Metal, Punk, Noise

[CollegeTillIDie]

Just heard Judas Priest song "Death row", at least a sample of it. Man, that was good ! Powerful guitar riffs, Halford at his best (is he the only homosexual in the metal world ?? Kudos to him for coming out for it in a sometimes macho genre), great lyrics as well even though it is not very clear for me if it is intended as supporting death penalty ( :mad: ) or critisising it in a sarcastic way.
Would like to hear the full song, but can't find it... :(
Gerrit

Key in www.bbc.co.uk and then click on Music you will get a dialogue box
Enter Judas Priest and then you will be shown a biography and a discography. Keep going through the Album titles till you find the right one. Click on Death Row, there will be a 29 second extract from it there. It will at least give you a taster of it. That will enable you to get the title of the CD and then you can look for it on www.amazon.co.uk or www.gemm.com both of which are excellent places to source music. You could also go into HMV and see if it is available to order still.

P.S. Did the search myself for you.... CD is called "Jugulator" on SPV Records and was originally released in 1997..

[Gerrit]

Then was it with Rob Halford or was that one of the two albums they made before the re-union ??

Halford was very brave to out himself as being gay in a rather macho genre as metal. I still hear some metalheads referring to him as "that queer" or "that homo" - bit respectless if you know what the man did for the development of metal :mad:

[paul_oshea]

try cradle of filths version of iron maidens:

hallowed be thy name.

very good, very quick.

[ken foree]

Heard a cracking good Nine Inch Nails song today. Trent Reznor is great, I haven't heard the entire NIN collection but every new song I hear from them has pleasantly surprised me so far. Trent's very creative with synthesizers and his voice is grand. Lyrically sometimes shocking and very in-depth, but at least he turns his depressions into something creative, something of beauty.

ever heard wolf eyes? i think they're from chicago. they sound basically like a trip through a psychotic dentist's nightmares. all drills, squeals, shrieks, and then a beat comes in and they sound not too dissimilar (at times) to NIN. fairly.. out there.

[hamish]

in my best gaaaaaaaalllllwaaaaaay acccccceennnnt..

hes from new yaaaaaaaarkkkkkk

Not from Galway ?- explain yourself young man!! Ya have to be from Galway to have a best Galway accent. :p :D

[Gerrit]

ever heard wolf eyes? i think they're from chicago. they sound basically like a trip through a psychotic dentist's nightmares. all drills, squeals, shrieks, and then a beat comes in and they sound not too dissimilar (at times) to NIN. fairly.. out there.

Sounds interesting. How are they lyrically ? Any good ?
Will see if I can find a record of them (seems so strange in an era where downloading is the first resource...)



You may know the most extreme black-metal band on earth: Abruptum. Consists of two men, of whom the singer is a dwarf, IT. He has this nickname because he "is too demonish to have a human name"... This sort of tales is usually well-swallowed in the black-metal scene.
The music is... well, not really songs. It's a sort of collades or plays of sounds that don't really form one piece together, it's basicly a collection of unstructured samples that all sound as scary, horrific and deathly as possible. The band also self-mutilate to scream as demonish as possible in between those horror samples. So you can see it's quite a weird thing. Their 'songs' often last up until 15 minutes a piece.
Recently, IT mysteriously disappeared (kinda like Richey Edwards :( ) and to date there is still no trace of him. This makes the myth complete of course.

They're a rather mythological thing in the scene, kinda like Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows in the gothscene. But while I adore Sopor Aeternus, I don't really feel like checking out Abruptum in-depth. Maybe I'll change my mind someday, but so far it looks a bit over the top in a not that good way.

[ken foree]

Sounds interesting. How are they lyrically ? Any good ?
Will see if I can find a record of them (seems so strange in an era where downloading is the first resource...)

wolf eyes' website (sub-pop) or their bandsite should have a free download called 'stabbed in the face.' basically an unsettling, squealing thing with a beat. well i'd have to say lyrical content isn't their strongpoint. they more often use the vocals (heavily distorted) as just another assaulting noise on your ears. i guess they don't have 'songs' in the conventional sense, in fact they might have more in common with abruptum below.


You may know the most extreme black-metal band on earth: Abruptum. Consists of two men, of whom the singer is a dwarf, IT. He has this nickname because he "is too demonish to have a human name"... This sort of tales is usually well-swallowed in the black-metal scene.
The music is... well, not really songs. It's a sort of collades or plays of sounds that don't really form one piece together, it's basicly a collection of unstructured samples that all sound as scary, horrific and deathly as possible. The band also self-mutilate to scream as demonish as possible in between those horror samples. So you can see it's quite a weird thing. Their 'songs' often last up until 15 minutes a piece.
Recently, IT mysteriously disappeared (kinda like Richey Edwards :( ) and to date there is still no trace of him. This makes the myth complete of course.

They're a rather mythological thing in the scene, kinda like Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows in the gothscene. But while I adore Sopor Aeternus, I don't really feel like checking out Abruptum in-depth. Maybe I'll change my mind someday, but so far it looks a bit over the top in a not that good way.

sounds great! the whole self-mutilating midget-myth with IT has me really intrigued; you can't beat it when a band creates this kind of underground tale. an unfortunate ending for him! :eek: but more importantly their music (more important than life?). sounds like something i'd like - faust, an old german psych/experimental band created some dark collages too, and i like them a lot. they scored incredible instrumental music to Nosferatu, you know the old vampire movie ('faust plays nosferatu'). and abruptum sound like a very extreme version of some of that! great, thanks

[Gerrit]

well, check them out then ! Their most notorious album contains 4 songs, they all last 15 minutes however. It's a sort of sound mixture of very scary horror samples, sounds quite unique but not many would like it. Play it at night on a graveyard and you're probably accused of having some black mass ritual...

IT ? Ehm, I don't know if he all took it seriously or not. If he really sees himself as too satanic to have a human name, then something's not right in the head. If it's all an act, then it is a great one ! :D But I agree, it's kinda fascinating. A dwarf alone is rather special in music, and then add the whole bunch of myths...



If you like mythological bands, check out Mayhem. The band was founded to sound as extreme as can be, and then it went wrong when their leader Euronymous started to bring his satanic views into life. He founded 'the Black Circle', an anti-christian group of metal artists who wanted to chase away christianity and bring back the old Norwegian viking culture in the country. The black circle started doing some church burnings, grave mutilations, etc. Burzum, the one-man project of neonazi Varg Vikernes, used a pic of the burning Fantomekirke as album cover (the church was set on fire by the man himself !)

Mayhem used to have a singer called Dead, that was his nickname cause he was so depressed he just wanted to be, ehm, dead... At one moment he decided to shoot himself through the head seconds after also slitting his wrists. As the gunshot somehow missed target, half of his brain was blown out of his head. Euronymous found the body of his dead leading singer, and decided to cook the brain pieces and eat them, while their guitarist made a neckless out of Dead's scull fractures. They also used a picture of his corpse for an album of theirs.

The Black Circle got involved in some very serious crimes. One of the members murdered a gay man, someone else would have committed a murder as well. Then one moment Vikernes decides to break with the gang because he found Euronymous not nazi enough. Then they get into a fight over money, so Vikernes goes after Euronymous and kills him. He claimed self defence but after 23 stabbings, including some while chasing your bleeding victim trying to escape, the judge didn't really follow the self-defence story :D

Vikernes currently serves a 21 years jail sentence but made the news after having 'escaped'. He got three days off to visit his family and, surprise surprise, didn't return. They caught him a few days later in a car full of guns, while he was heading for some foreign paramilitary organisation :eek:

Black metal is really the genre to get into if you like wacked stuff. Mayhem however did some nice records including masterpiece The Freezing Moon. But their members were all sickos.




In my own style, goth, we have a myth as well. Sopor Aeternus ('eternal sleep' aka Death) & The Ensemble of Shadows. The band is founded by Anne-Varney, a transexual who never leaves his house except for recording, and who has contacts with only 2 or 3 other humans. The guy is completely isolated and a long-term depressive. He is male, but after a (probaby imaginary) sex operation he took the name Anne-Varney. The band "The ensemble of shadows" represent the spirits that inspire him when writing music. The music is very unique: imagine a very threatening gloomy march like coming straight out of an Exorcist movie, combined with medieval instruments and horror samples such as a desolate church bell in a dark forest, and then Anne-Varney's voice. That voice is unique, it is so echoing that it could come straight out of a deep grave, and he/she often cries while singing. In fact it's more poems on medieval horror music than real singing. The lyrics are extremely gloomy (some would say depressed, although they're a bit too spiritual and unreal for me to take it as seriously depressing) and in almost all songs (s)he praises death and the wish to die. Then combine this with very scary gothic arwork... To complete the myth, the band never performs 'for human audiences', because Anne-Varney does not want to suffer on a stage in front of people who would never understand his/her depressions anyway.

This is my favourite SA song, one of my fav goth songs and one of my favourite songs ever in general, it's like a medieval poet telling an unreal horror story around the fireplace of a dark medieval castle:


Alas, let me tell you about the beauty of the tomb
The stained glass, all viole(n)t
enhancing the gloom
Dark flowers, all withered, fragile and old
Yet their perfume still lingers like a secret untold
Like a dream or a memory that floats in this vault
Waiting for a moment it shall be recalled
By some visitor maybe who is seeking relief
from a strange kind of sadness or some unknown disease
Its symptoms are madness ! Caught by the music in his head
sung by the endless choirs... called 'The Voices of the Dead' !

It's his longing for silence, or the absence of sound
That will lead him to hidden paths below the ground
Where he shall discover, through terror and through fear
Behind black pine doors... something is sleeping here !
A little dead baby, a young boy lies kept
So fragile and frightened, crippled and sad...

A lonely church bell conclude the gloomy march... This is the pure goth stuff, I adore it :)
For those interested (and those not easily scared): www.soporaeternus.de and www.sopor-aeternus.de

[ken foree]

oof. quite a post there gerrit, thanks for taking the time. i'd have a real big problem checkin out any of the blacker metal music that had any nazi affiliation whatsoever -i even feel a bit uncomfortable reading about it, though the extremity to which these nutjobs take it is... well, insane. can i ask a general style question: does the blacker/blackest metal pride itself on speed, like those other 'core' types? it's all very new to me (grindcore, black, death, doom, stoner, etc!). i have some doom metal (sunn, khanate) and some of it is great - - slow, atmospheric, like a scarred meadow settling after a fiery battle. the new goth stuff is completely alien to me! i don't think i've heard one track in this genre

[Gerrit]

Ehm, you ask the wrong guy here. I am not into metal very much, basically it's just Marilyn Manson and Ozzy-era Sabbath that float my boat.
The average Black Metal act is not really my style so I am not sure of what is common or not amongst the genre's fans. I show interest in the style's backgrounds, just like I do in every style, but apart from gothic subculture my knowledge of the subcultural behaviour in music is rather limited. The things I named there I know by coincidence because of a review on a book on black metal that I came across in a magazine.

Sick stuff indeed. I do seperate the music from the artists behind it. I have a record by Charles Manson. Out of interest. Does not mean I don't disgust what he did... You get my point I guess, showing an interest in the music or even liking the music (which is not the case with black metal for me) is something completely else than liking the musicians that made the music. Those guys from Mayhem were crazy, but that doesn't mean I can't admit that "Freezing moon" is a stunning song (I name this one always as an example, basically because the other of their songs I've heard are... well, let's say rubbish to keep it clean :D )

I don't know if drug use/abuse is commonly associated with the metal scene, and if yes, with which substyle. Sabbath and Manson are hardly hardcore metal acts, so I'm not really familiar with the fans of the more extreme metal. I take that there are clean ones and that there are drug users, just like in every subculture/religion/country/movement/style. Generalising is always dangerous. However, it's a fact that many metal artists frequently use or used drugs (Ozzy Osbourne - though claims to be sober nowadays, Marilyn Manson, Lemmy Kilmister, ... just to name a few well known lads)

[Gerrit]

the new goth stuff is completely alien to me! i don't think i've heard one track in this genre

In general, I don't like it either. It's no pure gothic, it's metal with a few goth elements. But it's still metal. Or darkwave with a bit of gothic. Apart from a few bands, I never got into it.

Gothic is an eighties thing for me, and the newer acts are not even pure goth in my opinion, except for a few exceptions. Luckily I'll always have the records of Bauhaus, early Cure, early Silke Bischoff... The subculture became a very minor underground thing again, but the music will stick with me forever thanks to digital technology :) And the contacts with the few likewise goths is great, just sitting together enjoying our culture and preaching on how good it all used to be and how bad it is today :D Of course there are exceptions, but there are not much pure goth bands rising nowadays. Luckily some of the pioneers are still going strong: new Sisters of Mercy festival dates announced !!

[Woody]

I'm into Punk, that is real punk 1977-84. Bands like Dead Kennedys, Crass, Conflict, The Exploited, Subhumans. But I also listen to metal bands such as Sepultura, Unleashed, Entombed, and various other death/thrash bands.

[Soper]

I'm into Punk, that is real punk 1977-84. Bands like Dead Kennedys, Crass, Conflict, The Exploited, Subhumans. But I also listen to metal bands such as Sepultura, Unleashed, Entombed, and various other death/thrash bands.
Dead Kennedys :o

Great band

[ken foree]

hopefully getting this thread changed to 'metal, punk, and noise.'

television were an unreal (post-punk?) band for a period around the late 70s. 'marquee moon' is stunning! too bad they only had two real records.

saw this band sightings on sat. night. an absolute sawblade of unremitting and terrorizing noise. it was nausea-inducing, never felt my ears so assaulted. it was a real whiteout, loudest thing i ever heard. my fillings were vibrating in my teeth yaarrghh! :eek: :D

[Gerrit]

Marilyn Manson is not supporting Iron Maiden. It's a double concert with two main acts, both will play a full set as far as I know. I hope anyway, I don't care about Iron Maiden but been a Manson fan for many years. I will be there, but it will be for Marilyn Manson, I'll stay for Maiden as well just out of curiosity but it's only to see Marilyn again that I am going to the RSD.

Is it a decent hall ? I've been to gigs in Temple Bar MusicCentre, Village and Olympia, don't even know where RSD is to be honest. I like the acoustics in the Temple Bar MC must say.

[holidaysong]

I take it you mean the RDS - it is in Ballsbridge Dublin 4.

It's a big venue with different locations for a concert. There is a main arena where I ain't seen a concert.

I seen Korn in Simmonscourt Pavillion part which is a great place for a concert I think and I seen Metallica/Slipknot on their outdoor pitch venue. Not a fan of outdoor concerts to be honest.

[holidaysong]

in reaction to gerrit. marilyn manson can consider himself blessed to be mentioned in th same breath as maiden&he will very much be supportin iron maiden. mandon wudn't sell out the point or even da olympia so he can hardly be put on the same pegging as maiden

Yeah I would pretty much agree with that.

[Gerrit]

Marilyn Manson easily sells out arenas all over Europe and US. I have been to several concerts of him (fan since almost 7 years now) and everytime it was a sold-out or almost sold-out, and we're not talking about small concerts rooms like the Village.

In Ireland it seems he's not that popular yet, but still, in general he has a loyal following in most western countries.

Iron Maiden were around for 25 years or 30 or so ? Of course they'll be the main act, would be an insult if they weren't. But Manson will not come all the way to Europe to play 6 songs like so many support acts do. He will play a more or less full set. Looking forward to it really, I just hope I won't be the only Manson fan in an arena full of Iron Maiden fans who don't care about MM.

[sadloserkid]

in reaction to gerrit. marilyn manson can consider himself blessed to be mentioned in th same breath as maiden&he will very much be supportin iron maiden. mandon wudn't sell out the point or even da olympia so he can hardly be put on the same pegging as maiden

I have a fair amount of time for Iron Maiden and I'm not a fan of Marilyn Manson at all but that's really a load of rubbish. Maiden's longevity is truly impressive but in the last decade Manson's sales have far outstripped theirs and to suggest he wouldn't sell out the Olympia is a bit naive.

The more cynial part of me would actually respectfully suggest that Maiden are bringing Manson along because he'll attract a different sort of crowd who wouldn't go otherwise and thus make sure that the Maiden boys don't suffer the indignity of empty seats. :)

[EnDai]

Manson's being going downhill for years now. I originally started listening to him after Portrait of an American family came out, thats about ten or eleven years now I guess, but wouldn't bother buying tickets to see him nowadays. I still love many of the albums, but after Mechanical Animals it all went horribly horribly wrong. The music seemed to lose its edge, and I grew sick of the man himself and his attitude. I still love kicking back with some of the older albums though, but there's no live appeal there for me anymore.

I don't think anyone should limit themselves to any one style/genre, just scanning the pages I've seen alot of "I listen to XXX" style posts. Personally, I'm into most things once they're well written and interesting to listen to, from the likes of Sigur Rós and Juno Reactor up to Death and Cynic.

On a side note: Burzums prison-releases sucked! :eek:

[ken foree]

..today on pitchforkmedia, one of a doom/drone stoner metal band called om (3 songs with repetitive riffs) and another band with horror movie soundtrack stylings.. forget their name but both sound good

[paul_oshea]

Is it a decent hall ? I've been to gigs in Temple Bar MusicCentre, Village and Olympia, don't even know where RSD is to be honest. I like the acoustics in the Temple Bar MC must say.

its huge saw metallica there, great great venue, perfect for the iron maidan, are there any tickets still available i would def go to this one.

[paul_oshea]

The more cynial part of me would actually respectfully suggest that Maiden are bringing Manson along because he'll attract a different sort of crowd who wouldn't go otherwise and thus make sure that the Maiden boys don't suffer the indignity of empty seats

thats exactly it, same as metallica but their is a little more to it as well, if you get them in you can sell out the concert full stop making more money for both bands and the organisers, there is also another factor, if manson fans who have never heard maiden stuff go and listen to manson they will more than likely stay to listen to maiden ( actually they wont they will have to go home as its past their bed time once he finishes ) and in turn that may turn some of them into maiden fans, i.e. like one or two songs and go and buy an album.

its two fold really, increasing their income and popularity.

[Thomo]

ok gonna stick my oar in here.


metal punk noise favs:

god forbid ( check out 'judge the blood' or 'antihero', GF are my new fav band)
3 inches of blood
metallica ( especially anything off 'and justice for all',or master of puppets)
maiden
megadeth
refused ( check out 'new noise')
avenged sevenfold
sepultura
soulfly
thrice
glassjaw
jack off jill
killswitch engage
sabbath
machine head
million dead ( check out 'breaking the back' )
pantera ( rip dimebag)
social distortion
system of a down
tool
slayer
at the drive in ( anything off 'relationship of command')
faith no more
poison the well

[EnDai]

Nice to see Jack Off Jill mentioned, quality band! :D

[Soper]

Refused are awesome.

[Gerrit]

Manson's being going downhill for years now. I originally started listening to him after Portrait of an American family came out, thats about ten or eleven years now I guess, but wouldn't bother buying tickets to see him nowadays. I still love many of the albums, but after Mechanical Animals it all went horribly horribly wrong. The music seemed to lose its edge, and I grew sick of the man himself and his attitude. I still love kicking back with some of the older albums though, but there's no live appeal there for me anymore.

I don't think anyone should limit themselves to any one style/genre, just scanning the pages I've seen alot of "I listen to XXX" style posts. Personally, I'm into most things once they're well written and interesting to listen to, from the likes of Sigur Rós and Juno Reactor up to Death and Cynic.

On a side note: Burzums prison-releases sucked! :eek:

Of course they did. He was not allowed to use any guitars, because they feared he'd strangle the other inmates with the strings (seriously !). He made those prison albums with synthesisers only...




Manson is a brilliant live performer. I have seen him three times during the Golden Age of Grotesque tour, the show is very amusing and vocally he comes close to perfection.

Mechanical Animals is still one of my fav albums ever, and Antichrist Superstar is the best example of a concept album you can ever get. I didn't like Holy Wood that much (except for the very good The Nobodies and its brilliant video) but TGAOG was a huge step back in the right direction. "Para-noir" (a song which happens to be disliked by lot of other Mansonites) is a track that IMO reaches the same brilliance as the ones on Mechanical Animals. Glamrock of huge class.

I am glad as well he's calmed down. I hate it when teenage Manson fans find it so cool how he used to behave. "Cool, he dared to insult God, urinate and w-ank on stage, self-mutilate, give Trent Reznor a blowjob..."
Argh, it sickens me to hear those comments :eek: I am very very glad he dropped all that. Marilyn Manson these days is about music, nothing more, nothing less. He does no longer misbehave and only insinuates now and then, but never crosses a line again. And unlike many Mansonites, I am very glad with that. I was tired of hearing how I supported a 'disgusting performer'. I was tired of hearing it because I could not even blame them for that quote. His music was excellent but all attention went to his behavior. I am very glad that he has calmed down and that I can enjoy his concerts and music in peace, only having to care about the music. I am glad I can finally say I am a fan of a good musician, whereas in the past I always have to add that I did disapprove some of his acts despite liking the music. Manson today is about music, and let's keep it that way. Otherwise he'd make people turn their backs on him and miss out the great music he makes.




And not all of us Mansonites are underages ;) Don't expect to see my bed before the sun comes up again that night !

[EnDai]

Yeah, but he apparently turned his back on "true" black metal anyways, so it would have probably sounded the same anyways! :) That said, in recent (enough) interviews he's expressed an interest in re-continuing where Burzum really left off! Sweet! :cool:

Honestly, I've only heard TGAOG once, and vowed never to subject myself to it again. Even Tim Skold couldn't help!! (And thats saying something!) Portrait up as far as Mechanical Animals were all excellent through and through though.

[paul_oshea]

thomo you have a good taste in music fair play to ye. some great bands there, must try out at the drive in as have heard a lot about them, dont know much about refused either. what style are jack off jil??

[Gerrit]

Yeah, but he apparently turned his back on "true" black metal anyways, so it would have probably sounded the same anyways! :) That said, in recent (enough) interviews he's expressed an interest in re-continuing where Burzum really left off! Sweet! :cool:

Honestly, I've only heard TGAOG once, and vowed never to subject myself to it again. Even Tim Skold couldn't help!! (And thats saying something!) Portrait up as far as Mechanical Animals were all excellent through and through though.

TGAOG was a step towards the glam-metal on Mechanical Animals (which is often stated as his worst release, I on the other hand still find it his best work). There were some less good songs on TGAOG so it did not have the constant high quality as MA, but a few songs on the album would not misfit on MA. Also, lyrically This Is The New Sh!t was one of his less serious songs, but thanks to the slow opener and powerful chorus it's the excellent song to open a Manson gig with, though I still prefer Reflecting God for that.



For Dublin, I hope for this setlist, order of songs is less important except for the opener and encore:


The Reflecting God (opener)
Dogma
Dope Hat
The Beautiful People
Cryptorchid (his most underestimated song)
Man That You Fear (encore)
Irresponsable Hate Anthem (encore)
Great Big White World
Dope Show
Rock Is Dead
Coma White
The Fight Song
The Nobodies
The Love Song
Tainted Love
Personal Jesus
Para-Noir
mOBSCENE



It's a "best of" tour and the excellent opportunity to reach out to the Irish public. So I hope he plays more work from the first two albums than in the previous tours. Last tour I saw him 3 times and heard no songs from Portrait OAAF...



As for Burzum: he turned into a nazi in prison, so Varg found black metal somehow not nazi enough and also had a problem with the word 'black' in the genre's style. Ack, the guy is a complete nut, but his first albums were legendaric (apparently Aske is most appreciated in general)

[Gerrit]

Also, I may be living in Belfast by the end of next month, but to my relief I see a coach of Manson/Maiden fans is heading to Dublin and back for this gig :cool:

[Gerrit]

Listening to Venom now. Any other people that know the band ?

They're legendaric as being the first black-metal band but still seem to have disappeared in anonimity. How many Cradle of Filth fans would know that without Venom the music of COF would have sounded completely different ?

Venom's not to be taken very seriously, but I like their song "Evil in league with Satan a lot". It was probably not intended in a funny way, but the lyrics are so over the top that it becomes quite amusing in a bizarre way :)

[EnDai]

Tbh, most black metal has comedic lyrics! Immortal, how I love thee! ;) (Even if you do make me **** myself laughing! BLEEEEHHHH!)

[paul_oshea]

immortal are good.

[EnDai]

Indeed! ;)

[Gerrit]

Tbh, most black metal has comedic lyrics!

Some bands (and fans) unfortunately take it all very seriously. Venom at least knew the bizarre and unserious aspect of their lyrics. If you look at bands such as Mayhem or Burzum... :eek:

[EnDai]

I know :D But that makes it all the more comical for me, the normal Irish bloke! :cool:

It's like if you ever read Varg's accounts of slaying Euronymous, I hate to say it, but I laughed. I mean, its sad that someone - such a musician - died, but just Varg's way of putting it depicts him as more insane than I thought he was, and is generally a quite comical read!