In Case You Missed It: Official Mega Beardo Video for "The Mysterious Works of Dr. Frankenstein"

With all the craziness and lack of sleep surrounding my release of Belmont, I forgot to post the official video for the single!  The video for "The Mysterious Works of Dr. Frankenstein" offers a parallel between the 1931 film Frankenstein and myself as a mad scientist creating a "frankensteined" guitar out of an NES.  It was a blast to put together; I even got to do stop motion animation of myself getting possessed by a Power Glove!  So check it out for yourself and let me know what you think:

"Belmont" featured on Gamefira Article

Christopher Earls over at gamefira.com put together a nice write-up of my latest album Belmont. Check out the article, and while you're at it, check out the awesome content that Gamefira has to offer.  Chris Earls and Brian Williams have developed a pretty sweet community for gamers to write articles, share their game collections, and discuss anything gaming-related, modern or vintage. Keep up the good work, guys!

Site:            gamefira.com
Article Link:  http://www.gamefira.com/article/498/metal-album-based-on-castlevania-yes-please

Random Update of Everything

Since the release of Belmont, I've been keeping a somewhat low profile on the creative front.  It took 16 months of writing, demoing, re-writing, recording, and editing to get that whole thing together.  So you can understand when I say I have had no interest of being in that type of mindset for the last three months.  Though, I have tried; I have an acoustic E.P. that I would love to get finished.  On the other hand, I've rather enjoyed getting a normal amount of rest, catching up on some much-needed gaming, and spending time with family and friends.  Keep in mind, I am a full-time teacher, and I go to grad school.  Free time has been at a premium.

With that said, here is what I have planned for the coming year (kind of in order of priority):

1.  Recording guest vocals on a new 3-Hole Face track.  If you recall, 3-Hole Face is an industrial metal band for which I played rhythm guitar from 2001-2004.  We disbanded in 2004, but Terry Smith (who mixed and mastered both Mega Beardo albums) wrote a butt-ton of new 3-Hole Face tunes on his own.  He plans to enlist a bunch of his friends to lend guest vocals on the tracks.  It's odd to record guest vocals for a band in which I was just the rhythm guitarist, but I'm also having a lot of fun putting ideas together.  I'm working on this track now, but I'm not sure when (or how) Terry plans to release this album.  It's good stuff, though.  Real good.

2. Finishing my acoustic EP.  This thing is probably 85% written at this point.  I basically just need to write lyrics for one more song.  There will be either 6 or 7 tracks.  If you like the track "Simon" from the Belmont album, this stuff will be up your alley.  This won't be a Mega Beard album since it isn't based on a Nintendo game. However, I will say there is one track that is written about a game, but it would be hard to figure that out unless I told you what it was.  Realistically, I plan to have this on my bandcamp site in March.

3. Recording the new Descension Rate album.  We officially released our album "Creatures of Discordia" on December 10, 2011.  This was the first part of a two-part concept album based on Stephen King's sprawling Dark Tower series.  We have a couple of shows to play this month, so we'll probably get recording finished in February and hopefully get the thing released by the end of the summer.


4. Making another music video for Belmont.  In October 2011, I made a music video for "The Mysterious Works of Dr. Frankenstein," and I had so much fun putting that thing together.  It was my first official "short film," if you will.  I may try to make another music video, I may not.  I would definitely love to, but I would need to come up with another cool idea.  It's kind of hard to beat mad scientists and Nintendo guitars.  


5. More Mega Beardo music, dammit!  I do have plans to do another guitar instrumental tribute for another Nintendo game, but I don't want to dive into that quite yet.  I would like to do a couple of one-off tracks first, much like what I did with the Battletoads theme or "Heart of Fire" from Castlevania.

Descension Rate's "Creatures of Discordia" Released

I've been quite busy this year.  In addition to my solo album Belmont getting released, I have also been busy with my blackened death metal band Descension Rate.  We have written a two-part album based on Stephen King's Dark Tower series.  The first part Creatures of Discordia is now available!  Seven tracks at about 35 minutes.  Check it out from our bandcamp site:

 

Belmont is Released!

 

My new album "Belmont" is finally released! You can download the 9-track, 70-minute long album from beardomusic.bandcamp.com for just $7. You can choose your favorite high-quality format (MP3 320kbps, FLAC, or even AAC for you iTunes people). Enjoy the album, and I really do appreciate the support! This has been my dream project for a long time.

I plan to have 100 copies of the physical CD printed by the end of the month, so if you would be interested in grabbing one of those while they last, shoot me an email.

"Belmont" Artwork Revealed!

Courtesy of the ridiculously talented Brian Pickens, I present to you the cover art for my album "Belmont."

Excited yet?  I know I am.  Recording is finished, and the artwork is finished.  I'm just waiting to get the final mixes back.  

"Belmont" is almost here.  I know I didn't adhere to my original release date of October 31, but there were just too many obstacles that got in the way.  Hang tight for a couple of more days.  In the meantime, I've been working on a music video for "The Mysterious Works of Dr. Frankenstein," which will surely get your ghost. 

Happy belated Halloween!  

Short Recording Update

I'm not gonna lie.  Recording Belmont hasn't been a breeze.  Computer issues, software issues, guitar issues...you name it.  I blew my voice out while recording "Creatures of the Bloodline" and had to sit out for a while to let it heal.  The good news is, I'm halfway finished with vocals, and I have the hardest songs out of the way.  So it's still looking like you guys will be hearing this album on Halloween day.

I also broke my left pinky finger last night; that's my fretting hand for you guitar players.  I find it quite fitting that I started writing this album two years ago with a broken finger (left ring), and I'll finish recording it with another broken finger.  I'm just happy I have no more guitar tracks to do, or else this album would be pushed back at least 6 weeks.  


With that said, I'm really excited to let everybody hear this thing.  I've put countless hours into this album, and even though I will be happy when it is finished, it will feel weird not working on it anymore.

More vocals this weekend... 

Mega Beardo: "Belmont" To Be Released on October 31, 2011

This Halloween, I will finally release Belmont, a metal concept album I have written based on the original Castlevania game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  All nine tracks on the album follow Simon Belmont as he progresses through each level of Dracula's castle to fulfill his destiny.  The lyrics deal with Belmont's personal journey as he struggles with the burden of ridding the world from impending darkness.  The recognizable villains and in-game environments play a key role, while certain characters and elements of the game will be expanded upon in ways that enrich the overall story.   

Belmont Track Listing:
1. Simon
2. Creatures of the Bloodline
3. Medusa's Scream
4. I Return to Rain
5. Shadows Without a Sun
6. The Mysterious Works of Dr. Frankenstein
7. Bring Me Death
8. Such is the Curse
9. The War of Dark and Light



The album will be available for download at my bandcamp site (beardomusic.bandcamp.com).  I will also order a limited pressing of the album in digi-pack form for those who still collect music (good for you).  The album artwork will be created by Brian Pickens, who went above and beyond for the Mega Man 2 Guitar Tribute album artwork.  Seriously, the dude is incredible.  I am beyond excited to see what he designs for Belmont.  As always, I appreciate those of you who have been keeping up with my progress and supporting me over the past year or so.  I ultimately write music for myself, but it pleases me immensely when others gain enjoyment from it as well, even if it's some nerdy album about a Nintendo game written by a bearded dude from West Virginia.  

And if that wasn't enough, I have also been writing and recording a short and simple (in contrast to my normal writing style) acoustic E.P.  The as-yet untitled album will consist of six tracks of pretty much my voice and an acoustic guitar.  I've recorded roughly half of this album so far, so you can expect it to hit my bandcamp site shortly after Belmont is released.

The New NES Guitar!

Thanks to the dudes over at www.getlofi.com , I am now in possession of a custom guitar made from a refurbished NES console.  This thing of beauty is also equipped with a rosewood neck and a bridge humbucker.  

Of course, I'm not going to let this thing just sit around and look all purty on a stand.  I had to do some recording tests with this thing as soon as I could.  So I quickly threw together a cover of the Battletoads theme from the first NES game.  That song is seriously made for rock guitar.  Check it out, below:

Post Figures Out His Post-Descension Rate Plans

Our friend and local music scene staple Kevin Post has decided to step down as Descension Rate's live drummer after helping us out for the past year.  He will still continue to handle drummer duties for local rockers/good dudes '85 Flood.  We'll miss him, but we appreciate him stepping up to the plate and accepting the challenge!

Post definitely ended on a good note.  Here is some live and pre-show footage from our show at Peabody's in Cleveland, OH, a couple of weeks ago when we opened for Rotting Christ, Melechesh, Abigail Williams, and Hate.  Fun times!