Taratoa Stappard's Mārama.

 

Napalm Death covering Slab. With backup singers! This shit is nuts. A big, thick slab of sonic knuckle in your face to kick off Wednesday. From 2022's Reesentment is Always Seismic (A Final Throw of Throes). I don't know how it's taken me until age 50 to get into Napalm Death, but it happened.

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NCBD:

A couple of "Maybes" I'm including today for various reasons. I'll explain as I go. Big week if I bring all this home.

So, apparently, I'd been buying this off the shelf, neglecting to sub, so I never ended up with issue 3. I dig it, but the books are starting to add up, so I'm tempted to let Thundarr go. We'll see. 

The end of the series. I can't say I've completely followed everything that's happened in Liam Sharpe's Spawn: The Dark Ages, but it's been profound to say the least. The homage to Wrightson's Frankenstein really helped win me over, but really, this man just makes beautiful, challenging art. Who would have ever thought you'd find that in a Spawn book? 

Condon and Adlard? Take my money.

Misommar meets Green Room? Really? That sounds insane. Add to it that Tynion is writing it and I'm in. 

Okay, I've seen this "Dire Wraith" technology or whatever it is (The Hallucinatory green stuff on the cover there) in the solicitations for some of the recent figures - all passes for me - and I'm curious to see how this goes down in the pages of GIJOE. I'm also loving the idea that Crystal Ball will be yet another independent faction in this total melee of factions. That's this book's strong point. It's not just Joe and Cobra. It's at least half a dozen agendas if not more by now (Arashikage, Dreadnoks, Raptor, Blud, etc). 

One of the funest books of the year, and one that has such a 'Summer vibe." Why? I don't know - maybe because when I was a kid in the 80s, summer sometimes meant hanging out at an arcade with friends, playing Double Dragon, and if there's one major pop culture entry in Death Fight Forever's DNA, it's Double Dragon. Jeez - just saying Double Dragon brings on a super strong nostalgia. No wonder I love this book. Which, incidentally, is SO much more insane than DD could ever hope to be. 

Writer Pornsak Pichetshote's graphic novel Infidel from a few years back was one of the genuinely frightening comics I'd read in years, so to see his name attached to the Absolute Green Arrow series being described as "A Horror book" really piqued my interest. 

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Read:

Last night I drove up to the Belcourt in Nashville to see Taratoa Stappard's Mārama.

I knew zero about this going in. Mārama takes place in 1859, North Yorkshire, where Mārama has traveled from her native New Zealand, the home of her Maori ancestors, to meet a man who claims to know her origins. Mārama is an orphan who never knew her parents, so the pull is strong. 

I have seen this described online as a Maori Gothic Horror, and that pretty much hits the nail on the head. This is a gorgeous film, but it is also infuriating. Colonialism is ripe for remembering, with so many in our modern age eager to either celebrate the worst history has to offer or ignore it. Ariāna Osborne is magical and intense as the lead; her unshakeable identity and fury are a balm for her would-be oppressors. 

Definitely support this on the big screen if you can - the costumes, sets and camera will work pay off dividends if you do. 

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Playlist:

Émilie Leviensaise-Farrouch - Censor OST

Atticus Derrickson - The Black Phone 2 OST

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST
King Woman - Celestial Blues

The Sword - Age of Winters

The Doors - L.A. Woman

The Bangles - All Over the Place

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven 

Palesketcher - Jesu: Pale Sketches Demixed

Jesu - Lifeline EP

Jesu - Silver EP

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Blackbraid - Celestial Womb EP

Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Burial - Untrue

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• 20: Judgment

• Nine of Cups

• 17: The Star

Renewal and fulfillment. I feel this after last. Genuinely - driving up to Nashville later at night is a pleasant drive, and sitting in a theatre I love watching a film I knew nothing about really helped put me back in my preferred perspective. Top that off with a short but powerful writing session beforehand, and yes, today I feel renewed.

Mascara - Going Postal

I think I first discovered Mascara via The Cinematic Void podcast, where, if I remember correctly, Nick Vance - whose band Double Life I adore - mentioned them in a year-end episode a few years back (maybe more than a few at this point). Anyway, I ended up with their 2025 album Going Postal on my phone, but couldn't remember how it got there. I gave a perfunctory listen a week or three back, but yesterday, holy shit. These guys HIT me. I blew through the album and a handful more of their releases (see below). All of them are fantastic. 

Mascara's Bandcamp is HERE, so head on over and give 'em a listen. Great independent band that deserves as much support as we can rally.

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Watch:

Tim Plester and Rob Curry's new documentary, The Archivist. I'm not entirely sure what this has to do with Weird Walk zine, but I came to the trailer via their YouTube channel, and I generally pay attention to everything they do. This is no exception.

Here's the solicitation blurb from the YouTube post:

"Following in a noble lineage of Great British nonconformists, David ‘Doc’ Rowe has spent the last 60 years tirelessly documenting the rich tapestry of mysterious folk customs that continue to thrive in forgotten corners of this Island Nation. THE ARCHIVIST follows this indefatigable man through the wheel of a year like no other; capturing not only his efforts to get back on the road despite health issues and Covid lockdowns, but also his crusade to find a permanent home for his one-of-a-kind collection."

This is making its world premiere at a film fest in Sheffield at the end of June, so not sure when we'll see it stateside, but I'll be watching for it from here out.

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Read:

Back into my Stephen King reread this weekend with my favorite of the Dark Tower novels, Book Three: The Wastelands.

I'm not very far yet, but I'm both shocked and not shocked at how well I remember this one. Not shocked, because I carry quite a bit of it in the daily ether that comprises my 'surface' mind. You know, those books, songs, movies, comics, whatever that are so much a part of you, that made such an indelible impression upon first contact that bits float up apropos of nothing at any given time on any given day. That's this book. Shocked, because even though I've read this three times prior (Once when it came out, once during a reread before Book IV came out, and once before embarking on the full series reread I did when the final three books began to release), I still always blanket assume my memory is not as good as I think it is (for many things, it is not). But no, I fell right in the opening scene with Mir, the 18-story guardian of the woods, like I was rereading yesterday's material.

This very much excites me, because with this proof of memory, I'm eager for certain other key scenes in the book, especially Jake in the 'haunted' house. 

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Playlist:

Anthrax - Worship Music

Anthrax - For All Kings

Anthrax - We've Come for You All

Rock Burwell - Obsession OST

Abby Sage - Smoke Break (single)

Napalm Death - Resentment Is Always Seismic (A Final Throw of Throes)

Mascara - Hla-11Tf 

Mascara - Cameo Blue Estate EP

Napalm Death - Apex Predator - Easy Meat

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Abby Sage - The Rot

AC/DC - For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Ten of Wands

• Five of Cups

• Seven of Swords

Wasting time mulling over disappointing results is of no use. Take the negative and turn it into a positive. Or, to quote Alfred, "Why do we fall down Master Bruce? To pick ourselves back up."

Obsessed with New Music From Anthrax!!!

I knew this was coming today, but I had no idea how great it would be! These guys really just don't slow down. I love the track, which is the lead single from their forthcoming first record in over a decade, Cursum Perficio, due out September 18th. No pre-order yet, but it's coming.

I love the track, especially the production. First listen was on headphones and I recommend it - you can really hear all the instruments and voices in their own space, but expertly mixed. And Frank Bello's bass - man! Sounds so good.

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Watch:

I knew nothing about Curry Barker or his feature film debut, Obsession, going in. All I'd seen was this trailer and an announcement that A24 had tapped him to helm their upcoming Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 

Obsession is a deeply unnerving film. There's definite DNA here from the first Smile film - of which I am definitely a fan - but Barker has a knack for thwarting expectations and really doing something different with some of the tropes you'll think you recognize, but won't. Also, I am a huge fan of sustained tension, and once this film kicks into the tense stuff, it never relents. There aren't many exhales, and there are times when, by manipulating those aforementioned tropes in different and unexpected ways - like say someone standing in a dark corner watching someone else - Barker creates these delirious ripples in the anxiety, to a greatly disorienting effect. 

I walked out of the theatre feeling like I needed to smoke a cigarette (I don't smoke) or take a shower in order to put something between myself and what I'd just endured. That's something special.

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Read:

After the first episode of The Terror: Devil in Silver last week - which we are reviewing weekly on The Horror Vision, first episode HERE - I picked up the source material and blew through it in just a few days. 

Victor Lavelle's The Devil in Silver is an absolute masterpiece; as much an exploration and reflection on humanity, mental health and the failing system we have in this country for Mental Health. It touched me in ways I'm not sure anything has ever. Also, there's a helluva monster involved, but it is kind of secondary to the mental health themes, which Lavelle really shows insight into. He builds extremely strong characters, and I was hooked; I couldn't put it down. I found myself reading while lying around on the couch with the TV on at night, or until I was falling asleep face-first in my iPad. This one derailed me from my Dark Tower for a few extra days after finishing, as it's still echoing in my head. Great feeling. 

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Playlist:

Napalm Death - Resentment is Always Seismic (A Final Throw of Throes)

Blood Mother - Night Fires (single)

Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain

Emilie Leviensaise-Farrouch - Censor OST

Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast

Iron Maiden - Killers

Mascara - Going Postal

Mascara - Hla-11Tf single

Mascara - Cameo Blue Estate EP

Mascara - Eponymous EP

Flower Language - Thrown Into Air

Electric Wizard - Super Coven

Helmet - Aftertaste

Boy Harsher - Careful

Double Life - Indifferent Stars EP

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Page of Wands

• Four of Swords

• Four of Wands

Will and Intellect. A strong power base or foundation for creating something lasting. A spark from which something sustaining can be created.

Seems like a writing pull, but I'm having trouble matching it up with... oh. Actually. No. I'm not. Can't talk about it yet, but this is a good reminder about a project I'm working on.

Napalm Death is Caught in a Dream

 

Big decision to make today. Am I going to jump work 30 minutes early and drive up to Eastside Bowl in Nashville to see Deadguy and Napalm Death at my favorite local venue? I'll report back tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a track from the latter's 1987 album Scum. 

I'll admit I'm fairly new to Napalm Death fandom. Not that I've ever had anything against them, but my exposure over the years has been minimal at best, and it wasn't until their recent collaboration with Melvins became available from Ipecac earlier this year that I became intrigued at what I'd missed. So far, while the albums I was faintly aware of and slightly exposed to back in the day - 1990's Harmony Corruption and 1987's Scum - are about what I've always thought they were and albums I would not have 'got' back in the day but fair much better now that I've grown into a bit over the years and absorbed influences and offshoots Crass and Godflesh, some of their newer stuff really strikes a chord with me. In particular, 2022's Resentment Is Always Seismic (A Final Throw of Throes) has made quite the impression on me in only a handful of listens. 

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NCBD:

Super excited for today's pull. Let's get into it:

The cover says it all: Shockwave is back! Hell yes! Can't wait to see what's been happening on Cybertron since Alita One took over as Prime, leaving Optimus de-primed a few issues back. Kirkman is killing it in this series!

One more issue of Simon Birks and Willi Roberts' adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's The Thing on the Doorstep, and so far, for a story that's received a fair amount of attention in the last few years, this is probably my favorite interpretation. Birks keeps it true to the story but also streamlines things, and Roberts' art is fantastic. Especially his knack for showing us the evil intentions of some of the characters. 

 

With the giant, magic Kaiju running around at the end of last issue, this one can't get into my peepers soon enough. Gene Luen Yang, Fero Peniche and Freddie E. Williams II have really found a way to keep this book evolving, not easy to do after Jason Aaron's run and all its reamapping of the cast. 

Creeping closer and closer to issue 50 and I'm pretty sure some pretty major events for SIKTC. 

From the solicitation blurb on League of Comic Geeks:

"THE SECRET OF SNAKE-EYES REVEALED? As Dawn infiltrates the Terror Drome, she learns a shocking secret about Snake-Eyes from their time in Springfield...one that could doom their future!"

Wait, what now? Holy cow, I didn't realize something like this was even on the horizon! Also, look at that cover art! Wow!

I'll confess, the Dawn Moreno character has never really intrigued me, but this? Based on the fact that the current Snake Eyes is a clone of the original (who died at some point when I was not reading this series), I'd say this could be a pretty huge development. Can't wait to find out more!

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Watch:

K and I saw Mortal Kombat 2 last night, and I am here to tell you this flick is SUPER fun!

I have zero history with Mortal Kombat. Obviously, I was aware of it when it came out, but I don't think I ever played it, and the first movie I saw was 2021's, which I enjoyed as a pretty fun popcorn flick. This sequel ups the ante by adding Karl Urban - always a plus in my book - and really getting into the lore of the games. Again, I knew nothing of this, and it wasn't really until I heard our recent episode of The Horror Vision that my cohosts Anthony and Missi did on the flick (HERE) that I understood how much story has been built into this.

I will say the fighting choreography is good, but everything feels like slow motion since I saw The Furious last month at Beyond Chicago. So, no offense to MK2, but it still just can't hold a candle to Kenji Tanigaki's film, which I cannot wait to see again in wide release on June 25th!

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Playlist:

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven 

The Monks - Black Monk Time

Steeve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Drug Church - Prude

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

Double Life - Indifferent Stars EP

Napalm Death - Scum

Napalm Death - Resentment Is Always Seismic (A Final Throw of Throes)

Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: The Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts

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Card:

My first pull with Jonathan Grimm's Eldritch Lace Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Ten of Wands

• IV: The Emperor

• Nine of Wands

It takes strength to overcome the rules that thwart our growth.

A lot of what I'm interpreting as work pulls lately. 

Slide 2 Me

I saw Drug Church at Nashville's Basement East this past Saturday. Fabulous show! I'd been to this venue once before, back in 2023, and I forgot it's one of the easier Nashville locations to get to, so I'm going to stop being so gunshy about hitting shows there. 

The driving here is really prohibitive. There's so many exchanges to get to some locations, and traffic is as bad or worse than LA (believe it!), so there have been a few events I purchased tickets to in the last year that I ended up not going to, simply because, on a week night after a day's work, the thought of doing these drives is daunting, to say the least. Good to know The Basement East is pretty painless. 

Anyway, great show, great crowd. I watched a bunch of younger dudes doing full-on stage-dive cartwheels from the stage back into the crowd, and it was amazing. At a high-energy show like this, I miss the pit, but I especially miss surfing. I learned quite some time back, though, that the ramifications to those activities now can be pretty substantial. At 50? Maybe I'm buying my own pity story, but it's best to err on the side of caution, lest I remove myself from the flow of my daily life with crutches or a cast. 

"What a drag it is, getting old."

Yeah, but also, I'm mostly okay with it. I mean, I did all that shit when I was younger (never stage dove - it's far more acceptable today. Back in the Aragon Brawlroom days, bouncers would throw your ass out of the show for that shit), and it's cool to see the younger gen do it while I sit back, bang my head and drink my beer.

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Watch:

After 8 years, I canceled Shudder. It wasn't easy, because I've really been a huge supporter of them since I signed up back in the spring of 2018. But they had it coming after canceling The Last Drive-In. Ultimately, I understand that Shudder and the folks that run it aren't to blame, that it's the parent company AMC. I also understand that by canceling that and taking the $30 AMC+ deal for a full year, I basically just made the opposite statement I wanted to make. 

Here's the deal, though: I've known for a few years that AMC is shitty to Shudder. I mean, you can pay for Shudder, or you can pay for AMC+, which includes Shudder. Not only that, but the Shudder portal on AMC+ actually has more Shudder material than Shudder does. 

That's just messed up.

 This has been stuck in my craw for a while now. I want to watch a particular movie with Joe Bob, it's not on Shudder, but it is on AMC+'s Shudder. WTF? I held off as long as I could, but by doing that, I've already made my statement. Now, I'm looking at my pocketbook. So it's backward, but it's what I need to do at the moment. 

And the first movie I watched on AMC+'s Shudder portal? Nothing I couldn't see on Shudder, but still... Oily Maniac had been on my list for a while, so I dialed up this batshit crazy Shaw Brothers Horror flick and fell down a rabbit hole of whatthefuck.

So really, not much has changed, except I saved myself $69. I would have rather not canceled Shudder, but this is where we are.

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Read:

I blew through Brian McAuley's latest novel, Breath In, Bleed Out, over the weekend and loved every twist and turn!

Equal parts a Slasher and a Mystery, this book had me guessing and wincing almost all the way through. The writing is crisp and lean - no fat here, so the plot pulls you right through. The characters, too, who are fantastic, are a great mix of folks you root for and folks who, well, maybe deserve the awful deaths they get. And the deaths? Breathe In, Bleed Out has some diabolical kills. One in particular, which I'll just say involves heat and a rattlesnake, really impressed - and disgusted - me.

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Converge - The Dusk in Us

Converge - Love Is Not Enough

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay

Drug Church - Hygiene

Drug Church - Prude

Adam Egypt Mortimer - The Obelisk

Drug Church - Paul Walker

Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury - Drokk

Vitalic - OK Cowboy

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Three of Swords

• Five of Cups

• Five of Pentacles

Not gonna lie, I'm a little freaked out by this pull. We'll see.

New Music From Loathe

I'm on the fence on this one. While I love Loathe's 2020, I Let It in, and It Took Everything, the album cuts its Nü Metal elements with enough atmospherics and melody that I don't really notice them. This on the other hand, while being insanely heavy, feels a little more outside my Nü tolerance. 

We'll see. As usual, it's never a good idea to make a decision about a single without the context of the full album informing that decision.

That said, I just realized that this is actually the second track released from the upcoming album, A Stranger to You, out July 17th. You can pre-order the album HERE, and the previously released track, "Gifted Every Strength," is actually a lot more promising in my opinion. So the verdict is still out. 

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Watch:

You know, there are more and more shark movies every year, and although they terrify me, I guess I'm the guy who just has trouble taking any shark movie seriously other than Jaws. That's not entirely true, but it's not entirely untrue either. Giant squid, though? 

Holy f*cking nightmare fuel!!!

I really hope this hits a theatre near me. I think seeing this great big honkin' Kraken (CG, yes, but that's fine in this case, as I'd hate to think of the animal wranglers or, for that matter, actors having to deal with an actual giant squid.

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Playlist:

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me

Type O Negative - Dead Again

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts

Low Cut Connie - Livin in the USA (pre-release singles)

Primus - Tales from the Punchbowl

Various - The New (playlist from Jacob)

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Bryce Miller - City Depths

Living Nudes - My World Exploded

Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - Wasteland

Drug Church - Prude

Amigo the Devil - Born Against

Them Are Us Too - Part Time Punks Session

MadLove - White With Foam

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

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Card:

One card from my Thoth deck:

A reminder that the only good reason to do most things has a root cause analysis of Love. 

New Music From Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats!!!

No word on the new album yet, but this track is rad!

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NCBD:

Big week. Let's get into it.

Perfect timing! I usually hang on to these Savage Sword issues until I have a chance to really sit down and enjoy them, and I just did that last weekend with issue 13 and was left wanting more. 

This pretty much speaks for itself if you're a SIKTC fan. Looks like this is a three-issue mini-series that will no doubt help spin off big changes coming up in issue 50 of SIKTC, and as much as I've enjoyed these last few "young Erica" storylines in the flagship book, I'm pretty anxious to see how the whole thing is going to evolve. Thinking that starts here.

I know nothing about this new number one for Excommunicated, other than it's on Vault, and I miss Vault! Here's the solicitation blurb:

"When a faithful nun and a festering demon are each excommunicated from the church — and from hell — because of a botched exorcism, they must work together to uncover a sinister plot that endangers their lives and the world."

Definitely sounds like a 'me' book, so I'm giving it a shot!

I loved the setup of the first issue of Estuary: A Ghost Story, so I'm back for more. Nothing like an underwater ghost story.

As I mentioned, I wasn't able to score the free one last week for FCBD because I don't go anywhere near a comic shop on FCBD. Looking forward to this enough that I have no problem paying for it.

This is the issue we've been building to, and funny how it kind of dovetails with the current season of Daredevil: Born Again, which wrapped up last night (but which I haven't watched yet at the time I'm writing this). 

I love this Fraction and Jimenez Batman series, and I love that they're playing the GCPD against them. 

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Watch:

llimage/textsddj I'm putting this new Evil Dead Burn trailer here for posterity's sake, but I won't be watching it of my own volition.

 

Most likely, I'll see this a number of times at the theatre, but I'm really going to attempt to minimize exposure to the film before it's release, lest what happened with Evil Dead Rise happen here. As of now, I am very excited for this film! So excited, in fact, that I started re-watching Ash vs. Evil Dead from the beginning the other night. I know this is a completely different side to the Evil Dead Universe than anything with Ash (as it should be), but I never did get around to Ash vs Evil Dead season three, so now's the time.

 

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Playlist:

Cristobal Tapia De Veer - Smile OST

sunn O))) - Loser

Art Brut - Brilliant! Tragic!

Killing Joke - Eponymous

Blood Mother - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Mind Control

Type O Negative - October Rust

Tyler Bates & Chelsea Wolfe - X OST

Flying Lotus - 1983

Pepper Adams - Encounter!

Cage & Aviary - Migration

Vitalic - OK Cowboy

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Queen of Pentacles

• VIII: Strength

• Page of Swords