I guess I had completely forgotten that Fever Ray released a new record earlier in the year.
Historically, this is the time of the year when I go back and see what I missed or forgot about, and this was a big one. Great record. Even better - seeing them perform here for
NCBD:
Here's my Pull for yesterday's week's NCBD!
This final issue of the That Texas Blood spin-off/prequel The Enfield Gang Massacre will be out of my reach for a while, as my Drinking with Comics cohost Mike Shinabargar will be pulling it for my box over at Amazing Fantasy in Frankfort, Il. No sweat, I haven't had time to read all four of the preceding issuues yet, so I'll probably just wait to do the entire series in one fell swoop once I have them all. Not like I don't have a ton of stuff to read, regardless.
Very excited to be two issues into the return of Phantom Road. I adore this book, and can't wait to see where this crazy ass alternate-dimension/Grindhouse story is going.
Well damn. The last issue of X-Men: Red. I'm both bummed and excited to see how this Arrako civil war ends up, especially after that final panel last month.
Also, a couple of surprises, which I talk about at length on the newest episode of Drinking with Comics: NCBD & A Beer!!!
Really digging the Gargoyle of Gotham!
Watch:
In preparation for an episode of The Horror Vision we're recording later today, I rewatched Demián Rugna's Terrified and When Evil Lurks. I can honestly say that the latter elevates the former and also that When Evil Lurks is an early-in-the-running nominee for best Horror film of the decade.
Much like Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie's The Void did in the 2010s, this one inspires nothing less than tireless awe every time I watch it.
Playlist:
Baroness - Stone
Fever Ray - Radical Romantics
Yawning Balch - Volume One
Yawning Balch - Volume Two
Amigo the Devil - Everything is Fine
Kings of Leon - Because of the Time
Blut Aus Nord: Disharmonium: Nahab
Rodney Crowell - Christmas Everywhere
Card:
My bandwidth is LOW, so today, just one card from Missi's Raven Deck:
VIII - Contemplate routines and make adjustments where needed. Interesting, as I feel like that's exactly what I just did by taking the shorter route for this Pull.
Thanks once again to Mr. Brown, I once again found an album that has immediately made my entire life better. The Damned's 2018 Evil Spirits is so good it's helped keep me afloat while I suffer from mild insomnia this first week in L.A.
The Damned is a band I missed altogether when I was younger. Hell, it wasn't until sometime around 10 years ago that Mr. Brown came out to visit me, we hit Amoeba, and he picked up a three-disc set that included the first album, Damned Damned Damned, and I'm not really sure what else. This is the only Damned I knew until Sunday when, on the way to Cold Waves in Mr. Brown's car, he popped this in. I was blown away from the opening track, "Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow," all the way through to the last track, and I've listened to it almost every day since, sometimes multiple times. "Sonar Deceit" is, I believe, my favorite track, but the entire album is just so damn good, pun intended.
The thing that
Watch:
I had two nights to just kind of chill in my hotel room, despite the fact that doing so was exactly what I didn't want to happen (for a fairly heavy account of my pontifications walking the street of West L.A./Santa Monica, check out the most recent Every Day (Is Halloween) newsletter, which you can sub to HERE and comes complete with a playlist). I'm okay, though, and despite suffering from mild insomnia this last week, I'm maintaining and actually welcomed the respite. Here's what I watched while vegging in bed, NOT sleeping:
First up, Jeff Lieberman's 1977 weirdo slasher(?) Blue Sunshine. Here's the trailer:
This one is such a strange film; there's a fairly large scope to Blue Sunshine that kind of peters out at the end, but I love it nonetheless. The opening has stayed with me since the first time I watched it. Blue Sunshine is available on Blu-Ray from the fine folks at Film Centrix.
Next, I caught Mark Rosman's The House on Sorority Row on Shudder TV:
Not great, but then, it doesn't try to be. The House on Sorority Row knows exactly what it is - a film made to cash in on the early 80s Slasher craze, and in those terms, it does its job in a pretty entertaining way. There are elements of this that I really like to think were lifted from Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1966 film Diabolique, and that actually makes me like Sorority Row more than I probably should.
Finally, in anticipation of seeing Demián Rugna's new film When Evil Lurks tomorrow at Beyondfest, I rewatched his 2017 film Terrified.
Another film that sets up a larger incident than it resolves, I dig this film quite a bit but have never understood the proclamations that it's one of the scariest films of all time. Terrified definitely hits a bunch of the "scariest scenarios ever" checklist (something under the bed you're sleeping in; dead child back from the grave, malevolent spirits watching you while you sleep, etc.), but I guess because I've seen all those before, it doesn't move the fear needle. That's not a criticism because most movies don't scare me. Not because I'm tough, but, you know, it's 2023 - we've seen a lot scarier shit in the real world. Still, a great film I recommend to all.
Playlist:
T. Rex - The Slider
Fvnerals - Let the Earth Be Silent
Bell Witch - Future's Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate
Joy Division - Substance 1977-1980
The Damned - Evil Spirits
Witchskull - The Serpent Tide
Godflesh - Purge
Dio - The Last In Line
Various - Every Day (Is Halloween) Playlist #7
The Damned - Phantasmagoria
Nerver & Chat Pile - Brothers in Christ split EP
Chat Pile - God's Country
IDLES - Joy as an Act of Rebellion
Wytch Finger - The Dance EP
FFS - Eponymous
Screaming Females - Desire Pathway
Card:
I'm on the road, so all my Pulls will be from my mini Thoth deck for the next two weeks. Not a bad thing, but wanted to put up a reminder that Grimm's new Tarot Deck, The Hand of Doom Tarot, is both gorgeous and live on Kickstarter until Tuesday, October 3rd. Here's the LINK.
• Six of Swords: Science
• Five of Swords: Defeat
• Three of Disks: Work
Wow. Really easy to read this one: The changes I'm trying to inspire being back at work on-site are just not going to happen and are not worth fighting about. That actually takes a lot of stress off me.
Before Ghost, Tobias Forge was in a band named Repugnant? I had NO IDEA, so thanks to THIS article on Metal Sucks. Death Metal isn't really my jam, but this... not too bad. And from the opening guitar, you can 100% hear that it's Forge's writing. So here's them playing live and that guy that looks kind of like he could be in the Misfits? That's Papa! Always cool to see where our beloved musical icons come from.
Watch:
I've struggled with Demián Rugna's 2017 film Terrified multiple times. I liked it, but I didn't feel for it as others who seemed to feel it was the scariest film in years did. My theory is this is due to the fact that I fell asleep during my first viewing (not the film's fault at all), and that tends to rob some film's impact for me. It happened to Duncan Jones's Moon, it happened to Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, and I'm pretty sure it happened to Terrified. Regardless of how I felt about it as far as being "scary," Rugna definitely crafted a confident, competent Horror film that I wouldn't hesitate to others. So it is with no small amount of fervor that I came upon Bloody Disgusting's posting of the trailer for his new film, Where Evil Lurks. Here's the trailer:
I was torn on actually watching this; as you know if you've been reading these pages lately, I've become very anti-trailer. In spite of that prejudice, and cautious that I might once again rob Rugna's film of power, I watched it and can happily confirm this is truly a 'teaser.' Well done, IFC. I can also say I am 100% in just for the sound design alone. Where Evil Lurks is supposed to have a theatrical run starting on October 6th, and will hit Shudder on the 27th of the same month.
Read:
Almost two years ago, I posted about giving up on Clive Barker's Scarlett Gospels. Well, I decided recently to give it another shot.
I'm not really far enough to pass judgment again, but this definitely still feels less elegant than any other Barker I've read. The opening scene sees the five remaining Black Magicians in the world (?) resurrect a sixth, more powerful one to try and survive a culling carried out by The Priest (don't use that other nickname!), who is now working separately from The Order of the Gash, attempting to amass all the world's Magickal knowledge for some as yet unknown purpose. The scene begins rather poorly and doesn't really feel like Barker until "The Demon" shows up. Here, I still get a sense that Barker is overdoing the gross-out factor in a misguided attempt to recapture something of his past works - which were all elegantly revolting and not nearly as gauche - but I'm hanging in and hopefully coming to terms with this in a way that will allow me to A) finish the novel this time and, B) enjoy it. Reminder to self: This man is a genius, an icon, and any Barker is better than no Barker.
Playlist:
The Lucid Night - The Mystic Journey EP
The Lucid Night - The Celestial Voyage (single)
Lord Huron - Long Lost
Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: The Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts
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.
• Page of Cups
• X: Wheel of Fortune
• Queen of Swords
The Page or Princess of Cups is a card I associate with inner vision, and taken with the Wheel in this case, I see ideas growing to fruition. Therefore, good day to write. Balance all that out with the Watery aspect of Fire and I'm reminded I have a major distraction going on in Chicago at the moment. Reading all these together then, tells me to get the writing in where/when I can today - even a little will be productive.
