(written by Islander)
Welcome to another Sunday column focused (mainly) on black metal. This one goes pretty deep underground, with music from four debut releases, leavened with songs from two bands whose discography is more extensive.
I’m going to start with reviews of an album and an EP, to make sure I have time to say what I want to say about them, and then turn to a group of individual songs and videos. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
I’m no Cinderella but on days like this I do turn into a pumpkin (charred black).
After missing two Sundays due to festival-ing in May I had grand plans to partially make up for those absences in a larger-than-usual column today. But I forgot about plans my spouse had made for us this morning that will take me away from home and computer.
So the grand plan has been trashed. Rather than rack my brain trying to figure out what to save, I decided instead just to start and to keep going until time runs out (and I turn into a pumpkin). Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
Today’s blackening of the sabbath will be shorter than usual. After finishing yesterday’s Seen and Heard column I did chores, then conversed for hours with a visitor to our home (a good friend from across the water in Seattle), then spent the late afternoon and evening watching a great baseball game at the local sports bar, then slept for 9 1/2 hours. And now I’ve got to leave home soon for another activity with friends.
So there’s the excuses. I know you didn’t need them. A shrink would make good money trying to diagnose why I feel the need to make them, and more money trying to figure out why I feel equally compelled to do these columns instead of fucking off like a normal un-churched person on Sunday mornings. Enjoy! Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
I didn’t think I would do this column today. First, because yesterday I agreed to an emergency request for a premiere today in celebration of the high holiday. And second, because I didn’t go to sleep until 2 am this morning due to an alcohol-fueled reunion with old friends last night.
But so far I haven’t received what I agreed to premiere, and though my brain is very fuzzy I’m thinking some blackish music might clear away the fuzz. So, blaze and praise, here we go. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
Biting off more than you can chew: I came real close to doing that yesterday. All the songs by those 14 bands tasted so good, I had to bite into them, though I don’t know how many other people listened to them all, much less read all the words I frantically spilled out.
I guess my mental jaws were sore this morning because, after starting to get caffeinated, I stared at what I’d planned to do for today’s black roundup and backed off. I hadn’t planned an extravaganza on the scale of yesterday’s sonic storm, but it still seemed like a lot, or at least a lot more than I could manage without spinning like a top again, so I pulled out the paring knife and started shaving it down. (Man, that’s a lot of metaphors already and I’m still just in the intro!).
A painful process it was, deciding what to go with and what to leave behind. I hope the pain you’re about to experience below is only the kind of pain you seek. Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
I spent yesterday marching and rallying. It felt good. I spent last night (way deep into the night) consuming a gallon of good whisky with friends who were like a hybrid of rabbits and wolverines, cautious and nimble but also fanged and fierce. This morning I woke up feeling like a crippled turtle.
I thought about not doing anything for this column, just leaving a gap between yesterday and tomorrow. But what might people think? Stroke? Heart attack? Pneumonia? Burst appendix? Going off the road and into a pylon? Is he dead, injured, sick, or what?
Reading what I just wrote, that sure sounds egotistical. More likely, few people would give even a passing thought to why this column never arrived. But more than momentarily, I’d feel like I’d fallen down on the job, in addition to being barely able to stand up this morning. Better something than nothing, so here are three very good somethings. Continue reading »
Imha Tarikat
(written by Islander)
Today is my wedding anniversary (it’s a big one, with a number that ends in a zero). Today the Associated Press highlighted some other events that happened on this day in U.S. history:
Let’s celebrate! Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
I had grand plans for this column. I had a big pile of picks, enough to mega-size it, just needed to do the writing. And then I did what anyone with any sense does on a Sunday (but not me because sense is always in short supply) — I slept late. I would have slept later except one eye stickily opened and I saw the time on the bedside clock. Yikes!
So the grand plans have fallen apart. Many times in the past when I’ve been in this situation I’ve thought about just stitching together a bunch of song streams and videos without commentary, like some internet-enabled DJ or “influencer”. It would be easy to do that but I’ve always detested the thought. You may wonder why. Here’s the why: Continue reading »
(written by Islander)
I’m afraid I have a self-imposed deadline to finish this weekly collection of music from the blacker arts so I can turn to other obligations, and so I’ll dispense with an introduction and dive right into all the quite varied music I’ve picked for your entertainment and edification.
To begin, here’s “False Grail“, a startling new song from a new album named The Teeth of Time by Portland’s Drouth. Continue reading »
I got a really good head-start on this column yesterday, so good that I thought I’d be able to post it much earlier today than usual. But of course the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley.
This mouse forgot that Daylight Savings Time would go into effect overnight, springing the clock forward. And then this mouse slept for 9 1/2 hours. Put those two together, and the morning was well underway by the time I turned to finishing this. Oh well.
What you’ll find below is an alternating sequence of songs from forthcoming records and complete releases, most of them head-spinning in different ways, but with a more meditative and deeply haunting experience at the end. Continue reading »