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1000 results for “chris_e_simpson”
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Trying to not draw attention to my crippling gut cramps in case someone calls the vagal tone police.
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Trying to not draw attention to my crippling gut cramps in case someone calls the vagal tone police.
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Trying to not draw attention to my crippling gut cramps in case someone calls the vagal tone police.
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Trying to not draw attention to my crippling gut cramps in case someone calls the vagal tone police.
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Trying to not draw attention to my crippling gut cramps in case someone calls the vagal tone police.
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Bunked off work this morning for a spot of snowboarding with my wife, partly because we are lucky as hell to be able to do so, and partly to see if a splash of adrenaline can shift this migraine I've had on and off for a few days.
I discovered, while putting on my gloves, that my son had borrowed them yesterday and they had become very wet inside.
Due to not wanting to take warmish wet gloves off at any point on the hill, I was unable to take any photos. My fitness tracker, which frequently guesses wrong, was spot on for once though, so you can have a screenshot of that instead
Had a nice few runs and the migraine seems to have subsided somewhat. Headache and dizziness reduced, and sensory sensitivity back to its normal somewhat tolerable level.
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Amazing photo's and videos (most of nature, though a few shows the tragic impact of Hurricane Melissa)
I particularly enjoyed the video of the wolf dragging a fishing float to shore and then reeling in the crab trap it is attached to
https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-025-03903-x/index.html
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Still half-asleep, Jack was shuffling towards the kitchen when he was startled by a noise coming from his small utility room.
"What the ...", he began to yell as he wrenched open the door. His eyes went wide.
There, before him, stood a menacing-looking humanoid robot, faceless, bright white, and littered in tiny perforations.
Jack flinched as the robot's arm whipped out and snatched something from next to him. A blur of rapid arm movements and the robot was wearing Jack's favourite shirt. The robot appeared to breath-in, expanding not only it's torso but it's arms too, and then let off a whoosh of steam.
Another blur of robot arms and the shirt was folded and being offered to Jack.
"Your shirt is ready to wear", said a voice as Jack sheepishly recalled his latest impulse purchase.
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There you go…
All 24 Stephen King Cameos, From It 2 To The Simpsons—Chris E. Hayner, GameSpot
https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/all-24-stephen-king-cameos-from-it-2-to-the-simpso/2900-3016/#1
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Grey’s Anatomy, Simpsons, Will Smith, The Beauty e Wonder Man nos lançamentos do Disney+ para Janeiro de 2026
O ano de 2026 começa movimentado no Disney+, que prepara um mês de janeiro repleto de estreias e retornos aguardados.
A plataforma aposta em uma combinação estratégica de novas temporadas de séries já consolidadas, como “Grey’s Anatomy” e “Os Simpsons“, ao mesmo tempo em que apresenta conteúdos inéditos de selos fortes como Marvel Studios e FX, reforçando seu catálogo para o início do ano.
Confira abaixo todas as novidades do Disney+ para janeiro de 2026:
09 DE JANEIRO
Grey’s Anatomy – 21ª Temporada (novos episódios em 23/01)
Criação: Shonda Rhimes (Atual showrunner: Meg Marinis)
Estúdio: Shondaland, Lionsgate Television, 20th Television, ABC, Disney
Elenco: Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens Jr., Kevin McKidd, Caterina Scorsone, Camilla Luddington, Kim Raver, Jake Borelli, Chris Carmack, Anthony Hill, Alexis Floyd, Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Midori Francis e Niko TerhoO envolvente drama acompanha uma equipe médica do Grey Sloan Memorial que diariamente enfrenta decisões de vida ou morte e encontra apoio uns nos outros – indo, às vezes, além da amizade. Nesta temporada, Jason George retorna como Ben Warren para integrar a equipe de residentes da Dra. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0WvpgIdNfA
Mil Golpes – 2ª Temporada (Temporada Completa)
Criação: Steven Knight
Estúdio: The Story Collective, Matriarch Productions, Water & Power Productions, Disney
Elenco: Erin Doherty, Malachi Kirby, Stephen GrahamInspirada em histórias reais ambientadas na brutal área de East End, Londres, de 1880, a segunda temporada retoma os acontecimentos um ano depois. Hezekiah agora é apenas uma sombra do homem que já foi, enquanto Sugar Goodson vive afastado de sua família e se entrega à bebida em um caminho de autodestruição. No momento em que Wapping está prestes a ruir de vez, Mary Carr retorna à cidade ao lado de sua fiel aliada, Alice Diamond, determinada a reunir sua gangue e reivindicar sua coroa. Como sempre, Mary tem um plano; um que envolverá todos aqueles que ela mais ama. E, desta vez, é mais arriscado do que nunca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Sj_tic3co
13 DE JANEIRO
Me Conte Mentiras – 3ª Temporada (Episódios semanais às terças)
Criação: Meaghan Oppenheimer
Estúdio: Moppy Productions, Belletrist Productions, Mega Mix, Rebelle Media, 20th Television, Disney
Elenco: Grace Van Patten, Jackson White, Costa D’Angelo, Iris ApatowA terceira temporada de Me Conte Mentiras acompanha Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) e Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), que reatam sua intensa relação bem a tempo do semestre da primavera na Universidade Baird. Embora os dois prometam que, desta vez, tudo será diferente, erros do passado complicam suas boas intenções e Lucy se vê envolvida em uma controvérsia da qual preferia ficar distante. Enquanto isso, as consequências do ano anterior forçam seus amigos a confrontar seus próprios comportamentos destrutivos. À medida que os segredos escandalosos se espalham pelo campus, as consequências ameaçam Lucy e todos ao seu redor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUPuwCLQ5yk
14 DE JANEIRO
Os Simpsons – 37ª Temporada (Temporada Completa)
Criação: Matt Groening (Atual showrunner: Matt Selman)
Estúdio: Gracie Films, 20th Television Animation, Disney
Elenco: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry ShearerNa 37ª temporada de “Os Simpsons“, que celebra a estreia de seu histórico episódio 800, Lisa descobre as roupas vintage dos anos 90 de Marge e é aceita no exclusivo clube de moda da escola; Homer fica viciado em programas de TV para pais; Bart e o Professor Frink viajam para uma ilha de magnatas bilionários que modificam corpos; e um desacreditado Superintendente Chalmers cria uma linha de produtos para cuidados com a pele masculina. A nova temporada também traz episódio inédito e assustador do especial Treehouse of Horror, no qual a Springfield dos anos 70 é assombrada por um monstro de gordura que se alimenta de gordura humana; Krusty faz um pacto com o diabo durante seu especial de Halloween ao vivo; e, em um futuro pós-apocalíptico feito de plástico e bonecos articulados, Bart e Lisa lutam pelo futuro da humanidade.
De Polo a Polo com Will Smith (Temporada Completa)
Estúdio: Westbrook Studios, Nutopia, Protozoa, National Geographic, Disney
Nesta produção do National Geographic, Will Smith atravessa os sete continentes. A jornada vai dos campos de gelo da Antártida à densa floresta amazônica, explorando as maravilhas naturais do Himalaia, desertos africanos e os icebergs do Ártico.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWNxI_kHnIo
21 DE JANEIRO
The Beauty – Lindos de Morrer (Três Primeiros Episódios)
Criação: Ryan Murphy, Matt Hodgson
Estúdio: 20th Television, Ryan Murphy Productions, Disney
Elenco: Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, Ashton Kutcher, Rebecca Hall, Isabella Rossellini, Bella HadidEm “The Beauty – Lindos de Morrer“, do FX, o mundo da alta-costura toma um rumo sinistro quando supermodelos internacionais começam a morrer de forma misteriosa e perturbadora. Os agentes do FBI Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) e Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall) são enviados a Paris para investigar o que está por trás desses acontecimentos. Conforme avançam no caso, eles descobrem a existência de um vírus sexualmente transmissível que transforma pessoas em versões de uma perfeição física hegemônica, mas com consequências terríveis. A investigação logo os coloca na mira de “The Corporation” (Ashton Kutcher), um multimilionário da tecnologia que criou secretamente uma droga chamada “The Beauty”, e que fará qualquer coisa para proteger seu império avaliado em trilhões de dólares, inclusive soltar seu assassino de aluguel, “The Assassin” (Anthony Ramos). À medida que a epidemia se espalha, Jeremy (Jeremy Pope), alguém à margem da sociedade e em busca de um propósito, acaba sendo arrastado para o centro do caos. Enquanto isso, os agentes correm contra o tempo por Paris, Veneza, Roma e Nova York para deter uma ameaça capaz de mudar o futuro da humanidade. “The Beauty – Lindos de Morrer” é um thriller global que levanta uma questão fundamental: até onde alguém estaria disposto a ir para alcançar a perfeição da beleza hegemônica.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnN7M8yXhFM
27 DE JANEIRO
Magnum (Wonder Man)
Criação: Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Guest
Estúdio: Marvel Studios (Television), Family Owned, Onyx Collective, Disney
Elenco: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ben KingsleySimon Williams, um aspirante a ator de Hollywood, luta para alavancar sua carreira. Em um encontro casual com Trevor Slattery, um ator cujos melhores papéis parecem ter ficado no passado, Simon descobre que o lendário diretor Von Kovak está fazendo uma nova versão do filme de super-herói Magnum. Esses dois atores, em extremos opostos de suas carreiras, buscam com determinação papéis que podem mudar suas vidas, enquanto o público tem acesso aos bastidores da indústria do entretenimento.
#20thTelevisionAnimation20thTelevisionAnimation #ABC #Disney #DisneyBrandedTelevision #FX #FXNetwork #GreySAnatomy #Hulu #Magnum #Marvel #MarvelStudios #MarvelTelevision #MeConteMentiras #MilGolpesAThousandBlows #OsSimpsons #SériesETV #TellMeLies #TheBeautyLindosDeMorrer #WonderMan
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Stuck in the Filter: May 2024’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
I thought the onset of summer would mean a total solar beatdown. Instead, it’s brought the rain. Absolutely chucking down rain. But, if you thought that bad weather leads to mercy from me, you’re dead wrong. In fact, I pushed my minions even harder to dredge up as many waterlogged nuggets of notable ore from our perpetually overtaxed filtration system.
And so, as my “staff,” who are definitely paid (don’t look into it) dry off in the industrial-grade wind tunnel, allow me to introduce May’s Filter entries for a public I truly don’t care about at all (don’t look into it). BEHOLD!
Iceberg’s Divisive Defenstrations
Cobra The Impaler // Karma Collision [May 24th, 2024 – Listenable Records]
Belgium’s Cobra The Impaler bill themselves as carrying the torch of classic-era Mastodon, a band hitting so many spectrums of metal comparing one’s music to theirs is a much safer bet than not. Led by primary songwriter and ex-Aborted guitarist Tace DC, the band sit somewhere in the murky grey between progressive and technical modern metal. The aforementioned Mastodon worship is strong here—especially in opener “Magnetic Hex”—although the crystal clean production by Jens Borgren really prevents the use of the term “sludge.” Elsewhere there are prog-metal moments of Virus/Vector-era Haken (“Karma Collision,” “The Fountain”) and some of the relentless, drums-in-front compositions of Gojira (“Karma Collision,” “The Assassins of the Vision”). Vocalist Manuel Remmerie’s also has his work cut out for him, delivering plenty of admirable cleans in both high and low registers alongside full-throated screams and somewhat less effective pitched growls. The instrumental performances here are top-notch, professional in the verse/chorus sections, and continuously—sometimes outstandingly—creative in the free-form bridges. There is some tightening to be done with the accessibility of the choruses—they fall flat against the superior instrumental sections— but there are moments of brilliance and a ton of potential in this five-piece.
Capstan // The Mosaic [May 24th, 2024 – Fearless Records]
Anyone who’s plugged into the post-hardcore scene should know that Florida’s Capstan transcend the—rightfully deserved—vitriol thrown at the style. I don’t think any Fearless band has ever been reviewed here, but Capstan’s latest opus The Mosaic deserves a shoutout to whomever hasn’t run screaming from these halls. Led by vocalist Anthony DeMario—sure to be a divisive figure with his unapologetic pop punk cleans—the band has continuously augmented their Warped-core sound with the mathy guitar noodlings of Chon or Polyphia, and an impressive triple vocalist attack for thick, elaborate harmonies. This album, clocking in at over an hour, doesn’t pull any punches, showcasing trip-hop, breakdown-laced numbers (“Bete Noire”), full throated anthems about self-loathing and heartbreak (“Misery Scene”) and even lighter, crooning ballads (“What Can I Say”). Synergy and professionalism are where the band shine; everything has is slickly produced and the performances—especially those vocals—are whip-smart. Plenty of editing could have been done, but you can tell how much fun the band is having. Anyone with a passing interest or nostalgia for 2000’s post-hardcore should check this out. Plus their drummer plays with traditional grip, and watching a jazz guy slam out breakdowns is pretty rad in my book.
GardensTale’s Dose of Decay
Strychnos // Armageddon Patronage [May 17th, 2024 – Dark Descent Records]
I don’t always check out albums that set the comment section and/or Discord abuzz, but when I do, it rarely results in anything less than interesting. Case in point, the bottomless evil of Strychnos, a Danish outfit that struggled to get off the ground in the early 00’s, eked out a single EP in the 10’s, and suddenly started shitting out heaving platters of malicious black/death since the pandemic. Armageddon Patronage is the second full-length off their new production line, and it brings every horseman along for its deadly ride. War is embodied by the lethal double feature that starts the charge, with swelling riffs battering the unjust to fertilizer. The unflinching and unfeeling brutality of Famine seethes from “Choking Salvation,” and out the beaks of “Pale Black Birds” pours Pestilence with slavering enthusiasm. Frontman Martin Leth Anderson, who also handles bass for Undergang, employs a bellowing growl that encapsulates hopelessness and suffering, and the excellent, malevolent riffs usher an effective aura of utter destruction. Death, however, comes not at the end, but during the doom-laden centerpiece, the despondent “Endless Void Dimension” with its atmospheric Gregorian chanting. I have no qualms becoming a patron to this spiteful chunk of armageddon.
Dear Hollow’s Shtanky Shwamp of Shrieks
Saidan // Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity [May 24th, 2024 – Self-Released]
Saidan do things a little differently. The Nashville duo’s themes rooted in Japanese folklore and the formidable and mysterious yokai in particular, combined with a relentlessly riffy and punk-driven tour-de-force of black metal proportions are always food for thought in the act’s brief and formidable history. Seamlessly transitioning between punk chord progressions and bouncy drums to blastbeats and kvlt tremolo to groovy riffs and rhythms, anchored by Splatterpvnk’s ripping vocals, it never shies away from punishment. However, interwoven with this assault is a distinctly melodic undercurrent that brightens the progressions and gives purpose and a sense of fun – a hyper-melodic black metal act would be jealous. You won’t be able to shake the grooves of “Desecration of a Lustful Illusion,” the symphonic black intensity of “Genocidal Bloodfiend” and “Veins of the Wicked” hit you like a cyclone, and the classic thrash solos and anime-theme-song vibe of “Sick Abducted Purity,” “Visual Kill,” and “Switchblade Paradise” are guaranteed to get your head banging – plus, the interlude “seraphic lullaby” and instrumental closer “suffer” ain’t half bad. Visual Kill is like if Powerglove wrote a black metal album that you could actually take seriously, backed up with the technicality, songwriting chops, and sheer unbridled energy to make it work.
Parfaxitas // Weaver of the Black Moon [May 31st, 2024 – Terratur Possessions]
The minds behind Parfaxitas should need little introduction, although the moniker will likely not ring any bells. Representing three separate scenes and their respective contributions to black metal lore, two American stringsmen from acts Merihem, Suffering Hour, and Manetherean, Icelandic drummer B.E. from Almyrkvi, Sinmara, Slidhr, and Wormlust, and Norwegian vocalist K.R. From Whoredom Rife collide. Weaver of the Black Moon combines the blueprint of second-wave Norwegian black with the obsidian dissonance of Icelandic, and the experimental edge of American acts, making it a tour-de-force of both vicious sound and tortured atmosphere. Dissonance rains down like acid, a backdrop, and shroud of otherworldly sounds that shimmer and crunch in ways that recall both the winding passages of Suffering Hour and the psychedelic rawness of Wormlust simultaneously. Hammered by vicious blastbeats and guided by tortured barks, the guitar and meandering fluid bass guide listeners from untouchable intensity (“Thou Shalt Worship No Other”) to haunting and hypnotic atmosphere (“Ravens of Dispersion”) – stealing the show. Parfaxitas features a whole lot of firepower, culminating in epic closer “Fields of Nightmares,” a crescendo of punishing and otherworldly proportions.
Aseitas // Eden Trough [May 30th, 2024 – Total Dissonance Worship]
After Aseitas’ formidable 2020 album False Peace, which narrowly missed my AOTY’s, the Portland trio is back with another album – which could easily be classified as an EP in its tidy thirty-minute runtime. Eden Trough condenses the lofty and decadent ambition of its predecessor for an album devoted to complete takedown in winding riffs, punishing death metal, and ravaging vocals. From the thick and punishing signature shifts of “Libertine Captor” and “Alabaster Bones,” complete with shifting riffs and a liminal sense of melody, to the more droning and haunting “Break the Neck of Every Beautiful Thing,” to the epic and cosmic psychedelia of ten-minute centerpiece “Tiamat,” Aseitas’ shows its tantalizing and gradual progression to an echelon of indispensable in the world of dissonant death. Offering influences of convulsive mathcore, mammoth post-metal, and unhinged yet intensely calculated technicality, Eden Trough is a must-listen for the long-time fan, as well as proffering a snapshot to the curious of what makes Aseitas so special to begin with.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Progalicious Ponderings
Azure // Fym [May 23rd, 2024 – Self Release]
Are you way into high fantasy and exuberant, progressive albums that reflect that sentiment? If so, look no further than Azure’s third opus, Fym, which over its runtime recounts the tales of a mystical fox’s journey in a frightening and whimsical world. Normally I wouldn’t think twice about an album with such a storybook concept.1 But between Chris Sampson’s vocal navigations that ring as hyper-tenor and dolphin-like (“The Lavender Fox”)2 as they do sullen and heart-wrenching (“Kingdom of Ice and Light,” “Moonrise”), and Galen Stapley’s mystical fretboard wizardry that marries funk chords, soundtrack melodies, and dance-able shred, Azure packs too much sunshine in their prog for me to ignore. And at almost eighty minutes, they pack a lot of it too. However, each run through Fym’s pages finds a new rumbling bass bounce to propel a hop, a new vocal run to twirl my tongue (with notes that I couldn’t possibly hit), or a synthfully sinful refrain to stain my brain matter with happy juice—”The Azdinist // Den of Dawns” or “Agentic State” unite these ideas best—it’s truly a hard album to put down. Combining just about every era of Genesis with the acrobatics of Dream Theater, the play and ambition of the earliest of Pain of Salvation theatrics, and healthy dose of modern bastardizations (check the autotune/pitchshifting on “Doppelgänger”), Azure has made a mighty statement with Fym that I’m still digesting. And with as many inventive synth patches, harmonic vocal layers, and cinematic builds as this rainbow dose of prog pushes, it’ll be quite some time before I’ve made up my mind about it all. So I’ll continue in pieces. Or all at once. Whatever time allows because Fym is just that much fun.
PreHistoric Animals // Finding Love in Strange Places [May 16th, 2024 – Dutch Music Works]
And here we are with, what’s that, another prog concept album? This one’s a little less terrestrial though, featuring healthy infusions of a futuristic space drama and heavy-hitting synthwave doots and bounces. Over the course of their past couple works, PreHistoric Animals has found an ease in comfortable exploration with their King’s X-like tendency to grip with a barbed verse melody or chorus explosion, layered tastefully with harmonic vocal accompaniment and groove-heavy riffs. But, despite that comparison, it’s clear from the opening synth pulse of “The City of My Dreams” and “Living in a World of Bliss” that an electronic and hooky identity that’s caught between Toto and Yes imbues the edges of refrains that stick like honey to vocalist Stefan Altzar’s easy-on-the-ears narrative. Finding Love in Strange Places can get bogged down a touch in its word-driven nature, though, especially on the various interludes and certain longer tracks like “Unbreakable” and “Nothing Has Changed but Everything Is Different.” None of that fluff ever truly interrupts Finding Love’s heartbeat rhythms, which hold a steady if highly syncopated simplicity and form a hi-hat charming vessel that keeps the head nodding in progressive pomp. Oh, and it helps that guitarists Altzar and Daniel Magdic (ex-Pain of Salvation) have studied the slow-burn solo nature of greats like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and Brian May (Queen), with tasteful legato and searing ascensions aiding in earned crescendo at Finding Love’s best moments (“Living in a World of Bliss,” “The Secret of Goodness”). Having reliably churned out confident and catchy works every other years since 2018, PreHistoric Animals fly relatively low in the flock of modern prog, but these space-bound Swedes have earned a likely lifelong aquatic fan at this stage of their growing career. Give Love a chance!
Matrass // Cathedrals [May 17th, 2024 – La Tangente Label]
And, last but not least from my assortment, Matrass hails from France to bring you Cathedrals, which is… yes, you guessed it, another prog concept album! If you’re worried about another album of the synthtastic and 80s prog-themed variety, though, don’t fret about what Matrass brings to the table. Playing closer to post than progressive waters, Cathedrals flitters about dreamy, lounge jazz guitar passages before crushing down with Cult of Luna riffs and Tesseract-inspired, low-end atmospherics. But most important to the groove and cinematic lilt that defines Cathedrals is the methods by which vocalist Clémentine Browne navigates jangling verses with gentle croons and accented, rhythmic spoken word before frying down with screeching and hissing fervor against heavy chord crushes. That talent for establishing and reinforcing mood lands idiosyncratic in the realm of post acts, so her exact methods may not fit the bill for all fans of the rise-and-fall aesthetic the genre offers. And though Matrass remains largely iterative of this mood through its hour-long run, it’s that successful idea of atmosphere that allows peak tracks “Shreds,” “Adrift” (which features Browne on saxophone instead), and “Cathedrals” to conjure such powerful and drifting thoughts in my head. And when you’re in its valleys? Matrass still maintains a textural backdrop that spells high potential for this young act.
Saunders’ Sulfuric Stash
Desolus // System Shock [March 10th, 2024 – Hells Headbangers]
Who’s up for some explosive, throwback thrashy goodness? Although hailing from the States, Desolus take plenty of inspiration from classic German trash titans Kreator, Destruction and Sodom. Throw in classic Dark Angel vibes, a heavy, modern edge and crunchy production job, and the band’s debut System Shock ticks all the boxes for a thrashing great time. This shit is seriously jacked with unhinged, old-school aggression, spitfire riffs and stampeding percussion propelling the album’s ten speed-driven assaults. An utterly deranged, ’80s underground-inspired vocal performance adds further steel-plated authenticity to a retro-minded sound that manages to sound fresh and inspired. Aside from rare moments of slower melodic nuance on the otherwise blistering “Sea of Fire,” and the aptly titled “Interlude” providing a handy breather, Desolus crank speed and intensity to the max, rarely breaking from their relentless stride. The opening one-two salvo of “System Shock” and bonkers lunacy of “From Man to Machine” set a savage tone and gritty platform from which Desolus launch assault after assault of high-octane thrash mania. “Cures of the Technomancer” is an absolute riff beast with groove and speed for days, while “The Invasion Begins” deftly puts you in a false sense of bouncy melodic security before jamming the afterburners into a typically ferocious attack. Exuberant, nasty stuff.
Terminal Nation // Echoes of the Devil’s Den [May 3rd, 2024 – 20 Buck Spin]
The second album from Pittsburgh bruisers Terminal Nation hits with sledgehammer force, obliterating any semblance of subtlety in favor of an extra beefy, in-your-face hybrid of death metal and hardcore. Echoes of the Devil’s Den features a searing, politically charged and seriously pissed-off bite. High-profile guest vocal slots seamlessly blend into the vicious attack, including strong turns from Integrity‘s Dwid Hellion (“Release the Serpents”), Killswitch Engage‘s Jesse Leach (“Merchants of Bloodshed”) and Nails frontman Todd Jones. Jones features on “Written by the Victor,” a vicious tune that harnesses thick, neck-wrecking grooves and punishing, doom-laden death grooves. The album’s hardcore influence and political slant may turn off certain listeners, but those who don’t mind some hardcore in their death stew should find plenty to like here. The gritty, muscular exterior features nods to Bolt Thrower and All Shall Perish, while the weighty, mid-paced crush, chunky riffs and breakdowns are balanced by tasteful melodic counterpoints and livelier bursts of speed (“Dying Alive”). Not all works; the provocative, anti-police song “No Reform (New Age Slave Patrol)” musically has its moments; however, the heavy-handed lyrical approach sticks out like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, Echoes of the Devil’s Den swings and slugs you more often than it misses.
Steel Druhm’s Sewer Tarts
The Troops of Doom // A Mass to the Grotesque [May 31, 2024 – Alma Mater Records]
For their sophomore outing, Brazilian death-thrashers The Troops of Doom took their vintage Sepultura-esque sound and juiced it up considerably from what we heard on 2022s Antichrist Reborn. A Mass to the Grotesque still sounds a bunch like classic Sepultura but it’s much more refined, developed and expanded in scope. Yet it’s still a frenzied, thrashing assault full of lyrics about evil, demons, and all things anti-Christian. It sounds like something that should have dropped in as the 80s thrash wave started mutating into proto-death, and that is a beloved era of music for yours Steely. Songs like “Chapels of the Unholy” and “Dawn of Mephisto” sit right on the bleeding edge of thrash and early death, with Slayer-tastic riffs colliding with early examples of death grooves. What makes this so entertaining is how the band reaches outside of the Sepultura homage bubble to drag in new elements to expand their sound. Some songs feel slightly progressive (“Denied Divinity”) while elsewhere they shoehorn epic doom into the massive “Psalm 7:8 – God of Bizarre.” The straight-up riffbeasts are my favorites though, with “The Imposter King” being a big, fat, sweaty highlight. While these cats are always going to get compared to classic Sepultura, they made real efforts here to stake out their own identity. This is a wild, testosterone-fueled ride featuring the maximum allowable Satan, and I support that.
#20BuckSpin #2024 #AMassToTheGrotesque #Aborted #AllShallPerish #AlmaMaterRecords #Almyrkvi #AmericanMetal #ArmageddonPatronage #Aseitas #Azure #BelgianMetal #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BoltThrower #Capstan #Cathedrals #CHON #CobraTheImpaler #CultOfLuna #DanishMetal #DarkAngel #DarkDescentRecords #DeathMetal #Desolus #Destruction #DissonantDeathMetal #DreamTheater #DutchMusicWorks #EchoesOfTheDevilSDen #EdenTrough #FearlessRecords #FindingLoveInStrangePlaces #FrenchMetal #Fym #Genesis #GermanMetal #Gojira #Haken #Hardcore #HellsHeadbangers #Integrity #InternationalMetal #KarmaCollision #KillswitchEngage #KingsX #Kreator #LaTangenteLabel #ListenableRecords #Manetherean #Mastodon #Matrass #May24 #MelodicBlackMetal #Merihem #Nails #PainOfSalvation #Parfaxitas #PinkFloyd #Polyphia #PostHardcore #Powerglove #PreHistoricAnimals #ProgressiveMetal #Punk #Queen #Review #Reviews #Saidan #SelfReleased #Sinmara #Slidhr #Sodom #Strychnos #SufferingHour #SwedishMetal #SystemShock #TechnicalDeathMetal #TechnicalMetal #TerminalNation #TerraturPossessions #TesseracT #TheMosaic #TheTroopsOfDoom #TotalDissonanceWorship #UKMetal #Undergang #USMetal #VisualKillTheBlossomingOfPsychoticDepravity #WeaverOfTheBlackMoon #WhoredomeRife #Wormlust #Yes
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Stuck in the Filter: May 2024’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
I thought the onset of summer would mean a total solar beatdown. Instead, it’s brought the rain. Absolutely chucking down rain. But, if you thought that bad weather leads to mercy from me, you’re dead wrong. In fact, I pushed my minions even harder to dredge up as many waterlogged nuggets of notable ore from our perpetually overtaxed filtration system.
And so, as my “staff,” who are definitely paid (don’t look into it) dry off in the industrial-grade wind tunnel, allow me to introduce May’s Filter entries for a public I truly don’t care about at all (don’t look into it). BEHOLD!
Iceberg’s Divisive Defenstrations
Cobra The Impaler // Karma Collision [May 24th, 2024 – Listenable Records]
Belgium’s Cobra The Impaler bill themselves as carrying the torch of classic-era Mastodon, a band hitting so many spectrums of metal comparing one’s music to theirs is a much safer bet than not. Led by primary songwriter and ex-Aborted guitarist Tace DC, the band sit somewhere in the murky grey between progressive and technical modern metal. The aforementioned Mastodon worship is strong here—especially in opener “Magnetic Hex”—although the crystal clean production by Jens Borgren really prevents the use of the term “sludge.” Elsewhere there are prog-metal moments of Virus/Vector-era Haken (“Karma Collision,” “The Fountain”) and some of the relentless, drums-in-front compositions of Gojira (“Karma Collision,” “The Assassins of the Vision”). Vocalist Manuel Remmerie’s also has his work cut out for him, delivering plenty of admirable cleans in both high and low registers alongside full-throated screams and somewhat less effective pitched growls. The instrumental performances here are top-notch, professional in the verse/chorus sections, and continuously—sometimes outstandingly—creative in the free-form bridges. There is some tightening to be done with the accessibility of the choruses—they fall flat against the superior instrumental sections— but there are moments of brilliance and a ton of potential in this five-piece.
Capstan // The Mosaic [May 24th, 2024 – Fearless Records]
Anyone who’s plugged into the post-hardcore scene should know that Florida’s Capstan transcend the—rightfully deserved—vitriol thrown at the style. I don’t think any Fearless band has ever been reviewed here, but Capstan’s latest opus The Mosaic deserves a shoutout to whomever hasn’t run screaming from these halls. Led by vocalist Anthony DeMario—sure to be a divisive figure with his unapologetic pop punk cleans—the band has continuously augmented their Warped-core sound with the mathy guitar noodlings of Chon or Polyphia, and an impressive triple vocalist attack for thick, elaborate harmonies. This album, clocking in at over an hour, doesn’t pull any punches, showcasing trip-hop, breakdown-laced numbers (“Bete Noire”), full throated anthems about self-loathing and heartbreak (“Misery Scene”) and even lighter, crooning ballads (“What Can I Say”). Synergy and professionalism are where the band shine; everything has is slickly produced and the performances—especially those vocals—are whip-smart. Plenty of editing could have been done, but you can tell how much fun the band is having. Anyone with a passing interest or nostalgia for 2000’s post-hardcore should check this out. Plus their drummer plays with traditional grip, and watching a jazz guy slam out breakdowns is pretty rad in my book.
GardensTale’s Dose of Decay
Strychnos // Armageddon Patronage [May 17th, 2024 – Dark Descent Records]
I don’t always check out albums that set the comment section and/or Discord abuzz, but when I do, it rarely results in anything less than interesting. Case in point, the bottomless evil of Strychnos, a Danish outfit that struggled to get off the ground in the early 00’s, eked out a single EP in the 10’s, and suddenly started shitting out heaving platters of malicious black/death since the pandemic. Armageddon Patronage is the second full-length off their new production line, and it brings every horseman along for its deadly ride. War is embodied by the lethal double feature that starts the charge, with swelling riffs battering the unjust to fertilizer. The unflinching and unfeeling brutality of Famine seethes from “Choking Salvation,” and out the beaks of “Pale Black Birds” pours Pestilence with slavering enthusiasm. Frontman Martin Leth Anderson, who also handles bass for Undergang, employs a bellowing growl that encapsulates hopelessness and suffering, and the excellent, malevolent riffs usher an effective aura of utter destruction. Death, however, comes not at the end, but during the doom-laden centerpiece, the despondent “Endless Void Dimension” with its atmospheric Gregorian chanting. I have no qualms becoming a patron to this spiteful chunk of armageddon.
Dear Hollow’s Shtanky Shwamp of Shrieks
Saidan // Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity [May 24th, 2024 – Self-Released]
Saidan do things a little differently. The Nashville duo’s themes rooted in Japanese folklore and the formidable and mysterious yokai in particular, combined with a relentlessly riffy and punk-driven tour-de-force of black metal proportions are always food for thought in the act’s brief and formidable history. Seamlessly transitioning between punk chord progressions and bouncy drums to blastbeats and kvlt tremolo to groovy riffs and rhythms, anchored by Splatterpvnk’s ripping vocals, it never shies away from punishment. However, interwoven with this assault is a distinctly melodic undercurrent that brightens the progressions and gives purpose and a sense of fun – a hyper-melodic black metal act would be jealous. You won’t be able to shake the grooves of “Desecration of a Lustful Illusion,” the symphonic black intensity of “Genocidal Bloodfiend” and “Veins of the Wicked” hit you like a cyclone, and the classic thrash solos and anime-theme-song vibe of “Sick Abducted Purity,” “Visual Kill,” and “Switchblade Paradise” are guaranteed to get your head banging – plus, the interlude “seraphic lullaby” and instrumental closer “suffer” ain’t half bad. Visual Kill is like if Powerglove wrote a black metal album that you could actually take seriously, backed up with the technicality, songwriting chops, and sheer unbridled energy to make it work.
Parfaxitas // Weaver of the Black Moon [May 31st, 2024 – Terratur Possessions]
The minds behind Parfaxitas should need little introduction, although the moniker will likely not ring any bells. Representing three separate scenes and their respective contributions to black metal lore, two American stringsmen from acts Merihem, Suffering Hour, and Manetherean, Icelandic drummer B.E. from Almyrkvi, Sinmara, Slidhr, and Wormlust, and Norwegian vocalist K.R. From Whoredom Rife collide. Weaver of the Black Moon combines the blueprint of second-wave Norwegian black with the obsidian dissonance of Icelandic, and the experimental edge of American acts, making it a tour-de-force of both vicious sound and tortured atmosphere. Dissonance rains down like acid, a backdrop, and shroud of otherworldly sounds that shimmer and crunch in ways that recall both the winding passages of Suffering Hour and the psychedelic rawness of Wormlust simultaneously. Hammered by vicious blastbeats and guided by tortured barks, the guitar and meandering fluid bass guide listeners from untouchable intensity (“Thou Shalt Worship No Other”) to haunting and hypnotic atmosphere (“Ravens of Dispersion”) – stealing the show. Parfaxitas features a whole lot of firepower, culminating in epic closer “Fields of Nightmares,” a crescendo of punishing and otherworldly proportions.
Aseitas // Eden Trough [May 30th, 2024 – Total Dissonance Worship]
After Aseitas’ formidable 2020 album False Peace, which narrowly missed my AOTY’s, the Portland trio is back with another album – which could easily be classified as an EP in its tidy thirty-minute runtime. Eden Trough condenses the lofty and decadent ambition of its predecessor for an album devoted to complete takedown in winding riffs, punishing death metal, and ravaging vocals. From the thick and punishing signature shifts of “Libertine Captor” and “Alabaster Bones,” complete with shifting riffs and a liminal sense of melody, to the more droning and haunting “Break the Neck of Every Beautiful Thing,” to the epic and cosmic psychedelia of ten-minute centerpiece “Tiamat,” Aseitas’ shows its tantalizing and gradual progression to an echelon of indispensable in the world of dissonant death. Offering influences of convulsive mathcore, mammoth post-metal, and unhinged yet intensely calculated technicality, Eden Trough is a must-listen for the long-time fan, as well as proffering a snapshot to the curious of what makes Aseitas so special to begin with.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Progalicious Ponderings
Azure // Fym [May 23rd, 2024 – Self Release]
Are you way into high fantasy and exuberant, progressive albums that reflect that sentiment? If so, look no further than Azure’s third opus, Fym, which over its runtime recounts the tales of a mystical fox’s journey in a frightening and whimsical world. Normally I wouldn’t think twice about an album with such a storybook concept.1 But between Chris Sampson’s vocal navigations that ring as hyper-tenor and dolphin-like (“The Lavender Fox”)2 as they do sullen and heart-wrenching (“Kingdom of Ice and Light,” “Moonrise”), and Galen Stapley’s mystical fretboard wizardry that marries funk chords, soundtrack melodies, and dance-able shred, Azure packs too much sunshine in their prog for me to ignore. And at almost eighty minutes, they pack a lot of it too. However, each run through Fym’s pages finds a new rumbling bass bounce to propel a hop, a new vocal run to twirl my tongue (with notes that I couldn’t possibly hit), or a synthfully sinful refrain to stain my brain matter with happy juice—”The Azdinist // Den of Dawns” or “Agentic State” unite these ideas best—it’s truly a hard album to put down. Combining just about every era of Genesis with the acrobatics of Dream Theater, the play and ambition of the earliest of Pain of Salvation theatrics, and healthy dose of modern bastardizations (check the autotune/pitchshifting on “Doppelgänger”), Azure has made a mighty statement with Fym that I’m still digesting. And with as many inventive synth patches, harmonic vocal layers, and cinematic builds as this rainbow dose of prog pushes, it’ll be quite some time before I’ve made up my mind about it all. So I’ll continue in pieces. Or all at once. Whatever time allows because Fym is just that much fun.
PreHistoric Animals // Finding Love in Strange Places [May 16th, 2024 – Dutch Music Works]
And here we are with, what’s that, another prog concept album? This one’s a little less terrestrial though, featuring healthy infusions of a futuristic space drama and heavy-hitting synthwave doots and bounces. Over the course of their past couple works, PreHistoric Animals has found an ease in comfortable exploration with their King’s X-like tendency to grip with a barbed verse melody or chorus explosion, layered tastefully with harmonic vocal accompaniment and groove-heavy riffs. But, despite that comparison, it’s clear from the opening synth pulse of “The City of My Dreams” and “Living in a World of Bliss” that an electronic and hooky identity that’s caught between Toto and Yes imbues the edges of refrains that stick like honey to vocalist Stefan Altzar’s easy-on-the-ears narrative. Finding Love in Strange Places can get bogged down a touch in its word-driven nature, though, especially on the various interludes and certain longer tracks like “Unbreakable” and “Nothing Has Changed but Everything Is Different.” None of that fluff ever truly interrupts Finding Love’s heartbeat rhythms, which hold a steady if highly syncopated simplicity and form a hi-hat charming vessel that keeps the head nodding in progressive pomp. Oh, and it helps that guitarists Altzar and Daniel Magdic (ex-Pain of Salvation) have studied the slow-burn solo nature of greats like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and Brian May (Queen), with tasteful legato and searing ascensions aiding in earned crescendo at Finding Love’s best moments (“Living in a World of Bliss,” “The Secret of Goodness”). Having reliably churned out confident and catchy works every other years since 2018, PreHistoric Animals fly relatively low in the flock of modern prog, but these space-bound Swedes have earned a likely lifelong aquatic fan at this stage of their growing career. Give Love a chance!
Matrass // Cathedrals [May 17th, 2024 – La Tangente Label]
And, last but not least from my assortment, Matrass hails from France to bring you Cathedrals, which is… yes, you guessed it, another prog concept album! If you’re worried about another album of the synthtastic and 80s prog-themed variety, though, don’t fret about what Matrass brings to the table. Playing closer to post than progressive waters, Cathedrals flitters about dreamy, lounge jazz guitar passages before crushing down with Cult of Luna riffs and Tesseract-inspired, low-end atmospherics. But most important to the groove and cinematic lilt that defines Cathedrals is the methods by which vocalist Clémentine Browne navigates jangling verses with gentle croons and accented, rhythmic spoken word before frying down with screeching and hissing fervor against heavy chord crushes. That talent for establishing and reinforcing mood lands idiosyncratic in the realm of post acts, so her exact methods may not fit the bill for all fans of the rise-and-fall aesthetic the genre offers. And though Matrass remains largely iterative of this mood through its hour-long run, it’s that successful idea of atmosphere that allows peak tracks “Shreds,” “Adrift” (which features Browne on saxophone instead), and “Cathedrals” to conjure such powerful and drifting thoughts in my head. And when you’re in its valleys? Matrass still maintains a textural backdrop that spells high potential for this young act.
Saunders’ Sulfuric Stash
Desolus // System Shock [March 10th, 2024 – Hells Headbangers]
Who’s up for some explosive, throwback thrashy goodness? Although hailing from the States, Desolus take plenty of inspiration from classic German trash titans Kreator, Destruction and Sodom. Throw in classic Dark Angel vibes, a heavy, modern edge and crunchy production job, and the band’s debut System Shock ticks all the boxes for a thrashing great time. This shit is seriously jacked with unhinged, old-school aggression, spitfire riffs and stampeding percussion propelling the album’s ten speed-driven assaults. An utterly deranged, ’80s underground-inspired vocal performance adds further steel-plated authenticity to a retro-minded sound that manages to sound fresh and inspired. Aside from rare moments of slower melodic nuance on the otherwise blistering “Sea of Fire,” and the aptly titled “Interlude” providing a handy breather, Desolus crank speed and intensity to the max, rarely breaking from their relentless stride. The opening one-two salvo of “System Shock” and bonkers lunacy of “From Man to Machine” set a savage tone and gritty platform from which Desolus launch assault after assault of high-octane thrash mania. “Cures of the Technomancer” is an absolute riff beast with groove and speed for days, while “The Invasion Begins” deftly puts you in a false sense of bouncy melodic security before jamming the afterburners into a typically ferocious attack. Exuberant, nasty stuff.
Terminal Nation // Echoes of the Devil’s Den [May 3rd, 2024 – 20 Buck Spin]
The second album from Pittsburgh bruisers Terminal Nation hits with sledgehammer force, obliterating any semblance of subtlety in favor of an extra beefy, in-your-face hybrid of death metal and hardcore. Echoes of the Devil’s Den features a searing, politically charged and seriously pissed-off bite. High-profile guest vocal slots seamlessly blend into the vicious attack, including strong turns from Integrity‘s Dwid Hellion (“Release the Serpents”), Killswitch Engage‘s Jesse Leach (“Merchants of Bloodshed”) and Nails frontman Todd Jones. Jones features on “Written by the Victor,” a vicious tune that harnesses thick, neck-wrecking grooves and punishing, doom-laden death grooves. The album’s hardcore influence and political slant may turn off certain listeners, but those who don’t mind some hardcore in their death stew should find plenty to like here. The gritty, muscular exterior features nods to Bolt Thrower and All Shall Perish, while the weighty, mid-paced crush, chunky riffs and breakdowns are balanced by tasteful melodic counterpoints and livelier bursts of speed (“Dying Alive”). Not all works; the provocative, anti-police song “No Reform (New Age Slave Patrol)” musically has its moments; however, the heavy-handed lyrical approach sticks out like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, Echoes of the Devil’s Den swings and slugs you more often than it misses.
Steel Druhm’s Sewer Tarts
The Troops of Doom // A Mass to the Grotesque [May 31, 2024 – Alma Mater Records]
For their sophomore outing, Brazilian death-thrashers The Troops of Doom took their vintage Sepultura-esque sound and juiced it up considerably from what we heard on 2022s Antichrist Reborn. A Mass to the Grotesque still sounds a bunch like classic Sepultura but it’s much more refined, developed and expanded in scope. Yet it’s still a frenzied, thrashing assault full of lyrics about evil, demons, and all things anti-Christian. It sounds like something that should have dropped in as the 80s thrash wave started mutating into proto-death, and that is a beloved era of music for yours Steely. Songs like “Chapels of the Unholy” and “Dawn of Mephisto” sit right on the bleeding edge of thrash and early death, with Slayer-tastic riffs colliding with early examples of death grooves. What makes this so entertaining is how the band reaches outside of the Sepultura homage bubble to drag in new elements to expand their sound. Some songs feel slightly progressive (“Denied Divinity”) while elsewhere they shoehorn epic doom into the massive “Psalm 7:8 – God of Bizarre.” The straight-up riffbeasts are my favorites though, with “The Imposter King” being a big, fat, sweaty highlight. While these cats are always going to get compared to classic Sepultura, they made real efforts here to stake out their own identity. This is a wild, testosterone-fueled ride featuring the maximum allowable Satan, and I support that.
#20BuckSpin #2024 #AMassToTheGrotesque #Aborted #AllShallPerish #AlmaMaterRecords #Almyrkvi #AmericanMetal #ArmageddonPatronage #Aseitas #Azure #BelgianMetal #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BoltThrower #Capstan #Cathedrals #CHON #CobraTheImpaler #CultOfLuna #DanishMetal #DarkAngel #DarkDescentRecords #DeathMetal #Desolus #Destruction #DissonantDeathMetal #DreamTheater #DutchMusicWorks #EchoesOfTheDevilSDen #EdenTrough #FearlessRecords #FindingLoveInStrangePlaces #FrenchMetal #Fym #Genesis #GermanMetal #Gojira #Haken #Hardcore #HellsHeadbangers #Integrity #InternationalMetal #KarmaCollision #KillswitchEngage #KingsX #Kreator #LaTangenteLabel #ListenableRecords #Manetherean #Mastodon #Matrass #May24 #MelodicBlackMetal #Merihem #Nails #PainOfSalvation #Parfaxitas #PinkFloyd #Polyphia #PostHardcore #Powerglove #PreHistoricAnimals #ProgressiveMetal #Punk #Queen #Review #Reviews #Saidan #SelfReleased #Sinmara #Slidhr #Sodom #Strychnos #SufferingHour #SwedishMetal #SystemShock #TechnicalDeathMetal #TechnicalMetal #TerminalNation #TerraturPossessions #TesseracT #TheMosaic #TheTroopsOfDoom #TotalDissonanceWorship #UKMetal #Undergang #USMetal #VisualKillTheBlossomingOfPsychoticDepravity #WeaverOfTheBlackMoon #WhoredomeRife #Wormlust #Yes
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Stuck in the Filter: May 2024’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
I thought the onset of summer would mean a total solar beatdown. Instead, it’s brought the rain. Absolutely chucking down rain. But, if you thought that bad weather leads to mercy from me, you’re dead wrong. In fact, I pushed my minions even harder to dredge up as many waterlogged nuggets of notable ore from our perpetually overtaxed filtration system.
And so, as my “staff,” who are definitely paid (don’t look into it) dry off in the industrial-grade wind tunnel, allow me to introduce May’s Filter entries for a public I truly don’t care about at all (don’t look into it). BEHOLD!
Iceberg’s Divisive Defenstrations
Cobra The Impaler // Karma Collision [May 24th, 2024 – Listenable Records]
Belgium’s Cobra The Impaler bill themselves as carrying the torch of classic-era Mastodon, a band hitting so many spectrums of metal comparing one’s music to theirs is a much safer bet than not. Led by primary songwriter and ex-Aborted guitarist Tace DC, the band sit somewhere in the murky grey between progressive and technical modern metal. The aforementioned Mastodon worship is strong here—especially in opener “Magnetic Hex”—although the crystal clean production by Jens Borgren really prevents the use of the term “sludge.” Elsewhere there are prog-metal moments of Virus/Vector-era Haken (“Karma Collision,” “The Fountain”) and some of the relentless, drums-in-front compositions of Gojira (“Karma Collision,” “The Assassins of the Vision”). Vocalist Manuel Remmerie’s also has his work cut out for him, delivering plenty of admirable cleans in both high and low registers alongside full-throated screams and somewhat less effective pitched growls. The instrumental performances here are top-notch, professional in the verse/chorus sections, and continuously—sometimes outstandingly—creative in the free-form bridges. There is some tightening to be done with the accessibility of the choruses—they fall flat against the superior instrumental sections— but there are moments of brilliance and a ton of potential in this five-piece.
Capstan // The Mosaic [May 24th, 2024 – Fearless Records]
Anyone who’s plugged into the post-hardcore scene should know that Florida’s Capstan transcend the—rightfully deserved—vitriol thrown at the style. I don’t think any Fearless band has ever been reviewed here, but Capstan’s latest opus The Mosaic deserves a shoutout to whomever hasn’t run screaming from these halls. Led by vocalist Anthony DeMario—sure to be a divisive figure with his unapologetic pop punk cleans—the band has continuously augmented their Warped-core sound with the mathy guitar noodlings of Chon or Polyphia, and an impressive triple vocalist attack for thick, elaborate harmonies. This album, clocking in at over an hour, doesn’t pull any punches, showcasing trip-hop, breakdown-laced numbers (“Bete Noire”), full throated anthems about self-loathing and heartbreak (“Misery Scene”) and even lighter, crooning ballads (“What Can I Say”). Synergy and professionalism are where the band shine; everything has is slickly produced and the performances—especially those vocals—are whip-smart. Plenty of editing could have been done, but you can tell how much fun the band is having. Anyone with a passing interest or nostalgia for 2000’s post-hardcore should check this out. Plus their drummer plays with traditional grip, and watching a jazz guy slam out breakdowns is pretty rad in my book.
GardensTale’s Dose of Decay
Strychnos // Armageddon Patronage [May 17th, 2024 – Dark Descent Records]
I don’t always check out albums that set the comment section and/or Discord abuzz, but when I do, it rarely results in anything less than interesting. Case in point, the bottomless evil of Strychnos, a Danish outfit that struggled to get off the ground in the early 00’s, eked out a single EP in the 10’s, and suddenly started shitting out heaving platters of malicious black/death since the pandemic. Armageddon Patronage is the second full-length off their new production line, and it brings every horseman along for its deadly ride. War is embodied by the lethal double feature that starts the charge, with swelling riffs battering the unjust to fertilizer. The unflinching and unfeeling brutality of Famine seethes from “Choking Salvation,” and out the beaks of “Pale Black Birds” pours Pestilence with slavering enthusiasm. Frontman Martin Leth Anderson, who also handles bass for Undergang, employs a bellowing growl that encapsulates hopelessness and suffering, and the excellent, malevolent riffs usher an effective aura of utter destruction. Death, however, comes not at the end, but during the doom-laden centerpiece, the despondent “Endless Void Dimension” with its atmospheric Gregorian chanting. I have no qualms becoming a patron to this spiteful chunk of armageddon.
Dear Hollow’s Shtanky Shwamp of Shrieks
Saidan // Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity [May 24th, 2024 – Self-Released]
Saidan do things a little differently. The Nashville duo’s themes rooted in Japanese folklore and the formidable and mysterious yokai in particular, combined with a relentlessly riffy and punk-driven tour-de-force of black metal proportions are always food for thought in the act’s brief and formidable history. Seamlessly transitioning between punk chord progressions and bouncy drums to blastbeats and kvlt tremolo to groovy riffs and rhythms, anchored by Splatterpvnk’s ripping vocals, it never shies away from punishment. However, interwoven with this assault is a distinctly melodic undercurrent that brightens the progressions and gives purpose and a sense of fun – a hyper-melodic black metal act would be jealous. You won’t be able to shake the grooves of “Desecration of a Lustful Illusion,” the symphonic black intensity of “Genocidal Bloodfiend” and “Veins of the Wicked” hit you like a cyclone, and the classic thrash solos and anime-theme-song vibe of “Sick Abducted Purity,” “Visual Kill,” and “Switchblade Paradise” are guaranteed to get your head banging – plus, the interlude “seraphic lullaby” and instrumental closer “suffer” ain’t half bad. Visual Kill is like if Powerglove wrote a black metal album that you could actually take seriously, backed up with the technicality, songwriting chops, and sheer unbridled energy to make it work.
Parfaxitas // Weaver of the Black Moon [May 31st, 2024 – Terratur Possessions]
The minds behind Parfaxitas should need little introduction, although the moniker will likely not ring any bells. Representing three separate scenes and their respective contributions to black metal lore, two American stringsmen from acts Merihem, Suffering Hour, and Manetherean, Icelandic drummer B.E. from Almyrkvi, Sinmara, Slidhr, and Wormlust, and Norwegian vocalist K.R. From Whoredom Rife collide. Weaver of the Black Moon combines the blueprint of second-wave Norwegian black with the obsidian dissonance of Icelandic, and the experimental edge of American acts, making it a tour-de-force of both vicious sound and tortured atmosphere. Dissonance rains down like acid, a backdrop, and shroud of otherworldly sounds that shimmer and crunch in ways that recall both the winding passages of Suffering Hour and the psychedelic rawness of Wormlust simultaneously. Hammered by vicious blastbeats and guided by tortured barks, the guitar and meandering fluid bass guide listeners from untouchable intensity (“Thou Shalt Worship No Other”) to haunting and hypnotic atmosphere (“Ravens of Dispersion”) – stealing the show. Parfaxitas features a whole lot of firepower, culminating in epic closer “Fields of Nightmares,” a crescendo of punishing and otherworldly proportions.
Aseitas // Eden Trough [May 30th, 2024 – Total Dissonance Worship]
After Aseitas’ formidable 2020 album False Peace, which narrowly missed my AOTY’s, the Portland trio is back with another album – which could easily be classified as an EP in its tidy thirty-minute runtime. Eden Trough condenses the lofty and decadent ambition of its predecessor for an album devoted to complete takedown in winding riffs, punishing death metal, and ravaging vocals. From the thick and punishing signature shifts of “Libertine Captor” and “Alabaster Bones,” complete with shifting riffs and a liminal sense of melody, to the more droning and haunting “Break the Neck of Every Beautiful Thing,” to the epic and cosmic psychedelia of ten-minute centerpiece “Tiamat,” Aseitas’ shows its tantalizing and gradual progression to an echelon of indispensable in the world of dissonant death. Offering influences of convulsive mathcore, mammoth post-metal, and unhinged yet intensely calculated technicality, Eden Trough is a must-listen for the long-time fan, as well as proffering a snapshot to the curious of what makes Aseitas so special to begin with.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Progalicious Ponderings
Azure // Fym [May 23rd, 2024 – Self Release]
Are you way into high fantasy and exuberant, progressive albums that reflect that sentiment? If so, look no further than Azure’s third opus, Fym, which over its runtime recounts the tales of a mystical fox’s journey in a frightening and whimsical world. Normally I wouldn’t think twice about an album with such a storybook concept.1 But between Chris Sampson’s vocal navigations that ring as hyper-tenor and dolphin-like (“The Lavender Fox”)2 as they do sullen and heart-wrenching (“Kingdom of Ice and Light,” “Moonrise”), and Galen Stapley’s mystical fretboard wizardry that marries funk chords, soundtrack melodies, and dance-able shred, Azure packs too much sunshine in their prog for me to ignore. And at almost eighty minutes, they pack a lot of it too. However, each run through Fym’s pages finds a new rumbling bass bounce to propel a hop, a new vocal run to twirl my tongue (with notes that I couldn’t possibly hit), or a synthfully sinful refrain to stain my brain matter with happy juice—”The Azdinist // Den of Dawns” or “Agentic State” unite these ideas best—it’s truly a hard album to put down. Combining just about every era of Genesis with the acrobatics of Dream Theater, the play and ambition of the earliest of Pain of Salvation theatrics, and healthy dose of modern bastardizations (check the autotune/pitchshifting on “Doppelgänger”), Azure has made a mighty statement with Fym that I’m still digesting. And with as many inventive synth patches, harmonic vocal layers, and cinematic builds as this rainbow dose of prog pushes, it’ll be quite some time before I’ve made up my mind about it all. So I’ll continue in pieces. Or all at once. Whatever time allows because Fym is just that much fun.
PreHistoric Animals // Finding Love in Strange Places [May 16th, 2024 – Dutch Music Works]
And here we are with, what’s that, another prog concept album? This one’s a little less terrestrial though, featuring healthy infusions of a futuristic space drama and heavy-hitting synthwave doots and bounces. Over the course of their past couple works, PreHistoric Animals has found an ease in comfortable exploration with their King’s X-like tendency to grip with a barbed verse melody or chorus explosion, layered tastefully with harmonic vocal accompaniment and groove-heavy riffs. But, despite that comparison, it’s clear from the opening synth pulse of “The City of My Dreams” and “Living in a World of Bliss” that an electronic and hooky identity that’s caught between Toto and Yes imbues the edges of refrains that stick like honey to vocalist Stefan Altzar’s easy-on-the-ears narrative. Finding Love in Strange Places can get bogged down a touch in its word-driven nature, though, especially on the various interludes and certain longer tracks like “Unbreakable” and “Nothing Has Changed but Everything Is Different.” None of that fluff ever truly interrupts Finding Love’s heartbeat rhythms, which hold a steady if highly syncopated simplicity and form a hi-hat charming vessel that keeps the head nodding in progressive pomp. Oh, and it helps that guitarists Altzar and Daniel Magdic (ex-Pain of Salvation) have studied the slow-burn solo nature of greats like David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and Brian May (Queen), with tasteful legato and searing ascensions aiding in earned crescendo at Finding Love’s best moments (“Living in a World of Bliss,” “The Secret of Goodness”). Having reliably churned out confident and catchy works every other years since 2018, PreHistoric Animals fly relatively low in the flock of modern prog, but these space-bound Swedes have earned a likely lifelong aquatic fan at this stage of their growing career. Give Love a chance!
Matrass // Cathedrals [May 17th, 2024 – La Tangente Label]
And, last but not least from my assortment, Matrass hails from France to bring you Cathedrals, which is… yes, you guessed it, another prog concept album! If you’re worried about another album of the synthtastic and 80s prog-themed variety, though, don’t fret about what Matrass brings to the table. Playing closer to post than progressive waters, Cathedrals flitters about dreamy, lounge jazz guitar passages before crushing down with Cult of Luna riffs and Tesseract-inspired, low-end atmospherics. But most important to the groove and cinematic lilt that defines Cathedrals is the methods by which vocalist Clémentine Browne navigates jangling verses with gentle croons and accented, rhythmic spoken word before frying down with screeching and hissing fervor against heavy chord crushes. That talent for establishing and reinforcing mood lands idiosyncratic in the realm of post acts, so her exact methods may not fit the bill for all fans of the rise-and-fall aesthetic the genre offers. And though Matrass remains largely iterative of this mood through its hour-long run, it’s that successful idea of atmosphere that allows peak tracks “Shreds,” “Adrift” (which features Browne on saxophone instead), and “Cathedrals” to conjure such powerful and drifting thoughts in my head. And when you’re in its valleys? Matrass still maintains a textural backdrop that spells high potential for this young act.
Saunders’ Sulfuric Stash
Desolus // System Shock [March 10th, 2024 – Hells Headbangers]
Who’s up for some explosive, throwback thrashy goodness? Although hailing from the States, Desolus take plenty of inspiration from classic German trash titans Kreator, Destruction and Sodom. Throw in classic Dark Angel vibes, a heavy, modern edge and crunchy production job, and the band’s debut System Shock ticks all the boxes for a thrashing great time. This shit is seriously jacked with unhinged, old-school aggression, spitfire riffs and stampeding percussion propelling the album’s ten speed-driven assaults. An utterly deranged, ’80s underground-inspired vocal performance adds further steel-plated authenticity to a retro-minded sound that manages to sound fresh and inspired. Aside from rare moments of slower melodic nuance on the otherwise blistering “Sea of Fire,” and the aptly titled “Interlude” providing a handy breather, Desolus crank speed and intensity to the max, rarely breaking from their relentless stride. The opening one-two salvo of “System Shock” and bonkers lunacy of “From Man to Machine” set a savage tone and gritty platform from which Desolus launch assault after assault of high-octane thrash mania. “Cures of the Technomancer” is an absolute riff beast with groove and speed for days, while “The Invasion Begins” deftly puts you in a false sense of bouncy melodic security before jamming the afterburners into a typically ferocious attack. Exuberant, nasty stuff.
Terminal Nation // Echoes of the Devil’s Den [May 3rd, 2024 – 20 Buck Spin]
The second album from Pittsburgh bruisers Terminal Nation hits with sledgehammer force, obliterating any semblance of subtlety in favor of an extra beefy, in-your-face hybrid of death metal and hardcore. Echoes of the Devil’s Den features a searing, politically charged and seriously pissed-off bite. High-profile guest vocal slots seamlessly blend into the vicious attack, including strong turns from Integrity‘s Dwid Hellion (“Release the Serpents”), Killswitch Engage‘s Jesse Leach (“Merchants of Bloodshed”) and Nails frontman Todd Jones. Jones features on “Written by the Victor,” a vicious tune that harnesses thick, neck-wrecking grooves and punishing, doom-laden death grooves. The album’s hardcore influence and political slant may turn off certain listeners, but those who don’t mind some hardcore in their death stew should find plenty to like here. The gritty, muscular exterior features nods to Bolt Thrower and All Shall Perish, while the weighty, mid-paced crush, chunky riffs and breakdowns are balanced by tasteful melodic counterpoints and livelier bursts of speed (“Dying Alive”). Not all works; the provocative, anti-police song “No Reform (New Age Slave Patrol)” musically has its moments; however, the heavy-handed lyrical approach sticks out like a sore thumb. Nevertheless, Echoes of the Devil’s Den swings and slugs you more often than it misses.
Steel Druhm’s Sewer Tarts
The Troops of Doom // A Mass to the Grotesque [May 31, 2024 – Alma Mater Records]
For their sophomore outing, Brazilian death-thrashers The Troops of Doom took their vintage Sepultura-esque sound and juiced it up considerably from what we heard on 2022s Antichrist Reborn. A Mass to the Grotesque still sounds a bunch like classic Sepultura but it’s much more refined, developed and expanded in scope. Yet it’s still a frenzied, thrashing assault full of lyrics about evil, demons, and all things anti-Christian. It sounds like something that should have dropped in as the 80s thrash wave started mutating into proto-death, and that is a beloved era of music for yours Steely. Songs like “Chapels of the Unholy” and “Dawn of Mephisto” sit right on the bleeding edge of thrash and early death, with Slayer-tastic riffs colliding with early examples of death grooves. What makes this so entertaining is how the band reaches outside of the Sepultura homage bubble to drag in new elements to expand their sound. Some songs feel slightly progressive (“Denied Divinity”) while elsewhere they shoehorn epic doom into the massive “Psalm 7:8 – God of Bizarre.” The straight-up riffbeasts are my favorites though, with “The Imposter King” being a big, fat, sweaty highlight. While these cats are always going to get compared to classic Sepultura, they made real efforts here to stake out their own identity. This is a wild, testosterone-fueled ride featuring the maximum allowable Satan, and I support that.
#20BuckSpin #2024 #AMassToTheGrotesque #Aborted #AllShallPerish #AlmaMaterRecords #Almyrkvi #AmericanMetal #ArmageddonPatronage #Aseitas #Azure #BelgianMetal #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BoltThrower #Capstan #Cathedrals #CHON #CobraTheImpaler #CultOfLuna #DanishMetal #DarkAngel #DarkDescentRecords #DeathMetal #Desolus #Destruction #DissonantDeathMetal #DreamTheater #DutchMusicWorks #EchoesOfTheDevilSDen #EdenTrough #FearlessRecords #FindingLoveInStrangePlaces #FrenchMetal #Fym #Genesis #GermanMetal #Gojira #Haken #Hardcore #HellsHeadbangers #Integrity #InternationalMetal #KarmaCollision #KillswitchEngage #KingsX #Kreator #LaTangenteLabel #ListenableRecords #Manetherean #Mastodon #Matrass #May24 #MelodicBlackMetal #Merihem #Nails #PainOfSalvation #Parfaxitas #PinkFloyd #Polyphia #PostHardcore #Powerglove #PreHistoricAnimals #ProgressiveMetal #Punk #Queen #Review #Reviews #Saidan #SelfReleased #Sinmara #Slidhr #Sodom #Strychnos #SufferingHour #SwedishMetal #SystemShock #TechnicalDeathMetal #TechnicalMetal #TerminalNation #TerraturPossessions #TesseracT #TheMosaic #TheTroopsOfDoom #TotalDissonanceWorship #UKMetal #Undergang #USMetal #VisualKillTheBlossomingOfPsychoticDepravity #WeaverOfTheBlackMoon #WhoredomeRife #Wormlust #Yes
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Inside Chris Edwards' Longest Restoration: The Re-Amiga'd Amiga 3000 Saga
#Amiga #AmigaRestoration #RetroComputing #ReAmiga #ChrisEdwardsRestoration #VintageElectronics #Amiga3000 #RetroTech
https://theoasisbbs.com/inside-chris-edwards-longest-restoration-the-re-amigad-amiga-3000-saga/?feed_id=1117&_unique_id=678128d38ec7c -
https://www.europesays.com/it/462636/ Luke Hemsworth: «Vedere L’esorcista mi ha traumatizzato». E poi le lotte con i fratelli Chris e Liam, i libri sci-fi e il consiglio di Anthony Hopkins #attori #Celebrità #Celebrities #Entertainment #hollywood #Intrattenimento #IT #Italia #Italy
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RACHEL SCHIACCIATA DA UNA RUSPA ISRAELIANA
di Alfredo Facchini16 marzo 2003. Rafah. Sono giornate terribili: l’esercito terrorista con la stella di David è impegnato a demolire centinaia di abitazioni lungo il confine tra Gaza e l’Egitto. È in corso l'Intifada di Al Aqsa.
Rachel Corrie, 23 anni, attivista statunitense, vola a Rafah per svolgere azioni di interposizione con il suo movimento: l'International Solidarity Movement. L’unica arma a disposizione è il loro corpo.
<<Sono a Rafah. Una città di 140mila persone, il 60% delle quali sono profughi. Al momento, l’esercito israeliano sta costruendo un muro alto dodici metri tra Rafah e il confine. 602 case sono state completamente rase al suolo dai bulldozer e il numero di quelle parzialmente distrutte è ancora più alto>>.
Il viaggio di Rachel finirà nel peggiore dei modi. Perderà la vita proprio nel tentativo di impedire che una ruspa militare demolisse l'abitazione di un medico palestinese. Viene travolta. Schiacciata.
Il tribunale di Haifa sentenziò che il conducente del bulldozer non vide Rachel e che la sua morte fu <<il risultato di un incidente che lei stessa aveva attirato su di sé>>. Una versione vile, smentita da decine di testimonianze.
<<Quel giorno di marzo, durante le operazioni di demolizione, Rachel Corrie e gli altri attivisti internazionali indossavano come di solito un giubbotto arancione fluorescente per essere riconoscibili e si rivolgevano ai soldati con megafoni, restando di fronte ai bulldozer diverse ore per impedire loro di distruggere le abitazioni>>.
Prima di finire sotto i cingoli di una ruspa dell’esercito israeliano Rachel scrive una lettera appassionata a sua madre. Ecco alcuni stralci.
<<Mamma, adesso l'esercito israeliano è arrivato al punto di distruggere con le ruspe la strada per Gaza, ed entrambi i checkpoint principali sono chiusi.
Significa che se un palestinese vuole andare ad iscriversi all'università per il prossimo quadrimestre non può farlo. La gente non può andare al lavoro, mentre chi è rimasto intrappolato dall'altra parte non può tornare a casa; e gli internazionali, che domani dovrebbero essere ad una riunione delle loro organizzazioni in Cisgiordania, non potranno arrivarci in tempo.Probabilmente ce la faremmo a passare se facessimo davvero pesare il nostro privilegio di internazionali dalla pelle bianca, ma correremmo comunque un certo rischio di essere arrestati e deportati, anche se nessuno di noi ha fatto niente di illegale.
Sappi che un mucchio di palestinesi molto simpatici si sta prendendo cura di me. Mi sono presa una lieve influenza e per curarmi mi hanno dato dei beveroni al limone buonissimi. E poi la signora che ha le chiavi del pozzo dove ancora dormiamo mi chiede continuamente di te.
Non sa una parola d'inglese ma riesce a chiedermi molto spesso della mia mamma. Vuole essere sicura che ti chiami. Un abbraccio a te, a papà, a Sara, a Chris e a tutti. Rachel>>
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RACHEL SCHIACCIATA DA UNA RUSPA ISRAELIANA
di Alfredo Facchini16 marzo 2003. Rafah. Sono giornate terribili: l’esercito terrorista con la stella di David è impegnato a demolire centinaia di abitazioni lungo il confine tra Gaza e l’Egitto. È in corso l'Intifada di Al Aqsa.
Rachel Corrie, 23 anni, attivista statunitense, vola a Rafah per svolgere azioni di interposizione con il suo movimento: l'International Solidarity Movement. L’unica arma a disposizione è il loro corpo.
<<Sono a Rafah. Una città di 140mila persone, il 60% delle quali sono profughi. Al momento, l’esercito israeliano sta costruendo un muro alto dodici metri tra Rafah e il confine. 602 case sono state completamente rase al suolo dai bulldozer e il numero di quelle parzialmente distrutte è ancora più alto>>.
Il viaggio di Rachel finirà nel peggiore dei modi. Perderà la vita proprio nel tentativo di impedire che una ruspa militare demolisse l'abitazione di un medico palestinese. Viene travolta. Schiacciata.
Il tribunale di Haifa sentenziò che il conducente del bulldozer non vide Rachel e che la sua morte fu <<il risultato di un incidente che lei stessa aveva attirato su di sé>>. Una versione vile, smentita da decine di testimonianze.
<<Quel giorno di marzo, durante le operazioni di demolizione, Rachel Corrie e gli altri attivisti internazionali indossavano come di solito un giubbotto arancione fluorescente per essere riconoscibili e si rivolgevano ai soldati con megafoni, restando di fronte ai bulldozer diverse ore per impedire loro di distruggere le abitazioni>>.
Prima di finire sotto i cingoli di una ruspa dell’esercito israeliano Rachel scrive una lettera appassionata a sua madre. Ecco alcuni stralci.
<<Mamma, adesso l'esercito israeliano è arrivato al punto di distruggere con le ruspe la strada per Gaza, ed entrambi i checkpoint principali sono chiusi.
Significa che se un palestinese vuole andare ad iscriversi all'università per il prossimo quadrimestre non può farlo. La gente non può andare al lavoro, mentre chi è rimasto intrappolato dall'altra parte non può tornare a casa; e gli internazionali, che domani dovrebbero essere ad una riunione delle loro organizzazioni in Cisgiordania, non potranno arrivarci in tempo.Probabilmente ce la faremmo a passare se facessimo davvero pesare il nostro privilegio di internazionali dalla pelle bianca, ma correremmo comunque un certo rischio di essere arrestati e deportati, anche se nessuno di noi ha fatto niente di illegale.
Sappi che un mucchio di palestinesi molto simpatici si sta prendendo cura di me. Mi sono presa una lieve influenza e per curarmi mi hanno dato dei beveroni al limone buonissimi. E poi la signora che ha le chiavi del pozzo dove ancora dormiamo mi chiede continuamente di te.
Non sa una parola d'inglese ma riesce a chiedermi molto spesso della mia mamma. Vuole essere sicura che ti chiami. Un abbraccio a te, a papà, a Sara, a Chris e a tutti. Rachel>>
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RACHEL SCHIACCIATA DA UNA RUSPA ISRAELIANA
di Alfredo Facchini16 marzo 2003. Rafah. Sono giornate terribili: l’esercito terrorista con la stella di David è impegnato a demolire centinaia di abitazioni lungo il confine tra Gaza e l’Egitto. È in corso l'Intifada di Al Aqsa.
Rachel Corrie, 23 anni, attivista statunitense, vola a Rafah per svolgere azioni di interposizione con il suo movimento: l'International Solidarity Movement. L’unica arma a disposizione è il loro corpo.
<<Sono a Rafah. Una città di 140mila persone, il 60% delle quali sono profughi. Al momento, l’esercito israeliano sta costruendo un muro alto dodici metri tra Rafah e il confine. 602 case sono state completamente rase al suolo dai bulldozer e il numero di quelle parzialmente distrutte è ancora più alto>>.
Il viaggio di Rachel finirà nel peggiore dei modi. Perderà la vita proprio nel tentativo di impedire che una ruspa militare demolisse l'abitazione di un medico palestinese. Viene travolta. Schiacciata.
Il tribunale di Haifa sentenziò che il conducente del bulldozer non vide Rachel e che la sua morte fu <<il risultato di un incidente che lei stessa aveva attirato su di sé>>. Una versione vile, smentita da decine di testimonianze.
<<Quel giorno di marzo, durante le operazioni di demolizione, Rachel Corrie e gli altri attivisti internazionali indossavano come di solito un giubbotto arancione fluorescente per essere riconoscibili e si rivolgevano ai soldati con megafoni, restando di fronte ai bulldozer diverse ore per impedire loro di distruggere le abitazioni>>.
Prima di finire sotto i cingoli di una ruspa dell’esercito israeliano Rachel scrive una lettera appassionata a sua madre. Ecco alcuni stralci.
<<Mamma, adesso l'esercito israeliano è arrivato al punto di distruggere con le ruspe la strada per Gaza, ed entrambi i checkpoint principali sono chiusi.
Significa che se un palestinese vuole andare ad iscriversi all'università per il prossimo quadrimestre non può farlo. La gente non può andare al lavoro, mentre chi è rimasto intrappolato dall'altra parte non può tornare a casa; e gli internazionali, che domani dovrebbero essere ad una riunione delle loro organizzazioni in Cisgiordania, non potranno arrivarci in tempo.Probabilmente ce la faremmo a passare se facessimo davvero pesare il nostro privilegio di internazionali dalla pelle bianca, ma correremmo comunque un certo rischio di essere arrestati e deportati, anche se nessuno di noi ha fatto niente di illegale.
Sappi che un mucchio di palestinesi molto simpatici si sta prendendo cura di me. Mi sono presa una lieve influenza e per curarmi mi hanno dato dei beveroni al limone buonissimi. E poi la signora che ha le chiavi del pozzo dove ancora dormiamo mi chiede continuamente di te.
Non sa una parola d'inglese ma riesce a chiedermi molto spesso della mia mamma. Vuole essere sicura che ti chiami. Un abbraccio a te, a papà, a Sara, a Chris e a tutti. Rachel>>
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RACHEL SCHIACCIATA DA UNA RUSPA ISRAELIANA
di Alfredo Facchini16 marzo 2003. Rafah. Sono giornate terribili: l’esercito terrorista con la stella di David è impegnato a demolire centinaia di abitazioni lungo il confine tra Gaza e l’Egitto. È in corso l'Intifada di Al Aqsa.
Rachel Corrie, 23 anni, attivista statunitense, vola a Rafah per svolgere azioni di interposizione con il suo movimento: l'International Solidarity Movement. L’unica arma a disposizione è il loro corpo.
<<Sono a Rafah. Una città di 140mila persone, il 60% delle quali sono profughi. Al momento, l’esercito israeliano sta costruendo un muro alto dodici metri tra Rafah e il confine. 602 case sono state completamente rase al suolo dai bulldozer e il numero di quelle parzialmente distrutte è ancora più alto>>.
Il viaggio di Rachel finirà nel peggiore dei modi. Perderà la vita proprio nel tentativo di impedire che una ruspa militare demolisse l'abitazione di un medico palestinese. Viene travolta. Schiacciata.
Il tribunale di Haifa sentenziò che il conducente del bulldozer non vide Rachel e che la sua morte fu <<il risultato di un incidente che lei stessa aveva attirato su di sé>>. Una versione vile, smentita da decine di testimonianze.
<<Quel giorno di marzo, durante le operazioni di demolizione, Rachel Corrie e gli altri attivisti internazionali indossavano come di solito un giubbotto arancione fluorescente per essere riconoscibili e si rivolgevano ai soldati con megafoni, restando di fronte ai bulldozer diverse ore per impedire loro di distruggere le abitazioni>>.
Prima di finire sotto i cingoli di una ruspa dell’esercito israeliano Rachel scrive una lettera appassionata a sua madre. Ecco alcuni stralci.
<<Mamma, adesso l'esercito israeliano è arrivato al punto di distruggere con le ruspe la strada per Gaza, ed entrambi i checkpoint principali sono chiusi.
Significa che se un palestinese vuole andare ad iscriversi all'università per il prossimo quadrimestre non può farlo. La gente non può andare al lavoro, mentre chi è rimasto intrappolato dall'altra parte non può tornare a casa; e gli internazionali, che domani dovrebbero essere ad una riunione delle loro organizzazioni in Cisgiordania, non potranno arrivarci in tempo.Probabilmente ce la faremmo a passare se facessimo davvero pesare il nostro privilegio di internazionali dalla pelle bianca, ma correremmo comunque un certo rischio di essere arrestati e deportati, anche se nessuno di noi ha fatto niente di illegale.
Sappi che un mucchio di palestinesi molto simpatici si sta prendendo cura di me. Mi sono presa una lieve influenza e per curarmi mi hanno dato dei beveroni al limone buonissimi. E poi la signora che ha le chiavi del pozzo dove ancora dormiamo mi chiede continuamente di te.
Non sa una parola d'inglese ma riesce a chiedermi molto spesso della mia mamma. Vuole essere sicura che ti chiami. Un abbraccio a te, a papà, a Sara, a Chris e a tutti. Rachel>>
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Capitolo 55
AGOSTO 2008: dal 28 luglio al 3 agosto.
Film visti per la prima volta: Accadde una notte, Dante 01, Grace is gone, The love guru
Film rivisti: About a boy, Carlito’s way
Eccoci qui per l’ultimo capitolo di questa appassionante annata di cinema: il vostro è in procinto di partire, in questo momento ho già un piede sull’aereo per Barcellona, ma prima di congedarmi dalla città eterna è mio dovere raccontarvi di quest’ultima settimana da cinefilo. Un anno fa, agli esordi di questa rubrica, stavo per partire in direzione Monaco di Baviera, e mi ritrovai così a guardarmi Munich per motivi non molto razionali, ma era un modo come un altro per ingannare il tempo in attesa del viaggio. Seguendo lo stesso ragionamento avrei dovuto rivedere L’appartamento spagnolo probabilmente, perché è ambientato a Barcellona, ma avendo “vissuto” quel film durante quest’anno non avevo una gran voglia di rivedere ancora una volta quella storia, proprio ora che è tutto finito… Così mi sono consolato con altri sei film, tre in sala, un vecchio classico e due riproposizioni apprezzatissime. Prima di cominciare vi annoio con un dato significativo: da gennaio ho visto 102 film al cinema, e considerando che il mio record (appartenente al 2007) è di 110 film in un anno, penso proprio che sto per disintegrarlo, polverizzarlo, farlo a pezzi; il tempo di tornare dalle vacanze.
Accadde una notte (1934) di Frank Capra è un film importantissimo per la Hollywood di quel periodo: in un certo senso lanciò il genere della commedia romantica, e fu il primo film ad essere premiato con i cinque oscar più importanti. Avrei dovuto vederlo molti anni fa durante una corso di storia del cinema all’università, ma quella volta mi addormentai e poi me ne andai a casa: dopo tanto tempo ho avuto il desiderio di vedere questo film, e forse sono rimasto un po’ deluso. Certo, conosco il buonismo di Capra, e avrei dovuto farmi trovare preparato sulla scontatezza della storia, ma in qualche modo non ho trovato praticamente un solo punto di interesse in questa pellicola. Una ereditiera scappa di casa per andare a New York a sposare un arrampicatore sociale, su un autobus incontra il giornalista Clark Gable che la aiuta in cambio dello scoop finale: i due litigano sempre ma piano piano scoprono di amarsi. Ammetto di non aver mai avuto una grande simpatia per Gable, e ho trovato Claudette Colbert veramente irritante. Ho rispetto per l’importanza di questo film nel contesto in cui è stato realizzato e presentato, ma visto per la prima volta nel 2008 appare scontato e banale: senza offesa per il grande Frank Capra, ma questo film non l’ho digerito.
About a boy (2002) di Chris e Paul Weisz prima di questa settimana lo avevo visto solo una volta al cinema, sei anni fa, e avevo da tempo molta voglia di rivederlo: primo, perchè è tratto da un libro di Nick Hornby (il mio scrittore preferito, a cui devo la nascita di questa rubrica), secondo, perché Hugh Grant mi fa morire da ridere e terzo perché ricordavo di essermi divertito molto al cinema, e dunque perché non rivederlo una seconda volta? Hugh Grant è un viziato riccone che passa le giornate a cercare di rimorchiare donne e a guardare la televisione; nel tentativo di far colpo su una ragazza madre incontra Marcus, il figlio di un’amica di lei, che vede Hugh Grant come un tipo in gamba che può dargli le dritte giuste per far sì che non venga più trattato da sfigato a scuola. La storia è ben più sottile di quest’accozzaglia di parole che ho messo una dopo l’altra nelle righe precedenti, fatto sta che il rapporto tra i due è divertente, il ragazzo del titolo sono in realtà entrambi, e dal loro confronto i due capiranno il loro modo di stare al mondo. Una bella commedia, piacevolissima e gustosa. Un film che va bene con tutto: una serata a casa da soli, con la ragazza, con gli amici, coi genitori o con il vostro gatto o con tutti quanti insieme.
Dante 01 (2008) di Marc Caro è un film di fantascienza francese: si potrebbe definire la risposta francese a 2001 e a Solaris, ma in fondo nessuno ha chiesto a Marc Caro di rispondere! Il film è girato bene, ambientato bene, ma è noioso, con una storia particolare e non molto interessante a dire la verità, in poche parole non l’ho gradito molto. In una prigione spaziale arriva un nuovo detenuto, una sorta di messia dei carcerati, in grado di guarire le ferite e di togliere i peccati e i dolori dal corpo degli altri. Ma essendo speciale è anche malvisto da alcuni detenuti che lo vogliono morto, in tutto ciò la stazione spaziale viene dirottata verso un pianeta infuocato e il resto è uno sbadiglio. Tecnicamente ben realizzato, ma a dire la verità speravo in ben altro.
Con il pretesto di dover finire una cassa di birre, con un paio di amici ci siamo riuniti una sera per bere un po’ e soprattutto rivederci uno dei capolavori di Brian De Palma: Carlito’s way (1993). Coincidenza vuole che mi sia comprato una maglietta di questo film proprio due sere prima di rivederlo, si tratta di un film inamovibile dalla top 10 dei miei film preferiti ed è veramente una pellicola meravigliosa. Al Pacino è un ex-spacciatore uscito di galera dopo cinque anni: ritrova il suo quartiere cambiato, decide di lavorare onestamente e di chiudere con la vecchia vita, ma si ritroverà continuamente coinvolto in situazioni pericolose, indipendentemente dalla sua volontà (“Non me la vado certo a cercare io questa merda, è lei che viene da me: io scappo, lei mi insegue”). La lotta di un uomo verso una rinascita che non riuscirà a completare, un gangster movie tendente al noir, un film veramente unico nel suo genere e per questo meraviglioso (anche grazie ad un Al Pacino devastante nel ruolo di Carlito, a un grande Sean Penn e alla straordinaria regia di De Palma). Amo questo film, le sue atmosfere, il grande carisma del personaggio di Carlito Brigante: saggio, malinconico, nostalgico, caparbio, sognante, leale. Un film d’altri tempi, un capolavoro sempre troppo sottovalutato dalla critica parruccona, ma dal valore inossidabile per gli amanti del cinema.
Gli ultimi due film di questa annata, prima delle mia partenza per Barcellona prima e per il solito mare della Puglia poi, provengono entrambi dalla sala. Per onorare l’ultima serata cinematografica, con gli amici di cui sopra abbiamo deciso di sperimentare una doppia visione: un film dopo l’altro allo stesso cinema, dopo aver minuziosamente calcolato i tempi di ognuno. Alle 22.30 ci siamo visti il bellissimo Grace is gone (2007) di James C. Strouse, un film commovente ed emozionante, mai banale, costruito su un grande dolore e sul bellissimo personaggio di John Cusack, perfetto in ogni sfumatura del viso e in ogni ruga della fronte. Cusack è un ex-militare allontanato dall’esercito a causa di un problema alla vista, al posto suo sua moglie, anch’essa militare, è andata in Iraq a combattere la guerra. Un giorno al buon John viene comunicata la morte della moglie in battaglia, e il protagonista non sa come esprimere il suo dolore e senso di colpa: decide di prendere le sue bambine e di portarle nel loro parco giochi preferito, in Florida, non riuscendo al momento a dir loro della scomparsa della madre. La famigliola si confronta, si forma e piano piano si crea un legame magico tra John Cusack, le due bambine e gli spettatori: un film veramente bello, un vero gioiello in questa estate un po’ misera di buoni film (e poi è musicato da Clint Eastwood!).
L’altra faccia della medaglia è rappresentata dal film seguente, visto alle 00.10: The love guru (2008) di Marco Schnabel, una commedia che speravamo potesse farci chiudere in bellezza la stagione cinematografica. Scelta sbagliata: il film è stupidissimo e fa ridere davvero poco, ha una trama senza capo né coda (Mike Myers è un guru indiano ingaggiato dalla presidentessa Jessica Alba per rimettere in sesto un campione di hockey depresso dalla separazione con la sua donna, la quale ora sta insieme al superdotato portiere rivale Justin Timberlake). Si salva Timberlake, che fa ridere sul serio (soprattutto quando intona e balla Celine Dion), e il “remake” del videoclip di More Than Words degli Extreme, con Myers che suona il sitar e canta sotto gli occhi di Jessica Alba (ah, certo, salvo anche lei ovviamente, davvero troppo troppo bella per essere criticata). Film sciocco, giustamente uscito ad agosto (al contario di Grace is gone, che meritava di certo una collocazione e una distribuzione più degna).
Ci siamo, è finito anche questo luglio, è tempo di saluti anche per noi, miei cari affezionatissimi. Vi lascio senza troppi giri di parole, perché ho la valigia ancora da preparare e l’aereo in pista. Ci ritroveremo qui, per un’altra annata di cinema, molto presto: per citare un grande capolavoro degli anni 90 (ma non vi dirò quale) tornerò prima che voi possiate dire “crostata di mirtilli”.
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Chris Donnelly e Will McTighe, ao estudar o algoritmo do LinkedIn com enfoque em aprimorar técnicas de marketing digital acabaram diagnosticando o problema da "Monocultura Digital".
Em 3 meses analisando posts, perceberam que o viés é privilegiar determinados formatos (carrosséis com história triste, estilo "no céu tem pão" do Didi Mocó).
O efeito prático foi que uma, suposta, rede social que deveria fomentar a diversidade de conhecimentos e a inteligência coletiva, virou uma mesmice de posts com cagação de regra.
O algoritmo incentiva a homogenização.
"O algoritmo do LinkedIn recompensa formatos de conteúdo muito específicos (como "carrosséis narrativos" com histórias pessoais) e métricas específicas (salvos e compartilhamentos). Isso cria um poderoso incentivo para que todos os criadores converjam para os mesmos padrões para obter alcance."
O padrão único de "sucesso" "filtra sistematicamente ideias dissonantes, formatos não convencionais e pensamentos complexos" fora do molde. O discurso profissional troca um "ecossistema intelectual diverso" por um "feed altamente otimizado e previsível", uma monocultura digital.
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Chris Donnelly e Will McTighe, ao estudar o algoritmo do LinkedIn com enfoque em aprimorar técnicas de marketing digital acabaram diagnosticando o problema da "Monocultura Digital".
Em 3 meses analisando posts, perceberam que o viés é privilegiar determinados formatos (carrosséis com história triste, estilo "no céu tem pão" do Didi Mocó).
O efeito prático foi que uma, suposta, rede social que deveria fomentar a diversidade de conhecimentos e a inteligência coletiva, virou uma mesmice de posts com cagação de regra.
O algoritmo incentiva a homogenização.
"O algoritmo do LinkedIn recompensa formatos de conteúdo muito específicos (como "carrosséis narrativos" com histórias pessoais) e métricas específicas (salvos e compartilhamentos). Isso cria um poderoso incentivo para que todos os criadores converjam para os mesmos padrões para obter alcance."
O padrão único de "sucesso" "filtra sistematicamente ideias dissonantes, formatos não convencionais e pensamentos complexos" fora do molde. O discurso profissional troca um "ecossistema intelectual diverso" por um "feed altamente otimizado e previsível", uma monocultura digital.
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Chris Donnelly e Will McTighe, ao estudar o algoritmo do LinkedIn com enfoque em aprimorar técnicas de marketing digital acabaram diagnosticando o problema da "Monocultura Digital".
Em 3 meses analisando posts, perceberam que o viés é privilegiar determinados formatos (carrosséis com história triste, estilo "no céu tem pão" do Didi Mocó).
O efeito prático foi que uma, suposta, rede social que deveria fomentar a diversidade de conhecimentos e a inteligência coletiva, virou uma mesmice de posts com cagação de regra.
O algoritmo incentiva a homogenização.
"O algoritmo do LinkedIn recompensa formatos de conteúdo muito específicos (como "carrosséis narrativos" com histórias pessoais) e métricas específicas (salvos e compartilhamentos). Isso cria um poderoso incentivo para que todos os criadores converjam para os mesmos padrões para obter alcance."
O padrão único de "sucesso" "filtra sistematicamente ideias dissonantes, formatos não convencionais e pensamentos complexos" fora do molde. O discurso profissional troca um "ecossistema intelectual diverso" por um "feed altamente otimizado e previsível", uma monocultura digital.
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Chris Donnelly e Will McTighe, ao estudar o algoritmo do LinkedIn com enfoque em aprimorar técnicas de marketing digital acabaram diagnosticando o problema da "Monocultura Digital".
Em 3 meses analisando posts, perceberam que o viés é privilegiar determinados formatos (carrosséis com história triste, estilo "no céu tem pão" do Didi Mocó).
O efeito prático foi que uma, suposta, rede social que deveria fomentar a diversidade de conhecimentos e a inteligência coletiva, virou uma mesmice de posts com cagação de regra.
O algoritmo incentiva a homogenização.
"O algoritmo do LinkedIn recompensa formatos de conteúdo muito específicos (como "carrosséis narrativos" com histórias pessoais) e métricas específicas (salvos e compartilhamentos). Isso cria um poderoso incentivo para que todos os criadores converjam para os mesmos padrões para obter alcance."
O padrão único de "sucesso" "filtra sistematicamente ideias dissonantes, formatos não convencionais e pensamentos complexos" fora do molde. O discurso profissional troca um "ecossistema intelectual diverso" por um "feed altamente otimizado e previsível", uma monocultura digital.
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Chris Donnelly e Will McTighe, ao estudar o algoritmo do LinkedIn com enfoque em aprimorar técnicas de marketing digital acabaram diagnosticando o problema da "Monocultura Digital".
Em 3 meses analisando posts, perceberam que o viés é privilegiar determinados formatos (carrosséis com história triste, estilo "no céu tem pão" do Didi Mocó).
O efeito prático foi que uma, suposta, rede social que deveria fomentar a diversidade de conhecimentos e a inteligência coletiva, virou uma mesmice de posts com cagação de regra.
O algoritmo incentiva a homogenização.
"O algoritmo do LinkedIn recompensa formatos de conteúdo muito específicos (como "carrosséis narrativos" com histórias pessoais) e métricas específicas (salvos e compartilhamentos). Isso cria um poderoso incentivo para que todos os criadores converjam para os mesmos padrões para obter alcance."
O padrão único de "sucesso" "filtra sistematicamente ideias dissonantes, formatos não convencionais e pensamentos complexos" fora do molde. O discurso profissional troca um "ecossistema intelectual diverso" por um "feed altamente otimizado e previsível", uma monocultura digital.
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Chris Pine e Regé-Jean Page in Dungeons & Dragons - L'Onore dei Ladri (2023) per la regia di Jonathan Goldstein e John Francis Daley
#film #movie #cinema #cinefilo #JonathanGoldstein #JohnFrancisDaley #ChrisPine #RegéJeanPage #BarryPeterson #DnDMoviehttps://www.spoileralert.eu/2023/04/04/dungeons--amp--dragons--honor-among-thieves/1898/
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#Israele
Lui è Chris #Smalls, un leader sindacale americano e fondatore dell'Amazon Labor Union. È stato arrestato e torturato dalle forze di polizia israeliane.Secondo le informazioni fornite dalla Freedom Flotilla Coalition (#FFC), ciò è accaduto dopo la cattura della nave umanitaria #Handala, diretta a #Gaza con a bordo 21 civili disarmati (tra cui parlamentari, personale medico e volontari).
#ISRAELE. Leader sindacale americano torturato dalla polizia israeliana.
https://insurgente.org/israel-lider-sindical-estadounidense-torturado-por-la-policia-sionista/
