Five & Five on Friday 9/8/2023
Anime philosophy, millennial psychos, and metal's song of the summer
Happy Friday! Congratulations on making it to the end of the week. As you head into your weekend, here are five recommendations and then five micro reviews of albums from my high school CD collection. Maybe you’ll find something new to read, listen to, or do this weekend. See you next week!
If you missed Bellows at Sundown Bar this week don’t worry, we’ll be back at Alphaville on September 23rd opening for Precious Human. As luck would have it, Christian from Precious Human worked the door for our Sundown show. Nice guy! I haven’t been to Alphaville since, what, 2019?? Can’t wait to return, and I can’t wait to see you there!
What’s that? You want to go to even more shows in late September? In that case, catch me drumming for Dan Rico on September 29th! We’re opening for Prison and Jyonson Tsu,. I have not seen either of those groups working the door at any venue lately, but I won’t hold that against them. I’m going to split pretty much as soon as we’re finished in order to catch a flight, so come early!
I am, begrudgingly, gearing myself up for the mental attrition of the election media cycle and thus appreciated Max Read’s notes about a particular archetype that we’re going to inevitably see in a lot of elections to come: The Millennial Ambition Psycho. I too have met many versions of this person in school and professionally.
If your millennial ambitions lean more in the direction of having extremely bespoke opinions about mass media, you might enjoy this video by Jonas Ceika explaining the notoriously dense philosophy of Martin Heidegger through the films of Hayao Miyazaki. I’ve met a lot of people, typically not dedicated anime fans, that praise Miyazaki’s work as a kind of warm and fuzzy comfort food, but Ceika does a great job of teasing out the more thorny aspects of his nostalgic perspective.
This is the only “Song of the Summer” discourse I’l engage with this year: Ian Chainey on why heavy metal culture never agrees on its own song of the summer. Of the explanations offered, I’m somewhere between a Mob Rules-ist and a Thin Lizzite.
Now, onto the five micro reviews. Long time Lamniformes Instagram followers will recognize these from my stories back in late 2020, however they’ve been re-edited and spruced up with links so that you can actually hear the music instead of just taking my word for it.
The Olden Domain by Borknagar (1997) - Black Metal
I think every album I own by this band has a different singer. Variety is good, this record is not. Aimless songwriting and shapeless vocal melodies, even in heavy music those flaws can sink a record. All parties involved would go on to do better work than this.
Viking Funeral by Hull (2007) - Doom Metal
A local Brooklyn doom metal band from the late 00s/early 10s. Saw them open for Christian Death on a date and I punished one of their three guitarists about his pedals. lol not my finest moment. I love this CD’s envelope package, and I think the music really holds up. It is a single 17 minute long track with lots of great moments. I was excited to see where these guys would take things, but they didn’t last too much longer. So long and thanks for the riffs.
All We Love We Leave Behind by Converge (2012) - Metalcore
I have the deluxe edition with three bonus tracks and the booklet with individualized art for each tune. I also have owned two AWLWLB era shirts. Did you know I liked Converge? Lyrically I think of this as their aging record, lots of focus on the passage of time and the cost of one’s choices. Not my favorite theirs musically but still head and shoulders above most bands on earth.
Portrait of the Goddess by Bleeding Through (2002) - Metalcore
One of my absolute favorite bands in high school. Absurdly melodramatic, huge breakdowns, gothy keyboards, and a general air of grievance… all perfect for a sullen teen with unresolved boiling rage. A great look at how Swedish death metal wormed its way into the American hardcore scene. Some gnarly tunes on here.
Ænima by Tool (1996) - Progressive Metal
“Psst, hey kid! You like the D minor scale? Polyrhythms? Do you think you’re the smartest person in the room but can’t back it up? Then boy do I have the record for you!”
The rhythm section is outrageously good, especially now that I have a better sense of how they’re doing what they’re doing. But man, this does not connect with me on a thematic level at all anymore. The personal tunes are fine but the Malthusian/“nature is healing” stuff combined with the cynical attitudes about art leave such a sour taste in my mouth.
