MacabreEternal

I had heard Bloem as my first foray into these guys and quickly dismissed it - as it turns out it was a poor starting point. The latest is digestible enough though for a quick yet thoughtful blast. Have enjoyed the compilation of songs from their first 2 demos (Relaas) the most though and it underlines how whenever I hear hype around a band I should always go for the early stuff first to understand what they were all about at the start before venturing into their more popular or simply most recent release. NP: Inferno - Paradeigma: Phosphenes of Aphotic Eternity (2021)

Fluisteraars - De Kronieken van het Verdwenen Kasteel I: Harslo (2023) Fucking record title is longer than the EP itself.

In the UK we have pretty much the same experience of inner city nightmares when it comes to trying to get anywhere. I live fairly rurally so don't have much issue with driving locally but my job usually has me driving into city centres on a few occasions each year. Birmingham is a nightmare. It is the constipated arsehole of the country that unfortunately has a hectic ring piece meaning it is just as hard to get anywhere near it as it is to move at all once you are in there. I have only ever driven to Greater London and would never even think about driving into central London. They are constantly redesigning Edinburgh's roads every time I go up there but at least I have now found places on the outskirts that are easy enough to get to the city from if an overnight stay is required for an early meeting the day after. Manchester is probably a close second to Birmingham and Mancs are fucking insane drivers, all with a genuine death wish it seems. Liverpool (which is my nearest major city about 30 mins away) isn't too bad to get in and out of if you time it right. I usually go down via the dock road around the back of all the old industrial buildings (at least what's left and not been turned into apartments or hotels). There's a couple of routes I can take from here also to get in the city centre and I have been around the area long enough now to know some shortcuts and backstreet routes also. Never driven in another country and don't intend to. When we were over in New York a few years back we hit the underground or a cab to get anywhere. We are planning our next trip to be the Bergen to Oslo railway and stay at a couple of places on the line that are only accessible by snowmobile to and from the station - fuck traffic!

Fyrnask - VII: Kenoma (2021)

I would echo what GG said. I am pushing 50 years old and have increasingly been able to cope less well with stress over the past ten years or so. Simple advice (and you are doing this by listening to metal), separate the elements of your life, compartmentalise the different parts into their own space. I start my day by listening to an album and then finish it by doing the same. In between is when all the chaos of work happens and short of a lottery win that won't go away any time soon but I still step away when needed - even if it is to walk around my garden for 5 minutes before going back to it (I work from home largely). The point is that 9-5 is not my time it is someone else's - shareholders, directors, customers. Before 9 and after 5 is my time and I make a ceremony out of the start and end of that time because it is for me and it deserves that attention. Also, for me, being outside walking in the most rural and natural environment I can find before work and at weekends is a massive help. Physically it helps me stay healthy but mentally I simply could not cope without that cleansing session each morning. Time for me, thinking about nothing and nobody else is the key for me and make sure you are not robbing yourself of your own mental space by letting others intrude into your thoughts.

Destronomer - The Two Horns (2023) Fuck Around Fridays hits me with some stoner metal this week in the shape of Australians (like we need more of them here, right?) Destronomer which is a terrible name for a band. Anyway, this is their one and only release as far as I can tell. Sounds like every other stoner metal band out there but it will do for me.

Frank worshipping Thunderhawk is no more.

Fluisteraars - Bloem (2020)

Fluisteraars - De Kronieken van het Verdwenen Kasteel I: Harslo (2023)

Please start your own intro thread.

Kylesa - Exhausting Fire (2015)

Nordicwinter - Threnody (2007) Always been impressed by this guy's output. Based on his last three releases I had assumed him to be more or less entirely atmospheric in his direction but this debut record shows some real variety. A bit clunky here and there but it is the debut so some slack needs to be cut.

Blodsrit - Hinterland (2007)

Spectrum Mortis - Bit Meseri - The Incantation (2022)

I have been spending some time with that Atrocity record of late, it's a cracker! Paysage D'Hiver - Im Wald (2020)