New Risen Throne - "Crossing The Withered Regions"


Wonderful dark ambient from Italian artist, New Risen Throne, released in 2009.

From the New Risen Throne site:
We thought that everything was done. The last offering was burnt to please the Old Ones, all rituals achieved. But from the remnants of bones scattered before the altar, we saw flowing ashes of unknown origin moving in the shadows. Walls started grinding with deep and dark soundscapes of anguish and terror, voices of ancient eons began moaning and chanting, tearing the veil of our yet fragile senses... The ghosts of impious beings rose from the ground as the music grew louder and deeper, engulfing our hearts and souls.

Then a crude human shape emerged from nowhere and spoke to us:

Behold the birth of a new disciple! Behold the way to follow!

The path of emptiness is paved with bones and spirits, leading to the New Risen Throne, where shadows fall over humanity and a new king awaits...




Make Your Own “Stranger Things” Title Card




I saw this over at Bloody Disgusting, so I did! And you can, too.

 
 

Elysian Brewing - Night Owl Pumpkin Ale


So the pumpkin beers are already hitting the local grocery shelves and I have decided to start grabbing a few for the annual Drunken Jackos rating scale. Originally, I was still in "summer beer" mode and didn't want to switch over, but with this first one, I'm glad I did.

Elysian Brewing's Night Owl Pumpkin Ale is brewed with "seven-and-a-half pounds of pumpkin per barrel and spiced in conditioning with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice." What this translates to is a ton of flavor!




Upon first pour, the medium copper ale with only a slight head has a big scent of sweet cinnamon and pumpkin spice. This strong note continues through the first sip and I'm instantly reminded of pumpkin pie. Real pumpkin pie. Other beers have been compared to "pumpkin pie" flavor, but this one is by far the best. That sweet cinnamon pumpkin spice continues all the way through with a smooth, clean finish with the slightest crispness.

I don't think I could have chosen a better pumpkin beer to start the season off. Elysian REALLY knocked it out of the pumpkin patch with that sweet pie flavor. And because of that wonderful scent and taste, Elysian Brewing's Night Owl Pumpkin Ale gets a 4 out of 5 Drunken Jackos. I really recommend this to kick off the season!!




 

Cleveland Haunt Club's Haunted Garage Sale 8/20


So I have officially joined up with the kooky creeps in the newly formed Cleveland Haunt Club. Lots of new members joining daily and lots of cool ideas being thrown around at the monthly meetings (including a corpsing how-to demo by yours truly!!). Lots of positive energy to get me in the mood for the Halloween season...




And if you're in the Northeast Ohio area next Saturday, August 20, why not come check out the first ever Cleveland Haunt Club Haunted Garage Sale? Lots of area haunters all getting together for a haunt, Halloween and horror related garage sale. All vendor tables have been sold, so there should be plenty to pick through. I'll even have a table set up, so be sure to stop by, say hello and buy some of my wares!! Hope to see you there!

 


 
 

New Vinyl: "Twin Peaks" Original Score - Mondo


Available today is the vinyl reissue of what is perhaps the greatest score ever written - Angelo Badalamenti's soundtrack masterpiece for David Lynch's Twin Peaks. Released 25 years after the original, Mondo's gorgeous new version features a cool die-cut outer jacket, spot varnish and liner notes by composer Badalamenti himself. But perhaps the coolest feature of all? It's pressed on "Damn Fine Coffee" brown swirl vinyl...




Twin Peaks is available now over at Mondo. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy not only for the gorgeous new packaging, but for the stunning score contained within! It's a damn fine vinyl offering.




The Pumpkin Beers Are Here!


Every year, they seem to appear on the local grocery store shelves earlier. August 6 and the pumpkin beers are already here!

It was 85 degrees today. Way too hot for a fall seasonal pumpkin beer (it's still "summer beer season"), but I opted to open up a New Belgium Pumpkick Ale...



As soon as that first taste of "spicy pumpkin flavor with an added touch of tart cranberry" hit my tongue, my reservations dropped completely. Damn, it was so good! Pumpkin beer season is here!! I'm all in!! 

So it's time to break out the annual Drunken Jackos rating scale, my HIGHLY scientific pumpkin beer review tool. You can read my original Drunken Jackos review on Pumpkick here. It actually ranked as one of the highest ever. Suffice to say that it's already time for me to head back to the grocery store to pick up some new pumpkin beers. I'll be sure to subject them all to the harsh scrutiny of the dreaded Drunken Jackos scale and share the results. Time to drink up, pumpkin fans. Cheers!!

  

Joel Grind - "Fatal Planet"


The newest instrumental synth 7" record coming out next week from Toxic Holocaust founder, Joel Grind. Cool limited vinyl pressings available from Poisoned Mind Records on August 13.

I really dig the classic horror synth score sound on both tracks, and a copy of this 7" will be headed to my collection immediately! Another highly recommended release!