Oct 15, 2020Will Americans vote themselves into autocracy?“We’re not a democracy,” U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) Tweeted Oct. 7 setting off a minor storm in an election season made up of almost nothing but storms. The next day Lee followed up his first Tweet with another stating “Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity [sic] are…Politics5 min read
Oct 8, 2020Is it time to rein in Supreme Court Justice terms?When Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Sept. 18, another wave of uncertainty swept the country. It wasn’t just the question of who would replace Ginsburg on the bench, but who would appoint her replacement and when.Ruth Bader Ginsburg9 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 14, 2020Retro-Review: ‘From Beer to Eternity’ by MinistryWhat happened to Ministry’s lyrics? That’s what I’m asking myself because I just listened to their 2013 album From Beer to Eternity several times over the last week. At the time of From Beer to Eternity’s release, Al Jourgensen, the founder, heart and soul of the band had declared it…Industrial Music5 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 12, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Transcendence Into the Peripheral’ by diSEMBOWELMENTTranscendence into the Peripheral by diSEMBOWELMENT is a strange album and kind of a challenge to review. Seriously, what am I supposed to call their style? It’s not quite death metal. Not quite doom. Not quite grind. They’re closest to the funeral-doom of Skepticism, but that doesn’t feel quite right…Doom Metal4 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 11, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Dimensions’ by BelieverBeliever’s 1993 album Dimensions is one of those albums I took a chance on due to the glowing reviews from Borivoj Krgin. Krgin was the reviewer I trusted most at Metal Maniacs and when he said something was exceptional, I usually took that as a cue to go buy an…Christian Music4 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 11, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Focus’ by CynicCynic’s 1993 album Focus is another one of those albums I bought based on the reviews in the magazine Metal Maniacs. At the time, I listened to it quite a bit, but I don’t think I appreciated it for what it was. But hey, I was 16. My interests back…Progressive Metal5 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 11, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Life on the Ropes’ by Sick of it AllSick of it All is one of those bands I’ve always known about but never really listened to. You can blame that on a number of factors, but probably the main one is just the lack of availability in my area. You never saw their albums on the music store…Hardcore Punk4 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 10, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Antithesis of Light’ by EvokenEvoken’s 2005 album Antithesis of Light like most albums in the funeral metal genre is hard to review. With funeral metal you have very long and slow songs with sparse lyrics. It’s not music meant for moshing or headbanging. …Doom Metal3 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 9, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Infierno De Dante’ by TransmetalIf I didn’t know that the 1993 album Infierno De Dante (Dante’s Inferno) by Transmetal was produced by the legendary Scott Burns, I probably would never had bothered to listen. After all, when I hear a name like “Transmetal” an image of a hairband trying to pass itself off as…Death Metal4 min read
Published in Ear Busters·May 8, 2020Retro-Review: ‘Icon’ by Paradise LostParadise Lost’s album Icon is one of the reasons you could say that 1993 is the year that doom metal became a genre of its own. Why 1993? Well, aside from Icon, we saw Cathedral release the Ethereal Mirror, diSEMBOWELMENT release Transcendence into the Peripheral and Type O Negative release…Doom Metal5 min read