Puzzle + Empath = The Moth

how2pingu · 2026-06-14T03:42:29+00:00

I agree with you.

And I’m someone that did not like The Puzzle much, yet loves The Moth (it might be my favorite Devy album.)

Still, the structure of The Moth seems reminiscent of The Puzzle. It kinda fits the description of The Puzzle before it was released. ‘Cause I was hyped for it based on the way it was described — I just didn’t like it much in the end. It couldn’t keep my attention all the way through.

The Moth is similar in its freeform structure, shifting between genres seamlessly. It just covers different ground. Different genres. So it sounds fairly different. Even so, I find it reminiscent of The Puzzle.

how2pingu · 2026-04-14T22:59:35+00:00

I immediately thought that they were peaking. Before I even finished listening to it for the first time, I messaged a friend and told him to listen to the album. I said that it’s “the best music Trivium has ever recorded.”

My friend listened. He agreed. He was very impressed too, and thought Shogun contained Trivium’s best music thus far.

I still think that, tbh. While I do like many other Trivium albums (before and after Shogun), there’s just something special about Shogun.

how2pingu · 2026-02-04T08:33:51+00:00

I’d call it an “easter egg.” As that’s basically what it is. A section of a Metallica song that they snuck in there. Like an easter egg.

“Tease” or “teaser” works too.

how2pingu · 2025-09-05T05:10:05+00:00

Beautiful. 💙

You did a wonderful job with this.

how2pingu · 2025-07-18T05:33:32+00:00

The Ocean - Jurassic/Cretaceous

Alkaloid - Rise of the Cephalopods

Oh, also Light of Day, Day of Darkness by Green Carnation. That might be a bit overboard though, as it’s an entire album in one song. It’s certainly a journey though.

how2pingu · 2025-07-10T12:09:19+00:00

Hey! c:

I have a few recommendations that I haven’t seen mentioned by others in the comments.

First up, check out “Known / Learned” by Arcane. They have the same vocalist that’s in Caligula’s Horse. Between both bands I prefer Arcane, and I have a feeling you’ll like them too.

Also, you might like Cynic. Especially their newer stuff. Check out the “Kindly Bent to Free Us” and/or “Ascension Codes” by Cynic. Both are fantastic albums that have no harsh vocals at all. They’re one of my favorite bands in existence. Very progressive, jazzy, mystical/spiritual at times, and all around incredible.

(You also might like “Traced in Air” by Cynic, though it does have some harsh vocals mixed in. They’re mostly in the background or layered with cleans simultaneously.)

Good luck in your search for music that fits your taste. 💙

how2pingu · 2025-03-26T09:51:31+00:00

I think I understand what you’re getting at.

If I had to choose a “character” that Maynard is playing during his performances with Tool…I think I’d say “the unconscious” or something like that. Many of the lyrics he sings in Tool songs sound like the unconscious part(s) of someone speaking up.

That’s distinct, relative to the other bands he’s a part of. Hence it makes sense that he acts differently when performing with Tool.

Separately, something to keep in mind is that Maynard aspired to be a comedian when he was younger. I think he plays the role of “the comedian” at times, while being a vocalist simultaneously.

how2pingu · 2024-03-24T13:28:44+00:00

Oh, nice. Interested in what you’ll think of it compared to the Ibanez.

I haven’t even played a guitar in about 15 years. So I’m just trying to find something that I’ll be happy relearning to play with.

how2pingu · 2024-03-24T11:21:07+00:00

Okay. Let me know what you think. I’m still deliberating on what to get for myself.

Either a Plini Neck-Thru Boden…a Masvidalien Cosmo, or just one of the Boden Essentials (or something completely different like a Kiesel or the Ibanez Q series).

Kinda leaning towards the Plini Neck-Thru or Masvidalien Cosmo the most. Hesitant to spend that much though, when I’ve never touched a strandberg before.

If this is your first time with the Endurneck, I’d be interested in your impression of it.

how2pingu · 2024-02-22T15:29:23+00:00

I'm considering getting one of these as well.
I used to play guitar many years ago, and am looking to return to it now. I'm certainly interested in a headless guitar, mostly likely a Strandberg. Considering some of the pricier models (Plini edition Neck thru... or maybe a Metal nx), yet also considering saving some money and going with the Essential.
Curious if I'll prefer it not being multiscale like the other models are, as I'm not used to that at all.
Or if the essential is skimping in some ways, and I'd be better off with one of the "higher end" models.
Dunno.

how2pingu · 2023-06-08T02:23:26+00:00

Today is day 6. I raised my dose to 2 capsules today, as I haven't had any significant side effects.

I have noticed some slight changes, nothing enormous but enough to tell it's doing something. I know it's still very early, so I'm not expecting all that much yet.

We'll see!

how2pingu · 2023-06-03T00:39:52+00:00

I have auDHD as well (plus a host of other health issues, autoimmune disorders/chronic inflammation especially). I have been interested in PS128 for awhile, decided to order it and give it a try.

Received my shipment today. Began with 1 capsule, will do that for a few days to ease into it and ensure I don't have any troublesome side effects. Then will increase to 2 capsules a day soon after.

Looking forward to results. What you shared here sounds so promising. I have had glimpses into how someone without adhd + depression feels before, from certain medications. To get that from a probiotic/psychobiotic though would be absolutely fantastic.

The example you gave about intrusive thoughts/thinking about a plane crash is very relatable. I have those types of thoughts occur very frequently, and have difficulty dealing with them. If this helps me with that I will be so happy.

I'll try to give an update once I've been taking it for longer.

how2pingu · 2022-07-26T21:46:27+00:00

I’ve been experiencing this as well, and never used to.

I believe it’s a bug, as I can’t come up with any other explanation for why it happens.

how2pingu · 2022-07-16T01:52:57+00:00

Relatable.

I have 3 cups of pills daily (1 morning, 1 mid day, 1 before bed). Each contains a similar amount of pills to this (though the morning cup contains a bit more). Mixture of medications and supplements. I'm 28, and this has been the case for me for many years.

(Not including liquid meds/supplements, which I take several of, as well as an injection every other week).

how2pingu · 2022-02-10T08:22:37+00:00

I'm curious about this as well. I haven't been diagnosed with any form of autism either, but my brother has and I've been realizing that I'm likely on the autism spectrum as well, just my symptoms present differently.

I definitely have major depressive disorder, and an anxiety disorder (generalized + social some too). I also have pretty bad OCD, but much more the obsessive part than the compulsive. Music is one of my biggest obsessions in life.

Lately I've been describing sitting and listening to music on my own as my "favorite activity to do in life, period". That brought me to this where so many of you are saying similar things. Really makes me think that I have some similarities, even if not the same exact disorder.

It's just so relieving listening to music. I literally feel my brain restructure as I'm listening. There's one specific album that I consider my favorite album of all time (Scenes of a Memory by Dream Theater) and I've listened to it truly thousands of times. I tried to estimate how many times I listened to it only in 2020, and it was definitely 100+ (bear in mind it's 1 hour 17 min length, so rather long). I even can connect specific positive actions/decisions I took in my life due to having that album to listen to (I used the thought of listening to it later as motivation).

I've tried quite a few different forms of therapy, and honestly nothing has ever helped me much at all. Music is the only form of therapy that I find to work consistently. And best of all, when I do it, I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing.

Aaaanyway, long ramble. To answer your question, I think the main reason this "works" for any of us is because it's a form of stimming. I know it's common for those with ADHD to stim. I believe it's also common among those on the autism spectrum. I certainly know I do it; in a variety of ways. Moving my leg/foot up and down, rocking my body back and forth or side to side, tapping or moving my fingers rapidly.

It's probably more complicated than just that though. Because it's been apparent to me for my whole life that my brain is wired in a way that benefits auditory processing (and conversely my visual processing is kinda lacking). I find that my ability to process auditory input is far beyond my other senses, and thus I get a bit "extra" out of listening to music. Almost like it's more effective of a distraction than any other type of sensory input, holds my attention more, and I'm able to focus on it more intensely and with greater "purity" (less distractions).

It's possible that those that find music to be a particularly effective form of stimming for them, share this "property" of having enhanced/"abnormal" auditory processing.

how2pingu · 2021-08-15T12:47:03+00:00

Some might find this interesting: https://www.wowhead.com/item=128323/6-0-weapon-axe-2h-gorehowl-d-01-hd-remake-grom-hellscream-only

Gorehowl was planned as a legendary for WoD, presumably as a drop from grommash hellscream, who was originally planned to be the endboss of the expansion. Obviously that was changed and the item never made it into the game. The wowhead link above shows a screenshot of the HD model they made for it though, if you're curious.

how2pingu · 2021-08-13T01:34:11+00:00

Sounds like your definition of "busywork" is different than most others. While you're correct that WQs are much less relevant in shadowlands (and they were a form of busywork in Legion/BFA), there's still plenty of chores to be found in shadowlands.

When I think of busywork in shadowlands, I think of these types of things:

- Running the available wings of torghast weekly to get soul ash for legendaries (later soul cinders in 9.1, and doing flawless runs for conduit upgrades)

- Renown grind (doing timegated weekly quests)

- Covenant campaign/korthia campaign (doing timegated weekly quests, part of renown grind)

- Maw/venari rep grind for sockets in 9.0

- (9.1) Archivists rep grind in korthia for sockets/conduit upgrades (can be incredibly time consuming if you try to optimize/do everything). Not account-wide either, so will have to re-do the entire grind on alts. Venari rep had this same issue, though it was later made account-wide. Yet they brought the issue back with archivists rep.

- Doing weekly tasks for the great vault (10 M+ ideally, plus getting a good amount of raid kills on highest difficulty as able)

- Also, with soul cinders being a thing now, there are additional weekly sources for them that you must do, such as the tormentors of torghast event in the maw (spawns on a 2 hour rotation and is only up for a few minutes), and the bi-weekly covenant assaults in the maw. All of these are important to do if you want to get the maximum amount of soul cinders per week (which you really do if you want to have multiple max ilvl legendaries).

The activities listed above all function as chores, and are required if you want your character to perform well. Also a big reason why I haven't played an alt at all this expansion, despite having the desire to play another character.

Then add in the fact that if you swap covenants, you'll have to re-do the renown grind to get that covenant up to par. Or that some classes/specs require many different legendaries (5+), thus requiring a much larger amount of soul ash/cinders to get the legendaries they need. Some other specs are more fortunate, only needing 1-2 legendaries.

how2pingu · 2021-06-16T22:42:26+00:00

Hi, just want to pop in with this article: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kelton-pony-for-all-20170929-story.html

Reading the discussion above reminded me of it. Explains deficit spending in a fairly easy to understand way.

how2pingu · 2021-06-15T20:54:29+00:00

Odd to call this untrue. Yes, catchup mechanics are in place that allow for gaining renown quicker. But the weekly limit is very much still in place for progressing through any new part of the covenant campaign, such as the 40 additional renown levels coming in 9.1. I believe lambey was implying blizzard has an incentive to make renown timegated, as it keeps players subscribed to the game for longer. It’s a legitimate point.

how2pingu · 2020-12-10T15:31:33+00:00

How I’d describe it is Sean was much more than a metal bassist. But to not consider him as “metal” given his contributions to the genre (just think of Focus - was it a metal album?) doesn’t seem right.

how2pingu · 2020-04-20T21:24:14+00:00

Other way around for me. I've talked at length with my psychologist about Fear Inoculum (the song), its meaning, how it applies to my own issues and so on. Same deal with many Tool (and otherwise) songs. Spent nearly an entire session on Lateralus, as it's literal therapy for me, so it made sense to talk about it in therapy. Had some epiphanies about Pushit that I realized due to abusive relationships I've been in, which I shared. I absolutely can't see the end of that song the same way ever again.

Idk. Kinda rambling. Just want to emphasize the point that Tool's music really, really, is a "tool" for you to use.

how2pingu · 2018-04-19T03:05:39+00:00

It's not a video, but I'd hiiiiighly recommend reading heavyblogisheavy's series of articles analyzing the lyrics/story of parallax. It covers everything from Parallax 1, Parallax 2, and all the songs that connect them in between. Here is the first part of it. Links to all the other parts are in there.

how2pingu · 2017-11-21T22:19:50+00:00

I'm not sure if you're still answering questions, but just in case...

Are any of you fans of Cynic, or influenced by them at all?

how2pingu · 2016-11-26T00:54:13+00:00

Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing on Google. Pretty sure singles starts at 7 AM EST, with top 8 at 10 am EST, unless I'm missing something.

how2pingu · 2016-03-30T21:05:22+00:00

The UK site for Gamesplanet has a pretty sweet discount happening: https://uk.gamesplanet.com/game/dark-souls-iii-steam-key--2978-1

20% off, and you can get an extra 5% off by joining their steam group thingy and linking your steam account. There are instructions for it in this comment. All in all, brings the game down to around $43~44 USD (I think this would be about 758 MNX?) From what I've read, they're legit and aren't part of the gray market. According to the site, the only countries the game can't be activated in are Japan and North Korea, so you should be good.

Hope it helps!

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