» 2026-04-03

Slay The Spire

In addition to being very busy with my new job, I've also been afflicted by a serious Slay The Spire addicition. After watching two of my good friends play the original game, I was lured in by the low price of $8.00 — and subsequently lost an entire weekend. This won't be a very lengthy review, but I am extremely impressed with the game's design and the way it scratches a Magic: The Gathering drafting itch in a way that other games have not quite replicated.

I haven't been much of a gamer in years, but after finally figuring out what roguelikes are (I honestly thought they were stealth games like Thief 2: The Metal Age because I'm old and washed), I've found that I like the concept quite a lot.

After putting ~50 hours into the first game, I picked up an early access copy of Slay The Spire 2 and can confirm that it is just as addictive as its predecessor. So far, it seems like a much more aesthetically polished iteration of the original game with a few new quirks added. A big selling point was the multiplayer mode, but overall I like all the changes in the sequel. I expect to be losing big chunks of free time to these games until the campground opens up later in the spring.

» 2026-04-02

Small Site Update

As I was expecting, my new job is not affording me nearly as much free time as my old gig. I'm still going to keep this site updated, but things will be pretty random for the next few months. Bookmarking the RSS feed would be the best way to follow the hustle and bustle of this friendly neighbourhood blog.

» 2026-03-30

Back At It Again

Usually every 2-3 years, I end up having some issue with my back when I'm deadlifting. It is always me reaping the consequences of not listening my instincts, and pushing ahead with a heavy lifting day when I'm fatigued.

It's been about 4 weeks since I pulled a single at 315 pounds and my whole lower back tightened up. There hasn't been any pain, beyond the discomfort of having really tight lower back muscles that get aggravated by sitting for long periods of time. I've been able to squat fairly heavy — 365 pounds for multiple sets of 5 — but even using the trap bar for light deadlifts was a no-go.

Aside from having a mattress that, realistically, needed to be replaced several years ago, I'm also having to reckon with the fact that I'm probably expecting a little too much, performance-wise. I've solved the mattress problem and, no shit, it made a big difference — proper sleep is expensive but a worthwhile investment.

I now have to internalize the fact that I am 5 years older and 30 pounds lighter than when I would squat multiple sets of 405 pounds and deadlifted my way up to a 500 pound lifetime PR. I don't think I'm declining because of age per se, but rather because my circumstances are so much different than they were back then. The pandemic-era closures were (mostly) over with, my gym was a 7-minute walk from my front door, and I was still working shorter days exclusively from home.

Fast-forward to present day: my gym is a 15 minute drive, I go from 5:30am to 7:00am, I work longer days and they are exlusively in the office. I've slowly lost the majority of the bulk I gained midway through my lifting journey and now I walk around just-under 200 pounds. Pound-for-pound I am much stronger; my conditioning is better; and, honestly, I look a lot better. But, man, I miss those old numbers — and the equipment I had back then.

I'm slowly figuring out what works with my new schedule, and I foresee myself probably making better progress once I accept some limitations. I'm experienced enough at lifting that, in order to improve, I need to put a little more thought into what I'm doing — and not be such a creature of habit. I've known what I need to do for a while, I'm hopefully getting closer to putting it intro practice.

Monthly Release Round-up: March 2026

Here is this month's round-up of album releases.

Econoline Crush, Econoline Crush

A collection of new songs and updates / re-working of older material. Not a big fan of the new "Sparkle and Shine," but the rest is a lot closer to how the band sounds live these days (complimentary).

Listen: Spotify

Neurosis, An Undying Love For A Burning World

This came out of nowhere and delivered beyond what anyone could have expected in a new Neurosis album. This will be on a lot of year-end lists.

Listen: Bandcamp

Temple Of Void, The Crawl

Progressive death metal? I don't even know what genres there are anymore, but I know this album absolutely rips.

Listen: Bandcamp

Lamb Of God, Into Oblivion

As someone who hasn't really cared for anything the band has done since Ashes Of The Wake, I am really impressed with this new album. Easily their best work in a long time; it's slowly working its way up my list of favourite Lamb Of God records.

Listen: Spotify

Hellripper, Coronach

A mix of 80s thrash and black metal that works better than I expected. Great name, great riffs; this feels like a band I'll be hearing about a lot more in the near future.

Listen: Bandcamp

Poison The Well, Peace In Place

I often find myself going back to Opposite Of December and Tear From The Red and — while this new album doesn't connect with me in the same way those classic records do — I am very impressed with the quality of this comeback album.

Listen: Spotify

Dan Swanö, Moontower

I'm very skeptical of remasters, but this classic solo album from one of metal's greatest producers really did benefit from the process. This was one of the albums that helped me 'crack the code' of death metal; the blend of 70s prog elements with classic death metal still stands out over 25 years later.

Listen: Bandcamp

ERRA, Silence Outlives The Earth

Melodic metalcore that feels like what you'd get from a Born Of Osiris / Astronoid collaboration. Great riffs, some nice little nods to Meshuggah and solid songwriting.

Listen: Bandcamp

Necrofier, Transcend Into Oblivion

Not a big standout album, but an enjoyable collection of American black metal tracks.

Listen: Bandcamp

Denzel Curry, Strictly 4 The Scythe

A little but of an underwhelming Denzel Curry project, but still worth a listen. It's a short record and it's not outright bad, it's just missing the bangers I'm accustomed to getting from Curry's work.

Listen: Bandcamp

» 2026-03-13

Denzel Curry - Strictly 4 The Scythe

I didn't learn about this project until very close to the release date, so I didn't have a lot of time to build anticipation for it. I'm a die-hard fan of Denzel Curry; if he puts something out, I will listen to it.

Unfortunately, this is the first of Curry's releases that I'm just not feeling. The King of the Mischievous South took a little bit of time to grow on me, but I don't get nearly the same feeling from Strictly 4 the Scythe.

There are some good beats and I like a lot of pieces of individual tracks, but there's no big banger and Curry really outshines everyone. There's nothing terrible on this album, and it's absolutely worth checking out, but given the lineup, I did expect more memorable bars.

I'll be giving this a few more listens, but there is a very good chance this ends up being the first Denzel Curry record that doesn't make its way onto my Albums of the Year list. Now, if we could get an EP of material in the vein of his collaboration with Knocked Loose ("Hive Mind"), that would be killer.