Vinny's Forum Replies

...and also the 2020 release from Sölicitör "Spectral Devastation"

Thanks.

Ben, please add Sacrifizer from France (Speed metal).

Hi Ben, please could you add Tower from New York?

This months list was another fine cross-sectional representation of The Horde I thought.  Particular highlights for me were Brujeria, Pestilence, Gorement, Bloodbath, Cannibal Corpse, Nile, Dead Congregation and Devourment.

The technical stuff didn't work too well for me.  First Fragment are an excitable bunch aren't they?  Neo-Classical metal and technical death metal are two genre tags that didn't fill me with much hope but I lasted until the funky bass slapping section and then got the hell out of there.  At near 18 minutes I would need a power-nap after that.

Strongest list yet for me Xephs!  Strong trad / heavy metal vein running through this month's list I thought. The first ten songs (barring Pharaoh) all got added to my "liked" tracks.  Angel Witch, Smoulder, Saxon, Cirith Ungol and Enforcer are all great inclusions also.  I did skip most of the power/symphonic power metal tracks as they got going and had very little time for any of Angra who to me just sound whiny but I didn't mind that Rhapsody of Fire track in all honesty.  Hell, I even got on with that Christian Muenzner track.

I got a real Angel Witch vibe from The Night Eternal and this was what caught my attention to nominate them for inclusion this month.  Tower are a band seeing lots of praise at present on various blogs and sites and I am somewhat enamored with their strong female vocal delivery giving me lots of Chastain and Warlock vibes, especially with that retro sound they have got going on.

Thanks for putting together Xeph.

Whilst I accept that the focus is on output from current sub-genres being the gauge for how well metal is doing I really think the outlets for metal music - whether that is radio, streaming/download services, music shops or online stores - need to pay attention to the whole timeline to date to keep the strength of the genre overall visible.  To my ears at least, having heard shite such as Trancecore, Nintendocore and fucking cyber-grind there is no better argument for us to stop fucking around with advancement and just recognise that there are plenty of sub-genres out there already that will always have albums to discover and whole discographies to plunder.  Notwithstanding that each to their own / wouldn't do for us all to have the same taste blah, blah, blah and all the other nice things I am supposed to say.

Personally, my view of the strength of the genre in the year tends to be indicative of my own experience of everything I have discovered that year (not necessarily released that year) and that is because my experience of metal continues to grow somehow each year.  Granted, it has slowed down since the 90s when I was chasing this ever expanding universe without any hope of ever keeping up, however I will take a few miles of growth of my collection as opposed to the light years of old.

Ancient Empire - Wings of the Fallen from Wings of the Fallen (2019)

I have been playing this album a bit recently.  It is kind of how I want all my power metal to sound even though I don't think the band are aiming for that sub-genre.  This is more heavy metal in direction but has a degree of polish applied to it not unlike a power metal.  The album is a little patchy in places but overall I think it is a fair effort although after a near decade together I would expect a little more consistency. 

Nordicwinter - Sombre Winds of Despair (Part Ii) - Sorrow 2021

The melancholic guitar on this track that thrusts itself into the song is one of the highlights of an already superb album for me.

Hi Ben, please add:

Ancient Empire from San Francisco, California

Thanks

The fiancée's new car got delivered today ( a belated Xmas present from myself) and we did the purchase entirely online and it was one of the smoothest and most hassle free experiences in all my years of buying cars privately and through dealerships.  Her old car was 15 years old now and although still running it was getting to the stage were it inevitably was going to start to failing increasingly.

I have ordered a weights bench for the first time in years and that should come tomorrow, spent most of the last week cutting back on my booze intake and now am only drinking two drinks a week (currently reserved for Saturday nights) and yesterday's food delivery had a more healthy - although not yet perfect - slant to the list with more greens on there with more fruit also.  I am also now over my recent sleep problems and am back up to 7 hours minimum most nights.  Since I got in the latter half of my forties my sleep has been terrible over the past 6 months or so and the effect on me in the day has been nothing short of terrible and has severely affected my mood.  Having more water seems to be helping also.

We also upgraded our lock-up unit from a half cabinet to a full size walk-in one after my fiancée got offered to work from home more and so the spare bedroom is now her office so we needed to move some furniture out and get a desk and office chair in there.  Spent this morning sorting the lock up put and now need to figure out how I am going to get a mattress in my hatchback to get over to the lock-up tomorrow night.  Either it needs to bend or I will be tying the boot down, luckily it is only a short drive. #firstworldproblems

OK, so I get the accepted definition of Extreme Metal. So let's change the discussion then and I'll pose a different question,  just for discussion's sake. What do you personally consider to be extreme (with a small "e"). For me it's the more brutal regions of death metal with it's excessive glorification of violence and the more intense sludge/drone/doom acts like Khanate and Hell. Both of these force me out of my comfort zone with varying effect, the former pushes me into a place I don't enjoy and the latter takes me into a place where the discomfort becomes thrilling and triggers sensations unavailable elsewhere.

I don't consider many other accepted Extreme genres as extreme personally as they don't take me out of my comfort zone. My love of most black metal, old-school death metal, thrash and funeral and death doom mean that they are now so familiar to me that I feel completely at home with them so can't in truth stamp them as extreme.

I'm not trying to come across as some elitist asshole, but out of a genuine interest for the opinions of other Academy members, what do you all personally consider to be metal extremity? (There is no right or wrong answer!)

Interesting thread Sonny.  I have thought about this question a lot recently.  Personally, I don't think it is for anyone person here to define "extreme". I don't agree that it is a concept that I need to actively pursue a definition of otherwise I am just setting boundaries for myself surely? I listen to what I like and if others find that extreme then that's up to them.

Being out of my comfort zone is not something that I necessarily associate with extremity. Most popular music is outside of my comfort zone but I don't consider it extreme, just not enjoyable. Likewise, me sitting listening to Satanic Black Devotion right now is within my comfort zone but even though I have heard it many times, I never get tired of the artwork, the iconography, the waves of murky melody that are thrust at me over and over again. I don't sit here listening to it to explore being extreme, I just listen to it because I like it.

Most of what goes on in the Infinite, Sphere, Gateway and Revolution clans is well out of my comfort zone and to be honest I don't think of any of it in levels of being extreme or not.  If "extreme" is just a convenient tag then are we not just exacerbating the problem by discussing it here and having definitions in the first place?

Ritual Butcherer of Archgoat fame is interviewed in the latest issue of Zero Tolerance magazine (a mag incidentally that describes itself as being "The Extreme Music Authority") and he describes Satanism as becoming "overly complicated with different factions jealously sand-boxing their own little variants".  This kind of sums up the problem in metal I think with there always being someone or some movement thinking their version of a genre or sub-genre is more extreme than something else.  In the pursuit of extremity we just inevitably dilute the concept.

Iced Earth - "Pure Evil" (6:33) from "Night of the Stormrider" (1991) - I know this may be a controversial choice, but I think it's thrashy enough to merit inclusion, but if you don't Vinny, then it's fine if you don't feel able to include it.

Fine with this, all added Sonny.

Feb submissions from me:

Dust Bolt  - "Mass Confusion" (from "Mass Confusion", 2016) 04:43

Iron Reagan - "Grim Business" (from "Crossover Ministry", 2017) 02:30

Steel Bearing Hand - "Command of the Infernal Exarch" (from "Slay In Hell", 2021) 03:30

Vomit Division - "Demons Come Back" (from "Hell in a Bottle", 2021) 03:12

Destruction - "Diabolical" (from "Diabolical", 2022) 04:09

Voivod - "Overreaction" (from "Killing Technology", 1987) 04:44

Megadeth - "Hangar 18" (from "Rust in Peace", 1990) 05:14

Run Time = 28:02

Great choice this month Ben.

Seeing this album come up for feature this month immediately took me back to my wranglings with their sophomore release (and gateway record into the band) The Olden Domain and how I had to work hard to come to terms with Maelstrom’s vocals. Had I realised that on the debut they had a completely different – and much more appealing style of – vocalist then coming to that sophomore release after this would have been even more of a challenge.

Like the follow up, Borknagar’s debut album is a richly rewarding experience albeit the appeal with the debut is more immediate for me. A mix of melodic Viking and black metal that retains a rawness to it that does not intend to alienate as does the sound of other black metal bands of the time. This retention of authenticity in terms of the movement that started the whole second wave sound is key to my enjoyment of the album, just as is the more melodic leanings of the music also.

Having amassed the collection of famous names we all know by now, Brun’s determination to move beyond the brutality of his death metal roots was destined for success. Whilst not all the musicianship is perfect by any means it is a well-executed album still. Full of variety in terms of instrumental interludes that hold the attention and add a lush depth to proceedings without distracting from the more intense black metal sounding tracks that are spread over the album.

With me slowly developing issue with Viking metal over recent years (Bathory’s efforts being of challenge nowadays) I find the aggressive take here quite refreshing and much more cohesive; even in the cleaner vocal sections the tracks still retain real heart. This successful marriage of the epic with the baser credentials of black metal and the earthy acoustics of the instrumental passages needs acknowledging even if not all of it is top-drawer musicianship (Grimskalle Trell needed re-recording surely). The production job plays no small part in the victory of the album. I cannot recall many albums that blends these sounds as well allowing all elements to breath so easily without continuously sounding like they conflict with each other.

No question if I had heard this album first, I might never have been able to get my head round the future sound of Borknagar as they went off into more progressive leanings. As the album draws to a close each time I listen I find I just want to put it straight back on or dive off into the discographies of the various artists involved. As such Borknagar’s debut is a real gateway album to the wider scene.

4/5

Must be due a new album from Leviathan.  Predictable darkness here from Wrest.

Classic, clumsy and clunky death metal from the master of ugly, Autopsy.

Feb 22:

Whoredom Rife - "Curse of the Moon" (from "Winds of Wrath", 2021) 07:54

Nordicwinter - "La mort des amants" (from "Le Dernier Adieu", 2021) 06:30

Archurahl - "Pig Slaughter" (from "Goedendag Injury", 2021) 02:46

Gaerea - "Absent" (from "Unsettling Whispers", 2018) 05:12

Run time = 22:22

Feb 22:

Tower - "Blood Moon" (from "Shock to the System", 2021) 03:13

Armoured Saint - "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants" (from "Punching the Sky", 2021) 06:47

Eternity's End - "Bane of the Black Sword" (from "Embers of War", 2021) 04:50

Heavy Sentence - "On The Run" (from "Bang to Rights", 2021) 03:12

Ross the Boss - "Denied by the Cross" (from "Born of Fire", 2020) 03:36

Rage - "Virginity" (from "Resurrection Day", 2021) 03:42

Bombus - "Abonimation Rock 'n' Roll" (from "Abonimation Rock 'n' Roll", 2021) 04:18

Run time = 29:38

Feb 22:

Autopsy - "In the Grip of Winter" (from "Severed Survival", 1989) 04:07

Cannabis Corpse - "Mummified in Bong Water" (from "Tube of the Reinstated", 2008) 04:02

Abysmal Dawn - "In Service of Time" (from "Levelling the Plane of Existence", 2011) 04:48

Krisiun - "The Will to Potency" (from "The Great Execution", 2011) 06:23

Undergang - "Hjerternes Tid" (from "Christmas Split", 2021) 05:15

Genocide Pact - "Led to Extinction" (from "Genocide Pact", 2021) 04:03

Run time = 28:38

Revisited this earlier and recalled my feelings on the album more or less immediately.

The album that allegedly got the band signed to Roadrunner after shifting some 7,000 copies is to all intent and purpose pure unadulterated violence. Now, I will not go off and join my peers on the site in lavishing praise on Illusions. In fact, I will highlight that this is some sloppy sounding thrash metal even by late 80’s standards. Yes, I get that this is a massive part of the appeal and I enjoy some raw and energetic thrash / proto-death metal as much as the next man or woman, the fact is though that there are a couple of major distractions on the sound on some tracks here.

The drums start to sound like claps as album opener Certain Death gets to around halfway through, just for a few moments, not for the entire track thereafter but nonetheless I find this off-putting and sort of ruins the start of the album for me. I am also not convinced that the band had their timing correct for all the tracks. Granted it is so ridiculously fast and has the pacing of a jet engine that you hardly notice but when the band get to a less high tempo pace and go a little more industrious (not technical - more on that in a minute) is where the cracks do start to show. I will put this down to the maturity levels of the band and this being their first full-length and will also caveat that when they are on point – which at times they are – they are unstoppable. I am thinking some of this is also down to the over-reliance on DiGiorgio and his bass which I am nearly sure causes flux in the rhythm and timing on more than one occasion.

This “technical” tag bothers me that I see get associated with the release also. The fact that this album has a heavy bass presence does not mean that this is a technical thrash metal record. I see DiGiorgio’s input as being almost a third guitar – most certainly a second rhythm guitar that makes the frenetic pace sound a lot meatier than it would otherwise. You could argue it gets all proggy on the opening bars to the title track but again this does not make it technical, just well-played.

Sadus’ debut is not for me in all honesty. As much as there are principles of thrash metal here that I would largely praise and defend in most circumstances, Illusions does precisely as the meaning of the title suggests and tries to distract away from its issues with pure speed and violence and it just does not work for me.

3/5

I already own it Andi, thanks.  Just never got around to rating or reviewing on here yet.

I have still never fully gelled with RYM.  Something about it just puts me off visiting with any sense of frequency.  I think it suffers from over-accessibility as simply anyone can rock up and shit words all over the page in endless lists (which I hate in case anyone hasn't noticed) and lacks any sense of community to me.  I mean, yes you all love a list here but everyone is sensible (ish) and the level of click-happiness seems to be less here due to the reduced number of members.

Think we'll find it is Life of Agony not "Life in Agony".

Feb 22:

Sevendust - "All I Really Know" (from "Blood & Stone", 2021)

Feb 22:

Employed to Serve - "Exist" (from "Conquering", 2021)

Feb 22 :

Author & Punisher - "Drone Carrying Dread" (from "Krüller", 2022)

I kept my list private for a few weeks, Vinny, then made it public with no issues. I too see duplicate entries on your list. Have you tried remaking it anew and seeing if the same happens again?

Will try it again later.  Weird morning as one of my posts on my other forum has shown up blank despite it all being there earlier.  Different browser too.  Fucking Gremlins.

Okay not just me then.  Cleared my cache and all the usual stuff I would do under such circumstances and no different.  I do recall that the top ten thread is the same as original top 30 one so chances are that's why it has ended up the same way.  Interested to see if it was the act of making it public that caused the issue?

With Daniel and Sonny again doing a sterling job with their selections this month, putting together the playlist was again really enjoyable.  I got a feel for some more blackened themes running through the list this month with the inclusion of Ketzer, Eternal Evil, Craven Idol and Sabbat all falling into their places as I built the list for the month.  Controversially perhaps, I hear very little thrash in that Craven Idol track and having listened through the album again I would say it leans more towards black / heavy metal but still a great track regardless so was happy to keep in the list.

I am still struggling to place the groove metal stuff but as my knowledge (if not necessarily my taste) for this stuff grows I expect that will become easier.  Highlight of the month for me is being able to tee-up Sadus followed by Morbid Saint as well as being reminded what a great (and sadly overlooked by myself) album The Gathering is. 

So when you click that link in my post do you guys see duplicate entries?

January 2022

01. Ketzer – “Fire To Conquer the World” (from “Satan’s Boundaries Unchained”, 2009) [Submitted by Vinny]

02. Craven Idol – “Iron Age of Devastation” (from “Forked Tongues”, 2021) [Submitted by Sonny]

03. Disrupt – “Fuelled by Fire” (from “Disrupt”, 2021)

04. Overkill – “Evil Never Dies” (from “The Years of Decay”, 1989) [Submitted by Daniel]

05. Ekulu – “Proven Wrong” (from “Unscrew my Head”, 2021)

06. Metreya – “Machines of War” (from “Machines of War”, 2013) [Submitted by Daniel]

07. Sadus – “Under the Knife” (from “A Vision of Misery”, 1992)

08. Morbid Saint– “Depth of Sanity” (from “Destruction System”, 1992) [Submitted by Daniel]

09. Nocturnal – “Rising Demons” (from “Storming Evil”, 2014) [Submitted by Vinny]

10. Viking – “Berserker” (from “Do or Die”, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

11. Bewitched – “Hard as Steel (Hot as Hell)” (from “Diabolical Desecration”, 1996)

12. Slayer – “Repentless” (from “Repentless”, 2015) [Submitted by Daniel]

13. Eternal Evil – “Terror of The Sphinx” (from “The Warriors Awakening Brings the Unholy Slaughter”, 2021) [Submitted by Sonny]

14. Celtic Frost – “Jewel Throne” (from “To Mega Therion”, 1985) [Submitted by Sonny]

15. Division Speed – “Panzerkommando” (from “Division Speed”, 2015)

16. Home Style Surgery – “Necrodecoration” (from “Brain Drill Poetry”, 2021)

17. Acrassicauda – “Quest for Eternity” (from “Gilgamesh”, 2016)

18. Nevermore– “The Psalm of Lydia” (from “This Godless Endeavour”, 2005) [Submitted by Daniel]

19. Testament – “Fall of Sipledome” (from “The Gathering”, 1999) [Submitted by Daniel]

20. Sabbat – “Godz of Satan” (from “Evoke”, 1992) [Submitted by Vinny]

21. Anthrax – “Madhouse” (from “Spreading the Disease”, 1985) [Submitted by Vinny]

22. Iron Age – “Evil Ways” (from “Constant Struggle”, 2006)

23. Merauder – “Master Killer” (from “Master Killer”, 1995) [Submitted by Vinny]

24. Leeway – “Who’s to Blame” (from “Desperate Measures”, 1991)

25. Flotsam & Jetsam – “Hammerhead” (from “Doomsday for the Deceiver”, 1986) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Blood Tsunami – “Horsehead Nebula” (from “Grand Feast for Vultures”, 2009) [Submitted by Sonny]

27. Alkoholizer – “Alkoholik Metal” (from “Drunk or Dead”, 2009)

Good thread, 5 for me:

Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä (2016)

Dog Fashion Disco - Adultery (2006)

Unleash the Archers - Apex (2017)

Blood red Throne - Altered Genesis (2005)

Paysage d'hiver - Die Festung

Completely ambient release, no black metal here whatsoever.  Good background music for work if nothing else.

So, Dad passed away in hospital this afternoon. We all did manage to get to see him on Tuesday evening when it was obvious he had taken a turn for the worse, so that was a blessing. To be honest it's kind of a relief because he was in a lot of distress and was being fed a lot of medication towards the end.

And so life takes another turn...

So sorry for your loss.  My condolences.

I first heard Cretin as part of a forum "tape swap" we did years ago on the now defunct Terrorizer forums. I was not that into their particular blend of death metal and grindcore and so found the couple of tracks from the album Freakery to be a bit too much for my listening tastes at the time. Over time, as my tastes have gotten more extreme I actually find them to be one of the more structured grindcore bands out there based on their albeit limited output over the years. I prefer them to the Brutal Truths of this world for example and benchmark their style to being more akin to Repulsion style grindcore as opposed to a Carcass style for example (indeed vocalist/guitarist Marissa was guitarist in Repulsion 2011 - 2013). Somehow Cretin manage to walk that fine line between an all out auditory assault and still giving you enough form to nod your head along to appreciatively (in years gone by that statement would have read "bang your head along to", but those days are long gone for me - oldie alert!)

The band's typical lyrical content of perversions and humorous characters continues on Stranger with tracks such as Sandwich for the Attic Angel (a woman's dead husband turns out to be living in the walls of her house), Mr Frye, Janitor Guy (one seriously pissed off and suicidal, turd-collecting Janitor) and We Live in a Cave (pretty self-explanatory - I mean it is not a tribute to Fraggle Rock) all highlighting the bizarre and dark comedy of the band perfectly. Musically the band are tight and relentlessly savage in their delivery of one of extreme music's most primitive formats. Considering Elizabeth Schall (who joins Marissa on guitar duties) is from well-established melodic death metal band Dreaming Dead, she puts in a rowdy and abrasive performance here backed up the core percussive unit of founding member Matt Widener on bass and former Repulsion and Exhumed drummer Col Jones who together create a swarming backdrop of beats and unearthly rumbles that gets punctuated by wild sonics through a wall of solid as fuck riffs.

Always sporadic with their output (the band have been around since 1992 but only released a demo in 2003 after disbanding in 1996 so Widener could join the Marines), Stranger is only the bands second full-length and this was seven years ago now so we are long overdue further nuggets of joy from the guys who are still considered to be active. Despite the gap since the release of the album, it has aged well and is just as in your fucking face today as it was back in 2014. The world needs more Cretin please.

4/5

Sprawling and dense atmospheric bm from the Cascadian masters themselves on their 2009 album Black Cascade

Bold and harrowing, with an element of doom to kick things off.  Depressive black metal from Canada's Nordicwinter on their fifth full-length (second of 2021).

Each year for Xmas / birthday / anniversary my fiancée buys me an album she thinks I will like.  This year she went all Nordic folk on me and as a result I have discovered the excellent Forndom who occupy the same label as Panopticon.  Imagine a much darker Wardruna and you are more or  less there with this. 

12 months on from this post and I am pleased to say that my office set-up has continued to grow and this has now become less of a work space and more of a den for me as a couple of swords and an axe now adorn the walls and as I have mostly bought vinyl this year I have built up a selection of posters that proudly adorn the walls like it is some teenagers bedroom.  It has become my go to place to disconnect from life and calm my soul.

I have still kept up fairly well with releases this year despite me vowing not to do so.  I am still eager to disconnect more from keeping on top of current releases as I still fundamentally believe that there is far too much undiscovered music out there that is gathering dust unnecessarily.  However, in all honesty quality releases can land from any decade and planning to stay away from the crop of new releases defeats the point of planning to stay on top of them as it just replaces one lot of planning with another.    

5 for me:

1. Kowloon Walled City - Piecework

2. Wolvennest - Temple

3. Worm - Foreverglade

4. Yith - Passage

5. Mastiff - Leave Me The Ashes of the Earth

Life is a bit tough in my home right now. My wife was three months pregnant with my third daughter when we found out that the baby had died due to a chromosome issue last Wednesday. She had to have surgery to remove the foetus the following day & has been an emotional wreck ever since.

That's fucking awful.  My sincere condolences to you and your family.

Thanks for the answers guys. One thing that  leaps out at me that we all seem to have in common is the fact we are the introspective types. Do you guys ever seem to get comments along the lines of "You think too damn much" like I do? Like Vinny I see metal very much as ""mine" and it doesn't bother me at all that no one around me has the same taste (my wife is a sixties/seventies rock fan - Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, Yes etc, although she does love Wardruna, but hates metal).

Another interesting thing is that despite people hating extreme metal because of it's supposed aggression and inferred violence, I get the feeling that you guys are not at all violent people (I know I'm not). I'd rather listen to violent and aggressive music than actually be a violent and aggressive person. The rejection of commercialism is another very sound reason - I hate the rampant commercialisation of virtually everything - I never eat at McDonalds or other mass market fast food joints, I never wear clothes that make me look like a walking advert for some sportswear company and I hate Hollywood movies. Good luck to all those marketing motherfuckers getting more people to buy Autopsy, Esoteric or Blasphemy albums!

I don't get such comments because I rarely get much time to think.  There's very much two versions of me, the work type taking up most of the persona because I have a high pressure job that although pays well dominates most of my life as a result because I have to plan my work to the minutest of detail.  The home version of me gets a lot less air time and time spent with music is often so precious that I focus little on thoughts in all honesty.  I am not a violent person at all but I do have a short fuse (and this is getting worse as I get older) which can sometimes make me look more aggressive than I intend to be.  There's things in my life that need to change to make that better but not looking to go into that, needless to say that I find some of the most extreme art forms very calming in these moments.  I have the artwork to the album cover for Visions of Trismegistos by Nekromantheon on my office wall and despite the horrific images and violent red colour over grayscale I am instantly calmed by the image and can look at it for minutes on end.

I had this conversation once with my better half who listens predominantly to 80's pop and some modern pop also after I played some black metal in the car once which she thought was particularly unpleasant.  For me extreme metal is the ultimate zenith of creativity that abandons any concept of safety or normality and actively pursues the complete opposite end of those spectrums.  Now, I can listen to most music and hear creativity being done firmly in the realm of safety and familiarity and such music has its time and place in my life.  However, what I revel in hearing is a band or artist absolutely letting go of themselves, ripping up the "standard" format or structure of music and deliver truly challenging (to the point of being terrifying in some instances) music that doesn't need safety or conformity to hide behind as to these artists these concepts only stifle their creativity.

I might have said this elsewhere on here but I very much see metal as being "mine".  It is my passion and the associations it has with dark and macabre themes appeal to my increasingly reclusive nature which is the exact opposite of how I have to behave at work - extreme metal is the ultimate escape from life for me.

As for me, I've had a fairly massive project dumped on me out of nowhere, so I've had to cancel the majority of my planned Xmas leave. I'm pretty annoyed about it, but at least the project is a great opportunity for both the business and my own career. If I can nail this one, surely good things will come (at least that's what I keep telling myself while I wallow in self-pity).

This is my problem to some degree also.  My phone never really gets turned off from a work perspective and so although I am on leave already I have spent most of the morning working on an emergency at one of my customer sites and I know this is going to rumble on through the coming weekend.

Classic low production value bm from Immortal.

Classic thrash from the Seps!

Horrendously produced early 90's dm from the US.  Think Deicide or Baphomet and you are not far off. 

Unfortunately my 86-year old dad is very ill and has been hospitalised (not covid-related) and it looks unlikely that he'll be going back home as he can no longer take care of himself. To be honest, it's been inevitable for a while, but the NHS has just implemented new covid measures and we're not even allowed to go and see him, so that's a real bummer. 

Sorry to hear this.

My 96 year old gran fell earlier this year and spent weeks in hospital.  COVID measures were quite stringent at the time and we could not go to see her which was especially difficult after she developed post-operative delirium but she was soon able to come out of hospital before we knew it and although unable to live at home is now well settled in a care home.

Hopefully your father can get to the same positive place - minus the post operative delirium of course.

Glad everyone is ok at the Daniel residence.  Good luck with your book Andi.

No freak weather here thankfully although a storm brought down a fence in the back garden that I was planning on taking down anyway.  In the new year we will begin preparation for our wedding in October (third attempt due to COVID forcing us to cancel two previous dates) so that will fill up most of 2022.

Company I work for was taken over earlier this year and the changes should be starting in the new year so a little uncertainty in general on that front but the basic rules of sales is to keep hitting your numbers and you should be fine and I am on target to end the year well over target so not worried.

Ukrainian thrash metal in the vein of early Sepultura.