MacabreEternal

Warbringer "War Without End"

Nasty Savage "Penetration Point"

Author & Punisher 'Beastland'

Update, yesterday I saw some heartwarming action on the stairs at Willesden Junction station. An African lady was struggling with a pram/buggy and 4 fellow passengers actually helped her carry it up the steps and even took time to make sure she knew which train she wanted. I actually smiled. There's still an undercurrent to this city that makes me feel uneasy and on edge and despite the things highlighted in my post above I still feel there's more to it than that. I just can't help but feel that for a place so full of life it is actually a very empty city.

Windhand "Eternal Return" - not overly familiar with the band (nor genre anymore) but I really like this. Catchy doom/stoner that reminds me oddly of a fair amount of grunge too.

The ruthlessness of the jostling for the tube, the endless queues of traffic regardless of time of day or night. The exaggerated grandiosity of the whole city because of it's capital status. Conversation is a dead art there, unless you are for picking a fight or casual disagreement. It's culturally and socially isolating despite the diversity that's so obvious wherever you go. It never feels like the rich cultural themes that would make for such a fulfilling and inclusive community are breathing beyond ethnicity, race, gender or age. This is not just London that this happens of course but it just pisses me off more there because the opportunity is far more widespread given the size of the place yet all I see is people living in silos. Manchester is a close second I have to admit. In fact Edinburgh is probably one of the most culturally rich places I have ever been to in the British Isles. I spent half an hour sat in a bar talking with an Indian girl last week about her beer brewing exploits and her passion and determination despite some set backs was inspiring. Similarly the guy in the shop I bought my rings from was genuinely interested in engaging in conversation with me about my ring collection. Not retail tittle tattle talk about the weather or how long I was visiting for, a proper interest in my interest. There's none of this I have experienced in London or Manchester sadly, the majority of the people I see are just dead inside. Going there for work a lot over a 2 year period hasn't helped London but then again I worked in Edinburgh a bit too - which might become a thing again soon.

Away most of next week in London (well Richmond upon Thames). Fucking hate London with a passion, managed plot a route in avoiding any of the London stations though meaning a change at Watford Junction which will save me having to go into London to come straight back out again. No such luck on the way back though, London Euston here I come!

Ghostface Killah "The Lost Tapes"

Testament "The Formation of Damnation"

Author & Punisher "Beastland"

Latest jewellery purchase from Edinburgh.

The first song I heard ahead of the full 2014 release ("The Satanist") from Behemoth was "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel". It immediately peaked my interest, setting the tone nicely for what was to become one of my favoured full lengths of that year. This time around I heard "God = Dog" (which I think means the band are more cat people?). It sounded blunted and frankly restrained. Yes, there was a brief passage of some interesting string work towards the end but generally it just passed me by. Sadly, just as my experience of the lead song/single from 2014 was an excellent benchmark for my expectation of the full length, the same has happened in 2018 but with a very different outcome. "I Loved You At Your Darkest" rarely achieves touching distance of the band's previous full length. There's lots of things that stop it from doing this, indeed the list is as long as either one of my lanky and lengthy arms. The songwriting is poor, it lacks any real structure the majority of the time. As a result there is a constant sense of this just being a very hastily written, rush of ideas. Tracks like "If Crucifixion Was Not Enough" and "Ecclesia Diabolica Catholica" show this in abundance, the former nailing the lid down on its own coffin with one of the laziest attempts at a menacing riff I have heard in a while. When we do actually settle into some sense of structure it actually works well. "Bartzabel" is a sole triumph in the songwriting/structure stakes here and this is almost ruined by the annoying double layered, chanting backing vocals. Next on my list of grumbles? The sound. It is one of the most sterile and strained sounding mixes I think I have ever heard on a record. The drums sound like they were tracked for a completely different purpose on some of the tracks, "Wolves ov Siberia" and "Rom 5:8" in particular. I can't believe that this was the intended sound the band wanted to achieve. I follow Behemoth on Instagram and they make much majesty and menace over their theatre and general pomp when performing live it seems. Surely then they haven't listened to the final playback of this record? Now then. I don't recall chanting children on a record ever working well? But there's a couple of tracks here of children chanting their disdain for Christianity alongside Nergal and co. It sounds frankly fucking ridiculous and trite even over only two tracks! In summary, this is a massive disappointment whether you enjoyed "The Satanist" or not. Hastily put together, poorly arranged and mixed terribly to boot. 1/5

Behemoth "I Loved You At Your Darkest"

Cypress Hill "Elephants on Acid" Hobbs' Angel of Death - s/t

Black Sabbath "Vol. 4" Iron Maiden - s/t