Dead1

I don't think many metal bands manage to pull off a decent genre switcheroo. The one's that come to mind: Bathory - from early black ->thrash -> folk HOWEVER the switch from folk -> extreme metal suck bollocks (Octagon). Switchback to folkier stuff was haphazard but eventually resulted in the two brilliant Nordland albums Behemoth - from black metal -> death metal (though lost plot over years). Carcass - grindcore -> death metal -> melodic death metal Corrossion of Conformity - from hardcore/crossover -> southern style metal Napalm Death -grindcore -> death metal -> groove metal (Diatribes etc) ->back to grindcore. Though output has not been consistent. Pantera - from glam metal -> groove metal Paradise Lost - from death doom -> gothic metal. Pestilence - from thrash metal -> death metal -> cool jazz weirdness with Spheres. Resurrected band is shit. Suicidal Tendencies - from pure hardcore -> thrash -> almost avant garde thrash/punk Tiamat managed to do something awesome with Wildhoney but they lose me after that and I can't comment on whether it's any good as I don't listen to alt/goth rock. Iron Maiden evolved into a prog band and At The Gates into a thrashy death metal band but they're gradual evolutions so I don't think they count.

Crypta - Echoes of the Soul Out now

I LOVE THIS POST! Oh to be a well off American/western European teen/early 20s in 1980s.

High Command album's a winner for me! Love that guitar tone.

Cause it's a great album! ---- Decibel's online portal tends to throw up good recommendations that suit my tastes. I like the writing style - proper journalistic writing instead of "high school hack" or "wannabe philosopher" ala AMG and Heavy blog crap you get with blogs. Up to recently I was buying Zero Tolerance (you can't get Decibel locally and subscription system collapsed when COVID hit and USPS still doesn't post to Australia). Problem with Zero Tolerance is the format - small writing which would be fine except for sometimes you get dark text on a dark backdrop which makes it really hard to read. That and the covermount CDs are shit. I also occasionally binge on Youtube New Wave of Old School Thrash Metal and New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal channels though to be honest these are seldom anything I want to buy,, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD5Ny_jQ8cs9JXVPWXg9iNw https://www.youtube.com/c/NWOTHMFullAlbums Finally I do occasionally binge Gimme Metal radio and get some good stuff from there. I still go to Blabbermouth but it's becoming more about how much Lars sold his house for or which celebrity said what regarding COVID.

Metallica - Ride The Lightning Metallica - Master of Puppets Nekromant - Temple of Haal - NWOBHM/Doom metal. https://nekromant.bandcamp.com/album/temple-of-haal Crypta - Echoes of the Soul - meat n potatos DM with BM-esque vocals. Features a few ex-Nervosa members.

Nekromant - Temple of Haal Swedish heavy metal - mixture of NWOBHM and doom metal. Out 3 December 2021 on Despotz. https://nekromant.bandcamp.com/album/temple-of-haal

Here in Australia I don't think the maintenance provisions are well enforced. I know plenty of dudes who abandoned their kids and they've managed to skirt around paying any maintenance - literally moving states or even towns seems to be enough to somehow get out of dodge. I also know other guys who were denied access to their kids despite wanting to be an active father and then forced to pay massive maintenance because the ex-wife/girlfriend was the only carer! I only know of one case where the father actually got custody - the mother didn't turn up to court cause she was on a speed bender (he was a drug addict too and a violent one and their kids were often hungry)! Problem with maintenance/custody is the laws governing it put a lot of emphasis people working it out themselves and if there are disputes it has to go to court and court is hard, stressful and outcomes aren't guaranteed or predictable. Family law courts are also overburdened, under resourced so you often have to wait a long time. System is regarded as broken and the glorious neoliberal fundamentalist Christian scum that we apparently elected to parliament legislated to abolish Family Law Court this year and merge it with another court (thus making it even more problematic)!

Cave In - Until Your Heart Stops - 1990s metallic hardcore. Never heard this before. Not bad!

The art is spectacular. Maybe I want to like the music so I can justify buying the albums for the art work!

Sheol, so jealous. Here it's 25 degrees and I already can't stand it. Meant to get up to as high as 27 by mid week- yuck. If I had my way I'd spend April-October in Tasmania and November-March in Europe.

Exodus - Persona Non Grata - It's not bad but not essential. Khemmis - Desolation - One of those bands that always disappoints. The style, riffage and overall concept is excellent. Yet like all Khemmis it sounds weak and underwhelming. Only time these guys managed to get it right is the song they did for The Dark Pictures Anthology video game. Napalm Death - Throes of Joy In The Jaws of Defeatisms Eternal Champion - Ravening Iron - Such a good album and one I've still been unable to buy physically. Frank Sinatra/Bing Crosby - Christmas compilation - alas the family thought this was the better listening option whilst putting up the Christmas tree! And a little secret - I actually like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby as well as Tom Jones and Dean Martin. Great voices, great songs, great vibe and to be honest I don't think anyone will be as cool as the Rat Pack or Tom Jones. I actually suspect the fate of western civilisation was sealed when the Frank and Dean died. SpiritWorld - Pagan Rhythm Interesting mix of styles - thrash metal, hardcore, death metal, groove metal but also some Ministry vibes. Riffage is very much my kind of thing! Smattering of their songs:

You sound like a very busy man! I know people in farming including cattle and dairy and it's a lot of work! --- I live in the kind of mindless treeless soulless cookie cutter modern suburbia that the mainstream media, government and vested property interests markets as the Australian dream. The house would have looked good in a magazine when it was new but it probably started to fall apart 5 minutes after the first owner moved in 7-8 years ago. Building quality is only one step away from a tin slum in Rio de Janeiro or Mumbai. Even the electrical systems are shonky and constantly shorting out. I used to live in a slightly older very tree lined suburb full of nature reserves (established 1950s though house was a solid 1987 build) next to some amazing natural scenery but house wasn't big enough or had enough bathrooms for the women in my life (daughter is 9 going on 21). https://www.launcestoncataractgorge.com.au/ Tasmania is beautiful but you don't get to see nearly enough of it when you work 8:30 - 5:00 in an office and then spend your weekend cleaning your oversized, decaying, crumbling near brand new house and the weather is often shit especially on weekends (weather gods think they are funny fuckers)!

Celtic Frost - Monotheist Creeping Death - Wretched Illusions Decapitated - Anticult Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme Stallion - Rise and Ride Mindsnare - Unholy Rush

Wow, congratulations. I hope you have plenty of hobbies to keep you busy! ---- I've worn metal tops to work on 1-2 occasions when there's been no one there.

So sorry! 😳

I got into Pantera, Sepultura and Slayer before I started getting into Cradle of Filth and also melodic death metal (and stuff like Nevermore and Iced Earth) in the late 1990s. Funny thing was I found those first three bands far more extreme than melodic death or symphonic black metal. Melodic death metal was always "easy listening" music whilst CoF's appeal was the campy Hammer Horror vibe, not musical extremity (and I still regularly listen to them). At the time if I wanted extremity it'd still be Slayer's Divine Intervention or Pantera's Great Southern Trendkill. Suicide Note Pt II is still an absolute rush to listen to - the musical intensity is matched by lyrical intensity. I even find a lot of thrash metal more extreme than a lot of death metal I like - eg Kreator's Pleasure to Kill or Endless Pain are more visceral, intense and raw than a lot of DM I like like Atheist, Cancer, Carcass, Edge of Sanity, Morbid Angel and even some Napalm Death (though these boys are back to face peeling) etc.

Goatmaster, wow that makes mine look thrifty. I think the mortifying thought in my head is that I will have spent decades in a (well paid) job I don't like and not doing things I like to end up destitute and homeless (and rentals are extremely scarce - Hobart is now the least affordable place for rentals and people with full time jobs are living out of their cars due to lack of properties). I have sacrificed so much for my family and will continue to do so. I don't get to have dreams or whimsies. But I was OK with that as I thought I'd at least own my house by the time I retired and would then have some money to do things I wanted.

Anthrax - Persistence of Time

Swamp Coffin - Noose Almighty Doom/sludge. Out 26 November 2021 https://swampcoffin.bandcamp.com/album/noose-almighty

I was an alcoholic once complete with shakes but I'm pretty good these days. I literally have a glass of wine or a couple of beers once or twice a week. Occasionally I have a single malt scotch. I don't drink enough to get drunk or even tipsy because I no longer like being drunk. Already so much of my life is outside of my control so being drunk doesn't fit my mental state. My only addiction is Nescafe Blend 43 instant coffee, which I have roughly 4 cups a day..

Whoops, sorry about typo. it's actually out tomorrow!

Eternal Evil - The Warriors Awakening Brings The Unholy Slaughter Teutonic style thrash metal. Out 26 November 2021. I actually quite dig it. https://eternalevil.bandcamp.com/ Full stream here https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2021/11/24/full-album-stream-eternal-evil-the-warriors-awakening-brings-the-unholy-slaughter/

Morbid Angel - Covenant Eternal Evil - The Warriors Awakening Brings The Unholy Slaughter

Gents you're absolutely right. I think desperation has begun to sink in. After yet another argument, my wife has decided she will simply have to withdraw additional money as she said she literally doesn't know how where she can save because she is already "scrimping and saving" where she can and it's too hard to track what she's spent on eg going down to the capital city and staying overnight in a hotel to go clothes shopping. She is literally burning hundreds of dollars on who knows what - coffees, wine, clothes, overloading kid with expensive toys and electronic stuff and I have no idea what fucking else. Very often there's not even a physical good - the money's just frittered away.