Argyle Goolsby - Saturnalia of the Accursed

When the mornings and nights get colder, truth be told, on my cd player in my car I have 2 bands I must play to prepare me for the night when the wall between the two worlds are thinnest and spirits roam free. Those bands are the Misfits and Blitzkid because Halloween wouldn't be the same without hearing Danzig, Graves, TB Monstrosity and Goolsby sing those songs. Just in time for Halloween, we have a collection of Goolsby's solo records on one disc that makes a great addition to my Halloween listening. Though, lets be honest, I will be listening to it all year round. Included here are his 2 out of print EPs A Dream Not Quite Remembered and Under the Witness Stars along with his 2 singles and the song featured on his split vinyl release with the Big Bad all in chronological order. As a fan of physical releases, it is nice to have the digital singles in hard copy and "The Being" on CD as well. The songs flow nicely together even though some would think it wouldn't as this is a great presentation of the first chapter of his solo work thus far before we have chapter 2 drop. The man's talents are on full display as each song just pops and, if you live under a rock and haven't heard these brilliant songs before, they will have you singing along in no time. I cannot even pick out any standout songs as I just love them all. They are just that awesome just like the man himself. As well, the packaging and artwork are fantastic with its carnival feel. Just eye popping and catching. This could easily grab anyone's attention like the music itself. So, if you find a copy, grab it as this is a great package or grab the songs on the ITunes if you must. Just make sure you own them in some capacity. Then, you can hear him howl. 

The Goon: Once Upon a Hard Time (#4)

Wow is all I can say after reading this epic final issue of the storyline. Misery is embodied as it battles the Goon in a final showdown! The story and the art are both epic and fantastic as we are left with an ending that brings it all full circle as well as introducing a new story that will be coming soon called Lords of Misery. It looks like it features the goon and that makes me happy that Powell and company are not done with this awesome character yet.

Dead Vengeance (#1)

In this new mini series by Dark Horse, a long forgotten Detroit radio host comes back from the dead in a carnival. Along with his best friend he pieces together how he ended up where he was, who put him there and why they framed him for the murder of his wife. This story that takes place in the 1940s is an amazing first issue that sets it all up gloriously and with some eye popping art to go along with it. I cannot wait for the new 3 issues to see how the whole story unfolds from there as John Doe the "Everyman" comes from vengeance beyond the grave a decade later.

Ghostbusters: Get Real (#4)

Here we have the conclusion of this fun and whacky series from IDW that decided to tie in a classic Real Ghostbusters episode near the end. Both the story and art were amazing along with tons of action and fun thrown in. Ghostbusters fans allover will be extremely happy with how an idea this novel actually turned out. It could have been awful but, it was anything but. Great work guys, you have this long time fan smiling from ear to ear.

Godzilla in Hell (#3)

So, Godzilla does battle with an old friend in Hell with the aid of Heaven. However, we see which side Godzilla truly answers to! The story and art is great as we get a revolving door or writers and artists with each issue that allows for each issue to feel fresh. This has been a great series so far as fans of the king of monsters will not be disappointed at all.

Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls

Up the irons as Maiden is back! I have been a long time fan since I first heard the song "Number of the Beast" during a metal show years ago and have been addicted since! First thing though is that this album is long! Maybe their longest (I am pretty sure of this) as it being split into 2 discs makes a great break as there is so much going on within the music that you need to catch your breath. It's an assault from the Metal masters as it is epic, heavy and rocking from beginning to end. This also a total band effort as everyone (except Nicko) gets a writing credit here as Harris actually didn't write every song on the album himself for the first time in a while. All souls have been unleashed as this shows that there is no slowing down for Maiden who always seems to release an amazing album no matter how many they have done, how old they are or how long you have to wait to get new material. Standouts include "If Eternity Should Fail", "Speed of Light", "The Great Unknown", "The Red and the Black", "When the River Runs Deep", "The Book of Souls",
"Death and Glory", "Shadows of the Valley", the emotional and heartfelt Robin Williams tribute "Tears of a Clown", "The Man of Sorrows" and "Empire if the Clouds". I guess that is the whole album. Well, it is a fantastic listen from beginning to end as they have done it again. UP THE IRONS and always look on the bright side of life with Maiden.

Slayer - Repentless

As JV Bastard would say, "May Slayer be with you". Yes, I am a long time Slayer fan and an old school Metal fan to boot even though the majority of this blog houses Punk. I was on the shelf about getting this album as there was, for the first time ever, no Jeff Hannenman. As well, there is no Dave Lombardo leaving us with only half of the original band. Instead we get the returning Paul Bostaph and Gery Holt who I am a huge fan of from Exodus! However, my curiosity pushed me to get this album. Now, I was still on the fence about listening to it as, when King takes the leads on albums (God Hates Us All and Christ Illusion) they are not the best Slayer albums. I will say this though, Kerry King has stepped up BIG TIME! This is the second best Slayer album since Divine Intervention (World Painted Blood is still the better) as the riffs and the songs are huge upon the first listen. Yes, this is a Slayer album and they are not reinventing the wheel with power ballads or anything like that. This is a punch to the gut as it shows no signs of slowing down yet. The standouts include "Delusions of Saviour", "Repentless", "Take Control", "Vices", "Cast the First Stone", "Chasing Death", "Implode", the Jeff Hannenman penned "Piano Wire" that is maybe the best of the punch as it is just classic Hannenman through and through, Tom Araya co-written "Atrocity Vendor", "You Against You" and "Pride in Prejudice". Slayer fans can now take a breath, this album is much better then we thought it would be.