Hodag
@bretttharp
Horror writer - musician @ Dark Watcher, Cynocephalus, Acrid Tomb, Devilmoon - LoL esports enthusiast
Disappointed by this last Bas Lag book after loving the previous two. Where Mieville had previously been so good with character he largely falters here, but in exchange there are some very resonant political themes and commentary rooted in history without didacticism.
Was really excited for this as an aesthetic influence for Werwulf but unfortunately it’s one of those movies that is aesthetically great and thematically interesting but the actual act of watching it is bad. It’s just like a guy bumbling around in mud among slobbering peasant mutants for 3 hours.
Kind of mega obsessed with this Flaming Ouroboros demo. It’s like if American Football was a black metal band.
Jamming some @eveale.bsky.social today, very cool stuff. Really like how many distinct left channel vs. right channel guitar parts there are.
The script is worthless but whoever thought of Zazie Beetz chopping up satanists in her underwear is a real one. Great action scenes!
I didn’t really listen to Tales of Othertime a lot but I think I liked it better than this. This one feels a little on the hammier side. But I like stretches of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle of Filth so not bad.
THE DEVILMOON HAS RISEN IN COLLABORATION WITH NICOTINE MEDIA UNHOLY FIRST WAVE BLACK METAL ULTRA VIOLENCE ON BANDCAMP, SPOTIFY, AND YOUTUBE LINKS IN COMMENTS
THE DEVILMOON RISES ON 6/6/26 A DEDICATION TO THE PRIMORDIAL ROOTS OF BLACK METAL
Excellent movie, McCarthy is one of the most must-watch horror directors right now. I do want to see him swing harder next time, with this showcasing both his many strengths but also the same tendencies. He just does patient piss-your-pants scares well with unique supernaturalism
Marathon is so fucking good when you don’t have a dumb bitch in your ear going “no one is playing it dead game haha check the steam charts”.
My favorite Park Chan-wook film so far. If you’re into stylish editing this is straight crack cocaine.
Wow that kicked ass. One of the best but bleakest endings to a western. Aesthetically superb.
Used to be DSBM actually sounded like some suicidal kid in their bedroom but it’s become this genre of really elegant but somber atmoblack and can rule quite hard.
Kind of generic on paper but Id be lying if I said this didn’t scare the absolute shit out of me. Wonderful time at the movies.
Well Ive been pretty cleanly transitioning from a country music binge to a hiphop kick these last months but these two albums pulled me back to extreme realms like a shotgun blast to the ear.
The Bright Sword - Lev Grossman An Arthurian reimagining that predictably made me think of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, which is of course a more important and inventive work but Bright Sword holds its own in thrills and heart and some inventiveness of its own. Loved it.
Dusting off the substack. Best 10 things I read last year. Bangers only. bretttharp.substack.com/p/best-stuff...
Hated this, surprisingly. Thought this was supposed to be the really good adaptation of Red Dragon.
Perdido Street Station - China Mieville God I love when you pick up a book that’s so propulsive you find yourself reading another 50-100 pages into the night trying to finish. What a staggering work. Steampunk fantasy, dystopian science fiction, weird cosmic horror. Brilliant.
This year sucked royally to the point that it hadn’t really struck me that Ive hit these two milestones of releasing my first full length record and also my first book in print, stuff Ive been working towards for a decade. We’re winning harder in 2026 and the vibes come with it this time.