New Music from Ministry!!!

Ministry released a new track last week, and as usual, I love it. From the forthcoming album HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES, out March 1, 2024, I feel like this is a bit early, but still, I can't really complain about new Ministry. No pre-order link that I could find yet, but that's sure to come. In the meantime, enjoy Goddamn White Trash.

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K and I took her Mom to see the Barbie movie over the weekend. This was about as interesting to me as the battleship movie until Mr. Brown posited that he'd read the entire thing was going to be one big piss-take. 

That got me interested. 

I waited for the hype (and crowds) to die down before even entertaining the idea of getting a ticket. We were at the theatre multiple times since this thing opened, and the crowds of pink-adorned moviegoers gave me pause. The malaise for big-budget IPs I always experience when actually faced with seeing them kicked in, and I figured I could go on just fine without ever actually seeing this thing, thank you very much. 

Then K's Mom expressed interest, so we decided to take her. Verdict? Greta Gerwig did exactly what I hoped she would with this one: It's irreverent toward everything that deserves irreverence - including itself and the Barbie brand - yet still manages to be fun and touching as all hell. And as far as the cries of man-hating, anyone offended by this is a douche, and exactly what the film is commenting on. 

Ms. Gerwig had come a long way from being the friend in Ti West’s House of the Devil, and I applaud Mattel for allowing this to be what it is. Also, fucking Rhea Pearlman, am I right? 

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Read:

I finished Grady Hendrix's We Sold Our Souls over the weekend. OUTSTANDING novel! I read the last 60 or so pages in a mad gallop, unable to put the damn thing down. This means I'm going to reassess some of his newer books, all of which I'll probably read at some point.

Moving on, I finally started Nathan Ballingrud's novel The Strange. 

Holy smokes! Only 80-odd pages in, and I can pretty much guarantee right now, this will be the best novel I read this year. No disrespect to the others - Laird Barron's The Wind Began to Howl, and Stephen Graham Jones's Don't Fear the Reaper are both going to come in close, but Mr. Ballingrud's prose is just mouthwatering.

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Playlist:

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Undreamably Abysses

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab

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

Agnes Obel - Aventine

Ghost - Impera

The Rods - Wild Dogs

The Rods - Live

Van Halen - 1984

Def Leppard - Pyromania

Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath

Etta James - Second Time Around

Standish/Carlyon - Deleted Scenes

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Ubre Blanca - Polygon Mountain EP

Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman

Mercyful Fate - Melissa

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Oracle:

Just want to do a simple, one-card Pull today, and Missi's Raven Deck is the one I use for that:

Beware bad information and/or don't overlook information from dubious sources. 

New Puppet Combo Game Coming to Switch!!!

Spent a couple hours playing Myrkur's back catalogue yesterday, and it reminded me how much I dig their music. 

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Play:

Holy smokes - another new Puppet Combo game coming to Switch! Check out this trailer and the amazing announcement that accompanied it:

    

"Night at the Gates of Hell combines the 1980s Italian zombie aesthetic of Lucio Fulci, with nail biting survival horror gameplay. Players must navigate desolate Mediterranean cities in search of clues, weapons and items to make an escape. Encounters range from crazed cultists to flesh hungry zombies to massive abominations - all must be taken down with extreme precision, because only headshots kill these maggot-filled monsters." 

 I'll admit - I haven't gotten very far in Stay Out of the House, however, I'm finding that my interest in these games isn't so much about solving them, as it is just experiencing the amazing environments they put players in. This looks to be no different, so I pre-ordered mine the moment I saw this in my youtube feed!

Night at the Gates of Hell is a full-on Lucio Fulci love letter that drops September 9th!

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A new trailer for John Pata's second feature-length film, Black Mold, dropped yesterday. 

I've been waiting for this one for a while, although I no longer remember whatever put it on my radar to begin with. This looks as though it will be quite a ride, and I'm hoping maybe this is one I'll get to see at this year's Beyondfest, if all the cards fall in my favor.

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Playlist:

Pale Dian - Narrow Birth

Pale Dian - Feral Birth

Myrkur - M

Myrkur - Eponymous

Myrkur - Mareidt

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Undreamble Abysses

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium Nahab

Godflesh - Purge

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Oracle:

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

• Seven of Wands

• Ten of Swords

• Three of Swords

 

A stabilizing victory over calamity sows new, stronger ties. This, I believe, is a direct answer to a question I have a character in the book stuck in. Only through betrayal and arrival at the precipice of disaster do they find the relationship that will ultimately unlock triumph. 

Or something like that.

New music from Helmet!!!

 

New music from Helmet! Holy smokes, thanks be to Mr. Brown for putting this one on my radar, because I've kind of fallen off Helmet the last few years. If their upcoming album Left is anything like this first single, we're in for a treat. Out November 10th on Earmusic, you can pre-order the vinyl HERE.

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The V/H/S series returns to Shudder on Friday, October 6th. Here's the trailer that dropped yesterday:

 

I find this series super hot and cold. The most recent entry, V/H/S/99, proved pretty polarizing for me; I really dug a few of the stories and didn't care for the rest. That said, I'm always game to see what gets included in these flicks, and often find directors just starting out (Chloe Okuno comes to mind).

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Playlist:

Lustmord - Berlin

Walter Rizzati - House By The Cemetery OST

Telekinetic Yeti - Primordial

Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God

Windhand - Grief's Infernal Flower

Blut Aus Nord - Disharmonium: Nahab

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

Fen - Monuments to Absence

Helmet - Holiday (pre-release single)

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Oracle:

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

• Knight of Swords

• Eight of Cups

• XVIII The Moon

Balancing the Creative energies with the Sharp edge of Intellect yields emotional transformation on matters at this point, unrecognized or obscured.

No idea how to apply this one at the moment, but then I guess that's why it's 'unrecognized or obscured.' The Moon is a favorite of mine - it tends to cast light in dark corners. Digging a bit deeper, I have a notation in the Grimoire that says the following for the Eight of Cups: 

"As advice - let it go. Don't cling to what's written." 

Well now, that would seem to add some clarification, as I just performed a major overhaul on something in the book, had to get rid of about eight thousand words of 'what's written.' Didn't cling, so I'm on track. Still not sure how that fits in with the other cards at the moment, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled. 

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.

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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.

            

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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.

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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

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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.

 

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Relax - Creepshow's Back!!!

Rewatched Brian De Palma's Body Double last week in preparation for the deep-dive discussion we just did over on The Horror Vision Presents: Elements of Horror. Man, I love this film. Body Double has to be my favorite De Palma film, and one of the things I love about it is the use of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax, a song I've dug since I first heard it as a child. Went looking for the video today, wondering if it might match up with the scene that features it in the film, but somehow it's actually a lot weirder than that! I must have seen this at some point in the 80s, but I definitely didn't remember what an odd spectacle Director Bernard Rose (yes, THAT Bernard Rose!!!) creates for the song. 

You can listen to that Body Double discussion on Apple Podcasts HERE, Spotify HERE, or pretty much anywhere else you stream podcasts.

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Shudder is bringing Creepshow back for a fourth season! Here's the new trailer:

I'll admit, I'm excited despite the fact that each of the seasons so far feel like exercises in diminishing returns. Season One is the strongest overall season, in my opinion, but three had the best episode (Public Television of the Dead and its wonderful, Bob Ross-meets-Evil-Dead feel). Regardless of perceived shortcomings, I very much root for Creepshow, and am glad to see it coming back after a nearly two-year hiatus.

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Killing time Saturday afternoon in Chicago's south suburbs, I stopped in a Barnes and Noble for the first time in a long time. This particular store has been in Orland Park, Il, for years, and although my preferred big box bookstore environment was always the Borders that used to sit across the street, I've been in this B&N a handful of times. If you're familiar with the chain, you know that when you first walk inside most B&N stores, they have displays of their own publishing imprint, Fall River Press. These are normally public domain bargain books, but some of them are very nice. Case in point, this Hardcover H.P. Lovecraft edition that I picked up for $10:

This is by no means a 'complete' collection. What I've found with printed complete Lovecraft books is, they are so voluminous, the bindings are usually shite. This is a pretty smart-looking HC that collects six of HPL's more famous stories:

1) The Call of Cthulhu

2) The Colour Out of Space

3) The Haunter of the Dark

4) The Whisperer in Darkness

5) The Dunwich Horror

6) The Thing on the Doorstep. 

While I still consider the .99 "Everything" volume I have on Kindle (no bad bindings there, and it's really easy for cross-referencing between stories), it's nice to have six of the big ones on a slim, attractive bookshelf volume as well. 

 

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Playlist:

The Replacements - Tim

Hollywood Babble-On Ep. 406

Real Ones w/ Jon Bernthal - Living A Double Life: Lou Valoze

Black Sabbath - Eponymous

bunsenburner - Rituals

Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain

The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes

Led Zeppelin - Presence

Ruby the Hatchet - Fear is a Cruel Master

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Baroness - Stone (pre-release singles)

Ministry - Goddamn White Trash (single)

GnR - Perhaps (single)

Steely Dan - Aja

Sigur Rós - Ágœtis Byrjun

The Blues Brothers - OST

Les Discarts - Prédateurs

Alice in Chains - Sap EP

Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

Crime Weekly: D.B. Cooper A Man with a Grudge (part 1)

The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives

Crime Weekly: D.B. Cooper Mystery Money (part 2)

H6LLB6ND6R - Side A

            

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Card:

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

• 0: The Fool

• Three of Pentacles

• Ten of Pentacles

Lots of "Earthly" concerns, and that tracks; spent the weekend in Chicago for a wedding, however, a lot of the time was also spent thinking about moving my folks out of the house I grew up in and down by us. There's The Fool's new journey, Three's Growth and Ten's Endings/Closure all rolled into one!!!

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Baroness - Shine

 

Baroness dropped another new track from their upcoming Stone, out September 15th. I'm really digging everything I've heard so far, and I adore this album art for this one; every album features Frontman John Dyer Baizley's paintings and all of them are fantastic. This one does something specific for me, apparently. Pre-order Stone HERE.

 

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Based on the description Bloody Disgusting gives in a recent article, I'm a little afraid of Karim Ouelhaj's new film Megalomaniac. That said, I made it about 7 seconds into the trailer and knew I wanted to see it:

 

That imagery, whatever it is, took my breath. I won't be watching any more of the trailer, but you can. You can also read the BD article HERE, or Meagan Navarro's review of the film HERE. I'm literally doing none of that. Megalomaniac is receiving US theatrical distribution on September 8th via Dark Star Pictures, although I'm fairly certain it will be limited and I won't get it here in Clarksville, so I'll be keeping an eye open on VOD streaming platforms.

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Playlist:

Cristobal Tapia De Veer - Smile OST

Perturbator - Dangerous Days

Windhand - Eponymous

Count Gorgann - Corpse Eater: Satanic Misery Live for the Dead

Various - Lords of Salem OST

Perturbator - Lustful Sacraments

Melvins & Lustmord - Pigs of the Roman Empire

        

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Card:

About to head out for the six-plus hour drive up to Chicago for the weekend, so just a quick (but important) Pull. I still try and use Missi's Raven Deck for occasions such as these, where Arcana is all I really need:

 

Don't struggle against change. Prescient for sure, for reasons I won't go into here.
 

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Brian Jonestown Massacre Cover The Raveonettes!

How freakin' awesome is this? I mean, I'd rather have had a new Raveonettes record drop, but I'll take an all-star covers version of their debut, no problem. The list of participants here is fantastic, so it was hard to choose a track. Rip It Off is available everywhere now - rejoice!

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NCBD:

I'm pretty pumped for this week's NCBD. Here's why:

Once again I'd like to acknowledge how full of shit I am when it comes to my constant refrain of, "I'm jumping off this Ghost Rider book." Issue 16 had another total Clive Barker undercurrent to it, and the Ghost Rider/Wolverine: Weapons of Vengeance continued that (in a way), even though it did not do what I keep hearing about, the Weapon Plus (formerly erroneously referred to as the Weapon X) program reinstating with technology culled from Hell itself by Infernal Labs. I mean, that concept could be so freakin' Metal! Will it? Maybe. Either way, I guess I'll be around to see.

Nothing but good things to say about this one. Every issue of SIKTC comes and goes so quickly, I'm constantly wanting more. And that cover! This is one of the variants, but I'm hoping to snag one; very reminiscent of those House of Slaughter "Body Bag" covers last year.

Love the new, post-Armaggedon Game direction TMNT is taking. Between recent issues of this, the recently completed Last Ronin: Lost Years going out on such a high note, and all the various plotlines at play, I feel like we've weathered the crossover/event storm and finally gotten back around to some solid month-to-month storytelling!

I was not going to read this new iteration of Uncanny Avengers, then I found out Gerry Duggan is writing it. For me, that makes it worth giving the book a chance. The playing field is certainly aligned to make this a great book: how does Captain America stand beside mutants before a world Orchis has pretty much engineered to fear and hate them? This isn't like the old school, 'feared and hated' throughline that has haunted the X-books since the beginning; mutants are now globally blamed for terrible crimes against all of humanity, so I'm thinking the term "race traitor" is going to get thrown in Cap's face quite a bit. Of course, one of the things that makes Cap an evergreen character is his resolute adherence to his principles in the face of any and all odds and injustices. None of that means the book will be to my liking, however, Duggan's X-Men is such an outstanding read, how can I not give this a chance?

X-Men: Red continues to be one of the three most fascinating Marvel books I've read in a loooong time. The sheer grandiosity of Al Ewing's approach here, where so much is unrecognizable as X-continuity and so much is new, cosmic ground, is often breathtaking. This month's A cover says it all: I was never a Nova fan, but his inclusion in this book, along with all these intensely fascinating Arraki characters (never mind that I can't remember any of their names besides Jon Ironfire) make a far more interesting dynamic than just a bunch of the same old mutants. Add to that Apocalypse's apparent return, and I'm quite certain this will be another outstanding issue. 

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When the most recent issue of Fangoria showed up on my doorstep a few weeks ago, one of the first articles I read was Jacqueline Castel's "A Very Modern Prometheus," a conversation with Birth/Rebirth director Laura Moss about her new take on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Of course this put the film on my radar, so I was pleased to see an article on Bloody Disgusting this morning reporting the film hits Shudder this Friday, August 18th.

 

I love modern takes on the classic Frankenstein story. As per my new distrust of trailers, I turned this off at 1:11; I don't need to see any more to know I'll be watching this.
 

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Playlist:

bunsenburner - Rituals

Telekinetic Yeti - Primordial

Mudhoney - 

Various - The Raveonettes Present: Rip It Off

Wesley Willis - Feel the Power

Mudhoney - Live at Third Man Records

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

Deftones - Gore

Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

Testament - Low

Testament - Demonic

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Card:

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

• Six of Wands

• XXI: The World

• XIX: The Sun

Six of Wands is a harmonization of Will, an achieved balancing point from which magnificent things can happen. Juxtapose that with The World (The Universe in Thoth-speak), and we see a massive overhaul of something coming up, especially when taken with The Sun, a card of revelations.

 

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