The Monochromatic Hell Hole

 

Helmet's Monochrome is an album that I've recently spent some time reassessing. When this came out in 2007, I had just moved to L.A. two months prior and was still VERY high on the band's 2004 album Size Matters, which was and still is my favorite of their records. So Monochrome's vocal shift to a considerably more affected style from Paige Hamilton didn't quite sit right with me at the time. I've gone back and dug this one out a few times over the past - shit - eighteen years since its release, and it's never really done anything for me. I always kind of figured that one day it might, though, and that day has come! The shift from the more melodic vitriol of Size Matters and Aftertaste back to the absolute savagery from the first album threw me at the time, but right here in 2024, it fits like a glove. Album highlights (so far) upon reassessing are the above track, as well as the album closer, "Goodbye."

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NCBD:

Nice and easy week for the wallet.

Saga returns again! I feel like this one is being drawn waaaay the hell out now, and I'd really like to see it hit a monthly cycle and hold it for at least the better part of a year. Either way, though, I'm still just as invested as I was at the beginning, and I'm here for whatever.

When Department of Truth returned from hiatus last month, it marked the first time since I'd come to the book that I got to buy an issue day of release. I wasn't sure how that was going to play; having read the entire first four volumes in a few days last year, was I going to have to go back and re-read everything to remember where we are? Nope. This one is just such a pleasure to fall into that the only drawback reading single issues monthly is it's just not enough!

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Watch:

Although the Adams family's Where the Devil Roams still hasn't been released, the trailer for their next film, Hell Hole, dropped yesterday. 

 

These folks make some awesome indie flicks, and this looks right in line with everything I love about Hellbender and The Deeper You Dig.

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Playlist:

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

Les Claypool - Of Wales and Woe

Les Claypool - Highball with the Devil

Pigface - A New High In Low (Low Disc)

The Raveonettes - Chain Gang of Love

Odonis Odonis - Post Plague

Odonis Odonis - Spectrums

Interpol - Antics

Amigo the Devil - Yours Until the War is Over

Metropolis - The Darkest Side of the Night (single)

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE. Also, starting today for the next 30, Grimm's Kickstarter for the Hand of Doom Tarot Art Book is up. Check it out HERE.

• Four of Pentacles

• Knight of Pentacles

• IX: The Hermit

Four of Pentacles is stability in Earthly matters, arrived at through no small exertion of Will as applied to Earthly desires/concerns after a period of contemplation. 

New music from Helmet!!!

 

New music from Helmet! Holy smokes, thanks be to Mr. Brown for putting this one on my radar, because I've kind of fallen off Helmet the last few years. If their upcoming album Left is anything like this first single, we're in for a treat. Out November 10th on Earmusic, you can pre-order the vinyl HERE.

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Watch:

The V/H/S series returns to Shudder on Friday, October 6th. Here's the trailer that dropped yesterday:

 

I find this series super hot and cold. The most recent entry, V/H/S/99, proved pretty polarizing for me; I really dug a few of the stories and didn't care for the rest. That said, I'm always game to see what gets included in these flicks, and often find directors just starting out (Chloe Okuno comes to mind).

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Playlist:

Lustmord - Berlin

Walter Rizzati - House By The Cemetery OST

Telekinetic Yeti - Primordial

Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

Fen - Monuments to Absence

Helmet - Holiday (pre-release single)

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Oracle:

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

• Knight of Swords

• Eight of Cups

• XVIII The Moon

Balancing the Creative energies with the Sharp edge of Intellect yields emotional transformation on matters at this point, unrecognized or obscured.

No idea how to apply this one at the moment, but then I guess that's why it's 'unrecognized or obscured.' The Moon is a favorite of mine - it tends to cast light in dark corners. Digging a bit deeper, I have a notation in the Grimoire that says the following for the Eight of Cups: 

"As advice - let it go. Don't cling to what's written." 

Well now, that would seem to add some clarification, as I just performed a major overhaul on something in the book, had to get rid of about eight thousand words of 'what's written.' Didn't cling, so I'm on track. Still not sure how that fits in with the other cards at the moment, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled. 

Battle Tapes

In my absence from keeping this blog there are SO MANY things that I have forgotten to put here. Take Battle Tapes for instance. In September 2011 my life had gone through a bit of a storm - I'd went through the slow death of Borders Books - a place I'd worked as a supervisor at for 5 years. And brother, it was a slow, painful death. Near to the end I was able to jump ship and begin a new career in the cryogenic field. That was August 2011, so like I said, September that year was a learning curve to say the least (I'd never had any experience in cryo-anything). Around this time my beautiful wife surprised me one Friday with tickets to see Helmet the following evening at, of all places, The Viper Room. Neither one of us like the Viper Room very much and this show was no exception. In fact, it pretty much made us HATE it. The place is soooo cool, if it was only run a little better. Case in point, the show had two bands on the bill and was supposed to start at, if I remember correctly, eight-thirty. Well, the club superimposed a local showcase in front of the Helmet gig and we ended up sitting through (by which of course I mean standing) two very, very bad "So Cal punk bands". Think of how much green day just absolutely sucks while trying oh so hard to convince every one - including me thinks, themselves - how 'punk rock' they are and then multiply that by about two thousand.

Yeah, that bad.

Anyway, by the time Helmet's opener came on neither my wife nor I were in a mood to tolerate even one more shitty band. Good thing Battle Tapes came out and BLEW THE FUCKING DOORS OFF THE CLUB. Really, I mean they were the highlight of the show, not really because they were better than Paige Hamilton and crew, but because when we had to leave only about seven songs into Helmet's set (Helmet! At a club as small as the Viper Room!!) it didn't hurt that bad because Battle Tapes was just that good.

I signed up for their mailing list and a few months later received word that they had released an EP for free on their site. Said EP is still available for free download here and I've posted their widget above so you can even hear it first.

It's sooooo good!!!