Blackbraid III, out everywhere today! Psyched for the arrival of my vinyl, which I pre-ordered directly from the band's online shop HERE.
Last weekend, while doing some work around the house, I put in my headphones and listened to Blackbraid I and II in succession. This is a band that deserves all the hype; in fact, Blackbraid deserves a lot more hype! There's an evolution going on across these three records that is breathtaking to behold, and you can see how their success funnelled directly into their Art. The cover artwork on III is a contender for cover of the year. Artist Adam Burke absolutely nailed this, and with Adrian Baker's layout, this is something I cannot wait to just sit and stare at while cranking the record. (You can read a bit more about the album and the art HERE)
Watch:
Weapons. Holy shit. THIS might actually topple Eddington as my favorite film of the year. Zach Cregger has actually crafted yet another movie that belies all comparison. Weapons is unique. It is intricate and perfectly executed. The storytelling here is just on another level. The characters - of which there are quite a few - are very well-written and expertly developed. As my good friend and cohost on The Horror Vision said last night during our live, spoiler-free reaction on IG, "The characters are rich."
Yes. That is exactly the word.
Go into this as blind as possible. I will say, another thing that now appears to go hand-in-hand with Cregger's brand is the mystery, so that even though I've seen the initial trailer for this film several times, and have been inundated with a more recent ad while watching The Bear on our HULU (our phone pays for the subscription, so there are ads), I still knew NOTHING about this film. That's a feat. While Blumhouse continues to beat everyone over the head with trailers that show (and ruin) the entire movie, Directors like Mr. Cregger and Oz Perkins have "spoiler-free" built into their brand.
Playlist:
Opeth - Solitude (Black Sabbath Cover live)
Eric Prydz - Call Me (single)
Black Sabbath - Vol. 4
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
Ghost Bath - Moonlover
Beastmilk - Climax
Bella Morte - Where Shadows Lie
Revocation - New Gods, New Masters (pre-release singles)
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Blackbraid - Blackbraid III
Bruit ≤ - Live on KEXP
Cobalt - Gin
Card:
From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.
• Page of Wands - The Earthly aspect of Fire: Earthly expenditures/expression of Will
• Page of Cups - The Earthly aspect of Water: Earthly expenditures/expressions of Emotion
Heavy emotions lead to Earthly concerns diluting the Will.
