Per Gorlim’s request (thanks by the way!), I have here the complete reasons as to why the Hguols project does not (and will never) have vocals. Some of the reasons are personal, some simplistic – there’s even a bit of ranting. These mentioned reasons are not in any particular order, it is with these reasons
combined that Hguols will not have spoken words.
However, I will say Hguols does have lyrics on one album (so far). The “Celestial Powers Intervened To True Supremacy” track listing is meant to be read like a poem. Here is the track list without the numbers:
Destined to Find Sanctuary, I Found the Essence of Darkness
Within the Grip of Insanity, All But Life Was Lost
In This Exchange of Demise, Celestial Powers Intervened
My Eyes Have Opened, To True SupremacyNeat, huh?
Describes my life in a nutshell.
As for the explanations of why the absence of vocals, here they are:
~The 100% MIDI niche.~I first formed Hguols after I got out of the band Slough. I did some acoustic recordings, and managed to get one song laid out. However, with some increasingly serious personal issues (my addiction), I had no choice but to put this on hold. I lost the song I had in a house fire – the computer was destroyed.
I’ve worked with MIDI for quite some time, making some RPG style music for my own listening pleasure, and other game nerds like myself who were making
DarkBasic games. I decided to take a whack at making some “MIDI black metal” as a funny ha-ha thing. What I came up with had a decent and unique sound, and I decided to go with it.
I contemplated, and did some experiments that involved guitar with MIDI and vocals with MIDI. Perhaps it was my mixing skills at the time; perhaps it was the raw audio elements with the person-through-computer generated music. Whatever it was, it didn’t fit.
I decided to go with the strictly MIDI approach, whereas it didn’t feel like the music was pieced together from these other elements.
~The Propaganda Proposition~Slough had lyrics full of propaganda – they were very preachy. Somewhere I had a revelation, looking back with my GRIM “Scepter of Blood” era almost 10 years back. I was every bit as preachy then, just about something else. A parallel in my life to my using/drinking made me realize the unhealthy extremes.
If I’m willing to walk 10 blocks in a dangerous blizzard for a bottle of booze / bag of dope, and willing to walk 10 blocks in a dangerous blizzard for a meeting in a church basement, what’s really different in my behavior?
If I’m In a band that’s “mission statement” is “God is stupid, Satan is great”, and then make music on my own where the philosophy is “Satan is stupid, God is great”, what’s really different in my approach? Being on both sides of the fence, I was surprised at how similar the emotions, feelings and even the very core were to each other.
I no longer wish to be a part of this. It really has nothing to do with God, Satan, etc. but being fanatical, period, was harmful to me! The only difference between my “crusade” and my “addiction” was that my crusade didn’t hurt me physically.
I have turned my life back over to God since 2007. He’s always been there (I’m just the one that moved away) but He was no longer Something I just/only believed in. I’ve integrated Him into my life this time.
I am not a preacher – I do not believe I was called to do this. I have minimized “self-proclaimed” preachers in my life, whether it’s for God or against Him, whether it’s behind a pulpit or on a CD. No longer will I be a part of something that’s harmful to me, or part of something that births disagreements, drama, ill feelings and other outside opinions that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
So I remain silent and let the music do the talking. This project is based on entertainment. It’s fun to make, its fun to listen to. My faith in God doesn’t have a whole lot to do with my hobby, making music.
As far as my faith, I’ve taken the “When the student’s ready, the teacher will appear” approach. If someone wants to know about God through me, I can be an example and answer questions. I firmly believe God will put these people I my life, and he already has.
My experience with being preachy, pushy and forceful and placing aggressive emphasis on my words has done little more than being an irritant to those who don’t agree, and clicky arrogance for those who do.
Is Hguols a Christian project? No.
There’s no Christian message from this project.
It is a Christian’s project though.
~"So, are they actually saying something?"~Lets face it. Black metal is not a music genre everyone and their grandma is familiar with. I was surprised at how many people could process and enjoy the black metal formula (the tremolo distortion, the insane drumming, and optional orchestration) without “some wild man screaming his head off”. Quite a few people like black metal sans the vocals, actually.
It’s unanimous from where I live. My friends like what I make more than what I listen to – purely because of the style of vocals typical black metal has.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to be screamed at. ^_^
I think it was Iron Guardian who said something I’ll always remember, when he was listening to Epitome for the first time.
“This is good to just let this kind of music wash over you.”
I’m not the only one who’s found it refreshing to not think about what’s being said, or having to bring the message interpreter to the listening section. This goes for people who really like extreme metal vocals.
It’s nice, once again, to just let the music do the talking.
…and, I think that about sums it up!