Loathe - Screaming

 

Getting back into Loathe's 2020 record, I Let It In and It Took Everything, which I first fell in love with in early 2021. How did I go so long without listening to this? Sure, I've spun it a few times in the last three and a half years, but not as much as I should have, considering how obsessed I am with it at the moment. Can't wait for something new from these guys - they did release a counterpart record in 2021, the all-instrumental The Things They Believe, but I'm talking about a new, proper album. A lot of things I see online lead me to believe we can expect a new one any time now, so I'll be waiting...

 

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Watch:

I watched Ben Wheatley's A Field In England last Friday. I'd made two previous attempts to watch this one over the last ten years or so, and failed both times. I never once considered this was the film's fault, just a failure on my own part to relinquish myself to the slow-moving, otherworldly specificity of Wheatley's vision with this one. It was decided recently that we would cover Field on an upcoming episode of The Horror Vision's Sticks N' Stones - our Folk Horror discussion vehicle, and in looking for a unique angle to take I had the idea that I would eat the last of some psychedelic mushrooms I've had in my desk for going on two years now. 

A strategy was born, and I undertook the endeavor this past Friday night.

I'll save the details of this cinematic expedition for the episode of our show. For now, though, let me just say this was a perfect strategy, and while the mushrooms were not nearly as potent as they were two years ago (I should have frozen them!) they offered a deeper watch than I'd been able to achieve on those other two occasions. 

A really fine film, and a marvelous score by Jim Williams, who is very quickly becoming my favorite working film composer today.

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Playlist:

Alice in Chains - Dirt

Mudhoney - March to Fuzz

Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

Man or Astro-Man? - Defcon 5...4...3....2...1

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity

Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything

Loathe - The Things They Believe

X - Los Angeles

Pigface - Live 2019 Limited Edition Vinyl (Thanks, Mr. Brown!)

Tubby Hayes Quintet - Down in the Village (Live at Ronnie Scott's Club, London 1962)

Melvins & Lustmord - Pigs of the Roman Empire

John Carpenter - Lost Themes IV: Noir

Les Discrets - Prédateurs

Deadguy - Fixation on a Coworker

Pepper Adams - Encounter!

Oliver Nelson - The Blues and the Abstract Truth

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

Jackie Wilson - Higher (single)

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons - Can't Take My Eyes Off of You (single)

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Card:

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

• Ace of Swords

• V: The Hierophant

• Knight of Wands

Intellectual breakthrough possibly arrived at via a spiritual state. The Knight of Wands may indicate that what stands in the way of achieving this enlightenment is an imbalance between the intellectual and spiritual/emotional states, which kind of defines what it is to be human, especially in the chaotic period of upheaval that usually predates a breakthrough or epiphany.

Loathe - Two Way Mirror

 

My god, these guys are like the Bloc Party of Post Metal. This is, of course, one of the albums I discovered directly after putting up my 'best of 2020' list last week. The way Loathe move between noise, atmosphere, super intense metal, and melodic vocals is seamless and an absolute joy to listen to, especially on headphones.

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Watch:

 

Alex De La Iglesia is a filmmaker who I've known about for nearly 20 years now but never seen any of his movies. And there's a lot of them. To go back to the early 21st century, when I still lived in Chicago, my good friend and brain trust behind Darkness Brings the Cold Dennis is one of two friends who really stoked my love of Horror movies. Dennis had an enormous collection of DVDs and a wealth of knowledge for the genre at large, and one of the films he always touted as a favorite was one he couldn't update from his old VHS copy, for which he did not have a player. This was Iglesias's 1995 Day of the Beast. Without even knowing anything about this one, I was intrigued based on the name and cover image, which Dennis had on a badass shirt:

After a recent conversation with Dennis, I finally sought out some of Iglesias's films and added them to my Amazon Watch List. Just in time, because the other day the trailer for his new HBO series made its rounds in our Horror Vision text thread, and I was BLOWN AWAY. Whatever that is at 1:19 will be in my nightmares for years to come. It reminds me a bit of that thing at 21 seconds into the American Horror Story: Coven opening credits sequence. 

Either way, January 4th can NOT come fast enough. 

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NCBD:

Holy cow, there were A LOT of new comics for me yesterday. I divide this between the two shops, so I'm spreading my support around, but here's a combined total of what I picked up:

This series continues to be one of the funniest things I've read in a while. Super light, super creative, each issue reads like a chapter in a big-budget action film. 

A recommendation from my Drinking w/ Comics co-host Mike Wellman, this one takes place in Chicago and totally nails its look at feel. Hell, I've been to the Globe Pub, so that got me right away.

 

The previous issue of this new Locke and Key mini series nearly made me cry, so I'm looking forward to some closure before we do next year's crossover with Sandman.

Miskatonic #2, wherein we get a ton of new characters from all kinds of H.P. Lovecraft stories involved in what is shaping up to be a really complex, interesting blend of historical fact with Lovecraft's literary legacy. 

Eddie at the Bug recommended this very independent book to me, and the moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. Artist Alex Ziritt - who made a huge impression on me with Space Raiders a few years back - offers some truly unique style when designing his visual worlds, and from the brief flip-through I did upon picking this one up, looks like Night Hunters is no different. 

I totally forgot the new Brubaker/Phillis HC was landing this week until I walked into the shop. Perfect timing, as I finally just read their previous one, Pulp, over the weekend. It won't take me nearly that long to dig into this one, that's for sure, as I loved Pulp, and it definitely put me in the mood for more from these guys.

Two issues left after this one, and once again, I have NO idea where this is going. Some definite surprises in this chapter, and more of that gorgeous art and deep character development the Opena/ Remender team seems able to deliver flawlessly.

'

This final one, We Live #3 from Aftershock Comics, just turned this series from an on-the-fence read to something I Love. Definite shades of Day of the Dead and Girl with All the Gifts, this issue supplants the first two chapters' more Fantasy approach with an equal measure of Horror. This book feels like something new, something that blends a lot of different influences and genres for a unique effect. We Live has also proved its ability to continuously surprise me, so from here out, I'll be waiting for each subsequent issue with the kind of excitement few books these days inspire in me. 

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Playlist:

Swans - The Seer

Howard Shore - Crash OST

Portishead - Third

Richard Einhorn - Shockwaves OST

Amesoeurs - Eponymous

Opeth - Deliverance

Anthrax - State of Euphoria

One Stroke Baron - 

Loathe - I Let It In and It Took Everything

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Card:

 

This is certainly how I feel at the moment, having spent nearly $70 on comics today. I'm kind of beating myself up over it. It's such a weird feeling, to balance in your head what you want and what you need. I'd imagine my peers with children have an easier time staying on focus as far as needs/wants. I'm not jealous, but I definitely think that, as I age and find myself pretty much able to buy whatever I want within my realms of interest - none of which is extravagant, mind you, but definitely adds up - I feel occasional pangs of guilt at, well, I guess at not spending the money one something more important? This, however, begs the question who decides what's important.