Valkyrie - Feeling So Low

One of my favorite albums from my Relapse Records 30th Anniversary Golden Ticket is Valkyrie's Fear. Some call this Proto-Metal, and that fits pretty good for me, although straight-up Hard Rock probably also works, as long as that moniker doesn't diminish the band in any way. Because Valkyrie feels like a very tight four-piece making metal that doesn't slot into the modern broth a lot of the bands I dig sip from. There's a definite 'back-to-basics' with instrumentation, arranging, and vocals, so in that regard they remind me a bit of The Devil's Blood or Baroness. But these guys are their own thing, and I dig it.

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Watch:

I don't remember hearing about Director Chad Crawford Kinkle's new film Dementer before seeing this post on Bloody Disgusting recently, however, with Larry Fessenden's name on top of the video drew me in, so that as I was about to post this trailer last night, I realized Dementer released this very day, so I hit amazon and rented it for a paltry $4.99 - SO very worth it.

The trailer doesn't give anything away, so my elevator pitch would be, "Gummo meets Hereditary." If that sounds as intriguing to you as it does to me, rest assured that although Dementer takes a little bit of a laborious journey to achieve its destination, the destination is 100% worth it, the atmosphere alone inciting a pleasurable Horror movie anxiety the likes of which I haven't had in a while

As an aside, it's been a difficult couple weeks at work - the unprecedented weather in the south basically destroyed FedEx's operations out of their Memphis hub for a fortnight, and with it, made my life a living hell. One of the things that always helps me through a rough day at the office - other than the copious amount of music I listen to on my headphones - is browsing Bloody Disgusting for new movie news. But almost a year after the first major changes due to the COVID-19 virus, the film industry's shut down is finally hitting us in the form of what feels like a MAJOR drought. People just haven't been able to film, and we've run through a lot of what was already in the pipes pre-pandemic, so there's not a lot coming out. First-world problems, I know, but it doesn't change the world from feeling even bleaker at the moment. In contrast to this was my stumbling across Dementer last night and being able to click over and jump right in. 

 

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Playlist:

Jackie Wilson - Higher and Higher

Melvins - Working with God

The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control

Lynch Mob - Wicked Sensation

The Misfits - Earth A.D.

The Plimsouls - Everywhere at Once

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - Carnage

Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup (single)

The Foundations - Baby, Now That I Found You (single)

Various Artists - That Philly Sound Presents The Best of Northern Soul 

Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

Queensrÿche - Empire

Keiichi Okabe - NieR:Automata OST

Valkyrie - Fear

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Card: 

The Elevatred (or Macro) view is always the clearest when it comes to details on the horizon. 

DJ Muggs and the Black Goat - Nigrum Mortem

Another new track from the forthcoming Dies Occidendum, out March 12th on Sacred Bones. Pre-order HERE.

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Watch:

K and I finally watched Ben Wheatley's remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca over the weekend. Loved it; K only showed me the Hitch a few weeks ago, and I have to say, perhaps because I'd been wanting to see it for so long and had high hopes, I didn't love it. The third act is great, but it's a rough climb to get there.  The Wheatley version, however, moves at a better pace. It's not faster, it just doesn't waste as much time with A) Miss Van Hopper (ugh), and B) meandering in the relationships it sets up. It also stages the mechanics of its denouement with a better sense of grace, without sacrificing the gorgeous ambience that often trips up Hitchcock's film. 

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Playlist:

Melvins - Working with God

Lard - Pure Chewing Satisfaction

The Replacements - Tim

The Raveonettes - In and Out of Control

PJ Harvey - Stories From the City Stories From the Sea

K's 70s Gold Playlist

 

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Card:

I feel like I wasted a lot of time resting yesterday, but after working a pretty rough week and a Saturday to boot, this card confirms I needed it. Now? Time to finish up this last (I swear) edit on Murder Virus, then, onto Shadow Play again.

Tomahawk - Dog Eat Dog

 

New Tomahawk track gets a music video! Can't wait for this record.

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Watch:

Last night, K and I watched the original Black Narcissus film from 1947. Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I'd never heard of this one before seeing the trailer for last year's remake.

 

The original is beautiful. Shot in Technicolor, the film earned cinematographer Jack Cardiff an Academy Award that was well warranted. Also on display are the extensive matte paintings. It's a gorgeous film, although acting-wise, it's a bit over-the-top drama for my tastes. Also, I am going to assume the plot will far much better in the newer version (if it doesn't get carried away).

We finished the film and went directly into the first episode of the three-episode FX mini-series remake. Also visually stunning, where the matte paintings are replaced by aerial drone shots of no small ambition. 

I think together, these will make perfect counter-points to one another.

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Playlist:

Tomahawk - Tonic Immobility (pre-release singles)

Tomahawk - Mit Gas

Queensrÿche - Jet City Woman (single)

Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Odonis Odonis - Post Plague

PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea

Nothing - The Great Dismal

Realize - Machine Violence

 

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Card:

Always a favorite card. That Boaz and Jacin behind her, the pillars from King Solomon's temple. I did a lot of research on these about 17 years ago (!?), but most of it's a fog now. Interesting though, this might run parallel to some of the content in Shadow Play, so I'll take this as a nod to dig up my notes.

Blanck Mass

 It's strange to me that, for all the time I spend listening to the artists on Sacred Bones, I somehow never heard Blanck Mass before yesterday. I'd seen the name, but somehow I just never clicked a link or happened upon anything organically. That changed yesterday when I somehow realized that Blanck Mass is the solo project/primary focus of Benjamin John Power, or as I knew him, one half of Fuck Buttons. I'd lost track of Fuck Buttons these last few years, and it's hard to believe it was a decade ago that I saw them at LA's Troubadour, where they blew my mind and ears in a volatile set of insane noise/techno/edm/soundscapery. Upon learning of Blanck Mass's pedigree, I started with this, the first single from In Ferneaux, out tomorrow on Sacred Bones. I then went to 2019's Animated Violence Mild and proceeded to absolutely fall in love with it. I mean, I listened to this fucker at least five times in a row over the course of my workday.

Order In Ferneaux or any of the other Blanck Mass records - all of which I plan on getting around to sooner rather than later - from Sacred Bones HERE of the Blanck Mass Bandcamp HERE.

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Watch:

 

I haven't been in much of a Horror mood of late, however, yesterday I came home and took my near-customary Thursday nap on the couch with Shudder TV's Slashics channel on. When I woke up, I did so in time to catch Preston DeFrancis' 2018 Slasher-esque Ruin Me. I quite liked this one and; Ruin Me definitely plays with tropes we've seen before - maybe too much of late, hence why it took this long and happenstance to get me to watch it - but it's really good at what it does, and it has enough of a fresh spin on the Slasher/Extreme Haunted House set-up to make it unique and interesting. And no, it's not actually a 'haunted house,' but you'll see what I mean when you watch it. Which I'm recommending you do.

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Playlist:

Blanck Mass - Starstuff (Single)

Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis - Carnage

Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

How to Destroy Angels - Welcome Oblivion

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

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Card:

 

Perseverance in the face of frustration and or routine. This final final final edit on Murder Virus is killing me, but it will pay off HUGE in the end, making the book that much tighter, and thus I hope, compelling and enjoyable, with a healthy dose of "WTF?!?" thrown in for good measure come the fourth part. Still, reading the same book four times in as many months can be pretty fucking difficult, even if it is something you consider quite possibly your best work to date.

Posthumous Music from Alan Vega

The wonderful folks at Sacred Bones Records are bringing us new old music from NY legend Alan Vega! According to the Sacred Bones site, "...Vega was constantly creating. That process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn’t see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. Mutator is the first in a series of archival releases from the Vault that will come out on Sacred Bones Records." 

The first of these releases, Mutator, was recorded in 1995-1996, and it drops on April 23. Pre-order HERE.

I can't wait to see what else Sacred Bones brings out of the "Vega Vault" (LOVE that such a thing exists). 

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Watch:

I'm not super impressed with what I've heard from the new album, however, it slots nicely into the Rob Zombie wheelhouse and there will definitely be a time/place for it in my routine. That said, I love this animated promotional short:

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Playlist:

SRSQ - Unreality

Tassilo Hagström - Berlin (single)

Alan Vega - Nike Soldier (pre-release single)

A.R.E. Weapons - S/T

Alan Vega - Saturn Strip

Perturbator - Dangerous Days

Queensrÿche - Empire

Lard - Pure Chewing Satisfaction

Jim Williams - Possessor OST

Angelo Badalament- Twin Peaks OST

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Emotional Jackpot. Power derived from Feeling. An oversaturation of emotion that while experiential, can cloud judgment and affect process.

Happy Twin Peaks Day!

 

Between waking up late and a slightly hellish day at work, I almost forgot it's Twin Peaks Day! Let's spend some time in the Double R to celebrate.

New Arab Strap!

Holy cow! This is the third single from the upcoming new album by Arab Strap? Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton's first album as Arab Strap in... a really long time! How did I miss that this was coming? The good news is the album is out March 5th on Rock Action Records, so it's not long now. The bad news? The vinyl is currently completely Sold Out. I'm hoping for a re-stock, so if you're like me, you'll be checking the Pre-order link for the next few weeks.

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Watch:

Near the end of the newest episode of The Horror Vision Horror Podcast, Ray Larragoitiy asks Tori and me what we're excited about coming out in the next few months. I wasn't prepared for the question at that time and was pretty bummed to realize I could barely think of a thing. Seems like the COVID effect on productions has finally caught up to us. There are a few things, though. One of them is this:

Ben Wheatley's new film In the Earth should be along within the next few months (I hope) and I for one can't wait. 

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Playlist:

Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou - The Helm of Sorrow 

Thou - Rhea Sylvia

Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark (pre-release singles)

Alice in Chains - Dirt

The Veils - Nux Vomica

U2 - War

The Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps

Trust Obey - Fear and Bullets

The Soft Moon - Feel (single)

Joy Division - Closer

Nothing - The Great Dismal

Exhalants - Atonement

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Card:

 Taxes are good.