Inspired

Flu, bad weather & very little indoor engagements so I watched some live Dissection clips online. This pic here is from their Live Legacy album, one of the few live albums I really enjoyed listening to. Both guitarists in the band played Gibsons; Nodveidt here with his Flying V & Norman (not seen but at left) with an Explorer. Their guitars were downright no frills & they managed to drive things through with maximum aggression. Find this very inspiring. I noticed there were many moments when Nodtveidt just focused on pressing heavy riffs to underscore the composition, his left fingers hardly moved.

So out came the RGD321 to help me live some heavy moments, not necessarily fast, just heavy crushing moments. I'm glad that I have a guitar dedicated for detuned ideas & one that sports a slightly longer scale length to minimize string tension issues. Note- longer scale length, not a longer guitar. I started out thinking that the longer scale length impedes speed but being me, I had to try one & be open to the fact that I might be wrong. I was definitely wrong. A guitar of this nature requires  adaptation & once your fingers are good after some playing moments, it's like playing another guitar. 

I ended up owning 5 longer scale guitars but currently, only 3 are residents here. 2 went to more deserving owners. I might just get one more once the right Solar model ships in & that won't be any time soon. 

Remembering Nodtveidt

One of the most respectable Les Paul wielding players in my books is certainly the late Jon Nodtveidt. This Aug 16th marks the second year of his passing, this memory is a tribute to the man & his music, I am not one to sympathize with his spirituality.

The final Dissection release (Reinkaos) was a downturn to many hardcore fans especially so when its two predecessors (The Somberlain/ Storm of the Light's Bane) proved to be landmarks in terms of music genre. What Nodtveidt did was respectable, the materials in Reinkaos proved to be commanding but many failed to see the man deviating from his past by choice, not because of some lethargic former life hauntings. Nodtveidt was also one who took time to deliver his solos, majority of which were down-tempo phrasings; there was no rush for leads, the man took his time.

On the night of 16th Aug 2004, Jon Andreas Nodtveidt was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, lying in a circle of lit candles (sources stated the time of death to be disputable- he was discovered dead on the 16th but the actual time of death could have been earlier). It was a case of spiritual manifestation where a gnostic proved to the world his end time to be entirely his doing & not pre-determined by a higher power. A Satanic Bible was discovered on his person at the time of discovery but a confirmation by fellow band member (guitarist Set Teitan) revealed it to be a copy of Liber Azerate instead (a publication by the Misanthrophic Luciferian Order).