FILM, MUSIC and LITERATURE
Ride the Lightning is Metallica’s second album. In most ways this is a better album than the debut album Kill ‘Em All. But there are on the other hand a couple of songs I usually skip when I listen tp it. Not because they’re bad in any way, shape or form. It’s more like the other songs are so much better that these few skippable track doesn’t come up to par in the comparison. James...
Squid Game started out as a phenomenon a few years ago. I think the show premiered in 2021. In my eyes, it was almost perfect. It was unpredictable, beautifully set, and totally absurd. Yet, both frightening and an insight into what desperate humans can do to each other for greed. The game itself takes hundreds of people who are in great financial trouble and offers them a way to pay off their enormous debt by...
Reign in Blood is the third studio album by the legendary Thrash Metal Band Slayer. It’s widely considered to be a masterpiece and a cornser stone in the foundation of the genre. I couldn’t agree more. This is the definite Slayer album. There’s not doubt about it at all! Controversy There was a bit of controversy about it though. That’s an understatement of course. According to som sources Reign in Blood was refused distribution because...
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance is a very impressive film. It’s written and directed by Michael Haneke, who has given us many great and thought-provoking epics through the years. 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance is about a number of people’s everyday lives, seemingly unrelated to one another, that are portrayed in an intimate manner. Gradually, we get to know the different characters and begin to understand more and more what they...
Leprosy, the second album by Death, the forefathers of Death Metal, sounds heavier than its predecessor Scream Bloody Gore. The production is better, the sound is fatter and the songs are a bit more complex. But Leprosy is still an infant in the future of Death and Chuck Schuldiner. The lyrics are somewhat evolved from the more “childish” themes of Scream Bloody Gore. This is more social conscious. Still, the themes are about death and...
Endless Pain in the first album from the German Thrash Metal band Kreator. The band itself is not a new acquaintance to be, but I have very few reference point in their early material. Not do I own any of the first few albums. Luckily there are streaming services. That goes against everything I believe in when it comes to physical media of course. But beggars can’t be choosers. And besides, I don’t really practice...
Kill ‘Em All is the debut album of the now legendary band Metallica. It was originally meant to be called Metal up you Ass but the record company wouldn’t let them call it that. At least that’s what the legend said. If it’s true or not? Who knows and who cares, it’s a great story! Credited as members of the band at this point were James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammet, and Cliff Burton. Dave...
Hell Awaits is the second studio album by Slayer. Compared to the debut – Show no Mercy, Hell Waits is much more developed in the song department. It started already on the EP Haunting the Chapel and here they take it one step further. It really starting to sound like slaying now. Tom Arays still tries to sing at occasions but I think he’s starting to find his voice here. The guitars are doing more...
Scream Bloody Gore is the first album from the Death Metal pioneer band Death. I wouldn’t say that it was a one man band, but I think bandleader and only constant member Chuck Shuldiner was to Death what Lemmy was to Motörhead. Scream Bloody Gore has the characteristic Death Metal vocals but it’s not superfast in any way, shape or form. I would classify Scream Bloody Gore more as Thrash than Death really. It’s perhaps...
Marshmallow is a film from 2025 that mainly belongs to the horror genre. If you check out the trailer below, you’ll probably think the same thing I thought. Marshmallow is a Friday the 13th clone or at least a very tyåicla slasher set in a summer camp environment. Because it is, sort of. There is a summer camp, and there is someone in a mask hunting the kids down one by one. Furthermore, there is...
Section 31 is the latest reincarnation of the Star Trek universe. It follows, to some extent, the events that took place in the series Star Trek: Discovery. Although with that said, I couldn’t really explain how or why, even if I wanted to. Section 31 is by far the messiest of all the Star Trek movies. Given that Star Trek: Discovery was also messy and was balancing on the timeline with delicacy. The alternate reality...
Haunting the Chapel is an EP by Slayer. It contains three or four song demdening on which version you listen to. Nothing strange, it’s quite common that a bonus track is including with a reissue of something formerly released. In this case we get Aggressive Perfector as a bonus. This was also included among the bonus songs on a Show no Mercy reissue. I don’t think it’s their strongest song and it certainly doesn’t top...
Walls of Jericho is, strictly speaking, really much more than just Walls of Jericho when you listen to the CD. It also includes their first mini-LP, the self-titled Helloween, which contains my absolute favorite track by the band – Murderer. All five songs are actually absolutely fantastic, but Murderer will probably forever be the icing on the cake when it comes to Helloween. Once you’ve worked your way through the five songs from the mini-LP,...