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Stuck in the Filter: November/December 2025’s Angry Misses By KenstrosityBrutal cold envelops the building as my minions scrape through ice and filthy slush to find even the smallest shard of metallic glimmer. With extensive budget cuts demanded by my exorbitant bonus schedule—as is my right as CEO of this filtration service—there was no room to purchase adequate gear and equipment for these harsher weathers. However, I did take up crocheting recently so each of my “employees” received a nice soft hat.
Hopefully, that will be enough to tide them over until the inclement weather passes and we return to normal temps. Until then, they have these rare finds to keep them warm, and so do you! REJOICE!
Kenstrosity’s Knightly Nightmare
AngelMaker // This Used to Be Heaven [November 20th, 2025 – Self Released]
I’ve been a fan of AngelMaker’s since their 2015 debut Dissentient. The grossly underrated and underappreciated Vancouver septet are a highly specialized deathcore infantry, with their lineup expanding steadily over their career in concert with their ever-increasing songwriting sophistication. Unlike the brutish and belligerent debut and follow-up AngelMaker, 2022’s Sanctum and new outing This Used to Be Heaven indulge in rich layering, near-neoclassical melodies, and dramatic atmosphere to complement AngelMaker’s trademark sense of swaggering groove. With early entries “Rich in Anguish” and “Haunter” establishing the strength of both sides of their sound, it always surprises me how AngelMaker successfully twist and gnarl their sound into shapes—whether it be hardcore, blackened, or melodic—I wasn’t anticipating (“Silken Hands,” “Relinquished,” “Nothing Left”). A rock-solid back half launched by the epic “The Omen” two-part suite brings these deviations from the expected into unity with the deathcore foundation I know AngelMaker so well for (“Malevolence Reigns,” “Altare Mortis”), and in doing so secure their status as one of the most reliably creative deathcore acts in the scene. Nothing here is going to change the minds of the fiercer deathcore detractors, but if your heart is open even just a crack, there’s a good chance This Used to Be Heaven will force themselves into it, if not entirely rip the whole thing asunder. My advice is simply to let it.
This Used To Be Heaven by AngelMaker
ClarkKent’s Sonic Symphonics
Brainblast // Colossus Suprema [November 11th, 2025 – Vmbrella]
A debut album five years in the making from a band formed in 2015, Colossus Suprema is the brainchild of Bogotá, Colombia’s Edd Jiménez. Jiménez turned his passion for and training in classical composition towards his symphonic progressive act, Brainblast. With Bach as an inspiration, Brainblast’s brand of technical death metal has the grandeur of Fleshgod Apocalypse, the speed of Archspire, and the virtuosity of concert musicians. Jiménez’s classical training shows — the compositions have an orchestral feel, only played at insane energy levels. The speed, the depth, and the breadth of the instrumentation are sure to leave you breathless. Nicholas Le Fou Wells (First Fragment) lays down relentless kitwork with jaw-dropping velocity, while Eetu Hernesmaa provides technical fretwork that’ll similarly leave you awestruck. He delivers sublime riffs on “Relentless Rise” and a surprising melodic lead that steals the show on “Unchain Your Soul.” Perhaps most prominent is the virtuoso play of the bass from Rich Gray (Annihilator) and Dominic Forest Lapointe (First Fragment) that is omnipresent and funky on each and every song. To top it all off is the piano (perhaps from Jiménez), giving the music some gravitas with the technical, concert-style playing. This record is just plain bonkers and tons of fun. Given this is the debut from a young musician, the idea that Brainblast has room to grow is plenty exciting.
COLOSSUS SUPREMA by BRAINBLAST
Gods of Gaia // Escape the Wonderland [November 28th, 2025 – Self Released]
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the next SepticFlesh release, Germany’s Gods of Gaia have got you covered. Founded in 2023 by Kevin Sierra Eifert, Gods of Gaia is made up of an anonymous collective from around the world, contributing to a dark, heavy, and aggressive form of symphonic metal. Their sophomore album, Escape the Wonderland, features a collection of death metal songs with plenty of orchestral arrangements that add a dramatic flair. Along with crushing riffs and thunderous blast beats, you’ll hear choral chants (“Escape the Wonderland,” “Burn for Me”), bits of piano (“What It Takes”), and plenty of cinematic symphonics. SepticFlesh is the obvious influence, but the grandiosity of Fleshgod Apocalypse flares up on cuts like the dramatic “Rise Up.” The front half is largely aggressive, with “What It Takes” taking the energy to thrash levels. The back half dials down the energy, even creeping to near doom on “Krieg in Mir,” but never pulls back on the heaviness. Cool as the symphonic elements are, the riffs, blast beats, and brutal vocal delivery are just as impressive. Make no mistake, this is melodic death metal above all else, with symphonic seasonings that elevate it a notch. Just the opposite of what the record title suggests, this is one wonderland you won’t want to escape.
Escape the Wonderland by Gods of Gaia
Grin Reaper’s Frozen Feast
Hounds of Bayanay // КЭМ [November 15, 2025 – Self Released]
Two-and-a-half years after dropping debut Legends of the North, Hounds of Bayanay returns with КЭМ to sate your eternal lust for folk metal.1 Blending heavy metal with folk instrumentation, specifically kyrympa2 and khomus,3 as well as throat singing, Hounds of Bayanay might sound like a Tengger Cavalry or The Hu knockoff, but you’ll do yourself a disservice by writing them off. Boldly enunciated, clarion cleans belt out in confident proclamations while grittier refrains and overtones resonate beneath, proffering assorted and engaging vocal stylings. Rather than dwelling overlong in strings and tribal chanting, the deft fusion of folk instruments with traditional metal defines Hounds’ sound and feels cohesively integrated on КЭМ, providing an intimate yet heavy backdrop to a hook-laden and alluringly replayable thirty-nine minutes. In addition to the eclectic folk influence, there’s a satisfying variety of songwriting from track to track, with “Ardaq,” “Cɯsqa:n,” and “Dɔʃɔrum” exemplifying the enticing synthesis of styles. More than anything else, Hounds of Bayanay embodies heart and fun, warming my chilly days with a well-executed platter of Eastern-influenced folk metal. Don’t skip this one, or the decision could hound you.
Blood Red Throne // Siltskin [December 05, 2025 – Soulseller Records]
I’m shoving up against the deadline to wedge this one in, but Blood Red Throne’s latest deserves a mention, and bulldozing is just the sort of thing you should do while listening to BRT’s brand of bludgeoning, pit-stomping romp. Back in December, the venerable Norwegian death metal act dropped twelfth album Siltskin, maintaining their prolific and consistent release schedule. In addition to their dependable output, BRT stays the course with pummeling, brutish pomp. In his coverage of Nonagon and Imperial Congregation, Doc Grier drums up comparisons to Old Man’s Child, Panzerchrist, and Hypocrisy, and while I’m not inclined to disagree on those points, I’ll add that Siltskin also harkens to Kill-era Cannibal Corpse in its slick coalition of mid-paced slammers, warp-speed blitzes, and fat ‘n’ frolicking bass. Add to that the sly, sticky melody from the likes of Sentenced’s North from Here (“Vestigial Remnants”), and you’ve got a recipe for a righteous forty-five-minute smash-a-thon. Blood Red Throne’s last few records have been among their best, which is an incredible feat for a band this far into their career. While Siltskin doesn’t surpass BRT’s high-water mark, it keeps up, and if you’re hungry for an aural beatdown, then Blood Red Throne would like to throw their crown into the ring for consideration.
Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu // Immortality [December 17, 2025 – Bang the Head Records]
I am woefully late to the charms of Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu, a Japanese death metal outfit prominently featuring slap ‘n’ pop bass. Had it not been for our trusty Flippered Friend, I might have continued this grievous injustice of ignorance, but thankfully, this is not the timeline to which I’m doomed. Immortality is Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu’s seventh album, and those who enjoy the band’s previous work should remain satisfied. For new acolytes, Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu grasps the rabid intensity of Vader and Krisiun and imbues it with a funky edge. Meaty bass rumbles and sprightly slapped accents, provided by bassist/vocalist Haruhisa Takahata, merge with Kouki Akita’s kit obliteration to establish a thunderous, unrelenting rhythm section. Atop the lower end’s heft, Keiichi Enjouji shreds and squeals with thrashy vigor and a keen understanding of melody. First proper track “Anima Immortalis” even includes gang intonations that work so well, I wish they were more prevalent across the album. The sum total of Gotsu-Totsu-Kotsu’s atmosphere is one of plucky exuberance that strikes with the force of a roundhouse kick to the dome. Had I discovered it sooner, Immortality would have qualified for a 2025 year-end honorable mention, as I haven’t been able to stop spinning it or the band’s prior releases.4 Though I’m still in the honeymoon phase, I expect this platter to live on in my listening, and recommend you not miss this GTK killer like I almost did.
Thus Spoke’s Random Revelations
The Algorithm // Recursive Infinity [November 21st, 2025 – Self Released]
I’ve been a fan of The Algorithm since the early days, back when their electronica-djent was almost twee in its experimental joy, spliced with light-hearted samples. Over the years, Rémi Gallego has tuned his flair for mesmeric, playful compositions to develop a richer, more streamlined sound. Recursive Infinity continues the recent upward trend Data Renaissance began. With riffs and rhythms the slickest since Brute Force, and melodies the brightest and most colourful since equally-prettily adorned Polymorphic Code, it’s a cyberpunk tour-de-force. The wildness is trained, chunky heaviness grounding magnetic melodies (“Race Condition,” “Mutex,” “By Design”), dense chugging transitioning seamlessly into techno (“Advanced Iteration Technique,” “Hollowing,” “Graceful Degradation), and adding bite to bubbly, candy-coloured soundscapes (“Rainbow Table,”). The skittering of breakbeats tempers synthwave (“Endless Iteration), and bright pulses wrap cascading electro-core (“Race Condition,” “Mutex”) and orchestral melodrama (“Recursive Infinity”). It’s often strongly reminiscent of some point in The Algorithm’s history, but everything is upgraded from charming to entrancing. This provides a new way to interpret Recursive Infinity: not just a reference to an endless loop in general, but to Boucle Infinie (Infinite Loop)—Remi’s other musical project—and by extension, The Algorithm themselves. Yet he is still experimenting, including vocoder vocals (“Endless Iteration,” “By Design”) for a surprisingly successful dark-Daft Punk vibe in slower, moodier moments. With nostalgic throwbacks transformed so beautifully, and the continued evolution, there’s simply no way I can ignore The Algorithm now. And neither should you.
Recursive Infinity by The Algorithm
Owlswald’s Holiday Scraps
Sun of the Suns // Entanglement [December 12th, 2025 – Scarlet Records]
Bands and labels take heed—We reserve December for two things: Listurnalia and celebrating another trip around the sun. It is not for releasing new music. Yet this blunder persists, ensuring we inevitably miss gems like Sun of the Suns’ sophomore effort, Entanglement.5 The record dropped just as the world was tuning out for the year, and it deserves much better. Building on the foundation of their 2021 debut, TIIT, the Italian trio has significantly beefed up their progressive death formula. Mixing tech-death articulation with deathcore brutality, Entanglement ensures fans of Fallujah will feel right at home with its effervescent clean melodies and crystalline textures. Francesca Paoli (Fleshgod Apocalypse) returns to provide another masterclass behind the kit with rapid-fire double-bass, blasts, and tom fills, while guitarists Marco Righetti and Ludovico Cioffi deliver cosmic shredding and radiant solos that are both technical and deliberate. While the early tracks lean into Fallujahian songcraft and Tesseract-style arpeggios, the album shines brightest late when the group largely sheds its stylistic orbit. “Please, Blackout My Eyes” pivots toward a majestic Aeternam vibe with ethereal tech-death incisiveness, while “One With the Sun” and “The Void Where Sound Ends Its Path” hit like a sledgehammer with Xenobiotic’s deathcore grooves. Though Luca Dave Scarlatti’s vocals lack differentiation, the sheer quality of the compositions carries the weight, proving Sun of the Suns are much more than mere clones.
Entanglement by Sun Of The Suns
#2025 #Aeternam #AngelMaker #Annihilator #Archspire #Bach #BangTheHeadRecords #BloodRedThrone #Brainblast #CannibalCorpse #ColombianMetal #ColossusSuprema #DaftPunk #DeathMetal #Deathcore #Dec25 #Djent #Entanglement #EscapeTheWonderland #ExperimentalMetal #Fallujah #FirstFragment #FleshgodApocalypse #FolkMetal #GermanMetal #GodsOfGaia #GotsuTotsuKotsu #HeavyMetal #HoundsOfBayanay #Hypocrisy #Immortality #ItalianMetal #JapaneseMetal #Krisiun #MelodicDeathMetal #NorwegianMetal #Nov25 #OldManSChild #Panzerchrist #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #RecursiveInfinity #Review #Reviews #ScarletRecords #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #Sentenced #SepticFlesh #Siltskin #SoulsellerRecords #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SunOfTheSuns #SymphonicDeathMetal #SymphonicMetal #Synthwave #TechnicalDeathMetal #TenggerCavalry #TesseracT #TheAlgorithm #TheHu #ThisUsedToBeHeaven #Vader #Vmbrella #Xenobiotic #КЭМ -
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2025 By Angry Metal Guy
Every year has been shitty for a while, and in some ways, 2025 was the shittiest of them all. The widespread sense that the End Is Nigh is what I would charitably call our zeitgeist.1 And I feel comfortable saying, it’s a shitty zeitgeist. But in defiance of the shit burger we’re all eating every day while we wait for the AI drone war to start, 2025 was my best year in a while. It did, in fact, see me more involved on the front and back ends of AngryMetalGuy.com than I’d been in a long time. And like those lists we’ve already published, AMG, both as a persona and community, has been a refuge for me during difficult times. The joy of discovery and the eclecticism inherent in what we do here have been a major part of why I love this blog. So, honestly, that’s been nice.
In terms of the blog’s health, AngryMetalGuy.com is holding steady. We’ve got a growing team of n00bs covering some of the holes we’ve had in the schedule.2 I worked very hard on training them in combination with Druhm, and it’s fair to say we were both happy with the result. We had some of our best candidates to date, and that made me proud and happy. There’s still room for a few more, so we might dig into the pool in the early part of 2026. So if you applied, all hope is not lost. We continue to attract around 1.25 million views a month, and that’s held steady for three years running. Obviously, we would like to continue to grow. But I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re actually seeing a slight downturn in visitors because of Generative AI. There are, of course, a lot of people who go to Google and write “My Favorite Band – New Album Review,” and they will be greeted by an AngryMetalGuy.com link that tends to place pretty highly on the Google Machine and awaits their complaints with open arms. But I suspect there are other kinds of views we’ve accrued – those which end up in people grabbing album art or looking for release dates – that disappear when people are requesting that ChatGPT do that for them. And while LLMs will link you after plagiarizing you, they’ll only do it if you let them, and we do not. And so any conversions of people checking linked resources are probably lost.3 There have been some weird months here and there with seemingly anomalously low numbers, so who even knows.
The active n00bs have allowed us to revive the three-posts-a-day pace,4 and we only went dark for five days during 2025. As a collective, we posted 699 posts—down from the very peak of 2019’s nearly 1,000 posts!—but in line with where we’ve been since Covid. And, our posts continue to be longer than they were in 2019, averaging 901 words for a total of 629,905 words that we produced for free in 2025. That’s a 2600-page term paper—Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spaced on A4 paper.5 This dedication to quantity derives from the whip of an analytics-driven Steel Druhm, but wouldn’t be possible without our amazing staff putting their shoulders to the Eternal Boulder ov Metal™ and rolling it uphill every day, saying “One must imagine Sisyphus happy. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
We continue to have international appeal, as well, though the country rankings haven’t changed much from 2024. Like last year, our top five is made up of the English-speaking world (US, UK, CAN, AUS at five) + Germany (at four).6 Weirdly, we are getting a sizable amount of traffic from China, which clocks in at six for the first time. There are almost certainly shenanigans at play with those numbers, as I am not aware of any influx of Chinese fans here recently. Maybe that’s AI traffic. Maybe that’s VPN traffic. Maybe we’ve been infiltrated and are now a communist honey pot. Maybe Druhm is buying traffic. Or, maybe, Winnie the Pooh has finally discovered how excellent the realm of heavy metal really is, and China is going through a different kind of cultural revolution! Regardless, 7-10 is made up of the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, and France, with Spain and Finland dropping out of the top ten. The biggest news, however, when it comes to our international readership, is that signs point strongly to Pope Francis having been our solitary reader in the Holy See. The venerable Franciscan passed away in April of 2025, and I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that no one appears to have made the pilgrimage from the Vatican to Angry Metal Guy this year.
It’s worth noting that we lost more than a few stalwarts along the way in 2025,7 largely due to the #Cursed-Boomer-Posting chat on Slack, which has torn us apart. There may also have been some other influences, such as marriages, having high-paying jobs, running TV shows, having actual lives, or resenting me.8 Regardless, for all those who have worked hard to make AngryMetalGuy.com go, but who are not here with us anymore, I just want to say thank you. Despite my autistic isolation and standoffishness, I do love you all and miss you. The door is, of course, always open. And I am happy to see some special little guys who’ve been in deep freeze popping their heads out of the sand and grabbing promo. It’s a wonderful sight to behold, and maybe we’ll see some newfound productivity from old friends in 2026.
To close, I want to thank everyone – readers and writers alike – for your enthusiasm, your dedication to AngryMetalGuy.com as an institution, and your undying fealty to me, Angry Metal Guy.9 I know I can come off as harsh. And I know that some people grumble that I’m too hard on them when I read their texts or when they have divergent opinions in the comments, but that’s only true if you’ve never met a passive construction you didn’t love or if you’re wrong about metal. And, as I tell my students, we’re a team. Our goal is to make sure that AMG produces the very highest quality writing, while covering as much of the scene as possible.10 And given the loyalty of our readers, your comments, and “the eye test,” as it were, we are achieving that goal consistently. I’m still very proud of that and, if I stop to think about it, humbled by it, too.
While it feels like there’s a lot to dread after the 2025 that was, we still have a lot to be excited about here. So let’s hope that 2026 isn’t all like it’s felt in the first five days or so. Anyway, I have gone on far too long, have a wordy, overwrought list.
#(ish) 3: Helms Deep // Chasing the Dragon [June 20th, 2025 | Nameless Grave Records | Bandcamp] — Chasing the Dragon is super fun. It’s fun, it’s loud, and it’s a little stupid in a way that I find endearing. And, as I remarked in June, while US Power Metal has been getting a lot of love around these parts, Helms Deep has not been on the receiving end of nearly enough of that love. While other bands showed up to a back alley knife fight, these Florida men showed up with a bejet-packed dragon and a collection of songs that burned hotter than dragonsfire, melting the competition down and shaming their lineages for decades to come. And joking hyperbole aside, Helms Deep doesn’t feel like a novelty act. They aren’t just good ’cause I find them funny. Chasing the Dragon features playing that’s sharp and vital across the board, with guitars that never stand still, a singer who sells every chorus with the right balance of chops, cheese, and buckets of swagger. Said differently, Helms Deep is just dudes playing good, honest heavy metal while having a great time. What more do you need?
#(ish) 2: Vittra // Intense Indifference [September 19th, 2025 | Self-release | Bandcamp] — Vittra’s Intense Indifference shows up hungry, plays fast, hits hard, and gets out before you have time to get bored. Thirty-three minutes of riff-first, bethrashened melodeath go by in a blur; the hooks are sticky, the harmonies are sharp, and the energy is manic and adventurous. While the At the Gates lineage is obvious,11 Vittra pulls in enough Soilwork polish and Mors Principium Est flash to songwriting that’s focused on momentum rather than atmosphere, and the result is addictive. And what really pushes this record from really good to great are the flashes of the unexpected: honkytonk piano, bluesy acoustic passages, and classic rock phrasing that shouldn’t work, but does. It’s great listening to an album this full of piss and vinegar. I get excited when bands pop up that make the kind of thrashy, intense melodic death that never begs for an Insomnium comp. And sure, these guys have room to grow, but Intense Indifference caused me to feel anything but.
#(ish) 1: Arjen Anthony Lucassen // Songs No One Will Hear [September 12th, 2025 | InsideOut Music | Bandcamp] — Arjen Lucassen has been a favorite of mine during the time that AngryMetalGuy.com has been up and running. The “poofy-haired cheesehead”12 behind many of my favorite albums during AMG’s time is still a gem even in 2025. Crazily, Arjen’s first ‘solo record’ Lost in the New Real was released in 2012,13 and Songs No One Will Hear is its direct successor. A true concept record—with Toehider’s god-tier singer, Michael Mills, voicing a radio DJ talking to listeners about impending doom—it reflects both our End Is Nigh Zeitgeist and Arjen’s particular… idiom. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, Songs No One Will Hear is both tongue-in-cheek and yet deeply aware of the nature of information, grifting, and societal collapse, while still displaying the kind of referential goofiness that made Lost in the New Real such a charming record.14 The thing that dinged Songs No One Will Hear a little for me is the sense of uncanny familiarity. At times, it sounds like Arjen was working specifically to emulate the structure of Lost in the New Real. That created a bit of cognitive dissonance that I have never quite gotten over. It also drove a lot of replays of its under-the-radar predecessor rather than the album I should have been reviewing. But is Songs one of the best 11 records o’ 2025? I certainly think so.
#10: An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City [October 17th, 2025 | Willowtip | Bandcamp] — The Sleeping City had two strikes against it. First, it had the unenviable task of following Woe, a record that could easily have been the template on which they built their sound. It’s hard to break away from an overwhelmingly popular sound, yet these Ore Islanders took a left turn, exhibiting a level of daring I admire. The shift in aesthetic is the story of The Sleeping City in a lot of ways; the synths, the vibe, and the mood lean into dystopian sci-fi, and it’s a choice that works. What I love about The Sleeping City is that it’s detailed and detail-oriented without distracting from the expansiveness of the songwriting, which remains evocative and carefully structured. And while they sound comfortable letting songs breathe, they never get lost in the quest for “atmosphere” that undermines many modern releases. Second,15 the real gripe about The Sleeping City was the mastering job. But even a mastering job that clips peaks and fills valleys shows just how strong the raw material is. And so, finally, The Sleeping City feels like the product of a band choosing growth over safety while being true to themselves. And that’s an admirable trait that I hope they never lose.
#9: Fallujah // Xenotaph [June 13th, 2025 | Nuclear Blast Records | Bandcamp] — Fallujah landing on my list came as a genuine surprise to me, mostly because I really had quietly written them off. I used to like them, but they never carried that In Flames-style of eternal hope for me. Xenotaph pulled me back in by doing a deceptively simple thing: reintroducing attack. Everything about this record feels more immediate; guitars cut, compositions move with purpose, and songs are taut and sharp. The atmospheric elements remain, but they’re now integrated into something heavier and more immediate. I love the balance Fallujah finds, combining that late-Cynic energy with the aggression of brutal and technical death. And the deeper I got, the more Xenotaph rewarded me. Repetition revealed interlinked ideas and layered guitar work that shoots like a web throughout, creating a sinuous structure on which everything rests. As I wrote in my Record o’ the Month blurb, “Fallujah has achieved a conceptual evolution on Xenotaph that feels true to their origins and yet develops their sound in ways that make it accessible, and yet, truly unique.” It isn’t exactly br00tal death metal, but it’s not so drenched in “atmosphere” that it lacks tension. Most importantly, it worked.
#8: Scardust // Souls [July 18th, 2025 | Frontiers Records | Stream or Buy at Qobuz] — Scardust landing at number eight sans review is another casualty of my 2025 Stack o’ Shame, though this was less neglect than simple overextension in a year where too many heavy hitters landed at once. July, yo, what a month. Unfortunately, I missed the review window, then I missed the window to pawn it off responsibly, and by the time I circled back, it was late. However, Scardust’s third full-length is a sharp, confident 42 minutes of symphonic power/prog that feels fully aware and unique. While it doesn’t quite lock together as tightly as Strangers did at a conceptual and compositional level, Souls more than compensates for that with sheer craft. The orchestral and choral arrangements are some of the strongest I heard all year, and Scardust’s chemistry is ridonkulous. The rhythm section especially deserves accolades, with basswork that should be forcing its way into “best of” conversations. As a band, Scardust exists in the interstices of genre, where comparisons kind of work but can’t capture their unique voice. And while the band is impressive, the compositions feel so coherent because of Noa Gruman, who carries the album with control, range, and an incomparable soprano. Her extreme register (that is, growls) stays mostly holstered here, but her presence—and sheer talent—is on constant display, balancing different styles, moods, and feels. And her vocal performance isn’t the only standout vocal performance on Souls. The closing “Touch of Life” trilogy finds Ross Jennings (Haken) popping up in full “weird Ross” mode, which ends up as the cherry on top. The result is smart, muscular, and memorable; an album I’m ashamed to have missed.
#7: Aephanemer // Utopie [October 31st, 2025 | Napalm Records | Bandcamp] — Aephanemer’s Utopie landed, as I mentioned in my Record o’ the Month blurb, squarely at the top of my Stack o’ Shame. I was honored to be able to get access to this and start listening early, and I was immediately impressed. Yet, I got sick. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life age of the earth. Meanwhile, Utopie sat there reminding me of my failures until Grin Reaper saved my ass and gave Aephanemer’s newest opus the unhinged tongue bath it so rightfully deserved. Utopie takes everything these French melodic death metallers have been doing over the past couple of albums and tightens the screws until the whole machine purrs with confidence. The neoclassical elements have become a perfect blend that helps everything work perfectly. Utopie flows; songs connect, ideas develop, momentum carries everything forward, and yet Aephanemer does not sacrifice the immediacy and energy that makes melodic death metal such a fine dopamine mine. While I haven’t sat down and learned the parts, I feel like the guitars are more fluid and more expressive, resulting in special melodies propelled by a buoyancy reflected in the theme. And you know me, what I want from great records is a holistic sense of greatness. Happily, Aephanemer accomplishes just that on Utopie. Had I been operating at full capacity when it dropped, I would have written a review that kids would call “extra.”16
#6: Insania // The Great Apocalypse [June 13th, 2025 | Frontiers Music | Stream or Buy on Qobuz] — The Great Apocalypse, contrary to its name, is sneaky. It doesn’t gallop in and smack you in the face with shock or novelty, but instead, it reveals its strength through confidence, craft, and an almost unfair level of replay value. What initially feels like—and has been so often written off as—a solid, familiar Europower record gradually opens up to be something richer and more rewarding. And it’s kept paying dividends the longer I’ve been sitting with it. Insania sounds, as I noted when I wrote the review, like a band fully aware of their lineage and completely at ease with it. But the truly confident understand themselves enough to think differently. The resulting record is full of massive, sticky hooks, choruses that hit with power metal optimism and momentum, and electrifying guitars throughout. In fact, while investigating their discography, I was struck by how much Insania upped their game on The Great Apocalypse. And key to that is the guitar, which elevates the record by resisting predictability and yet coexisting on a meta-level with the genre that they know so well. Songs evolve instead of looping, melodies get reshaped rather than repeated, and familiar ideas or tropes are nudged just enough off-center to stay engaging but familiar. The Great Apocalypse approaches with intention, and Insania performs like a band that’s rediscovering why they love playing this kind of music in the first place. This record is exhilarating, memorable, and deeply satisfying, which is why it belongs among these other great releases.
#5: Kalaveraztekah // Nikan Axkan [May 2nd, 2025 | Self-release | Bandcamp] — In what I’m pretty sure is a first for me, an Ünsïgnëd Bänd Rödëö contestant has made my Top Ten(ish) list. I’ve had plenty of unsigned bands on my lists, but I walked into Kalaveraztekah’s masterful Nikan Axkan utterly unprepared for what I would find. Like a kid buying music in the ’90s, I just looked at that amazing cover art and decided that I was going to join the team reviewing this record instead of the other one. And that twist of fate has earned Mexico’s finest Aztec-themed death metal band a spot on the End o’ Year Metal List o’ Record™.17 As I cleverly wrote in my Record o’ the Month blurb: “There’s no sense that these Hidrocálidos are some kind of novelty act. They aren’t a Mexican Eluveitie, just playing Dark Tranquillity riffs while putting a Ritual Death Flute over it for 40 seconds in every song.”18 Rather, Nikan Axkan is chock full of muscular riffing and the kind of grindy death metal that I’ve always associated with the Mexican scene. Combined with a high-concept connecting to Mexican pre-history and the judicious use of a fucking death flute, I just never quit listening to Nikan Axkan.19 And so here they are, in the Top 5 of my Top 10(ish) of 2025,20 and it couldn’t be more deserved.
#4: Impureza // Alcázares [July 11th, 2025 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] — I admit, I have tried to lead by example. I have attempted to become a servant leader. Rather than eating up a ton of oxygen and making everything actually about me (instead of just in jest) and what I want as Angry Metal Guy, I have, with time and wisdom, tried to allow others a chance to spread their wings. One of the things that means is that I can’t just bogart other writers’ “discoveries,” and I try not to block them if they grab something before I do.21 So, in that context, you’ll understand that I got pretty excited when I realized that I could review the newest Impureza without poaching it. The band’s approach to metal—infused with flamenco and semi-fantastical alternate-historical high concepts about colonial history—had entranced me previously, but I always felt like they were leaving a lot on the table. Their sound had not quite blended the flamenco and the metal, but rather, the genres sat side by side. Alcázares changes that. From start to finish, Alcázares is addictive, creative, musically impressive, and just a lot of fun. The artful ability of these Orléanais-via-España to marry such disparate styles with genuinely unique approaches to music that run as deeply as the very notion of meter is one of the most impressive feats accomplished in metal in 2025. But it’s not just a meta-concern of the artistic feat that excites me. Alcázares is a fucking banger that can stimulate your intellect, or that can leave your neck sore. Take your pick!22
#3: Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth [July 18th, 2025 | Cruz del Sur Music | Bandcamp] — Phantom Spell has the benefit of being a genuine surprise. My happy place, when I can afford to be there, is digging through the promo bin and listening to everything I can get my hands on. I have made so many fantastic discoveries there, just immersed in my own little world, listening to samples to get a feel of what we’re being sent. Heather & Hearth looked like classic Steel Druhmcore: Cruz del Sur Records, retro metal, D&D Basic Set art. I popped it in, got dragged in, and totally distracted from the rest of what I was doing. I know that this might seem incongruent, but Heather & Hearth sounds fresh. In a world of hypercompressed, hyper-reamped, extremer-than-thou metal, the act of writing good songs with tons of vocal harmonies, instruments that sit in their sonic corridors, and—despite being recorded by one single dude—a convincingly live vibe feels “like a radical act.”23 I quickly grew to love Heather & Hearth, shared it with all the normies I know who love Ghost (“Isn’t this so much better?”), and began singing its praises. And I’ve been happy to see it popping up on lists throughout list season. It means a lot to me that people can hear just how good Phantom Spell is. And Phantom Spell also proved to be quite generative, in that I wrote the Spotify post as a response to a discussion about why Heather & Hearth wasn’t available there. Easily one of the best records I heard in 2025, and I’m looking forward to hearing so much more.
#2: In Mourning // The Immortal [August 29th, 2025 | Supreme Chaos Records | Bandcamp] — When a record is truly exceptional, the hardest part is often articulating why it has transcended other things without reducing it to a checklist. In Mourning’s fantastic The Immortal resists that kind of accounting in the best possible way. Its melodies are lush and emotionally evocative, capable of landing with equal force whether they’re carried by aching vocals or unfurled through long, expansive, yet intimate, trem-picked guitar passages. The riffing is punishing but disciplined, balancing weighty chug with sharper, blackened melodies, creating a constant tension between death metal heft and sadboi atmosphere without fully committing to drowning the production in reverb. And yet, none of this marks a radical departure from what In Mourning has done before—has been doing since 2008. The crucial difference here is in execution: every compositional choice seems to land exactly where it should be. In a sense, this calls attention to the role of probability, as much as inspiration or songcraft, in composition. Some records feel blessed from the outset, where one can go through the same process again and never produce the same results. The hooks here stick without feeling forced, climaxes are perfectly placed, and the pacing across the record gives each track room to breathe while contributing to the kind of flow reserved for only the best albums. Even moments that might feel familiar hit differently on The Immortal, like everything snaps into place. The Immortal succeeds, then, not just on craft but on feel: it feels heavier, sadder, and more resonant than its predecessors; and it stands comfortably among the strongest melodic death metal releases in years.
#1: Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss [July 11th, 2025 | Mascot Records | Bandcamp] — Edge of the Abyss ran away with my listening this year in a way I genuinely don’t remember happening before, and that probably tells you most of what you need to know. The record is frantic, restless, and overloaded with ideas, moving between genres and feels with the speed of fast-cut editing; shifting at the drop of a dime. That both makes the record fun to listen to and keeps it surprising and fresh even after dozens of listens. The pace and density line up uncannily well with where my own brain tends to live, and I suspect that’s a part of why it lodged itself so firmly in my rotation. Calva Louise writes songs that feel driven by impulse and curiosity rather than caution or genre boundaries, and that creative energy and freedom are contagious. Jess Allanic’s pop instincts and melodic sense anchor the chaos, lending the lighter passages real emotional weight and memorability, rather than merely serving as connective tissue. Edge of the Abyss’s incorporation of Latin rhythmic elements and melodic sensibilities ended up also being a personal bonus; Latin music has been a refuge for me from musical monotony for years, and hearing them integrated naturally into Edge of the Abyss was exciting, and it generated affection for this wayward Venezuelan and her French and English bandmates. What really sealed the deal for me, though, was how committed the band sounds to its vision. The songwriting is ambitious and fun, but it doesn’t feel scattered. The album has a cinematic feel – complemented by literally cinematic music videos – but doesn’t feel bloated or melodramatic. And Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique. And I also feel invested in Calva Louise in a way I haven’t been with many bands. I really am so happy to see them growing and succeeding. I love seeing them landing on people’s lists here and elsewhere. They have so much potential, and I am so eager to see what they do next. But should the worst befall them, I’ll always have Edge of the Abyss, and it already feels like an all-timer.
Honorable Mentions
Sarastus // Agony Eternal [July 1st, 2025 | Dominance of Darkness Records | Bandcamp] — Stolen from me by one Kenstrosity, Sarastus was a joyous discovery by me in the depths of the promo bin. One part black metal with a touch of death n’ roll for vibes, Agony Eternal strikes hard at modern conventions of black metal and sounds fresh by playing fast, unapologetic, engaging music with razor-sharp riffs. Melodic, without being sickly sweet or cheesy, with a ton of attack and great songwriting chops, Sarastus really threads the needle on Agony Eternal, making something that is driven and addictive, but undeniably black metal.
Wytch Hazel // V: Lamentations [July 4th, 2025 | Bad Omen | Bandcamp] — I’ve been back and forth with Wytch Hazel in the past. I have enjoyed what they do, but in the past I’ve been more skeptical of specifically nostalgiacore records that don’t feel like they’re adding much “new.” First, I think I’m just getting past that problem, as the “new” in metal is emphasizing things I don’t love about the scene. But second, I think V: Lamentations is just a more engaging record. From the word ‘go,’ Wytch Hazel writes with a kind of urgency that gives their brand of ’70s-tinged metal an extra kick, and the energy sits so well with me. Maybe the songwriting is just a bit tighter, maybe it’s faster, I don’t know—I didn’t write the proper review. All I know is that I keep circling back to Lamentations in a way that I haven’t done as much with their earlier albums. And that made it easy to put in the running for Listurnalia and to give my personal Angry Stamp o’ Approval™.
Mors Principium Est // Darkness Invisible [September 26th, 2025 | Perception/Reigning Phoenix Music | Stream or Buy on Qobuz] — Probably the grower of the year, Darkness Invisible surprised me by sticking around. When I started reviewing it, I expected not to like it much. I had been a big fan of the band’s previous output and of their former guitarist’s solo record from last year. But with familiarity—and time spent dissecting it—I became increasingly impressed with the album. While the production is busy and pulls it down, the writing forges a new path that better represents the vision of MPE’s founding member, Ville Viljanen. And that vision is bleak, blackened, and surprisingly sticky. No matter your opinion on the end of the previous incarnation, Darkness Invisible at least demonstrates that there is still a vital future for Finland’s most underrated melodic death metal powerhouse. And that’s a future to which I look forward.
Blackbraid // Blackbraid III [August 8th, 2025 | Self-release | Bandcamp] — I have a Gollumesque distaste for modern black metal. I am physically incapable of starting a review or blurb of a black metal band without reminding readers how much I hate “atmosphere” in the post-Cascadian black metal era. “Give it to us raw and wriggling!” I growl at all the fat hobbitses who try to feed me empty, overcooked “atmosphere.” Blackbraid doesn’t want to feed me atmosphere. Instead, Blackbraid’s III trembles with a vibe that brings me back to discovering black metal; at times blistering, at times introspective, but rarely overstaying its welcome and never feeling like its primary goal is to be the band that defanged black metal for good to make it okay to listen to for kids in the suburbs. I’ll be listening to III for a long time.
Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria — This record is too long. It’s got too much hype among the staff. And also, it’s too damned good to be an honorable mention. And yet, there are only so many #(ish)es, and I got to Beyond Obsidian Eurphoria too late to really give it the kind of sustained love that it needs to properly list. Still, once I started listening, I’ve been swinging past it every day. Sometimes twice. The songwriting is a bit wandering, the album is a bit overwhelming, and yet there is an undeniable vibe that Tómarúm traffics in, and that’s sneakily sticky. Combine that techy Death with something akin to Disillusion, and maybe you’ve got your comp. The only complaint I have is that some of the melodies end up intentionally arch in a way that makes me think that they are actively trying not to give the ear something to latch onto. That’s dumb, but it’s also very 2025. And hey, at least there’s a really easy trick for them to sell out with.
…and Oceans // The Regeneration Itinerary [May 23rd, 2025 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] —The Regeneration Itinerary was a lot more controversial among fans than I expected, but I really enjoyed it. As I wrote in May, “It’s always fun to watch bands defy Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™, and while The Regeneration Itinerary isn’t their best record yet, 30 years after their debut, …and Oceans is still releasing vital music that’s impossible to overlook.” And that’s just true facts as stated by a metal-knower. While not quite the tour de force of its predecessors, this record is a solid bit of weirdo black metal with some of the best art in the biz. I recommend it highly.
Haxprocess24 // Beyond What Eyes Can See [July 25th, 2025 | Transcending Obscurity Records | Bandcamp] — Four songs, three of which are over 10 minutes long, and a combo of what I’d call post-Opeth songwriting with OSDM aesthetics, Beyond What Eyes Can See deserved more attention this year and ended up, instead, on my Stack o’ Shame™. This isn’t a reflection on them; they play vital death metal and deserve accolades for their expansive vision and the way everything flows. They just got eaten up by the July where everything got released. Sorry, boys, but here’s your fig leaf!
Majestica // Power Train [February 7th, 2025 | Nuclear Blast Records | Stream or Buy at Qobuz] — Back in like 2008, I saw a band called ReinXeed play a whole bunch of covers of Swedish dance/electronica “group” E-Type at a Culture Night in Umeå. I remember hearing from people in the local scene that they were “big in Japan,” and I listened to some stuff, but wasn’t super moved by it at the time. In 2019, ReinXeed changed their name to Majestica and got signed to Nuclear Blast. And damnit if they aren’t just a lot better than they were in 2008. Power Train, which is on our collective Stack o’ Shame™, is the band’s third full-length under the moniker, and it rocks the same kind of sickly sweet melodies, guitar gymnastics, and general sense of fun that makes power metal my go-to genre a lot of days. While not quite as sticky and addictive as some other things higher up the list, Power Train was a solid addition to the band’s discography and one of the better power records I heard this year. You’ve come a long way, baby!
Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail [April 18th, 2025 | Willowtip Records | Bandcamp] — While not as high on this record as others on the staff, Dormant Ordeal is undeniably vital. And I’m just never going to write a better blurb than I did when they got Record o’ the Month for April: “This record hits a sweet spot inside of me, best described as the ‘oh yeah, that’s how death metal is done’ spot. The riffs flow, and my brain just opens up the spigots, releasing a veritable tsunami of dopamine. Every riff that cuts, every transition that seethes, and every recognition of the slick, skilled ways that these guys construct songs, I get a nice big kick of that Happy Chemical. Tooth and Nail is dynamic, punishing, aggressive, and better yet, it’s smart.” Man, that guy can write!
Aversed // Erasure of Color [March 25th, 2025 | M-Theory Audio | Bandcamp] — Last, and I guess technically least – but that isn’t taking into account that there were like 10,000 albums released in 2025 and there are only like 25 on this list – is Aversed’s Erasure of Color. Part of the reason for its late arrival is that, despite being our Record o’ the Month for March, Erasure of Color didn’t actually make it onto my personal playlist until quite a bit later. And damn, that was kind of a big miss on my part. Great melodeath with a unique flavor and great intensity; there’s something thoughtful and sharp about this record. Combine that with excellent album art and the Dolphin Whisperer seal of approval, and Erasure of Color has everything fans of melodeath need to carry them through this wasteland. I will need to keep my eyes on Aversed going forward.
#AndOceans #2025 #Aephanemer #AnAbstractIllusion #AngryMetalGuy #AngryMetalGuySTop10Ish #ArjenLucassen #Aversed #Blackbraid #CalvaLouise #ChasingTheDragon #DormantOrdeal #EdgeOfTheAbyss #Fallujah #Haxprocess #HelmsDeep #Impureza #InMourning #Insania #IntenseIndifference #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #MorsPrincipiumEst #PhantomSpell #Sarastus #Scardust #Tómarúm #Vittra #WytchHazel -
Angry Metal Guy’s Top 10(ish) of 2025 By Angry Metal GuyEvery year has been shitty for a while, and in some ways, 2025 was the shittiest of them all. The widespread sense that the End Is Nigh is what I would charitably call our zeitgeist.1 And I feel comfortable saying, it’s a shitty zeitgeist. But in defiance of the shit burger we’re all eating every day while we wait for the AI drone war to start, 2025 was my best year in a while. It did, in fact, see me more involved on the front and back ends of AngryMetalGuy.com than I’d been in a long time. And like those lists we’ve already published, AMG, both as a persona and community, has been a refuge for me during difficult times. The joy of discovery and the eclecticism inherent in what we do here have been a major part of why I love this blog. So, honestly, that’s been nice.
In terms of the blog’s health, AngryMetalGuy.com is holding steady. We’ve got a growing team of n00bs covering some of the holes we’ve had in the schedule.2 I worked very hard on training them in combination with Druhm, and it’s fair to say we were both happy with the result. We had some of our best candidates to date, and that made me proud and happy. There’s still room for a few more, so we might dig into the pool in the early part of 2026. So if you applied, all hope is not lost. We continue to attract around 1.25 million views a month, and that’s held steady for three years running. Obviously, we would like to continue to grow. But I have a sneaking suspicion that we’re actually seeing a slight downturn in visitors because of Generative AI. There are, of course, a lot of people who go to Google and write “My Favorite Band – New Album Review,” and they will be greeted by an AngryMetalGuy.com link that tends to place pretty highly on the Google Machine and awaits their complaints with open arms. But I suspect there are other kinds of views we’ve accrued – those which end up in people grabbing album art or looking for release dates – that disappear when people are requesting that ChatGPT do that for them. And while LLMs will link you after plagiarizing you, they’ll only do it if you let them, and we do not. And so any conversions of people checking linked resources are probably lost.3 There have been some weird months here and there with seemingly anomalously low numbers, so who even knows.
The active n00bs have allowed us to revive the three-posts-a-day pace,4 and we only went dark for five days during 2025. As a collective, we posted 699 posts—down from the very peak of 2019’s nearly 1,000 posts!—but in line with where we’ve been since Covid. And, our posts continue to be longer than they were in 2019, averaging 901 words for a total of 629,905 words that we produced for free in 2025. That’s a 2600-page term paper—Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spaced on A4 paper.5 This dedication to quantity derives from the whip of an analytics-driven Steel Druhm, but wouldn’t be possible without our amazing staff putting their shoulders to the Eternal Boulder ov Metal™ and rolling it uphill every day, saying “One must imagine Sisyphus happy. One must imagine Sisyphus happy. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
We continue to have international appeal, as well, though the country rankings haven’t changed much from 2024. Like last year, our top five is made up of the English-speaking world (US, UK, CAN, AUS at five) + Germany (at four).6 Weirdly, we are getting a sizable amount of traffic from China, which clocks in at six for the first time. There are almost certainly shenanigans at play with those numbers, as I am not aware of any influx of Chinese fans here recently. Maybe that’s AI traffic. Maybe that’s VPN traffic. Maybe we’ve been infiltrated and are now a communist honey pot. Maybe Druhm is buying traffic. Or, maybe, Winnie the Pooh has finally discovered how excellent the realm of heavy metal really is, and China is going through a different kind of cultural revolution! Regardless, 7-10 is made up of the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, and France, with Spain and Finland dropping out of the top ten. The biggest news, however, when it comes to our international readership, is that signs point strongly to Pope Francis having been our solitary reader in the Holy See. The venerable Franciscan passed away in April of 2025, and I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that no one appears to have made the pilgrimage from the Vatican to Angry Metal Guy this year.
It’s worth noting that we lost more than a few stalwarts along the way in 2025,7 largely due to the #Cursed-Boomer-Posting chat on Slack, which has torn us apart. There may also have been some other influences, such as marriages, having high-paying jobs, running TV shows, having actual lives, or resenting me.8 Regardless, for all those who have worked hard to make AngryMetalGuy.com go, but who are not here with us anymore, I just want to say thank you. Despite my autistic isolation and standoffishness, I do love you all and miss you. The door is, of course, always open. And I am happy to see some special little guys who’ve been in deep freeze popping their heads out of the sand and grabbing promo. It’s a wonderful sight to behold, and maybe we’ll see some newfound productivity from old friends in 2026.
To close, I want to thank everyone – readers and writers alike – for your enthusiasm, your dedication to AngryMetalGuy.com as an institution, and your undying fealty to me, Angry Metal Guy.9 I know I can come off as harsh. And I know that some people grumble that I’m too hard on them when I read their texts or when they have divergent opinions in the comments, but that’s only true if you’ve never met a passive construction you didn’t love or if you’re wrong about metal. And, as I tell my students, we’re a team. Our goal is to make sure that AMG produces the very highest quality writing, while covering as much of the scene as possible.10 And given the loyalty of our readers, your comments, and “the eye test,” as it were, we are achieving that goal consistently. I’m still very proud of that and, if I stop to think about it, humbled by it, too.
While it feels like there’s a lot to dread after the 2025 that was, we still have a lot to be excited about here. So let’s hope that 2026 isn’t all like it’s felt in the first five days or so. Anyway, I have gone on far too long, have a wordy, overwrought list.
#(ish) 3: Helms Deep // Chasing the Dragon [June 20th, 2025 | Nameless Grave Records | Bandcamp] — Chasing the Dragon is super fun. It’s fun, it’s loud, and it’s a little stupid in a way that I find endearing. And, as I remarked in June, while US Power Metal has been getting a lot of love around these parts, Helms Deep has not been on the receiving end of nearly enough of that love. While other bands showed up to a back alley knife fight, these Florida men showed up with a bejet-packed dragon and a collection of songs that burned hotter than dragonsfire, melting the competition down and shaming their lineages for decades to come. And joking hyperbole aside, Helms Deep doesn’t feel like a novelty act. They aren’t just good ’cause I find them funny. Chasing the Dragon features playing that’s sharp and vital across the board, with guitars that never stand still, a singer who sells every chorus with the right balance of chops, cheese, and buckets of swagger. Said differently, Helms Deep is just dudes playing good, honest heavy metal while having a great time. What more do you need?
#(ish) 2: Vittra // Intense Indifference [September 19th, 2025 | Self-release | Bandcamp] — Vittra’s Intense Indifference shows up hungry, plays fast, hits hard, and gets out before you have time to get bored. Thirty-three minutes of riff-first, bethrashened melodeath go by in a blur; the hooks are sticky, the harmonies are sharp, and the energy is manic and adventurous. While the At the Gates lineage is obvious,11 Vittra pulls in enough Soilwork polish and Mors Principium Est flash to songwriting that’s focused on momentum rather than atmosphere, and the result is addictive. And what really pushes this record from really good to great are the flashes of the unexpected: honkytonk piano, bluesy acoustic passages, and classic rock phrasing that shouldn’t work, but does. It’s great listening to an album this full of piss and vinegar. I get excited when bands pop up that make the kind of thrashy, intense melodic death that never begs for an Insomnium comp. And sure, these guys have room to grow, but Intense Indifference caused me to feel anything but.
#(ish) 1: Arjen Anthony Lucassen // Songs No One Will Hear [September 12th, 2025 | InsideOut Music | Bandcamp] — Arjen Lucassen has been a favorite of mine during the time that AngryMetalGuy.com has been up and running. The “poofy-haired cheesehead”12 behind many of my favorite albums during AMG’s time is still a gem even in 2025. Crazily, Arjen’s first ‘solo record’ Lost in the New Real was released in 2012,13 and Songs No One Will Hear is its direct successor. A true concept record—with Toehider’s god-tier singer, Michael Mills, voicing a radio DJ talking to listeners about impending doom—it reflects both our End Is Nigh Zeitgeist and Arjen’s particular… idiom. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, Songs No One Will Hear is both tongue-in-cheek and yet deeply aware of the nature of information, grifting, and societal collapse, while still displaying the kind of referential goofiness that made Lost in the New Real such a charming record.14 The thing that dinged Songs No One Will Hear a little for me is the sense of uncanny familiarity. At times, it sounds like Arjen was working specifically to emulate the structure of Lost in the New Real. That created a bit of cognitive dissonance that I have never quite gotten over. It also drove a lot of replays of its under-the-radar predecessor rather than the album I should have been reviewing. But is Songs one of the best 11 records o’ 2025? I certainly think so.
#10: An Abstract Illusion // The Sleeping City [October 17th, 2025 | Willowtip | Bandcamp] — The Sleeping City had two strikes against it. First, it had the unenviable task of following Woe, a record that could easily have been the template on which they built their sound. It’s hard to break away from an overwhelmingly popular sound, yet these Ore Islanders took a left turn, exhibiting a level of daring I admire. The shift in aesthetic is the story of The Sleeping City in a lot of ways; the synths, the vibe, and the mood lean into dystopian sci-fi, and it’s a choice that works. What I love about The Sleeping City is that it’s detailed and detail-oriented without distracting from the expansiveness of the songwriting, which remains evocative and carefully structured. And while they sound comfortable letting songs breathe, they never get lost in the quest for “atmosphere” that undermines many modern releases. Second,15 the real gripe about The Sleeping City was the mastering job. But even a mastering job that clips peaks and fills valleys shows just how strong the raw material is. And so, finally, The Sleeping City feels like the product of a band choosing growth over safety while being true to themselves. And that’s an admirable trait that I hope they never lose.
#9: Fallujah // Xenotaph [June 13th, 2025 | Nuclear Blast Records | Bandcamp] — Fallujah landing on my list came as a genuine surprise to me, mostly because I really had quietly written them off. I used to like them, but they never carried that In Flames-style of eternal hope for me. Xenotaph pulled me back in by doing a deceptively simple thing: reintroducing attack. Everything about this record feels more immediate; guitars cut, compositions move with purpose, and songs are taut and sharp. The atmospheric elements remain, but they’re now integrated into something heavier and more immediate. I love the balance Fallujah finds, combining that late-Cynic energy with the aggression of brutal and technical death. And the deeper I got, the more Xenotaph rewarded me. Repetition revealed interlinked ideas and layered guitar work that shoots like a web throughout, creating a sinuous structure on which everything rests. As I wrote in my Record o’ the Month blurb, “Fallujah has achieved a conceptual evolution on Xenotaph that feels true to their origins and yet develops their sound in ways that make it accessible, and yet, truly unique.” It isn’t exactly br00tal death metal, but it’s not so drenched in “atmosphere” that it lacks tension. Most importantly, it worked.
#8: Scardust // Souls [July 18th, 2025 | Frontiers Records | Stream or Buy at Qobuz] — Scardust landing at number eight sans review is another casualty of my 2025 Stack o’ Shame, though this was less neglect than simple overextension in a year where too many heavy hitters landed at once. July, yo, what a month. Unfortunately, I missed the review window, then I missed the window to pawn it off responsibly, and by the time I circled back, it was late. However, Scardust’s third full-length is a sharp, confident 42 minutes of symphonic power/prog that feels fully aware and unique. While it doesn’t quite lock together as tightly as Strangers did at a conceptual and compositional level, Souls more than compensates for that with sheer craft. The orchestral and choral arrangements are some of the strongest I heard all year, and Scardust’s chemistry is ridonkulous. The rhythm section especially deserves accolades, with basswork that should be forcing its way into “best of” conversations. As a band, Scardust exists in the interstices of genre, where comparisons kind of work but can’t capture their unique voice. And while the band is impressive, the compositions feel so coherent because of Noa Gruman, who carries the album with control, range, and an incomparable soprano. Her extreme register (that is, growls) stays mostly holstered here, but her presence—and sheer talent—is on constant display, balancing different styles, moods, and feels. And her vocal performance isn’t the only standout vocal performance on Souls. The closing “Touch of Life” trilogy finds Ross Jennings (Haken) popping up in full “weird Ross” mode, which ends up as the cherry on top. The result is smart, muscular, and memorable; an album I’m ashamed to have missed.
#7: Aephanemer // Utopie [October 31st, 2025 | Napalm Records | Bandcamp] — Aephanemer’s Utopie landed, as I mentioned in my Record o’ the Month blurb, squarely at the top of my Stack o’ Shame. I was honored to be able to get access to this and start listening early, and I was immediately impressed. Yet, I got sick. Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life age of the earth. Meanwhile, Utopie sat there reminding me of my failures until Grin Reaper saved my ass and gave Aephanemer’s newest opus the unhinged tongue bath it so rightfully deserved. Utopie takes everything these French melodic death metallers have been doing over the past couple of albums and tightens the screws until the whole machine purrs with confidence. The neoclassical elements have become a perfect blend that helps everything work perfectly. Utopie flows; songs connect, ideas develop, momentum carries everything forward, and yet Aephanemer does not sacrifice the immediacy and energy that makes melodic death metal such a fine dopamine mine. While I haven’t sat down and learned the parts, I feel like the guitars are more fluid and more expressive, resulting in special melodies propelled by a buoyancy reflected in the theme. And you know me, what I want from great records is a holistic sense of greatness. Happily, Aephanemer accomplishes just that on Utopie. Had I been operating at full capacity when it dropped, I would have written a review that kids would call “extra.”16
#6: Insania // The Great Apocalypse [June 13th, 2025 | Frontiers Music | Stream or Buy on Qobuz] — The Great Apocalypse, contrary to its name, is sneaky. It doesn’t gallop in and smack you in the face with shock or novelty, but instead, it reveals its strength through confidence, craft, and an almost unfair level of replay value. What initially feels like—and has been so often written off as—a solid, familiar Europower record gradually opens up to be something richer and more rewarding. And it’s kept paying dividends the longer I’ve been sitting with it. Insania sounds, as I noted when I wrote the review, like a band fully aware of their lineage and completely at ease with it. But the truly confident understand themselves enough to think differently. The resulting record is full of massive, sticky hooks, choruses that hit with power metal optimism and momentum, and electrifying guitars throughout. In fact, while investigating their discography, I was struck by how much Insania upped their game on The Great Apocalypse. And key to that is the guitar, which elevates the record by resisting predictability and yet coexisting on a meta-level with the genre that they know so well. Songs evolve instead of looping, melodies get reshaped rather than repeated, and familiar ideas or tropes are nudged just enough off-center to stay engaging but familiar. The Great Apocalypse approaches with intention, and Insania performs like a band that’s rediscovering why they love playing this kind of music in the first place. This record is exhilarating, memorable, and deeply satisfying, which is why it belongs among these other great releases.
#5: Kalaveraztekah // Nikan Axkan [May 2nd, 2025 | Self-release | Bandcamp] — In what I’m pretty sure is a first for me, an Ünsïgnëd Bänd Rödëö contestant has made my Top Ten(ish) list. I’ve had plenty of unsigned bands on my lists, but I walked into Kalaveraztekah’s masterful Nikan Axkan utterly unprepared for what I would find. Like a kid buying music in the ’90s, I just looked at that amazing cover art and decided that I was going to join the team reviewing this record instead of the other one. And that twist of fate has earned Mexico’s finest Aztec-themed death metal band a spot on the End o’ Year Metal List o’ Record™.17 As I cleverly wrote in my Record o’ the Month blurb: “There’s no sense that these Hidrocálidos are some kind of novelty act. They aren’t a Mexican Eluveitie, just playing Dark Tranquillity riffs while putting a Ritual Death Flute over it for 40 seconds in every song.”18 Rather, Nikan Axkan is chock full of muscular riffing and the kind of grindy death metal that I’ve always associated with the Mexican scene. Combined with a high-concept connecting to Mexican pre-history and the judicious use of a fucking death flute, I just never quit listening to Nikan Axkan.19 And so here they are, in the Top 5 of my Top 10(ish) of 2025,20 and it couldn’t be more deserved.
#4: Impureza // Alcázares [July 11th, 2025 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] — I admit, I have tried to lead by example. I have attempted to become a servant leader. Rather than eating up a ton of oxygen and making everything actually about me (instead of just in jest) and what I want as Angry Metal Guy, I have, with time and wisdom, tried to allow others a chance to spread their wings. One of the things that means is that I can’t just bogart other writers’ “discoveries,” and I try not to block them if they grab something before I do.21 So, in that context, you’ll understand that I got pretty excited when I realized that I could review the newest Impureza without poaching it. The band’s approach to metal—infused with flamenco and semi-fantastical alternate-historical high concepts about colonial history—had entranced me previously, but I always felt like they were leaving a lot on the table. Their sound had not quite blended the flamenco and the metal, but rather, the genres sat side by side. Alcázares changes that. From start to finish, Alcázares is addictive, creative, musically impressive, and just a lot of fun. The artful ability of these Orléanais-via-España to marry such disparate styles with genuinely unique approaches to music that run as deeply as the very notion of meter is one of the most impressive feats accomplished in metal in 2025. But it’s not just a meta-concern of the artistic feat that excites me. Alcázares is a fucking banger that can stimulate your intellect, or that can leave your neck sore. Take your pick!22
#3: Phantom Spell // Heather & Hearth [July 18th, 2025 | Cruz del Sur Music | Bandcamp] — Phantom Spell has the benefit of being a genuine surprise. My happy place, when I can afford to be there, is digging through the promo bin and listening to everything I can get my hands on. I have made so many fantastic discoveries there, just immersed in my own little world, listening to samples to get a feel of what we’re being sent. Heather & Hearth looked like classic Steel Druhmcore: Cruz del Sur Records, retro metal, D&D Basic Set art. I popped it in, got dragged in, and totally distracted from the rest of what I was doing. I know that this might seem incongruent, but Heather & Hearth sounds fresh. In a world of hypercompressed, hyper-reamped, extremer-than-thou metal, the act of writing good songs with tons of vocal harmonies, instruments that sit in their sonic corridors, and—despite being recorded by one single dude—a convincingly live vibe feels “like a radical act.”23 I quickly grew to love Heather & Hearth, shared it with all the normies I know who love Ghost (“Isn’t this so much better?”), and began singing its praises. And I’ve been happy to see it popping up on lists throughout list season. It means a lot to me that people can hear just how good Phantom Spell is. And Phantom Spell also proved to be quite generative, in that I wrote the Spotify post as a response to a discussion about why Heather & Hearth wasn’t available there. Easily one of the best records I heard in 2025, and I’m looking forward to hearing so much more.
#2: In Mourning // The Immortal [August 29th, 2025 | Supreme Chaos Records | Bandcamp] — When a record is truly exceptional, the hardest part is often articulating why it has transcended other things without reducing it to a checklist. In Mourning’s fantastic The Immortal resists that kind of accounting in the best possible way. Its melodies are lush and emotionally evocative, capable of landing with equal force whether they’re carried by aching vocals or unfurled through long, expansive, yet intimate, trem-picked guitar passages. The riffing is punishing but disciplined, balancing weighty chug with sharper, blackened melodies, creating a constant tension between death metal heft and sadboi atmosphere without fully committing to drowning the production in reverb. And yet, none of this marks a radical departure from what In Mourning has done before—has been doing since 2008. The crucial difference here is in execution: every compositional choice seems to land exactly where it should be. In a sense, this calls attention to the role of probability, as much as inspiration or songcraft, in composition. Some records feel blessed from the outset, where one can go through the same process again and never produce the same results. The hooks here stick without feeling forced, climaxes are perfectly placed, and the pacing across the record gives each track room to breathe while contributing to the kind of flow reserved for only the best albums. Even moments that might feel familiar hit differently on The Immortal, like everything snaps into place. The Immortal succeeds, then, not just on craft but on feel: it feels heavier, sadder, and more resonant than its predecessors; and it stands comfortably among the strongest melodic death metal releases in years.
#1: Calva Louise // Edge of the Abyss [July 11th, 2025 | Mascot Records | Bandcamp] — Edge of the Abyss ran away with my listening this year in a way I genuinely don’t remember happening before, and that probably tells you most of what you need to know. The record is frantic, restless, and overloaded with ideas, moving between genres and feels with the speed of fast-cut editing; shifting at the drop of a dime. That both makes the record fun to listen to and keeps it surprising and fresh even after dozens of listens. The pace and density line up uncannily well with where my own brain tends to live, and I suspect that’s a part of why it lodged itself so firmly in my rotation. Calva Louise writes songs that feel driven by impulse and curiosity rather than caution or genre boundaries, and that creative energy and freedom are contagious. Jess Allanic’s pop instincts and melodic sense anchor the chaos, lending the lighter passages real emotional weight and memorability, rather than merely serving as connective tissue. Edge of the Abyss’s incorporation of Latin rhythmic elements and melodic sensibilities ended up also being a personal bonus; Latin music has been a refuge for me from musical monotony for years, and hearing them integrated naturally into Edge of the Abyss was exciting, and it generated affection for this wayward Venezuelan and her French and English bandmates. What really sealed the deal for me, though, was how committed the band sounds to its vision. The songwriting is ambitious and fun, but it doesn’t feel scattered. The album has a cinematic feel – complemented by literally cinematic music videos – but doesn’t feel bloated or melodramatic. And Calva Louise sports a swagger unique to bands who are just doing exactly what they want to be doing. Since July, I’ve kept coming back to Edge of the Abyss and forgetting I had even enjoyed other records this year. There’s a real sense of becoming here; of a band pulling its influences together into something that feels unique. And I also feel invested in Calva Louise in a way I haven’t been with many bands. I really am so happy to see them growing and succeeding. I love seeing them landing on people’s lists here and elsewhere. They have so much potential, and I am so eager to see what they do next. But should the worst befall them, I’ll always have Edge of the Abyss, and it already feels like an all-timer.
Honorable Mentions
Sarastus // Agony Eternal [July 1st, 2025 | Dominance of Darkness Records | Bandcamp] — Stolen from me by one Kenstrosity, Sarastus was a joyous discovery by me in the depths of the promo bin. One part black metal with a touch of death n’ roll for vibes, Agony Eternal strikes hard at modern conventions of black metal and sounds fresh by playing fast, unapologetic, engaging music with razor-sharp riffs. Melodic, without being sickly sweet or cheesy, with a ton of attack and great songwriting chops, Sarastus really threads the needle on Agony Eternal, making something that is driven and addictive, but undeniably black metal.
Wytch Hazel // V: Lamentations [July 4th, 2025 | Bad Omen | Bandcamp] — I’ve been back and forth with Wytch Hazel in the past. I have enjoyed what they do, but in the past I’ve been more skeptical of specifically nostalgiacore records that don’t feel like they’re adding much “new.” First, I think I’m just getting past that problem, as the “new” in metal is emphasizing things I don’t love about the scene. But second, I think V: Lamentations is just a more engaging record. From the word ‘go,’ Wytch Hazel writes with a kind of urgency that gives their brand of ’70s-tinged metal an extra kick, and the energy sits so well with me. Maybe the songwriting is just a bit tighter, maybe it’s faster, I don’t know—I didn’t write the proper review. All I know is that I keep circling back to Lamentations in a way that I haven’t done as much with their earlier albums. And that made it easy to put in the running for Listurnalia and to give my personal Angry Stamp o’ Approval™.
Mors Principium Est // Darkness Invisible [September 26th, 2025 | Perception/Reigning Phoenix Music | Stream or Buy on Qobuz] — Probably the grower of the year, Darkness Invisible surprised me by sticking around. When I started reviewing it, I expected not to like it much. I had been a big fan of the band’s previous output and of their former guitarist’s solo record from last year. But with familiarity—and time spent dissecting it—I became increasingly impressed with the album. While the production is busy and pulls it down, the writing forges a new path that better represents the vision of MPE’s founding member, Ville Viljanen. And that vision is bleak, blackened, and surprisingly sticky. No matter your opinion on the end of the previous incarnation, Darkness Invisible at least demonstrates that there is still a vital future for Finland’s most underrated melodic death metal powerhouse. And that’s a future to which I look forward.
Blackbraid // Blackbraid III [August 8th, 2025 | Self-release | Bandcamp] — I have a Gollumesque distaste for modern black metal. I am physically incapable of starting a review or blurb of a black metal band without reminding readers how much I hate “atmosphere” in the post-Cascadian black metal era. “Give it to us raw and wriggling!” I growl at all the fat hobbitses who try to feed me empty, overcooked “atmosphere.” Blackbraid doesn’t want to feed me atmosphere. Instead, Blackbraid’s III trembles with a vibe that brings me back to discovering black metal; at times blistering, at times introspective, but rarely overstaying its welcome and never feeling like its primary goal is to be the band that defanged black metal for good to make it okay to listen to for kids in the suburbs. I’ll be listening to III for a long time.
Tómarúm // Beyond Obsidian Euphoria — This record is too long. It’s got too much hype among the staff. And also, it’s too damned good to be an honorable mention. And yet, there are only so many #(ish)es, and I got to Beyond Obsidian Eurphoria too late to really give it the kind of sustained love that it needs to properly list. Still, once I started listening, I’ve been swinging past it every day. Sometimes twice. The songwriting is a bit wandering, the album is a bit overwhelming, and yet there is an undeniable vibe that Tómarúm traffics in, and that’s sneakily sticky. Combine that techy Death with something akin to Disillusion, and maybe you’ve got your comp. The only complaint I have is that some of the melodies end up intentionally arch in a way that makes me think that they are actively trying not to give the ear something to latch onto. That’s dumb, but it’s also very 2025. And hey, at least there’s a really easy trick for them to sell out with.
…and Oceans // The Regeneration Itinerary [May 23rd, 2025 | Season of Mist | Bandcamp] —The Regeneration Itinerary was a lot more controversial among fans than I expected, but I really enjoyed it. As I wrote in May, “It’s always fun to watch bands defy Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™, and while The Regeneration Itinerary isn’t their best record yet, 30 years after their debut, …and Oceans is still releasing vital music that’s impossible to overlook.” And that’s just true facts as stated by a metal-knower. While not quite the tour de force of its predecessors, this record is a solid bit of weirdo black metal with some of the best art in the biz. I recommend it highly.
Haxprocess24 // Beyond What Eyes Can See [July 25th, 2025 | Transcending Obscurity Records | Bandcamp] — Four songs, three of which are over 10 minutes long, and a combo of what I’d call post-Opeth songwriting with OSDM aesthetics, Beyond What Eyes Can See deserved more attention this year and ended up, instead, on my Stack o’ Shame™. This isn’t a reflection on them; they play vital death metal and deserve accolades for their expansive vision and the way everything flows. They just got eaten up by the July where everything got released. Sorry, boys, but here’s your fig leaf!
Majestica // Power Train [February 7th, 2025 | Nuclear Blast Records | Stream or Buy at Qobuz] — Back in like 2008, I saw a band called ReinXeed play a whole bunch of covers of Swedish dance/electronica “group” E-Type at a Culture Night in Umeå. I remember hearing from people in the local scene that they were “big in Japan,” and I listened to some stuff, but wasn’t super moved by it at the time. In 2019, ReinXeed changed their name to Majestica and got signed to Nuclear Blast. And damnit if they aren’t just a lot better than they were in 2008. Power Train, which is on our collective Stack o’ Shame™, is the band’s third full-length under the moniker, and it rocks the same kind of sickly sweet melodies, guitar gymnastics, and general sense of fun that makes power metal my go-to genre a lot of days. While not quite as sticky and addictive as some other things higher up the list, Power Train was a solid addition to the band’s discography and one of the better power records I heard this year. You’ve come a long way, baby!
Dormant Ordeal // Tooth and Nail [April 18th, 2025 | Willowtip Records | Bandcamp] — While not as high on this record as others on the staff, Dormant Ordeal is undeniably vital. And I’m just never going to write a better blurb than I did when they got Record o’ the Month for April: “This record hits a sweet spot inside of me, best described as the ‘oh yeah, that’s how death metal is done’ spot. The riffs flow, and my brain just opens up the spigots, releasing a veritable tsunami of dopamine. Every riff that cuts, every transition that seethes, and every recognition of the slick, skilled ways that these guys construct songs, I get a nice big kick of that Happy Chemical. Tooth and Nail is dynamic, punishing, aggressive, and better yet, it’s smart.” Man, that guy can write!
Aversed // Erasure of Color [March 25th, 2025 | M-Theory Audio | Bandcamp] — Last, and I guess technically least – but that isn’t taking into account that there were like 10,000 albums released in 2025 and there are only like 25 on this list – is Aversed’s Erasure of Color. Part of the reason for its late arrival is that, despite being our Record o’ the Month for March, Erasure of Color didn’t actually make it onto my personal playlist until quite a bit later. And damn, that was kind of a big miss on my part. Great melodeath with a unique flavor and great intensity; there’s something thoughtful and sharp about this record. Combine that with excellent album art and the Dolphin Whisperer seal of approval, and Erasure of Color has everything fans of melodeath need to carry them through this wasteland. I will need to keep my eyes on Aversed going forward.
#AndOceans #2025 #Aephanemer #AnAbstractIllusion #AngryMetalGuy #AngryMetalGuySTop10Ish #ArjenLucassen #Aversed #Blackbraid #CalvaLouise #ChasingTheDragon #DormantOrdeal #EdgeOfTheAbyss #Fallujah #Haxprocess #HelmsDeep #Impureza #InMourning #Insania #IntenseIndifference #Kalaveraztekah #Majestica #MorsPrincipiumEst #PhantomSpell #Sarastus #Scardust #Tómarúm #Vittra #WytchHazel -
Ah, yes, the age-old debate: should developers focus on code performance or their own existential dread? 🙄 This riveting blog suggests that the real performance boost comes from reducing developer tears, not rendering milliseconds, because who needs a fast app when you can have happy programmers? 😂
https://www.echooff.dev/blog/developer-experience-is-a-performance-feature #codeperformance #developerhappiness #existentialdread #programminghumor #blogdiscussion #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yes, the age-old debate: should developers focus on code performance or their own existential dread? 🙄 This riveting blog suggests that the real performance boost comes from reducing developer tears, not rendering milliseconds, because who needs a fast app when you can have happy programmers? 😂
https://www.echooff.dev/blog/developer-experience-is-a-performance-feature #codeperformance #developerhappiness #existentialdread #programminghumor #blogdiscussion #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yes, the age-old debate: should developers focus on code performance or their own existential dread? 🙄 This riveting blog suggests that the real performance boost comes from reducing developer tears, not rendering milliseconds, because who needs a fast app when you can have happy programmers? 😂
https://www.echooff.dev/blog/developer-experience-is-a-performance-feature #codeperformance #developerhappiness #existentialdread #programminghumor #blogdiscussion #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yes, the age-old debate: should developers focus on code performance or their own existential dread? 🙄 This riveting blog suggests that the real performance boost comes from reducing developer tears, not rendering milliseconds, because who needs a fast app when you can have happy programmers? 😂
https://www.echooff.dev/blog/developer-experience-is-a-performance-feature #codeperformance #developerhappiness #existentialdread #programminghumor #blogdiscussion #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yes, the age-old debate: should developers focus on code performance or their own existential dread? 🙄 This riveting blog suggests that the real performance boost comes from reducing developer tears, not rendering milliseconds, because who needs a fast app when you can have happy programmers? 😂
https://www.echooff.dev/blog/developer-experience-is-a-performance-feature #codeperformance #developerhappiness #existentialdread #programminghumor #blogdiscussion #HackerNews #ngated -
🚨 Breaking news: #Anthropic throws its corporate pocket change at Blender! Because, obviously, AI overlords are now the Picasso of 3D software development. 🤖🖌️ Expect groundbreaking innovations like AI-generated cubes and existential dread in the latest #Blender updates. 🎨💸
https://www.blender.org/press/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/ #BreakingNews #AIInnovation #3DSoftware #ExistentialDread #HackerNews #ngated -
🚨 Breaking news: #Anthropic throws its corporate pocket change at Blender! Because, obviously, AI overlords are now the Picasso of 3D software development. 🤖🖌️ Expect groundbreaking innovations like AI-generated cubes and existential dread in the latest #Blender updates. 🎨💸
https://www.blender.org/press/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/ #BreakingNews #AIInnovation #3DSoftware #ExistentialDread #HackerNews #ngated -
🚨 Breaking news: #Anthropic throws its corporate pocket change at Blender! Because, obviously, AI overlords are now the Picasso of 3D software development. 🤖🖌️ Expect groundbreaking innovations like AI-generated cubes and existential dread in the latest #Blender updates. 🎨💸
https://www.blender.org/press/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/ #BreakingNews #AIInnovation #3DSoftware #ExistentialDread #HackerNews #ngated -
🚨 Breaking news: #Anthropic throws its corporate pocket change at Blender! Because, obviously, AI overlords are now the Picasso of 3D software development. 🤖🖌️ Expect groundbreaking innovations like AI-generated cubes and existential dread in the latest #Blender updates. 🎨💸
https://www.blender.org/press/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/ #BreakingNews #AIInnovation #3DSoftware #ExistentialDread #HackerNews #ngated -
🚨 Breaking news: #Anthropic throws its corporate pocket change at Blender! Because, obviously, AI overlords are now the Picasso of 3D software development. 🤖🖌️ Expect groundbreaking innovations like AI-generated cubes and existential dread in the latest #Blender updates. 🎨💸
https://www.blender.org/press/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/ #BreakingNews #AIInnovation #3DSoftware #ExistentialDread #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yet another riveting installment of "Which JVM Option is Best?" 🤦♂️ Spoiler alert: it's still the one no one uses, but at least there's a *fun* new website to confirm your existential dread about which flavor of Java JDK is marginally less soul-crushing. 🎉
https://chriswhocodes.com/vm-options-explorer.html #JVMOptions #JavaJDK #DeveloperHumor #ExistentialDread #FunWebsite #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yet another riveting installment of "Which JVM Option is Best?" 🤦♂️ Spoiler alert: it's still the one no one uses, but at least there's a *fun* new website to confirm your existential dread about which flavor of Java JDK is marginally less soul-crushing. 🎉
https://chriswhocodes.com/vm-options-explorer.html #JVMOptions #JavaJDK #DeveloperHumor #ExistentialDread #FunWebsite #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yet another riveting installment of "Which JVM Option is Best?" 🤦♂️ Spoiler alert: it's still the one no one uses, but at least there's a *fun* new website to confirm your existential dread about which flavor of Java JDK is marginally less soul-crushing. 🎉
https://chriswhocodes.com/vm-options-explorer.html #JVMOptions #JavaJDK #DeveloperHumor #ExistentialDread #FunWebsite #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yet another riveting installment of "Which JVM Option is Best?" 🤦♂️ Spoiler alert: it's still the one no one uses, but at least there's a *fun* new website to confirm your existential dread about which flavor of Java JDK is marginally less soul-crushing. 🎉
https://chriswhocodes.com/vm-options-explorer.html #JVMOptions #JavaJDK #DeveloperHumor #ExistentialDread #FunWebsite #HackerNews #ngated -
Ah, yet another riveting installment of "Which JVM Option is Best?" 🤦♂️ Spoiler alert: it's still the one no one uses, but at least there's a *fun* new website to confirm your existential dread about which flavor of Java JDK is marginally less soul-crushing. 🎉
https://chriswhocodes.com/vm-options-explorer.html #JVMOptions #JavaJDK #DeveloperHumor #ExistentialDread #FunWebsite #HackerNews #ngated -
In -current, pkg_add -u no longer advises file removal https://www.undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20250429063608 #openbsd #pkg_add #packages #development #unixlike #freesoftware #libresoftware #current
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Major change to sysupgrade(8) behaviour https://www.undeadly.org/cgi?action=article;sid=20240925110946 #openbsd #sysupgrade #pkg_add #upgrading #current #newrelease #development
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Tues. April 7, 2026: An Art-Full Holiday Weekend
image courtesy of Thomas G. from PixabayTuesday, April 7, 2026
Waning Moon
Snowing
I can’t believe it’s snowing again.
I hope you had a lovely holiday weekend.
Here we are, another week. The Community Tarot Reading for the week is available here. New month, new deck. This month, we are using the Green Witch Tarot by Ann Moura with art by Kiri Østergaard Leonard, along with the Green Witch’s Oracle by Arin Murphy-Hiscock, illustrated by Sara Richard. When we first moved here, there was a store with crystals and cards and oils and herbs just a few blocks away, and I bought the tarot deck there. The oracle deck was a Winter Solstice gift this year. They work well together.
Friday, we had thunderstorms and lots of rain in the morning, so I wasn’t about to go trotting around in it.
I found a box on the doorstep, the item I’d ordered with the gift card I received last week. I’d used it for the Bonestone and Earthflesh Tarot, by Avalon Cameron with art by Ana Tourian. My friend Jamieson Wolf has been using it for months, and I was intrigued by it. It’s a stunningly beautiful deck, and one of the best companion books I’ve ever seen, with interpretations, narratives, numerological and astrological correspondences, and even journal prompts. There are layers and layers to it, and I look forward to working with it for a long time. It resonates like a tuning fork, so I know I’ll learn a lot by working with it. I will probably use it for the weekly community readings in September (I have decks picked out between now and then).
There are plenty of reasons to only work with a single deck, and develop a very deep relationship with it. There are also reasons to work with multiple decks (which is something I like to do), and I find I’m drawn to different decks for different reasons/needs. Bonestone is definitely speaking to something in me right now. Right deck at the right time, although I’ll work with it myself for a few months before I do anything publicly with the deck.
I invoiced for the completed ghostwriting project, we got set up for the next one, and talked schedule for the two I’ll be juggling for the next few weeks.
Slogged through a bunch of admin. Did the day’s marketing. Planted a couple of types of seeds, since it was a planting day (more cat grass and, finally, the borage).
Made up a tuna and vegetable pasta with pesto sauce for a late lunch/big meal of the day. It turned out really well.
Did some reading in the afternoon, then got dressed and put some makeup on to trundle down on foot to the gallery. It was still in the 60’sF, so I didn’t even need a jacket, which was a nice change of pace.
I was one of the first ones there, and started setting up the tables for the food and drink. They have cloths, platters, etc. in the storage room, so there’s plenty to pull from.
“Stirring the Pot Beyond the Kitchen” which is the wooden spoon sculpture, was hung in the front window! I was so pleased. Only they hadn’t hung the text portion of the piece. But we found it, in the box in the storage room, and I pinned it up. If we hadn’t found it, the world would not have stopped. I would have run another copy and pinned it up the following day. But it was nice to have it there, since people were excited about the sculpture and the women’s stories deepened the experience of it. The eight women I honored in the sculpture are: Susanna Centlivre (the most produced playwright in post-Restoration England); Jeanne de Clisson, the 14th century pirate who, after the French king executed her husband, sold her land, bought three boats, painted them black with red sails and became known as “The Lioness of Brittany”; Lavinia Fontana, the painter whose husband cared for their children while she negotiated prices for her work like the men; Anna Katharine Green, who pioneered mystery writing in the US, even before Conan Doyle in the UK; Dawn Powell, who wrote satirical novels; Giulia Tofana, the 17th century Italian herbalist and poisoner; Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton; and Iris Woolcook, one of my Playland Painters who bought an RV and, with her cat, drove the newly-paved highway in Alaska and wrote a book about it.
And yes, I’ve either written about or am writing about all of them: “By Her Pointed Quill” (one-act play featuring Susanna Centlivre); “Courting the Lioness” (one-act play featuring Jeanne de Clisson); SERENE AND DETERMINED, which had a staged reading at LaMama Galleria in 2024 (featuring Lavinia Fontana); An unnamed one-act featuring Anna Katharine Green that is still percolating; “Dawn and Dorothy in the Afterlife” which will have a staged reading at the LAVA Center in June (featuring Dawn Powell); JUST A DROP, part of the Athena Project’s Read ‘n Rant series last May (featuring Giulia Tofana); the audio play “Confidence Confidant” produced by the Post Meridian Players in Boston in 2019, the one-act “A Rare Medium” read by Lumos Players in Ohio last year, and a couple of other plays (featuring Kate Warne); LAUGHTER AND TURPENTINE, a stage play in process, and a comedy pilot, both featuring Iris Woolcock.
This sculpture is a way to honor the women I’ve written about.
“Lifecycle of a Public Information Request (A Satire)” which is the mixed media collage, also got a terrific response.
I was so excited to see everyone else’s work. We associate members are all so different from each other, and yet the work fits together. Part of that is because the installers have such a wonderful eye, and create a beautiful flow.
It was nice to have some in-depth conversations with my fellow associates, too. And yes, the mini chocolate chip banana muffins were a hit. There were a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in ages, including from tarot, so it was nice to catch up.
Around 7, each of us gave a 1-minute talk about our work, which was fun, a bit about inspiration and process. I mean, my process is expanding the ways I tell stories, and I have no idea what I’m doing, so I just keep trying things until they work. A little bit later, a bunch of us dashed out back to watch the magnificent sunset and feel gratitude that we were experiencing it all together.
Several people came up to me and said they love it when I’m part of a show, because my work always surprises them (and they reassured me it was in a good way). So that helped my imposter syndrome somewhat. And they are excited about my workshop on the 19th.
I managed to nip out and dash to the other end of Main Street to visit the pop-up exhibit by our local farmers. Full Well Farm’s owners had pieces in it, and I wanted to support them, along with some of the other farmers I know from the Farmers’ Market. The work was really terrific. Watercolors, sketches, mixed media. A lot of knitted pieces, like sweaters and scarves and stuff. It was nice to get to support the fully rounded aspects of the people who feed us.
Then, I dashed back to the gallery. Another friend from tarot was there, and she introduced me to someone who is doing an art installation in a local forest, and she invited me to be part of the test group over the coming months experimenting with it. That sounds like so much fun. I do love me some trees. I also ran into a friend from the A4A cohort, and we had a nice catch-up and made plans to get together at Steeple City Social for a less harried catch-up.
The gallery owners offered me a “shared show” next season, where I will share the space with another artist. Considering I actually have a bunch of ideas for a variety of strange story-art, that sounds like fun.
By then, the pre-emptive pain patches I’d slapped on each hip were starting to give out (yes, BOTH hips were grumbly on Friday), so I headed out. There was a musical act at Steeple City I would have liked to see (their first performance in 8 years), but the place was packed, and I was in pain, so I waved to everyone I knew there, and kept going home.
I made it home (barely), and was in quite a bit of pain by the time I did. I had some tea and a snack, and wound down on the sofa for a bit with the cats. Bea always acts as though I’ve been away for months, months I tell you, even if it’s only been a couple of hours. The check from Llewellyn arrived, too, which was great.
I finally got to bed, but did not sleep well, waking up often in discomfort. Plus, Charlotte was fussing.
Saturday morning, I was up and did the morning routine. I’d forgotten to prep the coffee before I went to bed on Friday, so there was no coffee waiting for me, and that had to be dealt with. Tessa had been trying to get me up, and I said, “Wait until the coffee starts” and her response was, “it’s not happening and it’s late” and she was right.
Always listen to the cat who runs the house.
I put in the Chewy order for wet food and cat litter. The duck & sweet potato food has been discontinued, and the other food that contains duck has tripled in expense, so that’s that for the type of food that’s been their Sunday treat. I’m not paying $50 for 8 cans of 3 oz. cat food. That’s just not in the budget, especially when 12 cans of their favorite was under $20. The other wet food is still reasonably priced, although each time I order it, the price goes up. It’s very frustrating.
After breakfast, I got dressed and headed down to the Farmers’ Market. I drove (still in too much pain to walk) and parked a few blocks from Hotel Downstreet (it’s still there once a month and indoors, until it moves outdoors in mid-May and goes weekly). I got maple syrup from my favorite syrup person, fresh eggs from my favorite egg person, and then over to the Full Well Farm booth to get greens, pea shoots, the biggest parsnip I ever saw in my life, and a colorful array of carrots. And I got to tell them again how much I enjoyed their work in the pop-up art show. I ran one other errand, and came home.
For lunch, we had greens, pea shoots, and carrots with hardboiled eggs, crumbled on top, and a nice dressing. It was yummy. I’ve missed fresh greens over the winter. I need to see if I can grow some microgreens over next winter. It was warm enough to have the windows open, at least for a few hours, and I read on the porch, while Tessa dozed in the sun. We all agreed to push off the taxes again until sometime this week. Why ruin a perfectly good day with taxes? Especially with these corrupt jerks looting the country right now.
Later in the afternoon, I planted purple basil and red clover. Hopefully, the lowering temperatures over the next few days won’t hurt them.
Slept pretty well into Sunday. Up at the usual time, morning routine. Did the Community Tarot Reading for the Week, which you can read here. It was rainy and much colder than the previous day, rather dreary for those who celebrate Easter. It was too dark to sew. I supposed I should feel guilty about not sewing on Saturday, when the light was good, but I did not.
I made scrambled eggs for breakfast, using the farm eggs. What a difference. I can’t wait to get them from the market every Saturday in the summer.
I wafted around in my caftan (the one I made a few months back), reading, doing some housework, working on contest entries. It’s really comfortable. I also have better posture in it, which is a surprise. And better posture means less back pain. Imagine that, something I should have figured out a long time ago. Bea ran around playing, while the others napped.
I put down a book I’d been reading (supposedly for pleasure). There were over 200 people on the waiting list for it at the library, so it’s been a minute (aka several months) since I ordered it. It’s gotten a lot of buzz, and one would think it would be right in my area of enjoyment. But I kept getting ahead of it, and then the protagonist killed a cat, and nope. It wasn’t necessary for character or plot development (it rarely is). It was there to shock, a cheap slap at the readers. I’m out.
I closed out the second category for the contest, and I’m working on the third.
I was delighted that the women’s hockey league sold out Madison Square Garden. That is a big deal.
I read an historical mystery by an author who used to live in the area, and there were lots of recognizable places rendered very well. Unfortunately, there were lots of plot holes that should have been caught by an editor (and this was a traditionally published book). It was an overall enjoyable read, and I may read another book by this author in this same series.
Made us a chicken dinner, with my carrot and parsnip recipe (using the carrots and parsnip from the farm, which was amazing, and layered the flavors), and wild rice a friend sent me. I haven’t cooked much with wild rice (which is actually an aquatic grass), so it was an experiment. It was good.
Quiet night, reading and listening to music while being cat furniture.
Slept reasonably well, although I woke up around 4:30 on Monday. I stayed in bed until 5:30, though, and then started the morning routine, which was fine.
Although I limited my online time over the whole weekend (not just on Sunday), I’ve been keeping track of the posts by the crew of Artemis II. What a delight! It’s so nice to have a group of smart people displaying excitement and competence.
Out the door right after breakfast on foot to the bank to deposit a check. Faster on foot, since Ashland Avenue is under construction until May. On the way home, I passed the bus, and the driver (who has met me once), remembered me and we waved to each other. Imagine that. Meanwhile, there are a set of people I run into once every a couple of weeks who always need me to reintroduce myself. Priorities.
Once I was back, I grabbed bags and books and headed out for errands: CVS; Big Y for a big grocery shop; liquor store; library. I trotted around thinking I was overdressed for the weather, but when I came out of the library it was snowing. Sigh.
Got it all done in two hours, which was pretty good. And it was a big grocery shop, five full bags, but within budget.
Home, hauled it up the stairs, put everything away, started to get excited about cooking again. I’ve been in a cooking slump lately. I mean, I’ve kept us fed, but it wasn’t as much fun when someone else did the shopping for me. I like to see things for myself, and then adjust the week’s menu by what looks good, while still being in the budget. Burpee’s offered me a discount on a trio of plants I’ve had my eye on, so I bought them, and they will ship at some point this month. I accepted the invitation to the Clark Institute Summer Preview in mid-May, which will be down at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. Slogged through a bunch of email, did the day’s marketing. Sorted out the library books by project. Tessa fixated on a biography of Rumer Godden for some reason, and started licking the cover, so I had to take it away from her and clean it with sanitizing wipes. Maybe someone read it while eating a tuna sandwich or something.
Charlotte fussed. Because I worked at my desk, she thought I was having a ZOOM call without her.
Got some work done on the ghostwriting, getting ahead on one assignment while I wait for notes on the other. I feel good about it. Also worked on contest entries. Got the CSA sorted out for the season. It’s with Full Well Farm again, and every two weeks, rather than once a week. I pick it up downtown at Savvy Hive, rather than having to drive up to the farm. On nice days, I’ll be able to walk down and back (it’s not heavy). Since we’re likely to be sitting in gas station lines that will put the gas shortage lines from the 1970’s to shame soon, I’m trying to drive as little as possible. That’s why we have locks on the tank flaps now – because during that shortage, people were siphoning gas out of parked cars. I am old enough to remember all of that.
The Chewy order arrived, which was perfect timing, since I used the last can of wet food that morning. Tessa and Charlotte took turns playing in the box.
For dinner, I made an alfredo sauce with shallots, peas, pea shoots, pancetta, with my favorite pappardelle pasta.
I love that the Artemis II crew named a crater on the moon after a team member’s recently deceased wife. I love everything about this mission. Truly the best of us, and we have spent too much time with the worst of us lately.
The community bank where I have one of my accounts is merging with another bank, and I am not happy about it. Bank mergers are never about serving customers, only about screwing them over. I also got a “fraud alert” from my credit union just after midnight – all for absolutely legitimate charges. Hopefully that’s all sorted. So tired of all this fake “it’s about security” when in reality, it’s about control.
Quiet evening. Slept reasonably well, and was up this morning before Tessa even started fussing. To find it snowing steadily. Sigh. That modifies some plans for the day, but that’s okay.
On today’s agenda: working on BETTING MAN, dismantling the Grief to Art website (since I’m giving up the domain), taking care of some other admin, doing my taxes, working on ghostwriting, working on the contest entries. That should keep me busy.
Hopefully, there won’t be enough snow to shovel.
Have a good one!
#art #community #errands #freelance #holidays #reading #spirituality #tarot #weather -
🚀 Brace yourselves, code warriors! Apparently, #AI can now "build complete games" from vague descriptions. 🎮 Why bother learning to code when you can let GitHub's magic Claude 👾 do... something, while you sneak off for a coffee? ☕
https://github.com/htdt/godogen #Game #Development #Coding #Future #Coffee #Break #HackerNews #ngated -
Universal #EInk Solutions, which aims to provide a consistent API for driving #epaper displays 🖥️
https://nlnet.nl/project/Universal-EInk/
As someone who cannot concentrate for long periods on bright screens and the owner of an e-ink monitor as well as an e-reader, this is something I'm looking forward too as it'll increase hackability and enable the development of more #OpenHardware devices!
(On a related note, I also learnt during the course of the meeting that #Modos is also an NLnet-funded project)
🧵 4/n
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A Conversation with Bernard Deacon: Housing – Keskows gans Bernard Deacon: Annedhyans
Several months ago, two folk from Sordya sat down with academic and Cornish activist Bernard Deacon. If you haven’t read the first part, check it out to hear our discussion on the Cornish leftist magazine An Weryn (The People) which Bernard helped to run.
Our next section is on a hugely important issue for Kernow: housing.
Nans yw misyow, dew dhen a Sordya a gewsis gans akademek ha gweythreser a Gernow Bernard Deacon. Mar ny wruss’ta redya an kynsa rann, mir orto dhe glewes agan keskows a lyver termyn a Gernow An Weryn (An Werin) may hweresas dhe Bernard gans restra.
Agan tregh nessa a doch mater res porres rag Kernow: annedhyans.
Several months ago, two folk from Sordya sat down with academic and Cornish activist Bernard Deacon. If you haven’t read the first part, check it out to hear our discussion on the Cornish leftist magazine An Weryn (The People) which Bernard helped to run.
Our next section is on a hugely important issue for Kernow: housing. In parts to come we discuss direct action and our strategies within the Cornish liberation and language movements.
A transcription of the audio follows below.
Nans yw misyow, dew dhen a Sordya a gewsis gans akademek ha gweythreser a Gernow Bernard Deacon. Mar ny wruss’ta redya an kynsa rann, mir orto dhe glewes agan keskows a lyver termyn a Gernow An Weryn (An Werin) may hweresas dhe Bernard gans restra.
Agan tregh nessa a doch mater res rag Kernow: annedhyans. Yn rannow a dheu ni a glapp yn kever gwrians didro ha’gan stratejiow y’n movyansow yeth ha rydhheans a Gernow.
Yma treylyans a’n son kevys war-woles.
Part two of our conversation with Bernard Deacon.Sordya Onan: You’ve done a lot of writing about housing and tourism. And I think we’d be interested to know a bit of the trajectory of that over time, because housing and tourism is this thing that we’re still talking about. And what’s your knowledge of that over time? And what does that mean for the movement?
Bernard: Well, for me, tourism is a central factor in Cornish colonisation, effectively. I see tourism as the main driver in Cornwall’s subjugation, if you like. And I suppose I came into Cornish activism, partly aware of the overspill stuff. And I share the views that you were saying about earlier, the previous generation saying, “Well, this is the last of Cornwall”, because we also had those views. We were the last of Cornwall. My parents were the last. I was the last generation who actually went to a Methodist chapel and did those traditionally Cornish things. So there was a feeling… there’s always a feeling that you’re the last generation. And, you know, you’ll probably feel it eventually that you’re the last generation.
Sordya Onan: I feel it sometimes now.
Bernard: Yeah, well… Don’t feel it at your age, no, wait for at least a few decades! But you will do. So we were aware of that. So in that sense, I suppose we were seeing the settlement, the counter-urbanisation that began in the 1960s, as a bit of a shock.
It was a cultural shock, to be honest, and it’s not right wing to say that it was a cultural shock.
Suddenly we had middle class English turning up in Cornwall. We kind of explained it through the process of colonial settlement. We’re being colonised effectively. There will be no Cornish left. We’ll all be Anglicised. We were all pretty Anglicised anyway, when you think about it, but we were going to be even more Anglicised.
There will be no… Cornwall will be—and I’ve always argued this anyway—a kind of Surrey by the sea, Gentrification, and that’s exactly what’s happened. So we have got this… I’ve written about lifestruggle Cornwall and lifestyle Cornwall. You’ve got lifestyle Cornwall gradually pushing out Cornwall. So the Cornish are in a kind of ghetto, lots of them, of lifestruggle Cornwall. And current policies, current political control of Cornwall is kind of exacerbating that.
It’s not a question of Cornish versus English because… Somebody wrote something… I’d written on—I don’t use it very much these days, can’t stand it—Twitter, or what used to be Twitter… Somebody said, because I said something about population change, and somebody said something about the council, Cornwall Council, and they said, “Oh, if only there were more Cornish on the council”. And I said, “They are Cornish. Cornwall council, most councillors are Cornish. They are ethnically Cornish. Why do you think it’s going to be any better?” It’s not. You know, it’s not a question of Cornish or English, it’s where your ideas are.
We used to have a phrase in the ‘70s: it’s not where you’re from, it’s… I forget the second part of it. It came from the Bretons anyway, but it sort of summed it up.
So, you know, if there is going to be Cornish freedom or freedom for the Cornish nation, then the nation’s borders can be porous. But there still has to be some recognition that you need to stop this process of colonialism.
Sordya Dew: Yeah, I think now one of the biggest things that is the gateway for a lot of people into Cornish politics, Cornish activism is housing. I first got involved through ACORN down in Falmouth and Penryn, which is the tenants’ union down there. And I think, a lot of people get involved, because it’s sort of a very visible issue. It’s something that people actually can tangibly feel rather than ideological and rhetorical arguments. It’s something that actually is a big part of people’s lives. Was that still the case back when you were organising? Was that a big, or one of the biggest, reasons that people were getting started out and joining things like MK?
Bernard: No, I don’t think it was. I don’t think housing was then. Because it wasn’t half as bad as it is now. The housing crisis has got progressively worse, which is the irony of it.
You know, huge numbers of houses have been built. Building rate is much higher now than it was back in the ‘70s. And yet we have a bigger housing crisis, which is itself an indictment of “build as many houses as you can and you solve the problem” and it doesn’t solve the problem. All it does is produce profits for mass builders, most of whom are outside Cornwall and make the situation worse, frankly.
So it’s not what you need: a completely restructured housing structure, housing system, you know. Providing houses through the free market, in the Cornish case, at least does not work. This is the classic case.
Now it wasn’t so bad in the ‘70s. Because, I mean, we didn’t have much income, but we were still able to get a mortgage. I was still able to get a mortgage. Well, I didn’t, my partner did. I didn’t have a job, but my partner got a mortgage on her salary as a nurse. And that was soon after we came back to Cornwall. ‘77, I think.
So you could do it, you know, okay, we bought a house that was only a small terrace house in Redruth. I still live in a small terrace house in Redruth, so I haven’t moved on, but not the same house. But we were able to do it. Nowadays, even that is, I would guess, pretty tricky now with the prices of housing.
Sordya Onan: I wonder, thinking about what you did in the ‘70s and getting mortgages and our housing struggle now, one of the biggest things that’s developed from then till now is neoliberalism. And I wondered if you could talk a little, considering what you’ve said, about the material things like housing and then the political changes. I know you’ve got a thing on Cornish and neoliberalism, but I haven’t read it, so I’m wondering if you could tell us about that bridge of developing neoliberalism till now.
Bernard: Well, neoliberalism has just made it worse, because it destroys the role of the state, local or central. And it’s it through things like Right to Buy and, you know, freeing up housing legislation, freeing up planning.
It’s actually made those processes of speculative housing development much worse. So, neoliberalism—which they were already moving towards in the ‘70s anyway, under Labour, that’s when it begins pre-Thatcher—it’s just a kind of mad ideology that’s exacerbated the colonial situation of Cornwall and the difficulty of Cornish people, especially younger Cornish people who didn’t manage to get on that escalating ladder of housing prices, of getting housing, basically.
Sordya Dew: I was just gonna ask, because you mentioned Right to Buy, how badly did that affect local housing here?
Bernard: Withdrawing a lot of council housing, especially in coastal and rural areas, exactly as predicted, what we predicted at the time. And exactly what happened, because what’s happened? People bought their council houses, they then sell them on, or other people can buy them, and then they become second homes in tourist areas. I mean, we’ve got this huge second home problem, which politicians will pay lip service to, but they don’t do anything very much about it. I mean, I’ve got a mate, I wouldn’t say he’s anything like an anarchist, but he’s very much involved in housing issues. And he just goes on all the time about second homes, to the point of utter boredom. Second homes and holiday lets, you know, how roughly about 12 to 15% of the housing stock are just not lived in permanently now.
So his argument is… Housing, you must understand, housing as projected by the media and by the government, by politicians is not about housing, it’s about capital accumulation. That’s what it’s about. And when Labour go on about “build more houses”, they’re just the party of capital accumulation. And in Cornwall, capital accumulation is all about speculative housing sold to incomers, basically. That’s it, that’s the market. And second homes and the tourist industry. And the tourist industry is there at the centre of this web, creating the demand to move to Cornwall, helping to destroy our environment.
And for me, I mean, we knew about global warming, actually, back when we were doing An Weryn. It’s amazing how long that’s taken to catch on. But, to me, the environmental argument also has kind of converged with the with Cornish nationalism, if you like. And I would take a very strong stance now environmentally on on that, you know, because housing in Cornwall is one of our biggest carbon emitters.
Sordya Onan: Ty a wrug meur a skrifa a annedhyans ha tornyaseth. Ha my a dyb y fia dhe les godhvos an towlhyns a henna dres termyn, drefen bos annedhyans ha tornyaseth neppyth mayth eson hwath ow kesklappya. Pyth yw dha wodhvos a henna dres termyn? Ha pyth yw an styr rag an movyans?
Bernard: Wel, en gwreeanath ma viagorieth an kenza elven en colonieth a Gernow. Me wel viagorieth vel praga brossa a worra Kernow dadn an ew, mar menga. Ha therama soppoga der reeg’ve doaz berra gweithrezeth Kernoack, tabm dreath aganvoas vednans. Therama sengy an gwelow der reega whye laul en avar, an heenath kens a laul “Wel, thew hebma an deweth a Gernow”, rag aweth tho an tobianzow’na genan. Tho nye an dewetha a Gernow. Tho kerens ve an dewetha. Tho ve an heenath dewetha d’reeg moaz tha chapel Methodieth ha geel an tacklow Kernoack henco’na. Endella, ma pubprez omglowans vetho whye an heenath dewetha. Ha car drevol whye vedn e omglowas wartewa tel o whye an heenath dewetha.
Sordya Onan: My a’n klew lemmyn.
Bernard: Ea, wel… na rewh e omglowas ort agos oodg, na, gortero nebbaz degvlethan, tha’n liha! Saw, whye vedn. Na whath, nye oya hedna. Etho, e’n sens’na, car drevol them nye tha wellaz an trevesigeth, an gordrevageth, ter reeg dalla et an 1960ow, vel tabm jagg.
Tho va jagg cultural, en weer, ha nag ew a thehow pelha tha laul tel o jagg cultural.
Thesempias, thera nye kwellas Sowzon an class crez a toaz tha Gernow. Tho stirriez genan dreath process an trevesigeth coloniack, en seer, coloniethez a vee nye. Na veth Kernowion gerrez. Nye oll veth Sowznackhez. En weer, tho nye oll por Sowznackhez penag vo, pa rew whye predery dro thotha, saw nye veea whath moy Sowznackhez.
Na veth… Kernow veth—ha pubdeth thew hebma dathla kenkia gennam penag vo—zort a Surrey reb an mor. Gentilieth, ha thew hedna an peth poran a reeg skidnia. Della, ma tha nye… ma screffez gennam dro tha Gernow giz omdowl ha Kernow giz bownas. Ma Kernow giz bownas en siger pockia meaz Kernow. Della, ma’n Kernowion en getto giz omdowl, mear anothans. Ha ma policys an dethiow’ma, rowl bolitiack a Gernow aweth, e weel lacka ha lacka.
Nag ew qwestion Kernowion bedn an Sowzon rag… Nebonen screffaz neppeth… tho screffez gennam—na rama e ewzia mear an dethiow’ma, thew hager—Twitter, po an peth o Twitter… Nebonen lavarraz, drefen me tha laul neppeth dro tha draylians poblans, ha nebonen lavarraz neppeth dro tha’n Cussel, Cussel Kernow, ha’ngye lavarraz “Ah, mar peea moy a Gernowion et an cussel”. Me worrebaz, “Thenz Kernowion. Cussel Kernow, thew brossa radn a gusselorion Kernoack. Thenz Kernoack genegack. Rag fra esta perdery veth e gwell?” Na veth. Whye ore, nag ew qwestion boaz Kernoack po Sowznack, thew pelea igge goz tibianzow.
Thera lavar tha nye et an 70ow: nag ew an lea a resta doaz, thew… Nakevys an nessa rann. E theath athor an deez Breten Vean, penag vo, saw, cot derivas da o.
Della, whye ore, mar peth franketh Kernoack po franketh rag an nacyon Kernoack, nenna emblow an nacyon ell boaz boll. Saw, whath e raze boaz neb adgan dr’ez othom cessia an process’ma a golonialeth.
Sordya Dew: Ea, my a dyb bos lemmyn onan a’n brassa rann hag yw an porth rag meur a dus yn politegieth Kernow, gweythresieth Kernow, yw annedhyans. My a gemeras rann yn kynsa der ACORN yn Aberfal ha Penryn, hag yw unyans an wobrenoryon ena. Ha dell dybav meur a dus a gemmer rann drefen y vos mater pur weladow. Dhe wir yth yw neppyth a yll tus omglewes yn tavadow a-der argyansow ideologyl hag arethek. Yth yw neppyth hag yw dhe wir rann vras a vewnansow tus. O henna hwath an kas pan eses ta ow restra? O henna acheson bras, po onan a’n brassa achesonys, rag tus dhe dhalleth ha junya taklow kepar hag MK?
Bernard: Na rama perdery. Na rama perdery dr’o annethians thanna. Drefen nag o mar throag vel ew lebmen. Ma’n gorothom a dreven devethez tabm ha tabm lacka, hag ew an peth ironack.
Niver hugez a dreven vee derevelez. Thew an gevrath derevel euhella mear lebmen tel era et an 70ow. Ha stella, ma tha nye gorothom annethians brossa, ha thew hedna keyson a’n lavar “gwrew derevel mar leeaz chye der ellowhye hag owna an problem” ha nag igge va owna an problem. Ma oll dr’igge va keel tha waynia moy les rag draffers bilders a vear a dreven, an brossa radn anothans acarr ha geel tha’n cas gwetha, en weer.
Nag ew hedna an peth ew raze tha nye: roath an annethians, composter derevel treven, dasshappiez pedn ha trooz, flam noweth, whye ore. Nag ew da derevel treven dreath an varras ryth, tha’n leha en Kernow. Otubma an cas classick.
Nag o mar throag et an 70ow. Rag, therama menia, nag era mear a vona than, saw tho possibel whath cawaz morgaga. Me olga whath cawaz morgaga. Wel, na reegave, cowethes’ve. Nag era wheal gennam, saw cawaz morgaga reeg a howethes gen e gober hye vel clavjores. Ha tho hedna teken ber ouga doaz trea tha Gernow. ’77, me dib.
Della, whye olga e weel, whye ore, da lower, nye bernaz chy tel o chy vean rew en Redruth. Stella therama tregaz en chy vean rew en Redruth, etho nag ez gwayez aman gennam, buz nag ew an keth chy. Saw nye olga e weel. An dethiow’ma, ken vee hedna, me venga desmiggia, por gales lebmen gen priziow an treven mar euhall.
Sordya Onan: Ow tybi a’n pyth a wrusses y’n ‘70ow, kavos marwostlow ha’gan strif annedhyans lemmyn, onan a’n taklow brassa a dhisplegyas bys y’n eur ma yw nowlivrelieth. My a omwovyn mar kalses kewsel tamm, yn unn gonsidra an pyth a leversys, a-dro dhe daklow materyel kepar hag annedhyans ha’n chanjyow politek. My a wor bos dhis neppyth a Gernewek ha nowlivrelieth, mes ny’n redis, ytho martesen ty a alsa derivas orthyn a-dro dhe nowlivrelieth ow tisplegya bys y’n eur ma.
Bernard: Ea, wel, thew gwrez lacka gen neolibraleth, rag ma’va destria part an stat, a’n costys po’n creaz. Ha dreath tacklow pocarra Right to Buy ha, whye ore, lowsel lahes annethians, lowsel menistrasyon an teer.
En greeanath, e wraze an process’ma a therevel treven aventurus lacka fest. Della, neolibraleth—ha’ngye kenz lebmen gwaya tua va et an ‘70ow, penag vo, en dadn governans Party an Lavur, tho hedna termen reeg e thalla kenz Thatcher—thewa zort a gregans politack frantik der reeg gwethhea an cas coloniack a Gernow ha caletter an bobel Gernoack, en enwedgack pobel Gernoack younka na olga crambla war’n skeal assendia a brisiow treven, tha gawaz treven, antye.
Sordya Dew: My a vynnsa govyn, drefen ty dhe veneges Gwir a Brena, py mar dhrog o an effeyth war annedhyans leel omma?
Bernard: Tedna meaz mear a dreven an cussel, en enwedgack dro tha’n qwartrys reb an moar hag a’n meaz, poran vel reega nye raglaul ort an termen’na. Ha poran an peth reeg skidnia, rag pand’reeg skidnia? Teez a bernaz go threven an cussel, nenna angye go gwerraz, po teez orol go ferna, ha nenna mownz second treven e’n areas touriasack. Meero, ma’n problem hugez second treven gennan, ha dro thotha dr’igge teez politack gweel weez, saw nag igge angye geel terveth mear dro thotha. Ma cothman them, na vengama laul drewa anarkiack, buz mear a leaz gans ev dro tha’n materiow treven. Ha ma’va por droublez dro tha second treven, tha’n point skeethder. Second treven ha treven degoliow gobernez, whye ore, fattel ew dro tha 12 tha 15 a ganz a’gon creen treven gwag lebmen.
Della, thew e genkians… Treven, whye raze onderstondia, treven gen gerriow an mainys ha’n governans, gen politegorion, nag ew dro tha dreven, thew dro tha gorra en bern capital. Thew hedna an peth ewa. Ha pe’ra Lavur clappia dro tha “therevel moy a dreven”, nag enz bez party cressians an capital. Hag en Kernow, thew cressians capital oll adro treven aventurus gwerrez tha deez oncoth, hep mar. Thew hedna an dra, an varras ewa. Ha second treven ha’n diwisians viagorieth. Ha mownz diwisians touristiack ena, ort creaz an gwias’ma, creatia an demond gwaya tha Gernow, gwerrez tha thestria gon kerhidneth.
Ha ragoma, nye oya dro tha dobmans an beaz, en gweer etta, termen nye tha weel An Weryn. Thew marthys pez blethan aban hedna kenz teez orol convethes. Saw, them, ma’n kenkians kerhidneth kezunia gen an – gen nacyonieth Kernoack, mar mednowhye. Ha me venga degemeres stowns por greav lebmen dro tha’n kerhidneth, whye ore, drefen boaz annethians en Kernow wonen gon dillorion carbon an brossa.
Moy Ahanan – More From Us
- A Conversation with Bernard Deacon: Housing – Keskows gans Bernard Deacon: Annedhyans by Sordya
- Mylor councillor caught in anti-Semitic rant at Truro ‘Great British Strike’ – Konseler Melor kechys yn predhek gorth-Semytek orth ‘Great British Strike’ Truru by cornwallresists
- A Conversation with Bernard Deacon: An Weryn – Keskows gans Bernard Deacon: An Weryn by Sordya
#70ow #70s #annedhyans #BernardDeacon #Cornish #Cornwall #history #housing #interview #istori #Kernewek #Kernow #Kernowek #Keswel #Sordya
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Most Americans have no idea that the United States is quite literally the onlycountry in the developed world that doesn’t define healthcare as an absolute right for all of its citizens.
That’s it.
We’re the only one left.The United States spends more on “healthcare” than any other country in the world:
about 17% of GDP.Switzerland, Germany, France, Sweden and Japan all average around 11%,
and Canada, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Norway, Netherlands, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia all come in between 9.3% and 10.5%.Health insurance premiums right now make up about 22% of all taxable payroll,
whereas Medicare For All would run an estimated 10%.We are literally the only developed country in the world with an entire multi-billion-dollar for-profit industry devoted to parasitically extracting money from us -- to then turn over to healthcare providers on our behalf.
The for-profit health insurance industry has attached itself to us like a giant, bloodsucking tick.
And it’s not like we haven’t tried.
Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson all proposed and made an effort to bring a national healthcare system to the United States.
They all failed, and when I did a deep dive into the topic two years ago for my book
"The Hidden History of American Healthcare" I found two major barriers to our removing that tick from our backs.The early opposition, more than 100 years ago, to a national healthcare system came from southern white congressmen
(they were all men)
and senators who didn’t want even the possibility that Black people could benefit, health-wise, from white people’s tax dollars.(This thinking apparently still motivates many white Southern politicians.)
The leader of that healthcare-opposition movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was a German immigrant named #Frederick #Hoffman,
as I mentioned in a recent newsletter.Hoffman was a senior executive for the Prudential Insurance Company,
and wrote several books about the racial inferiority of Black people,
a topic he traveled the country lecturing about.His most well-known book was titled
"Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro".It became a major best-seller across America when it was first published for the American Economic Association by the Macmillan Company in 1896,
the same year the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Ferguson decision legally turned the entire US into an apartheid state. -
Writing Node.js addons with .NET Native AOT
https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/writing-nodejs-addons-with-dotnet-native-aot/#microsoft #NET #C #Developer_Stories #Visual_Studio_Code #C_Dev_Kit #interop #N_API #native_aot #NativeAOT #Node_js
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COVID ou Réseaux Sociaux ? Démêler le Vrai Problème
🇬🇧 English – 🇪🇸 Español – 🇩🇪 Deutsch
COVID ou Réseaux Sociaux ? Démêler le Vrai Problème
On entend souvent que la jeunesse souffre encore du COVID. Vraiment ? Dans cet article coup-de-gueule, j’explore une autre piste : celle d’une génération piégée dans les filets invisibles des réseaux sociaux, ces dealers d’attention qui façonnent nos esprits sans que l’on s’en rende compte.
Le raccourci COVID : une lecture trop facile
On entend constamment des interventions d’experts et de journalistes nous informant du malaise grandissant des jeunes, se reflétant par des comportements à risques, que par pudeur je ne citerais pas au sein de cet article, pour ne pas leur offrir une publicité déjà trop présente dans de nombreux médias.
Le constat qui en ressort dans la grande majorité est la corrélation entre la période de COVID et donc du confinement et la croissance de ces comportements à risques, de ce mal être des jeunes et plus généralement de la société en général. Je ne suis absolument pas d’accord avec cette trop facile lecture des événements, qui selon moi relève d’une facilité voire d’une paresse intellectuelle à la limite de l’imbécilité qui caractérise de plus en plus les intervenants dans les médias.
On ne peut pas définir comme source de mal être une période de crise sanitaire qu’on peut qualifier de physique, un virus affectant les fonctions organiques et dont la conséquence principale fut la privation temporaire de liberté de mouvements, d’échanges sociaux, comme la cause d’un mal être psychologique actuel, 5 ans plus tard.
Pour déterminer la cause réel il faut analyser les individus qui, aujourd’hui, souffrent et je doute que cela ait été fait tout du moins par ceux que j’entends actuellement. J’ai le sentiment profond en analysant leurs interventions que le terme COVID ne soit devenu qu’un terme marketing visant à expliciter bon nombre de choses négatives qui se produisent aujourd’hui sans en analyser les fondements réels.
Le vrai poison ? L’effet captif des réseaux
Mon avis sur la question est sensiblement différent, je pense que la période COVID n’a été qu’un catalyseur, un accélérateur d’un phénomène qui aurait pris plus de temps à se développer mais qui serait, de manière irrémédiable, arrivé à terme qu’on le veuille ou non. Et comme le COVID nous ne pouvons que réagir car à aucun moment ce phénomène n’a été anticipé, aucune contre-mesure n’a été mise en place, aucun protocole de réponse n’existe encore aujourd’hui.
Aussi il convient de soustraire de l’équation cette période COVID qui, on ne peut le nier, à modifier énormément de choses dans notre façon d’appréhender notre existence. Nous n’avions pas connu de crise sanitaire mondiale d’une telle ampleur depuis l’apparition du SIDA, de mémoire d’homme de 45 ans. Mais malgré tout comme je le disais soustrayons là.
Dès lors notre algorithme d’analyse s’en trouvera moins biaisé.
Quel est le point commun des jeunes aujourd’hui dans leur comportement quotidien ? Qu’on ait des enfants ou pas, on le sait, pas besoin d’études poussées ou pas, les réseaux sociaux ! Derrière ce terme générique on retrouve des acteurs historiques, majeurs de l’industrie « informatique ». On ne les citera pas tout le monde les connait. Il est tout à fait inutile de les distinguer tant par la technique que par leurs sujets, supports ou contenus.
Une seule chose les rassemble, la captation !
Leur seul et unique but est de capter des utilisateurs et des les rendre captifs. Il n’est pas absolument pas péjoratif d’utiliser ces termes car il s’agit là de la base élémentaire de toute activité commerciale, attirer le chalan et le rendre captif de notre discours, de notre produit, de notre marque et d’en faire un client. On ne peut décemment pas reprocher à un commerçant d’opérer ce qui est la base de son métier. Le problème que soulève ces technologies de communication c’est que leurs clients sont aussi leurs produits, leurs revenus sont dépendants de leur nombre d’utilisateurs et du temps qu’ils passent à consommer les contenus de leurs plateformes créés par ces mêmes clients qui sont leurs propres produits.
Le fondement même des algorithmes utilisés par ces plateformes est donc de créer un environnement dans lequel les contenus doivent répondre aux attentes de ces utilisateurs. Qu’elles soient positives ou négatives, en ce sens elles deviennent un danger car elles ne sont pas programmées pour la contradiction, la correction, l’esprit critique, on ne dit pas à un consommateur qui cherche du contenu violent à regarder que cela n’est pas bon, n’est pas sain pour lui, non on lui trouve autant de contenus que possible pour le garder aussi longtemps que possible.
La métaphore des frites : plaisir ou dépendance ?
Loin d’être un spécialiste du cerveau, on sait de façon général que celui-ci et l’être humain en général, a une capacité d’adaptation assez poussée. Que nos récepteurs de plaisir ont plus ou moins de mal à connaitre la satiété et que lorsque cela se produit un phénomène de manque apparait, qu’il nous faut le combler, ce manque, par quelque chose. Ces phénomènes sont bien documentés et expliqués par des professionnels de santé dont je ne suis pas.
La conception même de ces plateformes produit un effet qui ne peut qu’être néfaste, pour que cela soit clair il convient de prendre un exemple concret de comparaison entre monde physique et monde psychologique. J’aime, comme beaucoup, les frites, si je mange des frites en trop grande quantité sans limites raisonnables, je vais être malade, je vais devenir gros, j’aurais des problèmes cardiaques, beaucoup de conséquences physiques, mon corps et sinon mon entourage me le fera remarquer de manière plus ou moins violente.
Dans le monde virtuel, qui existe concrètement au sein de notre cerveau, les frites sont le contenu qu’on me propose, si je passe mes journées à regarder des personnes qui souffrent du même mal être dont je souffre les conséquences ne seront pas physiques mais psychologiques mais le résultat sera pire car les signaux seront principalement internes et mon entourage aura peu ou pas de signes de mon évolution négative.
La régulation absente : un vide dangereux
Nous sommes en face d’une industrie qui comme l’industrie agro-alimentaire qui ajoute du sucre dans la grande majorité de leurs pour son effet addictif, ne porte aucune attention au bien-être de ses consommateurs si le cadre réglementaire n’est pas défini. Cela se constate et se vérifie dans le domaine de l’alimentation par la comparaison de même produit vendus en Europe et aux Etats-Unis, les doses de sucre notamment ne sont pas les mêmes, le cadre européen est plus stricte et plus attentif au bien être des consommateurs, aucun jugement là-dedans ce sont les faits.
Nous étions donc avant le COVID dans une période de développement des réseaux sociaux, l’apparition de nouveaux acteurs, l’accroissement des précurseurs et le COVID est arrivé, les smartphones étaient déjà là. Tous les éléments étaient réunis pour que la plus grande crise psycho sanitaire puisse se mettre en place dans la plus grande tranquillité, le monde étant occupé à ne pas mourir, à essayer de faire en sorte que le monde économique survive, le marché des stupéfiants virtuels pouvait connaitre son essor en toute discrétion voir même avec l’aval des pouvoirs publics mettant en avant un maintien du lien social, plateformes d’utilité publique pouvait on entendre à l’époque, on conserve un lien avec le monde.
Conclusion : ne pas se tromper de coupable
Il serait trop facile de faire du COVID le bouc émissaire d’un malaise plus profond, enraciné dans des pratiques numériques non encadrées. Ne soyons pas naïfs : ceux qui contrôlent notre attention influencent notre perception du monde.
Alors, faut-il attendre encore pour réagir — ou ouvrir enfin le débat ?
#addictionNumérique #algorithmes #éducationNumérique #captation #confinement #contenuToxique #COVID19 #crisePsychologique #dépendanceDigitale #dopamine #générationZ #influenceSociale #jeunesse #lienSocial #malêtre #régulationDesPlateformes #réseauxSociaux #santéMentale #sociétéModerne #surconsommation
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Ah yes, another #epic tome 🧙♂️ unveiling the #secrets of #Vim, because who doesn't want to turn a simple text-editing task into a PhD thesis? 🤓 After 2978 words and 14 minutes, you'll finally understand that "normal" is anything but. 🌀
https://www.ssp.sh/blog/why-using-neovim-data-engineer-and-writer-2023/ #TextEditing #PhDThesis #DeveloperHumor #HackerNews #ngated