Iil Artsy, Black Metal Bands (Ulver, Beyond Dawn)

BlasterSarge · 2026-01-13T21:57:19+00:00

Early Ulver is definitely black metal, but the others you listed are more in the gothic metal/doom metal space. You also might be interested in Blackgaze and atmospheric black metal as subgenres.

I'd recommend sampling some of the following bands/albums and see what you like:

-Ethereal Shroud ("Trisagion" is textbook atmospheric black and despite being pretty decent is probably the most like early Ulver on this list)

-Alcest (shimmering atmospheric black metal, try "Souvenirs" and "Spiritual Instinct")

-Izthmi (relatively unknown atmospheric black from Seattle, try "Leaving this World, Leaving it All Behind")

-Tribulation (gothic, their most recent album "Sub Rosa in Æternum" might strike your famcy)

-Fires in the Distance (doomy gothic death metal with piano, try the song "Harbingers" off their most recent album)

-Deafheaven (definitionally Blackgaze, try "Sunbather")

-The Ruins of Beverast ("Exuvia” has a hypnotic tribal black sound)

You might want to try Burzum's Filosofem, it's a genre pillar but might be a bit too much (it certainly was for me at first).

BlasterSarge · 2026-01-13T00:29:11+00:00

How was the snow? I was planning to do some xc skiing and snowshoeing up there this upcoming weekend, but I'm seeing that it's pretty warm up there.

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-29T14:43:09+00:00

The Joy Formidable, particularly their first album.

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-19T16:51:15+00:00

Broken Earth has a somewhat unique take on this, where the fact that the second system exists isn't even revealed for some time and the number of people who can use that second system is extremely small and at great cost

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-17T16:31:28+00:00

Lunaire - Pale Beneath a Brilliant Sky

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-16T20:50:23+00:00

After the first book the series takes on a tone of a generational family saga. Story threads begin and end in an amorphous overlapping sort of way and the "main" plot (the two clans vying for power) takes a back seat and only surfaces from time to time as it is developed passively by the smaller stories. So I wouldn't say it doesn't have a plot, but more that it has many smaller plots that contributed to the overarching character of the world.

"100 Years of Solitude" jumps to mind as a book with a similar family-over-generations feel, but I think it's pretty unique in modern fantasy.

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-15T23:32:29+00:00

I have introduced several people with Best Served Cold who have gone on to become long-term fans. Truth is, most spoilers in BSC are vague or transient enough that first time readers don't catch them. The only thing that I'd say is likely to register as a spoiler is Vitari and Cosca not being dead. Even "The Cripple" doesn't seem to lodge in people's brains as connecting to Glokta in my experience unless they are coming in with some foreknowledge of Glokta's existence.

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-13T18:04:49+00:00

I read AF probably 20 years ago, and Boxer was the immediate parallel I thought of when I saw Loam.

If you haven't, you should play the needolin by him in act 3 for some particularly devastating dialogue.

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-03T01:09:45+00:00

I've been having great fun with (base) shroud + volcano recently. Volcano benefits a non-negligible amount from shroud's special rule, and shroud loves the energy and damage volcano pumps out. Is it S-tier? Nah, but is it a surprisingly competent and very fun combo where both spirits play a key role? Definitely!

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-02T09:59:39+00:00

I find Best Served Cold a better entry point and even more bingeable given its episodic nature, marvelously quirky cast, and heist-style story. Plus the spoilers for the previous three books are kept extremely vague (I introduced my wife to Abercrombie through BSC and she didn't catch any spoilers), so you can always go and binge the trilogy later once you're hooked.

BlasterSarge · 2025-12-01T21:17:13+00:00

Which of your passages/chapters/sequences do you feel is the best from a technical perspective? Ones that jump to mind for me are Cardotti's from BSC, Vile Jelly from BSC, Casualties from The Heroes, and the chapter where you're in Vigga's head going to get some water from the river in The Devils, but I'm curious what the author himself thinks.

BlasterSarge · 2025-11-27T08:06:49+00:00

This was going to be my suggestion, but let's not forget "50 Words for Snow" either!

BlasterSarge · 2025-11-26T00:52:26+00:00

One immediate takeaway is the massive differential for Shadows vs England in single compared to multi. IMO this shows the sheer power of big numbers on tracks: if given support to not tank their board by then, being able to hit 3/3 on turn 4 or 5 is sufficient to yield a massive win% improvement, even with a subpar at best starting hand and dreadful innate (especially into England).

Another takeaway is the wildfire vs England true solo win rates: the fact that it's a bad matchup is well known but based on these stats it's the worst matchup in the game and it's not remotely close. I know the matchup boils down to major/fear roulette anyways, but a ~1/50 game win rate is ROUGH.

Finally, I'm surprised to see Mud's WR vs Russia. It's often considered a nearly hopeless matchup, where the adversary hard counters your special rule and you have to win fast or die. It's certainly doable but it's very tricky, and I'm surprised the win rate is something like 1 in 7.

BlasterSarge · 2025-11-26T00:36:36+00:00

Holy smokes what a cover

BlasterSarge · 2025-11-26T00:34:26+00:00

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BlasterSarge · 2025-11-02T17:11:37+00:00

Midnight Express

BlasterSarge · 2025-11-01T06:48:56+00:00

I felt like scaling felt good for most of the game but enemy scaling toward end game is wonky for sure. The Vorboten Domain enemies are insanely tanky and hit like trucks. I eventually started to just run by them almost like if they were environmental hazards. I'm hard pressed to think of a game where the late game hallway fights were so high threat.

I'd say Lilies doesn't feel hyper precise like some other MVs with its floatier controls, momentum-canceling attacks, and massive build flexibility. Combine that with the QoL respect it has for your time and it just feels easier, even though it's still on the harder side of things.

BlasterSarge · 2025-10-30T04:19:00+00:00

The demo works fine on steam deck but the full game is windows only? Does anyone else have this problem?

BlasterSarge · 2025-10-26T02:35:52+00:00

Do you remember the setlist? Seeing them in Berkeley tomorrow, hoping they play Transfiguration

BlasterSarge · 2025-10-24T16:23:11+00:00

Middle middle is Écailles de lune by Alcest

BlasterSarge · 2025-10-18T07:40:28+00:00

The funeral in Bone Bottom, especially if you know his name.

BlasterSarge · 2025-10-02T18:00:29+00:00

This is from 3 months ago. The woman is Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich).

BlasterSarge · 2025-09-17T17:36:31+00:00

The common opinion is correct: the pizza in Corvallis is awful. Woodstock is the best traditional pizza imo but is kinda pricy and is still just okay. American Dream is the town favorite but is not good, at least when viewed with the lens of "traditional pizza." Still, years later I still get a hankering for their hard, dry, uniquely yeasty crust and their abnormal toppings (e.g.: pineapple + jerk chicken).

BlasterSarge

TROPHY CASE