The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXX: Catastrophic Finale

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXX:
Catastrophic Finale

Original release date: 1st May 2019
Total length: 8:41:55 in 7 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!4eQwjaIA!iGS8j4brBSJqR1noMgJkTq1TJcACoadRrFaaAeDM7To

On 1st May 2009, the first episode of The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast crawled onto a difficult-to-access community on Livejournal, in equally difficult-to-access Ogg Vorbis format. Exactly ten years later, after three attempts at keeping to a monthly schedule, the recruitment of a German co-host, and an unnerving decline in the mental state of its creator from which recovery is far from assured, this 80th episode marks the point at which the final curtain falls.

But just as Dylan Thomas told us not to go gentle into that good night, this final Ogg-Cast makes sure we will finish with a big bang. Over the course of a seven-part show lasting eight hours and 42 minutes, there will be a glorious celebration of all that is marvellous about the world of epic heathen metal. This will be wrapped around Lennard’s final Tunes Of Yore, which to nobody’s surprise is his longest ever, as well as three further guest contributions from long-term listeners of the show and general all-round good eggs.

In Part One: the Ogg-Cast’s theme tune gets played in full, and some rousing heathen metal calls to arms – not necessarily by the bands you’d expect – warm us all up for the show to come.
In Part Two: long-term listener and UK black-and-heathen metal aficionado Greg Butler is our first guest with his Tunes Of Derbyshire – and I attempt to fill a couple of gaping holes in his music collection, while also saluting the finest of the UK’s black-and-heathen metal bands.
In Part Three: even-longer-term listener Paul Houlton, not a stranger to making requests in shows of old, takes us on a half-hour journey through the highlights of both the Vinyl Years and the CD Years of his vast music collection, in his Tunes Of The Jurassic Coast – and I return the favour to a couple of one-man projects who have mentioned me in their thanks lists.
In Part Four: Nathan Sturm, author of When Light Fails, the collection of his short horror stories that formed the basis for last year’s Ogg-Cast 76, brings his “radio announcer’s voice” all the way from Phoenix to introduce six of his favourite tracks by bands who have never before featured on any Ogg-Cast, under the title of Sturm Of The Light’s Fail. I present a final Shut It! and some nods towards video game music.
In Part Five: Lennard Kamischke, the co-host of the Ogg-Cast for the last five years, signs off with a 69-minute Tunes Of Yore delivered in three languages. I even hand him the introduction to this part. It’s even more varied than you’ve come to expect.
In Part Six: I am left on my own to present eight tracks of the finest and heathenest metal, including two doses of Covered.
In Part Seven: the last part of the last Ogg-Cast concludes, I bring a tribute to someone very special as well as all my listeners and contributors, and say my final goodbye… with the closing theme in full and the best possible final track to end.

Hope you all enjoyed the ride while it lasted.

PART ONE (1:14:41)
0:00:18 Týr – Hail To The Hammer
0:09:51 Moonsorrow – Jumalten Aika
0:22:30 Emperor – With Strength I Burn [Hidden Gems – official]
0:34:19 Ereb Altor – Midsommarblot
0:39:19 Countless Skies – Ethereal
0:46:37 Oakenshield – Lyke Wake Dirge
0:51:09 Bucovina – Septentrion
0:55:47 Einherjer – Far Far North
1:06:35 Summoning – The Glory Disappears

PART TWO (1:12:12)
0:00:37 Draugnim – That Name is Hate
—— GREG BUTLER’S TUNES OF DERBYSHIRE ———————————————
0:11:11 Motörhead – Burner [Hidden Gems – unofficial]
0:14:46 Stahlsarg – Burn and Destroy
0:21:02 The Wolves of Avalon – Bonded by Blood and Sword
0:26:55 Vehement – Aasvogel
0:36:21 Abhorrence – The End Has Already Happened
——————————————————————————————————-
0:45:31 Clutch – Let a Poor Man Be
0:51:01 Iron Maiden – Flight of Icarus
1:00:47 Old Corpse Road – The Great Thunderstorm

PART THREE (1:15:04)
0:00:43 Apocalypse Orchestra – The Garden of Earthly Delights
—— PAUL HOULTON’S TUNES OF THE JURASSIC COAST: THE VINYL YEARS —
0:12:26 Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song
0:15:28 Mott the Hoople – Roll Away the Stone
0:19:03 The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Midnight Moses
0:24:16 Motörhead – Live to Win [Hidden Gems – unofficial]
0:28:18 Gillan – Unchain Your Brain
—— PAUL HOULTON’S TUNES OF THE JURASSIC COAST: THE CD YEARS ——–
0:32:48 I – The Storm I Ride
0:36:32 The Obsessed – Spirit Caravan
0:40:03 Borknagar – Colossus
0:45:45 Witchery – All Evil
——————————————————————————————————-
0:50:12 Fyrdsman – Woven Fate
0:56:47 Arx Atrata – The Traveller
1:08:26 Enslaved – Essence

PART FOUR (1:16:23)
0:01:18 Shylmagoghnar – I Am The Abyss [Shut It! – official]
—— NATHAN STURM’S STURM OF THE LIGHT’S FAIL ———————————–
0:13:55 Keith Emerson – Mater Tenebrarum
0:16:29 Fog – In Magnificent Glory
0:24:50 Infernäl Mäjesty – Overlord
0:30:47 Gehenna – Angelwings and Ravenclaws
0:34:23 Trouble – Psalm 9
0:40:30 The Black Dahlia Murder – The Blackest Incarnation
——————————————————————————————————-
0:48:47 Whispered – Lady of the Wind
0:55:32 Perturbator – Humans Are Such Easy Prey [Shut It! – unofficial]
0:59:51 Powerglove – Red Wings Over Baron [Shut It! – unofficial]
1:12:16 Anaal Nathrakh – Forging Towards the Sunset

PART FIVE (1:18:38)
—— LENNARD KAMISCHKE’S TUNES OF YORE ——————————————-
0:04:45 Crimson Glory – Valhalla
0:13:08 Blind Guardian – Mirror Mirror
0:18:47 Heidi Kabel – An de Eck steiht’n Jung mit ‘nem Tüddelband
0:22:31 Шёпот Рун – Вольницей в просинь ночей [Covered – unofficial]
0:34:37 Negură Bunget – Înarborat
0:44:05 Reverend Bizarre – Anywhere Out Of This World
——————————————————————————————————-

PART SIX (1:09:11)
0:00:38 Amorphis – My Kantele
0:05:37 Skyforger – Migla, migla, rasa, rasa (svētās vedības)
0:15:46 Vintersorg – Rainbow Demon [Covered – official]
0:19:47 Nokturnal Mortum – Valhalla [Covered – official]
0:31:03 Finsterforst – Schicksals End’
0:46:39 Thyrfing – Mjölner
0:52:08 Grand Magus – I Am The North
0:59:20 Windir – Journey to the End

PART SEVEN (1:15:46)
0:00:26 Menhir – Das Hildebrandslied – Teil I
0:11:02 Primordial – Gods to the Godless
0:18:48 Forefather – Last of the Line
0:27:07 Runrig – The Mighty Atlantic (Mara Theme)
0:34:31 Ensiferum – Wanderer
0:41:00 Falkenbach – Eweroun
0:50:10 At The Gates – The Flames of the End
1:01:58 Moonsorrow – Sankaritarina

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIXB: A Lament For The Passing Of An Era

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIXB:
A Lament For The Passing Of An Era

Original release date: 15th April 2019
Total length: 2:08:35 in 2 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!hSwEgC6D!39F7SZZ729v3Mf0VGqpnmyZLtzLZQf5Id2kQL63linc

This is, in many ways, the show that I never wanted to have to make. And, in an ideal world, there would never have been a reason to make it.

However, we do not live in an ideal world, nor anything approaching that. We live in Clown World.

In the first part of this “bonus Ogg-Cast” before the Grand Finale, I will spend 48 minutes talking. Probably winding everyone up to breaking point who listens to it. Your mileage may vary on what I have to say, why I have to say it, and how much you agree. But this is my interpretation of what has gone wrong with the world, and why I am choosing this time to depart the world of metal podcasts. I have been aided and abetted – in some small way – by Milo Yiannopolous, Paul Joseph Watson and Count Dankula, three celebrated “thought criminals” of our time.

There is no musical content for the first part.

In the second part, we actually get some musical content: Lennard is unleashing his “Grauzone Special Edition” of Tunes Of Yore, which he’s been sitting on since December – the time when I switched themes of the show at the last minute, when this would have been his contribution. I had to make that change for the sake of my own declining sanity, and the content of Part One should have gone some way to explaining that. The “Grauzone” certainly fits in here, very well. I’ve only had to add one more band to it to all but fill the entire 80 minutes.

One of Lennard’s “Grauzone” bands is Death In June, and he has asked me to link Douglas Pearce’s own explanation of “Rose Clouds Of Holocaust” in the description, so here it is:
https://web.archive.org/web/20080407105659/http://www.shesaiddestroy.org/archives/2006/01/25/rose-clouds-douglas-pearce-in-his-own-words/

PART ONE (0:48:40)
This consists solely of me letting off steam about everything that’s wrong with the world.
Listen to it at your own risk; it is entirely optional.

PART TWO (1:19:55)
0:06:17 Nachtfalke – Hail Teutonia [Tunes of Yore]
0:19:35 Темнозорь – Где небес лазурь разрывает сердца [Tunes of Yore]
0:28:13 Peste Noire – Aux Armes! [Tunes of Yore]
0:36:36 Graveland – Thurisaz [Tunes of Yore]
0:46:32 Death in June – Rose Clouds of Holocaust [Tunes of Yore]
0:51:02 Satanic Warmaster – Carelian Satanist Madness [Tunes of Yore]
1:08:34 Mgła – Groza I

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIX: The New Zealand Story

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIX:
The New Zealand Story

Original release date: 23rd March 2019
Total length: 3:49:59 in 3 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!hap1XYjR!0BfqXe7XymI1WdPHd9H4G4K-ZGKg3LCH6PxXeFvwST0

What a spectacular piece of timing this show turned out to be.

It was planned all along, as soon as I’d taken the decision to make a proper final Ogg-Cast series rather than just a last few occasional shows: the last but one, just before the Grand Finale, was to be a celebration of New Zealand – presented via a look at the metal scene in this isolated outpost of the English-speaking world. And, right at the end, I’d reveal the final conclusion as to why I’d done so, at the stage I did.

Then came Christchurch… on the day this show was due for release.

This 23rd March late release is presented with exactly the same track listing, with exactly the same bands from New Zealand and outside, and in exactly the same format as it would have been posted on 15th March. For the most part it is identical, but I had to change the headers for each part, add an explanation at the top of Part One, and I found a few mistakes in Part Three that I had a bit of extra time to correct. But other than these minor tweaks, it is unchanged, uncensored, unmolested.

I suspect there are some people who will never be happy, at both far ends of the political spectrum, for whom the events of 15th March were such a game-changer that whatever action I took would either never be satisfactory, or would be declared outright wrong. I have done what I believe to be right both for me, and for the people of New Zealand who I one day hope to share this show with.

PART ONE (1:16:44)
0:03:44 Clutch – Slow Hole To China
0:09:18 Svartalvheim – Synthetic Society [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:14:14 Cripple Mr Onion – Rumour Mill [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:21:21 Diocletian – Beast Atop The Trapezoid [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:27:59 Heresiarch – Harbinger [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:34:59 Stälker – Shocked To Death [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:37:51 Forsaken Age – Forsaken Age (Intro) [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:39:29 Forsaken Age – H.M.A. [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:52:07 Judas Priest – The Hellion
0:52:48 Judas Priest – Electric Eye
0:56:27 Manowar – Sleipnir
1:06:40 Nokturnal Mortum – Слава героям

PART TWO (1:19:16)
0:00:18 Hollenthon – Reprisal – Malis Avibus
0:08:04 Alien Weaponry – Rū Ana Te Whenua [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:18:24 Ceolskog – Giant Of The Sky [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:23:24 Jörmungandr – Jötunheimr [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:31:03 Sonic Altar – Ghost In The Mirror [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:36:12 Winter Deluge – Scourge Wrought By The Will Of Nature [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:46:58 Dornenreich – Schwarz Schaut Tiefen Lichterglanz [Tunes of Yore]
0:55:37 Rome – Uropia o Morte [Tunes of Yore]
1:00:24 Darkspace – Dark 4:20 [Tunes of Yore]

PART THREE (1:13:59)
0:00:41 Deathnir – The Mark Of Man [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:11:11 Häive – Ei Kuule Emo Minua [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:18:10 Kivimetsän Druidi – Kristallivuoren Maa [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:22:17 Trollheim’s Grott – Operation: Lick The Fungus [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:30:38 Barshasketh – Ophidian Henosis – VI [New Zealand Spotlight]
0:37:40 Sojourner – The Shadowed Road [New Zealand Spotlight]
1:00:32 Winterfylleth – Green Cathedral

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXVIII: Tales Of Those Who Died…

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXVIII:
Tales Of Those Who Died…

Original release date: 15th February 2019
Total length: 3:18:02 in 3 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!ECgjXYpY!EQZTDMWzhDOfk6syY20GOQMTWMTvLgB55bBShbdco_k

This was originally planned many months ago as a potential fill-in Ogg-Cast, that I could prepare in advance, so that if I ever didn’t get the time to make one, there wouldn’t be a gap in the schedules. Fortunately, I do have time, and so this episode has been made as normal, with the due care and attention given to it you’ve come to expect.

The concept was, if I could identify every band I’ve ever seen live featuring someone who has since died, I’d see if there were enough of them to make a decent-length Ogg-Cast. Some of the names were obvious – Lemmy, Jeff Hanneman, and now both the Abbott brothers; others were obvious to me but may not have been to the casual listener, such as Jay-Jay Winter and Paul van Linden. Then, I had to take a last look through Metal Archives’ R.I.P. page and find out how many I’d missed that I’d been unaware of. In the end, I had 26 bands for the show, and Lennard contributed… one, mainly due to his live experience only extending back to about 2012, rather than 1995 (when he wasn’t even born).

Part One covers the obvious three I’ve mentioned, plus some leading lights from death and black metal… with a couple you really wouldn’t expect me to include. In Part Two, it’s the names that were obvious to me but not the casual listener, some heroes of thrash from past and present, some more unexpected entries… and a short man who looked like a goblin but was revered by everyone. And for Part Three, we have Lennard’s “seven-inch Tunes of Yore”, some more departed members of the UK underground, some loose ends… and the most recent addition to the candidates for this playlist.

Raise a horn of mead to those who died, and who I saw on stage while they were alive.

PART ONE (1:01:13)
0:03:06 Motörhead – Capricorn
0:07:13 Slayer – Epidemic
0:09:36 Pantera – Domination
0:20:01 Napalm Death – The World Keeps Turning
0:22:54 Godflesh – Spite
0:34:44 Dissection – Soulreaper
0:41:39 Urgehal – Apocalyptic Destruction
0:51:01 Bolt Thrower – Inside the Wire
0:55:21 Obituary – Back to One

PART TWO (1:08:13)
0:00:25 Celtic Frost – Ain Elohim
0:09:41 Asomvel – Dead By Dawn
0:13:48 Grimpen Mire – Bloodcult Reborn
0:24:03 Heathen – Open the Grave
0:31:23 Evile – Burned Alive
0:37:17 Warbringer – Forgotten Dead
0:44:24 Meldrum – The Story of Junk
0:47:34 The Devil’s Blood – Feeding the Fire with Tears and Blood
0:56:18 Sentenced – Noose
1:00:18 Dio – The Last in Line

PART THREE (1:08:36)
0:02:13 Wolfchant – Das Bollwerk [7″ Tunes of Yore]
0:09:43 Scordatura – Torment of the Weak
0:12:49 Pastel Jack – Synergy
0:17:37 Medulla Nocte – Deafened by the Sound of Silence
0:26:29 Nevermore – Born
0:31:33 Channel Zero – Black Fuel
0:36:38 Type O Negative – We Hate Everyone
0:53:50 Manilla Road – The Fall of Iliam

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXVII: Taxed And Tested

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXVII:
Taxed And Tested

Original release date: 15th January 2019
Total length: 4:31:04 in 4 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!BHhjCCIa!xJfg9KZzcb6prb0e-5rgCjr6rRzYTLlVBv-fY5Bxm50

Another month, another Ogg-Cast – 77 down, three to go. As it’s January, I’ve done what I always do in January and rounded up the best – and some of the odd bits – of years ending in the same digit. This being near the end of the decade, there’s an extra dip into the pre-metal swamps of 1969 as well as the beginnings of the NWOBHM in 1979, thrash still being alive in 1989, and some choice cuts from all that is epic and/or heathen in 1999 and 2009.

The title of the show is… bizarre, I know, but it’s all I could come up with. The fact that I can remember the vast majority of my family’s cars, the make, the model, the colour and the numberplate, including a fair few from before I was born, provides an excellent hint as to why I’m being “taxed and tested” myself… a project which is almost a year long now, and the end is still not in sight.

It’s quite long, this one, but I’d always planned that to be the case, seeing as all the Ogg-Casts between the triumphant return in August and this one were supposed to have been only two parts. That went well…

In Part One, we look at the ancient days of 1969 (with more than one track!), the best bits of 1979 plus a bonus, and an all-too-short look at the 2015 Ogg-Cast reissues. For Part Two, the year that other thrash bands showed up the Big Four, is given its dues – that’s 1989, and the first half of 1999 in review visits Scandinavia. The review of 1999 is completed in Part Three with no baggy trousers in sight, there’s also a spot of Finnish weirdness, and Lennard throws five extra contributions into the ring. And after an initial salute to the best year of my life starts Part Four, it’s the highlights of 2009 all the way, with a suitable ending.

PART ONE (1:06:19)
0:02:06 Draugnim – The Last of Kin
0:16:05 Led Zeppelin – Good Times Bad Times [Spotlight: 1969]
0:18:49 King Crimson – 21st Century Schizoid Man [Spotlight: 1969]
0:28:14 Judas Priest – Killing Machine
0:32:45 Saxon – Stallions of the Highway [Spotlight: 1979]
0:35:35 AC/DC – If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It) [Spotlight: 1979]
0:40:07 Accept – Helldriver [Spotlight: 1979]
0:42:47 Motörhead – Stone Dead Forever [Spotlight: 1979]
0:53:00 The Commentators – N-N-Nineteen Not Out [Ogg-Casts Of The Past / Covered]
0:58:53 Iron Maiden – Infinite Dreams (live) [Ogg-Casts Of The Past]

PART TWO (1:03:55)
0:02:25 Sabbat – The Clerical Conspiracy [Spotlight: 1989]
0:08:03 Testament – Practice What You Preach [Spotlight: 1989]
0:12:57 Kreator – Bringer of Torture [Spotlight: 1989]
0:17:93 Sodom – Tired and Red [Spotlight: 1989]
0:22:28 Sepultura – Inner Self [Spotlight: 1989]
0:27:35 Morbid Angel – Chapel of Ghouls [Spotlight: 1989]
0:37:53 Obituary – Body Bag
0:44:58 Emperor – Curse You All Men! [Spotlight: 1999]
0:49:38 Amon Amarth – The Last With Pagan Blood [Spotlight: 1999]
0:55:11 Immortal – Solarfall [Spotlight: 1999]

PART THREE (1:11:18)
0:01:59 Suidakra – A Darksome Path [Spotlight: 1999]
0:06:32 Vintersorg – Svältvinter [Spotlight: 1999]
0:11:05 Thyrfing – From Wilderness Came Death [Spotlight: 1999]
0:17:29 Akercocke – Nadja [Spotlight: 1999]
0:20:24 Agalloch – As Embers Dress the Sky [Spotlight: 1999]
0:31:42 Finntroll – Asfågelns Död
0:37:49 Titan Force – Blaze of Glory [Tunes of Yore: 1989]
0:44:35 Summoning – Long Lost To Where No Pathway Goes [Tunes of Yore: 1999]
0:52:58 Forefather – Ancient Voice [Tunes of Yore: 1999]
0:58:31 Rome – The Secret Sons of Europe [Tunes of Yore: 2009]
1:02:44 Wodensthrone – Heófungtid [Tunes of Yore: 2009]

PART FOUR (1:09:32)
0:02:05 Ensiferum – Victory Song
0:13:37 Finsterforst – Urquell [Spotlight: 2009]
0:25:18 Old Corpse Road – The Old Corpse Road [Spotlight: 2009]
0:33:17 Hollenthon – Tyrants and Wraiths [Spotlight: 2009]
0:38:41 Аркона – Невидаль [Spotlight: 2009]
0:43:14 Månegarm – Nattsjäl, Drömsjäl [Spotlight: 2009]
0:49:03 Amorphis – Course of Fate [Spotlight: 2009]
0:59:01 Nokturnal Mortum – Валькирия [Spotlight: 2009]

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXVI: Void Of Light

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXVI:
Void Of Light

Original release date: 15th December 2018
Total length: 3:46:07 in 3 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!pHhnwCDb!xALeYibBaTlZxcq9iJ4hzidDbg_yMX0PmuF08SL5kBw

In these times of gross uncertainty, it’s good to know there are a handful of people still on the same wavelength as me, especially when so many are now broadcasting on an entirely different band. And when one of those people on my wavelength successfully completes an eight-year project to get his book of short horror stories published, I am only too happy to do what I can to help get it some extra publicity. Hence, this Ogg-Cast, which is based around the sixteen tales of both splat-gore-shock-horror and the implied terror of what might happen than what does – “When Light Fails: Nightmarish Stories by Nathan Sturm”.

A second diamond geezer worth crediting is Ben Corkhill, the man behind Oakenshield, which finally made it to the live arena after eleven years at Ward Rock Hell Vikings, two weeks ago. Seeing as I’ve long been a supporter of his band, Ben put me on the guest list so I wouldn’t miss this momentous event, and so I will remind you of his works with a secondary Spotlight – four tracks from both Oakenshield’s initial run, and the recent resurrection.

There was an initial idea for this show before I decided to switch to reviewing Nathan’s book in musical form. Unfortunately, I told Lennard a bit too late so we’re missing Tunes Of Yore. No worries, though, I’ve filled in this time and will make it up to him later.

In Part One, there’s the first four stories from When Light Fails, the first track from Oakenshield… and 65 seconds of Finnish metal. (Wait… what?) In Part Two, there are six more tales from When Light Fails, and two more from Oakenshield, one of which is contained within Ogg-Casts Of The Past… even though I haven’t made any more ressiues this month. (What’s going on?) And in Part Three, we have the final six yarns from When Light Fails, including the big one, which gets two tracks – and the last offering from Oakenshield, alongside the announcement of my Album Of The Year. (Håpla!)

Here are some useful links so that anyone who wants to buy the book (and why wouldn’t you, after this?) can do so.

UK – Paperback edition: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1729351603/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1540784661&sr=8-5&keywords=Nathan+Sturm
UK – Kindle edition: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07JYHJDMH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540784661&sr=8-1&keywords=Nathan+Sturm
USA – Paperback edition: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1729351603?pf_rd_p=c2463b52-1139-4aba-9ac9-26d103f6c586&pf_rd_r=DD3FFE83QQRHTTWDYY5B
USA – Kindle edition: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JYHJDMH/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1540784875&sr=1-1&keywords=When+Light+Fails+Nathan+Sturm

As for the musical cue that plays upon the announcement of each title during this show that Nathan recommends, it’s from Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon, a 2D platformer released in 2018, designed to resemble the NES games of 30 years before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYZZ4AMFo_k

PART ONE (1:20:00)
0:02:23 Winterfylleth – Void of Light
0:13:42 Windir – Resurrection of the Wild [Spotlight: “The Scratchers”]
0:21:09 The Meads of Asphodel – Jihad: The Grisly Din of Killing Steel [Spotlight: “God is Great”]
0:28:42 The Infernal Sea – Tannis Root [Spotlight: “Purging the Soulless”]
0:39:10 Oakenshield – Valhalla [Extra Spotlight]
0:44:33 Taake – Nordbundet
0:52:10 Reign of Terror – Devil Pig [Spotlight: “The Stuffed Pig”]
0:56:47 Impaled Nazarene – Kuolema kaikille (paitsi meille)
0:57:34 Lakupaavi – Bjarne Kallis työnnä risti vittu perseeseen
1:07:52 Moonsorrow – Muinaiset

PART TWO (1:17:20)
0:01:02 Bathory – Woman of Dark Desires [Spotlight: “Babies”]
0:06:22 Amorphis – Elegy [Spotlight: “Kept Safe”]
0:15:34 Malevolent Creation – Genetic Affliction [Spotlight: “Headman John”]
0:21:14 Oakenshield – Clontarf [Extra Spotlight]
0:25:46 Watain – Sworn to the Dark
0:32:38 Attic – Centralia [Spotlight: “Right on Time”]
0:38:46 Death – Leprosy [Spotlight: “Defense Mechanism”]
0:46:45 King Diamond – The Floating Head [Spotlight: “The Floating Head”]
0:55:17 Oakenshield – Lyke Wake Dirge [Extra Spotlight / Ogg-Casts of the Past]
1:02:09 Countless Skies – Wanderer [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
1:11:35 Future Crew – War in the Middle Earth [Ogg-Casts of the Past]

PART THREE (1:08:47)
0:01:00 Macabre – The Ted Bundy Song [Spotlight: “Tedd”]
0:02:14 Screamin’ Daemon – What Shall We Do with the Evil Doctor? [Covered]
0:06:55 Morbid Angel – Where the Slime Live [Spotlight: “The Finger-Snipper”]
0:13:26 Carpathian Forest – I Am Possessed [Spotlight: “Deincarnated”]
0:18:48 Bloodbeast – Home Invasion [Spotlight: “Like Humans”]
0:23:52 Boarcorpse – Blood, Bath & Beyond [Spotlight: “Aisle Seven”]
0:28:42 Oakenshield – Wen Heath [Extra Spotlight]
0:35:36 Marduk – Blooddawn
0:42:31 Slayer – South of Heaven [Spotlight: “Blackness”]
0:47:31 Shroud of Tears – Phobos Anomaly [Spotlight: “Blackness”]
0:58:39 Shylmagoghnar – Journey Through the Fog

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXV: Back To Bands We Once Did Know

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXV:
Back To Bands We Once Did Know

Original release date: 15th November 2018
Total length: 3:49:57 in 3 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!UfQgDYwR!TN7hA2S_FDdlg1Vj4-99AWJ1_HdIg-a0QnR7RQE3MuY

The reissue blog has been on the boil for almost eight months now, and over that time I’ve reissued 51 of the 71 Ogg-Casts that will need that treatment. I’ve had to listen to every one of them, start to finish, to make sure there are no errors that slid through the net first time round – and in doing so I’ve been rediscovering some of the bands I haven’t featured in far too long. Sabaton and Juodvarnis were the two bands I had on Ogg-Cast 72 that made me think of making this review show where others who had been similarly dormant are brought back to be celebrated once more. Quite a few of them, it turns out, have made new albums this year, which are well worth catching up on.

Part One contains the first batch of new releases for the year, alongside a return to Wacken’s Metal Battle from years past and the Hammer of Retribution World Tour from 2012. In Part Two, there’s a bizarre cover version, Lennard reviews his older (and not so old) Tunes Of Yore, and Nottingham’s finest musician of the day gets a three-track tribute. And in Part Three, Ogg-Casts Of The Pasts looks back at four of 2014’s reissued shows (out of the 11 available), along with the last few bands I’ve recently rediscovered. The last band of the show get 11 minutes to show us why it’s been worth a Wintersun-esque eight year wait for their return…

Also, Lennard requires that I post the links to the official downloads of Seith’s (short) discography:
Alas (2008) – http://www.student.oulu.fi/~lind/Seith%20-%20Alas.zip
Artifacts & Entities (2010) – http://www.student.oulu.fi/~lind/Seith%20-%20Artifacts%20&%20Entities.rar

PART ONE (1:14:09)
0:02:27 Hiidenhauta – Hallan valta
0:05:47 Trollheim’s Grott – LXFR
0:14:05 Sabaton – The Price of a Mile
0:19:57 Juodvarnis – Miško sargai
0:31:23 Faanefjell – Troens Skarpe Klør
0:35:36 Crescent – Reciting Spells to Mutilate Apophis
0:46:43 Al-Namrood – Ana Al Tughian [World Tour Revisited]
0:54:07 From The Vastland – Chamrosh [World Tour Revisited]
1:00:47 Thrawsunblat – Song of the Summit [World Tour Revisited]
1:05:51 Vallendusk – The Shield [World Tour Revisited]

PART TWO (1:18:36)
0:01:54 The Meads of Asphodel – You’ve Got The Hate [Covered]
0:07:09 Empyrium – The Mill [Tunes of Yore]
0:12:30 Seith – Eupnoia [Tunes of Yore]
0:21:52 Mgła – Exercises in Futility I [Tunes of Yore]
0:30:28 Enisum – Balance of Insanity [Tunes of Yore]
0:37:11 Rome – One Lion’s Roar [Tunes of Yore]
0:46:51 Twilight’s Embrace – Dying Earth
0:52:59 Fjords – Ode to an Albatross
1:01:43 Arx Atrata – Impermanence
1:13:01 Fyrdsman – Wayland

PART THREE (1:17:12)
0:02:31 Na Cruithne – Reithe Toghla [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:08:08 Bloodshed Walhalla – Slepinir [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:17:38 Oak Pantheon – Sol [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:23:55 Myrath – The Unburnt [Ogg-Casts of the Past / World Tour Revisited]
0:29:41 Running Wild – Siberian Winter [Shut It!]
0:36:06 Bucovina – Așteaptă-mă dincolo (de moarte)
0:44:49 Winterstorm – Pacts of Blood and Might
0:51:24 Andras – Altar der Finsternis
1:05:34 Crow Black Sky – To Fathom The Stars

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIV: Ryder Cross The Sky

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIV:
Ryder Cross The Sky

Original release date: 15th October 2018
Total length: 3:49:25 in 3 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!wOICQI6S!ZWc-j8hs7mf1NXJLt_CK3BGH55BbBv2v56QCQlcFBn0

And now on BBC2, we join Eilidh “ye cannae pronounce ma name, ye wee shites” Barbour for a rather different type of action at Le Golf National, which has somehow decamped to Nottingham…

Golf is not a very rebellious pastime. You could even say it’s a hallmark of The Establishment, given its popularity with businessmen who make all their important decisions on the golf course rather than in the boardroom. But, especially as I’ve neared the end of my fourth decade, I’ve become more interested in following the major championships, despite having zero ability at swinging a golf club myself. And I’ll also keep track of the Ryder Cup when it’s held every two years – as it just has been, at the end of September.

And it gave me an idea. Three years ago, in an Ashes-themed Ogg-Cast, I decided to pit the very best bands from England against their counterparts from Australia in a battle of the genres, cunningly disguised as Test Matches. So why not do it again, in the style of the Ryder Cup, where the net is cast wider? The very best from the whole of Europe will now compete against America, for the Hammer Of Retribution Ryder Cup – and you can play along yourselves if you keep a scorecard and send it to me after the show; call it a competition of sorts in which you can win something… not awful.

And yes, I know the title of this episode is a dreadful pun that Martin Walkyier would have been proud of. That was deliberate.

In Part One, we start with doubles matches in 80s thrash, death metal and stoner rock, with a singles match of cover versions. In Part Two, after a brief interlude to review 2013’s reissued Ogg-Casts, there are two more doubles matches, involving neofolk (courtesy of Lennard) and black metal. And in Part Three, some more idiosyncratic singles matches, which are: overt displays of patriotism, 21st Century trad metal, traditional folk songs… and the Big Finale!

PART ONE (1:16:19)
0:04:22 Slayer – Altar of Sacrifice [Match One: USA]
0:07:13 Kreator – Tormentor [Match One: Europe]
0:10:05 Destruction – Release From Agony [Match One: Europe]
0:14:45 Testament – Alone in the Dark [Match One: USA]
0:21:05 Deicide – Once Upon The Cross [Match Two: USA]
0:24:34 Cannibal Corpse – Scattered Remains, Splattered Brains [Match Two: USA]
0:27:05 Amon Amarth – Metalwrath [Match Two: Europe]
0:30:55 Entombed – Left Hand Path [Match Two: Europe]
0:41:09 Clutch – In Walks Barbarella [Match Three: USA]
0:44:55 Spiritual Beggars – Street Fighting Saviours [Match Three: Europe]
0:49:15 Corrosion of Conformity – Long Whip / Big America [Match Three: USA]
0:54:06 Orange Goblin – One Room, One Axe, One Outcome [Match Three: Europe]
1:03:23 Munruthel – The Lake [Covered / Match Four: Europe]
1:10:03 Pantera – The Badge [Covered / Match Four: USA]

PART TWO (1:17:06)
0:01:15 Oakenshield – Earl Thorfinn [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:08:04 Machinae Supremacy – Phantom Battle [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:13:30 Forgotten Tomb – We Owe You Nothing [Ogg-Casts of the Past]
0:24:59 Rome – Who Only Europe Know [Tunes of Yore]
0:32:01 Forseti – Sterne [Tunes of Yore / Match Five: Europe]
0:35:02 Changes – Fire of Life [Tunes of Yore / Match Five: USA]
0:40:38 Backworld – The Devil’s Plaything [Tunes of Yore / Match Five: USA]
0:44:46 Fire + Ice – Dragons in the Sunset [Tunes of Yore / Match Five: Europe]
0:50:11 Darkthrone – Transilvanian Hunger [Match Six: Europe]
0:56:07 Absu – Pillars of Mercy [Match Six: USA]
1:00:28 Uada – Devoid of Light [Match Six: USA]
1:06:39 Emperor – The Warriors of Modern Death [Match Six: Europe]

PART THREE (1:16:00)
0:01:16 Iced Earth – The Star-Spangled Banner
0:02:30 Iced Earth – Declaration Day [Match Seven: USA]
0:07:27 Ancient Rites – Mother Europe [Match Seven: Europe]
0:13:49 Iron Maiden – These Colours Don’t Run [Match Eight: Europe]
0:20:38 Manowar – Call To Arms [Match Eight: USA]
0:27:25 Wilderun – Storm Along [Match Nine: USA]
0:34:58 Forefather – Miri it is [Match Nine: Europe]
0:46:23 Caladan Brood – Wild Autumn Wind [Match Ten: USA]
1:00:08 Moonsorrow – Ihmisen Aika (Kumarrus Pimeyteen) [Match Ten: Europe]

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIII: Mystic Stew (And Beans)

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXIII:
Mystic Stew (And Beans)

Original release date: 15th September 2018
Total length: 3:13:12 in 3 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!VH4EQabL!P6BrtZjyj3mGt3wqNXLfyKyRNrN5gRXYVNza2RSYdMM

In the lengthy break between January’s Ogg-Cast and the start of the final series in August, I’d racked up a lot of spare tracks that couldn’t fit on August’s show unless I wanted to make it expand to five enormous parts. So, as I’ve done before, rather than waste them all I’ve thrown them together into a random bits-and-pieces show that gets back some of the variety that I used to make sure of in the early days.

In Part One, there’s a surprise return from a long-lost Finnish band, some requests from last year’s Blackwood Gathering, and a comedy show in which listeners from Cambridge circa 1999 will have some awful, awful memories dug up. Part Two has an apology at each end for the absence of Clutch’s new album and Lennard’s Tunes Of Yore, but Covered explains where I’m coming from, Shut It! tells me where my towel is, and we ask “What if?” for one of the leading lights of old-school metal. And in Part Three, Ogg-Casts Of The Past returns to cast an eye over the reissues of the 2012 shows, and three prominent bands from last month’s show finish this episode in fine style.

PART ONE (1:01:36)
0:02:02 Trollheim’s Grott – Holy Black Sun
0:08:13 Grimner – Mörkrets Hem
0:16:59 Old Corpse Road – The Whispers Of Long Meg (Through The Solstice)
0:25:55 Paara – Aivaan Hautautunut
0:37:10 Draugnim – Drums of Black Death
0:44:10 SIG:AR:TYR – Beyond The North Winds
0:54:48 Impaled Northern Moonforest – Gazing at the Blasphemous Moon While Perched Atop a Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Forsaken Crest of the Northern Mountain
0:55:22 The Not Very Good Interval Band – The Ballad of Mr Shit

PART TWO (1:04:07)
0:01:47 Clutch – Circus Maximus
0:05:29 Slo Burn – Muezli
0:13:19 ICS Vortex – Don’t Tread On Me [Covered]
0:16:27 Rotting Christ – Non Serviam
0:28:20 The Eagles – Journey of the Sorcerer [Shut It!]
0:35:44 Iron Maiden – Weekend Warrior
0:41:20 Rainbow – Hall of the Mountain King
0:46:49 Grim Reaper – Night of the Vampire
0:55:58 Amorphis – Alone

PART THREE (1:07:29)
0:02:30 Thulcandra – The Second Fall [Ogg-Casts Of The Past]
0:07:52 Finntroll – Midvinterdraken [Ogg-Casts Of The Past / Hidden Gems]
0:13:24 Iron SeaWolf – Haul Away [Ogg-Casts Of The Past]
0:18:02 Xanthochroid – The Sound of Hunger Rises [Ogg-Casts Of The Past]
0:24:05 Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn [Ogg-Casts Of The Past]
0:37:55 Shylmagoghnar – As All Must Come To Pass
0:45:00 Primordial – Upon Our Spiritual Deathbed
0:56:49 Apocalypse Orchestra – Here Be Monsters

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXII: Battles In The Northeast

The Hammer Of Retribution Ogg-Cast LXXII:
Battles In The Northeast

Original release date: 15th August 2018
Total length: 4:17:00 in 4 parts

Download link:
https://mega.nz/#!VGBQ3YSR!XUDoR-BDKNgIJqBMBTxICCcxU7wbyFm4AyKjzxBSvuA

After a seven-month break, the Ogg-Cast returns for its final monthly series of seven shows on the 15th of every month between now and March, then a Grand Finale on 1st May 2019, the 10th anniversary of the very first show. And I thought I’d start with a double-length episode as there’s a lot to fit in.

The first half of the show attempts to plug the gap between this episode and the last and re-introduced Lennard after his exile in Italy. Part One contains an update as to how my side is faring in the Great Culture War, and salutes the memory of the now-defunct Wyrd Ways Rock Show, the original inspiration for the Ogg-Cast. Part Two contains Lennard’s first Tunes Of Yore since last December, which is given in more than one language (and I try to translate his foreign words!) Also, there’s a nod to a country I had to cross to reach Lithuania.

The second half covers my recent excursion to Lithuania for the excellent Kilkim Žaibu festival. In Part Three, there’s all the action (that I witnessed and that isn’t too drifty-floaty-folk) from the first two days, while Part Four covers the third day – and a candidate for Album Of The Year to finish with.

PART ONE (0:59:35)
0:03:04 Primordial – Exile Amongst The Ruins
0:13:45 Moonsorrow – Pimeä
0:26:36 Emperor – Ensorcelled By Khaos [Hidden Gems]
0:37:10 The Wildhearts – Greetings From Shitsville
0:41:40 AC/DC – Have A Drink On Me [Hidden Gems]
0:45:38 Motörhead – Sacrifce
0:48:52 Asomvel – Stone Cold Stare
0:55:10 Iced Earth – Transylvania [Covered / Shut It!]

PART TWO (1:09:06)
0:04:00 Summoning – Silvertine [Tunes Of Yore]
0:13:52 Rome – Blighter [Tunes Of Yore]
0:18:33 Horn – Retrograd [Tunes Of Yore]
0:28:17 Bathory – A Fine Day To Die [Tunes Of Yore]
0:37:47 Reverend Bizarre – Eternal Forest [Tunes Of Yore]
0:53:34 Voivod – Korgüll The Exterminator
0:58:28 Sabaton – Winged Hussars
1:04:37 Vader – The Final Massacre

PART THREE (1:05:04)
0:01:55 Finntroll – Ett Norrskensdåd
0:06:56 Deceitome – The Void Abides
0:10:41 Green Novice – Vylkataks
0:16:40 Juodvarnis – Pabudimas
0:27:08 Apocalypse Orchestra – The Garden Of Earthly Delights
0:35:44 Havukruunu – Aavevalo
0:46:19 Žalvarinis – Kadujo
0:49:40 Myrkur – Ulvinde
0:58:07 Thyrfng – Veners Förfall

PART FOUR (1:03:15)
0:00:44 Lord Wind – Severenyi Veter
0:05:56 Ignea – How I Hate The Night
0:12:24 Saor – Children Of The Mist
0:25:22 Entombed – Crawl (Nicke Andersson version)
0:30:54 Morbid Angel – Where The Slime Live
0:39:00 Nokturnal Mortum – Ніч богів
0:51:07 Shylmagoghnar – Transience

Visit the website at thorcast.co.uk.