Saigon Blue Rain - Visions

When I posted that Ships in the Night track last week, I fell down a rabbit hole that led me to the band Saigon Blue Rain. Instant infatuation. Their 2023 album Oko would have been on my top ten of the year list if I had heard it in 2023. Regardless, I'm really digging the music this two-piece makes. You can check out and support Saigon Blue Rain on their Bandcamp HERE.

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Watch:

Last Friday, K and I got to see Ridley Scott's original Alien on the big screen for the first time. It was magnificent.

I've seen James Cameron's Aliens considerably more times than I have Scott's Alien; both are fantastic films, but Aliens was the first of the series I remember seeing, and that initial viewing - somewhere around the time it came out on VHS circa... 1987? - blew me away. I'll never forget sitting in our living room watching it on a Saturday afternoon with my Dad, both of us held taut by the absolute non-stop thrill of the film. Alien is, of course, not the same kind of movie. Alien is quiet, slow-burning and eerie. As a special introduction to this 45th-anniversary theatrical run, the film began with a sit-down conversation between Fede Alvarez and Ridley Scott. During their conversation, Scott mentions how he'd never been interested in Science Fiction until he saw Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey several years before and how that film was such an influence on Alien. I never really thought about that before, but watching the film with that in mind last Friday, I'd say the entire First Act is Scott's version of 2001. It was all about creating the illusion of Space Habitation and Travel, and the technology that goes with that. 

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Read:

Sunday I finished Ivy Tholen's Tastes Like Candy 2: Sugarless. FANtastic book! I've said it here before, Ms. Tholen's prose is so inherently readable, her books almost read effortlessly. 

Next up: just like last year, I'm jumping directly from Ivy Tholen to Stephen Graham Jones. I'm raring to dig into the third and final Indian Lake book, The Angel of Indian Lake; however, first, I'm going to re-read last year's Don't Fear the Reaper to really set the stage for the finale to Jade/Jennifer Daniels' story.

Sixty pages in, and this one just fits like a glove. Another effortless read, SGJ's books have become part of a well-spring of Horror fiction for me. His work, along with Laird Barron's and Nathan Ballingrud help balance me as a writer. These guys are masters of their craft, and their work explores the intersection of the Horrifying and the Weird that has obsessed me for most of my life. 

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Playlist:

Fever Ray - Radical Romantics

Metallica - 72 Seasons

Metallica - ... And Justice For All

Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven

Various - 4.28.24 Spotify Playlist*

Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Data Doom

The Beta Band - The Three E.P.'s

Bexley - Eponymous

Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

* made to shuffle

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Card:

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

• Nine of Wands

• VI: The Lovers

• Six of Swords

A lot of climax and support, with VI there to indicate a harmonization of opposites - or perceived opposites. This feels like more heartening news concerning my recent anxieties, which remain vague due to the public nature of this forum and the... watchful eyes that abound out in the world today.

Drying the Rain & Washing Your Hands

 

Wow. I hadn't heard The Beta Band in ages, let alone their big single "Dry the Rain." Then, sitting in my coffee shop writing last night, a brief interval of silence between songs on my headphones had me stop and say, "Wait, I remember this..."

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Watch:

I took yesterday off and had that rare combination of energy and perseverance well into the wee hours of the morning, so I was able to watch a handful of films. 

Listed as Lockdown Tower on Shudder but also known as simply The Tower, Guillaume Nicloux's claustrophobic nightmare is Lord of the Flies meets Dawn of the Dead without the children or zombies. The inhabitants of a highrise tenement discover their building is surrounded by a black void that consumes anyone who steps across the thresholds of every egress from the building. Doors, windows - there is no way to leave. We start from the moment the phenomenon begins and travel forward through time with these people, seeing how the building's ecosystem evolves. Or, more accurately, devolves because, as Nick Cave sang, "People just ain't no good."

Next up, Jenn Wexler's The Sacrifice Game.

I loved this one. Between The Sacrifice Game and 2018's The Ranger, Jenn Wexler has become one of my favorite modern directors. Looking at her credits on Letterboxd, she's had a hand in a lot of films I've adored over the previous ten years; from Robert Mockler's Like Me, to Ana Asensio's Most Beautiful Island, to Larry Fessenden's Depraved, Ms. Wexler has left an imprint on the current state of Independent Horror that cannot be denied, and with the polish we see on The Sacrifice Game, I think she's poised to eventually make a breakthrough similar to what Ti West has done with his X trilogy. That makes me super happy and excited to see what may come of such an opportunity.

I have no idea what led me to re-watch Metallica's Some Kind of Monster the other night, but I turned it on and found I could not turn it off, despite the fact that it made me feel super gross about having a goatee in the 00s.

 

This is such an illustration of a band so far out of touch with themselves, their music, their fans, and just the actual reason people make music that it's super hard to watch. Especially considering that, while I still love their old stuff and refuse to acknowledge everything after their self-titled (which in itself I have a conflicted relationship with), I genuinely like their two most recent records. I think one thing this documentary showcases, besides how up their own asses this band was in the 00s, is that Bob Rock was the worst choice for a producer they ever made. This guy... wow. Not that hooking up with Rick Rubin helped do much besides draw a caricature of their sound for a while, but it seems like once Rubin's Engineer Greg Fidelman took over as the band's producer, things changed for the better.

The highlight of the film is when Robert Trujillo comes on board. The guy is just seems so down-to-earth, and he is an absolutely outstanding bass player, which you can see clear as day in this film.
 

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Read:

TMNT 150 ended up being a huge disappointment to me. It sucks to say that, but it's true. I could draw so many similarities to the mess Kieron Gillon is making of the X-Books at the moment, but it would sadden me further to do so. I half-read 150, bagged it, and am happily jumping off for what comes next. We'll always have this mammoth run of (roughly) 12 years of a vast, intricate, and emotionally charged TMNT run. 

Sophie Campbell has been co-writing with Kevin Eastman since Tom Waltz left after the series hit issue #100; she's taken it to some great heights - as have all the writers and artists on the title since it started in 2012 - and the thing I've loved so much about this series is the expansion. This is by far the longest, deepest look into a Turtles continuity we've ever received, and I've loved it. Time to let it rest, before it overstays its welcome like so many long-running comic continuity's do. Yeah, I know I was hoping for Jason Aaron's upcoming run to continue in the current world, and I'm still glad it will, but this milestone issue and all its time-travel/QNA deus ex machina convinced me it's time for me to go.

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Playlist:

CCR - Cosmo's Factory

Windhand - Eternal Return

The Veils - ... And Out of the Void Came Love

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

Windhand - Eternal Return

Moon Wizard - Sirens

Metallica - 72 Seasons

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Card:

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

• XV: The Devil

• Five of Swords

• Five of Pentacles

The Devil again, and this time, I'm inclined to think it's because I completely missed the point of the previous Pull. I now believe I am the source of the misinformation, because I'm not approaching anything rationally. The two Fives bear that out, as Five is often conflict, and here it would be conflict of Intellect (Swords) and Earthly concerns (Pentacles).

Cosmo's Sugarless Long Legs

 

How about a little Creedence Clearwater Revival to start our day? Woke up insanely early - haven't managed more than five hours of sleep a night in a while - and sat on the back porch with coffee, Ivy Tholen's Tastes Like Candy 2: Sugarless (it's awesome!) and CCR's Cosmo's Factory, which is every bit as awesome an album as the cover photo is awful. But hey, it was 1970!

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Watch:

Osgood Perkin's upcoming film Long Legs is one of two flicks coming this summer that I've now seen the teasers for a few times and I can honestly say know how to do a 'teaser' right (Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus is the other). Check it out:

 

These teasers tell you absolutely NOTHING about the film, but 100% get me charged up to see it. I wasn't a fan of Mr. Perkins' previous two films (I tried with The Blackcoat's Daughter multiple times; it cheats!), but they are well-made films and that's on me. I'm hoping Long Legs blows me right the F away. Certainly seems like it will.

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Read:

As I mentioned above, I'm trucking along on Ivy Tholen's Tastes Like Candy 2: Sugarless and it is fantastic! 

This one starts out like a typical Slasher sequel and then abruptly takes a left-hand turn. It's not what I thought it was going to be at all. You can order a copy HERE, and it's free on Kindle Unlimited at the moment.

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Playlist:

The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre

Moon Wizard - Sirens

Telekinetic Yeti - Primordial 

Windhand - Eternal Return

Witch Skull - The Serpent Tide

Jim Williams - Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched OST

Bryce Miller - City Depths

Saigon Blue Rain - Oko

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Card:

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

• Ten of Swords

• XV: The Devil

• 0: The Fool

Not exactly the cards I wanted to see with what's on my mind. Ruin, lies/misperception/bad optics/a new journey. 

Ships in the Night - The Fire

I had no pre-existing idea of Ships in the Night when this popped up in my youtube feed, but upon hitting play, I was definitely hooked. It's definitely nothing new - we've been recycling the 80s for longer than that era's aesthetics lasted the first time, but it continues to provide something some of us seem to need. Making peace with the past, perhaps? Either way, I'll be checking out more of Alethea Leventhal's music on the Bandcamp right over HERE.

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NCBD:

The final issue of Duke before we switch over to follow the story in next month's Destro mini-series. I'll never be able to score this cover, but I'd like to.

Just f*cking end already. Goddamn me for my completionist leanings.

Thank god you've returned, SIKTC. Help me wash the taste of Fall of X from my mouth.

Me thinks this issue of The Six Fingers is going to be a bit gnarly. 

It's over. TMNT 150. Wow. I started reading this book in 2012 when they were three issues in and I haven't stopped. What a ride - still the best reboot of a preexisting property I've ever seen. 

Again, this last little bit of the Krakoan era is just killing me. 

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Watch:

I've been in the mood for Folk Horror again lately - seems to be a recurring taste this time of year - so I consulted my Severin Films' All the Haunts Be Ours and pulled out one of the few films in it I had not watched yet, Brunello Rondi's Il Demonio from 1963:

I feel like the B&W photography in this film is second only to that in The Third Man. A revolting, frustrating tale of a woman persecuted and exploited by her community, this one will piss you off even as it leaves you swooning over the imagery on the screen.

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Playlist:

Zeal & Ardor - Eponymous

Zeal & Ardor - Devil Is Fine

Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit

Melvins - Tarantula Heart

Moon Wizard - Sirens

Moon Wizard - Ukiyo (single)

The Veils - ...And Out of the Void Came Love

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Card:

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

• Page of Swords

• Eight of Wands

• XVI: The Tower

Page or Princess of Swords is fitting: Just. Breathe. Things are a mess. Impetuousness. Overcome by the rapid communication suggested by the Eight of Wands. This leads to a paradigm shift. 

New Music From Zeal & Ardor!!!

New full-length GREIF is out August 23rd. No pre-order yet, but I'll be watching like the proverbial hawk.

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Watch:

This past Sunday, K and I met my parents at the local theatre to see Guy Ritchie's newest film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Here's the standard trailer; it doesn't show too much:

 

Another super solid, big-budget action flick by Mr. Ritchie. This type of flick isn't usually my bag, however, I've maintained since the advent of the Pirates of the Caribbean films that there's room in my life for the occasional big-budget, studio action film if they sate certain personal affectations of mine. I couldn't specifically explain that other than to say, "I know it when I see it." Guy Ritchie almost always fits like a glove. I suspect that has  A LOT to do with my love of his seminal film Snatch - one of my all-time favorite flicks, and I'm fine with that bias. 

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Playlist:

Doobie Bros. - South City Midnight Lady (single)

Judas Priest - Invincible Shield

Zombi - Direct Inject

The Devil's Blood - The Thousandfold Epicentre

The Damned - Night of the Living Damned

The Ocean - Heliocentric

The Ocean - Anthropocentric

Ike Reilly - Poison the Hit Parade

Zeal & Ardor - GREIF (pre-release single)

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Danzig - Blood and Tears

 

I'm not going to say where I unexpectedly heard this song married to Horrific imagery recently, but man was it effective! Danzig's first four albums stand apart from everything else he's done; as much as I like some of the records that came after Chuck Biscuits, Eerie Von and John Christ left the band and Rick Rubin stopped co-producing, there's just something so perfect about the heavy blues influence on those first four. Of those, Danzig II: Lucifuge will always be my favorite. I'll never forget the first time I saw a friend's older brother wearing a Lucifuge shirt - I didn't know what it was and it kind of scared me in that 80s/early 90s way of, "What the hell is this guy into?" 

That's probably around the time the album came out in 1990 and I would have been sixteen. Before the internet, and not so far removed from all the weird fears being a small child during the Satanic Panic instilled in me for a short time. There was a certain... haunted feeling to that era. Everything from the tv news to paperback books to Inside Edition (remember that pile of sh*t?) told you there were secret societies of Satan Worshippers in every neighborhood, just waiting to sacrifice any unlucky folks they happened to target to their dark lord. I actually pine for that feeling now, but not in the way so many do by rejecting everything known in favor of their opinions, fears and fantasies, and empirical data doesn't mean anything to our society as a whole anymore. Anyway, I cracked Lucifuge out and listened to it over the weekend and it doesn't disappoint.

 

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Watch:

This trailer for the new film Pandemonium popped up in my youtube feed two days ago. I have no pre-existing knowledge of this one, or anyone involved in making it, but I'm definitely intrigued. Here's the trailer I half-watched:

Also, wanted to point out that, thanks to Warren Ellis's newsletter Orbital Operations, I've found the first watchable version of Andrej Żuławski's On the Silver Globe on youtube I've encountered. 

I've seen mention for a few years about this popping up for years, but whenever I go looking for it - an irregular occurrence for sure, but one I do periodically undertake, I find ones with awful pictures. Not this, which you can see HERE. I haven't sit down to watch this yet, but it's in the cards for the next few days. 

Thanks to Heavenisanincubator for putting this one on my radar to begin with.

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Read:

I am about a third of the way through Ivy Tholen's Tastes Like Candy 2: Sugarless and I am here to tell you, it's fantastic!

Full disclosure: We recently invited Ms. Tholen to be a guest on The Horror Vision to discuss her novels, and she not only accepted but also sent us digital advance reader copies. That's a moot point, though, because I'd been waiting for this one regardless. If you read the first, this is a great continuation. If you haven't read the first and you love Slasher Flicks, THIS is for you. 

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Playlist:

Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstasy

Moon Wizard - Sires

The Veils - ...And Out of the Void Came Love

The Damned - Night of the Living Damned (Thank You, Mr. Brown!)

High on Fire - Cometh the Storm

Melvins - Tarantula Heart

Ike Reilly - Poison the Hit Parade

Mike Doughty - Live From Ken's House

Danzig - Danzig II: Lucifuge

Nikki Lane - All or Nothin'

Ministry - Hopiumforthemasses

Witchfinder - Hazy Rites

Man Man - On Oni Pond

Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Oz

Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door

Jimmy Buffet - Good Luck

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Card:

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

• Ace of Cups

• X: Wheel of Fortune

• III: The Empress

A bird' s-eye view of this (all I have time for at the moment) is quite soothing to a massive stress bomb that has gone off in my life. Ace of Cups is the card that anchors this to a positive interpretation, something I really needed at the moment. Emotional Breakthrough, "Karma" and Fertility, in an abbreviated three-card reading. 

Second Song Second Time Around

 

Yesterday, I began my day with some TV on the Radio. Man, I miss these guys. Technically, I don't think they ever actually broke up; however, their most recent record, Seeds, came out a decade ago now, and their hiatus has lasted just about as long. 

Mr. Brown recently pointed out that the new Chelsea Wolfe album I've been spinning so much was produced by TVOTR's Dave Sitek, so maybe that's why I've been thinking of them lately. 

Interestingly enough, Sitek also produced Scarlett Johansson's 2008 album of Tom Waits' covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head. I remember having an advance copy of that back when it came out, but I don't remember a single thing about what the record actually sounds like.

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Watch:

Kimo Stamboel's new film Dancing Village: The Curse Begins recently received a trailer. The only film I know by Stamboel is 2019's The Queen of Black Magic, but it's a f**king DOOZY to say the least. 

I watched about half of this trailer and am totally in. There's something so visceral about Stamboel's work. Some of it's the setting—the way he uses the jungle—I can almost feel the humidity and discomfort, the dirt and insects. But there's also an almost Body Horror element to some of his kills. They really leave an impression. 

The idea that this will be in selected theatres - I'd imagine I have almost no hope of seeing this in Clarksville, but then again, I've been surprised a lot lately by what's come through my town. So we'll see. 

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Playlist:

TVOTR - Nine Types of Light

TVOTR - Dead Science

TVOTR - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Moon Wizard - Sirens

Deftones - Gore

Ministry - Hopiumforthemasses

Adam Kesher - Eponymous

Justin Hamline - The House With Dead Leaves

Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Lick My Decals Off, Baby

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Card:

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

• Three of Swords

• Six of Cups

• Queen of Pentacles

Turbulence, Pleasure and Fertility, which sounds like another way of saying from Chaos comes opportunity.