2018: October 11th

Finally. Last night showed K Mike Mendez's The Convent for the first time. Probably about the twentieth viewing for me since I first discovered it circa 2001. Still in my top five favorite movies ever; every moment is joy to me. Especially Frijole and the Lords of Darkness. Brilliant, and easily the best horror-comedy ever. Coincidentally it's playing in theaters this evening as the second in a double feature with Sweet Sixteen as part of Bloody Disgusting's RetroNightmares. I'm not going, and I'm sad.

31 Days of Horror:

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly
10/06) Re-animator
10/07) Night of the Demons
10/08) Species
10/09) The Roost
10/10) The Convent

Playlist from yesterday:

Windhand - Eternal Return
Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog
Blut Aus Nord - Memorial Vetusta II - Dialogue With the Stars

No card today either.

2018: October 10th

Thought I'd start today off with another under-appreciated Type O track. I know, I know... wrong holiday. Still, it fits the season.

The first episode of The Horror Vision is now available on Apple Podcasts HERE. Also available on The Horror Vision website HERE. The audio is good but not great; tweaks coming for the next episode, which we recorded last night and will land next week. #2 is a discussion of our Halloween go-to watches, from the standards to the more individualized, left-of-center picks we watch every year.

31 Days of Horror continued yesterday. Since I was out doing the podcast last night, K and I opted to continue to push back Mike Mendez's The Convent back, and instead I treated myself to an afternoon viewing of Ti West's first feature film, The Roost. LOVE this one, and it'd been a while. Holds up and then some. K watched The Haunting of Molly Hartley, liked it but said it kinda resembled a Lifetime movie if they did horror.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly
10/06) Re-animator
10/07) Night of the Demons
10/08) Species
10/09) The Roost

Playlist from 10/09:

High On Fire - Electric Messiah
Nothing - Guilty Of Everything
The Skull - For Those Which Are Asleep
Type O Negative - October Rust
Type O Negative - Dead Again

No card today.

Pet Sematary Trailer!

Whoah. Thanks to my good friend Missi, I finally read Stephan King's Pet Sematary about five or six years ago. It immediately became my favorite non-Dark Tower King novel. It is chilling. End of story. And the scenes that brush up against the Wendigo - if that's what it is - SO spooky. So well done! The flick looks great - the directors previously did Starry Eyes, so that's a great sign in my book. Another upscale King Adaption on the heels of last year's IT. While I'll admit to a certain soft-spot for the original Pet Sematary, this looks to be a vast improvement.

2018: October 9th: New High on Fire

With all my elation at Windhand's Eternal Return dropping last Friday, I forgot High on Fire's new album Electric Messiah also hit the 'shelves.' After giving it a couple spins I dig it - Matt Pike and crew didn't reinvent their wheel here, but there's some digging around inside the confines of their patented sound that there's some growth here. As usual, it's pummeling and a bit exhaustive. Not a bad thing.

31 Days of Horror continued yesterday with another first timer for me (we opted to save The Convent for tonight):

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly
10/06) Re-animator
10/07) Night of the Demons
10/08) Species

Species is one of K's favorites. I'd never really had any interest in seeing it until I recently read that the monster was based on an H.R. Giger design - obvious, but I guess I just thought it was a case of Hollywood cribbing the design on the Alien monster. Either way, I enjoyed Species in spite of it being very 90s- everything from the camera work to the overwrought score reeked of X-Files influence. Forest Whittaker overdoes his role as this search-and-destroy team's empath, although I suspect that was the product of direction more than his personal choice. Also, the use of ground fog where there shouldn't be any is very much a trope of the 90s.

Playlist from 10/08:

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic
Corniglia - Eponymous
High on Fire - Electric Messiah
High on Fire - Snakes of the Divine
God is LSD - Spirit of Suicide

I ended up baulking on finishing the second part of the novel last night due to sheer exhaustion. After work was reserved for a big ol' nap! Today's card for the day reflects my adjusted expectations:

Also, there's the balance of contrasts inherent in this card, which ties into the book's attempt to balance YA adventure-horror with a touch of a literary pedigree.

2018: October 8th

I am still very much in love with this Corniglia album. If you dig it too, here's the link to the band's bandcamp.

31 Days of Horror continued last night with the 80s classic Night of the Demons. I still dig this flick, however, Mike Mendez's The Convent is always going to be the better version of this. I know they're not exactly the same set-up wise, and I know NOTD came first and Mendez was influenced by it, but to me, The Convent is one of my favorite movies ever and is close enough that watching NOTD really just makes me want to watch it instead. That said, good viewing showing Demon to K for the first time, and tonight we'll be doing Convent.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly
10/06) Re-Animator
10/07) Night of the Demons

Playlist from 10/07:

Stellar Corpses - Respect the Dead EP
Windhand - Eternal Return
The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir
Goblin - Dawn of the Dead OST

Card of the day:

Indeed. Second part of the book will be done today. Success!

2018: October 7th: Good Omens Trailer

Looks like they dropped the, "The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Anges Nutter, Witch" part of the title, but this looks awesome! I've been waiting for this one for what feels like forever. I remember back in the late 90s when, if I remember correctly, Mr. Brown and I were excited at the rumors of Depp and Robin Williams playing the angel and demon. We didn't get that, but this casting looks great. I mean, David Tennant is becoming one of my favorite actors of late. Actually makes me want to re-watch the Fright Night remake, just to see his character.

31 Days of Horror continued last night with Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator! It'd been years since I last saw this one, and in the interim my experience seeing the musical version - also directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Chris McKenna, who I knew previously from Gordon's King of the Ants - kinda overtook the film as the ultimate version of the story beyond the original source material by Lovecraft, which is very different. Apparently enough time had passed though, because I dug the flick a lot, and there's a ton of extras on the Arrow Blu Ray I recently picked up, so I'll have a good time going through those.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly
10/06 Re-Animator

Playlist from yesterday:

Windhand - Eternal Return
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
The Final Cut - Consumed
Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar

Card of the day:

The Airy aspect of Water - combining intellect and emotion in a functional way. This is exactly where I'm at writing, as I'm killing my darlings from a previous version of the novel and streamlining it into a much tighter version of the story. My goal is to have a literate, young adult novel that contains aspects of the adventure genre, as well as the horror and suburban fantasy genres (that second one there is, to my knowledge, a term I coined). And it's coming along nicely as I round the corner on wrapping the middle of three sections, I feel confident and strong on this one in a way I never did before.

2018: October 6th

Woke up with this one in my head this morning. As I've probably said a million times here, Life is Killing Me is my favorite Type O album, so I love every song. There are, however, certain foundation stones of the album for me - I Don't Wanna Be Me, How Could She?, Iydkmigthtky (Gimme That), and Anesthesia. The mortar in between those stones, so to speak, but all of them exceptional if commonly unsung.

31 Days of Horror continued last night with yet another Cronenberg film that I had, incredibly, not seen before. Loved it as an outré filmmakers working inside the studio formula and doing very much his own, unconventional thing with it.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) The Fly

Playlist from Friday, October 5th:

Drab Majesty - Careless
Windhand - Eternal Return
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Rolling Blackout CF - Hope Downs
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Automatic

Card of the day:

Always good to see a Seven. While one step out from the harmony of the Six, I feel as though this is an exact analogy for where I am in the final pass at constructing my book. See those six perfectly matched and balanced Wands beneath the Seventh? I'm adding the final pieces gleaned from the breakthrough of many months away from it, respectful not to damage what's already there.

Teaser Trailer for Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys

Courtesy of NYCC. Props to my good friend Chris from DwC and the Thirsty Crows for tipping me to it's release. After watching all I can say is...

I'm in.

As a series, I really liked The Boys at the start, but felt it became a bit blah in the middle. Then, about a year before it's end, Butcher stabbed someone to death for killing something special to him and the book became a juggernaut of awesome until the end. Hoping the show might streamline and smooth over some of the complacent parts.

2018: October 5th - The New Windhand is Out and it's Awesome!

Two full listens this morning on headphones and I'm hooked.

31 Days of Horror continued last night, but I'll tell you right now my definitions of horror are probably the most lenient. I drove up to Santa Monica's Aero Theatre after work and caught one of the satellite Cronenberg double headers Beyondfest has been offering this year. Last night was Crash and Spyder, neither of which I had seen before. I only stayed for Crash, primarily because I'd been up since 4:00 AM and was due to wake up at the same time today, so sticking for Spider would have killed me. Secondly though, Crash had such an immense impact on me, I didn't want to dilute the experience with a second movie, even if it was by the same man.

Crash blew me away. I remember it opened back in 1996 around the same time David Lynch's Lost Highway did. At the time I was completely unfamiliar with Cronenberg though, so despite the premise peaking my curiosity, I passed on seeing it. As the years have gone by and I've begun getting into Cronenberg, this film is always one that eludes my attention.

No more.

Shooting straight up to almost tie with Videodrome as my favorite film by DC, Crash's falls firmly into the Body Horror genre in my book, despite there not being a lot of grotesque imagery. The horror here lies in the mutations of sexuality the characters undergo, their willingness to embrace the strange and outre, and the philosophical ramifications that lie buried so deep beneath the surface of the film that they really only tickle their way out. The film feels very much like a virus once its been ingested, and I'm on a kick to further explore its concepts with more viewings and a go-through with JG Ballard's 1973 novel of the same name. I also absolutely loved Howard Shore's score on this one, in particular this opening track:



And where the hell did Elias Koteas and Deborah Kara Unger go after this film? Talk about fantastic performances.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House
10/04) Crash
10/05) ???

Playlist from Thursday, October 4th:

Miranda Sex Garden - Fairytales of Slavery
The Misfits - Earth A.D.
The Misfits - Static Age
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Boy Harsher - Lesser Man EP
Boy Harsher - Country Girl EP
King Woman - Doubt EP
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST

Card of the day:

Opposing elements can cause imbalance. Hmm...

Daredevil Season 3 Trailer

Gotta say, I generally don't give a toss about what Marvel does these days, big screen or little screen, but this... THIS gave me chills. Multiple times. And my money is on fake DD being Bullseye.

Also, what a class act, dropping the trailer so close to the release (October 19th) we hardly have any time to wait at all? Super cool Marvel.

2018: October 4th

K and I continued our 31 days of Horror last night. In spite of a late start, or rather because of it, we went with a shorter flick, specifically Stuart Gordon's entry into the Masters of Horror library. As an adaptation and modernization of H.P. Lovecraft's Dreams in the Witchhouse, Gordon's piece works pretty well. It's been a minute since I read the story - going to try and remedy that this weekend - but from what I remember of it Gordon does a good job. Brown Jenkins, in particular, is pretty creepy. And kudos for going all the way with the ending.



I've been in a Gordon mood lately. Chomping at the bit to re-watch Dagon, as it's my favorite by him and I haven't seen it since the big screen at the Warner Grand back at either 2011 or 2012's H.P. Lovecraft fest. Also, ordered Arrow Film's Re-animator, a film I've only seen once and a long time ago. Back also around 2011/2012 I saw Gordon's musical stage adaptation of Re-animator at the Steve Allen Theatre, and I loved it so much in that form I've been afraid the film just won't hold up since. Pretty sure that's unfounded, and Arrow's release is packed with extras, so I pulled the trigger on finally adding that to the collection.

Okay, so that puts our 31 Days of Horror list at:

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope
10/03) Dreams in the Witch House

Playlist from 10/03:

Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Miranda Sex Garden - Carnival of Souls
The Soft Moon - Eponymous
The Soft Moon - Criminal
White Lung - Sorry
Daughters - Satan in Wait (single)
The Ocean - Anthropocentric
Perturbator - Dangerous Days
Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always

Card of the day:

The Twos are the pure breakthrough of the Ace into the first stage of practice.

The Ocean Release Another New Track!

I'm still debating on whether or not I'm going to listen to this one before the album comes out, but that's no reason not to share it! These guys are such a great band, but I feel like not everyone that would like them knows about them. Hopefully that changes.

Pre-order Here for a November 2nd release!

2018: October 3rd

Love this song! I love all tracks by Type O, especially from this album, but this is one of the standouts. Also a great example of why they were so great: interesting, non-traditional song structure,  those group vocal accents that give everything a lush sense of good-natured hostility, fantastic two-person vocal melodies, and a sense of bloody humor for Christ's sake, just to name a few elements on display here that I love. No October would be complete without Type O Negative.

I decided to do the 31 Days of Horror movie thing. Not really a challenge, but a commitment for sure. Last night we opened Shudder only to find they'd added a bunch of Hitchcock! Super cool. First up from these was Rope, the adaptation of the play, starring Farley Granger, John Dall, and of course, the inimitable James Stewart. It had been quite some time since I'd watched this one, and while I remembered the big picture, a lot of the nuance - which is where all the fun lies - played for me like a first viewing.

10/01) Summer of 84
10/02) Rope

What will tonight's movie be? Not sure yet. I set a few DVDs out though, fodder for the coming evenings:

And there's a hell of a lot more than that. October is just getting started!


Playlist from October 2nd:

Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
Fields of Nephilim - Dawnrazor
Zombi - Spirit Animal
Zombi - Shape Shift
Sleep - The Science
Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST

Card of the day:

Seeking completion and fulfillment: And I continue to work on finishing my book!

2018: October 2nd

Hallelujah, it's October! Yeah, I know yesterday was the first, but it took me a day to realize we've finally arrived. The year is on its way out starting now, the seasons will change (well, not really for those of us who live in LaLaLand), and everything just gets better. Darker. Cooler. What you can expect to hear a lot of on this page in the coming 30 days?

Type O Negative
Bauhaus
Miranda Sex Garden
Fields of Nephilim
Trust Obey
The Final Cut
Ain Soph
More Sisters of Mercy and I'm certain I'm forgetting some major stuff. But I like surprises, so that's good!

I watched The Summer of 84 yesterday, the new film by the directors of the much talked about Turbo Kid, which I still need to see. 84 was derivative as all hell - think heavy Stranger Things vibe mixed with The Burbs - but it was a really fun, well-made flick that scratched my 80s nostalgia itch (which I'm thinking might disappear at some point if there's too much of this kind of thing). And I LOVED the ending. Recommended if you're not looking for something new but something engaging and fun:



NCBD tomorrow and it's a big one:

A Walk Through Hell -  The only book I currently think about all month long between issues!

Batman/The Maxx Arkham Dreams - my most eagerly anticipated book in ages!

 Die! Die! Die! #3 will be the determining issue as to whether or not I continue to read this one.

Super psyched for my friend DJ Kirkbride's new book, Errand Boys!

No, that's not a Walking Dead one-off featuring Princess, that's the Bill Sienkiewicz alternate cover!

Playlist from Monday, October 1st:

Pale Sketcher - Jesu: Pale Sketches Demixed
Nothing - Guilty of Everything
Nothing - Dance on the Blacktop
The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Behind the Music
The Ocean - Anthropocentric
The Ocean - Fluxion
Perturbator - Terror 404

Card of the day:

The Will to drive, to conquer, to complete. That's what I'm channeling today, as I'll hit my writing time hard, nearing the end of the layout of the chapters for my newest project, the final re-vamp of my now 6 years in the making novel ShadowPlay Book One: Kim & Jessie.

2018: October 1st

Justin K. Broadrick + Nothing + Prurient? Wow. I didn't know this existed until five minutes ago. What an awesome collaboration! And Somersault, off Nothing's 2014 record Guilty of Everything, is one of my favorite tracks by the band. This really blows it up to a massive size.

The website for the new podcast I've undertaken, TheHorrorVision.com had a bit of a delay, but should be up by mid-week, along with the first episode.


Playlist from Sunday, 9/30:
Etta James - The Second Time Around
Chuck Berry - Berry on Top
The Fixx - Reach the Beach
Yob - Ablaze (Single track)
White Lung - Eponymous
Chris Connelly - Artificial Madness
Sunn O))) - Kanon
Zombi - Shape Shift

Card of the day:

This again. Loud and clear. Yesterday's writing was the first in a few days, and it was pretty disappointing. Basically interpreting a second day of the five of Cups as another day of breaking rocks, which means Wednesday should be good.

2018: September 30th

One of the trailers that has been recurring at Beyondfest. Looks great. Free Screening at the Egyptian later this week, but it's a school day and a late show. Debating...

I can never fit enough Beyondfest in. I cherish everything I do get to attend, but I'm always left wanting more. Last night was brilliant: a pristine 35mm print of Dead Ringers, followed by Mick Garris interviewing Cronenberg and composer Howard Shore. The interview was recorded for later airing on Garris's podcast Post Mortem. The conversation covered everything - from Dead Ringers to The Fly, to Shore's work on Silence of the Lambs and Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations, to Cronenberg's role in Clive Barker's Nightbreed to his early short films Stereo and Crimes of the Future.

And everything in between.

What can top that? Well, there's a few more showings this year I may try and attend, Boat being one of them. Some of the others:







And one Cronenberg double feature remaining:





Playlist from yesterday was non-existent.

Card of the day:

2018: September 29th - Hold The Dark

Hold the Dark is exceptional; in my mind this is Saulnier's first masterpiece. Nothing against his other films, but this is just... a level beyond. I've written the inaugural installment of my new column on Joup, The Horror Vision, about the film. Read it HERE.

But wait, The Horror Vision is not only a column on Joup. In fact, the column is just a tributary to a much greater endeavor! In just one day (if all goes well with backend website design) my friends Ray, Anthony, Chris and I will be unveiling the newest podcast in the DwC catalogue: The Horror Vision. Here's a promo clip we threw together:



That beautiful logo is courtesy of Chris Saunders and the theme music is by me!

Tonight! More Beyondfest 2018 as K and I head into Hollywood to see Dead Ringers on the big screen, with director David Cronenberg in attendance to discuss the film. Can. Not. Wait.

Playlist from Friday, 9/28:

Mayhem - Deathcrush EP
Broadcast - Tender Buttons
The Ocean - Anthropocentric
Waveshaper - Station Nova
Mad Love - White With Foam

Card of the day:

From the Grimoire: "If we struggle against the seasons, the ebb and flow of life, we will fall. However, when you turn (Change) with that flow, you will reach a stationary peace from which your actions can harmonize with the power of Life's turning wheel."

How does that apply to me today? That's kind of the greatness of the card, isn't it? A broad stroke reminder to 'roll with the punches.' I'll be keeping that under advisement.

2018: September 28th - More New Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats

Really can't wait for this record.

Jonas Åkerlund's Lords of Chaos is excellent. The film goes out of its way to humanize Euronymous, played by Rory Caulkin, and conversely sets Varg up to look pretty much like a bit of a wallflower. The cinematography is gorgeous - especially the church burning scenes - and the murder scenes are brutal. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre - which I'm on the fence with as far as the old, second wave stuff - or anyone fascinated by sociological oddities.

Being that it's Beyondfest time, I've been reflecting on some of the other films I've seen there over the last few years. At the same time, while catching up on the always brilliant Shock Waves podcast, Episode 112 has Gigi Guerrero as a guest. I didn't realize who she was until the hosts brought up her short film El Gigante, which I saw a few years ago at Beyondfest and LOVED, kind of a Luchadore-meets-Texas-Chainsaw-Massacre hybrid. Here's the trailer:



Ms. Guerrero's production company El Luchagore's website is chock full of awesome content, and she says they are still in the early stages of making a full length out of the short. Also, there's a comic!

Playlist from 9/27:

Sunn O))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is the Killer
Chris Connelly - The Tide Stripped Bare
Perturbator - Dangerous Days
Secret Chiefs 3 Traditionalists - Le Mani Destre Recise degli ultimi Uomini

Card of the day:

With this many recurrences of late, it's face value time: what am I being foolish about?

2018: September 27th

File that one in the #currentlyspinning category; I have it up loud in my office and people who walk by look a little creeped out. Good. It's almost October - the perfect chance to be creeped out!

Super excited to be going to see Jonas Åkerlund's new film Lords of Chaos on the big screen tonight at my favorite theatre ever, The Egyptian in Hollywood (There's no trailer - not sure why, but I find that kind of cool). Having just read the book a few months ago, this is perfect timing!

This is the first of several Beyondfest screenings I'll be attending this year, so that only adds to my fervor. I love Beyondfest. So much so, I used it in one of my stories. Sort of. If anyone out there has read A Collection of Desires: 7 Tales of Modern Horror, the first story in the book - Scare Me - is set partially at the Egyptian, and the screening Apple and Lucas are attending is in many ways based on my first experience at Beyondfest - three years ago now if my math is correct - where my friend Missi and I saw an amazing double feature of Evil Dead 35mm and Evil Dead 2, with an interview set in between where Edgar Wright interviewed Bruce Campbell and surprise guest Sam Raimi. Before the show, representatives from Shudder worked the crowd, trying to get people to sign up for the just-launched horror streaming service. I used all that - tweaked it for my nefarious tale of course -  as well as much of the surrounding Hollywood neighborhood - one of my stomping grounds for years now - as a setting for the story. It's one that I am very proud of.

Playlist from yesterday:

Bauhaus - In the Flat Field

Perturbator - New Model

Perturbator - Terror 404

Waveshaper - Station Nova

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

Sunn O))) - 

Brand New - Daisy

Waxwork Records - House of Waxwork Issue #1 OST

Zombi - Shape Shift

Card of the day:

Reading about this card again after not seeing it in a while, I feel this is a harbinger for me. I've been physically hurting for a while, with various issues resurfacing just in time to slow me down. The yoga isn't doing a hell of a lot, but it's doing something. However, while none of my setbacks are serious enough to cause alarm, they do add up to an exhausting daily toll. The Empress seems to suggest I need to nurture myself a bit more, and in a period of withdrawal I should be able to reclaim my health.

2018: September 26th

I messed this up and should have posted this yesterday, as September 25, 1980 is the day John Bonham passed away. 38 years... wow.

A week or two ago, the new Grady Hendrix book came out. Author of My Best Friend's Exorcism, Paperbacks from Hell, and Horrorstör, this guy has become a recent favorite of mine. Looking forward to this new one. Why?

Right up my alley. That said, I still have a lot of books to tackle before the year is over. My list of "To-Read" goes a little something like this:

Neil Gaimen - The Graveyard Book
Robert Payne Cabeen - Cold Cuts
Dead Reckoning - Dino Parenti
David Lynch - Room to Dream
Gemma Files - Experimental Film

That's not all of them, but it's the ones I really want to read before the end of the year.

Playlist from 9/25:
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
Boy Harsher - Country Girl EP
Mad Love - White With Foam
Briqueville - II
Godflesh - Post Self

Card of the day:

As often as it appears in my daily pulls, I'm going to have to dig deeper on this card. I'm not getting a 'journey' vibe, literally or figuratively for today, so let's look at the Grimoire:

"Everything within. No external or obscured (The Moon) influences. Trust you gut. Materiality can point to eccentricity or folly."

Hmm. The materiality bit rings a bit true to some of my deep-rooted neuroses about money; I tend to buy to much stuff. Or this may be a resolution to a certain fatigue that has haunted me of late, making it more difficult than usual to walk down to my local coffeehouse and write (I drove yesterday, but only just convinced myself to go).

2018: September 25th - Cold Showers

Cold Showers is a band I discovered a few years ago via KXLU. They fell off my radar shortly after, but I've rediscovered them recently. Matter of Choice is a solid album that lines right up with Drab Majesty's sound, a modern example of that wonderful spot where Post Punk and New Wave meet.

NCBD - this week, nothing I have in my pull comes out, so my intention is to catch up on the newest Marvel Venom series.

Yep. A Marvel series.

A few weeks ago when my friend John was out visiting, we stopped in the comic shop. John is a huge comics fan, and I tend to get more excited about comics in general when I'm around him, so I ended up looking at a lot of the stuff I normally ignore, i.e. the Big 2 section at the Comic Bug. I'm not about to go see the Venom movie, but I have a soft spot for the character, especially after Rick Remender's brilliant run on the book back circa 2012-2013. A lot of this newest series - which predictably puts Eddie Brock back in the Symbiote suit to coincide with the movie - feels heavily inspired by Remender's run. The art by Ryan Stegman is gorgeous, and both it and the character designs pick right up on where I left off with the characters, especially Jack O'Lantern, a D-lister Mr. Remender permanently endeared me to. I've only read two issues, but it's kind of insane, with the Symbiote speaking in an alien language (is this the first time we've heard its native tongue?), and prophesizing that its race's 'god' is coming.

Playlist from September 24th:

White Lung - Eponymous
White Lung - Sorry
Drab Majesty - Careless
Cold Showers - Matter of Choice
Motley Crue - Shout at the Devil
Sunn O))) - Kanon
Bauhaus - In the Flat Field

Card of the day:

From the Grimoire: "Denotes a situation to know yourself, what you want, and throw your self doubt and fear away." This may be telling me to rethink submitting Please Believe Me.

2018: September 24th

'cuz I'm kinda obsessed with this man's brain at the moment. And because Mr. Cosmatos highlights an album his movie Mandy has had me wanting to dust off:



Playlist yesterday was a single album:

Ennio Morricone - Black Belly of the Tarantula OST

No card today - I'll get my shit back together again tomorrow.

2018: September 23rd - New Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats!!!

Jesus. I'm going to go broke with all the new music on the horizon. Good problem to have, eh? The new album is called Wasteland and there is not a pre-order up yet that I could find.

Drove 35 miles both ways out to Santa Ana to see Mandy on the big screen again. The Frida Theatre is the only place anywhere even remotely close by - if at all - still playing it nightly, 10:00 PM shows until the 27th. So worth it!

Going to see Rebel Without A Cause today, thanks to AMC and the TMC's monthly movie. This is such an amazing program, and it's available at almost all AMCs and I think some Regal (Or at least in Southern California it is. Check the TMC website for details about theatre's near you - it's worth it!).


Playlist from Saturday, 8/22:

White Lung - Eponymous
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (Digipak Version)
Sunn O))) - Domkirke

No card today.

2018: September 22nd - New Music from The Black Queen!

Bunch of new music on the way. My good friend Jacob alerted me to a new album from seminal Witch House group White Ring. They haven't been on my radar in ages, so it's cool to reconnect with their music, especially when some of is so indicative to me of what the mid-00s sounded like.

Memories of listening to music.

That's something you don't think about often, or at least I don't. Memories of listening to music. I mean, usually music evokes or scores memories, but to just reminisce on sitting in front of the computer on a day off from Borders and flipping around the internet looking for new stuff. I've lost a lot of the online gate keepers I that helped me find music back then (Not the best one, though), and tech has changed the hunting process greatly, what with the advent of Apple Music, so it feels further away than it is. And the tones White Ring utilizes, the actual synth and drum patches, they still sound right out of 2007, so it triggers these sometimes intense reveries.

Going to see Mandy in the theatre again tonight. It's such a shame this film is getting so small a theatrical run - I'm driving 35 miles each way to the Frida Theatre in Santa Ana so K can see it. This film was meant to be seen on the big screen, incredibly LOUD (thank you, Egyptian!). I ordered the vinyl a few days back, thought it wasn't coming out until November for some reason, but apparently they've already shipped, so I'm super happy about that. And, as you have hopefully already noted above, new music from The Black Queen. I don't know if all the guys from Dillinger Escape Plan's new bands can fill the DEP-sized hole in my life, but it's awesome they are moving on and trying!

Yesterday was apparently national Sunn O))) day, because that is most of what I listened to. Interesting first listen to Flight of the Behemoth, as a lot of it reminded me quite a bit of Throbbing Gristle.

Playlist from Friday, 9/21:

Sunn O))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
Sunn O))) - Void 00
White Ring - Gate of Grief
Sunn O))) - White1
Queens of the Stone Age - Villains
Sunn O))) - Flight of the Behemoth

Card of the day:

As usual, perfectly relevant to me at this moment, as I've just spent a large part of my morning working out the logistics for a new 'journey' I'm poised to begin with three very good friends. What is it? You will know soon enough.

2018: September 21st

I first came to know this track as Canon, on 2009's Domkirk record. That was my first Sunn O))) album; I saw it advertised in an issue of Wire and immediately knew it was something I had to own. Yesterday I went searching through the band's catalogue on Apple Music to dive into some of the albums I don't know. 2015's Kanon was one of them. I was stoked to rediscover the track in studio form. There's something about it that, to continue the purple prose metaphor from yesterday, sounds like you're staring into the abyss. A lot of Sunn O))) stuff is like that, but this one especially. Listening to it during the second of a surprise, 3-day FDA inspection at work, I realized the band's music relaxes me, almost feels like a form of meditation. It was a valuable epiphany.

Talk about an effective trailer. Watch this in the dark, with headphones on and tell me you don't get chills.



It's difficult for most filmmakers to create and sustain a truly scary tone for 80 minutes, imagine if this show does it for multiple episodes? Getting my hopes up? Maybe. But you never know.

Playlist from yesterday:

Lake Trout - Another One Lost
Avenged Sevenfold - Eponymous
Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower
Sunn O))) - The Grimm Robe Demos
Sunn O))) - Kanon
Earth - Primitive and Deadly

Card of the day:

From the Grimoire: "Rapid, clear communication. Ending of confusion. Divine or otherworldly communication.  A swift action toward goal; decisiveness." Not sure what this concerns yet, but I'll keep my head up.

2018: September 20th

This song has seemed especially haunting to me lately. There's a cosmic reverie to the lead guitar that  reminds me of Zeppelin at their most mysterious, and also sounds - if you'll pardon the purple - like an impossible gaze into the abyss.

Issue #1 of Batman: Damned blew my expectations out of the water. The story at this point, which is teaming Batman up with John Constantine, begins perfunctory enough. What really seals this one is the art and the format - it's the over-sized magazine size Brubaker and Phillips use for the Criminal Specials, and Lee Bermejo's renditions of everything, especially the design for Batman's suit and his dark depiction of Gotham, are absolutely gorgeous.

Playlist from 9/19:

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Type O Negative - Dead Again
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Mandy OST
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me OST


Card of the day:

From the Grimoire: "Not knowing when to stop for the love of the "battle". Loud and clear.

2018: September 19th - New Cocksure Album!

Holy cow, there's a new Cocksure album out! Listen to the way that synth comes in at 1:19 - old school never sounded so good!

NCBD and I am SUPER excited because the first installment of Batman: Damned hits today:

Also, I've been eager for more Seven To Eternity since it returned from hiatus last month (feels longer), so it's nice to see a new one. And what an awesome, Saga-like cover, despite the fact the book bears little resemblance to Saga; they are both awesome in very different ways.

It's going to be a good week!

Playlist from Tuesday, 9/18:

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Cocksure - Be Rich
Elder - Dead Roots Stirring
Tennis System - Pain EP
Jucifer - War Bird
The Atlas Moth - The Old Believer
Yob - Our Raw Heart

Card of the day:

Second iteration of this card in a row (I didn't pull yesterday). I finished Please Believe Me, however became reticent to submit it to the magazine I had planned to due to the fact that in their voluminous "What we don't want" list - which is hysterical reading - they mention anything that requires a 'vestigial belief in Judeo-Christian beliefs'. My story does not, however, the first line of the story, which is meant to be ultimately metaphorical and initially disorientating, is "It was a Thursday in September when seventy-three-year-old Heddie Larsen met the devil." I can just see an overworked slush pile operator reading that and moving no further with it. I thought about changing the line, but it would change the story, so in keeping with my draw today, I will wait and send them the results of the next journey, read: story, which I've already begun mapping out and is tentatively titled "Growth Spurt." It's the closest thing to hard Sci Fi I have written thus far. Think Primer meets Slither.

2018: September 18th - Lost David Lynch/Angelo Badalameni Album Coming!!!

Pre-order it from Sacred Bones Records HERE. This is the album that contains two tracks we already know from the FWWM OST, The Black Dog Runs At Night and A Real Indication. I had NO idea this was on the horizon, and give many thanks to Mr. Brown for the early morning tip-off.

Playlist from Monday, 9/17 was tiny. A lot of radio in the car where I heard some great tunes (rare for me), and then this Yob record over and over again. This song, in particular:

Yob - Our Raw Heart

No card today.