The philosophical agenda behind Antichrist Superstar is simple: highlight the horror of the demonic, that is, conservative America. An under appreciated masterpiece, released in 1996, the album shows Marilyn Manson transforming into the accuser, the antagonist to Christian ideologies and ...
Read More »Slayer: The Metal Blade Years (1983-1985)
No other band has become more synonymous with extreme metal than Slayer. While Reign in Blood (1986) is often cited as the group’s definitive release, it’s their previous efforts that are the very definition of blood-soaked satanic imagery. The hellish ...
Read More »A Look Back at the Colorful Life of Ennio Morricone: Maestro of the Cinema Score.
“From Ennio I ask for themes that clothe my characters easily. He’s never read a script of mine to compose the music, because many times he’s composed the music before the script is ever written. What I do is give ...
Read More »Stalaggh/Gulaggh: A Window into Suffering and The Necessity for Transgressive Art
There’s no denying the stigma that mental health carries with it. As someone who’s been fighting an uphill battle with depression for two decades, I’m still dismissed as a pariah by some because of my afflictions. The gap between empathy ...
Read More »The Trials and Tribulations of …And Justice for All (1988)
Few bands possess a more polarizing reputation than Metallica. To some, they’re the forebearers of thrash and arguably the most influential and successful metal band of all time. The group, who in just over a decade went from an underground ...
Read More »Stag Films – When Gregory Dark Met the Melvins
Despite the fact that the term “transcending genre” has perhaps itself already become a cliché, at least in film discussion, the fact nevertheless remains that much like certain filmmakers, there also exists in music select bands and artists that treat ...
Read More »Strange This Song of Mine – Psychotic Waltz’s A Social Grace at 30
One of the more unfortunate pieces of historical revisionism propagated by various mainstream cultural outfits since the dawn of the new millennium is the puzzling notion that the ’90s were a time of stagnation for metal. Most fans by now ...
Read More »Divine Intervention: Slayer attacks the 90s
There’s no denying the impact that Slayer made during the 1980s. All these years later and we’re still discussing Reign in Blood as if it was just released last week. In an age where heavy metal constantly drew disdain from ...
Read More »Children of Atomic Age Horror: The Misfits
The tagline for American Graffiti (1973) asked its audience “Where were you in ’62?” Depending on who you might ask, George Lucas captured vintage Americana with vivid accuracy. Hot rods and rock and roll are all part of a tapestry ...
Read More »Darted In Your Armchair Episode 3: The Tubes Star in Ma Vie en Fumer
“Whole world is smokin’…can’t stop choking…it’s how you do me. My future’s burned to ashes, love’s gone out of fashion…it’s how you do me.” Being in a rock band has its perks, sure. The bright lights, the adulation, the writhing throngs ...
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