The Black Echo

The Black Echo is the 1992 début novel by American crime author Michael Connelly. This is the first of Connelly's Bosch series. The book won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award in 1992.

Plot

Spoiler Alert: the novel centers around Harry Bosch, a Vietnam veteran who served as a "tunnel rat" during the war, became an L. A. police detective advancing to the Robbery-Homicide Division. However, after killing the main suspect in the "Dollmaker" serial killings, Bosch is demoted to "Hollywood Division" homicide, where he partners with Jerry Edgar. The death of Billy Meadows, a friend and fellow "tunnel rat" from the war, attracts Bosch's interest, especially when he determines that it may have been connected to a spectacular bank robbery using subterranean tunnels. Bosch suspects that the robbers were after more than money and he then partners with the FBI, in particular agent Eleanor Wish, in an attempt to foil their next attack.

Bosch and Wish end up connecting the robberies to a group of Vietnamese living in Orange County, as well as some Americans that may have been involved with them. In the end, he discovers that Rourke from the FBI is the killer and Eleanor Wish knew all about it the whole time.

The Black

The Black is a rock band from Austin, Texas that formed in 2002 when singer/songwriter David Longoria began collaborating with drummer Andy Morales. The two were later joined by renowned guitarist Alan Schaefer (son of famous guitar maker Ed Schaefer) and Nick Moulos of the Austin band The Crackpipes.

History

The group began playing regularly at Emo's and house parties until Schaefer moved to France to teach English in 2004. Longoria joined major label act ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead during the band's hiatus, his first performance with them on the Late Show with David Letterman in January 2005. Schaefer joined the rest of the band to support Trail of Dead on their European Worlds Apart tour. During the tour Trail of Dead was the band's backing band for a handful of shows.

Their full-length album Tanglewood was recorded in 2004 and released the spring of 2005 on their own record label K Woo.

The band's next release, titled Donna, was released in the summer of 2007.

The Black (Asking Alexandria album)

The Black is the fourth studio album by British metalcore band Asking Alexandria. The album is due to release on 25 March 2016, and marks the first album featuring former Make Me Famous guitarist and Down & Dirty frontman Denis Shaforostov as the band's new lead vocalist, best known under his moniker Denis Stoff, succeeding former frontman Danny Worsnop who has departed for hard rock supergroup We Are Harlot. It was proceeded by the singles "I Won't Give In" released on 26 May 2015, "Undivided" released on 25 September 2015, and the album's eponymous track "The Black" released on 2 February 2016.

Background

On 22 January 2015, former frontman Danny Worsnop announced his departure from the band to focus his work on hard rock band We Are Harlot, however, he stated that the band will continue touring as well. This has been done with the induction of former Down & Dirty and newly introduced Asking Alexandria frontman Denis Stoff. Stoff's Asking Alexandria covers on his YouTube account above92 had drawn the attention of Ben Bruce, with Bruce stating that "it had to be Denis" for whom he was praised for his much greater vocal range and his style which was inspired by Worsnop during the band's early stages, believing he was capable of performing their songs live on a much higher level than his predecessor. Moreover, just like Asking Alexandria, Stoff's previous bands were contracted to Sumerian Records, which may have granted him an easier transition on succeeding Danny Worsnop.

Củ Chi tunnels

Coordinates: 11°03′39.60″N 106°31′33.60″E / 11.0610000°N 106.5260000°E / 11.0610000; 106.5260000

The tunnels of Củ Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.

The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped to counter the growing American military effort.

Life in the tunnels

American soldiers used the term "Black Echo" to describe the conditions within the tunnels. For the Viet Cong, life in the tunnels was difficult. Air, food and water were scarce and the tunnels were infested with ants, poisonous centipedes, scorpions, spiders and vermin. Most of the time, soldiers would spend the day in the tunnels working or resting and come out only at night to scavenge for supplies, tend their crops, or engage the enemy in battle. Sometimes, during periods of heavy bombing or American troop movement, they would be forced to remain underground for many days at a time. Sickness was rampant among the people living in the tunnels, especially malaria, which was the second largest cause of death next to battle wounds. A captured Viet Cong report suggests that at any given time half of a PLAF unit had malaria and that “one-hundred percent had intestinal parasites of significance".