#blarghe

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she has to eat her food like this now. if you even care

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Sadposting aside you very much do have to be the guy who reaches out. The guy that invites people to things. The guy who says hey how are you i think of you i miss you. People are busy and insecure about you not liking them back, too its good for the soul to be the one to say i love you its been a while and i think I'd like to connect more. You can ask you can speak up you can reach out.

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still listening to all my records by the way. Today I put on Magic Circle - Departed Souls.

Magic Circle are great. Very classic traditional heavy metal, but like, on the doomy side (I like doom). I don't feel like writing a full review right now but you should go listen to some Magic Circle and maybe you'll calm down.

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I have decided to make a personal blog, over at @personal-blarghe, where I can post my musings and album reviews and maybe cool photos I take and other not-dragon age stuff. if you like.

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I have a friend coming over this afternoon, and they don't particularly love it when my record player growls at them, so one more record review today and it is for New Waste by Black Wizard. Back to my Canadian indie rock roots! Kinda! I mean, they're a very proggy heavy metal. Post-metal? Post-prog psychedellic heavy metal. What is music fandom if not making up genres? The other day at a show my friend was telling me about "pizza thrash" like that's a real thing (it is. we don't love it). Encyclopedia Metallum calls them Stoner Doom but like to me stoner doom means like Sleep and Electrizc Wizard and these guys sound nothing like that. They also say their themes are "drugs" and "partying" which is a Friday night vibe.

Anyway, Black Wizard have a sound that is a little like Mastadon or Black Sabbath or another really rock-n-roll-y heavy metal band. A bit of that signature doom melodicness, angry, rough singing but no death growls or squeals or screams, and the solos. The solos. I had a need and Black Wizard met it, man. There's a track in the middle of this album with a straight up Floyian groove, the album alternates between softer and more melodic interludes and just killer riffs and solos. I know I bought this album at a show, but I can't actually remember where or when that was, but that's probably because of the drugs and partying, so you know it was a good time. I remember they played with Dead Quiet (who definitely are stoner doom) because Dead Quiet's record that I bought at that show was red, and this one is green. It's another very pretty record! The cover illustration is super cool and the green vinyl is neat too. This has been in my collection a while now, and has definitely become one I put on when company is over.

It's fun, it's heavy but not in your face. It's got grooves, it's got vibes, it's got weedley guitar solos.

Favourite track: Tie between Harsh Time and Vivian Girls (the melodic one and the one with the weedliest solo)

Least favourite track: Laughing and Lost. Nothing wrong with it it's just the song that sounded the most like some other band to me and gave me those Mastadon vibes.

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I said I wanted solos, so I put on some Skeletonwitch. For a long time I would have told you that Skeletonwitch was my favourite metal band, possibly even my favourite band. I've branched out more since then, but they're still great. A really good, clear sound, tight solos, and alternating faster and more melodic riffs, depending on the album. Generally they're very tuneful and catchy and they put on an excellent live show, as evidenced by the fact that Wikipedia tells me they were "banned from House of Blues in Orlando after they were deemed "unfit to be associated with Disney." And also I saw them one time and got shoved so hard into the fence at the front that I threw up. It was Halloween and they played in costumes. Great show.

I guess I should note that their original singer was apparently a piece of work who was fired from the band, and they've had a couple different drummers for more normal band commitment type reasons. The problem with death metal is that sometimes you really do have to look up bands on Wikipedia to make sure they aren't terrible people. These guys appear to just be exhibiting typical rockstar behaviour though, which is what it is I guess.

With a super solid sound across their discography, Skeletonwitch is still my first rec for anyone looking into getting into more melodic but still lively death metal. I have The Apothic Gloom in my collection, which is not actually my favourite Skeletonwitch (Forever Abomination might be). The Apothic Gloom is, as described, gloomier. It's a bit slower and chuggier. Chuggachuggachugga URAGH, you know?

Favourite track: Black Waters. SOLO!! weedley wooooo

Least favourite track: The Apothic Gloom (chuggachuggachuggachug.....)

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First actual full length album in my collection: Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd. I know, I know, I really don't have to review this one. I mean, we all know this is a good album.

(It is really good).

I got this one from my parents' collection, which they gave to my older brother first so he got most of the good things out of it and then I picked through the rest. I guess he already had Dark Side of the Moon though, and he probably bought it for $65 or whatever it sells for now, like a sucker. Anyway, the jacket is a bit frayed and there's some nice vintagey pops on it when it plays and that's cool, that's authentic. I'm not a big classic rock guy but man, Pink Floyd really had nothing but bangers. Is it overplayed? Maybe, but like can you ever actually get sick of this one? Dark Side of the Moon is a very fun blend of elements, from funky baselines and sax solos to slow moody riffs that hit on those eerie minor keys, with ethereal and gospel vocals on top. Don't quote me on this but I'm pretty sure they invented new looping and synthesizer techniques for this thing. That's what we call experimental psychedelic rock, babes! But it's also catchier than some other Floyd, while every track does go off on a funky instrumental interlude or three (sax, guitar, and synths), it's jammy enough to be, you know, the one Pink Floyd album literally everyone knows.

I don't know what kids these days think Dark Side of the Moon is about, but they probably think it's about drugs. And I mean, kinda! But mostly the songwriting isn't really that trippy despite the rep, and the lyrics are nice and forthright. More forthright than your conservative dad (not mine, my dad is cool) has any right listing as faves. Still, it has mainstream appeal in that it's super soft and funky, which makes for great background music (if you've heard it before, please just sit and listen to it the first time. Wizard of Oz optional), while also turning your head even on the millionth listen to something new each time.

So! We like Pink Floyd in this house. My only complaint is that I don't have more Pink Floyd records. Someone buy me The Wall.

Favourite track: Money. That jammy solo, the funky baseline, the cash register sounds. Come on.

Least favourite track: Literally none this album has great flow.

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because I don't blog anywhere else, I'm going to liveblog me playing all my records here. As always, personal posts are tagged with #blarghe. I don't have that many records right now but I just broke up with someone and plan to spend all the extra money I have now adding to the collection, and also I'm really bored of my Spotify algorythm so I want to listen to everything I have. Playing every record in my current collection is probably only gonna take like a week. Maybe you will read my reviews and send me recs?

Starting with the two random shitty grungecore EPs I have for some reason. Did I get them at shows? From my brother (who would have got them at shows)? I don't remember. They were Tendril by Godstopper and Hiroshima Vacation by Greber. They both kinda sucked, but like in the way that you want random EPs from grungey thrash bands to suck. I liked the Greber one better. I would probably pay 15 bucks to see these bands in a dark basement again.

Here are their bandcamps, so that you can support your local small time shitty thrash bands: GREBER ; GODSTOPPER