JonoBlade

The actual song For Those About to Rock is one of the greatest anthems ever penned. The rest of the album is unremarkable. I mean, it's still AC/DC so better than most and I've listened to it a million times, but weaker than anything since the original High Voltage. I've always had a soft spot for Fly on the Wall. Flick of the Switch was always the one that I considered the most bland, right down to the artwork. But, it's still AC/DC so better than most and I've listened to it ...half a million times. I have never used the "copy image link" function before. It works!

My buddy from high school produced two quotes I will always remember him for: 1. I wish I could die so I can hear the tracks I selected for my funeral playlist. 2. I wish I hadn't seen Aliens so I could watch it again and it would be like the first time. Aliens is the one film above all others I look forward to watching with my kid. We'd probably be ok to see it now, but you can't watch it without seeing Alien first (look it up, it is an actual crime to see Aliens without first seeing Alien). I fear Alien is still just a bit too much. She hasn't recovered from The Woman in Black yet. Alien will guarantee nightmares for months. Don't think I've ever seen The Abyss. I just knew it wasn't gonna cut it. So many unrestrained artists peddle diminishing returns. In musical terms it is like going it alone when you've always had a good producer.

Sounds decent. Must be fun standing in front of a green screen pulling metal poses and assorted hand gestures in your mid sixties.

I find myself coming back to Black Seeds of Vengeance most....but that might just be because it is loaded on my DAP, and no other Nile albums are. I always really liked Those Whom the Gods Detest. In Their Darkened Shrines was a favourite for a long time, but I listened to it a while ago and found the production a bit distracting.....however, just found it on bandcamp and the drums aren't too bad. In Their Darkened Shrines | Nile | Relapse Alumni (bandcamp.com)

The family watched Saving Private Ryan on Saturday night. No nightmares for my 13 year old, so that was a good result. The German soldier which was spared earlier in the film was the one which shot Tom Hanks (spoiler alert) at the end, and was not in the slow stabbing scene. That was the only part of the film we all hid under a blanket for. Funny how we misremember things. For example, the scene where the medic gets shot and asks for morphine, I could have sworn went on for longer and he had someone fishing around in his leg for a severed artery. That must have been another film where the medic gets shot. Anyone remember it? Also, I completely forgot the gist of the final set piece, where Tom Hanks and crew A-Team their way through defending a bridge. It was a bit contrived, but Spielberg I guess can't help himself when making a Hollywood blockbuster. We watched Gary Oldman Churchill his way through "Darkest Hour" on Sunday. It was fine. My take home point was the Tories have always been spineless shitheads. Churchill only got the job (according to the film) because he was the only one the opposition would accept as leader of a coalition government. I don't know how anyone could function drinking with every meal and smoking like a train, but the guy made it to 91!

I haven't been anywhere. Just that work is busy, and also I haven't had much to say. Production I don't prioritize production over music but poor production sure can ruin it for me and make it hard to listen to on repeat. As it happens I had quite different ideas to Alex as to what constitutes good production. He once awarded some album (I forget what) best produced AOTY. I hated what it sounded like. It was one of those hyper clean production jobs which was very clear and dynamic for sure but the instruments sounded awful. It had midi keys and a shit drum sound. I didn't like the music but objectively it also sounded bad to me. I scratched my head for days on that one. Fun >>Is it a "thrill ride" like all these blockbuster Hollywood superhero movies supposedly are? Not really, although it is slick. Like one of those flashy superhero films but with a decent plot. >>Is it a laugh a minute like a comedy show? nope. None of the jokes landed at all. >>Is it better than sex? nope. >>Better than snowboarding? nope. >>Better than video games? Maybe; I don't play video games. But for anyone that does - probably nope. >>Better than a carnival ride? Carneys freak me out. >>Better than a night of drinking with your mates? I don't drink, but when I did. Nope. Horrendous cannot replace human fellowship, but may facilitate it in the right company. "Fun" in this instance simply means it brought a smile to my face. I'd use fun to describe anything that is a bit upbeat and not trying to be all grim and necro or too dense. Immortal is fun. Neurosis is not fun. Green Lung is fun. Weigedood is not fun. I'll try to use a better description next time. I guess this is why I am not a music critic/reviewer. I liked Ontological Mysterium because it is catchy melodic death metal which I don't listen to that much of, so it adds a bit of variety to my day. It's not dense and the album is well constructed/paced. Also, I know Damian and he's such a nice guy. I always wanted to like Horrendous but up until now it wasn't quite my cup of tea. I knew other people (in the press, not here) raved about it but I was luke warm. It is also short, and you know I like me a brief album over a long one. But, I guarantee it is not going to win you over.

Amazingly, I happen to have the top three. That must be a first. Most of the others I haven't heard. The Horrendous one is fun. Not album of the year, but I have enjoyed it a lot more than their back catalog (which old Alex-Fi used to gush over due to Damian's dynamic production). It just clicked this time. I keep coming back to it. Tomb Mold, I find a bit interchangeable. I like it but don't find it that memorable. Same with Wayfarer. I actively like this band and the weird niche they occupy, but the new one hasn't quite clicked. But, I'll persevere with both. My favourite thing recently has been that Blood Incantation EP.

Sulfuric Disintegration | OF FEATHER AND BONE | Of Feather and Bone (bandcamp.com) Just browsing through collection and randomly clicking. Not so random was going to see Blaze Bayley play at local pub on Saturday. He is only a few months clear of a quadruple bypass, so that is some resilient dude. The most genuine and likeable frontman I have ever heard. I'd get all his discog....only it isn't available on bandcamp. Totally independent musician and not on bandcamp...the mind boggles. On Sunday I went to "Barkfest" which was a charity gig in aid of Nick Barker's kidney replacement. I only stayed for my buddy's band Sanguinem (Solitude | Sanguinem (bandcamp.com)) but seemed to be a good night. Nick was in the pub downstairs presiding in the corner, taking up three seats.

I reckon I like the latest Wedgiedudes one most of all: There's Always Blood At The End Of The Road | Wiegedood | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com) New Green Lung was released last Friday This Heathen Land | GREEN LUNG (bandcamp.com) I like it well enough, although it's getting pretty close to Ghost territory. Coincidentally I watched a GL music video yesterday on You Tube which was pretty terrible. But, auto-cued straight after was a new Blood Incantation track. How did I miss this? It was awesome. A great mix of OSDM and some ambient noodling/soundscape. Some of y'all will hate it but it's right on the money for me. (Luminescent Bridge | Blood Incantation | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com)) Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού | Rotting Christ (bandcamp.com) Worth coming back to every now and again.

That's all very interesting, but the more people there are the more land you have to clear to grow food for them and build housing. Ecosystems are already collapsing and none of that gets any better with more population. You don't seem to be able to grasp that you cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. Can I have a citation for the report where "experts have apparently reversed their position 180° on the population growth thing" please. I'm just using logic and very simple maths. If you slash and burn nature to make room for more humans (and what they want to eat) with no end in sight, the planet dies. It's really simple.

I knew you were gonna say that. I wonder if they actually feel guilty about their "sins" though? Are you suggesting they don't actually believe what they say they believe? I guess that would make them smarter than I give them credit, but so much more evil. We all know about the evangelist that turns out to spend his evenings hanging around the glory hole at the local truckstop cubicle* but what are the actual statistics of such hypocrites? The hypocriticastaticals? I.e. while some may be hypocrites, surely it is not the majority. I have some residual faith in human integrity and like to assume that the bulk of conservatives are as stupid as they present themselves to be. *I know all the tricks now after listening to our lord Rob's audio book. We've covered this before but it does help me crystallise where I stand on these kinds of things. The immigration one is often the trigger point. On the one hand I know human population growth is our death sentence. On the other hand I know that immigrants per se are no better or worse than the populations they enter into. And, as ecosystems break down, there will be more and more desperation to that migration, which by and large will have been caused by American lead western consumerist values. But India and China suck too. So, swings and roundabouts.

I've used Batchcamp. Worked well. Still fundamentally annoying that BC does not use folder structures in its zip files though. One day when I actually want to listen to all those FLACs I am going to have to make up a band folder and sub folders of albums. Does anyone have a solution for that?

"Xenocidal" would be wiping out aliens (as per book by Orson Scott Card which I must have read years ago. When I could read). We are more experts in ecocide and effectively suicidal. Much of the western progressives are like this. They like to talk the talk, but unwilling to make changes in their own lives. At least you know where you stand with fundamentalist conservatives. The reasoning for their worldview may be deeply flawed but at least they live by it. Brainless, though it may be. Progressives often have half a brain. But the other half is the bit that would actually achieve something.

See. I've started a rumour which has no basis in reality. Yes, they have been working on a new album, but it seems to have been on and off for a few years at least. ATW are an awesome live band. They've got a jammy feel and there's something about that John Bonham-esque drum sound that just does it for me. Much better as a four piece, but I presume the keyboard player is still in the band and didn't quit again. Enjoy it bigly.

I've never heard it. My buddy back in NZ, who was an obsessive death/Schuldiner fan, said "it's weak Death riffs with shit vocals." Hardly a glowing endorsement. I might be starting an unsubstantiated rumour. I periodically check the official website and facebook to find updates (l don't do that for ANY band so I obviously crave 'cocke pretty hard). There is not much info on it, I figure it can't be that far away. They are playing the whole of Choronzon next week in Manchester. I'd probably go but my wife is in Paris for the weekend which leaves me baby sitting. Next year my daughter is 14 which might be just old enough to drag to gigs. Which she will hate and disown me for. It'd be worth it!

1. Best option in my view is capitalism with massive regulation to keep it in check. Nationalising essential services. There isn't much hope of it happening, but in principle it could keep both moderate left and right somewhat satisfied. Communism doesn't work because healthy competition is stifled which otherwise drives forward innovation. Unchecked capitalism doesn't work because half the population lives in poverty and profit is put before a survivable planet. 2. Collectivism. This is personally my biggest hurdle. I think I have a fairly sensible handle on consumerism and do not live beyond my means. I could live in a house that is three times the size but don't because I don't need it (nor want that level of mortgage debt, whereas others wouldn't care and will max out whatever they can get from a bank). But I am terrible at contributing to the community. I live in an apartment complex yet barely see neighbours. I keep forgetting to go to the AGM. I did sign up to a mentor program yesterday (did it last year too) where some unsuspecting underprivileged teen is going to have to suffer my peculiar worldview and deflect attempts to impose metal on them. 4. Just look at the monetary system. This has to be due for another collapse. Logically AI is far more adept at finding patterns and manipulating the money markets. I don't understand why anyone needs traders anymore. As you say, it is designed to be as murky and complicated as possible without any link to actual reality. 5. I hadn't thought about this too much. The youth for a few generations have been self-serving assholes like me. Mind you, I'm only self-serving in the sense that I look after myself first - but I do try not to have adverse impact on those around me. I am a firm believer in getting your own house in order first. I wonder whether it may be a way to get the far right on board with environmentalism if you say "fine, we'll keep out the boats of ****ies, but we're going to clean up our country and shore up food/energy security by using best practice. Gut the lobbyists and listen to the science."

Your remembrance is utterly erroneous my +ve friend. Judas Priest is my favourite metal band*, but I am just resigned to disappointment because they break certain cardinal rules in respect to their modern output (where one defines modern as anything less than 30 years old). That's a good question in terms of anticipated releases for next year. I have no idea. The Judas Priest one is the only thing announced I am even aware of that far in advance. From the opening moments of the new single and seeing the picture of a double LP in the press release all I felt was crushing sadness. It was their last chance and they blew it. The relatively obscure bands I spend most of my time listening to don't tend to make an announcement more than a few months in advance. The upcoming releases I have pre-ordered are Howling Giant and Green Lung. I wouldn't go so far to say I am excited. The available tracks are decent but not revelatory. Bands have started making longer term release announcements because of vinyl lead times. I can't back it up with any data, but back in the good old days when big bands released something every year, announcements were no more than a month or two in advance. Sometimes weeks or days. There should be some "classic" bands releasing something next year such as Nile and Deicide. I will "look forward to it" in a broad sense but I can't get excited about it. I only get "excited" relatively speaking when I am pleasantly surprised by a new band I come across and it turns out they have a few releases in the back catalog. Balmog and Inanna spring to mind. Actually, there should be a new Akercocke next year. They've been working on it for a long time. I would be excited for that because the last one is my favourite album of theirs. *it probably isn't because I complain about them so much, but it is my stock answer: AC/DC, Queen and Judas Priest.

If my barn burned down I'd be pretty annoyed. Also, if I'd ripped one, I'd steer clear too.

This is the best line I will see today. "Album number 19 is going to be a burner!" I am pretty sure that is going to be exactly the case.

I went to the gig recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire when they played the whole Damnation album, took a break and then returned to play the "heavy" set. Those were the days.

I got burned once on 7Digital (which hilariously I note has also been bought out by Songtradr!) with Senjitsu disappearing from my collection.....and then miraculously reappearing. From now on I will do a regular backup to FLAC of recent purchases. I had a weird issue where the bandcamp app on my phone deletes all downloads periodically. Which is annoying because it's 30GB of downloads (MP3). But I don't lose them from collection, just have to download again. The FLAC are all backed up to external hard drive. I had a few emails with bandcamp support who were very nice (if a bit thick to grasp the problem I was describing)...probably all fired now.

Well, shit. Greeders gotta greed. I hope the founders that sold out to Epic (as opposed to putting a good manager in place and just reaping the dividends) are happy. I bet that they told their staff at the time "this is an awesome opportunity to take us to the next level." Ultimately, the next level for many is the unemployment line. As @Arioch notes, I hope that labels don't make their stuff disappear. So far as I can tell every single one of the albums I've purchased in the last 7 or 8 years is still on the app. Although I recently backed everything up anyhow. My first purchase was: NO | Old Man Gloom (bandcamp.com) Although that is 2012 and I am pretty sure I didn't start using it that long ago, but time flies. At the very least, bandcamp has shown that an ethical model can be successful. I'd be fine with it if it were superseded by something else, equivalent, and metal. The massive shame here is that bandcamp has critical mass to teach consumers about a fair way. The layoffs will be to streamline profitability, whereas such a move guts the community spirit. Maybe the 50% will take all their knowledge and set up a rival. And fortify it against a similar thing happening in the future. I'd be onboard in an instant and cancel my bandcamp account (after backing up purchases!)

It is. One beacon of good news is that Tory control is collapsing. It is a zombie government at the moment. However, the opposition must be nearly as incompetent as the government itself for it to have taken this long. In politics you seem to have those that are blatantly out for themselves and those that are slightly less blatantly out for themselves. Hopefully, we will soon enter an era of "slightly less blatantly out for themselves" in Britain that will marginally improve conditions until the next swing around. I think the British electorate will be convinced to leave Earth next, because some twat will paint it on the side of a bus as a good idea.

Century Media is on BANDCAMP! This is big news...and a little frustrating since just a week or two ago I had to buy 3 Century Media CDs (Weigedood, Triptykon, Dark Angel) just to be able to rip them to FLAC. Only one of those is actually now on bandcamp, but this is a step in the right direction. Just picked up: Monotheist | Celtic Frost | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com) Complete Control | Misery Index | Century Media Records (bandcamp.com)

By "malaise" do you mean stagnant or apathetic? The Attlee government came in in 1945 which was an unusual situation where the population actually voted for its universal best interests. Churchill had just won the war, yet lost the election. The policies at that time were quite radical and served the greater good. I wouldn't call that stagnant. "Most historians argue that the main domestic policies (except nationalisation of steel) reflected a broad bipartisan consensus. The post-war consensus is a historians' model of political agreement from 1945 to the late-1970s. In 1979 newly elected Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rejected and reversed it." I blame TV and advertising....for everything. It's only with watching the Rugby World Cup on ITV that my 13 year old daughter has been exposed for the first time to mass advertising and the brain melting intellect vacuum that is reality TV. Otherwise, we only ever watched streaming services and BBC from time to time. BBC still has no advertising. I find television in Australia and New Zealand to be utterly unwatchable. I also once turned on a TV in a hotel room in Detroit and threw up into the waste basket.