navybsn

Chilling on a Saturday night with my new pal Geddy the 3 month old Siamese.
Ophiuchi - Shibboleth
Cryptospital - Scythe of the Black Death

Chilling on a Saturday night with my new pal Geddy the 3 month old Siamese.
Ophiuchi - Shibboleth
Cryptospital - Scythe of the Black Death

Ahab - The Call of the Wretched Sea (2006)
 

Flotsam and Jetsam - "No Place for Disgrace" (album)

Nice. Quite liked the first one. Will have to check this out today along with @MarkhantonioYeatts's space black metal comp.
Re: Green Lung. I'm with you @markm. Enjoyable listen but not a purchase. I would definitely go see them if they came through town, but hell I'll go see just about anyone that's halfway decent. We get so few shows in town that we have to take what we can get. Most shows we have to travel 3-5 hours for although I've seen a significant uptick in death-core shows coming to the next town over (45 min-1 hr away). Nothing worth traveling over, but maybe it will bring some more action this way.
@JonoBlade, thanks for the reminder on bc Friday. I've got quite a bit in my wishlist I've been holding on to for when they restarted the Friday thing.
This morning:
Rush - All the World's a Stage
Rush - Grace Under Pressure: 1984 Tour

Green Lung - Black Harvest
These guys got band of the year in the Totalrock newsletter, which somehow I still get despite never having listened to an internet radio station ever. Malcom Dome was one of the guys that set it up. 
Anyhow, I bought the latest album without even hearing it (interestingly I had an old album of theirs in my bandcamp wishlist but it never converted to a purchase).
Sounds good. Vocals are a bit like hearing Ozzy for the first time - not really sure about that guy, I thought to myself. It should be fun live....
....and they are playing my local pub a week from now! I mention this in an effort to shame myself into actually going. It has been over two years since I've been to a gig.
 

Cryptospital - The Epitome of Dystopia
 

You’re making it sound great @navybsn. I didn’t manage to get the tickets for the pre party but I’ll see you there for the other two days. I’ve been in quite a few small venue concerts where you can just chat or say some stupid shit to the musicians afterwards, and they’ve been the best. I hope I can meet the guys in Night Demon again and after six times finally ask for a damn signature XD

I'll be there all 3 days (pre-show and fest). Been to this show both previous years and glad to see them expand to 2 days. It's a good time. Decent venue and Houston is easy to get to. This is the best lineup they've had so far and the last 2 were pretty damn good. I agree with @SurgicalBrute, Candlemass is really good live and very nice guys to boot. Saw them on the 70K Cruise and met a few of them on the deck. Totally fanboy'ed on them and they were completely cool. HH is a pretty tight show and you will run into plenty of musicians. Met Jason Tarpley and Phil Swanson the first year. All the guys from Oath of Cruelty the second. A few more guys I'm spacing at the moment. The only flaw is there's not really any hotels within walking distance of the venue.

A big part of this whole piece of details can be the gear you listen to beyond the production. For instance, I was reevaluating Ruins Of Beverast/The Thule Grimoires, an album I admire, but have struggled with due to its meandering atmospheres that test my focus. But it's a cool albums. It sounded OK on my Sonos basic house speaks and pretty muddy in my Rav-4 (no surprise) but listening on my FiiO player which has a decent DAC/amp and Periodic IEM's made the album sound so much better in terms of details. It just came alive. And same with something cavernous like Mortriferrum/Preserved in Torment, a genre which can get lost with bloated bass given room acoustics. But on a decent little head system, there's quite a lot going under the hood that just isn't that apparent otherwise. 
Some say the best $500 headphone you can buy are two $250 headphones that give you a different coloration and appreciation of different kinds of music-say one that's more forward and aggressive with slightly recessed treble that will be more forgiving of harshness and one that has fantastic detail retrieval and accuracy. I definitely want the thunder, but even if I have swap out my gear, I want to be able to hear those details when it matters and I actually think a log of extreme black and death have great details but can be hard to preproduce properly. Decent head gear helps (for me) sort out chaotic, confused extreme metal that can otherwise sound like a hot mess. 

I  think about some of those bands that I came up with in the 80's that blew up like Twisted Sister or GnR's who cut their teeth playing in the L.A. or New York show circuits and came out of the box-or so they sounded-fully formed ready for prime time. Of course they were playing accessible hard rock and the public had an appetite for that kind of music but, by the time I and millions of my peers heard Stay Hungry (their 3rd album, I believe) my senior year in H.S. way back in '84, Sister had been performing since '76 or thereabouts. They were a pretty well oiled machine....vs a one man project who never plans to play live and doesn't have people around him helping him develop his craft so to speak....

Worth the wait. I want to say about 50% of these crossed my path for at least a listen. The rest will go into the que. 
I have been working port/starboard night watch for the past 9 days and am too smoked for metal because my brain is pretty fried already. But some down time back home with the HPs awaits.
As always it is awesome to have an expertly compiled list focused entirely on the gnarliest black goat metal to be found.

Alright you mangy mongrels, here it is as promised, 2am February 3rd, better late than never.
 
THE STATE OF THE BLACK METAL ADDRESS 2021
 

1. Aarkanne - Mysterii, Chilean war metal...finally with just 48 hours left to go in 2021 some mysterious Chilean goats have emerged from the arcane depths of hell to wreak total havoc on my list and have unseated the mighty Spectral Wound album without even breaking a fucking sweat!! Fudido!! Not sure how many war metal fans we actually have around these parts but this is some sick shit! This came out back in June but I only just discovered it at Christmas. Just another example of why I can't make my list til the year has ended. No doubt in my mind this will be on my top 10 albums of the entire decade list in 8 more years, mark my words.
 

2. Spectral Wound - A Diabolic Thirst, Montreal Quebec, not my #1 King of the 2021 black metal hill anymore but still fucking awesome. No mini review necessary, I'm sure pretty much everyone who cares has heard this one and bought it by now. Even if they didn't get their candles straight and perfectly erect for the cover shoot.
 

3. Pakkt - To Brocken Heights Where Witches Dance, Germany, holy hell, this gnarly filth bomb just dropped out of the firmament into my lap last week like a wicked little Christmas prezzie or maybe more like a brick through the window and it's been kicking my motherfucking ass non-stop ever since. I can't stop playing it! Might've even been tempted to place it at #2 just a week after its release but I just couldn't bring myself to do that to my old Canadian friends Spectral Wound. These guys weren't even listed on M-A yet the week when their album first went up on YT.
 
 

4. Black Spirit - El Sueño De La Razón Produce Monstruos, España, I really thought this would end up either #2 to big dogs Spectral Wound leading the pack or even possibly vying for #1 until just this past week with some amazing new arrivals. Love this album to pieces though, it's a cut above my usual goat filth, you'ze should check it out. 
 
 

5. Gråinheim - Hexndeifl  Germany, this dude has dropped what I consider to be top 5 caliber albums two years in a row now. Feral, ferocious, fierce, powerful, savage, unhinged, pretty much everything I could possibly ask from a 30 minute black metal demo. Thought the 'harpsichord' outro was a nice touch too.
 
 

6. Erz - Erz, monumental slab of unrelenting German black metal fury from Düsseldorf, with just a touch of death metal thrown in for flavor, and the cover art is pretty cool too. Can't seem to figure out where to put this one, I've had it as high as 3 and as low as the teens. 
 

7. Odious Devotion - Ilmestys, Finland, shit tons of great Finnish black metal this year, 12 on my list comprising fully 30% of my top 40. Two in my top 10, seven in my top 25, yet no Finns have risen to be in my top 5 this year. I can't even remember the last time that happened. This duo's debut from 3 years ago is just as good or even better. I can't say enough good things about this band, the melodies, Jesus fucking christ. Reminds me of what Dawn migth sound like if they were from Finland.
 

8. Malignament - Hypocrisis Absolution, Finland, great debut album for sure but it came up against some pretty tough competition this year so here it sits inauspiciously at #8. But don't let that fool you, this is fucking killer. 
 

9. Í Myrkri - Bag Skyggernes Slør, Denmark/USA best icy cold atmo-black of the year, their third full length in as many years, these Danes have yet to disappoint.
 

10. Ceress - Silence at the Cursed Fortress, Brazil, riffy and well crafted one-man black metal album from some Brazilian dude named Franco Wolf. He obviously put a lot of love, time & effort into this release, very polished and put together for some dude down in the jungle. The vocals remind me just a bit of Megiddo's Chorazaim at times, which is deffo a good thing. Runs a little long at 56 minutes but that's not a problem because it's so good it feels much shorter. 
 

11. Craven Idol - Forked Tongues, black/thrash out of London UK, for my money this is the best black/thrash album in recent memory, just really delivers the fucking goods to quote a certain Mr. R. Halford.
 

12. Ifrinn - Caledonian Black Magick, Scotland, I've played this one a ton this year, but with just 3 tracks stretched out to fill 24 minutes my only real criticism is I kinda wish he had given us more like five tracks at 5 minutes each instead of three 8 minute tracks so we could have had some more riff variation. I suppose there's something to be said for just getting in a groove and staying there but I prefer a little more variation. Still I do love this album and I look forward to what he comes up with next time.
 

13. Arde - Ancestral Cult, German atmo-black, majestic and proud, with a strong underlying rip tide of sadness, and some clean female vocals thrown in just as a little accent. I find this to be an incredibly beautiful album. And our esteeemed Doctor (now retired apparently) likes this one too (not enough to make his list though) which makes me feel much smarter and more refined than I actually am. Might have even ranked it slightly higher but you know I love me filf.
 

14. Diaboli - Awakening of Nordic Storm, Finland, I've been in love with Pete's work for years, this year he once again graces us with yet another savage album of Finnish badassery. I hear a lot of death metal creeping into his last couple of albums but it's been blackened to a crisp. I probably sound like a broken record at this point but I do wish I could have ranked this a bit higher. His last one Wiking Division was in my top 3 of 2015. 
 

15. Hautakammio - Pimeydem Kosketus, Finland, killer band, as much as I love their last album Pimeyden Valtakunta from 2014, I think this might just be their best record so far. Crazy to think I have it ranked so low, does this mean I have to rethink my whole entire list from the ground up now? I fucking hope not. Think of my rankings as loose and fluid, just to give a little context, or a rough idea of where things stack up, they're not meant to be set in stone.
 

16. Liktjern - I Ruiner,  Norway, this one's a bit of a sleeper, or maybe a grower I should say, I didn't realize just how good this one was for the first month or two after I got it. Then with a few more listens I saw the light. This one brings a truckload of riffs with it and has those sweet as buggery Nocturno Culto-esque vocals. Highest ranked of the 5 Norwegian bands on my list, this was a damn good find. Formed in 1996 this is their first full length after releasing only one other EP way back in 2009. If they stick to their every 12 or 13 year release schedule I might see another album from them in 2033 or 2034 if I'm lucky enough to live that long. 
 

17. Anti - Anti Germany, mid-paced depressive black metal but it's not typically depressive there are also plenty of faster sections and these songs are so god damned catchy, I fucking love this record. Played it over and over when I got it whenever that was, November I guess. Still play it weekly.
 

18. Marras - Endtime Sermon, Finland, Let's face it, Finnblack rules. I loved their first album 2 years ago and I love this one too.  Funny, it's become so common to have all these one and two man black metal projects it's starting to feel like the exception to the rule for a band to have 6 members like this.
 

19. Gorgon - Traditio Satanae, France, earlier in the year I had thought this one would probably wind up being in my top 10 come the end of the year, but a lot of killer black metal has come my way since June. The 2nd half of 2021 definitely yielded more quality bm albums than the first half. This one rips and is catchy as fuck, have it blasting into my earholes as I type this and I think I might need to move it up a few spots. 
 

20. Archgoat - Worship the Eternal Darkness, Finland, unlike some people on the interwebs who I've seen badmouthing this, I personally really like the new Archgoat record quite a lot. Even though they've ramped up the slower paced black/groove parts this time around and cut down on the fast parts, and it's the juxtaposition of the two that makes this band so special, this album was actually more immediate for me than their last two. Seems almost unthinkable that I could rank this so low as to just barely make my top 20 by the skin of their dicks, but it's been that kind of a year.
 

21. Øksehovud - Makt, Høyhet, Herredømme RBM Norway, this is raw as fuck black metal so deffo not for everyone, I know it'll probably sound like just noise to some of you, but this shit is sweet sweet music to my ears. Not all raw black metal is this awesome, a lot of it blows quite frankly but this one was truly a glorious find thanks to the Greg Biehl YouTube channel which if anyone cares has just recently rebranded itself as "No Gleaming Light"
 

22. Valac - Burning Dawn of Vengeance, USA, the other raw black metal album on my list, (kept them together to keep each other company) I had a few more but I figured most of you aren't really interested. I was really high on this one earlier in the year, had it in the upper half of my top 10 for quite awhile but with repeated listens and more and more strong contenders to the throne as the year went on I had to drop it down a little lower. But I still love the shit out of it.
 

23. Doedsvangr - Serpents ov Old, Norway/Finland/France, this is one of Shautrag of Horna/Sargeist fame's projects, and it's a damn good one. 45 minutes but it doesn't drag for a second.
 

24. Albionic Hermeticism - Psalms to the Father atmo-black UK/France
Albionic Hermeticism - Brittonic Ways. I'm finding it hard to separate these two albums in my mind because they're fairly similar, and I have no idea which one I think is "better" because they're both fucking stellar. So I'm just gonna leave them joined together at the hip like Siamese twins as one entry on my list. Think of it as a double album. I had never heard of this band until a couple of months ago but if you're a fan of atmospheric black metal then you should get both of these right away.
 

25. Åskog - Varþnaþer, Sweden, a somewhat slower paced black metal album than many of these others but it's still great with lots of cool riffs and I love the 'cheesy' throwback melodic guitar solos. This album had no business slipping down this low on my list.
 

26. Mork - Katedralen, Norway, really good album, I've seen this posted on the board by several different people last year and it was even featured on my boy Navy's list. But I just couldnt justify a higher position for it on mine given the extreme high quality of the competition this year.
 

27. Narbeleth - Svmma Cvm Nox Arcana, Cuba, that's right Cuba. Badass 2nd wave Nordic style black metal from Cuba where they don't even know what winter means. They clearly put a lot of work into the writing and making of this album. Imagine what it would feel like to be a run of the mill Norwegian black metal band with several albums under your belt and learn that these flip-flop wearing Cubans from an island in the Carribean just made a better Nordic black metal album than you could. 
 

28. Vulture Lord - Desecration Rite, Norway, straddles the line between black metal and black/thrash, but whichever side of the fence you want to put this on it's badass.
 

29. Bilwis - Sagenwelt, Germany, I'm done separating EP's from full lengths, especially now with the renewed prevalence of the 30 minute album. I used to impose a mental cut-off point at 25 minutes, but does it really make a big difference if a record is 20 or 25 or 30 minutes? A good release is a good release. This one at just a few seconds shy of 22 minutes is good enough to stand alongside the full lengths imo.
 

30. Deceiver Legion - Varjoissa, Finland, more killer shit from Finland. There is no higher form of black metal than Finnish black metal imo, and I always have lots of Finn bands on my list. First full length after 2 demos last year and it's a banger, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on these guys.
 

31. Forhist - Forhist, France, this is Vindsval from BaN fame. Saw someone on the board say this was completely different from BaN but I've gotta say it sounds almost exactly like BaN to me so I've basically just been thinking of this as the new BaN release. Not nearly as good as Hallucinogen I'm afraid, but still this is one of the best atmo-black records of the year.
 
 

32. Commander Agares - Legions of Descending Twilight, more raw black metal from Finland, fuzzy guitar tone to die for. Not quite as balls out vicious as the two RBM albums I listed 10 places higher, this one's a little slower and riffier but it deserves its spot on the list, this is excellent.
 

33. Ossuaire - Triumvirat, Quebec, one of the  better young crop of Quebecois bands, this is their 2nd full length and it smokes.
 

34. Lucifuge - Infernal Power, killer German black/thrash, fast-paced razor-sharp, the best kind of thrash if you ask me. These dudes do it way better than most. I don't know how I listened to so much thrash metal back in the 80's & 90's before they figured out that blackening it makes it at least 1,000 times better. That's my opinion anyway, but regardless this is killer shit.
 

35. Vexev - Et Demitte Cruorem In Caprum Emissarium, Vicious raw fuzzy black metal demo dall'Italia.
 

36. Ancient Obscurity - Nimettömät Maat, Finland, I just love Finnish black metal what can I say? This one's fairly melodic but some of these melodies can stay in your head all day.
 
 

37. Schrat - Seelenfresser, Germany, love this band. Someone said they thought this was a January 2022 release but M-A has it listed as Dec 16th and it was streaming on Youtube before the end of last year so I'm counting it as 2021. Ranked it down here in the 30's only because it was a late entry and I'm tired of moving everythig all around every time I add something new I just found. But rest assured this is a very worthy addition to their already solid catalogue.
 
 

38. Vortex of End - Abhorrent Fervor, France, rip roaring black/death. Came out 4 months ago but I just discovered it over New Year's weekend. This is sounding pretty fucking awesome, just as good their last album if maybe not quite as savage. They bring high speed riffage alternating with slower parts and just riffs on top of riffs. Should really have this one ranked much higher but I don't feel like having to renumber everything.
 

39. Coraxul - Vihavirsiä Aamunkoin, Finland, for my money even slightly above average Finnblack beats the piss out of most other countries' best black metal. Riffy, melodic, catchy and headbangable, why couldn't they have had Finnblack when I was a youngster? Would I have been ready to accept it? Will I ever grow tired of it? Will they keep on making it until every last Finnish citizen has their own black metal band?
 

40. Funeral Chant - Dawn of Annihilation, Oakland California, intense black/death with a little crust thrown into the mix, another one of the slew of really good albums I was hit with the last two weeks of the year. Just looked it up and it seems this one actually came out November 1st but I missed it. Mandatory for all goat fuckers. 
 

41. Wolves of Perdition - Ferocious Blasphemic Warfare, black/death Finland, I put most of the black/death albums in with the death metal this year except for this one which really felt more like it belonged with the black metal horde. The album title sums this one up quite nicely.
 

42. Azzaya - Thy Satanick Ascension, Greece/Turkey/Portugal, I'd never heard of this brand new international 3-piece band til a couple of months ago when this first popped up on Youtube. But this is right up my alley, punishingly aggressive and beligerent, razor sharp black metal. Pretty impressive that they just formed the band in 2021 and managed to get this killer debut album out the same year.
 

43. Wolfskrone - The Hunt, Estonia, another end of year discovery, one YT commenter said this was like a walk through a haunted forest. This atmo-black album has been a real grower, I've been enjoying it a bunch late at night. And Estonia is just a 2 hour ferry ride away from Finland so it's no wonder I like it.

The expectations of family members for you to come heavily out of pocket to attend a brief event like a wedding is a bit ridiculous. When we were planning our daughter's wedding, we intentionally didn't invite everyone we/she knew. Two reasons 1) like you mentioned with your parents we had no intent of ever seeing some of them again (my parents) and 2) we understood their situation and didn't want to put them in a position to either have to decline or do something that created financial issues for them. We of course explained to those in the second group in the most polite way possible to avoid hard feelings and fortunately we avoided them.
I find weddings in general have become overblown money wasting activities. As a new couple, the money spent on overpriced clothing, food, pictures, and venues could be much better utilized to get a head start financially. I'd rather given my kids $15K to put a down payment on a house, secure reliable transportation, or build an emergency fund than waste it on a single day which we did. I think it would go a long way to reducing some of the hardships associated with new marriages. My wife of course didn't see it that way (even though that's exactly the way we did it). She and I just went to the courthouse, did the deed, then went to a nice resort where we did everything we should have as newlyweds. We have very fond memories of it still 25 years later. Whole weekend cost us less than a grand.

Tested positive for the old covid this morning. Swerved it for 2 years, 3 vaccinations and boom here it is. Just feel like a heavy cold. Bit of a headache. 
 
So I thought as i already have a headache I will smash the bottle of ltr JD i got for xmas. Will spend all day doing fuck all anyway so. 

Not arguing that at all. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt no matter what they've done in the past. There's rarely much that's completely unredeemable and no one who hasn't made mistakes in their lives. Dude had a problem with a significantly deviant perversion. That could indicate a number of mental health disorders ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, and bipolar to conditions along the Autism spectrum. With adequate treatment and commitment, those people can lead normal socially acceptable lives. Without treatment, they can do terrible things. The step between looking at pictures and actively engaging in more depraved activity isn't a big one (something I would say is irredeemable) and what I would equate to people singing or writing about the glorification of Satan/satanic imagery and those that take it further and engage in ritual activities that hurt others. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the idea. Regardless, I think you can see the distinction I'm making.
In his case, we've never heard any statement of contrition or explanation which makes me curious as to what his side is and what has happened in the intervening 11-12 years. Has he sought treatment and worked to make amends? We've no idea. My experience with the legal system is that things rarely go down the way they are related in a plea deal. Sometimes worse, sometimes not. Seeing how the whole thing actually took place over a decade ago (came to everyone's attention later), we're not likely to hear that in the future. It's likely he's done nothing at all to atone, but I'm not in a position to judge that. I'm not saying that in his case I'm turning a blind eye to what he did. I don't pay for any of his music anymore (I was sent a promotional copy of the last record), but I can still enjoy the music for what it is. I don't listen to Inquisition because of Dragon or the other dude, I do because the music is good. Back to the timeless debate of separating the art from the artist. I certainly understand where people on the side of the argument are coming from and support you having that take 100%. Just like everything in the human condition, nothing is ever simple and the myriad of factors that go into why people make the decisions they do. I try to approach things with an open mind for things I can understand and a bit of sympathy for those (like mental illness) that I can't.

NP: WASP - debut.
Looking forward to the 40 year box set which will include the 3 full length demo version of the debut (and according to BL himself, are better than the album as they were well over it by the time they recorded those songs a 4th time).

Alright donors....Donate!!
 
 
Oath of Cruelty (US) - Summary Execution at Dawn, Houston Texas
 
 
P.L.F. - Jackhammering Deathblow of Nightmarish Trepidation, Houston Texas
 

Navy I believe you have summed this up better than I could have.
I would just like to add that people love to judge other people and most of us are more than happy to do it with 2nd and 3rd and 4th hand information that we happened to read somewhere or maybe we just heard it from someone. I can't know 100% of the facts of the case, I've just heard the law enforcement side as researched and retold by the media, and then Jason "Dagon" Weirbach's side which was just a brief statement. I'd be willing to bet money that the truth lies somewhere in the middle, where it can usually be found. It's been my experience that very rarely is anything ever as absolutely black & white as it's typically presented to us.
The initial incident and Jason's ensuing legal entanglements took place 15 years ago in 2007 and the case was concluded 2 years later in 2009. I read an interview 4 years ago where he said he did have to attend therapy sessions for a porn addiction as a part of the plea deal. He did release a public statement, not of contrition but of denial. He claimed he was innocent of all charges and he insists that he is not a sex offender. Said that everything being reported were just the one-sided charges and accusations from the court documents, no mention was made of what was actually proven or admitted to. Said he pled to the deal his lawyer made for him because he was told it would be the easiest and quickest way to put an end to the 2 year legal ordeal. His public statement from March 2018 can be viewed at several places on the internet if anyone might care to Google it. 
Does any of this prove his innocence? Hardly. Because what would you expect anyone in his position to say? It's certainly possible he could be the sickest fucking degenerate ever to pick up a guitar. It's also possible that this could have been spun, and/or blown out of proportion. I think I at least have some doubts, but you may disagree. Am I defending him? No I'm not. I have no evidence of his innocence, just conflicting claims from opposing sides. I'm just saying that there's really no way for me to know 100% for sure exactly what happened 15 years ago.
For my part I have no intention of getting rid of my Inquisition albums and I will still continue to listen to the band's music because this happens to be my favorite band. But I would feel the same way about this even if this was someone from a band I didn't care for at all. Bottom line everyone needs to make up their own minds about these things though, and I totally understand and have no issue with the fact that most people still want to condemn the man.

Not arguing that at all. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt no matter what they've done in the past. There's rarely much that's completely unredeemable and no one who hasn't made mistakes in their lives. Dude had a problem with a significantly deviant perversion. That could indicate a number of mental health disorders ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, and bipolar to conditions along the Autism spectrum. With adequate treatment and commitment, those people can lead normal socially acceptable lives. Without treatment, they can do terrible things. The step between looking at pictures and actively engaging in more depraved activity isn't a big one (something I would say is irredeemable) and what I would equate to people singing or writing about the glorification of Satan/satanic imagery and those that take it further and engage in ritual activities that hurt others. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the idea. Regardless, I think you can see the distinction I'm making.
In his case, we've never heard any statement of contrition or explanation which makes me curious as to what his side is and what has happened in the intervening 11-12 years. Has he sought treatment and worked to make amends? We've no idea. My experience with the legal system is that things rarely go down the way they are related in a plea deal. Sometimes worse, sometimes not. Seeing how the whole thing actually took place over a decade ago (came to everyone's attention later), we're not likely to hear that in the future. It's likely he's done nothing at all to atone, but I'm not in a position to judge that. I'm not saying that in his case I'm turning a blind eye to what he did. I don't pay for any of his music anymore (I was sent a promotional copy of the last record), but I can still enjoy the music for what it is. I don't listen to Inquisition because of Dragon or the other dude, I do because the music is good. Back to the timeless debate of separating the art from the artist. I certainly understand where people on the side of the argument are coming from and support you having that take 100%. Just like everything in the human condition, nothing is ever simple and the myriad of factors that go into why people make the decisions they do. I try to approach things with an open mind for things I can understand and a bit of sympathy for those (like mental illness) that I can't.

Not arguing that at all. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt no matter what they've done in the past. There's rarely much that's completely unredeemable and no one who hasn't made mistakes in their lives. Dude had a problem with a significantly deviant perversion. That could indicate a number of mental health disorders ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, and bipolar to conditions along the Autism spectrum. With adequate treatment and commitment, those people can lead normal socially acceptable lives. Without treatment, they can do terrible things. The step between looking at pictures and actively engaging in more depraved activity isn't a big one (something I would say is irredeemable) and what I would equate to people singing or writing about the glorification of Satan/satanic imagery and those that take it further and engage in ritual activities that hurt others. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the idea. Regardless, I think you can see the distinction I'm making.
In his case, we've never heard any statement of contrition or explanation which makes me curious as to what his side is and what has happened in the intervening 11-12 years. Has he sought treatment and worked to make amends? We've no idea. My experience with the legal system is that things rarely go down the way they are related in a plea deal. Sometimes worse, sometimes not. Seeing how the whole thing actually took place over a decade ago (came to everyone's attention later), we're not likely to hear that in the future. It's likely he's done nothing at all to atone, but I'm not in a position to judge that. I'm not saying that in his case I'm turning a blind eye to what he did. I don't pay for any of his music anymore (I was sent a promotional copy of the last record), but I can still enjoy the music for what it is. I don't listen to Inquisition because of Dragon or the other dude, I do because the music is good. Back to the timeless debate of separating the art from the artist. I certainly understand where people on the side of the argument are coming from and support you having that take 100%. Just like everything in the human condition, nothing is ever simple and the myriad of factors that go into why people make the decisions they do. I try to approach things with an open mind for things I can understand and a bit of sympathy for those (like mental illness) that I can't.

Not arguing that at all. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt no matter what they've done in the past. There's rarely much that's completely unredeemable and no one who hasn't made mistakes in their lives. Dude had a problem with a significantly deviant perversion. That could indicate a number of mental health disorders ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, and bipolar to conditions along the Autism spectrum. With adequate treatment and commitment, those people can lead normal socially acceptable lives. Without treatment, they can do terrible things. The step between looking at pictures and actively engaging in more depraved activity isn't a big one (something I would say is irredeemable) and what I would equate to people singing or writing about the glorification of Satan/satanic imagery and those that take it further and engage in ritual activities that hurt others. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the idea. Regardless, I think you can see the distinction I'm making.
In his case, we've never heard any statement of contrition or explanation which makes me curious as to what his side is and what has happened in the intervening 11-12 years. Has he sought treatment and worked to make amends? We've no idea. My experience with the legal system is that things rarely go down the way they are related in a plea deal. Sometimes worse, sometimes not. Seeing how the whole thing actually took place over a decade ago (came to everyone's attention later), we're not likely to hear that in the future. It's likely he's done nothing at all to atone, but I'm not in a position to judge that. I'm not saying that in his case I'm turning a blind eye to what he did. I don't pay for any of his music anymore (I was sent a promotional copy of the last record), but I can still enjoy the music for what it is. I don't listen to Inquisition because of Dragon or the other dude, I do because the music is good. Back to the timeless debate of separating the art from the artist. I certainly understand where people on the side of the argument are coming from and support you having that take 100%. Just like everything in the human condition, nothing is ever simple and the myriad of factors that go into why people make the decisions they do. I try to approach things with an open mind for things I can understand and a bit of sympathy for those (like mental illness) that I can't.

I was listening to historians on a podcast that touched on Jefferson a while back and one thing that stuck with me was the guest talking about his approach to people like that - he said he looks for heroics, not heros. So, like, keep the context in mind, appreciate the positive things they added to our development without needing to valorize them and whitewash (or celebrate) the bad parts.
That was here. It was about slaveholders and the Civil War. Worth pointing out that the immorality of keeping slaves was understood at the time, and not just by abolitionists... the slaveholders understood how fucked up it was and made the economic calculation that it was better than not having all that free labor. There are letters and other writings from the time to support that, not just talking out of my ass here. There's also the fact that a lot of those statues went up during other, later periods of racial tension as a way of asserting white superiority. It's still an issue. Big fight about history in schools over here now too. I'm not taking a dig at you, I don't expect you to know about or follow all of the USA-specific stuff, but be aware that it can get inflammatory pretty quickly. 

Not arguing that at all. I generally give people the benefit of the doubt no matter what they've done in the past. There's rarely much that's completely unredeemable and no one who hasn't made mistakes in their lives. Dude had a problem with a significantly deviant perversion. That could indicate a number of mental health disorders ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder, narcissism, and bipolar to conditions along the Autism spectrum. With adequate treatment and commitment, those people can lead normal socially acceptable lives. Without treatment, they can do terrible things. The step between looking at pictures and actively engaging in more depraved activity isn't a big one (something I would say is irredeemable) and what I would equate to people singing or writing about the glorification of Satan/satanic imagery and those that take it further and engage in ritual activities that hurt others. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the idea. Regardless, I think you can see the distinction I'm making.
In his case, we've never heard any statement of contrition or explanation which makes me curious as to what his side is and what has happened in the intervening 11-12 years. Has he sought treatment and worked to make amends? We've no idea. My experience with the legal system is that things rarely go down the way they are related in a plea deal. Sometimes worse, sometimes not. Seeing how the whole thing actually took place over a decade ago (came to everyone's attention later), we're not likely to hear that in the future. It's likely he's done nothing at all to atone, but I'm not in a position to judge that. I'm not saying that in his case I'm turning a blind eye to what he did. I don't pay for any of his music anymore (I was sent a promotional copy of the last record), but I can still enjoy the music for what it is. I don't listen to Inquisition because of Dragon or the other dude, I do because the music is good. Back to the timeless debate of separating the art from the artist. I certainly understand where people on the side of the argument are coming from and support you having that take 100%. Just like everything in the human condition, nothing is ever simple and the myriad of factors that go into why people make the decisions they do. I try to approach things with an open mind for things I can understand and a bit of sympathy for those (like mental illness) that I can't.

Yeah, that's early 90's edgelord provoke a reaction shit as far as I see it. Lots of bands did that sort of thing back then (and still do). People grow up and change. Get a better understanding of the world and other people. I'm much more likely to reject those that continue to spew that bullshit when they're older vs those that are in their teens/early 20's.
Dagon doesn't seem to be a good dude. I say seem to be because I don't know him and don't actively seek to engage and learn those sorts of things about musicians in general. If the opportunity were to present, I'd be interested in an unfiltered honest perspective from the guy on what he did and the changes if any he's made since then. No one here is likely to ever have that sort of perspective much less me, so I have a tendency to give people the benefit of the doubt. I don't like what he did/pled too and certainly don't endorse it, but so much of metal journalism is sketchy at best and many accusations are founded on loose associations, reading between the lines, and hearsay. Not saying that's the case here with Dagon, but just that I've because I've become much more skeptical over the past few years of anything I read on the interweb.