Newsletter 01

I've been swamped with work these past few months so I've decided to experiment with the format and make a pseudo-newsletter. instead of just typing 5 or so random posts Perhaps first of many (or few).

Firstly I managed to reupload the one request that one dude asked for like two months ago.

It's for: 渥美マリ (Atsumi Mari) - 2003 - 夜のためいき+6

The link should be fine for the moment. Any other re-uploads you want me to do just tell me here (or in the post with the dead link) and I'll get to it this week.

- aside from that here are a few tidbits -

New music that I think is cool:

- Abigor / Nightbringer / Thy Darkened Shade / Mortuus split is fucking phenomenal and should absolutely not be missed. It's a very interesting concept both musically and lyrically. I was really fucking stoked for some new Abigor material (by the way check out their rerecording of the song Kingdom of Darkness) but all bands pretty much ripped the fabric of the universe with this split.

- new Nightbringer has some really intense songs. I think they're creatively dead at this point now though.

- Arkhtinn released another tape with pretty much the same formula as before. There's considerable hype around this band (at least in the places I frequent) and it's somewhat deserved at least. I think they're decent but they repeat the same thing on each album but with increasingly apt musicianship. Check them out if you want to lull your urge for new Paysage D'hiver.

- Inferno released a new album that might be my favorite of the black metal bunch at the moment. Regarding to this year at least. They're a Czech band that dabbled in the usual slavic/pagan themes for a few years with very mediocre results. Recently (past three or so albums) they discovered that Orthodox Satanism is all the rage so they started playing that. The latest album turned out really great and dare I say it somewhat unique. Loving the guitar work.

- Rude is one of those new old school death metal bands. This one follows more of that Florida sound and I find them really enjoyable. It's nothing new or groundbreaking, just really good death metal. The new album is pretty rad but so was their first one. Check both of those out.

I just realized I've been pretty much listening to nothing but black metal from this year.

Concerts:

Dead Congregation; managed to catch these guys in fucking Postojna of all places at a venue that looked like a village dance hall. It was fucking amazing. If you have the chance to see them live you really should consider it. They played almost all of their songs or at least it felt like that. The local support band had an obese vocalist with long hair that had a huge slice of pizza in one hand and beer in another throughout the show.

Swans: saw them for the third time but this time in my home town. At this point it's pretty useless to see them live in my opinion. They diluted their sound to an extreme. Gira used to be a great vocalist but this time he just moaned and screamed for the most part. The music was pretty samey all throughout without any impactful moments. The current era of Swans deservedly needs rest.

Mayhem: saw them playing with aforementioned Inferno and Dragged Into Sunlight. Inferno played first and tried to pump up the crowd by trying to get us to cheer or raise our hands. You're in a black metal band dude, stop trying to be a rockstar. Dragged Into Sunlight on the other hand completely stole the show in my opinion and were the best of the bunch that night. They came, screamed and thrashed with their backs turned to the crowd at all times and left immediately after the last song. Mayhem played their legendary first album in its fullest format. Eh it was alright, the sound was garbage at that point and it was too crowded for me to be able to focus fully.

Other:

Check out Ben Montero, he draws short comics with very vibrant colors and themes. They're really laid back, sincere and unpretentious.

Watched The Arrival a few days ago. It was alright. The visuals were really nice. The director did some really good movies before The Arrival so check those out. The only movie that shook me in the last year or so was Come And See.

Looking forward to find out if Deathspell Omega will release their EP this year. Before the hiatus they would release an EP a year after a full length. Fingers crossed that they do that this year. I really liked Molten Bones. Generally I find their discography to be flawless. I don't mind if they're pretentious. More bands need to take themselves seriously, music is losing its impact on life.

I went hiking. It was really nice. Try it out sometimes. Saw a lot of waterfalls. Kept thinking of that Alda album while I was hiking.

That's all the rambling I had in mind. See you around folks!