For me music is one of the few things that keep me sane in this mad world, together with sports and nature. I listen quite a lot to hardcore music and whatever subgenres there are. To name a few: BoySetsFire, Hell Is For Heroes, Stick To Your Guns, Architects, Refused, Stray From The Path, Letlive, Polar, H2O, Comeback Kid, Rise Against, and many more. Often songs are about certain problems in this world, but on the latest BoySetsFire album you find songs like ‘Torches to Paradise’ and ‘Ordinary Lives’, which focus rather on becoming the best version of ourselves.
In March the new album of Nathan Gray Collective came out, together with the autobiography of Nathan: Until The Darkness Takes Us. It’s not BoySetsFire, but if you have followed Nathan over the years (with BoySetsFire, The Casting Out, The New Recruits, I Am Heresy and Nathan Gray Collective), you know this is once again high-quality music. To me this record is like the continuation of the message to rise and become our best version ever. It’s a great album full of powerfull songs. So definitely check it out here. I’ve not yet finished reading Nathan’s biography, yet I can say it’s worth your time as well!
The self-titled BoySetsFire album and this new Nathan Gray Collective album have let me think about some things I already knew (but not necessarily did) and inspired me also for my photography project ‘Comeback Kids’. Seems like Nathan is a good example for a comeback kid! Read the biography!
For this project I am still looking for people who had/have to deal with some big issue in their lives, be it disease, mental issues, eating disorder, loss of a loved one, any forms of abuse, etc. and didn’t/don’t give up, but are an inspiration to people in similar situations. I’d like to take one picture of the person with the back against the wall and one away from the wall with an object of choice relating to something they really love or are doing now despite their history. E.g. my personal situation: after my fifth stomach / intestines surgery I now am training hard to compete again in 100m and 200m races. So I’d do a pic with my spikes. If you’d like to participate in the project, let me know! I’ll be posting more information on the project and an example picture on the site later this month.
Back to Nathan Gray Collective. Next Monday I’ll return to the Underground in Cologne where I’ll attend the Nathan Gray Collective gig (and before that the book reading session). The Underground is the place where I met Nathan Gray for the first time in November 2010, back then with The Casting Out. I was impressed and really enjoyed that evening. Almost 7 years later, this will be the 29th time I see Nathan live with one of his bands, and show #30 is the next day in Eindhoven! Always, and I really mean always, I had an awesome time at these shows. So if you have the chance to see Nathan Gray Collective, just go and check them out!
Hope you’ll be inspired as much as I am!
Until the darkness takes us.
Unconquerable Spirit!
Unbreakable Will!
From the song ‘Remains’:
So here I stand / Here I believe
That I am free / Because I chose to be
Stronger than death / Louder than shame
Let it all burn away and rise from the remains