the twentyseventh video is coin-operated boy by the dresden dolls. the lyrics can be found here.

this is punk cabaret. you can listen to it.

i like it because… it’s such a fresh, intelligent, somewhat ironic and cute story, put into a nice punk cabaret song. just so beautiful! i learned about this from a gothic sampler. this was one of the best tracks on that album. it was only later when i saw the video, but that made the song even better.

the twentysixth video is wünsch dir was von die toten hosen. the lyrics can be found here.

this is punk rock. and it was on the radio as well. so you can try it.

i like it because… another song from my youth which i still like.

the twentyfifth video is path by apocalyptica. featuring four amplified cellos, nothing more. this is one of the songs which got me into apocalyptica.

this is cello rock. with just amplified cellos: no drums, no lyrics, nothing else. try it if you want.

i like it because… it’s powerful, dark, melodic, intensive, beautiful. and played only by cellos. i fell in love with it when i first heard it, and i still love it.
the first time i saw the video was when putting together this series. i must say that the video is as good as the song itself. and interesting interplay between shadows and reality, in black and white. really fantastic.
(which reminds me, i haven’t seen them live for some time. what a pitty…)

the twentyfourth video is winter wind sings by the black league. the lyrics can be found here.

this is doom metal. try it if you like darker, heavier stuff.

i like it because… it’s a dark and heavy earworm, sung by taneli jarva in his typical dark voice.
another song on the same album, ichor, is an interpretation of the sonnet ozymandias by percy bysshe shelley. if it would come with a video, it would be the main feature of this post.

the twentythird video is lumessakahlaajat (german: schneewanderer) by the finnish band timo rautiainen & trio niskalaukaus. it is about the finnish-russian war (though i also read that it is about the yugoslavian war, and the video seems to back this up), when many finnish people had to leave their towns behind and flee into the forests, leaving them with the only two choices of dying or leaving their heimat. a really depressing song. the finnish lyrics can be found here, and the german lyrics here. the video here is the finnish version; in case you want to prefer german: the german version can be found here.

this is metal. you might like it.

i like it because… it is a very sad, very moving story, about the dark side of wars, about the endless suffering of the civilians. i think this is really well delivered by the rather plain, but intensive style of the band.
the band usually makes finnish songs, but they have two german albums, with translated songs. the results are very remarkable, and sometimes pretty strange, especially the first album, “in frostigen tälern”. schneewanderer can be found on the second album, “hartes land”.

the twentysecond video is alive but dead by rage. this is a live version of a song from a metal band for an orchestra with amplified guitars, played with the lingua mortis orchestra from minsk, belarus. other bands did such projects earlier, but this is still one of my favorite orchestra and metal combinations (next to waltari, but more about that later ;-) ). the lyrics can be found here.

this is metal. it also has an orchestra. try it if you want.

i like it because… it’s a really good blend of classic and metal. in my opinion, one of the best. i also first heard this on the dark winter nights sampler, which i already mentioned several times during this series :-)

the twentyfirst video is doomed to walk the earth by swallow the sun. the lyrics can be found here.

this is death doom metal. try it if you know you like this.

edit: another one which cannot be embedded. here‘s the video. here’s another version of the same video which seems to work:

i like it because… it’s dark, gloomy, heavy, interleaved with dark, gloomy, mellow parts. there’s always melody, some kind of beauty. and blackness.
there are other swallow the sun songs which i would also like to put here, but which do not come with a video, like the giant and too cold for tears. if you are interested, look for them on youtube…

today i saw a movie, called flatland, based on a 126 years old novel. a must-see for any mathematician (or must-read). it’s about politics. about thinking. about imagination.
in flatland, a two dimensional world, the third dimension is known as a myth, and it is forbidden to talk about it. there are hints, which are well-hidden from the public by the rulers. until one day, little hex went out to see these hints, and her grandfather, after having more than dream, in more than two dimensions, tries to protect her.
apparently, the movie is much easier to digest than the novel.
another reason to read that book.

the twentith video is strip the soul by porcupine tree. this song is about family brutality, about dark family secrets. the lyrics can be found here.

this is progressive rock/metal. you can try it.

edit: another one i cannot embed. here‘s the video. and here’s an embedable version, without video though:

i like it because… it somehow surprised me: such a dark story, crawling under the skin, while compared to this, the music seems casual, not suggesting such abysses.

the ninteenth video is engel by rammstein. the lyrics can be found here.

this is (industrial?) rock. it was played on radio in my youth, so i guess you can listen to it.

i like it because… of a very catchy melody, an interesting interpretation about angels, and, not directly related, a cover version by kebby. well. i listened a lot to this a long time ago, and started again a couple of years ago when i finally got rammstein’s sehnsucht album which contains the song. brings up memories…
the video is kind of strange, reminds a lot of the second part of from dusk till dawn.