the land of blood & silver

Another zombie apocalypse comic? Yea, no thanks... But, I’d heard good things about Year Zero and decided to take a chance. The first volume was fairly decent, covering the early days of the collapse over different story lines, with hints that the zombies have a much deeper, mysterious history. I enjoyed it enough to get the second volume, which is your standard zombie apocalypse book. The second volume is alright, but the story and art fall short of the first volume. Eh, all and all Year Zero isn’t bad, but it also isn’t great.  

Repulsive, slimy death metal bubbling up from the sewer; Phlegmesis may be lowbrow and vile, but they are good at what they do. The two tracks on this demo are just enough to whet your appetite for a full length, which will hopefully be along soon. Check it out.

I’m not a big fan of “historical sci-fi,” but Lake of Fire is pretty solid. Set in an interesting medieval period (the Albigensian Crusade), a ufo crashes in the French Pyrenees and it’s Crusaders vs space monsters, with some alien weapons thrown in for good measure. The art’s a little cartoonish for my tastes and I’d like to know some more about the aliens & what caused the crash, but those are just minor issues. 

Playing repugnant osdm, Immersed In Pain’s debut album is a nasty little piece of work. My preference runs towards the faster tracks, but everything on Perforated Sanctuary is solid. You already know if you’re into this subgenre of death metal and Immersed In Pain won’t sway you one way or the other. But, if you are into this sort of stuff, you need to give Perforated Sanctuary a listen.

After recently checking out Humayoun Ibrahim’s comic adaptation, I had the urge to reread the original Vance story and stumbled upon this Dennis Dobson edition that contains “The Moon Moth” and four other Vance shorts. Of course, the title piece is amazing, but the others?  “The World Between” & “Brain of the Galaxy” are adequate, but nothing special. Then there’s “The Devil on Salvation Bluff,” a total yawn inducer, and “The Men Return,” notable only for how pointlessly weird it is. Perhaps these four would have fared better not being bundled with a titan like “The Moon Moth?”

A mysterious, atmospheric black metal project; Smuha has achieved the optimal mix of speed, melody, and aggression. The four tracks on this demo are all outstanding, but of particular note is the first track, which has an interesting folk undertone with the playing of a drymba. Recommended.

I was hoping for an enjoyable trip down memory lane with these old Forgotten Realm comics, but they haven’t faired well over the course of time. The art is mediocre at best and the writing is atrocious. Maybe it’s just that I’m not a dumbass kid reading these? There are two or three more omnibuses of the series, but I won’t be checking them out.

An anthology of sixteen stories from some of the preeminent authors of the fantasy genre, you’d think this would be an amazing collection, but it falls a little short. The issue is that many of the selections are segments from longer works or obscure pieces; they feel either incomplete or somewhat insignificant. It’s not a total loss though, there’s still some solid stuff. Somehow I’ve overlooked R. H. Barlow’s work till reading this, so that was worth it for me.

An unrelenting assault of raw black metal with nasty, snarling vocals, Vevstol are killing it with Fiendtlighet. My only complaint about the album is that sometimes the drum machine gets a little stale, but it’s not that much of an issue over the twelve tracks. If you like your black metal harsh and spiteful, this is for you.

It’s been a while since I last read “The Moon Moth,” but, if memory serves, this is a fairly accurate graphic adaptation of the short story. I felt like the art style was a little too comical for the tale, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. While it was interesting to read a comic rendition of “The Moon Moth,” it’s just not quite up to par with Vance’s original story. Still, I found myself enjoying this graphic novel well enough.

Set in a submerged, post-apocalyptic New York City, I wanted to like Post York, but it sucked. There’s really no other way to put it. The idiotic story and questionable art completely butchered a fascinating (and very likely) futuristic setting. At least the interview with Unbuilt Labs on the effects of climate change on urban areas like NYC was interesting... 

Almost missed this one because Obscure Skuadron are a UFO themed black metal band, which sounds fairly idiotic, but they actually manage to make it work damn well. Five tracks of blistering raw black metal that all clock in under 3 minutes, the tracks on Mysterious Existence incorporate some menacing, warble-y synths and weird echoing vocals that add a solid sci-fi/alien ambiance. Keep watching the skies. 

A historical creature feature, it’s vampire vs rakshasa at the decline of the Mugal Empire and the beginning of the Company Raj in India. Good story, great art, interesting historical setting, everything’s solid. Hopefully we’ll get a few more volumes of this story, or at least some other tales from this setting. 

Sick two track demo of straightforward sludge. Nothing fancy or novel, but why would it need to be? If you’re looking for something thunderous and heavy, this is it.

Taarna, or, as many know her, “the chick on the cover of the Heavy Metal movie,” got her own series a few years back and it’s exactly as disappointing as you probably suspected. A trifecta of shitty writing, mediocre art, and a moronic plot make for a terrible read that is both atrocious on it’s own and completely fails to reproduce any of the juvenile, mindlessness charm of the original film. Nope.

Clocking in at 20+ minutes with two slabs of ominous death-doom, The Tenebrous Mist absolutely pulverizes everything in it’s path. Coffin Breath manages to capture a solid OSDM vibe without sounding derivative; a funeral dirge emanating from a lichen-encrusted tomb.

Misanthropic black metal from Sweden, the four tracks on Avskrade’s inaugural release will appeal to those who enjoy the older vein of the genre. The band manages to incorporate good production values while still retaining a raw edge to their sound, which is always a plus for me. Recommended.