The long day is winding down. You’re home from your mundane day job, and have nothing to do but wait to fall asleep so you can haul your bloated carcass out of bed and shit, get dressed, and piss off back to the time clock. Maybe you watch TV, or eat a microwavable meal in … Continue reading “Cthonic Rites” -Moss
“N.V.” -Dragged Into Sunlight/Gnaw Their Tongues
"N.V." (Negative Volume) is a collaboration between Dragged Into Sunlight and Gnaw Their Tongues, and is one of the most pulverizing, psychotic records I’ve ever heard. Even from the beginning, this torturous album violates and debases the senses like nothing else, but more importantly, it paints a lurid picture of humanity distilled down to its … Continue reading “N.V.” -Dragged Into Sunlight/Gnaw Their Tongues
“Rise of the Specter” -Old Tower
My first introduction to widely applauded dungeon synth act Old Tower was 2017’s “Rise of the Specter”. Divided into two parts -each spanning almost fifteen minutes in length- “Rise…” is simply gorgeous. This is one of the most professional sounding, well-constructed dungeon synth releases I’ve heard. At once mournful and triumphant, the poignant medieval sound … Continue reading “Rise of the Specter” -Old Tower
“The Haunting Choir”
I still remember brilliant kaleidoscopic light and the low thrum it made as it permeated my body, carrying me higher and higher, and deeper within the unlimited inner-space in my head. The music would open doors to emotions I’d not felt in years -or at all- and amplify the more familiar ones as it painted … Continue reading “The Haunting Choir”
“Daemonsgate (OST)” -Ian Howe, Barry Leitch
The '90s were a goldmine of excellent dark fantasy games: Several of the Ultima games, numerous Might and Magic titles, Heretic/Hexen, Diablo 1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, the list goes on. All of these titles, and many more, explored the darker side of fantasy gaming, with gritty imagery, dark storylines, conquered worlds burning in the … Continue reading “Daemonsgate (OST)” -Ian Howe, Barry Leitch
“Well, What Now?”
I'll be clean two years as of the thirtieth this coming November. One question I've often asked myself since quitting crack and coke is "well, what now?" It took a long time to pull my life back together and rebuild trust in my relationships with friends and family, and I can't forget the financial hole … Continue reading “Well, What Now?”
“Vexovoid” – Portal
Vexovoid is a panic-inducing primordial nightmare, like a great and terrible leviathan rising up from an infinite black ocean and dragging itself ashore, pregnant with soul-sucking leeches waiting to burst forth from their hellish womb to feed. Rife with chaos and utter barbarism, Vexovoid is a scathing cacophony so vitriolic that the pure sonic evil … Continue reading “Vexovoid” – Portal
“Night People: Portrait of a Degenerate”
"Self, 3" Night time in Tuscawilla Park, particularly during the summer months, is sticky and humid; the sweaty darkness teeming with delusions and apparitions as headlights blink in and out of view; sirens echo in the distance along with the buzzing of mosquitos, the chirruping of crickets, the croaking of toads in the park's many … Continue reading “Night People: Portrait of a Degenerate”
“Evoke.Contrast.Evolve” -Escaping Aghartha
Agartha or "Aghartha" is defined by Wikipedia as "a legendary city that is said to be located in the Earth's core". Upon reading this, it's easy to imagine a subterranean realm of labyrinthine crystal tunnels and underground spires bejeweled with amethyst and opal, its denizens silently traversing the roots of the earth to worship old … Continue reading “Evoke.Contrast.Evolve” -Escaping Aghartha
“Poisonous Offerings”
I never tried heroin: coke and crack yes, by all routes of administration, but never that. Once you've gone so far down the rabbit hole, it's go big or fuck off, right? Sure, I was curious about H (dog food, "her-on") and I was miserable enough to contemplate giving it a shot (pun intended) but … Continue reading “Poisonous Offerings”
Towers of Rust 