From the past (comes them zombies)

Ages ago in late 1990s, and well before the modern zombie TV series (like Walking Dead) not to mention modern zombie movies, I was crafting some zombie (and ghoul) themed tunes as part of my tracked metal (information about tracker music) ventures with a nickname 'Aeuk'. Zombies as inspiration was nothing new back then of course, as anyone into metal music (not to mention horror movies & stories then) knows. 

But well, as I've sometimes in past explained, these certain experiments led me into forming Scumfusion. Scumfusion wasn't originally about scifi / space themes, but zombies and horror stuff in general. Rather miscellaneous topics in the early releases, for sure. But Scumfusion wouldn't had been born unless I hadn't crafted the certain songs as 'Aeuk' in 1999-2000. I downtuned guitar inhumanly low (don't ask me how low, I can't really say it and I didn't keep diaries back then!) and crafted music that I soon started calling as "sewer metal". Part of it was the guitarsound, but other part was the vocalstyle I came up for it - "sewer vocals" - singing while inhaling ... rough way to do it, for sure. And not necessarily good for throat either! :)

So, ... as I had put finishing touches to that 'Achromatic horridness' by Scumfusion, I went into digging my mod archives, and listening some of these sewer metal tunes after years of break from listening to them, at all. I think it could well be that I was listening to this stuff previously around 2010 when I was putting up "Garage grind days & Z-files" compilation (here) with Timo who was doing Scumfusion with me back then. On that compilation born out of fun (the covers) there are the Z-files which were Scumfusion songs  not released previously or songs related to Scumfusion in some other ways - and one of them was part of these "sewer metal" tunes from 1999-2000, namely "Zombies" which is the closing song for that compilation. That song was chosen there because it was one of those ancient tunes which led me into forming Scumfusion, based on the so-called sewer metal experiments.

Well, I got kind of inspired listening to the Aeuk songs and got an idea to do a sort of remix album about selected sewer metal style songs. With especially the artist name Aeuk, which was the name I was tracking metal style music from 1989 into 2007 (actively into 2004). I used some 2-3 weeks of October and about 1 week of November for working into this remix package; the music is in its' original form, more or less, some tiny changes / finetuning technically - but I re'recorded all the vocals for all of the songs, trying to pay respect to the moods & atmospheres. And as not all of these songs from 1999-2000 had full lyrics, I wrote bunch of new lyrics in the same vein - over the top zombie & ghoul themed things. All in all it came out very nicely I'd say and it feels good to truly pay homage to origins of Scumfusion - that's why I'm writing about this here, too. It has a strong Scumfusion connection after all. Some of the 'Aeuk' songs in this release were later re-recorded for Scumfusion but with different song titles and lyrics which had no longer nothing to do with zombies (it was the way Timo wanted, as he wrote the lyrics and sang back then). Honestly I didn't like that the lyrics were changed, something got lost - it could be that I just feel like that because it was me who composed the early tunes ... but you can compare a song like "zombie twins" (Aeuk) and "in weary light" (Scumfusion) how it feels ... I'm not saying I wouldn't like "in weary light", I do - but the original piece "zombie light" was something I really liked, from theme to music.

Guess what, it's actually possible to do that comparison already. :) Aeuk compilation album "Selected raw sewage works" comes out (streaming medias worldwide) on 30th November 2024, but I've crafted two visual lyric videos for Aeuk release - second one of these happens to be "zombie twins" and I released the video just today. :) Check out the videos below or head out into my youtube channel <here>.

Lyrics for 'Achromatic horridness'

The lyrics can be found from multiple locations online (for example at Bandcamp) but I'll put the lyrics here as well for easier reading.

_________________

1. Achromatic explosion

Nebula sprawls a cosmic bruise
Where starlight bleeds through
Across the void a vessel streaks
Hull acts as canvas as traveller speaks

Silent fury as universe bled
Through the wasteland of stars

2. Horridness of barren moons

Once vibrant suns now husks of grey
Where life used to bloom in all colors
Sentinels of time stand on cold barren moons
Whispering hidden tales for those who came before
Achromatic explosion, symphony of light gone dead

3. Planet of Atzsypellb

Crash landed on a chrome terrain
Two suns beam down into my veins
Planet Atzsypellb a world so strange
where logic bends and minds derange

 
Silicon trees with fractal leaves
Growing secrets in the solar breeze
Creatures made of living light
Crawl in this breathtaking night

 
Time flows backwards only
All the memories fade away
Their past is someone’s future
Enter a vast cosmic charade

4. Napalm universe

Napalm universe burning on a pyre
Stars ignite in curtains of fire
Stardust turns to shrapnel rain
In this cosmic war we can’t explain
Dream of fertile soil and rain
Distant future through the pain

 
Is there life beyond the flames?
Signals in the galactic void?

Here under napalm skies we fight
For every fleeting breath
Another day and another fight
Until we meet our unglorified death
Dream of fertile soil and rain
Distant future but not in this moment

 
Is there life beyond the flames?
No one answers in galactic void

 
5. Star slavers

Neon glow on gold and steel
Starship streaks across the night
Engine hums lullabies
As we chase the binary lights
Starslavers! They call us cold
Hearts of silicon minds of fire
We roam across thy galaxies
Fueled by dreams of death

 
We barter stardust and harvest moons
Planets made of diamond rain
Where nebulae paint the swirling skies
Fortune glowing in the cosmic strain
Beyond the charted starlit maps
Past the veil of what you know
We are the Starslavers never lost
Wherever all cosmic currents flow

6. From dying suns

From dying suns we steal the light
Inside black holes our secrets are kept
We navigate the cosmic dance
Where gravity and time are swept
By alien winds on shattered worlds
We find the echoes of a race long gone
Their music guides us through the void
Haunting melody cracked by android

Some call us pirates some call us kings
In the court of lizards we hold still
But our allegiance is to freedom's call
And the wonders that light up the way

 
7. Nebula highway

Earth's a memory, a fading star
Launched ourselves into silver dream
One-way cosmic lane here we come
Stardust streams inside neon blur
Past constellations long since gone
Nebula highway our only way
Until the next new dawn shall sway
Million light years, so far away
On this endless cosmic chase
Chasing trails of a promised land
Through the future we can embrace
One-way cosmic lane here we come

Nebula highway, our guiding light
Burning eternally vivid and bright
Sealed into metal womb we call our home
As we keep going on and on
One-way cosmic lane so long gone

8. Space excrements

Space excrements cosmic debris
Asteroids in dark floating wild and free
Meteor showers of questionable source
Reminder even spaceships gotta purge the load

Wait there's a signal, faint and digitized
Alien message, on the brown stuff we just spied
Translates into warning, universal plea:
"Don't pollute the cosmos, or consequences you'll see!"

9. Before the big bang

Before the light before the sound
Before the galaxies spun around
In the silence a slumber deep
Where secrets of creation all sleep

 
Quantum foam, a swirling sea
Of possibilities, waiting to be
Energy danced, a chaotic pit
Symphony of what could once be

 
Before the big bang, vision in the dark
Singularity's spark, a flicker a mark
Potential for everything, unseen and unknown
New universe waiting to be sown

 
Then, a tremor, a crack in the void
Birth echoing, unheard, unalloyed
The dance quickened, energy surged
New universe born, future urged
Now galaxies blaze, stars ignite the night
Echoes of that first light, still flicker bright

Reminder of silence we once knew
Before the big bang, before me and you

 
10. Rotting in space

Memories flicker, ghosts on the cold metal floor
The crew, all silent, stories they won't tell anymore
Ancient photos of loved ones, faces etched with pain
Aching for a touch, a kiss in once cosmic train

 
Rotting in space, like symphony of decay
Frozen pictures, countless light years away
The milky way shimmers, cold, indifferent sheen
A monument to failure, like cosmic halloween

The nebula dances, swirling, mocking shroud
Lost in the endless darkness, forever unbowed
The black hole rumbles, a promise of release
But even in oblivion, there's no end to this peace

 
Just a husk adrift, a monument to sin
Rotting in space, where it all begins and ends

11. Dissonance of vault 69

Steel coffin tomb vault 69
Sealed tight since the bombs fell
Three generations underground
Lost echoes of a world unbound

Faces etched with flickering light
Memories dim of day and night
Hologram teachers faded guides
A future promised but sterilized

 
Steel coffin tomb vault 69
Sealed tight since the bombs fell
Three generations underground
Lost echoes of a world unbound

Metal walls showing tales so old
Of world poisoned, stories untold
This vault is a cage, a gilded tomb
The dissonance grows in metal womb

Vault 69

12. Warp drive failure

Starship shudder, metal bursting, red alert, paints the deck
Captain's fist slams the console, voice cracks like an old wreck
Warp drive failing, coolant breached, alarms fill their heads
Years of travel, lightyears lost, one-way ticket, to the dead

 
Warp drive failure - lost in the unknown
No beacon's reach - silence of a dying groan
Is this our fate - a tomb of steel, with no need to feel?
Warp drive failure - bathing in this grey steel casket forever

Cryos failing, one by one, our hope withers, with each passing breath
Rations dwindling, tensions high, who lives who dies, deals with death?
Outside the hull, the void stares back, status report, can’t be hacked?
Million dreams, turn into dust, futures are lost, all life shall reek

 
But in the flicker of dying hope a flicker of defiance burns
We will make our peace with this stellar grave
… but our spirits will never return again

13. Alien professor anarchy

Six eyes blink antennae twitch
Equations dance on iridescent skin
From nebulae unknown he came
Aiming for galactic filament fame

He breaks the laws of physics known
Constructs realities from stardust sown
Black holes bend at his command
Anti-gravity held in his hand

Alien professor anarchy
Defying logic setting science free
Alien professor anarchy
Defying logic setting science free

14. Lecture by a grand traveller from Lossidia

Traveller speaks of quarks beyond the string
Of dimensions where causality won't cling

He builds machines that fold space and time
Travels through galaxies in a blink of an eye

His lectures challenge every damn rule
The universe is a vast and chaotic pool
The human scholars are baffled and impressed
Try to grasp the knowledge from his alien mind
He speaks of dark matter and dark energy's might
Unveiling secrets all hidden from a mortal sight

Grand traveller from Lossidia, a cosmic spark, igniting minds, leaving his mark
The universe unfolds, a boundless quest, with the last grand traveller, science awakens

15. Space storm near Pleiades

Pleiades ablaze cosmic fury
Solar winds space typhoon
Stars aligned exploding fright
Magnetic titans devastating sight

 
Space storm near Pleiades

Black holes hungry for the feast
Galaxies shudder a celestial beast
The fabric of space twists in pain
As Pleiades fall in cosmic bloody stain

 
Space storm near Pleiades

Planetary defenses crumble
Molten infernos scorch everywhere
Civilizations screaming in fiery rain
No escape only endless burning pain

 
16. Grand galactic war incantation

The cosmos trembles, empires fall
War ignites, consuming them all
From nebulae to shimmering stars
The battle cry echoes across the scars

Plasma cannons roar through the night
Fleets clash in a blinding white light
Molten metal rains on desolate spheres
The screams of fallen echo with fear
Black holes awaken drawn to the fray
Devouring planets in their monstrous play
Gods and demons can’t quench burning rage
Only oblivion waits on this galactic stage
Starships ablaze painting void with fire
Grand galactic war fueled by endless desire

17. At thresholds of multiple dimensions

At thresholds of multiple dimensions we stand on the precipice
Cacophony of swirling colors reality starts to slip fast away
Through the gateways woven from starlight beckoning the unknown
Yearning for the infinite in a place we've never flown before

Fractals bloom on fingertips a language whispered on low levels
Whispers morph to shooting stars while stories planets bestow

Memories blur with parallel lives where a million versions shine
Forming a kaleidoscope of consciousness into a tapestry divine
At thresholds of multiple dimensions we stand on the precipice
Cacophony of swirling colors reality starts to slip fast away

18. Universe expanded

Oh the universe expands a canvas painted by unseen hands
Across the cosmic tide where stardust paints this starry ride

Unfurling secrets, nothing untold, a universe for hearts of the gold
We're just dust in the vast unknown but this expansion feels like our own
Comets streak like silver tears across the sum of all the years spent
Messages echo from the past of civilizations that couldn't last
But from their ashes beauty blooms in swirling nebulas and cosmic rooms

Another dance of energy unforeseen with a symphony in shades of green
Oh the universe expands a canvas painted by unseen force

19. Lossidia’s war march

Across the cosmos engines roar

See this legion forged in fire

Starships like predators in effect
With weapons set to destroy

As Lossidia commands
Their ruthless iron fist
Planets tremble in their wake
Resistance won't persist

 
Laser blasts plasma trails
Illuminating the starless night
Troopers clad in chrome and black
Advance with steady stride

 
Starcruisers rain down all death
From a distance vast and cold
No escape from judgement day
As Lossidia’s grip takes hold

 
Surrender!

20. Dead starlight passengers

Woke up to a shiver, cold sweat on my brow
Escape pod rattling, was it only a dream?
Out of starport, into endless inky sea of black
Just debris and echoes, where our galaxy used to be

Dead starlight passengers, on one-way ride
No destination in sight, nowhere left to hide
Lost in cosmic graveyard, million light years wide
Dead starlight passengers, with none left to confide

Remember their laughter, the promise in our eyes?
On a mission of discovery, beneath celestial skies
Now their craft is creaking, time running thin
Hope is a flickering candle, battling the coming din

Is there anyone out there, sounds through the void?
A flicker of recognition, then a message to avoid
This lonely endless drifting, this never-ending night
They are barely fading embers, devoid of any light

Dead starlight is their only light, in this eternal sleep
Dead starlight passengers, with secrets forever deep

'Achromatic horridness' is released !

The release date is here, oh yeah. You can find the album from streaming media services from this date (26th September 2024) forwards. Just checked for example Youtube Music and Spotify and it's there already. So no delay at all, awesome!

I can honestly say that I think this album is closest my vision for how I always thought Scumfusion should sound and feel. It's true scifi grind from beginning to end. Yes! 

The full album visual stream with lyrics is also available through < Youtube >. And embedded below.

CDbaby data problem corrected

Just checked and phew, ... the erroneous song data for one song has been corrected at least in CDbaby's album details already. I'm not sure if it causes distribution delay or not, to the streaming media systems online or not - with good luck it won't do any delay. Or if it does, not big one anyway. Tomorrow local time (Finland) we'll see.

I also have the full album visual video stream with lyrics ready and waiting in Youtube already. Yeah! It was truly heavy job to get that video done, not just the video editing, but because that video project had like 500+ components it caused "quite a few" crashes with the editing software ... in the end I got it sorted out, and I have to say I really dig the result.

I'll post release date stuff tomorrow here on 26th September. Stay grinded! :)

Possible delay problem with CDbaby

Unfortunately there was a data corruption in my submission to CDbaby - I did notice it myself afterward and I took repairing actions, but ... it meant I had to resubmit all the 20 songs for the system. Well, this wouldn't had been any kind of problem timewise, except ... bad luck, where I thought the audio data is being replaced, it wasn't because the fella at their end was "out of office" (and with no automated message of any sorts about it) so ... I got to know this only yesterday, and the release date 26th September is just around the corner. The data replacement got started yesterday (I thought it started well over a week ago, oh well) only, so it could mean that distribution to Spotify, Youtube music etc system might be delayed by some days. Well, not much I can do about it, a pity.

But there are good news that counterbalance the above; I have the album in 100% correct form waiting at Bandcamp so it will be available from there on 26th September certainly. And I'm also working on "full album stream video with lyrics" which I'll release in Youtube also on 26th September. So the delay with all the other streaming media systems is not that big deal in the end, I hope. Of course I would had liked all go perfectly smoothly, but as with life in general, you know - things don't always go exactly the way you want.

Cover artwork

Now that the release is looming around just few days, I thought to put the cover artwork here already. As you've probably seen'n'guessed, it's been already visible in some form or another in the few video clips (not in trailer though) ... but here it is, in its' full glory. And check out also the back cover below. You can see the artwork in bigger form as usual, by clicking on the pictures.

Lyric video for 'Alien professor anarchy' released

You can find the lyric video for 'Alien professor anarchy' from Youtube right <here> and/or alternatively you can check out the lyric video embedded below.

Possibly also a lyric video soon under works

I got an idea for "recycling" my rehearsal video from last June, you know, this clip right here - where I'm playing song number 13 from the new album. The idea is simple and straightforward, requires rather minimal videoediting - mainly adding lyrics to the video, perhaps some visual effect mixed in and replacing the rehearsal soundscape with album version of that same song. I think it will work nicely.

I'll probably craft this lyric video in coming days and put it to youtube within a week or so. I'll post about the release of the lyric video here in blog, too, you can count on it.

Music video is out, too!

I honestly didn't think I'd get the video fully edited today, definitely not. It's a short song of course, but it has lots of visual things happening, demanding lil' edit it was. But I kept tweaking and turning and tuning and look what happened; the video is ready! So I thought why delay the inevitable? No reason!

< here > is the link to Youtube page for music video and below it's in embedded form.

Enjoy!

Music video on its' way

For promoting a zero budget DIY project I naturally decided to craft another zero budget thing; do a music video by myself. Of course it's far from the first time, as anyone who knows be any better, knows. But this time ... bit like the vibe I have for 'Achromatic horridness' album (that it truly kicks ass, for me it's close to perfection of scifi grind done according to my vision) I feel that this music video is gonna turn out really good. It's still a work in progress, but I can already say it could well be the best ever music video I've done for Scumfusion. Perhaps best ever, all in all. It's coming out great, and it could well be ready for releasing in coming days. Yeah!

I have such a great vibe about the video, that I'd even call it as "promo video", instead of just music video as I usually tend to call them - especially my own creations. You will see. ;)

Tracklist and release date

I have set the release date for 'Achromatic horridness' and it will appear to streaming medias around the world on 26th September 2024 if everything goes smoothly according to plan. I don't expect delays at this stage. I will post front and back cover artwork here in this blog later this month, perhaps a day or two before the album appears into streaming services.

As the song titles show, the space tales vary from light and humor tinged into grand scale universe matters and anything and everything in between the two. There are topics of peace but there are topics of war as well. And there are more than one song which can be seen as musical obituary for my sister's and dad's deaths. But I think I save my analyses and trivia details for later (notably later), like for example in 2025 ...

In any case, here's the tracklist and song lengths as well ... and as you can see, there are more than one references to certain Lossidia, too. :)

1. Achromatic explosion (1:35)
2. Horridness of barren moons (0:59)

3. Planet of Atzsypellb (1:44)

4. Napalm universe (1:32)

5. Star slavers (1:11)

6. From dying suns (1:05)

7. Nebula highway (1:10)

8. Space excrements (0:38)

9. Before the big bang (2:02)

10. Rotting in space (1:44)

11. Dissonance of vault 69 (1:25)

12. Warp drive failure (1:49)

13. Alien professor anarchy (0:57)

14. Lecture by a grand traveller from Lossidia (2:47)

15. Space storm near Pleiades (1:22)

16. Grand galactic war incantation (1:24)

17. At thresholds of multiple dimensions (1:06)

18. Universe expanded (2:06)

19. Lossidia's war march (1:33)

20. Dead starlight passengers (3:22)

Overall length, as told earlier: 31 minutes 31 seconds.

The new album title is ...

Achromatic Horridness

... yeah, there you go, that's what this monstrous scifi grind attack will be called.

I've been more than hard at work doing the finishing touches for the album. Seems that towards the end I only have more and more energy for doing what needs to be done... and I can tell you; I've done a lot recently. Partially these final work sessions go smoothly because I've been preparing them here and there during earlier stages of creation process. Like for example the space ambience elements; I already had ideas for them during early Summer, and I wrote down the details what I thought then. Following my own notes the space elements ... have already been fully completed. Yeah! But I've also been using basicly all my free time doing this thing. Passion and inner fire burning hot.

Today I've listened the full album through something like 7-8 times ... simply to see how it flows, do the space elements work as intended, can I spot anything to fix, etc. Some small fixes were made after  the first two listening through sessions, but now past few listenings I've felt it is getting pretty damn near of being ready. Yeah!

I can already say how long the album is and the figures are 100% coincidental: 31 minutes 31 seconds. Funny, ehh?

If you think about numbers; 3+1+3+1 = 8 ... the number of infinity. Also 31+31 = 62 = 6+2 = 8, again. Number that presents infinity ... well it works nicely for pure scifi themed music, right?

There won't be really long space soundscapes (unlike with Mood:Doom at times, different style of music altogether), it's more about very short space sound elements. Only closing song has longer outro. Some track or two here and there have thematically longer outro, I guess, but "longer" ... is not really long in this case. The opening track has bit longer intro, as well, even that the song itself is 1-2 minutes long. :)

20 songs in 31min 31sec, I think it's pretty good length. It is what it is, all intuitional - nothing in this release is planned. If you take all the short (and few bit longer) space soundscapes away, the album is well under 30 minutes long, I think.

I'm thinking about making a music video for some selected cut, too ... and here I have a positive problem which isn't always like this: There are so many really nasty, gripping cuts to choose from! Really. But we'll see. And the icing on this scifi grind cake: I already have a veru possible release date in my mind, too - but wel'll get back to that later. It might be during September already.

Trailer for __________ __________ is out !

 Here's trailer for the forthcoming album.

< Click here > to go see it in Youtube, or watch it below :

Vocals recorded! Trailer ahead!

All the vocals have been recorded, took multiple more recording sessions on a daily basis. It was quite a task in the end, considering I have few layers for vocals and there are different styles layered ... definitely the heaviest task in making this album happen. But they are recorded, and I'm actually pretty happy with the results.

I've even had time for start crafting a trailer for the album. The trailer very likely gets done during next few days as I had a great plan for it, visually and choosing fitting clips ... it's gonna be true scifi grind trailer, I can already promise that! :) And it will give a good impression what kind of album is ahead.

More news in coming days, the next thing could well be the release of the trailer ... below is one picture from the trailer. 

True progression

Now as the flu has been beaten, I've managed to continue working with vocals. And I'm glad to say I'm now progressing the way I thought I would. It seems that the fact that it wasn't my singing making me in pain, that realization gave me new burst of confidence for screaming and recording vocals the harsh way.

Some 7 songs still have vocals to record, but I'm getting there. And it feels good. Actually I'd go as far as saying that this is quite certainly the best ever Scumfusion package I've done all by myself. I like it all musically, I like it lyrically, it's getting pretty damn close to what I envision Scumfusion to be. And that makes me feel really good.

Also the fact that this album is a tribute to my family members passed away ... the matter of life and death is here and there in the lyrics. Even that it's all space tales from start to finish. 

And it's going to be a truly noisy scifi grind package, indeed.

Them damage (but not really what I thought it was)

 As I was writing about the possible vocal chords' damage previously, it turned out to be something quite else. On last tuesday I recorded bunch of vocals, and quite soon I started feeling sore throat, pain, uneasy feeling in throat. Heck, I thought for almost 2 days it's really about "because I sang in such a wrong way" (using throat) ... but then I fast realised what it was all about; flu. 

Yeah. Suddenly I had high fever, runny nose, explosive sneezes, etc you know the deal. I'm still somewhat sick. At the same I'm relieved that I wasn't doing the damage by singing, but "it's just a damn flu" which coincidentally struck me just the same day as I was recording ... d'oh!

Progressing with vocals + artwork

 As I though I have more than enough work at hand with dayjob, so I haven't had too much time to work with Scumfusion. Lately I've done few sessions though, and it seems I'm finding the style and combination of vocals that fits the music well enough. It's just very exhausting work for me personally, seems that no matter how much I practice using upper body for vocals, I still use too much throat for singing - which results into effects like evening cough, slightly sore / dry throat, very slight throat pain (or simply uneasy feeling in throat area). It's not nice, of course, but I'm "working on it" at the same time I'm working on recording the vocals. It's twice more demanding, because - well, actually I wouldn't say necessarily that it's the "normal" vocals that seem to damage, but it's the sewer vocal style which takes its' toll on me. And on top of that, sewer vocal channel is similar sounding from start to finish - but the "normal vocals" ain't just one style, but there are few different ways of singing, slightly screamy, slightly growly, upper pitched screamy, very upper pitched screamy, ... well that might explain something about why it's demanding, too.

Currently I have 11 songs with vocals, so it's like 55% done ... supposing I'm happy enough with the results. I've also done like 4-5 different rought mix sessions with vocals in the songs so yeah ... and listening to the mixes and comparing, countless times.

In any case, it is progressing slowly but certainly.

I've also done some visual work in the meanwhile; not just front cover artwork is fully completed, but I've done the back cover (CD jewel case size) as well, and also crafted a massive image containing all the lyrics (that wouldn't be necessary, but just for fun and as I am up to it).

Back from summer break and statement about Facebook presence

One might guess nothing really happened with Scumfusion since I last time wrote, ... but the reality is the opposite. Pretty much the same thing happened with creating lyrics than how the music got composed during Spring; it happened really fast. I thought "I might start writing lyrics during June, before my summer holiday starts and that's it" ... well, not only I started writing the lyrics, but I wrote all the lyrics for all the twenty tunes during latter half of June. And it wasn't just writing, but I pretty much did vocal arrangements too, simply by listening the rough mixes and arranging at mind level. 

I also went into recording the vocals during those bit under two weeks in June ... yeah. And I got about 8-9 songs done, vocals recorded. And that's the stage I am currently. I shall be continuing the tricky task of vocals (lots of lyrics and fast pace and..) in coming weeks as / if my daily work permits. At work I have the busiest period of year typically from August into late September, but we'll see how it goes.

PS: Another matter worth (?) mentioning is that Scumfusion (nor any other music projects of mine) no longer has facebook page. It's not worth the hassle. I will have only these blogs and music will always end up in streaming services, and that's it.

One vision (not AI but Finland) from my summer holiday

About lyrics

 So, ... as you might have thought based on that rehearsal video thing, that hey this isn't titled just something like "new song" but Alien P.A. ... is that a song title? Yes, it's a song title in a shortened form. Song number 13 in the package. It didn't get chosen for rehearsal video because it happens to have a title for it, neither did it get chosen because of the music itself - it happened to be chosen just because I happened to be playing just that song briefly and the idea for making a little rehearsal clip after years of break came out of blue. And like I stated, it was all done really quickly.

But yeah, what about lyrics then?

Remember as I wrote earlier this month, that next I'll have to write lyrics and I'll report here how it goes, whether I get that process started before start my well earned summer holiday on 1st July ... well, I more than did get the process of writing lyrics started. As I started writing lyrics (first came lyrics for the very last song on package) they came out like a flood. Song titles the same thing there, and it all happened with such a great vibe, joy, I probably had smile on my face all the time while working on the lyrics. Only something like 3-4 days and I had all the lyrics written (!) ... yeah! And not just that but also something which really tells about the inspiration itself; while I wrote the lyrics, I did the arrangements let's say 95% complete for all the songs. I was like ... what the heck, what just happened? It all happened so fast. Like how fast the lyrics came, vocal arrangements were easy and smooth as well, whoa.

What all that means, well at some point I should find time to start experimenting with recording the vocals ... I don't know if I get there before I have my summer holiday or no, or perhaps I'll do some vocal stuff during holidays, time shall thell how it goes. 

Rehearsal video

 I shot a lil' rehearsal video tonight of one new song I was loosely playing. 

Video was shot in 1-2 minutes and video editing took perhaps 15 minutes. Fast job but a fun job, too!

So here you go, check it out below and get a hint what kind of stuff the new stuff is. :)

I'll put also the video URL <right here> in case you want to get there that way.

Twenty

I already composed the very last new tune a week ago - coincidentally it happened as it was my birthday, too. I knew while doing that song, that it will be the last, I already sensed the certain amount / flow will go this way, this time. The song that I did last, will not be the album closing track though. Actually I did think few weeks ago that the final song count could be bit different, few more songs - but as the process went on, it was suddenly crystal clear, that there will be exactly 20 tunes on this album.

I could had written about all that a week ago already, but there has been lots of things going on - some work stuff too, some short trip or two, but especially some gig stuff too. I went to see Godflesh like I mentioned earlier on (and it was helluva good, truly powerful stuff) and not just that, but there was this Brutalfest event too. Two day fest with 7 bands on each evening, shot some videoclips about each of the bands (just search "brutalfest antti kivilahti" in Youtube and you'll find 'em) and full sets by few of the bands (Galvanizer, Rotten Sound, Analepsy). Great little underground fest.

What I've been doing during past week or so with Scumfusion material then - is that I've had 20 rough mixes of the song bases, and I've listened em through in a row for multiple times, just to see how it all works as full album and especially how it flows from start to finish. Seems I already have the final order for the songs, the flow feels very good for me. Musically speaking there are hints of Scumfusion's past clearly here and there, happening "in an unintentional way" - and it's a twisted little way which works nicely for me personally. 

I already have some song titles in mind and next I will start writing some lyrics. Summer and holiday might put things on a break, but we'll see. I have no deadline nor timeline, this process goes on as it goes on - and it's good that way. Depending on how things progress, I might still write here before I enter them summer holidays (beginning on 1st July).

Grind on my plate vs. Worms floating through space?

 And the work on new material goes on, pretty much on a daily basis. Currently I have 18 song bases more or less ready. Recently as I started working on a new tune, a different idea came to my mind - and I instantly knew that it's going to be the last song on the album. Musically speaking it's connected to deaths in the family, and it's partially different song if compared to other blasters on the plate. There's also a connection to my doom project (Mood:Doom), not necessarily lyrically but thematically and when it comes to mood itself.

I feel / think just some tunes are still on their way, but clearly the composing mode is soon done for this package. This plate here filled with scifi grind is starting to fill up. From wormholes to worms ... in space?

Status (again) and some fan tribute stuff

 Again, just some days since last writing and new tunes have been born in the meanwhile. I have a feeling that I'm reaching a point where I have enough material for the release. Interesting to see if the flow starts to cool down around the figure I've thought could be fitting for the album. Anyway, the great vibes continue, even that I have a lot on my plate, work and chores at home - but still the tunes keep on coming on a daily basis.

If you want to check out some tribute "music videos" I've created during a year or two, check out this playlist by me at Youtube. You'll find big bunch of video clips from there in case you enjoy death/thrash/speed/grind etc extreme metal. 

I got the idea to start doing tribute videos like that few years ago, as a result of stumbling across some Opprobrium (formerly Inbubus) live music videos - where early 1990s bootleg live video clips were mixed with studio recordings of the songs being played. It worked excellently in my opinion, I really enjoyed those clips - and then later on got the idea to expand on that, just for fun, as I enjoyed those clips so much. And wow, I enjoyed crafting the tribute videos myself, and I enjoyed the results I got - by fan, for fans, just for fun (or for fan? ha!). Sometimes editing those tribute videos means sweaty moments, timing, syncing - and considering that most of the time I add the lyrics also. Well, I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy doing it. 

Well, until next time ...

Monstrous galactic filament vibes

 I've been more than on a creative roll lately, yeah ... I wouldn't be here writing this if it wasn't so. The vibes are great for composing and new stuff comes out easily and as fast as Mick Harris was blasting drums in Napalm Death's early years! Since I last wrote, and it's just day or two, I've crafted few more tunes. I thought to write about one good example from yesterday.

I had already crafted a tune yesterday and was more than happy about how it turned out. Then I went for jogging and fetched our kid from kindergarten, enjoyed some damn fine coffee at home ... then I picked my acoustic guitar upstairs thinking about just playing something for fun, while waiting for kid to prepare for going outdoors with me. Instantly I came up with a wild, furious riff - played it few times there, and as a result I had to go downstairs, record the riff down for making it into a song later. And later same day that riff turned into full song, about 1 minute long rollercoaster blast. Ha! So, the creative vibes as of lately feel a lot like this AI pic I randomly created (it came up on 1st try!) for this post just a moment ago. 

PS: I mentioned Godflesh recently while writing here and as it happens I'm going to see Godflesh on tour in Finland the next friday eve. Yeah!! I saw them last time in 2019 Autumn (and I rate that gig, where they played "streetcleaner" from start to finish, as one of best gigs I've experience), so it's about time to see them again, too. One week later from that I'm going to enjoy 2 day fest called "brutalfest" (new underground fest around here) which aims to be like miniature Obscene Extreme festival. So yeah, it's going to be a blast, literally. Hopefully. Not just bands like Rotten Sound (which I've seen numerous times, always as possible in recent years) but I especially look forward to seeing Analepsy (in case you don't know the band, check out especially their album 'Quiescence').

Cosmic dust collector

 More song bases have been forming since I last wrote and the shape of the album is starting to take form.  Some four more songs since I last wrote. Seems to be quite a rollercoaster ride musically speaking so far. It's almost funny how I mentioned Godflesh in some recent writing - about how I sensed Godflesh vibe (which does not mean grind, yeah, not tempowise in any case - Godflesh's bassguitar certainly grinds!) ... well that vibe is around in the opening track. but I think it's the only place where I feel it in a twisted way. 

Naturally I can't yet say how the final music will sound, but one thing seems to be certain: It will sound nothing like "latemogelian infiltration" where the production went all bollocks because of that crazy chiptune experiment. This new album will have no chiptune experimentation or no sound experiments at all like that - it will be very straightforward guitar/bass/drums splatter, with space soundscapes thrown in (which I will be creating last, I already sense some places in some of the songs for ambient stuff).

Musically speaking lots of the new stuff so far sounds like ... some chaotic space war. Unsurprisingly.

Noisemongerin' daily

 New material is forming on a daily basis, easily and having fun while at it. Currently I have 8 new song bases and more is on the way, the fountain of scum is boiling. As the creative process has been going on, it feels like I can sense strong vibes from "all the eras" of Scumfusion, so to speak. And I can certainly feel some influences which will never cease to influence me personally, stuff like early Napalm Death, early Disharmonic Orchestra, early Bolt Thrower,  early Brutal Truth, Autopsy, Godflesh, ... early Pungent Stench, Gorguts from 'Obscura' forwards ... while saying these continue to influence me, the emphasis is on the word influence. It's not like I choose to create something in the vein of band this or that, or album or song this or that. Most often it's like only afterwards I sense that this has a touch of influence from here or there.

In any case, it's a really good vibe, and the creative process continues. Pic from today's recording session below.

More than meets the streams (of Lossidia)

 Creative flow continues really strong, bubbling like those long lost colorless streams of Lossidia. New song bases have been forming one per day and it's a really good vibe to create. Not just the music is coming ahead furiously, but I even have the album name ready, as well. Yeah! 

And the flow does not end there; I had a strong visual idea which will turn into album coverart, worked it quite far already during past few days, sketching - when not working with music. I like the idea for coverart a lot, and I also like the word play that turned into name for the album. Both depict the music (that has been created so far) in a very fitting way, I'd say.

The album coverart is a different kind of thing if compared to past Scumfusion coverarts, it's different in more ways than one. It's not photobased like in past, for starters. Combination of hand drawing and digital. Rest assured, the music does not differ much when it comes to questions like "is it noisy? is it heavy? is it fast?" .... :) Music feels very Scumfusion at this point. This pic below has nothing to do with coverart, just some ... scenario from a planet which was called Lossidia? ;)

Flows like blizzard itself

 Creative noise flow is on and it's like the freakin' blizzard which is literally storming across Finland just today (23rd April) and the Spring just disappeared under white noise ... I mean snow. 

Well, I'm not complaining. I'm crafting some really nasty songs for next Scumfusion release whenever it's ready. And I can already say it's not a single (or two of 'em) release like it was back in 2022 - but it's going to be big bunch of songs. Already have a handful of them, and more are on their way. Some of the material so far is quite crazy in some ways - not conventional riffs all the time, at least in my way of seeing metal riffs in general. Not always predictable either. 

What I can say for sure, is that I really like the stuff I've been creating. That's the way it should of course be, too, but this this time I feel really strongly like it. Like ... you know the saying, the best thing you can do with yer pants on ... currently it feels like it's crafting these ugly little pieces of noise. 😈 Today as I was recording one song, I thought that yeah this definitely sounds like Scumfusion, but I can sense some brief twisted influences of Autopsy (or then early Disharmonic Orchestra) and early Brutal Truth here ... and a hint of early Bolt Thrower. Not bad, ehh?

Pic from today's session, seems that them vibes are coming to pics too ... it's alive!!111

Sciflux

 Yeah, more song bases are forming and it comes with a flow, too. Be it drums programming or crafting the riffs. And it is definitely very scum sounding stuff indeed. Few song bases with guitars and bass recorded with hardly more than one take - lively and ugly, the way that suits me fine especially with Scumfusion. I gotta love the bassguitar sound I got, it's ... very distorted and supports the extremely thin sounding guitars nicely.

I'm not making any limits really, the songs form as they come - so far it's been few rather short songs but it's not all blasting from start to finish either. 

Have a nice weekend! (I gotta go to pet trade fair with wife and kid on sunday, check out some cats and aquariums amongst other things)

Some dark scum brewing ... possibly ?

It's been a while since I wrote anything at all here, it was those single song releases I made, yeah ... and after that quite a lot has happened. Actually because of all that has happened, it feels like eternity since I wrote anything here and ... it's not even 1,5 years since I wrote. I've never returned writing here from  such tormenting experiences as the ones I've had during past 1,5 years. 

It's been truly heavy, sad and dark times from 2022 december forwards personally speaking. On top of all that has happened and what I can write about here is a lot of death, in rather short period of time. Very soon after I last wrote here the black year of 2023 started. Why I call it as black year? Actually to be honest I've been calling it the year of death. You see, within 8 months (beginning from December 2022) my dad died, then at my place of work workpal from my team died, then my sister died and also one cousin of mine (2 years older than me) died. And then one more distant uncle of mine died as well.  So, to say it was the year of death is not a bit of exaggeration. 

The biggest shock & pain effect came from my bigsister's passing, because she died way too young. It was expected though, because of her fatal disease which couldn't be cured ... just a bit over one year after she was diagnosed, and even that she got really good treatment ... she was gone. Even knowing the end is coming for her, it was a big blow. And there was certain kind of musical bond between me and sister - I mean, think about this (related to Scumfusion) for example: She saw close by what kind of impact Napalm Death made on me with "scum" especially, in around 1988-89 - and she soon nicknamed me as "scumbag" :) ... heck, I even liked that "nick" myself, because it described so funnily how much early Napalm Death meant to me. One might think such a nick would be insulting, but I carried that nickname with humor and pride, really. It was insider joke between sister and me. And you know, Scumfusion, it's not hard to guess where the project's name comes from. Yeah. Memories remain ...

.. and back to topic of people dying; my dad's sudden death was sad of course, too, but unlike my sister he had a very long life. Every other death out of all these that I listed were more or less somewhat unexpected, but still it was sister's expected death which really broke me with sadness. At the same time I can only respect the way she took her coming death from the early days on after getting diagnosed ... after initial shock she took such an attitude about it, hey this is life, life and death, death is part of life, so better enjoy the time she has left, and she soon made a massive "death cleaning" herself (as she called the operation herself), went through all her things and even planned her own funeral from beginning to end. Respect, and love, big time. Tears start to form when I think about all that ... and yeah, in past years I've been writing songs for sister's cats which have died (there are some obituary pieces even in Scumfusion's catalog, for example "epitaphium" from "under exoriant light") and now I have no sister alive anymore ... 

On top of all this, there's been some other major disruptions in everyday life, wife has had really tough times too lately ... not fatal, but generally speaking very heavy things indeed, like all that death wasn't enough already. If the saying "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" applies, I must be stronger than ... I don't know what? I can say it for sure, that year 2023 has been the darkest / heaviest year of my life so far, personally speaking. Totally. And I'm truly grateful that I'm still standing, mentally and physically fit. When it comes to all that death, it's getting better as dealing with sorrow is no longer as fresh and ripping as it once was. Sadness never goes away, of course, but at least I have the memories and lots of pictures and stuff ...

So, that was a very long intro, to sum it up: Lots of things can happen in one's life, it goes without saying - but then some (good) things don't go away, especially if you are passionate about those things. Music is one such thing, of course. I have many passions, but probably the biggest of them all has always been music. Be it listening or creating. I've been going to underground extreme metal gigs every now and then, actually quite a lot, and naturally listening to music as always - last Christmas santa (not me..) even brought us a special present; portable speaker that can deal with heat and water, so that now our family can listen to music also while in sauna ... ha! And we've been listening, too. Even our kid who is now 5 years old, is looking forward to weekly sauna session as "we get to listen some music as we are in sauna!" ... thankfully there is this child of ours bringing joy and happiness (in a way only small child can, innocence etc) to our lives during these dark times.

Recently after a break that feels like eternity, too, I took my dear Gibson and started playing ... and suddenly I had a song base which seems to reflect the dark waters I've been swimming lately. It feels an odd mixture of (if I had to put it into words) early Napalm Death of sorts combined with certain kind of strong Godflesh vibe, ehh ... it has slow, dragging heaviness, but also early Brutal Truth like blast parts and it all ends in plain chaos. You can guess how it feels? Well, it feels like ... Scumfusion material. I don't know how it will go from here on, but I'll write more as things progress. It could be a fitting outlet for the events of 2023, the darkest year of my life. Little screen capture below.