2022.03.18
In another sign of life's cruelty, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia turns out to be the fear of long words.
Some more news to readers: one of my favorite bands for twenty years, Orplid, have agreed to an interview. This will take some time to put together but I'm very happy that Uwe has agreed! Orplid lebt!
2022.03.16
There are a bunch of schizotypal personality tests online. This one rendered me outside of the range, while I scored 18 on this schizotypal personality test, I suppose 18 out of 100? And then it told me I need to visit a psychiatrist anyway, haha. It probably does so if you have a score anywhere above zero. Psychiatrists are really struggling right now with customers, right? Where do you stand?
2022.03.15
Good news: check out this band from the Adirondacks USA, easily some of the best BM I heard so far this year: Black Braid. Also Convulse and Holyarrow interviews are completed and sent.
Bad news: I was very disheartened to find out today that Solitude Productions has decided to suspend operations. I'm going to try to reach Sergey who I met in person once many years ago in a Moscow cafe. Solitude is and was one of the most important doom labels in the world and had no political agenda and worked with Ukrainians and Russians alike, just as I have, and will. I refuse to believe that it has just ended. I've been so fucking pissed and disgusted at all of this that I can hardly express myself with words... or rather I can try. I've started an article that I am debating to publish here on this site to whoever cares, or I'll just do it for myself out of therapy to help me survive this mass psychosis.
2022.03.11
Support the reduction of human life/misery on earth with a donation today:
Planned Parenthood.
2022.03.10
Sinistrari Records from Arlington, Virginia are now stocking issues of Convivial Hermit 8 and 9! Check them out!
2022.03.07
Darkness Shall Rise Productions in Deutschland will soon be stocking issues of Convivial Hermit #9. Vielen dank an Denny für seine Unterstützung!
2022.03.06
I've started putting together questions for Convulse so I think I've broken a bit out of my rut in the last few weeks. It's not a happy time and I think the only solution for now is to shut down all of the fucking media (especially social media) and just concentrate on living and the things that matter in life.
I was very excited to find out that Tyranny 帝辛 have a new album coming out! I contacted Jim from Coldwoods today so hopefully I can hear it soon, definitely one of my fave bands today.
Also, for those who love David Cronenberg's films as I do you probably will not want to miss this compilation: The Body of Horror.
2022.03.03
I haven't been working so much on the zine lately since I've been in so much shock over current events. I'm not going to get deep into my thoughts and theories here, but to anyone reading this, understand that two savage wars are being waged now, and if you consider yourselves in any way "moral" or a champion of peace and democracy, you will be opposed to both. Otherwise, you are a fucking hypocrite.
2022.02.24
What a dark day in Europe! I stand in opposition to this war in Ukraine as much as I stand in awe at the dementia and hypocrisy of the West which is now reeling in outrage over "invasion of a sovereign state" and "bullying." Where was that outrage when the USA invaded Iraq and tore that country to pieces? Where were the sanctions? And who benefits, and loses, from these sanctions that the US is now imposing on Russia? I'm pretty confident it won't be Putin.
On a brighter note: I'm happy to say that Deng of Dopamine/Pest has also agreed to be part of the Russia-China pact for issue #10 together with Holyarrow. Let this be a peaceful cooperation... in full compliance of all UN charters and international treaties.
2022.02.23
Lengthy review of Rotten Ways To Misery completed. The very cool Holyarrow from Fujian Province, China, has agreed to an interview. Check out this EP and other material from them on their bandcamp page.
2022.02.20
"Reasoning will never make a man correct an ill opinion which by reasoning he never acquired." - Jonathan Swift
I've been thinking a lot lately about the quote above and what Neil deGrasse Tyson recently said about the existence of advanced technological species: for billions of years this planet has teemed with life in a state of relative stasis but it's only in this tiny sliver of the last century when our knowledge and technology have advanced to modify our environment on a global scale that we already find ourselves in crisis - this just in several decades . The corollary then becomes that perhaps we aren't seeing other civilizations in our corner of the galaxy because technology, and intelligence itself, is in the long term antithetical to life?
2022.02.16
Sinistrari Records from Virginia has sent an amazing promo package to me and will soon be carrying copies of Convivial Hermit, keep a lookout for it!
In other good news Rami of Convulse (Finland) has agreed to an interview. Like them or hate them, Convulse are one of the oldest Finnish death metal bands in existence. Exciting stuff!
2022.02.14
I had the Wolves Among Sheep book on my radar for months as something I need to read from a historical perspective, though I despise and want to throw up all over NS politics and its pointy headed, knuckle-dragging SIJW representatives, but now it is sold out of the few distros I've seen it in. I've waited too long. If it's as long and editorially unfocused as the Finnish Death metal book maybe it's for the best. I am almost done reading Makkonen and Strömsholm's ridiculously long Rotting Ways To Misery slog... (review coming)
2022.02.13
By far the best record I heard this year is Whispering Gallery's debut from 2000, Like A Dream of Never-ending Beauty... Love Never Dies, released on the long dead Killer Whale label. This record was made at the very tail end of the 90s and has that beautiful analog depth to it highlighting the heavy riffs with some classical motifs and great performances from three different vocalists (Reinier Vreeswijk in particular!). Excellent album from the Dutch doom/death scene! About time I heard it...
