigs. We were all very happy with the way we played. I think the dynamic of having 5 of us on stage really worked well, we were able to interact in a really fun way. I have to admit though, I wasn’t physically ready for the demands of being sole lead vocalist – without the safety net of my mike stand and guitar I got quite breathless quite quickly. Still, it was a lot of fun and we all pushed through. We played an 8 song setlist, kicking off with Warriors Of Light, then Wasting Power, The North Wind, Harder To Hate, No Eye Has Seen, Perish The Thought, This Day Forth, finishing on Death On The Cross. This week’s edition of Mosher Crew Confidential features some backstage footage of the gig, as well as our full performance of This Day Forth from the night. If you’re not a member of the Mosher Crew, make sure you join up and check out the video. We are looking forward to the next show on July 11th, also at the Castle. That will be a This Day Forth album launch, so it will be good to see some more of you Perth Moshers down there.
We are very excited to be able to do this – with thanks to our great friend Adam who runs Soundmass, we are bringing a full stream of “This Day Forth” in it’s entirety on our website. That’s correct folks, we are streaming the entire album from www.graveforsaken.com for your enjoyment. So head over to the site (if you’re not already there now), have a look around and have a listen to the album. Of course, if you enjoy what you hear, head over to soundmass.com and purchase a copy. There are still some copies of the album with the bonus DVD available. I have received a number of emails from people who have the DVD and they all love it – it’s the best insight into our band you will get.
On the subject of the website, I’m pleased to say that this Friday just gone we had our best day yet for unique hits. Thanks to the efforts of Soundmass and all of you guys, word is spreading about the album, and we are seeing results first hand with website visits (and myspace hits). At the end of the day, it’s about getting the gospel out, the only reason we have ever done this is to present Christianity to as many people as possible. As I’ve always said, we plan to be in this for the long haul, and hopefully we’ll be able to reach many more people in the future. One online radio station that has played us is the Refinery Rock ( www.therefineryrock.com ).We’d really appreciate it if you could head over there and follow the links to request songs from the new album.
We are asking a big favour of all our supporters out there. We have recently entered ourselves in the Australian Metal Awards. This is a prestigious competition organized by some heavy hitters in the Australian scene. The website is www.australianmetal.com.au and you have to follow the mainsite link to get to the voting page. To maintain the integrity of the vote, the page does require a sign in. We are in the “Best Live Band”, “Best Live Clip”, and “Best Album Cover” categories. We would really appreciate you all heading over to the site, creating an account and putting in a vote for us. It would be a big deal for our standing in Australia if we could score well in these categories. I know for a fact that some of you people in the Mosher Crew have already voted, thanks so much for that.
I have been in contact with the Blackstump organizers this week. Things are looking pretty positive about us going over there this year. We’re particularly excited about catching up with the East Coast Mosher Crew members. We have a good contigent of supporters over there, and we can’t wait to bring the show over. Also, I’m particularly looking forward to catching up with our good mates in Fearscape. If a metal night does go ahead, it will be an event not to be missed. As we get more details I will continue to update you on the situation.
Well, that just about finishes the mosh for another week. I need to let everyone know that I’m on a school camp this week, so I won’t be able to answer any Grave Forsaken email in that time (unless they have web access at the campsite). I talked last week about God teaching me patience. Well, what’s been really interesting is that in the weeks since Simon came into the band, we have had a series of gig opportunities come our way with absolutely no instigation from me. We’ll tell you more about those as they solidify. The thing is, I often run around like a headless chook trying to contact this church or that pub to enquire about gigs. I really felt God tell me that “what I’ve got is what I first must be” (paraphrased from Pushin’ Broom by Tourniquet) so I made a conscious decision to pull back, and be patient and wait. Well, some great things have happened. Now I’m definitely not saying sit back and let God do the work, but I truly believe there are times when we have to hand control over. Everyone who knows me knows I like to control all aspects of the band, some would even call me a control freak, so it has been really humbling and really difficult to take a back seat. But like I said, a string of opportunities have popped into my inbox during this time. To me it’s proof positive that God is in control. I think we’re onto something with this 5 piece lineup, and I for one am excited about the future. You’ll all hear from me next Monday.
God Bless and MOSH ON
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Sunday, June 7, 2009
8th June 2009: Monday Mosh #5
8th June 2009: Monday Mosh #5
Welcome to another Monday Mosh. Vaughan here again. I sit here at 5.00am on an absolutely freezing Perth morning. Many of you will know I am a school teacher, so I have get this written and published before I leave for school in a couple of hours. Since I gave myself the job of doing the Monday Mosh, my Monday mornings have been pretty hectic. The really cool thing has been the response we have been getting.
Last week’s mosh was definitely the most controversial yet. You will remember I made a comment about the downloading situation with our new album This Day Forth. I got a lot of emails in support of what I was saying, but I also got a few people suggesting that the gospel should be free. The implication was that I should be pleased people are downloading the album for free. It got me thinking all week and I can say I am pleased the gospel is going out to people through Grave Forsaken music, and that is to me is the only positive side effect of this downloading situation. Our primary purpose is to share the gospel, but we cannot and will not support illegal uploading and downloading of our material (and anyone else’s for that matter). Please buy the CD – every sale helps the ministry. Trust me, I’ve poured thousands into this band.
As promised, there is a brand new episode of Grave Forsaken TV up right now. Episode 9 is entitled “Freeway North: Part II”. It documents our recent trip up to Dave’s house to rehearse and watch the footy. This was Simon’s first jam with the entire band, so it has historical importance for us. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWeASf1idw . Some of you may have been expecting the next chapter in the history of Grave Forsaken series, and I can assure everyone that that is coming next month. Those episodes require a little more work as I have to dig through old footage and photo’s to put them together.
The band has a live gig next Saturday night (June 13th) at the Castle in Northbridge. The Castle is located at the Corner of Newcastle Street and Stirling Street. We are playing with 3 other bands, and we will be on at 11.00pm, or thereabouts. Doors open at 8.00pm and entry is $10. We are asking that all our local supporters come out to this gig. As we start our next push into the local heavy metal scene, we need as many Grave fans as possible to come to each gig. Copies of our new album will be available, along with shirts and other merch. We hope you’ll be there. For those in different states and countries, I’ll give you the full run down of the gig next Monday. Personally, I am super excited about the gig. It is the first with Simon, and it is the first gig since the new album came out.
We spent another afternoon out at Fattdog Studio yesterday, jamming on some material. Elias has a stack of song ideas that we are looking at consolidating into the next batch of songs. As I’ve said before, we are the kind of band that is always working on new ideas. It helps keep the creative juices flowing. Plus we figure there will come a time when the ideas and inspiration run a bit dry, so we need to strike while the iron is hot so to speak. We look forward to sharing the results of this recent work with you sometime down the track.
A band I’ve been listening to a bit lately is Arnion. They have an album out on Retroactive Records called “Fall Like Rain”. They are a really great Christian thrash band, and I thoroughly recommend them. There’s not all that many bands doing Christian thrash, so I like to get into every little bit that I can. Check them out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1GCc7gteq8&feature=related . I’ve also been listening to the new Mortification album “The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine”. I can thoroughly recommend this one as well. I’m finding the album to be catchy as heack, and I love the huge production Steve has gone for. This album is a must for all fans of Christian metal.
God has really been teaching me some lessons this year with the band. The main one is patience. I’m your classic quick off the mark but slow to finish kind of person, and I suppose I’ve transmitted a bit of that onto the band. The thing I’ve been learning is too take a deep breath and just let things be a little more. Sometimes we try to control every little aspect of our lives, but we really do have to let God be in control. I’ve learned this the hard way so many times, so I’m thankful that God is teaching me just to go with the flow a little more. Sure, we need to be proactive – we can’t just sit around waiting for God to make our dreams come true, but there is a time where we have to let God to his work at His pace and not ours.
On that note, I’m going to sign out for the week. Hope to see as many of you Perth Moshers as possible next Saturday at the Castle. Until next time
God Bless and Mosh On
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Welcome to another Monday Mosh. Vaughan here again. I sit here at 5.00am on an absolutely freezing Perth morning. Many of you will know I am a school teacher, so I have get this written and published before I leave for school in a couple of hours. Since I gave myself the job of doing the Monday Mosh, my Monday mornings have been pretty hectic. The really cool thing has been the response we have been getting.
Last week’s mosh was definitely the most controversial yet. You will remember I made a comment about the downloading situation with our new album This Day Forth. I got a lot of emails in support of what I was saying, but I also got a few people suggesting that the gospel should be free. The implication was that I should be pleased people are downloading the album for free. It got me thinking all week and I can say I am pleased the gospel is going out to people through Grave Forsaken music, and that is to me is the only positive side effect of this downloading situation. Our primary purpose is to share the gospel, but we cannot and will not support illegal uploading and downloading of our material (and anyone else’s for that matter). Please buy the CD – every sale helps the ministry. Trust me, I’ve poured thousands into this band.
As promised, there is a brand new episode of Grave Forsaken TV up right now. Episode 9 is entitled “Freeway North: Part II”. It documents our recent trip up to Dave’s house to rehearse and watch the footy. This was Simon’s first jam with the entire band, so it has historical importance for us. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VWeASf1idw . Some of you may have been expecting the next chapter in the history of Grave Forsaken series, and I can assure everyone that that is coming next month. Those episodes require a little more work as I have to dig through old footage and photo’s to put them together.
The band has a live gig next Saturday night (June 13th) at the Castle in Northbridge. The Castle is located at the Corner of Newcastle Street and Stirling Street. We are playing with 3 other bands, and we will be on at 11.00pm, or thereabouts. Doors open at 8.00pm and entry is $10. We are asking that all our local supporters come out to this gig. As we start our next push into the local heavy metal scene, we need as many Grave fans as possible to come to each gig. Copies of our new album will be available, along with shirts and other merch. We hope you’ll be there. For those in different states and countries, I’ll give you the full run down of the gig next Monday. Personally, I am super excited about the gig. It is the first with Simon, and it is the first gig since the new album came out.
We spent another afternoon out at Fattdog Studio yesterday, jamming on some material. Elias has a stack of song ideas that we are looking at consolidating into the next batch of songs. As I’ve said before, we are the kind of band that is always working on new ideas. It helps keep the creative juices flowing. Plus we figure there will come a time when the ideas and inspiration run a bit dry, so we need to strike while the iron is hot so to speak. We look forward to sharing the results of this recent work with you sometime down the track.
A band I’ve been listening to a bit lately is Arnion. They have an album out on Retroactive Records called “Fall Like Rain”. They are a really great Christian thrash band, and I thoroughly recommend them. There’s not all that many bands doing Christian thrash, so I like to get into every little bit that I can. Check them out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1GCc7gteq8&feature=related . I’ve also been listening to the new Mortification album “The Evil Addiction Destroying Machine”. I can thoroughly recommend this one as well. I’m finding the album to be catchy as heack, and I love the huge production Steve has gone for. This album is a must for all fans of Christian metal.
God has really been teaching me some lessons this year with the band. The main one is patience. I’m your classic quick off the mark but slow to finish kind of person, and I suppose I’ve transmitted a bit of that onto the band. The thing I’ve been learning is too take a deep breath and just let things be a little more. Sometimes we try to control every little aspect of our lives, but we really do have to let God be in control. I’ve learned this the hard way so many times, so I’m thankful that God is teaching me just to go with the flow a little more. Sure, we need to be proactive – we can’t just sit around waiting for God to make our dreams come true, but there is a time where we have to let God to his work at His pace and not ours.
On that note, I’m going to sign out for the week. Hope to see as many of you Perth Moshers as possible next Saturday at the Castle. Until next time
God Bless and Mosh On
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Monday, June 1, 2009
1st June 2009: Monday Mosh #4
1st June 2009: Monday Mosh #4
G’day, Vaughan here. Welcome to this week’s Monday Mosh. We had a pretty big week after the release of This Day Forth. Overall, we’re very pleased with the feedback we’ve received about the album. The thing I’ve really noticed in scouring the web for reviews and comments about the album is just how prevalent illegal downloading has become. We’ve never really suffered from this before, but as the profile of the band has increased, so too have the number of blogs and torrent sites offering free downloads. Sorry to start on a downer, but this situation is getting outrageous. I’ve worked out that at least 1000 people have downloaded the album from these sites. I realize not all these people would buy the album, but if even 50 of them did it would make a big difference. We spent a good chunk of the weekend contemplating the future of the music business in a world where so many people download material for free. We are in interesting times.
The band had an enjoyable weekend. We spent Saturday night playing LAN games at Fattdog Studio with Daniel and a group of friends. It was a great night of laughter and friendship. Matt, Shreds and myself were up until 5am talking about various band related matters. We then spent Sunday afternoon mucking around with some new song ideas in the studio. As you should all know by now, we always have an eye to the future with regard to songwriting and composition. Simon contributed his first song to the band, with a little tune I’ve entitled “War Is Hell” (yes Simon, I’ve changed the song title since yesterday). A great time was had by all. When you’ve been through everything we have over the last 5 years, I can’t tell you how cool it is just to hang with your best mates and jam music. It truly gives me purpose in life. The opportunity to present the gospel through thrash is a dream come true.
We have some gigs coming up at last. We are making our live return on June 13th at the Castle in Northbridge. This is thanks to our friend Rowland Gwynne. I will get details up on the website soon, but I know we will be playing sometime after 10.30pm. This will be Simon’s live debut with the band, and we are pulling out all the stops. We will be hopefully playing 4 songs from This Day Forth, along with some older tunes from the first 2 albums. I urge all our Perth supporters to get down to the Castle, and bring a mate with you. We want to show the local metal scene what Grave Forsaken is all about. We also have a gig at the Castle on July 11th. This will be our official This Day Forth launch gig, so Rowland is planning a big night of festivities and giveaways. Again, more details to come, but keep it free and come and check out the band. If you’ve been curious about checking us out, and haven’t been yet, now is the time. Our current 5 piece lineup is our best ever, and we are keen to bring the thrash.
This week Mosher Crew members will receive the first edition of our new email newsletter. The newsletter will come out every month and will contain exclusive news and competitions. It is a really exciting time to be involved with the band, so join the Mosher Crew now and start enjoying the benefits. A few members of the old crew still haven’t re-signed to the new crew. Unfortunately the old email list was lost when I changed servers, so if you were in the crew and haven’t heard from us in a while, you need to join up again through our official website. I can safely say the way I run the Crew now is far better than before, and new website allows much more interactivity.
Nearly time to sign out for the week, but I would like to draw your attention to the games section of our official site. We’ve recently started looking into making some fun flash games for you all to enjoy. Currently we have “Hit Shreds” and “Simon On The Tightrope” up on the site. Head over there now and check them out. There is a thread on our forum (also part of the official site now) called games, where people have started entering their top scores. Over time we will be adding more games for you to play on the site. It’s all about creating the best possible experience we can.
Thanks again for checking out the blog – your support means a lot to the band. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you sometime soon.
GOD BLESS AND MOSH ON
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
G’day, Vaughan here. Welcome to this week’s Monday Mosh. We had a pretty big week after the release of This Day Forth. Overall, we’re very pleased with the feedback we’ve received about the album. The thing I’ve really noticed in scouring the web for reviews and comments about the album is just how prevalent illegal downloading has become. We’ve never really suffered from this before, but as the profile of the band has increased, so too have the number of blogs and torrent sites offering free downloads. Sorry to start on a downer, but this situation is getting outrageous. I’ve worked out that at least 1000 people have downloaded the album from these sites. I realize not all these people would buy the album, but if even 50 of them did it would make a big difference. We spent a good chunk of the weekend contemplating the future of the music business in a world where so many people download material for free. We are in interesting times.
The band had an enjoyable weekend. We spent Saturday night playing LAN games at Fattdog Studio with Daniel and a group of friends. It was a great night of laughter and friendship. Matt, Shreds and myself were up until 5am talking about various band related matters. We then spent Sunday afternoon mucking around with some new song ideas in the studio. As you should all know by now, we always have an eye to the future with regard to songwriting and composition. Simon contributed his first song to the band, with a little tune I’ve entitled “War Is Hell” (yes Simon, I’ve changed the song title since yesterday). A great time was had by all. When you’ve been through everything we have over the last 5 years, I can’t tell you how cool it is just to hang with your best mates and jam music. It truly gives me purpose in life. The opportunity to present the gospel through thrash is a dream come true.
We have some gigs coming up at last. We are making our live return on June 13th at the Castle in Northbridge. This is thanks to our friend Rowland Gwynne. I will get details up on the website soon, but I know we will be playing sometime after 10.30pm. This will be Simon’s live debut with the band, and we are pulling out all the stops. We will be hopefully playing 4 songs from This Day Forth, along with some older tunes from the first 2 albums. I urge all our Perth supporters to get down to the Castle, and bring a mate with you. We want to show the local metal scene what Grave Forsaken is all about. We also have a gig at the Castle on July 11th. This will be our official This Day Forth launch gig, so Rowland is planning a big night of festivities and giveaways. Again, more details to come, but keep it free and come and check out the band. If you’ve been curious about checking us out, and haven’t been yet, now is the time. Our current 5 piece lineup is our best ever, and we are keen to bring the thrash.
This week Mosher Crew members will receive the first edition of our new email newsletter. The newsletter will come out every month and will contain exclusive news and competitions. It is a really exciting time to be involved with the band, so join the Mosher Crew now and start enjoying the benefits. A few members of the old crew still haven’t re-signed to the new crew. Unfortunately the old email list was lost when I changed servers, so if you were in the crew and haven’t heard from us in a while, you need to join up again through our official website. I can safely say the way I run the Crew now is far better than before, and new website allows much more interactivity.
Nearly time to sign out for the week, but I would like to draw your attention to the games section of our official site. We’ve recently started looking into making some fun flash games for you all to enjoy. Currently we have “Hit Shreds” and “Simon On The Tightrope” up on the site. Head over there now and check them out. There is a thread on our forum (also part of the official site now) called games, where people have started entering their top scores. Over time we will be adding more games for you to play on the site. It’s all about creating the best possible experience we can.
Thanks again for checking out the blog – your support means a lot to the band. We look forward to seeing you or hearing from you sometime soon.
GOD BLESS AND MOSH ON
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
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