TSM
The Shadows Magazine Issue two
Regretted Tattoos get fixed Explore the Batted crypts of Madame Le Goth
Spiritual art by Alex Grey.
Inside the Black and White… Note from the editor
3
Our winner is…
4
World Goth Day
6
From the crypts of Madame Le Goth
11
What’s your genre?
19
ArtAches (Alex Grey art)
21
Becoming IAMX
25
Outlast Game review
30
What we think of Vikings on History
32
Boy, you’re a wolf
34
Regrettable tattoos
35
Gothic Era music top 20
37
Message From я∕̴)v
εn
#FORsophieLancaster Competition The Shadows Magazine is picking up momentum. Soon we will have a website up and running, and regular posts to various formats. We ran a small competition during the month of May to help us raise awarenes s to our subculture. With Sophie Lancaster in our minds and what that foundati on does for the world we decided to hashtag our competition with Sophie’s na me. To take part, all that you needed was your selfie and a like on the sponsors’ pa ges. All you needed to do was to post said selfie on our facebook page or twitt er timeline with the caption #ForSophieLancaster. The selfie that generated th e most traffic to our page won.
Congratulations to Lillika Harber for being the first to win with TSM. You have b een great fun as a winner as well so we feature you on our cover. To all the sponsors, we are truly grateful for participating in our cause. Freedo m is important with expressing our true selves and you helped many people realize how free they are. To those who submitted your #ForSophieLancaster selfies, I hope you never st op just being who you are. You're all so beautiful and it is your confidence that made it all so amazing. Keep your eyes open for important updates‌
More fun and games coming as well...
World Goth Day World Goth day is the tiny fragment of recognition that our Subculture so greatly deserves and finally receives. The world Goth day website describes the day as “World Goth Day is exactly what it says on the wrapper-a day where the Goth scene gets to celebrate its own being, and an opportunity to make its presence known to the rest of the world. This day falls on 22nd May of every year. Our lifestyle is generally not one where we want a lot of attention, even though we get it anyway because of the way we express ourselves and especially our dress codes. Quite frankly we don’t care what anyone thinks. But this day is not about them. It’s about US. The Website sums it up very nicely. “There are quite a few Goths who have fought damn hard to retain their identity despite peer pressure, family pressure and indeed, any pressure to conform. And if you've gone to all that trouble to preserve what you believe is the 'real you', don't you think you owe it to yourself to shine for a day?” It’s a day that celebrates our Uniqueness. One day that’s yours and to not give a damn about anyone’s bias and ignorant opinions (not give a damn more than usual). The folks on the world Goth day Website have a few suggestions for things you can do on world Goth day: Take over the radio.
You & your friends can canvas your local radio station (or supersize your efforts and take on the National stations) and get them to play at least one track by a Goth band. Without descending horribly into what you interpret Goth to be (because this isn't the place for it), firstly you'll need to think about what you want them to play. As you can imagine, the likelihood is that your local radio station doesn't hold the latest album by whoever is currently enticing you to shadowdance around your front room bathed in imaginary dry ice. Make an obscure request and watch them ignore you hard in the face. It may be best to 'stick to the classics', such as something by the Old School crowd (Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure, The Cult, Sisters, etc.) as the chances are that somewhere deep in the shelves of your local radio station, there's a very dusty chart compilation CD from the eighties that only ever got played twice, and that was probably back in the early nineties. You could try roping in your work colleagues into things as well. A tried & tested game on Goth Day 2009 was an office sweepstake where everyone put money into a hat/bag/whatever & phoned into their local radio station and requested a track, whoever got their track played bagged the cash. It's a winwin scenario. Support your local Goth night. The chances are you're probably going to do that anyway. But the sad fact is, that compared to your local 'normals' club night, Goth nights have a hard time surviving for a number of reasons (also something else we won't go into) and have a habit of disappearing, especially in smaller towns & cities. Promoters run Goth nights against many obstacles, be it venue issues, customer numbers, all manner of problems. One thing they all share in
common is that they're doing it for the scene, not for the money-have you ever seen a rich Goth? Me neither. There is a saying that 'real Goths are old'. I haven't a clue where it comes from. But the chances are that if you happen to be in your 'twilight years' so to speak, the real life scenarios of a day job & being married with kids means you can't go out & 'get your Goth on' as often as you did when you were younger. Pencil in a babysitter for May 22nd and check what Goth gear still fits. You & the other half have earned it. Plus, the good news is that the dance you did at your friend's wedding probably won't get laughed at in a Goth night like it did then And if you have no friends or a radio‌ Dress up in full regalia and dance around your bedroom to Goth songs in your head? Yeah. That'll do it. You could even go shopping! Stores all over the world give special discounts and hold promotions on the 22nd of May. Stores like Dead with Tequila, Gothic plus and the black angel to mention a few. There are also a lot of events surrounding world Goth day. Check the World Goth Day Website for Details on any event anywhere in the world. There might even be an event Hosted by The Shadows Magazine next year‌
So on the 22nd of May. Go out and be yourself the beautiful unique person that you are. It’s OUR day after all. Also get a Sophie wrist band from the Sophie Lancaster Foundation Website, wear it with pride and show support for a young girl who was stolen from us because she was different. All proceeds go to the foundation so they can continue their great work in educating the masses about people who are different and to stamp out prejudice they are also working to have "Alternative Subcultures" or "Lifestyle and Dress Code" added to the reportable Hate Crime strands to ensure that it is not a discretionary option but equal to the existing strands. Which is amazing work. A day like this shows us that no matter how alone we feel at times. We are most certainly NOT ALONE. We are a large family that spans across continents.
-Wesley Rees-Booyse
Life is too short to live without Colour
I had the wonderful opportunity to befriend a designer of alternative fashion and she makes an amazing success story. Madame Le Goth, as she is known, now owns a very successful private online store and regularly adds new clothes to the already vast majority of impressive works.
She started designing in 1998 for herself to wear to clubs in Manchester and Glasgow. She has always been inspired by Halloween themes like vampires, spiders, bats and all things dark.
Currently, she is working on some new and exciting projects that are classified at this time, but she did let slip that she is designing children’s clothes soon to be revealed. Check out her s
www.madamelegoth.co.uk
The Horrifying Occurrence of being Spellbound Ella always gets what she wants Everyone wonders why? Her secret is very well kept If anyone finds out – they die! For Ella, she knows a trick or two Or shall we call it magic? Of course it’s of the blackest kind And it always turns out tragic! For if you dare to get in her way It really WILL be bad She’ll cast a spell to come your way For your life to be quite sad!
Baby Jane The corridors are dark and still The silence is too loud A soul; she creeps along the hall And doesn’t make a sound…. In life she was named “Baby” Jane Her beauty was well known Her life was taken with a knife Slashed across her throat….. And now her soul; It wants revenge It seeks the one who killed For when she finds him, she will know That she can rest in peace……
Upon a Midnight Kiss With lips of cherry blossom And eyes of crystal blue You’d think she was a good girl But you haven’t got a clue… For when the day gets darker And the moon shines in the sky She tricks you with her beauty And in the end you die…. For poison she wears upon her lips And she kisses you with glee And as you take your final breath Her shadow; you see it flee…..
The Bloody Wickedness of Mistress D’evile Roll up, Roll up and see the show There’s evil on display We have a wicked woman here And she wants to play Roll up, Roll up and see her dance And weave her cruel magic Upon the souls of innocents The results are always tragic Roll up, Roll up and dance with Death Fall for her bloody smile And your soul, she will possess For she is Mistress D’evile…..
What is the human genres?
What’s Your Genre? No one can deny that music has always played a cultural role in the daily events and circumstance of the human life. There are so many different genres of this timeless form of artistry. From EBM, trance, dark wave, new wave, gothic and their alternate hybrids to punk rock, pop rock, pop, classical, metal, industrial, Indy, blues and folk rock. Cultures aren’t divided by the music they listen to, but subcultures are. Subculture is such a meaningless classification all on its own. Who decides what is below the basic qualifications of a traditional culture? With that question being asked, who decides what is meant to be the norm? I often get that pathetic look of absolute confusion when my reply to the question “what kind of music do you like?” is “I like all music that inspires a good memory or has significance to my philosophies in life.” I honestly do like music from all genres. I don’t like all music from all genres, but I do like most. The point of music is for it to be heard and inspire. Not to stamp us with the same labels society give us to create what we call the “norm”. Nothing is normal anyway. e
It isn’t normal for a student to be beaten to deadly injuries out of fear of her labels. It isn’t normal for a man to grow up thinking it is his only purpose in life to take over his father’s mechanics garage. It isn’t even normal for a human to judge another human based on labels WE gave them in the first place. In the end of the day it isn’t just about racism and religious discrimination that dumbs the next generation into pure ignorance, but a simple thing called bigotry and fear.
We humans are simply flawed in more ways than one. We will forever fight against prejudice and biased judgments, because we are forever fighting against the individualism and creative uniqueness of others. We simply cannot understand the basic concept of identity. Governments, corporations and media are squishing everyone into tiny boxes with labels on them. This man is a petrol junky, that woman is a pop doll, that kid is Goth and that one is emo. Life is not like a box of chocolates. It is like a music forum where the fans constantly clash among one another in steaming debates without the objective respect to accept opinions and thoughts. Music is cultural, not subcultural. It sounds different in many ways just as it should, but they all serve the same purpose. To be heard and to inspire. Do you see what I did there? Our identities don’t lie in the music we listen to. Our identities depend on who hears us and who we inspire. This is life in a nutshell and music is the only thing we need to form unity in our own individuality. Only when we accept each other as unique and diverse, can we unite as one and live.
- я∕̴)vεn
ArtAches Author, teacher and American visionary artist, Alex Grey needs no introductions. We have all seen his work somewhere among the wonders of the psychedelic reals of art.
Born on 29 November 1953, this amazing visual spiritualist has done variations of art ranging from performance to sketches, etches, paintings, sculptures and digital, but grey’s most famous works are his 21 life-size paintings called the Sacred Mirrors series, which reflects the viewer’s own experience of the body, mind and spirit.
The incorporation of multiple metaphysical symbolism, elegant patterns and shapes combined with the unusually detailed use of anatomical layers makes these artworks seem favoured by the likes of secret societies, but is in fact a study of the mere human condition. It inspires the viewers to look into their own souls and believe in their own higher possibilities as well as considering the alternate versions of the known reality. Grey has created famous artwork for great musicians and music groups. I am sure by now most of you would have recognized the psychedelic artwork similar to the artwork used by the Band Tool on stage and as album art for 10000 days and Lateralus, but there are many more groups who incorporated Grey’s art into the visual aspects of their musical careers. Nirvana included a reproduction of Grey’s painting Muscle system in the album In Utero The hip hop group, Beastie Boys featured the paintings Gaia and Vision Crystal inside the booklet of their album III Communication. Meshuggah, a Swedish experimental metal band, featured Grey’s artwork on their EP Selfcaged. Bassnectarhas used multiple artwork by Alex Grey as different album covers.
It certainly entertains the eye as it does the soul. Take a look at his work on his website www.alexgrey.com
Enjoying Music By Throughout the many stages of the alternative evolution we have moved from Siouxie and the Banshees to a Manson-like project of Chris Corner called IAMX The name IAMX refers to Chris’s philosophy explained in an interview as “No longer becoming X but rather being X” which was a process that created the project. The “X” is the everchanging variable in a mathematical equation. This independent project includes experimentations of visual and audio artwork. The sounds used in the music, the rhythm and the poetic lyrics creates a fitting genre of dark cabaret, synthpop and alternative glam rock. The on-stage interaction with crowds are famously energetic, theatrical and visually stimulating. It is almost comparative to a darker male Lady Gaga, but with style. To properly understand the creative energy at a live show, we think of an entire music and art festival in a single show. Among associated acts are the very well-known Imogen Heap, who features in the single My Secret Friend from the album Kingdom of Welcome Addiction. The music gives hint at some older and wiser melancholy aspect of sexual being and rejected lust.
“ �
IAMX is more than just music, but a vivid platform for videographers, photographers, designers and artists alike to combine their collective imaginations for music that soothes broken souls by simple forms of colourful entertainment in dark lyricism, smooth instrumentals that work very well with one another and wonderful displays of showmanship. IAMX has released six albums so far. Chris Corner introduced his first IAMX creations in July 2004 with the release of the album Kiss+Swallow In April 2006 The Alternative was launched as a second album that finally made the ball roll for IAMX and fame across Europe collected crowds enough for a tour.
Kingdom of Welcome Addiction with several featuring artists including aforementioned Imogen Heap was released in May 2009 Volatile Times released in March 2011, but by restrictions was only released to USA September 2013 but acclaimed great success during both releases. The Unified Fields was released March 2013 across the world and inspired new workings for another release. 11 June IAMX announced the release of Metanoia which will be ready for us to purchase in October along with an elaborate tour.
IAMX Tour Dates METANOIA TOUR 2015 Oct. 6 – Constellation Room, Costa Mesa, CA Oct. 7 – The Casbah, San Diego, CA Oct. 9 – Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA Oct. 10 – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA Oct. 12 – Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR Oct. 13 – Neumo’s, Seattle, WA Oct. 16 – Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT Oct. 17 – Marquis Theater, Denver, CO Oct. 19 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN Oct. 20 – Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL Oct. 22 – The Shelter, Detroit, MI Oct. 23 – Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON, Canada Oct. 24 – Virgin Mobile Corona Theater, Montreal, QC, Canada Oct. 26 – Brighton Music Hall, Boston, MA Oct. 27 – Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA Oct. 28 – U Street Music Hall, Washington, DC Oct. 30 – Webster Hall, New York, NY
The Creators of this game understand true horror and they understand fear. This is one of the finest survival horror games ever made. Going back to basics, It draws from the first horror games and moves away from the run and shoot brovado we see in most games in the genre latley. When you purchase the game it says on the cover: You have three choices Run, Hide or Die. And that is the gameplay in a nutshell. No fire arms, No melee weapons and the character you play is not a fighter he is a journalist. Armed only with a camera’s nightvision you Break into an asylum after receiving an anonymous tip searching for the story of a lifetime. What you get is much more than you bargained for.
The Asylum has been overun by It’s patients known as Varients and they have no intention of letting you escape you are incapable of combat, except for scripted sequences allowing you to shove enemies out of your way. Without any traditional weapons, players have to navigate the facility's ransacked environment vaulting over low obstacles, crawling, and sliding through narrow gaps. In addition, you may survive encounters with assailants by hiding inside staff lockers or under beds; more intelligent opponents may search the room for an allocated period before moving on. All you have is a notebook and a camcorder, with which you plan to document the horrors within the asylum. It has a night vision option for use in the asylum's many unlit sections. Use of the IR mode consumes batteries, which must be scavenged and replaced as the storyline progresses. Plot details unfold through notes taken by the protagonist as footage is recorded through his camera, as well as manila folders scavenged from the environment. The Game pays homage to the popular found footage horror film genre but the experience is much scarier than most of those films. This is truly one of the scariest gaming experiences I have ever had this game leaves a psychological effect long after you have stopped playing. It is horror at its best. And very well worth it.
9/10
Television has become such a popular topic these days. With Game of Thrones, Penny Dreadful, Hannibal and American Horror Stories I am not that surprized. They are all well written and perfectly planned to tease us. During a break from all of them (which means I have to wait a while for the next seasons to come out) I stumbled upon something that at first excited my anthropological senses. I had been so used to good shows on HBO I forgot there are good shows elsewhere.
Vikings on History tells the tale of an ambitious farmer in Norway during the medieval times who became the first of the Northerners to sail west to raid. His discoveries lead him to become well respected and envied at the same time. Ragnor Lorthbrook ends up with a life filled with fighting. Fighting to protect his family and sometimes against family, he fights for his religion and he fights in wars against England in the west where he raids churches and cathedrals.
It is well written in the sense that there is a lot of space for speculation from the viewer. It lets you guess what will happen next and usually we think wrong. We find ourselves begging for mercy when someone is about to be executed and sometimes screaming “NOOOOOOOOO!” Whenever something bad unexpectedly happens. I almost feel the saddest part of this series is that the producers aren’t doing enough to market it. I’m not sure if they aren’t confident in the success of Vikings, but it is entertaining as much as it is educational. (I bet you just went “Urg, education…”) The series is fictional, but written with some historic events taking place around the story. Things like great battles of Wessex and how King Egbert learned about Caesar’s war tactics. It is History Channel after all. It could have used a little more brutality to give a purer vision of how they lived and maybe not have given them hipster hair. Other than that, I rate the series a welldeserved
8/10.
As children we got this idea in our heads that wolves are these big bad creatures. That will eat your grandmother or blow your house down. But there is another side of these feared animals. An, more majestic side. The timber wolf or better known as the grey wolf. It’s seen as a sacred animal in the Native American culture. This wolf features also in ancient songs and stories. They believe the timber wolf teaches them the importance of one’s family. How to hunt. Other tribes believe that the timber wolves were spiritual begins that impacts magical powers.
is “Varg” which not only means wolf but also a wicked person. Christianly has set the wolf equal to the devil. But not all stories of wolves are bad. The East-Indian legends tell that wolves are sympathetic and helpful animals. There are also legends tell of she-wolfs nursing children. The most famous is the story of Romulus and Remus. So all and all. You can decide if wolfs are as evil as the fairy tales make them. Or are they helpful creatures that roam this world with no fear of anything or anyone. Alpha, Beta, Omega
A wolves howl is music to one`s ears. Your heart and soul starts to dance with its howl and it feels like you become one with nature. But every wolves howl is unique. Like a human fingerprint. But why do wolves howl? Wolves howl to locate a lost member of the pack. A lone wolf will howl in searching for companionship. Wolves also howl before a hunt to warn off other packs from their territory. In the pack you have the alpha male and the alpha female. They lead the pack. Then you get the beta wolf. This is the “lieutenant” of the pack. If something might happened to the alpha wolf the beta wolf will take over. Lastly you get the omega wolf at the bottom. The omega is the runt. The least importance to the pack. But why are wolves seen as “bad guys” in fairy tales? Wilhelm Grimm has described the wolf is one of the most evil animals of all. The Swedish and Norwegian term of wolf
-Aimee Grabe
FIX MY TATTOO Tattoos are a great way to express ourselves, but what happens when we end up regretting the permanence of a bad tattoo? We are only human and humans make mistakes. Some tattoos come out horribly and sometimes we choose the wrong tattoos. Tattoo removal is expensive and painful, so what do we do? There are a number of expert tattoo artists who specialize in making the regretted failure into fantastic work of body art. My second Tattoo was done by one of these specialists he told me all about tattoos that he needed to change because the artist was bad or because the person chose something horrid.
The popular things people change or alter are stars, dolphins and anchors images. These may also be the most commonly chosen tattoos and later becomes something you don’t want to see on yourself. How are they altered? Well sometimes a bigger artwork is tattooed over it or it is kept and given some extra bits to make the old new. Here are some images of altered tattoos.
Perhaps it is better to think about what you put on your body. Tattoos are beautiful and should mean something to the people who get it. Don’t make a regretful decision and make sure your artist is good enough to ink your ski
Gothic Era top 20 charts Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Song Title Scars How Low are We Corycian Fire Beneath Broken Earth The Renegade Age After Age Our Decades in the Sun Concealed Disdain End of Words
10 Protector 11 The Mothership 12 Lose Your Way 13 The Balance Breathe (Until we are no 14 More) 15 Get Out Alive 16 This Life Divided 17 Falling 18 Church of Carmel 19 Everything's so Fake 20 The Occident
Artist/ Group The Last Dance Frank The Baptist Steve Hackett Paradise Lost Star Industry Frozen Plasma Nightwish Sirenia Camouflage Hearts of Black Science Stars Crusaders Love Amongst Ruin Torul Moonspell Anekdoten Lord of the Lost Sara Noxx Lucifarian Light Orchestra Souleck Spectral Darkwave
These are the unedited charts of Gothic era for May 2015 Visit www.gothicera.com
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