Several years ago, at the end of a dull weekend in Western Massachusetts, I decided that a walk through nature would break up the monotony. A short hike down the road from my apartment brought me to the Wentworth Farm conservation area (a large meadow surrounded by … Continue reading Pokémetal – Death Metal (Part 5)
(In which I discuss music I foolishly passed over in the preceding year). During the second voyage of the HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin noted several species endemic to the Galápagos Islands: marine iguanas clung to rocks jutting into the Pacific. Giant tortoises hauled their half-ton bodies across the ground, and … Continue reading Yesteryear’s Forgotten (2016) – Naðra
To the extent of my knowledge, refridgerators are best at two things: being human-sized beer coolers and incubating spore colonies so expansive that they threaten to become sentient. During a recent excavation to the back of my Frigidaire, I came across a bowl of particularly fecund … Continue reading E(P)visceration – Vircolac
I first heard Cormorant back in 2009, during my freshman year in college. Their debut LP, Metazoa, made a splash in the underground that year with its eclectic mix of metal genres, progressive songwriting and DIY aesthetics. With the release of Dwellings (2011) and Earth Diver (2014), they’ve solidified … Continue reading Speak to Birds – An Interview with Cormorant’s Matt Solis
Plucked out of bed by a beam of light, you float towards the open window. A few lonely souls remain awake in this hour, but for the most part, the neighborhood is dark. There is a doorway carved in the sky, through which strange stars glow … Continue reading E(P)visceration – Cadaveric Fumes
For some, boundaries aren’t thought of as the guidelines to the acceptable, or the limits of possibility. Instead, they’re an affront – a manifestation of social norms that threatens the sovereignty of the individual. For some, there is an endless road that leads from polite society out into the wilderness. Lashing out … Continue reading Pokémetal – Black Metal (Part 4)
Like most organisms, my sense of sight was one of the first tools I used to understand the world I’d been born into; the earliest toys I can remember were primarily focused on shapes and their colors. Shapes helped connect the senses of sight and touch, … Continue reading Pokemétal – A Love Story (Part 3)
It wasn’t long before I was a genuine insect addict. The unease of the woods had left me, replaced by a fascination with their great variety (I was, and always will be, partial to beetles). Armed with our “bug houses,” wooden boxes with screened-over windows, … Continue reading Pokémetal – A Love Story (Part 2)
At first glance, the cataclysm adorning the cover of New York black metal band Anicon’s debut LP Exegeses (photo by Kari Greer) resembles a great throne of fire carved into the mountainside. Polar winds and permafrost are nowhere to be found – this is a … Continue reading Anicon – “Exegeses” Album Review
One of my earliest experiences with insects took place at the edge of the woodlands that threatened to engulf my childhood home. In the spring, tents of woven silk grew between the branches, and inside, shadows moved about in chaotic patterns. I recall a mixture … Continue reading PokéMetal – A Love Story (Part 1)
The City of Rust 