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1000 results for “keep_surfing”
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Die #kulturellelandpartie #klp 2026 startet am nächsten Donnerstag
kulturelle-landpartie.de
mit hunderten interessanter Termine - #Workshop s, #Konzerte, mitmach-Kursen usw für einen schmalen Taler oder #Hutkasse zwischen #himmelfahrt und #Pfingsten
Das größte selbstorganisierte Kulturfestival, im #Wendland zu Hause
Gern #reboost und #weitersagen und hinfahren
#kultur
#politik
#Niedersachsen
#Handwerk
#Musik
#landwirtschaft
#garten
#DIY
#kunst
#Yoga
tbc -
Ich bin vorerst begeistert von #emmabuntus #emmabuntüs #Debian
das #toughbook ist gefühlt älter als Steinkohle, #i686 #32bit.
Das angedachte #puppylinux wollte nicht (und einige andere 32bit- #distribution en ebenso), dafür hab ich #emmabuntus gefunden...Schaut mal rein!
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Ich bin vorerst begeistert von #emmabuntus #emmabuntüs #Debian
das #toughbook ist gefühlt älter als Steinkohle, #i686 #32bit.
Das angedachte #puppylinux wollte nicht (und einige andere 32bit- #distribution en ebenso), dafür hab ich #emmabuntus gefunden...Schaut mal rein!
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CW: Beerdigung, Beisetzung, Tod
Ich durfte heute eine Beisetzung mit dem #Saxophon als Duett begleiten.
Im #Niemandsland zwischen #Brandenburg #Prignitz und #Mecklenburg; ein winziger Friedhof außerhalb des Dorfes, leicht abschüssig an der zerfahrenen Dorfstraße, von einer halbhohen Steinmauer umgeben.
In der Ferne läuft die #Ernte unter leicht bewölkter Sommerhitze.
Im Nachgang wirklich beeindruckend.
#danke -
#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #search #searchengine #frogfind #bang #update
🐸 FrogFind Update: Save Quota, Surf Faster – Introducing "Bang" Commands! ⚡
Hello Retro Fans!If you’ve ever tried typing a long search query on a clunky 30-year-old mechanical keyboard, you know it can be a bit of a workout. But typing isn't the only thing we want to optimize. Behind the scenes, FrogFind relies on modern search APIs (like Google and Brave) to fetch your results before stripping them down for your vintage browsers. These APIs come with strict daily limits (quotas).
Every time someone searches for "Macintosh Garden Classilla" or "Aminet Directory Opus", it eats into our daily search quota. But what if there was a way to skip the middleman, save our precious API calls, and get you to your favorite retro sites even faster?
Enter Bang Commands (inspired by DuckDuckGo)!
How it works & The "Why"
Starting today, you can use shortcuts directly in the FrogFind search bar. If you type a bang (like !mg) followed by your search term, FrogFind completely bypasses the Google/Brave search engines. Zero API quota is used!Instead, FrogFind takes your query, securely contacts the target archive directly, and feeds the results straight into our read.php text-parser. You get the exact same lightweight, retro-friendly HTML output, but much faster and without draining the daily search limits.
We tested dozens of sites, but the modern web is heavily guarded by Cloudflare and JavaScript walls. We aggressively removed any site that threw a 404 error or a captcha to keep your experience 100% frustration-free.
Here are the "Glorious Five" fully supported Bang Commands that survived the gauntlet:
💾 Software & System Archives
!mg (Macintosh Garden)
Example: !mg Classilla
Searches the ultimate library for classic Mac OS software and routes the results through our text filter.!am (Aminet)
Example: !am Protracker
Direct access to the world's largest Amiga software archive.📚 Retro Knowledge & Wikis
!w (Wikipedia English) / !wde (Wikipedia German)
Example: !w Commodore 64
Bypasses search engines and pulls the Wikipedia article straight into FrogFind’s highly compatible reader.🌐 Native Retro Search Engines
!wiby (Wiby.me)
Example: !wiby Web Design
Searches Wiby, a search engine specifically dedicated to the classic, CSS-free Web 1.0. A match made in heaven!🕹️ Demoscene
!pouet (Pouët)
Example: !pouet Second Reality
Search the central hub of the demoscene directly from your vintage rig.Give it a try!
Just type your bang command directly into the FrogFind search bar on your old machine. It’s a massive time-saver and helps keep the FrogFind servers running smoothly for everyone. We will add a small "Cheat Sheet" link to the homepage soon so you won't have to memorize them all.Happy surfing!
Your FrogFind Team 🐸 -
A personal account of homelessness, scapegoating, & zero-sum games:
Earlier this year, at 49 years old, I found myself homeless and in emergency/temporary accommodation through my local council. That wasn’t a situation I ever dreamed I’d be in. I don’t fit any of the dismal clichéd tropes of alcoholic, or drug user, or teenage runaway. How could I not manage to pull enough threads of my (previously successful) life together to prevent everything unravelling to such an extent?
What this situation illuminated to me was that homelessness can be caused by a series of difficult, unforeseen, and sometimes plain fucked-up events that an individual could probably handle if it were just one or two or even three concurrent challenges, but, to employ a surfing metaphor, sometimes it can feel as if you just attempted to ride a pretty big wave and after a glorious moment when you thought you’d got your life sorted, you get that sudden lurch in the stomach as you pitch over the board and spectacularly wipeout. It’s a stormy day and so wave after wave after wave come crashing down and you’re only just up gasping for air before the next big wave hits, tumbling you under, slamming you into the depths. You might struggle to the surface for a few moments: find a friendly sofa to crash on for a few days; have a family member let you use their address for mail (under duress); or manage to secure emergency housing; but often the horror of so many disorienting events happening simultaneously is enough to ensure that you won’t be getting back on your board anytime soon. To be honest your leash has probably snapped and you’re watching that board, your life-raft, being smashed to pieces on some rocks you’re now desperately trying to avoid.
I agree with the thinking that many of the issue of homelessness are brought about by a person being engulfed in a toxic environment that they refuse (either consciously or subconsciously) to integrate into. Our awareness of the human condition does continue to evolve, and there is a growing understanding that people’s addictions, difficulties, and inabilities to pioneer through life are not solely due to ‘a lack of character’ or ‘strength’ but that the toxicity of the family and community surrounding an individual can significantly damage a person’s chances of creating a successful life, and by successful I mean being able to thrive, not just survive the daily grind. The issue here is that often the family and wider community refuse to admit that their actions are toxic. They don’t want to be told that they’re part of the problem, and they definitely do not want to have to change their toxic, competitive behaviours that have worked so well for them up until that point.
Anyone who’s studied The Prisoners’ Dilemma paradox in Game Theory (a thought experiment devised that offers competing participants the opportunity to choose either a cooperative strategy or a more ‘dog-eat-dog’ approach to winning) will tell you that the cooperative, mutually beneficial, emotionally intelligent strategy always wins, with those taking a selfish, retaliatory position consistently finding themselves at the bottom of the league. What I can’t fathom is why people continue to destroy each other in their fabricated zero-sum games when all the research points to the fact that a person can be both motivated by self-interest and still accept that cooperation is the most viable option for an individual’s success; it’s literally win-win. I suppose the research can’t account for the perverse nature of some people’s character, even as it highlights the extent to which capitalism has destroyed the very fabric of our togetherness.
As Friedrich Engels explains in The Conditions of The Working Class in England:
“Competition is the completest expression of the battle of all against all which rules in modern civil society. But this competition of the workers among themselves is the worst side of the present state of things in its effect upon the worker, the sharpest weapon against the proletariat in the hands of the bourgeoisie.”The capitalist ideal that it’s ‘everyone for themselves’ encourages us to view all people as competition who must be at best ignored, or at worst destroyed, and this cancer now spreads throughout families and communities as much as the workplace. It’s also the narcissist’s most effective tool for maintaining control of a community’s thoughts and perceptions of any given situation or victim.
It’s sad to acknowledge that we’ve all internalised this competitiveness to the extent that the very community a homeless person should reach out to for help are often the exact same people who created the miserable environment that precipitated that person’s misfortunes in the first place.
The experts might tell us that when an individual begins to set strong personal boundaries, those who benefited from their previous lack of self-worth will vanish from their life, but what about the people who actively seek to destroy their target due to a fear of being unmasked? What about the fellow creatives, family, and ex who know that if you begin to live a healthy life outside of their toxic paradigm you’ll expose their dysfunction, and so they ramp up the vicious smear campaigns encouraging everyone you come into contact with to compete with you for even the most insignificant comforts or advantages? Soon everyone around the victim joins the frenzy, becoming a plague of locusts stripping everything away until that person is left with absolutely nothing.
Even though I now have a place to live and a job, I often experience a deep despair that I’ll never escape this Kafkaesque nightmare and I still struggle to make it to the end of each day with my self-worth in tact. This is because although I might have managed to haul myself up one or two more rungs of the ladder, I’m no way near clear of this mess.
Thinking again of Engles, there’s no returning to the times before industrialisation horrifically transmuted us into capitalist-fight-or-die machines, and we don’t need to rewind to some Romanticised version of peasantry, but couldn't we just pause long enough to remember the organic heart of our humanity?
I don’t know what the answer is when it comes to dealing with scapegoating abuse. I’m still clawing myself away from the vicious lies while trying my best not to lose my heart to despair. People rarely bother to fact-check gossip. Perhaps the only thing survivors can do for each other is keep sharing our experiences so that others will know that they’re not alone. Watching the TedTalk on scapegoating abuse in my previous post is what inspired me to publish these words, I hope someone else in this position also passes on the baton.
#scapegoat #engels #capitalism #homeless #gametheory #zerosumgame
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White Sox fans should keep a close eye on the surging Gabe Davis https://www.rawchili.com/mlb/698228/ #Baseball #Chicago #ChicagoWhiteSox #ChicagoWhiteSox #DavisMartin #GabeDavis #MLB #OklahomaStateUniversity #WhiteSox #WhiteSox
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White Sox fans should keep a close eye on the surging Gabe Davis https://www.rawchili.com/mlb/698228/ #Baseball #Chicago #ChicagoWhiteSox #ChicagoWhiteSox #DavisMartin #GabeDavis #MLB #OklahomaStateUniversity #WhiteSox #WhiteSox
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Gullah Geechee people set out to keep their family land. Unclear titles and surging taxes are pushing them out https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/may/10/gullah-geechee-low-country #Race #GullahGeechee #BlackUsCulture #SouthCarolina #UsNews #ClimateCrisis
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Community Alert: ICE Operations Actively Surging on Illinois Streets
Video Source:
https://reddit.com/comments/1swacu7Added Context:
I've been hearing these comments about ICE ramping up. Here is an example:For context, the US gov gave these goons the budget of the German military with nearly no supervision. And as of right now, the budget renewal bill passing around in Congress is trying to give them even more obscene money with no increase in regulation.
It would be unreasonable to expect that they are not going to use that money to increase their ranks and send goons back in. They are probably going to train them a bit better and scale back the naked maliciousness. When they murdered two Americans a few months back, they were under expressed orders from Miller to violently antagonize protestors because Miller believes that violence scares peaceful people.
After the public backlash, as of now, it seems that the Miller doctrine is off. But ICE still has absurd levels of money and a mandate to develop itself as Trump's personal imperial guard. They are going to go back to every major blue city and cause more havoc, even if their tactics improve to prevent being in the news as much.
They've been actively terrorizing non-white people in red states the entire time, and we don't hear much about it because red states are happy to support that. The Guardian says ICE and CBP have had about the same amount of arrests in Feb and March of this year as July and August of last year. So they have been active, just trying to keep out of the news by harassing people in communities that allow it.
#ice #resistance #resist #usa #politics #authoritarianism #fascism #protest #civildisobedience #USAFascistShitShow #icestapo #policestate #paramilitary #policemilitarization #federalinvasion #abolishice #abolishdhs #abolishhsi #abolishero #abolishcbp #illinois #crimesofice_videos_citizens_defending_themselves
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Jet fuel crisis boon for Nigeria’s Dangote but hurts local airlines
Nigeria's giant Dangote refinery is benefiting from record margins for producing jet fuel that it is mostly selling abroad even as domestic airlines threaten to halt flights over surging fuel prices. #News #Reuters #Newsfeed #aviation #airlines #energy #fuelprices #africa #nigeria #dangote Read the story here: 👉 Subscribe: Keep up with the latest news from around the world: Follow Reuters on Facebook:…
https://fllics.com/en/video/jet-fuel-crisis-boon-for-nigerias-dangote-but-hurts-local-airlines/
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When the Clouds Begin to Part: Reading the Signs of Democracy’s Renewal – January 13, 2026 – A DWD Editorial
Silhouetted Americans standing together as storm clouds part and sunlight rays form signposts over the U.S. Capitol dome.The clouds may not be gone yet — but the signposts are visible.
When the Clouds Begin to Part: Reading the Signs of Democracy’s Renewal
Opinion • DrWeb’s Domain
For many Americans — and for millions around the world who have watched the United States as a democratic north star — the period since January 2025 has felt like standing inside a gathering storm. Institutions strained. Norms bent and some broken. Constitutional guardrails tested. Who truly expected the Supreme Court of the United States to roll over for Trump as it has? That is not right-wing. That is simply crazy. The noise has been relentless, the rhetoric exhausting, and the stakes unmistakably historic.
Yet history teaches something equally important: democratic collapse does not arrive all at once — and neither does democratic recovery.
Recovery begins with signs. Subtle at first. Then unmistakable.
If one listens closely beneath the thunder of daily crisis, it becomes clear: the clouds may be parting.
The First Signs: Institutions Remember Who They Are
One of the earliest and most hopeful indicators of democratic renewal is institutional memory reasserting itself.
Courts have continued to issue rulings that quietly but firmly reinforce constitutional boundaries. Career civil servants have refused unlawful directives. Inspectors General, auditors, election officials, and local administrators — the so-called “invisible infrastructure” of democracy — have held their posts. Many have done so under extraordinary pressure.
Democracy does not survive because of speeches. It survives because ordinary people inside extraordinary systems decide, again and again, to do their jobs.
That is happening.
Public Resistance Has Shifted from Outrage to Organization
Another critical sign: the public response has matured.
In 2017–2021, resistance was loud, emotional, and often reactive. In 2025–2026, it has become something more durable: structured, patient, legally grounded, and strategically national.
Voter registration is surging. Grassroots legal funds are multiplying. Journalists are collaborating across outlets and borders. State governments are coordinating constitutional defenses. Universities, bar associations, unions, faith groups, and veterans’ organizations are issuing joint statements rooted not in ideology but in constitutional principle.
This is what civic adulthood looks like.
Authoritarian Power Always Overreaches — and the Overreach Is Now Visible
History is unambiguous on this point: authoritarian atttempts collapse under the weight of their own ambition.
The more power attempts to centralize, the more resistance it creates — not just among citizens, but within the machinery of the state itself. Fractures are now visible inside political coalitions that once appeared unified. Economic confidence wavers when rule of law is threatened. International alliances grow cautious. Investors, courts, businesses, universities, and professional associations begin to hedge against instability.
Power that depends on fear is always fragile.
The World Is No Longer Standing on the Sidelines
Another hopeful signal: the global democratic community is no longer silent.
Foreign courts, human-rights bodies, election monitors, international media, and allied governments are actively documenting events inside the United States. This matters. It constrains excess. It preserves record. It establishes future accountability.
Democracy is no longer merely an American inheritance. It is now a shared global responsibility.
What Comes Next: The Great Recovery of Democracy, 2026
If the past year was about resistance, the coming year will be about reconstruction.
The Great Recovery of Democracy will not arrive through one election alone. It will unfold through a sequence:
- Legal clarification of constitutional limits
- Electoral realignment driven by turnout
- Institutional reforms reinforcing checks and balances
- A generational renewal of civic participation
- A recommitment to shared factual reality
This is how democracies heal — not by erasing conflict, but by re-anchoring legitimacy.
How We Will Know We Are Winning
We the People are winning when:
- The rule of law reasserts itself over political convenience
- Elections regain their authority as final arbiters
- Extremism begins to fracture from the inside
- Public trust inches upward
- Young Americans choose engagement over despair
Most of all, we will know we are winning when fear no longer drives the national conversation.
Looking Up Through the Clouds
Looking Up Through the CloudsThe clouds have not yet vanished. But the sky is changing. Keep watching the skies!
And history shows: once democratic momentum returns, it moves with extraordinary force.
After 250 years, the American experiment has learned its hardest lesson once again — and it is remembering its purpose.
The road ahead is long.
Tags: Authoritarian Rule, democracy, DrWeb, DWD Editorial, Hope, Institutions, Road Ahead, Rule of Law, SCOTUS, Signposts, Trump, U.S. Constitution
But the signposts are now visible.
And they are pointing forward…
With Hope, DrWeb
#AuthoritarianRule #democracy #DrWeb #DWDEditorial #Hope #Institutions #RoadAhead #RuleOfLaw #SCOTUS #Signposts #Trump #USConstitution -
Heavy Moves Heavy 2025 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist By Thus SpokeBefore I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt. ~ Ferox
A year has passed, and now the barbell of honour has been placed on my (regrettably smaller) shoulders as Ferox steps back from the AMG side-quest to focus on his main story. Our leader may be absent, but our search for gains continues with an otherwise full house and new recruits to boot. The songs that guided and shaped our workouts are compiled here in a playlist guaranteed to boost yours, whether you listen on shuffle or straight the way through.1 So what are you waiting for? Down your pre-workout, grab your straps and your knee-sleeves, and get ready to get massive. ~ Thus Spoke
Thus Spoke Enters Muscle Mommy Mode:
“Silence like the Grave” // Paradise Lost (Ascension) – Straightforwardly solid, catchy, sharp, with a killer atmosphere. Insta-playlist save when the single dropped. Paradise Lost back on top-form and just time to give you the energy for moving heavy things.
“Magnolia” // Deafheaven (Lonely People with Power) – Oh yeah, I’m dead serious. Sorry not sorry to any haters out there. This is four minutes and change of unqualified emotion and racing thoughts and it gets my blood running hot every damn time.
“Against the Dying of the Light” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – Unironically motivating in a way presumably not intended. Just when you want to quit, that roar of “raaage, RAAAAAAGGGE,” and the impeccable drum and guitar work come in to see you through.
“Condemnesia” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – The devastation of a currently-occurring nuclear disaster—complete with a frantically clicking geiger counter and a witness’ agonised moans—portrayed through slick, punchy tech-death. Do I need to explain?
“Perfida Contracçao do Aço” // Filii Nigrantium Infernalium (Perfida Contracçao do Aço) – I wouldn’t normally go for something like this; the vocals are kind of horrible. But the energetic ridiculousness is so fucking feral it takes you beyond pumped and into crazed maniac territory; which is obviously ideal for the gym.
“DNA (Do Not Amputate)” // To the Grave (Still) – Mean, melodic, and with a message, there’s nothing about this that doesn’t work while lifting. If I’m going to include any deathcore in the playlist at all, then it has to be To the Grave.
“Eunuch Maker” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If your resting-murder-face, hoodie, and headphones aren’t enough to keep people from having the audacity to speak to you, then listening to this could help. It’s massive, and fun as hell, and will make you look extra mean through osmosis, I guarantee.
“Architects of Extinction” // Psycroptic (Architects of Extinction) – Banger alert. The change in vocals makes this a smidge less strong than it otherwise would be, but c’mon; a riff that good has got to be anabolic.
“Amaranth” // Nephylim (Circuition) – My dopamine-fixation song for the best part of a month. It’s uplifting, it’s catchy, it’s infinitely replayable. What more do you want?
“Natural Law” // Primitive Man (Observance) – It’s not too long, it’s a very important, massive chunk of overwhelming heaviness that makes me feel ten times the size and heft I actually am. You can get through all three (or however many) sets with spare time to admire the pump.
“Deathless” // Phobocosm (Gateway) – Monstrous, massive, intense. Fast and furious isn’t always it; more and more, I crave slow, oppressive, and malevolent. It’s just what I crave to dig deeper.
“1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” // 1914 (Viribus Unitis) – It took less than a single complete playthrough for this to end up on this list. It’s heavy enough for leg day, and it’s atmospheric and moving in that perfect way that helps you dissociate from how much your body hurts. I’ve had it on repeat through many a tough session since.
Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:
“Rot in the Pit” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If there was ever a song that eradicated mental blocks to that next rep, that next PR, that next push, it’s “Rot in the Pit.” Boasting mountain-moving swagger and a center riff that risks greater injury to my body than any ego lift could ever approach, Depravity penned a bona fide gymstormer with “Rot in the Pit.”
“Summoning Sickness” // Pedestal for Leviathan (Enter: Vampyric Manifestation) – Imagine getting legs so powerful and swole they force your gait to change—but you’re doing it in the basement of your Transylvanian vampire castle with Igor loading up weights on the bar for your next PR. That’s what “Summoning Sickness” feels like when I’m pushing
“Nachthexe” // Bianca (Bianca) – You wouldn’t expect something that dabbles so heavily in atmosphere to possess such meaty muscle as this, but Bianca’s “Nachthexe” proves the might of the sleeper build. Once they take of the airy, soft pump cover, a devastating topology of deadly power ripples just under the skin.
“The Insufferable Weight” // Barren Path (Grieving) – Don’t let the lighter weights I’m lugging around fool you. Volume days are fucking brutal, and a challenge for both my mind and my body. Barren Path’s “The Insufferable Weight” adrenalizes me with it’s speed and brutal rhythms just enough to survive those endless reps.
“Granfalloon” // Unbirth (Asomatous Besmirchment) – Unbirth is the pool from which some the nastiest, grooviest, and most deceptively complex riffs spawn. This is great fodder for those compound movements that build strength and density. You could pick anything off of Asomatous Besmirchment for such gains, but my preference is “Granfalloon.”
“Kollaps” // Jordsjuk (Naglet til livet) – Black metal? For the gym? You fucking bet. Guaranteed to pull you back from the brink of absolute failure, Jordsjuk’s “Kollaps” thrashes and shimmers with enough vibrancy and verve to make whatever load I’m pushing feel like light weight.
“Infestis” // Igorrr (Amen) – You wouldn’t expect something as weird and wacky as Igorrr to fit in the land of iron and steel, but here we are. With stomping riffs and vicious roars, “Infestis” is top tier workout gear. Great for keeping pace and supporting breath control, you’ll find much progress with Igorrr by your side.
“Flashback (ft. Strawberry Hospital)” // Blind Equation (A Funeral in Purgatory) – Every year I open up one slot for those high intensity workouts where cardio and strength meet. This year, my spotter cheering me on when I’m doing sprints and weighted jumps is Blind Equation’s intense and lightning-fast “Flashback.” Gotta go fast!!!
“Leave the Flesh Behind” // Ashen (Leave the Flesh Behind) – Probably the underdog in the litter, Ashen’s “Leave the Flesh” behind is all muscle, and a mountain of it at that. These riffs represent both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. One day, I hope to be like them.
“12 Worm Wounds” // Death Whore (Blood Washes Everything Away) – It was difficult to narrow down a selection from Death Whore’s lean and mean debut, but I keep coming back to the swaggering riffs of “12 Worm Wounds” went I need motivation for that next lift. It just makes everything I’m doing seem like the most fun I’ll ever have.
“The Fire in Which We Burn” // …and Oceans (The Regeneration Itinerary) – Boasting what I consider to be the single best black metal riff of 2025, …and Oceans greatly surprised me with a swaggering barnstormer of a track ready made to stoke the fire in my chest for a second wind. Hand me another set of plates, it’s time to go up for one more set!
“Never Difiled” // Serenity in Murder (Timeless Reverie) – Who needs to spell correctly when you have hundreds of pounds to push on the bar? This is the question I ask whenever the adrenaline-soaked “Never Difiled” plays as I rack up the plates for my next set. Nobody’s ever been able to give me an answer.
“The Twisted Helix” // Mutagenic Host (The Diseased Machine) – They say genetics play a huge role in what kind of gains you can expect to achieve naturally in the gym. Well, I’m an ectomorph so it’s tough—and takes a lot more time—to build and maintain muscle. The solution? Twist my helixes and instantly quadruple my gains. Mutagenic Host’s “The Twisted Helix” is just the tool for the job!
“+++Engine Kill+++” // Ruinous Power (EXTREME DANGER: Prototype Weaponry) – Sometimes you just need something threatening to rip the rails right off the track to hype you up for a grueling session. That’s what songs like Ruinous Power’s “+++Engine Kill+++” are for. Short, to the point, and vicious, it will get your blood surging and your body raring to go.
“Femto’s Theme” // Flummox (Southern Progress) – Something so theatrical doesn’t sound like a natural fit when working out, but the sheer heft and chunky rhythms of Flummox’s “Femto’s Theme” defies those expectations. I’ve been using it for leg days and the results are crazy town! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
Steel Druhm Trains His Ape Arms to Crush the Empire State Building:
“Abandoned Feretrum” // Sepulchral (Beneath the Shroud) – Blending old school black and death noise, Sepulchral mainline pure badger adrenaline and rattlesnake venom into your major muscle groups. Handle those power chugs with care, Brah.
“Necrobotic Enslavement” // Glorious Depravity (Death Never Sleeps) – Taking discarded Morbid Angel riffs and repurposing them to turn a peaceful man rabid is why we have science. Take 2 doses of “Necrobotic Enslavement” 30 minutes before throwing 45 lb plates at people who sit on exercise machines and chat.
“A Scream in the Snow” // Black Soul Horde (Symphony of Chaos) – Trve metal can embiggen the innate desire for strength and raw power like no other, and “A Scream in the Snow” will have you swinging olympic bars to get that sword arm ready for bloody constraint and weightroom glory.
“Eyes on Six” // Biohazard (Divided We Fall) – Loudmouthed tough guys from Brooklyn scream at you to watch your back as they try to snap it with angry riffs and bad attitudes. This is for the caveman living in your reptile brain.
“Carry On” // Nite (Cult of the Serpent Sun) – Badass riffs and Manowar-esque demands that you carry on despite hardships are the crucial things that separate a routine workout from a Herculean trial that transforms you. Carry on to bigness.
“Crusaders” // Starlight Ritual (Rogue Angels) – A dirty, greasy 80s metal anthem that sounds like proto-Iron Maiden is what you need to evolve from tubby baby to a fucking WRATHCHILD. Join this crusade and tip your templar.
“Iron Sign” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – Unraveling the Riddle of Steel requires a long, hard journey guided only by iron signs. This cut will set you on the right path toward your ferric destiny.
“Bending the Steel” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – If you’re out there bending the steel, why not get moral support from Ambush with this massive aggressive dose of testosterone and primal motivation? When the singer shouts, “Let’s go, boys!” you’ll feel your strength grow 3 times (plus two!). With an iron will, you gotta keep bending the steel!
“Garuda (Eater of Snakes)” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm write heavy metal for leg day, and Garuda is your feathery guardian iron eagle compelling you to crush that feeble PB. The strong can tell their eagle where to fly and what snakes to eat.
“Beyond Enemy Lines” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm ain’t done with you by a damn sight! If the thundering drums and beefy riffs here don’t get you chalked up and ready for iron warfare, you should take up underwater doily knitting.
Steel-Jacketed Olden Bonus:
“Spark to the Flame” // Winter’s Bane (Redivivus) – One of the greatest gym/workout songs EVER. Lyrics that speak of creating a better version of yourself as you burn in the crucible of effort will help you rise high as those burly riffs hammer your inner coward into moist gum paste.
Grin Reaper Gets Down with the Fitness:
“No Pain, No Gain” // Majestica (Power Train) – Metals of Power and Heft are a must for my workouts, especially stretching and pre-lifting calisthenics. Majestica’s cheesy anthem is perfect montage-fodder, and even though the track is rife with clichéd chestnuts, it features kinetic hooks that gird my gears for what’s to come.
“Storm the Gates” // Soulfly (Chama) – Once I’m limbered up, it’s time to sweat. Max and the boys’ bouncy grooves peddle just the right combination of chest-thumping swagger and ferocity to make sure my next rep sets the tone for a simmering sesh of glorious gainz.
“Skullbattering” // Werewolves (The Ugliest of All) – There’s no better way to keep momentum hurtling forward than with a good ol’ fashioned ode to smashing braincases. Setting the right tone for a workout is paramount, and here Werewolves does not fuck around. There’s nothing pretty or flowery about “Skullbattering,” but if swole is your goal, you need to exorcise the Ugly.
“Anodyne Rust” // Blood Red Throne (Siltskin) – I hurt my shoulder a few years ago, and though stretching and (prescribed) drugs didn’t help much, bulking up did. Exercise slipped out of my routine as work and family commitments grew (as did my waistline), but as I’ve recently knocked the Rust off my dumbbells, I’m reminded of the palliative restoration that comes from pumping iron and death metal.
“Ravenous Leech” // Guts (Nightmare Fuel) – Scuzzy, groovy, and unapologetically fun, Nightmare Fuel is filled to the gills with mid-paced chugs that make a great soundtrack for AMRAP workouts. While most of Guts’ bloody remnants will Fuel your workout, spinning “Ravenous Leech” is sure to leave you hungry for even more punishment.
“By Lead or Steel” // Barbarous (Initium Mors) – Does Cannibal Corpse feature heavily in your gym listening? If so, consider Barbarous, who channels similar vibes and vitriol with less viscera. It’ll make you want to drink motör oil and punch babies, and that’s the kind of shove you need when you’re out on swole patrol.2
“Kaltfront” // Eisbrecher (Kaltfront) – Something about heavy distortion, dance-adjacent electronics, and gravelly vocals makes ‘New German Hardness’ prime listening for calculated and efficient movements. With near imperceptible head bops and a commitment to perfect form, this “Kaltfront” leaves me focused and hard as a block of ice.
“Hope Terminator” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – Plenty of great death metal jams spurn gym-list inclusion with slow-build intros, not getting to proper stankin’ until they’re well into the track. Cytotoxin knows better, immediately flaying you with technicality. “Hope Terminator’ is the perfect mid-playlist piece to curb fatigue and keep your spirit engorged.
“Let There Be Oblivion” // Ade (Supplicium) – Rome’s Ade lays down a banger of a riff on “Let There Be Oblivion,” and it’s long and strong enough to push me through a set or two. If I’m struggling during a workout, whether in motivation or physically, I need every ounce of energy I can muster, and songs like this one can be the tipping point.
“Blinding Oblivion” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – Like Guts’ Nightmare Fuel, Bestial Possession boasts track after track of gym-ready scorchers. I chose “Blinding Oblivion” 1. to maintain consistency with “Let There Be Oblivion” and 2. because something about the subtle melody in the song gives it an air of refreshment that I need as the demands of my workout ramp to a frothing climax.
“Elevator Operator” // Electric Callboy (Elevator Operator) – It’s dumb, it’s trite, and it’s so devastatingly catchy that it sticks in my head for days on end. Most importantly, it makes me want to move things up and down, and I won’t apologize for that.
“Sunlight Covenant” // Spire of Lazarus (Those Who Live in Death) – I don’t dabble in deathcore often, but when I do, it’s usually technical, symphonic, and anthemic. Spire of Lazarus crafts just the right blend of their core components to make “Sunlight Covenant” a certified HMH banger. As a bonus, try to time it so that the track hits on your last set of the day—the melody and backing swells make a triumphant send-off as you clinch the last rep and wipe down the bench. You wiped the bench, right?
“Fossilized” // Ültra Raptör (Fossilized) – This song has stayed close since I first laid ears on it, and not once has it failed to engage the hype machine. Whether warming up, working out, or cooling down, the classic retro riffs and sunglasses-at-night nonchalance define a cool I strive for, and motivation like that is the key to gainz.
Dolph Does Heavy This Time:3
“Mortuary Rites” // Mörtual (Altar of Brutality) – Blood boils fastest with a roto-tom take off followed by a death-thrash pummel. As churning pit energy converts to flared nostrils, focused vision, and engorged fibers at the crack of a incessant stick, find a slow and steady breath as your body prepares for war.
“Tlazolteotl” // Kalaveraztekah (Nikan Axkan) – The beat of a clanging snare threatens whatever weighted structure exists in your path. “Tlazolteotl” marches ever forward through growling twists, hardwood clack, and flute-led guitar abandon. A brief respite of acoustics awaits—but so does the real bulk of this journey.
“Black Scrawl” // Pupil Slicer (Fleshwork) – Feedback, growling bass, pneumatic kicks, and an urgent snarl—Pupil Slicer demands your full thrust. With this affixing hardcore anchor, “Black Scrawl” will carry you to your first peak push with a dragging breakdown coda.
“Swamp Mentality” // The Acacia Strain (You Are Safe from God Here) – Rest does not come to those who push only once, though. The burn of your resolve will light the path in the angst and mire and core-fluid whiplash of “Swamp Mentality.” And Vincent Bennett’s tattered and spit-riddled mic will provide an extra OUGH to your exhale.
“Orphans” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – If you could tether your pulse to the relentless kick assaults that Chason Westmoreland brings to “Orphans”—all of Tooth and Nail really—your spotter wouldn’t be able to find dial emergency fast enough to save you. Instead, search for the heavier weighted tempo that exists between the pitter-patter as your guide. In this space, relentless and emotive riff runs and lead wails coalesce into one of the most threatening thrash-pit breaks of the year. Harness this power.
“The Great Day of His Wrath” // Blindfolded (What Seeps through Threads) – In vicious harmonized splendor, Blindfolded’s neoclassical scale hopping riffage possesses a buoyancy that is vital to remaining invigored. And whipping around bleating and squealing mic energy with resplendent solo work, “The Great Day of His Wrath” both maintains your demanding schedule and restores a lightness to your being before the heaviest pulls come to play.
“Retina” // Pillars of Cacophony (Paralipomena) – Neoclassical drama, however, doesn’t always seek to restore with its airy play. “Retina” arrives, rather, with a mechanical and and programmed structure that functions as a scaffold upon which ascending scale iterations match your own gradual and gravity-creating climb. As the pinch-happy shuffle sneers in precision stank-face deployment, resist the urge to discharge your steel load into the earth.
“Lunar Tear” // Barren Path (Grieving) – In any routine, no matter how structured, a moment of ferocious release can provide a benefit. Before this playlist enters its most grueling minutes, a lightning-speed romp in the grips of endless blasts and riffs exists to shake off the inertia that can result from testing your limits.
“Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” // Pissgrave (Malignant Worthlessness) – We are all filth—corpses brought to life by the signals we create. Synapses creating chains from proximal to distal drive our movements from concept to power. Through squelching refrain and lockstep death metal assault, fibers at the edge of their load-bearing capacity persist and persevere in the midst of Pissgrave’s shifting and grimy rhythms.
“Bursting with Life’s True Fruit” // Umulamahri (Learning the Secrets of Acid) – Guttural expression unlocks the last inches of a tough pull. As we channel Doug Moore’s garbage disposal tier phlegmanations into our own tidal vibrations, we visualize the final set. We are victorious. And in a celebratory expression of might, we slip into Umulamahri’s enlightened synth dissolution. Those who float cannot collapse.
#AndOceans #1914 #2025 #Ade #Ambush #Ashen #Barbarous #BarrenPath #Bianca #Biohazard #BlackSoulHorde #BlindEquation #Blindfolded #BloodRedThrone #Brainstorm #Cytotoxin #Deafheaven #DeathWhore #Depravity #DormantOrdeal #Eisbrecher #ElectricCallboy #FiliiNigrantiumInfernalium #Flummox #GloriousDepravity #Guts #HeavyMovesHeavy #Igorr #Jordsjuk #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #Mortual #MutagenicHost #Nephylim #Nite #ParadiseLost #PedestalForLeviathan #Phobocosm #PillarsOfCacophony #Pissgrave #PrimitiveMan #Psycroptic #PupilSlicer #RuinousPower #Sepulchral #SerenityInMurder #Soulfly #SpireOfLazarus #StarlightRitual #TheAcaciaStrain #ToTheGrave #ÜltraRaptör #Umulamahri #Unbirth #Werewolves #WinterSBane -
Heavy Moves Heavy 2025 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist By Thus SpokeBefore I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt. ~ Ferox
A year has passed, and now the barbell of honour has been placed on my (regrettably smaller) shoulders as Ferox steps back from the AMG side-quest to focus on his main story. Our leader may be absent, but our search for gains continues with an otherwise full house and new recruits to boot. The songs that guided and shaped our workouts are compiled here in a playlist guaranteed to boost yours, whether you listen on shuffle or straight the way through.1 So what are you waiting for? Down your pre-workout, grab your straps and your knee-sleeves, and get ready to get massive. ~ Thus Spoke
Thus Spoke Enters Muscle Mommy Mode:
“Silence like the Grave” // Paradise Lost (Ascension) – Straightforwardly solid, catchy, sharp, with a killer atmosphere. Insta-playlist save when the single dropped. Paradise Lost back on top-form and just time to give you the energy for moving heavy things.
“Magnolia” // Deafheaven (Lonely People with Power) – Oh yeah, I’m dead serious. Sorry not sorry to any haters out there. This is four minutes and change of unqualified emotion and racing thoughts and it gets my blood running hot every damn time.
“Against the Dying of the Light” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – Unironically motivating in a way presumably not intended. Just when you want to quit, that roar of “raaage, RAAAAAAGGGE,” and the impeccable drum and guitar work come in to see you through.
“Condemnesia” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – The devastation of a currently-occurring nuclear disaster—complete with a frantically clicking geiger counter and a witness’ agonised moans—portrayed through slick, punchy tech-death. Do I need to explain?
“Perfida Contracçao do Aço” // Filii Nigrantium Infernalium (Perfida Contracçao do Aço) – I wouldn’t normally go for something like this; the vocals are kind of horrible. But the energetic ridiculousness is so fucking feral it takes you beyond pumped and into crazed maniac territory; which is obviously ideal for the gym.
“DNA (Do Not Amputate)” // To the Grave (Still) – Mean, melodic, and with a message, there’s nothing about this that doesn’t work while lifting. If I’m going to include any deathcore in the playlist at all, then it has to be To the Grave.
“Eunuch Maker” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If your resting-murder-face, hoodie, and headphones aren’t enough to keep people from having the audacity to speak to you, then listening to this could help. It’s massive, and fun as hell, and will make you look extra mean through osmosis, I guarantee.
“Architects of Extinction” // Psycroptic (Architects of Extinction) – Banger alert. The change in vocals makes this a smidge less strong than it otherwise would be, but c’mon; a riff that good has got to be anabolic.
“Amaranth” // Nephylim (Circuition) – My dopamine-fixation song for the best part of a month. It’s uplifting, it’s catchy, it’s infinitely replayable. What more do you want?
“Natural Law” // Primitive Man (Observance) – It’s not too long, it’s a very important, massive chunk of overwhelming heaviness that makes me feel ten times the size and heft I actually am. You can get through all three (or however many) sets with spare time to admire the pump.
“Deathless” // Phobocosm (Gateway) – Monstrous, massive, intense. Fast and furious isn’t always it; more and more, I crave slow, oppressive, and malevolent. It’s just what I crave to dig deeper.
“1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” // 1914 (Viribus Unitis) – It took less than a single complete playthrough for this to end up on this list. It’s heavy enough for leg day, and it’s atmospheric and moving in that perfect way that helps you dissociate from how much your body hurts. I’ve had it on repeat through many a tough session since.
Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:
“Rot in the Pit” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If there was ever a song that eradicated mental blocks to that next rep, that next PR, that next push, it’s “Rot in the Pit.” Boasting mountain-moving swagger and a center riff that risks greater injury to my body than any ego lift could ever approach, Depravity penned a bona fide gymstormer with “Rot in the Pit.”
“Summoning Sickness” // Pedestal for Leviathan (Enter: Vampyric Manifestation) – Imagine getting legs so powerful and swole they force your gait to change—but you’re doing it in the basement of your Transylvanian vampire castle with Igor loading up weights on the bar for your next PR. That’s what “Summoning Sickness” feels like when I’m pushing
“Nachthexe” // Bianca (Bianca) – You wouldn’t expect something that dabbles so heavily in atmosphere to possess such meaty muscle as this, but Bianca’s “Nachthexe” proves the might of the sleeper build. Once they take of the airy, soft pump cover, a devastating topology of deadly power ripples just under the skin.
“The Insufferable Weight” // Barren Path (Grieving) – Don’t let the lighter weights I’m lugging around fool you. Volume days are fucking brutal, and a challenge for both my mind and my body. Barren Path’s “The Insufferable Weight” adrenalizes me with it’s speed and brutal rhythms just enough to survive those endless reps.
“Granfalloon” // Unbirth (Asomatous Besmirchment) – Unbirth is the pool from which some the nastiest, grooviest, and most deceptively complex riffs spawn. This is great fodder for those compound movements that build strength and density. You could pick anything off of Asomatous Besmirchment for such gains, but my preference is “Granfalloon.”
“Kollaps” // Jordsjuk (Naglet til livet) – Black metal? For the gym? You fucking bet. Guaranteed to pull you back from the brink of absolute failure, Jordsjuk’s “Kollaps” thrashes and shimmers with enough vibrancy and verve to make whatever load I’m pushing feel like light weight.
“Infestis” // Igorrr (Amen) – You wouldn’t expect something as weird and wacky as Igorrr to fit in the land of iron and steel, but here we are. With stomping riffs and vicious roars, “Infestis” is top tier workout gear. Great for keeping pace and supporting breath control, you’ll find much progress with Igorrr by your side.
“Flashback (ft. Strawberry Hospital)” // Blind Equation (A Funeral in Purgatory) – Every year I open up one slot for those high intensity workouts where cardio and strength meet. This year, my spotter cheering me on when I’m doing sprints and weighted jumps is Blind Equation’s intense and lightning-fast “Flashback.” Gotta go fast!!!
“Leave the Flesh Behind” // Ashen (Leave the Flesh Behind) – Probably the underdog in the litter, Ashen’s “Leave the Flesh” behind is all muscle, and a mountain of it at that. These riffs represent both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. One day, I hope to be like them.
“12 Worm Wounds” // Death Whore (Blood Washes Everything Away) – It was difficult to narrow down a selection from Death Whore’s lean and mean debut, but I keep coming back to the swaggering riffs of “12 Worm Wounds” went I need motivation for that next lift. It just makes everything I’m doing seem like the most fun I’ll ever have.
“The Fire in Which We Burn” // …and Oceans (The Regeneration Itinerary) – Boasting what I consider to be the single best black metal riff of 2025, …and Oceans greatly surprised me with a swaggering barnstormer of a track ready made to stoke the fire in my chest for a second wind. Hand me another set of plates, it’s time to go up for one more set!
“Never Difiled” // Serenity in Murder (Timeless Reverie) – Who needs to spell correctly when you have hundreds of pounds to push on the bar? This is the question I ask whenever the adrenaline-soaked “Never Difiled” plays as I rack up the plates for my next set. Nobody’s ever been able to give me an answer.
“The Twisted Helix” // Mutagenic Host (The Diseased Machine) – They say genetics play a huge role in what kind of gains you can expect to achieve naturally in the gym. Well, I’m an ectomorph so it’s tough—and takes a lot more time—to build and maintain muscle. The solution? Twist my helixes and instantly quadruple my gains. Mutagenic Host’s “The Twisted Helix” is just the tool for the job!
“+++Engine Kill+++” // Ruinous Power (EXTREME DANGER: Prototype Weaponry) – Sometimes you just need something threatening to rip the rails right off the track to hype you up for a grueling session. That’s what songs like Ruinous Power’s “+++Engine Kill+++” are for. Short, to the point, and vicious, it will get your blood surging and your body raring to go.
“Femto’s Theme” // Flummox (Southern Progress) – Something so theatrical doesn’t sound like a natural fit when working out, but the sheer heft and chunky rhythms of Flummox’s “Femto’s Theme” defies those expectations. I’ve been using it for leg days and the results are crazy town! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
Steel Druhm Trains His Ape Arms to Crush the Empire State Building:
“Abandoned Feretrum” // Sepulchral (Beneath the Shroud) – Blending old school black and death noise, Sepulchral mainline pure badger adrenaline and rattlesnake venom into your major muscle groups. Handle those power chugs with care, Brah.
“Necrobotic Enslavement” // Glorious Depravity (Death Never Sleeps) – Taking discarded Morbid Angel riffs and repurposing them to turn a peaceful man rabid is why we have science. Take 2 doses of “Necrobotic Enslavement” 30 minutes before throwing 45 lb plates at people who sit on exercise machines and chat.
“A Scream in the Snow” // Black Soul Horde (Symphony of Chaos) – Trve metal can embiggen the innate desire for strength and raw power like no other, and “A Scream in the Snow” will have you swinging olympic bars to get that sword arm ready for bloody constraint and weightroom glory.
“Eyes on Six” // Biohazard (Divided We Fall) – Loudmouthed tough guys from Brooklyn scream at you to watch your back as they try to snap it with angry riffs and bad attitudes. This is for the caveman living in your reptile brain.
“Carry On” // Nite (Cult of the Serpent Sun) – Badass riffs and Manowar-esque demands that you carry on despite hardships are the crucial things that separate a routine workout from a Herculean trial that transforms you. Carry on to bigness.
“Crusaders” // Starlight Ritual (Rogue Angels) – A dirty, greasy 80s metal anthem that sounds like proto-Iron Maiden is what you need to evolve from tubby baby to a fucking WRATHCHILD. Join this crusade and tip your templar.
“Iron Sign” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – Unraveling the Riddle of Steel requires a long, hard journey guided only by iron signs. This cut will set you on the right path toward your ferric destiny.
“Bending the Steel” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – If you’re out there bending the steel, why not get moral support from Ambush with this massive aggressive dose of testosterone and primal motivation? When the singer shouts, “Let’s go, boys!” you’ll feel your strength grow 3 times (plus two!). With an iron will, you gotta keep bending the steel!
“Garuda (Eater of Snakes)” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm write heavy metal for leg day, and Garuda is your feathery guardian iron eagle compelling you to crush that feeble PB. The strong can tell their eagle where to fly and what snakes to eat.
“Beyond Enemy Lines” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm ain’t done with you by a damn sight! If the thundering drums and beefy riffs here don’t get you chalked up and ready for iron warfare, you should take up underwater doily knitting.
Steel-Jacketed Olden Bonus:
“Spark to the Flame” // Winter’s Bane (Redivivus) – One of the greatest gym/workout songs EVER. Lyrics that speak of creating a better version of yourself as you burn in the crucible of effort will help you rise high as those burly riffs hammer your inner coward into moist gum paste.
Grin Reaper Gets Down with the Fitness:
“No Pain, No Gain” // Majestica (Power Train) – Metals of Power and Heft are a must for my workouts, especially stretching and pre-lifting calisthenics. Majestica’s cheesy anthem is perfect montage-fodder, and even though the track is rife with clichéd chestnuts, it features kinetic hooks that gird my gears for what’s to come.
“Storm the Gates” // Soulfly (Chama) – Once I’m limbered up, it’s time to sweat. Max and the boys’ bouncy grooves peddle just the right combination of chest-thumping swagger and ferocity to make sure my next rep sets the tone for a simmering sesh of glorious gainz.
“Skullbattering” // Werewolves (The Ugliest of All) – There’s no better way to keep momentum hurtling forward than with a good ol’ fashioned ode to smashing braincases. Setting the right tone for a workout is paramount, and here Werewolves does not fuck around. There’s nothing pretty or flowery about “Skullbattering,” but if swole is your goal, you need to exorcise the Ugly.
“Anodyne Rust” // Blood Red Throne (Siltskin) – I hurt my shoulder a few years ago, and though stretching and (prescribed) drugs didn’t help much, bulking up did. Exercise slipped out of my routine as work and family commitments grew (as did my waistline), but as I’ve recently knocked the Rust off my dumbbells, I’m reminded of the palliative restoration that comes from pumping iron and death metal.
“Ravenous Leech” // Guts (Nightmare Fuel) – Scuzzy, groovy, and unapologetically fun, Nightmare Fuel is filled to the gills with mid-paced chugs that make a great soundtrack for AMRAP workouts. While most of Guts’ bloody remnants will Fuel your workout, spinning “Ravenous Leech” is sure to leave you hungry for even more punishment.
“By Lead or Steel” // Barbarous (Initium Mors) – Does Cannibal Corpse feature heavily in your gym listening? If so, consider Barbarous, who channels similar vibes and vitriol with less viscera. It’ll make you want to drink motör oil and punch babies, and that’s the kind of shove you need when you’re out on swole patrol.2
“Kaltfront” // Eisbrecher (Kaltfront) – Something about heavy distortion, dance-adjacent electronics, and gravelly vocals makes ‘New German Hardness’ prime listening for calculated and efficient movements. With near imperceptible head bops and a commitment to perfect form, this “Kaltfront” leaves me focused and hard as a block of ice.
“Hope Terminator” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – Plenty of great death metal jams spurn gym-list inclusion with slow-build intros, not getting to proper stankin’ until they’re well into the track. Cytotoxin knows better, immediately flaying you with technicality. “Hope Terminator’ is the perfect mid-playlist piece to curb fatigue and keep your spirit engorged.
“Let There Be Oblivion” // Ade (Supplicium) – Rome’s Ade lays down a banger of a riff on “Let There Be Oblivion,” and it’s long and strong enough to push me through a set or two. If I’m struggling during a workout, whether in motivation or physically, I need every ounce of energy I can muster, and songs like this one can be the tipping point.
“Blinding Oblivion” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – Like Guts’ Nightmare Fuel, Bestial Possession boasts track after track of gym-ready scorchers. I chose “Blinding Oblivion” 1. to maintain consistency with “Let There Be Oblivion” and 2. because something about the subtle melody in the song gives it an air of refreshment that I need as the demands of my workout ramp to a frothing climax.
“Elevator Operator” // Electric Callboy (Elevator Operator) – It’s dumb, it’s trite, and it’s so devastatingly catchy that it sticks in my head for days on end. Most importantly, it makes me want to move things up and down, and I won’t apologize for that.
“Sunlight Covenant” // Spire of Lazarus (Those Who Live in Death) – I don’t dabble in deathcore often, but when I do, it’s usually technical, symphonic, and anthemic. Spire of Lazarus crafts just the right blend of their core components to make “Sunlight Covenant” a certified HMH banger. As a bonus, try to time it so that the track hits on your last set of the day—the melody and backing swells make a triumphant send-off as you clinch the last rep and wipe down the bench. You wiped the bench, right?
“Fossilized” // Ültra Raptör (Fossilized) – This song has stayed close since I first laid ears on it, and not once has it failed to engage the hype machine. Whether warming up, working out, or cooling down, the classic retro riffs and sunglasses-at-night nonchalance define a cool I strive for, and motivation like that is the key to gainz.
Dolph Does Heavy This Time:3
“Mortuary Rites” // Mörtual (Altar of Brutality) – Blood boils fastest with a roto-tom take off followed by a death-thrash pummel. As churning pit energy converts to flared nostrils, focused vision, and engorged fibers at the crack of a incessant stick, find a slow and steady breath as your body prepares for war.
“Tlazolteotl” // Kalaveraztekah (Nikan Axkan) – The beat of a clanging snare threatens whatever weighted structure exists in your path. “Tlazolteotl” marches ever forward through growling twists, hardwood clack, and flute-led guitar abandon. A brief respite of acoustics awaits—but so does the real bulk of this journey.
“Black Scrawl” // Pupil Slicer (Fleshwork) – Feedback, growling bass, pneumatic kicks, and an urgent snarl—Pupil Slicer demands your full thrust. With this affixing hardcore anchor, “Black Scrawl” will carry you to your first peak push with a dragging breakdown coda.
“Swamp Mentality” // The Acacia Strain (You Are Safe from God Here) – Rest does not come to those who push only once, though. The burn of your resolve will light the path in the angst and mire and core-fluid whiplash of “Swamp Mentality.” And Vincent Bennett’s tattered and spit-riddled mic will provide an extra OUGH to your exhale.
“Orphans” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – If you could tether your pulse to the relentless kick assaults that Chason Westmoreland brings to “Orphans”—all of Tooth and Nail really—your spotter wouldn’t be able to find dial emergency fast enough to save you. Instead, search for the heavier weighted tempo that exists between the pitter-patter as your guide. In this space, relentless and emotive riff runs and lead wails coalesce into one of the most threatening thrash-pit breaks of the year. Harness this power.
“The Great Day of His Wrath” // Blindfolded (What Seeps through Threads) – In vicious harmonized splendor, Blindfolded’s neoclassical scale hopping riffage possesses a buoyancy that is vital to remaining invigored. And whipping around bleating and squealing mic energy with resplendent solo work, “The Great Day of His Wrath” both maintains your demanding schedule and restores a lightness to your being before the heaviest pulls come to play.
“Retina” // Pillars of Cacophony (Paralipomena) – Neoclassical drama, however, doesn’t always seek to restore with its airy play. “Retina” arrives, rather, with a mechanical and and programmed structure that functions as a scaffold upon which ascending scale iterations match your own gradual and gravity-creating climb. As the pinch-happy shuffle sneers in precision stank-face deployment, resist the urge to discharge your steel load into the earth.
“Lunar Tear” // Barren Path (Grieving) – In any routine, no matter how structured, a moment of ferocious release can provide a benefit. Before this playlist enters its most grueling minutes, a lightning-speed romp in the grips of endless blasts and riffs exists to shake off the inertia that can result from testing your limits.
“Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” // Pissgrave (Malignant Worthlessness) – We are all filth—corpses brought to life by the signals we create. Synapses creating chains from proximal to distal drive our movements from concept to power. Through squelching refrain and lockstep death metal assault, fibers at the edge of their load-bearing capacity persist and persevere in the midst of Pissgrave’s shifting and grimy rhythms.
“Bursting with Life’s True Fruit” // Umulamahri (Learning the Secrets of Acid) – Guttural expression unlocks the last inches of a tough pull. As we channel Doug Moore’s garbage disposal tier phlegmanations into our own tidal vibrations, we visualize the final set. We are victorious. And in a celebratory expression of might, we slip into Umulamahri’s enlightened synth dissolution. Those who float cannot collapse.
#AndOceans #1914 #2025 #Ade #Ambush #Ashen #Barbarous #BarrenPath #Bianca #Biohazard #BlackSoulHorde #BlindEquation #Blindfolded #BloodRedThrone #Brainstorm #Cytotoxin #Deafheaven #DeathWhore #Depravity #DormantOrdeal #Eisbrecher #ElectricCallboy #FiliiNigrantiumInfernalium #Flummox #GloriousDepravity #Guts #HeavyMovesHeavy #Igorr #Jordsjuk #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #Mortual #MutagenicHost #Nephylim #Nite #ParadiseLost #PedestalForLeviathan #Phobocosm #PillarsOfCacophony #Pissgrave #PrimitiveMan #Psycroptic #PupilSlicer #RuinousPower #Sepulchral #SerenityInMurder #Soulfly #SpireOfLazarus #StarlightRitual #TheAcaciaStrain #ToTheGrave #ÜltraRaptör #Umulamahri #Unbirth #Werewolves #WinterSBane -
Heavy Moves Heavy 2025 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist By Thus SpokeBefore I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt. ~ Ferox
A year has passed, and now the barbell of honour has been placed on my (regrettably smaller) shoulders as Ferox steps back from the AMG side-quest to focus on his main story. Our leader may be absent, but our search for gains continues with an otherwise full house and new recruits to boot. The songs that guided and shaped our workouts are compiled here in a playlist guaranteed to boost yours, whether you listen on shuffle or straight the way through.1 So what are you waiting for? Down your pre-workout, grab your straps and your knee-sleeves, and get ready to get massive. ~ Thus Spoke
Thus Spoke Enters Muscle Mommy Mode:
“Silence like the Grave” // Paradise Lost (Ascension) – Straightforwardly solid, catchy, sharp, with a killer atmosphere. Insta-playlist save when the single dropped. Paradise Lost back on top-form and just time to give you the energy for moving heavy things.
“Magnolia” // Deafheaven (Lonely People with Power) – Oh yeah, I’m dead serious. Sorry not sorry to any haters out there. This is four minutes and change of unqualified emotion and racing thoughts and it gets my blood running hot every damn time.
“Against the Dying of the Light” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – Unironically motivating in a way presumably not intended. Just when you want to quit, that roar of “raaage, RAAAAAAGGGE,” and the impeccable drum and guitar work come in to see you through.
“Condemnesia” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – The devastation of a currently-occurring nuclear disaster—complete with a frantically clicking geiger counter and a witness’ agonised moans—portrayed through slick, punchy tech-death. Do I need to explain?
“Perfida Contracçao do Aço” // Filii Nigrantium Infernalium (Perfida Contracçao do Aço) – I wouldn’t normally go for something like this; the vocals are kind of horrible. But the energetic ridiculousness is so fucking feral it takes you beyond pumped and into crazed maniac territory; which is obviously ideal for the gym.
“DNA (Do Not Amputate)” // To the Grave (Still) – Mean, melodic, and with a message, there’s nothing about this that doesn’t work while lifting. If I’m going to include any deathcore in the playlist at all, then it has to be To the Grave.
“Eunuch Maker” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If your resting-murder-face, hoodie, and headphones aren’t enough to keep people from having the audacity to speak to you, then listening to this could help. It’s massive, and fun as hell, and will make you look extra mean through osmosis, I guarantee.
“Architects of Extinction” // Psycroptic (Architects of Extinction) – Banger alert. The change in vocals makes this a smidge less strong than it otherwise would be, but c’mon; a riff that good has got to be anabolic.
“Amaranth” // Nephylim (Circuition) – My dopamine-fixation song for the best part of a month. It’s uplifting, it’s catchy, it’s infinitely replayable. What more do you want?
“Natural Law” // Primitive Man (Observance) – It’s not too long, it’s a very important, massive chunk of overwhelming heaviness that makes me feel ten times the size and heft I actually am. You can get through all three (or however many) sets with spare time to admire the pump.
“Deathless” // Phobocosm (Gateway) – Monstrous, massive, intense. Fast and furious isn’t always it; more and more, I crave slow, oppressive, and malevolent. It’s just what I crave to dig deeper.
“1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” // 1914 (Viribus Unitis) – It took less than a single complete playthrough for this to end up on this list. It’s heavy enough for leg day, and it’s atmospheric and moving in that perfect way that helps you dissociate from how much your body hurts. I’ve had it on repeat through many a tough session since.
Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:
“Rot in the Pit” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If there was ever a song that eradicated mental blocks to that next rep, that next PR, that next push, it’s “Rot in the Pit.” Boasting mountain-moving swagger and a center riff that risks greater injury to my body than any ego lift could ever approach, Depravity penned a bona fide gymstormer with “Rot in the Pit.”
“Summoning Sickness” // Pedestal for Leviathan (Enter: Vampyric Manifestation) – Imagine getting legs so powerful and swole they force your gait to change—but you’re doing it in the basement of your Transylvanian vampire castle with Igor loading up weights on the bar for your next PR. That’s what “Summoning Sickness” feels like when I’m pushing
“Nachthexe” // Bianca (Bianca) – You wouldn’t expect something that dabbles so heavily in atmosphere to possess such meaty muscle as this, but Bianca’s “Nachthexe” proves the might of the sleeper build. Once they take of the airy, soft pump cover, a devastating topology of deadly power ripples just under the skin.
“The Insufferable Weight” // Barren Path (Grieving) – Don’t let the lighter weights I’m lugging around fool you. Volume days are fucking brutal, and a challenge for both my mind and my body. Barren Path’s “The Insufferable Weight” adrenalizes me with it’s speed and brutal rhythms just enough to survive those endless reps.
“Granfalloon” // Unbirth (Asomatous Besmirchment) – Unbirth is the pool from which some the nastiest, grooviest, and most deceptively complex riffs spawn. This is great fodder for those compound movements that build strength and density. You could pick anything off of Asomatous Besmirchment for such gains, but my preference is “Granfalloon.”
“Kollaps” // Jordsjuk (Naglet til livet) – Black metal? For the gym? You fucking bet. Guaranteed to pull you back from the brink of absolute failure, Jordsjuk’s “Kollaps” thrashes and shimmers with enough vibrancy and verve to make whatever load I’m pushing feel like light weight.
“Infestis” // Igorrr (Amen) – You wouldn’t expect something as weird and wacky as Igorrr to fit in the land of iron and steel, but here we are. With stomping riffs and vicious roars, “Infestis” is top tier workout gear. Great for keeping pace and supporting breath control, you’ll find much progress with Igorrr by your side.
“Flashback (ft. Strawberry Hospital)” // Blind Equation (A Funeral in Purgatory) – Every year I open up one slot for those high intensity workouts where cardio and strength meet. This year, my spotter cheering me on when I’m doing sprints and weighted jumps is Blind Equation’s intense and lightning-fast “Flashback.” Gotta go fast!!!
“Leave the Flesh Behind” // Ashen (Leave the Flesh Behind) – Probably the underdog in the litter, Ashen’s “Leave the Flesh” behind is all muscle, and a mountain of it at that. These riffs represent both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. One day, I hope to be like them.
“12 Worm Wounds” // Death Whore (Blood Washes Everything Away) – It was difficult to narrow down a selection from Death Whore’s lean and mean debut, but I keep coming back to the swaggering riffs of “12 Worm Wounds” went I need motivation for that next lift. It just makes everything I’m doing seem like the most fun I’ll ever have.
“The Fire in Which We Burn” // …and Oceans (The Regeneration Itinerary) – Boasting what I consider to be the single best black metal riff of 2025, …and Oceans greatly surprised me with a swaggering barnstormer of a track ready made to stoke the fire in my chest for a second wind. Hand me another set of plates, it’s time to go up for one more set!
“Never Difiled” // Serenity in Murder (Timeless Reverie) – Who needs to spell correctly when you have hundreds of pounds to push on the bar? This is the question I ask whenever the adrenaline-soaked “Never Difiled” plays as I rack up the plates for my next set. Nobody’s ever been able to give me an answer.
“The Twisted Helix” // Mutagenic Host (The Diseased Machine) – They say genetics play a huge role in what kind of gains you can expect to achieve naturally in the gym. Well, I’m an ectomorph so it’s tough—and takes a lot more time—to build and maintain muscle. The solution? Twist my helixes and instantly quadruple my gains. Mutagenic Host’s “The Twisted Helix” is just the tool for the job!
“+++Engine Kill+++” // Ruinous Power (EXTREME DANGER: Prototype Weaponry) – Sometimes you just need something threatening to rip the rails right off the track to hype you up for a grueling session. That’s what songs like Ruinous Power’s “+++Engine Kill+++” are for. Short, to the point, and vicious, it will get your blood surging and your body raring to go.
“Femto’s Theme” // Flummox (Southern Progress) – Something so theatrical doesn’t sound like a natural fit when working out, but the sheer heft and chunky rhythms of Flummox’s “Femto’s Theme” defies those expectations. I’ve been using it for leg days and the results are crazy town! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
Steel Druhm Trains His Ape Arms to Crush the Empire State Building:
“Abandoned Feretrum” // Sepulchral (Beneath the Shroud) – Blending old school black and death noise, Sepulchral mainline pure badger adrenaline and rattlesnake venom into your major muscle groups. Handle those power chugs with care, Brah.
“Necrobotic Enslavement” // Glorious Depravity (Death Never Sleeps) – Taking discarded Morbid Angel riffs and repurposing them to turn a peaceful man rabid is why we have science. Take 2 doses of “Necrobotic Enslavement” 30 minutes before throwing 45 lb plates at people who sit on exercise machines and chat.
“A Scream in the Snow” // Black Soul Horde (Symphony of Chaos) – Trve metal can embiggen the innate desire for strength and raw power like no other, and “A Scream in the Snow” will have you swinging olympic bars to get that sword arm ready for bloody constraint and weightroom glory.
“Eyes on Six” // Biohazard (Divided We Fall) – Loudmouthed tough guys from Brooklyn scream at you to watch your back as they try to snap it with angry riffs and bad attitudes. This is for the caveman living in your reptile brain.
“Carry On” // Nite (Cult of the Serpent Sun) – Badass riffs and Manowar-esque demands that you carry on despite hardships are the crucial things that separate a routine workout from a Herculean trial that transforms you. Carry on to bigness.
“Crusaders” // Starlight Ritual (Rogue Angels) – A dirty, greasy 80s metal anthem that sounds like proto-Iron Maiden is what you need to evolve from tubby baby to a fucking WRATHCHILD. Join this crusade and tip your templar.
“Iron Sign” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – Unraveling the Riddle of Steel requires a long, hard journey guided only by iron signs. This cut will set you on the right path toward your ferric destiny.
“Bending the Steel” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – If you’re out there bending the steel, why not get moral support from Ambush with this massive aggressive dose of testosterone and primal motivation? When the singer shouts, “Let’s go, boys!” you’ll feel your strength grow 3 times (plus two!). With an iron will, you gotta keep bending the steel!
“Garuda (Eater of Snakes)” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm write heavy metal for leg day, and Garuda is your feathery guardian iron eagle compelling you to crush that feeble PB. The strong can tell their eagle where to fly and what snakes to eat.
“Beyond Enemy Lines” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm ain’t done with you by a damn sight! If the thundering drums and beefy riffs here don’t get you chalked up and ready for iron warfare, you should take up underwater doily knitting.
Steel-Jacketed Olden Bonus:
“Spark to the Flame” // Winter’s Bane (Redivivus) – One of the greatest gym/workout songs EVER. Lyrics that speak of creating a better version of yourself as you burn in the crucible of effort will help you rise high as those burly riffs hammer your inner coward into moist gum paste.
Grin Reaper Gets Down with the Fitness:
“No Pain, No Gain” // Majestica (Power Train) – Metals of Power and Heft are a must for my workouts, especially stretching and pre-lifting calisthenics. Majestica’s cheesy anthem is perfect montage-fodder, and even though the track is rife with clichéd chestnuts, it features kinetic hooks that gird my gears for what’s to come.
“Storm the Gates” // Soulfly (Chama) – Once I’m limbered up, it’s time to sweat. Max and the boys’ bouncy grooves peddle just the right combination of chest-thumping swagger and ferocity to make sure my next rep sets the tone for a simmering sesh of glorious gainz.
“Skullbattering” // Werewolves (The Ugliest of All) – There’s no better way to keep momentum hurtling forward than with a good ol’ fashioned ode to smashing braincases. Setting the right tone for a workout is paramount, and here Werewolves does not fuck around. There’s nothing pretty or flowery about “Skullbattering,” but if swole is your goal, you need to exorcise the Ugly.
“Anodyne Rust” // Blood Red Throne (Siltskin) – I hurt my shoulder a few years ago, and though stretching and (prescribed) drugs didn’t help much, bulking up did. Exercise slipped out of my routine as work and family commitments grew (as did my waistline), but as I’ve recently knocked the Rust off my dumbbells, I’m reminded of the palliative restoration that comes from pumping iron and death metal.
“Ravenous Leech” // Guts (Nightmare Fuel) – Scuzzy, groovy, and unapologetically fun, Nightmare Fuel is filled to the gills with mid-paced chugs that make a great soundtrack for AMRAP workouts. While most of Guts’ bloody remnants will Fuel your workout, spinning “Ravenous Leech” is sure to leave you hungry for even more punishment.
“By Lead or Steel” // Barbarous (Initium Mors) – Does Cannibal Corpse feature heavily in your gym listening? If so, consider Barbarous, who channels similar vibes and vitriol with less viscera. It’ll make you want to drink motör oil and punch babies, and that’s the kind of shove you need when you’re out on swole patrol.2
“Kaltfront” // Eisbrecher (Kaltfront) – Something about heavy distortion, dance-adjacent electronics, and gravelly vocals makes ‘New German Hardness’ prime listening for calculated and efficient movements. With near imperceptible head bops and a commitment to perfect form, this “Kaltfront” leaves me focused and hard as a block of ice.
“Hope Terminator” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – Plenty of great death metal jams spurn gym-list inclusion with slow-build intros, not getting to proper stankin’ until they’re well into the track. Cytotoxin knows better, immediately flaying you with technicality. “Hope Terminator’ is the perfect mid-playlist piece to curb fatigue and keep your spirit engorged.
“Let There Be Oblivion” // Ade (Supplicium) – Rome’s Ade lays down a banger of a riff on “Let There Be Oblivion,” and it’s long and strong enough to push me through a set or two. If I’m struggling during a workout, whether in motivation or physically, I need every ounce of energy I can muster, and songs like this one can be the tipping point.
“Blinding Oblivion” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – Like Guts’ Nightmare Fuel, Bestial Possession boasts track after track of gym-ready scorchers. I chose “Blinding Oblivion” 1. to maintain consistency with “Let There Be Oblivion” and 2. because something about the subtle melody in the song gives it an air of refreshment that I need as the demands of my workout ramp to a frothing climax.
“Elevator Operator” // Electric Callboy (Elevator Operator) – It’s dumb, it’s trite, and it’s so devastatingly catchy that it sticks in my head for days on end. Most importantly, it makes me want to move things up and down, and I won’t apologize for that.
“Sunlight Covenant” // Spire of Lazarus (Those Who Live in Death) – I don’t dabble in deathcore often, but when I do, it’s usually technical, symphonic, and anthemic. Spire of Lazarus crafts just the right blend of their core components to make “Sunlight Covenant” a certified HMH banger. As a bonus, try to time it so that the track hits on your last set of the day—the melody and backing swells make a triumphant send-off as you clinch the last rep and wipe down the bench. You wiped the bench, right?
“Fossilized” // Ültra Raptör (Fossilized) – This song has stayed close since I first laid ears on it, and not once has it failed to engage the hype machine. Whether warming up, working out, or cooling down, the classic retro riffs and sunglasses-at-night nonchalance define a cool I strive for, and motivation like that is the key to gainz.
Dolph Does Heavy This Time:3
“Mortuary Rites” // Mörtual (Altar of Brutality) – Blood boils fastest with a roto-tom take off followed by a death-thrash pummel. As churning pit energy converts to flared nostrils, focused vision, and engorged fibers at the crack of a incessant stick, find a slow and steady breath as your body prepares for war.
“Tlazolteotl” // Kalaveraztekah (Nikan Axkan) – The beat of a clanging snare threatens whatever weighted structure exists in your path. “Tlazolteotl” marches ever forward through growling twists, hardwood clack, and flute-led guitar abandon. A brief respite of acoustics awaits—but so does the real bulk of this journey.
“Black Scrawl” // Pupil Slicer (Fleshwork) – Feedback, growling bass, pneumatic kicks, and an urgent snarl—Pupil Slicer demands your full thrust. With this affixing hardcore anchor, “Black Scrawl” will carry you to your first peak push with a dragging breakdown coda.
“Swamp Mentality” // The Acacia Strain (You Are Safe from God Here) – Rest does not come to those who push only once, though. The burn of your resolve will light the path in the angst and mire and core-fluid whiplash of “Swamp Mentality.” And Vincent Bennett’s tattered and spit-riddled mic will provide an extra OUGH to your exhale.
“Orphans” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – If you could tether your pulse to the relentless kick assaults that Chason Westmoreland brings to “Orphans”—all of Tooth and Nail really—your spotter wouldn’t be able to find dial emergency fast enough to save you. Instead, search for the heavier weighted tempo that exists between the pitter-patter as your guide. In this space, relentless and emotive riff runs and lead wails coalesce into one of the most threatening thrash-pit breaks of the year. Harness this power.
“The Great Day of His Wrath” // Blindfolded (What Seeps through Threads) – In vicious harmonized splendor, Blindfolded’s neoclassical scale hopping riffage possesses a buoyancy that is vital to remaining invigored. And whipping around bleating and squealing mic energy with resplendent solo work, “The Great Day of His Wrath” both maintains your demanding schedule and restores a lightness to your being before the heaviest pulls come to play.
“Retina” // Pillars of Cacophony (Paralipomena) – Neoclassical drama, however, doesn’t always seek to restore with its airy play. “Retina” arrives, rather, with a mechanical and and programmed structure that functions as a scaffold upon which ascending scale iterations match your own gradual and gravity-creating climb. As the pinch-happy shuffle sneers in precision stank-face deployment, resist the urge to discharge your steel load into the earth.
“Lunar Tear” // Barren Path (Grieving) – In any routine, no matter how structured, a moment of ferocious release can provide a benefit. Before this playlist enters its most grueling minutes, a lightning-speed romp in the grips of endless blasts and riffs exists to shake off the inertia that can result from testing your limits.
“Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” // Pissgrave (Malignant Worthlessness) – We are all filth—corpses brought to life by the signals we create. Synapses creating chains from proximal to distal drive our movements from concept to power. Through squelching refrain and lockstep death metal assault, fibers at the edge of their load-bearing capacity persist and persevere in the midst of Pissgrave’s shifting and grimy rhythms.
“Bursting with Life’s True Fruit” // Umulamahri (Learning the Secrets of Acid) – Guttural expression unlocks the last inches of a tough pull. As we channel Doug Moore’s garbage disposal tier phlegmanations into our own tidal vibrations, we visualize the final set. We are victorious. And in a celebratory expression of might, we slip into Umulamahri’s enlightened synth dissolution. Those who float cannot collapse.
#AndOceans #1914 #2025 #Ade #Ambush #Ashen #Barbarous #BarrenPath #Bianca #Biohazard #BlackSoulHorde #BlindEquation #Blindfolded #BloodRedThrone #Brainstorm #Cytotoxin #Deafheaven #DeathWhore #Depravity #DormantOrdeal #Eisbrecher #ElectricCallboy #FiliiNigrantiumInfernalium #Flummox #GloriousDepravity #Guts #HeavyMovesHeavy #Igorr #Jordsjuk #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #Mortual #MutagenicHost #Nephylim #Nite #ParadiseLost #PedestalForLeviathan #Phobocosm #PillarsOfCacophony #Pissgrave #PrimitiveMan #Psycroptic #PupilSlicer #RuinousPower #Sepulchral #SerenityInMurder #Soulfly #SpireOfLazarus #StarlightRitual #TheAcaciaStrain #ToTheGrave #ÜltraRaptör #Umulamahri #Unbirth #Werewolves #WinterSBane -
Heavy Moves Heavy 2025 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist By Thus SpokeBefore I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt. ~ Ferox
A year has passed, and now the barbell of honour has been placed on my (regrettably smaller) shoulders as Ferox steps back from the AMG side-quest to focus on his main story. Our leader may be absent, but our search for gains continues with an otherwise full house and new recruits to boot. The songs that guided and shaped our workouts are compiled here in a playlist guaranteed to boost yours, whether you listen on shuffle or straight the way through.1 So what are you waiting for? Down your pre-workout, grab your straps and your knee-sleeves, and get ready to get massive. ~ Thus Spoke
Thus Spoke Enters Muscle Mommy Mode:
“Silence like the Grave” // Paradise Lost (Ascension) – Straightforwardly solid, catchy, sharp, with a killer atmosphere. Insta-playlist save when the single dropped. Paradise Lost back on top-form and just time to give you the energy for moving heavy things.
“Magnolia” // Deafheaven (Lonely People with Power) – Oh yeah, I’m dead serious. Sorry not sorry to any haters out there. This is four minutes and change of unqualified emotion and racing thoughts and it gets my blood running hot every damn time.
“Against the Dying of the Light” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – Unironically motivating in a way presumably not intended. Just when you want to quit, that roar of “raaage, RAAAAAAGGGE,” and the impeccable drum and guitar work come in to see you through.
“Condemnesia” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – The devastation of a currently-occurring nuclear disaster—complete with a frantically clicking geiger counter and a witness’ agonised moans—portrayed through slick, punchy tech-death. Do I need to explain?
“Perfida Contracçao do Aço” // Filii Nigrantium Infernalium (Perfida Contracçao do Aço) – I wouldn’t normally go for something like this; the vocals are kind of horrible. But the energetic ridiculousness is so fucking feral it takes you beyond pumped and into crazed maniac territory; which is obviously ideal for the gym.
“DNA (Do Not Amputate)” // To the Grave (Still) – Mean, melodic, and with a message, there’s nothing about this that doesn’t work while lifting. If I’m going to include any deathcore in the playlist at all, then it has to be To the Grave.
“Eunuch Maker” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If your resting-murder-face, hoodie, and headphones aren’t enough to keep people from having the audacity to speak to you, then listening to this could help. It’s massive, and fun as hell, and will make you look extra mean through osmosis, I guarantee.
“Architects of Extinction” // Psycroptic (Architects of Extinction) – Banger alert. The change in vocals makes this a smidge less strong than it otherwise would be, but c’mon; a riff that good has got to be anabolic.
“Amaranth” // Nephylim (Circuition) – My dopamine-fixation song for the best part of a month. It’s uplifting, it’s catchy, it’s infinitely replayable. What more do you want?
“Natural Law” // Primitive Man (Observance) – It’s not too long, it’s a very important, massive chunk of overwhelming heaviness that makes me feel ten times the size and heft I actually am. You can get through all three (or however many) sets with spare time to admire the pump.
“Deathless” // Phobocosm (Gateway) – Monstrous, massive, intense. Fast and furious isn’t always it; more and more, I crave slow, oppressive, and malevolent. It’s just what I crave to dig deeper.
“1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” // 1914 (Viribus Unitis) – It took less than a single complete playthrough for this to end up on this list. It’s heavy enough for leg day, and it’s atmospheric and moving in that perfect way that helps you dissociate from how much your body hurts. I’ve had it on repeat through many a tough session since.
Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:
“Rot in the Pit” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If there was ever a song that eradicated mental blocks to that next rep, that next PR, that next push, it’s “Rot in the Pit.” Boasting mountain-moving swagger and a center riff that risks greater injury to my body than any ego lift could ever approach, Depravity penned a bona fide gymstormer with “Rot in the Pit.”
“Summoning Sickness” // Pedestal for Leviathan (Enter: Vampyric Manifestation) – Imagine getting legs so powerful and swole they force your gait to change—but you’re doing it in the basement of your Transylvanian vampire castle with Igor loading up weights on the bar for your next PR. That’s what “Summoning Sickness” feels like when I’m pushing
“Nachthexe” // Bianca (Bianca) – You wouldn’t expect something that dabbles so heavily in atmosphere to possess such meaty muscle as this, but Bianca’s “Nachthexe” proves the might of the sleeper build. Once they take of the airy, soft pump cover, a devastating topology of deadly power ripples just under the skin.
“The Insufferable Weight” // Barren Path (Grieving) – Don’t let the lighter weights I’m lugging around fool you. Volume days are fucking brutal, and a challenge for both my mind and my body. Barren Path’s “The Insufferable Weight” adrenalizes me with it’s speed and brutal rhythms just enough to survive those endless reps.
“Granfalloon” // Unbirth (Asomatous Besmirchment) – Unbirth is the pool from which some the nastiest, grooviest, and most deceptively complex riffs spawn. This is great fodder for those compound movements that build strength and density. You could pick anything off of Asomatous Besmirchment for such gains, but my preference is “Granfalloon.”
“Kollaps” // Jordsjuk (Naglet til livet) – Black metal? For the gym? You fucking bet. Guaranteed to pull you back from the brink of absolute failure, Jordsjuk’s “Kollaps” thrashes and shimmers with enough vibrancy and verve to make whatever load I’m pushing feel like light weight.
“Infestis” // Igorrr (Amen) – You wouldn’t expect something as weird and wacky as Igorrr to fit in the land of iron and steel, but here we are. With stomping riffs and vicious roars, “Infestis” is top tier workout gear. Great for keeping pace and supporting breath control, you’ll find much progress with Igorrr by your side.
“Flashback (ft. Strawberry Hospital)” // Blind Equation (A Funeral in Purgatory) – Every year I open up one slot for those high intensity workouts where cardio and strength meet. This year, my spotter cheering me on when I’m doing sprints and weighted jumps is Blind Equation’s intense and lightning-fast “Flashback.” Gotta go fast!!!
“Leave the Flesh Behind” // Ashen (Leave the Flesh Behind) – Probably the underdog in the litter, Ashen’s “Leave the Flesh” behind is all muscle, and a mountain of it at that. These riffs represent both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. One day, I hope to be like them.
“12 Worm Wounds” // Death Whore (Blood Washes Everything Away) – It was difficult to narrow down a selection from Death Whore’s lean and mean debut, but I keep coming back to the swaggering riffs of “12 Worm Wounds” went I need motivation for that next lift. It just makes everything I’m doing seem like the most fun I’ll ever have.
“The Fire in Which We Burn” // …and Oceans (The Regeneration Itinerary) – Boasting what I consider to be the single best black metal riff of 2025, …and Oceans greatly surprised me with a swaggering barnstormer of a track ready made to stoke the fire in my chest for a second wind. Hand me another set of plates, it’s time to go up for one more set!
“Never Difiled” // Serenity in Murder (Timeless Reverie) – Who needs to spell correctly when you have hundreds of pounds to push on the bar? This is the question I ask whenever the adrenaline-soaked “Never Difiled” plays as I rack up the plates for my next set. Nobody’s ever been able to give me an answer.
“The Twisted Helix” // Mutagenic Host (The Diseased Machine) – They say genetics play a huge role in what kind of gains you can expect to achieve naturally in the gym. Well, I’m an ectomorph so it’s tough—and takes a lot more time—to build and maintain muscle. The solution? Twist my helixes and instantly quadruple my gains. Mutagenic Host’s “The Twisted Helix” is just the tool for the job!
“+++Engine Kill+++” // Ruinous Power (EXTREME DANGER: Prototype Weaponry) – Sometimes you just need something threatening to rip the rails right off the track to hype you up for a grueling session. That’s what songs like Ruinous Power’s “+++Engine Kill+++” are for. Short, to the point, and vicious, it will get your blood surging and your body raring to go.
“Femto’s Theme” // Flummox (Southern Progress) – Something so theatrical doesn’t sound like a natural fit when working out, but the sheer heft and chunky rhythms of Flummox’s “Femto’s Theme” defies those expectations. I’ve been using it for leg days and the results are crazy town! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
Steel Druhm Trains His Ape Arms to Crush the Empire State Building:
“Abandoned Feretrum” // Sepulchral (Beneath the Shroud) – Blending old school black and death noise, Sepulchral mainline pure badger adrenaline and rattlesnake venom into your major muscle groups. Handle those power chugs with care, Brah.
“Necrobotic Enslavement” // Glorious Depravity (Death Never Sleeps) – Taking discarded Morbid Angel riffs and repurposing them to turn a peaceful man rabid is why we have science. Take 2 doses of “Necrobotic Enslavement” 30 minutes before throwing 45 lb plates at people who sit on exercise machines and chat.
“A Scream in the Snow” // Black Soul Horde (Symphony of Chaos) – Trve metal can embiggen the innate desire for strength and raw power like no other, and “A Scream in the Snow” will have you swinging olympic bars to get that sword arm ready for bloody constraint and weightroom glory.
“Eyes on Six” // Biohazard (Divided We Fall) – Loudmouthed tough guys from Brooklyn scream at you to watch your back as they try to snap it with angry riffs and bad attitudes. This is for the caveman living in your reptile brain.
“Carry On” // Nite (Cult of the Serpent Sun) – Badass riffs and Manowar-esque demands that you carry on despite hardships are the crucial things that separate a routine workout from a Herculean trial that transforms you. Carry on to bigness.
“Crusaders” // Starlight Ritual (Rogue Angels) – A dirty, greasy 80s metal anthem that sounds like proto-Iron Maiden is what you need to evolve from tubby baby to a fucking WRATHCHILD. Join this crusade and tip your templar.
“Iron Sign” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – Unraveling the Riddle of Steel requires a long, hard journey guided only by iron signs. This cut will set you on the right path toward your ferric destiny.
“Bending the Steel” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – If you’re out there bending the steel, why not get moral support from Ambush with this massive aggressive dose of testosterone and primal motivation? When the singer shouts, “Let’s go, boys!” you’ll feel your strength grow 3 times (plus two!). With an iron will, you gotta keep bending the steel!
“Garuda (Eater of Snakes)” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm write heavy metal for leg day, and Garuda is your feathery guardian iron eagle compelling you to crush that feeble PB. The strong can tell their eagle where to fly and what snakes to eat.
“Beyond Enemy Lines” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm ain’t done with you by a damn sight! If the thundering drums and beefy riffs here don’t get you chalked up and ready for iron warfare, you should take up underwater doily knitting.
Steel-Jacketed Olden Bonus:
“Spark to the Flame” // Winter’s Bane (Redivivus) – One of the greatest gym/workout songs EVER. Lyrics that speak of creating a better version of yourself as you burn in the crucible of effort will help you rise high as those burly riffs hammer your inner coward into moist gum paste.
Grin Reaper Gets Down with the Fitness:
“No Pain, No Gain” // Majestica (Power Train) – Metals of Power and Heft are a must for my workouts, especially stretching and pre-lifting calisthenics. Majestica’s cheesy anthem is perfect montage-fodder, and even though the track is rife with clichéd chestnuts, it features kinetic hooks that gird my gears for what’s to come.
“Storm the Gates” // Soulfly (Chama) – Once I’m limbered up, it’s time to sweat. Max and the boys’ bouncy grooves peddle just the right combination of chest-thumping swagger and ferocity to make sure my next rep sets the tone for a simmering sesh of glorious gainz.
“Skullbattering” // Werewolves (The Ugliest of All) – There’s no better way to keep momentum hurtling forward than with a good ol’ fashioned ode to smashing braincases. Setting the right tone for a workout is paramount, and here Werewolves does not fuck around. There’s nothing pretty or flowery about “Skullbattering,” but if swole is your goal, you need to exorcise the Ugly.
“Anodyne Rust” // Blood Red Throne (Siltskin) – I hurt my shoulder a few years ago, and though stretching and (prescribed) drugs didn’t help much, bulking up did. Exercise slipped out of my routine as work and family commitments grew (as did my waistline), but as I’ve recently knocked the Rust off my dumbbells, I’m reminded of the palliative restoration that comes from pumping iron and death metal.
“Ravenous Leech” // Guts (Nightmare Fuel) – Scuzzy, groovy, and unapologetically fun, Nightmare Fuel is filled to the gills with mid-paced chugs that make a great soundtrack for AMRAP workouts. While most of Guts’ bloody remnants will Fuel your workout, spinning “Ravenous Leech” is sure to leave you hungry for even more punishment.
“By Lead or Steel” // Barbarous (Initium Mors) – Does Cannibal Corpse feature heavily in your gym listening? If so, consider Barbarous, who channels similar vibes and vitriol with less viscera. It’ll make you want to drink motör oil and punch babies, and that’s the kind of shove you need when you’re out on swole patrol.2
“Kaltfront” // Eisbrecher (Kaltfront) – Something about heavy distortion, dance-adjacent electronics, and gravelly vocals makes ‘New German Hardness’ prime listening for calculated and efficient movements. With near imperceptible head bops and a commitment to perfect form, this “Kaltfront” leaves me focused and hard as a block of ice.
“Hope Terminator” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – Plenty of great death metal jams spurn gym-list inclusion with slow-build intros, not getting to proper stankin’ until they’re well into the track. Cytotoxin knows better, immediately flaying you with technicality. “Hope Terminator’ is the perfect mid-playlist piece to curb fatigue and keep your spirit engorged.
“Let There Be Oblivion” // Ade (Supplicium) – Rome’s Ade lays down a banger of a riff on “Let There Be Oblivion,” and it’s long and strong enough to push me through a set or two. If I’m struggling during a workout, whether in motivation or physically, I need every ounce of energy I can muster, and songs like this one can be the tipping point.
“Blinding Oblivion” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – Like Guts’ Nightmare Fuel, Bestial Possession boasts track after track of gym-ready scorchers. I chose “Blinding Oblivion” 1. to maintain consistency with “Let There Be Oblivion” and 2. because something about the subtle melody in the song gives it an air of refreshment that I need as the demands of my workout ramp to a frothing climax.
“Elevator Operator” // Electric Callboy (Elevator Operator) – It’s dumb, it’s trite, and it’s so devastatingly catchy that it sticks in my head for days on end. Most importantly, it makes me want to move things up and down, and I won’t apologize for that.
“Sunlight Covenant” // Spire of Lazarus (Those Who Live in Death) – I don’t dabble in deathcore often, but when I do, it’s usually technical, symphonic, and anthemic. Spire of Lazarus crafts just the right blend of their core components to make “Sunlight Covenant” a certified HMH banger. As a bonus, try to time it so that the track hits on your last set of the day—the melody and backing swells make a triumphant send-off as you clinch the last rep and wipe down the bench. You wiped the bench, right?
“Fossilized” // Ültra Raptör (Fossilized) – This song has stayed close since I first laid ears on it, and not once has it failed to engage the hype machine. Whether warming up, working out, or cooling down, the classic retro riffs and sunglasses-at-night nonchalance define a cool I strive for, and motivation like that is the key to gainz.
Dolph Does Heavy This Time:3
“Mortuary Rites” // Mörtual (Altar of Brutality) – Blood boils fastest with a roto-tom take off followed by a death-thrash pummel. As churning pit energy converts to flared nostrils, focused vision, and engorged fibers at the crack of a incessant stick, find a slow and steady breath as your body prepares for war.
“Tlazolteotl” // Kalaveraztekah (Nikan Axkan) – The beat of a clanging snare threatens whatever weighted structure exists in your path. “Tlazolteotl” marches ever forward through growling twists, hardwood clack, and flute-led guitar abandon. A brief respite of acoustics awaits—but so does the real bulk of this journey.
“Black Scrawl” // Pupil Slicer (Fleshwork) – Feedback, growling bass, pneumatic kicks, and an urgent snarl—Pupil Slicer demands your full thrust. With this affixing hardcore anchor, “Black Scrawl” will carry you to your first peak push with a dragging breakdown coda.
“Swamp Mentality” // The Acacia Strain (You Are Safe from God Here) – Rest does not come to those who push only once, though. The burn of your resolve will light the path in the angst and mire and core-fluid whiplash of “Swamp Mentality.” And Vincent Bennett’s tattered and spit-riddled mic will provide an extra OUGH to your exhale.
“Orphans” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – If you could tether your pulse to the relentless kick assaults that Chason Westmoreland brings to “Orphans”—all of Tooth and Nail really—your spotter wouldn’t be able to find dial emergency fast enough to save you. Instead, search for the heavier weighted tempo that exists between the pitter-patter as your guide. In this space, relentless and emotive riff runs and lead wails coalesce into one of the most threatening thrash-pit breaks of the year. Harness this power.
“The Great Day of His Wrath” // Blindfolded (What Seeps through Threads) – In vicious harmonized splendor, Blindfolded’s neoclassical scale hopping riffage possesses a buoyancy that is vital to remaining invigored. And whipping around bleating and squealing mic energy with resplendent solo work, “The Great Day of His Wrath” both maintains your demanding schedule and restores a lightness to your being before the heaviest pulls come to play.
“Retina” // Pillars of Cacophony (Paralipomena) – Neoclassical drama, however, doesn’t always seek to restore with its airy play. “Retina” arrives, rather, with a mechanical and and programmed structure that functions as a scaffold upon which ascending scale iterations match your own gradual and gravity-creating climb. As the pinch-happy shuffle sneers in precision stank-face deployment, resist the urge to discharge your steel load into the earth.
“Lunar Tear” // Barren Path (Grieving) – In any routine, no matter how structured, a moment of ferocious release can provide a benefit. Before this playlist enters its most grueling minutes, a lightning-speed romp in the grips of endless blasts and riffs exists to shake off the inertia that can result from testing your limits.
“Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” // Pissgrave (Malignant Worthlessness) – We are all filth—corpses brought to life by the signals we create. Synapses creating chains from proximal to distal drive our movements from concept to power. Through squelching refrain and lockstep death metal assault, fibers at the edge of their load-bearing capacity persist and persevere in the midst of Pissgrave’s shifting and grimy rhythms.
“Bursting with Life’s True Fruit” // Umulamahri (Learning the Secrets of Acid) – Guttural expression unlocks the last inches of a tough pull. As we channel Doug Moore’s garbage disposal tier phlegmanations into our own tidal vibrations, we visualize the final set. We are victorious. And in a celebratory expression of might, we slip into Umulamahri’s enlightened synth dissolution. Those who float cannot collapse.
#AndOceans #1914 #2025 #Ade #Ambush #Ashen #Barbarous #BarrenPath #Bianca #Biohazard #BlackSoulHorde #BlindEquation #Blindfolded #BloodRedThrone #Brainstorm #Cytotoxin #Deafheaven #DeathWhore #Depravity #DormantOrdeal #Eisbrecher #ElectricCallboy #FiliiNigrantiumInfernalium #Flummox #GloriousDepravity #Guts #HeavyMovesHeavy #Igorr #Jordsjuk #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #Mortual #MutagenicHost #Nephylim #Nite #ParadiseLost #PedestalForLeviathan #Phobocosm #PillarsOfCacophony #Pissgrave #PrimitiveMan #Psycroptic #PupilSlicer #RuinousPower #Sepulchral #SerenityInMurder #Soulfly #SpireOfLazarus #StarlightRitual #TheAcaciaStrain #ToTheGrave #ÜltraRaptör #Umulamahri #Unbirth #Werewolves #WinterSBane -
Heavy Moves Heavy 2025 – AMG’s Ultimate Workout Playlist By Thus SpokeBefore I was press-ganged into the Skull Pit, I, Ferox, began curating an exercise playlist named Heavy Moves Heavy. For a decade, I alone reaped the benefits of this creation–many were the hours spent preening aboard my Squat Yacht, mixing oils so that I could marvel at the glistening gainz unlocked by the List. My indentured servitude is your good fortune, because a new and improved version of the Heavy Moves Heavy playlist is now available to all readers of AMG in good standing.1 The lifters among us have spent countless hours in the Exercise Oubliette testing these songs for tensile strength and ideological purity. Enjoy–but don’t listen if you are being screened for PEDs in the near future. This music will cause your free testosterone levels to skyrocket even as it adds length and sheen to your back pelt. ~ Ferox
A year has passed, and now the barbell of honour has been placed on my (regrettably smaller) shoulders as Ferox steps back from the AMG side-quest to focus on his main story. Our leader may be absent, but our search for gains continues with an otherwise full house and new recruits to boot. The songs that guided and shaped our workouts are compiled here in a playlist guaranteed to boost yours, whether you listen on shuffle or straight the way through.1 So what are you waiting for? Down your pre-workout, grab your straps and your knee-sleeves, and get ready to get massive. ~ Thus Spoke
Thus Spoke Enters Muscle Mommy Mode:
“Silence like the Grave” // Paradise Lost (Ascension) – Straightforwardly solid, catchy, sharp, with a killer atmosphere. Insta-playlist save when the single dropped. Paradise Lost back on top-form and just time to give you the energy for moving heavy things.
“Magnolia” // Deafheaven (Lonely People with Power) – Oh yeah, I’m dead serious. Sorry not sorry to any haters out there. This is four minutes and change of unqualified emotion and racing thoughts and it gets my blood running hot every damn time.
“Against the Dying of the Light” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – Unironically motivating in a way presumably not intended. Just when you want to quit, that roar of “raaage, RAAAAAAGGGE,” and the impeccable drum and guitar work come in to see you through.
“Condemnesia” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – The devastation of a currently-occurring nuclear disaster—complete with a frantically clicking geiger counter and a witness’ agonised moans—portrayed through slick, punchy tech-death. Do I need to explain?
“Perfida Contracçao do Aço” // Filii Nigrantium Infernalium (Perfida Contracçao do Aço) – I wouldn’t normally go for something like this; the vocals are kind of horrible. But the energetic ridiculousness is so fucking feral it takes you beyond pumped and into crazed maniac territory; which is obviously ideal for the gym.
“DNA (Do Not Amputate)” // To the Grave (Still) – Mean, melodic, and with a message, there’s nothing about this that doesn’t work while lifting. If I’m going to include any deathcore in the playlist at all, then it has to be To the Grave.
“Eunuch Maker” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If your resting-murder-face, hoodie, and headphones aren’t enough to keep people from having the audacity to speak to you, then listening to this could help. It’s massive, and fun as hell, and will make you look extra mean through osmosis, I guarantee.
“Architects of Extinction” // Psycroptic (Architects of Extinction) – Banger alert. The change in vocals makes this a smidge less strong than it otherwise would be, but c’mon; a riff that good has got to be anabolic.
“Amaranth” // Nephylim (Circuition) – My dopamine-fixation song for the best part of a month. It’s uplifting, it’s catchy, it’s infinitely replayable. What more do you want?
“Natural Law” // Primitive Man (Observance) – It’s not too long, it’s a very important, massive chunk of overwhelming heaviness that makes me feel ten times the size and heft I actually am. You can get through all three (or however many) sets with spare time to admire the pump.
“Deathless” // Phobocosm (Gateway) – Monstrous, massive, intense. Fast and furious isn’t always it; more and more, I crave slow, oppressive, and malevolent. It’s just what I crave to dig deeper.
“1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)” // 1914 (Viribus Unitis) – It took less than a single complete playthrough for this to end up on this list. It’s heavy enough for leg day, and it’s atmospheric and moving in that perfect way that helps you dissociate from how much your body hurts. I’ve had it on repeat through many a tough session since.
Kenstrosity Bursts Through His Own Workout Gear:
“Rot in the Pit” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – If there was ever a song that eradicated mental blocks to that next rep, that next PR, that next push, it’s “Rot in the Pit.” Boasting mountain-moving swagger and a center riff that risks greater injury to my body than any ego lift could ever approach, Depravity penned a bona fide gymstormer with “Rot in the Pit.”
“Summoning Sickness” // Pedestal for Leviathan (Enter: Vampyric Manifestation) – Imagine getting legs so powerful and swole they force your gait to change—but you’re doing it in the basement of your Transylvanian vampire castle with Igor loading up weights on the bar for your next PR. That’s what “Summoning Sickness” feels like when I’m pushing
“Nachthexe” // Bianca (Bianca) – You wouldn’t expect something that dabbles so heavily in atmosphere to possess such meaty muscle as this, but Bianca’s “Nachthexe” proves the might of the sleeper build. Once they take of the airy, soft pump cover, a devastating topology of deadly power ripples just under the skin.
“The Insufferable Weight” // Barren Path (Grieving) – Don’t let the lighter weights I’m lugging around fool you. Volume days are fucking brutal, and a challenge for both my mind and my body. Barren Path’s “The Insufferable Weight” adrenalizes me with it’s speed and brutal rhythms just enough to survive those endless reps.
“Granfalloon” // Unbirth (Asomatous Besmirchment) – Unbirth is the pool from which some the nastiest, grooviest, and most deceptively complex riffs spawn. This is great fodder for those compound movements that build strength and density. You could pick anything off of Asomatous Besmirchment for such gains, but my preference is “Granfalloon.”
“Kollaps” // Jordsjuk (Naglet til livet) – Black metal? For the gym? You fucking bet. Guaranteed to pull you back from the brink of absolute failure, Jordsjuk’s “Kollaps” thrashes and shimmers with enough vibrancy and verve to make whatever load I’m pushing feel like light weight.
“Infestis” // Igorrr (Amen) – You wouldn’t expect something as weird and wacky as Igorrr to fit in the land of iron and steel, but here we are. With stomping riffs and vicious roars, “Infestis” is top tier workout gear. Great for keeping pace and supporting breath control, you’ll find much progress with Igorrr by your side.
“Flashback (ft. Strawberry Hospital)” // Blind Equation (A Funeral in Purgatory) – Every year I open up one slot for those high intensity workouts where cardio and strength meet. This year, my spotter cheering me on when I’m doing sprints and weighted jumps is Blind Equation’s intense and lightning-fast “Flashback.” Gotta go fast!!!
“Leave the Flesh Behind” // Ashen (Leave the Flesh Behind) – Probably the underdog in the litter, Ashen’s “Leave the Flesh” behind is all muscle, and a mountain of it at that. These riffs represent both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. One day, I hope to be like them.
“12 Worm Wounds” // Death Whore (Blood Washes Everything Away) – It was difficult to narrow down a selection from Death Whore’s lean and mean debut, but I keep coming back to the swaggering riffs of “12 Worm Wounds” went I need motivation for that next lift. It just makes everything I’m doing seem like the most fun I’ll ever have.
“The Fire in Which We Burn” // …and Oceans (The Regeneration Itinerary) – Boasting what I consider to be the single best black metal riff of 2025, …and Oceans greatly surprised me with a swaggering barnstormer of a track ready made to stoke the fire in my chest for a second wind. Hand me another set of plates, it’s time to go up for one more set!
“Never Difiled” // Serenity in Murder (Timeless Reverie) – Who needs to spell correctly when you have hundreds of pounds to push on the bar? This is the question I ask whenever the adrenaline-soaked “Never Difiled” plays as I rack up the plates for my next set. Nobody’s ever been able to give me an answer.
“The Twisted Helix” // Mutagenic Host (The Diseased Machine) – They say genetics play a huge role in what kind of gains you can expect to achieve naturally in the gym. Well, I’m an ectomorph so it’s tough—and takes a lot more time—to build and maintain muscle. The solution? Twist my helixes and instantly quadruple my gains. Mutagenic Host’s “The Twisted Helix” is just the tool for the job!
“+++Engine Kill+++” // Ruinous Power (EXTREME DANGER: Prototype Weaponry) – Sometimes you just need something threatening to rip the rails right off the track to hype you up for a grueling session. That’s what songs like Ruinous Power’s “+++Engine Kill+++” are for. Short, to the point, and vicious, it will get your blood surging and your body raring to go.
“Femto’s Theme” // Flummox (Southern Progress) – Something so theatrical doesn’t sound like a natural fit when working out, but the sheer heft and chunky rhythms of Flummox’s “Femto’s Theme” defies those expectations. I’ve been using it for leg days and the results are crazy town! Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
Steel Druhm Trains His Ape Arms to Crush the Empire State Building:
“Abandoned Feretrum” // Sepulchral (Beneath the Shroud) – Blending old school black and death noise, Sepulchral mainline pure badger adrenaline and rattlesnake venom into your major muscle groups. Handle those power chugs with care, Brah.
“Necrobotic Enslavement” // Glorious Depravity (Death Never Sleeps) – Taking discarded Morbid Angel riffs and repurposing them to turn a peaceful man rabid is why we have science. Take 2 doses of “Necrobotic Enslavement” 30 minutes before throwing 45 lb plates at people who sit on exercise machines and chat.
“A Scream in the Snow” // Black Soul Horde (Symphony of Chaos) – Trve metal can embiggen the innate desire for strength and raw power like no other, and “A Scream in the Snow” will have you swinging olympic bars to get that sword arm ready for bloody constraint and weightroom glory.
“Eyes on Six” // Biohazard (Divided We Fall) – Loudmouthed tough guys from Brooklyn scream at you to watch your back as they try to snap it with angry riffs and bad attitudes. This is for the caveman living in your reptile brain.
“Carry On” // Nite (Cult of the Serpent Sun) – Badass riffs and Manowar-esque demands that you carry on despite hardships are the crucial things that separate a routine workout from a Herculean trial that transforms you. Carry on to bigness.
“Crusaders” // Starlight Ritual (Rogue Angels) – A dirty, greasy 80s metal anthem that sounds like proto-Iron Maiden is what you need to evolve from tubby baby to a fucking WRATHCHILD. Join this crusade and tip your templar.
“Iron Sign” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – Unraveling the Riddle of Steel requires a long, hard journey guided only by iron signs. This cut will set you on the right path toward your ferric destiny.
“Bending the Steel” // Ambush (Evil in All Dimensions) – If you’re out there bending the steel, why not get moral support from Ambush with this massive aggressive dose of testosterone and primal motivation? When the singer shouts, “Let’s go, boys!” you’ll feel your strength grow 3 times (plus two!). With an iron will, you gotta keep bending the steel!
“Garuda (Eater of Snakes)” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm write heavy metal for leg day, and Garuda is your feathery guardian iron eagle compelling you to crush that feeble PB. The strong can tell their eagle where to fly and what snakes to eat.
“Beyond Enemy Lines” // Brainstorm (Plague of Rats) – Brainstorm ain’t done with you by a damn sight! If the thundering drums and beefy riffs here don’t get you chalked up and ready for iron warfare, you should take up underwater doily knitting.
Steel-Jacketed Olden Bonus:
“Spark to the Flame” // Winter’s Bane (Redivivus) – One of the greatest gym/workout songs EVER. Lyrics that speak of creating a better version of yourself as you burn in the crucible of effort will help you rise high as those burly riffs hammer your inner coward into moist gum paste.
Grin Reaper Gets Down with the Fitness:
“No Pain, No Gain” // Majestica (Power Train) – Metals of Power and Heft are a must for my workouts, especially stretching and pre-lifting calisthenics. Majestica’s cheesy anthem is perfect montage-fodder, and even though the track is rife with clichéd chestnuts, it features kinetic hooks that gird my gears for what’s to come.
“Storm the Gates” // Soulfly (Chama) – Once I’m limbered up, it’s time to sweat. Max and the boys’ bouncy grooves peddle just the right combination of chest-thumping swagger and ferocity to make sure my next rep sets the tone for a simmering sesh of glorious gainz.
“Skullbattering” // Werewolves (The Ugliest of All) – There’s no better way to keep momentum hurtling forward than with a good ol’ fashioned ode to smashing braincases. Setting the right tone for a workout is paramount, and here Werewolves does not fuck around. There’s nothing pretty or flowery about “Skullbattering,” but if swole is your goal, you need to exorcise the Ugly.
“Anodyne Rust” // Blood Red Throne (Siltskin) – I hurt my shoulder a few years ago, and though stretching and (prescribed) drugs didn’t help much, bulking up did. Exercise slipped out of my routine as work and family commitments grew (as did my waistline), but as I’ve recently knocked the Rust off my dumbbells, I’m reminded of the palliative restoration that comes from pumping iron and death metal.
“Ravenous Leech” // Guts (Nightmare Fuel) – Scuzzy, groovy, and unapologetically fun, Nightmare Fuel is filled to the gills with mid-paced chugs that make a great soundtrack for AMRAP workouts. While most of Guts’ bloody remnants will Fuel your workout, spinning “Ravenous Leech” is sure to leave you hungry for even more punishment.
“By Lead or Steel” // Barbarous (Initium Mors) – Does Cannibal Corpse feature heavily in your gym listening? If so, consider Barbarous, who channels similar vibes and vitriol with less viscera. It’ll make you want to drink motör oil and punch babies, and that’s the kind of shove you need when you’re out on swole patrol.2
“Kaltfront” // Eisbrecher (Kaltfront) – Something about heavy distortion, dance-adjacent electronics, and gravelly vocals makes ‘New German Hardness’ prime listening for calculated and efficient movements. With near imperceptible head bops and a commitment to perfect form, this “Kaltfront” leaves me focused and hard as a block of ice.
“Hope Terminator” // Cytotoxin (Biographyte) – Plenty of great death metal jams spurn gym-list inclusion with slow-build intros, not getting to proper stankin’ until they’re well into the track. Cytotoxin knows better, immediately flaying you with technicality. “Hope Terminator’ is the perfect mid-playlist piece to curb fatigue and keep your spirit engorged.
“Let There Be Oblivion” // Ade (Supplicium) – Rome’s Ade lays down a banger of a riff on “Let There Be Oblivion,” and it’s long and strong enough to push me through a set or two. If I’m struggling during a workout, whether in motivation or physically, I need every ounce of energy I can muster, and songs like this one can be the tipping point.
“Blinding Oblivion” // Depravity (Bestial Possession) – Like Guts’ Nightmare Fuel, Bestial Possession boasts track after track of gym-ready scorchers. I chose “Blinding Oblivion” 1. to maintain consistency with “Let There Be Oblivion” and 2. because something about the subtle melody in the song gives it an air of refreshment that I need as the demands of my workout ramp to a frothing climax.
“Elevator Operator” // Electric Callboy (Elevator Operator) – It’s dumb, it’s trite, and it’s so devastatingly catchy that it sticks in my head for days on end. Most importantly, it makes me want to move things up and down, and I won’t apologize for that.
“Sunlight Covenant” // Spire of Lazarus (Those Who Live in Death) – I don’t dabble in deathcore often, but when I do, it’s usually technical, symphonic, and anthemic. Spire of Lazarus crafts just the right blend of their core components to make “Sunlight Covenant” a certified HMH banger. As a bonus, try to time it so that the track hits on your last set of the day—the melody and backing swells make a triumphant send-off as you clinch the last rep and wipe down the bench. You wiped the bench, right?
“Fossilized” // Ültra Raptör (Fossilized) – This song has stayed close since I first laid ears on it, and not once has it failed to engage the hype machine. Whether warming up, working out, or cooling down, the classic retro riffs and sunglasses-at-night nonchalance define a cool I strive for, and motivation like that is the key to gainz.
Dolph Does Heavy This Time:3
“Mortuary Rites” // Mörtual (Altar of Brutality) – Blood boils fastest with a roto-tom take off followed by a death-thrash pummel. As churning pit energy converts to flared nostrils, focused vision, and engorged fibers at the crack of a incessant stick, find a slow and steady breath as your body prepares for war.
“Tlazolteotl” // Kalaveraztekah (Nikan Axkan) – The beat of a clanging snare threatens whatever weighted structure exists in your path. “Tlazolteotl” marches ever forward through growling twists, hardwood clack, and flute-led guitar abandon. A brief respite of acoustics awaits—but so does the real bulk of this journey.
“Black Scrawl” // Pupil Slicer (Fleshwork) – Feedback, growling bass, pneumatic kicks, and an urgent snarl—Pupil Slicer demands your full thrust. With this affixing hardcore anchor, “Black Scrawl” will carry you to your first peak push with a dragging breakdown coda.
“Swamp Mentality” // The Acacia Strain (You Are Safe from God Here) – Rest does not come to those who push only once, though. The burn of your resolve will light the path in the angst and mire and core-fluid whiplash of “Swamp Mentality.” And Vincent Bennett’s tattered and spit-riddled mic will provide an extra OUGH to your exhale.
“Orphans” // Dormant Ordeal (Tooth and Nail) – If you could tether your pulse to the relentless kick assaults that Chason Westmoreland brings to “Orphans”—all of Tooth and Nail really—your spotter wouldn’t be able to find dial emergency fast enough to save you. Instead, search for the heavier weighted tempo that exists between the pitter-patter as your guide. In this space, relentless and emotive riff runs and lead wails coalesce into one of the most threatening thrash-pit breaks of the year. Harness this power.
“The Great Day of His Wrath” // Blindfolded (What Seeps through Threads) – In vicious harmonized splendor, Blindfolded’s neoclassical scale hopping riffage possesses a buoyancy that is vital to remaining invigored. And whipping around bleating and squealing mic energy with resplendent solo work, “The Great Day of His Wrath” both maintains your demanding schedule and restores a lightness to your being before the heaviest pulls come to play.
“Retina” // Pillars of Cacophony (Paralipomena) – Neoclassical drama, however, doesn’t always seek to restore with its airy play. “Retina” arrives, rather, with a mechanical and and programmed structure that functions as a scaffold upon which ascending scale iterations match your own gradual and gravity-creating climb. As the pinch-happy shuffle sneers in precision stank-face deployment, resist the urge to discharge your steel load into the earth.
“Lunar Tear” // Barren Path (Grieving) – In any routine, no matter how structured, a moment of ferocious release can provide a benefit. Before this playlist enters its most grueling minutes, a lightning-speed romp in the grips of endless blasts and riffs exists to shake off the inertia that can result from testing your limits.
“Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” // Pissgrave (Malignant Worthlessness) – We are all filth—corpses brought to life by the signals we create. Synapses creating chains from proximal to distal drive our movements from concept to power. Through squelching refrain and lockstep death metal assault, fibers at the edge of their load-bearing capacity persist and persevere in the midst of Pissgrave’s shifting and grimy rhythms.
“Bursting with Life’s True Fruit” // Umulamahri (Learning the Secrets of Acid) – Guttural expression unlocks the last inches of a tough pull. As we channel Doug Moore’s garbage disposal tier phlegmanations into our own tidal vibrations, we visualize the final set. We are victorious. And in a celebratory expression of might, we slip into Umulamahri’s enlightened synth dissolution. Those who float cannot collapse.
#AndOceans #1914 #2025 #Ade #Ambush #Ashen #Barbarous #BarrenPath #Bianca #Biohazard #BlackSoulHorde #BlindEquation #Blindfolded #BloodRedThrone #Brainstorm #Cytotoxin #Deafheaven #DeathWhore #Depravity #DormantOrdeal #Eisbrecher #ElectricCallboy #FiliiNigrantiumInfernalium #Flummox #GloriousDepravity #Guts #HeavyMovesHeavy #Igorr #Jordsjuk #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #Mortual #MutagenicHost #Nephylim #Nite #ParadiseLost #PedestalForLeviathan #Phobocosm #PillarsOfCacophony #Pissgrave #PrimitiveMan #Psycroptic #PupilSlicer #RuinousPower #Sepulchral #SerenityInMurder #Soulfly #SpireOfLazarus #StarlightRitual #TheAcaciaStrain #ToTheGrave #ÜltraRaptör #Umulamahri #Unbirth #Werewolves #WinterSBane -
Giving the new LimeBike the downtown Seattle extreme hills test.Lime has launched 500 new “LimeBikes” in Seattle, a new model with smaller wheels and a lower center of gravity compared to the company’s existing “Gen 4 E-Bike,” resulting in a bike that looks a lot like the company’s sit-down scooter they call the LimeGlider.
The new LimeBike, with a name harkening back to the company’s pre-scooter days, should be more stable when carrying weight in the basket. The bike hopefully will also be less likely to fall over and block sidewalks due to its lower center of mass. Like the Gen 4 E-bike, the LimeBike motor will activate via pedal-assist and throttle, whichever the user chooses. The form factor may also draw wider appeal since it may be less intimidating to some users than a bike with full-size wheels. The LimeGliders have seen lots of use since they launched, for example, and may be attracting users over the Gen 4 E-Bikes that look more like traditional bikes. The Glider has been able to bridge the gap between a bike and a stand-up scooter, and it will be very interesting to see if the new LimeBike can appeal to scooter users in a way the existing bikes do not.
UPDATE 5/11: I finally tracked one down, and oh boy it is very good (no, this post is NOT sponsored). My biggest fear was that it would be a scooter with worthless pedals attached so that it would count as a bicycle like the Veo “bikes” from a few years ago, and I am very happy to report that this is not at all the case. The new LimeBike is the best bike share bike I’ve ever tried, and it’s not even close. I took it on the same extreme test loop I have taken nearly every other micromobility device: Up Spring Street from 2nd to 4th Avenues downtown for a worst case climbing test, then down Madison from 4th to 2nd for a worst case braking test. If a bike can handle this loop, then it can handle anything. Not only did the new LimeBike perform flawlessly, I was able to pedal up these ridiculously steep hills at 12 mph without significant effort. It also easily passed the hardest test of all: Getting started on a steep uphill (many devices have failed this one). Perhaps due to the smaller wheels the bike seemed to have a lot more torque than any other micromobility device I’ve ever tried, which helps with climbing and getting started from a stop. The bike’s pedal assist feels more responsive and natural than the Gen 4 E-Bike it is replacing, so I didn’t feel compelled to even touch the throttle. But beyond power, it was just so comfortable.
— Advertisement —The new seat post adjustment latch seems unnecessarily large at first glance, but it’s so intuitive and easy to use to get the saddle at the right height. For a bike where you’ll probably want to adjust this every time you ride, this design is brilliant (assuming it holds up well with time and wear). The lower stepover height makes the thing even more approachable. The lower cargo area is also great, though it is not a cycletruck-style design as I had initially thought it was. I thought the basket was attached to the frame, but it does move with the fork when turning. However, it didn’t feel like the handlebars wanted to flop to the side when there was stuff in it. Thanks to the pedals, the LimeBike is much more zippy than its similar-looking cousin, the LimeGlider sit-down scooter, and on flat ground I was comfortably able to pedal beyond 15 mph, the point that the electric motor stops providing assistance. The bike felt good to ride even without the motor whirring, which is not something I can say about any other shared e-bike I’ve tried. Honestly, I think if they sold this thing in stores people would buy it. You could happily and comfortably ride it for hours around town (buy a LimePass minute bundle or subscribe to LimePrime rather than paying by the minute if you’re going to do this). I had high hopes for this design, and it blew my expectations away.
They are a bit difficult to track down. As of now, only 500 of Lime’s 4,000 bikes in Seattle will be the new model. In the Lime app, the LimeBike does have a slightly different icon from the Gen 4 E-Bike and the Glider if you are determined to track one down yourself (if you’re doing so today, downtown might be your best bet as I saw several down there this morning).
Back to the original story:
— Advertisement —At least on paper, the LimeBike addresses my biggest issues with the LimeGlider. Perhaps because I am so used to biking, I do not like the lack of an adjustable-height seat on the Glider and the fact that it feels kind of awkward to stand while riding it. It feel much more comfortable and in-control when I am seated higher, though this is likely a matter of personal preference. The Glider can also struggle a bit going up the steepest hills. The new LimeBike has pedals, so you should be able to help it up hills, and it has an adjustable-height seat. I have not yet had a chance to test ride the new LimeBike, but I will attempt to hunt one down and will update when I do.
As someone who rides bikes every day, I really like the Gen 4 E-Bike. The company is only replacing 500 of their 4,000 Seattle e-bikes with the new model at this time, so the company will keep the Gen 4 bikes in operation for a while longer. However, the new bike fits better into their operations, so if it is a success they will likely phase out the old bikes eventually. The Gen 4 bike was based heavily on the JUMP bike design that the company inherited when it acquired its competitor in the early days of the pandemic in 2020. It’s a solid tank of a bike with good brakes and zippy acceleration. But ridership is consistently higher on the scooters than the bikes, so I am open to the idea that what I am personally seeking is not in step with the average person.
The bike industry seems to be leaning toward bikes with 20-inch wheels, which have a lot of practical advantages over larger wheel sizes even if they take bumps a tiny bit harder. They can more easily fit shorter riders, for example. It is also easier to mount cargo to the frame rather than the fork. It is also easier to get high torque/low gearing, a high-demand bike spec in hilly Seattle. Our family cargo bike is a Tern GSD, which has two 20-inch wheels and is fantastic at hauling anything and anyone I put on it. This isn’t to say 20-inch wheels are always better, but mini velos are having a moment. Rodriguez makes a pretty cool one here in Seattle called the Pony Keg. They also have one called the 6-Pack covered in couplings so it can fit inside a 20″ x 20″ suitcase. (No, they do not sponsor me, I just think these are really cool).
Lime’s Seattle ridership continues to climb to levels few would have predicted even five years ago. Their bikes and scooters carried 57,000 people on the day of the Seahawks parade in February, which is on par with the number of cars that drive across the Aurora Bridge. Data that Lime reports to SDOT shows that the company carried 943,200 trips in April, a 43% increase over April 2025, which itself was a 115% increase over April 2024. To date (through May 7), Seattle is at 3,218,800 trips in 2026, and Bike Month just began. The summer months are when Lime ridership usually balloons. These are astounding numbers, showing that Lime is a serious part of our city’s year-round transportation system now.
With competitor Bird no longer operating in Seattle as of this month, Lime seems to have officially won Seattle’s 9-year shared micromobility cage match. It may be time to revisit our city’s relationship with Lime since our existing permit system is written to encourage competition, yet it’s not clear who else is in a position to compete with Lime at this time. It is a great thing for micromobility that Lime seems to have figured out how to make this work, but it’s also not usually good for users when one company has a monopoly. Seattle may want to figure out how it can ensure Lime’s success also benefits Seattle residents into the future.
The Lime Glider seems to have not cannibalized ridership from the standing scooters or bikes. Instead, it just added more trips on top, helping to explain Lime’s surging trip counts. Chart from SDOT’s Shared Micromobility Data Dashboard.Image from Lime.#SEAbikes #Seattle
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Lost Monster Files Thunderbird episode flies in the face of reason
Here I am again with a review of the third episode of the Discovery Channel show Lost Monster Files (LMF). In the previous posts, I explained how I was left unimpressed by the quality of evidence and the dramatically overreaching explanations suggested by the cast. This episode continues the trend of mashing together the existing lore, the background from Ivan Sanderson’s (not) “lost” files, eyewitness stories, and their field investigations to produce an incoherent and rather insulting show for anyone who knows anything much about cryptid history.
This episode, they took up the Thunderbird – a legend of an enormous bird in the forests of Pennsylvania. It’s a history I know fairly well. LMF forgets all that or just condenses it into one stinky regurgitated pellet of barely recognizable bits, and, instead, focuses on recent claims along Chestnut Ridge, part of the Allegheny Mountains southeast of Pittsburgh.
As with the previous two episodes, it starts with the sensationalized claim that “a creature has been terrorizing” the place…
Except they can’t find it, so… not very terrifying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ImR9_Y4Bo
They do tell us about the most famous account of a thunderbird: the attack on 10 yr old Marlon Lowe in 1977. Marlon is still alive. They interviewed him at a Pennsylvania location. The details are sparse, as usual, but they fail to mention this incident took place in Lawndale, Illinois. That’s rather important considering this is all about PA. They also never examine the implicit claim that the bird lifted him. The drawing shown with the story depicts a child lifted by his foot into the air even though Marlon was never actually lifted this way (or at all). It is not possible for birds to lift more than their own weight, and they are very lightly built. But, nevermind, whatever.
I notice that the show never seems to give ample time to note all the critical information that might help viewers understand the stories – they have a set agenda to push and can’t fit too much into a short format. This is the rotten part of TV shows like this; they present a skewed story to the audience, who probably won’t fact-check and will assume these actors are doing something akin to actual research.
They head to Chestnut Ridge where a farmer says a huge bird, larger than he’s ever seen, has been spotted three times on his land. Unfortunately, he compares its size to the large birds in the area including pelicans and storks, except neither are not found anywhere near here. Oops.
The attempt to lure a large bird at the farm with (trigger warning) dead rabbits is a failure, but the producers can’t stop themselves from giving Brittany an ambiguous “hit” by claiming she sees a large bird (that looks for all the world like a super common turkey vulture). It disappears without her seeing it fly away. Nevermind, whatever.
The show then throws at us a ridiculous story that the local airport has caught mystery objects in the air over the ridge that are unidentifiable as planes. Therefore, these might be large birds or they might be military planes. Is it really possible that several large birds are flying repeatedly, unnoticed, but show up on radar and are mistaken for planes. Really? REALLY?
The team hikes up to an area they think might have nests spotted by a drone. (It’s a tiny hot spot among the roasting rocks. Nevermind, whatever.) They find a deer skull that Brittany says was pecked at by a beak. And they find a large “pellet” regurgitated by a bird of prey. It’s 3-4 inches long. A 3-inch pellet is not unreasonable for an eagle. They also find remains of a normal-sized raptor nest, long abandoned. All of this is not very unusual, except they make it so.
The DNA result on the pellet shows it’s from an eagle but the DNA is mixed with all the animal remains in it. So they suggest it might be something that ate an eagle. I am not making this up – they really are reaching that far. They end up concluding that the animal might be a (long-extinct) Teratorn or an eagle with gigantism, both of which are baseless because a regular eagle will suffice to explain the findings.
There are a few more obvious points where the episode egregiously misleads viewers.
Location, Location, Location
They fail to explain locational information about the Thunderbird. The main tales of modern Thunderbirds took place in Illinois, and in the “Black Forest” of north central Pennsylvania in the 1970s. They could have at least mentioned that. Sanderson had even investigated in the Black Forest area.
Perhaps the people producing this show are just clueless about the US. When they showed examples of the Alleghenies, they stuck in what appears to be a photo of the Alps. This is not Pennsylvania or anywhere in Appalachia:
Screen capture. I attempted to trace this photo but I suspect it might be AI generated. It looks more like the Bavarian Alps than any other location.Area of High Strangeness
The area of Chestnut Ridge has recently been surging as an area of all kinds of paranormal activity. The fact that Thunderbird sightings have also been escalating in the past year is certainly related to more people looking for strange things, and more people willing to take their claims seriously. However, that does not mean that large unknown birds really exist here. You name it and people have claimed it in the Chestnut Ridge area – Bigfoot and other cryptids, UFOs, Bigfoot coming out of UFOs, earth lights, hauntings, portals, etc.
How to hide a huge, flying thing that millions of people are looking for
Of all mystery animals, those that fly, and that are excessively large, are the hardest to keep hidden. Millions of people are active bird-watchers and migration routes are monitored. Every year, citizen scientists all over the country take part in a bird count, actively cataloging birds. It’s absurd to suggest that even off track migrants won’t be noticed (they frequently are and it makes for big news), or, that they deliberately hide from human binoculars.
After three episodes, LMF is formulaic, contrived, and non-credible. There is a pattern of outright carelessness, ignorance, and disrespect for the topic of cryptozoology and, frankly, it dishonors Sanderson’s memory. It’s very difficult to fit nuance and reason, let alone an entire investigation, into a 45-minute program. When you try to do that with a cast who pitch sensationalistic nonsense, and producers that are making stuff up, you end up with a very awful result.
Episode 1 review: Lost Monster Files – Carolina Chupacabra review
Episode 2 review: Lost Monster Files produces some abominable research#cryptid #Cryptozoology #DiscoveryChannel #eagle #IvanSanderson #largeBirds #LostMonsterFiles #Pennsylvania #ReviewOfLostMonsterFiles #television #Teratorn #Thunderbird
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Keep calm that they keep on coming... Better fire up you mitigations because this is probably going to take a while to patch fully.
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Keep up the resitance:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/may/14/elon-musk-sam-altman-ai-feud' #Sora’s demise ultimately stemmed from several intersecting considerations shaped by grassroots action: flatlining usage, rocky public perception, tightening financials, and heavy constraints on computational resources.
Here’s the thing about empires. They don’t just seek to devour everything – they depend on it for their survival. In other words, the very thing that appears to give them paramount strength is their greatest vulnerability. '
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Keep up the resitance:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/may/14/elon-musk-sam-altman-ai-feud' #Sora’s demise ultimately stemmed from several intersecting considerations shaped by grassroots action: flatlining usage, rocky public perception, tightening financials, and heavy constraints on computational resources.
Here’s the thing about empires. They don’t just seek to devour everything – they depend on it for their survival. In other words, the very thing that appears to give them paramount strength is their greatest vulnerability. '
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Keep up the resitance:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/may/14/elon-musk-sam-altman-ai-feud' #Sora’s demise ultimately stemmed from several intersecting considerations shaped by grassroots action: flatlining usage, rocky public perception, tightening financials, and heavy constraints on computational resources.
Here’s the thing about empires. They don’t just seek to devour everything – they depend on it for their survival. In other words, the very thing that appears to give them paramount strength is their greatest vulnerability. '
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Keep up the resitance:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/may/14/elon-musk-sam-altman-ai-feud' #Sora’s demise ultimately stemmed from several intersecting considerations shaped by grassroots action: flatlining usage, rocky public perception, tightening financials, and heavy constraints on computational resources.
Here’s the thing about empires. They don’t just seek to devour everything – they depend on it for their survival. In other words, the very thing that appears to give them paramount strength is their greatest vulnerability. '
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Keep up the resitance:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/commentisfree/2026/may/14/elon-musk-sam-altman-ai-feud' #Sora’s demise ultimately stemmed from several intersecting considerations shaped by grassroots action: flatlining usage, rocky public perception, tightening financials, and heavy constraints on computational resources.
Here’s the thing about empires. They don’t just seek to devour everything – they depend on it for their survival. In other words, the very thing that appears to give them paramount strength is their greatest vulnerability. '
