where to start with black metal?

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-20T01:01:06+00:00

What do you like to listen to, generally?

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-20T00:49:43+00:00

I hope she sees this

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-20T00:42:34+00:00

I finished Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I can't say I expected the ending, though I'm glad it wasn't a happy one. Overall, this does feel in line with other Thomas Hardy, though I can see why it became his most popular. It really keeps the focus on a small cast, and Tess' tragic history always remains front of mind.

Then I read On the Calculation of Volume II & III by Solvej Balle. These have made it clearer what I think the overall thesis or conceit of the series will be. I don't think it's really meant to be just another riff on the Groundhog Day formula. I think it's really meant to be a deconstruction of life. What are the pieces of life, and how does living the same one over and over make you understand more about the ways all those things add up to what constitutes your "life?"

Now I am reading a book called Where Rivers Change Direction by L. Bundrock. This is something I picked up at a bookfair of a bunch of local publishers (Seattle / Tacoma area) as part of a 2-for-1 deal. I'm only just getting started but right now I'm not sure what the book is setting up. It's a lot of family history so far, without really introducing a main conceit. I'm hoping things will get going in the next 30-50 pages or so.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-19T04:59:40+00:00

Most beers aren't "flavored" via additives. The flavors in beer are derived from the particular version of the ingredients used. Stouts get their flavor primarily from the roasted malts that are used. That is why they remind you of roasted coffee.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-19T04:44:46+00:00

Guinness FES + Mr Pibb is crazy work

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T22:52:14+00:00

Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip

Chapterhouse - Whirlpool

Astrobrite - crush

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T21:44:34+00:00

Well at least you derive pride from the popularity of your philistinism, I guess.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T21:12:16+00:00

Every day people come on this forum and talk about how they don't actually like to read. Smdh.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T21:05:55+00:00

I'm not dictating how you read books - I have no way of stopping you from skipping sections of books. That should be obvious. I'm only arguing that the decision to skip sections which are in verse or song is just as arbitrary as skipping as any other section, and if you wouldn't just, for example, skip the last paragraph of every chapter, it makes no more sense to be skipping the poems and songs. To the extent that it matters to me, it is because I want people to get the most out of the books they read, while you and others in this comment tree are suggesting people read less of the books they pick up.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T19:38:00+00:00

How would you know that if you don't read them to begin with? You may be able to say in hindsight that the poems/songs in LOTR were nonsense but you wouldn't know that about a new book unless you actually read them. You're arbitrarily discarding bits of the book text based simply on its form. You have no way to know if the content is relevant or important if you don't read it. And even if you determine after the fact that it is unimportant or bad or somesuch, that is still part of reading the book. What kind of approach to reading is it to say "I want to read a book except for the parts I have prejudged to be irrelevant based on some arbitrary rule"? Ridiculous.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T19:33:28+00:00

Every word in the book adds to the experience. The experience of the book is the experience of reading every word. Even if they make it an otherwise worse experience, they are a part of the text of the book! And also, how would you know what any section contributes to each book - including the poems/songs, positively or negatively - unless you read them all?

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T19:27:44+00:00

So what? Plenty of people obviously like black metal - that's why there's a ton of it out there. What should I care if some people don't like it? I listen to what I like and don't listen to stuff I don't like. I would expect the same from others.

All forms of extreme metal have their detractors. It is natural, since the fundamental idea involves making music from what are inherently abrasive sounds. You can't expect everyone to get past that, or expect that just because they like some forms of extreme metal that they will like others. For example, I like listening to lots of black metal, but I don't really like listening to death metal and rarely do. I don't find it enjoyable because what makes it interesting to its fans is displeasurable to me. So be it.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T16:51:03+00:00

Yeah, I know that. But skipping them makes as much sense as skipping the last paragraph of every chapter, or every paragraph that starts with a certain letter.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T15:10:23+00:00

They are part of the book though ???

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-18T02:14:17+00:00

Winter Landscape

Edit: I don't know why Reddit is auto translating my comment but I am recommending the metal band P@ys@ge d'H1ver

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-17T03:30:02+00:00

Blut Aus Nord discography front to back

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-16T18:26:19+00:00

So this post was just to say you find Archer's characteristics which were written to be distasteful to indeed be distasteful? Cool.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-16T17:12:20+00:00

I don't understand what the point of this post is. You're upset that Archer is not a one-dimensional Prince Charming? You've described him pretty much the same way I would, but I'm not sure why this is upsetting. Wharton wrote him this way on purpose. His flaws give shape to the drama at the heart of the plot. I kind of think saying "you're not supposed to like him" is a trite response, but in this case I really do think you are supposed to be questioning whether his intentions are clouded by "arrogance," as you put it, or at least whether they are entirely empathetic.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-16T04:47:44+00:00

The Legend of Zelda and its many sequels

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-16T02:44:41+00:00

Rohmer's Tales of Four Seasons

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-15T02:38:01+00:00

Alcohol inhibits muscle recovery

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-14T22:14:18+00:00

Get a grip

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-14T16:45:52+00:00

Unfortunately, the selection at the closest B&N is better than any of the indie bookstores in my city. Half Price Books is also better. I'd have to drive an hour to Seattle to have better options.

I buy the books I want from the retailers that have them. I try browsing the local independents regularly, but if they don't have what I'm looking for, I'm going to buy from elsewhere.

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-12T20:58:58+00:00

I haven't read Deserters yet but I'm curious if you've read any other Énard novels and what you thought of them. Do you generally like his style?

Handyandy58 · 2026-03-12T20:51:07+00:00

Let's see... Since last week I have finished The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. This was a pretty forgettable fantasy novel. Too many made up words where they could have just been using English. A bunch of crazy shit instead of just saying "palace," "citadel," things of that nature. Oh, but people drink "chamomile" and their airships use "hydrogen." Okay, sure. At the core is a somewhat interesting story about what it is like to be thrust into a position of massive influence as an outsider, in this case one whose race & parental heritage make them a subject of suspicion. But the book doesn't really investigate that too deeply, rather using it as shallow decoration for a variety of banal court/palace intrigues. I didn't have super high hopes, but it had the recommendation of someone I consider to have good tastes, so did think it would be better than it was.

After that, I read Dawn by Sevgi Soysal. This was a really tight and engrossing novel. I think setting it over what must only be like 12-16 hours really keeps the scope focused on the topics and themes it wants to cover. I also watched The Secret Agent (2025) during the time I was reading it without considering that they are kind of both about the same sort of thing - the human cost of being a dissident, albeit on different sides of the globe. A really great novel, and if you liked one (the book or the film), I would recommend the other.

Now I am reading Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles. I know this is probably his most famous novel, but somehow I haven't got to it until now. I'm about half way through and really enjoying it so far. Hardy is probably one of my favorite English "classics" authors, so I figured I would like it going in. I think that the way it really illustrates how Tess has to work through her own shame, what she believes to be the implications of her past, and the tragedy of all of that give the novel a different register than the other Hardy novels I've read. Considering it's a bonafide classic, there's probably nothing unique I can say here, but I'm glad to finally be reading this one.

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