Hermit Rites Archive 010-001
Hermit Rites 010: Updates on Writing, Music, and Drabble
Aug 5, 2025
Greetings fellow hermits! Welcome to the tenth ritual of Hermit Rites. This ritual is a few days late due to several reasons, but it is published long before I thought I was going to. I expected to publish this ritual not until October at the very least.
So to explain why this is late, and also just to highlight the last couple months of my life, lets start on May 31, 2025: I went to a job interview. When I arrived home, feeling high on securing the job, there was an envelope in my mailbox. On it was just my last name, and the numbers of my home's address. I knew immediately what it was before I even opened it; inside was a notice that I had to move before the end of August because they are tearing the building I lived in down, as well as the rest of the townhomes in the area. Not just myself, but my neighbours as well, were all about to be rendered homeless by a faceless company full of worthless capitalists.
Fast forward a week or two, time is really fuckin hazy and moves weird right now, and I have applied for an apartment across the river and deeper into the city, and gotten it. After paying a bunch of money ($995 damage deposit and a non-refundable $300 pet deposit for the Editor-in-Chief, on top of a bunch of moving supplies), it was established that I would be moving on July 28 (which is when I spent another $995 for August's rent). The move itself was the easiest move I have ever dealt with in my life (after all, most of what I own nowadays is books), and the new home is coming along nicely with my choice of decor.
Throughout all of this stress I was able to write an okay amount. Some drabble was written, as well as a couple thousand words towards another story that takes place in the same world as "The Nightmare" and The Sweep. I'm hoping it will become novella length, and if you've read "The Nightmare" at Death Wish Poetry or my novella The Sweep, I'm hoping to ramp up the violence to total splatterpunk levels while still maintaining the character-driven attitude of those stories.
It was totally shitty quite unfortunate that during the move my laptop somehow died. I plugged it in when I was ready to sit down and write, and it would not turn on. Even worse, nothing happened. No lights indicating a battery charging, not a beep or boop, no laughing Nedry telling me I didn't say the magic word. Today, for whatever reason, I decided to try again, and the proof is in the putting these words into the Substack editor that it worked. So not only have I written most of this today, but I've also edited most of my next book as well, which will be a collection of drabble.
So here we go, the actual stuff you're here for, onto the music I listened to in July (not a lot, and a lot of the same albums because neurodiversity and comfort zones and shit) and a pair of drabble. As always, thank you for reading Hermit Rites.
JULY'S MUSIC
2. Helleborus - The Carnal Sabbath [2016/Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal]
3. Grotte de cristal - Miroir de glace [2025/Winter Synth/Sylfvrcore]
4. Hot Dog Fort - Hot Dog Fort and the Holy Grill [2025/Food Synth]
5. Tumultuous Ruin - Never A Night So Dark EP [2025/Black Metal/RABM/Guillotinecore]
6. Lucerne Hammer - Demo2025 [Black Metal/RABM/Timcore]
7. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars [2023/Gothic Metal]
8. Wooden Vessels/Hibernal Harvest - A Sunless Winter (Split) [2025Winter Synth]
9. Hefnfelth - One Small Quest [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
10. Bihargam - Executioner Star [2023/Death Metal/Snowwolfcore]
11. Weald + Woe - Far From the Light of Heaven [2025/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
12. Tumultuous Ruin - An Abscess on the Heart of the State [2023/Black Metal/Guillotinecore]
13. Noire - Dark Reverence (remastered) [2024/Melodic Black Metal]
14. Genital Shame/Lust Hag - Split [2025/Black Metal]
15. Forsaken Keep - Kurald Galain [2024F/antasy Synth/Frothcore]
16. Moss Troll - Urn of Earth [2023/Ambient Dungeon Synth]
17. Les Guillotines Délirés - Les Guillotines Délirés [2025/Experimental Black Metal/RABM/Bootcore]
18. Grave Sermon - Whitewashed Tomb [2019/Death Metal]
19. Imagine a Boot - No Safe Space for Hate [2025/Black Metal/RABM/Bootcore]
20. Forsaken Keep - Kurald Galain [2024/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
21. Hot Dog Fort - Hot Dog Fort and the Holy Grill [2025/Food Synth]
22. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze - The Fractal Ouroboros [2023/Progressive Black Metal/Evergreencore]
23. Lust Hag - Irrevocably Drubbed [2025/Symphonic Blackened Death Metal/Eleanorcore]
24. Varguille - Oathbreaker/Dark Gods [2025/Punk]
25. Fogweaver - Magelight [2023/Fantasy Synth/Adventure Synth/Evergreencore]
26. Morke - Forged in Steel and Love [2024/Castle Metal/Ericcore]
27. Soco HC - Diferente do Combinado [2025/Hardcore/Punk/Thrash]
28. Small Oak - Demo I [2025/Drone/Ambient]
29. Sumptorium - Sumptorium 2025 [Hardcore/Beatdown]
30. Lust Hag - Lust Hag [2024/Symphonic Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
31. Grat Strigoi - The Prophetic Silence [2024/Black Metal]
32. Gun Girl - Vengeant Siege of Unholy Divinity [2024/War Metal/Eleanorcore]
33. Lammoth - Tales of Treachery [2024/Black Metal/Spicy Robertcore]
34. Cemetery Urn - Cemetery Urn [2017/Death Metal]
35. Grat Strigoi - The Prophetic Silence [2024/Black Metal]
36. The Vision Bleak - Songs of Good Taste [2004/Gothic Metal]
37. Tumultuous Ruin - An Abscess on the Heart of the State [2023/Black Metal/Guillotinecore]
38. Atlantic - Timeworn [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
39. Atlantic - Timeworn [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
40. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance [2006/Gothic Metal]
41. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance [2006/Gothic Metal]
42. Slough Feg - New Organon [2019/Heavy Metal]
43. Junius - The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist [2009/Post Metal]
44. Hircine - A Crown of Wildflowers [2025/Fantasy Synth/Autumn Synth/Damiancore]
45. Weald + Woe - Far From the Light of Heaven [2025/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
46. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2006/Gothic Doom]
47. Grotte de cristal - Miroir de glace [2025/Winter Synth/Sylfvrcore]
48. Hircine - Evermore [2022/Neo-folk]
49. Fernmage/Moss Knight - Live from Woodhaven (split) [2024/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth
50. My Dying Bride - A Mortal Binding [2024/Gothic Doom]
51. Lust Hag - Lust Hag [2024/Symphonic Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
52. Solstafir - Berdreyminn [2017/Post Metal]
53. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance [2006/Gothic Metal]
54. The Barrowfolk - Small Graves [2025/Neo-Folk/Willowcore]
55. Haunter/Cape of Bats - Black Magick Metal Punk (split) [2025/Black Thrash/Metal/Punk]
56. Ancient VVisdom - Sacrificial [2014/Occult Rock]
57. Katatonia - Dead End Kings [2012/Gothic Rock]
58. Ancient VVisdom - Deathlike [2013/Occult Rock]
59. Wintersleep - Wintersleep [2003Alternative/Indie Rock]
60. Galdr - Galdr [2025/Black Metal/Draugrcore]
61. Imipolex - Acts of Vulgar Piety [2025/Progressive Black Metal]
62. My Dying Bride - The Light at the End of the World [1999/Gothic Death Doom]
63. Atlantic - Timeworn [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
64. Veiled Lady - Glowing Spores/Fungi Friend [2023/Fantasy Synth/Mushroom Synth]
65. Sex Beat - Crack [2025/Punk]
66. Sex Beat - Call Me [2023/Punk]
67. Tumultuous Ruin - Never A Night So Dark EP [2025/Black Metal/RABM/Guillotinecore]
68. Vernal Ecosphere - Finite Planetary Possibilities [2025/Cosmic Synth/Sylfvrcore]
69. Lammoth - Tales of Treachery [2024/Black Metal/SpicyRobertcore]
70. Weald + Woe - Far From the Light of Heaven [2025/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
71. The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land [1997/Big Beat/Techno/Hip-Hop/Electropunk]
72. Indrid Cold - Hidden Village [2023/Epic Dungeon Synth]
73. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2006/Gothic Doom]
74. Sex Beat - Crack [2025/Punk]
75. Pig Destroyer/Book Burner (Deluxe) [2012/Grindcore]
76. Frith - Bunny Borg [2025/Comfy Synth/Official Soundtrack to the Bunny Borg board game]
77. Frith - Bunny Borg [2025/Comfy Synth/Official Soundtrack to the Bunny Borg board game]
78. Weald + Woe - Far From the Light of Heaven [2025/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
79. Weald + Woe - For the Good of the Realm [2023/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
80. Zireael - Upon Her Blade… [2025/Adventure Synth/Ziricore]
81. Warbad - Still No P.E.A.C.E. Still War (compilation) [2025Punk/Crust]
82. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2006/Gothic Doom]
83. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2006/Gothic Doom]
84. Katatonia - Dead End Kings [2012/Gothic Rock]
85. Arctos - Beyond the Grasp of Mortal Hands [2019/Melodic Black Metal]
86. The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir - Demo I - "Folklore" [2025/Black Metal]
87. The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir - Demo I - "Folklore" [2025/Black Metal]
88. Taurwen - Palingenesia [2025/Neoclassical/Pagan/Dark Folk]
89. Taurwen - Palingenesia [2025/Neoclassical/Pagan/Dark Folk]
90. Taurwen - Palingenesia [2025/Neoclassical/Pagan/Dark Folk]
91. Morke - We Are the River [2024/Atmospheric Black Metal/Ericcore]
92. Morke - Forged in Steel and Love [2024/Castle Metal/Ericcore]
A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space. -Wikipedia
Drabble XXXIX: October Twilight
Night was looming, a darkening east and watercolour west bringing the street lamps on and the children out—dressed like horrors and dragons, fiends and princesses, rock stars and politicians. Pumpkins were carried, hollowed and plastic, or pillowcases, old and floral patterned.
Door to door the children travelled, requesting tricks or treats in gleeful shouts and quiet mumbles and all in between.
Sweet and sour candies, chocolate bars, and cans of pop filled the pumpkins and pillowcases overflowing until the sugar had all been given out. Tattered fabric and broken masks streamed home, and the stars twinkled on autumnal empty streets.
Drabble XLI: Captain Twiggs
Captain Twiggs reclined in his bed, his tummy in the sunbeam that had come between the curtains of old gnome Legriff’s cart. When Legriff drew his curtain aside, Captain Twiggs stretched and sauntered over to press his lithe, hairy body against the only person to truly know him.
Legriff responded by wrapping his arm around Twiggs and bringing his face in for kisses, which Twiggs was most excited for.
"Now, Captain Twiggs, what are you having for breakfast?" the old gnome asked. Like a bolt of lightning, Twiggs jumped out of the window, the foe of bird and rodent alike.
Hermit Rites 009: Music & Reviews/Interview with Ziri/Drabble/Elk Island Photos
Jul 1, 2025
Hello fellow Hermits, and welcome to the ninth ritual of Hermit Rites! I've got some of the usual suspects here in a long list of music that I listened to, as well as some reviews of some of those albums, but there are a few here that, genre-wise, are eyebrow raising. There is also a new interview with the amazing synth artist Ziri! She's been slowly building a name for herself in the synth community and is killing it. I also have included a small selection of photos I took at Elk Island National Park.
There have been a few changes in how my life operates in June, unfortunately, meaning things coming in July and after might be a bit different. I don't know for sure. Either way, I once again work twelve or fourteen hours a day at two different jobs just to keep my shit together, so my writing has taken a bit of a hit.
The first fun thing about the new second job is that on the Saturday in which I had the interview (May 31st) is that when I got home there was a notice in my mailbox telling me (and all my neighbours) we have to move on or before August 31 because they are tearing the buildings down to build new apartments. Hooray for gentrification.
The second fun thing about the new second job is that I'm working on a boat.
I have been able to get a pair of new drabble pieces done this month, and some subscribers have seen that I have published them in the "Notes" section of Substack, and these drabble are part of the world of the novella I am writing. The novella seems to be moving towards a bit of a high fantasy setting with magic and swords and shit, which is roughly where I wanted to go, so now we get to see at what part of the story weird shit starts happening. If you're a writer you know what I mean. If you're a reader only, sometimes the most carefully laid plans are laid to waste because your secondary character who you planned on killing like three pages in just won't fucking die. And the problem is writers like me who allow these assholes to have agency. We treat them like real people. Then kill them.
The new drabble are also down below.
Buy Me A Coffee?
MUSIC
2. Varguille - Oathbreaker/Dark Gods [2025/Punk]
3. Secret Sorcery - The Curse of Fenncraag [2024/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
4. Gun Girl - Vengeant Siege of Unholy Divinity [2024/War Metal/Eleanorcore]
5. Starer - Wind, Breeze, or Breath [2023/Black Metal/Snowwolfccore]
6. Ancient Mariner - Ancient Mariner [2023/Fantasy Synth/Sea Synth]
7. Hircine - Evermore [2022/Neofolk/Damiancore]
8. Over the Mist - Sea of Sorrows [2022/Fantasy Synth/Sea Synth]
9. Helleborus - The Carnal Sabbath [2016/Symphonic Black Metal]
10. Helleborus - Prayer of the Undying [2017/Symphonic Black Metal]
11. Helleborus - Saprophytic Divinations [2019/Symphonic Black Metal]
12. Moss Knight - Songs for Spring [2025/Fantasy Synth/Vernal Synth/Timcore]
13. Slough Feg - New Organon [2019/Progressive Metal]
14. Android's Cottage - Welcome Ohm [2024/Fantasy/Space/Comfy Synth]
15. Atroce - Necromantiae Bestialis [2018/Black Metal]
16. Cetorhinus - Demo [2024/Harsh Noise/Wendycore]
Lammoth's Tales of Treachery is a killer symphonic black metal album. It starts with the creeping darkness of dungeon synth and goes into absolutely savage black metal full of riffs that twine through your head and vocals that flay the flesh from your bones. All four songs feature epic sounding guitar work that reminds me of Immortal, Naglfar, and Dimmu Borgir, with some elements of Panopticon thrown in for fun, with the last song "Brandywine Memories" having a My Bloody Valentine feel inside of it.
It's only 26:34 minutes long, but Tales of Treachery does what a lot of albums twice that length do, and better. And somehow this is only the debut! I am very excited to see what kind of Tolkien-inspired horrors Lammoth conjures in the future.
19. Great Dragon - Aria of Sorrow [2024/Black Metal]
20. Indrid Cold - Hidden Village [2023/Dungeon Synth]
21. Fogweaver/Erreth-Akbe - The Immanent Grove (Split) [2020/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
22. Pisssniffers - Pisssniffers (x2) [2025/Crust]
23. Lust Hag - Lust Hag [2024/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
24. From Dreams to Living Things III: From the Plough to the Stars [2025/Fiadhcore Comp]
26. Cemetery Urn - Cemetery Urn [2017/Death Metal]
27. Habak - Insania [2023/Melodic Crust]
28. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day [1996/Death Doom]
29. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2006/Gothic Doom]
31. Ancient VVisdom - Deathlike [2013/Occult Rock]
32. Ancient VVisdom - Sacrificial [2014/Occult Rock]
33. Ancient VVisdom - 33 [2017/Occult Rock]
34. Iravu - A Fate Worse Than Home [2023/Progressive Black Metal/Hareeshcore]
35. From Dreams to Living Things III: From the Plough to the Stars [2025/Comp]
36. Form of an Owl - Signal Abnormality [2025/Atmospheric Cello/3Dancore]
37. Moss Knight - Sogg'ed Burlap Boots [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Timcore]
38. Moss Knight - Sogg'ed Burlap Boots [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Timcore]
39. Fun Lovin' Criminals - The Roosevelt Sessions [2023/Hip Hop/Funk]
40. Synth for Pets - Symphonies for Walks/Lovely Night in the Woods [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
41. Your Ancestors Knew Death - …In Ways You Never Will [2023/Goth/Post Punk]
42. Torn the Fuck Apart - A Genetic Predisposition to Violence [2018/Technical Death Metal]
43. Morke - …Of Oak and Snow [2019/Black Metal/Castle Metal/Ericcore]
44. Gray Friar - Etymologies I [2022/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Friarcore]
45. Gray Friar - Etymologies II [2022/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Friarcore]
46. Planning for Burial - It's Closeness, It's Easy [2025/Experimental Doom/Shoegaze]
47. Torn Cloak - Torn Cloak [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Friarcore]
48. Grat Strigoi - The Prophetic Silence [2024/Black Metal]
49. Woe - Absinthe Invocation [2007/Black Metal]
50. Wolven Daughter - Gospel of the Claw [2024/Black Metal]
51. Willow Tea - Fairy Circles [2024/Fantasy Synth/Willowcore]
52. The Vision Bleak - Songs of Good Taste [2004/Gothic Metal]
53. VENUS-426 - Causeways Into the Night [2004/Noise/Wendycore]
54. Damhnait - Verse (Remediated) [2024/Black Metal/3Dancore]
55. Villein - Book of Trismosin [2024/Medieval Fantasy Synth]
57. Damhnait - False Teeth [2024/Solo Piano/3Dancore]
58. Damhnait - Onate [2024/Black Metal/3Dancore]
59. Damhnait - Revolutionary Oppressor [2023/Black Metal/3Dancore]
60. Damhnait - Weeping [2023/Black Metal/3Dancore]
61. Damhnait - Laughter [2023/Black Metal/3Dancore]
62. Wandering Oak - Resiliance [2024/Folk Metal/Progressive Black Metal]
63. Atlantic - Timeworn [2025/Atmospheric Post Black Metal]
64. Bialywilk - Wniebowstapienie - [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
65. Imipolex - Acts of Vulgar Piety [2025/Blackened Death Metal]
66. Lust Hag - Irrevocably Drubbed [2025/Symphonic Blackened Death Metal/Eleanorcore]
67. Moss Knight/Fernmage - Live from Woodhaven (Split) [Fantasy Synth/Timcore]
68. Moss Knight/Fernmage - Live from Woodhaven (Split) [Fantasy Synth/Timcore]
69. Zireael - Brokilon [2024/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
70. Zireael - Upon Her Blade… [2025/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
71. Form of an Owl - Signal Abnormality [2025/Atmospheric Cello/3Dancore]
72. Hircine - Old Kings Fall [2024/Fantasy Synth/Forest Synth/Damiencore]
73. Vengeful Spectre - Vengeful Spectre [2022/Folk Black Metal]
74. Zonos - Void of Dream [2023/Ambient/Experimental Synth]
75. Wooden Vessels - Meadowtrek Woods: Life and Ecology [2024/Fantasy Synth/Forest Synth]
76. Wood Archer - In the Plague of Tyrants [2024/Dungeon Synth]
77. Wintersleep - Wintersleep [2003/Indie Rock]
78. Agathocles - The LP's 1989-1991 [2014/Mincecore]
79. Mace - Demo 2024 [2024/Beatdown Hardcore/Industrial Metal]
80. Outta Pocket - Waste Of A Man [2023/Beatdown Hardcore]
81. The Muslims - Fuck These Fuckin Fascists [2021/Punk]
82. Veiled Lady - Glowing Spores/Fungi Friend [2023/Fantasy Synth/Mushroom Synth]
83. Horrenda - Dioltas [2025/Black Metal]
84. Vargouille - Oathbreaker/Dark Gods [2025/Punk]
85. Vargouille - Oathbreaker/Dark Gods [2025/Punk]
86. Hellstorm of Flaming Nothingness - …regrets [2023/Minimal Drone]
87. Crown of Asteria /Canus Dirus - A Harmonious Union of Vibration (Split) [2021/Atmospheric Black Metal]
88. Sylfvr - A Nice Evening Stroll/Soul Vapour [2024/Fantasy Synth/Sylfvrcore]
89. Katatonia - Dead End Kings [2012/Gothic Metal]
90. Vernal Ecosphere - Finite Planetary Possibilities [2025/Cosmic Synth/Sylfvrcore]
91. Vernal Ecosphere - Finite Planetary Possibilities [2025/Cosmic Synth/Sylfvrcore]
92. The Barrowfolk - Small Graves [2025/Ambient/Wiilowcore]
93. Dolven - In My Grave… Silence [2025/Acoustic Doom Metal]
94. Form of an Owl - Signal Abnormality [2025/Atmospheric Cello/3Dancore]
95. Lunar Cult - The Blade Was Forged to Fit Your Hand [2025/Medieval Fantasy Synth]
96. Galdr - Galdr [2011/Atmospheric Black Metal]
97. My Dying Bride - Feel the Misery [2015/Gothic Doom]
98. My Dying Bride - Feel the Misery [2015/Gothic Doom]
99. Galdr - Mörkergång [2015/Atmospheric Black Metal]
100. Vanagandr - Felled Yew [2024/Atmospheric Black Metal]
101. Chalice of Wyrms - Three Wyrms [2025/Fantasy Synth/Sylfvrcore]
102. Craft - White Noise and Black Metal [2018/Black Metal]
103. Junius - The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist [2009/Post Metal]
104. Starer/Myrvandrer/Ambergaze/Mistral - Four Sorrows (Split) [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal/Snowwolfcore]
105. Korn - Korn [1994/Nu-Metal]
106. Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker [2014/Industrial]
107. Christina Vane - Nowhere Sounds Lovely [2021/Bluegrass]
108. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2006/Gothic Doom]
109. Moss Knight - Sogg'ed Burlap Boots [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Timcore]
110. Moth Night - Hearthen Tome VIII: Onward to the Astral Bastion [2025/Fantasy Synth/Dream Synth/Timcore]
111. Korn - Korn [1994/Nu-Metal]
112. Korn - Life is Peachy [1996/Nu-Metal]
113. Korn - Follow the Leader [1998/Nu-Metal]
114. Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring [2019/Epic Doom]
115. Faery Ring - Mys & Frox [2024/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
116. Pig Destroyer - Book Burner (Deluxe) [2012/Grindcore]
117. My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire [2009/Gothic Doom]
118. Dandy Warhols - This Machine [2012/Alternative Rock]
119. Buried in Desolation - Restoration [2025/Drone Ambient/Ziricore]
120. Hefnfelth - One Small Quest [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
121. Crimson Keep - Plague Fens [2025/Fantasy Synth]
122. My Dying Bride - The Light at the End of the World [1999/Death Doom]
123. Saltmarsh - These Wounds Shan't Heal… [2025/Post Black Metal/Doomgaze]
124. Edicule - Finitude [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
125. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars [2023/Gothic Metal]
126. Kataonia - Dead End Kings [2012/Gothic Metal]
127. Auspicium - For the World That Was and That Is to Come [2022/Atmospheric Black Metal]
128. Small Oak - Demo I [2025/Ambient/Forest Synth]
129. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Only the Ocean Knows [2012/Post Black Metal]
130. Mondernte - Communion [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
131. Junius - Forcing Out the Silence [2004/Post Punk/Post Rock]
132. Buried in Desolation - Restoration [2025/Drone Ambient/Ziricore]
133. Hefnfelth - One Small Quest [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
134. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2009/Gothic Doom]
135. Skeleton Mage - Ruinscapes I [2025/Dungeon Synth/Dungeon Folk]
136. Moss Knight - Sogg'ed Burlap Boots [2025/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth/Timcore]
137. The Rubber Bullys - Cakes [2018/Punk]
138. The Rubber Bullys - Imperical Disaster [2020/Punk]
139. Starer - Wind, Breeze or Breath [2023/Atmospheric Black Metal/Snowwolfcore]
140. The Vision Bleak - Songs of Good Taste [2004/Gothic Metal]
141. Iravu - A Fate Worse Than Home [2024/Atmospheric Black Metal/Hareeshcore]
142. Ancient VVisdom - 33 [2017/Occult Rock]
143. Secret Sorcery - The Curse of Fenncraag [2024/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
144. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars [2023/Gothic Metal]
An Interview with Ziri
Ziri is the woman behind several synth projects, and another elusive hermit that I've had the pleasure of asking questions of. This time I took my staff and cloak to the mountains and forests of New Zealand to do so, and found her among the feijoa trees.
How did you discover synth music, and what was it about the genre that drew you in?
My memory is swiss cheese so I can't remember exactly how I found it, but the first album I ever listened to in this genre was II by Fief. This would've been about 7 years ago. I'm always a fiend for getting into new genres of music, and having never heard of dungeon synth before, I dived right in. Fief was a weird one to start with because it's kind of an outlier with the whole neo-medieval folk sound going on, but I found it to be incredibly beautiful and intricate and the perfect lure to get me hooked.
What made you realize it was also the type of music you wanted to make? Was it immediately after discovering synth you wanted to create your own, or did that desire grow slowly?
I've wanted to make music for a very long time. I used to play guitar (poorly), but could never push myself to create any kind of art, music or otherwise. When I finally did start writing and recording, it was well after I was introduced to the genre. Honestly, my relationship with dungeon synth has been tumultuous at best. Because of my tendency to stick my hand in every pot, I have a rather shallow familiarity with most genres because I'm always bouncing between different obsessions. So with dungeon synth, I have periods where I'm really into it, then I'll go a long time where I'm not into it at all. My main inspiration to start making synth music of my own was mid-2023 when I became acquainted with Caylen (of Hekseblad fame) and their solo synth music. I don't recall exactly what did it for me, but I was probably just listening to one of their albums and thought "hmm, maybe I could make something like this?".
Considering how many synthers have metal albums in their discography, have you written under other genres in the past?
What you see on my three Bandcamp pages is every piece of music I have ever released. If the dreams of my past had ever come to fruition, I would have started a psych rock band and probably would never have dabbled in synth music. Or maybe I would have, no one will ever know. Metal is absolutely in my future though, or at the very least harsher music than what I've released so far. I'd honestly love to play synths in a black metal band, who knows if that'll ever happen though. But if I ever find myself with a guitar again, there is a 99% chance that you'll hear some absolutely dreadful black metal from me.
You have released under six names, with only two under the Zireael banner. Is this intentional, and is there a specific scheme to the project names?
Actually, I have released music under a total of seven names so far which makes it even worse. The only intent here is that there was a period of time where I constantly had new ideas that didn't fit well within established concepts so I just kept creating new aliases. Nowadays I find myself slowing down and writing more material for the projects I've previously released under so expect less of that in the future. I currently have projects in the works for all of my projects (aside from Zireael).
Of all your albums, which do you think was the most difficult to translate from idea to actual finished songs?
Definitely my latest album, Upon Her Blade. Every single aspect of creating this album was more complicated and more tedious than anything else I had done up to that point. Every song was difficult, even the shorter ones, but especially "...Zireael" because of it being 10+ minutes and having multiple movements. I absolutely fucking hated working on this thing by the end of it. Once it was finished though, I was so proud of what I did. I am not doing that kind of music again for a long time though.
How do the surrounding areas of New Zealand influence the music you make? Do you go onto nature walks to write or do you do everything at home?
It's difficult to write synth music outside given that I have nothing portable and I don't really want to be taking notes while I'm walking or hiking. But this country does influence me, primarily my project Feijoa Tree.
For those who are unaware, feijoas are a staple of Kiwi culture and you can find a tree in every backyard. We actually have four feijoa trees on our property, though they're all far too young to bear fruit. When I started this project, I wrote a few songs that were going to be on an album inspired by endemic birds, but that project was shelved so I could work on A Day in the Life. I will be restarting work on the aforementioned bird album this year, hopefully sooner than later.
A photo of a feijoa tree.
Have you noticed that the more you write, record, and release that the process gets easier, or more difficult?
It definitely gets more difficult. It's weird because before I became a musician, I thought it'd be the complete opposite. But I find myself learning something new every single day, even if it's just learning how to use a compressor better or discovering a new trick for programming drums. And with every new thing I learn, the process for writing and recording gets longer and more tedious. If I knew then what I know now, those first few records would have sounded so differently. And I know in a year's time, I'll be saying the same thing for what I've released this year. It's a never ending cycle of learning and experimentation, and I think that's really cool. If I ever get to a point where I think there's nothing left to learn or improve on, then there must be something fundamentally wrong with me.
I know you're a reader and a gamer, and the title of the Gloomlurker/Witch's Amulet split is Tales from the Bannered Mare, so I'm assuming at least the Elder Scrolls are inspiring for your music. What other games are you a fan of, and find inspiring your works as well?
Obviously Zireael is inspired primarily by The Witcher books & games. Though some of Upon Her Blade took inspiration from Halo's OST. Aside from that and Gloomlurker, there isn't too much I take inspiration from, besides other music. The last EP for my electronic project Maximum Mana* takes some inspiration from Mass Effect, though I can't say if future releases will follow suit as that project is kind of on the backburner right now. I will say though, I've started writing a new album for Gloomlurker because of my recent play-through of Oblivion Remastered so that's where my focus is right now.
*The seventh project I forgot about - Dustin
Are any of your projects also live bands?
None of them are. But all of them could be!
What is it about the world of The Witcher you find most intriguing and inspiring?
This is a really good question because it's made me realise that much of the Witcher universe is not particularly interesting. And I think that's exactly why I love it. While it's technically high fantasy, it doesn't really feel like it, partly because of something within the lore called the Conjunction of Spheres – that being the cosmic event which created rifts between worlds, causing interplanetary migrations of people, animals and monsters alike. Humans are invaders of this world (and may have even arrived from Earth itself!), and the elves that came before were just as much invaders themselves.
The humans in The Witcher are much like us. They speak like us, they build cities like us, they play politics like us. It feels like medieval earth with a fresh coat of paint. Seeing magic and monsters firsthand as a commoner is rare, despite being a daily occurrence for someone like a witcher. The culmination of all of this is what keeps me immersed, and it's why when you introduce things that might be considered "supernatural" it feels somewhat ordinary and not particularly jarring.
Also, Geralt is an interesting protagonist and killing monsters is fun.
Since it has been adapted to both video games and television, which of the three Witcher mediums is your favourite?
The games and it isn't even close. I love all three games, both of the expansions, and the expanded lore.
As for the show, I've never seen it and I don't know if I ever will honestly. I kept an eye on it as it was initially releasing, then the whole thing with Henry Cavill happened and I lost what little interest I had.
And for the books, I've read the first two and they're pretty good. The dialogue is stiff and the writing is a bit strange at times, but the stories and characters are lovely, and it's cool to have added context for the games. I've heard from others that the books actually get worse after Sapkowski moves on from the short story format so I've been hesitant to go any further.
How many different synths do you have? Do you have a main composing and recording synth?
What I'm about to say is sad, but I do not own a single synthesizer. Not yet at least. What I do own is a midi controller and a few fantastic synthesizer plugins. A Day in the Life was recorded entirely with Arturia's DX7 clone and I'm in love with it. Aside from Arturia, I also use a couple synths from Korg and Roland. While not as fun or as cool as physical equipment, I make do with what I have.
What is your recording set-up like? How much has it changed since you've started until now?
When I first started, I had absolutely nothing. I composed my first album using my fucking mouse on a midi piano roll and it was bloody miserable. Now I have a midi controller, an audio interface, and a decent Shure microphone. It's not much, but it works. I've been scouring local online marketplaces for months for better equipment that won't break the bank so hopefully my situation improves in the near future.
What is it about synth music that encourages anonymity?
I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps it's the ever present (and annoying) connection with black metal that refuses to go away. Or maybe it's the mysterious and mythical nature that so much of dungeon synth is themed after that encourages people to embody those traits within themselves. I personally prefer names attached to my projects because it makes it easier for people to find my other stuff if they like what I do. It doesn't bother me too much when other people do it though, unless they're fascists using anonymity to hide behind.
What is your favourite physical format to experience music with?
I've gone back and forth between tape and vinyl for a long time, but I've recently starting to appreciate CDs again. Why? Because: they're super easy to use, you can skip and pause easily, they're compact (hence the name), and I'm wicked nostalgic for them. When I moved to New Zealand, I paid a small fortune to ship most of my music here, including my favourite CDs and I'm so happy I did. That all being said, I haven't had a CD player for years so I can't even enjoy them! Similarly, I can't play my records and tapes either because I have no speakers, so I'm stuck in the digital age for the time being.
Now that you've been involved in synth as a fan and a composer, where would you recommend new fans start off with exploring the genre?
The answer to this isn't as cut and dry as I'd like it to be, so I'll suggest a few different artists that people can use as jump-off points: Aura Merlin, Bergtatt, Forsaken Keep*, Greenhollow, Keys to Oneiria, Moss Knight, Scrying Glass, & Sylfvr. Alternatively, look up the "fantasy synth" tag on Bandcamp and click on album covers that look nice, that's what I do.
*Forsaken Keep is a project from Froth, and you can read my interview with him in Hermit Rites 007. - Dustin
A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space. -Wikipedia
Hanne Rising (2025)
Early morning sunlight drifted through thin clouds to kiss the stones of Dragonbark Castle. Below and around it, the city bearing its ancient name began waking. The smafolk of Dragonbark opened their windows and doors; vendors their stalls, tradesmen their stores. The central market in the Old Quarter was barely organized chaos. In the skies above the city, the three moons of Hage were aligning, the topic of talk across the square. What did it mean? Did it mean anything? The astrologcians were stumped, or so they claimed. But some knew Hanne's time was coming, the Time of the Bull.
Krassala of the Spell Squares (2025)
Above a featureless stone square, Krassala clapped his hands twice, then held his palms together tightly.
He muttered, eyes closed in grim concentration, and began the Working. From his upturned fingertips down to his wrists luminous green tendrils snaked and writhed.
When Krassala went silent--the spell's components fulfilled--he put his palms onto the stone. The glow dissipated, unraveling down Krassala's wrists and into the square.
His eyes closed, this time against the tides of magical release. After a deep breath he took his hands from the stone to watch the fading luminescence recede into the intricate etchings on the stone.
A WALK THROUGH ELK ISLAND
I went for a several hour walk on June 3 with my besties Pearl and Dakota and their friend Dale through the Elk Island National Park and it was glorious. We stuck to one trail, the Shirley Lake Trail. We smoked some weed, talked some shit, and just enjoyed the time.
Hermit Rites 008: Music and Reviews//Horror Drabble
Jun 1, 2025
Hello fellow Hermits! Welcome to the eighth ritual of Hermit Rites. I'm pretty much only writing about music this month because I am once again fully in a reading slump. I'm not as mad about it as usual since I am doing fairly okay in the writing department. I'm officially working on a fantasy novella, and it might actually be a unique genre mix, with fantasy as the base. In my fucking around with style I also decided on a different method of writing the story itself; I will be a pretentious hipster writing the entire thing by hand, then typing it, then going forth and doing the work on it (which is how I used to do things).
This has, unfortunately, also caused my writing in general to slow down, and that correlated to me missing my deadline for the newest Death Wish Poetry issue. This further correlates into my next submission to Death Wish Poetry having to be even more violent than "The Nightmare". My apologies, King Loke. You have been warned.
Anyway, back at it; there are no breaks for me as guaranteed under my contract with Universal Writers Who Cannot Stop Writing Union, under my Editor-in-Chief Oscar. He's a hardass, and difficult to please.
Music this month was an interesting trip. I set myself a challenge to not listen to a single album more than once. Meaning that if I want to listen to A Line of Deathless Kings or The Great Cold Distance, I only get one shot. So what did I do? I explored. I have 900+ music releases in my Bandcamp collection--mostly because of my subscription to Fiadh Productions--and about that many CDs in my living room. I also went intentionally exploring in Bandcamp's Punk and Crust tabs because I love that shit but own almost none of it, and listened to a bunch of futurepop and industrial CDs to cleanse my palate from all the black metal and synth I've been listening to. And yes, I do see the irony in listening to a genre full of synths to get away from a genre full of synths and another genre literally called synth.
2. Bihargam - Executioner Star [2023/Black Metal/Snowwolfcore]
3. Morke - Forged in Steel and Love [2024/Castle Metal]
3. Besna - Besna [2023/Post Black Metal]
4. Feijoa Tree - A Day in the Life (CS) [2025/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
5. Gladekeeper - Yearntale (CS) [2024/Fantasy Synth/Willowcore]
6. Assemblage 23 - Failure (CD) [2001/Futureop]
7. Assemblage 23 - Contempt [1999/Futurepop]
8. Assemblage 23 - Mourn [2020/Futurepop]
9. Begrime Exemious - Rotting in the Aftermath [2022/Death Metal]
10. Draconian - Arcane Rain Fell [2005/Gothic Doom]
11. Dragnipur - The Pannion War [2024/Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
12. Elminster/Erythrite Throne - From Tomes of Stygian Sorcery [2022/Dungeon Synth]
13. Panopticon - Kentucky [2012/Black Metal/Folk]
14. Psyclon Nine - Crwn Thy Frnctr (CD) [2006/Aggrotech/Terror EBM]
15. Deftones - Diamond Eyes (CD) [2010/Alternative Metal]
16. Sargeist - Satanic Black Devotion [2003/Black Metal]
17. Ancient VVisdom - 33 [2017/Occult Rock]
18. Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster (2CD) [2009/Pop]
19. Fernmage - Speak Frond and Enter [2022/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
21. Fogweaver - Fogweaver [2019/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
22. Robes of Snow - The Wooden Wheel: Summer Storms [2023/Dark Folk]
23. Wolven Daughter - Gospel of the Claw [2024/Black Metal]
24. Termagant - Demo 2024 [2024/Death Metal/Eleanorcore]
25. Jocund Forest - Jocund Forest [2023/Comfy Synth/Forest Synth]
26. Warpu - The Solitary Flying Squirrel [2024/Comfy Synth/Forest Synth]
27. Hircine - Return to the Ruins [2024/Fantasy Synth/Damiancore]
28. plein de vie - Koltuk Degenklerinden Kanatlar Yapmak [2022/Post Hardcore/Skramz]
29. Wyoming Toad - Under a Critter Moon [2023/Comfy Synth/Forest Synth]
30. mel·lon - elena [2024/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
31. Wive's Tale - Witch Tree Demo [2024/Blackened Doom Metal]
32. Woe - Absinthe Invocation: Five Spells Against God [2007/Black Metal]
33. Woe - A Spell for the Death of Man [2008/Black Metal]
34. Hexenschorf - Certain Rapture [2023/Black Metal]
35. Home Front - Think of the Lie [2021/Post Punk/Bootgaze]
36. Home Front - Games of Power [2023/Post Punk/Bootgaze]
37. Rammstein - Sehnsucht (CD) [1997/Industrial Metal]
38. Psyclon Nine - Divine Infekt (CD) [2003/Aggrotech/Terror EBM]
38. Rammstein - Herzeleid (CD) [1996/Industrial Metal]
39. Slough Feg - New Organon [2019/Heavy Metal]
40. Assemblage 23 - Storm (CD) [2004/Futurepop]
41. Mayhem - Ordo Ad Chao (CD) [2007/Black Metal]
42. Gjendød - Krigsdøger [2019/Black Metal]
43. Lightning Swords of Death - Baphometic Chaosivm (CD) [2013/Black Metal]
44. Spife - Battle Gnome [2024/Fantasy Synth]
45. Darkthrone - Soulside Journey [1991/Technical Death Metal]
46. Dawn Treader - Bloom & Decay [2024/Post Black Metal]
47. Halizth - Halizth [2025/Cosmic Black Metal/Sylfvrcore]
48. Gråt Strigoi - The Prophetic Silence [2024/Black Metal]
49. Altars of Grief - Iris [2018/Blackened Doom/Damiancore]
51. Ice War - Manifest Destiny [2018/Heavy Metal]
52. Spiral Skies - A Queedom to Come [2015/Doom/Heavy Metal]
53. Spiral Skies - Blues for a Dying Planet [2018/Doom/Heavy Metal]
54. Weald + Woe - For the Good of the Realm [2023/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
55. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day [1996/Death Doom]
56. Captain Jazz - The Want [2023/Screamo]
57. Greenhollow - Pathway [2024/Ambient/Fantasy Synth/Willowcore]
58. Snawfuss/Hermit Knight - Rendezvous (Split) [2023/Fantasy Synth/Gnomecore]
59. Tyrranus/Magicide - Tory Punching Music (Split) [2023/Black Metal/Death Metal]
60. Vassus/Hemlokk - Fragments of Empires Long Buried (Split) [2024/Atmospheric Black Metal]
61. Everdead Wood - In Pious Chains [2023/Atmospheric Black Metal]
62. Haunter - Black Masses at Midnight... [2022/Blackthrash]
63. Robes of Snow - The Wooden Wheel: The Crones of Autumn [2023/Folk]
64. Cailleach Bheur - Cailleach Bheur [2024/Black Metal]
65. Culturist - Returning to the Dungeon Rave [2025/Dungeon Rave]
66. Junius - The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist [2009/Post Metal]
67. Imperative Reaction - Eulogy for the Sick Child [1999/Electro Industrial]
68. Plutonian Winter - Plutonian Winter [2025/Winter Synth]
70. Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring [2019/Heavy Metal/Epic Doom]
71. Smoulder - Dream Quest Ends [2020/Heavy Metal/Epic Doom]
72. Smoulder - Violent Creed of Vengeance [2023/Heavy Metal/Epic Doom]
73. Ancient Pyres - Sou la ferule des meteores [2025/Doom Synth/Sylfvrcore]
74. Katatonia - Dead End Kings [2012/Gothic Metal]
75. VNV Nation - Construct [2025/Futurepop]
76. Apoptygma Berzerk - You And Me Against The World (CD) [2006/Futurepop]
77. Deadsy - Commencement (CD) [2002/Undercore]
78. Deadsy - Phantasmagore (CD) [2006/Undercore]
79. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (CD) [1991/Shoegaze]
80. End State - Their System is Broken [2025/Crust]
81. Teen Mortgage - Teen Mortgate [2024/Punk]
82. MASSDEAD - Compostable Billionaire Bones [2022/Crust]
83. VNV Nation - Of Faith, Power and Glory [2009/Futurepop]
84. Faery Ring - Mys & Frox [2024/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
85. Athelas - Athelas [2024/Dark Ambient/Tolkiencore]
86. Noire - Dark Reverence (Remastered) [2024/Black Metal]
87. Norilsk - Japetus [2014/Funeral Doom]
88. Norilsk - The Idea of North [2015/Funeral Doom]
89. Pig Destroyer - Head Cage [2018/Grindcore]
90. Tumultuous Ruin - An Abscess On the Heart of the State [2023/Black Metal/Guillotinecore]
91. Bauhaus - The Sky's Gone Out (CD) [1985/Post-Punk/Goth]
92. Bauhaus - Mask (CD) [1981/Post Punk/Goth]
93. Blood Hunters - Death is a Goddess [2024/Ambient Dark Folk]
94. Fuck the Facts - Misery [2011/Grindcore]
95. Vanagandr - Felled Yew [2024/Black Metal]
96. Mourning Mist - Amen [2020/Doom]
97. Goblin Soap - Goblin Offensive [2024/Black Metal/Punk]
98. Face Rot - Ritual of Death [2014/Black Metal]
99. Grave Sermon - Whitewashed Tomb [2023/Death Metal]
101. Hex For a Hare - Hex For a Hare [2024/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
102. Morke - Sirens [2017/Black Metal]
103. Imagine A Boot - No Safe Space for Hate [2025/Black Metal/Punk]
104. Black Autumn/Forodren - In The Vast Emptiness (Split) [2023/Atmospheric Black Metal/DSBM]
105. Matthew Good - In a Coma (CD) [2005/Rock/Alternative Rock]
106. Apoptygma Berzerk - Black EP (CD) [2006/Futurepop]
107. The Cure - Faith (CD) [1981/Post-Punk/Goth]
108. Placebo - Black Market Music (CD) [2000/Alternative Rock/Post-Punk]
109. Placebo - Sleeping With Ghosts (CD) [2003/Alternative Rock]
110. Placebo - Loud Like Love (CD) [2013/Alternative Rock]
111. Opeth - Lamentations (2xCD) [2006/Progressive Death Metal]
112. God Dethroned - The Grand Grimoire (CD) [1997/Blackened Death Metal]
113. God Dethroned - The Toxic Touch (CD) [2006/Melodic Death Metal]
114. Baroness - Red (CD) [2007/Post Metal/Sludge]
115. Static-X - Start A War (CD) [2005/Industrial Metal]
116. Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel (CD) [2005/Alternative Rock]
117. Lunaar - Among the Dead Stars [2018/Atmospheric Black Metal/Post Black Metal]
118. Woe - Hope Attrition [2017/Black Metal]
119. Ancient VVisdom - Sacrificial [2014/Occult Rock]
120. Fogweaver - Spellwind [2020/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
121. Fogweaver - Magelight [2023/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
122. Fogweaver - Labyrinthine [2022/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
123. Junius - Forcing Out The Silence [2004/Post Hardcore]
124. Citrus - Succumb to Scum [2025/Crust]
125. IDX - Onslaught Within [2025/Crust]
126. Mock Execution - Killed By Mock Execution [2022/Crust]
127. Genital Shame - Chronic Illness Wish [2024/Black Metal]
128. Joy Division - Closer (CD) [1980/Post Punk/Goth]
129. Fog Castle/Foglord/Fogweaver - In the Kingdom of Fog (Split) [2020/Fantasy Synth]
130. Darkest Dungeons - Unknown Mysteries I-IV [2025/Dungeon Synth]
131. Starer/Ambergaze/Myrvandrer/Mistral - Four Sorrows (Split) [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal/Snowwolfcore]
131. Lust Hag - Irrevocably Drubbed [2025/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
Lust Hag returns with a new full length! Irrevocably Drubbed came out on May 9, so far marking it as the newest release from Missoula's Mistress of Musical Misery (sorry Eleanor, the music reviewer inside me took over for a second). This is also the second Lust Hag release of the year, following the 10" split with Genital Shame in March. If you've read a few Hermit Rites posts, you'll undoubtedly remember the name Lust Hag from all of my music lists. You'll also have seen there's a few other bands I've listened to that Eleanor kicks ass in (Termagant, Gun Girl, Infinite Ammo).
The lyrical themes of Irrevocably Drubbed deal with absolute self loathing to the point of "a dejected mind which is planning for it's violent fucking mortal end." And for something that topically sounds like a DSBM album, there's nothing that typically sounds like a DSBM album. To be pedantic about it, if anything it would be closer to symphonic blackened death metal but with next to fuck all for production.
Irrevocably Drubbed is not just a fucking killer album, it also shows Eleanor's growth as a songwriter and vocalist, especially if you've followed Lust Hag since the first demo's raw vampyric black metal sound to now. The album takes nods at old Lust Hag at times, but from the rear-view mirror, and briefly. The riffs are stronger, more technical, and unfortunately for us, sometimes they aren't returned to because this album is all about progressing forwards. Progressing through the music, progressing through abject fucking misery, and progressing through Lust Hag's sound as a whole.
132. 3Phaz - Ends Meet [2023/Electronic/Breakbeat]
133. Galdr - Mörkergång [2023/Atmospheric Black Metal]
134. Rat's Blood - 8 Tracks Demo/Punks Is Mutants EP [2023/Punk]
135. Covered Bridges/Grimhold - A Festival of Winters (Split) [2025/Dungeon Synth]
136. Birdband - The Rescue [2023/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
137. Hermit Knight - Adventures in Depersonalization [2023/Fantasy Synth/Gnomecore]
138. Adjure - Live Like You Know You're Going to Die [2024/Black Metal]
139. Demon Sacrifice - Under the Blacklight of Divine [2025/Black Metal/Punk]
140. Rot//Woven - No Hope for a Better Past [2023/Crust]
141. Vega - Reliquia [2022/Symphonic Black Metal]
142. Weald + Woe - The Fate of Kings and Men [2020/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
143. Glyph - Odes of Wailing, Hymns of Mourning [2024/Atmospheric Black Metal]
144. Glyph - In Times of Peril [2023/Atmospheric Black Metal]
145. Cynic - Traced in Air [2008/Progressive Death Metal]
146. My Dying Bride - Macabre Cabaret [2020/Gothic Doom]
147. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars [2023/Gothic Metal]
148. Jocund Forest - Night-time Stories [2024/Fantasy Synth/Comfy Synth]
149. Garbage - Garbage (CD) [1995/Alternative Rock]
150. Garbage - Version 2.0 (CD) [1998/Alternative Rock]
151. Garbage - Beautiful Garbage (CD) [2001/Alternative Rock]
152. Garbage - Bleed Like Me (CD) [2005/Alternative Rock]
153. AFI - The Art of Drowning (CD) [2000/Punk]
154. Placebo - Without You I'm Nothing (CD) [1998/Alternative Rock/Post-Punk]
155. Cirith Gorgor - Unveiling the Essence (CD) [2001/Melodic Black Metal]
Like the Darkthrone/Mayhem split I have, Cirith Gorgor came from Revolver, which used to be Super Tunes, and now at the time of me writing this review there is nothing in that location. Unlike said split, I had no clue who Cirith Gorgor were but they had several things going for them, mostly the Tolkien-inspired name, the super cool logo, and the epic-as-fuck cover art. Oh, and the $14.99 price sticker because I had just traded in enough CDs to get $15 in-store credit.
Thankfully, the gamble paid off. Unveiling the Essence is fun melodic black metal that reminds me of a rawer Immortal. I have no idea what their older stuff or newer stuff sounds like (yet) but this is a CD that I am getting drawn to more and more lately.
156. Clan of Xymox - Breaking Point (CD) [2006/Futurepop/Goth]
157. Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us [2009/Gothic Metal]
158. Skinny Puppy - Mythmaker [2007/Industrial]
159. Ice War - Ice War [2017/Post Punk/Heavy Metal]
160. Sorcerer - Black [2016/Doom]
161. AFI - Black Sails in the Sunset [1999/Punk]
162. Hircine - A Crown of Wildflowers [2025/Fantasy Synth/Damiancore]
163. Maraigh - 2023-2024: A Year Spent Drowning [2025/Blackened Crust]
164. Vandal Moon - Black Kiss [2020/Darkwave/Goth]
165. Sif - Darkstalker/Death on Foreign Shores [2025/Blackened Doom]
166. Lust Hag - Lust Hag [2024/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
167. Altars of Grief - This Shameful Burden [2014/Blackened Doom/Damiancore]
168. Erotica - The Undoing [2024/Black Metal]
169. Hell Hounds - Paint the World [2017/Symphonic Metal]
170. Vargouille - Oathbreaker/Dark Gods [2025/Fantasy Punk]
171. Les Guillotines Délirés - Les Guillotines Délirés [2025/Atmospheric Black Me
tal]
172. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings (CD) [2006/Gothic Doom]
173. My Dying Bride - Feel the Misery [2015/Gothic Doom]
174. Bull of Apis Bull of Bronze - The Fractal Ouroboros [2023/Black Metal/Evergreencore]
175. Graverobber - Conscious Autopsy [2014/Death Metal]
176. Saltmarsh - Saltmarsh [2024/Ambient Blackgaze]
177. Deadly Doe - Rise of the Cervid Moon [2024/Fantasy Synth/Halloween Synth/Ziricore]
178. Porta Daemonium - Serpent of Chaos (CD) [2016/Blackened Death Metal]
179. Pogost - Messiah [2015/Black Metal]
180. Fuck the Facts - Mullet Fever [2001/Grindcore/Noise]
If this is your first time here, releases in italics are Canadian bands. Also thank you for being here. I hope you stick around.
A drabble is a short work of fiction of precisely one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity, testing the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in a confined space. -Wikipedia
Drabble XV: Deserter (2022)
It was myself and a small contingent of men who had cut across the field behind the forest, hoping to become even a small pincer against such indomitable foes. Our plan was to come in behind, flank, and sever the enemy's hold on these lands.
Instead, here I am on trial for desertion. Rightfully so. I ran, armour full of my own shit and piss.
The creature was fifteen feet tall. Standing on goatish legs, a body like that of a field man, countenance again goatish. Not stupid and brutish, but eyes burning with intelligence. It saw me.
I ran.
Drabble XXIII: Mad Scientist (2023)
Before I leave the lab for the night, I look into the cages at my silent menagerie. They rarely look back. Most specimens are too afraid to look, and the ones that are not are too damaged to know they should be afraid. They've all experienced what I do so many times. What I am.
Scars cover their bodies. Some are so mutilated even I can barely tell who they once were. Thankfully, some might say, many did not remember themselves either. Good thing I keep name tags on their cages and thousands of notes on my experiments with them.
Hermit Rites 007: Music & Reviews / Interview with Froth / End of Watch / The Outsider / Fable III
May 1, 2025
Hello Fellow Hermits, and welcome to the seventh ritual of Hermit Rites! I've got great news: I share birthdays with my debut novella, The Sweep! It came out on April 18, the same day I turned forty. The paperback will be available through me soon, and possibly through Amazon if I can get things figured out with them. The e-book is available everywhere else it seems, so that's awesome.
I finished reading End of Watch and read The Outsider, both by Stephen King. I've got my thoughts on those below, as usual. I also played a ton of Fable III to help my writing of my own fantasy long-form story (novella?). More about that in my review of Fable III below!
Bringing Hermit Rites closer to what I want it to be, there is more music than usual this month, and not just because I listen to a lot of it. I'm very excited to publish my first interview with a musician in years: I got to talk to Froth about his multitudinous fantasy synth projects!
An Interview with Froth
You're in Victoria, BC now, but have you always lived there?
Yes, I have lived in Victoria my whole life. I really love it here, it's not too big but also not too small. The access to nature is amazing with a beautiful forest and mountain only about 10 minutes from my house.
How does the city of Victoria and its surrounding forests and mountains influence the music you make?
The surrounding forests play a huge role in the influence of my music, specifically for projects such as Woodland Meditation, Dark Cascadian Forests, and Äther. Beyond the obvious thematic influence, the creation of the music is also intimately connected to the forest. I will go for walks/hikes for inspiration, come home and create music, and then go on walks/hikes again while listening to the music, writing down notes and other ideas while doing so, and then come home and create more, etc. This cycle essentially just repeats until I can go on a walk while listening to the music and not have anything to change. Additionally, I am collecting field recordings and photos to use on the album while out on these walks.
The seasons influence this as well. In the summer, when the sun is filtering through the trees and the birds are singing, I am inspired to make warm and peaceful sounding music under the banner of Woodland Meditation. Conversely, in the winter, when the rain is heavy and the trees are shrouded in mist and fog, I am inspired to create the darker sounds of Dark Cascadian Forests and Äther. I love both seasons equally and find much inspiration in both.
How were you first exposed to ambient and synth music? Did you discover it on your own or did someone show you a path of discovery?
I discovered it on my own, as an offshoot of the heavier music I have listened to most of my life. I think the first full synth album I really got into was Wolves in the Throne Room's Celestite. I've always enjoyed more atmospheric music so I think it was a natural progression, and I think the synthesizer was an instrument that was present in a lot of the music I was enjoying without me realizing it or appreciating it. I think there was two things that really drove my search for ambient music though. The first was the desire to have something to listen to while reading and ambient/fantasy synth fit that perfectly, even adding to the experience. The second came with me beginning to do yoga/meditation, and the desire for music to fit that space. That's where my interest in more new age style ambient began.
Is this also when you discovered you wanted to be a musician, or were you already making music?
Yes, ambient/synth music was my gateway into music creation. I don't have any prior music making or playing experience.
What was it about ambient and dungeon synth that drew you in?
The accessibility of it was what really drew me into making synth music, combined with the fact that I had just finished university and I had a lot of free time and lots of pent up creative energy. I was able to get a free software synth and my sister's old Casio keyboard and start messing around for little to no investment, and I had the time and energy to try and figure out how everything worked. It was very difficult at the beginning but it was very satisfying when stuff started coming together.
How many different synths do you have? What is your main composing and recording synth?
I mostly use software synthesizers. In fact, I use Vital almost exclusively. It was free to download and it's really great. I still feel as though I've barely scratched the surface of what is is capable of, and I haven't yet found myself really wanting to spend the time or money trying to learn something else. I also have a Casio LK-240 keyboard that I have used quite a bit on Forsaken Keep stuff, particularly on Kurald Galain. I had a another software synth that I used at the beginning, for most of Woodland Meditation I, I think it was called "Carbon Electra," but I stopped using that after I found Vital.
Do you sit down to specifically write for each project, or do new compositions fall into their band's name once it's vibe is fully fleshed out?
Yes I think the majority of the time I am sitting down with a specific project in mind before I start writing. For me, they are all pretty separate in theme and sound, and so that dictates right off the bat which project I am working on. Also, Woodland Meditation and Dark Cascadian Forests for example are very much seasonally oriented, with me finding inspiration for WM in the summer and DCF in the winter. All that said there have been times when I've sit down with nothing in mind and just seen what happens, but I think pretty quickly I'll find out what project that will fit (or maybe it warrants a new project haha).
What is it about synth music that encourages anonymity?
For me, the anonymity gives me confidence and the ability to express myself without any need to hold anything back. I've never really been someone who was comfortable sharing my creative endeavours and being anonymous allows me to shed some of that fear. So I guess for me the anonymity isn't necessarily a direct reflection of synth music but more of myself. I do, however, think you are right that fantasy synth encourages a bit of anonymity. Maybe it is just the fact that other people that feel a connection to this music have the same feeling towards anonymity that I do, or maybe it is that the subject matter of the music (fantasy realms, alternate realities, etc) lends itself to anonymity, I am not sure!
Are any of your projects also live bands?
No, I don't see myself ever playing live.
Music
1. Bury Them And Keep Quiet/Lust Hag - Split (x2) [2023/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
2. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance (x2) [2006/Gothic Metal]
3. Lust Hag - Lust Hag (x2) [2024/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
4. Sacrament Ov Impurity - All The Colors Of The Dark [2015/CS/Melodic Black Metal]
5. Phylactery - Demo 2016 [2016/CS/Death Metal]
6. Norilsk - The Idea of North [2016/CS/Funeral Doom]
7. Wold - Stratification [2008/CD/Black Metal/Noise]
8. Nine Inch Nails - Wish [1992/CD/Industrial]
9. Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine [2017/Black Metal]
10. Bodydrinkers - Swamp Hammer (x2) [2023/Death Metal]
11. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars (x3) [2023/Gothic Metal]
12. Iron Maiden - Powerslave [1984/CD/Heavy Metal]
13. Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time [1988/CD/Heavy Metal]
14. Lammoth - Tales of Treachery (x5) [2024/Medieval Black Metal/Moistrobertcore]
15. Ancient VVisdom - A Godlike Inferno [2012/Occult Rock]
16. Sepulchral Curse - Howl of the Cursed [2023/Blackened Death Metal]
17. Construct of Lethe - Exiler [2018/Death Metal]
18. Putrecine - The Fading Flame [2021/Death Metal]
19. Psychonaut 4 - 40% [2011/DSBM]
20. Yellow Eyes - Immersion Trench Reverie (x2) [2017/Black Metal]
21. :wumpscut: - Body Census [2007/Industrial]
22. Afsky - I Stilhed [2022/Acoustic]
23. AfterEarth - Ruin [2012/Melodic Death Metal]
24. Fief - II [2016/Fantasy Synth/Fiefcore]
25. Fogweaver - Magelight [2023/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
26. Katatonia - Dead End Kings (x2) [2012/Gothic Metal]
27. Junius - Blood is Bright (x4) [2006/Post Metal]
28. Jenn Taiga - Siege [2022/Berlin School/Krautrock]
29. A Flock of Seagulls - Some Dreams [2024/New Wave]
30. Cynic - Kindly Bent to Free Us [2014/Prog]
31. Sentenced - The Funeral Album (x2) [2005/Gothic Metal]
32. The Barrowfolk - Of Tollund And Elling [2024/Folk/Willowcore]
33. Saltmarsh - Saltmarsh [2024/Post Black Metal]
34. Siegetower - Demo [2022/Medieval Black Metal]
35. Another Black Autumn - Resplendent Apparitions at the Dawn [2023/Atmospheric Black Metal]
36. Torn Cloak - Torn Cloak (x2) [2025/Ambient/Fantasy Synth]
37. Cynic - Traced in Air [2008] [Prog Metal]
38. Earthencloak - Commune of the Gnomes [2018] [Fantasy Synth]
39. Earthencloak - Pipe Smoke & Faery Magick [2019] [Fantasy Synth]
40. Galdr - Morkergang [2015] [Atmospheric Black Metal]
41. Avsky - Scorn [2010] [DSBM/Atmospheric Black Metal]
42. Deapscufa - Beyond a Dying Horizon [2022/Symphonic Black Metal]
43. Stonesword Key - Age of Dark and Fire [2024/Death Doom/Jeffcore]
44. Flora Lux Victoria - Princess Rot [2024/Noise Pop/Shoegaze]
45. The Interpretation Cultures - Ignored Notifications [2025/Noise Pop]
46. Opeth - Blackwater Park [2001/CD/Progressive Death Metal]
47. Bubble Blade - Vaporous Halls [2024/Fantasy Synth/Drum 'n' Bass]
48. Esthero - Breath From Another [1998/CD/Trip-Hop]
49. Wolf Counsel - Vol. 1 Wolf Counsel [2015/Doom Metal]
50. Wolf Counsel - Ironclad [2016/Doom Metal]
51. Haunt - If Icarus Could Fly [2019/Heavy Metal]
52. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings [2009/Gothic Doom Metal]
53. Goblin Girl - The Valley of My Heart [2025/Dungeon Synth]
54. Hemiptera - Demo MMXXIV [2024/Melodic Crust]
55. Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down [2001/Gothic Metal]
56. Arüspex - Hawthorn & Henbane [2024/Melodic Crust]
57. The Pub Mouse - Midnight at the Mitre [2025/Fantasy Synth]
58. Southern Shores - The Great Lake Huron [2025/Winter Synth/Timcore]
59. Willow Tea - Home [2022/Fantasy Synth/Willowcore]
60. Iravu - A Fate Worse Than Home [2023/Progressive Blackened Death Metal]
61. Tumultuous Ruin - An Abscess on the Heart of the State [2023/Black Metal]
62. Moss Troll - Urn of Earth [2023/Ambient/Fantasy Synth]
63. Cedar Grove - Demo I [2025/Ambient/Forest Synth/Frothcore]
64. Mordran - The Midnight Woods [2024/Atmospheric Black Metal]
65. Grave Sermon - Whitewashed Tomb [2019/Death Metal]
66. Grave Sermon - Liturgical Perversions [2015/Death Metal]
67. Lágrimas/Habak - Split [2023/Melodic Crust]
68. Habak - Un minuto de obscuridad no nos volverá ciegos [2018/Melodic Crust]
69. Habak - Ningún Muro Consiguió Jamás Contener la Primavera [2020/Melodic Crust]
70. Habak/Fractal - Split [2022/Melodic Crust]
71. Habak - Insania [2015/Melodic Crust]
72. Feijoa Tree - A Day in the Life (x3) [2025/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
73. Forsaken Keep - Kurald Galain [2024/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
74. Forsaken Keep - Secrets of the Starlit Citadel [2024/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
75. Genital Shame/Lust Hag - Split [2025/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
76. Lucerne Hammer - Demo [2025/Black Metal/Timcore]
77. Haunter - ...Of the Night [2024/Blackthrash]
78. Maȟpíya Lúta - Wówaȟwala [2023/Black Metal]
79. Maȟpíya Lúta - Wóohitike [2022/Black Metal]
80. Shadow and Claw - Whereabouts Unknown [2024/Black Metal]
81. Steel Bearing Hand - Slay in Hell [2021/Death Metal/Punk]
82. Opeth - Damnation [2003/CD/Progressive Rock]
83. Opeth - Deliverance [2002/CD/Progressive Death Metal]
84. Zireal - Brokilon [2024/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
85. Strandhem - Enlightenment [2024/Blackgaze/Post Black Metal]
86. Quietus - Quietus [2012/CD/Melodic Death Metal]
87. Voltaire - Spooky Songs for Creepy Kids [2010/CD/Rockabilly/Goth]
88. Atavist/Nadja - II: Points At Infinity (Collab) [2008/CD/Drone Metal]
89. DONE™ - Rest To Rust (2024/Blackened Powerviolence)
90. Sólstafir - Berdreyminn [2017/Post Metal]
91. Spectral Temper - Chimeric [2023/Black Metal]
92. Incantation - Dirges of Elysium [2014/Autographed CD/Death Metal]
93. Earth - The Bee Made Honey in the Lion's Skull [2008/CD/Doom/Psych Rock]
94. Sophist - Betrothal to the Stone: Conception of Mephisto [2019/CD/Black Metal]
95. Hircine - Return to the Ruins [2024/Fantasy Synth/Damiancore]
96. Morke - Morke [2017/Black Metal/Ericcore]
97. The Divine Accolade - Für Anna [2023/Dungeon Synth]
98. Foretoken - Ruin [2020/Blackened Melodic Death Metal]
99. Legions of Crows - Stab Me [2011/CD/Blackened Doom Metal]
100. Weald and Woe - The Fate of Kings and Men [2020/Castle Metal/Jeffcore]
101. Warlocks of Mordor - Caliginous Fortress of Woe [2025/Black Metal]
102. Junius - The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist [2009/Post Metal]
103. Aterrima - A Name Engraved in Cold Soil [2023/Blackened Death Metal]
104. Yellow Eyes - Silence Threads The Evening's Cloth [2012/Black Metal]
105. Yellow Eyes/Monument - Split [2012/Black Metal]
106. Yellow Eyes - The Desert Mourns [2014/Black Metal]
107. Bihargam - Executioner Star [2023/Death Metal]
108. Tongues - Hreilia [2017/Blackened Death Metal]
109. Zireal - Upon Her Blade (x3) [2025/Fantasy Synth/Ziricore]
110. Lady Gaga - Artpop [2013/Pop]
111. Marcy Playground - Leaving Wonderland... in a Fit of Rage [2009/Alternative Rock]
112. Ashenheart - Tales From Eternal Dusk [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
113. Hypomanic Daydream - Image [2023/Progressive Death Metal]
114. Moss Knight - Homestead/Adventures Across Hearth [2024/Fantasy Synth/Timcore]
115. Graverobber - Conscious Autopsy [2014/Death Metal]
116. Dom Flemens - Traveling Wildfire [2023/Folk]
117. Mourn the Stars - Saudade... (x2) [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal]
118. Nachtterror/Altars of Grief - Of Ash and Dying Light... (Split) [2015/Symphonic Black Metal/Blackened Doom/Damiencore]
119. Cephalic Carnage - Conforming to Abnormality [2000/CD/Grindcore]
120. Cephalic Carnage - Anomolies [2002/CD/Grindcore]
121. Cephalic Carnage - Xenosapian [2004/CD/Grindcore]
122. NONE - Life has gone on long enough [2018/DSBM]
123. Cruxis - Cruxis [2024/Crust]
124. Bird Band - The Rescue [2023/Cozy Synth/Musique concrète]
125. Judas Priest - Sin After Sin [1977/CD/Heavy Metal]
126. Blütwürm/Termagant - Split [2024/Death Metal/Eleanorcore]
127. Earth of Misery - In My Dreams [2024/Dream Synth/Comfy Synth]
128. Horrendous - Anareta [2015/CS/Death Metal]
129. Gun Girl - Vengeant Siege of Unholy Divinity [2024/War Metal/Eleanorcore]
130. Golden Chamber - Falling Through Silent Skies (x3) [2025/Atmospheric Black Metal/Ericcore]
131. Agarthan Key - Demo MMXXIV [2024/Medieval/Vampyric Black Metal]
132. My Dying Bride - Feel the Misery (x3) [2015/Gothic Doom]
133. Tower Hill - Fighting Spirits [2021/Heavy Metal]
134. UADA - Devoid of Light [2016/Melodic Black Metal]
135. UADA - Cult of a Dying Sun [2018/Melodic Black Metal]
136. Willow Tea - A Time of Renewal [2025/Fantasy Synth/Willowcore]
137. Celtic Frost - Monotheist (x2) [2012/Doom Metal]
138. Iravu - A Fate Worse Than Home [2023/Progressive Blackened Death/Hareeshcore]
139. Bull of Apis Bull of Broze - The Fractal Ouroboros [2023/Black Metal/Evergreencore]
140. Massive Attack - Mezzanine [1998/CD/Trip-hop]
141. A///Plague - Solve Et Coagula [2024/Black Metal]
142. Démonos - Polyhedra [2025/Black Metal]
143. Fogweaver - Vedurnan [2020/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
144. Fogweaver - Labyrinthine [2022/Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
145. Capitalist - In the Days of the Crimson Sun [2025/Blackened Crust]
146. Namebearer - Demo I [2024/Black Metal/Silver Metal]
147. Naðra - Form [2016/Black Metal]
148. Necromass - Exsanguinati Sacerdotes [2014/Black Metal]
149. Lust Hag/Reaping Fields - Prayers Unanswered (Split) [2024/Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
150. Saasil - Novilunium EP [2024/Post Black Metal/DSBM/VCHcore]
151. Klanen/Saidan (Split) [2021/Black Metal]
152. Valyria - Into the Dying of Time [2018/CD/Melodic Death Metal]
153. Vespéral - La Mort des l'Âme [2025/Black Metal]
154. Rammstein - Mutter [2001/CD/Industrial Metal]
155. Horrendous - The Chills [2012/CS/Death Metal]
156. Svneatr - The Howl, The Whisper, The Hunt [2018/Melodic Black Metal]
157. Howling Fjord - Utgarde Keep [2025/Fantasy Synth/Sylfvrcore]
158. Cursed Axe - Sequestered in the Decrepit Stronghold of the Ashen Stag [2024/Fantasy Synth]
159. AIAA 7 - Sueños eternos [2023/Post Black Metal/Blackgaze/VCHcore]
160. Editors - Violence [2018/Alternative Rock/Indie Rock]
161. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Everything [2011/Post Black Metal]
162. Monoceros - Space Dungeon [2017/Stoner Doom]
163. Krieg - Isolation/Transmission [2014/Black Metal]
Stephen King's End of Watch is the third and final book in the Hodges Trilogy. Like the two before it, it's a detective/crime novel, but in it we get to go full Stephen King. The Stephen King we knew was there, lurking in the shadows of Mr. Mercedes. The Stephen King that poked his head from behind the curtains and winked at us in the corner of our eye in Finders Keepers. This is the Stephen King that made little girls light shit on fire, little boys read minds, and ended the world with Captain Trips. Warning: major spoilers ahead.
Brady Hartsfield got his head bashed in by a sock full of steel bearings at the end of Mr. Mercedes. Behind the A-Story of Finders Keepers, Brady was a through line with Bill Hodges visiting the catatonic Mr. Mercedes in the hospital, where rumours began circulating that he could turn water taps on and off and rattle the blinds with his mind. And now, in End of Watch, we are back with Brady as the A-Story, and we get to find out how he went from a catatonic criminal to psychic psychotic.
One of the constants in being a Constant Reader is how good Stephen King is at writing friend groups of people we can care about deeply. That definitely has not changed with this book, and indeed I think it's one of the biggest highlights. The friendships between Bill, Holly, and Jerome is more like a family, and it feels that way on the page.
On the flip side of this, King is pretty damn good at creating a villain we love to hate. Brady Hartsfield is a psychotic piece of shit of a human. His M.O. has morphed from Mercedes-driving spree killer to convincing people to kill themselves through his technology-assisted mental and emotional manipulations. It's also hard to prove it's him because who is going to believe a vegetable in a wheelchair--with so much brain damage he cannot stand trial for his crimes--is killing people with his mind through a video game?
So with this, the final book in the series, will Hodges finally retire with Mr. Mercedes behind him? Or will Brady Hartsfield triumph over his nemesis? What's in store for Holly and Jerome? How will these loose treads get tied up nicely into bows? I'm not spoiling that. Read this and find out, or even better read the whole trilogy and see why Stephen King is the best.
Spoiler-filled review ahead: I have finally read The Outsider by Stephen King! And by finally, I mean at last. I have the receipt from buying this book in this book, from 2018, the week the novel came out, and I'm just reading it now in 2025. Really crushing that TBR, eh?
I bought it but never read it because I knew it followed the Hodges Trilogy. How? I didn't know that, but I understood that reading those three books first would clarify some of this novel. I would say that I didn't have to do that, it wouldn't have changed much for me, but I am glad I waited because one of my favourite recurring characters Stephen King has created is in the pages of both the Hodges Trilogy and The Outsider, and she gets her own book named after her too: Holly Gibney.
The Outsider starts off hot, basically right after the dead body of a young boy is found. The first half of the novel is a police procedural that sets up the second half: a very public figure in Flint City, a school teacher and sports coach who is practically a local hero is arrested for the crime. Eye witnesses verify key details, as do his finger prints at the crime scene, making it pretty much an open and shut case, and he is arrested very publicly during a little league game he is coaching. On his way into the courthouse on his arraignment day, he is killed by the brother of the young boy. The whole time he maintained his innocence, even with his dying words.
With the only suspect of the murder having now been murdered, and evidence suggesting he didn't kill the kid continuing to pile up, including more victims, the second half is a police procedural with spooky shit: a hunt for the real killer, a monster that might very well be Mexico's El Cuco, or something much like it.
I wouldn't put this in Stephen King's top ten best, but it is definitely a fun read if you like old school, classic Stephen King. It feels like it could easily become someone's comfort read, especially if that someone likes cop shows like Law and Order, CSI, Midsomer Murders, and King's novels It, Salem's Lot, and the Night Shift collection.
I've been playing Fable III again. Once more I walk the Road to Rule, and as always it is both satisfying and a grind. The story follows the prince of Albion (who is also the son of the Hero from Fable II) and his coup against his fascist dictator brother and his crony named Reaver. Strange that I'm playing a video game where I can choose to fight or join fascism when in the real world I can fight fascism. But I digress.
It's such a predictable game in that it *could* be different every time it's played, but I always play it the same way. I tried playing a fully evil game one time almost a decade ago, but got drunk and forgot about being evil and just played the way I always do.
I have intentionally been using my sword more than magic (it's usually the other way around) and every time I open the portal to the Road to Rule I make sure I'm wearing the same gear and same weapons for ~*aesthetics*~. The second biggest difference is that I have the music turned off and everything else dialed quiet so I can listen to my own music collection instead.
Currently I'm maining the Channeler sword, weaved fire and shock gauntlets, and the Gusket's Musket rifle or Bonesmasher pistol. Unless I have to wear something for the quest I'm on, I'm always wearing the Industrial Knight suit, which is unfortunate because it's got the Reaver Industries logo on it but at the same time... meh. It looks badass. It's a video game, not real life.
My plan now has become to play the full series backwards because I'm a masochist I've never done it successfully. Fable III is easy but a bit long, Fable II is one of the best video games ever made and I wish it was longer, but the OG Fable I could not finish my last few attempts--I don't know why. Something to do with my attention span becoming halved from when I was twenty? Probably. I played it a lot back then (on an OG X-Box along with Sid Meyer's Pirates, which I also have...). But maybe 2025 is my year! Now that I've talked about playing it on the internet where less than tens of people can read it, I'm kind of obligated to play all three now.
Truthfully, I'm not replaying the Fable series just for it's complex characters, rich lore, and deep history that I want to explore; my original plan was to play Skyrim, but I didn't have the CD for it handy so second choice was Fable III. I'm using it more as a writing tool, like reading fantasy without the reading (currently reading horror). It's getting my outer thoughts into the fantasy/steampunk mindset to lubricate my inner thoughts to connect dots within the fantasy novella that has totally taken over my writing schedule. It was supposed to just be a monsterfucker short story, to see if I could write one, and of course it has started to become something more--with it's own complex characters, rich lore, and deep history that I want to explore. Which naturally means that I have to create maps and roll characters and all that fun shit, too.
Hermit Rites 006: Music and Reviews / Kalvin Ellis / Interstellar / Stephen King / "Apocalypse: 2021"
April 1, 2025
Greetings, Hermits, and welcome to the sixth ritual of Hermit Rites! This month, April of 2025, is one of the biggest months of my life. My first ever book is coming out on the 18th! And I'm turning forty on the same day or whatever. If you like werewolves getting gory, you might like The Sweep.
I was able to get a fair amount of writing done in March. I started and completed a short story called "Thanatos", worked on my sci-fi novel that I've been writing since 2022, and started a fantasy novelette that will hopefully read more like R.A. Salvatore, Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman than GRRM or Jordan. I also got to finish off an interview with a Canadian musician that will be available to read in the next Hermit Rites, and I worked on some drabble because drabble is fun, and sometimes hard to write.
As always, I listened to a ton of music. Some was new, some was new to me, some was just the everyday classics I like reaching for due to comfort and because My Dying Bride are one of the best bands to ever exist. Keep in mind that releases in italics are Canadian bands. Is this list a lot of Fiadh Productions released or adjacent? Fuck yeah. Why? Because Fiadh and it's core group of people are a good label and good people. Some of these people are becoming part of my family, to be quite honest, and I know none of them in real life. But even more importantly it's fucking killer music and I know I don't have to worry about any of it being sketchy; Fiadh is an antifacist, woman owned, and vegan record label.
My reading has gone down the shitter in March. I finished reading Finders Keepers and as a result finished the review that I started in Hermit Rites 005. I also finished reading Bury My Body Somewhere Nice and wrote the review for that as well. The sad thing is that I didn't start reading my March book until like the 27th, meaning there's no review for End of Watch here-you'll have to wait a few weeks. I am, on March 31st, just a tad more than halfway through, but will probably crush at least another hundred pages today. Hopefully I can read three books in April, two for sure, to catch up to where I want to be for my 2025 reading goals.
March's Music and Reviews
1. Junius - The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist (x2) [2009] [BC] [Post Rock/Post Metal]
This is one of those albums that I'm fairly certain will be on every list of music I listen to in a month. I saw Junius live once and bought Martyrdom on CD. They were opening for Alcest and Enslaved at the Starlite Room. That was the show I had to leave before Enslaved because I was literally falling asleep on my feet, so that sucked, but Junius have stuck with me far more than either of the other two bands. There is such a wonderful atmosphere of this album, so heavy but not oppressively so. It's a strange weight that lifts me up. Lyrically this is also one of my favourite albums, with songs of love and loss and wanting to change the world for the better. It's a concept album, based on the life of Immanuel Velikovsky, who has had his work widely panned by every scientist worth their salt. His Wikipedia entry, linked above, is awesome if you have several hours to devote to a scientific and pseudoscientific wormhole.
2. An Autumn For Crippled Children - Portugal EP [2015] [BC] [Post Black]
3. Nightshade - Belladonna [2023] [BC] [Cozy Synth]
4. In Flames - Foregone [2023] [BC] [Melodic Death/Metalcore]
5. Howling Fjord - Utgarde Keep [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Sylfvrcore]
6. Woodland Meditation - I (X2) [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
7. Woodland Meditation - II [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
8. Woodland Meditation - III [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
9. Woodland Meditation - Stillness [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
10. Dark Cascadian Forests - The Gate (x2) [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
11. Forsaken Keep - A Decrepit Tower In The Distance [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
12. Forsaken Keep - Kurald Galain [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
13. Forsaken Keep - Secrets of the Starlit Citadel [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fantasy Synth/Frothcore]
14. Hideous Gomphidious - Spore Sorcery [2020] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Fungal Synth/Evergreencore]
15. Year of the Cobra - Year of the Cobra [2025] [BC] [Stoner/Doom]
16. Haunt - If Icarus Could Fly [2020] [BC] [Heavy Metal]
17. Sacred Noose - Vanishing Spires [2025] [BC] [Blackened Death]
18. Inexistence - The Enchanted Waterfall [2024] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
19. Gloomlurker/Witch's Amulet - Ballads from the Bannered Mare [2024] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth/Ziricore]
20. Venus-426 - J.O.N.E.S./The Aftermath (x2) [2023] [BC] [Noise/Wendycore]
21. Alkilith - Beneath The Fells I-III [2022] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
22. Cynic - Carbon-Based Anatomy [2011] [BC] [Progressive Metal]
23. Iravu - A Fate Worse than Home (x2) [2023] [BC] [Blackened Death]
24. Antzaat - The Black Hand of the Father [2017] [BC] [Melodic Black]
25. Antzaat - For You Men Who Gaze Into The Sun [2020] [BC] [Melodic Black]
26. Altars of Grief - Iris [2018] [BC] [Blackend Doom/Damiencore]
27. Altars of Grief - This Shameful Burden [2014] [BC] [Blackened Doom/Damiencore]
28. Ancient VVisdom - A Godlike Inferno (x4) [2012] [BC] [Occult Rock]
29. Blitzar IV - Ayla [2023] [BC] [Atmospheric Black]
30. My Dying Bride - A Mortal Binding [2024] [BC] [Gothic Doom]
31. Hircine - A Crown of Wildflowers (x3) [2025] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth/Damiencore]
32. Dream Chalice - Forlorn Paths Through Forgotten Dreams [2023] [BC] [Dream Synth/Dungeon Synth/Frothcore]
33. Hircine/Altar of Moss - The Long Night (Split) [2024] [BC] [Winter Synth/Damiencore/Dungeon Synth]
34. Weald and Woe - For the Good of the Realm [2023] [BC] [Castle Metal]
35. My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings (x3) [2012] [BC] [Gothic Doom]
36. My Dying Bride - The Light at the End of the World (x2) [1999] [BC] [Death Doom]
37. Idolatry - Pyrrhic [2023] [BC] [Black Metal]
38. Idolatry - In Nomine Mortis [2019] [BC] [Black Metal]
39. Katatonia - Dead End Kings [2012] [BC] [Dark Rock/Gothic Metal]
40. Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars [2023] [BC] [Dark Rock/Gothic Metal]
41. Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us [2009] [BC] [Gothic Metal]
42. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Only The Ocean Knows [2012] [BC] [Post Black]
43. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Everything [2011] [BC] [Post Black]
44. Begrime Exemious - Rotting in the Aftermath [2022] [BC] [Death Metal]
45. Northwest Passage - The Future Past [2025] [BC] [Ambient/Dungeon Synth/Willowcore]
46. Ancient VVisdom - 33 (x4) [2017] [BC] [Occult Rock]
47. Halizth - Halizth (x3) [2025] [BC] [Cosmic Black/Sylfvrcore]
48. The Pub Mouse - Midnight at the Mitre [2025] [BC] [Comfy Synth]
49. Sacred Noose - Renounce the Flesh [2023] [BC] [Blackened Death]
50. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance (x2) [2006] [BC] [Dark Rock/Gothic Metal]
51. Thangorodrim - Towers of the Teeth [2016] [BC] [Dungeon Synth/Fiefcore]
52. Feijoa Tree - A Day in the Life [2025] [BC] [Cozy Synth/Dungeon Synth/Ziricore]
This album is set during a single day in the life of a herd of deer and conveys their feelings and adventures. It is an emotive record, as like 98% of synth is, and it's definitely comfy synth, but there are elements of danger and sadness. After all, a pack of wolves and deforestation are realities that deer face daily.
Like everything Ziri touches, this is fantastic.
53. Dimmu Borgir - Abrahadabra [2010] [CD] [Symphonic Black]
54. Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage [2011] [CD] [Atmospheric Black]
55. Dark Tranquillity - Fiction [2007] [BC] [Melodic Death]
56. Tempestarii - Temple of Skies [2017] [CD] [Atmospheric Black]
57. Alkillith - Dracolich of The Gray Waste [2022] [BC] [Dungeon Synth]
58. Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite (x2) [2023] [BC] [Technical Deathgrind]
59. Darkthrone - Ravishing Grimness [1999] [CD] [Black Metal]
60. Voyvoda - Autochthonous [2023] [BC] [Coldwave/Post Punk]
61. Voyvoda - Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit [2020] [BC] [Coldwave/Post Punk]
62. The Blood Mountain Black Metal Choir - Demo I: Folklore (x3) [2025] [BC] [Atmospheric Black]
63. Morke - Forged in Steel and Love [2024] [BC] [Castle Metal]
64. Sentenced - The Funeral Album [2005] [BC] [Gothic Metal]
65. Griftegard - Solemn. Sacred. Severe. [2009] [BC] [Doom Metal]
66. My Dying Bride - The Manuscript EP [2013] [BC] [Gothic Doom]
67. Woe - A Violent Dread EP [2019] [BC] [Black Metal]
68. Wintersleep - Wintersleep [2003] [BC] [Indie Rock]
69. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day [1996] [BC] [Death Doom]
70. Wintersleep - New Inheritors [2010] [BC] [Indie Rock]
71. Wintersleep - Hello Hum [2012] [BC] [Indie Rock]
72. Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down [2001] [BC] [Gothic Metal]
73. All the Cold/Fornicatus/Black Hate/Happy Days - Children of Failure (Split) [2009] [CD] [DSBM]
74. Ecologist - Glaciares: Premonición de los fragmentos del deshielo inminente [2024] [BC] [Atmospheric Black]
75. Willow Tea - A Time Of Renewal [2025] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth/Willowcore]
76. Ancient VVisdom - Deathlike [2013] [BC] [Occult Rock]
77. Fogweaver - Vedurnan [2020] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth/Evergreencore]
78. My Dying Bride - Feel the Misery [2015] [BC] [Gothic Doom]
79. Various Artists - Knuckletracks XLIII [2002] [CD] [Various Metals]
80. Various Artists - Knuckletracks XLIV [2002] [CD] [Various Metals]
81. Moonspell - The Butterfly Effect [1999] [CS] [Gothic Metal]
82. The Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestite [2012?] [CS] [Ambient]
83. Scythra - Forever Unclean (x2) [2018] [BC] [Death Metal]
84. Hot Dog Cart - ~* boy dinner *~ [2025] [BC] [Comfy Synth/Food Synth]
85. Toad Blood/Unearthly Gasp - Alliance of Poison Skin and Noble Fur [2023] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
86. Genital Shame/Lust Hag - Split (x2) [2025] [BC] [Black Metal]
87. Warlocks of Mordor - Caliginous Fortress of Woe [2025] [BC] [Atmospheric Black]
88. Vandal Moon - Black Kiss [2020] [BC] [Goth/Coldwave/Post Punk]
89. Hulder - Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasant [2021] BC] [Atmospheric Black]
90. Craft - White Noise and Black Metal [2018] [BC] [Black Metal]
91. Borknagar - Universal [2012] [BC] [Progressive Black]
92. Yfel - Beneath The Mountain's Vigil [2023] [BC] [Atmospheric Black]
93. Morke - We Are the River [2024] [BC] [Atmospheric Black]
94. Various Artists - Knuckletracks XLV [2002] [CD] [Various Metals]
95. Various Artists - Knuckletracks XLVI [2002] [CD] [Various Metals]
96. Sacred Noose - Renounce the Flesh [2023] [BC] [Blackened Death]
97. Striborg - Through The Melancholy Tunnel of Despair [2023] [BC] [DSBM]
98. Dawn Treader - Bloom and Decay [2024] [BC] [Post Black]
99. Nightmare Effigy/Marrow of Man - Decimation of the Spirit (Split) [2025] [BC] [Black Metal]
100. Snawfuss - The Six-Petal Rosette [2024] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
101. Mourning Mist - Amen (x2) [2020] [BC] [Doom Metal]
102. The Vision Bleak - Songs of Good Taste [2004] [BC] [Gothic Metal]
103. Various Artists - Knuckletracks XLVII [2002] [CD] [Various Metals]
104. Cocteau Twins - Victorialand (x2) [1986] [CD] [Dream Pop/Shoegaze]
105. Failure - Fantastic Planet [1996] [CD] [Alternative]
106. An Crom Cruach - Leath-adhairce [2024] [BC] [Folk]
107. Ancient Pyres - Sous la férule des météores [2025] [BC] [Dungeon Doom/Sylfvrcore]
108. Da Captain Trips - Maths of the Elements [2022] [BC] [Psychedelic Rock/Doom]
109. In Flames - Subterranean [1995] [CD] [Melodic Death]
110. In Flames - Whoracle [1997] [CD] [Melodic Death]
111. Leng Tch'e - Marasmus [2007] [CD] [Grindcore/Razorgrind]
112. Sparklehorse - Bird Machine [2023] [BC] [Alternative]
113. Lucerne Hammer - Demo (x3) [2025] [BC] [Black Metal/Timcore]
114. Willow Tales - Songs For The Friends We Made Along The Way [2024] [BC] [Comfy Synth/Willowcore]
115. Arctos - A Spire Silent (x2) [2017] [BC] [Melodic Black Metal]
116. Skymir - Blood Moon Rising [2016] [CD] [Melodic Death/Folk]
117. Skymir - Haunted Saloon [2012] [CD] [Melodic Death/Folk]
118. Death - Symbolic [1995] [CD] [Death Metal]
119. Atlantic - Torrents [2022] [BC] [Atmospheric/Post Black]
120. Atlantic - Black Sands [2024] [BC] [Atmospheric/Post Black]
121. Creek Moss - Herald of Hvrall [2024] [BC] [Fantasy Synth]
Kalvin Ellis - Bury My Body Somewhere Nice
Kalvin Ellis and I have followed each other on Instagram and other places for awhile, gradually becoming friends. He wrote the books In the Hills Above the Grist Mill and it's sequel In the Grave Where the Bones Are Still Wet, both of which lit Bookstagram's collective asses on fire. When Kalvin made a post about having ARC readers for his upcoming short story collection awhile back, I said I'd be honoured. He sent me the ebook version of Bury My Body Somewhere Nice, and I kinda fucked it a bit and took too long to read it. It was my goal to have a review of it for Hermit Rites 005 because I thought it was coming out in March. Nope. It's out on April 4th, just a few days from now, so I didn't completely fuck it. So, without further ado, my unintelligible thoughts on these five short spooky tales:
Holy fuck this shit rules.
That's it, that's the review. I could go into detail like how "Scissors: A Love Story" sets up the whole book as a "whoa okay, shit's not just horror, but weird fiction as well". Or I could say the second story, "Soft Chewy Center", takes that set-up and throws a splash of sci-fi into the mix with an alternating point of view that gradually ramps up the horror to an ohmyfuckinggod level at the end. And maybe I can say that "Atomic Despair" takes the horror/weird fiction/sci-fi to a post-apocalyptic gas station and becomes a love and revenge tale. Or the story that the book derives it's title from, "Bury My Body Somewhere Nice" is "To Catch A Predator" with schizophrenia and a lot of blood and some genuine, beautifully written romance. Perhaps, even, I could say the final story in the book, "In the Dark We Sin" could be filmed and re-titled as a Saw sequel and I'm fairly certain I want to try to straight up rip it off (which I already told Kalvin, so don't worry, if I do it I think we're cool--I just have to make sure my version isn't as good as his). But I'm not going to go into details, I'm not going to say all that. I'm just going to go with my original review:
Holy fuck, this shit rules.
Get a copy from Kalvin Ellis's website.
Interstellar
Interstellar takes place in our future, mid-21st century roughly, and it's grim. Crops are dying thanks in part to the Blight but also because when you only grow one crop for years in a row your land will eventually go to shit. Oxygen levels are depleting, and the human race is walking towards its death bed. Everything is dust. Shit's fucked.
Due to a gravitational anomaly occurring on his farm, Cooper and his daughter Murph accidentally find what is left of NASA, headed by Professor Brand. Cooper, who used to be a test pilot for NASA before his sub-orbital ship crashed is then roped into flying a spaceship from Earth to Saturn, where almost fifty years ago they found a wormhole to another galaxy. He travels with a pair of robots and a trio of human scientists, one of which is the daughter of Professor Brand. The goal is to colonize one of the planets they found orbiting a supermassive black hole on the other side of the wormhole. The problem with such a location is not just that it takes a couple years to get to Saturn, but once around the black hole time dilation kicks in: one hour on the planets they investigate is equal to seven years on Earth. Meanwhile back home, Cooper's son finds a wife, has a family, and is taking care of the farm. Murph is growing up and working with NASA to help bring her dad back, and to send the rest of humanity through the wormhole.
Fun space adventures are had and people die and crazy stuff happens, but all of it is based on hard science and real life, making this one of my favourite movies for that very reason. Despite it being in the future, the technology is not completely all futuristic. Buttons and switches and analogue flight methods are beside cryosleep chambers and cool shit like that. The special effects are mostly practical, so even though Interstellar is a decade old it still looks fantastic. Who would have thought that shooting on real film in real locations with real humans in real space suits makes shit look real?
Stephen King - Finder's Keepers
Stephen King's Finder's Keepers does not directly follow Mr. Mercedes, instead taking a four year break between the books, while also sometimes taking place in the 1970's.
World renowned author John Rothstein is murdered, and his safe raided. Sure, the twenty grand in it is awesome, but even more important to Morris Bellamy, the murderer, is the Moleskine notebooks with the money. Everything is tossed into a trunk and buried to be grabbed a later date when the heat has cooled. Unfortunately for Morris, he is caught for a different crime and is thrown in jail for life.
Years later, Pete Saubers finds the trunk after the tree it was under gets blown over. His family is currently in major financial problems after his father was run over by some asshole in a Mercedes at a job fair, and divorce seems to be looming, so Pete begins to mail the money incrementally and secretly to his family. Until it runs out. Then Pete decides to try and sell the Moleskine notebooks full of the unpublished writings of John Rothstein, and things begin to get tricky. The man he tries to sell them to is the same man who told Morris to bury them all those years ago, and he begins to try to blackmail Pete.
The inconvenience of Morris Bellamy being granted parole at this time makes everything go sideways for everyone, because Morris is back in town and wants the notebooks, and is willing to kill to get them.
Behind all of this is the story of Brady Hartsfield, the Mercedes Killer. He's awakened from his coma and is locked away, one step from being a complete vegetable, but Bill Hodges still visits him every so often, and strange things seem to happen around him. Framed photos fall over. Taps turn on with no one near them. And nurses kill themselves.
Naturally this is written in the same tone as most Stephen King novels, and the way he writes and the way my brain works makes it so I'm right there. I see, hear, and smell the heads exploding under car tires; I watch hungover men puke in jail cells; I'm a fly on the wall when big brothers worry about their little sisters and when crooked book dealers and freshly released ex-cons argue. This is also written in such a way that if by chance you did not grab Mr. Mercedes first, it is not that big of a deal. There is enough backstory given that helps to recap that novel while leaving enough details out to keep you curious enough to grab it.
In all, I really liked Finders Keepers. It's a fast moving crime novel with some deadly twists that makes you want to turn the pages, while still being a Stephen King novel.
Flash Fiction I - Apocalypse: 2021
The sun was setting, finally. I was tired of having my balcony baked by the sun, and my AC was out. Cool temperatures were all I craved. I sat in my white plastic lawn chair and waited for these said cool temperatures to creep over the warm pavement of an overcrowded world.
By the time I was two root beers and three joints into the night it was time to go to bed. The wind had picked up, whipping the smell of thousands of sweaty bodies up and around my apartment building. It was a disgusting smell. It was a smell that I almost had gotten used to before the other smell took over.
The cool temperatures had yet to come, and in some places they never would.
When I awoke the next morning the city was strangely quiet. I opened my eyes and felt a hush descend upon me. Without opening my curtains I knew something had happened. Something had finally Gone Wrong. I grabbed my iPad and opened Chrome, my eyes squinting against the sudden brilliance. The top news was the same as all the headlines and links below: nuclear winter was blowing its winds upon Asian soil. I didn't click anything, just closed the app, left my bedroom, and sat on my chesterfield to light a rare early-morning joint.
My cat oozed out of the bedroom like a xenomorph. He blinked at the weed then jumped onto the kitchen cupboards and watched me.
I took a walk down the street, my mask billowing out and sucking in with every overheated breath I had. The twenty first century was supposed to be full of promise and new hope and instead it's full of killer viruses, rapist Presidents, and bad Star Wars movies.
I arrived at my destination after a nearly half hour trek, and in that time I barely saw a single person. A few vehicles up and down the street and a food delivery guy in a rough sounding Toyota were the only indications that I was not the Last Man on Earth. I bought some more weed, then walked the opposite way back home, seeing almost no one. I grabbed a copy of the Sun on the way and read more headlines while slowly meandering, somehow successfully smoking, reading, and locomoting.
The virus holding the world by its balls was obviously a hoax, and the dead were just part of some conspiracy, and people without masks were protesting outside of the White House. Some patriots drove through the protest with a large truck, killing twelve protesters and a cop. When the driver hauled his fat white ass out of the truck they cuffed and arrested him without incident. When his black brother-in-law got out of the passenger seat, his hands in the air, he was riddled with bullets. The driver died from the virus twelve hours later, having contracted it from the crowd. He was still the lucky one; his brother-in-law's body was still slumped on his ass on the asphalt against the open door of the truck.
(Author's Note: I wrote this, as the title suggests, in 2021, from February 22 to April 19 to be specific. It is essentially exactly what happened one day when I went walking to buy some weed. I find it fucked up that some of this shit is actually still happening. I chose to post this in a very raw state that needs editing, just for funsies, to keep it as a flash fiction piece.)
Hermit Rites 005: Music and Reviews // Welcome to Meadowbrook // Finders Keepers // "Entrance"
March 1, 2025
Hello, Hermits, and welcome to the fifth ritual of Hermit Rites! February was a month, eh? It was not quite as stressful for me as January, although it did suck a little bit mid-month when my roommate became my former roommate. This does mean louder music now, so there are some plus sides to being a crazy cat dad living alone. I just have no idea who misses her more, me or Oscar.
February brought changes to how I write in a specific way: the app I was using on my laptop needs to be registered to use (Atlantis) and I have not registered it yet. So I had to switch back to a word processor I like less (AbiWord), but still with no AI functions. In fact, the one I switched back to isn't even supported anymore. It's pretty awesome. The amount I wrote was also pretty okay. I always wish for more but that's because of how many stories I feel inside of me trying to get out. I'm working on a cold horror/cryptid and I started and finished a disgusting little splatterpunk. I think being forced to change part of my writing process in this small way has helped to change my creativity.
Music was almost always in my ears in February, but honestly not as much as January. There were many hours spent without music playing, which was weird as hell but also refreshing. New bands or albums were not explored nearly as much either, instead focusing on the shit that I already knew and loved. Some might spot what part of the month I started writing the aforementioned disgusting splatterpunk (hint: 51). I also listened to a bunch of Darkthrone, who are still I think my favourite band ever, and My Dying Bride, who are in contention for that crown. If I allowed myself to, I could probably write many paragraphs on those two bands and more. Perhaps I should allow myself to?
In comparison to last year, I for sure did not "crush" my reading goals this month, but I did exceed them by reading two one-and-a-half books, the fantastic Welcome to Meadowbrook by Cassandra L. Thompson and most of Finders Keepers by Stephen King. Thompson's prose makes me wish I wasn't on a book buying ban because I want everything she's ever written now. And well, it's Uncle Steve. I'm sadly quite behind in both buying and reading his books, which is why I'm reading so many of his (hopefully) this year.
When it comes to watching movies, I don't do it very often. I used to literally watch a movie a night at one point in my life (early 20's). This month I watched The Substance and I think it's one of my favourite movies. Like, ever.
At the end of this ritual is the short story "Entrance" that I wrote back in 2021. It, like "The Transfer" last month, is raw and un-edited. There are things about it, reading over it again to include it here, that I might expand upon if the idea seeds germinate. As a funny (to me) aside, I realized that a much more recent piece I was working on could actually become a sequel to "Entrance", with just the right amount of tweaks.
Thank you for reading, and please don't be afraid to subscribe. It costs you nothing except email inbox space and it helps me by blowing up my ego giving me a sense of pride and accomplishment.
February's Music and Reviews
This month I kind of wanted to keep things closer to what I already knew. January was a tonne of musical exploration, this month is the opposite for the most part. This is because I wanted to listen to a specific Darkthrone CD, and couldn't find it, but I did find a bunch of other CDs I wanted to listen to that I had not in awhile. This also means that in my last move I lost a lot of CDs. So now I need to replace them, probably via Bandcamp and Revolver.
Some of what I've listened to I've also reviewed, and the reviews are, handily, below. The formats I listen to are Bandcamp [BC], Cassette [CS], Compact Disc [CD]. If you see a release title with "Quotation Marks" around it, it's literally just a song, not a full release. February is the first time I'm using years and genre, it might not continue, so please let me know what you think of that info. Also, the titles in Italics are bands from Canada.
- Fornicus - Storming Heaven [2014] [BC] [Blackened Death]
- Fornicus - Feast for Rats EP [2015] [BC] [Blackened Death]
- Solothus - Summoned from the Void [2013] [BC] [Death Doom]
- Face Rot - Ritual of Death [2014] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Sisyphean - Illusions of Eternity [2017] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Horrendous - Anareta [2015] [CS] [Death Metal]
- Dead Jesus - More Funerals [2007] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Protosequence - Biophagous [2017] [BC] [Technical Deathcore]
- Darkthrone/Mayhem - The True Legends in Black (x2) [CD] [Death Metal/Black Metal]
Once upon a time I saw this in a Super Tunes in Edmonton. At the time, I was kind of just getting deeper into black metal, and had already been a huge fan of Darkthrone. Naturally it follows that I bought it, a sealed(?) copy of Darkthrone and Mayhem together on one Compact Disc for one low-ass price of like $15 or some shit? Years later I found out it's a total bootleg to boot! I had no idea it was not an official release at the time nor could I check as cellular telephones were not smart yet. Had I known when I bought it that it was a bootleg, I'd have paid $20.
That was like seventeen, eighteen years ago, so most of those facts don't matter anymore. What does matter, however, is that the first three tracks are Darkthrone's Thulcandra demo, and the rest are Mayhem's Deathcrush demo, showing just what Norwegian death metal and black metal sounded like back in 1987.
And it sounded like shit!
If, like me, you're already a fan of old black and death metal-and punk too, really-you'll know this is actually a compliment. There's no incredible displays of technicality, there's no fancy production techniques, the only bells and whistles are drums and feedback, respectively. And none of these tracks actually have bells, so my analogy there is really fuckin flimsy. It's the auditory equivalent of eating raw and anemic steak with no sides.
I'll take a second plate please, thanks for holding the parsley garnish. - Ihsahn - angL [2008] [CD] [Progressive Metal]
- Jenn Taiga - Plight [2024] [BC] [Kosmische Musik]
- Lust Hag/Reaping Fields - Prayers Unanswered (Split) [2024] [BC] [Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
- Anachronist - The Fall of Opulence [2024] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Horrendous - The Chills [2012] [CS] [Death Metal]
- Darkthrone - Soulside Journey (x2) [1990] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity [2012] [BC] [Technical Deathgrind]
- Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky [1992] [CD] [Black Metal]
- Darkthrone - Under a Funeral Moon [1993] [CD] [Black Metal]
- Norilsk - The Idea of North [2016] [CS] [Funeral Doom]
- Ruin - Spread Plague Hell [2015] [CS] [Death Metal]
- Walden - Imbolc [2025] [BC] [Folk]
- Mnajdra - The Lady of Verdala [2025] [BC] [Blackened Sludge]
- Judas Priest - British Steel [1980] [CS] [Heavy Metal]
- Zeal and Ardor - Devil is Fine [2017] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Mahpiya Luta - Wowahwala [2023] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Sylfvr - A Nice Evening Stroll/Soul Vapour [2024] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Sylfvrcore]
- Dawn Treader - Bloom & Decay [2024] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Type O Negative - October Rust [1996] [CD] [Gothic Doom]
- Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon [2003] [CD] [Symphonic Black Metal]
- Katatonia - Brave Murder Day [1996] [BC] [Death Doom]
- Hell Hounds - Paint the World EP (x2) [2017] [BC] [Symphonic Metal/Melodeath]
- My Dying Bride - The Manuscript EP (x2) [2013] [BC] [Death Doom]
- Impaled - The Last Gasp [2008] [CD] [Death Metal/Punk]
- My Dying Bride - Feel the Misery (x2) [2015] [BC] [Death Doom]
- Vile Insignia - Bestial Invocation [2015] [BC] [Blackened Death]
- Lifelover - Konkurs [2010] [BC] [Black Metal/DSBM]
- Pig Destroyer - Head Cage [2018] [BC] [Grindcore]
- Morke - Sleepy Eye [2016] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Weald and Woe - For the Good of the Realm (x3) [2023] [BC] [Castle Metal]
- Dimmu Borgir - For All Tid ‘97 Re-release [1994] [CD] [Symphonic Black Metal]
- Junius - Blood is Bright (Remastered) [2006] [BC] [Post Rock]
- Hircine - Old Kings Fall [2022] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
- Hircine - Luna and the Light [2023] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
- Darkthrone - Panzerfaust [1995] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger [1994] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Darkthrone - Goatlord [1996] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Ocean of Ghosts - I Am Awake And My Body Is On Fire (x2) [2022] [BC] [Doom Metal]
- Bloom Dream - It Didn't Have To Be This Way [2024] [BC] [Screamo]
- Alkilith - Hidden Beneath The Veil of Stars (x2) [2022] [BC] [Medieval Fantasy Synth/Dungeon Synth]
- My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings (x4) [2006] [BC] [Gothic Doom]
When I first heard the opening track "To Remain Tombless" on KnuckleTracks 100 it blew my fucking wig off. When I saw the CD in HMV I had to buy it, and since then it has been probably my favourite album of all time.
Aaron's vocals are so sorrowful, and there's not a single death growl until the last like ten seconds of the album. The riffs are punishingly heavy; it's like having a stone around your neck.
There is a quality to this album that I cannot explain. It just transcends everything, which is why I don't listen to it often. When I do it takes over my life for a couple weeks to a month, as it's doing this month. It is not just this album this time, though, it's a good bunch of their work.
I love My Dying Bride-the stone is welcome, it's punishment is beautiful. - Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life [1990] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Cannibal Corpse - Butchered at Birth [1992] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Cannibal Corpse - The Bleeding [1993] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Junius - Forcing Out the Silence (Remastered) (x2) [2004] [BC] [Post Punk/Post Rock]
- Lust Hag - Demo II/Promo 2023 [2023] [BC] [Black Metal/Eleanorcore]
- Cherry Cordial - Cherry Cordial [2022] [BC] [Cozy Synth]
- Griftegard - Solemn. Sacred. Severe. [2009] [BC] [Doom Metal]
- Cara Neir - Portals to a Better, Dead World [2013] [BC] [Blackened Crust]
- Cannibal Corpse - Bloodthirst [1999] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Dark Cascadian Forests - The Gate [2024] [BC] [Forest Synth/Frothcore]
- Vanagandr - Felled Yew [2024] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Howling Fjord - Utgarde Keep (x3) [2025] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Sylfvrcore]
- Doris Melton - Reflected Perspective (x3) [2023] [BC] [Progressive Rock/Dance Rock]
- Dead Neanderthals - Other Worlds [2024] [BC] [Krautrock?]
- Dark Tranquillity - Fiction [2007] [BC] [Melodeath]
- The Dandy Warhols - Summer of Hate (Single) [2024] [BC] [Indie Rock]
- The Dandy Warhols - This Machine [2012] [CD] [Indie Rock]
- VENUS-426 - Deche-Charge Brain Rot Go Brrr [2024] [BC] [Noisecore/Wendycore]
- My Dying Bride - Macabre Cabaret (x2) [2020] [BC] [Doom Metal]
- Katatonia - Viva Emptiness [2003] [BC] [Dark Metal]
- My Dying Bride - A Mortal Binding (x2) [2024] [BC] [Doom Metal]
- Ancient VVisdom - Deathlike [2013] [BC] [Rock]
- Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated [1992] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Fogweaver - Vedurnan (x2) [2020] [BC] [Fantasy Synth/Evergreencore]
- Meridian - The Seventh Sun [2002] [CD] [Black Metal]
- Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide [1998] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Wintersleep - Wintersleep [2008] [BC] [Indie Rock]
- Das Kazchen - Daz Kazchen [2024] [BC] [Blackened Crust]
- Starer - Wind, Breeze or Breath [2023] [BC] [Black Metal/Snow Wolf-core]
- Afsky - Sorg [2018] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Afsky - Ofte jeg drømmer mig død [2020] [BC] [Black Metal]
- AIAA 7 - Suenos eternos [2023] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Ahna - Crimson Dawn [2020] [BC] [Crust]
- Borealys - La ou les eaux se separent [2020] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Anguish - Doomkvadet [2021] [BC] [Doom Metal]
- Aruspex - Hawthorne & Henbane [2024] [BC] [Crust]
- Matthew Good - Avalanche [2002] [CD] [Rock]
- Old Man's Child - Slaves of the World [2009] [CD] [Black Metal]
- Lust Hag - Lascivious Nocturnality [2023] [BC] [Black Metal/Eleanorecore]
- Bolt Thrower - Realm of Chaos [1989] [BC] [Death Metal]
- Bolt Thrower - Cenotaph [1991] [BC] [Death Metal]
- Fire and Sword - Glory [2024] [BC] [Heavy Metal]
- Finger Eleven - Tip (x2) [1998] [CD] [Alternative Rock]
- Rammstein - Herzeleid [1996] [CD] [Industrial Metal]
- Rammstein - Sehnsucht [1998] [CD] [Industrial Metal]
- Dark Cascadian Forests - Cloaked in Darkness, Cloaked in Rain [2023] [BC] [Forest Synth/Frothcore]
- Robes of Snow - The Wooden Wheel: Spring and Shadow [2024] [BC] [Dark Folk]
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - 21 Singles 1984-1998 [2002] [CD] [Post Punk]
- Rammstein - Mutter [2001] [CD] [Industrial Metal]
- Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain [2014] [CD] [Death Metal]
- Weald and Woe - The Fate of Kings and Men [2020] [BC] [Castle Metal]
- An Autumn for Crippled Children - Try Not To Love Everything You Destroy EP [2014] [BC] [Post Black Metal]
- Ancient VVisdom - Sacrificial [2014] [BC] [Occult Rock]
- southern shores - the great lake huron [2025] [BC] [Winter Synth/Timcore]
- Alehoof/Black Axe - Split [2024] [BC] [Crust/Dungeon Synth]
- Onionville/Gorgons Alter - The Sorrow, The King and the Onion Horde (Split) [2024] [BC] [Dungeon Synth]
- Warlocks of Morgul - Caliginous Fortress of Woe [2025] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Unholy Altar - Veil of Death! Shroud of Nite [2025] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Delonix Regia - Purnama [2024] [BC][Comfy Synth]
- Dungavenhooter - Fucked Into Nonexistence [2025] [BC] [Death Metal]
- Dodsferd - Suicide and the Rest of Your Kind Will Follow [2009] [CD] [Black Metal]
- Dodsferd - Wrath [2024] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Apollyon - False Light [2018] [BC] [Blackened Death]
- Iravu - A Fate Worse Than Home [2023] [BC] [Blackened Death]
- Darkthrone - F.O.A.D. [2007] [CD] [Heavy Metal]
- My Dying Bride - The Light at the End of the World [1999] [BC] [Doom Metal]
- Nightshade - Belladonna [2023] [BC] [Synth]
- Auspicium - For the World That Was and That Is to Come [2022] [BC] [Black Metal]
- Ancient VVisdom - A Godlike Inferno [2012] [BC] [Occult Rock]
- Cynic - Re-Traced [BC]
- Junius - The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist (x3) [BC]
- Morke - Sleepy Eye [BC]
- Morke - Sirens (x2) [BC]
- Defenestrate - Sobek EP (x2) [BC]
- Traktat - Dogmatic Accusations [BC]
- Vengeful Spectre - Vengeful Spectre II (x3) [BC]
Now that Dimmu Borgir are officially done, it's time to bring Vengeful Spectre to the forefront of symphonic black metal. Their second album continues musically from their first, bringing in deeper explorations of funeral doom and death metal into the symphonic/folk/black metal they had crafted previously. Using Chinese instruments alongside the blasting blackened drums, heavy riffs, and tortured vocals adds a wonderful layer to play with my eardrums. And these guitar solos! The solo in "Blood and Ashes" is just unfuckinreal. Thematically, the lyrics also continue the story from the first, "...depicting the life and death of a prophet, a religious war of insurgence, and the return of vengeful swordsmen." It's pretty badass. Hit the Bandcamp logo below to buy/stream.
- Cali Bellow - Ciao Bella [BC]
- Fogweaver - Labyrinthine (x2) [BC]
- Fogweaver/Erreth-Akbe - The Immanent Grove [BC]
- Haunter - ...Of the Night [BC]
- A///Plague - Solve Et Coagvla [BC]
- Blood Incantation - Starspawn [BC]
- Katatonia - Last Fair Deal Gone Down (x2) [BC]
- Fogweaver - Fogweaver (x2) [BC]
- Vanagandr - Storms of Empire [BC]
- Gonemage - Handheld Demise (x2) [BC]
- Willow Tea - Faery Circles [BC]
- Hermit Knight - Adventures in Depersonalization [BC]
- Sentenced - The Funeral Album [BC]
- Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth [CD]
- Wyoming Toad - Under a Critter Moon [BC]
- Morke - Forged in Steel and Love (x4) [BC/CS]
- A Rose Dying In The Rain - Por siempre tú [BC]
- A Rose Dying In The Rain/Moongazer - Sky of Fading Lights (Split) [BC]
- Agriculture - The Circle Chant [BC]
- An Autumn for Crippled Children - Lost [BC]
- Delmak-0 - Cryptobiotic [BC]
- Sleep Token - One [BC]
- Sleep Token - Thread the Needle (x3) [BC]
- Al-Namrood - Ana Al Tughian [BC]
- Black Autumn - Losing the Sun/Harvest of Our Bitter Labours [BC]
- Black Autumn/Forodren - In the Vast Emptiness (Split) [BC]
- Party Cannon - Partied in Half (Reissue) [BC]
- Party Cannon - Bong Hit Hospitalisation [BC]
- Netra - Melancolie Urbaine [BC]
- Archgoat - All Christianity Ends [BC]
- Katie Dey - Forever Music (x2) [BC]
- An Autumn for Crippled Children - Trust EP [BC]
- Dark Tranquillity - Fiction (x2) [BC]
- Goblin Soap - Goblin Offensive [BC]
- Morke - We Are the River [BC]
- Cat Tower - Her Majesty's Tower [BC]
- Fuck the Facts - Misery [BC]
- Fuck the Facts - Radiation Sickness (Repulsion Cover) [BC]
- With Malice - Hail Kraken [BC]
- Outre - Ghost Chants [BC]
- Yfel - Beneath The Mountain's Vigil [BC]
- Solstafir - Berdreyminn [BC]
- Iravu - A Fate Worse Than Home (x4) [BC]
I can't stop fucking listening to this album. Iravu's A Fate Worse Than Home is a science-fiction hero's journey concept album (to simplify it). It's a very heavy album in the lyrics department. Musically this is one of those albums that somehow stitches together different bits of extreme metal to create something that is a weird Frankenstein's Monster of awesome. At the core of it all is blackened death metal, but of a technical and progressive variety that brings it up into the Opeth/Death/A Modern Prometheus territories, then Hareesh somehow infuses it all with cosmic synth, ambient, trad metal (riffz) and a bit of psychedelia via the songs "Fear And Lead" and "Home" and it turns into a ten word genre. Hit the Bandcamp logo below to buy/stream.
- Daedric Chamber/Witches Forest - Keepers of Nature (Split) [BC]
- Ov Enochian - Broken [CD]
- Death - Human [CD]
- Ancient VVisdom - Sacrificial [BC]
- Ancient VVisdom - Deathlike [BC]
- Vernal Ecosphere - Finite Planetary Possibilities (x3) [BC] Vernal Ecosphere is cosmic synth that shows you faraway intergalactic ports teeming with life, beings from all over the galaxy, and takes you across the vast expanses of space to get to them. Finite Planetary Possibilities will undoubtedly be fuelling a lot of my own writing soon, as well as fuelling my descent deeper into exploring cosmic synth. Hit the Bandcamp logo below to buy/stream.
- Fog Castle/Foglord/Fogweaver - In the Kingdom of Fog (Split) [BC]
- Fogweaver - Magelight [BC]
- Lust Hag - Lust Hag (x3) [BC/CS]
- Weald + Woe - The Fate of Kings and Men [BC]
- Faery Ring - Mys & Frox (x2) [BC]
- A Rose Dying in The Rain - Cartas de Melancolía [BC]
- Abyssal Slumber - Demo I [BC]
- Adept - Inner Alchemy [BC]
- Dark Cascadian Forests - Cloaked in Darkness, Cloaked in Rain [BC]
- Das Kazchen - Das Kazchen (x2) [BC]
- Snowspire - Approaching Hearthfire [BC]
- Sylfvr - A Nice Evening Stroll / Soul Vapour (x3) [BC]
- Lust Hag - Lascivious Nocturnality [BC]
- The Presidents of the United States of America - II [CD]
- Wintersleep - Untitled [BC]
- Fuck the Facts - Legacy of Hopelessness [BC]
- Fief - II [BC]
- Fiadh Productions - Queen of a New Age: An Enya Tribute [BC]
- Imagine A Boot - No Safe Space For Hate [BC]
- GrÅt Strigoi - The Prophetic Silence [BC]
- Ritual - The Resurrection [CD]
- Cygnets - Prophets [CD]
- Lilyum - Ultimatum [CD]
- Corpsessed - The Dagger & The Chalice [BC]
- Corpsessed - Untitled EP [BC]
- Angel - HRT(errror) [Soundcloud]
- Burning Bethlehem - The Unholy Path to Hell [BC]
- Jim Noone - Soft Celtic Winds (x2) [BC]
- Altar in Darkness - Melodies of Sorrow and Hate [BC]
- An Autumn for Crippled Children - Try Not To Destroy Everything You Love [BC]
- Katatonia - Dead End Kings [BC]
- Lust Hag - Mistress in the Mirror [BC]
- Wrought Iron - Rejoice and Transcend [CD]
- Adrasteis/In Nacht Und Eis - Eisblut (Split) [BC]
- Emasculator - The Disfigured and the Divine [BC]
- Tiamat - Sumerian City [BC]
- Blackbraid - II [BC]
- The Taxpayers - "Circle Protector"/"Evil Everywhere" [BC]
- A Few Good Records - Now That's What I Call Treason 47 [BC]
- Terror Toons/Vater's Vibrators - .rotatoR (Split) [BC]
- No Problem - Your Eyes [BC]
- No Problem - Paranoid Times [BC]
- No Problem - And Now This [BC]
- Willow Tales - Songs for the Friends We Made Along the Way [CS]
- Gladekeeper - Yearntale [CS]
- G.L.O.S.S. - Demo [BC]
- Katatonia - Sky Void of Stars [BC]
- Meadow Grove - The Golden Stag [CS]
- :wumpscut: - Body Census [BC]
- :wumpscut: - Wreath of Barbs [BC]
- Ahna - Crimson Dawn [CS]
- Pipesmoker - Harvested Memories [BC]
- Noire - Dark Reverence (Remastered) [BC]
- Dark Magician - A Very Private Affair [BC]
- Snawfuss/Foglord - North Hill (Split) [BC]
- Spiral Skies - Blues for a Dying Planet [BC]
- Barshasketh - Antinomian Ascetiscm [BC]
- Katatonia - The Fall of Hearts [CD]
- Ancient VVisdom - A Godlike Inferno [BC]
- Partholon - The Ocean Pours In [BC]
- Faith No More - The Real Thing [CD]
- Black XIII - 3 Song EP [CD]
- Katatonia - Viva Emptiness (x2) [BC]
- Buried in Desolation - Buried in Desolation [BC]
- Afsky - Om hundrede år (x2) [BC]
- Agariik - Reality is Hierarchy [BC]
- Altars of Grief - Iris [BC]
- Blackbraid - "Warriors" [BC]
- Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst [CD]
- Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero [CD]
- Daear - In the Depths of Nothingness [CD]
- Iravu - Unreleased 2022 Demo (x2) [Discord]
- Fivewilldie - Slung From A Tree [CD]
- Fivewilldie - Year of the Dead [CD]
- Adele - 21 [CD]
- King Woman - Doubt (x2) [BC]
- Arsis - Leper's Caress [CD]
- Black Pestilence - Urban Hell Rhythmics [CD]
- Scimitar - Black Waters [CD]
- Tyrant - Limitations [CD]
- Tekarra - Tekarra [CD]
- Slough Feg - New Organon [BC]
- Snowcloak - Bound by Frost [BC]
- Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us [BC]
- Helvellyn - Hordes of White Light [CD]
- Tumultuous Ruin - An Abscess on the Heart of the State [BC]
- Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination [CD]
- My Dying Bride - The Light at the End of the World (x2) [BC]
- Vreid - V [CD]
- The Great and Secret Show - Clive Barker
- Everville - Clive Barker
- Beast of Burden - Judith Sonnet
- Looking for Alaska - John Green
- The Talisman - Stephen King & Peter Straub
- Umbra: Sentient Stars - Amber Toro
- Fragments of Perfection: Ballads of Bemond Book 1 - Amber Toro
- Black House - Stephen King & Peter Straub
- Madness in Tandem - RJ Powell
- Home Before Dark - Riley Sager
- The Unloved - John Saul
- Some Kind of Monster - Tim Waggoner*
- The Witch's Boy - Kelly Barnhill
- Fieres - Jendra Berri
- In the Land of the Pigs: A Western Horror Novella - Caesar Ruell
- The Scampering - Alana K Drex & A.W. Mason
- Vanilla - Mona Kabbani
- The Window in the Ground - Steve Stred
- The Stone Door - Steve Stred
- Eight Cases of Jane - RJ Powell
- Ghost Story - Peter Straub
- No Gods for Drowning - Hailey Piper
- My Heart is a Chainsaw - Stephen Graham Jones
- Incarnate - Steve Stred
- Dollface - RJ Powell
- Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer
- Authority - Jeff VanderMeer
- Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer
- Fiend - Dr. F.
- Psychopath - Dr. F.
- Ritual - Steve Stred
- Communion - Steve Stred
- Sacrament - Steve Stred
- Fan Fiction - Brent Spiner
- When I Look At The Sky All I See Are Stars - Steve Stred
- Scratches - Joshua Marsella
- Severed - Joshua Marsella
- We're Here: An Anthology of LGBTQ+ Horror
- Miumi-U Teaches Japanese Shibari - Miumi-U
- In Darkness, Delight Volume Two: Creatures of the Night
- The Silent Patient - Alexander Michelides
- The Demonologist - Andrew Pyper
- Mine - Robert. R McCammon
- A Demon's Book of Shadows - Amanda Casey*
- The Voyage of the Space Beagle - A.E. Van Vogt
In 2024 Cassandra L Thompson released Welcome to Meadowbrook, a gothic horror novel that spans decades. The main character of the novel is Meadowbrook herself, a building in the middle of nowhere made of stone, faded burgundy carpets, marble, and gold. She been a hotel for the rich, a psychiatric facility, a casino, and more.
We meet Olivia, Randall, Helen, Michael, and of course Harold through the decades and come to care about them and their situation within the very spooky building. The humans in the story move the many plot threads forward, but the Meadowbrook sometimes moves them backwards as well...
There are so many going on that I don't want to give too much away; it's all so beautifully woven together. The imagery that Cassandra conjures and her word choices to do so are "...deliciously historical..." to quote a part of this book I read and re-read, and even took a photo of with my phone when I read it. I loved Welcome to Meadowbrook. I think the Meadowbrook and I are going to be acquainted again before the end of the year.
Continuing off from Mr Mercedes this novel does not. I expected it would, but didn't know how exactly, and so I have begun to write this while about to start page 127 of 434.
What this story so far is, is a back and forth between the 1970's and 2000's. A famous author is murdered, his money and Moleskines stolen and buried in a trunk. The killer gets caught for something else, and heaved into prison for life. A family is struggling financially with the parents on the verge of possible divorce, and the young son finds a fallen tree with a trunk buried under it. He digs it up, finds it is full of money and notebooks, and quietly gets it home.
The story starts progressing faster and faster at about the middle, when a certain writer's killer is released from prison and wants the money and notebooks back. Naturally this is written in the same tone as most Stephen King novels, and the way he writes and the way my brain works makes it so I'm right there. I see, hear, and smell the heads exploding under tires, I watch hungover men puke in jail cells, I'm a fly on the wall when big brothers worry about their little sisters.
Unfortunately, since I've been in a weird head-space this month, I have not finished reading Finder's Keepers, so this is as far as the review goes. I'll have the rest of my thoughts ready next month.
I have started writing this review on the night of the fourth of February, 2025. I've just come from my neighbour's house after watching The Substance, one of them new talkies I've wanted to watch for awhile now. The following contains some spoilers.
At it's most surface appearance, The Substance is a body horror movie that is--in just that genre--amazing. The effects are like 99% practical, and Coralie Fargeat, the director, took part not just in designing the effects and prosthetics, but in their use. Some of it is quite gross (complimentary), and possibly triggering for some. It's not just the visuals either, but the sounds too, including the squish and squelch of sewing flesh back together, and the music. In some scenes everything comes together to become extremely claustrophobic and uncomfortable, which, I mean, is one of the reasons some of us watch horror, eh? Shout out to the elevator/finger nail scene for being particularly effective.
It's once you get barely under the surface, only about as deep as a needle goes to find a vein, that is when The Substance becomes so much more than just a body horror movie that does what it says on the tin.
Because this isn't a movie.
The Substance is a fucking film.
Demi Moore stars as an aging actress named Elisabeth Sparkle who is fired from her aerobics show on her fiftieth birthday. She then gets into a car accident on the way home, is uninjured somehow, and at the hospital is surreptitiously given a flash drive by the nurse. Curiosity overcomes her, and she plugs it into her TV. A video plays, offering her the ability to become her younger, better self again, with a few catches. She calls the number on the flash drive, goes to the sketchy alley to get the black market drug that gives the movie it's name, The Substance, and goes home. In her bathroom she's checking herself out and decides to pull the trigger. Well, push the plunger, and then out of her back she gives birth to Sue.
Sue, played by Margaret Qualley, then sees the ad the network placed to find a replacement for Elisabeth, and goes in. And gets the job. Elisabeth's show is renamed Pump It Up, and Sue becomes the biggest name in television.
Now here is where the catches in the use of the Substance begin to wear at the tenuous relationship of Elisabeth and Sue, shall we say, with some serious shit hitting some pretty big fans. As the film progresses, the horrors progress, and the cinematography, music, costumes, and prosthetics progress along with them to lead to an incredible crescendo of violence that brings one of the most beautifully gory endings that will sit right alongside classics like Carrie and The Fly and Requiem for a Dream.
Thematically, The Substance talks about beauty standards for women and the male gaze throughout. It tackles topics like aging, misogyny, the power that men in male-dominated fields hold and the hypocrisy they spew. The whole thing is a giant fuck you to everything that Hollywood is, was, and forever shall be, and will go down as a goddamn classic as a result.
Nominations for the film are plentiful, with a few wins, and every single one is deserved. Huge note for the cinematography and sound design of The Substance, I would give this film awards just in the first like twenty minutes alone.
I remember when Demi Moore was on the cover of everything in the 90's. And if she wasn't on the cover, her name was because she was inside. To see her tackle being an aging star so head on like this is fantastic.
Margaret Qualley I've never seen nor heard of before seeing The Substance, but holy shit she's good. Her descent into madness is intense, especially with the hyperrealistic camera work and colours used by Coralie Fargeat giving it such a visceral feeling.
Also, a special note on Dennis Quaid, who plays the executive who fires Elisabeth and hires Sue. Ray Liotta was originally cast for the role, but sadly died. I would love to have seen his take on the character (Ray Liotta is fantastic), but Dennis Quaid plays every stereotype of a shitty fake executive ever and he's so damn good at it, going so far as to Denethor several pounds of shrimp in one scene and then immediately running over and glad (shrimp) handing some other old guy who means nothing to no one to avoid answering Elisabeth's questions.
Entrance
The three teenagers huddled behind the fence in the alley, beside a garbage can that reeked of diapers and Chef Boyardee. Dim light was provided by a bare bulb shining above a garage door a few houses down. Each youth was wearing the same band's hoodie with the hoods up and balaclavas over their green face masks. If their family saw them this way they wouldn't be able to tell who was who, but each of the kids knew the others just as they knew themselves.
Gareth's grey eyes shone with excitement. "Downstairs," he whispered. "They have video games and booze." His back was to the fence and his round boyish face was lit up by the garage light. The balaclava was terrible at obscuring the wearer; Gareth's different eye colour alone singled him out in this town as a point of ridicule, and his size did not help either.
"What's upstairs?" Sean's eyes were completely in shadow. The barest suggestion of angular features was discernible in the gloom of his hood. His hands opened and closed in his flapping way in the single pocket.
"Nothing we want to fuck with."
Sean nodded. "Sounds good."
As per their usual, Corey didn't say a word. They hated talking. Confirming a go signal with a right thumb up, Corey stood up and under their careful hand, the gate into the backyard of the Henderson's was opened soundlessly. The WD-40 they sprayed on the hinges probably helped as well.
The light from above the unknown garage door did not follow the trio into the Hendersons's yard. The darkness was thicker there. It pressed down onto the shoulders of the kids and squeezed their chests. All three felt their hearts speed up and reality sharpen with adrenaline.
Corey reached behind themself to grab Gareth's hand. Gareth reached behind him to grab Sean. A three link chain of teenagers made its way from the gate to the side of the shed in the corner. With their finger over their lips, gesturing for Gareth and Sean to stay quiet and get low, Corey made their way to the side of the house.
"The hell are they doing?" Gareth whispered.
"Fucked if I know, mate." Sean's enthusiasm for this endeavour was beginning to dissipate already. "They're a bit of a nutter," he said matter-of-fact.
Corey stopped, stooped, and after a moment of fiddling with something, they gestured for the others to come. They had opened the window to the basement, an unexpected and more than welcome development, if Gareth could fit through. If not, they would go with Plan A, breaking in through the back door.
"Well fuck Corey, do you think?" Gareth was skeptical, but Corey popped up their thumb again, then turned it to three quarters. "That's what I was thinking. I'll give it a go."
Sean, the smallest of the group, went down first. He lit his lighter, guiding Corey to follow. The point of ingress was above the washer and dryer. Getting in and out would be easier this way, but there was a risk of noise. The two agreed that Gareth would probably fit, then helped him down into the laundry room of the Henderson's.
The room was barely big enough for the washer, dryer, and two piles of clothes without the door open. Housing three teenagers made it a cramped and hot affair, but the door stayed closed until all three were fully inside and ready. Corey opened the door like they opened the gate, slowly and carefully. The laundry room opened up to a three-way hall. On the right was a rumpus room, directly ahead was stairs leading up with a storage room door to the left of that, and at the end of the hall was probably a bedroom. Gareth and Sean immediately began investigating the rumpus room while Corey stayed behind and looked into the storage room under the stairs.
Sean pulled out a small torch from his pocket, lighting up the rumpus room. It was a simple rectangle, almost a square, and instead of a door it boasted a simple opening. The television sat on a corner stand, with a pair of green and beat up looking leather chesterfields along the opposing walls. A landscape painting hung above each, one probably a David Lidbetter and the other maybe a Gregory Hardy or someone similar. Sean took his eyes off the walls and empty backpacks were filled. Connected to the ancient Sony television was some classic vintage gaming systems, and each boasted a modest but clearly well curated collection of games.
"Why were you using your lighter if you have a flashlight?" Gareth's whisper would crumble under the weight of a butterfly, which still surprised Sean after knowing him since they were wee.
"Less light to filter out of the room, less light to cause attention." Sean narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"Just wondering."
The last of the booty was stored in the backpacks and the two boys stood up, ready to make their escape. Corey was not in sight.
"Core?" Sean was glad no one could see his face. He knew his eyes were bugging out, he knew his mouth was hanging open, and he could do nothing about it. "Core where the fuck?" The torch lit up the short hall just as Corey backed out of the storage room and closed the door. They looked over at Sean, their eyes squinting into the light, raising a middle finger.
"Sorry, mate." Sean lowered the torch and the trio filed back into the laundry room. They exited out the window, Sean going first while Corey passed the backpacks out. Corey clambered out and then helped Sean get Gareth out. Slowly they reformed a chain and picked their path away from the Henderson property, carrying away Henderson property.
Fifteen minutes later, Gareth broke the silence first. "Hey Corey, besides the booze, what all was in that room?" Corey's only response was to shake their head.
(Dustin Ekman, June 16, 2021)
Hermit Rites 004: Music Reviews // Mr. Mercedes // "The Transfer"
February 1, 2025
Hello Hermits! Welcome to the fourth ritual of Hermit Rites. The last month has been interesting to say the least, and getting these arcane spells together was a bit different, and difficult. I'm going through some stuff, as is the rest of the world, and to add to that we are all being bombarded by right wing nazi bullshit from the people that are, hypothetically, supposed to be preventing that shit, and we are being assaulted with propaganda and lies from the people we are, again hypothetically, supposed to be trusting the most.
In December and January I was given a large amount of time to just do whatever I wanted to, and what I wanted to do was listen to an absurd amount of music, read as much as I could, and write as much as I could. As a direct result, this ritual features the full list of music I listened to in January, a review for Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King, and a raw and unedited short story called "The Transfer" from 2023.
Making sure I took the time afforded me, I was also able to finish writing and edit my debut novella. It took me a little over a year to finally get it right, and I am beyond excited to unleash it. Later today all the details will be published in its own post.
Thank you for reading, and don't be afraid to subscribe.
January 2025 Music
I have never kept track of what I listen to in a month like this before, even when I was a music reviewer. The only releases I kept track of back then were the ones I reviewed. One of the many things I've decided to hyperfixate on this year is what I listen to, and to write about it. I've missed writing about and reviewing music, and with my most recent Interview with Mother Endless being the first interview I've done in what feels like close to a decade ripping that bandage off, I have the itch again. But now that I have interviewed Mother Endless, I don't want to just chat with musicians, but also wrestlers and my fellow writers. Meaning, Hermit Rites is now getting a more firm direction with what you'll be finding in this turnbuckle of Substack.
A huge chunk of what is on this list is stuff that I've listened to for the first time EVER. Lots of it is my usual, but even in the genres I genrelly frequent (yes I said that) there are bands that are new to me in this list. I've also been exploring dungeon synth thanks to my friend Bariann (with others who will come to light). She is not just the small woodland creature introducing me to the music, but also the fierce antifascist vegan who runs Fiadh Productions out of New York. So if this list (and any others in the future) seems a bit Fiadh-biased, it is. Bariann is also introducing me to the equally antifascist group of musicians that create these pastoral woods and raging seas that fuel my writing of late, and even a few regular fans.
At about half-way through January I had already listened to over 80 releases and I told my friends, but they didn't say anything because I have no friends and they were like "how can you listen to so much music?" And the answers are ADHD, autism, self-isolation, depression, and the desire to only listen to music, read, write, and watch professional wrestling multitudinous.
This boombox survived an apartment fire
It was about the 20th of the month when I dug out my old Sony boombox that survived an apartment fire so that I could listen to cassettes, which is one of my favourite formats to listen to music with. So now I have a Sony CD/iPod player and a Sony CD/cassette player. Just need to complete the office with a Sony CD/record player.
Some of what I've listened to I've also reviewed, and the reviews are, handily, below. The formats I listen to are Bandcamp [BC], Cassette [CS], Compact Disc [CD], and (if I had a player) Vinyl [LP] [10"] [7"]. And if you see a release title with "Quotation Marks" around it, it's literally just a song, not a full release.
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King starts off in a fashion we Constant Readers are familiar with. An older man encounters a younger, single mom. She has an issue, he's kind enough to help, maybe this will lead to a complete subversion of everything we think is happening? Yeah, it sure does. All three-man, mom, and baby, as well as a bunch of other people-get run over by a Mercedes and die in the cold, foggy parking lot at a job fair.
And that's how it starts, remember. That's twelve pages.
Enter Bill Hodges, a retired police detective. He's sitting in his La-Z-Boy and considering killing himself, but then he gets a letter from the perpetrator of one of the few cases Hodges hasn't solved, the Mercedes Killer. This gets Hodges going, gets him out of his depression and gets him looking into things. Looking into things he legally should not be, mind you.
We are introduced to characters we obviously are supposed to cheer for: Jerome, the black kid who is friends with Hodges; Holly Gibney, the middle-aged woman with OCD and possibly other mental health afflictions; Jerome's mom and sister and dog; Janey, Holly's cousin. We are also introduced to a pair of characters who we almost immediately despise, Janey's aunt and uncle. The uncle is a nobody in the grand scheme of things, but hot damn is Aunt Charlotte a fucking cunt. I almost wished she would have run into Mr Mercedes at some point in time. This leads me to think that Stephen has been reading his son Joe's works a lot, because that dude can write some seriously shitty humans. I almost threw my copy of The Fireman at the wall because of one of the antagonists is such a shitpile.
The plot thickens. People we don't expect to die, do, and in so doing the hinges holding Mr. Mercedes's brain together come off. Shit gets real, and shit hits the fan, and we, the reader, get hit in the face with it. The ending of the book comes fast and hard, and in a typical Stephen King fashion: adrenaline floods the reader, and the closer we get to the end we're asking how it's going to end, and we know goddamn well that it's not going to be good for everyone involved. There's high stakes involved in a way Constant Readers are used to (Insomnia, anyone?) but a few were lost on me a little bit because this book is from a decade ago and I already own the sequels. I am very excited to read Finders Keepers, the next book in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, which I'm reading next.
The Transfer
After work on a payday awhile ago, I was told by my boss I was getting a transfer. He had no idea I had filed for one, and I told him that I didn't. I liked my job and I figured if I stayed long enough and worked my ass off (which I did) I would eventually become assistant manager. My boss and I were both stumped about my transfer, but it was put through by people higher up than him, so there was nothing else to do but go home and pack my belongings. There wasn't much, I lived very minimalistic.
Two days later, Sunday, the movers plopped me into a brand new two bedroom corner apartment above an old man with a small dog and below a young woman, also with a small dog, but louder. Both suites beside me were empty. The walls were painfully bright white. The smell of fresh paint was sharp. The movers, hired by Omnibank and not me, put all my stuff mostly away, I just finished the laundry and small things.
Monday I reported for work, and found out my new boss, Centola, was not going to be there until Thursday. A young teller named Jamie handed me a file with my name on it, and welcomed me. Inside it was my hiring package detailing my promotion to assistant manager-not just a transfer. Jamie once again proved invaluable by showing me around the place and introducing me to the other three tellers and our security guard, a Korean War veteran named Gerry. I soon found out that Gerry was a full thirty years older than he looked and was not just a veteran in Korea but a hero in World War II that made Rambo look like a damsel in distress. He was in his nineties and still packing a sidearm, his own teeth, and his own hair.
Tuesday was basically the same. I was still learning the names of the tellers, and meeting the regular customers of this Omnibank branch, so by the end of the day my brain was fried. I asked everyone if they'd join me for a drink at the nearest bar before we went home, and everyone joined in.
A round of beers later, with a ginger ale for me, and our crew dispersed. Madison, Gabby, and Clinton went home, while Jamie and I stayed for another. She let her gaze linger at times. I knew I was being flirted with, but did not lead on. Mixing work and love rarely worked out, especially since I was a full decade older than Jamie. The temptation was there, however, don't get me wrong. She was beautiful; red hair, blue eyes, pale as hell, the thick thighs that save lives, Scottish accent.
Wednesday came and Jamie was giving me a cold shoulder, or at least one that had chilled a little after the night before. The others smiled at me like conspirators. The whole day was awkward and time passed so slowly that it felt like a twelve hour shift in a coal mine.
I was nicely surprised around eleven when a pair of elderly men came in, two of my old clients from my old branch. They decided they wanted to follow me to this newer, bigger Omnibank, despite being a full fifteen minute bus ride extra. After that conversation the day began to drag again.
I invited everyone out for drinks, but this time only Jamie took up my offer. She again seemed flirtatious, and this time I called her on it, explaining why I felt work and romance didn't work out. She understood, or so she said. The rest of the night was great, with no more awkwardness.
Thursday came, and I finally met Centola. She arrived at the Omnibank branch shortly after I had. She came right up to me and introduced herself, handshake at the ready, pleasantly surprised that I wasn't middle aged. She also handed me a coffee from the roaster down the road, sipping one of her own. She told me she already knew me by my work, and that was why she had requested my transfer, and given me a promotion.
I'm sure I blushed, red like a clown's nose. Never had I been given such praise; it was quite embarrassing but part of me also loved it. I think I stammered out a thank you, and she walked away with a nod.
The rest of the day is a blur. I was on pure autopilot until well after I got home. I know I met a few people, more long-time clients of this Omnibank branch, but I cannot put a single name to any face. I also know I ordered a pizza, because my first real memory after meeting Centola was putting the empty box aside and turning the TV up. I was surprised that it was a large box, and not an individual size. I was watching wrestling, and the main event was about to come on, which meant it was quarter to eight. Pretty much twelve hours of a day, smudged to strange colours in my memory. I watched Kenny Omega defend the AEW World Championship against Ricochet, then went to my fridge. I became strangely aware I had no real emotional connection to anything at the time, I had become very cold to my surroundings, and I took a root beer out and cracked it open. How the hell, I thought, did I lose half a day from a compliment?
The emotional impact came with the taste of vanilla notes, and was like a bullet. Fast and painful, small at first then ripping a huge hole as it exited. The realization that I had fallen in love with Centola was not like some majestic dawning. It was like being in the shadow of a thousand suns. I knew love at first sight didn't exist, and thought love in general probably didn't either. Yet at the thought of Centola and her beautiful brown skin and dark hair and alluring scent, I lost myself.
I knelt down, the fridge still open and the root beer spilling out onto the floor. I could not reason how something that didn't exist could exist, and within me no less.
I cleaned up my mess and went to bed. I knew what I had to do in the morning.
Friday dawned and I woke up at six, showered, had a smoothie and went to the grocery store on the way to work. I bought the twelve freshest, reddest roses, which were wrapped with a card and chocolates. I went to work, put them all on Centola's desk, and waited. When she got to work she waved at me, gave me another coffee, then went to her office. Five minutes later, but feeling like fifty, Centola called my extension and asked me into her office. My heart fluttered.
When I went in she had her feet on the desk and was reclined in her chair. The roses were in one hand, and she was eating chocolates with the other.
She looked me in the eye, and nodded. She asked me if my coffee was good. I said it was. She told me to go grab it and come back. I did. I sat down in the chair in front of her desk. Again she nodded, slowly, and licked her lips. Her tongue was thin, forked. Immediately fear flooded my body and I knew I was in over my head. She stood, our eyes locked until she told me to look at the floor. I could do nothing but obey, and I liked it. She told me to do lots of things after, and I obeyed, and I liked it.
Afterwards, both of us dressed again, she picked up her phone and whispered with a smile. A moment later Jamie came into the office, and Centola showed her how submissive I was. Jamie tried to give me the same commands, and I obeyed her too. Then Madison after. Centola told me to drink my hours-cold coffee after Clinton was done, and then the blur begins again.
When I came to, I was in a bed. It wasn't mine. The emotional coldness was back. The overhead light was on and I was naked as a jaybird. The room was cool, the window open. The night outside was dark, a few stars in the sky. I sat up, stiff everywhere, made my way to my feet and went to the window. It looked out onto a dark alley. The door behind me opened, and I spun. Centola looked at me, noticing my stiffness, and came forward.
Her legs didn't move, and she was a full inch above the ground. She smiled, her sharp teeth bright, and took my stiffness into her hand. She said the most wonderful words I've ever heard.
"You cannot leave. You are mine." She gave me a coffee, and I drank it gratefully.
(Dustin Ekman, June 5, 2023)
Hermit Rites 003:Life, Writing, and Reading: 2024 Wrap Up!
January 1, 2025
Happy New Year!(?) Hermit Rites is three months old! I am still learning how to use Substack, and I probably will always be learning how to use Substack. It's giving me old school MySpace vibes at times. We, the users, are seemingly not getting used. Our data is being harvested, yes, but it so far seems like it's actually for us to connect to each other, not to disconnect us into a frothing rage.
Last year was a benchmark year for me in fuck near all aspects of my life. I opened 2024 with heartache and honest to fuck misery. I am closing 2024 with residual bruising and a lot of hope. For the first time in a long time I am in a wonderful relationship with someone who makes me feel loved and respected. I have a great home life with my cat Oscar and our roommate. I am improving my five pin bowling average slowly. I have a job that doesn't completely drain me, and another one that does.
Since November of 2023 I have added nine more piercings to my body for a total of twelve, and a few more tattoo sessions to bring my tattoo total up to thirteen. I am finally looking closer to the person I wanted to look like as a kid.
My extreme horror story "The Nightmare", my poems "Queen Goddess" and "Mapwork", a drabble, and my interview with professional wrestling sensation Mother Endless were all published via Death Wish Poetry in 2024. In December of 2023 I started writing a novella and now it is mostly finished. It's currently with beta readers, with a release date of April 18, 2025. I will be doing a cover and title reveal in the next issue of Hermit Rites, so that has been keeping me excited. And finally, over 2023 I read 45 books. My goal was twelve, one per month. Anything else was extra. I think I did okay with my goal. The books are listed below; bold text is a goal book, and the photo at the top is also the goal books. Books listed with a star (*) beside them are books I do not own physically.
Hermit Rites 002: Begrime! Drabble! Werewolf Novelette! Steve Stred's Window and Door!
December 1, 2024
Begrime Exemious, Pearl Malle, Feeding, Dripfeeder - Friday, November 8, 2024 - Temple
I have not written a live music review in years! The night started with Dripfeeder, a crusty d-beat band that I've had the pleasure of seeing twice now. The first time was at The Dive Bar, opening for Idaho's Weald+Woe just a few months ago. I have been listening to a lot more d-beat and crust lately, so those elements within Dripfeeder presented themselves to me much more this time around, and I've discovered that I love this band.
Feeding sound like old school death metal crossed with punk. And by old school I mean these guys sounded like they were a Florida band, something a lot of Edmonton bands used to try to pass off and fail hard at. Feeding, however, do not. I'm hoping I see these guys again soon.
Pearl Malle was up next, and this was another band I'd never heard before, nor even heard of. From Calgary, they were a weird black metal/punk/d-beat monster that I loved. I actually forgot to take a photo of them, but their singer had a super cool moustache, and I bought their patch.
Begrime Exemious are probably one of those bands where when I write of them, there will inevitably be gushing praise. I have loved this band since June 30, 2010, when I first saw them play at New City Suburbs with Death Toll Rising (RIP) and Bison.
As I'm sure you can tell from the above paragraph, Begrime were my main selling point to go to this show, and once again they absolutely killed it. And my neck. The first few songs were progressively faster and faster, with Derek whipping the crowd into a frenzy between each one. I think, as far as the set list goes, they were playing stuff from damn near the whole discography too, so that was dope. Like Dripfeeder, I just saw them at Dive Bar a few months ago with Weald+Woe, but like fuck I could get tired of seeing them.
There is genuinely a lot of thrash, black and death metal in this city, and has been for probably thirty to forty years, and I honestly think Begrime Exemious should be in the conversation for top ten in Edmonton. They have the riffs, the attitudes, and the outright talent. They are also on one of the best labels for death metal, Dark Descent Records, so it's really just a Decibel Mag tour away for them to completely blow up.
(After Begrime Exemious was Scalding, but I had to leave before they played.).
Drabble V - Battlefield: Kitchen
The cook's key unlocked the front doors, and his hands locked them behind him as he entered the restaurant. He disarmed the alarm, turned the kitchen lights, air system, grills and fryer all on, then set the dish pit up.
It was Sunday, probably going to be busy, but he didn't rush making the Hollandaise. If you rush it, you ruin it. He navigated the sauce, dishes, and the arrival of coworkers easily.
The kitchen was ready for war. Soon enough the smell of bacon crisping brought the first wave of hungry customers to their tables and the battle began.
Drabble VI - Wrestle Wriot
The heavy stench of tension bloated the air he breathed. He could cut it with a knife, thick as a throat. The crowd was deathly silent for three seconds, the longest three seconds of his life. The booing started quietly as the referee raised his arm in victory. The crowd erupted in chaos near the ring as he was handed the belt.
The fans began to riot.
Plastic cups shattered cheaply across his face as he sneered, holding his world championship high. When the chairs began to be thrown into the ring, he and his opponent ran to the back.
Drabble VIII - Magpies
A family of birds twirled and wheeled in the air above me. They were a trio of unframed art on a canvas of vibrant cerulean. Three magpies, chasing and soaring.
The sun was low, but not low enough for pink and orange to yet stain the blue. Clouds were nonexistent. I ignored the derelict buildings in view as I looked up and watched the wonders unfold.
A car was coming up behind me, and despite being on the sidewalk, I still shoulder-checked. You can't trust this street without your wits about you.
The birds roosted, and I continued my walk.
Update on Werewolf Novelette
It's done. It's done. It's finally done... but not enough to type The End at the end yet. 34,500+ words later, what I planned to be a werewolf horror novelette is now on the longer side of a novella. All depending on what alpha readers say and what some of my own ideas bring together, this may in fact grow to novel length. I've never done this before, I don't know. The only things I do know are that it has an official title and an official cover (by Juniper Hartmann/Red Fox Creative) and a planned release date of April 18, 2025. In other writings, I have worked on more drabble, rough drafted more horrors, and submitted more to Death Wish Poetry that will be available to read before the next Hermit Rites.The Window in the Ground and The Stone Door by Steve Stred
Steve Stred's novella The Window in the Ground is a window to horror told through the eyes (and pen) of a fifteen year old boy who is shown the town's darkest secret a full three years before he is supposed to be.
His life is never the same again, and we get to experience the same terrifying things that he does in the aftermath of being shown the terrifying and logic defying window.
Taking place at the same time as The Window in the Ground, The Stone Door opens to more horrors than we originally imagined.
We learn more about the lore of the universe that Steve Stred is creating, and it is a very rich universe despite being a total of not quite 200 pages between the two novellas. The Stone Door focuses on two new characters and how they (and the town) deal with the events in The Window in the Ground.
I loved every page of it, and even though it satisfies it still leaves you wanting more. Good thing there is a related novel coming in 2025.
Hermit Rites 001: Introduction, Drabble, Praise for R.J. Powell, Update on Werewolves
November 4, 2024
In 000 I got super metaphorical and fun when introducing myself and this website. In this, the first proper issue, I wanted to start with a more grounded and serious introduction to Hermit Rites and what my current goals are with it. I am creating Hermit Rites not just because I missed writing about music/books/shit I love--and I do miss it, immensely--but because I wanted to devote more time to writing fiction and poetry as well; so to bring it all together gives me one outlet for both. Depending on my mood, each 'issue' might be very different from the last, especially as right now there is no one else involved in Hermit Rites. Some might be long. Some short. Some, like this one, are bookish, others will be more music obsessed. How often they come out, I don't know, but I am hoping monthly.
I would love to have a future physical Hermit Rites, but what writer doesn't want all of their writings in print, to touch and hold? Hopefully there are enough physical humans interacting with what I bring to the digital version that it warrants a physical version of Hermit Rites.
Will Hermit Rites impact my current work with Death Wish Poetry, where I am a staff writer, and indeed am their Deranged Prince of Darkness? No. I plan on still ruining King Loke's day with my emailed horrors whenever they are required, and he will ruin your day as he sees fit to post said horrors to the always growing and always amazing Death Wish Poetry website.
What will each issue of Hermit Rites contain? Probably a mix of everything. This one contains a mixture of three of my old drabble (stories that consist of exactly one hundred words), three of my goodreads reviews of three of R.J. Powell's novellas, and as an update on the werewolf novelette I'm writing.
Thank you for being here. Hail Satan, Praise Nabu.
Drabble I: The Shambler
His eyes scanned the stars above, the heavens cold and emotionless. Even in this city, they somehow made him feel alive, those distant points.
A foot scraping behind him brought his attention back down to earth. He turned to the movement, seeing someone he didn't know shambling in approach. A local drunk, probably, as Spanky Pete's was just down the alley he was currently ruminating in. Even still, a knot of fear grew within.
"Spare change?" the shambler asked.
"No, sorry."
"Have a good night."
"You too."
The shambler passed, reeking of liquor. He himself continued stargazing, his fear abated.
Drabble II: Heck Puppies
Three boys crouched behind the oak, watching Caroline. She was about to ring the doorbell of the old scientist's place, then run away.
As she poked toward the bell, dogs started howling inside. She fell back with a scream.
As she scrambled up, the door opened and Old Man McCarthy ran out hollering.
Scared further, Caroline fell to her hands and knees. Just as the scientist was about to grab her, the boys stormed to protect their friend.
The dogs ran outside and pounced. They weren't dogs of this world, but Hellhounds, and they killed and ate the screaming children.
Drabble III: Dragonfire
The jagged peaks of the Kranylian mountain range stabbed and buried themselves in the grey clouds. There would be more snow that night, as if there wasn't enough to nearly bury a large man should he fall off his mount.
Gavin strategically placed three logs on the fire, to keep it burning but to keep the light low. His teacher watched on, silent. This was Gavin's test, and the only way to succeed was to survive. Gavin laid a strong protective circle, to blind eyes to the fire and the men before it.
At midnight, dragonfire proved Gavin had failed.
Praise for R.J. Powell
If my memory serves right, R.J. Powell started off like a lot of self-published horror authors: Bookstagram. Just a girl who loves gory horror that finally says fuck it, and writes her own story, and writes it well. I cannot remember when I started following R.J. Powell on Bookstagram, it was either shortly before or after her first book came out, and I know there's a way to check, but whatever. That part isn't important. What is, is that she has released four novellas and I have read three, and I loved all three of them. (The other part that is important is her dog is so fucking cute it hurts.) What follows is my three Goodreads reviews of those little books.
R.J.'s fourth novella, Madness in Tandem: Menage a Trois, a sequel to her first release Madness in Tandem, is available through her website. I just keep forgetting to buy it because ADHD. Maybe writing this will help it stick in my head better and I'll finally remember on Friday (it's Monday).
R.J. Powell - Madness in Tandem
This is disgusting. Abhorrent. Repulsive. I wish it was longer, because I loved every page. Madness in Tandem is my first from RJ Powell. RJ is a sick freak, possibly needs a few years of therapy, and I think she's an autobuy author now. After also talking to her a few times in the last few months, I've also realized she's an amazing human and more than deserves the support of the splatterpunk community.
R.J. Powell - eight cases of Jane
The second novella from RJ Powell is a tantalizing tale of a woman who murders men and is interviewed by a psychiatrist. On the surface, eight cases of Jane is not anywhere near as disgusting as RJ's first novella, Madness in Tandem (also a five-star read), but after you let it sit and marinate in your memory for awhile you realize it might be even more disturbing.
Jane Murphy is a fantastic character. She is written so vibrantly and you almost can't help but love her. She's a smart and classy Southern gal. She just happened to have killed a few people, in very violent and terrifying ways, and we get to find out just how she did it. And why.
R.J. Powell - Dollface
R.J. has proven why she's amazing once again with this ultra disgusting, ultra vile, ultra heartwarming revenge tale.
If you're already a splatterpunk fan and have read R.J.'s Madness in Tandem, Dollface makes that book look like a mid-2000's light R horror.
I cannot recommend it enough.
Update on Werewolves
Finally, an update on the werewolf horror novelette I was going to have released during Spooky Season 2024: It's a werewolf horror novella now, and is halfway through the editing phase as far as chapter numbers go. I think it has a title, finally, but I am still letting it simmer. King Loke at Death Wish Poetry read an early version of it and said "What a nasty, brutal ride that was."
I am looking for artists for the cover, so if anyone reading this happens to know or be an artist who can do extreme horror werewolves, please get in touch.
Hermit Rites 000: Small Seeds
October 31, 2024
It's Halloween. Today I woke up and chose to put on my gardening gloves, as I was instructed to yesterday. Metaphorical ones. I have not taken up gardening in the real world yet, but it is on my list of things I want to do, and hopefully be good at. With my gardening gloves I grabbed my seed pouch and took inventory. There's a lot of small seeds in here, and the all important dark one.
Some are the seeds left behind by my previous endeavors. I learned a lot while I involved myself in the music industry because I was too fucking dumb stubborn to admit when I was over my head. Nowadays, at the greying age of thirty-nine, I know I'm over my head. I've come to realize that is how I live. In the music industry I somehow made lasting friendships and acquaintances, and a lot of those friends and acquaintances are still in those trenches of war. They make and do amazing things that I enjoy and want to shout at people from rooftops about.
Since leaving music I rediscovered my love of reading via Bookstagram and as a result have made a lot of friends and acquaintances in the world of books and publishing. I have a feeling this happens to a lot of people when their biggest passions are music and books. Especially the ones with ADHD and undiagnosed but peer reviewed autism (hi). This has given me another ton of small seeds, some of which have become either a couple finished short stories, infinite works in progress, stunted mockeries of life, or are still waiting to be planted. This has also given me an endless supply of amazing things that I enjoy and want to shout at people from rooftops about.
The thing is, it's almost 2025. If you shout at people from rooftops nowadays the cops will arrest you if you're white lucky, or shoot you if you're black not. So instead of rooftop shoutery, I shall engage in internet typery, which is still kind of the same thing but with less damage to my vocal cords, and possibly less bullets.
Then there is the dark seed here in my pouch that I've had for as long as I can remember. I had no idea what it was for the longest time. It is mostly small, like most seeds, but will occasionally grow massive. Not in size, mind you, but weight, like trying to hold a black hole. Maybe a black hole is what it is, really; because it is the colour of dread, black as night; sharp as a razor; double edged like a sword. It can be used to take out a grown man's heart. It can be used to heal one, too. After consulting a few of my dreams and a lot of my thoughts, I knew for sure this was what I was afraid of: this was the seed of desire, and I knew it's name.
And so I have sat on this seed for a year almost, but not knowing what direction I wanted the seed to grow. I moved it around, held it, sat with it, hid it in the darkness of my closet, yelled at it, whispered. And finally, on October 30, 2024, the seed cracked open a tiny bit and the burgeoning plant inside whispered to me:
"Just fuckin plant me, asshole!"And so here we are, at the site of the planting of seeds. This is Hermit Rites. I am Dustin Ekman, and these are my stories and poems, as well as my thoughts on books and music, possibly movies, possibly other things barely tangentially related to any of the above. I am going to try my best to bring my love of the macabre and gore to the forefront with Hermit Rites, but also my love of whimsy and cottagecore. I am also hoping to open my hermitage to others in the future, to give space to other stories, poems, and thoughts. Whether I succeed at that or not is up to future Dustin to decide, and whoever else reads this (thank you, by the way). But who am I? The following is my official writer's bio as of 31/10/24:
Dustin Ekman is a writer from Edmonton. This is not exactly his fault, but he did choose to move there from a small town that was even worse than Edmonton.
Dustin is a former record label owner, music critic, and metal promoter (founder of Funeral Rain Records, Crown of Viserys, and Black Mourning Light Metal Festival), as well as a fan of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Before the CoV website came down, Dustin published several hundred music reviews.
He lives with his cat, a roommate, an addiction to caffeine, various works in progress, and an increasingly shaky mental stability.
Copyright © 2024-2026 Dustin Ekman
