Godflesh @ Cold Waves 2023!!!

 

This past Sunday, Mr. Brown, Missi Raven and I attended the 2023 Chicago Metro edition of Cold Waves. As with last year - the first one of these I'd managed to make it out to after almost a decade of wanting to - the event was fantastic. We arrived late, so missed several bands, which sucks, but I've been a bit worn down, so it is what it is. We did manage to see Sierra, who was fantastic, Paul Barker's Lead Into Gold, also fantastic and closer Godflesh.

Godflesh closed with"Spite," the opening track from their 31-year-old masterpiece Pure, arguably my favorite Godflesh album (depending on the day, I suppose, but it's up there). 

Here's a recent setlist from Montreal; Chicago's set was identical, except for the two encore tracks, which they didn't have time to play. No complaints - a fantastic sampling of their illustriously pummeling career.

---

---

---

Watch:

Holy smokes. I did not know this was on the way:  

I've cooled on pretty much everything Mr. Cave has put out since Push the Sky Away. However, I still think he's a genius. And that genius began in a completely raw, primordial form with The Birthday Party, easily one of my all-time favorite bands. Seeing there's a documentary on the immediate horizon makes me insanely happy, even though it plays at my local arthouse theatre in Nashville, The Belacourt, from October 4th through the 8th, and I return from my trip on the 9th. 

Agghh!!!

More information - including all upcoming screenings - is on the movie's website HERE.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Boards of Canada - Geogaddi

Boards of Canada - A Beautiful Place Out in the Country EP

Canyon - Empty Rooms

Nabihah Iqbal - Dreamer

Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire

The Damned - Evil Spirits

Damone - From The Attic

---

---

---

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.

• Eight of Disks - Prudence

• Ten of Cups - Satiety

• Three of Cups - Abundance

Seriously sleep deprived out here for my first full day in LaLaLand, I'll take this as a reminder to know when enough is enough. Prudence + Satiety = Plenty; have the sense to know when you're done and retire with that. I'd say that's letting me know that I should not work past my 8 hours today but rather return promptly to my hotel and catch a nap, as I'll be attending a 10:00 PM screening of Nikhil Nagesh Bhat's new film Kill tonight at Beyondfest!!!

New Music From The Dandy Warhols!!!

 

From the forthcoming album ROCKMAKER. No pre-order information up yet, so I'm not sure when this is coming out, but I'll definitely have my eyes open for more. In the meantime, digging the new track.

---

---

---

Watch:

Thursday evening K and I went to the local theatre to see Bishal Dutta's debut feature film It Lives Inside. Here's a trailer:

I adored this flick. It doesn't reinvent the wheel; however, I'm all for seeing more culturally diverse Horror on the big screen, and this is where It Lives Inside offers a welcome new perspective for Horror fans. It also offers a really cool practical FX monster, one of my favorites in a while. 

---

---

---

Read:

I was finally able to sit down and read Jeremy Haun & Jason A. Hurley's five-issue The Approach in one sitting yesterday. I'd been buying it monthly but had some trouble finding the last two issues. My good friends at Amazing Fantasy Books and Comics in Frankfort took care of that, though, and I started from the beginning and burned through this snowbound powder keg in less than an hour.

Fantastic series with art by J. Hervas, The Approach is a fantastic series that sets everything up in issue one, then just blows through to the end in an escalating storm of Terror and Violence, and I mean that in the BEST possible way. 

The TPB recently went on sale, collecting all five issues - you can grab it directly from Jeremy's website HERE.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me OST

The Coup - Your Parents' Cocaine (single)

Lead Into Gold - The Eternal Present

Godflesh - Recent Setlist Spotify Playlist

WYTCH FINGER - The Dance EP

Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate

Blut Aus Nord: Disharmonium: Nahab

Lustmord - The Others (Lustmord Deconstructed)

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

---

---

---

Card:

Well, 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.

• 0: The Fool

• Princess of Cups

• Nine of Swords

A new journey begins; it will be difficult and emotional, but ultimately I remind myself any new journey is a good thing. Pattern Interrupt is a phrase I've been thinking of/talking about a lot lately. Fitting since I'll be on a plane to LaLaLand for two weeks, a few hours after this Post goes up. 

Rote Hexe - Black Wood Becomes White Wood

It'd been a while since I last jammed Rote Hexe's debut 12" Red Witch, a surprise find back at the old Amoeba Records somewhere in 2015, and which included a 7" flexi that had the above song on it. 

This one slams! I love the mixture of Doom and experimental Black Metal this two-piece traffics in. I wish I could find more music by them, however, from what I'm seeing online, this is it. That's cool - releasing an EP this great and dropping the mic just means they're legendary.

You can listen and purchase Red Witch on Rote Hexe's Bandcamp HERE, and check out their label Cricket Cemetery's site HERE.

---

---

---

Watch:

Man, I feel like it's been a short eternity since Butcher from The Horror Vision saw Writer/Director Bomani J. Story's debut feature, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. Ostensibly a new take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, I've heard nothing but good things about this one. Here's the trailer (that I haven't watched, which probably explains why it's taken me this long to post it here):

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster hits Shudder on 9/22, however, it's currently a $5.99 rental on Prime, and I think I'd like to give my money to this one. Pretty excited.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST

Dream Division - Beyond the Mirror's Image

Rote Hexe - Red Witch w/ 7" Flexi

Genghis Tron - Dead Mountain Mouth

Zombi - Shape Shift

Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab

Fuck Buttons - Streeting Horrrsing

Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA

Ghost - Impera

Anthrax - Among the Living

Bohren and Der Club of Gore - Sunset Mission

---

---

---

Oracle:

Ugh - pardon the flash-accentuated picture:

• Queen of Cups - Water of Water, Emotional aspect of Emotion

• Seven of Disks - Failure: a Victory in its own right

• XIII - The Devil - Information - Good or Bad - from a suspect source

Jesus. This is my upcoming weekend in a nutshell. Things will get overly complicated emotionally if I fail to recognize a crucial piece of information as either valid but from a suspect source (I already have them in mind), or invalid from a trusted source (the worse of the two scenarios). 

New Music from Wolves in the Throne Room!!!

A gorgeous new video from Wolves in the Throne Room's upcoming EP Crypt of Ancestral Knowledge, out September 29th on Relapse Records. You can pre-order a copy HERE.

Also, and as an aside, pretty sure that's Zartan making an appearance in the video at 2:11.

---

---

---

Watch:

It's been a slow week for watching stuff; after hearing John Trafton talk about how he's not streaming new content until the WGA strike is over, I decided to follow suit. So no new shows for the last few weeks, which isn't nearly as bad as some might think - yeah, I'm behind or half-complete with several shows - Justified, Secret Invasion - but honestly, I don't really care at all. 

I couldn't make the same pledge for films simply because of everything we cover on The Horror Vision (although if things get too rough for the writers, I may vote to stop covering new studio films altogether and redirect the focus of the show to reassessing older titles). This break in the ouroboros of media consumption has led K and I back outside, where the cooler weather this week has weakened the presence of the marauding mosquitos and allowed us to enjoy our backyard again. Last night, however, the bugs were bad, and we folded back into our couch and watched a flick the other members of The Horror Vision were talking about: Adam Schindler's 2015 home invasion film Intruders.

If you're like me, you've seen this thumbnail pretty much every day since 2015. I don't normally gravitate toward Home Invasion as a subgenre, so I know why I passed this one up. That said, finally seeing it, I can say that I really enjoyed it, and it's not what you think it's going to be. I opted to post an image instead of a trailer because I'd be willing to bet the trailer gives too much away; we went in 100% blind and were pleasantly surprised.

---

---

---

Playlist:

The Cure - Pornography

Anthrax - State of Euphoria

Testament - Low

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

Mastodon - Leviathon

Bluekarma - The Communication

---

---

---

Oracle:

From Jonathan Grimm's Bound Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• XIV: Temperance (Art in Thoth)

• Ten of Wands

• V: The Hierophant

Easy associations this morning; a reminder to employ patience and consider the ideas of others (my folks) as I barge into the situation this weekend and attempt to fix a problem we have with the person representing the sale of their house. The Hierophant is the dogma of my own ideas, whipping my preconceived notions into a frenzy that, if left untempered, could lead to a Willful disaster. 

Just for perspective, I thought I'd pull Thoth today, as well:

• XVI: The Tower

• Seven of Wands

• XVIII: The Moon

A very similar reading as above (or, I suppose it's just my inclination for interpretation, after all, that's what Tarot is - it's not occult information from an outer source, but a way to bypass the conscious mind with symbols and associations and peak at what's already in your mind that you might be refusing or unaware of).

The Tower here represents the Idea I have in my head (the one that the first Pull warned me against giving too much credence to). The Seven of Wands is a Victory (sevens always are some kind of Victory or turning point because their Sephirotic association is Netzach) over that untempered Dogma (Hierophant). The Moon is almost always a nod to unconsidered or occluded information. I'm taking that to mean that while the person I have an issue with is definitely operating at their own agenda, there's more to the story than just their being a cunt.

New Music from Myrkur

From the upcoming album Spine, out October 20th on Relapse Records. Pre-order Spine HERE.

I'm not 100% on this track yet; I've really liked Myrkur's previous records, however, there's something about the hook in this that feels borrowed from Madonna. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it's rubbing at me a bit. I can't wait to hear the entire album when it's released in October.

---

---

---

NCBD:

Here are my picks for this week's NCBD:

No idea what this series 'is,' however, with classic Jean Grey a la X-Factor scribe Louise Simonson penning it, I'm in.

Newburn's return last month reminded me how much I dig Chip Zdarsky and Jacob Phillips's street-level tale of a fixer who has - potentially at least - grown too big for his britches. Can't wait to see how the story continues to wind its way around Newburn - and his unweary assistant Emily's - throats.

The first issue of Tenement felt kind of like a gift; after a graphic novel (The Passageway) and a mini-series (Ten Thousand Black Feathers), we're finally getting a little more than just tone from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's ambitious, sprawling Bone Orchard Mythos. Don't get me wrong, I love tone. I'm not a person that needs a plot in order to enjoy a well-written comic or novel. That said, there are gottasees set up in those two previous entries into this Mythos that make me think the reveals will be INSANE, so I'm kind of chomping at the bit with this one. Tenement looks to be the chapter to finally drag some of that out into the light.

            

---

---

---

Watch:

A new trailer for Neon Release's upcoming It Lives Inside dropped yesterday.

        

Releasing in theatres on September 22nd, I have a pretty good feeling about this one. Just like the last trailer that dropped for this one, I only needed a moment before I turned it off and knew I'd be seeing it. Directed by relatively newcomer Bishal Dutta, there's a buzz around this one that reminds me a bit of the buzz for Talk to Me. Could be a really nice Autumn entry into the year's Horror.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Myrkur - Like Humans (single)

Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

---

---

---

Card:

• Eight of Swords - Interference

• Prince of Wands

• Queen of Swords

I'm pretty tempted to read this in a very surface-level manner. I've got two big ideas, or influences, interrupted in the middle by Interference. I made some HUGE revelatory thinking about the novel yesterday, just some enormous stuff, but didn't write. I've got a couple days' worth of inertia from not writing while I was in Chicago for a wedding (drove in Friday, drove out Sunday, thus, I literally had no time to write). Also, I continue to experience what I can only classify as major anxiety primarily shaped around my parents' eventual move, so I've been treating that with edibles. I don't write when I'm high, so the anxiety is an Interference while large ideas hang in the balance. 

Will be writing today for sure.

 

---

---

---

bunsenburner - Rituals

Sometimes the algorithm works in our favor (even if it will ultimately undo humanity completely). Case in point - bunsenburder's Rituals popped into my youtube feed last Friday. The front cover artwork reminded me of Genghis Tron's Dead Mountain Mouth, so I clicked play.

Forty-Seven minutes later I was left pretty much in awe. 

You just won't believe where this one goes based on how it begins. I LOVE this band! Hailing from Freiburg Im Breisgau, Germany, here's the bio taken directly from their Bandcamp:

"bunsenburner evolved into an ever-rotating and expanding hive mind initially conceived and realised by the bassist and producer Ben Krahl in 2012."

Kinda sounds like a description of The Ocean early on in their career, right?

There's stuff on Rituals that reminds me of early Jucifer albums, of The Sword, of Angelo Badalamenti, The Calexico... the list goes on, and while it's not my intention to drown bunsenburner's music in comparisons - because honestly, that's not really possible with so unique an outfit as this, especially after you begin digging through their previous albums - I wanted to give folks enough to make them seek these guys out. 

You can pick up a limited edition cassette copy of Rituals on the Bandcamp HERE, or also support the band digitally. 

---

---

---

Watch:

Cinematic Void dropped a trailer for Up All Night - every Saturday this October, the Cinemadness movie will run on the Cinematic Void youtube channel HERE. 

I can't say enough good things about Cinematic Void. Founder James Branscome does some of the best programming in the states in my opinion, and now that he's expanded from being L.A.-centric to including The Music Box in Chicago and other cities like Boston, I really wanted to help spread the word a bit farther afield. Check the Void out online and if you follow them over on FB, Twitter or Instagram and see a show close to you pop up, check it out. Also, as I've mentioned here plenty of times previously, the Cinematic Void Podcast is one of the best cult/Horror/exploitation podcasts out there. You can find them on Apple Podcasts HERE or Spotify HERE and, of course, the show is available pretty much anywhere else you might get your podcasts.

Also, and I just discovered this myself, The Void has a pretty awesome Big Cartel shop HERE.

  

---

---

---

Playlist:

The Hives - The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons

High on Fire - The Art of Self Defense (remix/remaster)

King Woman - Celestial Blues

bunsenburner - Rituals

Final Light - Eponymous

Trauma is Trauma: A Mental Health Talk with Kevin Smith

Metallica - 72 Seasons

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Prayers For the Death of Fame EP

Pastor T.L. Barret and the Youth for Christ Choir - Like a Ship Without a Sail

Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

Julee Cruise - Floating Into the Night

---

---

---

Card:

• Three of Disks:Work

• I: The Magus

• Queen of Disks

The Three of Disks indicates successful growth, although I'm always quick to add that growth will come as the result of some kind of labor. Not necessarily hard, physical labor. In this case here, the card's referencing my own mental labor, as I try and twist the disparate elements I've set up in the new novel and have them coalesce into the climax I can feel, but can't quite 'see' yet.

The Magus indicates, of course, that Magick will come in handy. I know this; my Magick IS the work and my commitment to it, because as so many Chaos Magicians have told us, from Hine to Moore to Spare, it's all about The Will.

The Queen of Disks reminds me to be emotionally grounded during this period. This is a direct reference to a kind of mini disassociative state that can sometimes swallow me when I'm so zeroed in that I drive myself crazy because, as Life would have it, I just can't always work on what I want to based on, you know, the day job, family, friends, etc. A good reminder.

 

---

---

---

New Music From †††

 

I did not realize we had a new full-length on the way from Chino Moreno and Shaun Lopez's †††, but Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete. officially drops on October 13th. Pre-order Here.

This one took me a minute to warm up to, and I'm done with it until the full-length arrives, simply because with †††, I really feel the context of an entire recording makes their songs that much stronger.

---

---

---

The Vinyl High:

A couple new acquisitions showed up on my doorstep last week. First up, Bohren and der Club of Gore's 2000 MASTERPIECE, Sunset Mission:

This is one I've wanted for quite some time. Available HERE on the Pias label's website; I'd seen a few complaints on Discogs about this pressing being noisy, but not my copy. Pristine, Sunset Mission was made to be heard on vinyl. This one is kind of the nexus of everything I love about the music in Twin Peaks and everything I love about the music in Cowboy BeBop, so finally acquiring it on vinyl kind of completes a bit of a trilogy for me, I guess. 

Next up, John Harrison's Soundtrack for George A. Romero's Day of the Dead:

I honestly don't know how I passed this one by for so long. I'd actually forgotten Waxwork Records released this until two Fridays ago when I watched the Joe Bob Brigg's Last Drive-In season finale, where Joe Bob and Darcy not only played and talked about Romero's third entry in his original Zombie trilogy but also had a small cast reunion with Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander and Jarlath Conroy. I'd already been thinking about Boards of Canada a lot recently, in that I started following the BOC fan Instagram page, where one post kind of marveled over all the negative reactions to 2013's Tomorrow's Harvest. Easily my favorite album by BoC - which is really saying something because I have deep connections to most of their records - not only did I never understand how so many people didn't like this, I doubly didn't understand how 80s Horror fans don't like Harvest, because it plays so much like a Carpenter/Romero score. This is especially true of Harrison's work on Day of the Dead, where most of Harvest would seemingly be right at home following the opening track of the movie.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Sigur Rós - Ágœtis Byrjun

John Harrison - Day of the Dead OST

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Witchskull - The Serpent Tide

The Cure - Pornography

Fabio Frizi - House By the Cemetery OST

Bohren and der Club of Gore - Sunset Mission

---

---

---

Card:

• Six of Disks Success

• Princess of Disks

• Three of Cups: Abundance

This feels like a direct response to yesterday's Pull, as a lot of my reservations disappeared as soon as I started really applying my force of Will to make progress and achieve success in a few chapters that seemed hopelessly lost a day or so ago.

 

---

---

---

New Aphex Twin!!!

I saw this new Aphex Twin single dropped a few days ago, but it actually took me a minute to build up the desire to hit play. I haven't loved much of what Richard James has done over the last two decades, so I was tentative to re-engage with new Aphex Twin music. Turns out, all my fears were for naught, as I love this track; it reminds me - in spirit - of I Care Because You Do, which I used to lay alone, high, listening to in my room in my early 20s, a rich but isolatory experience to say the least.

 

---

---

---

Watch:

A trailer for Satanic Hispanics dropped yesterday - I've been waiting for this one since I missed out on scoring tickets for the screening at last year's Beyondfest:

Ever since I first saw The Convent in 2003, I've been a pretty huge Mike Mendez fan, and while I don't love everything he does as much as I love The Convent, I count him as a favorite Director. Also, thanks once again to Beyondfest, around 2013 I was introduced to GiGi Saul Guerrero's short film El Gigante. I've mentioned this one here before, and even though it's no longer currently streaming on Shudder, it's 100% worth looking up. Think OG Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Luchador wrestling and that will put you in the ballpark. It's awesome, and ever since seeing that, Guerrero is another Director I follow. Her and Mendez's involvement in this Anthology puts it at the top of my "I want this right bloody now" list, so waiting nearly a year has been difficult. 

                       

---

---

---

Playlist:

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III (Saturnian Poetry)

Blut Aus Nord/P.H.O.B.O.S - Triunity

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Aphex Twin - Blackbox Life Recorder 2f (single)

Cristobal Tapia De Veer - Smile OST

Aphex Twin - I Care Because You Do

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Battle Tapes - Sweatshop Boys EP

Baroness - Last Word (pre-release single)

---

---

---

Alice Donut - Mother of Christ Live

From Alice Donut's 1994 Live at CBGB's album Dry Humping the Cash Cow. Fantastic double-disc capture of Donut in their prime. Mr. Brown gifted me this on vinyl and a few years ago and from first listen, the recording and performance blew me away. I wish I would have seen Alice Donut live, but alas, that never happened. I don't know their discography nearly as well as I should, with a large part of my time with the band having been eaten up by a preoccupation that bordered on obsession for a while in the late 90s with their 1992 masterpiece The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children, which is start to finish, one of the best and most underrated albums of the 90s.

---

---

---

Watch:

I've been waiting for Stewart Thorndike's Bad Things to hit Shudder since reading an article in the most recent issue of Fangoria. I wasn't the biggest fan of Thorndike's 2014 film Lyle, but I definitely liked it and felt as though, my opinion aside, this was a director to watch.

 

This flick looks unnerving as hell, and all the references I keep seeing to Gayle Rankin's performance evoking Jack Torrance, well, sign me up.            

---

---

---

Playlist:

Sigur Rós - Ágœtis Byrjun

Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt

Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest

Alice Donut - Dry Humping the Cash Cow

The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast - S7E21: The Top of the Heap

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Odonis Odonis - Post Plague

Deftones - Koi No Yokan

---

---

---

Card:

• III: The Empress

• 0: The Fool

• XIII: Death

Lots of BIG influences are afoot today. Keeping my eyes open for signs to the contrary, but this seems to suggest a fork in the path; institution vs. change.

 

---

---

---

Talk to Me

 

Another new Ghost of Vroom track dropped two days ago, and it's probably my second favorite from the pre-release singles for the upcoming album Ghost of Vroom 3, out September 1st on Mod y Vi Records. You can pre-order the vinyl from Doughty's website HERE.

---

---

---

Watch:

Last night K and I saw Talk to Me at the local theatre. I am still thinking about it. This was one of those films that afterward, I didn't come home, open a beer and throw something else on. I dug right into those articles in the new issue of Fangoria that I'd been saving. 

Luckily, after seeing the trailer back when it first hit the internet, I have not watched it since, so I barely even remembered anything about this one. There's hype building around it that's turning some folks off, but I'm here to tell you, that hype is deserved. I've seen Beyondfest post on their socials numerous times declaring the first feature by twin brother directors Danny & Michael Philippou as the best Horror film of the summer, and Fangoria put it on the cover of that aforementioned new issue. Also, I've heard there is a lot of viral marketing that somehow I was fortunate enough to have missed. So I went in pretty virgin.

Even if you're inundated with the marketing, I'm recommending you see Talk to Me and you see it in a theatre. The sound design is a large part of how effective the film's unease is - it's LOUD and SHARP and often pummels you in short, declarative bursts. No explosions - just visceral, meaty stabs of sound. The performances are all fantastic, and the overall manner in which the plot unfolds felt fresh to me. 

The Philippous have created a Horror Prop that, in my opinion, has similar potential to Hellraiser's Lament Configuration, so we'll see if we get a sequel. 
            

---

---

---

Read:

This morning I discovered that there's a new novel on the horizon from Jonathan Lethem, author of a couple books I adore, namely Motherless Brooklyn; Gun, Occasional Music, and Amnesia Moon. Not to mention his batshit crazy Omega the Unknown for Marvel back in the early 00s. 

From the official Publisher's solicitation for the novel: 

"On the streets of 1970s Brooklyn, a daily ritual goes down: the dance. Money is exchanged, belongings surrendered, power asserted. The promise of violence lies everywhere, a currency itself. For these children, Black, brown, and white, the street is a stage in shadow. And in the wings hide the other players: parents; cops; renovators; landlords; those who write the headlines, the histories, and the laws; those who award this neighborhood its name. The rules appear obvious at first. But in memory's prism, criminals and victims may seem to trade places. The voices of the past may seem to rise and gather as if in harmony, then make war with one another. A street may seem to crack open and reveal what lies behind its glimmering facade. None who lived through it are ever permitted to forget. Written with kaleidoscopic verve and delirious wit, Brooklyn Crime Novel is a breathtaking tour de force by a writer at the top of his powers."

Brooklyn Crime Novel drops on October 3, and can be pre-ordered on Indiebound HERE or wherever books are sold. 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Sigur Rós - Ágœtis Byrjun

Sandrider - Godhead

Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

H6LLB6ND6R - Side A

Ghost of Vroom - Ghost of Vroom 3 (pre-release singles)

Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit

Zeal & Ardor - Eponymous

---

---

---

Card:

• Knight of Wands

• Six of Swords - Science

• XV The Devil

Will applied to Will, a strengthening of resolve and a healthy dose of knowledge - possibly from a less-than-ideal source or possibly even a dodgy source.

Because I didn't ask a specific question, I have to read this as applying to my current writing project. If you read these pages, you know that's how I usually do Tarot. The specific question thing always seems a bit... dodgy to me (look! The cards are already sussing things out). It works, for sure, but I've never seen Tarot as a mystifying oracle, i.e. Omnipotent third party. I mean, I don't know that anyone who seriously studies the cards looks at them that way, but that's something that's definitely in the air. that said, I've done a specific question or two lately and the resultant Pulls have been spot-on, so it does work. The thing is, that just means I already know the answer to the question, anyway...

How this relates to the current project? Not so sure yet. I'm thinking it has to do with the ending, which exists in a theoretical way, but doesn't quite have the steam behind it for the prose to manifest yet. Perhaps I need to carouse some other works of fiction to look for some kind of jumpstart phrase or idea?

---

---

---

Pale Dian's Feral Birth

 

Somehow, I totally missed that Austin's Pale Dian released a new record last year. I've had Feral Birth on rotation since discovering it a few days ago, and I really dig it. If you missed out on 2016's Narrow Birth, it is well worth your time, as is all of Pale Dian's music. You can order a digital copy of Feral Birth directly from the band on their Bandcamp HERE, or you can hope their label, Green Witch Recordings, does a re-press of the vinyl. If they do, it should be available at the Green Witch Shop HERE.

---

---

---

Watch:

Yesterday, HBO dropped a new trailer for the upcoming second season of Álex de la Iglesia's 30 Coins, and it looks fantastic!

I love this show so much, I'm not only excited for the second season to drop in October, but to rewatch Season One beforehand. I can't wait to relive this one. Igelsia's take Horror is unlike anything else I've ever seen, with its often-comedic underpinnings offset brilliantly by the creepiest take on Catholicism I've maybe ever seen. 

 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Cristobal Tapia De Veer - Smile OST

Cristobal Tapia De Veer - Black Mirror: Black Museum OST

Agnes Obel - Aventine

Pale Dian - Feral Birth

Flying Lotus - Yasuke

Mannequin Pussy - Patience

Sandrider - Godhead

Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

Sepultura - Schizoprenia 

Christopher Young & Lustmord - The Empty Man OST

Beth Gibbons, Polish National Radio Symphony Orch & Krzysztof Penderecki - Henryk- Górecki's Symphony #3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)

Explode Into Colors - Quilts EP

Pale Dian - Feral Birth

Perturbator - Dangerous Days

Exhalants - 

Slayer - Decade of Aggression

            

---

---

---

Card:

• Queen of Swords - Watery aspect of Air, or the Emotional application of the Intellect

• Prince of Cups - Airy aspect of Water, or the reverse of above, Emotions honed by Intellect

• Princess of Wands - Earthen aspect of Fire, or the physical world as manipulated through the Will

I'm looking at this as a direct commentary on my creative week, which, despite some fairly major breakthroughs plot-wise, has been weak. My Emotions undermine my understanding of what I need to do to achieve my goal, I then turn around and overrule my emotions with logic, but only for a short time before the material world around me sidetracks my work and drains my Will.

I'm trying to sell this week to myself as a "recharge." Let's see if that's true.

 

---

---

---

Duration:

See what I mean? This is... embarrassing. I knew I didn't clock that many hours this week, but this is insane. Granted, my folks were here for five days and I worked, but still. Inexcusable. 

This is 7/14/23 through 7/20/23. Starting today I need to re-engage.

---

---

---

Ruby the Hatchet/Medusa Deluxe

 

Currently unable to extract this song from my head. Not that I'd want to. From Ruby The Hatchet's 2022 album Fear Is a Cruel Master, which you can order directly from the band HERE.

---

---

---

Watch:

A24 has a pretty interesting new flick coming out in August. From the trailer that dropped two days ago, Thomas Hardiman's feature debut Medusa Deluxe reminds me a lot of Peter Strickland's In Fabric.

 

If you know Strickland's film(s), you no doubt see what I mean. I don't bring this up as a critique; Hardiman's film looks stunning and weird in its own right, and I can't wait to see this when it hits VOD on August 11th. 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Public Memory - Elegiac Beat (pre-release singles)

Public Memory - Veil of Counsel EP

Sandrider - Godhead

††† - PERMANENT.RADIANT EP

Flying Lotus - Yasuke

Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

QOTSA - Villains

QOTSA - ... Like Clockwork

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

Jogger - Nephicide (single)

Colter Wall - Imaginary Appalachia

The Doors - L.A. Woman

            

---

---

---

Card:

• X: Fortune - Ka

• Queen of Cups - The Watery aspect of Water

• Two of Wands: Dominion

Moving from the well-spring, the idea source into reality can be a challenging process, especially when potentially bogged down by self-doubt; sacrifice that doubt, as it is a comfort. A familiar that only gets in the way of actualization.

It's difficult to pin this to anything specific, however, reading over it again and applying a strengthening force of contemplation - I'm scattered and fighting for clarity this morning - it seems a pretty good idea to juts blanket apply this to everything today.

 

---

---

---

Duration:

I forgot to post my report this past Tuesday, which judging by the previous week, is the day I chose to check in with this. In an effort to keep myself honest, this report is for the seven days from July 6 to July 12. I actually lost three hours this week.

I feel like I worked more than this, but when next week hits this will look like a marathon; my folks came in yesterday, so between spending time with them and work, I'm losing days here. Luckily I'm off today, and will hopefully be able to carve out some time over the next three days. I'm typing this early because I woke up well before anyone should on a day off, and figured as long as I'm up, I should do some work on the book.

---

---

---

New Drab Majesty!!!

Wow. Took me a minute, but this new Drab Majesty track from August 25th's An Object in Motion E.P. rocks. Still bummed it's only an E.P., but I'll take what I can get. Pre-order from the always wonderful Dais Records HERE.

---

---

---

NCBD:

Here's what I'm bringing home for NCBD today:

LOVE this cover. I'm very curious to see where things are headed with this book now that my fears that Kieron Gillen is confirmed for what looks like more than a year's worth of issues (article linked through THIS X-Post)

I thought I'd given up on this Night of the Living Dead series from relatively new (I think) publisher American Mythology, but when I saw it was only going four issues, I figured what the hell. First two issues were by no means bad, just kind of always looking for someone to take a crack at continuing Romero's original Night/Dawn/Day timeline instead of just adapting it, but there's been enough little flourishes here to make it a fun read.

Love this cover! Also, I really enjoy the fact that every time Kang/Leatherhead show up, this book evokes Slasher film techniques!

Holy cow! Michael "Silver Coin" Walsh writing and doing cover duties for this year's TMNT annual? Count me in!

---

---

---

Watch:

Screambox has really been on fire putting out new content. Unfortunately, despite subscribing for the year back in December, I haven't really watched much on the channel because it is still incompatible with Firestick, my primary interface (for better or worse). I can watch on my computer, however, that doesn't really do any film justice, so I'm biding my time, making a list of all the original content hitting the service that I want to watch. Here's the newest entry on that list:

We Might Hurt Each Other, originally titled Rupintojelis (Pensive), looks like a pretty solid Foreign Slasher that writer Jonas Trukanas and writer/director Titas Laucius apparently based on local Lithuanian legends. I've been in a Slasher kinda mood of late, so this one's calling to me.

We Might Hurt Each Other dropped yesterday on Screambox. Stream (scream) HERE.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue with the Stars

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse

Witchskull - The Serpent Tide

Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

Cocksure - K.K.E.P. EP

Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years

Misfits - Static Age

Misfits - Collection II

Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror

        

---

---

---

Card:

• Three of Disks: Works

• Six of Swords: Science

• Five of Disks: Worry

I could tell the moment I saw the doubled Disks that this is 100% a warning/reminder that the upcoming process of moving my parents to Clarksville is going to be trying. Not that my parents themselves will be, but the process of moving is never easy. Especially not when you're moving people from a house they have been in since 1985.

 

---

---

---

Blackbraid II is Out!

 

From Blackbraid II, out today. You can order your copy from Blackbraid's Bandcamp HERE. I woke up this morning and I'm already on my second run-through on the album. Absolutely fantastic. 

---

---

---

Watch:

I'm not really a huge Blumhouse Horror guy. I mean, some of their stuff lands pretty well, but even those that do often feel at least partially flat. So, I've never watched The Nun, despite some interest generated when I heard the Colors of the Dark podcast say, "There's kind of a little Fulci movie buried in The Nun." Whether the overall film fails, hearing something like that makes it seem like watching the film would have to be worthwhile. Yet, it's been almost five years since its release, and I continue to abstain. Now there's a sequel, and I wonder if maybe that will finally prompt me to check that first one out.

 

I'm not trying to sound too cool for school here; there's nothing 'wrong' with Bllumhouse Horror. In fact, hell, they're pretty much singlehandedly responsible for keeping the genre afloat in big-box theatres in the early 10s. The first Insidious was a HUGE buoy for the post-torture porn theatrical Horror release, and through subsequent flicks like The Conjuring, Sinister, et al, Blumhouse has proven Horror to be a viable genre for theatres to continue to invest in, which is a good thing no matter how you cut it. Sometimes I feel like we're thIS close to Marvel being the only game in town - now that scares me. Anyway, as usual, I'm really overthinking whether or not I should watch The Nun, which is currently streaming on Max.

---

---

---

Sky:

It's been difficult for me to keep up with a lot of stuff I want to watch, and I've barely logged more than a couple hours on Puppet Combo's Stay Out of the House, because all I really want to do right now is sit in my backyard at night, drink beer and stare at the sky. So, I thought I'd try and share some of that here. 

This shot comes courtesy of K, who is even more enraptured by the phenomenon of having personalized access to such grandeur. As a native and life-long Angeleno until last August, it's easy to see how this would blow her away; in LaLaLand, there is no 'big sky;' your view is polluted by nothing but buildings, lights, billboards, etc. I don't want to take that away from L.A. - it is a city, and you go there for city things. Given the choice of staring at the Egyptian Theatre or the sky it occupies, I'll take the theatre. L.A.'s problem, like all problems, is that the ratio is out of whack.

But staring at the sky here at night, it's amazing to see the wonder that shines in K's eyes while we lay on our recently acquired gravity chairs (best investment!), sip our nightly poisons and just drink it all in with our eyes. This has given me a completely new perspective on a lot of things, and it's definitely helped mellow me a bit more of late. Hard to be high-strung when you're staring at the night sky.

---

---

---

Playlist:

Forhist - Eponymous

Testament - The New Order

Reel Vile Podcast - Queer Horror Week 3: Knight + Heart

Chamber of Screams, Clement Panchout & Mxxn - Murder House (Original Puppet Combo Soundtrack)

Drug Church - Hygiene

Mammon XV - Bleeding in Excess (single)

Pharmakon - Bestial Burden

Code Orange - Underneath

The Raveonettes - Raven in the Grave

Cash Money - Who Killed the Blues (single)

---

---

---

Card:

• Ten of Swords: Ruin

• XIII: Death

• XX: The Aeon

Lots of big ideas today, and they're breaking down the rational in the face of actually implementing them. 

Regarding Ten of Swords, I wanted to throw in something from Crowley's Book of Thoth: "The number Ten, Malkuth, as always, represents the culmination of the unmitigated energy of the idea. It shows reason run mad, ramshackle riot of soulless mechanism; it represents the logic of lunatics and (for the most part) of philosophers. It is reason divorced from reality."

I see bad information and dreams of grandeur that tempt away from the one path forward. This is all writing stuff, and I'm really picking up what the Cards are putting down today, as I draw in closer to writing the finale to the new novel. 

---

---

---

Floating into the Night Reissued!

 

I'm sure I've posted this here at some point in the past, but it felt like the right thing to do this morning. From The Ravenonettes PERFECT 2011 album Raven in the Grave, this has long been one of my favorite songs by the band. That guitar just breaks my heart in the best way possible!!!

---

---

---

Watch:

Sacred Bones just announced a new edition of Julee Cruise's 1989 album Floating Into the Night, her collaboration album with Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch. If you know the record, you know it's HUGE for Twin Peaks fans, as several of the tracks here went on to populate the soundtrack to the original two seasons of Twin Peaks. To promote the re-release, Sacred Bones produced this charming little video:

 

You can order a copy HERE; I was able to snag the Pink and Black Galaxy Vinyl, although I am uncertain if I qualified for the poster. Either way, I'm happy as hell to finally have this on wax without having to pay for an original pressing on eBay.

 

---

---

---

NCBD Addendum:

On a lark, I picked up the first issue of Bliss on Tap Publishing's new series Killing Hope. I was not disappointed.

Written by Josh Barbee and Maloney, with art by Alex Cormack, who I was familiar with from 2020's Aquatic Horror mini-series Sea of Sorrow, Killing Hope starts out as a thriller then veers into what I'm guessing is going to be full-on Horror territory. It's a woman on the run from seemingly unstoppable forces, and I can't wait to read more!

Bliss on Tap is new to me, but a quick gander at their website shows they've got quite a few titles under their belt, with seemingly something for everybody.

 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Blut Aus Nord - 777: Cosmosophy

Principles of Geometry - Lazare

Roxy Music - Eponymous

Colors of the Dark Podcast - Episode 61: The Boogeyman

Chamber of Screams, Clement Panchout & Mxxn - Murder House (Original Puppet Combo Soundtrack)

The Sword - Warp Riders

Faetooth - Remnants of the Vessel

M83 - Saturdays = Youth

---

---

---

Card:

• Ace of Disks 

• Two of Swords: Peace

• Prince of Swords - The airy aspect of Air, or conflict with intellect

Resolving issues with spending money leads to further resolution of internal conflict. I think this is a tit-for-tat response to my current state of continual distraction. The internet is both a powerful tool and a siren that calls me away from my work on a regular basis. Fighting this over the last couple days has led to a huge breakthrough in my work. I was stuck on a final act, but I believe I now have it well underway and it's better than I first imagined!

 

---

---

---

The Cramps Live Performance!!!

MAJOR thanks to Simon G for posting this on his youtube channel, which you can check out and subscribe to HERE. If you dig the Cramps, it's a win-win. And with a set list and attire that, while pretty spot-on for The Cramps, seems especially strategic to alarm a television broadcast company, this is one for the ages. 

---

---

---

NCBD:

Really looking forward to today's NCBD. Here's why:

I'm loving Jeff Lemire and  Gabriel Hernandez Walta's Phantom Road so far. Stories that include a slip into any kind of 'between place' always hit a certain harmonic with me, and this one's taking that idea and really doing something different with it. 

Pat O'Malley's Popscars is in Comic Stores and you're missing out if you're not reading it. Why? Check out my interview with Pat HERE to find out. 

Another "Before the Fall" one shot, however, like last week's Heralds of Apocalypse, this one is written by one of the main X-architects, so I'm in. 

 

This book just continues to delight me. 

---

---

---

Watch:

I rewatched Moorhead and Benson's 2014 film Spring this past Monday evening. Wow. I hadn't seen this one since before I knew who Moorhead and Benson were, and looking back on it after watching and rewatching their other movies, I couldn't remember very much about Spring other than the basic set-up, the location, and that both K and I really liked it when we watched it back in, probably 2016.

 

All the performances are fantastic, and just seeing Vinny Curran and Jeremy Gardner in the opening ten minutes or so was a treat, as was hearing talk about "Shitty Carl." I need to track this one down on Blu-Ray, as I'm hoping there will be a making of or commentary track, as I find myself really wanting to know how they made this. I'm kind of assuming they did a lot of the filming guerilla style, but who knows? Moorhead and Benson continue to prove they are two of the best filmmakers working today, regardless of whether they have a budget or not.

 

---

---

---

Playlist:

Flying Lotus - Yasuke

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium - Undreamble Abysses

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse

Blackbraid - Blackbraid I

Spotlights - Seance EP

Greg Puicato - Child Soldier: Creator of God

Secret Chiefs 3 - Le mani destre recise degli ultimi uomini

Secret Chiefs 3 - Book of Horizons

Sepultura - Chaos A.D.

Sepultura - Schizophrenia

Sepultura - Arise

Godflesh - Purge

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

Ike & Tina Turner - Live! The World of Ike & Tina

Pastor T.L. Barrett & the Youth for Christ Choir - Like a Ship (Without a Sail)

Christopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind (single)

Bria - Cuntry Covers Vol. 2

Orville Peck - Pony

---

---

---

Card:

• IV The Emperor 

• Ace of Wands

• Two of Disks: Change

Draw on strong, established resources (practices?) to enact a breakthrough with Will, but don't expect it to last just because it happens once. Will, as with everything else in the Universe, is fluid, coming and going depending on millions of variables. Those variables are actually what rule us, The Emperors of all life, but especially those humans who try and find a window into their own internal operating systems.

 

---

---

---