JonoBlade

https://mydyingbrideofficial.bandcamp.com/album/a-mortal-binding Listened to this a few times today. I liked it more immediately than The Ghost of Orion, which I came to really like eventually. A bit more stripped back and hits the spot as MDB always does. There was an announcement the other day that they pulled out of MDF for some cryptic reason, but they are pretty reliable for being unreliable. I was considering going to the Icon 30th anniversary gig with them opening a few months ago but they pulled out. NP: cattle decapitation - death atlas

"The Thrashering" would make a much better band name than the lame Kings of Thrash. Or Kerry King for that matter.

Ok. Ok. Bought sight unseen/ sound unheard off bandcamp because I'm going to have to download it for the plane. I have The Seer and like a lot of it. But as @Thatguy says... They go on a bit. Sometimes I wonder if this stuff is really for people that smoke a pipe and wear a cravat, but I like to be involved and not miss out on a cool soundscape. I had that Neurosis + Jarboe in my wishlist but never made it to a purchase, which is weird because I'd typically get anything with the neurosis name on it. Although, apparently not Scott Kelly anymore.

That is some write up and endorsement. I am soon to be taking a 17 hour flight to Perth and it sounds like this will get me most of the way there.

I remember now... I got the first two Wode albums and like them well enough, but the 2021 one is (still) £666 on bandcamp to download, so fuck those guys.

Oof. You're gonna hate me (as if, you are incapable of hate in your heart), that Crowbar played at the same local pub where I saw Verminthrone last Monday and I didn't go! I was keen to see the local opening band Abraxian but, since I don't know Crowbar at all, the ticket price was just a little too much to be worth it. Kind of regret it, but I'll get over it.

On Saturday my flatmates were watching rugby. I set up a new audio interface and switched to Windows 11 to solve some problems it was having. Finally started working. I then went to a gig in the evening, but not quite worth reporting. A local band Verminthrone, (The Cull | Verminthrone (bandcamp.com)) which sounds like it would be black metal, but closer to Pantera. Meat and potatoes. Decent. The opening band was Electric Wizard worship (Industrial Nightmare | Voidlurker (bandcamp.com)) but just a little too simple for me. The guitarist lost his pick before the last song and played with a credit card. You couldn't tell the difference. My favourite part was the knob twiddling guitar effects feedback over drum and bass that they finished with. That was pretty cool. Sunday was fairly uneventful. Played mini-golf. Point being, I found occasion to write something on this here forums. Oh, big name drop, on Friday night I had quite a long chat with Karl Sanders from Nile. It was like we'd been buddies forever. Nice bloke.

Time Ghoul riding My Little Pony

I don't really do compilations. I'll just have to choose a roughly favourite from each album. Winter Dreamer Deceiver/Deceiver Dissident Aggressor Heroes End Hell Bent for Leather Steeler Desert Plains Fever (yeah, I know) The Sentinel Out in the Cold Blood Red Skies Night Crawler Cathedral Spires Feed on Me (scraping the barrel, but I always thought this was pretty catchy) Loch Ness (the most ridiculous song in a career of absurdity, but musically cool) Nostradamus ....I don't have any favourites after that because they all blend into one amorphous mass of generic, if perfectly serviceable, filler. Nostradamus and Future of Mankind would have been a pretty reasonable way to go out.

Oof. I actively dislike those songs. Always seemed like they were trying too hard to write hits in those moments and definite album low points for me (which on Point of Entry is saying something). The writing team in Priest were too influenced by external trends and a dream of being popular (which is hard when you are as ugly s they are), whereas you can just tell that someone like Iommi wasn't interested in what others were playing. He's still in business, so would rather be popular and successful than not, but stayed truer to original mission statement. I take issue with @markm piling on Ram it Down though. That came out just as I got into Priest and, as such, was amazing/life changing. And it was obviously better than Turbo, even for someone who'd been into Bon Jovi the year before. Turbo was Priest trying to write Bon Jovi songs and failing so bad, mainly because no one (and certainly not a Halford and a KK) can be as dreamy as Jon and Richie.

In this respect I'm definitely an assman. Gotta save the best 'til last.

Np: Ahab - The Coral Tombs I was talking to someone the other day about The Cart & Horses (because they lived round the corner) where Maiden played it's first gig. Although for years I thought it was The Ruskin Arms. I even played there years ago. Anyhow, reading today about the literal birthplace of metal, where Sabbath first played. Turns out it is closed down but is still standing. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/mar/15/the-crown-pub-birmingham-grade-ii-listed-black-sabbath-heavy-metal

@markm had me about to pick it up, but I guess I'll wait a little longer. It will appear to lose steam because it's too long. Or at the very least if it is soon over you won't feel you had to endure too much filler. I was looking at logistics of driving to see them on Tuesday because the current set list does look pretty cool. But I doubt I will be able to drum up the enthusiasm. That's a fair point. Although don't priests have to confess to someone further up the hierarchy? Only the pope would be unable to confess but presumably it is a perk of office to be autoabsolved. You're wise not to go licking Cath without consent.

How would a slaughtered priest confess his sins? It's a little late for that.

I think I'm gonna need to dig out both from the garage and have a listen, because it has been a few years. Superunknown is probably the definitive Soundgarden masterpiece, but I still enjoyed the hell out of Badmotorfinger at the time. I guess it was the wailing Jesus Christ Pose which played (overplayed) endlessly on a student TV station I had a show on - which I love but old goats will hate. Edit: nope, I'm full of shit. Turns out I had both CDs in a pile behind me. I must have got these out a year or so ago...probably on a prompt from the last time Soundgarden came up.