Posts

Get ya self some tapes! pt 2 (w/ bonus lost codices table!)

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Back with a second round of lo-fi, small batch Satanry in cassette form. You know the drill, it sounds kinda like shit (or "textured") in its production, so buy it in physical-sounds-like-shit form. Direct links to bandcamps, you can buy most of these from Out of Season , who have a fantastic selection of the black metal and dungeon synth we all love. Blood Magic- Goetic Blood Spells Murky, raw black metal. First track is drone, if it doesn't do it for you then don't write it off, the rest will give you your thrills on route 666. Crucified Serpent- No Second Coming Winner of this post's Best Band Name award, and best band member names too ("Cruel Treatment" & "Canine"). Well-composed black metal of the traditional variety with some punky elements and ambient interludes. Warlock Corpse- Cosmic Spell Excellent fusion of outsider dance/rave, dungeon synth, sci-fi sample/sound-collage. Great variety from track to track. Some of his other rel

Album Review: Poison Ruin- Harvest (w/ bonus Peasant Rallying Cries table!)

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Best album of 2023. I didn’t expect my favorite album of 2023 to be a punk album. While I like punk, it ranks much further down the ladder than metal, noise, electronic, and even alternative pop for me. Why? It’s good, but it’s stale . Every metal subgenre gets a revival every 10-15 years, it seems like. Black metal used to be pretty monolithic and kvlt, and then around 2008ish it exploded into a diverse array of technical, atmospheric, gazey, death-y, folky, whatever-y stuff. Death metal is doing the same right now. Punk generally doesn’t innovate without splintering- emo isn’t really punk anymore, for example, and screamo folded into (bad) metal. Traditional, hardcore and crust/blackened punk have been the only “true” punk I’ve been able to stand for a long while, and finally something new comes along! Serf punk! No, not “surf” punk. Poison Ruin is the perfect music for RPG nerds. Poison Ruin are doing something that someone should’ve thought of long before this. They’ve taken the fa

Vermis 2: Mist & Mirrors Review (w/ bonus Scooby Doo Hallway portals!)

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The dim light of a single bulb illuminates the messy stacks of dusty boxes in your attic. Treasures await. You hone in on what you seek. The lid of the foot locker creaks open on its damaged hinges. A rag of stray webbing clings to the interior, and the spider lays dead atop the messy stack of comics and roleplaying modules. Peeking out is the video game guide you seek, Vermis II: Mist & Mirrors . The rediscovery of Vermis ignited your curiosity, and you thought of the sequel you bought but never remember playing. You can't find the game disc in the foot locker. Good enough for now, you think, I can dig through the guide and pick up a copy later. You sit down on a cardboard box, flipping the cover open.   The knells of the bell echo along the endless corridors. The mist engulfs everything. Those glassy eyes that chase you wherever you go are none but your own. You eagerly devour the age-faded pages, losing track of time in the quiet attic, finding yourself in the world of th

An Open Letter to James Edward Raggi IV

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  James,      Recently, you posted a video to the official Lamentations of the Flame Princess YouTube channel, entitled “ All Hail Satan! … ? ”. Based on prior videos, I assumed it was a sales event for the Satan-themed products in the catalog. Its actual contents, a critique of Satan as a biblical and literary figure, as well as its use in modern occult and religious traditions, was perplexing and “problematic”. The understanding you displayed of the importance and validity of Satan as a symbol was shockingly obtuse. As a fan of heavy metal, a fan and customer of LotFP, and a member of the Satanic Temple, I felt the need to respond.      Firstly, I understand that you approach this topic from the perspective of an atheist and one who does not shy away or take personal affront from Satanic and occult imagery. Furthermore, you have taken time to read and do some amount of analysis on the Satanic Tenets and acknowledge the work done by the Satanic Temple in support of ideological equalit

Get ya self some tapes. (w/ bonus lost codices table!)

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I was already a hipster collecting vinyl. I knew it was kind of silly, but hey, I was supporting my favorite artists at shows and often getting a rare, collectible, sometimes signed copy of something I loved. And they really do sound better (when mixed for high dynamic range). Then I went to a show and bought a tape because it was $8 and I didn't like the band enough to blow $25 on a vinyl instead. Now THAT'S silly. They don't even sound good. Of course, neither does a lot of black metal. So that's what I get, primarily, is the black metal that sounds good, but not because of its sound quality or mixing.   Dungeon Synth is also a great genre having its revival on tape, and a lot of those come with cool OSR content or at least vibes . Disclaimer: Many of these may not be available as tapes can be pretty limited in quantity. If not, just listen to the streaming version then imagine it sounding slightly shittier.   Clipping. - Splendor & Misery Ambient noise instru