I missed posting for the anniversary of Peter Steele's death back last month, but the Drab Four have been on my mind.
It's funny, over the last few years I've fallen into the habit of almost exclusively listening to Type O in the Autumn. Which is weird, because if I was forced to name a 'favorite band' it would probably be them (or Ozzy-era Sabbath). The reason for this weird confinement of their music is something I have been aware of, but not really analyzed.
Until yesterday.
In listening to Type O's final album, 2007's Dead Again, I realized the reason I largely reserve their music for Autumn is that out here in California, we do not have any of the recognizable features of my favorite season. October feels a lot like August, feels a lot like April, etc. After living the first thirty years of you life in the Midwest, the seasons become ingrained in you, in your thought processes and emotions and all kinds of other inner-working, hard-wired stuff. When I moved to the west coast about a year before Dead Again was released, I had to get used to the lack of burning leaves, thunderstorms, and a general sense of what I'll rather dramatically call 'the dying time.' Thus, I established early on a sort of "Internal Autumn" ideal, almost a mantra for my favorite time of year. This usually kicks in during the start of September and lasts through the first week of November. It's how I convince myself that I'm living in Autumn when I'm really not, an homage to the way I lived the years of my life that shaped me. This works, however, I think the inner autumn thing has become more difficult to sustain the longer I'm out here, that much further away from the experience of a real Autumn. Thus, I came up with this idea that if I reserved Type O - still the most Autumn band for my money - exclusively for that time of year, it would help sell this whole charade.
And as is often the case in psychoanalyzing yourself, now that I've picked this apartment, it feels freeing, because I WANT TO LISTEN TO TYPE O NEGATIVE ALL DAMN YEAR LONG.
So let's start here with Profit of Doom, the third - and possibly weirdest - track from Dead Again.
Damn, Pete. We fucking miss you.
Watch:
One of the movies I've been waiting for this year is Maximiliano Contenti's Red Screening, AKA The Last Matinee. I don't know a lot about this one, but check out this bee-oootiful trailer:
I've become quite a sucker for Neo-Giallo, and Horror flicks that take place in movie theatres always work good for me, so I'm jazzed for this one, which will be in theatres on August 6th and VOD August 24th.
Playlist:
Voyag3r - Doom Fortress
Lantlôs - Lake Fantasy (pre-release single)
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Anthrax - Among the Living
Card:
The 8 of Wands always feels like it's a premonition of good things to come, creatively. I need that right now; things have been slow and syrupy and I need to get myself moving again. The idea is in another week or so, since I am now fully vaxxed, I'll begin walking to my writing spot again. This should help me get back on track, so hopefully the card is a good omen.
The new Tomahawk is out and it's super fun! Favorite track so far? Probably still Business Casual, but from the stuff I've only been living with for twenty-four hours, I'll point to the almost prog-rock guitar of Tattoo Zero. Meanwhile, Predators and Scavengers has an old school Jesus Lizard feel at times, and they released a video.
Watch:
Block Island Sound - which is currently streaming on Netflix - already feels like a frontrunner for movie of the year. Of course it's my way to make bold statements like that in March and April, so we'll see.
Too soon to tell or not, I fully expect the McManus Brothers' latest foray into Horror to be in my top ten at the very least. It's such an ominous film, dread dripping into all the little corners of one family's life.
Holy cow! This is the third single from the upcoming new album by Arab Strap? Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton's first album as Arab Strap in... a really long time! How did I miss that this was coming? The good news is the album is out March 5th on Rock Action Records, so it's not long now. The bad news? The vinyl is currently completely Sold Out. I'm hoping for a re-stock, so if you're like me, you'll be checking the Pre-order link for the next few weeks.
Watch:
Near the end of the newest episode of The Horror Vision Horror Podcast, Ray Larragoitiy asks Tori and me what we're excited about coming out in the next few months. I wasn't prepared for the question at that time and was pretty bummed to realize I could barely think of a thing. Seems like the COVID effect on productions has finally caught up to us. There are a few things, though. One of them is this:
Ben Wheatley's new film In the Earth should be along within the next few months (I hope) and I for one can't wait.
Playlist:
Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - The Helm of Sorrow
Thou - Rhea Sylvia
Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark (pre-release singles)
