Helvetica Outbreak: The best thing that never happened to music!

My housemate and best friend from university came to stay last week, and as we relived the old days it reminded me of a little project we sank quite a few hours into - introducing Helvetica Outbreak, the ultimate drum 'n' bass/metal cross-over that sadly didn't make it!

Equipped with a couple of electric guitars and a macbook with Garageband, we had high ambitions which sadly were never realised. However, looking back on our jamming sessions, it doesn't matter that the music didn't travel much further than our ipods, because we had fun.

The Helvetica Outbreak myspace page still exists, so you can listen to our tracks - let me know if you like them!

My Current Preoccupation

So I realised the other day, I haven't updated y'all on my latest creative project. No, it's not the rebirth of Helvetica Outbreak, Britain's premier d'n'b/metal act, sorry to disappoint.

I had planned for quite a while that when I finished uni I would use my spare time (before I get a proper job) to get a head-start on writing a novel. I was going to adapt my science fiction/noir screenplay for this purpose, but I figured that I've spend almost a year working on that narrative and it needs some time to ferment.

Whilst I was pondering what to use as my subject matter, an article in Christian Marketplace, an industry magazine for booksellers and buyers, was brought to my attention. The article was about the lack of fantasy fiction aimed at Christian teenagers, and how there's no viable Christian alternative to the popular specular fantasy sagas like Harry Potter, Twilight and the His Dark Materials books.

As soon as I read this I had the 'lightbulb flicking on above head' moment of realisation; this is what I could write. I started working on my idea and began writing a couple of weeks ago when I got home from uni. So far I have written 17,500 words, with my target being roughly 80,000 words, depending on how the narrative evolves.

I won't give away too much of the story, as I want to plug the gap in the market before anyone else does, and don't want any idea thieving going on! But I will say that the novel is about a Christian teenager who discovers he has the ability to cross over into the spiritual realm, where he is given the task of defeating the demons which manipulate people to sin the physical world. It's pretty dark stuff, but I figure that's what kids like these days. The protagonist also has to deal with the everyday pressures of being a Christian teenager, but I'm trying to avoid being 'preachy' and just sticking to basic helpful life-lessons, as well as encouraging the reader to develop their relationship with God.

There you have it. Like I said earlier, I hope to be approaching publishers by the end of the summer. We'll have to wait and see if I have any success, but I do really feel that this is something God has placed on my heart and that it is a way I can use my gifts to serve Him and bless others.

On another completely unrelated note, I can't wait to see Inception! It looks like it's going to be amazing. When you consider Christopher Nolan's track record, you can't really expect him to go wrong now. I've watched The Dark Knight over and over and every time I find some new aspect of it I didn't see before. Anyway, I think it's safe to say that Inception is gonna be my film of the summer, if not the year.

Also, on the topic of films, I started watching Princess Mononoke again the other day, and had forgotten what an incredible anime it is. If you like Studio Ghibli movies and haven't seen it yet, go and get a copy now, it is a breathtaking classic. Don't know if it's my favourite Miyazaki film, cos Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are also brilliant; and then there's My Neighbour Totoro, who could forgot that. Any movie that contains a cat that is also a bus gets a thumbs-up in my book!

My top ten metal albums

10. The Black Mages - The Black Mages - What do you get when you combine the genius of Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu and shamelessly cheesy prog-metal? An album of top-quality instrumental tracks exploding with screaming guitar solos and ethereal synths. The track 'Force Your Way', the boss music from Final Fantasy VII, demonstrates why this a must-have for metal and FF fans alike.

9. All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals - Standing out from the plethora of similar metalcore albums, this record contains the perfect mix of raging screams, melodic choruses, technical guitar solos and pummeling drum beats. It's hard to pick a stand-out track, as this album really is all killer and no filler, but I guess I'll have to go with 'It Dwells In Me', because it contains my favourite solo of the record!

8. Reuben - Racecar is Racecar Backwards - This album represents for me a reworking of the 90s grunge style for a new century, containing a messy, raw energy combined with heavy metal brutality. The British trio's best track from this album is 'Let's Stop Hanging Out' in my opinion, a discordant and yet effortlessly catchy tune with an awesome refrain.

7. Sikth - Death of a Dead Day - I almost forgot this album! Technical metal at its best, jazzy discordant licks placed skillfully alongside ferocious metallic double-kick drums and some of the most original vocals of any album. The lead guitar on this record is truly sublime, matching up to the standards of guitar virtuosos like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and the riffs also follow this pattern. 'Part of the Friction' would have to be my choice for the best track on the album, its incredible intro leading into a great song, filled with superb licks.

6. Trivium - Ascendency - After a period of not listening to metal, this was the album that brought me back to the genre, in particular encouraging me to grab my guitar and learn some brutal riffs! The record bursts at the seams with soaring twin guitar attacks and powerful rhythms, with the song 'The Deceived' being the one that sticks out for me, a brilliant combination of lead guitar and relentless chugging.

5. Enter Shikari - Take to the Skies - The main inspiration for my short-lived band Helvetica Outbreak, this album represents a triumph of originality. The combination of drum 'n' bass beats, dance-inspired synths and crunching riffs is extremely organic, topped off with catchy and memorable lyrics. Once again, there are so many good tracks on this album, but if forced to pick, I'd have to choose 'Return to Energiser', due to its awesome trance breakdown that morphs into a hectic metal beat-down.

4. Pantera - A Vulgar Display of Power - R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell, one the most amazing guitarists of all time, and the creator the brilliant riffs and storming solos from this iconic groove-metal album. There is a Southern States swaggering attitude that exudes from all the songs on this record, a perfect blend of punk savagery and heavy metal furiousness. The track 'Walk' is my definite favourite, having one of the best metal riffs of all time and an epic solo, cementing DBD as one of my major guitar heroes.

3. Deftones - White Pony - One of the first albums I bought during my teenage years, and probably the start of my love affair with the musical genre of metal. Because of this nostalgia I chose this album over its predecessor 'Around the Fur', which is also an exceptional record. There is an eeriness and intensity to all of the Deftones' music, and this album is has some particularly powerful examples of this. My favourite track from this alternative metal classic changes every time I listen to it! At the moment I'd have to say 'Digital Bath' is the one, not only for its weird title but also for the dark, edgy feel and brooding soulful vocals it contains.

2. Fear Factory - Obsolete - Another one of my teenage favourites. This concept album, based around the story of a dystopian future where machines have surpassed mankind (disclaimer: this came out before The Matrix), is an unrelenting industrial assault, with growling vocals and electronic effects to finish of the mix. I think it's the literary connection that makes this album so good for me; the story surrounding the songs is top-notch. 'Edgecrusher' is the best track here, because of its brilliant riff and also because of its subject matter, a dark renegade machine fighting against the evil autocratic government of the future.

1. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine - We've reached no.1! What a journey. This is my favourite album mainly because of Tom Morello, the band's guitarist. When I started playing guitar, the riffs from this album were incredibly fun to learn and still great to come back to. Morello is a phenomenal player, mixing traditional pentatonic rock with avant-garde solos and effects, pushing guitar playing to the very limits of what it can do. I don't really listen to Rage for the political stuff to be honest, it's all about the music for me. And for the record, I didn't download "Killing in the Name of' for Christmas no.1. What's the point? It's just gonna make the record company more money. Anyway, my favourite track has to be the album opener 'Bombtrack'. Quality riff, takes me back to the days when I used to play bass in my brother's band, rocking the school variety show! Fight the power!

So there you have it, my favourite metal albums. I had to make some difficult choices, excluding some great bands like Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying, Gojira, The Mad Capsule Markets and so on, but I'm happy with my final decisions. Feel free to comment, tell me whether you agree or think I've got it horribly wrong!

"I love his face!"

I had a very interesting day yesterday. My mate's girlfriend was down to visit him from London and I found out that she thinks I'm hilarious, which I have no problem with, just another person to add to my army of fans. But I wasn't so impressed when finding out that the reason for her amusement in my presence is that she "loves my face!" Is that an insult shrouded in a compliment I detect? Oh well. I just think it's funny cos my girlfriend hates it when people laugh at me, she tells them off for 'encouraging' me.

Last night some of my friends came over and we spent 2 or 3 hours making music on my macbook. The song we made was horrifically funny, but I think you probably had to be there to enjoy it fully. I've realised though that I spent £130 on Logic Express software (which is really cool), thinking I would use it for my short-lived band, Helvetica Outbreak, and now all I use it for is to make comedy songs. So if anyone wants to record some songs or make some music, please feel free to make use of my expensive and hardly used music software!

One more thing...

I forgot to mention this in the Common Dreads review but Enter Shikari were one of the main influences on a band that my old housemate Tom and I set up a couple of years ago. It didn't really get off the ground but we did manage to record some tracks which can be found on our myspace page. We were called 'Helvetica Outbreak' and we played a fusion of drum and bass/trance/metal, so not surprising that Enter Shikari were an influence.

Anyway, the band is very much moribund now as Tom as finished uni and gone home, but you can have a listen and see what you think. Click here to get to the myspace page.

Coming soon on 'The Musings of Samuelj' is another short story, a fairy tale I wrote for my university course called 'The Prince and the Bridge'. Hope you enjoy!