PODCAST: The Best ov 2021 (January 2022 Episode)

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Welcome to the first episode of the year, which -- in accordance with sacred tradition -- looks back on the best parts of the last year. It is, indeed, arriving late, but what isn't arriving late these days, eh? Anyway, this year’s “Best ov” collection could be fairly dubbed a sculpture, having begun its life as a massive slate of releases, which had to be chiseled and hammered away until a beautiful portrait of 2021 emerged from the once-rough stone. What stands here is a monument to the year’s signature offerings from the realms of Goth, post-punk, deathrock, darkwave, coldwave, film scores, dark metal, and the shadows between.

Of corpse, many cuts had to be made in order to distill what is essentially a "Top 40 Countdown," sans the countdown aspect. Instead of ranking my choices, I've placed them in an order that flows smoothly between the various styles, as a normal episode would. The result is a sonic time-capsule, preserved playlist, or themed mix-tape, if you will, of the songs, artists, and albums that stood out, made the strongest impressions, or were attached to the defining moments of the year that was 2021. During the talk breaks, you will hear music from some of the standout films, television shows, and dark ambient releases of the year as well. And while the accompanying graphic certainly includes the cover art from a lot of my personal highlights, it acts as more of a representative collage than a chart.

As with every year, there are a few entries on the list that weren't covered on the show before. Either they evaded my view, or emerged late in the year -- which is why I do these "Best ov" shows in January, to give everyone room to catch their breath. That said, this will not merely be a clip-show or rehash, you're also getting some brand new music – from the likes of Schröttersburg, Noktva, Denner, Locust Revival, Steven Price’s score music to Last Night in Soho, and Jim Williams' music from Titane, to name a few! So, without further ado, welcome to the "Out ov the Coffin: Best ov 2021" Edition (aka The January 2022 Episode). Arriving late, but no less great! I hope you enjoy this specially curated mix. And if you like what you hear, please share the link online, or pass it along to your like-minded friends.

 

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PLAYLIST BEGINS HERE
Format: Band Name - Song Title [Album Title, Year]

(each band name is also a website link)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)

"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
  Show recorded on: January 31st, 2022

Opening Theme: 
Elliot Goldenthal - Libera Me [from "Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994]

Kælan Mikla - Sólstöður  [Undir Köldum Norðurljósum, 2021] (watch the video)
-
Steven Price – When I Feel More at Home / Feel Free to Run a Mile / The Beginning  [“Last Night In Soho” (score) 2021]
-
Nox Novacula – Last Will and Testament  [Ascension, 2021] (tour dates) (watch the video)
Sevit – Love or Madness  [On The Edge Of A Darker Place, 2020/2021] (watch the video)
ESSES – Before the Blight  [Bloodletting for the Lonely, 2021] (watch the video)
Vision Video – In My Side  [Inked in Red, 2021]
Noktva – In Deep  [Like Seven Forgotten Tales, 2021] (watch the video)
Locust Revival – Modern Desires  [Mistakes, 2021]
ROME – Feral Agents  [Parlez-Vous Hate, 2021]
The Awakening – Empty Garden  [This Alchemy, 2021]
The Newton Brothers – Come, Darkness  ["Midnight Mass" (soundtrack) 2021]
Bleib Modern – Loony Voices  [Afraid to Leave, 2021] (watch the video)
-
John Carpenter – Dead Eyes  [Lost Themes III, 2021]
-
Astari Nite - All Else is a Curse  [single, [2021]
Twin Peaks (Твин Пикс) - Vampires (Вампиры)  [Shanghai Basements (По Шанхайским подвалам), 2021]
Rose Teeth – Cold Breath [single, 2021] (watch the video)
Kill Shelter & Antipole – All for Nothing  [A Haunted Place, 2021]
A Projection - Darwin's Eden  [single, 2021] (watch the video)
Whispering Sons – (I Leave You) Wounded  [Several Others, 2021]
Denner - Ultima Thulé  [Semi Monde, 2021]
Nuovo Testamento – The Searcher  [New Earth, 2021] (watch the video) 

New Canyons – Adult Education  [Heavy Water, 2021]
Jim Williams – Car Fuck  [“Titane” (soundtrack) 2021]     
-
Sphäre Sechs – Collapsing Cloud  [Beta Pictoris, 2021]
-
Varsovie – L'Ombre et la nuit  [L'Ombre et la nuit, 2021]
Seraphim Shock – Angel Grey [single, 2021]
Scary Black - American Gothic  [single, 2021]
Vain Warr – Fuck in the Fire  [Maleficia Carnalia, 2021] (watch the video)
Silent – A New Slave  [Modern Hate, 2021] (watch the video)
Schröttersburg - Czarne ● Słońce (Black Sun)  [Dalet, 2021]
Entertainment – Voyeur  [Horror Part 1, 2021] (watch the video)
Momy Fortuna - Hexennacht  [Hexennacht, 2021] (watch the video)
New Skeletal Faces – Banshee Sex Tomb  [Sextinction EP, 2021] (watch the video)
-
Hans Zimmer – The Fall / Blood for Blood  ["Dune" (soundtrack) 2021]
-
Abysmal Grief – Idolatry of the Bones  [Funeral Cult of Personality, 2021]
Tribulation – Dirge of a Dying Soul  [Where the Gloom Becomes Sound, 2021]
Wolves in the Throne Room – Mountain Magick  [Primordial Arcana, 2021] (watch the video)
Crystal Coffin – Shapeshifter Huntsman   [The Starway Eternal, 2021] (watch the video)
Svrm – Крематорій (Crematorium)  [Розпад (Decay), 2021]
Daniel Hart – You Are No Knight (exc.)  [“The Green Knight” (soundtrack) 2021]
Spectral Wound – Frigid and Spellbound  [A Diabolic Thirst, 2021]
John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies – From the Fire  ["Halloween Kills” (soundrack) 2021]
Light of the Morning Star - Spectres  [Charnel Noir, 2021]
Ancient Wisdom – And God Saw  [A Celebration In Honor of Death, 2021]
-
LẼTUM – Echoes from a Time Without End  [The Face of Life and Death, 2021]
-
Selvans - Verrà Corvo Morto  [Dark Italian Art, 2021]
 

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PODCAST: December 2021 Episode

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

 

We have arrived at the end of a long, difficult year, facing the potential warmth of a holiday season, contrasted by the inevitable cold of winter, and carrying a sense of loss, even as we attempt to see through the wind and weather to what might wait for us on the other side. That is the theme for this month's show, if there need be a theme.

We begin the show, sadly, by bidding a fond farewell to beloved author Anne Rice (October 4, 1941 – December 11, 2021), who breathed new, eternal life into the vampire archetype with her breakthrough 1976 novel, Interview with the Vampire, and its many sequels, now collectively known as "The Vampire Chronicles." Considering that this show has, for decades now, opened with the theme from the movie adaptation of that first book, I obviously have a long-standing, deep, personal connection to the worlds she created, and a great respect for the influence her work had on me from my teenage years onward. I think we all do -- all who are reading this, at least -- so I designed the opening of this show as a small tribute to her memory, and made sure to preserve, in it, her actual voice, using samples from a vintage interview, as well as her introduction to the VHS release of Interview. Add to that the rare French version of the immortal Concrete Blonde classic, "Bloodletting," which was directly inspired by The Vampire Lestat, plus more of the beautiful score music of Elliot Goldenthal, and I hope that the result is a fitting memorial.

Rest in peace, Anne.

The first full set sends us on a rather pensive, December-ish journey, taking off from colder climes of Eastern Europe with some appropriately melancholy Russian post-punk from the latest Ploho album, Фантомные Чувства (Phantom Feelings). Following with their own melancholic post-punk is German act Pink Turns Blue, whose new album Tainted continues their decades-long signature sound. Sweden's Principe Valiente then catch the cold, now leaning heavily towards the more somber side of their songwriting with new single "Porcelain." Next, Portland's self-described "Queer Outsider Chamber Music" ensemble, Disemballerina, have channeled their life experiences into new EP entitled Fawn, based on human acute stress response. We then hear from Peter Bjärgö (Arcana) with the title track from his latest solo work, The Translucency of Mind's Decay, before closing the set with one of my favorite album closers of the year, Nox Novacula's unexpected "Shattered World."

Set two is where we have quarantined all of the specifically Christmas-related music -- so this will either be a joy for you to unwrap, or a pile of cheer to sidestep on the sidewalk of the season. Either way, it's packaged for your convenience. We begin with a request that I can't believe I missed last Christmas: 1000 Ho-Ho DJs (aka Alex Reed of Seeming, ThouShaltNot) doing their original parody of Ministry's "Every Day is Halloween," but in this case, "(Every Day Is) Xmas," with a great set of new lyrics. After that, I drop a pair of holiday essentials in your stockings, one from Alien Sex Fiend and one from Hanoi Rocks; both are among my all-time favorites, and can be heard several times a year at the Bodcave, I assure you. Inspired by a recent screening at Nashville's Belcourt Theatre, we then hear a pair (Danny Elfman +Siouxsie & the Banshees) from the other utterly Christmas-y non-Christmas movie, Batman Returns. If you haven't watched it in a while, I promise you it has Xmas vibes throughout, it's only gotten better with age, and it is *always* snowing in this version of Gotham. Purrrr-fect seasonal viewing. Finally, we close this year's holiday set with the new Christmas song from The Cruxshadows, whose new 2021 pay-what-you-like single is entitled "The Lighted String."

 

Set three brings us back to the show's more traditional format, starting off with new music from Vain Warr, the latest project from Joshua Strachan of Blacklist and Vaura, this time delivering a more distorted mix of post-punk styles on Maleficia Carnalia. Following that, we go deeper into the new Child of Night album, The Walls at Dawn, before digging into the cold weather vaults for a classic from The Last Dance. We then hear new darkwave from Licorice Chamber, featuring Layla Reyna from Strap on Halo, before heading over to Ireland for a single from newcomer Ava Vox. Finally, we start to add some weight to the soundscape, getting heavier as we head stealthily towards the metal portion of the show, with a new one from California's New Skeletal Faces. The band's latest EP, Sextinction, sees them tightening their fusion of punk/deathrock and upside-down-crossover metal influences.

Set four brings us to dark metal's door, starting with a transitional post-punk/metal piece from the new Rope Sect album, Proskynesi. We then go full-bore black metal with new music from Canada's Ossuaire, taken from their new album Triumvirat. This time of year always makes me turn to the colder atmosphere of black metal, and few satisfy that need like Ukraine's Drudkh, whom I've turned to here for a winter classic from their 2012 album, Eternal Turn of the Wheel. We then travel to Serbia for a new one from CMPT, whose new album Krv i pepeo (eng. Blood and ash) is based on the Balkan belief in the "Deaf Age," which refers to the darkest moment in the night, when unclean spirits and the forces of the underworld take over the world while nature sinks into silence. Tis the season! The set concludes with a recent winter classic from Washington's Isenordal, followed by an equally winter-obsessed dark ambient / dungeon synth piece from Nashville's own Crypt of Carmilla.

The Finally, this December show concludes, as has become tradition here, by resurrecting the old Victorian custom of sharing supernatural tales during the long nights of Christmas time. This year, I've chosen a classic from Charles Dickens -- but not the one you're thinking of! This one was the precursor and inspiration for A Christmas Carol, yes, but it has an even more appropriate cast of characters -- a gravedigger, in his beloved graveyard, visited and tormented by the king of the goblins and his mischievous ilk. Grab a blanket and a spirit, and settle in for this tale -- delivered as an extended theatre/opera piece -- entitled "The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton." Good night, and good season. I will talk to you all in January, when I return with the "Best of 2021" show...

All of that PLUS: New soundtrack work from "Midnight Mass" and "Dune"; New instrumental work from Black Tape for a Blue Girl; selections from the winter vaults; Updates, well wishes, and more. 

Ready to hear the show?
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PLAYLIST BEGINS HERE
Format: Band Name - Song Title [Album Title, Year]

(each band name is also a website link)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)

"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
  Show recorded:  December 21st - 22nd, 2021

Opening Theme: 
Elliot Goldenthal - Libera Me [from "Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994]

 

[SAMPLE] Anne Rice's Intro the "Interview with the Vampire" VHS
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) (French version) ["Bloodletting" (single), 1991]
[SAMPLE] Anne Rice (Interview, 1993)
Elliot Goldenthal - Lestat's Recitative (exc.)  ["Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994]
-
The Newton Brothers - Dignity  ["Midnight Mass" (soundtrack) 2021]
-
Ploho - Камни (Stones)  [Фантомные Чувства (Phantom Feelings), 2021]
Pink Turns Blue - Not Even Trying [Tainted, 2021]
Principe Valiente - Porcelain  [single, 2021]
Disemballerina - Somnambulist [Fawn, 2021]
Peter Bjärgö - The Translucency of Mind's Decay   [The Translucency of Mind's Decay, 2021]
Nox Novacula - Shattered World  [Ascension, 2021]
-
Danny Elfman - The Cemetery  ["Batman Returns" (soundtrack) 1992]
-
1000 Ho-Ho DJs - (Every Day Is) Xmas  [single, 2020]  ^RQ^
Alien Sex Fiend - Stuff the Turkey  [Stuff The Turkey/They All Call Me Crazy, 1987]
Hanoi Rocks - Dead By X-Mas  [Self Destruction Blues, 1982]
Danny Elfman - Birth of a Penguin (Part I)  ["Batman Returns" (soundtrack) 1992]
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Face to Face  ["Batman Returns" (soundtrack) 1992]
The Cruxshadows - The Lighted String  [Christmas single, 2021]
-
The Legendary Pink Dots - Chrystopia: The Closing Credits (Xmas 2018)  [Festive Volume 2 (comp.) 2021]
-
Vain Warr - Ready to Receive (The Influence of a Disembodied Spirit)  [Maleficia Carnalia, 2021]
Child of Night - Aurora  [The Walls at Dawn, 2021]
The Last Dance - Winter  [Perfect, 2002]
Licorice Chamber - This Love is Dark (Codename:Lola Mix)  [This Love is Dark (Single), 2021]
Ava Vox - Crash  [single, 2021]
New Skeletal Faces - Extinction of Bodies  [Sextinction EP, 2021]
-
Hans Zimmer - Night on Arrakis  ["Dune" (soundtrack) 2021]
-
Rope Sect - Proskynesis II  [Proskynesi, 2021]
Ossuaire - Ignipotentis  [Triumvirat, 2021]
Drudkh - Ніч зіткана зі снігу, вітрів та сивих зірок (грудень) (Night Woven of Snow, Winds and Grey-haired Stars (December) [Вічний оберт колеса (Eternal Turn of the Wheel), 2012]
CMPT - Krv i pepeo  [Krv i pepeo, 2021]
Isenordal - Eternal Winter of the Mind  [Isenordal/Void Omnia (split), 2018]
Crypt of Carmilla - Approaching Evening Winter Storm  [Wintermoon Phantasmagoria, 2020]
-
Black Tape for a Blue Girl - The Ghost of Monte Cassino Abbey  [The Instrumental Serpent, 2021]
-
Sir Ralph Richardson - The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton (Charles Dickens) [BBC Radio, 1962]

 

________________

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PODCAST: November 2021 Episode

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EPISODE NOTES & HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Following that hazy cloud of in between days that comprise the post-Halloween season, the November 2021 episode of "Out ov the Coffin" emerges late, but with two full armloads of freshly harvested music. It all begins with the latest single from Seraphim Shock, a bittersweet, mid-tempo piece which also seems to exist between dark and sentimental states -- as could be called a signature of their sound, as well as the season.

After an appropriately-titled, moody instrumental piece from the new Child of Night album, The Walls at Dawn, the first full set begins with newcomers Grundeis (Germany), who offer the first taste of their debut full length, Amygdala. A promising and moving take on goth and deathrock sounds, combined for both musical and emotional impact. From there, we move to a fresh remix from trad-goth legacy act The Wake, taken from their new Mixers & Elixirs EP. We then dip a little deeper into The Awakening's new This Alchemy album, before taking in an alternate studio version of ROME's "Kali Yuga Über Alles," as recorded for their more intimate Hansa Studios Session II LP. The ever-popular spectre of Russian post-punk then makes an appearance, in the form a song from Dneprovsky Bereg, taken from their 2021 EP Случай. Finally, we close the set with a second dose of Esses excellent new Bloodletting for the Lonely. Having been a staple of the ever-fruitful Oakland scene for many years, the members of Esses recently relocated to Portland, Oregon, joining another quite productive US scene. 

It's fair to say that set two starts in a catchy '80s mood, kicking off with an upbeat new single from UK darkwave act Corlyx, taken from their forthcoming Blood in the Disco album, before moving into a second taste of Vision Video's equally catchy, but more post-punk leaning, new Inked in Red album. UK goth rock act Sirens of Light then make their debut with a reworked early 2000s track entitled "Maria," which leads us down under for a debut from Australian post-punk outfit, Body Maintenance. We then reach into the vaults for something from Clan of Xymox's recently reissued Peel Sessions collection, in honor of their forthcoming US tour (they'll be in Nashville on March 20th, 2022). And finally, set two rounds out with the new single from darkwave-crooner Panic Priest, teasing an album-to-be with the single "Angelsteal."

Set three, I describe as a bit of a journey into the ether. Not to be confused with an entirely down-tempo set, the songs that have been sewn together here share a common thread of atmospheric quality, regardless of bpm. It begins with a 30th anniversary salute to the title track from Voivod's 1991 album, Angel Rat. Perhaps unexpected, it is a song that transcended the genre boundaries of its time, striking a bizarre, somber mood unmatched by its peers. Keeping with the anniversaries, we then hear from original UK post-punk act, The Sound, in honor of the 40th anniversary of their 1981 LP From the Lions Mouth. The unmistakable sound of Cocteau Twins take us into the following year with the title track from their 1982 debut Garlands, followed by a new collaboration from Dead Can Dance co-founder Lisa Gerrard and the band's live keyboardist Jules Maxwell, who have just released the album Burn. We then go deeper into Casa Luna, the new EP from ethereal darkwave masters Lycia, before closing the set with another collaborative piece, this time from everyone's favorite Icelandic witches, Kælan Mikla, and ethereal French post-metal act Alcest. 

Now that I've invoked the M-word, it's safe to say that set four finds us deep in the woods for the dark metal portion of the show. Technically, we begin in the graveyard, with a second taste of Funeral Cult of Personality, by Italian death-doom masters Abysmal Grief. From there, we visit Finland for a debut from Olio Tähtien Takana's new Spectral Katharsis album. Having recently tracked down the video in order to screen it for fresh eyes, we summon Emperor's '90s Norwegian black metal classic "The Loss & Curse of Reverence" from the vaults, before revealing another debut from Canadian atmospheric black metal act Ulvik's new album, Cascades. Spain's Velo Misere close the set with a song from their new album, Monomanía del Inexorable Vacío, before the show ultimately concludes with new music from Selvans, who once again tap into the Italian Horror soundtrack wells to augment their black metal influences on their new EP, Dark Italian Art. 

All of that PLUS: New dark ambient works from LẼTUM, Sphäre Sechs, and Afnimaran; Cult film and music anniversaries; selections from the vaults; and more. 

Ready to hear the show?
Stream it or grab the podcast file?
Here you go...

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PLAYLIST BEGINS HERE
Format: Band Name - Song Title [Album Title, Year]

(each band name is also a website link)
(sets and talk breaks separated by dashes)

"Out ov the Coffin" w/ Ichabod
  Show recorded:  November 29th-30th, 2021

Opening Theme: 
Elliot Goldenthal - Libera Me [from "Interview with the Vampire" (soundtrack), 1994]

 

Seraphim Shock - Angel Grey [single, 2021]

-

Child of Night - Outbreak  [The Walls at Dawn, 2021]

-

Grundeis - Bleed  [Amygdala, 2021]

The Wake - Everything (feat. Wolfie) (MH Remix)  [Mixers & Elixirs, 2021]

The Awakening - All Tomorrow's Saints  [This Alchemy, 2021]

ROME - Kali Yuga Über Alles  [Hansa Studios Session II, 2021]

Dneprovsky Bereg (Днепровский Берег) – Случай (The Case)  [Sluchay (Случай), 2021]

Esses - Faceless Past  [Bloodletting for the Lonely, 2021]

-

Kendall Schmidt - untitled  ["Neon Maniacs" (soundtrack) 1986]

-

Corlyx - The Echo  [Blood in the Disco, 2022]

Vision Video - Kandahar  [Inked in Red, 2021]

Sirens of Light - Maria (video mix) [single, 2021]

Body Maintenance - Death's Hall  [Body Maintenance, 2021]

Clan of Xymox - Muscoviet Mosquito  [Peel Sessions, 1985/2020]

Panic Priest - Angelsteal  [single, 2021]

-

Sphäre Sechs - Unstable Orbit  [Beta Pictoris, 2021]

-

Voivod - Angel Rat  [Angel Rat, 1991]

The Sound - Winning  [From the Lions Mouth, 1981]

Cocteau Twins - Garlands  [Garlands, 1982]

Lisa Gerrard & Jules Maxwell - Orion (The Weary Huntsman)  [Burn, 2021]

Lycia - Galatea  [Casa Luna, 2021]

Kælan Mikla - Hvítir Sandar (feat. Alcest)  [Undir Köldum Norðurljósum, 2021]

-

Afnimaran - Nostromo  [Graveyard Orbit, 2020]

-

Abysmal Grief - The Graveyard is Mine  [Funeral Cult of Personality, 2021]

Olio Tähtien Takana - Journey Through The Most High  [Spectral Katharsis, 2021]

Emperor - The Loss and Curse of Reverence  [Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, 1997]

Ulvik - Nokhur  [Cascades, 2021]

Velo Misere - Visión de la Sombra  [Monomanía del Inexorable Vacío, 2021]

-

LẼTUM - The Beauty of Miserable Souls  [The Face of Life and Death, 2021]

-

Selvans - Iò Pan! / L'Errante  [Dark Italian Art, 2021]

 

________________

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