Wednesday - Ep. 5: Quem planta aflição, colhe…

H. P. Lovecraft - The Tree: Anthropomorphism of Flora

 

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

Today I want to talk about trees, but not from a botanical and ecological perspective. I would like to think of trees biographically and psychologically. These two terms can already raise some questions: how to talk about trees if not through biology? Well... taking into account the countless ways that trees participate in human life and culture, let's say there are many other ways to think and discuss about them. Trees play a fundamental role in our existence: they produce the elemental air we breathe and filter all the dirt and corruption that we cause in the ecosystem. It is a true horror to imagine what life would be without them.

But we can go beyond this observation. Trees not only produce a physiological effect, but also fulfill as they have already fulfilled various psychological roles in human life. Our relationship with them is much more than preservation or stingy greed in wanting to extract them for economic interests. Trees have the power to affect us on a symbolic level as well. The various personal and collective meanings they can have, the individual and affective memories related to them: there are countless examples that I can use to demonstrate how trees also have a psychic influence on our lives. As much as this is not common nowadays, as cities practically devastated rural areas and the urbanization process brought with it the ruin of flora, allow me to remind you of the playful role that trees once played in people's lives. And how the memories they elicit make them a symbol of happy moments or a time when the relationship with space was different. Many who listen to me may not realize it, but trees were practically a toy in themselves, something natural, without the need for manufacturing. Climb on them to pick fruits, to spend time leaning against the canopy. Or even build tree houses using its branches as a base, creating real clubhouses or children's shelters. Make a swing using ropes, boards or tires. And it's not just with children that trees already had some symbolic value and psychic record. With teenagers too. To this day, there are still couples who engrave their names on tree trunks as a form of declaration and promise. If you have never seen a tree with the initials of names inside a heart out there, my dears, you need to walk around a little more in areas that are less gray and, preferably, without concrete nearby.

Can I talk about adults too? Of course I can. And this time I won't give too flowery examples, as I did before. I'll make it a little darker. Trees were also used for abominable things and were, in various historical moments, symbols that caused fear and communicated the most morbid. It was a daily occurrence in the Middle Ages to travel along the roads and find bodies hanging from branches and duly guarded by vultures, which in this horrible image had a source of sustenance for many days. And what about the Romans? Anthropological studies show that the most cruel and horrendous means of execution for the Caesars was crucifixion. But the Romans were not sawing trees, grinding stems and making them symmetrical. Of course not. A strong tree to support the weight of an adult body was more than enough for the butcher soldiers. There are even studies that address how ancient Jerusalem was full of olive trees and how these were used by the Romans for this purpose.

These historical elements are useful to reflect how trees can populate our imagination, whether in a positive or negative way. Inspired by them it is possible to enter the world of fantasy, but also to find the grotesque, the darkness. And you must know very well that Lovecraft is much more interested in the second part. Something I've always noticed watching movies, drawings and paintings is how fertile the human imagination is in terms of transmitting an anthropomorphic quality to trees. The shape of some large trees is not that far removed from the shape of our bodies and bizarrely some can actually look human. It's funny how trees can naturally acquire some traits on their surface that make us see human faces. Several cartoons had them moving the branches to use them as arms. Who doesn't remember the classic scene from the 1982 movie Poltergeist?

What I can still add to make your imagination even more fertile in this sense is the fact that large trees are incredibly long-lived. They live much longer than us and are capable of lasting centuries. If trees had eyes, how many lives have they not seen begin and end? If they had ears, how many voices, whispers, secrets would they not keep? Can you measure the amount of lives that have already inhabited a tree, that were born, lived and also died there, with or close to it? Given this longevity, trees are also great monuments. And it's not hard to imagine why some cultures, the Celtic for example, had such deep respect for them. Elder trees were treated as if they were an entity in their own right and it is precisely this domain of the mind that I want to enter. I believe Lovecraft manages to penetrate his common disconnections with reality and continuous immersion in his mythological world. In his adventures in moments of seclusion. The trees in this fantastic world cannot be explained by physics or biology alone. They contain extraordinary, supernatural elements and are full of symbolism and belief. So the trees become the entities I just mentioned.

It is interesting how the background of the short story “The Tree” is built with pagan influences and passages that refer to gods that, even if they are of a western nature, date from ancient eras. Humanity next to lovecraftian entities always looks like a baby in chronological terms, when compared to the antiquity of the creatures represented. A primordial aura inhabits the tale, not only represented by the way the sculptor Kalos talks to the spirits he can hear near a garden of olive trees, which are supposed to be fauns and dryads, beings who accompany and praise the profane god Pan. But also like the whole lovecraftian description makes us feel like we are in an environment that has had little or no human influence. In this sense, the lovecraftian narrative structure points to something dark, incomprehensible to the worldly mind, which is what manifests itself on Mount Maenalus and serves as a source of inspiration for Kalos to sculpt fauns and dryads with astonishing precision, at the same time it is something that generates a certain fascination in us, something of a hypnotic nature. Lovecraft always works to reveal the existence of a desired beyond. An unknown source of knowledge. And although the consequences are not exactly those expected by the moral concept attributed by the human mind, a type of psychic structure quite different from the nature spirits represented here in the story, strangely humans still want to go down one more step, to go deeper and deeper. We know that this does not usually end well in lovecraftian writings, but I insist: it is important to note that this concept of “good” is very human. It is a moral value that comes from our species (and has little to do with lovecraftian beings). The other side, the beyond, the beings of nature do not necessarily have the same understanding, the same judgment.

The withering away of Kalos is concomitant with a kind of awakening to this other consciousness. When he asks his great friend Musides to bury him next to an olive tree seedling deposited near his head, Kalos does not appear to be insane, but just in another tune. It is a fact that he was sick in body. The constant contact with the fauns and dryads was apparently something that drained him of life energy. But Kalos does not appear to be sick of mental faculties, just inserted in a transitional process. In a kind of metamorphosis. It remains for our imagination to consider what Kalos actually talked to the fauns and dryads he heard. But the fact is that the story enters the domain of what I mentioned earlier as the anthropomorphism of trees, a characteristic attributed by human culture. The people passing by Mount Maenalus, now the tomb of Kalos and where the olive tree grew next to his body, is something that causes horror and fascination. The moonlight, the huge roots that broke through the tomb, the macabre aspect that constitutes the environmental image of the place is a fertile scenario for the human mind and that immortalizes Kalos and the tree, if we can separate one of the other at the end of the tale.

The fact that Kalos was buried with the olive tree and that it is described in the tale as an abnormal tree, which grew frighteningly in comparison with all the others, suggests that it was nourished by his body. But if we want to step into the realm of the supernatural, perhaps that could also mean that the tree is a continuation of Kalos' own life essence. Something that maybe he was fully aware that he would be, given his last moments and how he spoke more about things from the other world than this. As if he were immersed in the psychic reality of fauns and dryads, like a cocoon ready to be reborn and inhabit a completely different reality. It is interesting to see how the fate of Kalos is not limited to the manichaeism represented by Heaven and Hell. There remains the possibility of something beyond this duality, of another dimension, something that escapes the possibilities proclaimed by the most widespread beliefs in our culture. We enter the realm of mystery, but which is bizarrely represented in this lovecraftian tale through a mixture of incorporeal, spectral elements, with others of material, perfectly concrete dimensions such as the silhouette of the tree and the aberratic aspect of its roots. It is the presentation of speculative elements, but with enough impact and influence in the real field. And, therefore, I believe that it is something really plausible to think about the subjective, symbolic and fantastic relationships that we have with real trees. Have you ever seen an old, human-looking tree on a dark, moonlit night? Certainly not, but I'm sure it's something you can perfectly imagine.

Corvid greetings!

[English Version] H. P. Lovecraft - The Tree: Anthropomorphism of Flora

[English Version] Edgar Allan Poe - The Raven: Meanings of 'Nevermore'

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

As a brazilian, from the perspective of someone born and raised in this tropical country, I feel comfortable saying that “The Raven” was and continues to be Poe's most influential poem for our people. It received the attention of important literary figures, who had a deep, notorious love for the text. The most responsible for bringing “The Raven” to us and, putting Poe on our radar was without a doubt the always admirable Machado de Assis, for whom I have deep respect (mainly for timeless works such as As Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas and O Alienista). He was the first to introduce it to us, publishing his portuguese translation in 1883. After him, others followed: Emílio de Menezes paraphrased the text already in the 20th century, in a sequence of eighteen sonnets, in 1917. In 1924, Fernando Pessoa present his translation, appreciated by many. In this list of translators, Gondin da Fonseca (1926), Milton Amado (1944, particularly my favorite version), Benedicto Lopes (1956), Cabral do Nascimento (1972), Alexei Bueno (1980) and Aluysio Mendonça Sampaio (1998) also gave their contributions.

So many names only prove the fascination and admiration that “The Raven” awakens in brazilian readers. Something to be expected from a text that, despite its otherworldly aura, is filled with inspiring musicality, as well as incredibly precise rhythm and meter. “The Raven” is not only appreciated artistically speaking: it is also a source of study, bibliographic material that serves as didactic content in technical and aesthetic lessons. “The Raven” is a poem that, in addition to building once and for all the gothic style that characterizes Poe, makes explicit all the melancholy rooted in his writings. And I appreciate that. To understand a little more clearly where his mind and heart were when he wrote the poem, it might be necessary to remember the ups and downs he was experiencing until the moment he finally managed to publish it. It is important to say that the precise date of when Poe wrote “The Raven” is unknown: what we do know is the publication date, January 29, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror. The poem was previously rejected on more than one occasion.

The period, mainly the last five years prior to publication, are somewhat enlightening about what ended up leaking in this poem, although Poe has defended, in his essay “The Philosophy of Composition” (1846) that his approach to the poem was exclusively logical and methodical. However, I believe it is clear that, however much we use logic and technique, the character of a literary text never ceases to be emotional in its essence. This becomes quite evident when we realize the emotion present in the poem. The human aspect of our nature never leaves us even when we are looking for some accuracy in our writing. It’s not possible to losing our identity and totally repressing emotions when we are expressing ourselves artistically.

Conceptually, Poe was inspired by Charles Dickens to create his own talking raven. And it was Elizabeth Barret who elucidated and inspired the form of the composition mainly in terms of rhythm and meter. But other than that, I imagine what we discover reading “The Raven” are biographical fragments of a life that is in disgrace, about to delve into it even deeper. To justify this, let me recall some historical facts of Poe's brief life at that time. It is known that his riotous and undisciplined life led him practically to ruin. Poe was rejected from both an academic institution (more precisely at the University of Virginia) and a military one, in this case the West-Point Military Academy. A bohemian and adept at the illusory pleasures of alcohol, it was in Baltimore that he actually started to have a trade and earn some money (believed to have been $10 a week, writing for a weekly magazine). The turning point in Poe's life, which would lead him to more peaceful years, occurred precisely in one of the most controversial episodes of his biography: the marriage with his cousin Virginia Clemm. Virginia was only 13 years old, while Poe was already approaching his 30s. As the documentary sources on Virginia and Edgar are quite scarce and imprecise, some biographers disagree about the nature of the relationship: some believe that did not escalate to the sexual aspect, while others claim that this was certainly the case. Considering the time, I’m certainly with the second group and think that those who try to suggest that Poe did not have a sexual relationship with Virginia are just trying to clean up his image, which frankly has not been clean for many years. Poe was admittedly a troublemaker, given to carnal pleasures and it was precisely due to orgies and bohemian life that he was expelled from the institutions he frequented. It doesn't surprise me at all that he got involved with a teenager, as his life history pointed to that. I won't deceive you, my listener: several of the classic writers have bizarre and morally reprehensible episodes in their biographies and Poe was no exception. And I won't be the one trying to hide this facts.

That said, it goes on record that the marriage to Virginia did Poe good, mentally speaking. Dependent on alcohol, surprisingly it was the young woman who helped him to move away from drinking and to have some stability in the following years. By all accounts, Virginia had a huge influence on his behavior. The last years of the 1830s were, in this respect, the healthiest physically and mentally for Poe. That is until Virginia contracted tuberculosis in 1842. She died in 1847, aged 24, after 5 years of battle. And this period was precisely the one where it is believed that the poem “The Raven” germinated. In my perception, I can clearly feel Poe’s morbidity and suffering in the poem due to the sad and troubled moments he spent with Virginia. The black bird himself, as the one who heralds an omen and tragedy, makes me visualize Poe's fear of losing Virginia. His biography has evidence of extramarital affairs, but Virginia was the one who, in a way, supported the writer, kept him on track. When she died in 1847, Poe not only returned to heavy drinking, he himself died two years later, in 1849. I think that says a lot if you look at the whole mosaic. I believe that Lenora, mentioned in the poem, is certainly a pseudonym for Virginia. Whenever I hear this name in the poem, my mind sends me to her. The poet's poor wife, his benefactress, the woman who brought him moments of light and who was dying.

“The Raven” is very biographical, even if the author as I mentioned referred to it as something technical and logical. However, I think that the great achievement of Poe is his ability to narrate scenes that deal with the emotional and supernatural experience in a very subjective way, allowing readers who associate the character with their own experiences, which they possibly had in life. This is quite interesting to see in the way Poe wrotes his texts. In them, we can see and feel the author as if he were the character, but at the same time, we can feel ourselves in the scenes. As if the raven was visiting and talking to us. Poe writes with impersonality, although he leaks elements of his own identity in every verse. And this promotes something rich for our experience, the possibility of reading a poem like “The Raven” with different optics. We read closely, in the epidermis, or even a little further away, as an external witness. And I believe that this is one of the qualities of the poem that makes it so interesting and compatible with other forms of art, such as cinema for example.

Briefly mentioning the events narrated, we accompany a lonely man by the fireplace on a dark night, consulting ancient science tomes in an attempt to remove from his mind the memory of the death of his beloved Lenora. Then he hears a knock on his bedroom door, opens and finds no one. However, the phenomenon repeats and he realizes that the sound was actually coming from the window. In the moment when it was opened, a raven came in, landing on a bust of the goddess Athena. The man then asks the black bird what his name would be, which he then responds saying “nevermore”, surprising the man who did not expect any response, although he had asked the question.

Shortly after, the man meditates that soon the raven will also flap wings and take his life, as well as many others who have passed through it before, taking away his hopes. The raven then repeats: "nevermore", as if he had read the man’s thoughts. Depressed, the man goes on to argue that the raven learned such an expression from some unfortunate master and that this was the only thing he knew. However, such a finding is not able to demotivate him to study and discover something more about the animal, and so he pulls up a chair and sits down facing the black bird. Staring at him, Lenora's memory returns to his thoughts, making the man feel the air thicker, as if he were in the presence of angels. He asks if this would be a divine sign for him to overcome Lenora's memory and thus, once again, the raven intervenes, implying that the man would never be free of his memories and, consequently, of his torment. This rouses his fury, excommunicating the raven and its prophecy. However, in a last act, he asks the bird if he would ever be reunited in Heaven with Lenora, where the raven repeats: “nevermore”. Accusing the bird of a lying, the man calls for him to return to the Plutonian coast, certainly a reference to Pluto, god of the dead in Roman mythology, an embodiment of Hades in Greek mythology. The raven, however, does not move. It continues resting on the bust of Athena, where the man then proceeds to admit that his soul will henceforth be trapped under the raven's shadow and will "nevermore" rise. And so the poem ends.

In the essay “The Philosophy of Composition”, Poe made it very clear that choosing the raven as the symbol for the poem was not random. The writer aimed to rely on the lugubrious tone that the bird evokes in the collective imagination of society, something that comes from classical mythologies and still persists. And Poe after that starts to play ambiguously, touching on the real and the mythological, but without pointing out where the text really is located. Mythological because, by evoking the symbology of the raven and making him speak, we would have the perception of the bird as a supernatural being. However, and at the same time, it is worth remembering that the author makes the bird mention only one word (nevermore), something that is not uncommon in the animal kingdom, especially when we talk about birds and their ability to learn and emit sounds. Ravens actually can do that. In this sense, the poem enters both the rational and the supernatural world at the same time: it is possible to interpret in both ways.

I think what really speaks louder, which is something more categorical, is the fact that the raven is an allegory of death. Regardless of how we interpret, its prophetic tone indicates finitude, reaffirms at all times the loss, the feeling of mourning, the impossibility of reuniting with the loved one and the fatalities of life. The raven becomes a symbol that represents all of this. And so, it causes torture by constantly reminding of loss, thus eliciting the desolation and revolt with death, a phenomenon that escapes our knowledge, power and which we cannot overcome.

Corvid greetings!

[English Version] Edgar Allan Poe - The Raven: Meanings of 'Nevermore'

[English Version] Carnage: The extreme side of Spider-Man comics

Carnage: The extreme side of Spider-Man comics

“You're probably asking... WHY do I kill... well, simple answer. It's PRETTY. Waking up in the morning and knowing you're going to kill someone... it's a BEAUTIFUL THING. Makes me feel like a GUNSHIP, like my engine's only turning over when I'm MOVING and KILLING. Makes me feel like God on the first monday morning.” (Carnage)

“Norman, Norman, Norman. This is the price of doing business with me. Sacrifices have to be made. We have to make deep cuts! Ah ha haha haaa!” (Carnage)

“Here came the bride all dressed in white. I wish it was red... then you all be dead.” (Carnage)

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

Today my subject will be Marvel, a franchise that accommodates one of its most family friendly heroes, Spider-Man. Sometimes, Marvel raised the tone to the point that its clothing supposedly intended for children and young people became a little questionable. This is what I want to discuss, highlighting one of its villains who, in my analysis, is the best example of this: Carnage.

Spider-Man comics have a feature that exudes the very personality and age group of its great hero and protagonist. He is young, inexperienced, serene and with a huge sense of humor. Peter Parker embodies all the characteristics of a good guy. Accompanying him from one web to another is like boarding an anti-stress train. He is a type of reading with a lot of adrenaline, but always filled with a light and friendly humor (and perhaps his stories are those that, at Marvel, have the most this vibe). This is Peter.

What would someone like Carnage be doing in a scenario like his? A scenario that, supposedly, would be safe for children and young teenagers to read freely and let their imagination run wild? Yeah... it's something curious, isn't it? And, for me, this first perception that Carnage leaves us with, that he would be something inappropriate for this audience, is what precisely makes him an interesting villain, because in addition to the red light going on for children, it also lights up for parents.

What makes a character a good villain? We can list many things. But, presenting himself as a real threat to the protagonist (one that cannot be underestimated) and also being the thing that causes tension in people who are off the pages (reading the material) are certainly some of the most important characteristics that every impactful villain need to have. Carnage was a real, straightforward aesthetic break with Spider-Man comics. The level of insanity and violence he brings was certainly a risk Marvel decided to take. To exposed its younger audience to some of the genocidal, bizarre scenes this character would be capable of pulling off (which, in itself, is somewhat controversial).

“But Raven, what do you mean? The Green Goblin was already a psychopath and is perhaps even more intense and extreme than Carnage”. Intense, yes. But not extreme. In my opinion, The Green Goblin remains a much more complex, interesting and well-crafted villain than Carnage. Perhaps he is the most outstanding Spider-Man villain of all time (something difficult to define, because there are other excellent villains to share the podium). The goblin's pleasure in chaos, his cruelty and ability to explode an infinity of things in a short period of time are notorious. This motherfucker loves to put out a fire with gasoline. His devilish laugh, mental instability, the financial resources he has to carry out all his cruelty. Yes, without a doubt, the Green Goblin is a much denser character. Norman Osborn is unhinged. Someone who alters his personas and there is a bipolarity in question. At one point, we have Norman, the tyrannical and greedy businessman. In another, there is the Green Goblin, the part of his personality that is capable of repressing the few moral vestiges that the powerful businessman has. There are variations of these moments, the Green Goblin is never a constant: it's as if he really changes clothes, wears his uniform in moments when Norman's mental health is more weakened. So we have moments of calm. What Norman's second personality is capable of doing, he would not do himself. Although he wasn't a man of integrity either, he wouldn't come to this point. And that creates hiatuses, moments for Peter Parker to breathe at least.

With Carnage it is different. Either you expel him from the face of the earth or send him to hell. There is no third option. Unlike Norman Osborn, who alternates personalities, Carnage is constant. “But, Raven, Carnage also has a duality, as he is hosted by the Venom symbiote strain (Eddie Brock).” Indeed. But what you have to keep in mind is that this strain that was born from the Venom symbiote does not have any moral remnants. The original symbiote parasitized Peter Parker and carried aspects of him even after it was abandoned. A gesture that even generated resentment. It made the symbiote look for someone who also resents Spider-Man, someone suitable to share this resentment and thus retaliate; this person was Eddie Brock. When he was with Brock, his personality, which is far from being honored like Peter’s, also leaves residual marks in the symbiote. That is, it inherits something from its hosts, it becomes part of the way the symbiote sees the world. These influences unite with the creature's own instinct and genetic characteristics, and this mixture gives rise to its moral compass.

The strain that originated Carnage does not have this. He is a new creature who has just literally been given birth, being left behind exactly when Venom pulls Eddie Brock out of jail, where he shared a cell with the psychopath Cletus Kasady. This strain contains only the genetic material that he inherited from Venom (his genes), which means that Carnage also has the abilities of Spider-Man, as well as Venom. But from a psychological point of view, the Carnage strain is more raw. More instinctual. Closer to a wild animal than a human being. And what is a symbiote if not a parasite, a predator of other living beings?

Having this essence, he finds in Cletus Kasady someone perfect to play his predatory and relentless instinct. Kasady is a complete psychopath with no regard for human life. As a human being, he is a monster, as monstrous as the strain itself. It's as if his organisms had found their soulmates, capable of fulfilling all the perverse and genocidal desires of both, without any censorship. Carnage gives Cletus the power he has always wanted to slaughter others, as he is a sadist, a genocide. At the same time, Cletus gives Carnage what Peter Parker and Eddie Brock denied themselves: a twisted moral compass, the absence of any censorship, authorization to feed and satiate his every desire without any repression.

Carnage refers to himself in the plural. Conceptually, the character is really more than one (two beings who came together). But, in the relationship between the Green Goblin and Norman (a being with two personalities) there are still incompatibilities, there are conflicts and short circuits. If Norman had been the Green Goblin in his full form, without any flaws, Peter Parker would be screwed. It would be very difficult to stop him. His crises helped Peter to expose the Goblin's weaknesses, make mistakes and thus be stopped.

With Carnage, we have a human and a symbiote in perfect harmony. And the parasitized is one of the worst humans the strain could have encountered. And for that very reason capable of such extremes as dismembering women and children in a public square. Yes... Carnage is able to do that, the comics showing it or not (it's something that is implied). Something too extreme for the Spider-Man scenario! And that is precisely what I have been trying to make clear during my speech, how this is something dissonant and even strange, uncomfortable to exist in this scenario that, in principle, would not enter into domains as macabre as this one. But let me be clear: I'm not complaining, I'm just observing. I like Carnage as a villain.

“But Raven, Carnage doesn't feature anything we haven't seen out there in action and horror movies.” Fact. However, we live in an age where few things shock us. We are very desensitized. In 1992, the year that the character appeared for the first time, the desensitization was already huge, something that even made his creation possible. At that time, villains, anti heroes and quite brutal vigilantes began to appear. The eighties paved this way a lot. But even so, in that context, it was something that still drew attention because of where the material was published. Anyone could find this genocidal carnage on a simple comic store. Is this common today? It is. But back then it wasn't that frequent and natural, let's say. It was unusual for a child of 6 or 7 years old to find a serial killer, insane psychopath and carver of innocents in a comic book, paying just a few dollars, the price of a school lunch.

“But Raven, when Carnage appeared in the comics, in the beginning we had more action, these bloodbaths were not drawn.” True. But the fact that they were not drawn doesn't mean they were not narrated or that they were not there. And in many situations narrating or just suggesting is much more efficient than showing visually. It's something that stimulates your imagination, makes scenes even more disturbing possible. Do you remember how we were introduced to the character Cletus Kasady? Right away, he was described as a boy with a very troubled childhood and pathological tendencies. His behavior clearly revealed that any psychologist could notice a comorbidity in him. From an early age Cletus tortured animals. This is even openly addressed in the comics, how he tortured his mother's dog. The boy killed his grandmother by pushing her down the stairs. If you want a comparison, something that illustrates more deeply for you what kind of child Cletus was, watch the movie “The Good Son”, a 1993 movie with MaCaulay Culkin.

Cletus's family was completely dysfunctional. His personality was being deformed within a family circle where there was only violence. His father murdered his mother, which left the kid an orphan and had him transferred to an orphanage. There, his aloof behavior only brought more problems. For years he was bullied not only by the other orphaned boys, but he was physically and emotionally abused by the staff as well. This whole scenario ended up developing misanthropic tendencies in Kasady. Misanthrope is the one who hates humanity, who has an aversion for it. Kasady was never welcomed, respected, much less offered this to anyone. For him, people were worms, which should be used according to his goals. Afterwards, preferably discarded when they lost their purpose and in the most cruel way possible. Cletus always took pleasure in torturing any living being. To him, his opponents were inferior minds and should die without exception. His life in the orphanage did not fail to add to his homicidal record: he kills the director of the institution and even pushes a girl (Manny Calderon) in front of a bus just because she refused to go out with him. Later, he even burns down the entire orphanage.

Cletus Kasady is a real maniac. And I believe that by becoming Carnage in union with the Venom strain, he made Peter Parker's life even more intense and extreme. He is much, much more dangerous than Venom. Eddie Brock followed his own moral code, and not infrequently he even sometimes acted as a vigilante when he felt inclined to do so. Venom's rivalry with Spider-Man is something more pronounced in his concept. At many points, Venom's obsession with making Peter Parker pay for abandoning him is something that only creates headaches for Peter. It's clear that Venom will try to hit him where it hurts, involving characters that are part of his life, people he loves. But, it is a more directed hatred and resentment. Venom became a public order problem at times, as Dr. Octavius and the Green Goblin himself? No doubt. But, the symbiote is quite obsessed and has a directed hatred. As for Carnage, well... like I said, he's a misanthrope. His mere existence already puts the life of the whole city at risk. Carnage fulfills what the original symbiote, which came to Earth, did not fulfill: when we think of an alien body falling to Earth, we imagine infection, disease, the human species being decimated. An attack from another world. But the symbiote that found Parker and then Brock is almost so narcissistic that, deep down, he just wants to have a good time. Do what seems interesting to him. He does not manage to build miraculous plans and great conspiracies to destroy the Earth, because his life here has given him many possibilities and pleasures until then. Life on Earth is pleasant for the symbiote. Humans are useful to him, to the point that he doesn't consider putting them into extinction.

But Carnage? Completely different story. The extermination of living things is his motivation. He takes macabre pride in being an agent of human pain. Chaos is not enough for him, he wants to see death. Buildings painted with human blood. People in a row falling into a meat grinder machine. And this machine is Carnage himself. In this sense, when Carnage is around, the aesthetics of the Spider Man universe tend to change. Jokes and Peter's typical good humor tend to become lumps in the throat, cold sweat and fear. There is no room for jokes with Carnage. If he gets even more concerned about making good impressions or being the center of the spotlight, people will die. Carnage is evil in the purest sense, needing all attention and effort focused against him. Something that even Venom understands and helps Peter to fight this genocidal maniac. With Carnage around, there's no tomorrow for any living being on his target. The strain's union with Cletus Kasady's evil is so profound that the two have become one. Cletus can't remove the symbiote from his body like Peter and Eddie does. In the amorphous and grotesque image of Carnage, we see a mass of muscle, bone and blood. A form that Cletus adores and is proud of: he now looks on the outside what he always was on the inside, a monster.

With all of these things taken into account it's possible to understand why Carnage was never adapted into a live action movie alongside Spider-Man (at least so far). There is a sequel to Venom’s film, of course, but Peter Parker's universe is still strongly marked by a perception that he is a friend for all ages, for the family to sit on the couch, together, and have fun with a good laugh. Cinema still hasn't been able to remove the hero from this infantile-juvenile image, something that prevents a movie from realizing all the potential and evil essence that a character like Carnage demands. And honestly I think that is unlikely to happen. Carnage, like Spawn, are characters that don't just inhabit the sci-fi and the fantastic... they inhabit, more deeply, the horror genre. And this is a genre where Spider-Man will hardly be portrayed in cinema. The most we will see of a meeting between Peter and the villain will be along the lines of the old cartoon from the 90's. Something else I'm quite skeptical.

Corvid greetings!

Zenón Barriga y Pesado (Chaves): um personagem amplo (sem trocadilhos)

Folclore Japonês: A história do homem que não queria morrer

[English version] Vilgefortz, the main villain of The Witcher

Vilgefortz, the main villain of The Witcher

“‘Yes, Artaud,’ Vilgefortz looked at him and his eyes flashed. ‘You will dance to the tune they play. Or you will take leave of the dance-floor. Because the orchestra’s podium is too high for you to climb up there and tell the musicians to play some other tune. Realise that at last. If you think another solution is possible, you are making a mistake. You mistake the stars reflected in the surface of the lake at night for the heavens.’” (Vilgefortz, Blood Of Elves)

"'Nature doesn’t know the concept of philosophy, Geralt of Rivia. The pathetic–ridiculous–attempts which people undertake to try to understand nature are typically termed philosophy. The results of such attempts are also considered philosophy. It’s as though a cabbage tried to investigate the causes and effects of its existence, called the result of these reflections 'an eternal and mysterious conflict between head and root', and considered rain an unfathomable causative power. We, sorcerers, don’t waste time puzzling out what nature is. We know what it is; for we are nature ourselves. Do you understand?’" (Vilgefortz, Time of Contempt)

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

This time I will talk about Vilgefortz Of Roggeveen, the main antagonist of The Witcher universe. That said, it is difficult to credit anyone with the title of main antagonist in a world that is itself a factory of villainy. It is the case of the world created by Andrzej Sapkowski. Villainy is the rule rather than the exception. His books presents us with a barbaric scenario where, in practically every historical moment of the narrative, many individuals, men and women, can assume the label of villains. The fact is that the world of The Witcher is full of schemes, corruption, sabotage, exploitation and manipulation in the most diverse social classes, something that can be seen in all those who live in it and play the daily game, whether for the sake of survival or to accumulate power. We can't divide the characters between angels and demons: altruism and villainy are traits and possibilities that can be found in the same character, according to the circumstances and demands the dark and cruel world of The Witcher places on them.

Villainy is everywhere. It is present in the Chapter of Sorcerers, in the monarchy or proletariat, among bandits, robbers and rapists. Among law enforcement officers, who are supposedly paid to keep order. And, in addition, the villainous character of their identities is exacerbated by the historical moment where the books are narrated, which is during the war of Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms. War tends to push what is already barbaric to unimaginable extreme levels and we definitely see that play out in The Witcher.

But why, then, do I credit Vilgefortz with the title of the most notorious villain in Sapkowski's works, if he is part of a context full of villains, who can be plucked in bulk? Why not choose Rience, who was marked by the clashes and problems he caused mainly to Geralt? Why not Ehmyr Var Emreis, a tyrannical monarch capable of the hardest and most callous acts to maintain and extend his influence? Why not Leo Bonhart, the cruel mercenary responsible for Cirilla's most desperate and terror-filled moments, abused, beaten, tortured by him with explicit sadism?

Well... I choose Vilgefortz because, unlike the others, who are clearly part of the problem, continuous actors in keeping the gears of this barbaric world working, Vilgefortz in my analysis is the one who architects his own machine and manipulates all the others villains. At the same time, he maintains a fake public image, sustained for decades, of someone who actually fight what he himself secretly cultivates. Vilgefortz is not the one who just has the concept of villainy stuck in his skin, exercising it: he goes further; he is the one who develops and maximizes it, using all human and material resources at his disposal, something he deeply appreciates. And he wields power and control, machiavellianly, so that his allies and even rivals dance to the symphony he has carefully and coldly engineered.

In The Witcher, there are villains who express villainy by lot of power accumulated through the exploitation of people. There are villains who become villains because they exist in a context that conditions them to act badly, otherwise their lives would not last long. There are villains who become professionals at villainy because it is profitable. There are villains who are sadistic because that is who they really are - and find in explicit violence a way to exercise their aggressive impulses, redirecting their resentment, hatred and prejudice towards a target or several. In Vilgefortz we can pinpoint each of these elements, but what really draws attention is that, in him, we do not find the mark of passionality. Although he loves to incinerate humans and opponents, Vilgefortz is not a flame: he is an ice cube. He is the author of a scenario where the pieces, the characters he controls, are carefully placed to break up with each other, where the suffering caused to them and that they cause to others serves as fuel for him to reach his main goal. He wishes to seize and dominate the Her Ichaer, the Elder Blood. Vilgefortz is like an invisible, silent parasite.

And he is in no hurry, which makes him even more dangerous. His plan and vision is perfectly meticulous and patient. He was able to wait calmly for decades until some previously planned actions started to be put into practice. Vilgefortz is the one who has always skillfully managed to maintain an appearance and dissimulate, with more talent, coldness and mastery than his peers. In the Chapter Of Sorcerers, he is the master of this skills. He was the character who, through dissimulation and alienation, did not deceive a sorcerer of great level, but the entire Chapter Of Sorcerers. The person who caused the collapse of the millenary institution of magic and all its organization, something previously unimaginable. All this done with a spine-chilling calm and tranquility. The evil motivations were hidden in the face of a tall, handsome, calm, middle-aged sorcerer, with a remarkable and meek voice. A man of extreme politeness, education and vast knowledge in many areas. The perfect gentleman, one of the most talented in arcane dealings, but who hides a true demon under his mask, capable of the most absurd cruelties. Vilgefortz is not just a perpetuator of doom and misfortune in the lives of the main characters: he is an artist and a conceptual mastermind of chaos. He is, first and foremost, a psychopath. But not the type that common sense judges as crazy, out of control, misfit. Vilgefortz is the psychopath who hides behind a successful surgeon; of the young lawyer who never lost a case, of the innovative scientist. He is the one who uses an ideal image, who in everyone's eyes is an exemplary figure, but who plots, acts and the fruits of his actions, when finally put into practice, are catastrophic, unpredictable and allow little or almost no defense.

Vilgefortz feels immense pleasure in this. He toasts the laurel of his nefarious actions with a terrible calm, a glass of wine in his hand and an angelic smile on his lips. At least it was like that until he received his deformation, which is something that developed a deep hatred and resentment in him due to the size of his ego and pride, something also typical and observable in psychopaths. But in the end, this deformed image of a burned face and artificial eye is truer to the abomination that he is... a calculating, lethal monster. Vilgefortz has something in his nature that is capable of arousing the fear of ordinary people. Capable of leading to the questioning of their concepts and values. Question the exaggerated adjectives given to popular representatives, public figures. After all, he is one, if not the main, hero of the ever-remembered Battle of Sodden Hill. A hero of the realms. And that makes us wonder: to what extent are heroes and leaders, in fact, due to their real nature? Is what is revealed on his surface enough to blindly estimate a leader of his choice? What's underneath your fame and public image? Vilgefortz was considered an ideal model of his time and we saw where that led, what this collective blindness caused. When the theater curtain finally fell and the entire play and orchestration was revealed, it was too late. The damage was already too great to be repaired and the promise of an even more disturbing future loomed. Alienation is the food willingly accepted by the masses, distributed by corrupt people and psychopaths so that they can put into practice, dressed as lambs and innocents, their real wolfish and predatory pretensions.

Vilgefortz has such well-polished characteristics. He is a master at causing great harm, capable of altering the political and common sense of an era. It is not a villain that causes particular damage, but capable of causing collective damage, which will unbalance a world that, in The Witcher, is already very unbalanced even without him. The consequences of Vilgefortz's machinations are of a scope that, due to his narcissism and self-centered desire, is capable of putting at risk not the lives of some, but the future of other generations. Condemning to death those who have not yet been born, subordinating them to a type of life in which they will never have any voice or active participation in building the trends that govern the functioning of their world. This is Vilgefortz: a genocidal psychopath, sadistic torturer and calculating conspirator who, in the name of his thirst for power, is capable of mortifying not only those around him, but those who don't even exist yet. And for all this I credit him, not Bonhart, Ehmyr or Eredin with the title of greatest antagonist in The Witcher books. His development and personality construction received differential treatment and better organization than any other villain seen. Andrzej Sapkowski had a lot of patience with Vilgefortz, polishing the character and his motivations very calmly.

Kovir's young orphan who was apparently abandoned by parents with some connection to magic exhibited a huge talent for arcane arts. However, the boy also demonstrated a growth and maturation in the ability to be devilish. His upbringing in the druid circle of Kovir, highly accentuated innate talent, the years of young and immature experience in murders, rapes, thefts: these were the first experiences of a villain who would be something much worse. But not in a rude or trivial way. It is an evil of diabolical refinement, where few threats and forces would really be able to challenge it. Leaving the druid circle early to become a mercenary is part of Vilgefortz's constitutive process to learn what it really takes to satiate the sadistic instincts he craves. Indulging in a mercenary life, before joining and being part of the Chapter Of Sorcerers, Vilgefortz learned the ins and outs of a life of crime. He pondered the flaws and shortcomings of this way of life and, thanks to his above-average intellect and talent for magic, shaped his own philosophy and modus operandi.

Vilgefortz, like all psychopaths, does not act without purpose. He doesn't give a point without a knot. His fixation with the challenge is something that characterizes him. He is always in constant work or carrying out some hidden plan (or several). The quiet and inactive man is just the appearance he wants others to believe: that he is inactive or acting bureaucratically, as the norms require, when in fact he is extremely active in various places and plots, disguised and silent as a chameleon.

And as if all that wasn't enough, all that mental capacity that Vilgefortz has, the bastard is also talented in warfare. Of the Sapkowskian villains, it was he and no one else who was able to practically cripple Geralt of Rivia, considered perhaps one of the most skilled swordsmen in the history of the Continent. And that without the use of magic. Vilgefortz humiliated Geralt in combat, using only a staff and with extreme skill. For the reader, Vilgefortz represents a shock, a moment where an idealized vision of Geralt of Rivia is shattered. The humiliation that Vilgefortz puts Geralt through is an attack not only to him, but also the readers. It is an attack on the feeling and projection that The Witcher readers put on Geralt, an identification and attachment to the character. And this act reveals what a real great villain really is: someone capable of representing a real danger of loss, of losing everything that we really cherish and value. The one who brings us closer to the memory of our finitude, that death is something that is always close, something that we tend to avoid reflecting on or putting into perspective.

Vilgefortz is able to disgust and nurture in us a deep contempt, hatred and indignation... which is something that happens perfectly in scenes like, for example, Yennefer's captivity, where she is tortured in his castle, and with a description Vilgefortz's perversely playful and detailed account of what he would do with her. From using the memory of past cases, which he uses to intimidate her, to creating mental images of the countless people he treated like lab rats in his experiments, who inflicted extreme, acute pain, who were nothing more than an object of use and disposal.

Vilgefortz lacks any moral compass or element of empathy. Even with the character that was perhaps the most faithful and closest to him, which was the sorceress Lydia van Bredevoort, she was nothing more than a simple object in his eyes. A resource to materialize the downfall of Thanedd and the permanent destruction of the Chapter of Sorcerers as we know it. He doesn't seem to feel absolutely anything for anyone other than himself and being his puppet was the fate of virtually everyone who had any closer involvement with him, whether this involvement was unconscious, by choice or even by coercion, captivity. Not to mention the political puppets that he also willingly made use of. It's always good to remember the decisive role that his contact with Ehmyr var Emreis, years before the main plot of the saga began. The impact this meeting had on the emperor's relentless and greedy pursuit of power, affecting the lives of the inhabitants not only of the northern kingdoms, but also Nilfgaard for decades. The stratospheric number of people who ended up meeting their deaths because of the seed of avarice that Vilgefortz planted in Ehmyr. He ensured, through spies and alliances within the Nilfgaardian empire, that this seed remained well watered and flourished enough that, in a scenario of chaos and instability, he could orchestrate the fall of the most powerful institutions on the Continent. Thus, he could seized his much-desired unlimited power coming from the Her Ichaer, being able to build a new world and system of government where everyone would be subject to him and his warped moral compass. Something that, with most of the kingdoms extinct and the rest weakened by many wars, would not be very difficult to achieve.

And that's it, my dears. I believe I have justified what leads me to name Vilgefortz as the main villain of The Witcher books. Thank you all for following me once again. 

Corvid greetings!

D_Drive - Maximum Impact: the impeccable synthesis of a decade

Hello my dears. I am the Raven who speaks to you.

In general, what is beautiful in instrumental music is the transparency with regard to the influences suffered by a musician in question. How is your musical ear, how you think and compose music, the tone, which artists from the past spiritually inhabit your sound, a beauty and honesty not seen in all musical genres. But in the instrumental style musicians doesn't have many opportunities to hide or camouflage what they are doing. On the contrary: the spotlight is fully on them and we listeners can evaluate note for note.

It is part of everyday life of instrumental music lovers to search for new albums that really show identity traits. As much as there is integrity in the form and transparency about its origins, it is an arduous task to create music that detaches itself from the past and points to the future. Being an instrumental musician, in this sense, is very difficult because in addition to the higher level of demand for compositions, the musician has an intrinsic need to define his own identity, to listen to his own music and perceive it, in the same way what happens in front of a mirror.

The D_Drive quartet, founded in Osaka, is the japanese representative that has lived with this challenge since 2009, when they published the first authorial and independent album, called “Something To Drink”. Going through the albums “Accelerator” in 2011 and “R” in 2015 (all of them released exclusively in Japan), the blue roses’s guitarist Yuki, accompanied by her mentor and sensei Seiji and the drummer Chiiko, had a little more than one decade to grow musically and experience epiphanies. And along with new bassist Toshi, the three founding members finally got, in 2019, an opportunity to show the rest of the world who they are. Experienced, hardened, masters of their own game: it was in these conditions that the West finally got to know the graceful, potent and relentless instrumental sea of “D_Drive”.

When we think of motorsport in the land of the rising sun, companies like Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi come to mind. D_Drive, musically, is like the roar of top engines from each of these factories. As Seiji himself says, what D_Drive creates is “driving rock”: listening to them is like imagining that you are driving a car on the road at the speed of sound, the feeling of driving a japanese titan and taking it to the extreme. This is driving rock, which, by the way, is not recommended for listening in traffic, because the melodies and punch are so contagious that the desire to step on the accelerator becomes difficult to control.

Seiji formed the band with Yuki, who at the time was her student at a music school in Osaka. Drummer Chiiko graduated in the same place, by the way, and we're talking about instrumentalists who study and write music in a high level, but at the same time don't let their virtuosity and natural talent put their compositions far away from the auditory pleasure zones of casual listeners. In fact, the songs have hooks whose function is to provide a quick assimilation. We can identify the main characteristics of a track after just a few listens. However, these hooks (usually represented by guitar and bass riffs) are only useful for the listener not to disperse and thus keep the necessary attention for what comes next, which are the solos, the twin guitar folds and the impressive changes in Yuki, Seiji, and Chiiko's time signatures. D_Drive plays hard rock and heavy metal. But also undoubtedly progressive music. The difference is that, unlike many instrumental musicians, the band doesn't let these genres stand out in isolation. Hard, heavy and progressive just orbit in the compositions, sometimes one appearing more than the other, but never monopolizing. And the result of this direction gives rise to instrumentalists of impressive versatility, who give us the feeling that they can play anything.

Seiji is a lover of rock and metal from the 80s and 90s. His main musical influences are the legendary Michael Schenker, lord of the romantic guitar, and the also extremely melodic Steve Lukather. However, as much as these influences are very evident, they only orbit the band's compositions. On D_Drive every musician has a voice (a right to contribute), which is ironic when we realize that their music doesn't have vocals. The divine Yuki is clearly fascinated with Steve Vai's melodic shred, which inevitably brings her closer to Joe Satriani's melodic sense too, even if indirectly. As such, Yuki leads Seiji to explore shred, just as Seiji, in turn, conditions Yuki to be melodic and focused (and much less ethereal than Steve Vai) in order to harmonize with him. But this only occurs after the rhythm section (bass and drums) sets the tone, the direction of how this harmonization will happen. And this one is fast and very heavy, as Chiiko and Toshi are fascinated with heavy and thrash bands from the eighties, such as Iron Maiden and Metallica. As a result, the sound of D_Drive turns out to be heavier and more aggressive than the previously mentioned 70's and 80's instrumental artists, but maintains the same level of melody, harmony and sweetness of their best moments. Whether with agressive songs or ballads, D_Drive is always a melodic band, capable of impress us with explosive or crystal clear distortions.

It is interesting to note that there is no randomness in the band's compositions. They are not an impromptu journey, with no clear sense of where it started or where it will go. It is a racing circuit, with a clear sense of structure and purpose. But don't think that the musical road is oval: instrumentally speaking, the compositions are like circuits so elaborate that only the most daring pilots will be able to transit. And this is a message for guitarists who decide to study the band's songs: without dedication, you won't be able to follow Yuki and Seiji. The blue roses’s lady is the most proficient female guitarist in all of Japan by far, and considering the eastern market as a whole, she easily ranks alongside the likes of Syu and Hizaki in terms of technique and songwriting ability. This is a surreal finding when we take into account that Yuki only defined that she wanted to be a guitarist later in life, around 17 years old, when she started playing the guitar inspired by her father. Since then, she has maintained a 10-hour day of study, which drops to 5 or 6 hours only when she is on tour. Yuki sleeps and wakes up thinking about the guitar and that explains everything we hear and watch her performances on social media. If the band is driving rock, Yuki is always on the gas. In addition to being a naturally beautiful woman (a true japanese beauty), her refined technique, precision, tone and talent as a composer are qualities that make her irresistible to any listener. She has everything and owes nothing to anyone. The only thing Yuki probably doesn't have is time, given the level of demands she puts on herself and the obligations of an independent band. She has to do a lot more than just get up on stage and play an instrument.

As far as the structure of an instrumental rock composition is concerned, professionals and listeners alike know that writing for this strand is like working on several tracks at once. All it takes is a good ear to realize that a simple hard rock song made for vocals, with verse-chorus-verse-chorus, doesn't usually require even 10% of the creativity and boldness of instrumental songs of the same length. Yuki and Seiji decided to make this principle the philosophy of D_Drive: their music does not have vocals, but the instruments play the constant role of occupying the place that, in theory, would be the vocalist. Especially the guitars. And since the two dialogue and synchronize quite frequently, the verses of the songs also work as a kind of duet on many occasions. Conceptually, there is something cinematic in the formula, as Seiji draws inspiration from natural landscapes and films to compose. The bass/drums dynamism acts as a disinhibitor for the twin guitars, who then express themselves with as much energy as they can. And in the case of slower songs, this force is passionately deposited in the tone.

For years, D_Drive refined this modus operandi, until it finally caught the attention of reputable companies in the music industry. The most iconic of all was undoubtedly Marshall (famous for the impeccable quality of amplifiers). Through their label, called Marshall Records, they presented an interesting proposal for the band, which gave rise to the album in question, called “Maximum Impact”, released in 2019. This is the first international release of D_Drive, which we can consider a collection of the most remarkable tracks written since their foundation. The title does not lie: what they really want is to make the maximum impact, task completed efficiently.

That said, don't be fooled into thinking that "Maximum Impact" is simply a set of cut-and-pasted tracks from earlier D_Drive albums and singles. Thanks to the british label, part of the content was re-recorded or remastered, inserting completely new basslines thanks to the inclusion of Toshi in the band, replacing the now ex-member Shimataro. The tracks sound infinitely superior to the original versions thanks to the surgical work of engineer Akihiro Nishimura and Christian Wright, who mastered the material at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London. “Maximum Impact” is the best release from D_Drive sonically speaking. The sound quality we find in this wafer is surreal, one that very few albums produced in Japan could compete with.

Three tracks were chosen by Marshall to appear on the album and another seven were chosen according to the band's preferences. The layout of the seltlist was chosen thinking about the format of the band's concert, as Seiji wanted us to be able to listen with the same intensity and sensitivity as a performance, which is where they really prove that they are capable of playing these compositions note for note and without the help of any technological apparatus. Energy and precision define a D_Drive concert, where the audience literally sings with their guitars.

“Attraction 4D” opens the album with its foot in the door. It is representative of the band as a cohesive quartet that shares the spotlight, ready to take the listener on a journey that they will want to repeat. “Attraction 4D” is heavy and has traditional arrangements commonly heard in bands like Iron Maiden. But it is impossible not to notice that the sound reminds us a lot of the classic instrumental album “Surfing With The Alien”, Joe Satriani's masterpiece. The solid base, the tempo, the folds through picking and tapping... all of this reminds us of the good old Joe, but with the weight and aggressiveness characteristic of Maiden.

“M16” is even more aggressive and a little darker. Chiiko beats the drums mercilessly and although the composition has its melodic and full shred moments, the emphasis is undoubtedly on the bass. The listener will have fun with a very typical characteristic of D_Drive: the behavior of placing the instruments to respond to each other, as if they were in a game of questions and answers.

“Cassis Orange”, the third track on the album, returns the accent to the melody again, but this time with even more sophistication. It is in this composition that D_Drive emphatically demonstrates to the listener their intention to make the guitars act in the role that could be of a vocalist. However, although they have a lot to say, they don't speak for themselves, as Toshi begins to have more freedom to shine and demonstrate a delicious tone, which justifies the band's decision to count on him.

The album follows with “Lost Block”, definitely the most progressive moment. This is one of the tastiest and most interesting instrumental tracks Japan has produced in decades, no exaggeration. The beginning takes place with a layer of keyboards to create the epic atmosphere, followed by the entry of guitars with clean tones. They are elements that serve as the ignition for the attack of the riffs that soon appear, with constant breaks in the time signatures. The style reminds us a lot of Dream Theater and the way John Petrucci writes music. “Lost Block” is a composition that shares a style very similar to the “Images & Words” era, which will make Dream Theater fans smile from ear to ear. Chiiko stands out mainly in the very nice way she uses the cymbal. Such an adjective well defines the feeling of the listeners, because the desire it gives is to put the track to play uninterruptedly. It's a progressive song that offers a lot musically, but never becomes dull. Not to mention that it is equally pleasurable to hear and see Yuki concentrated and with total focus on what she is doing, such is the difficulty level of “Lost Block”.

“Gekirin” marks the middle of the path with a true sound axe. Screaming bass, raging riffs and plenty of punch: this is a track for true bangers to headbang like there's no tomorrow.

And after so much energy, the sublime, cinematic and romantic ballad “Unkind Rain” takes us to seven minutes of an absurdly inspired Yuki, demonstrating why Steve Vai was such a reference musician for her. This is the slowest song on the album, which seeks to value tone more than speed. They realize that in addition to working quickly on every millimeter of the instrument's neck, Yuki never gives up a good vibrato and the use of whammy bar whenever it offers extension and balance to the notes.

“Gradation” surprises us with an acoustic intro, but it lasts for a very short time. Exhaling positivity, we are soon led to electric riffs that take us back to the festive atmosphere of the 80s. Witness is a key word in “Gradation”.

The eighth track, “Mr. Rat Boots", is one of the most beloved and popular tracks by D_Drive in Japan. Always looking for something to reduce the daily stress of japanese big cities, “Mr. Rat Boots” is playful, fast-paced and with an air of Steve Vai as well as Eddie Van Halen. Yuki and Seiji are quick in riffing and exploring single notes, as Chiiko's drumming doesn't allow them to slow think, only to act intuitively. The song sounds like a comic narrative from someone who doesn't have a lot of time to waste, but at the same time a lot to say.

“The Last Revenge” is a composition that was born a classic in mid-2016. And for me, this is one of the main songs in terms of teaching us what Seiji understands as driving rock. The intro oozes beauty with sweet, clean licks, but as soon as the central riffs emerge, they are very solid. “The Last Revenge” is the song of folds: Yuki and Seiji are always so flawlessly in sync that one gets the impression that they can both read each other's minds. It's like the metronome has become part of their body functions.

And finally, to close the album with a golden key, the band invites the listener to exhaust all the remaining energy in the furious “Screw Driver”. Toshi's galloping bass is what gives the air of grace and the guitars will try, in the following minutes, to survive this imposition through the strongest riffs they can produce. Another excellent explosive song, but with the refinement that only musicians with theoretical knowledge are capable of producing.

And so we finish “Maximum Impact” and this podcast. An album that D_Drive deserved so much. They are a wonderful band and, in a way, this album presents a synthesis of their best old songs, treated with the necessary respect and attention to value the qualities they possess. This is one of the top instrumental rock and metal albums of that decade. Simply flawless.

Corvid greetings!