Deserter

As usual, it's been a while. No, I'm not going to explain myself.

My blogging has always been fitful. Little bursts, then long periods of silence. This is partially because I don't have as much time to blog as I might like, but mostly because I find blogging with my name embarrassing. I think I am a relatively well-behaved blogger, so it's not that I say and do horrible things online and don't want people to know it's me. It's more that I feel a certain pressure, as though I have to satisfy the expectations of people who know me as only one thing---a pacifist, or a vegan, or a black metal fan, or a philosopher (hahahahaha), or whatever. I noticed for instance that a lot of readers seemed interested when I was posting about non-violence, but posts on music just met crickets. Maybe my music posts were just crap, I don't know. I simply don't feel like worrying about how people are perceiving me. Yes, this is kind of silly, and it is very much in my head. For the time being, however, it is keeping me from writing when and what I want to write.

So... I have started a new blog, and I am contemplating abandoning this one completely. No, I'm not going to tell where the new blog can be found. (Well, maybe I will, if you email me. Maybe.) It is authored under a pseudonym. If you find it, good for you. If not, sorry. Thanks to those who have supported me.

24 Favorite Recordings from 2011

Well, I haven't been around much lately, have I? Things have been . . . hectic. To put it mildly. I'm preparing to move out of state next month, as well as trying to pull together a number of other projects (for instance, this new label), and this blog has suffered as a result. Perhaps soon I will be able to spend more time here, but I imagine it won't be until after the new year.

Until then, I'm killing some time with a year end "most-enjoyed" list. Because that's what you do in December, I've gathered. I won't promise it's the best of this year---just stuff I liked. Mostly metal. Ordered alphabetically, since I can't bring myself to valuate them hierarchically. No deep reflections, either, just artist then title. Enjoy.

Absu – Abzu
Aksumite – The Gleam of Wetted Lips
Antediluvian – Through the Cervix of Hawwah
Ash Borer – Ash Borer
Björk – Biophilia
Blut Aus Nord – 777 Sect(s)/The Desanctification
Bosse-De-Nage – II
Botanist – I: The Suicide Tree/II: A Rose from the Dead
De Magia Veterum – The Divine Antithesis
False – Untitled
Inquisition – Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm
Locrian – Dort Ist Der Weg
Mamaleek – Kurdaitcha
Mare Cognitum – The Sea Which Has Become Known
Mournful Congregation – The Book of Kings
Negative Plane – Stained Glass Revelations
Oskoreien – Oskoreien
Rob Funkhouser – Granular Momentum Exchange
Servile Sect – Trvth
Sutekh Hexen – Luciform
Terra Tenebrosa – The Tunnels
Trou Noir – Echoes in Black Holes
Void Meditation Cult – Sulfurous Prayers
Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage

And that's pretty much it.

PEST Video Archives

Here are the archived videos from the PEST Black Metal Theory Symposium held earlier today.

Part 1




Part 2 (talks resume about 6 minutes in)

PEST: Destroy Your Life For Satan!

My video talk for PEST, the black metal theory symposium organized by Nicola Masciandaro, Michael O'Rourke, and Karin Sellberg. It has aired in Dublin by now, so here it is for general consumption.

EDIT


I've been asked a couple of times now about the songs used in my video. I don't know why I didn't post them to begin with, so here are the songs in order of appearance.

"The Immortal Plague," The Sea Which Has Become Known, Mare Cognitum, 2011.
"Mort Divine,"Spicelège, Belenos, 2002.
"I Am the Wrath of the Gods and the Desolation of the Earth," In the Constellation of the Black Widow, Anaal Nathrakh, 2009.
"The Suffering of Others," Fuck the Universe, Craft, 2005.
"Give Your Wrists," May the Curse Bind, Ghast, 2008.
"Shed This Skin," True Traitor, True Whore, Leviathan, 2011.
"Dunkelheit," Filosofem, Burzum, 1996.
"May Your Void Become as Deep as My Hate!" Telepathic with the Deceased, Xasthur, 2004.
"Drowned in Shadows," Díolaim, Beithíoch, 2007.
"Lifeless," Ravishing Grimness, Darkthrone, 1999.
"The Choir of the Dead," The Work Which Transforms God, Blut Aus Nord, 2003.
"Mahapralaya," Dhumavati, The Widow, 2011.

I'm kind of bemused that most of these are from post-2000 releases. Oh well!

END EDIT

And for fun, an outtake.

PEST Live Stream

Not in Dublin? Watch the PEST live stream below, brought to you courtesy of Radical Matters.

Apologies

Sorry for being scarce lately. There've been a number of small crises I've been dealing with, but things are more or less back to normal now, so I should be posting again soon. In the meantime, keep an eye on this space for my talk for PEST on Buddhism and black metal. I'll be posting it this Sunday the 20th after it has made its debut for those of you who would like to see it.

P.E.S.T. Abstracts

Abstracts for the upcoming iteration of the Black Metal Theory Symposium to be held in Dublin this November have been posted HERE. Have a look, and let some blackness into your life.