A New Age of Hell

Things haven’t gone horribly since I last posted here, but they’re not great, either. I admit my passion for reviewing and even listening to most dark, heavy music (metal and otherwise) has diminished for a few reasons: namely, that I’m not as bitter as I once was about the world. Having a daughter – and a son on the way- has changed my outlook drastically, as well as my priorities, which are mostly centered lately around my library and outings with my family. It’s hard to listen to some of the heavier, darker stuff I used to enjoy so much when I’ve become, dare I say it, happy-ish? The nostalgia is there, but I don’t feel the need to immerse myself in dank, dreary things to the same degree that I used to. I love music, particularly metal, but it’s no longer at the foreground of my thoughts. So what’s all this about then?

I’m working on becoming a better husband and father, but while I’ve been doing this, I’ve felt something has been missing from my life. With the advent of AI generated art and music, and in a world where articles can be compiled by prompts and scraped from the dregs of the internet by computers at the click of some nerd’s mouse, part of me wonders if I should even bother trying to create anything anymore.

But you know what? Fuck these machines, and fuck the people who use them for plagiarized styles and sounds. I think now more than ever, for better or worse, actual human beings should be actively creating unique, individual projects of all varieties. If you have a platform, or a voice or artistic medium of any kind, you should be using it to the best of your ability, even if that ability isn’t flawless. The minute we stop, the fucking bots win.

With that said, my intention is to – when possible – keep on truckin’ and get back to reviewing music, and with any luck, those efforts may be translated to a physical format in the near future. I feel original content in physical form is going to become increasingly important in the coming years… But what I love about heavy music is the underground lunatics who support it and the DIY attitude most of us have. It’s a labor of love, an undying obsession, true, unadulterated and pure. Also, if you’re reading this, check out this article from https://mystificationzine.com/. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t be back on here now.

DIY or die. Time to get back to work.