Doomed! ... a Prison Tatt records update, and MCoQ horrorcast™ review.

Doomed because listeners and I were envisioning mushroom clouds Friday a.m., when the EAS issued a "Civil Emergency from a Civil Authority." Sounds scary, right?!?! Although serious, it turned out to be an almost-state-wide Amber Alert, another disgruntled Dad nabbing his kid and driving off, leaving a hysterical wife, girlfriend or ex-wife behind. Why not SAY "Amber Alert," EAS, instead of potentially causing widespread panic? Testing the system, they were, yeah that's right, getting us prepared for an "actual emergency." I imagine the flood of expletives covering the state that night, as apparently these non-specific warnings were also forcing their way through people's DVRs as well. Nice. Do I even have to say "God Bless America," anymore? What could be the country with the best standard of living in the world continues its rapid, vapid decline. Enough! By clicking on everyone's favorite miner, above, you can check the My Castle of Quiet playlist for listeners' responses, and some of my own craaaaaazy ideas about what's really wrong and how to fix it, also known as "shit that will never happen."

Behind me on the Garden State Parkway this morning, another driver was going ballistic, gesticulating wildly, so much so that I thought my own car was on fire. He looked like Cheswick from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and he was sure going cuckoo about something. I wish I had a rear camera on my car, as his wild motions were the perfect soundtrack to what was playing on the stereo, the forthcoming Prison Tatt record by The Communion, A Desired Level of Unease. The Communion are a band that I felt the energetic importance of the very first time I saw them play, and make no mistake, this one is the recording that they were meant to make, and I say humbly, that Prison Tatt was meant to release. It's an absolute mass murder of a record, with their now-trademark excellent songwriting, and stylistic hybrid of blast beats, hardcore flights, and sludge anthems. Fuck yeah, I'm bragging. Hope to have this one out by early next year, though finding the right pressing plant to meet PT's relatively high standard has been difficult. Silly me, I want records to come from the factory without what sounds like several years of usage-oriented surface noise. Silly me.

Since I've been tending to release things in twos, up next are two great records, Haare's Rautapilvi, a magnificent, atmospheric, ritualistic, occult-mood record, with some source material culled (with permission) from Circle's Forest LP. Almost simultaneously, should be coming the one-sider from Josh Lay's Glass Coffin, Haunted By The Ghosts of the Damned, a murky, chilling exercise in slow-kill black metal. Rarely has a record sounded so cobweb-laden, as though it were recorded in the most fetid of basement torture-dungeons. Bravo, Josh! Can't wait for these to hit the street.

All other titles, excepting PT 001, Grasshopper's Calling All Creeps, remain in print, though supplies are dwindling on some. Our most-recent twosome, Husere Grav's Myths, comprising four slabs of thoroughly haunting funereal drone, and Ives' Abandon, the best black-metal demo tape of 2010, quite gloriously reissued on vinyl, continue to sell, but the rate of consumption could always be better (especially on the Ives—what is with you people??) I believe in these records so much, and I simply don't put out anything that provokes naught but a white-hot emotional reaction within myself, that I am sometimes mystified at the dragging nature of sales. Fuck the economy, these are records you need to have! Big sellers in recent history include Sesso Violento's Pacificador, absolutely one of the best raw black metal records of the past year, and T.O.M.B.'s Xesse—the hardest, scariest, most-nightmarish blackened-occult-noise record I've ever heard; both of these titles are still available, though not for much longer.

Also keep an eye out for our arresting new print ad in the latest issue of Yeti, due to hit the stands very soon. Coming later in 2012, The Bog Nebula by Long Distance Poison will likely accompany The Communion, as to relative street date, records by EID/Anthony Saunders (Non-Conformance and Corrective Action o/s LP), Demonologists (as-yet-untitled, though fucking GREAT o/s LP; some of their best work that I've heard), in all probability the CD by Chaos*Majik will see the light of day, records by Rust Worship, Isa Christ, C. Lavender, Tomhet, Kavra and many, many more tba—I ought not get too ahead of myself. Suffice it to say, 2012 will be the Year of the Prison Tatt. We also have a great distro, always growing. Visit our online store and primary site, here.

This week's horrorcast proved conclusively that I can't do any better than my best, and I'm having a great time, and it would seem that the listeners are as well. So much great new music from so many great labels and artists makes my job easy, and again, you can check out the playlist by clicking on the MBV miner, above. Some favorites this week were a 1999 track by Mortiis, the now ever-present Cult of Daath, and the equally can't-get-quite-enough-of-them Demonologists.

Coming up next Thursday night/Friday morning, a New Jersey-themed performance by returning heroes FUN, to be taped this Sunday, as part of their ongoing, year-by-year FUN Go! America! performance series. More details about that later this week; for now, you can view the Facebook event announcement here.

As always, thanks to all Castleheads, the old die-hards and new converts, for listening and for your endless and viable support. Back soon.