Bear

I totally recommend Sekkusu for fans of Japanese metal punk. This is a mix of thrash metal and hardcore punk and is obviously influenced by stuff like G.I.S.M., Gauze, Death Side, Gudon, Outo, Zouo and more. They sound Japanese as fuck, and they've managed to really catch that vibe of their cover art too. Neat shit!

 

https://sekkusustreetsteel.bandcamp.com/album/fukk-on-loud-night-2

I am one of those who consider both Night of the Demons I & II cult classics. Amazing films IMO! The atmosphere and overall cheese just does it for me. Love 'em!

I haven't heard all the albums, and not all seems to be out on the web yet. But there's some songs posted and shit and if I've included them in the post, it means they sound great.

 

 

You should check out Maximum Destruction by Destructor too. Total cult!

Till Fjalls del 2 sounds great after one listen. It kinda continues where Naturbål left off, but with less progressive vibes and more folk. Which is what I'd consider a natural evolution as this is a part 2 of their debut album. But this is a colder record, atmosphere-vise. The riffing is more focused around black and mid 90's folk metal, the melodies are superb and the choruses are amazing throughout the entire album. Catchy hooks! Just check the chorus on Vinterstorm. Holy fuck!

 

It sounds familiar, but fresh. Just like I expected and wished for. Vocal-vise Vintersorg delivered his best performance since Ödemarkens son with Naturbål, but I'd say he's even more on point this time, especially with his clean vocals. I also think the production sounds better and more fitting now, than what I did with the two preview tracks.

 

The Till fjälls part of Fjällets mäktiga mur gives me the chills. Every single time! What a chorus. Like a blast from the past. Love it!

 

I mörker står fjällets mäktiga mur
Där stormar sjunger i vresighet, Till fjälls, till fjälls

 

 

Watched and finished GLOW early this week. Short season (10x30min), so I finished it in a day. But also because it was really good. "The series revolves around a fictionalization of the characters and gimmicks of the 1980s syndicated women's professional wrestling circuit, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (or GLOW)".

 

It's smart, it's fun and it's super witty. And they really caught a 80's vibe with this series. It looks and feels like something from the 80's. And Marc Maron is FANFUCKINTASTIC!!!

I think you should give all the bands/albums I posted a fair chance. It's quality stuff. At least if you like thrash mixed with other genres.

 

 

Full stream of Vintersorg's Till Fjalls 2: http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2017/06/26/full-album-stream-vintersorgs-till-fjalls-del-ii/

It's not been a brilliant year for thrash metal, but there's been some good releases if you ask me. Not all these are pure thrash, but I'd recommend checking 'em out anyway:

 

Obscure Evil - Void Fumes

Black/thrash metal in the vein of the 80's. Heavily inspired by the likes of Bathory, Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer Bulldozer, Sarcofago and so on.

 

Vulture - The Guillotine

A speed/thrash metal assault out of the ordinary. Think old Razor, Exciter, Whiplash, Ranger and more. Superb stuff!

Couldn't find a track from the new album, but the demo is amazing too.

 

Craven Idol - The Shackles of Mammon

Semi-epic black thrash with a lot of Deströyer 666, Scythian and Desaster influences. Very good stuff!

 

Droid - Terrestrial Mutations

Progressive speed/thrash heavily influenced by Voivod, Coroner, Vektor,Megadeth and stuff. Imagine if Megadeth anno 1985 were inspired by Voivod and Coroner instead of Metallica.

 

Vampire - With Primeval Force

The new Vampire album is a semi-epic death/thrash album with a heavy Castlevanian atmosphere. Castlevanian death/thrash! Inspired by the Castlevania games and soundtracks, as well as 60's gothic horror films, because this is death/thrash with a heavy gothic atmosphere.

 

Condor - Unstoppable Power

More black/thrash, but this time from a young bunch of norwegians. Think Deathhammer and Aura Noir.

Insane - Evil

A pure 80's inspired thrash metal assault, but with their own twist. They got something of their own going on.

 

Destructor - Decibel Casualties

It's been 32 years since their debut album, but these crazy power thrashing maniacs still know how to riff and write music.

 

Antichrist - Sinful Birth

I was never too impressed by their debut album, but this assault of an album is amazing. Just think the 80's. Kreator, Destruction, Sodom, Exodus and you'll get the basic idea. Good shit!

 

Municipal Waste - Slime and Punishment

Far from their best, but this is probably their best album since Hazardous Mutation. Fairly typical party crossover/thrash, but it works.

 

Funeral Nation - Funeral Nation

I did not have high expectations for this death thrashing release, but this sounds awesome and old school. Think Master, Funeral Bitch, , Abomination, Death Strike, Possessed and son on. This caught me by surprise!

 

And an album I've only heard some songs off, but which sounds great:

 

Evil - Rites of Evil

I haven't heard this entire album, but their demos and splits, as well as the three songs released from this album is great. Think Sabbat, Bathory, Sarcofago, Vulcano, Bulldozer, Tormentor, Kreator, Sodom, Destruction and so on. 80's black/thrash all the way.

 

These crazy japanese guys are finally releasing their debut album. Motorhead +Inepsy + GISM + Sabbat + Syphilitic Vaginas + Black Uniforms kinda gives away how they sound.

Skam has some of the worst acting I've ever seen. The acting is more or less on par with the worst acting I've seen in shitty soap operas. The dialogue is also so unatural and fake that it gives me cancer, AIDS and everything bad in form of diseases. I wonder what type of person who actually manages to write this shit.

Why Don't You Play in Hell? has some of the worst special effects I've ever seen. The overall film is over the top and violent as fuck, but the special effects are like something from a SyFy flick. It's lazy as fuck and an absolute disgrace. I can tolerate that kind of special effects if your film is called Sharknado or some shit like that, because these are godawful in every way and the CGI fits right in. But Why Don't You Play in Hell? is actually a well-directed film full of quality in all departments throughout the entire film, with the exception of the special effects. And therefore it makes no sense to me whatsoever why he'd do that. It just seems lazy as fuck IMO. It was a huge dealbreaker for me.

And The Keepers, it's about a lot more than just a murder though. But if Making a Murderer is your thing, this should be too.

You could also try films like Children of Hiroshima, Hiroshima (1995) and The Human Condition trilogy, even though it might not be exactly what you're looking for.

 

Children of Hiroshima is a so-called docufiction film, being something like half-and-half fiction and documentary.

 

Hiroshima (1995) is a film about the decision-making processes that led to the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 

The Human Condition trilogy is based on a autobiographical novel by Junpei Gomikawa.

 

Again, maybe not exactly what you're looking for, especially The Human Condition trilogy, but it's well worth your time.

24 minutes ago, Visutox said:

Could anyone suggest me some historical movies? Watched The Ballad of Narayama a few years ago and I loved the hell out of it, same for Letters from Iwo Jima. Like I said on the other films' thread I'm about to watch Silence, but I don't know any other movies about Japan's history that I could watch. 

 

 

Men Behind the Sun

Hong Kong film about the Unit 731 during World War II. It's flawed, but it's brutal as fuck. Exploitation horror.

 

The 47 Ronin

Based on the story about the 47 ronin who avenged the death of their master.

 

 

But there's a billion jidaigeki films based on true events

29 minutes ago, indigo said:

And I've got a question for y'all. Are there any other great shows about solving a murder? I don't want any of those episodic shows, though. I've seen True Detective obviously, Fargo's first season and The Bridge (the Danish/Swedish version) to name a few.

 

You could try Hotel Beau Séjour, which is available on Netflix. Not a masterpiece, but it's a nice noir-series. I liked it.

XX - A brand new anthology horror film featuring 4 short films directed by four female directors, as well as the main frame. Which was pointless IMO:

 

Main frame (Sofia Carrillo)

A stop-motion film that's beautifully animated, but that's it. Thought it was awful.

 

The Box (Jovanka Vuckovic)

Wile not perfect, this was a nice one. It's more drama/mystery oriented tho, and not much of a horror film. 6/10

 

The Birthday Party (Annie Clark aka St. Vincent)

This looks excellent and it's hard to believe that St. Vincent is new to the game of directing. Visually stunning and beautifully shot, but the story doesn't quite do it for me. 5/10

 

Don't Fall (Roxanne Benjamin)

Roxanne Benjamin has already directed a short film for the anthology Southbound, and this time she really let us know she's one to look out for. Don't Fall are easily the best short of XX. It's a familiar story and all that, but it's lots of fun and it's horror as fuck. 8/10

 

Her Only Living Son (Karyn Kusama)

Karyn Kuasa might be best known for directing the abysmal Æon Flux, but ten years later she actually directed the masterpiece that is The Invitation. And while this is no new The Invitation, this one's very good and interesting. 7/10

 

This is another example of how shitty the IMDB rating system is. 4 point fuckin' 6. Ridiculous!

The Trust - Once upon a time, when I was no more than a kid/teenager, Nicolas Cage was a huge favourite of mine. He was never the greatest actor, but he had a certain form of charm and charisma that I really liked. The Rock, Con Air, Face/Off and Bringing Out the Dead were all a huge part of my childhood/teenage. But as time went on he got involved in more and more shit, and his reputation has been poor since forever now. But despite this he does manage to get into a good film every now and then.  Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Joe, Kick-Ass, Lord of War, National Treasure, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and of course Werewolf Women of the SS and, in my humble opinion, examples of this.

 

The Trust is another one, co-starring the underrated Elijah Wood. It's a dark and gritty crime-thriller that offers nothing new to the table, but it's fun for what it is and another example of a good Nicolas Cage film in the 00's. I thought it was surprisingly clever tbh.

 

Far from a masterpiece, but another film to show that Nicolas Cage still has some of that charisma left inside of him, even tho he rarely let us see it.

 

Sky Ferreira is too hot btw. Yumm!

IDGI

Finished two new seasons:

 

Fargo, season 3. Might be my favourite of the three so far. Just totally fucking fantastic from begining to end, and as with the previous two seasons, what a great cast and what a brilliant character gallery. I also love the way they connected this to earlier seasons.

 

 

 

Better Call Saul, season 3. Again, another great season. Them characters are everything in this series, and this time around the roster was even better. That ending!

Road Games - This was not at all what I was expecting, but it was a nice surprise to say the least. It starts really slow and atmospheric and while you can sense something is going on, the pace is slow and it just takes ages before things starts happening.

 

The first half of the film plays out like a very dramatic thriller, filled with a Hitchcockian turn of suspense and an incredible amount of tension. But as it goes on, it turns more into a horror film, but it never gives anything away.

 

It's well-written, directed and acted, but there's especially two elements that takes this above your entertaining horror/thriller: it is visually striking. The fields, the forests and the roads set for an amazing setting, and the atmosphere it creates is amazing. It looks and feels very rural, and that is something that I have come to love over the years.

 

The second thing is the soundtrack by Daniel Elms which is really atmospheric and nice.

 

The end credits are among the best I've seen. There's not much going on, but as the credits roll we see pictures of the rural countryside, with Carpenter fuckin' Brut's Hang 'em High playing. That is as simple as it gets, but it's absolutely magnificent. Holy shit, talk about a clever move! So simple, yet so effective.

 

Headshot - The indonesian directors Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel, better known as the Mo Brothers, once again teams up for a film, and once again they deliver the shit out of it. Headshot delivers a simple plot with simple, familiar characters,and in that sense two hours is way too long. The could easily have made this into a 80-90 minutes film. However, they don't give a fuck and dragges it out to a 120 minutes long bloodbath. This is ultra-fucking-violence from begining to end. There is no end to the brutality. It's a martial arts actioner starring Iko Uwais, and when a film stars Iko Uwais you know what to expect. While not as good as some of his previous films, this is probably the most violent I've ever seen him. In fact, it's one of the more violent films I've ever seen.

 

Also, don't miss out on Very Tri Yulisman and Julie Estelle, also knows as Baseball Bat Man and Hammer Girl from The Raid 2.

 

While obviously inspired by The Raid I & II, and probably also a film like Merantau, there's a strong 80's and 90's Hong Kong feeling laying over the film. Which is something I really enjoy.

 

Anyway, if you'e into films like those, just watch it. You'll be entertained, unless you are a weak ass pussy.

 

 

I thought Cuba was phenomenal as O.J. Simpson. Really fucking good. Loved the entire show, to my big surprise.

Lights Out - I liked the short and there was quite a bit of fuzz surrounding this film at the time of its release as it was supossed to be super scary and whatnot. But what we have here is another modern popcorn-horror flick that relies on jumpscares throughout the entire film and doesn't spend any time whatsoever to build its characters, its plot or the supernatural element. It's a film made to scare regular movie theater goers that's not very much into horror.

 

Popcorn horror is what this is, in the true sense of the words. It simply doesn't look like David F. Sandberg have put much thought into this film at all. Kept taking the easy ways out of things. Shame.

 

However, it's not a bad film. It's just not a great one either. Decent enough if you want something easy on a late sunday evening, but if you want something that'll stick to you this isn't it, unless you've watched less than 25-30 horror films during your life. Then it might just please you a lot.

 

 

Been playing this with my friend lately. Simple, side-scrolling run 'n gun actioner with ultra-violence and lots of humor. It's as silly as it's fun, and the character rooster is amazing. I think these are the characters we've unlocked so far:

 

Rambro

Brommando

B. A. Broracus

Brodell Walker

Bro Hard

MacBrover

Brade

Bro Dredd

Bro In Black

Snake Broskin

Brominator

Brobocop

Indiana Brones

Ash Brolliams

Mr. Anderbro

The Boondock Bros

Brochete

Bronan the Brobarian

Ellen Ripbro

Time Bro

Broniversal Soldier

The Brocketeer

Dirty Brorry

 

If you are, like me, kinda into 80's, 90's and early 00's action heroes you'll know who all, or the majority, of these are. We're having lots of fun with this game, and it was cheap as fuck. Almost free. Totally worth it!

 

Quote

A Bro is a hypermasculine action hero-style commando, who fights terrorists and rescues his/her bro teammates and prisoners of war from captivity. Bros are parodies of the fictional pro- and antagonists of 80s and 90s action movies and TV series (with some more recent or older exceptions).

 

Once upon a time, Todd Phillips was a fairly respected director. He wasn't a deep director, he wasn't an artsy director and he wasn't a classy director. But he delivered some good rides, time after time after time. Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies and Frat House are  both good documentaries, and Road Trip, Old School and Starsky & Hutch are really good comedies, especially the two last ones. I'd even go as far as to call them modern semi-classics.

 

Then came School for Scoundrels, and everything went to hell, with him following it up with shitfests like The Hangover trilogy and Due Date.

 

So you could say that my expectations were rather low as I began streaming his newest film, the biographical drama/comedy War Dogs. The film is heavily heavily fictionalized and dramatized, and while it does feature some of the comedy he's gotten known for, it's a much darker and serious film than what he's made in the past. It's a bit too long, but it was cool enough, was well-directed and nicely acted. Especially Jonah Hill as a fucked up sleazebag comes off really good in the film. He's the driving force in the film.

 

It's not his Phillips' best film, but it is surely worth a look.

 

 

 

And I watched a film called Premium Rush yesterday. Action-thriller about a bicycle messenger who's being followed around New York. It's over the top, stupid as fuck and a general shitfest of a film, but the high-octane action and chase scenes work really well and makes it somewhat very enjoyable. A nice film if you want something light a late saturday night.

 

Still hate the shit out of Joseph Gordon-Levitt tho. One of the most punchable faces in cinema.

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/0010329347_10.jpg

 

 

The cover art for Devil Electric's debut album, Devil Electric, sure got me interested. The cover is just stunning. Reminds me quite abit about some of the older Uncle Acid pictures. Not heard the band yet, but I read that they're somewhat a mix of Coven, Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath, Lucifer, Pentagram and such. Will give it a spin later on if it's out yet.