My Articles

Paegan Terrorism Tactics - Acid Bath (Sludge Metal)

One of my favorite albums of all time that I've recently felt a strong obsession for (as of 10/7/25). The album was released in 1998, in the weaning aftermath of the satanic panic and the slow growth of the war on terror. As such, the Louisiana-based sludge metal band named their album (full of primarily harsh-toned blues ballads) Paegan Terrorism Tactics, mostly as a troll as there was no interpretation beyond the fusion of the buzzwords for "non-christian and therefore evil" and "non-state and therefore evil."

Ultimately, the album has become one of my favorites due to it's genius blend of slower, ballad-type songs alongside the harsher elements of black metal (I use black metal as sludge metal did not exist at the time of the albums writing). This fusion of multiple genres and ideas is in line with the very name of the band, Acid Bath, an environment in which all decays and melts together, influencing one another until they're virtually indistinguishable.

My personal experience is particularly funny, as I've been got by the hidden track on 2 different listen-throughs, as the first time I listened to it, I locked into my studies so hard that I entirely forgot that music had been playing during the ~10 minutes of silence following Dead Girl. When the secret track finally played, I jumped so hard that I accidentally knocked my chair over. The second time I was stoned and half asleep at Amel's while listening to the album, causing the two of us a large amount of surprise when it played.

Favorite track: Graveflower (although Diab Soule and Locust Spawning are close seconds)

Dopesmoker - Sleep (Stoner Doom Metal)

I honestly don't have too much to say about this creatively beyond the fact that it gives the classic doom metal feeling that reality is slipping away. Plus it makes fantasic music for dredging across a long walk, which is more or less what they intended.

What I love about it is the number of times I have played it while smoking with friends, causing them to ask me (usually around half an hour in) if this was actually the same fucking song.

Favorite track: Dopesmoker XD

Shrouded in Mystery - Forgotten Pathways (Dungeon Synth)

This is what I think all dungeon synth should seek to be. It's gently spooky, sounds like a mystery, and above all makes you feel like a wizard. Entirely ideal for walking in the woods, sitting in the dark and/or staring at a castle in the distamce (probably).10/10 would adventure once more.

Favorite track: Wuduaelfen

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Man With a Movie Camera is an example of the early soviet art movement, later named Soviet Constructivism, as the intent of the movement was to create a form of cinema designed to create a cultural identity in the wake of the revoluiton. This was headlined by a large number of state-sponsored artists, although the one I find most interesting is Dziga Vertov, most notably for his manifesto and how it interlaces with his work. While Soviet constructivism is by far my favorite variety of silent film, it tragically was replaced a by the stalin-backed socialist realism movement, which discouraged the free-form and anti-fiction beliefs that Vertov strove for in favor of a more traditional style of propoganda. Regardless, Man with a Movie Camera remains a film that is close to my heart, and an interesting experiment in constructing cultural identities.

I'd also highly reccomend reading his manifesto!