Hellraiser, Bataille and Limit Experiences

Thanks to Carisa Swenson for passing this my way:

Hellraiser, Bataille and Limit Experiences

A Guide to 90s Gothic Metal

Gothic metal was a mainstay in my discman and the neon purple cassette player in my Dodge Spirit in the 90s. As a distinct style, Gothic metal grew out of the death and doom scenes; in many ways, the bands that innovated in that style were combining the heaviness of death metal with the depressive atmospherics of doom metal. 

The Peaceville label was essential at establishing the early perimeters. Their roster included three bands--My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and Anathema--that set the pace and locked in the tone. Their work in the 90s transcended their niche genre; without their work we might not have had the Gothic infusion into black metal (as seen in Cradle of Filth and Moonspell), the heavy pop of Type O Negative, the deluge of symphonic metal bands fronted by pretty women with pretty voices, or any of the modern funereal doom bands.

But what of the original bands themselves? How has their music held up? Where were the creative missteps?

Consider what lies below a audiographic survey course.

Anathema
I've always contended that there are some bands who only have three good albums in them. Anathema might best exemplify that thesis. The three heaviest albums of their career--both in terms of theme and musicality--are their first salvos. Everything after those records is lighter fare, but at the same time burdened with a curious leaden weight. 
Essential listening: Serenades, The Silent Enigma, Pentecost III/The Crestfallen
Jump ship at: the end starts with Eternity but you definitely want to gtfo by Alternative 4

The Gathering
Confession: I didn't discover the albums I like from The Gathering until much later than their original releases. Always... is a great example of the atmospheric doom variety of Gothic metal, but The Gathering reached their peak by introducing the heavenly voice of Anneke van Giersbergen into the mix. Things rapidly went downhill when the band began incorporating alternative and trip-hop influences into their sound. It's always a bad sign when bands who started out heavy start talking about Pink Floyd in their interviews.
Essential listening: Always..., Mandylion, Nighttime Birds
Jump ship at: How to Measure a Planet?
Try before you buy: Almost a Dance (musically solid, but the male vocals are an acquired taste (at best) or a hideous mismatch (at worst)

Katatonia
Katatonia's best years were their early period of sorrow-infused, death metal-influenced craftsmanship. Unfortunately, the combined efforts of vocal cord issues and a change in musical direction siphoned off that initial creative spark, resulting in an "alternative metal" sound that isn't very distinctive. In interviews, the band claims to have never really fallen into the Gothic metal camp, but their first two records fall well within the pantheon for me.
Essential listening: Dance of December Souls, Brave Murder Day
Jump ship at: Discouraged Ones

My Dying Bride
The most important of the "Peaceville Three" bands that refined the idea of Gothic metal in the 1990s, My Dying Bride are a band that I can't fault at any point in their now-lived career. There was a time when I considered 34.788%...Complete hot garbage, but I've come around to it in more recent years. (I still think it's one of their weaker albums, but even a weak My Dying Bride album is better than what most can achieve.) Hardcore fans have mixed opinions about the band's recent offerings, but I'm pretty much down to hear whatever My Dying Bride is currently up to at any point.
Essential listening: Turn Loose the Swans, The Angel and the Dark River, Like Gods of the Sun
Jump ship at: Give 34.788%...Complete a listen and make up your own damn mind

Paradise Lost
Considered pioneers of two genres--death-doom and Gothic metal--Paradise lost released a series of unimpeachable albums that have since been oft-imitated but never equaled. The members of Paradise Lost were consummate workmen; over the course of six years they released five massive albums. However, for reasons that are still obscure to me, they decided that what they really wanted was to be a slightly more muscular version of The Cure--and it didn't really work. Nevertheless, this is a story with a happy ending. They found their fire again.
Essential listening: Lost Paradise, Gothic, Shades of God, Icon, Draconian Times
Jump ship at: One Second
Jump back on at: The Plague Within

Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy erupted onto the scene with a unique style: heavy guitars, a melancholy atmosphere, lyrics penned in the style of Early Modern poetry, and the "beauty and the beast" style of vocals that pitted Raymond István Rohonyi's guttural-but-kingly voice against the clear, ethereal singing of  Liv Kristine Espenæs. Unfortunately, after two absolutely monumental Gothic metal albums, the band took a turn toward synthpop, lost Liv Kristine, and eventually ended up a rather pedestrian industrial metal outfit.
Essential listening: Theatre of Tragedy, Velvet Darkness They Fear, Aegis
Jump ship at: Musique

Tiamat
Tiamat is easily the most experimental band on this list, but their sound has always at least touched on the world of the Gothic. Whether or not the music is actually good is another story. Make no mistake, despite the variety of music the project has produced Tiamat is actually a pretty reliable listen--but where you find pleasure and what you should avoid is tricky to gauge as there is much more room for idiosyncratic personal taste to decide within their discography. Their first album, Sumerian Cry, is a bit too straight-ahead death metal for my tastes, but that album was followed by records that absolutely need to belong in your collection if you love this style of music.
Essential listening: The Astral Sleep, Clouds, Wildhoney
Jump ship at: A Deeper Kind of Slumber
Try before you buy: Skeleton Skeletron, Judas Christ
Jump back on at: Prey

Within Temptation
The vast majority of their career has been spent making music that's too soft for me, but that first album is a killer. Although everything that came after tends be to about love, nature, and fantasy, Enter is chock full of songs about ghosts and tragedy. Musically, Enter is the album where they really let the music breathe; the instrumental passages are more expansive, punctuating by the lovely female vocals (which would later become the main focus) and even occasional male growling vocals.
Essential listening: Enter
Jump Ship at: anything after Enter

Fantomas

Bad Books for Bad People

Episode 36: Fantomas

Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre composed the 32-novel saga of Fantômas in the three years between 1911 and 1913. Over the course of the series, France's elusive master criminal commits a litany of heinous deeds that unfold at a baffling breakneck pace. The books are early examples of the crime procedural genre, putting significant narrative weight on forensic science, police methodology, and courtroom drama. Far from today's pro-authority narratives, however, the Fantômas novels incorporated Grand Guignol violence, mistaken identity, and social upheaval, making the titular character a favorite of the Surrealists. Jack and Kate tackle the first book in the series and get a taste of decadent, vintage criminality.

How hard is it for a Frenchman to pronounce "South Steamship Company" and can one of our listeners demonstrate this? When is a character a misunderstood genius and when is he just demonstrating a profound misunderstanding of detective work? What the hell is going on with the American Gladiator-style competition between those porters? How long will it take for this episode to descend into filthy-nasty Fantômas fanfic? All these questions and more will be answered in this month's episode of Bad Books for Bad People.

BBfBP theme song by True Creature 

Find us at BadBooksBadPeople.com, on Twitter @badbooksbadppl, Instagram @badbooksbadpeople and on Facebook. You can discover where to get all the books featured on Bad Books for Bad People on our About Page.

How to Give a Good Recommendation

A simple concept often misunderstood: how to give a good recommendation. 

A bad recommendation is just you recommending something you like regardless of your audience's interest.

A good recommendation is you recommending something you enjoy to someone whose preferences and sense of aesthetics you are taking into account when you make the recommendation.

Nine Assumptions in Game Design

There are a lot of unspoken and unconsidered assumptions that influence the design of role-playing games. These are the major ones I want to think about, so I'm posting this here for when I want to return to the topic:

• Assumption #1: The people playing this game will be constituted by the same group at your table week after week as the game progresses. 

• Assumption #2a: The game is meant to be a pleasant object to read cover-to-cover.
• Assumption #2b: The game is a resource designed to be referenced in play. 

• Assumption #3: There is a correct balance between the "work" of gaming and the "fun" of gaming. 

• Assumption #4a: Everyone at the table is looking for the same kind of fun out of the game. 
• Assumption #4b: People at the table are looking for different kinds of fun but the game itself navigates that divide.

• Assumption #5a: Advancement systems for characters should encourage a certain kind of play.
• Assumption #5b: Advancement systems for characters should reward simply playing the game.

• Assumption #6a: Roleplaying is part of the game and should be included mechanically in the game's rules.
• Assumption #6b: Roleplaying is separate from the rules of the game, whether incidental or just not in need of a connection to the game's rules.

• Assumption #7: Any time the word "story" is used, whether for or against in gaming, there is likely an assumption about the nature of rpgs in play.

• Assumption #8: A game's rules should be tied to setting and/or genre.

• Assumption #9a: Ideally, a game's rules should "get out of the way" and fade into the background until needed. 
• Assumption #9b: A game is about its rules; engagement with the rules should be a fundamental part of play.

Robert Aickman and Joe Lansdale

The Art of Terror: Robert Aickman's Strange Tales
- Matt Seidel, The Millions

Aickmanesque
- Claxtondog, Letterboxd

A Reader's Guide to Joe Lansdale
- Marc Buxton, Den of Geek!

Comic Books for Video Gamers

Into video games? Want to get into comics? I've got some suggestions for things you might like:

If you like Dark Souls, you should try Berserk.

If you like Persona, you should try Shutter. (Frankly, everyone should try Shutter; it's the most criminally under-read comic I can think of.)

If you like Castlevania, you should try Baltimore.

If you like The Order: 1886, you should try The New Deadwardians. (Admittedly, no one likes The Order all that much.)

If you like Control, you should try Injection.

If you like Dishonored, you should try Lady Mechanika.

If you like Alice, you should try Pandora Hearts.

If you like BioShock, you should try Monstress.

If you like Metal Gear Solid, you should try Doom Patrol.

Thinking About My Early Homebrew

Possible cover inspiration for Mystic Medieval

There comes a moment in many young roleplaying gamers' lives where they get the itch to try their hands at making their own game. Some never really lose that urge. Here are the games I remember creating as a teenager:

Mystic Medieval. Mystic Medieval was my fantasy heartbreaker. It was created because one of my friends was not allowed to play D&D, but was allowed to play any other rpg that was not named D&D...so I made something like D&D that he could be included in. I don't remember much about the rules (I know it had class-based character creation and also some sort of skill system that used the success/failure tables from Talislanta), but what I do remember was that the rules were housed in a purple three-ring binder with a bitchin' grim reaper I drew for the cover.

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Adapting media you enjoy so that you can play in its sandbox feels like a pretty natural step, and my first attempt was an rpg based on Douglas Adams's Hitch-Hiker's Guide books. This one was really rules lite; I remember the mechanic being something similar to how RISUS works. One of my friends back in middle school proclaimed that this was his "favorite rpg" at the time, and I was dead chuffed about that.

Hellbreakers. Hellbreakers wasn't quite an adaptation, but it was heavily inspired by Hellraiser. It may also have been in all caps: HELLBREAKERS. The premise was that the characters were all survivors who had fought their way back from imprisonment in hell and had emerged from the underworld with cool powers that they would use to fight against bondage gear-clad demons who were not unlike the Cenobites. It was something like a horror/superheroes hybrid in tone. Frankly, I still think that premise has legs.

The one with the monsters. Did it even have a name? I certainly can't recall. This was another game that was loosely based on Clive Barker's fiction and the movies derived from them. This time, the inspiration was Nightbreed. The player characters were monstrous creatures running amok in modern-day America. We played this one during a Halloween party at my house; I remember a liquor store being blown up as part of the climatic battle. I wonder if I made this one before or after White Wolf's World of Darkness dropped?