It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.
In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.
Shroud Eater is – I think relentless is the word I’m looking for. That’s the first thing I noticed, anyway, that they start off with a grinding pace and a tight grip and they don’t ever let go. Depending on how you feel about sludge metal and/or the crash and thrum of heavy guitars, the resulting sensation is either a warm bath of noise or enough to squeeze the breath out of you. Spoiler alert: I’m on Team Warm Bath of Noise.
Their most recent effort is Destroy the Monolith which they released in November as part of a split with Dead Hand:
And with that, I turn the floor over to Shroud Eater, who join us today to discuss a favorite book, record and drink.
Shroud Eater, from left to right: Davin Sosa, Janette Valentine, Jean Saiz.
A GOOD READ:
Jean Saiz: When I was a teenage misanthrope, I was very fortunate that my high school English teacher gave me Les Chants de Maldoror to look for solace, inspiration, horror and quite a few hearty laughs. Written by Le Comte de Lautreamont (the nom de plume of Isidore Ducasse ) in the 19th century, the work is a blasphemous kamikaze ride of wildly beautiful, horrific surrealist prose.
Written from the point of view of its ferocious anti-hero, Maldoror exposes his sadistic, murdering philosophies on life, civilisation, the praise of evil and the complete annihilation of “God†the creator throughout its pages. This is not literature for the faint of heart!
A couple of my favorite passages include the tale of “God†the creator materializing on this earthly coil, only to pass out in a drunken stupor on a street and be shat on four days straight by animals and humans alike. Another passage has Maldoror watching a shipwreck from a nearby cliff, then shooting and killing its remaining survivors as they try desperately to reach the shore. He culminates this vile act by swimming out into the maelstrom and coupling with a female shark, the only other creature who was as evil as he.
The whole book is a cruel and bizarre intersection of Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Marquis de Sade, Nietzsche and a dash of Hunter S. Thompson – it’s truly a work ahead of its time, or completely out of time altogether. Because of this, it remains one of my favorite pieces of literature, and something I pick up 18 years later, still finding inspiration and awe within its murderous text.
A GOOD LISTEN
Davin Sosa: Jesu – Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came
With no prior knowledge of the band, I checked out this record at the suggestion of a friend. Since then, it’s done more to shake the foundation of how I look at music than most albums. Lyrics dealing with loss and hopelessness, accompanied by music that asserts an air of finality. This record sounds like what we hear when we die. Honorable mention to the Shoegaze influences sprinkled all throughout the album and cool warped tape effects. I’ll shut my trap and let the music speak for itself:
A GOOD DRINK:
Janette Valentine: As a seasoned drinker, my go-to spirit of choice is a delicious whiskey neat. I’m a big fan of a smooth, smoky drink . . . the kind you savor and warms you on the way down. Truth be told, there’s no better reason to enjoy a glass of Glenlivet or Black Label other than to relax and kiss daily woes goodbye.
However, after doing some research I learned that drinking whiskey CAN do a body good – double win! The word “whiskey†comes from the Gaelic word Uisge Beatha which means “water of life”. Research points to reduction in risk of heart disease, prevention of cancer, and it can lower your chance of developing dementia. Ultimately it tastes good and feels even better. Pour away and enjoy…cheers!