Istidraj
The nice thing about black metal is that it’s so hard for it to be co-opted. Between its often extreme ideologies and its inherently abrasive sound, it’s hard to imagine anyone trying to sell you a pair of sneakers with it. Even as some bands like Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth have wormed their way into the mainstream, the vast majority of black metal fans and bands out there are happy to stay in the filthy pits of the underground. A prime example of such a band is Singapore’s Istidraj. These guys prove that prohibiting chewing gum and banning Beatles songs really don’t make people more passive and well-behaved. These guys make metal so freaking harsh, it’ll make even the most hardened hescher’s knees buckle. This is what punk was supposed to be about.
Tagged: death metal, Singapore
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What do you get when the head of a creative agency obsessed with chocolate, conceptualizes, designs, and opens his very own chocolate boutique-cum-cafe? In the case of Singapore’s Chocolate Research Facility, the answer is an exotic wonderland of dripping chocolate from the walls, tables resembling chunks of chocolate, and a plethora of chic, stylish stacks of eclectically packaged bars. Designed by Chris Lee and his Singaporean-based design firm, Asylum, the Chocolate Research Facility is an inspired shop with over 100 flavors of tasty chocolate from honey melon and cassis to longan and pumpkin seeds. The fun packaging is full of quirky subtleties too, like identifiable clues that hint at flavors, such as a blurry photograph to suggest alcohol content. Together, the creativity of the concept, combined with scrumptious chocolate dolled up in clever packaging, is not only generating a lot of adrenalin-filled chocolate buzz in Singapore, but around the world, too.
Crust bands have always taken from and given to other subgenres of extreme music — after all, Discharge was largely responsible for inspiring the grindcore bands that begat death metal. Until now though, most bands with a crusty feel to them never really appealed to me because they often were still too rooted in hardcore for my tastes. Thou from Baton Rouge, however, are the first crust band to offer epic, evocative riffs, carefully considered arrangements, and ear-shredding vocals that sound more demonic than merely angry. Drawing from black metal, doom, and heavy psych, the five-piece make a unique and crushing sound very much inspired by the swampy, sweaty, tragedy-stricken part of the world they come from while being very light-handed with their politics.
Also by GERRY MAK
Ravensblight, an old-school-looking website featuring tons of free internet knick-knacks, has a bunch of cool spapercraft models, including the skull above. Hopefully no one tries to put candles in them.
October posters from Alamo Drafthouse
I wish people gave presents on Halloween rather than Christmas — then I’d have asked someone to get me these awesome posters by Alamo Drafthouse available through Mandotees. Read more
California-based drums-bass-piano trio Topaz Rags may or may not have tumbled out of a desert roadhouse, but their sound evokes the kind of gleefully sinister goings-on you might imagine beneath thrumming bug zappers and a flickering neon glow after the bartender has locked the front door and Bubba has donned his purple cloak.
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The sun always seems to be rising or setting in Chris Sheban’s haunting children’s illustrations. His books — I Met a Dinosaur, Catching the Moon, and Red Fox at McCloskey’s Farm, and The Shoe Tree of Chagrin — are instant classics, on par with Goodnight Moon and Midnight Express. Read more
I’ve been waiting for a group like this. These New Puritans are balls in your face, 100 miles an hour, pure attack! A young British group that has most of the UK press in the palm of their skinny pale hands, they hint at a sonic mash of Bloc Party mixed with what White Rose Movement were supposed to be. What more could you want?
Listen to the These New Puritans track, Elvis.
British designer Emma Smart designed these cool papercraft lunchboxes that unfold into place settings. The boxes will be sold at ASDA supermarkets in the UK, and each of the three designs come packed with three different lunches.
Located on an unassuming side street in central Madrid, El Mollete is a simple restaurant serving knock-out local dishes. Sliced potatoes cooked in olive oil are topped with salty, smoky, fried eggs broken just before serving to release their oozing, deep yellow yolks. Read more
History is the story of the winners, and western dominated culture recounts few triumphs from the east. Mongol is an effort to correct this balance, and the eastern influence is evident in much more than just the storyline. It is more like a fairy tale or legend handed down through generations, than based on fact, with mythical elements playing a major part, and the character’s motivations remaining simple. Read more
Ever get that perfect casual jumper, but wished it had a hood? Well, Coal Headwear has produced the opposite to everyone else: not a jumper without a hood, but a hood without a jumper.
I’m one of those people who lament the death of analog film as a medium, not because I romanticize the process, but because I love the unpredictable imperfections inherent in non-digital formats. Read more
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Wheeeeee! This game is so freaking fun! You move your cursor over each dot to make them split into four smaller dots ad infinitum.
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
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There is not a medium that UK illustrator Lizzy Stewart cannot wrap around her little finger to make the most beautiful, whimsical images. Read more
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
Created by graphic t shirt label, the-affair, and printed on beautifully soft American Apparel. Limited edition of 200.
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Caleb said | 14 August, 2008
Fukin’ a’ it’s about you hip me to something worth listening to!;)