I'll never forget the first time I heard Metal Church. My second concert ever was at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park, Il. 1991, Operation: Rock n' Roll. Metal Church (The Human Factor Tour), Dangerous Toys (Hellacious Acres), Motorhead (1916 Tour), Judas Priest (Painkiller Tour), and Alice Cooper (Trash). As we exited the amphitheater, we were handed cassette compilations that featured a song from all the bands that played, plus Cycle Sluts From Hell, Alice in Chains, and I don't remember who else.
Unfortunately, I don't think I still have this tape, despite having a box filled with tapes that I've lugged with me across the country twice now. Regardless, the Metal Church song on this was "Date With Poverty," and thus, my constant revolutions of this tape burrowed it deep into my brain.
Unfortunately, I realize now I missed out on a gorgeous Hardcover with Slipcase edition, but that's okay.
Watch:
We finished the regular season of Netflix's The Sandman, then were super happy to see the bonus episode drop with two stories culled from the third TPB collection Dream Country. Both Dream of a Thousand Cats and Calliope were every bit as faithful adaptations of the source material as the overall show was. I really hope they renew this one.
Incidentally, a new episode of The Horror Vision went out today. We do a spoiler-free reaction to The Sandman, and talk about a whole bunch of other things as well, from my first viewing of Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem, to seminal 80s flick Popcorn, to the unique and disturbing films of Andrey Iskanov. Check it out in that little widget just above and to the right, and if you dig, follow us on your favorite Podcast Platform.
Next up, the first episode of Paper Girls. I am a HUGE fan of the comic, but this first episode felt like the show was cramming A LOT into one episode. Still, I'm in for the haul, so hoping it smooths out a bit.
This is another one I really hope hits its stride; Brian K Vaughn fans already had one heartbreak in the last twelve months with Y The Last Man being tossed out after only one season, so hopefully, Paper Girls will hit its mark and find an audience:
Read:
I finished T.E.D. Klein's The Ceremonies yesterday. Wow. What a book. It's always fantastic to find a literary Horror novel, and this is definitely that. The Ceremonies breathes for a large part of its 600-page length, and the story is all the better for it. This is the kind of prose I love most, where the author isn't concerned with hitting beats or creating a page-turning momentum. The story unfolds slowly, primarily with character development, and when things climax in the final 50 or so pages of the book, it feels well-earned.
Loved this. Can't wait to grab Dark Gods, also recently republished by PS Publishing. Also, a note in reference back to my original post about this edition of The Ceremonies when I first received it: despite my fears, the spine on this one actually held up beautifully. Way to go, PS! You guys rock, thank you for bringing Klein's work back into print, I was getting dangerously close to paying upwards of $50 on eBay for a beat-up old MM paperback copy of Dark Gods before you swept in and saved the day.
Playlist:
Various - Every Day (Is Halloween) Small Cat, Big Yard Playlist
Various - Bret Easton Ellis' The Shards Playlist
Underworld - 1992-2002
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Metal Church - The Human Factor
Big Business - Here Come the Waterworks
Various - Return of the Living Dead Soundtrack
King Woman - Doubt EP
Sharon Jones and the Dap Tones - Give the People What They Want
The Devil's Blood - The Thousand Fold Epicentre
Anthrax - Worship Music
Forhist - Eponymous
David Lynch and Mark Zebrowski - Polish Night Music
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
Revelation can Strengthen Will, however, Emotional persistence can hamper Will. I'm not entirely sure what this is speaking to at the moment, but I'll do some reading later today and see if I can't get a better read on this.
