In death metal! Isn’t that the usual method?

Sorry for the silence. I had some notion I was going to start blogging more regularly in November, and then the US election happened and, well. It was like my usual November funk times ten thousand.

Anyway, to cheer me up, my husband took me out for our annual autumnal ear-splitting metal concert. There’s usually a good one in November. I don’t know what it is about Vancouver’s damp darkness that attracts– haha, just kidding, I know exactly.

Anyway, this year we saw Russian folk-metal legends ARKONA (yay, Masha Scream). They’ve got bagpipes, too, somewhat reminiscent of our Estonian favourites, Metsatöll. Here’s a bit of their pagan metal goodness:

And then there was an Italian group we’d never heard of, Fleshgod Apocalypse, who were hilariously theatrical. They had an actual, operatic soprano dressed like this, with feathered mask and caduceus. They used a bit too much strobe, and I thought the drums (which were the audio equivalent of the strobe) were too loud, but they were still a lot of overblown fun. Here’s one of their songs (with better balance on the drum volume) —

Anyway, I know this kind of music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I left immensely cheered up. It’s nice to be able to outsource your anger sometimes, y’know. I sympathize that much with certain US voters, I suppose. Nobody’s electing Masha Scream to public office, though. Unless…

NB: I am also aware, in an era when xenophobia is beginning to rear its ugly head again around the world, that metal is and has been a genre favoured by white supremacy. We try to screen the bands we listen to, and neither of these groups are on the ADL List of Hate Music Groups. However, I don’t know everything, so please don’t hesitate to let me know if these groups are problematic (aside from volume issues — we know about those). We’re always looking for the machines that kill fascists, not the ones that help them grow.