In a Pynch, They Will Kill You

I am waaay behind on posting new music. First up: Drug Church dropped a new single last week, and here's hoping a new record isn't far behind. I finally get to see these guys in May and I cannot wait!

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Watch:

Last night, K and I hit the Regal for the premiere of They Will Kill You. Here's a trailer:

How was it? This is the movie to beat this year. I will be very surprised if anything can match this (and what a great year it is that I've already said that twice since January 1st, and it's not even the end of March yet!).

This is kind of Kill Bill meets Ready or Not meets Rosemary's Baby. That's not exactly right, but it'll give you an idea what you're in for. If you're interested in elaboration, there's a widget in the upper right-hand corner of this page with the latest episode of The Horror Vision, where we give you our spoiler-free, right out of the theatre review.

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Playlist:

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Mountain Realm - Shadowlorn

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

Rebirth Brass Band - Why You Worried 'bout Me? (single)

Rebirth Brass Band - Move Your Body

James Brown - Funky People Vol. 3

Faith No More - Angel Dust

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Atticus Derrickson - Black Phone 2 OST

Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines OST

Greg Puciato - Mirrorcell

Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

Fever Ray - Eponymous

The Mystery Lights - Purgatory

Dead Man's Bones - Eponymous

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Card:

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

Note: This isn't a proper spread, but a display of Court Cards.

Let's take a look at the Court Cards for a moment, because I feel like talking about Tarot - or more accurately perhaps, I feel like thinking about it and then writing down some of those thoughts.

Knights and Queens - Male and Female energy, respectively. Knights correlate to Will, creation, and cunning. A force of Will that can overcome or be used instead of Violence. "The only reason to master violence is to abolish it." Queens correlate to pleasure, passion and emotion. Knights are Wands, Queens are cups. There's also the sexual metaphor here, as Wands being penetrative and Cups receptive.

Princes and Princesses, or Kings and Princesses if you're most non-Thoth. The Prince or King is brute force, lacking the cunning to abolish violence, hence the correlation to Swords or Intellect. This is why I'm doing this today - I always hit a blind spot with the Prince/Sword connection because of the Intellect thing. Princesses correlate to Malkuth, the Earthly realm, logistics. I handle Princesses in my day job, and that's not exactly a faulty way to say it, because when you coordinate logistics for other people, they often behave like Princesses (Divas). 

Low Cut Connie's Witchboard is Truly the Great and Secret Show

I've been on a Low Cut Connie binge all weekend and it's definitely helped elevate my mood. I'm turning 50 tomorrow, and, although that doesn't bother me the way it might a lot of people, it still kind of staggers the view I take of myself. On one hand, I'm still here and do not expect to be going anywhere for quite a long time. On the other hand, in ten years I'll be 60, and ten years after that - should I be lucky enough to live that long - 70. You see where this is going, right? I'm getting long in the tooth, and while that's definitely better than the alternative, well, it's fucking weird and a little scary if you don't find a way to keep it from your mind. And what better way to keep it from the mind than with some awesome, soulful Rock n' Roll!

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Watch:

I had my third-ever viewing of Kevin Tenney's 1985 debut film, Witchboard, last night. Here's one of the original 1986 TV spots for the film, which, back in the day, made me think this movie was hardcore intense (I was 10).

I never did see this back in the 80s. Or the 90s. It was sometime in the early 2000s that I picked up the Witchboard DVD secondhand, tried to watch it, and found it incredibly disappointing (that was nearly 25 years of anticipation based on what 10-year-old Shawn thought the film would be - hard for anything to live up to that). Then, a couple of years ago, Joe Bob did this one as part of his Walpurgisnacht episode, and I gave it another shot.

Still not much.

Last night, though, I really tried to look at this as Kevin Tenney's first film - followed soon after by Night of the Demons, which I love - and it kind of gave me a different perspective. I still don't think Witchboard is a very good film, but it's definitely a product of its time and entertaining enough if you have the right context (and alcohol - don't forget the alcohol). 

This is all run-up for an upcoming episode of The Horror Vision, where we'll compare the original film with the 2025 remake. I've heard it's completely different, which can only be a good thing.

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Read:

It's going to be some time before I get around to it, but I found a nearly perfect copy of the original, 1989 hardcover release for Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show a few weeks ago, and it arrived in the mail over the weekend.

I read this when I was in early High School, and it was another of those books that completely changed the way I looked at fiction writing. The idea that the main character discovers the secret tapestry beneath the everyday world by working in the Dead Letters Office of the Post Office always felt like such an interesting and unique angle to take as a way into such a vast and epic story. This should serve as a perfect digestif after I finish my rereading of the Dark Tower/Talisman series late this year. 

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Playlist:

Low Cut Connie - Art Dealers

Low Cut Connie - Hi Honey

Low Cut Connie - Dirty Pictures (Part 1)

Low Cut Connie - Livin in the USA (pre-release singles)

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies: Best of the Quarantine Broadcasts

Low Cut Connie - Call Me Sylvia

The Rolling Stones - Some Girls

The Rolling Stones - Black and Blue

The Afghan Whigs - House of I (single)

Drug Church - Pynch (single)

Fever Ray -  The Bride EP

Fever Ray - Plunge

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta

Gogol Bordello - We Mean It, Man!

D'Nell - 1st Magic

INXS - Kick

Dreamkid - Daggers 

Mike Doughty - Live From Ken's House

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 101

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 66

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 67

Low Cut Connie - Tough Cookies Nite 68

Van Halen - 1984

Various - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Album

High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves

High on Fire - Death Is This Communion

Stephen O'Malley - Spheres Collapser

sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

sunn O))) - Pyroclasts

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Card:

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

• Queen of Swords

• Five of Cups

• I: The Magician

Emotional aspect of the Intellect, which can be a bit of an oxymoron, right? The conflict inherent in the emotional realm of thinking people - and we're not all thinking people in 2026, are we? -  is exactly what gets in the way of things. In other words, emotions are important for ruling your heart and interfere with your brain. What the hell does any of this tell me today? 

Keep my mouth shut at work. That's all. Sounds easy, or maybe it doesn't, right? That's the emotional end of things. Everyone has someone they want to tell to go to hell, but just don't do it. Or maybe you will, but I won't. Or shouldn't. Maybe. 

Ready or Not, Rip The God

 

Last week, another song from the Melvins/Napalm Death collaboration album, Savage Imperial Death March, dropped and it's another doozy. There's still time to order the album, which is out April 10th on Ipecac Records, HERE. Technically, this is a reissue, as this one was originally released last year on Amphetamine Reptile and sold out in seconds. But those AMREP releases don't get digital distro, so, if like me, you weren't one of the lucky ones who acquired a copy in those few moments before the record sold out, this is the first chance we've had to hear this stuff and it's awesome!

Can't wait for this full album!

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Watch:

Last night, K and I hit the local theatre for Radio Silence's Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come. I have to say, as usual with RS, I was subjected to this trailer ad nauseam leading up to this film's release; however, it did not ruin anything about the film. This has been true of pretty much every RS film, so that's a rare bird, indeed. Here's one of those trailers.

I will say, at first, the idea that Samantha Weaving's character survives the first film only to go directly back into the exact same scenario seemed like a bit of a, "Dad, your hands in the toaster! Dad - You're hands in the toaster again!" idea, but as usual, the trailer tells you only a fraction of what you think it does. Also, HUGE props for putting Kathryn Newton in the mix as Faith's sister is a much-welcome move and their chemistry - it just works SO WELL!

We did a Horror Vision episode on the flick right after the viewing, and one thing Ray brought up that I hadn't thought of - it's been a minute since we had that Samara Weaving savage scream in a flick. The last Horror film she did was 2024's Azrael, and she didn't speak in that. Impressive, for sure, for an actress with such a fantastic grasp of dialogue (The Babysitter, anyone?). But it was great to hear that soul-searing Samara scream again tonight. 

Is Ready or Not 2 as good as the original film? Maybe not, but it's close, and this one has a third act that goes bigger in the best possible way. Do yourself a favor and see this on the big screen. 

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Playlist:

The Seatbelts - Cowboy Bebop OST

Drug Church - Prude

Motörhead - 1916

Carpenter Brut - Blood Machines

High on Fire - Electric Messiah

Atticus Derrikson - Black Phone 2 OST

Dreamkid - Daggers

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Gnarls Barkley - Atlanta
Sinoa Caves - Beyond the Black Rainbow OST

High on Fire - Luminiferous

High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense

High on Fire - Surrounded By Thieves

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Card:

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

• Prince of Swords

• Prince of Cups

• 8 of Swords: Interference

Lots of big ideas, but something's getting in the way.

Get Well Jello!!!

Wishing Mr. Biafra a speedy and complete recovery. Also, thanks to Punk Rock TV channel - check 'em out and think about subscribing if you dig their content. Lots of great stuff here.

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Watch:

K and I hit the theatre today for the premiere of Ian Tuason's feature debut, Undertone, AKA The Undertone. This one is an A24 film that's getting a lot of hype. Here's the trailer, which I managed to avoid seeing until just last week, and which really doesn't give too much away.

This film is all about the sound design. As someone who studied and has done a bit in Sound Design, I was pretty excited for this, and aurally, it did not disappoint. The layers of sound are very complex at times and very well defined. Not easy to throw a lot of disparate sounds at an audience in a Horror film and not have the end result taxing or muddy. Not the case here. My one issue - and it ended up being a kind of big one - was that with all the focus on the sound, I really do not feel like this movie pays off what it sets up at all. That was pretty disappointing. Still, definitely worth seeing.

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Celebrate:

Hey! It's Friday the 13th! Here's the original teaser trailer for one of my favorites of the series!

So tonight, in celebration, let's all go out and jam a large metal rod into the grave of whatever local legend masked killer took out a bunch of our friends and family and kick this party off with a bang!

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Playlist:

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Carter Burwell - Blood Simple OST

Jospeh Loduca - Evil Dead II OST

Calderum - Mystical Fortress of Iberian Lands 

Lou Reed - Street Hassle

Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

Led Zeppelin - BBC

Mr. Bungle - California

Melvins & Napalm Death - Savage Imperial Death March (pre-release singles)

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Card:

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

• VI: The Lovers

• Five of Wands

• Queen of Swords

Collaboration can bring the light, the inspiration that results in clarity. 

I'm not entirely sure what this is pointing at--- wait. Yes. Yes I do! There's actually A LOT of collaboration coming up in my life as I've been invited to be a regular panel member on The Dread Broadcast! Next episode is on March 31st, 7:00 PM CST. Then I'll be on pretty much every episode (one a month, always on the last night of the month except when that's a holiday) until the holiday season. You can check out The Dreadbroadcast's YouTube page HERE.

The End of Godflesh

 

A lot of Godflesh this past weekend after seeing the following post on Justin K. Broadrick's IG. I find it sadly indicative of the age we live in that a man with a serious health condition needs to hesitate to inform his fans of a situation such as this with the expectation of retaliatory comments. I, for one, will be crushed to see Godflesh go; however, Broadrick has many other projects and I would rather he err on the side of his continued health than risk disaster continuing. Also, if you listen to the opening vocals of this lead-in track from 2017's Post Self, you can hear the strain this man still puts on his body while recording vocals. It's awesome to behold, but also no real surprise that as he ages, this kind of exertion would become a health concern.  

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Justin K Broadrick (@justinkbroadrick)

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Watch:

This past Thursday night, I did another double feature at the local cinema. First up was Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride. This was a treat; I can't tell you how many times I sat through the trailers for this film in the theatre, but the film turns out to be a lot more than either version of the preview intimates. Maggie is destined for the marketing tag, "... visionary Director..." and it fits. I knew within the first five minutes that A) there was A LOT about this film I had not anticipated and B) as a filmmaker, MG's style is singular and strong. 

Afterward, I drove K home, recorded a spoiler-free review with Missi for The Horror Vision, and then drove back to the theatre for a 10:55 PM showing of Rod Blackhurst's Dolly. Turns out, 11:00 PM was the perfect time to view this one in a mostly empty theatre. Creepy A.F. doesn't even begin to describe this film!

Ostensibly a new take on the classic Slasher formula, the thing I really loved about this one was how much the sequences inside the killer's home felt like a Puppet Combo game, specifically, Don't Go in the House and Nun Massacre. Two of my favorites. 

Blackhurst has to be a Puppet Combo fan - there are first-person shots from hiding beneath a bed and a sequence where the final girl - Fabianne Therese - searches through dresser drawers and the like. It was just spot on! Fantastic performances all around, and also, one of the gnarliest jaw-related practical FX I've seen. 

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Playlist:

Deftones - B-Sides and Rarities

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities Volume 1

Godflesh - Purge

sunn O))) - Eponymous (pre-release singles)

Deliverance - Neon Chaos in a Junk-Sick Dawn

Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Dub

Godflesh - Post Self

Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate

Psychedelic P*rn Crumpets - Pogo Rodeo

Melvins - Houdini

Christopher Young & Lustmord - The Empty Man OST

Converge & Chelsea Wolfe - Bloodmoon: I

Deftones - private music

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Card:

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

• Six of Cups

• Five of Pentacles

• Three of Wands

Tap into your inner fears and transmute them into something strong. 

Interesting. The idea here is taking something from the real world that frightens me - let's face it, only the real world frightens me - and use my Will to turn it into something strong. Something known. 

Also, not sure I've drawn the Three of Wands on this deck before. Gorgeous fucking card (like every other card in this deck!)

Teenage Sex and Death At Camp Miasma

When Faster Pussycat's House of Pain came out in 1989, I was thirteen. My friend Zak bought (or stole) the cassette single. I remember it vividly, even though I couldn't tell you what the B-side was. We weren't really FP fans - despite listening to some other pretty hokey bands, something about the name turned us off. I don't remember if I had an opinion on this song either way back then. Let's just say I tolerated it.

K and I have been watching HOBOMAX's Peacemaker series - it's fantastic - and in season one, episode four, this song is used to fabulous effect. Hearing it, I had an immediate, almost unbelievably strong emotional reaction. I chewed on it multiple times over the next week, listened to the Wake Me When It's Over album, and, although that was pretty lackluster, the song stands. 

There's a definite Stephen Tyler element to Singer Taime Downe's approach, but where it comes off unabashed in other songs on the album, for House of Pain it really works. The guitar glitters in forlorn opulence, and the harmonica just seals the deal. It sounds like crying. Which is essentially what the song is about. A little boy waiting for a father that will never show. 

Damn. 

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Watch:

I'm rounding the final stretch on a two-week "no drinking" interval. The context is that K had a minor injury to her foot (she's fine), and the doctor prescribed a two-week course of an antibiotic that they warned "is tough on the liver." Because of this, I suggested she should abstain from wine, and I would support her by leaving my beers in the fridge for the duration of her treatment. We started Monday, 2/16 and both feel great, so we're thinking of instituting a loose, "only on the weekends" policy. I'll have one beer Monday night for the taping of DwC, but aside from that, we'll abstain until the weekends. 

I set all this up to set the mood for last Friday, 2/20, when I fired up Jane Schoenbrun's "I Saw The TV Glow." I talked about the profound effect this film had on me in Monday's post. I'm still thinking about it, over and over. A lovely feeling that was made even more acute when I saw Fango's post about Schoenbrun's new film this morning. I've vetted the trailer: it gives nothing away, other than this is now my most anticipated film of the year. Before you hit play, I strongly suggest watching this for the first time with earphones. 

I LOVE falling in love with a Director and then almost immediately discovering they have a new film coming out. Teenage Sex and Death At Camp Miasma lands in theatres on August 7th, and you can bet the farm I'll be seeing this on the big screen, whether I have to drive to Nashville, Chicago, or Berwin. (Berrr-winn!).

I am so excited for this!!!

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Playlist:

Sumerlands - Dreamkiller

Mastodon - Emperor of Sand

Slayer - Decade of Aggression

Soviet Soviet - Endless

Tomahawk - Mit Gas

Deftones - Around the Fur

High on Fire - Snakes of the Divine

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Deftones - Gore

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Card:

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

• Page of Pentacles

• X: Wheel of Fortune

• IV: The Emerpor

"Getting a revolving policy going on Earthly matters that feel important but ultimately might not be so is the name of the game. Instead of trying to control everything and everyone, focus on what matters that you can control."

Me and That Monday

I'm not sure how I never posted this track before, because I can see I liked it and I recognize it. Regardless, I could not find it in a search on this site. Regardless of whether it appeared in these pages previously, I've really felt an affinity toward this band, this album, and this song lately, so here it is again and HERE is Me and That Man's Bandcamp.

If you're unfamiliar, this is Nergal from Behemoth's 'other' band, and it kind of sounds like if Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds hailed from Norway and sold their souls to the Dark One. Which is to say, they are AWESOME!

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Watch:

Friday night, I finally got around to watching Jane Schoenbrun's I Saw The TV Glow.

To say this film had a deeply profound effect on me would be an understatement. I know relatively little about Schoenbrun's; last year, I watched their We Are All Going to the World's Fair and was pretty blown away by that, as well. But TV... this one is so much more accomplished. Part of that is, I'd guess, that Schoenbrun had a bigger budget the second time around, but also, they have obviously honed their craft. 

There's so much 00s Hauntology in this film that it's almost unbelievable to me. I mean, that entire movement was so liminal and audio-based that I find the effectiveness of this filmmaker's ability to 'put it on screen' fascinating and deeply endearing. The blurred pre and post-millennium transition from a still mostly analog cultural paradigm to a fully digital one created a wave of interesting cultural artifacts; people repurposing analog alongside the digital and really projecting the past out into the future to create what was, at the time, a movement so rooted in uncertainty and change that it didn't last long and kind of ate its own tail on the way out, so it almost feels like it didn't exist at all. But Schoenbrun proves it did, with a movie whose plot is pretty much what I just described, verbatim. 

Also, have to say. I was a little more than halfway through and already spellbound when King Woman showed up and performed a stunning version of Psychic Wound. 

I mean, how could I not LOVE this film? 

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Playlist:

The Police - Outlandos D'Amour

Nick Lowe - Jesus of Cool

Converge - Love Is Not Enough

Jerry Reed - East Bound and Down

Megadeth - Rust in Peace

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Faster Pussycat - Wake Me When It's Over

King Woman - Celestial Blues

Drug Church - Prude

Brand New - The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me

Nihill - Krach

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

Napalm Death - Resentment Is Always Seismic (A Final Throw of Throes)

Napalm Death - Suffer the Children (single)

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Card:

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

• King of Pentacles

• Ace of Cups

• Two of Pentacles

"A connection of mind and spirit creates opportunity for lucrative partnership."

Some of my recent readings have really had a 'fortune teller' feel. I hate that. It makes it hard to take things seriously. 

Tossing Coins Into The Fountain Of F*ck!

I'm late on the game with this one, but I got the tip-off last week when Heaven is an Incubator posted about the new edition of last year's Melvins/Napalm Death collaboration, Savage Imperial Death March, originally released on Amphetamine Reptile. First track off this full-length aural beating has an amazing title and a bludgeoning sound, so I am in! Pre-order from Ipecac Records for an April 10th release HERE.

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Watch:

Last night, I went to a double feature of two movies I knew absolutely nothing about. First up, This is Not a Test:

I was stoked to see Adam MacDonald's name come up as Writer/Director/Producer on this one! Takes place in 1998, doesn't reinvent the wheel, but has solid performances and is deeply unsettling. 

This is Not a Test is built around Olivia Holt's performance as Sloan, and she anchors the film. Cinematographer Christian Bielz - who previously worked with MacDonald on the film Backcountry - employs a handheld, shaky-cam technique that gives the film a gorilla feel, which definitely makes it feel more real. This realistic approach augments the chaos we get hit with from the opening scenes, which establish Sloane's relationship with abusive father. Because of this, we never get an established 'normal' for Sloane or the film's world through her. 

Also, composer Lee Malia (Pyewacket and Out Come the Wolves) hits a sweet spot with drone, itch-you-can't-scratch background, and a little bit of what I'd call a Steve Moore flourish. This also adds to the film's overall unnerving feeling.

Next, Psycho Killer:

Having seen Cold Storge last week, then watched Barbarian again over the weekend, I LOVE that Georgina Campbell is having a moment this year with two back-to-back films. And this... wow. Talk about go big or go home - a saying I don't particularly care for, but it's appropriate. I just couldn't believe how big this one swings and lands. There's a harty comparison here to films like Random Acts of Violence and Son, but Psycho Killer has a grand design that you just won't believe until you see it. 

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Read:

In researching the middle section of Shadow Play Book 2, I realized I knew very little about the canonical five victims of Jack the Ripper.

One thing I wanted to be certain about was the Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elisabeth Stride, Kate Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly's lives, as they've become something of minor characters in the second act of the book. All five women are generally dismissed as prostitutes; however, that is not a proven fact, but rather an assumption very much in keeping with the misogynistic paradigm of Victorian society. Hallie Rubenhold's book is a mesmerizing and in-depth look at all five women, from birth through to their murders. 

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Playlist:

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Wintersun - Beyond the Dark Sun (single)

The Mountain Goats - Bleed Out

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Me and That Man - New Man, New Songs, Same Shit, Vol. 1 

Faster Pussycat - Wake Me When It's Over

Gogol Bordello - We Mean It, Man!

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯ A♯ ∞ 

Chris Connelly - Largo 22

Psychetect - Extremism

Silversun Pickups - Tenterhooks

sunn O))) - Metta, Benelvolence BBC6 LIVE: At the Invitation of Mary Anne Hobbs

3TEETH - EndEx

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Card:

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

• Queen of Pentacles

• Two of Swords

• XX: Judgement

Fostering a partnership or collaboration can lead to solidified power.

Very interesting. This is extremely timely and has prompted me to do some research. I'll try and explain a bit more later on. 

Harmless

 

An oldie but a goodie from Helmet. I've had 1997s Aftertaste in regular rotation lately, and it feels good to reconnect with such a formative album for me. I am hot and cold on everything they did before this, but Aftertaste has blown me away since the first time I heard it, back when Mr. Brown slipped me a dubbed cassette shortly after the album's release. 

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NCBD:

A couple of books I'm very excited for on this list. Let's go!

A couple of years back, K and I randomly came across the old Thundarr the Barbarian cartoon we grew up with in the 80s and gave it a whirl. We were both shocked at what we didn't remember about this one - namely, that it takes place in a post-apocalyptic future! Way to turn the barbarian tale on its head! And now Jason Aaron is writing a new Thundarr comic for Dynamite! I've been waiting for this one since I first saw the solicitation a few months back, and finally, today, here we are!

A double dose of Barbarism this week! Savage Sword of Conan issue 12 lands and we get another single-issue story from Chris Ryall and Gabriel Rodriguez! Can anything top last month's Liam Sharp? I'm game to find out.

The Nice House By the Sea returns from its "mid-season hiatus," and I realize I'm going to have to re-read the previous six issues before digging into this one. Weekend project. 

Speaking of weekend re-reads, I fully intend to sit down and read all of Event Horizon Dark Descent in one shot now that the final issue is upon us. I didn't love this book (so far, anyway) but then, I like the film less and less the more I watch it. I mean, I still like Event Horizon, it just doesn't quite live up to that first viewing way back when, and looking too closely has revealed some gaps. Still, Sci Fi Horror is fun as hell, and watching Sam Neill take his eyes out in a hell dimension is no exception.

Finally, my first fully on board, subscribed and in my box waiting for me issues of Fraction and Jimenez's Batman, and after last month, I'm chomping at the bit for it. I LOVE this book!!!

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Watch:

I've reengaged with Japanese Cinema more over the last year, so when I saw this trailer about a man trapped in an endless subway station, I was immediately interested. Kind of a Japanese Backrooms, but also, this reminds me of Sofia Ajram's novel Coup de Grace, which I read last year (or the year before) and really dug.

I'm quite the fan of stories about people being lost in seemingly endless labyrinths. House of Leaves, In the Walls of Eeryx, No End House... the list goes on and I'm a fan of them all, so I'm excited to add another to that list, and Genki Kawamura's The Exit 8 looks to be just that. Read more about this one over on Bloody Disgusting HERE.

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven

Protomartyr - Under Color of Official Right

QOTSA - Lullabies to Paralyze

Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou - May Our Chambers Be Full

H6LLB6ND6R - OST

Melvins - (a) Senile Animal

Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

Massive Attack - 100th Window

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Card:

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

• Two of Pentacles

• Knight of Swords

• Six of Pentacles

Collaboration of Wills can create a balanced mechanism. No idea what this is trying to say, so let me look a little deeper with the help of Banzhaf & Theler's Keywords for the Crowley Tarot.

Two of Pentacles, combined here with the sharpened intellect of the Knight of Swords may point to paying attention to opposites. There's what I normally do, and then what's the opposite of that? Six of Cups suggests whatever that is, it might be a good idea. 

New Music from Myrkur!!!

 

Not certain if this single heralds a new Myrkur album coming this year, but that'd be pretty cool. I just cracked out the first record recently and it left me wanting new music.

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NCBD:

Okay - there had better be an ocean of Sharkticons in this issue. Just sayin'. Among my favorite of all Transformers released, I love these bitey little fuckers. Maybe because they kind of remind me of the old B&W TMNT robot mousers, or maybe because they had their debut in my beloved Transformers '86 with no small fanfare. Seriously, the Quintesson/Sharkticon segments are among my favorites in that film. Cant' wait to see what kind of damage Kirkman unleashes with them here. 

Roadblock's food truck defense system? Not sure what's going on here, but I'll be happy to get my hands on another issue of Joe so soon after that brilliant final issue of Dreadnok War!

Ah - Phil Bram and J.G. Jones' Dust to Dust is finally back. I believe there is just one issue left after this, out March 4th. Definitely going to wait to read this until that drops, so I can sit down and read the entire story in one sitting. 

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Watch:

There's not much Marvel does anymore that I like, but this? I am all about this:

What a super WEIRD trailer, right? Excited to see some old faces return, and I'm really digging the storyline with Michael Gandolfini and that looks like it will continue to evolve this season. 

Also, according to IMDB, this looks to have already been picked up for a third season, so I guess the "Born Again" moniker is the overall title of the revamped show, not the name of a specific limited-series storyline, as I originally assumed.

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Playlist:

Steve Moore - Jimmy & Stiggs OST

David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti - Mulholland Drive OST

Blood Cultures - Skate Story: Vol. I

Sunn O))) - Glory Black (pre-release single)

Sunn O))) - Metta, Benevolence BBC6 Live: On the Invitation of Mary Anne Hobbs

BLUEBOB - Eponymous

The Veils - Total Depravity

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Nocturama

QOTSA - Songs for the Deaf

QOTSA - Eponymous

The Afghan Whigs - In Spades

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Card:

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

• Six of Cups

• Three of Swords

• Ace of Cups

"Finding an emotional center after trauma can only come through empathy."

Okay, I'll admit I'm really reaching with this one. I see this spread and I feel like it's talking to me, but the message is coming out muddled, thus the crappy interpretation above.

Is it enough to think this is a direct nod to my emotional state after seeing this earlier today?

Agriculture - Live on KEXP

 

Mr. Brown first put L.A.'s Agriculture on my radar, and while I've logged a couple evenings spinning their 2025 album, The Spiritual Sound, I'm not sure I actually "got it" until I saw this live performance on KEXP.

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NCBD:

A nice, easy week with two books I am very much looking forward to reading:

One issue left after this one, and I can't wait to see how David and Maria Lapham's Good As Dead shakes out in the end. Fairly ominous solicitation over on League of Comic Geeks: 

"The truth behind the Port Lindon disaster is revealed, but not everyone will survive to hear it."

Mystery, Crime and Suspense, the way only the Laphams can do it! I've loved having a new series from them, so much so that this might kick off a long-overdue Stray Bullets reread.

Apparently, Walsh and Tynion's Exquisite Corpses just got optioned for adaptation. Couldn't happen to a crazier, bloodier book. Already cinematic in scope, this one really kicks you in the face every month. Hold my beer while I put in my mouthguard, new issue

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Watch:

Last Thursday night, K and I hit our local theatre for the first showing of Nia Dacosta's 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. We were coming in hot off our first rewatch of Danny Boyle's preceding film, which we were both a little lukewarm on after our initial theatrical viewing back in July of 2025. 

Watching that first film again, I found I had warmed to it. Boyle is first and foremost an innovator, and I think my initial disconnect from the first chapter in his and Alex Garland's 28 Years Later trilogy had a lot to do with the visual language of the film, and not so much with the story. Jarring camera work, counterintuitive editing, stylized backgrounds and stock footage, and mixed-media injections all made for a unique but initially confusing undertaking. Having gotten that out of the way and acclimated to the expectation for these elements, the film played a lot better. 

And now we have this: a film so confident and viscerally affecting, not even the trailer takes away from it. 

I can't wait to see this one again on the big screen, and maybe more importantly, what a success like The Bone Temple will do to propel Dacosta's career into the stratosphere. 

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Playlist:

Muddy Waters - Electric Mud

David Lynch & Marek Zebrowski - Polish Night Music

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Various - Twin Peaks (Music from the Limited Event Series)

John Zorn - IAO: Music in Sacred Light

Gylt - In 1,000 Agonies, I Exist

Deafheaven - New Bermuda

Dean Hurley - Anthology Resource Vol. 1: 𝝙𝝙

David Lynch - The Air is on Fire

Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound

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Card:

One Card from Thoth for today:

Who says you can't always get what you want? 

Seven Days of David Lynch Day 3: Polish Night Music

David Lynch and Marek Zebrowski's 2015 Polish Night Music is one of the most atmospheric albums I know of. Right from the start, I feel like I'm skirting the alleys of Łódź, passing dilapidated apartment buildings and ornate Gothic churches, only to be sucked into an ominous, failing machine. 

Abstract, yes, but I have Lynch himself to thank for those images. Łódź served as one of the filming locations for Inland Empire, and his lifelong obsession with industrial sounds and scenescapes is omnipotent in much of his work. 

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Watch:

I figured this would be a good time to compile a bunch of trailers released for David Lynch's films, starting with 1990's Wild At Heart. 

This film is so iconic, but it also skirts a line between deadly serious (Sailor beating a man's head open on the courthouse stairs) and completely hysterical (Thrash Metal band Powermad adding accompaniment to Sailor serenading Lula in the middle of a mosh pit). 

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Read:

Continuing with the Lynch-centric theme, I spent some time digging through my old issues of Wrapped in Plastic and found an article from the first issue I ever purchased - issue 17. The article in question was an interview with Twin Peaks writer Harley Peyton on the set of his film Keys to Tulsa. 

As usual, WIP braintrust Craig Miller and John Thorne conduct a fantastic interview, which becomes all the more entertaining as Eric Stoltz and James Spader drift in and out of it. In particular, I either had no idea or had just plain forgotten that Peyton wrote the screenplay for the cinematic adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' Less Than Zero (a film I have yet to see, given how much I love the book).

It's been a very long time since I've seen Keys to Tulsa, may have to seek that out sometime soon...

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Playlist:

The Police - Synchronicity

Phil Manzanera - Listen Now

Midlake - The Courage of Others

Deftones - private music

YUNGBLUD - Idols

Drug Church - Prude

Fever Ray - Eponymous

David Lynch & Marek Zebrowski - Polish Night Music

Underworld - Lovely Broken Thing

Underworld - I'm a Big Sister, and I'm a Girl, and I'm a Princess, and This is My Horse

Underworld - 1992 - 2002 (Disc 2)

Zeni Geva and Steve Albini - All Right You Little Bastards

The Trapezoid & Six Ex - Cannibal Children of the West (single)

Shellac - To All Trains

David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

Angelo Badalamenti & David Lynch - Twin Peaks Season 2 OST

Myrkur - M

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Card:

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

• Seven of Pentacles

• XIX: The Sun

* King of Swords

"The solution to the problem taking up most of your time is practice."

I had the idea to start adding quotation marks to the pulls that come off sounding like I'm offering them to someone else. I guess the idea is I'm placing the quotes there so it's obvious (to me?) that this is the cards talking to me. Or something like that. I don't know.

Anyway, pretty direct message on this one. I'm not entirely sure what it applies to, other than writing, which I've not been doing. So a nod to get back on that train, or something else?

David Bowie - Breaking Glass Live 1983

Thanks to the Mr. Screaming YouTube channel for adding this and a metric shit ton of awesome Bowie stuff. Definitely check out his channel HERE if you dig this.

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Watch:

This is how you market a Horror movie!

A24's Undertone already has some praise, but personally, I don't want to know anything else about this one until I have my arse in a seat at the theatre. 

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Playlist:

This Movie Saved My Life Podcast - Best of 2025

Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

Deafheaven - Infinite Granite

Young Widows - Power Sucker

Hangman's Chair - Saddiction

Netherlands - Vapors

IDLES - CRAWLER

Ritual Howls - Ruin

Sylosis - The New Flesh (pre-release singles)

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

David Bowie - Low

David Bowie - Heroes

David Bowie - Lodger

Double Life - Indifferent Stars

Helmet - Aftertaste

Deadguy - Near-Death Travel Services

Slow Crush - Thirst

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Card:

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

• XIII: Death

• XVIII: The Moon

• Two of Wands

Sacrifices made in the full knowledge of the desire. Two is stronger than one. 

Cryptic, but I think I get it. Not discussing it "out loud" at this time, but I think this pertains to a creative project I want to do this year. I think I need to declare it. 

Let's Spend the Night Together (Because They Will Kill You)

This coming Saturday, January 10th, marks the tenth anniversary of David Bowie's passing. I usually begin 7 Days of Bowie on the anniversary, but this year, I'd like to start it a little early. So here we go. We miss you, Starman!

It struck me again the other day just what a weird, awesome cover this one is. From his 1973 album Aladdin Sane, 

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NCBD:

2026 is starting out light. Not a complaint, that's for sure! I've been trimming back my pull list at Rick's, trying to stick with essentials. There will always be new books that catch my eye, and I'll almost always give them a try, as that's how I often find my favorite books (see the Drinking with Comics "Best of" for 2024 and 2025, where last-minute chances end up near the top of my year-end list). At the same time, I tend to overbuy, and I'm becoming increasingly neurotic when it comes to space. I have a short box and a half of stuff I want to get rid of but am not 100% sure the best way to do so, and I've spent several recent nights just sitting in my office/nerd dungeon* reflecting on how to improve use of the space for all my 'things.'

First world problems, fo sho.

Here are this week's books:

The first issue of Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia either suffered from a skosh of awkward story compression, or I'm just missing a lot of assumed historical knowledge, being that I have zero experience with two of the three characters here. Still, this harkens back to the late 80s prestige-format DC books, so I'm hanging in. 

Not sure if this is the end of the second arc or the entire series. I'm pretty sure there must still be at least one more mini-series to go. Either way, Stokoe's art continues to blow me away on every page.

I'm still fighting a zeitgeist urge to get into this Absolute Batman. It's been pretty easy to avoid the regular series because the one issue I've read was not great. That said, there are some pretty interesting things going on in this "Universe," so I've been cherry picking a few titles. 

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Watch:

I only needed to make it 38 seconds into this trailer to know I was in. You can only watch it on youtube, but here's a poster and the embed should take you directly there:

Kirill Sokolov's They Will Kill You looks fantastic! I am absolutely psyched for this one, which comes out three days after my 50th birthday! Woo-hoo!!

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Playlist:

Mountain Realm - Stoneharrow

Mountain Realm - Frostfall

David Bowie - Low

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane

Ghost - Impera

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World

Kildren - December (single)

Double Life - Indifferent Stars

The Jesus Lizard - I'm Tired of Being Your Mother (single)

The Jesus Lizard - Down

Helmet - Aftertaste

Spoon - Girls Can Tell

Spoon - Kill the Moonlight

Self - Niceness (single)

Self - Porno, Mint & Grime

Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Denison/Kimball Trio - Plays  the Music of Walls in the City

The Besnard Lakes - ....Are the Ghost Nation

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Card:

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

• Knight of Swords

• Seven of Pentacles

• Three of Pentacles

The Creative Will often needs to stagnate in order to prosper. 

That definitely fits. Yesterday was the first writing session I had in a week; whenever I blow a weekend without a creative outlet, it feels gross, and now that's kind of morphed into a long, slog of 'blah.' Up late writing this on Monday night, I don't feel like doing much of anything: writing, watching, nothing but listening to David Bowie. That's the only agenda I had that kept me from turning in. So I'm listening to The Man Who Sold the World for the first time in a couple years and writing this and I'm not really sure what I'll do when I reach the end of this sentence.