#samhainia

[samhainia]

“Taylor Swift who?” If this was a real thing the phenomenon of a real living vampire fronting a rock band, levitating on stage and feeding on victims in front of thousands of fans would be the only thing anyone would care to see.

lestat gets cancelled again immediately after the article gets published

swifties dont come at me this is all just jokes pls

[samhainia]

Listen to Merciful Fate.

[musicmakesyousmart]

THEE KHAI AEHM - Samhainia!

Grime Stone Records

2023

[samhainia]

Listen to Metallica.

[samhainia]

This piece was for a witch I dated in hopes of being in an exclusive relationship. She was beautiful, cunning and powerful. Upon meeting her I gave her a bouquet of white daisies and a single black rose. Ultimately my affection and adoration was tragically unrequited. These things don’t always work out, pouring your creative and magical energy into a piece to express your adoration of a romantic interest can make you feel violated when things don’t go your way. This person owns a piece of me that will remind her that someone thought she was exceptional.

[samhainia]

Listen to December Underground.

[metalhead-brainrot]

[Album of the day] Weeping Coffin - F.B.I.

Ravenloft, USA // 2022 // Grime Stone Records

[Genres] blackened skate punk

[Themes] I'm nostalgic about gothic horror strip malls of my youth

[FFO] dungeon synth/black metal, Abysmal Specter, D.R.I. with corpse paint, vampire anything/everything

[Thoughts] I don't have a ton to say about this particular release, just that I fucking love it. Both ds/bm and skate punk give me nostalgia for my mallrat youth, their union is something I wouldn't have considered but feels so right.

Abysmal Specter is the ghoul behind Weeping Coffin and about a dozen other projects, including: Bloody Keep, Curta'n Wall, and ds/bm CLASSIC Old Nick* (vox). He is an incredibly prolific musician and one of the bigger names in the contemporary dungeon synth scene. And for good reason: everything AS puts out is creative dungeon synth music. Whether it's raw black metal, punk, ambient dungeon synth, or ds/bm, Abysmal Specter's music is full of humor.** They're mostly solo projects, but you can always count on AS to throw you something catchy and twice-cooked in aesthetic.

This feels as good a time as any to talk about Grime Stone Records, one of my favorite independent record labels, considering they host all of Abysmal Specter's music.*** GSR does an impeccable job curating all things ds/bm, simply stated.**** I subscribed to the label on Bandcamp about 2.5 years ago, so for $3/month I get all their releases; usually GSR strives for 3 releases/month, so that comes out to about $1/album, which I know will be an excellent indie pick. Consider subscribing to GSR***** and other Bandcamp labels, it's the best way to sustainably support indie music. At the very least, consider "Following" a label on Bandcamp to get notified of their new releases.

If you like any of the music on here, feel free to add to the conversation. I'd love to chat about Abysmal Specter, GSR, or anything else I've mentioned.

o()xxxx[:::::::::::::::::> o()xxxx[:::::::::::::::::> o()xxxx[:::::::::::::::::>

* Did you know that the guitarist for Old Nick, Sentencer, is Abysmal Specter's sister?

** And usually vampires, like all good black metal.

*** In my head AS is the one who operates GSR, but I don't know if I simply made that up as head canon.

**** What follows is an unabridged list of my favorite releases on the label, many of them recent.

Jacc - Cathartic Sorrow and Jacc - Melancholic Bliss; just really solid black metal that dropped on the label recently.

THEE KHAI AEHM - Samhainia! and THEE KHAI AEHM - Parrier; black metal stylings with garage punk and fuzz rock ends. Really interesting, I haven't heard anything like this before.

Piyakdu - Visionnes ov Naeku the'e Plowmanne; might look ridiculous on first blush, but this dungeon synth release is objectively high art. From the Bandcamp page: "The album seeks to view the contemporary Bharari lore under the 14th century Middle-English lens of theological allegory, dream-vision, and pastoral lyricism, all the while presenting a cohesive sonic journey tying these elements of the past and of the present together. The tunes are ripe with summertime nostalgia and visions of a time long forgotten."

Dungeon Crawler - Gotta Go Dungeon Crawling; blackened chiptune, the official 2023 soundtrack to getting really high and turning on your PS2. "Blackned Nintendocore Manifesto" is maybe my favorite mosh track of the year. Only wish it were longer so I didn't have to keep hitting play.

Curta'n Wall - Siege Ubsessed!; yes, I already linked to this album, but what can I say: I'm siege ubsessed (I even bought the shirt). Some silly ds/bm to bring home the wanton destruction of the medieval era. FFO: Renaissance Festivals, Monty Python.

Dein​ó​ssa​û​ros - Tyrannosaurids; some people are going to write off this release, but I think it's high art. Black metal is all about rejecting colonial structures and reverting to primitivism; this album captures the savage spirit of black metal through realistic dinosaur audio. Best served with a psychoactive; my preferred are amanita muscara mushroom chocolates.

Zhmach - Karyta Dzieda Platona; raw black metal with above-average production and avant-garde interests. I really liked Zhmach's first release, and I feel like Karyta Dzieda Platona is a true hidden gem. An truly uninhibited exploration of synth music.

SPECTRAL SPECTRUM - Strange Souls Vol. 1; a candlelit ritual from a dusty tome summoned the catchiest black'n'roll ever found, a genre that is best when it doesn't take itself too seriously. You'll listen to this and write me off as a fucking idiot, but I only grow in power every time you sing the chorus to "Haunted Wood" (it's a black metal multi-level marketing scheme, call it a bmlm).

***** I have no fucking idea where the subscription page went for GSR and it's driving me mad. You could always try contacting them.

[samhainia]

Greatest adaptation of Claudia ever.

kirsten dunst as claudia in interview with the vampire (1994)

[julmala]

.

[samhainia]

October’s flame never burns out in me.

[samhainia]

The Blood is the life.

[samhainia]

Black Metal matters.

[samhainia]

Listen to Power Wolf.

[samhainia]

[samhainia]

Woah!!

Black Orchid - Fredclarkeara Black Lace ‘Baker’s Dark Angel’ 

In nature, black flowers are rare. The reality is that there is almost no plant in the world that is truly black in color. Most are shades of deep blue or reds or purples. This is also true about orchid flowers. Growers and hybridizers have tried many different orchid plants and hybrid orchid varieties to try to get to a truly black flower.

Among the most notable hybrids (since 2010) with truly black flowers (currently commercially available from Sunset Valley Orchids) you can find Fredclarkeara (Asparagales - Orchidaceae), an intergeneric hybrid between the orchid genera Catasetum, Clowesia and Mormodes. (Ctsm. x Cl. x Morm.).

The Fredclarkeara breeding produces flowers that are fragrant, have lots of color and are long lasting. As you can see on this one in the photo, the Fredclarkeara Black Lace ‘Baker’s Dark Angel’ is indeed black.

References: [1] - [2]

Photo credit: ©Brent Baker | Locality: cultivated (2013)

[samhainia]

Read Poe.