S H I E L D H O U S E

     Due to the fact that I didn't really find many stand out EP's this year which I really loved, I have decided to not do an EP's list this year, I had planned to and even mentioned it in my songs list, but as I sat down to write it up I really couldn't find much to say about the ones I had shortlisted which made them sound like the best the year had to offer, so I'm just going to straight into the Albums list. Honourable Mentions: (These 3 are here because I liked them quite a bit, but I listened to them and enjoyed them generally less than the other 7 listed) 10: Infernal Coil - Within A World Forgotten 9: OWL - Nights in Distortion 8: Dead Can Dance - Dionysus Best of 2018: 7.  Biosphere - The Hilvarenbeek Recordings      Earlier this year I really expanded my tastes to include a lot of electronic and ambient music, and soundscapes. Biosphere's other albums scratched the itch for minimalistic and moody ambient music, and I found other o

           2018 is well behind us now, a year that brought plenty of variety, surprises, sequels, and disappointments in the world of anime. Looking back on things, I gave a lot more anime than I would have a chance to improve past the age old "three episode" rule. Despite still dropping a handful of anime a little later into the seasons, I feel like I have a better understanding of what makes some stuff harder to keep up on week by week, but I hope next year I can push myself to watch more stuff I don't initially like to find the hidden gems, if not to pad out some more scores below 6/10. Setting aside my struggles with giving media a numerical rating, here's a real quick and easy look at the best anime to come out in 2018, starting with #10:     10. Hinamatsuri     The bottom position of the top 10 list is always the hardest to pick with anime because there are always so many shows that are equally as good and deserving to make an appearance. Zombieland Sa

         This has really been a BIG  year for me and Justine. First, we got married, then we moved to England, then we moved back in October, got new jobs, got a condo and got approved for our newest member of the family, Zoe! She's a little silver tabby, and we're picking her up in a week. Fun way to kick off the new year. I also decided it might be nice to have the blog reflect the year we had, so the background will now rotate in pictures I took while we were in the UK.      Let me just preface this first of several end of the year posts by saying that I found myself with less standout Songs, EPs, and Albums to make up end of the year lists. This doesn't necessarily mean that there was less "good" music this year, just that the genres that I'm more interested in didn't deliver as much as previous years for me. Because of this, there are a few surprise picks on these lists that I might not normally choose among other years. As with last year I'

Release Date: Nov 2nd 2018 Label: Epic Album Link:      I was not at all expecting to review this album, nor was I expecting to hear it. Swizz Beatz, though he is a legendary producer in modern Hip-Hop, is not known to release actual albums. He typically just works production and raps on others songs. The only other album he has ever released is 2007's One Man Band Man . I pretty much exclusively know him from his production work on 2000's Kanye albums and Rick Ross albums, and he is always recognizable in his production style, which is often very slick and varied; mixing new sounds and old soul samples. His voice is also distinct, husky and dark, he sounds more like an old man than he does a skinny 30-something.       Poison is his newest album, and is only 32 minutes long but Swizz says he had "70 songs ready for this album" and decided to cut it down to 10. Though he left the purported Kanye/Bono song, and a same-song showcase of Jay Z, Nas, DMX, and J

     Well, one of the best months is over. Changing colours, a seasonal change in the air taking place, and Justine and I find ourselves back home in Canada. I'll be honest, the cooler weather is a welcome treat after the uncharacteristically hot London summer. We are happy to be home, and right in time for the best holidays. Which leads me into a special monthly Track Roundup.      This month, I will be focusing on a number of tracks which have been around for a while, some for decades. All to honour the spirit of Halloween, these tracks have been selected due to their close association with some Horror movies, lyrical nature, or general Halloween nature they give off. You may recognize some if you are a fan of Horror movies, there should be something here for everyone who can appreciate the uniqueness of October. Exhumed - Defenders Of The Grave ( Death Revenge - 2017)       Kicking off this special Track Roundup is Exhumed, the likely longest running "Gore M

SPOILERS, OF COURSE      Over the years, and especially in the past several, Horror movies have had a resurgence in quality and atmosphere. Movies like The Witch , Black Swan , and most recently Hereditary have succeeded in creating and developing an atmosphere which is vital to the affect the movie can have on the viewer. In my opinion: these movies, though all great, owe a great deal to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 masterpiece The Shining . The Shining is the first "modern" Horror movie I can immediately think of in which the atmosphere is just as much of a character as any other member of the cast. It still stands as my favourite Horror movie, and one of my favourite movies.      On the other side of the coin, we have to give credit where credit is undoubtedly due. Though I am very new to the work of Stephen King (I have only just recently read my first King book with Salem's Lot , and am quite literally hot off the heels of The Shining which I finished the day