Yet another new year

♫ Sabaton – We burn

Happy New Year, my dear readers! I know I'm a bit late with this one as well, but I think it's alright to wish a happy New Year at least during the first week of January. :)

I was a lousy, lazy blogger in 2013 and now I'm trying to write about the past year a bit, maybe about the new one as well. I was inspired by a few fellow bloggers' New Year's posts, and thus I'm going to borrow some elements and/or questions from them. ;)

The best memories of 2013
Going abroad feels nice every time – visiting Rome was something to remember for sure. A very dear friend got married in March, and I was one of her maids of honor.

"Just as sure as Rome is falling, I'll be rising again..."

The only photo of myself taken with my own camera at my friend's wedding :x

Did you do something you had never done before?

I visited Ostrobothnia for the first time AND for the second time too. >:x The second was not naturally the first anymore, but I visited different towns (and different sub-regions!) so I suppose it does count! And the trip to Rome was my first time in Italy as well.

I also went to a real big stadion concert for the first time ever – my favourite bands have usually been way too small to perform at such venues.

I started exercising at a gym, like weight-lifting and such! And no, this was not a New Year's resolution. It seems I quit too, since I suddenly no longer had that much time. >:x I didn't like it that much either, though I did feel good after the exercise and I know it did me good, but I have other physical hobbies which I prioritized once I no longer had the time for everything.

And when it comes to doing things for the first time, I could probably list a bunch of pole dance moves which I nailed in 2013.

You can go to Ostrobothnia, but you can't get away that easily...

Trying to catch a glimpse of Iron Maiden

This is not one of those epic success pole moves, unless the miracle of having enough grip at home counts. I have no evidence of the epic success moments. :(

The biggest achievement

Getting paid for doing graphic design again.

The biggest failure

My body is one big failure! Seriously, I'm suffering from something all the time; sports injuries here and there. At least I'm not very sickly otherwise, but it does piss me off that my body can't just take certain things when it comes to exercise (for example) and thus, I also failed my previous New Year's resolution (though I can blame my head too, not just the body!) Oh well, I'm trying again this year – hopefully I'll have some achievements to boast about later!

Are you happier than you were on this day a year ago?

Strangely enough, being able to drag myself out of bed too early each morning in order to go to work does make me happier than not being able to do that.

What did you want and get?
A job.

What did you want but didn't get?

A permanent job, but I am very happy and grateful for what I did get.

A rule of life you learnt

Don't evaluate yourself based on what others might expect of you (especially if you cannot meet those expectations).

And finally, what I am looking forward to or wish to experience in 2014:

I would like to get a permanent job.

A trip abroad – I'm just curious to see foreign countries and interesting cities, and I'll have to hope I can find the time and money.

Hopefully, there will be a lot of great concerts too!

And, I wish to learn a lot of new cool tricks on the pole.

Minutely Metal

♫ Battle Beast – Enter The Metal World

We started a new collaboration blog: 23.58 – Minutely Metal. 2-min.blogspot.com

Mostly metal news, reviews, gig reports and stuff like that, occasionally maybe something else as well. We're not too strict. The blog's in English, so metalheads from all over the world may enjoy it!

I will still keep posting about music in this blog as well, my style here is quite different after all. But you're welcome aboard another ship as well!

P.S: A piece of metal news here, related to the song I was listening to: Nitte has left Battle Beast. For a while I was shocked, but the new vocalist doesn't sound so bad after all.

Heavy beat Saturday

♫ Inmoria – Hear My Prayers

Oops, I'm not getting back to Berlin posts yet either. Instead, I'm trying to write a short post about last Saturday's heavy metal festival in the neighboring town. It was a two-day festival, but we only went there on Saturday. And here we have a quick summary of each artist and their show. The quality of the photos is "smartphone" because honestly, I forgot to take a compact camera with me.

Anthriel
The first band was Anthriel, metal from my hometown. I have been listening to their album The Pathway, and thus, really looked forward to seeing them live. Their show was good but it felt short, I don't think they even played all the songs from their only album. Their style is like melodic and progressive metal, hear for yourself:


Anthriel – Devil's Lullaby

Lunar Path
The second band was, although still Finnish, not from any of the neighboring towns. I hadn't listened to them at all in advance, so I didn't know what to expect. However, an unexpected quarter figured out I'm a fan too, so yeah... That's not quite true. Their show was alright, but it's difficult to set me on fire with a live show if I just don't know the band already. I'm not a big fan of female vocals in metal bands either.


Lunar Path – Paper Dove

Battle Beast
Did I just say something about not liking female vocals in metal bands? Well, I'm not taking that back exactly. Battle Beast was the band I was looking forward to the most, I have been listening to them quite a lot lately. And yeah, the frontwoman... Bloody hell, that voice. Let's put it this way: Most female metal vocalists make the music sound somehow too delicate and too dramatic to my taste. If they have soft voices (and even worse, if they're trying to imitate Tarja Turunen), they just rarely please me, at least not enough (to set me on fire). However, this lady, Nitte Valo, is so damn kick-ass. If I could sing like her, sure I would be a vocalist in a metal band! So yeah: at the moment I cannot name a female metal vocalist I would like more. Enough said. The music is awesome too, and the guys are quite young. The show was amazing. Perhaps that's the reason why these photos were the worst. I concentrated on rocking instead.


Battle Beast – Show me how to die


Battle Beast – The band of the hawk

Cowerpoint
This one was a heavy metal cover band. Nice stuff, although their version of Scorpions' Big City Night was a bit tame, it's not easy to convey the same, hum, expression as Klaus Meine. Got to hear some Skid Row, Judas Priest, Wasp and humm... Iron Maiden, even two of their songs. Fear of the dark made us jump-jump-jump. :> Apologies, I don't think I jumped on anyone's toes. It wasn't that crowded yet at that point.

Sonata Arctica
Does this band have to be introduced? Funnily, even though I like them a lot, I had never seen them live before. On the other hand I had a feeling their live show wouldn't be as good as their old songs are on an album. I had never even seen a very convincing live video, quite the contrary, but on the other hand I'm not into watching live videos to begin with. Thus, I was also looking forward to them, even though I was slightly afraid they would mostly play their new material. I have only heard their new single, not the whole new album, and I really like their very old material the most.

It was obvious that most people had only come there because of Sonata. :> Even though the event had an age limit of 18 years, the most avid Sonata fans were occupying the front row from the very beginning. (This resulted in these absurd moments when the other bands were playing and the front row seemed bored while the fun started from the second row to the back of the audience.) Thus, we didn't even try to get much closer to the stage anymore. The gig was okay in the end, even though they did play some songs I didn't know. I would have loved to hear more older songs, but at least there was FullMoon, and Don't say a word. Ah, had fun, great fun.


Sonata Arctica – FullMoon (cannot decide which songs to link here, so yeah, at least this is awesome)

It was difficult to get back to this city though! :D And I wouldn't have expected it to cost almost ten euros – the night time doubled the normal fee. Sadly, we and one couple heading in the same direction figured it out a bit too late – we should have shared a taxi, yet on the other hand it was impossible to find a free one. But it was fun still. Good times, good times. So long!

P.S: The festival outfit photo provided by a local newspaper this time. :0 So there, Sherlocks. Best regards, "the princess among the metal goblins".

The art of war

♫ Sabaton – Karolinens Bön

I've been a slightly lazy blogger, and slightly busy in real life as well. And if I was going to write about what special I've been doing lately, you might have a déjà vu after reading "I went to see Dreamtale live" for the fourth time. *giggles*

The theme of this post is warfare as a source of inspiration for artistic endeavours. Personally, I have very contradictory feelings when it comes to war and military related imagery. I'm quite sure most people can say they hate war and wish we could leave in peace and so on, and so do I. I'm also pacifist to the point of not being enthusiastic to try firearms if I ever got a chance (I'm talking about perfectly legal hobbies here). If I was a man, I would refuse to take military service, opting for civil service instead.

However, I cannot deny that warfare is a huge part of history, inspiration for stories, and probably even a remarkable part of human nature. It doesn't matter whether we are watching Star Wars, playing a sink ship game or reading some fantasy novel; war, battle or fight is often a part of the whole thing, not necessarily everything though. And why wouldn't it be? Two (or more) quarrelsome parties disputing in violent ways is often more interesting than peaceful conciliation. I also enjoy my regular dose of warfare whenever I've watching, reading or playing something.

This blog post is about real history though, not fictional wars. I've never been a fan of war movies or books, and I have been lucky enough to graduate from a Finnish comprehensive school, high school and university without having to read or watch The Unknown Soldier. I only had to watch a few scenes of the film in the Finnish film history lectures I had to take (which were probably the most horrifying compulsory lectures in university). And well, I can say I hate live action war films with a passion!

Some time ago I came across this DVD on sale, only for 5 €. Since I had seen it in a movie theater after its release and enjoyed it, I knew it would be worth my money. Yesterday we finally had a proper movie night and watched it, and well, it was still good.

Waltz with Bashir is Ari Folman's animated documentary film, released in 2008. It depicts Folman himself trying to complete a puzzle of his memories and recollections of his time as a soldier in the Lebanon War in the 80s. And it really is a documentary film, not a drama or an action piece "based on true events" – this means it doesn't have a real dramatic arc but consists of both interview and action footage like television documents. I think I once read how some professionals in the field wondered why Folman wanted to make this kind of film using animation, but I think the choice was perfect (not only because I wouldn't have watched it otherwise). The visual style of the movie is very interesting, and I think it portrays the soldiers' feelings very well: what it is like to be utterly scared, or to have a feeling of being on a vacation even at the front.

If there is a hole in your history knowledge and you don't quite know who were fighting in Lebanon and why, the movie won't leave you much wiser. It concentrates on the veterans' feelings, fears, memories and traumas rather than politics. I would recommend it to anyone who's interested in historical wars too, but first and foremost to those who haven't enjoyed other war movies like me.

And I guess the movie's success implies it is a good one; the front cover of the DVD states it was nominated for an Academy Award for the best foreign language film and it won the Golden Globe award of the same category. (Being an Israeli film, the main language is Hebrew.) One fangirl also had trouble sitting still back then in the movie theater when OMD's Enola Gay started playing in one scene. It's also a good war related piece of art!

I won't include everything I enjoy of this theme into one single blog entry, so I will move onto music now. Ever heard of Sabaton, a Swedish heavy / power metal band whose lyrical themes revolve almost solely around historical wars? Not only are the lyrics interesting, but their musical style combined with the frontman Joakim Brodén's strong voice makes their songs very enjoyable. (Most of their songs are in English but I also really like the Swedish versions of their new songs; somehow I think Swedish suits metal music.)


Primo Victoria is about the Invasion of Normandy, and the song which got me into Sabaton in the first place.


A Lifetime of War is from their newest album Carolus Rex which was released a few weeks ago. The lyrics are a good reminder of how insane warfare actually is.

I truly suggest checking out more of their songs or videos if you got interested. I guess I will stop here, though I might write more about the theme in the future, I already have something on mind. Until the next time anyway, so long!

P.S: Anyone else experiencing problems with Blogger loading CSS stylings? My blog background and linked fonts suddenly stopped loading, sucks!

Tears won't dry

"Look to the mirror // What do you see? // Beneath the shadows // Hiding your face // I can see hatred // Consuming fear"
– Dreamtale; Tears

Oh yeah, I've spent the last two days crying, or, only one eye has. I don't know why; one eye just started running a race with my nose a few days ago. A mild flu or something, but it's exceptional for my eyes to react in such a way although they are generally quite wet, and tears escape my eyes very easily when I go to bed and press my head against a pillow. And out in the wind etc... And my eye is not sore, red or irritated, so I really don't know why, but it's damn frustrating to look weepy all the time! I noticed the issue yesterday morning after applying my regular heavy make-up, and I had trouble with it all the day. In the evening I had to find a good solution and I tried using Grimas make-up to draw very heavy lining on my upper lids, but it didn't save my looks. And today... Well, I knew I had better surrender.

I went to work wearing only very light makeup without bright eyeshadow or any eyeliner at all. And although I can easily leave my apartment without any makeup, I don't like it if some external factors determine whether I can wear makeup or not. But yeah, just one day during Easter I popped to a kiosk in the central marketplace without makeup, and it wasn't really a problem. But I just like draw something around my eyes! (A side note: the makeup products I use are not the most sensitive to melting or smudging. Even the eyeliner I generally use was advertised as being tear-resistant or something! But oh, I tell you; it's not. And Grimas didn't work either; my eye really is running SO much that absolutely nothing stays there now. Oh, I even tried some UDPP and light eyeshadow today. Nope.)

Only one thing made this agony a bit more bearable. Last night a friend and I went to a local club to see Dreamtale live (yes, again). I guess we both were slightly hesitant since it was Thursday and we both had to get up for work in the morning. Well, I live in the city center so I'm not dependent on public transport, but the gig began probably over an hour later than it had been announced, so well yeah... In fact Dreamtale was only a warm-up act, with Humangod being the main, but I was more interested in Dreamtale anyway. Had they started on time, I would have liked to stay there to see Humangod as well, they're interesting after all, but by the time Dreamtale were done, it was already only six hours to when my alarm would go off for the first time (=six hours and a half before I get up). Oh well, I pretty much ran home and knowing that it would be nothing but a waste of time to try to apply my regular makeup in the morning, I could sleep for another fifteen minutes. :D

I don't have photos of the gig, didn't feel like taking any. Well, the guys hadn't changed much from a few weeks back. The gig was particularly enjoyable though! Unlike the last time, they played each and every song I wished to hear! That said; it was worth the short night and feeling all sleepy.

Back onto my makeup. I feel a bit strange when I'm without makeup or wearing very light makeup like in that photo. I don't know what it is, but I feel somehow... Okay well, when I'm totally without makeup I feel that I look like a boy. Not a man, but a boy. With light makeup I feel that I just look old and tired when my face lacks contrast. However, I popped to a pharmacy today after work, to get something for the running nose, and the pharmacist was about to recommend one product to me which was only for people over 18. Then she actually had to ask if I'm old enough. Thank you my lady, you made my day. Being sleepy and slightly sick, I had a stronger feeling than usual that I looked like I was over thirty.

I've noticed a strange thing; I think I manage to babble quite a lot in my blog posts. It's very strange; I'm comparing my style of writing to what I used to do with my studies. I always wrote compact essays and such, but often got better grades than those with twice as much text. Back then I couldn't really prolong what I had got to say with useless words! It seems I'm capable of it nowadays.

This entry has probably turned out boring by now, so I will entertain you with a bit of art for both eyes and ears. At first a portrait which I finished... Hmm, a month ago I suppose, because I think I finished it four months to the day after my dog's death. Well, a portrait of her. I actually had a print made of it for my parents; it was sent straight to them so I haven't seen it yet, but they've received it already.

I don't have much to say about it, I just felt the need to immortalize her sweetness once more. It was made completely using Photoshop CS5.

And then, candy for yours ears. I already embedded a few Dreamtale songs in this blog post but you will get another one here. I was somewhat surprised they played this last night, but it was awesome to hear it!

And one more thing. Sad, sad news. I mentioned Freedom Call coming to my hometown in that same metalfest entry – their concert date was confirmed and quite soon also cancelled! The whole event where they were supposed to play got cancelled. I'm so very disappointed! :C So long!

Make a fire of the storm

♫ SpellBlast – History of a Siege: Slaughter

What a night, oh my, oh my. This post will be roughly 10% about style and the rest... music. Metal. Let's begin with the style part though.

Last night we went to an event called NKM Metalfest, a club happening in the city center. Surprisingly, I actually have photos of what I wore to the club! This is quite something since I'm usually too much in a hurry to take photos of my club outfits.

I don't think my desire to do "fancy" photoshopping destroyed all the details in the photos. Basically, I had a small tube top with studs positioned in the shapes of crosses over breasts, a pinstripe waist corset, a short skirt with a wide hem, home-made ripped tights, high-heeled boots and long armwarmers. And a Kreepsville necklace. I also had a simple, small black bag – naturally, though it turned out to be too small indeed, especially after I had purchased two CDs and someone else three, and they all had to be stuffed into my bag for the rest of the evening...

Sometimes I feel I stand out from average metal concert goers though. And I'm talking about women, it would be natural to stand out from male metalheads. In a way I might feel overdressed – something which never happens in a goth club since I'm far from being as imaginative as the most stylish goth chicks. However, I do want to have the fun of dressing up whenever I'm going out.

Onto the music part now! There were four bands altogether; Crow's Flight, Cardiant, Force Majeure and Dreamtale. I had listened to all the others except for Cardiant, but I was very interested in them as well as we're hailing from the same hoods and I've actually listened to some of their members' earlier music projects. All the bands represented power metal more or less, with elements from other genres as well; heavy, electro... That sort of.

I have crappy photos again since I deliberately used only my phone as the concert camera this time. I knew it would turn out like this, but I wouldn't have wanted to carry my SLR camera. In a way that's a pity; I would have got to take awesome photos in the front row.

Crow's Flight – an interesting Finnish–Swiss act. I was almost the only person who dared to go even remotely near the stage though, which is a pity. I really enjoyed their show, with all my favorite songs from their own album and Shot in the Dark and some Rammstein cover songs.

My favorite song might be Heroes Dying Alone, though it's probably also their #1 hit. Crow's Flight and Gabriel are also close to my heart! I had been listening to them on Spotify (which I recommend others to do too) but I wanted to buy their album The Calm Before, just to support them. Besides, the guys were nice, and offered to give me their autographs (yet some of them had left the club by the time this happened). But had fun chatting.

Crow's Flight – Heroes Dying Alone

The next band was Cardiant (this time the banner on the wall is correct too). As I said, I hadn't heard their material before. It was enjoyable, but didn't blow my mind. I cannot recommend any song for you to listen to, because I cannot remember any by name.

Force Majeure – I think the event host described them as "disco metal", basically they're power metal with some electronic elements. A very good show, the vocalist is talented and an energetic performer. The bassist was radiating energy and delight as well.

I guess I rocked most to this song: Ecstasy

And last but not least, Dreamtale. Very enjoyable power metal again. I can admit that I'm mostly familiar with their album Difference (which is quite old already, and with Jarkko Ahola as the vocalist), but I bought their newest album, Epsilon, at the club. Their show was awesome as well although most of their songs were only vaguely familiar to me, and they probably only played Lost Souls from Difference. (I would have sacrificed something important in order to hear Secret Door. It's my favorite, though somewhat vulgar. Anyway, the melody is bloody catchy!) However, I got to hear Angel of Light and Firestorm, had to watch out for the vocalist's hands so that they wouldn't hit my face and had a great time.

Dreamtale – Angel of Light

Dreamtale – Secret Door

The event host also evoked some excited fangirl screams from me by announcing that SpellBlast and Freedom Call would come to perform in my hometown! The former probably in May and the latter in June. Oh my, cannot wait, especially for Freedom Call! Looking forward to some confirmed information though. So long, hopefully you guys have enjoyed your weekend thus far as well!

P.S: If you've got nothing better to do this weekend, hurry and go grab yourself a free copy of the eBook The New Death and Others which I reviewed some time ago. And even if you weren't bored, hurry, you can save it for a better moment! :D Don't miss the chance!

Fear and trembling... and battle metal

♫ Sonata Arctica – Tallulah

Damn damn, I wish I had had time to update my blog earlier during the week so that my post subjects would be more in-keeping with real topical issues... such as Halloween. But I guess I will now write about what happened last weekend, and I will probably have to skip Halloween for now. I'm going to a Halloween party tonight – having been over-enthusiastic about my Halloween style for a month or so. I've already tested my idea and it seemed to work well – and I took some photos too, but I think I cannot publish them yet! I might be attending another Halloween party (with totally different people) on All Saints' Day, and I cannot let all those friends stalking my blog see what I have planned. ;D

Last weekend was all about partying, probably in order to celebrate my birthday. There was an event called Very Possessed: 20 years of Spinefarm records in Tampere, with MyGrain, Profane Omen, Metsatöll and Ensiferum playing there. I went there merely because of Ensiferum, which was also the main act. We did not even go there early enough to see MyGrain, whereas Metsatöll, playing second, was entertaining. They are from Estonia, singing in Estonian, and it probably sounds more amusing to Finns than it would to English-speaking people, for example. I like Estonian although I basically don't understand it (much). However, the vocalist pretty much spoke in Finnish, yet it was obvious it was not his first language.

Metsatöll

Please excuse the quality of my photos again. I didn't want to concentrate on taking photos so I only had my little compact camera with me, and hence, the photos aren't breathtaking.

Ensiferum

Unfortunately enough, I began to feel very bad before Ensiferum's turn, and by the time I was standing as close to the stage as possible, waiting for them, I no longer knew whether I would faint, vomit or just crack up. And the feeling did not go away during the night anymore. However, as stubborn as I am, I couldn't bring myself to leaving my spot and looking for a place to sit – I thought that since I had come to see them, I would be listening to them as close as possible; that's how I usually enjoy my gigs. Violent mosh pits behind my back didn't help at all, and whenever I couldn't see a single friend I felt a bit vulnerable, wondering what would actually have happened if I had fainted there.

However, I stood there for the whole time, and I guess it was worth it. I got to shake hands with two members of Ensiferum, and such little details are the things that make gigs unforgettable to me. Like this. 

I also want to embed one Ensiferum song here – one of the less well-known old songs. I've been listening to it quite a lot lately.

Ensiferum – Battle Song

Onto other matters then... Fear and trembling (see the post title) is a novel by Amélie Nothomb, which I have read long ago – it's entertaining enough if you're interested in Japanese culture. However, what I was actually referring to with those words was probably the feeling – or feelings – which I have been going through lately.

Although this is not a ranting blog, I could explain the situation a bit as it affects me so much, and probably kills my blogging mood every now and then too. My dog's condition has kept me downcast for a while now. She's just so very tired... And so very weak. I'm afraid of losing her any time now, although she could live for years still with her medication. However, no one knows how she's doing for real. Now, I certainly have to point out that she is most likely not in pain, and receiving such treatment a vet recommended. I'm saying this because I don't want to hear anything about being cruel for not putting her down. However, it's heartbreaking to see that a dog who was active and happy back in July is now very slow, inactive and tired. And I'm taking the whole issue particularly hard. I've been crying so much lately, especially when I go to sleep. The other day I started to cry at work only because I was thinking of her. I know I cannot do much to her. Then I feel bad if I try to think of something else or even have some fun. I know I shouldn't refrain from living as she's not dead yet and might not even be dying any time soon. But she means a world to me. Maybe I'll make a post of her some time in the future to explain these things better – to elaborate on what exactly is so special about her. Naturally, each and every pet should be very special to its owners, yet my dog has quirks that have been relatively "widely acknowledged".

...I should start making myself up for the party soon. Should probably eat a bit before it too. Yet I'll still mention one thing, my newest creative project. Recently I purchased four photo frames; one decorative and three simple ones of the same style. Yet I won't be putting photos into the frames but I'll pull myself together and draw/design something to fill them with. The single frame will be reserved for something Edgar Allan Poe inspired, whereas those three... Well, they will all have the same theme, maybe you can guess what it is.

Already got this far with the Poe piece!

Now I need to attend to other things. So long, and happy Halloween! And welcome aboard, my newest readers! ♥

Come sing along with the pirate song – a pirate party playlist!

I think I never talked much about my playlist for the pirate themed party I held in July. Now that Halloween is approaching, I figured I would make a post about my picks for a piratey playlist – especially since I know I am not the only one who's into pirate parties! Maybe they are even trendy these days? When I was in a costume shop before my own party, a 30+-year-old man came in looking for some pirate attire.

Anyway! I will recommend some ten~ piratey songs which should really appear on a piratey playlist for a piratey party. I must point out that I'm into heavy music in general, and I haven't delved much into piratey songs of totally different genres. However, the songs presented here have 100% pirate credibility.

1. Running Wild – Pirate Song


Running Wild is basically the first "pirate metal" band, and it sounds like what it is; 80's heavy/power/speed metal with piratey lyrics.

2. Alestorm – Shipwrecked

Alestorm is my favourite piratey band, yet this is not my favourite song. However, I chose to present it because of the music video, and the song is good too. Alestorm dominated my party playlist because all of their songs are about pirates, and so many of them are perfect for such a party! I truly suggest checking out some others in Youtube or elsewhere. My favourite song is Captain Morgan's Revenge (must embed it as well!), and other must-have tracks for a party playlist would be Wenches & Mead, Pirate Song, Keelhauled, Nancy the Tavern Wench, The Sunk'n Norwegian, Rum and Back Through Time.


Alestorm – Captain Morgan's Revenge

"At sunrise we'll all dance the hempen jig
So raise up your pint of rum and take another swig"

3. Turisas – Hunting Pirates


I know I have already shared this song in my blog, but here it goes again. Okay well – maybe it has an anti-piratey twist since "...when the soldiers of fortune hunt for pirates", but isn't it just natural for pirates to have enemies? Otherwise Turisas' lyrics are battle/viking inspired – worth checking out too. Go listen to Sahti Waari.

4. Tierra Santa – La Cancion Del Pirata I (&II)


Some Spanish for now! I don't understand it at all, yet still enough to know what these songs are all about! The parts of the song are combined on the video, but at least in Spotify they're available separately. The first part is my favourite.

5. Hans Zimmer – Drink Up Me Hearties


Naturally, from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End soundtrack. Even in a piratey party, you will need a moment for an instrumental song so that your guests can down their rum and everyone gets to catch their breath after all that singing. Besides, the song still comprises some very lively parts too. The PotC soundtracks have other nice party tracks too – such as Two Hornpipes from Dead Man's Chest OST.

6. Orden Ogan – We Are Pirates


Presenting this one with a video too, since the video is awesome, and this just might be the best piratey song I know. It's just so epic, you must watch the video (fullscreen!).

"A black sky above, our kingdom beneath
Die in the waves or live on your knees"

7. Pirates of the Sea – Wolves of the Sea


I have already embedded this one in my blog once, but it should be listed here too. Latvia's Eurovision Song Contest entry in 2008. Alestorm has a cover version of this song.

8. Blaggards – Drunken Sailor


The song is a traditional shanty, Blaggards made it rock. Check out Irish Rovers' version too.

9. Lazy Town – You are a pirate!


...yes, I've embedded this in the past too. Watch the video and practise the girl's dance in order to be hardcore. A tip: Alestorm made a cover version!

10. Yo Ho Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me)


It was annoyingly difficult to find a proper version to embed here, and I was also looking for another pirate shanty, Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum (Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest). It seems no one has made any cool versions of them! The latter has been released on a Pirate Party Music CD with the name The Pirate Song, though. You will find it in Spotify.

Bonus+++!
If you're into techno, try..:

Toy-Box – The Sailor Song

For Finns (and naturally, non-Finns as well):

Hevisaurus – Kapteeni Koukku

If your inner pirate would prefer flying:

Abney Park – Airship Pirate


And a few more...
I will not embed the rest of the songs since they are not exactly piratey. However, some of them will certainly suit such a theme party, and at least we listened to some of those in mine.

Korpiklaani – Vodka
Korpiklaani – Tequila
Ensiferum – Twilight Tavern
Dingo – Kiinanmeri
Metallica – Whiskey in the Jar


I hope this post was of some pleasure to you captains out there! Come raise the flag of the fallen and have some joyous pirate parties!

Stand up and look into the light

♫ Army of Lovers – Carry my urn to Ukraine

I sort of apologize for not updating for a while, it seems I've been busy. I found a post draft here and forgot what I had been about to write...

Turisas was awesome live! I also got to hear the awesome song Hunting Pirates which I mentioned in the previous post. The following photo probably describes how great fun I had.

Oh well, actually the photo isn't particularly good, I hadn't thought I'd have to use the lens I had for such. Too bad...

I'm afraid I've got nothing particularly interesting to write about. Yesterday my thesis work got accepted, which might mean that my graduation is getting closer. Otherwise I've been working, looking for an apartment, doing this and that... Been busy. Went to a hairdresser's yesterday and and... What else.

When it comes to another topic, cheap accessories can be truly annoying. The necklace or pendant which I showed in the previous post is already losing paint off its chain! Having taken it off yesterday, I noticed a brown line around my neck, and then I realized the grey metallic texture in the chain had also begun to turn brown! Bloody hell. I know such things happen to cheap metallic (and "metallic") jewellery, but it's so bloody annoying when it happens so soon! Does anyone have any tricks to slow down the process, or to prevent it altogether, or maybe some ideas what to use to repaint the piece? The last solution may only work well for matte items, but that's what the necklace in question is. I'd like to try something...