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WORLD RELIGIONS CONFERENCE DELEGATES TALK COMBATTING HATE
On Nov. 23, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at hosted the 43rd World Religions Conference (WRC) at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, becoming a hub for dialogue, reflection and education, drawing on religious scholars, community leaders and students to explore the pressing social challenge of combating hate.
The conference brings voices together from major world religions, Indigenous faiths and non-religious perspectives to foster understanding and encourage harmonious living.
This year, representatives from Sikhism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Indigenous traditions and Humanism shared how their teachings and lived experiences can help confront prejudice. Nabeela Rana, WRC organizer and member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, highlighted the conference’s neutrality and inclusivity.
“Every year, there are more people coming, and every year we see more interest because of the nature of this conference…we’re giving eight faiths or philosophies a chance to speak,” Rana said.
The event participants explained that hate, whether it’s personal or systematic, thrives on fear and ignorance. Upkar Singh, a community worker and leader representing the Sikh perspective, explained that hate stems from fear, while love and understanding unite communities. He cited historical examples of courage and compassion, such as the sacrifice of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji, for the freedom of other traditions, and Guru Nanak’s teachings of nirbhau (without fear), nirvair (without hatred).
“By carrying that same fearlessness, only then can we stand against hate, united and strong,” Singh said.
Shiv Talwar, president of the Spiritual Heritage Education Network and Hindu representative at the WRC, said spiritual practices transform individuals from within to overcome hatred.
“If we want to stop hate, we have to even change our biochemistry…our love is biochemistry driven. Our hate is also biochemistry driven too,” he said.
Mindfulness, breathwork, and contemplative practices were presented as tools to cultivate empathy and awareness.
Farhan Iqbal, an Imam from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, highlighted Islam’s emphasis on conviction and peaceful engagement, recalling the Prophet Muhammad’s resilience in the face of threats.
“[O]ver time, God granted [the Prophet] conviction and the yaqeen, the strength of belief to convey [His] message,” Iqbal said.
He urged attendees to engage with understanding and dialogue.
Father Toby Collins, a pastor from St. Mary Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, offered a Christian perspective, emphasizing the idea of transforming hate and prejudice through love and forgiveness. He draws on biblical teachings and encourages attendees to pray for those who caused harm, underscoring the power of community and the need to protect joy while serving other people within our community.
“When we pray for other people …there becomes an opportunity to grow an awareness of what we really need, where we can find it, and we can move better towards forgiveness,” Collins said.
Jay Judkowitz, president of Temple Shalom, a Reform Jewish synagogue, highlighted teachings on community and teshuva, the process of repentance and restitution.
“While we are commanded to do teshuva, we are also supposed to accept it,” Judkowitz said. “If you just keep punishing people, the world’s never going to improve.”
Similarly, Mitra Barua, an assistant professor of Asian Studies and a Buddhist Scholar in Residence at the Martin Luther University College, said Buddhist traditions emphasized introspection and mindful reflection to prevent hatred from taking root.
“Buddha guided leaders to examine their own greed, delusion, and aversion before taking harmful action, encouraging individuals to find answers within themselves,” he said.
Clarence Cachagee, founder of the Crow Shield Lodge, a Mishkegowak Chapleau Cree, and the Indigenous speaker at the conference, explained that Indigenous teachings emphasized the sacred connection between the land, ancestors, and prayer. Cachagee shared that prayer, tobacco, and drums are central to maintaining harmony and grounding oneself in community.
“Our drum, when we play our drums, it’s a form of prayer…all of those things come from the land, from home,” Cachagee said.
Finally, Sassan Sanei, A philosopher representing Humanist perspectives during the conference, highlighted that moral responsibility does not require formal religious structures.
“We don’t need a formal structure or organizational hierarchy…we just need to know what’s right and what’s wrong,” Sanei said.
He emphasized empathy, compassion, and reason as guiding principles for confronting hate.
Throughout the conference, recurring themes emerged: fear and ignorance which fuel division, but courage, compassion, introspection, and community build bridges. Faith and philosophy, whether religious or secular, provide tools to recognize hate, transform behavior and foster understanding.
As Rana noted, interfaith engagement represents a path forward for societies seeking unity amid diversity.
“The World Religions Conference continues to offer a platform for dialogue, reflection and education, calling on attendees to build a society rooted in compassion, understanding and the shared effort to combat hate,” Rana said.
By bringing together diverse voices, the WRC demonstrated that understanding and empathy are essential tools in the fight against hate.
#ahmadiyya #amrProduct #clarenceCachagee #CommunityLeaders #crowShieldLodge #Education #engineering #farhanIqbal #guruTeghBahadurJi #OTTO #reflection #SangjunHan #sassanSanei #sikhGuru #spiritualHeritageEducationNetwork #stMaryOurLadyOfTheSevenSorrowsRomanCatholicChurch #WorldReligions #worldReligionsConference
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GPS tag helps police catch £12,500 tool thief across Carmarthenshire and Powys
Aston Amos, 35, of Bewdley, and Robbie Bate, 27, of Stourport‑on‑Severn, admitted stealing tools worth more than £12,500 from five vehicles during overnight raids in July.
Raids across two counties leave tradesmen out of work
Dyfed‑Powys Police received reports of break‑ins in Brecon and Builth Wells on 17 July, followed by further thefts in Newcastle Emlyn and Llandysul on 24 July. Court documents show the stolen items included a chainsaw worth around £500, roofing tools valued at £1,500, and other equipment worth thousands of pounds. The damage and loss left several tradesmen unable to work.
Investigators linked the crimes to an Audi A4 seen in each area. Hotel records later showed Bate had checked into accommodation in St Clears using the car’s registration number. Amos, meanwhile, was wearing a GPS monitoring tag at the time. Location data placed him at the scene of each theft. When questioned, he told officers: “You have put me in the area. That’s all you have done, put me in the area,” and even claimed never to have heard of Carmarthenshire.
Police seized the Audi and recovered some of the stolen tools before requesting assistance from West Mercia Police to arrest the pair.
Court hears of past convictions as sentences handed down
At Swansea Crown Court on 14 November, Amos was jailed for nine months, consecutive to a sentence he was already serving. Bate received a nine‑month sentence suspended for two years, along with a 12‑week curfew, 160 hours of unpaid work, and 20 rehabilitation activity days. The court heard Amos had 15 previous convictions for 24 offences, while Bate had eight previous convictions for 22 offences.
Detective Constable Carl Thomas, who led the case, said:
“This was a strong investigation led by North Ceredigion CID with a huge amount of support from a number of departments across the force to apprehend two travelling criminals.
Amos and Bate came into the Dyfed‑Powys area with the aim of targeting vans that might contain valuable tools, working their way through two counties to acquire a vast number of items.
Thankfully we have been able to recoup some of the stolen items for the victims, however these thefts will still have caused a loss of income and inconvenience for those affected.”
#brecon #builthWells #dyfedPowysPolice #gpsMonitoringTag #llandysul #newcastleEmlyn #robbery #stClears #theft #toolTheft
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The Downtown Raleigh After-Work Guide Wednesday, November 12th Edition
It’s midweek in downtown Raleigh — the perfect time to unwind, grab a drink, and dive into live music, trivia, or creative workshops across the city. Whether you’re in the mood for smooth jazz, a round of music bingo, or karaoke that lasts till 2 a.m., this Downtown Raleigh After-Work Guide has your Wednesday plans covered.
🍷 Wine, Dine & Relax
Wine Wednesdays at Sitti Authentic Lebanese
📍 Sitti Authentic Lebanese, 137 S Wilmington St
🕚 11 AM – 10 PM
🍷 Half-off bottles of wine all day!
Spend your Wednesday at one of downtown Raleigh’s most beloved restaurants. Savor authentic Lebanese dishes — from fresh mezze to grilled lamb — while enjoying Sitti’s famous Wine Wednesday specials.
Live Music in the Bar at Vidrio
📍 Vidrio, 500 Glenwood Ave
🕕 6 PM – 10 PM
Unwind with small plates, craft cocktails, and live tunes in Vidrio’s gorgeous Mediterranean-style bar. The perfect post-work lounge spot for conversation and atmosphere.
🎶 Music Lovers’ Night Out
Live Jazz with Al Strong and Friends
📍 Boatman Spirits Co., 319 W Davie St
🕗 8 PM – Midnight
Celebrate Raleigh’s jazz scene with Grammy-recognized trumpeter Al Strong and his talented band. Smooth vibes, great cocktails, and pure downtown cool — a must-attend midweek music ritual.
Wednesday Karaoke at Neptunes Parlour
📍 Neptunes Parlour, 14 W Martin St
🕘 9 PM – 2 AM
Step underground for one of Raleigh’s most legendary karaoke nights. From classics to guilty pleasures, it’s your time to shine under the neon lights at Neptunes.
🧠 Trivia, Bingo & Midweek Games
Trivia at the Brewery
📍 Incendiary Brewing Taproom, 602 N Person St
🕖 7 PM – 9:30 PM
Bring your team and test your knowledge while sipping local craft beer. Free to play and prizes for winners — because Wednesdays were made for bragging rights.
Trivia Night at Longleaf Swine
📍 Longleaf Swine, 300 E Edenton St
🕖 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Join the BBQ and beer crowd at Longleaf Swine for another round of fun, fast-paced trivia. Grab some smoked wings, local brews, and show off your smarts.
Wednesday Night Music Bingo
📍 Wolfe & Porter, 210 S Wilmington St
🕖 7 PM – 10 PM
Bingo meets your favorite hits! Match songs instead of numbers while enjoying craft cocktails and good company.
✍️ Creative After-Work Workshops
Modern Calligraphy & Pumpkin Lettering for Beginners
📍 Wolfe & Porter
🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Learn the art of brush lettering in a cozy creative setting. Perfect for beginners who want to master calligraphy with a seasonal twist — pumpkin lettering!
Sip & Script at Wolfe & Porter
📍 Wolfe & Porter
🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
A hands-on calligraphy workshop that pairs lettering instruction with sips of your favorite drink. It’s a relaxing, artsy way to spend your evening downtown.
🚴♂️ For the Active Crowd
Wednesday Night Ride at Crank Arm Brewing
📍 Crank Arm Brewing, Warehouse District
🕡 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Join Raleigh’s cycling community for the weekly Wednesday Night Ride. The route winds through downtown and ends right where it starts — with cold beers, community, and post-ride laughs.
🌙 Make It a Midweek to Remember
From Wine Wednesday and live jazz to karaoke till 2 a.m., downtown Raleigh is buzzing with ways to celebrate the middle of the week. Grab your friends, meet new ones, and make your Wednesday night something special.
📲 For more local events, guides, and Raleigh happenings, visit DoRaleigh.com — your source for everything happening in the heart of the city.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#AfterWorkGuide #CrankArmBrewing #DoRaleigh #downtownRaleigh #DowntownRaleighAfterWorkGuide #events #LiveJazzRaleigh #MusicBingoRaleigh #NeptunesParlour #News #raleigh #RaleighEvents #RaleighNightlife #TriviaNightRaleigh #WineWednesday
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The Downtown Raleigh After-Work Guide Wednesday, November 12th Edition
It’s midweek in downtown Raleigh — the perfect time to unwind, grab a drink, and dive into live music, trivia, or creative workshops across the city. Whether you’re in the mood for smooth jazz, a round of music bingo, or karaoke that lasts till 2 a.m., this Downtown Raleigh After-Work Guide has your Wednesday plans covered.
🍷 Wine, Dine & Relax
Wine Wednesdays at Sitti Authentic Lebanese
📍 Sitti Authentic Lebanese, 137 S Wilmington St
🕚 11 AM – 10 PM
🍷 Half-off bottles of wine all day!
Spend your Wednesday at one of downtown Raleigh’s most beloved restaurants. Savor authentic Lebanese dishes — from fresh mezze to grilled lamb — while enjoying Sitti’s famous Wine Wednesday specials.
Live Music in the Bar at Vidrio
📍 Vidrio, 500 Glenwood Ave
🕕 6 PM – 10 PM
Unwind with small plates, craft cocktails, and live tunes in Vidrio’s gorgeous Mediterranean-style bar. The perfect post-work lounge spot for conversation and atmosphere.
🎶 Music Lovers’ Night Out
Live Jazz with Al Strong and Friends
📍 Boatman Spirits Co., 319 W Davie St
🕗 8 PM – Midnight
Celebrate Raleigh’s jazz scene with Grammy-recognized trumpeter Al Strong and his talented band. Smooth vibes, great cocktails, and pure downtown cool — a must-attend midweek music ritual.
Wednesday Karaoke at Neptunes Parlour
📍 Neptunes Parlour, 14 W Martin St
🕘 9 PM – 2 AM
Step underground for one of Raleigh’s most legendary karaoke nights. From classics to guilty pleasures, it’s your time to shine under the neon lights at Neptunes.
🧠 Trivia, Bingo & Midweek Games
Trivia at the Brewery
📍 Incendiary Brewing Taproom, 602 N Person St
🕖 7 PM – 9:30 PM
Bring your team and test your knowledge while sipping local craft beer. Free to play and prizes for winners — because Wednesdays were made for bragging rights.
Trivia Night at Longleaf Swine
📍 Longleaf Swine, 300 E Edenton St
🕖 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Join the BBQ and beer crowd at Longleaf Swine for another round of fun, fast-paced trivia. Grab some smoked wings, local brews, and show off your smarts.
Wednesday Night Music Bingo
📍 Wolfe & Porter, 210 S Wilmington St
🕖 7 PM – 10 PM
Bingo meets your favorite hits! Match songs instead of numbers while enjoying craft cocktails and good company.
✍️ Creative After-Work Workshops
Modern Calligraphy & Pumpkin Lettering for Beginners
📍 Wolfe & Porter
🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Learn the art of brush lettering in a cozy creative setting. Perfect for beginners who want to master calligraphy with a seasonal twist — pumpkin lettering!
Sip & Script at Wolfe & Porter
📍 Wolfe & Porter
🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
A hands-on calligraphy workshop that pairs lettering instruction with sips of your favorite drink. It’s a relaxing, artsy way to spend your evening downtown.
🚴♂️ For the Active Crowd
Wednesday Night Ride at Crank Arm Brewing
📍 Crank Arm Brewing, Warehouse District
🕡 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Join Raleigh’s cycling community for the weekly Wednesday Night Ride. The route winds through downtown and ends right where it starts — with cold beers, community, and post-ride laughs.
🌙 Make It a Midweek to Remember
From Wine Wednesday and live jazz to karaoke till 2 a.m., downtown Raleigh is buzzing with ways to celebrate the middle of the week. Grab your friends, meet new ones, and make your Wednesday night something special.
📲 For more local events, guides, and Raleigh happenings, visit DoRaleigh.com — your source for everything happening in the heart of the city.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#AfterWorkGuide #CrankArmBrewing #DoRaleigh #downtownRaleigh #DowntownRaleighAfterWorkGuide #events #LiveJazzRaleigh #MusicBingoRaleigh #NeptunesParlour #News #raleigh #RaleighEvents #RaleighNightlife #TriviaNightRaleigh #WineWednesday
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The Downtown Raleigh After-Work Guide Wednesday, November 12th Edition
It’s midweek in downtown Raleigh — the perfect time to unwind, grab a drink, and dive into live music, trivia, or creative workshops across the city. Whether you’re in the mood for smooth jazz, a round of music bingo, or karaoke that lasts till 2 a.m., this Downtown Raleigh After-Work Guide has your Wednesday plans covered.
🍷 Wine, Dine & Relax
Wine Wednesdays at Sitti Authentic Lebanese
📍 Sitti Authentic Lebanese, 137 S Wilmington St
🕚 11 AM – 10 PM
🍷 Half-off bottles of wine all day!
Spend your Wednesday at one of downtown Raleigh’s most beloved restaurants. Savor authentic Lebanese dishes — from fresh mezze to grilled lamb — while enjoying Sitti’s famous Wine Wednesday specials.
Live Music in the Bar at Vidrio
📍 Vidrio, 500 Glenwood Ave
🕕 6 PM – 10 PM
Unwind with small plates, craft cocktails, and live tunes in Vidrio’s gorgeous Mediterranean-style bar. The perfect post-work lounge spot for conversation and atmosphere.
🎶 Music Lovers’ Night Out
Live Jazz with Al Strong and Friends
📍 Boatman Spirits Co., 319 W Davie St
🕗 8 PM – Midnight
Celebrate Raleigh’s jazz scene with Grammy-recognized trumpeter Al Strong and his talented band. Smooth vibes, great cocktails, and pure downtown cool — a must-attend midweek music ritual.
Wednesday Karaoke at Neptunes Parlour
📍 Neptunes Parlour, 14 W Martin St
🕘 9 PM – 2 AM
Step underground for one of Raleigh’s most legendary karaoke nights. From classics to guilty pleasures, it’s your time to shine under the neon lights at Neptunes.
🧠 Trivia, Bingo & Midweek Games
Trivia at the Brewery
📍 Incendiary Brewing Taproom, 602 N Person St
🕖 7 PM – 9:30 PM
Bring your team and test your knowledge while sipping local craft beer. Free to play and prizes for winners — because Wednesdays were made for bragging rights.
Trivia Night at Longleaf Swine
📍 Longleaf Swine, 300 E Edenton St
🕖 7 PM – 8:30 PM
Join the BBQ and beer crowd at Longleaf Swine for another round of fun, fast-paced trivia. Grab some smoked wings, local brews, and show off your smarts.
Wednesday Night Music Bingo
📍 Wolfe & Porter, 210 S Wilmington St
🕖 7 PM – 10 PM
Bingo meets your favorite hits! Match songs instead of numbers while enjoying craft cocktails and good company.
✍️ Creative After-Work Workshops
Modern Calligraphy & Pumpkin Lettering for Beginners
📍 Wolfe & Porter
🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Learn the art of brush lettering in a cozy creative setting. Perfect for beginners who want to master calligraphy with a seasonal twist — pumpkin lettering!
Sip & Script at Wolfe & Porter
📍 Wolfe & Porter
🕡 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
A hands-on calligraphy workshop that pairs lettering instruction with sips of your favorite drink. It’s a relaxing, artsy way to spend your evening downtown.
🚴♂️ For the Active Crowd
Wednesday Night Ride at Crank Arm Brewing
📍 Crank Arm Brewing, Warehouse District
🕡 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Join Raleigh’s cycling community for the weekly Wednesday Night Ride. The route winds through downtown and ends right where it starts — with cold beers, community, and post-ride laughs.
🌙 Make It a Midweek to Remember
From Wine Wednesday and live jazz to karaoke till 2 a.m., downtown Raleigh is buzzing with ways to celebrate the middle of the week. Grab your friends, meet new ones, and make your Wednesday night something special.
📲 For more local events, guides, and Raleigh happenings, visit DoRaleigh.com — your source for everything happening in the heart of the city.
Follow Us: Instagram | Facebook | BSky | Linkedin
#AfterWorkGuide #CrankArmBrewing #DoRaleigh #downtownRaleigh #DowntownRaleighAfterWorkGuide #events #LiveJazzRaleigh #MusicBingoRaleigh #NeptunesParlour #News #raleigh #RaleighEvents #RaleighNightlife #TriviaNightRaleigh #WineWednesday
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“From the Three R’s to Transistors”: the thread about Dean Public School
Preamble. The schools of the “School Board” era of public education (1872-1918) hold a particular fascination for me, one most profound where they have been “deconsecrated” and are either no longer in use as schools or have disappeared entirely. This thread began as a couple of lines for my own notes about the “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” but soon snowballed into an alphabetical deep-dive into each.
Part six of the series of posts looking at “Lost Board Schools of Edinburgh” pays a visit to the former Dean Public School. Judging by the crowds of tourists on phones who gather daily in crowds outside, this must be one of the most Instagrammed of schools. I wonder how many stop for a moment to consider its history and its claim to a unique first in the story of education in the city. So let us take a moment for ourselves to do just that.
Following the Education (Scotland) Act 1872 (which made schooling compulsory in Scotland between the ages of 5 and 13) the newly elected School Boards undertook a flurry of construction to rationalise, modernise and expand the existing provision. At its formation in 1873 the Edinburgh School Board (ESB) took stock of the situation it had inherited in the city and found there were almost twenty-two thousand pupils being taught in one hundred schools, with the majority run by the various churches. Unsurprisingly the Presbyterians dominated, educating forty-three percent of scholars.
ProviderSchoolsPupilsShareFree Church174,28219.7%Church of Scotland164,22219.4%Heriot’s Hospital163,74217.2%Non-denominational & private203,65416.8%R. C. Church82,0149.3%Episcopal Church91,5187.0%Industrial & free schools, etc.81,4266.6%U. P. Church68573.9%Total10021,715Elementary Edinburgh Schooling in 1873, census by Edinburgh School BoardIn 1873 the Board held a survey of teachers in the city to help prioritise where new schools should be built and the following year held a competition to find architects for its first batch of seven purpose-built schools; Bristo, Causewayside, Leith Walk, North Canongate, Stockbridge, West Fountainbridge and the Water of Leith Village*. The work was divided between the successful applicants, that for the Water of Leith was awarded to Robert Wilson, who would later become the Board’s house architect.
* = The naming and jurisdiction of this school is somewhat confusing. While the area today is widely known as the Dean Village, well into the 20th century it was always known as Water of Leith village. “Dean” referred instead to the old Village of Dean slightly to the north. Both Water of Leith and Dean villages were in the Edinburgh School Board catchment and while the new school was in the former village it was christened Dean Public School at opening. This was most probably in recognition that it served the Dean quoad sacra Parish (an ecclesiastical division, but not a municipal one). To add further confusion, until 1895 there was also a separate St Cuthbert’s and Dean School Board. This covered the western hinterland outwith the city’s municipal boundaries as they then stood and was responsible for schools such as Gorgie, Roseburn, and South Morningside (extension of the city boundary in 1882 meant that the former two schools were actually now in Edinburgh but served by the St Cuthbert’s and Dean Board!)
Water of Leith village, looking northeast past the Bell’s Brae Bridge to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church pre-1875. The school would be built in front of the tall mill building with the circular windows on the left, where the low range sits in this picture. Thomas Vernon Begbie glass negative dated 1887 (incorrect). The Cavaye Collection of Thomas Begbie Prints; City of Edinburgh Council Museums & GalleriesPerhaps because it was the smallest, the Dean Public School was the first of the batch to complete. The opening took place on Wednesday December 8th 1875 making it the first purpose-built school by the Board in the city. The Scotsman reported that at two o’clock, the 150 children of the older division were assembled in the upper classroom in front of the Board and “a large number of gentlemen interested in the work“, including Lord Provost James Falshaw, James Cowan the MP for Edinburgh and numerous town councillors. Following the singing of a psalm and a prayer led by the Rev. Whyte of Free St George’s Church, the Lord Provost gave an opening address and observed that “it was to him a most gratifying circumstance that an auspicious event like the present had occurred during his term of office.”
The roundel of the Edinburgh School Board, “the female figure of education” dispensing knowledge to the young at Dean Public School. © SelfThe Chairman of the Board, Professor Henry Calderwood, mentioned that at this time they had 7,386 children in public education at the nineteen schools under their charge but that most of these were small and overcrowded and there was much work ahead to provide purpose-built accommodation for them. Thanks were given to the kirk session of Dean Free Church for allowing the continued use of their schoolhouse since the 1872 act before the new school was ready.
OS Town Surveys of Edinburgh in 1849 and 1876, before and after the Dean Public School was built. Note that at this time the village itself was referred to as “Water of Leith”, as it always had been. Note the Dean Free Church on the old Queensferry Road where schooling took place before 1875. Move the slider to compare. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of ScotlandThe new school was arranged over two storeys with accommodation for 400 children (using a formula of 10 square feet of space per child). The infants were accommodated on the ground floor and the older children upstairs, each level having a principal large school room (57ft by 23ft, or 17m by 7m) which could be divided by movable glass partitions, as well as smaller classrooms. There were separate entrances for boys on one side and girls and infants on the other, with the playgrounds being similarly segregated. The total cost was £5,740 5s 2d; £1,030 9s 9d for the site and £4,709 15s 5d for the construction work.
Dean Public School in 1950, looking south. The squat gable of Drumsheugh Baths can be seen in the middle distance. Picture CC-by-NC-SA Dean Village Memories, via Edinburgh CollectedAs early as 1878, in a report to the School Board the Inspector complained of overcrowding and a lack of writing desks in the school (those available were sufficient for only 1/3 of the children). This had “spoiled the writing, wasted time in the classes and has prevented the highest discipline grant through the copying traceable to over-crowding“. Failure to remedy these defects would result in the school’s government grant being cut. The school roll at this time was 311, with 200 children qualifying for the Examination in Standard – but the pass rates in these qualifications of 82% for Reading, 84% for Writing and 71% for Arithmetic were the lowest in the School Board. Headmaster Waddell was however praised for his organisation and discipline and the infant department was “in many respects a model one“.
Class portrait of older girls at Dean Public School, with the headmistress Miss Mary Mackenzie (labelled as Hunter). 1883 photograph by J. & S. Sternstein of Glasgow. Note that at least one girl has very short hair, likely the result of it being shaved to combat headlice. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection of Edinburgh City Libraries.Class portrait of boys at Dean Public School, with the headmistress Miss Mary Mackenzie (labelled as Hunter). 1883 photograph by J. & S. Sternstein of Glasgow. Note the boy on the left of Mary seems notably older, taller and better dressed than his peers and may be one of the pupil teachers. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection of Edinburgh City Libraries.Class portrait of boys at Dean Public School with (probably) their headmaster, Esdaile Duncan. 1883 photograph by J. & S. Sternstein of Glasgow. The boy to the left of her is notably taller, older and better dressed than the others and may be one of the pupil teachers,1883 class photos from Dean Public SchoolThe lack of accommodation was remedied in 1888 with a 3-storey extension for 132 additional children added to the rear, comprising a play-room, a sewing room and an infant classroom. The space beneath was left open and served as a covered part of the playground.
1907 photograph showing the extension added at the rear of the school on the right, adjacent to the bridge. The apparently 17th century structure on the left is Well Court, in fact a late 1880s model workers housing complex in a Scottish Vernacular Revival style by architect Sydney Mitchell. 1907 photograph, Edinburgh and Scottish Collection, Edinburgh City Libraries.When education was made free of charge in 1889 (the 1872 act had introduced fees, although assistance could be provided by the Parish Poor Boards for those who could not afford them), the headmaster at Dean wrote to the School Board to say that the hoped for improvement in attendance rates had not materialised within his district and that “the parents who before were indifferent, are now equally or more so“. In 1894, 120 children were sent to the school from the nearby Dean Orphanage, being reported as “perfect models of cleanliness and order” by the Scotsman and commended in the Evening News for making the school football eleven “a combination to be feared and respected“. They were moved to the new Flora Stevenson School in Comely Bank when it opened in 1901, before being moved back to Dean in 1913 when the new Parish Children’s Home on Crewe Road opened, putting pressure on capacity at Flora’s when there were 115 vacant places at Dean School.
The Dean Orphanage in 1850, recently relocated from its old location beneath the North Bridge where it been in the way of the North British Railway. The community of Bells’s Mill lies beneath and children from both of these locations would attend the Dean Public School. Salt paper print, unknown photographer. Edinburgh and Scottish Collection of Edinburgh City Libraries.With no playing fields or local park to call its own, the school sports days were held at Warriston Playing Fields. In June 1912 the Edinburgh Evening News reported that the pupils from Dean – for the first time in the history of the ESB – had performed mass dancing as part of the day. One hundred and sixty pupils danced “with great zest… danc[ed] a reel to the music of the pipes.”
Pupils of the Dean Public School perform a maypole dance at Warriston Playing Fields as part of their annual sports day, June 28th 1913, Edinburgh Evening News.In December 1914, the staff of the school contributed £1 4s 6t to the Edinburgh Belgian Relief Fund. The following year Robert Peter Smith, assistant teacher, was wounded during at the Dardanelles when serving as a lieutenant with the 1/4th King’s Own Scottish Borderers.
Officers of the 1/4th KOSB in 1915. Robert P. Smith is in the 3rd row, third from the left, the shorter man sporting a moustache. Photo via UK Photo and Film Archive.In 1939 the school was requisition by the War Office and temporarily relocated “for the duration” to the St Mary’s Cathedral Mission Hall on Bell’s Brae, the ancient convening house of the Incorporation of Baxters (bakers) of Edinburgh. It was returned to educational use and in 1953 was placed under the charge of Dorothy Edmond. The new headmistress was determined to raise the school’s profile and instituted a uniform, having a school badge specially commissioned for the blazers.
Dean School badge, showing the castle of the arms of Edinburgh, open books symbolising learning, the blue of the Water of Leith running through the centre. The Boar’s Head is from the arms of the Nisbet of Dean family, The Cock’s Head may refer to the Poultry Lands of Dean, which in the 17th century conferred the holder the hereditary title of Poulterer to the King. From Kathleen Glancy by Dean Village Memories, CC-by-NC-SA via Edinburgh Collected.She rallied parents together and asked for support financially. Although it would not be a lot, it was a lot to some folks and it caused some controversy… Miss Edmund was strict and eventually was held in high regard by both parents and children.
Recollection by pupil Kathleen Glancy of Dorothy Edmond. Via Edinburgh Collected.But not even the determination of Miss Edmond could counter the significant long term depopulation in the neighbourhood, the result of much of the housing stock being decrepit and condemned combined with the decline of the remaining traditional industries of milling and tanning. In January 1961 the school closed, its roll having reduced to just 37 pupils, less than 10% of capacity. Those remaining were transferred to Flora Stevenson’s and the empty building was leased to the defence electronics company Ferranti Ltd. of Crewe Toll for a period of seven years as a training centre for apprentices and assembly line staff. The Evening News felt it an appropriate symbol of the city’s growing demand for specialist technical education that its oldest public school should have made the transition “from the Three R’s to transistors“.
Christine Robertson, age 10, photographed alone in the school on its last day, 20th January 1961,Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
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NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
Ferranti did not require the two basement rooms and these were given over to the use of the Edinburgh Union of Boys Clubs as a base for an outdoor education scheme, the Adventure Centre for Use. A number of Ferranti staff were involved in this, including the works’ own Mountain Climbing Adventure Group for its younger employees. This provided equipment and specialist training to established clubs in activities such as climbing, mountaineering, canoeing and dingy sailing. After Ferranti’s lease was up, in 1969 the school became an annexe to Telford College, whose domestic courses were based nearby at the Dean Education Centre, the former Dean Orphanage.
Dean School in the 1960s. Picture from Dean Village Memories, CC-by-NC-SA via Edinburgh CollectedIn May 1984 the school was disposed of on the open market (offers over £100,000) by Lothian Regional Council and was converted into flats in 1986 by James Potter Developments. Eighteen two, three and four-bedroom properties were created which would have cost between £39,000 and £55,000 when completed.
Former Dean Public School in 2025. Comparison of the photo with that further up the page shows how extra floors were cleverly inserted by reducing the window heights significantly from those of the Victorian schoolrooms. Photo by Fiona Coutts, via Britishlistedbuildings.The previous instalment in this series looked at the Davie Street School(s) in the Southside. The next looks at Gilmore Place Public School.
Note to readers: unfortunately in April 2026, a third-party plug-in more than exceeded its authority and broke many of the image links on this site. No images were lost but I will have to restore them page-by-page, which may take some time. In the meantime please bear with me while I go about rectifying this issue.
If you have found this site useful, informative or amusing then you can help contribute towards its running costs by supporting me on ko-fi. This includes my commitment to keeping it 100% advert and AI free for all time coming, and in helping to find further unusual stories to bring you by acquiring books and paying for research.
Or please do just share this post on social media or amongst friends and like-minded people, sites like this thrive on being shared.Explore Threadinburgh by map:
Travelers' Map is loading...
If you see this after your page is loaded completely, leafletJS files are missing.These threads © 2017-2026, Andy Arthur.
NO AI TRAINING: Any use of the contents of this website to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
#April20 #Army #BritishArmy #EdinburghCastle #Gaelic #Leith #May29 #Military -
Guilt Trip Announce Roadrunner Records Signing And Share New Song “Burn”
Photo by Amy HaghebaertManchester metal/hardcore outfit Guilt Trip have signed with Roadrunner Records and unveiled their explosive new single “Burn,” accompanied by an official video. The track captures the band’s blend of thrash, hardcore, and stadium-ready riffs, setting the stage for their forthcoming debut LP on the label.
“Burn” is a metal anthem infused with hardcore grit. “It felt a little bit like old Machine Head,” says guitarist Jak Maden. “As soon as we finished it, I knew it needed a repeated line until the drop and wall of death section. We won’t even need to tell the crowd what to do.” Vocalist Jay Valentine adds that the Roadrunner partnership “always felt inevitable,” given the label’s influence on shaping the band’s sound.
This fall, Guilt Trip will tour with Kublai Khan and appear at Louder Than Life (September 18) and New England Metal and Hardcore Fest (September 20). With millions of streams, a growing festival presence, and past collaborations with LANDMVRKS, the band is poised to bring Manchester’s intensity to a global stage.
https://youtu.be/ap2MTuWaGbc?feature=shared
GUILT TRIP ON TOUR:
WITH KUBLAI KHAN:9/21 — Sayreville, NJ — Starland Ballroom
9/23 — Buffalo, NY — Buffalo RiverWorks
9/24 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore
9/26 — Mckees Rocks, PA — Roxian Theatre
9/27 — Lakewood, OH — The Roxy
9/28 — Philadelphia, PA — Franklin Music Hall
9/30 — Chicago, IL — The Salt Shed
10/1 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit
10/3 — Birmingham, AL — Furnace Fest 2025
10/4 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte
10/5 — North Myrtle Beach, SC — House of Blues Myrtle Beach
10/7 — Atlanta, GA — The Eastern
10/8 — St Petersburg, FL — Jannus Live
10/10 — San Antonio, TX — Vibes Event Center
10/11 — Houston, TX — White Oak Music Hall
10/12 — Dallas, TX — The Factory In Deep Ellum
10/14 — Kansas City, MO — Uptown Theater
10/15 — Denver, CO — Fillmore Auditorium
10/16 — Albuquerque, NM — Sunshine Theater
10/17 — Tempe, AZ — Marquee Theatre
10/20 — Salt Lake City, UT — Rockwell @ The Complex
10/21 — Boise, ID — Knitting Factory
10/23 — Sacramento, CA — Ace Of Spades
10/24 — San Jose, CA — San Jose Civic
10/25 — Riverside, CA — Riverside Municipal Auditorium
10/26 — Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Palladium -
25 YEARS GONE: REMEMBERING LULU’S ROADHOUSE
It’s been 25 years since the final notes faded from Lulu’s Roadhouse, but for those who danced, sang, and lived through its heyday, the memories remain as vivid as ever. Once hailed as the world’s largest nightclub bar, Lulu’s wasn’t just a music venue—it was a rite of passage, a community hub and a temple to rock ‘n’ roll in the heart of Kitchener.
Opened in April 1984 by Toronto entrepreneur Karl Magid, Lulu’s transformed a former Kmart at 4263 King St. E., Kitchener into a 75,000-square-foot music venue. With a Guinness World Record-holding 340-foot bar and a capacity of 3,000, it quickly became a magnet for music lovers across Ontario.
From Chuck Berry to The Ramones, Lulu’s hosted a staggering range of acts, often well past their commercial prime but still capable of electrifying a crowd. Lulu’s featured a dance floor big enough to hold thousands and some idiosyncratic touches like “balloon girls” who sold balloons with meanings based on their colours—among others, red meant a woman who wanted to dance; blue was for men looking to show women a fun time; yellow meant shy; and purple simply meant horny.
Lulu’s played host to Canadian icons like Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox, Trooper and Colin James, as well as international legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as James Brown, Alice Cooper and The Everly Brothers. The venue’s eclectic bookings meant you could see Conway Twitty one week and Motörhead the next.
Behind the scenes, figures like Rob Cressman of Major Talent Agency worked tirelessly to bring big names to town, often booking regional tours to make Lulu’s a viable stop. Artists were paid in cash, and trust was everything—Del Shannon once asked Cressman to hold onto $30,000 until his next visit.
The venue’s charm wasn’t just in its headliners. The house band, featuring guitarist Peter Paladino, was a major draw, touring other cities and even traveling in their own bus. For many, the house band was the best show in town.
Bill Wiley, a DJ from FM 108 and frequent MC at Lulu’s, conducted over 350 interviews with artists during his time there. Though many of his recordings were tragically stolen 15 years ago, he fondly recalls his interview with James Brown as a career highlight. Among his favourite performances were Sam and Dave, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and The Crystals. Wiley remembers Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals taking a particular liking to him—a memory that still brings a smile.
Even chaos had its place. One night, during a Motörhead and Black Sabbath double bill, the crowd erupted into moshing and stage diving—not something you’d expect to see at a suburban night club. Between sets, a scuffle broke out, adding to the night’s wild lore.
Despite its popularity, Lulu’s could not escape the pressures of changing times. Ownership changes, economic downturns, and evolving musical tastes led to its bankruptcy in 1992. Though it was revived and continued to host major acts into the late ’90s, the club closed for good on April 8, 2000.
Angie Hill—now a popular DJ on Bounce 99.5 FM— was a host at Lulu’s in the late 1990’s until it closed in 2000. She remembers the people she worked with as a family and cherishes the lifelong friendships she made while working there. She remembers how she and other staff would “eat our shitty chicken fingers together … and make a plan of attack for the night.”
Kenny Hollis, who also worked as a host for many years at Lulu’s, reportedly had some of his ashes scattered on former site of Lulu’s.
Mike Harvey, who worked as the Lighting Director from 1993 to 1998, said working at Lulu’s was like being paid to work at a party.
“There will never, ever, be another place like it,” he said.
“The place was just magical, eh,” Robbie Hain, the former house manager, said.
Hain is also working on a book about Lulu’s.
Today, Lulu’s lives on in the hearts of those who experienced it. Ask any regular to name their favorite show, and you will likely get a wistful smile and a list too long to finish. Whether it was George Thorogood playing to an over-capacity crowd, James Brown for $2 on a Tuesday, or Stompin’ Tom Connors fuming over a canceled gig, every night at Lulu’s was a story waiting to be told.
And 25 years later, those stories still echo—loud, proud and unforgettable.
#chuckBerry #FionaMcAlister #georgeThorogood #guinnessWorldRecord #jamesBrown #karlMagid #localHistory #localMusic #localVenue #luluSRoadhouse #Ontario #theRamones #Toronto #torontoEntrepreneur
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25 YEARS GONE: REMEMBERING LULU’S ROADHOUSE
It’s been 25 years since the final notes faded from Lulu’s Roadhouse, but for those who danced, sang, and lived through its heyday, the memories remain as vivid as ever. Once hailed as the world’s largest nightclub bar, Lulu’s wasn’t just a music venue—it was a rite of passage, a community hub and a temple to rock ‘n’ roll in the heart of Kitchener.
Opened in April 1984 by Toronto entrepreneur Karl Magid, Lulu’s transformed a former Kmart at 4263 King St. E., Kitchener into a 75,000-square-foot music venue. With a Guinness World Record-holding 340-foot bar and a capacity of 3,000, it quickly became a magnet for music lovers across Ontario.
From Chuck Berry to The Ramones, Lulu’s hosted a staggering range of acts, often well past their commercial prime but still capable of electrifying a crowd. Lulu’s featured a dance floor big enough to hold thousands and some idiosyncratic touches like “balloon girls” who sold balloons with meanings based on their colours—among others, red meant a woman who wanted to dance; blue was for men looking to show women a fun time; yellow meant shy; and purple simply meant horny.
Lulu’s played host to Canadian icons like Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox, Trooper and Colin James, as well as international legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as James Brown, Alice Cooper and The Everly Brothers. The venue’s eclectic bookings meant you could see Conway Twitty one week and Motörhead the next.
Behind the scenes, figures like Rob Cressman of Major Talent Agency worked tirelessly to bring big names to town, often booking regional tours to make Lulu’s a viable stop. Artists were paid in cash, and trust was everything—Del Shannon once asked Cressman to hold onto $30,000 until his next visit.
The venue’s charm wasn’t just in its headliners. The house band, featuring guitarist Peter Paladino, was a major draw, touring other cities and even traveling in their own bus. For many, the house band was the best show in town.
Bill Wiley, a DJ from FM 108 and frequent MC at Lulu’s, conducted over 350 interviews with artists during his time there. Though many of his recordings were tragically stolen 15 years ago, he fondly recalls his interview with James Brown as a career highlight. Among his favourite performances were Sam and Dave, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and The Crystals. Wiley remembers Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals taking a particular liking to him—a memory that still brings a smile.
Even chaos had its place. One night, during a Motörhead and Black Sabbath double bill, the crowd erupted into moshing and stage diving—not something you’d expect to see at a suburban night club. Between sets, a scuffle broke out, adding to the night’s wild lore.
Despite its popularity, Lulu’s could not escape the pressures of changing times. Ownership changes, economic downturns, and evolving musical tastes led to its bankruptcy in 1992. Though it was revived and continued to host major acts into the late ’90s, the club closed for good on April 8, 2000.
Angie Hill—now a popular DJ on Bounce 99.5 FM— was a host at Lulu’s in the late 1990’s until it closed in 2000. She remembers the people she worked with as a family and cherishes the lifelong friendships she made while working there. She remembers how she and other staff would “eat our shitty chicken fingers together … and make a plan of attack for the night.”
Kenny Hollis, who also worked as a host for many years at Lulu’s, reportedly had some of his ashes scattered on former site of Lulu’s.
Mike Harvey, who worked as the Lighting Director from 1993 to 1998, said working at Lulu’s was like being paid to work at a party.
“There will never, ever, be another place like it,” he said.
“The place was just magical, eh,” Robbie Hain, the former house manager, said.
Hain is also working on a book about Lulu’s.
Today, Lulu’s lives on in the hearts of those who experienced it. Ask any regular to name their favorite show, and you will likely get a wistful smile and a list too long to finish. Whether it was George Thorogood playing to an over-capacity crowd, James Brown for $2 on a Tuesday, or Stompin’ Tom Connors fuming over a canceled gig, every night at Lulu’s was a story waiting to be told.
And 25 years later, those stories still echo—loud, proud and unforgettable.
#chuckBerry #FionaMcAlister #georgeThorogood #guinnessWorldRecord #jamesBrown #karlMagid #localHistory #localMusic #localVenue #luluSRoadhouse #Ontario #theRamones #Toronto #torontoEntrepreneur
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25 YEARS GONE: REMEMBERING LULU’S ROADHOUSE
It’s been 25 years since the final notes faded from Lulu’s Roadhouse, but for those who danced, sang, and lived through its heyday, the memories remain as vivid as ever. Once hailed as the world’s largest nightclub bar, Lulu’s wasn’t just a music venue—it was a rite of passage, a community hub and a temple to rock ‘n’ roll in the heart of Kitchener.
Opened in April 1984 by Toronto entrepreneur Karl Magid, Lulu’s transformed a former Kmart at 4263 King St. E., Kitchener into a 75,000-square-foot music venue. With a Guinness World Record-holding 340-foot bar and a capacity of 3,000, it quickly became a magnet for music lovers across Ontario.
From Chuck Berry to The Ramones, Lulu’s hosted a staggering range of acts, often well past their commercial prime but still capable of electrifying a crowd. Lulu’s featured a dance floor big enough to hold thousands and some idiosyncratic touches like “balloon girls” who sold balloons with meanings based on their colours—among others, red meant a woman who wanted to dance; blue was for men looking to show women a fun time; yellow meant shy; and purple simply meant horny.
Lulu’s played host to Canadian icons like Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox, Trooper and Colin James, as well as international legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as James Brown, Alice Cooper and The Everly Brothers. The venue’s eclectic bookings meant you could see Conway Twitty one week and Motörhead the next.
Behind the scenes, figures like Rob Cressman of Major Talent Agency worked tirelessly to bring big names to town, often booking regional tours to make Lulu’s a viable stop. Artists were paid in cash, and trust was everything—Del Shannon once asked Cressman to hold onto $30,000 until his next visit.
The venue’s charm wasn’t just in its headliners. The house band, featuring guitarist Peter Paladino, was a major draw, touring other cities and even traveling in their own bus. For many, the house band was the best show in town.
Bill Wiley, a DJ from FM 108 and frequent MC at Lulu’s, conducted over 350 interviews with artists during his time there. Though many of his recordings were tragically stolen 15 years ago, he fondly recalls his interview with James Brown as a career highlight. Among his favourite performances were Sam and Dave, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and The Crystals. Wiley remembers Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals taking a particular liking to him—a memory that still brings a smile.
Even chaos had its place. One night, during a Motörhead and Black Sabbath double bill, the crowd erupted into moshing and stage diving—not something you’d expect to see at a suburban night club. Between sets, a scuffle broke out, adding to the night’s wild lore.
Despite its popularity, Lulu’s could not escape the pressures of changing times. Ownership changes, economic downturns, and evolving musical tastes led to its bankruptcy in 1992. Though it was revived and continued to host major acts into the late ’90s, the club closed for good on April 8, 2000.
Angie Hill—now a popular DJ on Bounce 99.5 FM— was a host at Lulu’s in the late 1990’s until it closed in 2000. She remembers the people she worked with as a family and cherishes the lifelong friendships she made while working there. She remembers how she and other staff would “eat our shitty chicken fingers together … and make a plan of attack for the night.”
Kenny Hollis, who also worked as a host for many years at Lulu’s, reportedly had some of his ashes scattered on former site of Lulu’s.
Mike Harvey, who worked as the Lighting Director from 1993 to 1998, said working at Lulu’s was like being paid to work at a party.
“There will never, ever, be another place like it,” he said.
“The place was just magical, eh,” Robbie Hain, the former house manager, said.
Hain is also working on a book about Lulu’s.
Today, Lulu’s lives on in the hearts of those who experienced it. Ask any regular to name their favorite show, and you will likely get a wistful smile and a list too long to finish. Whether it was George Thorogood playing to an over-capacity crowd, James Brown for $2 on a Tuesday, or Stompin’ Tom Connors fuming over a canceled gig, every night at Lulu’s was a story waiting to be told.
And 25 years later, those stories still echo—loud, proud and unforgettable.
#chuckBerry #FionaMcAlister #georgeThorogood #guinnessWorldRecord #jamesBrown #karlMagid #localHistory #localMusic #localVenue #luluSRoadhouse #Ontario #theRamones #Toronto #torontoEntrepreneur
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25 YEARS GONE: REMEMBERING LULU’S ROADHOUSE
It’s been 25 years since the final notes faded from Lulu’s Roadhouse, but for those who danced, sang, and lived through its heyday, the memories remain as vivid as ever. Once hailed as the world’s largest nightclub bar, Lulu’s wasn’t just a music venue—it was a rite of passage, a community hub and a temple to rock ‘n’ roll in the heart of Kitchener.
Opened in April 1984 by Toronto entrepreneur Karl Magid, Lulu’s transformed a former Kmart at 4263 King St. E., Kitchener into a 75,000-square-foot music venue. With a Guinness World Record-holding 340-foot bar and a capacity of 3,000, it quickly became a magnet for music lovers across Ontario.
From Chuck Berry to The Ramones, Lulu’s hosted a staggering range of acts, often well past their commercial prime but still capable of electrifying a crowd. Lulu’s featured a dance floor big enough to hold thousands and some idiosyncratic touches like “balloon girls” who sold balloons with meanings based on their colours—among others, red meant a woman who wanted to dance; blue was for men looking to show women a fun time; yellow meant shy; and purple simply meant horny.
Lulu’s played host to Canadian icons like Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox, Trooper and Colin James, as well as international legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as James Brown, Alice Cooper and The Everly Brothers. The venue’s eclectic bookings meant you could see Conway Twitty one week and Motörhead the next.
Behind the scenes, figures like Rob Cressman of Major Talent Agency worked tirelessly to bring big names to town, often booking regional tours to make Lulu’s a viable stop. Artists were paid in cash, and trust was everything—Del Shannon once asked Cressman to hold onto $30,000 until his next visit.
The venue’s charm wasn’t just in its headliners. The house band, featuring guitarist Peter Paladino, was a major draw, touring other cities and even traveling in their own bus. For many, the house band was the best show in town.
Bill Wiley, a DJ from FM 108 and frequent MC at Lulu’s, conducted over 350 interviews with artists during his time there. Though many of his recordings were tragically stolen 15 years ago, he fondly recalls his interview with James Brown as a career highlight. Among his favourite performances were Sam and Dave, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and The Crystals. Wiley remembers Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals taking a particular liking to him—a memory that still brings a smile.
Even chaos had its place. One night, during a Motörhead and Black Sabbath double bill, the crowd erupted into moshing and stage diving—not something you’d expect to see at a suburban night club. Between sets, a scuffle broke out, adding to the night’s wild lore.
Despite its popularity, Lulu’s could not escape the pressures of changing times. Ownership changes, economic downturns, and evolving musical tastes led to its bankruptcy in 1992. Though it was revived and continued to host major acts into the late ’90s, the club closed for good on April 8, 2000.
Angie Hill—now a popular DJ on Bounce 99.5 FM— was a host at Lulu’s in the late 1990’s until it closed in 2000. She remembers the people she worked with as a family and cherishes the lifelong friendships she made while working there. She remembers how she and other staff would “eat our shitty chicken fingers together … and make a plan of attack for the night.”
Kenny Hollis, who also worked as a host for many years at Lulu’s, reportedly had some of his ashes scattered on former site of Lulu’s.
Mike Harvey, who worked as the Lighting Director from 1993 to 1998, said working at Lulu’s was like being paid to work at a party.
“There will never, ever, be another place like it,” he said.
“The place was just magical, eh,” Robbie Hain, the former house manager, said.
Hain is also working on a book about Lulu’s.
Today, Lulu’s lives on in the hearts of those who experienced it. Ask any regular to name their favorite show, and you will likely get a wistful smile and a list too long to finish. Whether it was George Thorogood playing to an over-capacity crowd, James Brown for $2 on a Tuesday, or Stompin’ Tom Connors fuming over a canceled gig, every night at Lulu’s was a story waiting to be told.
And 25 years later, those stories still echo—loud, proud and unforgettable.
#chuckBerry #FionaMcAlister #georgeThorogood #guinnessWorldRecord #jamesBrown #karlMagid #localHistory #localMusic #localVenue #luluSRoadhouse #Ontario #theRamones #Toronto #torontoEntrepreneur
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25 YEARS GONE: REMEMBERING LULU’S ROADHOUSE
It’s been 25 years since the final notes faded from Lulu’s Roadhouse, but for those who danced, sang, and lived through its heyday, the memories remain as vivid as ever. Once hailed as the world’s largest nightclub bar, Lulu’s wasn’t just a music venue—it was a rite of passage, a community hub and a temple to rock ‘n’ roll in the heart of Kitchener.
Opened in April 1984 by Toronto entrepreneur Karl Magid, Lulu’s transformed a former Kmart at 4263 King St. E., Kitchener into a 75,000-square-foot music venue. With a Guinness World Record-holding 340-foot bar and a capacity of 3,000, it quickly became a magnet for music lovers across Ontario.
From Chuck Berry to The Ramones, Lulu’s hosted a staggering range of acts, often well past their commercial prime but still capable of electrifying a crowd. Lulu’s featured a dance floor big enough to hold thousands and some idiosyncratic touches like “balloon girls” who sold balloons with meanings based on their colours—among others, red meant a woman who wanted to dance; blue was for men looking to show women a fun time; yellow meant shy; and purple simply meant horny.
Lulu’s played host to Canadian icons like Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox, Trooper and Colin James, as well as international legends and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers such as James Brown, Alice Cooper and The Everly Brothers. The venue’s eclectic bookings meant you could see Conway Twitty one week and Motörhead the next.
Behind the scenes, figures like Rob Cressman of Major Talent Agency worked tirelessly to bring big names to town, often booking regional tours to make Lulu’s a viable stop. Artists were paid in cash, and trust was everything—Del Shannon once asked Cressman to hold onto $30,000 until his next visit.
The venue’s charm wasn’t just in its headliners. The house band, featuring guitarist Peter Paladino, was a major draw, touring other cities and even traveling in their own bus. For many, the house band was the best show in town.
Bill Wiley, a DJ from FM 108 and frequent MC at Lulu’s, conducted over 350 interviews with artists during his time there. Though many of his recordings were tragically stolen 15 years ago, he fondly recalls his interview with James Brown as a career highlight. Among his favourite performances were Sam and Dave, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and The Crystals. Wiley remembers Dee Dee Kenniebrew of The Crystals taking a particular liking to him—a memory that still brings a smile.
Even chaos had its place. One night, during a Motörhead and Black Sabbath double bill, the crowd erupted into moshing and stage diving—not something you’d expect to see at a suburban night club. Between sets, a scuffle broke out, adding to the night’s wild lore.
Despite its popularity, Lulu’s could not escape the pressures of changing times. Ownership changes, economic downturns, and evolving musical tastes led to its bankruptcy in 1992. Though it was revived and continued to host major acts into the late ’90s, the club closed for good on April 8, 2000.
Angie Hill—now a popular DJ on Bounce 99.5 FM— was a host at Lulu’s in the late 1990’s until it closed in 2000. She remembers the people she worked with as a family and cherishes the lifelong friendships she made while working there. She remembers how she and other staff would “eat our shitty chicken fingers together … and make a plan of attack for the night.”
Kenny Hollis, who also worked as a host for many years at Lulu’s, reportedly had some of his ashes scattered on former site of Lulu’s.
Mike Harvey, who worked as the Lighting Director from 1993 to 1998, said working at Lulu’s was like being paid to work at a party.
“There will never, ever, be another place like it,” he said.
“The place was just magical, eh,” Robbie Hain, the former house manager, said.
Hain is also working on a book about Lulu’s.
Today, Lulu’s lives on in the hearts of those who experienced it. Ask any regular to name their favorite show, and you will likely get a wistful smile and a list too long to finish. Whether it was George Thorogood playing to an over-capacity crowd, James Brown for $2 on a Tuesday, or Stompin’ Tom Connors fuming over a canceled gig, every night at Lulu’s was a story waiting to be told.
And 25 years later, those stories still echo—loud, proud and unforgettable.
#chuckBerry #FionaMcAlister #georgeThorogood #guinnessWorldRecord #jamesBrown #karlMagid #localHistory #localMusic #localVenue #luluSRoadhouse #Ontario #theRamones #Toronto #torontoEntrepreneur
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Sts. Louis & Zélie Novena 2025, Day 3: Hope in the Midst of Loss
READING
My dear little Joseph died this morning at 7 o’clock. I was alone with him. He had a night of cruel suffering, and tearfully I asked for his deliverance. My heart was relieved when I saw him utter his last sigh.
Saint Zélie Martin
Letter CF 36 to Isidore, 24 August 1868REFLECTION
Between Day 2’s “I can’t imagine that God will not leave my dear little boy with me” and this stark reality lies a profound shift. Zélie’s abandonment was threefold: she abandoned little Joseph to God’s arms, abandoned herself to tearful prayer, and abandoned herself even to relief when his suffering ended.
Yet this surrender was never cold resignation but love-filled release. According to her daughter Céline’s later recollections, Zélie placed “a crown of white roses on his head” and stayed “close to his tiny coffin up to the last moment.” Even as she sighed, “My God, how hard it is to put him into the grave, but since You will it so, may Your holy will be done,” her maternal tenderness remained intact. The same hands that crowned her child with roses also released him to God’s care.
From this complete surrender—both anguished and loving—purified hope could emerge. No longer hope based on her expectations, but hope grounded in God’s goodness beyond understanding. The confident hope of Day 2 may have died with little Joseph, but something deeper was born: hope that could endure when God’s answers looked nothing like her prayers.
PRAYER
Saints Louis and Zélie,
you who in your life as a couple and as parents
have borne witness to an exemplary Christian life,
by putting God first,
by fulfilling the duties of your state in life
and practicing the evangelical virtues,
we turn to you:Help us to have unshakable trust in God
and to abandon ourselves to His Will,
as you did through the joys,
as well as the trials, grief, and suffering
that marked your lives.Help us to love God with all our hearts,
to persevere through our daily difficulties,
and to abide in the joy and hope
that a living faith in Christ gives us.Intercede for us
(Mention your intentions here)
that we may obtain the graces we need
today and every day of our lives.Our Father…
Glory be…
Saints Louis and Zélie, pray for us.
Martin, Z & Martin, L 2011, A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, trans. Hess, AC, ed. Renda, F, Society of St. Paul, New York.
All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.
Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.
#hope #JosephJeanBaptisteMartin #novena #prayer #StZélieMartin
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[2/7] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
Events for June 2 – June 8Details confirmed as of Mon June 2, 8:45AM
Share/Repost so Mainers know where to #RESIST!
Submit events to: [email protected]WED JUNE 4
JUNE 4, Wed 10-11AM (& every Wed) – #BridgtonME
U.S. 302 & Maine 117
Peaceful, Solidarity Rally, Lake Region Indivisible
Join us every Wednesday morning for this peaceful rally of solidarity in opposition to the current administration.
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/778849/JUNE 4, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.JUNE 4, Wed 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave,
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/JUNE 4, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
JUNE 4, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
#Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.JUNE 4, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153, Conway, New Hampshire
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!JUNE 4, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyJUNE 4, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United.#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
#ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists -
[2/7] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
Events for June 2 – June 8Details confirmed as of Mon June 2, 8:45AM
Share/Repost so Mainers know where to #RESIST!
Submit events to: [email protected]WED JUNE 4
JUNE 4, Wed 10-11AM (& every Wed) – #BridgtonME
U.S. 302 & Maine 117
Peaceful, Solidarity Rally, Lake Region Indivisible
Join us every Wednesday morning for this peaceful rally of solidarity in opposition to the current administration.
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/778849/JUNE 4, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.JUNE 4, Wed 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave,
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/JUNE 4, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
JUNE 4, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
#Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.JUNE 4, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153, Conway, New Hampshire
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!JUNE 4, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyJUNE 4, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United.#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
#ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists -
[2/7] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
Events for June 2 – June 8Details confirmed as of Mon June 2, 8:45AM
Share/Repost so Mainers know where to #RESIST!
Submit events to: [email protected]WED JUNE 4
JUNE 4, Wed 10-11AM (& every Wed) – #BridgtonME
U.S. 302 & Maine 117
Peaceful, Solidarity Rally, Lake Region Indivisible
Join us every Wednesday morning for this peaceful rally of solidarity in opposition to the current administration.
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/778849/JUNE 4, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.JUNE 4, Wed 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave,
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/JUNE 4, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
JUNE 4, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
#Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.JUNE 4, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153, Conway, New Hampshire
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!JUNE 4, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyJUNE 4, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United.#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
#ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists -
[2/7] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
Events for June 2 – June 8Details confirmed as of Mon June 2, 8:45AM
Share/Repost so Mainers know where to #RESIST!
Submit events to: [email protected]WED JUNE 4
JUNE 4, Wed 10-11AM (& every Wed) – #BridgtonME
U.S. 302 & Maine 117
Peaceful, Solidarity Rally, Lake Region Indivisible
Join us every Wednesday morning for this peaceful rally of solidarity in opposition to the current administration.
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/778849/JUNE 4, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.JUNE 4, Wed 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave,
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/JUNE 4, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
JUNE 4, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
#Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.JUNE 4, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153, Conway, New Hampshire
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!JUNE 4, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyJUNE 4, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United.#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
#ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists -
[2/7] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
Events for June 2 – June 8Details confirmed as of Mon June 2, 8:45AM
Share/Repost so Mainers know where to #RESIST!
Submit events to: [email protected]WED JUNE 4
JUNE 4, Wed 10-11AM (& every Wed) – #BridgtonME
U.S. 302 & Maine 117
Peaceful, Solidarity Rally, Lake Region Indivisible
Join us every Wednesday morning for this peaceful rally of solidarity in opposition to the current administration.
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/778849/JUNE 4, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.JUNE 4, Wed 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave,
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/JUNE 4, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
JUNE 4, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
#Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.JUNE 4, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153, Conway, New Hampshire
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!JUNE 4, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyJUNE 4, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United.#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism
#ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists -
[2/8] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
MAINE RESISTANCE EVENTS
MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2025
=====================
EVERY EFFORT COUNTS!#Resist the #BudgetBill & #SAVEMEDICAID
FLOOD the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121REPOST & SHARE!
Updated Mon, May 26, 6:45AMMAY 28, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.MAY 28, 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/MAY 28, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
MAY 28, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.MAY 28, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!MAY 28, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyMAY 28, Wed 6-7:30PM – #BathME
Event address in Bath is private – sign up for more details.
Public Town Hall with Jordan Wood for U.S. Senate – Jordan Wood is running to replace Susan Collins, whose 6 yr term is up in the midterms. Free and open to the public, bring questions and learn why Jordan is the right person to serve Mainers in Washington. Address provided upon RSVP:
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/792817/MAY 28, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/751813/#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #FreePalestine #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists
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[2/8] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
MAINE RESISTANCE EVENTS
MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2025
=====================
EVERY EFFORT COUNTS!#Resist the #BudgetBill & #SAVEMEDICAID
FLOOD the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121REPOST & SHARE!
Updated Mon, May 26, 6:45AMMAY 28, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.MAY 28, 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/MAY 28, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
MAY 28, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.MAY 28, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!MAY 28, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyMAY 28, Wed 6-7:30PM – #BathME
Event address in Bath is private – sign up for more details.
Public Town Hall with Jordan Wood for U.S. Senate – Jordan Wood is running to replace Susan Collins, whose 6 yr term is up in the midterms. Free and open to the public, bring questions and learn why Jordan is the right person to serve Mainers in Washington. Address provided upon RSVP:
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/792817/MAY 28, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/751813/#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #FreePalestine #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists
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[2/8] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
MAINE RESISTANCE EVENTS
MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2025
=====================
EVERY EFFORT COUNTS!#Resist the #BudgetBill & #SAVEMEDICAID
FLOOD the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121REPOST & SHARE!
Updated Mon, May 26, 6:45AMMAY 28, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.MAY 28, 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/MAY 28, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
MAY 28, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.MAY 28, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!MAY 28, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyMAY 28, Wed 6-7:30PM – #BathME
Event address in Bath is private – sign up for more details.
Public Town Hall with Jordan Wood for U.S. Senate – Jordan Wood is running to replace Susan Collins, whose 6 yr term is up in the midterms. Free and open to the public, bring questions and learn why Jordan is the right person to serve Mainers in Washington. Address provided upon RSVP:
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/792817/MAY 28, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/751813/#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #FreePalestine #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists
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[2/8] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
MAINE RESISTANCE EVENTS
MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2025
=====================
EVERY EFFORT COUNTS!#Resist the #BudgetBill & #SAVEMEDICAID
FLOOD the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121REPOST & SHARE!
Updated Mon, May 26, 6:45AMMAY 28, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.MAY 28, 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/MAY 28, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
MAY 28, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.MAY 28, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!MAY 28, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyMAY 28, Wed 6-7:30PM – #BathME
Event address in Bath is private – sign up for more details.
Public Town Hall with Jordan Wood for U.S. Senate – Jordan Wood is running to replace Susan Collins, whose 6 yr term is up in the midterms. Free and open to the public, bring questions and learn why Jordan is the right person to serve Mainers in Washington. Address provided upon RSVP:
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/792817/MAY 28, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/751813/#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #FreePalestine #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists
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[2/8] #PineTreeActivism Calendar
MAINE RESISTANCE EVENTS
MAY 26 - JUNE 1, 2025
=====================
EVERY EFFORT COUNTS!#Resist the #BudgetBill & #SAVEMEDICAID
FLOOD the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121REPOST & SHARE!
Updated Mon, May 26, 6:45AMMAY 28, Wed 11-12noon (& every Wed) – #DamariscottaME
Damariscotta-Newcastle Bridge, US Bus Rt 1, Main St.
By the Community, For the Community Rally – started by four women with the courage to stand up, this inspiring rally grows in size every week.MAY 28, 11-12:30PM – #AugustaME
Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building, 40 Western Ave
Weekly Standout to let our politicians know we aren’t going anywhere until there is a permanent ceasefire and a #FreePalestine! https://www.nenjp.org/calendar/MAY 28, Wed 12-12:30PM (& every Wed) – #BangorME
6 State St, “near the crosswalk & the 6 State St. Building”
PEACE & CEASEFIRE In #Gaza - Weekly vigil hosted by Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine: https://www.peacectr.org/
MAY 28, Wed 3-4:00PM – #BathME
Meet at the sidewalk leading to the bridge on the Bath side
Indivisibility Brigade, Sagadahoc Bridge – Bring signs to support workers and unions.MAY 28, Wed 4-6:00PM (& every Wed) – #ConwayNH
4 Corners @ Intersection of Route 113 & 153
Walk Out Wednesday – weekly visibility events with goal of covering New Hampshire with pop-up protests! Crowd size does not matter. Hit every overpass, shopping plaza and town square - every Wednesday!MAY 28, Wed 4:30-5:30PM (& every Wed) – #NorwayME
Witherell Park, across from library, Main & Lynn St
Weekly Rally to Defend DemocracyMAY 28, Wed 6-7:30PM – #BathME
Event address in Bath is private – sign up for more details.
Public Town Hall with Jordan Wood for U.S. Senate – Jordan Wood is running to replace Susan Collins, whose 6 yr term is up in the midterms. Free and open to the public, bring questions and learn why Jordan is the right person to serve Mainers in Washington. Address provided upon RSVP:
https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/792817/MAY 28, Wed 6-7PM – Virtual Event – Join from anywhere
Team ENOUGH (for young people under 26) a youth-led program whose mission is to educate young voices about gun violence and mobilize them to take meaningful action against it. Supported by Brady United: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/751813/#Maine #MEPolitics #MaineResists #MaineEvents #FreePalestine #BadDOGE #ResistAuthoritarianism #ResistFascism #USPol #NHResists
-
Always a pleasure spending time with Rob Allen and the whole ThreatLocker team - virtually or in person (better!!!) 😬
🎙️✨ Why Simplicity Might Be the Missing Ingredient in Your #ZeroTrust Strategy | An ITSPmagazine Brand Story with Rob Allen from ThreatLocker | #RSAC2025
At #RSAC Conference 2025, the ThreatLocker booth didn’t need flashing lights or gimmicks. Just a live PowerShell attack, a rubber ducky, and a crowd watching real protection in action. That’s how you cut through the noise.
In this Brand Story episode, Sean Martin, CISSP and Marco Ciappelli talk with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, about why Zero Trust doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Instead of piling on tools, Rob explains why proactive control, vendor consolidation, and human connection are the real differentiators.
🙌 Huge thanks to #ThreatLocker for sponsoring our RSA Conference 2025 coverage and supporting meaningful conversations like this one.
🎥 Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/pPZ2VEeTdBo
🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://brand-stories-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/why-simplicity-might-be-the-missing-ingredient-in-your-zero-trust-strategy-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-rsac-conference-2025-post-event-brand-story
📝 Read the full article: https://www.itspmagazine.com/their-stories/from-reactive-to-proactive-building-guardrails-that-actually-protect-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-on-location-rsac-conference-2025-brand-story-8m334
We’re still reflecting on RSAC 2025 — and this conversation reminded us that sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most powerful.
🔜 Next stop: Infosecurity Europe 2025 in London!
Follow our coverage as it unfolds — and if you’re a cybersecurity company attending the show, reach out to connect with us on site. Let’s keep the conversations going.#cybersecurity, #zerotrust, #RSAC2025, #ThreatLocker, #infosec, #endpointsecurity, #brandstory, #threatprevention, #vendorconsolidation, #itspmagazine, #infosecurityeurope2025, #infosecurityeurope
-
Always a pleasure spending time with Rob Allen and the whole ThreatLocker team - virtually or in person (better!!!) 😬
🎙️✨ Why Simplicity Might Be the Missing Ingredient in Your #ZeroTrust Strategy | An ITSPmagazine Brand Story with Rob Allen from ThreatLocker | #RSAC2025
At #RSAC Conference 2025, the ThreatLocker booth didn’t need flashing lights or gimmicks. Just a live PowerShell attack, a rubber ducky, and a crowd watching real protection in action. That’s how you cut through the noise.
In this Brand Story episode, Sean Martin, CISSP and Marco Ciappelli talk with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, about why Zero Trust doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Instead of piling on tools, Rob explains why proactive control, vendor consolidation, and human connection are the real differentiators.
🙌 Huge thanks to #ThreatLocker for sponsoring our RSA Conference 2025 coverage and supporting meaningful conversations like this one.
🎥 Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/pPZ2VEeTdBo
🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://brand-stories-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/why-simplicity-might-be-the-missing-ingredient-in-your-zero-trust-strategy-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-rsac-conference-2025-post-event-brand-story
📝 Read the full article: https://www.itspmagazine.com/their-stories/from-reactive-to-proactive-building-guardrails-that-actually-protect-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-on-location-rsac-conference-2025-brand-story-8m334
We’re still reflecting on RSAC 2025 — and this conversation reminded us that sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most powerful.
🔜 Next stop: Infosecurity Europe 2025 in London!
Follow our coverage as it unfolds — and if you’re a cybersecurity company attending the show, reach out to connect with us on site. Let’s keep the conversations going.#cybersecurity, #zerotrust, #RSAC2025, #ThreatLocker, #infosec, #endpointsecurity, #brandstory, #threatprevention, #vendorconsolidation, #itspmagazine, #infosecurityeurope2025, #infosecurityeurope
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Always a pleasure spending time with Rob Allen and the whole ThreatLocker team - virtually or in person (better!!!) 😬
🎙️✨ Why Simplicity Might Be the Missing Ingredient in Your #ZeroTrust Strategy | An ITSPmagazine Brand Story with Rob Allen from ThreatLocker | #RSAC2025
At #RSAC Conference 2025, the ThreatLocker booth didn’t need flashing lights or gimmicks. Just a live PowerShell attack, a rubber ducky, and a crowd watching real protection in action. That’s how you cut through the noise.
In this Brand Story episode, Sean Martin, CISSP and Marco Ciappelli talk with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, about why Zero Trust doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Instead of piling on tools, Rob explains why proactive control, vendor consolidation, and human connection are the real differentiators.
🙌 Huge thanks to #ThreatLocker for sponsoring our RSA Conference 2025 coverage and supporting meaningful conversations like this one.
🎥 Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/pPZ2VEeTdBo
🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://brand-stories-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/why-simplicity-might-be-the-missing-ingredient-in-your-zero-trust-strategy-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-rsac-conference-2025-post-event-brand-story
📝 Read the full article: https://www.itspmagazine.com/their-stories/from-reactive-to-proactive-building-guardrails-that-actually-protect-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-on-location-rsac-conference-2025-brand-story-8m334
We’re still reflecting on RSAC 2025 — and this conversation reminded us that sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most powerful.
🔜 Next stop: Infosecurity Europe 2025 in London!
Follow our coverage as it unfolds — and if you’re a cybersecurity company attending the show, reach out to connect with us on site. Let’s keep the conversations going.#cybersecurity, #zerotrust, #RSAC2025, #ThreatLocker, #infosec, #endpointsecurity, #brandstory, #threatprevention, #vendorconsolidation, #itspmagazine, #infosecurityeurope2025, #infosecurityeurope
-
Always a pleasure spending time with Rob Allen and the whole ThreatLocker team - virtually or in person (better!!!) 😬
🎙️✨ Why Simplicity Might Be the Missing Ingredient in Your #ZeroTrust Strategy | An ITSPmagazine Brand Story with Rob Allen from ThreatLocker | #RSAC2025
At #RSAC Conference 2025, the ThreatLocker booth didn’t need flashing lights or gimmicks. Just a live PowerShell attack, a rubber ducky, and a crowd watching real protection in action. That’s how you cut through the noise.
In this Brand Story episode, Sean Martin, CISSP and Marco Ciappelli talk with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, about why Zero Trust doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Instead of piling on tools, Rob explains why proactive control, vendor consolidation, and human connection are the real differentiators.
🙌 Huge thanks to #ThreatLocker for sponsoring our RSA Conference 2025 coverage and supporting meaningful conversations like this one.
🎥 Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/pPZ2VEeTdBo
🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://brand-stories-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/why-simplicity-might-be-the-missing-ingredient-in-your-zero-trust-strategy-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-rsac-conference-2025-post-event-brand-story
📝 Read the full article: https://www.itspmagazine.com/their-stories/from-reactive-to-proactive-building-guardrails-that-actually-protect-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-on-location-rsac-conference-2025-brand-story-8m334
We’re still reflecting on RSAC 2025 — and this conversation reminded us that sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most powerful.
🔜 Next stop: Infosecurity Europe 2025 in London!
Follow our coverage as it unfolds — and if you’re a cybersecurity company attending the show, reach out to connect with us on site. Let’s keep the conversations going.#cybersecurity, #zerotrust, #RSAC2025, #ThreatLocker, #infosec, #endpointsecurity, #brandstory, #threatprevention, #vendorconsolidation, #itspmagazine, #infosecurityeurope2025, #infosecurityeurope
-
Always a pleasure spending time with Rob Allen and the whole ThreatLocker team - virtually or in person (better!!!) 😬
🎙️✨ Why Simplicity Might Be the Missing Ingredient in Your #ZeroTrust Strategy | An ITSPmagazine Brand Story with Rob Allen from ThreatLocker | #RSAC2025
At #RSAC Conference 2025, the ThreatLocker booth didn’t need flashing lights or gimmicks. Just a live PowerShell attack, a rubber ducky, and a crowd watching real protection in action. That’s how you cut through the noise.
In this Brand Story episode, Sean Martin, CISSP and Marco Ciappelli talk with Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer at ThreatLocker, about why Zero Trust doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Instead of piling on tools, Rob explains why proactive control, vendor consolidation, and human connection are the real differentiators.
🙌 Huge thanks to #ThreatLocker for sponsoring our RSA Conference 2025 coverage and supporting meaningful conversations like this one.
🎥 Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/pPZ2VEeTdBo
🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://brand-stories-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/why-simplicity-might-be-the-missing-ingredient-in-your-zero-trust-strategy-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-rsac-conference-2025-post-event-brand-story
📝 Read the full article: https://www.itspmagazine.com/their-stories/from-reactive-to-proactive-building-guardrails-that-actually-protect-a-brand-story-with-rob-allen-from-threatlocker-an-on-location-rsac-conference-2025-brand-story-8m334
We’re still reflecting on RSAC 2025 — and this conversation reminded us that sometimes, the simplest solutions are the most powerful.
🔜 Next stop: Infosecurity Europe 2025 in London!
Follow our coverage as it unfolds — and if you’re a cybersecurity company attending the show, reach out to connect with us on site. Let’s keep the conversations going.#cybersecurity, #zerotrust, #RSAC2025, #ThreatLocker, #infosec, #endpointsecurity, #brandstory, #threatprevention, #vendorconsolidation, #itspmagazine, #infosecurityeurope2025, #infosecurityeurope
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Stuck in the Filter: February 2025’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
February comes down the pipe about two or three months after February. A perfectly normal thing to experience here at AMG HQ, this Filter’s tardiness is brought to you in part by my body getting stuck in one of the tighter conduits that lines the concrete interior of this confounded bunker. My minions are elsewhere, trudging through similar environs, and report their findings to me via eldritch beast telepathy. Since I obviously don’t speak eldritch tongue, I have to use my Codex of Enspongification to decipher these antediluvian transmissions. I’m sure you can imagine, that takes no small measure of time, especially when you’re stuck in this galvanized prison of rusting sheetmetal.
Until my ungrateful minions can find me and rescue me—something I don’t expect to happen anytime soon considering I give them no workers benefits or pay of any kind—you’ll have to make do with the selections of rough-hewn and sharp, but valuable, ore provided below. OBSERVE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Kenstrosity’s Crusty Grab
Metaphobic // Deranged Excruciations [February 28th, 2025 – Everlasting Spew Records]
When Atlantan death metal quintet Metaphobic caught my attention with the megalithic riffs opening their debut LP Deranged Excruciations, I thought the stank face it brought out of me might be permanent. Nothing new and nothing sophisticated awaits here. Just brutalizing riffs delivered in a relentless sequence of destruction. Lead guitars squeal and scrape against the swampy ground underfoot, leaving a noxious slime trail behind “Mental Deconstruction” and “Execration” that tastes of Tomb Mold, Incantation, and Demilich to varying degrees. Guttural utterances and cacophonic—but accessibly structured—riffs offer the same infernal ferocity of the olden ways. However, in a similar manner to Noxis, their application here feels modern and fresh-ish (“Execration,” “Veiled Horizons,” “Hypnosis Engram”). Not nearly as nuanced as that comparison might suggest, Metaphobic are more than satisfied to use their brutish death metal as a cudgel for blunt force trauma. Nods to death doom in long-form wanderings like “Disciples of Vengeance” and “Insatiable Abyss” provide an appreciable variation in pace, though it doesn’t always work in Metaphobic’s favor. While those songs tend to meander too long on ideas unfit to support such mass for so long, livid outbursts like “Veiled Horizons” and “Reconstituted Grey Matter” more than make up for it. In short Deranged Excruciations commands my attention enough to earn my recommendation here, and my attention going forward.
Tyme’s Missing Minutes
Caustic Phlegm // Purulent Apocalypse [February 28, 2025 – Hells Headbangers]
Caustic Phlegm is the filth project helmed solely by Chestcrush main man Evan Vasilakos, who joyously employed his HM-2 and RAT pedals to create the utter disgustingness that is Purulent Apocalypse. A far cry from the angsty, I’d-rather-see-humanity-dead blackened death metal of his main outfit, Caustic Phlegm is a throwback to the days when Carnage walked the streets of Sweden and Impetigo was melting faces and killing brain cells. Purulent Apocalypse is a platter of pestiferous riffs (“Fouled, Infected & Infested,” “Soft Bones,” “Blister Bliss”), so many it’s like sitting on a death metal toilet puking and shitting riffs ad nauseam. Evan’s drum work, replete with the occasional but very satisfying St. Anger snare tone, drives the mindless fun forward, and the 80’s zombie giallo synth work would have Lucio Fulci himself clawing out of his grave to eat your face. Vasilakos’ vocals are a fine litany of belches, squelches, and gurgles that sound like a colony of maggots cleaning the putrid flesh from a corpulent corpse. Caustic Phlegm is the foul stench of death and will have you reaching for the soap and steel wool as you try to rid yourself of the Purulent Apocalypse infection.
Vermilia // Karsikko [February 14, 2025 – Self Release]
Had the incomparable Darkher not released The Buried Storm in 2022, Vermilia‘s Ruska would have garnered my top spot that year, which put her on my radar for the first time. When I saw Vermilia‘s follow-up, Karsikko had dropped in February—sadly we didn’t receive a promo—I jumped at the chance to filter it. While Karsikko is a bit more straightforward than Ruska, it’s full of liltingly beautiful pianos (“Karsikko”) that give way to icy black metal riffs (“Kansojen Kaipuu”) and gorgeously rendered folk metal melodies (“Koti,” “Veresi”). Comparisons with Myrkur and Suldusk would be appropriate, but Vermilia continues to carve out her own space in the folk black metal scene, marrying beatific melody with beastly aggression. Performing all of the music on Karsikko, as is her one-woman calling card, renders her finished products even more impressive. The highlight has always been the voice, though, as Vermilia deftly transitions between angelic cleans (“Suruhymni”) and frosty rasps (“Vakat”), completing a circle that makes each of her releases a joy to listen to. It’s confounding that another of Vermilia‘s albums is an independent release, which might be artistically intentional or the result of bone-headed label execs. Either way, don’t miss out on Karsikko, as Vermilia shouldn’t stay unsigned for long.
Killjoy’s Drowsy Discovery
Noctambulist // Noctambulist II: De Droom [February 7th, 2025 – These Hands Melt]
Although I love blackgaze, I must admit that it can be challenging to find artists who stand out in the genre, whether through quality songwriting or unexpected twists. It turns out that the Dutch band Noctambulist1 offers both. Noctambulist II: De Droom is a fun and fresh blend of Deafheaven-adjacent blackgaze with a Molotov cocktail of post-punk energy. The power chord-driven guitar lines prove to be an unexpectedly compatible fuel source to propel the shimmering, gazey tremolos and blackened rasps to new heights. Many songs (particularly “Aderlater” and “Lichteter”) start with neat intro melodies that catch the listener’s attention, then build and ride that momentum throughout the remainder. A faint sense of loss—stemming from the achingly relatable theme of homeownership drifting further out of many people’s reach—pervades the record, but there is also an infectious cheerfulness. Despite their name, Noctambulist are hardly sleepwalking as they tread along a well-worn genre.
Thus Spoke’s Disregarded Diamonds
Sacred Noose // Vanishing Spires [February 2nd, 2025 – Breath Sun Bone Blood]
My experience with Irish extreme metal has been that it is all incredibly dark, twisted, and supremely, gorgeously dissonant.2 Belfast3 duo Sacred Noose make absolutely no exception to this rule. Vanishing Spires’ ruthlessly brief 31 minutes are defined by stomach-tightening twisted blackened death designed to cut to the heart of misery and fear. The lurching sensation brought about by rapid tremolo descents and sudden accelerations of ever more dissonant chords, impenetrable drums, and pitch-shifting feedback is nauseating (“Entranced by Concrete Lathe,” “True Emancipation”). The pure horror of the inhuman, high-pitched shrieks answering the already fearsome bellows is anxiety-inducing (“”Black Tempests of Promise,” “Moribund”). The near-constant buzzing of noise is oppressive (“Terminal Prologue,” “True Emancipation”); the creeping, malevolent scales unnerving. And Sacred Noose play with their victim, luring them into a trap of deceptively familiar cavern-core (“Sacred Noose”) before throwing a hood over their head and yanking them backwards into more horrifying mania; or perhaps they’ll start with the assault (“True Emancipation”). This more ‘straightforward’ edge to Sacred Noose is most akin to a faster Sparagmos, while their dominant, demonic personality I can compare most faithfully to Thantifaxath, if Thantifaxath were more death-metal-inclined. Vanishing Spires is the first time since the latter’s 2023 Hive Mind Narcosis that a record has genuinely made me feel afraid.
Crown of Madness // Memories Fragmented [February 28th, 2025 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Life unfortunately got in the way of me giving this a proper review, but Crown of Madness deserve better than to slip by unmentioned. Memories Fragmented is the duo’s debut, but Crown of Madness is one of several projects both are already in.4. The ominous yet colourful sci-fi/fantasy cover art and spiky logo scream ‘tech-death’ and that is indeed what Crown of Madness deliver. At base, there is some damn fine technical death metal here that’s impressive and acrobatic (), but snappy, not outstaying its welcome—the entire record barely stretches beyond 35 minutes. But there is more to Memories Fragmented, and as a result, it is memorable.5 A drawl to certain refrains (), the tendency to gently sway to a slow, near-pensiveness (), the atmospheric hanging of some tremolos over a warm, dense bass (). There is depth. And it reminded me quite starkly of early Ulcerate. In this vein, the record leans towards the more meandering side of the subgenre, gripping not with hooky riffs and heart-pumping tempos, but an intricate kind of intensity. Memories Fragmented arguably goes too far in the indistinct direction, and as a result, loses immediacy. But the churning, introspective compositions presage the potential for true brilliance on future releases.
Vacuous // In His Blood [February 28th, 2025 – Relapse Records]
Full of youthful vigour, London’s Vacuous demonstrate their willing ability to evolve with their sophomore, In His Blood. While debut Dreams of Dysphoria, which I covered back in 2022, played more or less by the disso-death book, here they are already experimenting. Strange, almost post-metal atmosphere now haunts the boundaries (“Hunger,” “Public Humiliation,” “No Longer Human”), combining brilliantly with the band’s already cavernous death metal sound, and amplifying its fearsomeness. Crowning example of this is the gem Vacuous save for the record’s final act in closer “No Longer Human.” In His Blood also sees them flirt with a punkier energy that borrows more than a little bit of malice from the blackened handbook (“In His Blood,” “Flesh Parade”), backed up by d-beats, and contrasting well with their now less frequent crawls. At its most explosive, In His Blood feels downright unhinged, in the best way (“Stress Positions,” “Immersion”), but it never feels messy, and there’s potential in here for Vacuous to evolve into yet another, incredibly potent form of unique, modern hybrid extreme metal. I wish there were more than 30 minutes of this.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Bottom o’ the Barrel Boons
Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness [February 21st, 2025 – Profound Lore Records]
Though it may appear, at a glance, that I have gold-colored glasses for bands of rank and urological reference, I’d call it more of a chance happening that such miscreant acts have created intriguing works. And, truthfully, PISSGRAVE has leaned closer to filth first, function second with the war-leaning crackle (and brazenly offensive cover art) that relegates their lineage to corners of listening ears who need therapy with a high tolerance for guts and grime. Malignant Worthlessness, of course, is not accessible by any means, though, despite these Philly boys packing these nine ode to a failed society in a package that doesn’t cause immediate squirm. But with grooves trapped in an endless skronk and blast, and vocals shifted and layered to reflect the sound of a swarm of Daffy Ducks with a serious disdain for life, PISSGRAVE still embodies an endless swirl of unleashed aggression rendered in riffed and regurgitated form. Malignant Worthlessness lives on the dry and crispy side with most of its tones, which allows copious hits of quick delay and reverb on OUGHs and EEEEEEEUGHs to land with an extra psychedelic knocking when you least expect it. Little slows down the pain train here, with tracks like “Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” and “Internment Orgy” taking brief detours into chunky guitar builds that feel within grasp of normalcy just before dropping back into an intensified flaying. Elsewhere, a martial urgency that reminds of Paracletus-era Deathspell Omega or the industrial-tinged pummel of Concrete Winds, stirs a twitching movement response, all while retaining a grinding death snarl and chromatic fury, leading its fused-by-hatred structures toward an explosive and fuming conclusion. Humanity has no place in the PISSGRAVE environs, and Malignant Worthlessness, in its celebration of a hostile world, does everything it can to reinforce that.
終末回路 // 終端から引き剥がす [February 20th, 2025 – Self Release]
For things that wander around the math rock world, nailing a vibe remains essential to enjoyment. It’s all too easy in this day and edge to fall into the comfortable trap of ambient tapping and comfortable posty swirls to pleasant crescendos that renders many modern acts to high brow background music (even including bands I like, to a degree, like Covet or Jizue). New Japanese act 終末回路,6 however, chooses to imbue their nimble and tricky instrumental center with the searing emotion and urgency of a noisy post-hardcore, with searing vocal inclusions adding a gravitas to passages that would otherwise threaten to flutter away in glee (“誤殖,” “知らねぇよ”). On one end, 終末回路 delivers a bright playfulness that swings with the pedal power and psychedelia of a young Tera Melos. Yet, weighted with a punk urgency and rawer Japanese assembly of tones, which give a physical clang to tight kit heads and blazing squeal to shrill loops and feedback, 終末回路 finds a constant momentum in their shorter form excursion that makes my lack of understanding of its introspective lyrics a non-issue. Packing plaintive piano melodies (“ご自由に “), speaker blowing synth cranking (“dgdf++be”), and prog-tinged guitar flutters (“知らねぇよ”) into one listening session isn’t easy, but with this debut outing of 終端から引き剥がす,7 終末回路 makes it seem as if they’ve been honing the craft for years.
Saunders’ Salacious Skeeves
Möuth // Gobal Warning [February 14th, 2025 – Self Release)
Veteran rockers The Hellacopters returned with a typically rollicking, fun album in February. Elsewhere, dropping with little fanfare, fellow Swedes and unsung power trio Möuth emerged with an intriguing debut rock platter, entitled Global Warning. Featuring more than meets the eye and flashing a dynamic rock sound, Möuth embrace both retro and modern influences, whipped into an infectious concoction of styles, ranging from Sabbathian lurches, doomy grooves, stoner vibes, and elements of psych, punk and hard rock. For the most part it works a treat, creating a welcome change of pace. Fuzzy, upbeat rockers (“Dirt,” “Appetite”) snugly reside amongst moody, psych-bending numbers (“Alike,” “Mantra”), and heavier doom-laden rock, such as powerful opener “Holy Ground,” and brooding, emotive album centerpiece, “Sheep.” Vocally, the passionate, Ozzy-esque croons hit the spot, matching up well to the band’s multi-pronged rock flavors. Compact and infectious, varied in delivery and featuring enough tasty rhythms, fuzzy melodies and rock punch to satisfy, Global Warning marks an intriguing starting point for these Swedish rockers.
Chaos Inception // Vengeance Evangel [February 21st, 2025 – Lavadome Productions]
Emerging from a deep slumber in the depths of the underground, Alabama’s long dormant death metal crew Chaos Inception returned with their first album since 2012’s The Abrogation. Third album Vengeance Evangel went under the radar, festering unclaimed in the promo sump. After the fact, the album’s crushing, controlled chaos smacked me upside the skull with a violent modern interpretation of the classic Floridian death metal sound, with the musty hues of Tucker-era Morbid Angel most prevalent. This is blast-riddled, relentless stuff, played expertly by the trio of Matt Barnes (guitars), Gray White (vocals) and session drummer Kevin Paradis (ex-Benighted). Incredibly dense, atmospheric, and blazingly fast, Vengeance Evangel is a brutal, knotty, technical hammering, punctuated by sick, wildly inventive soloing. While not traditionally catchy, Vengeance Evangel is the kind of intense, layered death metal album that gets under the skin, grafting a deeper impression across repeated listens. The insane tempo shifts, jigsaw arrangements, and wickedly deranged axework delivers big time. From the violent, intricate throes of opener “Artillery of Humwawa,” and disturbed soundscapes of “La Niebla en el Cementerio Etrusco,” through to the brutish grooves of ‘Thymos Beast,” and exotic, tech death shards of “Empire of Prevarication,” Vengeance Evangel does not neatly fit into any one subgenre category but ticks many boxes to cast a wide appeal to death fans of varied equations.
Steel Druhm’s Viscous Biscuits
Ereb Altor // Hälsingemörker [ February 7th, 2025 – Hammerheart Records]
Steel loves his epic metal. I was raised on the stirring odes to swordsmanship and ungovernable back hair from Manowar and Cirth Ungol, and in time, I took a place at the great table in Wotan’s Golden Halls to appreciate the Viking metal exploits of Bathory and later adherents like Falkenbach and Moonsorrow. Sweden’s Ereb Altor got in the game late with their epic By Honour debut in 2008, boasting a very Bathory-esque sound and emotional tapestry that felt larger-than-life and stirred the loins to begird themselves. 10th album Hälsingemörker is a glorious return to those halls of heroes and bravery. This is the large-scale songcraft first heard on Bathory albums like Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods, and it’s most welcome to these ape ears. Cuts like “Valkyrian Fate” are exactly the kind of sweeping, epic numbers the band’s excelled at over the years. It takes the core sound of Viking era Bathory and builds outward to craft bombastic and heroic compositions that feel HUUUGE. It’s the kind of metal song that embiggens the soul and makes you want to take on a marauding horde by your lonesome and usurp all their battle booty. On “Hälsingemörker,” you get a fat dose of Moonsorrow worship, and elsewhere, Primordial is strongly referenced to very good effect. Hälsingemörker is easily the best Ereb Altor album in a while and the most in line with their beloved early sound. Strap on the sword and get after it!
#AmericanMetal #Arboreal #Benighted #BlackMetal #BlackSabbath #Blackgaze #BreathSunBoneBlood #Carnage #CausticPhlegm #ChaosInception #Chestcrush #ConcreteWinds #Coscradh #Covet #CrownOfMadness #Darkher #Deafheaven #DeathDoom #DeathMetal #DeathspellOmega #Demilich #DerangedExcruciations #DissonantDeathMetal #DustAge #EmbodimentOfDeath #ErebAltor #EverlastingSpewRecords #FolkMetal #GlobalWarning #Hälsingemörker #HellsHeadbangers #Impetigo #InHisBlood #Incantation #IrishMetal #JapaneseMetal #jizue #Karsikko #LavadomeProductions #MalignantWorthlessness #MathRock #MelodicBlackMetal #MemoriesFragmented #Metaphobic #MorbidAngel #Möuth #Myserion #Noctambulist #NoctambulistIIDeDroom #Noxis #OzzyOsbourne #Pissgrave #PostMetal #postPunk #ProfoundLoreRecords #PurulentApocalypse #RelapseRecords #Rock #SacredNoose #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #SermonOfFlames #Sparagmos #SwedishMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TerZiele #TeraMelos #Thantifaxath #TheHelicopters #TheseHandsMelt #TombMold #TranscendingObscurityRecords #UKMetal #Ulcerate #Vacuous #VanishingSpires #VengeanceEvangel #Vermilia #VultureSVengeance #終末回路 #終端から引き剥がす
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Stuck in the Filter: February 2025’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
February comes down the pipe about two or three months after February. A perfectly normal thing to experience here at AMG HQ, this Filter’s tardiness is brought to you in part by my body getting stuck in one of the tighter conduits that lines the concrete interior of this confounded bunker. My minions are elsewhere, trudging through similar environs, and report their findings to me via eldritch beast telepathy. Since I obviously don’t speak eldritch tongue, I have to use my Codex of Enspongification to decipher these antediluvian transmissions. I’m sure you can imagine, that takes no small measure of time, especially when you’re stuck in this galvanized prison of rusting sheetmetal.
Until my ungrateful minions can find me and rescue me—something I don’t expect to happen anytime soon considering I give them no workers benefits or pay of any kind—you’ll have to make do with the selections of rough-hewn and sharp, but valuable, ore provided below. OBSERVE AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Kenstrosity’s Crusty Grab
Metaphobic // Deranged Excruciations [February 28th, 2025 – Everlasting Spew Records]
When Atlantan death metal quintet Metaphobic caught my attention with the megalithic riffs opening their debut LP Deranged Excruciations, I thought the stank face it brought out of me might be permanent. Nothing new and nothing sophisticated awaits here. Just brutalizing riffs delivered in a relentless sequence of destruction. Lead guitars squeal and scrape against the swampy ground underfoot, leaving a noxious slime trail behind “Mental Deconstruction” and “Execration” that tastes of Tomb Mold, Incantation, and Demilich to varying degrees. Guttural utterances and cacophonic—but accessibly structured—riffs offer the same infernal ferocity of the olden ways. However, in a similar manner to Noxis, their application here feels modern and fresh-ish (“Execration,” “Veiled Horizons,” “Hypnosis Engram”). Not nearly as nuanced as that comparison might suggest, Metaphobic are more than satisfied to use their brutish death metal as a cudgel for blunt force trauma. Nods to death doom in long-form wanderings like “Disciples of Vengeance” and “Insatiable Abyss” provide an appreciable variation in pace, though it doesn’t always work in Metaphobic’s favor. While those songs tend to meander too long on ideas unfit to support such mass for so long, livid outbursts like “Veiled Horizons” and “Reconstituted Grey Matter” more than make up for it. In short Deranged Excruciations commands my attention enough to earn my recommendation here, and my attention going forward.
Tyme’s Missing Minutes
Caustic Phlegm // Purulent Apocalypse [February 28, 2025 – Hells Headbangers]
Caustic Phlegm is the filth project helmed solely by Chestcrush main man Evan Vasilakos, who joyously employed his HM-2 and RAT pedals to create the utter disgustingness that is Purulent Apocalypse. A far cry from the angsty, I’d-rather-see-humanity-dead blackened death metal of his main outfit, Caustic Phlegm is a throwback to the days when Carnage walked the streets of Sweden and Impetigo was melting faces and killing brain cells. Purulent Apocalypse is a platter of pestiferous riffs (“Fouled, Infected & Infested,” “Soft Bones,” “Blister Bliss”), so many it’s like sitting on a death metal toilet puking and shitting riffs ad nauseam. Evan’s drum work, replete with the occasional but very satisfying St. Anger snare tone, drives the mindless fun forward, and the 80’s zombie giallo synth work would have Lucio Fulci himself clawing out of his grave to eat your face. Vasilakos’ vocals are a fine litany of belches, squelches, and gurgles that sound like a colony of maggots cleaning the putrid flesh from a corpulent corpse. Caustic Phlegm is the foul stench of death and will have you reaching for the soap and steel wool as you try to rid yourself of the Purulent Apocalypse infection.
Vermilia // Karsikko [February 14, 2025 – Self Release]
Had the incomparable Darkher not released The Buried Storm in 2022, Vermilia‘s Ruska would have garnered my top spot that year, which put her on my radar for the first time. When I saw Vermilia‘s follow-up, Karsikko had dropped in February—sadly we didn’t receive a promo—I jumped at the chance to filter it. While Karsikko is a bit more straightforward than Ruska, it’s full of liltingly beautiful pianos (“Karsikko”) that give way to icy black metal riffs (“Kansojen Kaipuu”) and gorgeously rendered folk metal melodies (“Koti,” “Veresi”). Comparisons with Myrkur and Suldusk would be appropriate, but Vermilia continues to carve out her own space in the folk black metal scene, marrying beatific melody with beastly aggression. Performing all of the music on Karsikko, as is her one-woman calling card, renders her finished products even more impressive. The highlight has always been the voice, though, as Vermilia deftly transitions between angelic cleans (“Suruhymni”) and frosty rasps (“Vakat”), completing a circle that makes each of her releases a joy to listen to. It’s confounding that another of Vermilia‘s albums is an independent release, which might be artistically intentional or the result of bone-headed label execs. Either way, don’t miss out on Karsikko, as Vermilia shouldn’t stay unsigned for long.
Killjoy’s Drowsy Discovery
Noctambulist // Noctambulist II: De Droom [February 7th, 2025 – These Hands Melt]
Although I love blackgaze, I must admit that it can be challenging to find artists who stand out in the genre, whether through quality songwriting or unexpected twists. It turns out that the Dutch band Noctambulist1 offers both. Noctambulist II: De Droom is a fun and fresh blend of Deafheaven-adjacent blackgaze with a Molotov cocktail of post-punk energy. The power chord-driven guitar lines prove to be an unexpectedly compatible fuel source to propel the shimmering, gazey tremolos and blackened rasps to new heights. Many songs (particularly “Aderlater” and “Lichteter”) start with neat intro melodies that catch the listener’s attention, then build and ride that momentum throughout the remainder. A faint sense of loss—stemming from the achingly relatable theme of homeownership drifting further out of many people’s reach—pervades the record, but there is also an infectious cheerfulness. Despite their name, Noctambulist are hardly sleepwalking as they tread along a well-worn genre.
Thus Spoke’s Disregarded Diamonds
Sacred Noose // Vanishing Spires [February 2nd, 2025 – Breath Sun Bone Blood]
My experience with Irish extreme metal has been that it is all incredibly dark, twisted, and supremely, gorgeously dissonant.2 Belfast3 duo Sacred Noose make absolutely no exception to this rule. Vanishing Spires’ ruthlessly brief 31 minutes are defined by stomach-tightening twisted blackened death designed to cut to the heart of misery and fear. The lurching sensation brought about by rapid tremolo descents and sudden accelerations of ever more dissonant chords, impenetrable drums, and pitch-shifting feedback is nauseating (“Entranced by Concrete Lathe,” “True Emancipation”). The pure horror of the inhuman, high-pitched shrieks answering the already fearsome bellows is anxiety-inducing (“”Black Tempests of Promise,” “Moribund”). The near-constant buzzing of noise is oppressive (“Terminal Prologue,” “True Emancipation”); the creeping, malevolent scales unnerving. And Sacred Noose play with their victim, luring them into a trap of deceptively familiar cavern-core (“Sacred Noose”) before throwing a hood over their head and yanking them backwards into more horrifying mania; or perhaps they’ll start with the assault (“True Emancipation”). This more ‘straightforward’ edge to Sacred Noose is most akin to a faster Sparagmos, while their dominant, demonic personality I can compare most faithfully to Thantifaxath, if Thantifaxath were more death-metal-inclined. Vanishing Spires is the first time since the latter’s 2023 Hive Mind Narcosis that a record has genuinely made me feel afraid.
Crown of Madness // Memories Fragmented [February 28th, 2025 – Transcending Obscurity Records]
Life unfortunately got in the way of me giving this a proper review, but Crown of Madness deserve better than to slip by unmentioned. Memories Fragmented is the duo’s debut, but Crown of Madness is one of several projects both are already in.4. The ominous yet colourful sci-fi/fantasy cover art and spiky logo scream ‘tech-death’ and that is indeed what Crown of Madness deliver. At base, there is some damn fine technical death metal here that’s impressive and acrobatic (), but snappy, not outstaying its welcome—the entire record barely stretches beyond 35 minutes. But there is more to Memories Fragmented, and as a result, it is memorable.5 A drawl to certain refrains (), the tendency to gently sway to a slow, near-pensiveness (), the atmospheric hanging of some tremolos over a warm, dense bass (). There is depth. And it reminded me quite starkly of early Ulcerate. In this vein, the record leans towards the more meandering side of the subgenre, gripping not with hooky riffs and heart-pumping tempos, but an intricate kind of intensity. Memories Fragmented arguably goes too far in the indistinct direction, and as a result, loses immediacy. But the churning, introspective compositions presage the potential for true brilliance on future releases.
Vacuous // In His Blood [February 28th, 2025 – Relapse Records]
Full of youthful vigour, London’s Vacuous demonstrate their willing ability to evolve with their sophomore, In His Blood. While debut Dreams of Dysphoria, which I covered back in 2022, played more or less by the disso-death book, here they are already experimenting. Strange, almost post-metal atmosphere now haunts the boundaries (“Hunger,” “Public Humiliation,” “No Longer Human”), combining brilliantly with the band’s already cavernous death metal sound, and amplifying its fearsomeness. Crowning example of this is the gem Vacuous save for the record’s final act in closer “No Longer Human.” In His Blood also sees them flirt with a punkier energy that borrows more than a little bit of malice from the blackened handbook (“In His Blood,” “Flesh Parade”), backed up by d-beats, and contrasting well with their now less frequent crawls. At its most explosive, In His Blood feels downright unhinged, in the best way (“Stress Positions,” “Immersion”), but it never feels messy, and there’s potential in here for Vacuous to evolve into yet another, incredibly potent form of unique, modern hybrid extreme metal. I wish there were more than 30 minutes of this.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Bottom o’ the Barrel Boons
Pissgrave // Malignant Worthlessness [February 21st, 2025 – Profound Lore Records]
Though it may appear, at a glance, that I have gold-colored glasses for bands of rank and urological reference, I’d call it more of a chance happening that such miscreant acts have created intriguing works. And, truthfully, PISSGRAVE has leaned closer to filth first, function second with the war-leaning crackle (and brazenly offensive cover art) that relegates their lineage to corners of listening ears who need therapy with a high tolerance for guts and grime. Malignant Worthlessness, of course, is not accessible by any means, though, despite these Philly boys packing these nine ode to a failed society in a package that doesn’t cause immediate squirm. But with grooves trapped in an endless skronk and blast, and vocals shifted and layered to reflect the sound of a swarm of Daffy Ducks with a serious disdain for life, PISSGRAVE still embodies an endless swirl of unleashed aggression rendered in riffed and regurgitated form. Malignant Worthlessness lives on the dry and crispy side with most of its tones, which allows copious hits of quick delay and reverb on OUGHs and EEEEEEEUGHs to land with an extra psychedelic knocking when you least expect it. Little slows down the pain train here, with tracks like “Heaping Pile of Electrified Gore” and “Internment Orgy” taking brief detours into chunky guitar builds that feel within grasp of normalcy just before dropping back into an intensified flaying. Elsewhere, a martial urgency that reminds of Paracletus-era Deathspell Omega or the industrial-tinged pummel of Concrete Winds, stirs a twitching movement response, all while retaining a grinding death snarl and chromatic fury, leading its fused-by-hatred structures toward an explosive and fuming conclusion. Humanity has no place in the PISSGRAVE environs, and Malignant Worthlessness, in its celebration of a hostile world, does everything it can to reinforce that.
終末回路 // 終端から引き剥がす [February 20th, 2025 – Self Release]
For things that wander around the math rock world, nailing a vibe remains essential to enjoyment. It’s all too easy in this day and edge to fall into the comfortable trap of ambient tapping and comfortable posty swirls to pleasant crescendos that renders many modern acts to high brow background music (even including bands I like, to a degree, like Covet or Jizue). New Japanese act 終末回路,6 however, chooses to imbue their nimble and tricky instrumental center with the searing emotion and urgency of a noisy post-hardcore, with searing vocal inclusions adding a gravitas to passages that would otherwise threaten to flutter away in glee (“誤殖,” “知らねぇよ”). On one end, 終末回路 delivers a bright playfulness that swings with the pedal power and psychedelia of a young Tera Melos. Yet, weighted with a punk urgency and rawer Japanese assembly of tones, which give a physical clang to tight kit heads and blazing squeal to shrill loops and feedback, 終末回路 finds a constant momentum in their shorter form excursion that makes my lack of understanding of its introspective lyrics a non-issue. Packing plaintive piano melodies (“ご自由に “), speaker blowing synth cranking (“dgdf++be”), and prog-tinged guitar flutters (“知らねぇよ”) into one listening session isn’t easy, but with this debut outing of 終端から引き剥がす,7 終末回路 makes it seem as if they’ve been honing the craft for years.
Saunders’ Salacious Skeeves
Möuth // Gobal Warning [February 14th, 2025 – Self Release)
Veteran rockers The Hellacopters returned with a typically rollicking, fun album in February. Elsewhere, dropping with little fanfare, fellow Swedes and unsung power trio Möuth emerged with an intriguing debut rock platter, entitled Global Warning. Featuring more than meets the eye and flashing a dynamic rock sound, Möuth embrace both retro and modern influences, whipped into an infectious concoction of styles, ranging from Sabbathian lurches, doomy grooves, stoner vibes, and elements of psych, punk and hard rock. For the most part it works a treat, creating a welcome change of pace. Fuzzy, upbeat rockers (“Dirt,” “Appetite”) snugly reside amongst moody, psych-bending numbers (“Alike,” “Mantra”), and heavier doom-laden rock, such as powerful opener “Holy Ground,” and brooding, emotive album centerpiece, “Sheep.” Vocally, the passionate, Ozzy-esque croons hit the spot, matching up well to the band’s multi-pronged rock flavors. Compact and infectious, varied in delivery and featuring enough tasty rhythms, fuzzy melodies and rock punch to satisfy, Global Warning marks an intriguing starting point for these Swedish rockers.
Chaos Inception // Vengeance Evangel [February 21st, 2025 – Lavadome Productions]
Emerging from a deep slumber in the depths of the underground, Alabama’s long dormant death metal crew Chaos Inception returned with their first album since 2012’s The Abrogation. Third album Vengeance Evangel went under the radar, festering unclaimed in the promo sump. After the fact, the album’s crushing, controlled chaos smacked me upside the skull with a violent modern interpretation of the classic Floridian death metal sound, with the musty hues of Tucker-era Morbid Angel most prevalent. This is blast-riddled, relentless stuff, played expertly by the trio of Matt Barnes (guitars), Gray White (vocals) and session drummer Kevin Paradis (ex-Benighted). Incredibly dense, atmospheric, and blazingly fast, Vengeance Evangel is a brutal, knotty, technical hammering, punctuated by sick, wildly inventive soloing. While not traditionally catchy, Vengeance Evangel is the kind of intense, layered death metal album that gets under the skin, grafting a deeper impression across repeated listens. The insane tempo shifts, jigsaw arrangements, and wickedly deranged axework delivers big time. From the violent, intricate throes of opener “Artillery of Humwawa,” and disturbed soundscapes of “La Niebla en el Cementerio Etrusco,” through to the brutish grooves of ‘Thymos Beast,” and exotic, tech death shards of “Empire of Prevarication,” Vengeance Evangel does not neatly fit into any one subgenre category but ticks many boxes to cast a wide appeal to death fans of varied equations.
Steel Druhm’s Viscous Biscuits
Ereb Altor // Hälsingemörker [ February 7th, 2025 – Hammerheart Records]
Steel loves his epic metal. I was raised on the stirring odes to swordsmanship and ungovernable back hair from Manowar and Cirth Ungol, and in time, I took a place at the great table in Wotan’s Golden Halls to appreciate the Viking metal exploits of Bathory and later adherents like Falkenbach and Moonsorrow. Sweden’s Ereb Altor got in the game late with their epic By Honour debut in 2008, boasting a very Bathory-esque sound and emotional tapestry that felt larger-than-life and stirred the loins to begird themselves. 10th album Hälsingemörker is a glorious return to those halls of heroes and bravery. This is the large-scale songcraft first heard on Bathory albums like Hammerheart and Twilight of the Gods, and it’s most welcome to these ape ears. Cuts like “Valkyrian Fate” are exactly the kind of sweeping, epic numbers the band’s excelled at over the years. It takes the core sound of Viking era Bathory and builds outward to craft bombastic and heroic compositions that feel HUUUGE. It’s the kind of metal song that embiggens the soul and makes you want to take on a marauding horde by your lonesome and usurp all their battle booty. On “Hälsingemörker,” you get a fat dose of Moonsorrow worship, and elsewhere, Primordial is strongly referenced to very good effect. Hälsingemörker is easily the best Ereb Altor album in a while and the most in line with their beloved early sound. Strap on the sword and get after it!
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