The initial reason behind why I chose to consider this work for review was the nature of the collaboration, a father and son piece. It wasn’t because I knew Matt Howden is a gifted songwriter specifically, because here was a chance to see where that gift came from. Often since my teenage years, searching as […]

Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic by Thomas Karlsson Ajna Bound   |   Jacksonville, Oregon   |   2012   |   268 Pages Review by Simon M-J. Many years ago now, in my late teens and on into my late twenties, I harboured a bit of a fascination with all things Qabalistic, Hermetic and Alchemical. It was more of […]

Like many things in my life, I’ve been aware of the name of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton (1803 – 1873) for decades, ever since I became interested in my late teens in occultism, specifically the Western Magical Tradition, Kabbalism and Hermeticism. If memory serves me correctly, the first reference I ever read of the writer […]

In memoriam 19th January 1809 – 7th October 1849 “Lo! Death has reared himself a throne  In a strange city lying alone  Far down within the dim West,  Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best  Have gone to their eternal rest.” -The City In The Sea One of the most […]

In Memoriam 20th October 1882 – 16th August 1956 Fitting for the spooky season, in today’s October Obituary I chose to honour the memory of actor Béla Ferench Dezsõ Blasko, more commonly known as Bela Lugosi. Born in the village of Lugos, Hungary, on October 20th 1882, he later fled the country due to his […]

It feels hard to believe that Woven Hand were celebrating their 10th anniversary last year with the release of this wonderful book and CD, “Black of the Ink”.  After all, 16 Horsepower have been noticeably absent from the folk world for 7 long years, and though Woven Hand obviously began before 16HP’s demise, the cycle […]

“The happy accidentee is never happy at the moment” This is an excerpt from one of the six cards included in the very thoughtfully arranged and constructed release of “My Deed Is Love”. The line makes me think of the process of field-recording, Souto’s main tool of creation as 156. The first time I had […]

Black Mass Rising markets itself as “120 minutes of pure black mass in sound and vision”. Filmed entirely on a mobile phone on location in Paris, Brussels and Berlin, it’s two hours of audial and visual considerations on a retro-occult theme, harking back to both a 70s and 20s style of visuals. Directed by French […]

Grishjärta is the first book both from the demented world of Nattramn and from the Publisher Humani Animali Liberati.  Nattramn is a familiar face (or in some photos, the lack thereof) in the realm of black metal, having now notoriously fronted the Swedish project Silencer for only one album in “Death – Pierce me”.  The […]

Journalist Name: ZRG Artist: Mighty Sphincter  Title: Rare Unearthed Videos Label: Cathedral  Cat. # CMDVD001 Format: DVDr Genre: Punk/Goth Rock Tracklisting: 01. Ghostwalking 02. Hitler Painted Roses 03. Hollywood Goes To Hell 04. Kingdom Of Heaven 05. Electric Hosebag 06. Blood Banquet (Live at Knights of Pythias 1986) 07. Furious Curse (Live at Knights of […]