31 Days of Halloween Begins NOW!!!

 

You know, I was beginning to think I did not like this new album from Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats. The production this time really stripped away some of the charming grime that gives the band their sound. I deleted it from my Apple Music and abstained for a week or so, and when I came back yesterday, I found I really liked it. This song especially. With these kind of low-key 80s synths that start the song and then haunt the mix's background, I don't think I've heard anything like that before.

 

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31 Days of Halloween:

I conceived the idea of beginning this Halloween season with George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead - the greatest zombie movie in the history of zombie movies, in my opinion, months ago.

This is one of those seminal films for people my age. I'd like to think Romero's work - especially on Night-Dawn-Day - transcends my age, but regardless of that, it really is difficult to think of a more astute social commentary with high level practical FX and cinematic swagger. I love everything about this film, from Ken Foree, to Fly Boy to the Hare Krishna Zombie. 

And so, let the list begin!!!

1) George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead

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Playlist:

Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Suspended in Dusk)

John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davies - Cathedral

Metallica - ... And Justice For All

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Shapes of Midnight

Dance with the Dead - Malombra

Blood Mother - Eponymous

Godflesh - Decay

Sisters of Mercy - Floodland

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Card:

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

• Seven of Wands

• Queen of Pentacles

• Eight of Cups

A postive result indeed yesterday at the GI doctor, where I finally found someone willing to talk about fatty liver with me. Despite imaging showing mild/early signs of fatty liver in July (prompted by blood in my urine that turned out to be the herald of this dreadful kidney stone that still has not passed), the doctor brought up the point that all my labs done in March for my annual showed normal liver function. So yes, positive result, especially when you add in the almost three months (four by the time I'm finished) of no alcohol I've adhered to since. Now, Queen of Pentacles denotes stability, but the Eight of Cups reminds me not to rest on my laurels, i.e. I need to shake the inner voice telling me I should just have a beer now if everything is so normal.

Give it time.

RIP David Emge

 

A Dawn of the Dead-themed post today in honor of David "Flyboy" Emge's passing this past weekend.

 

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Watch:

Classic scene from the greatest Zombie film ever. 

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Playlist:

The Cure - Pornography

Your Black Star - Sound from the Ground

The National - High Violet

Danko Jones - We Sweat Blood

Feuerbahn - The Fire Dance EP

Joy Division - Substance 1977-1980

Zeal and Ardor - Eponymous

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

FACS - Still Life In Decay

Tar - Clincher 

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Eagulls - Tough Luck

Man, I feel like the world was a better place when Eagulls were still making music. I never saw anything that explicitly stated they'd broken up, but 2016's Ullages feels like a looong time ago. Maybe one day they will heroically swoop in from the Post Punk aether and bring us another ten or eleven-track album of raw, angry British fire. Until then, love what they gave us.

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Watch:

This past Saturday, I had an impromptu French Zombie film double feature that began with a first-time watch of Yannick Dahan's 2009 IFC-released The Horde. Holy smokes, this movie is an adrenaline roller coaster:

I loved everything about this one, and can only marvel at the fact that other than my cohost Butcher on The Horror Vision, I don't remember hearing anybody talk about this one. Available right now on Tubi, this is SO worth your time, even if, like me, you fancy yourself 'over' the Zombie thing. La Horde is like 28 Days Later on weapons-grade meth. All the performances are intense, the set design is fantastic, and the characters are endearingly repulsive. Streaming right now on Tubi, but I'm definitely ordering the DVD soon (the bluray is OOP and pricey in the aftermarket).

When The Horde ended, I needed something to cool down with, so I went entirely the opposite route and re-watched Dominique Rocher's 2018 The Night Eats The World, which is currently on Prime.

 

This film definitely takes its cues from Romero's Dawn of the Dead, using one character to explore the quiet, sad side of a zombie apocalypse. This one's a bit of a heartbreaker at times, but its portrayal of human frailty is a beautiful reminder of the social aspects of our species and what would happen if we lost all access to other people. To this end, Anders Danielsen Lie gives a riveting performance.

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Playlist:

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

X - Los Angeles

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

Steve Moore - Christmas Bloody Christmas OST

Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me

Type O Negative - The Least Worst Of

PC World - At Heaven's Gate (pre-release single)

Skinny Puppy - Last Rights

Mars Red Sky - Eponymous

Intronaut - Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words with Tones)

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Oracle:

From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE. Just a reminder that Grimm's new Tarot Deck, The Hand of Doom Tarot, is both gorgeous and live on Kickstarter right now. Here's the LINK.

• Eight of Swords

• XIX - The Sun

• Nine of Cups

Eight of Swords often indicates change through conflict. Couple that with revelations promised by The Sun, and the Climactic, Emotional moment, and I think this pull is meant for someone I know who has been doing  A LOT of incredible self-discovery of late.