Primal Scream, Martin Heidegger and other useful things — An upsetting thing happened the other day. I was the proud new owner of Primal Scream’s XTRMNTR (2000) on used vinyl, and as I was removing the price sticker, the record flew out of the sleeve, banged into the rim of a trash can . . . and chipped. This…

Three Versions: Herbert, Lynch, Villeneuve — Frank Herbert released Dune when Golden Age masters were still delivering their best work and New Wave masters were giving the genre new inflections. As a kind of sci-fi Seven Pillars of Wisdom dedicated to “dry-land ecologists,” it bridges the hard and social sciences. An example in psychology is the…

Does darkness feed the soul? — The Thing About is a series of short, simple heavy metal reviews. Scroll down to the headings that interest you most or read the whole thing. The previous installment was about the EP Doomed Heavy Metal by Khemmis. Amalie Bruun, stage name Myrkur, is a musician who follows her inner…

Is your doom upon you? — The Thing About is a series of short, simple heavy metal reviews. Scroll down to the headings that interest you most or read the whole thing. The previous installment was about the album And Then There Were None by Livløs. “Oh, Death,” sings Khemmis vocalist Phil Pendergast on the band’s…

And some slag — Legendary progressive heavy metal band Queensrÿche released Digital Noise Alliance on October 7. It’s the most recent album in a discography spanning numerous lineup changes, notable changes in style and three metal ages: Golden, Silver and Bronze. Golden Ages are golden for a reason. They’re when everything seemed to be…

A surprise collaboration raises funds for humanitarian relief — Eight months have passed since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. For many, the war is happening at home, but governments, activists and artists around the world have been eager to offer support to Ukraine’s fight. In music, progressive rock legend Pink Floyd returned with a new single featuring Ukrainian…

One heavy metal album for taking to the afterlife? The Thing About is a series of short, simple heavy metal reviews. Scroll down to the headings that interest you most or read the whole thing. The previous installment was about the album Anesthetic by Mark Morton. “I had not thought…

Is justice dead? — The Thing About is a series of short, simple heavy metal reviews. Scroll down to the headings that interest you most or read the whole thing. The previous installment was about the album Extirpation Paradigms by Traumatomy. My personal Approved Vendor List for long-playing records has been periodically throwing Mark…