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Stuck in the Filter: February 2025’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
February comes down the pipe about two or three months after February. A perfectly normal thing to experience here at AMG HQ, this Filter’s tardiness is brought to you in part by my body getting stuck in one of the tighter conduits that lines the concrete interior of this confounded bunker. My minions are elsewhere, trudging through similar environs, and report their findings to me via eldritch beast telepathy. Since I obviously don’t speak eldritch tongue, I have to use my Codex of Enspongification to decipher these antediluvian transmissions. I’m sure you can imagine, that takes no small measure of time, especially when you’re stuck in this galvanized prison of rusting sheetmetal.
Until my ungrateful minions can find me and rescue me—something I don’t expect to happen anytime soon considering I give them no workers benefits or pay of any kind—you’ll have to make do with the selections of rough-hewn and sharp, but valuable, ore provided below. OBSERVE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Kenstrosity’s Crusty Grab
Metaphobic // Deranged Excruciations [February 28th, 2025 – Everlasting Spew Records]
When Atlantan death metal quintet Metaphobic caught my attention with the megalithic riffs opening their debut LP Deranged Excruciations, I thought the stank face it brought out of me might be permanent. Nothing new and nothing sophisticated awaits here. Just brutalizing riffs delivered in a relentless sequence of destruction. Lead guitars squeal and scrape against the swampy ground underfoot, leaving a noxious slime trail behind “Mental Deconstruction” and “Execration” that tastes of Tomb Mold, Incantation, and Demilich to varying degrees. Guttural utterances and cacophonic—but accessibly structured—riffs offer the same infernal ferocity of the olden ways. However, in a similar manner to Noxis, their application here feels modern and fresh-ish (“Execration,” “Veiled Horizons,” “Hypnosis Engram”). Not nearly as nuanced as that comparison might suggest, Metaphobic are more than satisfied to use their brutish death metal as a cudgel for blunt force trauma. Nods to death doom in long-form wanderings like “Disciples of Vengeance” and “Insatiable Abyss” provide an appreciable variation in pace, though it doesn’t always work in Metaphobic’s favor. While those songs tend to meander too long on ideas unfit to support such mass for so long, livid outbursts like “Veiled Horizons” and “Reconstituted Grey Matter” more than make up for it. In short Deranged Excruciations commands my attention enough to earn my recommendation here, and my attention going forward.
Tyme’s Missing Minutes
Caustic Phlegm // Purulent Apocalypse [February 28, 2025 – Hells Headbangers]
Caustic Phlegm is the filth project helmed solely by Chestcrush main man Evan Vasilakos, who joyously employed his HM-2 and RAT pedals to create the utter disgustingness that is Purulent Apocalypse. A far cry from the angsty, I’d-rather-see-humanity-dead blackened death metal of his main outfit, Caustic Phlegm is a throwback to the days when Carnage walked the streets of Sweden and Impetigo was melting faces and killing brain cells. Purulent Apocalypse is a platter of pestiferous riffs (“Fouled, Infected & Infested,” “Soft Bones,” “Blister Bliss”), so many it’s like sitting on a death metal toilet puking and shitting riffs ad nauseam. Evan’s drum work, replete with the occasional but very satisfying St. Anger snare tone, drives the mindless fun forward, and the 80’s zombie giallo synth work would have Lucio Fulci himself clawing out of his grave to eat your face. Vasilakos’ vocals are a fine litany of belches, squelches, and gurgles that sound like a colony of maggots cleaning the putrid flesh from a corpulent corpse. Caustic Phlegm is the foul stench of death and will have you reaching for the soap and steel wool as you try to rid yourself of the Purulent Apocalypse infection.
Vermilia // Karsikko [February 14, 2025 – Self Release]
Had the incomparable Darkher not released The Buried Storm in 2022, Vermilia‘s Ruska would have garnered my top spot that year, which put her on my radar for the first time. When I saw Vermilia‘s follow-up, Karsikko had dropped in February—sadly we didn’t receive a promo—I jumped at the chance to filter it. While Karsikko is a bit more straightforward than Ruska, it’s full of liltingly beautiful pianos (“Karsikko”) that give way to icy black metal riffs (“Kansojen Kaipuu”) and gorgeously rendered folk metal melodies (“Koti,” “Veresi”). Comparisons with Myrkur and Suldusk would be appropriate, but Vermilia continues to carve out her own space in the folk black metal scene, marrying beatific melody with beastly aggression. Performing all of the music on Karsikko, as is her one-woman calling card, renders her finished products even more impressive. The highlight has always been the voice, though, as Vermilia deftly transitions between angelic cleans (“Suruhymni”) and frosty rasps (“Vakat”), completing a circle that makes each of her releases a joy to listen to. It’s confounding that another of Vermilia‘s albums is an independent release, which might be artistically intentional or the result of bone-headed label execs. Either way, don’t miss out on Karsikko, as Vermilia shouldn’t stay unsigned for long.
Killjoy’s Drowsy Discovery
Noctambulist // Noctambulist II: De Droom [February 7th, 2025 – These Hands Melt]
Although I love blackgaze, I must admit that it can be challenging to find artists who stand out in the genre, whether through quality songwriting or unexpected twists. It turns out that the Dutch band Noctambulist1 offers both. Noctambulist II: De Droom is a fun and fresh blend of Deafheaven-adjacent blackgaze with a Molotov cocktail of post-punk energy. The power chord-driven guitar lines prove to be an unexpectedly compatible fuel source to propel the shimmering, gazey tremolos and blackened rasps to new heights. Many songs (particularly “Aderlater” and “Lichteter”) start with neat intro melodies that catch the listener’s attention, then build and ride that momentum throughout the remainder. A faint sense of loss—stemming from the achingly relatable theme of homeownership drifting further out of many people’s reach—pervades the record, but there is also an infectious cheerfulness. Despite their name, Noctambulist are hardly sleepwalking as they tread along a well-worn genre.
Thus Spoke’s Disregarded Diamonds
Sacred Noose // Vanishing Spires [February 2nd, 2025 – Breath Sun Bone Blood]
My experience with Irish extreme metal has been that it is all incredibly dark, twisted, and supremely, gorgeously dissonant.2 Belfast3 duo Sacred Noose make absolutely no exception to this rule. Vanishing Spires’ ruthlessly brief 31 minutes are defined by stomach-tightening twisted blackened death designed to cut to the heart of misery and fear. The lurching sensation brought about by rapid tremolo descents and sudden accelerations of ever more dissonant chords, impenetrable drums, and pitch-shifting feedback is nauseating (“Entranced by Concrete Lathe,” “True Emancipation”). The pure horror of the inhuman, high-pitched shrieks answering the already fearsome bellows is anxiety-inducing (“”Black Tempests of Promise,” “Moribund”). The near-constant buzzing of noise is oppressive (“Terminal Prologue,” “True Emancipation”); the creeping, malevolent scales unnerving. And Sacred Noose play with their victim, luring them into a trap of deceptively familiar cavern-core (“Sacred Noose”) before throwing a hood over their head and yanking them backwards into more horrifying mania; or perhaps they’ll start with the assault (“True Emancipation”). This more ‘straightforward’ edge to Sacred Noose is most akin to a faster Sparagmos, while their dominant, demonic personality I can compare most faithfully to Thantifaxath, if Thantifaxath were more death-metal-inclined. Vanishing Spires is the first time since the latter’s 2023 Hive Mind Narcosis that a record has genuinely made me feel afraid.
Crown of Madness // Memories Fragmented [February 28th, 2025 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Life unfortunately got in the way of me giving this a proper review, but Crown of Madness deserve better than to slip by unmentioned. Memories Fragmented is the duo’s debut, but Crown of Madness is one of several projects both are already in.4. The ominous yet colourful sci-fi/fantasy cover art and spiky logo scream ‘tech-death’ and that is indeed what Crown of Madness deliver. At base, there is some damn fine technical death metal here that’s impressive and acrobatic (), but snappy, not outstaying its welcome—the entire record barely stretches beyond 35 minutes. But there is more to Memories Fragmented, and as a result, it is memorable.5 A drawl to certain refrains (), the tendency to gently sway to a slow, near-pensiveness (), the atmospheric hanging of some tremolos over a warm, dense bass (). There is depth. And it reminded me quite starkly of early Ulcerate. In this vein, the record leans towards the more meandering side of the subgenre, gripping not with hooky riffs and heart-pumping tempos, but an intricate kind of intensity. Memories Fragmented arguably goes too far in the indistinct direction, and as a result, loses immediacy. But the churning, introspective compositions presage the potential for true brilliance on future releases.
Vacuous // In His Blood [February 28th, 2025 – Relapse Records]
Full of youthful vigour, London’s Vacuous demonstrate their willing ability to evolve with their sophomore, In His Blood. While debut Dreams of Dysphoria, which I covered back in 2022, played more or less by the disso-death book, here they are already experimenting. Strange, almost post-metal atmosphere now haunts the boundaries (“Hunger,” “Public Humiliation,” “No Longer Human”), combining brilliantly with the band’s already cavernous death metal sound, and amplifying its fearsomeness. Crowning example of this is the gem Vacuous save for the record’s final act in closer “No Longer Human.” In His Blood also sees them flirt with a punkier energy that borrows more than a little bit of malice from the blackened handbook (“In His Blood,” “Flesh Parade”), backed up by d-beats, and contrasting well with their now less frequent crawls. At its most explosive, In His Blood feels downright unhinged, in the best way (“Stress Positions,” “Immersion”), but it never feels messy, and there’s potential in here for Vacuous to evolve into yet another, incredibly potent form of unique, modern hybrid extreme metal. I wish there were more than 30 minutes of this.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Bottom o’ the Barrel Boons
Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness [February 21st, 2025 – Profound Lore Records]
Though it may appear, at a glance, that I have gold-colored glasses for bands of rank and urological reference, I’d call it more of a chance happening that such miscreant acts have created intriguing works. And, truthfully, PISSGRAVE has leaned closer to filth first, function second with the war-leaning crackle (and brazenly offensive cover art) that relegates their lineage to corners of listening ears who need therapy with a high tolerance for guts and grime. Malignant Worthlessness, of course, is not accessible by any means, though, despite these Philly boys packing these nine ode to a failed society in a package that doesn’t cause immediate squirm. But with grooves trapped in an endless skronk and blast, and vocals shifted and layered to reflect the sound of a swarm of Daffy Ducks with a serious disdain for life, PISSGRAVE still embodies an endless swirl of unleashed aggression rendered in riffed and regurgitated form. Malignant Worthlessness lives on the dry and crispy side with most of its tones, which allows copious hits of quick delay and reverb on OUGHs and EEEEEEEUGHs to land with an extra psychedelic knocking when you least expect it. Little slows down the pain train here, with tracks like “Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” and “Internment Orgy” taking brief detours into chunky guitar builds that feel within grasp of normalcy just before dropping back into an intensified flaying. Elsewhere, a martial urgency that reminds of Paracletus-era Deathspell Omega or the industrial-tinged pummel of Concrete Winds, stirs a twitching movement response, all while retaining a grinding death snarl and chromatic fury, leading its fused-by-hatred structures toward an explosive and fuming conclusion. Humanity has no place in the PISSGRAVE environs, and Malignant Worthlessness, in its celebration of a hostile world, does everything it can to reinforce that.
終末回路 // 終端から引き剥がす [February 20th, 2025 – Self Release]
For things that wander around the math rock world, nailing a vibe remains essential to enjoyment. It’s all too easy in this day and edge to fall into the comfortable trap of ambient tapping and comfortable posty swirls to pleasant crescendos that renders many modern acts to high brow background music (even including bands I like, to a degree, like Covet or Jizue). New Japanese act 終末回路,6 however, chooses to imbue their nimble and tricky instrumental center with the searing emotion and urgency of a noisy post-hardcore, with searing vocal inclusions adding a gravitas to passages that would otherwise threaten to flutter away in glee (“誤殖,” “知らねぇよ”). On one end, 終末回路 delivers a bright playfulness that swings with the pedal power and psychedelia of a young Tera Melos. Yet, weighted with a punk urgency and rawer Japanese assembly of tones, which give a physical clang to tight kit heads and blazing squeal to shrill loops and feedback, 終末回路 finds a constant momentum in their shorter form excursion that makes my lack of understanding of its introspective lyrics a non-issue. Packing plaintive piano melodies (“ご自由に “), speaker blowing synth cranking (“dgdf++be”), and prog-tinged guitar flutters (“知らねぇよ”) into one listening session isn’t easy, but with this debut outing of 終端から引き剥がす,7 終末回路 makes it seem as if they’ve been honing the craft for years.
Saunders’ Salacious Skeeves
Möuth // Gobal Warning [February 14th, 2025 – Self Release)
Veteran rockers The Hellacopters returned with a typically rollicking, fun album in February. Elsewhere, dropping with little fanfare, fellow Swedes and unsung power trio Möuth emerged with an intriguing debut rock platter, entitled Global Warning. Featuring more than meets the eye and flashing a dynamic rock sound, Möuth embrace both retro and modern influences, whipped into an infectious concoction of styles, ranging from Sabbathian lurches, doomy grooves, stoner vibes, and elements of psych, punk and hard rock. For the most part it works a treat, creating a welcome change of pace. Fuzzy, upbeat rockers (“Dirt,” “Appetite”) snugly reside amongst moody, psych-bending numbers (“Alike,” “Mantra”), and heavier doom-laden rock, such as powerful opener “Holy Ground,” and brooding, emotive album centerpiece, “Sheep.” Vocally, the passionate, Ozzy-esque croons hit the spot, matching up well to the band’s multi-pronged rock flavors. Compact and infectious, varied in delivery and featuring enough tasty rhythms, fuzzy melodies and rock punch to satisfy, Global Warning marks an intriguing starting point for these Swedish rockers.
Chaos Inception // Vengeance Evangel [February 21st, 2025 – Lavadome Productions]
Emerging from a deep slumber in the depths of the underground, Alabama’s long dormant death metal crew Chaos Inception returned with their first album since 2012’s The Abrogation. Third album Vengeance Evangel went under the radar, festering unclaimed in the promo sump. After the fact, the album’s crushing, controlled chaos smacked me upside the skull with a violent modern interpretation of the classic Floridian death metal sound, with the musty hues of Tucker-era Morbid Angel most prevalent. This is blast-riddled, relentless stuff, played expertly by the trio of Matt Barnes (guitars), Gray White (vocals) and session drummer Kevin Paradis (ex-Benighted). Incredibly dense, atmospheric, and blazingly fast, Vengeance Evangel is a brutal, knotty, technical hammering, punctuated by sick, wildly inventive soloing. While not traditionally catchy, Vengeance Evangel is the kind of intense, layered death metal album that gets under the skin, grafting a deeper impression across repeated listens. The insane tempo shifts, jigsaw arrangements, and wickedly deranged axework delivers big time. From the violent, intricate throes of opener “Artillery of Humwawa,” and disturbed soundscapes of “La Niebla en el Cementerio Etrusco,” through to the brutish grooves of ‘Thymos Beast,” and exotic, tech death shards of “Empire of Prevarication,” Vengeance Evangel does not neatly fit into any one subgenre category but ticks many boxes to cast a wide appeal to death fans of varied equations.
Steel Druhm’s Viscous Biscuits
Ereb Altor // Hälsingemörker [ February 7th, 2025 – Hammerheart Records]
Steel loves his epic metal. I was raised on the stirring odes to swordsmanship and ungovernable back hair from Manowar and Cirth Ungol, and in time, I took a place at the great table in Wotan’s Golden Halls to appreciate the Viking metal exploits of Bathory and later adherents like Falkenbach and Moonsorrow. Sweden’s Ereb Altor got in the game late with their epic By Honour debut in 2008, boasting a very Bathory-esque sound and emotional tapestry that felt larger-than-life and stirred the loins to begird themselves. 10th album Hälsingemörker is a glorious return to those halls of heroes and bravery. This is the large-scale songcraft first heard on Bathory albums like Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods, and it’s most welcome to these ape ears. Cuts like “Valkyrian Fate” are exactly the kind of sweeping, epic numbers the band’s excelled at over the years. It takes the core sound of Viking era Bathory and builds outward to craft bombastic and heroic compositions that feel HUUUGE. It’s the kind of metal song that embiggens the soul and makes you want to take on a marauding horde by your lonesome and usurp all their battle booty. On “Hälsingemörker,” you get a fat dose of Moonsorrow worship, and elsewhere, Primordial is strongly referenced to very good effect. Hälsingemörker is easily the best Ereb Altor album in a while and the most in line with their beloved early sound. Strap on the sword and get after it!
#AmericanMetal #Arboreal #Benighted #BlackMetal #BlackSabbath #Blackgaze #BreathSunBoneBlood #Carnage #CausticPhlegm #ChaosInception #Chestcrush #ConcreteWinds #Coscradh #Covet #CrownOfMadness #Darkher #Deafheaven #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DeathspellOmega #Demilich #DerangedExcruciations #DissonantDeathMetal #DustAge #EmbodimentOfDeath #ErebAltor #EverlastingSpewRecords #FolkMetal #GlobalWarning #Hälsingemörker #HellsHeadbangers #Impetigo #InHisBlood #Incantation #IrishMetal #JapaneseMetal #jizue #Karsikko #LavadomeProductions #MalignantWorthlessness #MathRock #MelodicBlackMetal #MemoriesFragmented #Metaphobic #MorbidAngel #Möuth #Myserion #Noctambulist #NoctambulistIIDeDroom #Noxis #OzzyOsbourne #Pissgrave #PostMetal #postPunk #ProfoundLoreRecords #PurulentApocalypse #RelapseRecords #Rock #SacredNoose #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #SermonOfFlames #Sparagmos #SwedishMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TerZiele #TeraMelos #Thantifaxath #TheHelicopters #TheseHandsMelt #TombMold #TranscendingObscurityRecords #UKMetal #Ulcerate #Vacuous #VanishingSpires #VengeanceEvangel #Vermilia #VultureSVengeance #終末回路 #終端から引き剥がす
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Stuck in the Filter: January’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
March is but a few days away (at the time of writing), so, naturally, we at AMG and Sons feel it’s finally time to leave 2023 behind. Entering 2024 with a fresh vat of anger juice to fuel our findings, we trudge through the thin metal walls of our ever-taxed filtration system. And boy howdy did we get lucky this month!
January’s Filter is stuffed to the gills with great options, sure to find a home in the arms of one of you despicable rascals lovely readers. If there was ever a Filter stocked enough to feed an entire readership in one fell swoop, it’s this one. Now, go! Feast!
Kenstrosity’s Scuzzy Slags
Dark Oath // Ages of Man [January 18th, 2024 – Self Release]
Portuguese symphonic, melodic death metal five-piece1 Dark Oath quietly dropped its sophomore effort Ages of Man to an unsuspecting public midway through January. After a whopping eight years since their debut When Fire Engulfs the Earth released, surely expectations for fans run high. As for me, this is my first foray, and this follow-up is nothing short of striking. Immediately recalling Aephanemer’s excellent Prokopton and Aether’s In Embers, riffs aren’t Ages of Man’s focus. Rather, epic guitar licks and leads command the charge with a cavalcade of orchestral layers forming an army of triumphant melodies and counterpoint just behind (“Gold I” and “Gold II”). Prominently featured and wonderfully effective, acoustic plucking from what sounds like a bouzouki evokes the magnificence and reverent tones of Gorgon’s Elegy, creating another core character for this epic journey that deepens the experience further (“Silver I,” “Bronze I,” “Bronze II”). While I occasionally pine for more engaging, groovy riffs to provide greater dynamics than the chugging gallops utilized instead, there’s no denying that Dark Oath’s infectious melodies and danceable rhythms punch far above the weight of forty-two minutes of lush, epic material (“Silver II,” “Heroic I,” “Iron”). At the end of the day, if you wanna go on cinematic adventures in the near future, queue up Ages of Man. It will be your guide.
Rhûn // Conveyance in Death [January 26th, 2024 – I.K. Productions]
Falls of Rauros’ founding member Aaron Charles, known for his emotive and vicious howls and creative guitar work, established solo act Rhûn back in 2021. Over the past year, a set of singles hinted at what debut full-length Conveyance in Death might hold for the Portland, Maine multi-instrumentalist. Now that it’s unleashed upon the world, this record proves to be a compelling amalgam of atmospheric black metal, post-black, and death metal. Opener “Morningstar” showcases all of these facets with aplomb, shifting from crushing riffs to a gorgeous trem-based ascension in the final third. Further down the line, Song o’ the Year contender “Bone Ornament” suitably shatters my bones with its awesome main riff, swaggering groove, and vicarious pacing. Other interesting forays into multifaceted modality and doom-laden marches help define the darker “Tomb of Andesite” and “Citadels in Ruins.” At a tight thirty-seven minutes of quality material, there’s little here that needs editing, although some lengthier passages in “Howl of Gleaming Swords” and closer “Night’s Glacial Passing” could stand a thirty-second trim here or there. Nonetheless, this is a strong launch for the fledgling project, and I can’t wait to hear how Aaron develops it in the future.
Niemaracz // The Tales of the Dense Forest [January 31st, 2024 – Self Release]
Hailing from Almaty, Kazakhstan, uber-obscure stoner doom black metal band Niemaracz doesn’t even have a date of establishment listed on Metallum. Pulling from fuzzy doom metal, languid stoner rock, folk-tinged heavy metal, and witchy black metal, debut record The Tales of the Dense Forest ushers in a sound I can’t say I’ve ever heard before. Icy and warm, rich and sharp, relaxed and blistering, these sprawling soundscapes challenge every preconception I held for not one, but four distinct styles. Yet, coming in at just under thirty minutes, this record marries them all as fluidly as a babbling brook glides over stone. With the immersive opener, “The Experiment,” Niemaracz’s high-fantasy fueled melodies and classic riffs impress with their uncanny synchronicity, while the fuzzy and warm production deepens the music’s cohesion. Album highlight, “The Faithful Horse,” manages to blend classic Iron Maiden gallops with the sort of furious black metal I’d sooner expect from Emperor, all wrapped up in stoned fuzz, and it’s fascinating. Sometimes, the clean baritones are far too forward in the mix, throwing that delicate balance of tones and textures way off. Thankfully, the consistently entertaining and novel songwriting makes it all worthwhile (“The Secret of Longevity”). Go check them out, and give their lone Bandcamp supporter a new friend!
Tales From the Garden
Slift // Ilion [January 19th, 2024 – Sub Pop Records]
I am going to preface this glowing recommendation by saying that this fucking behemoth is far too long. It’s nigh-on 80 minutes of dense, twisting, and very French psychedelic madness, and the brain can only contain so much of that for so long. The reason I am posting it here anyway is that it is really good dense twisting French psychedelic madness. Slift became an underground darling after 2020’s Ummon, which got them enough acclaim to be Artist in Residence at the 2022 edition of Roadburn, where I first became acquainted with the Toulouse formation. Ilion is a feverish album, a chase through winding soundscapes that always change but never end, layers of vocals and synths passing in and out of view, the hefty riffs hammering your back and Frenchmen hollering at you from behind. Slift has been getting heavier with each release and now firmly finds itself in sludge territory. The phenomenal drums are the tone, the pace, and the foundation here, a colossal presence even if their sound isn’t massive per se. They remind most of the climactic sequences Dvne so excels at, a bludgeoning dynamic shuffle that feels like getting caught in an avalanche, but retaining their old-school jam-band roots. Thankfully there’s enough variation to mitigate the bloat a bit, from left-field saxophone intermissions to more mid-paced material like the excellent atmospheric doom of “Weavers’ Weft.” Ilion is a deep, deep well, but a richly rewarding one for fans of heavy psych.
Carcharodon’s Fanged Fancies
Ὁπλίτης // Παραμαινομένη [January 12th, 2024 – Self-released]
At this point, I am almost relieved that the Chinese black metal-making machine known as Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites, for those of us not well versed in Ancient Greek) resolutely continues to not send us promo. Such is his level of productivity and, crucially, consistency, that I fear I would spend a fair chunk of my time just writing >3.0 reviews for his various projects (Vitriolic Sage being another good one). A case in point, his latest offering, Ὁπλίτης, is another absolute banger. Παραμαινομένη actually offers something slightly different from previous outings. While still very much playing in the almost clinically harsh black metal space, there is a more present and more vicious bass groove to this (fifth track “Συμμιαινόμεναι Διονύσῳ Ἐλευθέριῳ”), as well as, more surprisingly, a lot of freeform jazz elements. Screaming sax and trumpets are a big component, particularly in the first half of the record, giving the whole a feeling of White Ward and John Zorn having a particularly raucous threesome with Vredehammer. There is nothing tender about what’s happening though; it’s furious, pummelling, experimental… at least one of which is a thing that a threesome should be. A punishing, relentless listen, with unexpected twists, Ὁπλίτης has once again cranked out a fascinating record, and in record time.
Infant Island // Obsidian Wreath [January 12th, 2024 – Secret Voice]
Infant Island is new to me but, apparently, not to all—I’ve seen a fair bit of buzz around these guys—and Obsidian Wreath is the Virginians’ third record. Probably best tagged as blackened screamo, this record has contradictory feelings of warmth and utterly despairing rage. The band themselves cite Panopticon and Deafheaven as influences. I can hear both in their sound, the melodic complexity of the former, and the atmospheric wall-of-sound style of the latter. However, there are a few other things going on in the mix, with something of the frantic, chaotic precision of Pupil Slicer (“Fulfilled”), as well as the haunted and melodic deathgaze of Kardashev (“Amaranthine” and “Kindling”). Guitarists Alexander Rudenshiold and Winston Givler create such a dense morass of sound, that it often feels like there are more than two guitar lines in play, while Kyle Guerra’s bass adds something faintly grindcore-esque to the mix. All five members are credited with the vocals, which are throat-shredding and packed with pain, mourning, and frustration. Obsidian Wreath is a brutal, percussive listen, that feels like it’s tearing open your ears so that it can scream directly into your brain. At the same time, dark and unsettling electronica and arrangements (“Found Hand”) play a part in lulling the battered listener, preparing you for the next assault, as does the mix, which is surprisingly rich for all the pummelling. Although Infant Island is a screamo band, they reach with confidence into other genres for inspiration, making for a much more interesting proposition.
Thus Spoke’s Reviled Ramblings
Cognizance // Phantazein [January 26th, 2024 – Willowtip]
As most of them are from Leeds, I would have expected Cognizance to know that the objectively correct, British spelling is Cognisance, actually.2 But what the Loiners3 might lack in grammatical precision, they more than makeup for in musical style. Finessing their brand of tech-death, which falls somewhere between The Faceless and Allegaeon, Phantazein realizes the convergence of grooviness, melodic catchiness, and technicality with panache. Stomping, neck-snapping, and irresistibly foot-tapping rhythms tumble over one another with precise eagerness (“Ceremonial Vigour,” “Futureless Horizon,” “The Towering Monument”). Punchy, satisfyingly urgent melodies lead the way in chunky, groovy guitar dances (“A Brain Dead Memoir,” “Shock Heuristics,” “Shadowgraph”). With the exception of the (unnecessary) echoing interlude “Alferov,” this thing wrestles and roils its way into and around your general head area. It’s snappy, slick, and smooth. Phantazein (I think) comes from the Greek meaning “to appear,” as in, to seem a certain way. It seems to me, at least, that Phantazein is a banger.
Resin Tomb // Cerebral Purgatory [January 19th, 2024 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Having stolen this from Ferox‘s rightful hands due to his punishing work schedule, I find myself, not for the first, or the last time this year I’m sure, singing the praises of a Transcending Obscurity release. But Cerebral Purgatory deserves praise in its own right. Punishingly heavy, yet remarkably listenable, it sees Resin Tomb filter grindy percussive assaults and dissonant death metal through a hard/grind-core medium. Barking screams breaking across ringing, tremolo-ing descending scales and tempos from charge to crushing, headbanging groove. Clanging, twanging guitar beats aggressive and menacing patterns (“Flesh Brick,” “Scalded,” “Putrescence”). Sometimes, this makes for pleasingly slick, melancholic melodies, that play out with stalking grace (title track, “Human Confetti,” “Concrete Crypt”). Other times, relentless blastbeating or chonky bass chugging provides the background for the axe’s more dissonant angularity (“Dysphoria,” “Purge Fluid,” “Flesh Brick”). Like “a more hardcore-y Nightmarer,”4 or perhaps even an extreme metal Knocked Loose mixed with Nothingness. Seriously, just listen to it.
Mystikus Hugebeards’s Stupendous Scrolls
Albion // Lakesongs of Elbid [January 27th, 2024 – Self-Release]
I’ve been on a folk metal streak of late, yet I’ve struggled to find something that really gripped me the way I wanted. Thus did fate decree that some watery tart hangin’ about in ponds would lob a sword at me in the form of Lakesongs of Elbid, the debut album by the British folk band Albion. This album transposes Celtic folklore into lush, lightly proggy folk metal in the vein of Big Big Train, and is written like the music you hear in your head when you picture a grand quest to Camelot or the Isles of Avalon. “Arthurian Overture” begins the journey in earnest, the music cresting triumphant, orchestral hills and striding through valleys of flute passages, all to the rhythmic footsteps of the guitars. From there, Lakesongs of Elbid explores a wide array of musical locales that can range from direct, determined metal riffs (“Finding Avalon”), traces of British tavern rock (“Barret’s Privateers,” “Silvaplana Rock”), or somber, acoustic folk (“Camlann”). The quest is spearheaded by Joe Parrish-James, whose vocals effortlessly merge the buttery smooth cadence of a seasoned storyteller with a youthful yearning for adventure. That idea of adventure is the beating heart of Lakesongs of Elbid; I can think of a few bands that so easily transport the listener to a new world of vibrant color and sound. Adventurous, enchanting, tons of fun, and extraordinarily British.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Slippery Sermon
Cancer Christ // God Is Violence [January 5th, 2024 – Seeing Red Records]
HAIL CHRIST! HAIL CHRIST!! DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT? DO YOU SEE IT?? IT’S AT THE END OF A TUNNEL FILLED WITH RAPISTS, SATANISTS, PEOPLE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD’S LOVE. “SATAN IS A BITCH.” SEE THE LIGHT. SEE JESUS CHRIST. JESUS KNOWS THE WORLD CAN BE A BETTER PLACE. JESUS KNOWS THE WORLD NEEDS RIFFS. JESUS KNOWS THE WORLD DOESN’T NEED COPS. “GOD HATES COPS.” THEY STAND IN THE WAY OF GOD’S POWER. HUBRIS! JESUS KNOWS THAT WE’RE ALL BETTER DEAD THAN ALIVE. JESUS CAN KILL US ALL JUST FINE HE DOESN’T NEED COPS. DID YOU HEAR? DID YOU HEAR JESUS’ WORD?? WE NEED TO “BRING BACK THE GUILLOTINE” — WE NEED TO CIRCLE PIT AROUND THE SINNERS AND CHOP THEIR HEADS OFF. CHOP THEIR HEADS OFF!! THE ONLY WAY THEY’LL SEE GOD’S LOVE IS IF THEY’RE DEAD. DO YOU HEAR THE SCREECHING? THAT HIGH-PITCHED SQUIRMING? THAT THRASHY RHYTHMIC PULSE? THAT’S THE ONLY WAY WE’LL GET THESE SINNERS WHO HAVE BEEN “BAPTIZED IN PISS AND SHIT.” HAIL CHRIST! HAIL CHRIST!! WE HAVE SKANKS (BEATS)! WE HAVE MENTAL BREAKDOWNS! “JESUS GOT A BIG OL’ COCK” TOO! IF YOU DESIRE SALVATION YOU’LL WORSHIP CHRIST IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU. SPREAD JESUS’ LOVE LIKE HE’S SPREAD HIS SEED ACROSS THE WORLD. CANCER CHRIST HAS LAID THE PATH BEFORE YOU. DON’T LISTEN TO LESSER GOSPELS EVEN IF THEY SOUND SIMILAR. DEAD KENNEDYS ARE OLD BUT NOT AS OLD AS HIS WISDOM. CHILD BITE HAS NO CLUE OF THE PATH OF GOD. TRAP THEM DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO BUILD A CROSS LET ALONE HOW TO NAIL JESUS SINNERS TO ONE. COVER YOURSELF IN “THE BLOOD OF JESUS” TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THESE DIRECTIONLESS GOSPELS WHO KNOW NOTHING OF THE LOVE OF GOD. FILL YOUR LIFE WITH MEANING. FILL YOUR LIFE WITH JESUS’ CUM. “GOD BLESS THE RAPISTS.” GOD IS THRASH. GOD IS NOISE. GOD IS LOVE. GOD IS VIOLENCE. HAIL CHRIST!!! HAIL!!!! CHRIST!!!!!5
Dear Hollow’s Magnanimous Muddle
Her Last Sight // Picture Perfect [January 19th, 2024 – Liron Avital Productions / Self-Released]
You see metalcore, you run? Well run, bitch, run. Cuz Her Last Sight is bringing back the 2000s metalcore that made Hot Topic-obsessed millennials go absolutely bananas. Being that this was my well-trod path to the harsher realities of metal’s more textured offerings, I was all for giving Picture Perfect after seeing the Israelis’ incredibly accomplished guitarist Ofek Asulin’s insane licks on TikTok. While completely acknowledging that this bad boy is not going to change your mind on metalcore, Picture Perfect is core nostalgia through and through. Parkway Drive’s fist-pumping brutality collides with As I Lay Dying’s wild technicality, fed through the riff-happy arpeggio machines of Killswitch Engage or Trivium with clean choruses and heart-wrenching melodies straight outta In Hearts Wake or The Amity Affliction. Breakdowns and wild riffs dominate tracks like “In Dying Light,” “Horizons,” and “R.I.P.”, while the soaring choruses of “Paralyzed,” “Careless,” and “Heart // Mind” remain seared in the mind. While the too-loud and frail clean vocals are too often a weak link, the album is overlong, and the sparse electronic trip-hop influence feels largely unnecessary, the formidable technicality and solid songwriting grant Her Last Sight a relatively guilt-free nostalgia trip with Picture Perfect.
Hyloxalus // Make Me the Heart of the Black Hole [January 26th, 2024 – Self-Release]
For those of you who have read my reviews before, you know how much I am not a power metal guy. I reviewed Moonlight Haze twice to make myself more marketable when I first joined these halls, but it is far and away not my cup of tea. Thus, I was cautiously intrigued by the “dark power metal” tag of the Edmonton trio Hyloxalus. How this translates is that we are graced with the powerful operatic vocals of Nina Laderoute while instrumentalists Danial “AniMal” Devost and Mike Bell offer a noisy and relentless thrash riff-forwardness that feels both kickass and cold. Channeling Nightwish’s weirder and heavier moments, the trio rockets its sound to the cosmos, where we’re granted sounds expansive, exploratory, and epic (“Undead in Ward 6,” “Sailors Underneath the Waves”), while unforgiving coldness and isolation are constant reminders of the darkness (“He Dies in the Swamp,” “Severed from the Reborn Sun”). Don’t get me wrong, Hyloxalus is far from perfect in a tinny production and wonky mixing, while slower tracks like “Dream Chasm” and “Beyond the Soil” get bogged down by sluggish tempos. However, Make Me the Heart of the Black Hole is a ton of fun from a young band with a unique and weirdass sound that may just capture your heart.
#Aephanemer #Aether #AgesOfMan #Albion #AmericanMetal #AsILayDying #AustralianMetal #BigBigTrain #CancerChrist #CerebralPurgatory #ChildBite #ChineseMetal #Cognizance #ConveyanceInDeath #DarkOath #DeadKennedys #Deafheaven #DeathMetal #DissonantBlackMetal #DoomMetal #Dvne #Emperor #FallsOfRauros #FolkMetal #FrenchMetal #GodIsViolence #Gorgon #Grindcore #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #HerLastSight #Hoplites #Hyolaxus #IKProductions #Ilion #InHeartsWake #InfantIsland #IronMaiden #JohnZorn #Kardashev #KazakhstaniMetal #KillswitchEngage #KnockedLoose #LakesongsOfElbid #LironAvitalProductions #MakeMeTheHeartOfTheBlackHole #MelodicBlackMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #MoonlightHaze #Niemaracz #Nightmarer #Nightwish #Nothingness #ObsidianWreath #Panopticon #ParkwayDrive #Phantazein #PicturePerfect #PortugueseMetal #PowerMetal #ProgressiveBlackMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PupilSlicer #ResinTomb #Review #Reviews #Rhûn #Screamo #SecretVoids #SeeingRedRecords #SelfRelease #Slift #Sludge #StonerDoom #StonerMetal #StuckInTheFilter #SubPopRecords #SymphonicMetal #SymphonicPowerMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheAmityAffliction #TheTalesOfTheDeepForest #TranscendingObscurityRecords #TrapThem #Trivium #UKMetal #VitriolicSage #Vredehammer #WhiteWard #WillowtipRecords #Ὁπλίτης #Παραμαινομένη
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Stuck in the Filter: January’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
March is but a few days away (at the time of writing), so, naturally, we at AMG and Sons feel it’s finally time to leave 2023 behind. Entering 2024 with a fresh vat of anger juice to fuel our findings, we trudge through the thin metal walls of our ever-taxed filtration system. And boy howdy did we get lucky this month!
January’s Filter is stuffed to the gills with great options, sure to find a home in the arms of one of you despicable rascals lovely readers. If there was ever a Filter stocked enough to feed an entire readership in one fell swoop, it’s this one. Now, go! Feast!
Kenstrosity’s Scuzzy Slags
Dark Oath // Ages of Man [January 18th, 2024 – Self Release]
Portuguese symphonic, melodic death metal five-piece1 Dark Oath quietly dropped its sophomore effort Ages of Man to an unsuspecting public midway through January. After a whopping eight years since their debut When Fire Engulfs the Earth released, surely expectations for fans run high. As for me, this is my first foray, and this follow-up is nothing short of striking. Immediately recalling Aephanemer’s excellent Prokopton and Aether’s In Embers, riffs aren’t Ages of Man’s focus. Rather, epic guitar licks and leads command the charge with a cavalcade of orchestral layers forming an army of triumphant melodies and counterpoint just behind (“Gold I” and “Gold II”). Prominently featured and wonderfully effective, acoustic plucking from what sounds like a bouzouki evokes the magnificence and reverent tones of Gorgon’s Elegy, creating another core character for this epic journey that deepens the experience further (“Silver I,” “Bronze I,” “Bronze II”). While I occasionally pine for more engaging, groovy riffs to provide greater dynamics than the chugging gallops utilized instead, there’s no denying that Dark Oath’s infectious melodies and danceable rhythms punch far above the weight of forty-two minutes of lush, epic material (“Silver II,” “Heroic I,” “Iron”). At the end of the day, if you wanna go on cinematic adventures in the near future, queue up Ages of Man. It will be your guide.
Rhûn // Conveyance in Death [January 26th, 2024 – I.K. Productions]
Falls of Rauros’ founding member Aaron Charles, known for his emotive and vicious howls and creative guitar work, established solo act Rhûn back in 2021. Over the past year, a set of singles hinted at what debut full-length Conveyance in Death might hold for the Portland, Maine multi-instrumentalist. Now that it’s unleashed upon the world, this record proves to be a compelling amalgam of atmospheric black metal, post-black, and death metal. Opener “Morningstar” showcases all of these facets with aplomb, shifting from crushing riffs to a gorgeous trem-based ascension in the final third. Further down the line, Song o’ the Year contender “Bone Ornament” suitably shatters my bones with its awesome main riff, swaggering groove, and vicarious pacing. Other interesting forays into multifaceted modality and doom-laden marches help define the darker “Tomb of Andesite” and “Citadels in Ruins.” At a tight thirty-seven minutes of quality material, there’s little here that needs editing, although some lengthier passages in “Howl of Gleaming Swords” and closer “Night’s Glacial Passing” could stand a thirty-second trim here or there. Nonetheless, this is a strong launch for the fledgling project, and I can’t wait to hear how Aaron develops it in the future.
Niemaracz // The Tales of the Dense Forest [January 31st, 2024 – Self Release]
Hailing from Almaty, Kazakhstan, uber-obscure stoner doom black metal band Niemaracz doesn’t even have a date of establishment listed on Metallum. Pulling from fuzzy doom metal, languid stoner rock, folk-tinged heavy metal, and witchy black metal, debut record The Tales of the Dense Forest ushers in a sound I can’t say I’ve ever heard before. Icy and warm, rich and sharp, relaxed and blistering, these sprawling soundscapes challenge every preconception I held for not one, but four distinct styles. Yet, coming in at just under thirty minutes, this record marries them all as fluidly as a babbling brook glides over stone. With the immersive opener, “The Experiment,” Niemaracz’s high-fantasy fueled melodies and classic riffs impress with their uncanny synchronicity, while the fuzzy and warm production deepens the music’s cohesion. Album highlight, “The Faithful Horse,” manages to blend classic Iron Maiden gallops with the sort of furious black metal I’d sooner expect from Emperor, all wrapped up in stoned fuzz, and it’s fascinating. Sometimes, the clean baritones are far too forward in the mix, throwing that delicate balance of tones and textures way off. Thankfully, the consistently entertaining and novel songwriting makes it all worthwhile (“The Secret of Longevity”). Go check them out, and give their lone Bandcamp supporter a new friend!
Tales From the Garden
Slift // Ilion [January 19th, 2024 – Sub Pop Records]
I am going to preface this glowing recommendation by saying that this fucking behemoth is far too long. It’s nigh-on 80 minutes of dense, twisting, and very French psychedelic madness, and the brain can only contain so much of that for so long. The reason I am posting it here anyway is that it is really good dense twisting French psychedelic madness. Slift became an underground darling after 2020’s Ummon, which got them enough acclaim to be Artist in Residence at the 2022 edition of Roadburn, where I first became acquainted with the Toulouse formation. Ilion is a feverish album, a chase through winding soundscapes that always change but never end, layers of vocals and synths passing in and out of view, the hefty riffs hammering your back and Frenchmen hollering at you from behind. Slift has been getting heavier with each release and now firmly finds itself in sludge territory. The phenomenal drums are the tone, the pace, and the foundation here, a colossal presence even if their sound isn’t massive per se. They remind most of the climactic sequences Dvne so excels at, a bludgeoning dynamic shuffle that feels like getting caught in an avalanche, but retaining their old-school jam-band roots. Thankfully there’s enough variation to mitigate the bloat a bit, from left-field saxophone intermissions to more mid-paced material like the excellent atmospheric doom of “Weavers’ Weft.” Ilion is a deep, deep well, but a richly rewarding one for fans of heavy psych.
Carcharodon’s Fanged Fancies
Ὁπλίτης // Παραμαινομένη [January 12th, 2024 – Self-released]
At this point, I am almost relieved that the Chinese black metal-making machine known as Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites, for those of us not well versed in Ancient Greek) resolutely continues to not send us promo. Such is his level of productivity and, crucially, consistency, that I fear I would spend a fair chunk of my time just writing >3.0 reviews for his various projects (Vitriolic Sage being another good one). A case in point, his latest offering, Ὁπλίτης, is another absolute banger. Παραμαινομένη actually offers something slightly different from previous outings. While still very much playing in the almost clinically harsh black metal space, there is a more present and more vicious bass groove to this (fifth track “Συμμιαινόμεναι Διονύσῳ Ἐλευθέριῳ”), as well as, more surprisingly, a lot of freeform jazz elements. Screaming sax and trumpets are a big component, particularly in the first half of the record, giving the whole a feeling of White Ward and John Zorn having a particularly raucous threesome with Vredehammer. There is nothing tender about what’s happening though; it’s furious, pummelling, experimental… at least one of which is a thing that a threesome should be. A punishing, relentless listen, with unexpected twists, Ὁπλίτης has once again cranked out a fascinating record, and in record time.
Infant Island // Obsidian Wreath [January 12th, 2024 – Secret Voice]
Infant Island is new to me but, apparently, not to all—I’ve seen a fair bit of buzz around these guys—and Obsidian Wreath is the Virginians’ third record. Probably best tagged as blackened screamo, this record has contradictory feelings of warmth and utterly despairing rage. The band themselves cite Panopticon and Deafheaven as influences. I can hear both in their sound, the melodic complexity of the former, and the atmospheric wall-of-sound style of the latter. However, there are a few other things going on in the mix, with something of the frantic, chaotic precision of Pupil Slicer (“Fulfilled”), as well as the haunted and melodic deathgaze of Kardashev (“Amaranthine” and “Kindling”). Guitarists Alexander Rudenshiold and Winston Givler create such a dense morass of sound, that it often feels like there are more than two guitar lines in play, while Kyle Guerra’s bass adds something faintly grindcore-esque to the mix. All five members are credited with the vocals, which are throat-shredding and packed with pain, mourning, and frustration. Obsidian Wreath is a brutal, percussive listen, that feels like it’s tearing open your ears so that it can scream directly into your brain. At the same time, dark and unsettling electronica and arrangements (“Found Hand”) play a part in lulling the battered listener, preparing you for the next assault, as does the mix, which is surprisingly rich for all the pummelling. Although Infant Island is a screamo band, they reach with confidence into other genres for inspiration, making for a much more interesting proposition.
Thus Spoke’s Reviled Ramblings
Cognizance // Phantazein [January 26th, 2024 – Willowtip]
As most of them are from Leeds, I would have expected Cognizance to know that the objectively correct, British spelling is Cognisance, actually.2 But what the Loiners3 might lack in grammatical precision, they more than makeup for in musical style. Finessing their brand of tech-death, which falls somewhere between The Faceless and Allegaeon, Phantazein realizes the convergence of grooviness, melodic catchiness, and technicality with panache. Stomping, neck-snapping, and irresistibly foot-tapping rhythms tumble over one another with precise eagerness (“Ceremonial Vigour,” “Futureless Horizon,” “The Towering Monument”). Punchy, satisfyingly urgent melodies lead the way in chunky, groovy guitar dances (“A Brain Dead Memoir,” “Shock Heuristics,” “Shadowgraph”). With the exception of the (unnecessary) echoing interlude “Alferov,” this thing wrestles and roils its way into and around your general head area. It’s snappy, slick, and smooth. Phantazein (I think) comes from the Greek meaning “to appear,” as in, to seem a certain way. It seems to me, at least, that Phantazein is a banger.
Resin Tomb // Cerebral Purgatory [January 19th, 2024 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Having stolen this from Ferox‘s rightful hands due to his punishing work schedule, I find myself, not for the first, or the last time this year I’m sure, singing the praises of a Transcending Obscurity release. But Cerebral Purgatory deserves praise in its own right. Punishingly heavy, yet remarkably listenable, it sees Resin Tomb filter grindy percussive assaults and dissonant death metal through a hard/grind-core medium. Barking screams breaking across ringing, tremolo-ing descending scales and tempos from charge to crushing, headbanging groove. Clanging, twanging guitar beats aggressive and menacing patterns (“Flesh Brick,” “Scalded,” “Putrescence”). Sometimes, this makes for pleasingly slick, melancholic melodies, that play out with stalking grace (title track, “Human Confetti,” “Concrete Crypt”). Other times, relentless blastbeating or chonky bass chugging provides the background for the axe’s more dissonant angularity (“Dysphoria,” “Purge Fluid,” “Flesh Brick”). Like “a more hardcore-y Nightmarer,”4 or perhaps even an extreme metal Knocked Loose mixed with Nothingness. Seriously, just listen to it.
Mystikus Hugebeards’s Stupendous Scrolls
Albion // Lakesongs of Elbid [January 27th, 2024 – Self-Release]
I’ve been on a folk metal streak of late, yet I’ve struggled to find something that really gripped me the way I wanted. Thus did fate decree that some watery tart hangin’ about in ponds would lob a sword at me in the form of Lakesongs of Elbid, the debut album by the British folk band Albion. This album transposes Celtic folklore into lush, lightly proggy folk metal in the vein of Big Big Train, and is written like the music you hear in your head when you picture a grand quest to Camelot or the Isles of Avalon. “Arthurian Overture” begins the journey in earnest, the music cresting triumphant, orchestral hills and striding through valleys of flute passages, all to the rhythmic footsteps of the guitars. From there, Lakesongs of Elbid explores a wide array of musical locales that can range from direct, determined metal riffs (“Finding Avalon”), traces of British tavern rock (“Barret’s Privateers,” “Silvaplana Rock”), or somber, acoustic folk (“Camlann”). The quest is spearheaded by Joe Parrish-James, whose vocals effortlessly merge the buttery smooth cadence of a seasoned storyteller with a youthful yearning for adventure. That idea of adventure is the beating heart of Lakesongs of Elbid; I can think of a few bands that so easily transport the listener to a new world of vibrant color and sound. Adventurous, enchanting, tons of fun, and extraordinarily British.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Slippery Sermon
Cancer Christ // God Is Violence [January 5th, 2024 – Seeing Red Records]
HAIL CHRIST! HAIL CHRIST!! DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT? DO YOU SEE IT?? IT’S AT THE END OF A TUNNEL FILLED WITH RAPISTS, SATANISTS, PEOPLE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD’S LOVE. “SATAN IS A BITCH.” SEE THE LIGHT. SEE JESUS CHRIST. JESUS KNOWS THE WORLD CAN BE A BETTER PLACE. JESUS KNOWS THE WORLD NEEDS RIFFS. JESUS KNOWS THE WORLD DOESN’T NEED COPS. “GOD HATES COPS.” THEY STAND IN THE WAY OF GOD’S POWER. HUBRIS! JESUS KNOWS THAT WE’RE ALL BETTER DEAD THAN ALIVE. JESUS CAN KILL US ALL JUST FINE HE DOESN’T NEED COPS. DID YOU HEAR? DID YOU HEAR JESUS’ WORD?? WE NEED TO “BRING BACK THE GUILLOTINE” — WE NEED TO CIRCLE PIT AROUND THE SINNERS AND CHOP THEIR HEADS OFF. CHOP THEIR HEADS OFF!! THE ONLY WAY THEY’LL SEE GOD’S LOVE IS IF THEY’RE DEAD. DO YOU HEAR THE SCREECHING? THAT HIGH-PITCHED SQUIRMING? THAT THRASHY RHYTHMIC PULSE? THAT’S THE ONLY WAY WE’LL GET THESE SINNERS WHO HAVE BEEN “BAPTIZED IN PISS AND SHIT.” HAIL CHRIST! HAIL CHRIST!! WE HAVE SKANKS (BEATS)! WE HAVE MENTAL BREAKDOWNS! “JESUS GOT A BIG OL’ COCK” TOO! IF YOU DESIRE SALVATION YOU’LL WORSHIP CHRIST IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU. SPREAD JESUS’ LOVE LIKE HE’S SPREAD HIS SEED ACROSS THE WORLD. CANCER CHRIST HAS LAID THE PATH BEFORE YOU. DON’T LISTEN TO LESSER GOSPELS EVEN IF THEY SOUND SIMILAR. DEAD KENNEDYS ARE OLD BUT NOT AS OLD AS HIS WISDOM. CHILD BITE HAS NO CLUE OF THE PATH OF GOD. TRAP THEM DOESN’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO BUILD A CROSS LET ALONE HOW TO NAIL JESUS SINNERS TO ONE. COVER YOURSELF IN “THE BLOOD OF JESUS” TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THESE DIRECTIONLESS GOSPELS WHO KNOW NOTHING OF THE LOVE OF GOD. FILL YOUR LIFE WITH MEANING. FILL YOUR LIFE WITH JESUS’ CUM. “GOD BLESS THE RAPISTS.” GOD IS THRASH. GOD IS NOISE. GOD IS LOVE. GOD IS VIOLENCE. HAIL CHRIST!!! HAIL!!!! CHRIST!!!!!5
Dear Hollow’s Magnanimous Muddle
Her Last Sight // Picture Perfect [January 19th, 2024 – Liron Avital Productions / Self-Released]
You see metalcore, you run? Well run, bitch, run. Cuz Her Last Sight is bringing back the 2000s metalcore that made Hot Topic-obsessed millennials go absolutely bananas. Being that this was my well-trod path to the harsher realities of metal’s more textured offerings, I was all for giving Picture Perfect after seeing the Israelis’ incredibly accomplished guitarist Ofek Asulin’s insane licks on TikTok. While completely acknowledging that this bad boy is not going to change your mind on metalcore, Picture Perfect is core nostalgia through and through. Parkway Drive’s fist-pumping brutality collides with As I Lay Dying’s wild technicality, fed through the riff-happy arpeggio machines of Killswitch Engage or Trivium with clean choruses and heart-wrenching melodies straight outta In Hearts Wake or The Amity Affliction. Breakdowns and wild riffs dominate tracks like “In Dying Light,” “Horizons,” and “R.I.P.”, while the soaring choruses of “Paralyzed,” “Careless,” and “Heart // Mind” remain seared in the mind. While the too-loud and frail clean vocals are too often a weak link, the album is overlong, and the sparse electronic trip-hop influence feels largely unnecessary, the formidable technicality and solid songwriting grant Her Last Sight a relatively guilt-free nostalgia trip with Picture Perfect.
Hyloxalus // Make Me the Heart of the Black Hole [January 26th, 2024 – Self-Release]
For those of you who have read my reviews before, you know how much I am not a power metal guy. I reviewed Moonlight Haze twice to make myself more marketable when I first joined these halls, but it is far and away not my cup of tea. Thus, I was cautiously intrigued by the “dark power metal” tag of the Edmonton trio Hyloxalus. How this translates is that we are graced with the powerful operatic vocals of Nina Laderoute while instrumentalists Danial “AniMal” Devost and Mike Bell offer a noisy and relentless thrash riff-forwardness that feels both kickass and cold. Channeling Nightwish’s weirder and heavier moments, the trio rockets its sound to the cosmos, where we’re granted sounds expansive, exploratory, and epic (“Undead in Ward 6,” “Sailors Underneath the Waves”), while unforgiving coldness and isolation are constant reminders of the darkness (“He Dies in the Swamp,” “Severed from the Reborn Sun”). Don’t get me wrong, Hyloxalus is far from perfect in a tinny production and wonky mixing, while slower tracks like “Dream Chasm” and “Beyond the Soil” get bogged down by sluggish tempos. However, Make Me the Heart of the Black Hole is a ton of fun from a young band with a unique and weirdass sound that may just capture your heart.
#Aephanemer #Aether #AgesOfMan #Albion #AmericanMetal #AsILayDying #AustralianMetal #BigBigTrain #CancerChrist #CerebralPurgatory #ChildBite #ChineseMetal #Cognizance #ConveyanceInDeath #DarkOath #DeadKennedys #Deafheaven #DeathMetal #DissonantBlackMetal #DoomMetal #Dvne #Emperor #FallsOfRauros #FolkMetal #FrenchMetal #GodIsViolence #Gorgon #Grindcore #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #HerLastSight #Hoplites #Hyolaxus #IKProductions #Ilion #InHeartsWake #InfantIsland #IronMaiden #JohnZorn #Kardashev #KazakhstaniMetal #KillswitchEngage #KnockedLoose #LakesongsOfElbid #LironAvitalProductions #MakeMeTheHeartOfTheBlackHole #MelodicBlackMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #MoonlightHaze #Niemaracz #Nightmarer #Nightwish #Nothingness #ObsidianWreath #Panopticon #ParkwayDrive #Phantazein #PicturePerfect #PortugueseMetal #PowerMetal #ProgressiveBlackMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #PupilSlicer #ResinTomb #Review #Reviews #Rhûn #Screamo #SecretVoids #SeeingRedRecords #SelfRelease #Slift #Sludge #StonerDoom #StonerMetal #StuckInTheFilter #SubPopRecords #SymphonicMetal #SymphonicPowerMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheAmityAffliction #TheTalesOfTheDeepForest #TranscendingObscurityRecords #TrapThem #Trivium #UKMetal #VitriolicSage #Vredehammer #WhiteWard #WillowtipRecords #Ὁπλίτης #Παραμαινομένη
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First Ladies at the MET: Ethel Smyth & Kaija Saariaho
In 1903, Ethel Smyth debuted at the Metropolitan Opera New York with her opera Der Wald, as the first female composer ever. One hundred and thirteen years later, Kaija Saariaho followed in her footsteps with L’Amour de loin. Recently, Der Wald was released on CD. Saariaho died this summer; the MET has scheduled Innocence in 2025-26. This opera had its Dutch premiere in October.
There are people with whom you feel a deep connection, even though you have never met them. Such a person is Ethel Smyth (1858-1944), whose magnificent opera The Wreckers was performed at the 2022 Glyndebourne Opera Festival. The CD recording of this opera so enraptured me in 1994 that I immediately made attempts to have it performed in the Netherlands. Fruitlessly, as I wrote before.
Because…, well. Smyth was a woman, and even long after her death that still proved to be a major handicap, as I myself experienced many times. As a child, for instance, I was not allowed to join the local brass band – because I was a girl. When I was finally admitted, the conductor constantly found new ways to humiliate and/or ignore me. One day I decided I’d had enough. I threw my instrument at his feet and left, never to return. A century before, Smyth had resolutely snatched all parts from the lecterns when a conductor refused to perform her opera Der Wald in full. This made us soulmates.
Struggle to get Der Wald staged
Speaking of the setbacks Smyth faced, previous to the world premiere of Der Wald in 1903 she said: ‘The life of any composer who values his art more than his peace of mind is one long struggle from beginning to end, especially if you are a woman musician. The persistent and ever-increasing pressure on body, mind and soul, make it so hard to bear.’
‘I have exceptional physical fitness. I golf, I ride, I do all outdoor sports. Otherwise, the disappointments, discouragements and inevitable difficulties would have destroyed my health long ago. I managed to win the race. It seems to me that the hour has struck for women’s work in the music world. Any woman after me will find it easier because of my pioneering journey over this barren road.’
Unfortunately, her assessment turned out to be a bit too optimistic, as only in recent years more attention is paid to the work of female composers, especially thanks to the #MeToo movement. These days some male composers even complain that composition commissions mostly go to (young) women. Looking at concert programmes, however, one sees that they are still dominated by men.
Smyth had to fight for her music throughout her life, and the world premiere of Der Wald was no exception. The idea came from writer-philosopher Henry Brewster (1850-1908), her only male lover ever, whom she invariably called H.B. In 1898, they had written the libretto together for her first opera, the also German-language Fantasio. Brewster had even asked her to marry him, but with her characteristic decisiveness, she replied: ‘I wonder why it is so much easier for me to love my own sex more passionately than yours.’ Nevertheless they remained intimate friends until Brewster’s untimely death in 1908.
No care for mortal joys or sorrows
His synopsis of Der Wald immediately appealed to Smyth. She described the story as ‘a short, poignant tragedy which for a moment interrupts the tranquil rites of the Spirits of the Forest’, while the real story was ‘the eternal march of Nature – Nature that enwraps human destiny and recks nothing of mortal joys and sorrows’.
Not surprisingly, the opera is set in a forest. The wood spirits sing of their own immortality in contrast to the short lifespan of humans and animals. The young couple Röschen and Heinrich are to be wed and ask the blessing of the forest, but cruel Iolanthe goes all out to take Heinrich away from his sweetheart. The latter, however, remains steadfast even when Iolanthe threatens him with death. He snaps at her: ‘Then take my life, thou damned witch, and hell take thy soul!’ Whereupon Iolanthe kills Heinrich and Röschen throws herself dying in his arms. Unperturbed the forest spirits resume their rituals.
Powerful score spiced with pinches of Wagner and Debussy
The score of the one-act opera is packed with powerful choral and orchestral passages in Smyth’s signature style. This is rooted in romanticism and laced with pinches of Wagner, Debussy and English folklore. The overwhelming melodic richness and the varied, well-structured set-up are striking. When things get tense, Smyth doesn’t hesitate to virtually shut down the orchestral apparatus, allowing the soloists to convey the dramatic content even more empathically. In more light-hearted passages, we hear preliminary echoes of William Walton’s Façade.
Despite the necessary hurdles, Smyth managed to get Der Wald performed at the Royal Theatre in Berlin. The world premiere on 9 April 1902 was received somewhat coolly by critics, but audiences responded positively, becoming increasingly enthusiastic at the next three performances. In July, the opera was also staged at Covent Garden in an English translation, generating a resounding success. Smyth wrote in her memoirs: ‘It was the only blazing triumph I ever had.’
Der Wald first opera by a woman composer at the MET
Determined to get Der Wald performed in America too, Smyth took the night boat from London to Paris to meet Maurice Grau, manager of the MET. She arrived at 7am, called Grau at his hotel and got on the ferry back at 11am – with a contract. The handwritten document is preserved in Berlin’s State Library. We read that Smyth was to receive 40 British pounds for two performances and 20 pounds for each subsequent production. ‘You are certainly a businesswoman,’ Grau had observed. Still, the fee seems on the low side by modern standards: 40 pounds then are roughly equivalent to 6300 pounds now, somewhat over seven thousand euros.
Ethel Smyth, portrait by John Singer Sargent‘Determined to get Der Wald performed in America too, Smyth took the night boat from London to Paris to meet Maurice Grau, manager of the MET. She arrived at 7am, called Grau at his hotel and got on the ferry back at 11am – with a contract.’
TweetThat the MET would bring an opera by a woman caused quite a stir in the US. Months before the premiere, the occasion was covered in every conceivable media outlet. Smyth herself travelled to New York and gave many interviews. In 2021 American pianist and musicologist Amy Zigler managed to dig up as many as 102 articles, published in 21 different states, ranging from previews, interviews, reviews to simple announcements. A striking constant is that Smyth’s womanhood is explicitly stressed, as well as her connections with the European aristocracy (she was friends with Empress Eugénie and Queen Victoria, among others) and the American upper class (John Singer Sargent drew her portrait in 1901).
US premiere resounding public success
The premiere – in the original German version – on 11 March 1903, conducted by Grau, was a resounding success. The audience rewarded Smyth with a thunderous applause that lasted over 10 minutes, bombarding her with flowers when she appeared on stage. However, reviews from New York critics were extremely negative. ‘The case is one of vaulting ambition and a general incompetency to write anything beyond the most obvious commonplaces’, observes The New York Times. The Sun denounces its ‘vigour and masculinity’, while the Evening World calls the music ‘distinctly unfeminine, it lacks sweetness and grace of expression’. – So precisely the ambitious and powerful nature of her music is held against Smyth.
Her skilful orchestration is reluctantly mentioned at times, invariably followed by the accusation that any melodic ingenuity would be missing, and the music uninspired and without passion. Remarkably often, too, Smyth is called ‘girl’, even though she was already 44 years old. Almost a century later, little had changed: when I started working as a music journalist in the mid-nineties, it struck me that in the sporadic articles featuring women composers, they were invariably referred to by their first names. – A highly effective way to make a person seem small and insignificant.
1903 New York – misogynous and provincial
Today New York may count as the enlightened epicentre of the Western world, a century ago it was rather provincial; its critics had a misogynous disposition and listened with firm ear flaps on. In stark contrast, reviewers in the other 20 states praised Smyth’s overpowering, confident style. The Indianapolis Journal mentions the ‘wealth of musical ideas and a skill of construction which result in a strongly rounded whole’; the Topeka State Journal speaks of ‘a work of refinement, finish and musicality’, while the Telegraph calls her harmonic palette ‘masterful and convincing’, praising her ‘excellent sense of timbre. There is no sparing of brass, and there is no mincing of the means that speak the language of musical passion’.
Smyth herself faced only the reviews from New York, but where years later I still get vicariously furious, she did not let herself off the hook: ‘Der Wald is certainly not fit for that tribe’, she writes to Brewster. – With whom she promptly began work on her next opera, The Wreckers. Just how diametrically opposed the critics’ reaction was to that of the audience is evidenced by the fact that Der Wald produced the biggest box-office success of the entire season.
2016 New York – praise for Kaija Saariaho
It would take a hundred and thirteen years before the MET again ventured into an opera by a woman, L’Amour de loin by Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023), whom I also portrayed before. The reception of Saariaho’s opera in 2016 was considerably more favourable than the acrid bias Smyth had faced in 1903. For one thing women composers were no longer an absolute rarity, but perhaps more importantly, the opera had already made a 16-year-long triumphant tour of international stages.
The contrast between the two composers could hardly be greater. Whereas Smyth had a distinctly powerful style that draws you irrevocably into a musical argument brimming with full stops, commas and exclamation marks, Saariaho paints rather in pastel shades. She spins ever-changing, filigree fabrics of sound without fixed contours, immersing us in a benevolent ocean of sound, which blurs the sense of time and place.
Kaija Saariaho + Thea Derks at Dutch National Opera, February 2016They were also quite different in temperament: Smyth was outspoken and militant, did not let anything or anyone get her down, and had a great sense of humour; I laughed my ass off at her memoirs. Saariaho was her opposite. Although I love her music, too, and interviewed her several times, we never developed a personal connection. Saariaho was reserved and formulated with extreme caution, piercing me with her ever suspicious gaze. Her pointed eyebrows, raised high, made her facial expression seem even sterner than she probably intended. Nor have I ever caught her laughing out loud; at most, a faint smile sometimes appeared on her lips.
Towards a canon of women composers
Like Smyth, Saariaho composed six operas, but unlike her British predecessor, she was invariably successful; she is considered one of the most important composers of our time. Her last opera, Innocence, was again showered with praise after its premiere in Aix-en-Provence in 2021. ‘An opera for the ages,’ a Dutch newspaper summed it up succinctly.
So in terms of appreciation of women composers, things have changed a bit for the better in the last hundred years. The MET has commissioned new opera’s from Jane Tesori and Missy Mazzoli, and Saariaho’s Innocence is scheduled for its 2025-26 season.
The wait now is for a reappraisal of Ethel Smyth. The splendid recording of Der Wald by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and great soloists such as Morgan Pearse and Natalya Romaniw is surely a step in the right direction. It underlines once again that Smyth deserves a permanent place in the opera repertoire. I hope that in the foreseeable future we can rightly speak of a canon of Ladies at the MET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd7sFsDXj9o&ab_channel=BBCSingers-Topic
* Amy Zigler: “What a splendid chance missed!”: Dame Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald at the Met. Opera Journal, December 2021.
#DerWald #EthelSmyth #HBBrewster #KaijaSaariaho #MeToo #TheWreckers
This article first appeared in the Nov-Dec issue of the Dutch music magazine De Nieuwe Muze.
I will play Der Wald in my radio show An Ox on the Roof on Concertzender NL on Sunday December between 5-6 pm Central European Time. The broadcast stays online for streaming. -
A risk taking society
In my previous Dutch postings I talked about our society taking certain risks.
Not only teenagers get an information overload and seem to be hard-wired to take risks. Today’s teens are “stressed out” but also a lot of adults get bombarded with a lot of decision-making factors though frequently underestimate the value of privacy and its attendant risks, and it’s taking a toll. Over the last five years, more people got into conflicts, there’s been a steady increase in the number of anti-depressants prescribed and we could notice a lot more self-killings.For a lot of things which come over us the last few years several individuals and groups gave early warnings. As there were te concerned nature lovers who gave notices about potential nuclear dangers and anthropologists who gave scientific proof of expecting difficulties in groups of people or economists who warned about the exchange market propensity for risk-taking without liability which were both dismissed as paranoid anticipation of low-probability events.
Some existential risks
Effective risk management is central to economic efficiency. Yet major players in the last crises have insisted that they should not be held accountable for risks they underestimated.
Extreme weather disasters, especially floods, are on the rise (see Two seminal Nature papers join growing body of evidence that human emissions fuel extreme weather, flooding). For certain religious people it is a normal sign of the End-times, but it does not mean for them we do have to ignore neither the risks nor the ways to avoid certain risks. Climate change will compound existing weather-related risks, but the consumers do have to be aware how they can influence the weather and environmental situations.
Dirk Geldof, writer of:” not more but better” writes in his blog that it is normal to a community to produce more risks than they actual can keep under control. Being able or not to control creates already taking in the risks. Not wanting to see the possibility of danger or to neglect the chance on damage is the vanity of man that puts himself above possible incidents or plots. We cannot see next to climate change or global warming, globalization and imminent dualisation, increasing freedom and far-reaching individualization, growing time pressure and the explosion of diversity in our cosmopolitan cities.
<img class="thumbimage " style="border: 0 none;" src="http://www.eoearth.org/files/122301_122400/122398/200px-Ulrich_Beck.jpg" alt="The sociologist Ulrich Beck. Photo: Munich University” width=”200″ height=”164″ border=”0″ />The sociologist Ulrich Beck
We now are confronted with our world as a global risk society. The notion ‘risk society‘ is such metaphor because it prompts us to look in an other way to our world and our society, with a focus on the risks that we – unless we not otherwise can – would preferably not like to see. Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck brought up this element of the risk society which could be “a society increasingly preoccupied with the future (and also with safety), which generates the notion of risk,” or that community which in a systematic way shall try to deal with hazards and insecurities induced and introduced by modernisation itself. Beck sees a dynamic that is driven by an increase in risks and in the ability of science to detect increasingly minute risks, leading to a fundamental re-ordering of social positions in society, and to a transformation in the cultural meanings of risk. These authors argue that whilst humans have always been subjected to a level of risk – such as natural disasters – these have usually been perceived as produced by non-human forces. But we should be aware that after creation man got the change to take care of mother earth. It was given to him on loan. Man had to give name to plants and animals but had also to respect them. And that is were it all went wrong. Man thought he could do anything and it would not be so important which impact it had on nature. The last decennia the materialistic man became so greedy and so ruthless that he thought he could concur anything in this world. Giddens and Beck argue that it is possible for societies to assess the level of risk that is being produced, or that is about to be produced, but hey looked over the fact that most people are not interested into the damage done for future generations.
The aim to get a better life and the aspiration to enjoy life more has brought an attitude of trying to fins as many as possible way to enlighten and to make this life as easy as possible. But then we do have to ask at what cost. The way how we use the raw material and how we handle the feedstock are things we can not put aside. We should be fully aware how we handle the products of nature. End 60ies we came already on the streets to utter our voice, but then everybody laughed with our naïvety. The dangers we pointed at for the nuclear waste, the disgraceful use of nature, the danger of trying to modify natural products, the creation of so many by-products … everything was washed away as not important or something ridiculous small.
In certain sense, we would not have to complain for objectively seen we never before in the history had such a realm and have been so good insured . In the Netherlands, Belgium and in the European countries the last 25 years is the wealth, the purchasing power and the consumption doubled!
Traditional institutions and structures have shaped people’s lives for ages and gave them the symbols that provided meaning, place and purpose in society, giving order to their lives and forming tight social communities. In the name of individual freedom and autonomy structures of these traditional societies became challenged in the 17th century when the individual began to emerge as the center of life. The common, traditional comprehension of life as lived within a we within traditional institutions was replaced by a new focus, the I. The children from the 60ies boom were even more focused on that own self, and their children became the battlefield and the buying out product of the divorced couples. Early modernity championed the rights and freedoms of the individual; as this new understanding entered the imagination of modern societies it began to effect and then replace these traditional structures and institutions with new ones that shaped people
in very different ways. in the new industrial societies the extended family all but disappeared to be replaced by the small, nuclear family. Work and family were separated and most of the relationships were now in the form of more impersonal, work-related and contract-type relationships. Previously the family as a group of people, and the community as a parish, or the community of the village became not any more interested in the others of the community. The personal contacts diminished and the ‘we’ was displaced by the social contracting ‘I’ who now was going to give loyalty to professional organizations, church groups, work places and other social institutions, but from the 21st century also grow further away from those organisations. The churches became more empty and lots of people left God and His business. But by not being interested any more in His Laws and values they thought they had gained a new liberty and permission to do all those things that they wanted to do which could give them fun. Entertainment has become the main factor, and today we can notice that some people change partner as they change underpants. Values, good morals and ethics were lost and most of the people were most concerned about themselves. We now can find loyalty to institutions
and structures to one in which meaning and identity are grounded in the self as the primary agent of meaning; a shift to the I primary agent of meaning.
For companies the worker has become an economical object without any further value then the economical statistics. The human part of the worker has become of no value at all. If we are not careful this economical asset is to conquer every bodies life.On socio-economic terms we have the luxury that already more than 60 years we did not have to encounter war in our own environment. The wars we saw on television were far from our bed and having no share in it made us not divide and gave us no reason to complain. Many do not to be hungry but many live in obfuscate poverty in Belgium and the Netherlands, but also in the surrounding countries, by which it so luxurious country Germany certainly can not escape. We have private-insurances systems for our houses, our car, our holiday, our right assistance, a possible unemployment, our pension and our savings, funeral insurance and name but on.
With all this scientific and electronic gadgets is it still not that the distribution is directly tied to social class, with those at the top getting more and those at the bottom getting less. And are those who give those false micro-credits not misusing their high standards of economical higher position to create a mist of a possible intangible future? Should we not be more concerned with the distribution of “bads” instead with the distribution of “goods” —namely, the realization of untoward risks? Because many risks (e.g., mudslides, nuclear fallout, economic crises) do not respect class boundaries, everyone is, therefore, equally at risk. This dissolving of social class means that social actors are “individualized,” thrown on their own without the collective identity of social class.
I am aware that by engaging in its traditional role of generating new discoveries and new technologies, science inevitably creates and adds to existing risks but at the same time, science is the principal institution for detecting and analysing risks, especially those that are subtle. This misalignment of science’s roles is recognized by the, now, “individualised,” free-floating social actor who undertakes actions, such as in a social movement, to continuously pressure and reinvent scientific and social institutions.
Nowhere can we see the shift of the social fight and the failing from the existing institutions as clear as by the climate change. The industrialised countries should also be aware what they bring over the third world countries and the desserts and flood lands they create. People should be aware what consequences their traffic and consumerism has on the effects of our climate.
To live nicely or to lead a good life that would not damage the life of others shall confront us with the conscious choices we must make. The ‘must’ choose became an essential risk factor in our society. With the continuing risk making a wrong choice and the returning question how to handle that risk. The problem is that we with our very selfish capitalist society sit saddled with a group by which everybody had to see only for his own nest.We have a common interest, but at the same time we sit with the unequal distribution of wealth and risks and thus per definition with conflicts. Therefore also a question of ecological justice is the whole methodology of the ecological foot print per definition. It goes over interests conflicts. That makes the discussion over the posts-Kyoto-agreements also so difficult. The bigger danger is, that the fight over the question who is responsible and who must do the most efforts would lead to the fact that we are much too late and do much too little efforts.
As Freudenburg added, specialization has increased so much since the invention of the streetcar that perhaps the most salient risks of contemporary life are those associated with what he has called “recreancy,” or institutional failure—“the failure of institutional actors to carry out their responsibilities with the degree of vigour necessary to merit the societal trust they enjoy.” Citizens of an increasingly interdependent world, accordingly, need to be able to ‘count’ on not just the physical machinery they use, but also whole armies of specialists, most of whom they will never meet and who are expected to have forms of expertise that ordinary citizens may not be competent to judge, let alone have the ability to control.We have the freedom to think and to act, but we do have to use this freedom wisely and always have to be aware of the consequentions of our acts. We should be careful of the social impacts of energy dependence and of the global ecological footprint for the things we do and which we need. We should always have to weigh up. And we should not loose tract that man proposes but God disposes.
The recent nuclear disasters should be the trigger to get people think more about the risks the previous generation has taken and the risks we our willing to take in consideration of those who shall have to continue living after us. This will mean that we have to consider threats from physical, chemical, and biological agents and from a variety of human activities as well as natural events. We shall not have to accept new technologies just like that because they seem to make live easier or would bring a cheaper solution. We should be aware of the dangers of gene technology, nuclear power, mobile communication, voltaic cells, climate change issues, invasive species, and food hazards. We cannot be blind for the financial crisis, environmental pollution, terrorism, and health and social policy. More and more we should analyse risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at various geographic scales. We have to take up our responsibility!
Like Yacov Haimes, University of Virginia said: “The challenge is that for many of the public, risk engulfs lots of mystery and misunderstanding and misperception. In particular we need to address the element of modeling; we have to see how to model the system,
how to understand it better. Only then can we really do proper risk assessment,
management, and communication. So the question is, How do we answer the question what are the impacts of current decisions on the jobs given that life is dynamic, all systems are changing, they are all under risk and uncertainty, and our decision must be adaptive and must be incremental at the time?”I always say “Freedom is respecting the freedom of others”. We now do have to look for the risks we may take and we may encounter by continuing our way and by trying to come to a better way of living, not only for ourselves but for the whole world.
The law sets boundaries and the boundaries define what you must do … but those same boundaries are supposed to define and affirmatively defend the dry ground of freedom, which we have to cherish, where people can go forward focusing on their goals, including taking reasonable risks all day long, and be accountable not by law but by those who deal with them about whether they’re good at their jobs and whether they want to deal with them. That idea has been lost. Most people have also put aside the Laws of God, the Helper and Deliverer, and by doing that they have taken away a sure guideline to make the best out of life.Previously:
Japan’s nuclear disaster reason to think twiceand about this subject of taking risks, in Dutch:
- Nemen van Risico door de maatschappij
- Energie met vergiftigd geschenk
Also read:
Risks, Radiation and Regulation+++
Related articles
- Writing about “Agnotology, Ignorance and Uncertainty” (ignoranceanduncertainty.wordpress.com)
In philosophy and mathematics the dominant formal framework for dealing with unknowns has been one or another theory of probability. However, Max Black’s ground-breaking 1937 paper proposed that vagueness and ambiguity are distinguishable from each other, from probability, and also from what he called “generality.” The 1960’s and 70’s saw a proliferation of mathematical and philosophical frameworks purporting to encompass non-probabilistic unknowns, such as fuzzy set theory, rough sets, fuzzy logic, belief functions, and imprecise probabilities.
Ellsberg’s classic 1961 experiments demonstrated that people’s choices can be influenced by how imprecisely probabilities are known (i.e., “ambiguity”), and his results have been replicated and extended by numerous studies.
Several studies have suggested that Knightian uncertainty (ambiguity) and risk differentially activate the ventral systems that evaluate potential rewards (the so-called “reward center”) and the prefrontal and parietal regions, with the latter two becoming more active under ambiguity. Other kinds of unknowns have yet to be widely studied in this fashion but research on them is emerging. Nevertheless, the evidence thus far suggests that the human brain treats unknowns as if there are different kinds. - Risky Business: Why Teens Need Risk to Thrive and Grow (psychologytoday.com)
According to a recent study by University College London, risk-taking behavior peeks during adolescence, suggesting that teens are “programmed” to take risks more often than other age groups. The same study also found that teens took risks because they liked the thrill of risk-taking as opposed to not being able to understand the consequences of their behavior.Risk-taking and rule-breaking is linked to developmental changes in the brain that serve to help teens become healthy, analytical adults. Thus, a certain amount of positive risk-taking is necessary for adolescents to fulfill their universal need for independence, developing a separate identity, and testing authority.
- How far do we want to go, take risks for ourselves and for others? We should know that climate change has “possible security implications”. Heat, Drought, Famine All Part of Coming ‘Exponential’ Increase Of Climate-Related Disasters (treehugger.com)
The collective global response, taking the lead of nations on the Security Council no doubt, has been obviously been inadequate, even as donor nations themselves are not in the middle of their own climate-induced crises (the current US heatwave notwithstanding). - Flood victims ‘fear climate change’ (confused.com)
People are more likely to think they are vulnerable to the effects of climate change if they have had floods in their neighbourhood, such as those in summer 2007 which led to a large number of claims on home insurance policies. They are also more likely to believe that global warming is a problem.
Psychologist Dr Alexa Spence, at the University of Nottingham, said: “We know that many people tend to see climate change as distant, affecting other people and places.“However, experience of extreme weather events like flooding have the potential to change the way people view climate change, by making it more real and tangible and ultimately resulting in greater intentions to act in sustainable ways.
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#ClimateChange #Consumer #Consumerism #Crises #Disaster #Ecology #Egoism #EnvironmentAndEcology #ExtremeWeather #Family #Freedom #God #Human #Modernisation #Morality #nuclearDanger #NuclearEnergy #nuclearWaste #Risk #RiskSociety #UlrichBeck #UnitedStates #Work -
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Fajna ta gra, taka WYPIERDALA SIĘ PO DOSŁOWNIE KAŻDEJ ROZGRYWCE, a jako, że ponowne włączenie jej, zalogowanie się i znalezienie rozgrywki trwa średnio w sumie 20-25 minut... cóż, naprawdę odechciewa się grać na PC. :/
Na konsoli jest trochę lepiej, ale z drugiej strony strzelanie na padzie ssie pałę. :|
#Vigor #Steam -
Fajna ta gra, taka WYPIERDALA SIĘ PO DOSŁOWNIE KAŻDEJ ROZGRYWCE, a jako, że ponowne włączenie jej, zalogowanie się i znalezienie rozgrywki trwa średnio w sumie 20-25 minut... cóż, naprawdę odechciewa się grać na PC. :/
Na konsoli jest trochę lepiej, ale z drugiej strony strzelanie na padzie ssie pałę. :|
#Vigor #Steam -
Fajna ta gra, taka WYPIERDALA SIĘ PO DOSŁOWNIE KAŻDEJ ROZGRYWCE, a jako, że ponowne włączenie jej, zalogowanie się i znalezienie rozgrywki trwa średnio w sumie 20-25 minut... cóż, naprawdę odechciewa się grać na PC. :/
Na konsoli jest trochę lepiej, ale z drugiej strony strzelanie na padzie ssie pałę. :|
#Vigor #Steam -
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la norma europea que entra en vigor
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https://www.europesays.com/2199735/ -
Vigor (1947)
https://www.remediosvaro.art/paintings/vigor
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Lucha y sobrevive en Vigor Meltdown, mira el nuevo contenido que llega a su Temporada 22
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#BSI WID-SEC-2024-3314: [NEU] [UNGEPATCHT] [kritisch] #DrayTek #Vigor: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Codeausführung
Ein entfernter anonymer oder authentifizierter Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in DrayTek Vigor ausnutzen, um beliebigen Code auszuführen.
https://wid.cert-bund.de/portal/wid/securityadvisory?name=WID-SEC-2024-3314
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#BSI WID-SEC-2024-3290: [NEU] [UNGEPATCHT] [hoch] #DrayTek #Vigor: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Codeausführung
Ein entfernter, authentisierter Angreifer kann eine Schwachstelle in DrayTek Vigor ausnutzen, um beliebigen Programmcode auszuführen.
https://wid.cert-bund.de/portal/wid/securityadvisory?name=WID-SEC-2024-3290
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Jeden z hitów Bohemia Interactive – #Vigor, jest już dostępny na PC w pełnej wersji jako produkcja free-to-play.
https://cat5.pl/vigor-wychodzi-z-early-access-a-pelna-wersja-debiutuje-na-pc/
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Jeden z hitów Bohemia Interactive – #Vigor, jest już dostępny na PC w pełnej wersji jako produkcja free-to-play.
https://cat5.pl/vigor-wychodzi-z-early-access-a-pelna-wersja-debiutuje-na-pc/
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Jeden z hitów Bohemia Interactive – #Vigor, jest już dostępny na PC w pełnej wersji jako produkcja free-to-play.
https://cat5.pl/vigor-wychodzi-z-early-access-a-pelna-wersja-debiutuje-na-pc/
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Jeden z hitów Bohemia Interactive – #Vigor, jest już dostępny na PC w pełnej wersji jako produkcja free-to-play.
https://cat5.pl/vigor-wychodzi-z-early-access-a-pelna-wersja-debiutuje-na-pc/
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Vigor è finalmente disponibile su PC come free-to-play, ma i giocatori non sono contenti. Il reset del server ha cancellato i progressi di chi aveva acquistato il pacchetto di rinforzi DLC. Molti lamentano la perdita di skin e valuta di gioco, definendo l'operazione una truffa. #Vigor #gamingnews #videogiochi
