Chelsea Wolfe - The Liminal

 

My copy of Chelsea Wolfe's She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She arrived on Saturday and I managed to hold off listening to it until the precise criteria I insisted upon were met - Saturday night after recording the latest episode of The Horror Vision Presents: Murderboad - A True Detective Night Country Discussion, I placed the beautiful colored vinyl on the turntable in my office, smoked a quarter of a joint and laid out on the floor and let the sounds wash over me. This one's an immediate shoo-in for my top ten list this year. It's both similar and completely unlike anything Ms. Wolfe has done previously; similar, because her voice is unmistakable; different in that there are a lot of what I can only call "Industrial Trip-Hop" elements in these songs. 

I know, I know... it's not bad enough we subdivide music into oft-confusing subgenres, but now you're creating hybrids of those subgenres? Well... there's just no other way to say it. 

Industrial is appropriate because alot of the songs have a mechanical feeling to their percussion or groove, Trip Hop because the closest thing I can compare of the arranging on this album to is Portishead or Massive Attack. I can split hairs all day long on the sound, but believe me, this is a spectacular piece of work from one of the most interesting artists working in music.

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Watch:

I had the revelatory experience of watching Jennifer Reeder's 2019 Knives and Skin on Saturday night. Here's a trailer that I have vetted; it gives nothing away (also doesn't do this film any kind of justice, but you really can't encapsulate Knives and Skin in a trailer anymore than you can a Lynch film):

Ms. Reeder has been slowly moving up my radar ever since I watched 2020's Night's End hit Shudder back in the fall of 2022. I posted about her most recent film Perpetrator a few weeks ago, and that viewing, combined with this latest one, seals the deal: she's easily my latest "favorite directors." There's a moment in this trailer where the pull quote says, "Twin Peaks meets Donnie Darko." That's not exactly right, but it's not exactly wrong, either, and it's close enough to tell you why I like it so much and whether or not you have any hope of connecting with it. All I can say is K and I were absolutely mesmerized while watching.

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Playlist:

Matt Cameron - Gory Scorch Cretins

David Bowie - Black Star

David Bowie - The Next Day

David Bowie - Outside

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane

Turnstile - Glow On

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

Various - Learn to Relax: A Tribute to Jehu

Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette (single)

Daemien Frost - Corpus Demo

Donny Benét - Konichiwa (single)

Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She

The Veils - Total Depravity

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• VIII: Strength

• Four of Pentacles

• Knight of Wands

A lot of strength and foundation, which I feel like has been under assault in our house the last few days. Took K to the emergency room on Thursday night around midnight (she's fine), took our cat Sweetie to the pet urgent care on Saturday (we think she's fine), and something popped in my right knee that has left me in intermittent crippling pain since Saturday morning. All this, juxtaposed with this Pull, tells me we need to finally ante up and put our health back into the actively attending to column.

New Music From Beth Gibbons!!!

 

Holy smokes - new music from Beth Gibbons! Interesting synchronicity, as I cracked out Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs for the first time in a while. Gibbons' voice is legendary, and I'm into pretty much anything she does, so the fact that this new solo album, Lives Outgrown, drops on May 17th on Domino Records is very good news indeed. Pre-order HERE.

Man, this sounds a lot like something that could have fit into Portishead's Third. Love that!!!

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Watch:

I want to watch this trailer for Late Night With the Devil SO F*&KING BAD. Not going to do it, though.

Opening in theatres on March 22nd, this is one that, if my local Regal doesn't get it, I will travel for. I've really grown to love David Dastmalchian - his performance in The Last Voyage of the Demeter blew me away, as I did not even realize it was him until well after the movie ended - and I've just generally become a fan of everything he does. His comic Count Crowley - about a TV Horror Host - makes me incredibly happy (what I've read of it, that is), and his brief appearance in Rob Savage's The Boogeyman ranked as possibly the best performance in a movie full of them. Couple all that with the little bit I know about Late Night with the Devil's concept (not much), and I'm practically frothing at the mouth for this one. No reason then, to let possible oversaturation of the trailer ruin anything for me.

 

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Read:

I am happy to report I was totally blown away by the first issue of Simon Spurrier, Aaron Campbell and Jordie Bellaire's new Hellblazer series, John Constantine Hellblazer: Dead in America.

Full disclosure: I haven't read the previous two volumes of Spurrier's Hellblazer. In fact, I haven't really read any new John Constantine material since, well, long before the original Vertigo series ended. I've picked up a few number ones since the title was brought back under the "Sandman Universe" umbrella - the new sub-heading for DC's Black Label that basically indicates, "Former Vertigo Glory Days Title," because I definitely think Constantine - while I LOVE the character - is really only done a disservice by an ongoing title. So I'm reading Dead in America based on that idea, that I haven't checked in on a solely JC-focused title in years and am about due for a fix. This proved perfect because it incorporates Dream of the Endless in a story setup that takes us all the way back to John's encounter with the previous iteration of Dream in the very first Sandman storyline. Very cool way to bring things back around and give it a nostalgic twist that felt more story-driven than story-derivative. 

This looks to be a four-issue series, and I'll be sticking around for the duration, so you'll definitely hear more about this one. 

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Playlist:

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Various Artists - Learn to Relax: A Tribute to Jehu

Alice Donut - Dry Humping the Cash Cow

Witchfinder - Forgotten Mansion

Beth Gibbons - Henryk Gorecki: Symphony No. 3 Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• King of Wands

• Ace of Swords

•XVIII - The Moon

The King (or Prince in Thoth) of Wands is the Airy aspect of Fire - Drive and motivation. The Ace of Swords (what my mind keeps seeing as the Ace of Spades this morning) is a Breakthrough. Enlightenment. seeing Clearly or the intellect as a bridge to the unconscious mind. The Moon is something occulted, i.e. what am I not seeing. All of this is commentary on the last 12 hours and money situations, not bad, just seeing things clearly (which I don't always do in regards to the cheddar).

Justin Hamline - A Veil For Three Sisters

Justin Hamline is a guy I know only through his Instagram profile and some interactions through that platform; a like-minded Horror/Synth/Punk fan, I no longer remember how I came across him, but we have similar interests and ended up following one another for a couple years before I realized he was also a pretty freakin' awesome musician. Apparently, he took a break for a while but came back recently and has been releasing material left and right. Next up for Justin is the soundtrack to a Giallo that only exists in his head - The House With Dead Leaves! This is the kind of project I love, a la Barry Adamson's first albums; not just music but the story that goes with it in the artist's mind. I'm really digging this stuff - here's the full track:

Really digging this and can't wait to hear the finished product. The House With Dead Leaves drops next Friday, and I have a feeling I'll be incorporating an edible and a nice block of time to just sit in front of my big-ass stereo speakers and take the journey Justin has mapped out for us. 

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Watch:

There are two new Horror flicks coming to theatres this week, and I'm going to try and see them both!* Here's the trailer to Alan Cumming's Out of Darkness:

 

As usual, I watched about five seconds of this - just enough to see the set-up that the film takes place in 43, 000 BC, and I stopped it. That's enough to make me interested, and from here I'd just rather go in blind.

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Read:

As I mentioned in this week's NCBD segment, I picked up the first issue of the new Ram V/Laurence Campbell Futuristic Neo Noir The One Hand yesterday purely on a lark. 

After reading it, I am super excited for this book. But not only this book, because there is a second, complimentary series by Dan Watters and Sumit Kumar coming on February 21st! 

The Six Fingers takes place in the same Blade Runner-esque Future metropolis, Neo Novna, and based on the title and what I know after reading issue one of The One Hand doesn't just tie in but possibly completes the story in the first book. 

Image is just killing it right now. There's an article Image has up on their website HERE that talks about this a little more in-depth. 

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Playlist:

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

Raspberry Bulbs - Before the Age of Mirrors

Justin Hamline - A Veil for the Three Sisters (Un velo per tre sorelle) (single)

Windhand - Eternal Return

Donny Benét - The Don

Amigo the Devil - Your Until the War is Over (pre-release singles)

Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven (pre-release singles)

Mannequin Pussy - Patience

Mannequin Pussy - Romantic

T. Rex - The Slider

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• King of Swords

• VIII: Strength

• IV: The Emperor

Man, I see a lot of that Tony Iommi King of Swords in this deck! Does that make Iommi my spirit animal?

I'll tell you right off the bat, what I see here on a very surface, "what do the illustrations tell me" way two things I've been thinking a lot about. Two things that used to be a big part of my life but no longer really are: Guitar and Magick. I've been feeling a tug back to picking up an instrument, but I have several unfinished writing projects at the moment (one very close to completion and release, one a few months out). This is the struggle - stay focused. So, while it would definitely be more in my current inclination to read this one as telling me to go ahead and follow that tug, I'm actually going to look at it a different way - have the strength to recognize that the King of Swords - in Thoth the Prince - is a card that, by Crowley's own interpretation, indicates lots of good ideas but an unstable purpose. That's why I'm seeing this so much! Finish the interpretation off with The Emperor's nod toward linear thinking, and I see that this is in no small voice telling me to figure my shit out, commit and finish. 

Amigo the Devil - Once Upon a Time at Texaco (Pt. 1)

 

New music from Amigo the Devil's forthcoming album Yours Until the War is Over, out February 23rd on Liars Club Records. Pre-order HERE. 

Interestingly enough, there is no "Pt. 2" on the album. Hahaha. Leave 'em in suspense, eh? Brilliant.

 

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NCBD:

Short week, which is great when you consider that I haven't yet read everything from my four-week pull I picked up last week.

Really digging this Bloodrik series by Andrew Krahnke. Sad to see it go after only three issues. I know issue one sold out and had a second print run. Hopefully, that bodes well for a continuation (or anything from Mr. Krahnke) down the road.

Good lord - I feel as though it's been months since the first issue of Count Crowley: Mediocre Monster Hunter hit the stands. And in all that time, I still haven't completed my run of the second Crowley series or acquired the first. Series Writer/Creator David Dastmalchian is a heck of a busy guy, what's my excuse? (I guess my excuse is I'm a pretty busy guy, too).

New, three-issue crime comic from Ram V and Laurence Campbell. Crime Noir that might have a SciFi bent to it. I'm not really sure, but then again, I love going in blind. 

Great thing about picking up four weeks of comics last week, is it shortens the wait between issues! I just read X-Men 30 and loved it, so here we go again. Now with more Nimrod!

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Watch:

Rose Glass's Saint Maud was one of the movies that suffered the most from the jilted release schedule COVID caused, and although I did eventually get to see it - well after what should have been its theatrical release - the entire time I sat in front of my television I just kept thinking how much better the film would have been served by a big-screen viewing. 

I get the same "Cinematic" vibes from this trailer for Glass's new film, the upcoming Love Lies Bleeding. I know they released a new trailer this morning, however, I'm not watching that. I only really saw this one because it played before something I saw in the theatre recently. Good news is it really only solidified my goal of seeing this in the theatre:

The vibe I get from everything I know about Love Lies Bleeding so far reminds me a bit of the Cohen Brothers' Blood Simple. I'm not entirely sure why I say that, but there's a grime here that harkens back to that fabled debut. Whether that's entirely shy of the mark or not, I'm really looking forward to this one, which hits theatres on March 8th.

 

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Playlist:

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Melvins - Working the Ditch (single)

Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatment

Turnstile - Glow On

Turnstile - Nonstop Feeling

Pixies - Trompe le Monde

Pixies - Indie Cindy

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Yerusalem - The Sublime

Assembly Line People Program - Eponymous EP

Justin Hamline - A Veil for the Three Sisters (Un velo per tre sorelle) (single)

QOTSA - In Times New Roman

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Card:

From Jonathan Grimm's Hand of Doom Tarot, which you can buy HERE.

• Eight of Cups

• Queen of Wands

• Three of Pentacles

In the Crowley/Harris Thoth Deck, the Eight of Cups is "Indolence," and can carry with it a connotation of low or lacking energy/vitality. This is a "Change," and reading these cards here as such, the transition to the Queen of Wands - The Watery Aspect of Fire, I draw on the "tame thyself" interpretation I'd long ago written in the Grimoire. Finally, Three of Pentacles suggests balance. Taken together, all of this suggests something of a crossroads. One of the things I'd hoped my month-long work trip would catalyze is a total change to my at-home protocols. I need to get over having to drive out to a coffee shop after work to write. I can easily use some of the built-in downtime of my WFH scenario to make incremental progress on any number of projects.

New Melvins!!!

 

From the upcoming Tarantula Heart, available April 19th from Ipecac Records. Pre-order HERE.

LOVE this track! I'm a Melvins fan, but the group has always proved too prolific (I know, no such thing) for me to keep up with everything they do. This one caught me on exactly the right day at the right time, and I instantly fell for lead "single" "Working the Ditch." Didn't hurt that I was able to snag the limited edition, Puke Green vinyl.

The line-up for this album is a throwback to Melvins' two-drummer paradigm; current Ministry drummer Ray Mayorga plays alongside mainstay Dale Crover and just from this track, I feel like we're hearing some really interesting rhythmic ideas. Aside from Houdini, the two drummer years are my favorite of the band, and this already reminds me of (A) Senile Animal, probably my second favorite of the group's albums.

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Watch:

I've held off on learning too much about upcoming Horror/Thriller Long Legs because this one is generating a lot of hype, and as well we know, that is a surefire way to kill a film before it is even released (looking at the marketing team for Evil Dead Rise). That said, I'm leaving this teaser here unwatched, with my fingers crossed:

I've seen two of Oz Perkins' previous films, and didn't care for either. The Blackcoat's Daughter straight-up cheats with its casting as a way to deliver its twist, and Gretel & Hansel, while pretty, bored me to tears. Regardless, I'm very much hoping Long Legs will rule and, thus, maybe inspire me to rewatch one or both of those (although I've rewatched The Blackcoat's Daughter three times and each viewing just leaves me scratching my head at why the film is held in such high regard. It is entirely possible that I'm missing something, but I don't think so).

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Playlist:

Turnstile - Glow On

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Genghis Tron - Board Up the House

Zombi - Shape Shift

Blut Aus Nord - Hallucinogen

FACS - Still Life in Decay

Daemien Frost - Spirito di daemo

Daemien Frost - Corpus Daemo

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Stephen Sanches - High

 

Here's one K found recently and I am completely enamored with. If you're like me and feel compelled to make "Best of the Year" lists, then you probably know that the rule of thumb is traditionally, the moment you post your "Ten Favorite Albums of the Year," you'll come across a new one that should have been on it. That is most definitely the case with Stephen Sanchez's Angel Face. K's a huge Twin Temple fan, and it was on some social media page or feed dedicated to them that she ran across Mr. Sanchez's music. The moment I heard this, I was in love!

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Read:

My month in L.A. essentially served as a complete pause on Acceptance, the third and final volume in Jeff Vandermeer's Southern Reach Trilogy. 

Despite my gusto for Vandermeer's writing, I found myself having a difficult time concentrating while I was there. Off nights where I stayed in the hotel - of which there were purposely quite a few - I advanced a handful of chapter but never made any significant progress. So, now home and properly rested, I took to finishing Acceptance over the weekend and am happy to report that, while the second book, Authority, remains my favorite of the three, the entire cycle is an outstanding example of Literary Science Fiction meeting Literary Horror. Really deep concepts of self, authority, defiance and human nature at play, with some genuinely horrific ideas executed in a generally psychologically disturbing manner. Although, there are some real visceral moments, as well. The kind of "shell game" Vandermeer plays with his characters is endlessly fascinating, as you see people's situations and motivations from multiple angles, back and forth through time. This lends the books an even more surreal quality than they already have, just being based on the concept of a subtle alien presence slowly imitating and replacing all life inside a specified area. 

Next, I'm picking back up with Mary Roach's Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife.  

This is a loaner from Mr. Brown that I began to read several months back, but got sidetracked. So far, Roach's writing is very approachable for a layman like myself, and I enjoy her personality quite a bit. We start off in India, researching/interviewing possible cases of reincarnation. 

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Playlist:

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer OST

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon

Richard Einhorn - Shockwaves OST

Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta I: Fathers of the Icy Ages

Turnstile - Glow On

The Bronx - (II)

Ministry - Filth Pig

Firebreather - Under A Blood Moon

Nobuhiko Morino - Versus OST

Stephen Sanchez - Angel Face

Double Life - Indifferent Stars

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Run the Jewels - RTJ4

The Plimsouls - Everywhere At Once

The Police - Synchronicity

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Card:

Back to the classic Thoth for today's Pull:

• 10 of Swords - Ruin

• V: The Hierophant

• Princess of Swords

The hasty revelation of a 'secret' results in a negative experience. 

Wow. Okay. The surprise I was going to reveal this week is going to wait until I put a little more time into it. Well-timed, Thoth. Well-timed.

Butthole Surfers Week Day 7

Thus bringeth to a close the week of Butthole Surfing. Go now, and spread the word of the Surfers, forever and ever, amen.