p e n g u i n d e v i l

Always trying to keep things fresh, we are. Due to some (sort of foreseen) circumstances, we decided today to put off the East Coast move for an unknown period and settle in Portland. I imagine that we will head out there at some point, but for the last 3 years we’ve been planning on moving this summer it is starting to seem like the deadline has become the focus, not the preparedness. And we don’t feel prepared (in any way) to make this kind of move. It is an odd feeling to suddenly change directions after so much thought, but I think that we have done so much thought about it that it makes the decision to move seem almost unnatural, which isn’t how we want it to feel. I think that in the long run, this will be the wisest choice, but after getting so used to (and hesitantly excited about) moving to Vermont, it made me a bit sad when I saw the 802 video…

Since we are on the topic of music, as someone who listened to (more than) his share of Priest, Fate and Maiden back in the day, I thought I had known all the great bands of the era. Shocked I was this week when an ad banner (of all things) at last.fm introduced me to a band I’ve never heard of… 3 Inches of Blood, possibly the best of the 80’s metal bands! Once I heard a song by them, I was so excited by the wonderful sound that I rushed out and pre-ordered their upcoming new album (I think the first Roadrunner Records release I’ve purchased since When Satan Lives almost 10 years ago!). I couldn’t help but wonder how I had missed them back then…But it’s probably because they didn’t actually exist until 2000…

But they have a great 1980’s sound and it’s refreshing for me to find metal I can stand that isn’t either Black Metal or 25 years old… Ever since the sad day that Turbo was released, there’s been a great reluctance for me to accept regular heavy metal. So this brings me hope that I’m not just bitter, maybe it really has all stunk these last couple of decades and maybe there’s a chance that “nu-metal” will finally die out and be replaced by good music once again.