Thoughts Of Decay

Well that didn’t last long, huh?

Three months of content and then nothing until whenever I publish this. I should have expected it, from the kind of person to commence with some project that I believe will bring me fulfillment, only to give it up after a short time when there’s no immediate payoff. I was probably too ambitious, attempting an exhaustive amount of mini reviews I was never going to catch up on. I started at a really good pace and it all ended abruptly.

My last post was August 2019, a long article on the albums which stood out as the most unique and memorable releases of the decade. I’m proud of it, and I’m also proud of the other pieces I have posted, particularly the self-disclosing Introductions. I had a lot of ideas and draft posts in the works, including more lists, reviews and recommendations, and opinion pieces intending to discuss musical topics that I don’t think people acknowledge enough.

Now it is 2023. A surreal number, and many things in the world are not the same. I’ve changed a lot too, or rather I understand myself a lot more than I did back then. I’m not going to go back and change any of the things I have said before, just know that some of my views may have shifted a little. I took the time to learn how to play the guitar and sing, and even write a few pieces of my own. I’m up to four so far! That’s about one song per year. I said I don’t really stick to projects, so progress is incredibly sluggish, like the songs themselves. Maybe I’ll actually make a record someday so you can hear what comes out of a person like me, with all my experiences, memories and influences.

I’ve discovered that I love the vulnerability of performing live, to share my interpretations of artists that have left a mark on me, and especially presenting the very exposing pieces I’ve made. I started out nervous at first but I made sure to practise enough, and the last couple of times have been, on reflection, my first feelings of true confidence. Live music is the most beautiful thing, and now I’ve experienced it from both sides of the proverbial stage.

I’ve been trying to communicate how important music is to me through my writing so far. It has remained a constant through these absent years and that isn’t going to change. My library continues to grow, the addiction is as ingrained as ever, and as such my taste expands too. I’ve finally embraced death metal; mostly the modern, cavernous, dissonant kind, but some of the classic stuff too. I’ve developed a larger appreciation for post-hardcore, math-core and RYM-core, with too many new discoveries to highlight only a few. My black metal has become blacker, my doom metal doomier. I’ve found many new favourites and I’ve grown fonder of some old ones. Oh, and I love The 1975.

I don’t have a plan. I am not “back”, and there was barely anyone to notice I left. I just wrote this today [edit: a few weeks ago], and I guess we’ll see if I write anything else. I’m going to look at my documents and possibly finish some drafts, and consider what else I have to say. Expect nothing – I know what I’m like. For now, here are some things I am looking forward to this year, music and otherwise:

• New albums from Periphery, Liturgy, Daughter, Austere and Boygenius.
• Flying out to LA to see AFI perform “Sing The Sorrow”.
• ArcTanGent festival.
• Damnation festival
• Tears Of The Kingdom.
• Passing Counselling Skills Level 2 and starting Level 3.
• Reading.

Note: I should probably update the Dark Tranquillity Worst to Best list. I’ve been getting 3-4 hits a day thanks to people Googling “Dark Tranquillity best album” and ‘Moment’ came out in 2020. Spoiler: it’s around the lower middle. Better than ‘Skydancer’, worse than ‘We Are The Void’.