Vera by EXIA ULTA

this album features songs from 2013, 2015, and 2021, but it's dedicated to the year 2008. that was a beautiful year, my second in university. it was the first year I attended large shows; I saw metallica for the first time that summer. I think down and flyleaf opened for them, if I remember correctly. I also saw korn live in january, and santana playing live.

I spent a significant amount of time in clubs, where electro house dominated the charts and dancefloors. my favorite drink at the time was red bull and vodka. I also tried absinthe for the first time. in october, I broke up with my girlfriend of two years. that year, I voted for the first and last time. the year began with my friend Ronald introducing me to the band death and their symbolic album. about a week later, my grandfather got very drunk, fell, and cut open his eyebrow. I took him to the hospital; everything was alright, and we even laughed about it later.

I was really into fallen shoes and clothing that year; I had a pair of those big, chunky ivory skater shoes. I spent my days mostly attending university and playing my guitar. I borrowed so many guitars that year: a gibson sg, an ltd 417, and a custom-made kelly-shaped guitar named christie. by october, I purchased an esp mii with a maple fretboard, just like the one in the black dahlia murder's music video for a vulgar picture, from the album miasma. I listened to that album a lot that year. rihanna was constantly on the radio and mtv, while I was also digging florida death metal bands such as deicide and vital remains. that year, I listened to mastodon for the first time. I also watched miami ink and a shot at love with tila tequila.

in february of that year, I downloaded an album from the internet for the first time in my life, which was meshuggah's obzen. before then, I had only bought cds. and of course, I was constantly on youtube and myspace.

the age of understatement also arrived that year. to me, it was a kiss from the past, reminding me of being a beatles fan because of my father. I still like that record to this day, especially the music video shot in russia, full of now-gone aspects of that life, like casinos, chocolate swirl cakes, and open, free orthodox churches. metallica dropped death magnetic; to this day, I haven't truly listened to it all the way through, yet I love the music video for the day that never comes. to this day, I love music videos related to war zone conflicts, and I don't truly know why. viva la vida or death and all his friends was iconic.

if I recall correctly, I also attended an all shall perish show. they were my favorite band of 2007, and seeing them only one year later was such a blessing. all original members were blasting songs from their debut and awaken the dreamers albums. I still check chris storey's youtube channel from time to time; I promise you I watched his "awaken the dreamers solo" video a thousand times. as I remember it, the quality was better when it was first uploaded than it is now. the whole of june, I was blasting watershed by opeth on my samsung yp-z5 2gb mp3 player.

until the last second, I thought john mccain was going to win. I didn't really care. the financial crisis, sparked by the subprime mortgage crisis, led to a global economic downturn with significant impacts on financial institutions, employment, and global markets. I honestly didn't feel it, all thanks to my mom and stepfather. basically, the start of 2008 was great, until the last three months. and 2009 was a disaster. hayley said that paramore had to cancel the rest of their tour due to "internal issues" and they hoped they could work it out. I liked them back then.

fable II came out, I was such a fan of the first game but didn't play its sequel. gta iv - most underrated in its series, I love it. in gta iv, if you stand near a toll booth and wait for cars, npcs actually open their windows to pay the toll. it was insanely detailed. britney spears ended 2008 a lot better than she started it. after a couple years of personal and career struggles that played out publicly, including losing custody of her children and being put on a psychiatric hold, spears needed a win. she came back strong in the second half of the year with her sixth album. I love this album. ronald and I were listening to it for the remaining 29 days of 2008.

in late august of that year, my friend xandr told me he'd gotten us into a band - a deathcore band. it was all done over the telephone because I was out of the city with my mom and stepfather. I was so happy, and the new members were really cool guys. there were beautiful moments when our lead singer, eugene, would pick me up for rehearsals after his work. he had a dark blue ford focus. it was such a short period of time, but it was so vivid; I felt alive. thanks to my bandmates. I love you all, many years later. I love you, eugene. I'm really sorry that I didn't keep in touch. and I'm sorry that I wasn't with you in the moments you needed help. sadly he passed away in 2020.

in september or october of 2008, our new band had a photoshoot. the photographer was a goth blonde girl named valerie - I fell in love in a second. she was older than me and, I guess, wasn't interested. I tried to ask her out two or three times but got rejected every time. she was an icon - really beautiful and edgy - I feel like she was every boy's dream girl between ages 16-19. she was badass: tattoos, heavy makeup, she smoked, listened to hed pe. she wore the shortest black plaid skirt, some oversized band merch t-shirt with one shoulder open, big hoop earrings, fishnet stockings, and new rock boots. my friend back then, baloo (because he was damn tall and had ears like the disney character), told me valerie had the style of a new york hooker. we laughed about it. she's a very vivid memory of mine from wto thousand and eight.