markm

Which just shows no matter how high tech our world gets, the Lord of the Flies analogy for human behavior applies.

Yeah, and on a adjacent level, as someone who considers himself liberal, my side of the isle pushes the agendas of a few too hard sometimes and it turns people off--like the whole trans thing. I support diversity 100%, just look at my family, but you'd think 30% of the population was trying to have gender reassignment or sex changes whatever the hell it is-like it's this huge minority group and certainly doesn't have to be taught to 3rd graders and it probably isn't but I mean there needs to be some balance on some of this stuff.

They've been around for a longtime. I know this because I remember on of my students mentioning them in the early aughts.

Damn, GG you really pay attention. I'd be hard-pressed to identify everybody's tastes as succinctly as you did. I'd probably say doom and it's various offshoots is my favorite genre, but tend to meander into various caverns depending on my mood. Hey man, don't be offended but bands like Avenged Sevenfold are generally seen as entry level more commercial metal and there's nothing wrong with that. Most of us needed gateways. I got into modern extreme metal through my own gateways-for me it was stoner metal, old school doom, classic power metal, Isis styled post metal and symphonic chick shit and I still rock that stuff from time to time.

NP: Emperor/Anthems at the Welkin at Dusk

Messa/Belfry Messa/Feast for Water

Can I just say, Battles in the NAAAAAAAARTH!!!! Glad I got that off my chest. Time for bed.....in an age undreamed of.

I never got on the Ozzy Train either. I agree with Dead preferring Heaven and Hell Mob Rules, Accept, Twisted Sister, etc. My freshman year in college in Bahston at Emerson College on Beacon St. there were a group of guys that were all over the Oz. I did buy Diary of a Madman- It's a damn good album I will admit.

Smile/A Light for Attracting Attention Elder/Reflections of a Floating World

Russian Circles/ Gnosis -on MacabreEternal's EOTY list.....indeed someone put a little fire up their arses on this one. Strong effort, less meandering than most post metal, mas gritty and riffy.

No preview needed for me....will probably be my first 2023 purchase released in 2023 https://yourlastrites.com/2023/01/24/profane-order-one-nightmare-unto-another-review/

Jon, I got you, Babe.

TRESPASSER/ἈΠΟΚΆΛΥΨΙΣ Curta'n Wall - Siege Ubsessed!-Checking this out from M-F pal Ferday on my Bandcamp feed-he likes these dungeon synth campy jokester bands like Old Nick-this may be more serious in intent, but a similar fun USBM synthy folk take on BM with some clean female vox and a decidedly fantasy dungeons and dragons Renaissance Fare metal vibe...actually pretty enjoyable. Ye shall submit to the Curta'n Wall

Last of Us-episode 4

Wow, that's pretty good. Yes, it makes us feel alive with the knowledge our time is short so make it count. Feel something while you are here. We will all be six feet under soon enough. This shouldn't be a hard question. Uh..... In the early 80's metal for me was a middle finger to the establishment, it was rebellion. Today, it's my wife saying "can you turn that down"-haha.....the more things change the more they stay the same. In the modern era, I see metal as this secret little corner of my life that allows me to embrace all kinds of extremity and feelings that aren't easily expressed in other settings-antisocial, pathological, primal feelings of hostility, rage, insanity, existential dread and the embrace of all manner of genre defying creative expression....metal taps into lizard brain. Piece of Mind is one of my favorite 80's metal albums. Metal is the secret of the hangman, the smile on his lips. Or as Nails recently wrote, you will never be one of us. That's metal. The middle finger.

I'm rockin' about 450 tracks on my Sonos 2022 metal playlist with a couple of albums I picked up late 2021. Random current playlist : pretty good mix if I do say so myself- Gevurah 40 Watt Sun Mizmor and Thou Boris/Fade Voivod Dream Unending Skumstrike Sumac Pleabeian Grandsand Immolation Spiritworld KEN Mode Boris/W Chat Pile Gaerea GGGOLDDD Bill Callahan/REALITY-one of the better non metal folk alt rock albums of 2022

These are always so hard for me. Today 1. Judas Priest 2. Boris 3. BAN 4. Cult of Luna 5. Taylor Swift

No doubt, but there's a big difference in my mind between daytime highs in the mid teens-20's which we might get during the occasional cold snap and haven't seen this year at all Vs average highs in the 40's. A sunny day in the mid 40's with low wind really isn't bad. January was crazy with a great number of days in the 50's, several pushing 60...I pay hyper attention because, I'll get on the water when it gets close to 50 degrees air temperature or above. I'll get OTW mid 40's with low wind. And here we go again, next week here in early February it looks like we'll get close to or above 60 mid week. It sound great but I find it unsettling. We boaters on the Potomac actually want the snow fall in Western MD and West V because the river flows south from West to East. We typically get bigger water in the Spring if there's good snow melt which of course has not happened so far and looks doubtful Yep, that all makes sense. I've thought about downsizing when I (hopefully ) retire to the Carolinas. Ashville, Raleigh, etc. Looks like a nice area to live.

One might not think the Mid Atlantic and North East are that different, but it's pretty mild here. Average winter temps in January and February range in the 30's to 40's, only occasionally below 15-20. But we've had a very warm winter with many days in the 50's. The tradeoff of course is muggy summers.

IDN man, I had a summer stock acting gig in Hattiesburg Mississippi right out of college , summer of '90. Fucking miserable. I think I'd die without AC in that environment. Literally like living in soup. California weather on the coast is just about perfect. We lived in the South Bay of LA between 93 and 2000, near Marina Del Ray, Manhattan Beach. We asked realter asked why the homes didn't come with AC and she laughed-you're by the water not the valley! I read somewhere that Ventura just N or LA is more consistently 70 degrees than anywhere else in U.S. at least. But the change of seasons are nice I have to admit. I could do without the humidity of DC tho.

Ya, that's a little rough for working class people born in the northeastern US not to mention Canada without the luxury of spending their winters Sydney LOL.

I'll be interested in your thoughts, Dead having not played the game myself.

With the breakdown (apparently) and political polarization I see here in the good ole USA, it's really a metaphor for making a life, trying to create community and a semblance a civilized life when the pillars of society, government even that you grew up with seem to be crumbling 🙃

Indeed, welcome!