NEILL JAMESON CAN’T SHUT THE FUCK UP: 2023 LIST I

 LISTMANIA 2023  3 Responses »
Dec 202023
 

photo by Hillarie Jason

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s doing so again this year. This one is the first of a handful of Parts we’ll be publishing. To be clear, Neill wrote the title of this feature himself. And hey, you should check out Krieg‘s new album Ruiner too.)

I’m getting a later start on these this year, meaning I’ve already seen a lot of year-end lists, mostly due to checking to see if my last album made any of them. And because of this I could easily make the joke that most journalists have Helen Keller’s musical taste. I’d like to think I’m above such low hanging fruit, however.

In years past I’ve sectioned these lists off by demos, albums and dungeon synth. This year I’m ignoring that format in favor of dumping a ton of unrelated genres together outside of the final one, which will be the traditional “best of” list. Why am I doing this? I’m glad you asked and showed sincere curiosity: in the customer service industry we’ve begun using the phrase “surprise and delight the customer” and I’d like to take this wonderful philosophy into my writing. 

Or I’m just lazier than usual this year. Because fuck the customer.  Continue reading »

REVENANT MARQUIS: AN INTERVIEW BY NEILL JAMESON AND THE PREMIERE OF “ALL THE PLEASURES OF HEAVEN”

 Album Reviews, Interviews, Premieres  1 Response »
Oct 052023
 

(On October 6th Death Prayer Records will release All the Pleasures of Heaven, the final album by the Welsh black metal band Revenant Marquis. Today we are privileged to present an interview by Neill Jameson (of Krieg) with S., the person behind Revenant Marquis, followed by a premiere stream of the new album.)

It becomes difficult, after being involved in a scene for so long, to overcome that jaded, nearly apathetic feeling and truly lose yourself in someone’s music fully. For the last few years I’ve felt this way about Revenant Marquis. Truly unique and disturbing black metal, created alongside an unnerving aesthetic, Revenant Marquis stands as one of the most authentic voices of horror in a cacophony of lesser acts vying for attention.

Manifesting his first recording in 2019, Revenant Marquis has cast a long shadow across twelve public releases, with his newest, All the Pleasures of Heaven being the final, and darkest, spell he has brought to life. Today we have the honor of presenting this record to you as well as the final words from the man himself. Continue reading »

IN THE DEAD OF WINTER: A PLAYLIST

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Feb 132023
 

 

(In a seasonal mood, our friend Neill Jameson (Krieg) has brought us and you a playlist of varied dark music for these chilly days in the northern half of the globe.)

We’re halfway through winter here in the northern hemisphere and, as is tradition by some of the louder dunces on the internet, people are already proclaiming their albums of the year. And while I could spend another few hundred words decrying the shortsightedness of this instant gratification culture we’ve fostered, that would only serve to give Metal Twitter™ more reason to warble on and on about my merits as a human being, which would take away from their time trying to figure out which band you like once shared an elevator ride with someone wearing a Goatmoon shirt.

As I’ve traditionally been a shut-in most of my life, I’ve spent a lot of evenings this winter reading, drinking tea and listening to music to find new projects to admire. I wrote that to sound more sophisticated than it actually plays out in an effort to make you like me. In actuality I’m just old and this is my idea of a wild night now. 

Anyway I’ve discovered a lot of interesting and dark music, mostly through the excellent Rites of Pestilence YouYube channel, most of which was unfamiliar to me, and started making a list of what I’ve really gotten something out of. Here’s that list.

Continue reading »

OH GREAT, IT’S THIS ASSHOLE AGAIN: THE THRILLING CLIMAX

 LISTMANIA 2022  1 Response »
Dec 302022
 

 

(We’ve been enjoying Neill Jameson‘s year-end lists as they’ve arrived, and making lots of new discoveries (we hope you have too), and today we bring you his fifth and final list for 2022 at NCS.)

I don’t really look at these lists as the “best of” a certain year, per se, rather just recordings I’ve enjoyed throughout whatever calendar year it currently is. However, the last part is historically what I considered “best”, so forget whatever the fuck I just said a few words ago. These were my favorites out of everything we’ve covered thus far. Continue reading »

OH GREAT, IT’S THIS ASSHOLE AGAIN: PART IV

 LISTMANIA 2022  2 Responses »
Dec 262022
 

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s done so again this year. This one is the fourth of a five-part installment of Neill‘s lists for 2022. As you’ll see, it goes in lots of different directions)

As I’ve been writing these I’ve kept an open doc with the list from this year that I just continue to add to. My therapist might tell me that this kind of behavior is me subconsciously punishing myself for years of shitting on people with huge year-end lists but I’d just steer the conversation back to when the neighbor molested me when I was a child.

This is a bit of a longer list. Continue reading »

HARK! FOR HITHER IS YON ASSHOLE AGAIN: PART III

 LISTMANIA 2022  2 Responses »
Dec 232022
 

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s done so again this year. This one is the third of a 5 (or 6?) part installment of Neill‘s lists for 2022.)

I spent a solid half hour during a meeting at work googling Shakespearean English to try to cobble together the title for this one which was both a great use of company time as well as a fine opportunity for someone with a dry dick and classical education to tell me I used the terms wrong. I’m nothing if not a giver.

I said way back when in the first piece I wasn’t going to do theme lists. I guess this is a good time to admit to you that I’m a filthy liar and I should feel shame but instead it’s mostly glee at being dishonest to twelve or thirteen people at once outside of my immediate family. Anyway, here’s dungeon synth. Continue reading »

OH GREAT, IT’S THIS ASSHOLE AGAIN: PART II

 LISTMANIA 2022  1 Response »
Dec 222022
 

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s done so again this year. This one is the second of a 5 (or 6?) part installment of Neill‘s lists. And to be clear (again), Neill wrote the title of this feature himself.)

There’s no real need for me to write anything more than welcome to part II of my annual titterings. We’re going to start this one with a fucking bang.

Continue reading »

OH GREAT, IT’S THIS ASSHOLE AGAIN:PART I

 LISTMANIA 2022  1 Response »
Dec 202022
 

 

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s done so again this year. This one is the first of a handful of Parts we’ll be publishing. To be clear, Neill wrote the title of this feature himself.)

I think I’ve struggled with the introduction to this more than the actual list. If 2022 was a flavor it would be lukewarm soft-serve dogshit with a sprinkling of cardamom for that nice little pop at the end. We could sit and examine the state of the world but that’s an increasingly depressing affair and this is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, afterall. So instead I’ll just get into the reason for the season. 

I spent a lot of time with cassettes and eps this year so the bulk of the forthcoming prattlings will focus around that. I’ve tried to do theme pieces in the last two years but really the only one I’ll do is the coup de grâce with my favorite releases of the year. So until then nothing on these lists is in any kind of order. Hopefully one or two selections tickles you and if so then please support the artists directly, especially since Bandcamp is now taxing the fuck out of us. I’ve included links where I could find them. 

If I write about anything that came out at the end of 2021 and you’re excited to educate me on it, don’t.  Continue reading »

AN ASSHOLE’S LIST PT V: THE TOP SHELF

 LISTMANIA 2021  1 Response »
Dec 272021
 

 

(Here’s the final part of Neill Jameson‘s 5-part series of year-end lists for NCS. As always we’re grateful to him for letting us share them, and we hope you’ve made as many great discoveries from them as we have.)

So now we’ve come to the end of several days’ worth of things to read while you’re on the shitter which, according to Christmas tradition, should be full. I didn’t do full albums for this, you can use Google to find my list of those, and I would have added Funeral Mist and Ifernach to the heap but both of those came out too late for me to really do much about it, and by now you should have already guessed they’re both great.

Again, these lists are entirely subjective and I’m sure I missed whatever bullshit you’ve been chubbing up to, which you’ll tell me about in some forum I’ll never read. Or worse, perhaps you’re one of the people who spend the other 51 weeks of the year talking cash shit about me only to suck up this last week of the year hoping I’ll do something for your band or label, only to fall back into the internet sewing-circle of dry dicks waiting for me to do something that finally gets me “cancelled’.

Well, get fucked, your band sucks and I’ve had shows cancelled due to Antifa decades before you even knew your dick was for anything besides pissing. If this is the first you’ve heard that it can be used for anything else, congratulations and welcome to 2022. I’ll be leaving 2021 the same way I came in: making crass dick jokes some shitty webzine will dissect thinking it’ll get them somewhere. They can get fucked, too. Here’s the best of the best of the last twelve months in my eyes (ears?): Continue reading »

AN ASSHOLE’S LIST PT IV: SPLITS

 LISTMANIA 2021  1 Response »
Dec 242021
 

 

(We’ve reached Part IV of the year-end lists we’re gratefully sharing from Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood), with a fifth and final segment slated for publication on Monday.)

This was a huge year for small releases. What do I mean by that? I mean that these lists are taken up mostly by EPs, splits, cassettes, etc. Not necessarily bite-sized pieces, that’s too fucking cutsey, but a lot of bands did a lot of shorter releases this year that held my attention way more than the traditional long-player. Some excellent pairings that helped introduce me to new sounds as well as some that paired so well you’d think a fucking sommelier crafted the menu.

I don’t really need much more of an introduction than that. Here’s the splits of 2021 that really kept my attention: Continue reading »

 Older Entries  Newer Entries