» 2026-05-10

Lake Life Begins Again

Managed to get out of the city and open up my campsite over the weekend. It looked exactly like I left it, and even the weather was almost exactly as it was when I shut everything down in mid-October. The unusually high 22°C temperature gave me a bit of false security, as it got fairly cool overnight — and we got rained on around 10pm.

Still, it was good to see some friends I only see during the summer, hearing what everyone got up to during the winter. I've also officially gotten soft; I had about 4 beer all day and went to bed at a reasonable hour, like some sort of ostensible adult. I'm intending to have a good time this year, but I don't foresee quite as many late nights drinking more than I should.

The thrill has become blunted over the years, as I encounter more and more people who clearly have problematic relationships with alcohol. I'm far from a prohibitionist, but there's a significant tolerance for casual alcoholism baked into human society. It's difficult to understand at times, until I remember how much worse it was even just 100 years ago; people used to be absolutely wrecked on a day-to-day basis.

» 2026-05-09

Adjustment Period

It's now been officially 90 days since I started my new job, so everything is official and permanent. I wouldn't say that I was anxious that I wasn't going to be kept on, but you can never been entirely certain of anything these days. I'm still adjusting to a number of things, including the switch from an extremely small company to one with several thousand employees, but things are going well.

The major change has been getting used to the management aspect of my role. Historically, I've always been the guy doing the work — even when I rose to more senior positions — and now I'm handling a lot of admin work and directing the flow of work and client requests. I really like what I'm doing, but it's very different from being a software support guy at a help desk.

My friends have noticed that I'm in a generally better mood and I've been a lot less stressed over the past few months. I've finally adjusted to the difference between old schedule and my current grind, so I'm looking forward to enjoying the summer and keeping this positive trend in my life going. My only regrets are that I didn't consider the value my résumé actually had, and spent far longer in a place that was actively making me miserable than I should have.

I cannot overstate the value of sincerely believing in yourself. I still have moments of self-doubt — which I think is pretty normal — but I've finally internalized the fact that I have been in the workforce for 25 years and I have a lot to offer anyone willing to fund what I consider a modest standard of living.

Ingested - Denigration

I've been a big fan of Ingested since I first saw them live, back in 2018. I immediately enjoyed their stompy, slamming style of death metal and each album from Where Only Gods May Tread onward has shown the band further dialing in and fine-tuning their sound. When this new record was first announced, the band had just replaced their founding frontman, Jason Evans but the lead-off single didn't sound markedly different from past output.

In a shocking turn of events, the band abruptly fired their new vocalist, Josh Davies. The band quickly worked to re-record all of the vocals on the forthcoming album, with guitarists Sean Hynes and Andrew Virrueta both laying down replacement tracks. Suffice it to say, it's tough to release an album with much more uncertainty hanging over it than this...

Luckily, things mostly worked out fine. Denigration is a concise, punishing album that will assuage any fears that the band is falling off, even if it doesn't push their sound in any new directions. I appreciate the material's emphasis on strong, headbanging grooves tailor-made to incite moshpits. The combination of the two guitarist's vocals work quite well in lieu of a dedicated vocalist; it's not say that every deathcore vocalist is interchangeable — there are always levels to these things — but two competent backing vocalists and a good mix can work wonders.

If you're at all familiar with the band, this record holds precisely zero surprises. The running time is 41 minutes, and none of it feels monotonous. The guest spots from John Gallagher (Dying Fetus), Kyle Medina (Bodysnatcher) and slam metal icons Peeling Flesh are all worthwhile, lending their respective elements to the Ingested formula. I don't think this record will make it to my AOTY list, but it's a solid effort from a reliable band who are always a blast to see live. I'm looking forward to hearing the new material in-person this August.

» 2026-05-04

Cattle Decapitation Live

It's been a much lighter live music schedule for me this year, but I finally got to see two bands that I wasn't sure I'd ever get a chance to see: Cattle Decapitation and Brujeria. The former, because they don't tend to do many Canadian dates, and they tend to hit the usual stops — Toronto and Montreal, while the latter is a band I didn't think would ever be touring again.

The support acts were a noise / black metal band called Knoll, who really didn't do much for me, and a straight-edge hardcore band called No Cure who I saw in December of 2024. Knoll had an interesting stage setup, with the band playing in what looked like a haunted set from a Hammer Films horror movie, which was bolstered by the frontman looking exactly like Nosferatu. That said, their material just didn't hit right; the instrumentals were interesting, technical black metal pieces, but the frontman's relentless, staccato somehow didn't fit very well — and felt like two songs playing over each other at times. Their set started like Full Of Hell but quickly transitioned into immemorable blackened static.

No Cure have a really strong stage presence, and I made sure to get away from the mosh pit as I cannot stand the kids doing their weird karate nonsense. They're a very fun band to see live, even if I don't listen to much hardcore and even less of the straight-edge variety. I'm down to see these guys any time they're supporting bands I like. They had previously left enough of an impression, when I saw them with Vomit Forth, that I was happy to see them on this bill.

Brujeria did a great job with their set, even though I feel like I basically watched a cover band. They pulled off the material well, and I was really surprised at the reaction they got the moment the title-track to Brujerizmo kicked off their set. There were quite a few people in the crowd who had travelled from the US and overseas to catch Brujeria, so I guess the brand is much stronger than I thought. I'll give the frontman a pass for not realizing Trudeau is no longer our Prime Minister. I never thought I would see any configuration of this band play live and their energy was impressive.

Lastly, the headliners — and the primary reason I bought a ticket — delivered an amazing set. Vocalist Travis Ryan said he was sick, but it was hard to notice except in a very small number of transitions from his powerful shrieks to the evil troll-style clean singing he does. The band was on point and everything sounded great, but not like a band just miming to backing tracks — they were tight but not perfect reproductions of material.

Overall, a great show. My only complaint was one opening band that wasn't even bad, I just didn't vibe with.

» 2026-05-02

Godsmack - Live At Mohegan Sun

I have not paid much attention to Godsmack in a long time, probably since they released The Other Side back in 2009. There was a time when this was a big band in my life, their 1998 self-titled debut was one of the first few nu metal albums I bought, and "Whatever" was the first MP3 I ever downloaded. (Yes, it was over a dial-up Internet connection — I am old.)

For all their flaws, I've always felt Godsmack were a solid band making a lot of fun, heavy tunes. Nothing groundbreaking, and very much in the vein of Alice In Chains — a band they are absolutely not inspired by, and whose song "God Smack" is a mere coincidence — but that's not inherently a bad thing.

That said, 3 full-length albums and an acoustic EP is all I needed from these guys. They went on to release a string of radio hits, tour relentlessly, and build an incredibly big brand. I saw them open for Metallica back in late 2004, and they put on an amazing show. Sully Erna has always come across as a bit of dumbass, but the man knows how to put on a show.

Live albums feel like they've been reduced to novelty status these days, so I'm more interested when bands release them than I used to be. Live At The Mohegan Sun does a good job conveying what I think is the authentic Godsmack live experience. Even the songs I was not familiar with — which was quite a few — sounded good, and consistent enough with everything they've ever released that I don't feel like I missed anything in the intervening 17 years.

It's tough to evaluate live records, given the prevalence of backing tracks and triggered drums, notwithstanding the potential for studio touch-ups. That being said, this album feels genuine. This isn't virtuoso material, it's chugging hard rock about ambiguous betrayals and constantly reminding people to keep away. If anything, the material feels noticeably thinner without the heavily compressed studio production. All of the songs fit together, and the no-frills nature of the performances lends them a lot more credibility.

I did find it very funny that the show opens with Sully really working the concept that this is the band's last show ever. It's a theme he returns to near the end of the album too, on "Under the Scars." As of writing this review, the band has a 32 date tour plotted out and Sully has already said there is a new album coming, featuring a new drummer and guitarist. Musicians and pro fighters continue to render the word 'retirement' largely meaningless.

As for the album, if at any point in your life you liked some Godsmack songs, then this is worth a listen. It's not going to change anyone's mind on the band, but that's a weird expectation for a live album anyway — it's a greatest hits package with a gimmick. Personally, I enjoyed listening to the older material, and also hit my Godsmack quota for the next 18 months or so. I grade live albums on a curve, but I will say this one is on the upper end. There are no big surprises, no guests or deep cuts; it's good but not great.