Swallow the Sun, When a Shadow is Forced Into the Light
Magisterial. I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint one bit.
Magisterial. I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint one bit.
Gallhammer, Ill Innocence and Gloomy Lights
Apparently a significant number of listeners find Gallhammer too repetitive; I can see the merit in the critique, but I find it hypnotic instead. The occasional vocal that sounds like the squeaking of a rubber duckie is a bit mystifying, admittedly.
Tomb Mold, Manor of Infinite Forms
You guys, I found Zuggtmoy's favorite death metal band.
Glen Cook, The Black Company
After finishing The Worm Ouroboros (see below) this was a very welcome change of pace. Out with the Jacobean language, in with the tale of a famous mercenary band in a world where great wizards are called Dominator and say things like "Absodamnlutely."
After finishing The Worm Ouroboros (see below) this was a very welcome change of pace. Out with the Jacobean language, in with the tale of a famous mercenary band in a world where great wizards are called Dominator and say things like "Absodamnlutely."
E. R. Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros
We did a Bad Books for Bad People episode on this one that you can listen to here.
Rotting Christ, Rituals
The tension between the modern metal style and the spectral presence of antiquity on this one absolutely works.
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, series 1
Yeah yeah yeah, solving murders, but that wardrobe! My theory is that she's an agent of chaos; not only do murders happen around her with alarming frequency, but she corrupts everyone she pulls into her orbit. Dot has strayed from her religion and is dating a Protestant. Detective Robinson no longer upholds proper procedure and lets her do whatever she wants at crime scenes. Bert and Cec have lost their communist ideals and become enslaved by her capital. She's the devil: seductive, charming, and tempts everyone into betraying their beliefs.
Eyehategod, Dopesick, Confederacy of Ruined Lives, In the Name of Suffering
Ever since Tenebrous Kate reported that she was in a New Orleans sludge metal bar I've been on an Eyehategod kick.
Roadsmary's Baby
I forgot a bought a six-pack of this pumpkin beer back in October, but it was a damn pleasant surprise to find it in the cupboard.
Death, The Sound of Perseverance
Amazingly precise.
Hal Duncan, Sodom/New Sodom
Where The Wasteland stops making sense, this begins to.
Abyssic, A Winter's Tale
I can't believe I was able to pick this up for a mere $4. Amazingly grandiose death-doom with orchestral arrangements.
Entombed, Wolverine Blues
An unearthed classic. Listening to this again reminds me of the hours spent paging through CMJ issues in the 90s, looking for the one heavy album they were going to feature.
Rotting Christ, The Heretics
Rotting Christ's new album is great, don't get me wrong, but it's a little talky...even by Rotting Christ standards.
Michael Moorcock, City of the Beast
Blasphemous opinion: I enjoyed this much more than ERB's Princess of Mars, mostly because of its concision.
Kentaro Miura, Berserk vol. 27 and 28
The splash pages continue to amaze, even if Locus's apostle form looks like a car hood ornament.
Linda Sejic, Blood Stain volumes 1, 2, and 3
Kind of like Northanger Abbey in comic form; terrible Gothic possibilities dissipate into the horrors of mundane existence--like bad coffee and tidying up.
Carcass, Heartwork
Death metal doesn't have to be all about brutality--this classic record is 100% groove.
Shiki
The premise is great: vampires invade an isolated, rural village and begin to take over. What I wasn't expected was how emotionally violent this one would get. Strong stuff.
Live and Let Die
Rewatching it, it turns out that my favorite James Bond movie is the least James Bond of all the James Bond movies.
The tension between the modern metal style and the spectral presence of antiquity on this one absolutely works.
Yeah yeah yeah, solving murders, but that wardrobe! My theory is that she's an agent of chaos; not only do murders happen around her with alarming frequency, but she corrupts everyone she pulls into her orbit. Dot has strayed from her religion and is dating a Protestant. Detective Robinson no longer upholds proper procedure and lets her do whatever she wants at crime scenes. Bert and Cec have lost their communist ideals and become enslaved by her capital. She's the devil: seductive, charming, and tempts everyone into betraying their beliefs.
Ever since Tenebrous Kate reported that she was in a New Orleans sludge metal bar I've been on an Eyehategod kick.
I forgot a bought a six-pack of this pumpkin beer back in October, but it was a damn pleasant surprise to find it in the cupboard.
Amazingly precise.
Where The Wasteland stops making sense, this begins to.
I can't believe I was able to pick this up for a mere $4. Amazingly grandiose death-doom with orchestral arrangements.
An unearthed classic. Listening to this again reminds me of the hours spent paging through CMJ issues in the 90s, looking for the one heavy album they were going to feature.
Rotting Christ's new album is great, don't get me wrong, but it's a little talky...even by Rotting Christ standards.
Blasphemous opinion: I enjoyed this much more than ERB's Princess of Mars, mostly because of its concision.
The splash pages continue to amaze, even if Locus's apostle form looks like a car hood ornament.
Kind of like Northanger Abbey in comic form; terrible Gothic possibilities dissipate into the horrors of mundane existence--like bad coffee and tidying up.
Death metal doesn't have to be all about brutality--this classic record is 100% groove.
The premise is great: vampires invade an isolated, rural village and begin to take over. What I wasn't expected was how emotionally violent this one would get. Strong stuff.
Rewatching it, it turns out that my favorite James Bond movie is the least James Bond of all the James Bond movies.
I feel like I want to check out "City of the Beast" and "Sodom/New Sodom" now.
ReplyDeleteI started "Vellum", liked the stolen magic book and the vision of an infinite earth, but just. could. not. with the Gaiman-esque stuff about reincarnated gods living mortal lives in modern times, and oh every starcrossed god-goddess pairing of every myth in all the world are the same two people, and now they live next to a tattoo parlor in small-town North Carolina. I just felt certain within a few chapters that there wasn't going to be enough of the stuff I liked to justify wading through the parts I found tedious. I would def recommend it to a Neil Gaiman fan though.
Fair warning: Even though I dug City of the Beast, Moorcock's Mars stuff is not well-regarded. I might be alone on that one, but try it out.
DeleteI need to re-read Vellum; my memories of it aren't particularly strong at this point.
I'll second Kane of Old Mars over John Carter and recommend Leigh Brackett's Eric John Stark over those. Vellum wasn't on my radar until now. Gonna see if it's at the library
DeleteYeah, Leigh Brackett reigns supreme when it comes to planetary romance, no question. Nice to see someone else rate Kane above Carter!
DeleteIn this everchanging world in which we're livin' . . . Hal Duncan blowing up. I need to make time for those ASAP.
ReplyDeleteI think those Mars books are the center of Moorcock's legendary "take a long weekend, type straight through, send the first complete draft, sleep for three days, repeat" process. Which is not a bad thing.
"I would def recommend it to a Neil Gaiman fan though." !!
It's me, I am the Neil Gaiman fan.
DeleteWe've got plans to do Hal Duncan's Scruffian stories on Bad Books, but I'm not sure when Solitaire will flip that card over.
Which, coincidentally, Kate just compared our creative partnership to Solitaire/Kanaga but I'm not sure which of us is which.
This is such a badass comment that days later the only working responses are ghoulish ("depends on who turns up dead first") and absurd (they both work for the deck). Will try again later.
Delete