I’ve been spending more time than usual over the holidays with IntoTheDarkness, one of the two other people who were with me at NCS when we started this site, but one who has found many other things to do with his life than write for NCS, despite my nagging (yeah, amazingly, he has a life). I got an earful from him yesterday. He thinks I’ve become a “metal elitist”, that I’ve fallen sway to the influence of NCS readers, and spend too much of my time listening to things like . . . black metal.

In particular, he thinks I’ve completely turned my back on music I used to like (along with him), such as deathcore. He sends me band names every now and then, and has discovered that I don’t listen to them. I try to explain that my listening time just seems to evaporate. In general, this is the big problem with life: If you really try to live it, instead of letting it live you, there’s just not enough fucking time. This excuse fell on deaf ears.

Well, I’m going to prove him wrong soon. But not at the immediate moment. I’m afraid this post may simply reinforce his conclusions. Except, I do ask myself this: can you really call a mole who burrows deeper into the metal underground an elitist? That doesn’t sound right. There should be a different word for a burrowing metal mole (other than the obvious word — filthy). And besides, what is a metal elitist anyway? I’ve never thought of myself that way. After all, I pop wood for every metal band on the planet. Someone said that about me once.

Where was I?  Oh yeah. So yesterday, a friend asked me for recommendations about metal blogs to read. Two of the many names I gave him were The Living Doorway and From the Dust Returned. These are blogs I don’t read nearly as often as I’d like (see above about not enuf fucking time). They tend to cover metal that’s even deeper underground than my burrowing has yet taken me; I don’t recognize many of the bands they write about, but the writing is so damned good that I like to read them anyway.

I read them yesterday, for example. In doing so, I made two wicked discoveries which got me so enthused that I feel compelled to share: music from Wrathprayer and Antichrist. Mind you, I knew nothing about either of these bands before yesterday. I still don’t know much — except I know I like the music I’ve heard. Continue reading »