Junji Ito, Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
The auteur thing is weird, isn't it? If an artist is known for a particular style or mastery of genre, for example--horror manga, do we even want them to be adept at other forms or other voices? Or does that feel like an unfair overstepping of bounds? In Cat Diary, the Japanese master of weird horror let's us in on a secret: despite his proclivity for the macabre, he also has a studied eye for the cats that enter and enrich his life.
The auteur thing is weird, isn't it? If an artist is known for a particular style or mastery of genre, for example--horror manga, do we even want them to be adept at other forms or other voices? Or does that feel like an unfair overstepping of bounds? In Cat Diary, the Japanese master of weird horror let's us in on a secret: despite his proclivity for the macabre, he also has a studied eye for the cats that enter and enrich his life.
Garsdghastr, Slit Throat Requiem
Otherworldly black metal that is both tumultuous and impeccably orchestral. And that cover! (Bandcamp link)
One of the superior Sabbaths, if you ask me. Why is it that it has fallen to these psychedelic doom bands to knock out the only respectable goth albums we're likely to get in this millennium? No matter the answer, we shan't grouse about it; A Letter of Red is fantastic from top to bottom, and it's full of surprises. (Bandcamp link)
I had planned to re-read this before seeing the film adaptation; if I had, I would have liked the movie even less than I did at the time. Peter Jackson & co. made a cowardly film out of this book. He didn't dare to include a disfigured heroine, a villain motivated by base cowardice, the noble sacrifices, the rejection of revenge and the power of remorse, or the themes that indict capitalism's ravenous paradigm. The book doesn't flinch away from any of those ideas and it is all the more strong and worthy because of it.
Cast a Deadly Spell
I don't think I'd seen this since it was originally on cable, but it's still way more fun than it ought to be. Cthulhu + noir + magic + big rubbery monsters? Absolutely a good time.
Fauna, Avifauna and The Hunt
Two classics of Cascadian black metal have been re-released by Prophecy Records. (Bandcamp link)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this, especially since the first Jurassic World felt like purgatory. It helps that the final reel is basically a Gothic narrative: a man-made monster stalks the heroes through an old mansion while a storm rages outside. There's even a doppelganger of sorts.
Sunn O))) discography
One of my projects for May was to get to grips with Sunn O)))'s discography. All the elements I like are there, but something was holding me back. Repeated listens and deep exploration of their catalog has unearthed the peculiar joys of their doom-drone. (Bandcamp link)
The Howling Void, Bleak and Everlasting
Bleak and Everlasting is unrelenting. The previous album eased up on the crushing despair to wonder amid a little arboreal speculation, but with this album the never-ending funeral is back in full force. (Bandcamp link)
Ravenloft: 3.5 Player's Handbook, Champions of Darkness, Denizens of Darkness, Secrets of the Dread Realms
Despite my love for Ravenloft and a long-running 3x Ravenloft campaign that got me back into D&D during grad school, I never owned any of the 3x edition books outside the first campaign setting tome. I picked these up from DriveThru's POD store; some interesting stuff--even now--but damn if the actual book covers and their titles impossible to keep straight. Which one of these is the Monster Manual again?
Kentaro Miura, Berserk vol. 37, 38, and 39
I made a big push to finish up the remaining Berserk volumes that have English translations. I really like the different art styles used to indicate whose dream we were seeing in the quest inside Casca's traumatized mind.
Ken Greenhall, Childgrave
We did a Bad Books for Bad People episode on this one that you can listen to here.
As You Like It
Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations are hit or miss, but I'm glad I caught this one. It could have done more with the Japanese backdrop, but overall this one hit the right notes for me.
Agalloch, The Mantle and Pale Folklore
One issue that many black metal acts have is a lack of variety across an album. Neither The Mantle nor Pale Folklore have that problem; there is so much variation here, so much texture, that it's impossible to overstate how much Agalloch put their own stamp on the genre. (Youtube link.)
Earth, Full Upon Her Burning Lips
Full Upon Her Burning Lips is the kind of album that makes you want to drive down dusty roads headed into the desert.
(Bandcamp link)
Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Pretty bad-ass re-imagining of the Saltmarsh modules and the riffs on them that appeared in old Dungeon magazines. This is something I am definitely going to run--and it looks like something I can get on the table with minimal tweaking.
Rise of Avernus, Eigengrau
Australian orchestral death doom that opts for majesty over sorrow.(Bandcamp link)
The Hateful Eight
I went in expecting a Tarantino-violent Western and got a locked-room mystery hybridized with a black comedy that was Tarantino-violent.
Pantopticon, discography
Panopticon is a band that Tenebrous Kate brought to my attention a while back. I bookmarked their Bandcamp page and then...promptly forgot to go back. Until not. Amazing combination of American folk traditions and black metal. (Bandcamp link.)
Septicflesh, discography
Another band whose back catalog I've been diving into is Septicflesh. Amazingly varied output, from death metal to goth opera to industrial dystopia. (Bandcamp link.)
Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Stephen King,
American Vampire Vol. 1
It's amazing that we're still turning the question of how America is different from Europe over and over in our hands like we're hand-tumbling a stone into a smooth answer. Anyway, I like the silent screen vamp, but not her tattoo and I appreciate that instead of being an anti-hero who is just a hero on a bad day Skinner is legitimately terrible.
Julia Gfrorer, Thuban Press Guide to Analog Self-Publishing
The Thuban Press Guide to Analog Self-Publishing preserves the art of making a 'zine by hand--it does the Lord's work of passing down the how-to knowledge about how to make a thing on the cheap without the need for digital tools. The info is available here, but you can always spot Julia Gfrorer a dollar and get a print copy.
Deadwood: The Movie
Absolutely stunning that they could pick up thirteen years after the third season and deliver such a carefully wrought continuation of the show's characterization, themes, and tone.
I don't think I'd seen this since it was originally on cable, but it's still way more fun than it ought to be. Cthulhu + noir + magic + big rubbery monsters? Absolutely a good time.
Two classics of Cascadian black metal have been re-released by Prophecy Records. (Bandcamp link)
I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this, especially since the first Jurassic World felt like purgatory. It helps that the final reel is basically a Gothic narrative: a man-made monster stalks the heroes through an old mansion while a storm rages outside. There's even a doppelganger of sorts.
One of my projects for May was to get to grips with Sunn O)))'s discography. All the elements I like are there, but something was holding me back. Repeated listens and deep exploration of their catalog has unearthed the peculiar joys of their doom-drone. (Bandcamp link)
Bleak and Everlasting is unrelenting. The previous album eased up on the crushing despair to wonder amid a little arboreal speculation, but with this album the never-ending funeral is back in full force. (Bandcamp link)
Despite my love for Ravenloft and a long-running 3x Ravenloft campaign that got me back into D&D during grad school, I never owned any of the 3x edition books outside the first campaign setting tome. I picked these up from DriveThru's POD store; some interesting stuff--even now--but damn if the actual book covers and their titles impossible to keep straight. Which one of these is the Monster Manual again?
I made a big push to finish up the remaining Berserk volumes that have English translations. I really like the different art styles used to indicate whose dream we were seeing in the quest inside Casca's traumatized mind.
We did a Bad Books for Bad People episode on this one that you can listen to here.
Leviathan, Scar Sighted, Massive Conspiracy Against All Life, A Silhouette in Splinters, Tenctacles of Whorror
Leviathan is perhaps only second to Elend when it comes to making the soundtracks for Hell. (Bandcamp link)
Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations are hit or miss, but I'm glad I caught this one. It could have done more with the Japanese backdrop, but overall this one hit the right notes for me.
One issue that many black metal acts have is a lack of variety across an album. Neither The Mantle nor Pale Folklore have that problem; there is so much variation here, so much texture, that it's impossible to overstate how much Agalloch put their own stamp on the genre. (Youtube link.)
Full Upon Her Burning Lips is the kind of album that makes you want to drive down dusty roads headed into the desert.
(Bandcamp link)
Pretty bad-ass re-imagining of the Saltmarsh modules and the riffs on them that appeared in old Dungeon magazines. This is something I am definitely going to run--and it looks like something I can get on the table with minimal tweaking.
Australian orchestral death doom that opts for majesty over sorrow.(Bandcamp link)
I went in expecting a Tarantino-violent Western and got a locked-room mystery hybridized with a black comedy that was Tarantino-violent.
Panopticon is a band that Tenebrous Kate brought to my attention a while back. I bookmarked their Bandcamp page and then...promptly forgot to go back. Until not. Amazing combination of American folk traditions and black metal. (Bandcamp link.)
Another band whose back catalog I've been diving into is Septicflesh. Amazingly varied output, from death metal to goth opera to industrial dystopia. (Bandcamp link.)
American Vampire Vol. 1
It's amazing that we're still turning the question of how America is different from Europe over and over in our hands like we're hand-tumbling a stone into a smooth answer. Anyway, I like the silent screen vamp, but not her tattoo and I appreciate that instead of being an anti-hero who is just a hero on a bad day Skinner is legitimately terrible.
The Thuban Press Guide to Analog Self-Publishing preserves the art of making a 'zine by hand--it does the Lord's work of passing down the how-to knowledge about how to make a thing on the cheap without the need for digital tools. The info is available here, but you can always spot Julia Gfrorer a dollar and get a print copy.
Absolutely stunning that they could pick up thirteen years after the third season and deliver such a carefully wrought continuation of the show's characterization, themes, and tone.
