Denver-based metal outfit Takipnik have officially unleashed their blistering new single “Condemned” alongside a high-production, cinematic music video. Serving as the explosive first taste of a forthcoming larger release, the track marks a bold, heavier evolution in both sonic delivery and emotional intensity for the band.
Captured live at Evergroove Studio by long-time collaborators Brad Smalling and Athena Wilkinson, “Condemned” abandons the traditional, sterile approach of tracking instruments separately. Instead, the band opted to record together in the same room to preserve their raw, visceral chemistry.
“Recording live is a process I’d like to keep doing when possible,” the band share. “You get more recorded quickly while maintaining the raw energy you get from playing together. When I began writing the song, there was an intentional use of constraint in certain sections, so the heavier sections would punch harder.”
Lyrically and structurally, “Condemned” acts as a sonic mirror to human turmoil. Written in response to a troubling situation involving someone close to the band, the track explores the desperate search for an escape—even when that escape comes at a devastating cost to oneself and others. The song translates this chaotic emotional arc into its arrangement, building from a brooding initial vibe into a furious, angry verse before navigating a series of volatile shifts in energy.
Musically, “Condemned” sets a massive new precedent for the band. Clocking in at a devastating, ultra-low Drop A tuning, the track introduces a significantly heavier sound than heard on their previous record, Awakened (released October 24). The band have meticulously engineered this new era to deliver a “big, punchy, wide feel” that envelops the listener.
Accompanying the single is Takipnik’s first-ever high-production music video. Filmed entirely in stark black and white by Troy of Ten Eyck Visuals, the video features acclaimed Denver actress, artist, and dancer Veya, who powerfully portrays the haunting subject of the song. The band praise the visual collaboration, noting that the final product “really brings the vision of the song to life.”
“Condemned” is the first of multiple singles slated for release as Takipnik builds momentum toward a new record. Having recently wrapped up a run of live shows, the band are currently back in the studio focusing heavily on writing the remainder of the album, with plans to announce regional and Denver-local tour dates later this year.
“Condemned” and its accompanying music video are available now on all major streaming platforms. Follow the band here.
Candlelight and Darkness: How Lighting Shapes Gothic Atmosphere
A candle illuminates only part of a room. Beyond its glow, darkness remains. Corners disappear into shadow. Familiar objects take unfamiliar shapes. The mind begins filling gaps that the eye cannot fully resolve. This lingering uncertainty lies at the absolute heart of historical gothic lighting.
Throughout the history of Gothic art and literature, lighting has served a purpose far greater than simple illumination. Shadows create tension, conceal danger, and transform ordinary spaces into places of mystery. A corridor becomes threatening. A staircase becomes uncertain. A familiar room begins to feel haunted.
The Gothic imagination thrives in these moments of ambiguity. Fear rarely emerges from what is clearly visible. It grows from what remains partially hidden. Candlelight creates exactly that condition, revealing enough to suggest reality while concealing enough to invite speculation.
This relationship between light and darkness explains why candlelit rooms, flickering lanterns, and shadow-filled interiors continue appearing throughout Gothic culture. They do not simply create atmosphere. They create uncertainty, and uncertainty is where Gothic fear lives.
Candlelight reveals only part of the world, allowing mystery to occupy the rest.
Why Candlelight Feels Different
Modern lighting eliminates uncertainty. Electric light floods a room evenly, exposing details with remarkable efficiency. Shadows remain, but they rarely dominate a space. Candlelight behaves differently.
A flame constantly moves. Its brightness shifts from moment to moment. Shadows expand and contract across walls. Objects appear stable one second and unfamiliar the next. The environment feels alive.
This instability has a powerful psychological effect. Human perception depends upon recognizing patterns quickly and accurately. When lighting becomes unpredictable, certainty weakens. The mind begins searching for explanations.
Many Gothic stories exploit this response. Characters misinterpret shapes, hear sounds that may or may not exist, and imagine threats lurking beyond their field of vision. The darkness itself becomes active, encouraging fear through suggestion rather than direct confrontation.
Fear and the Unseen
One of the most effective principles in Gothic storytelling is that unseen threats often feel more terrifying than visible ones. A monster revealed too clearly can lose its power. A shadow whose source remains uncertain can remain frightening indefinitely.
Candlelight naturally supports this effect. Its limited reach creates boundaries between what can be known and what cannot. Every darkened doorway becomes a possibility. Every movement beyond the flame invites interpretation.
The result is a form of suspense built upon imagination. Readers and viewers participate in creating the fear because their minds help complete the image.
In Gothic art, darkness is never empty. It is filled with endless possibilities.
The Candlelit Origins of Gothic Literature
The connection between candlelight and Gothic atmosphere emerged naturally from history. During the eighteenth century, most people experienced darkness very differently than we do today. Nights were genuinely dark. A single candle illuminated only a small portion of a room.
Early Gothic writers understood the dramatic potential of these conditions. Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, often considered the first Gothic novel, relies heavily on shadow-filled corridors, hidden chambers, and uncertain spaces. The architecture itself becomes threatening because visibility remains limited.
Ann Radcliffe refined this technique by using darkness to suggest supernatural possibilities while often providing rational explanations later. Her novels demonstrate how uncertainty can generate fear even when no supernatural force is ultimately present.
The Gothic atmosphere emerged not only from castles and ruins but also from the quality of light available within them.
A Rebellion Against Enlightenment
The rise of Gothic literature coincided with the Age of Enlightenment, a period that celebrated reason, knowledge, and intellectual clarity. Gothic writers explored a different aspect of human experience.
They understood that not every fear can be explained away. Not every mystery yields to logic. Human beings remain fascinated by uncertainty even while seeking certainty.
Light became a powerful symbol within this cultural tension. Enlightenment values emphasized illumination and understanding. Gothic works repeatedly returned to darkness, suggesting that parts of the human mind resist complete explanation.
The flickering candle became an ideal image for this conflict. It pushes back against darkness without ever fully conquering it.
Edgar Allan Poe and the Psychology of Shadow
Few writers understood the relationship between lighting and psychological fear better than Edgar Allan Poe. His stories rarely depend upon visible monsters. Instead, they create atmospheres where ordinary surroundings become emotionally unstable.
In The Fall of the House of Usher, dim interiors and oppressive shadows reinforce the sense of decay surrounding the Usher family. The mansion itself seems suspended between life and death. Darkness becomes an extension of the characters’ emotional condition.
Poe recognized that horror becomes more effective when readers cannot fully trust what they see. Flickering light obscures certainty. Shadows distort perception. The physical environment begins reflecting the instability of the human mind.
His stories transformed lighting into a deep language of psychological horror rather than a simple decorative detail.
The Tell-Tale Heart and Selective Illumination
Few scenes demonstrate Poe’s understanding of lighting more effectively than the opening of The Tell-Tale Heart. The narrator describes how he enters the old man’s room night after night, carefully opening a lantern so that only a thin beam of light falls upon the victim’s eye.
The image is remarkably precise. The room remains almost entirely dark while a single detail receives illumination. Readers focus on what the narrator sees, but they also become aware of everything that remains hidden.
This selective lighting mirrors the narrator’s obsession. His attention narrows until the eye becomes the only thing that matters. Darkness isolates the object of fear while simultaneously concealing the broader reality.
The technique remains effective because it reflects how anxiety often functions in real life. Fear concentrates on one detail until that detail begins dominating perception, turning light and shadow into a playground for madness.
The Black Cat and the Return of the Hidden
In The Black Cat, Poe again uses darkness to blur the boundary between reality and imagination. The narrator’s descent into violence and guilt unfolds within shadow-filled spaces where certainty gradually disappears.
One of the story’s most memorable images involves the appearance of the cat’s silhouette after a devastating fire. Whether readers interpret the event as supernatural or psychological remains open to debate.
That ambiguity is precisely the point. Poe understood that fear often emerges when multiple explanations seem possible at the same time. The darkness surrounding the event prevents complete certainty, locking readers into deep dark romanticism.
When Darkness Mirrors Guilt
Throughout Poe’s work, darkness frequently reflects emotional states rather than physical conditions alone. Rooms grow oppressive because characters become psychologically trapped. Shadows deepen because guilt, grief, or obsession deepen.
This relationship explains why Poe’s environments feel so alive. The settings do not simply contain fear. They participate in it. A corridor becomes threatening because the character perceives it as threatening. A shadow becomes disturbing because it echoes emotions already present within the mind.
Poe transformed historical gothic aesthetics into a living language of psychology.
The Fall of the House of Usher and Living Darkness
Among all Poe’s works, The Fall of the House of Usher provides perhaps the clearest example of how lighting shapes Gothic atmosphere. From the opening pages, readers encounter a landscape dominated by gloom, decay, and uncertain visibility.
The mansion appears almost alive. Dark windows resemble vacant eyes. Interior chambers seem detached from ordinary reality. Light enters the structure reluctantly, struggling against an environment consumed by shadow.
These details contribute to a profound sense of instability. The house feels less like a building and more like a psychological extension of the Usher family itself. Darkness becomes architecture.
Fear Through Suggestion
One reason Usher remains so influential is that Poe rarely explains everything. Strange sounds echo through corridors. Shadows seem to shift unexpectedly. Characters sense approaching disaster long before it arrives.
The reader never receives complete visual certainty. Every room contains unanswered questions. Every shadow may conceal another layer of meaning.
This approach reflects one of the fundamental principles of the gothic imagination. Suggestion often creates stronger emotional responses than explicit revelation.
A fully illuminated room offers information. A partially illuminated room offers possibilities. The subculture almost always prefers possibilities.
Why Darkness Reveals More Than Light
At first glance, darkness appears to conceal information. In practical terms, this is true. Shadows reduce visibility and make observation more difficult.
Psychologically, however, darkness often reveals things that bright light cannot. It exposes fears, expectations, memories, and desires that remain hidden during moments of certainty.
When visibility decreases, imagination becomes more active. The mind begins filling gaps, creating narratives, and searching for meaning. Every unexplained sound acquires significance. Every movement becomes suspicious.
This process explains why candlelight remains so central to the genre. The goal is not merely to create darkness. The goal is to create uncertainty, and uncertainty invites participation. Readers, viewers, and listeners become collaborators in the creation of fear.
Evolution of Gothic Lighting: From Candlelight to Cinema
As technology changed, targeted gothic lighting evolved. Candles gave way to gas lamps, electric bulbs, and eventually cinema screens. Yet the fundamental relationship between light, shadow, and uncertainty remained remarkably consistent.
Early filmmakers quickly discovered that darkness could communicate emotion more effectively than dialogue. Shadows distorted familiar spaces. Faces emerged partially from darkness. Ordinary rooms became psychologically charged environments.
The goal was not realism. The goal was atmosphere. Directors understood that carefully controlled lighting could reveal emotional truths while concealing physical details. The visual language that began in Gothic literature found a new home on film.
German Expressionism and the Art of Shadow
Films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu transformed shadow into a storytelling tool. Twisted silhouettes stretched across walls. Sharp contrasts exaggerated emotional tension. Darkness became an active participant in the narrative.
These films rarely relied on realistic lighting. Instead, they used visual distortion to represent psychological instability, obsession, and fear. The approach mirrored what Poe had accomplished through language decades earlier.
A shadow no longer existed merely because light was absent. It existed because the story required uncertainty. Expressionist cinema demonstrated that darkness could reveal character as effectively as dialogue.
The Noir Inheritance
Film noir inherited many of the visual principles that Gothic artists had developed over centuries. Dark alleys replaced medieval corridors. Venetian blinds replaced candlelit windows. Yet the underlying emotional effect remained familiar.
Noir protagonists often move through worlds defined by ambiguity. They struggle to separate truth from deception, loyalty from betrayal, innocence from guilt. Noir psychology reinforces these themes by creating environments where certainty feels impossible.
Faces disappear into shadow. Streets seem endless. Reflections distort reality. The viewer experiences the same uncertainty confronting the characters. The Gothic castle evolved into the modern city, but the darkness remained.
Why Shadows Still Matter
Modern audiences have access to visual clarity that earlier generations could hardly imagine. High-definition screens, digital photography, and powerful lighting technology can reveal almost every detail.
Yet filmmakers, photographers, and artists continue returning to shadow. The reason is simple. Mystery remains emotionally compelling. Complete visibility answers questions. Partial visibility creates them. Human curiosity thrives on uncertainty. We instinctively want to know what exists beyond the edge of perception.
Shadow keeps that curiosity alive.
Why Candlelight Remains the Ultimate Gothic Symbol
Among all forms of illumination, candlelight symbolism continues to hold a unique position. It combines illumination and concealment more effectively than almost any other source of light.
A candle pushes back darkness without defeating it. The flame reveals enough to orient the viewer while preserving mystery beyond its reach. This balance perfectly reflects the Gothic worldview.
Gothic stories rarely present a world that can be completely understood. Questions remain unanswered. Secrets survive. Hidden fears persist beneath the surface of everyday life. The candle becomes a piece of essential gothic symbolism for this condition. It offers knowledge, but never complete knowledge.
The Beauty of Uncertainty
Many artistic traditions pursue clarity. Gothic art often pursues something different. It explores the emotional territory between knowing and not knowing.
Candlelight embodies that space perfectly. Every flicker alters perception. Every shadow suggests another possibility. The environment remains open to interpretation. This uncertainty does not merely create fear. It also creates wonder. The same darkness that conceals threats can conceal beauty, memory, and imagination.
That complexity explains why structural gothic architecture and moody interiors continue resonating with audiences centuries after the first novels appeared.
The Flame and the Shadow
The history of lighting is ultimately the history of uncertainty. From candlelit castles and Poe’s haunted interiors to Expressionist cinema and film noir, artists have repeatedly used light and darkness to explore the limits of perception.
What remains hidden often feels more powerful than what is revealed. Shadows encourage imagination. Flickering light weakens certainty. Fear emerges not from complete darkness but from partial understanding.
That principle connects centuries of Gothic art. The candle, the corridor, the shadow, and the unseen presence all rely upon the same psychological truth.
We fear what we cannot fully see.
We imagine what we cannot fully know.
And in that space between light and darkness, the Gothic imagination comes alive.
Wear the Darkness
If Gothic aesthetics, Edgar Allan Poe, noir atmosphere, and the beauty of shadow inspire you, explore the Edgar Allan Poets store. Discover apparel and artwork created for lovers of mystery, literature, and dark romanticism.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is candlelight associated with Gothic atmosphere?
Candlelight creates fluctuating shadows and limited visibility, encouraging uncertainty and imagination—two essential ingredients of Gothic fear.
How did Edgar Allan Poe use lighting in his stories?
Poe often used dim interiors, shadows, and selective illumination to reflect psychological instability, guilt, obsession, and fear.
What role does darkness play in Gothic literature?
Darkness creates ambiguity, conceals information, and encourages readers to imagine possibilities beyond what is explicitly shown.
How did Gothic lighting influence film noir?
Film noir adopted Gothic techniques such as deep shadows, visual ambiguity, and dramatic contrasts to reinforce themes of uncertainty and moral complexity.
Why do shadows feel frightening?
Shadows reduce certainty and activate the imagination, encouraging the mind to fill gaps with possibilities, fears, and expectations.
Looking to keep live music accessible and their community thriving, Only The Poets tell their story on their debut Rock Sound cover.
Still reeling from their Top 10 debut and a landmark Brixton show, Only The Poets talk accessibility, community, connection, and remaining present amidst the chaos
In support of their last studio album release Leo Rising, Canadian hard rockers Danko Jones have recently announced a headlining tour across Europe. Split Dogs will serve as support on all dates. Read more…
Anthrax have released the official music video for “Everybody’s Got A Plan,” the third single from their upcoming album Cursum Perficio. The clip premiered via Revolver and features footage from the band’s recent performance at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon, Portugal, supporting Iron Maiden.
Cursum Perficio arrives September 18 via Megaforce in the US and Nuclear Blast in Europe — the band’s twelfth album and their first in ten years, following 2016’s For All Kings. It was produced by Jay Ruston with the band, with much of the recording taking place at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Los Angeles. Anthrax are Scott Ian, Charlie Benante, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna and Jonathan Donais.
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On today’s Metal Breakdown Daily, Scott Penfold gets into the new Anthrax single, the Mike Tyson line at the centre of it, and the genuinely macabre story behind an album title everyone’s been reading wrong. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and take the show with you.
Third single, and this one’s the fun one.
The Video
“Everybody’s Got A Plan” arrived today through Revolver, and the clip is exactly what it should be: a tour montage. On stage, off stage, cut fast enough to keep up with the song.
The centrepiece footage comes from the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon, where Anthrax were supporting Iron Maiden. Frank Bello called it a good representation of a day in the life of the band on tour, and that’s the whole brief — no concept, no narrative, just four decades of professionals doing the job.
Charlie Benante says it’s always been one of his favourites on the record, and pointed at the line the whole thing hangs on: everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face.
That’s Mike Tyson, from 1987, and it has since escaped into general usage to the point where most people quoting it have no idea where it came from. Benante’s assessment — great line, and true. Hard to argue.
Scott Ian’s summary was that they wanted to capture the band having fun on tour, and that this was a plan that didn’t end with a punch in the face.
It follows “It’s For The Kids” from May and “The Edge Of Perfection” from July — the latter being the one Ian called the greatest song in the history of Anthrax, which is not a phrase you throw around lightly forty-five years in.
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The Title Story Nobody Is Telling
Here’s the part worth staying for.
Cursum Perficio is Latin. It translates as “my journey has come to an end,” “my journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.” Which, on a band’s first album in a decade, reads like a farewell.
It isn’t one. And the reason it exists is genuinely strange.
Benante explained it earlier this year. There was talk circulating that all four of the Big Four might be reaching the point where their next records could be their last. It was in the air.
Around the same time, he was watching a Marilyn Monroe documentary — and saw the crest at the doorstep of her final home in Brentwood, California. The house where she died. The inscription on it reads Cursum Perficio.
He brought it to the band, and what they liked about it was the ambiguity. It says the thing without them having to say it. They don’t have to declare an ending — the phrase does the work, and they get to keep going anyway.
Because they are. The band have been explicit that this is not their final studio album. Anyone reading the title as a retirement notice is reading it exactly the way Benante intended and exactly the way he knew wasn’t literally true.
That’s a smarter piece of album-titling than this genre usually gets credit for.
The Thing Fans Will Notice
One detail worth pointing out, because it’s a genuine milestone.
Cursum Perficio is the first Anthrax album recorded entirely as a five-piece with the same unchanged lineup since Persistence Of Time in 1990. It’s also only the second time since Volume 8 in 1998 that they’ve made consecutive records with an identical lineup.
For a band with a personnel history as turbulent as this one — multiple singers, multiple lead guitarists, decades of churn — that’s the real headline about where Anthrax are in 2026. This is a stable band.
And track one on the new album is called “Persistence Of Memory.”
Nobody in the band has said that’s deliberate, so we’re not going to claim it is. But Persistence Of Time to Persistence Of Memory, on the first same-lineup five-piece album since that record, is one hell of a coincidence.
Scott Ian was asked back in May 2018 whether Anthrax had started work on album twelve. His answer: very, very, very preliminary stages, a couple of great riffs, some ideas from Charlie, nothing actually started.
It arrives in September 2026. Eight years from the first riffs, ten years since the last album — the longest gap in the band’s career.
Benante has been open about why it took that long, and it wasn’t laziness. They threw out a batch of finished songs mid-process because the newer material was better, and he’s said every song on the record stands on its own. Bello has said parts of it are genuinely hard to play, and that Belladonna delivers his best performance on an Anthrax record.
Artwork comes from Mark Stutzman, the conceptual artist behind David Blaine’s visuals — Benante’s description of it was, roughly, extremely trippy.
Out September 18 — Megaforce in the US, Nuclear Blast in Europe.
The Midnight Signing
Nice touch to close on.
Anthrax play Louder Than Life in Louisville on September 17. Immediately after that set, they’re heading to Guestroom Records on Bardstown Road for an in-store signing starting at 12:01am on September 18 — the exact minute the album is released.
Space is limited, and the only way in is to pre-order the album directly through Guestroom. Nothing bought elsewhere qualifies.
Four guys who’ve been at this since 1981, coming straight off a festival stage to sign records at midnight. That’s the job.
You can also catch them on 70000tons Of Metal if a boat is more your thing.
New single: “Everybody’s Got A Plan,” third from Cursum Perficio, video premiered via Revolver
The video: a tour montage including footage from Lisbon’s Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, supporting Iron Maiden
The hook: built on Mike Tyson’s line about everybody having a plan until they get punched in the face
Album: Cursum Perficio, out September 18 via Megaforce (US) and Nuclear Blast (Europe). Eleven tracks
The gap: their first album since 2016’s For All Kings — the longest of their career. Ian described it as being in preliminary stages as far back as May 2018
Produced by: Jay Ruston and Anthrax, largely at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606
The title: Latin for “my journey has come to an end.” Benante took it from the crest at Marilyn Monroe’s final home. The band have confirmed it is not their last album
Milestone: the first Anthrax record made entirely as a five-piece with an unchanged lineup since Persistence Of Time in 1990
Release event: midnight in-store signing at Guestroom Records, Louisville, from 12:01am September 18, following their Louder Than Life set. Pre-order via Guestroom required
FAQ
When is the new Anthrax album out?
Cursum Perficio arrives September 18, 2026 via Megaforce Records in the US and Nuclear Blast in Europe. It’s their twelfth album and their first since 2016’s For All Kings.
What does Cursum Perficio mean?
It’s Latin for “my journey has come to an end,” “my journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.” Charlie Benante took the phrase from a crest at the doorstep of Marilyn Monroe’s final home in Brentwood, California, after seeing it in a documentary.
Is Cursum Perficio Anthrax’s last album?
No. Despite the title, the band have explicitly stated this is not their final studio album. Benante has said they liked the phrase precisely because it implies an ending without them having to declare one.
What singles are out from Cursum Perficio?
Three so far: “It’s For The Kids” in May, “The Edge Of Perfection” in July, and “Everybody’s Got A Plan” in August. Scott Ian has called “The Edge Of Perfection” the greatest song Anthrax have ever written.
Who is in Anthrax now?
Scott Ian on rhythm guitar, Charlie Benante on drums, Frank Bello on bass, Joey Belladonna on vocals and Jonathan Donais on lead guitar. It’s the first time since 1990 they’ve recorded a full album as an unchanged five-piece.
Ten years, eight years of writing, and an album named after the plaque outside Marilyn Monroe’s last house. September 18 can’t come quick enough. Which single has been the best so far? Let us know in the comments.
U2 frontman Bono passes through the world with the ease of a man with enough money to do whatever the hell he likes, and enough clout and confidence to choose whomever he does it with. He’s a Zelig-like figure, as comfortable entertaining vast crowds as he is attending political summits with high-powered leaders. Put very simply, he finds himself in situations the rest of us never will, simply by dint of being Bono.
Which explains why he was flying on Jimmy Buffett’s plane the day Jamaican police filled it with bullet holes.
It’s January 1996. Bono has spent much of his time since the Zoo tour ended working on humanitarian endeavours and the Passengers album, a collection of tracks written with Brian Eno for imaginary avant-garde film soundtracks. U2 reconvene in late 1995 for the writing sessions for what will become the Pop album, after which the frontman takes a break and flies to Miami with his family: wife Ali, daughters Jordan and Eve.
There, he meets Mr Miami himself, Jimmy Buffett, the Margaritaville hitmaker with a famous penchant for all things tropical. Buffett is planning to go shopping for jerk chicken in his plane, a Grumman HU-16 Albatross flying boat named Hemisphere Dancer. It’s a former long-range search and rescue aircraft that served in the U.S. Navy – including as an observation craft during Pacific nuclear testing in 1956. The plane was retired in 1967 and left in storage before being purchased and restored by Buffett in 1995.
Buffett decides to fly to Jamaica, against the wishes of his co-pilot, Jim Powell, who warns the singer that inclement weather may make a water landing difficult, and that neighbouring areas may not take too kindly to unexpected craft showing up. There have been problems, you see, with flying boats used to smuggle drugs in the Caribbean. Powell – wisely, as it turns out – backs out of the trip.
Bono and his family don’t. And they’re joined by Chris Blackwell, their former boss at Island Records, who’d grown up in Jamaica and built the famous Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. Bono and Ali had honeymooned in Jamaica in 1982 as guests of Blackwell at his GoldenEye Estate, a 50-acre site at Oracabessa Bay that had once belonged to James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
As Powell predicted, Mother Nature does not oblige. The water at Buffett’s intended destination, near Montego Bay on Jamaica’s northern coast, is too rough to make a landing, so the flight diverts to Negril, on the island’s west coast, where Hemisphere Dancer is able to touch down in calm water.
Calm: The beach at Negril, Jamaica (Image credit: Giulio Andreini/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The local authorities are less calm, and open fire on the plane as it sits in the water, apparently convinced that the unannounced arrival is carrying illicit cargo. Thankfully, its passengers have just disembarked, and are on board a launch heading towards the shore when target practice commences
“These boys were shooting all over the place,” Bono later told the Belfast Telegraph. “I felt as if we were in the middle of a James Bond movie – only this was real. It was absolutely terrifying, and I honestly thought we were all going to die.”
More than 100 rounds were fired at Hemisphere Dancer, leaving several bullet holes in the fuselage, the windshield shattered, but its human cargo undamaged.
“Thank God we were safe and sound,” said Bono. “My only concern was for their safety. It was very scary, let me tell you. You can’t believe the relief I felt when I saw the kids were okay.”
The Jamaican Goverment were swift to apologise to the Irish special envoy to Jamaica, Peter King, who revealed that the apology had been “unreservedly accepted” by the U2 frontman. An official investigation eventually ascertained that Hemisphere Dancer had been a victim of mistaken identity, and that no criminal charges would be filed against the officers involved.
Buffett, meanwhile, who had capsized another seaplane the previous year while landing in Nantucket, documented the Negril incident in the unfortunately titled Jamaica Mistaica, a track on his 1996 album Banana Wind, with lyrics recounting his brush with death.
Just about to lose my temper As I endeavoured to explain We had only come for chicken We were not the ganja plane
Come back, come back, back to Jamaica Don’t you know, we made a big mistake-a We’d be so sad if you told us goodbye And we promise not to shoot you out of the sky
Jimmy Buffet died in 2023, but Hemisphere Dancer lives on as a permanent outdoor exhibit at the Lone Palm Airport Bar at Universal CityWalk in Orlando, Florida. It was refurbished in 2025, when a bullet hole patched in 1996 to meet aviation standards was restored. It’s a permanent reminder of the day Buffett and Bono went out for chicken and almost got killed.
“One of the inescapable encumbrances of leading an interesting life,” Buffett once mused, “is that there have to be moments when you almost lose it.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways that video games treat different medieval or fantasy armaments. With some obvious exceptions, blades are almost always viewed as the more dextrous weapons. Knives and daggers are mostly for rogues, assassins, thieves, and any other class that fights from a distance or some hidden, advantageous position. Then you have swords, which are further diversified by blade types: are you parrying and stabbing with a rapier or swinging a huge greatsword to decapitate your foe, their horse, and probably the guy next to him? At some point, the balance shifts from dexterity to strength. There are, of course, blunt weapons like maces and mauls, adept at crunching through armor and bone alike. But this left me thinking…do axes fall somewhere in the middle of all this? Vibes-wise, they definitely seem more savage than a sword but not nearly as primitive as a hammer. Was this the medieval equivalent of the “Knife vs. Bat” debate?
Here’s what I did. I dove into some online wikis for three fantasy RPGs that I have played recently: Diablo II, Elden Ring, and Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon. It turns out that each had a radically different approach to the humble axe. The oldest game of the bunch, Diablo II, treated axes primarily as strength weapons, with only some double-sided battle axes requiring about 70% of the user’s strength as dex (whereas swords could demand anywhere from 20% to 200%). Elden Ring was similar even when dividing the weapon type into axes and greataxes. Strength remained the governing attribute, with many axes requiring dex and a few uniques requiring magical stats like Intelligence or Faith. Tainted Grail, however, throws an interesting curveball, as none of its axes require any dexterity whatsoever. Instead, wielders must put points into endurance, perception, or practicality depending on the particular axe. The first two function as you would expect if you’ve played any sort of RPG, digital or otherwise, but the latter is one of the game’s more interesting stats, governing crafting, trading, crit damage, and stamina and mana costs. I have no idea how the developers made this decision, especially considering that the axes in question have a diverse assortment of additional effects in combat, but if you think about it, axes certainly are “practical” implements with far more uses than swords or maces: forestry, carpentry, farming, executions, etc. Perhaps they were onto something…
Anyway, I’m sure you didn’t come here for my musings on video games or bladed implements. No, you’re probably awaiting this month’s batch of name-your-price digital releases, especially considering that Bandcamp Friday is this Friday, August 7th. Let’s dig into some of my favorite discoveries from the past few months, some of which feature bladed weapons in some capacity, and while we’re at it, let’s support underground metal by picking up some tunes and merch. Maybe some of this installment’s offerings will inspire you to take up thy axe and…well, I’m certainly not going to tell you what to do with that thing, but maybe there are some of those license plate cameras around?
As a fan of Turpitude since Brume hiémale, I was delighted by Bandcamp’s recent interview with Alice Simard, the lone musician behind that icy, mystical black metal project. Apparently she has over two-dozen different extreme metal irons in the fire, and while the article spotlighted five that were all new to me, the one that resonated the most was the instrumental project R’luhh. Simard’s first two releases under this moniker blended glowing, astral lead melodies with frenetic blast beats and layers of alien harmonies reminiscent of some of my favorite Brooklyn black metal bands (I trust you can fill in the blanks yourself). 2023’s Ornamental Undoing trims down the song lengths and dials up the dissonance for a gnarled yet expansive sonic odyssey. I hope that Simard will return to the world of R’luhh amidst all of her other musical endeavors, but then again, I’m sure that there will be plenty of other material from her in the coming years.
Oh, and you should also check out that Turpitude album from January if you’re into raw, relentlessly melodic black metal. It got stuck in my backlog when it was released, but it may very well end up on my year-end list.
It’s almost hard to believe that this is Hajduk’s first full-length album, considering that they released a trio of EPs in 2019 and a four-way split in 2020 before laying low for six years. Fans of that initial material know exactly what to expect here: crackly and triumphant black metal that hits like a cavalry charge, swords held aloft as hooves pound the bloodied soil. Even when the band slows things down on “Три бюлбюла”, which builds upon solemn samples of a women’s choir to create a scorched, sweeping elegy, the music still retains its rawness and aggression.
AP of Skaphe, Chaos Moon, Haxanu, Krieg, and a stable of other stellar black metal projects has returned with – surprise – a new dissociative nightmare called Auzawandils that will purge all your chakras at once. Laste Eclipse… is both bewildering and entrancing, the sort of soundscape whose layers peel back to reveal the horrifying truths beneath. The delightfully titled “Þe Particioun Betwixt Ye Carrion and Ye Torne Veiles” was one track (of several) that I found totally absorbing, with dizzying torrents of guitars swarming like locusts as monks of an esoteric order howl and self-flagellate by torchlight. I just so happened to listen to this album while reading Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow, and y’know what? I wholeheartedly recommend that combination.
Innergazer was a pleasant surprise for me, and I wish I could remember how I stumbled across it. In any case, this debut album from The Blind Philosopher features swirling, thunderous death metal enhanced by spacey textures, perfect for your next 40k battle or an evening of existential crisis beneath the stars. “Ambience” may still be a dirty word among death metal purists, but the crushing atmosphere of Innergazer would not have the same impact without those synths…or those ripping solos, for that matter.
I really should have saved that Warhammer reference for this one, huh? Well, it’s too late for regrets now, because Äxe is already bearing down on your location–just follow the acrid black smoke and the roar of their engines. Autogeddon’s cover art tells you everything you need to know about the London band’s second demo. To draw a comparison to a different sort of grim sci-fi universe, this is raucous blackened speed metal that would inspire Immortan Joe to fire up the war rig and raid the Bullet Farm. I won’t spoil any of those newer Mad Max movies, but I will say that things might have turned out differently if that guy with the flamethrower guitar called the members of Äxe for back-up.
Reset the counter: there’s a new Damián Ojeda project, and there are already two releases. This time, Ojeda is playing hardcore-influenced black metal that blends furious tremolo melodies with crunching, thrashy breakdowns. This opening salvo features some of Ojeda’s most viscerally satisfying work to date, hewing closer to letterstoyou and life than Sadness or Trhä. Just check out some of the tempo changes on “Whispered Name” or “Enrichment” and try to remain seated for the duration of the ride.
Considering I was hired 3000 years ago by the Almighty AMG Himself to be the “power metal guy,” I sure do end up reviewing a lot of moldy death metal. Toss Norway’s Horrifier on the rotpit next as I tackle their sophomore slab of purulence, Revelations of Gore. With cover art straight from the early 90s, Horrifier regale you with tales of body horror, serial killings, and unlawful graveyard carnal knowledge. Their core sound measures in at 79.5% Autopsy worship, with 12.3% Obituary and 8.2% early Pestilence influence. That means you get hammered with old school, cesspool-ready shitfun with a heavy emphasis on scuzz, crust, and scabs. Is it newfangled? Fuck no. Is it going to stain your carpet and leave a lasting stench? Absofuckinglutely! Let’s see what’s behind the gore.
After an appropriately creepy intro, Horrifer get medieval on your ass with “Compelled to Slaughter” as evil, ominous riffs and a skronky bass set the coroner’s table for you. It’s very much in the vein of early Autopsy and Adrian Risøy’s disgusting and disturbing vocals are a dead ringer for the legendary Chris Reifert. It’s a big intestine sandwich that leaps from d-beating to slow, doomy segments, and it sounds as infectious as an Ebola ward. You’ll want a shower after to disinfect, and that’s the sigh of effective death. “Human Butchery” keeps the rancid times rolling, and I swear this one could have appeared on any of the first 4 Autopsy albums. Go ahead and deny that the piece starting at 3:50 wasn’t ripped directly from Chris Reifert’s diseased brain. You can’t. It’s entertaining without reinventing any wheels, and the band’s commitment to excess and a horrific atmosphere is to be commended. When this formula clicks, it works quite well. “Body Hoarder” is an especially fun bit of unhinged death with plenty of textures and moods splattering the walls. Parts even remind me of Leprosy-era Death.
Unfortunately, the writing is a bit inconsistent as the album grinds along, with some songs feeling less essential than others. “Rejoice, Children of the Flesh” reminds me of the loopy but lovable days of early Carnivore where they lurched between thrash and bombastic doom willy-nilly, and the tempo changes don’t always work in their favor as segments drag on too long. I do love that fat, clanging N.M.E.-styled bass though! “Morbid Lust” is aggressive and angry but feels fairly generic, and it also runs past its expiration date and meanders weirdly. “The Final Oblation” is even longer and feels more bloated and overstuffed, despite cool moments. Revelations of Gore does finish strong with longest track, “Blood for Ascension,” however. It puts a vaguely Voivodian spin on a ragged d-beat and makes everything feel jarring, unsteady, and exciting. The classic Autopsy asswax and maggot garden vibe is present, but with a strange new edge. There’s even a massive doom segment that feels like classic Saint Vitus, so that’s pure Steel bait. At 38 minutes, I hesitate to say Revelations of Gore feels longer than that, but it does drag at times. The production is masterful for a caveman death slab such as this. The guitars have force, the bass is fully unleashed and everything feels dangerous and murky as fook. Kudos!
Adrian Risøy and Sander Halvorsen do a very respectable job pummeling and abrading with nasty, corrosive riffs and horror movie harmonies. They hurt when they must, and torture when they like, and there’s a creepy, unsettling vibe that flashes through the material. Erik Krokan’s bass is large, in charge, and right in your face. It thumps, twangs, and bangs all over the place and adds a delicious layer of low-end extremity. Risøy is a great death croaker and brings a repulsive and inhuman stink to the coffin orgy. He’s the kind of vocalist this style of death needs, and boy does he go all in. Last but certainly not least, Andreas Langås lays the lumber hard and mean, shifting from bedragled doom trots to d-beat gallops and straight-up blastbeatery.
Horrifier live in death metal’s infamous past and evince no sign of evolutionary tendencies. Revelations of Gore could have dropped in 1990 and been a genre touchstone. Since it drops in 2026 instead, it’s entirely olde but still well worth a trip down its greasy gutslide into the body fluids. I think Horriffier could do big things in the future. Until then, play this loudly as you carve a rare and bloody roast over a public toilet. Bon Appétit!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
James Legendforge Unleashes Cinematic Power Metal Debut “The Witchfinder’s Flame” Ahead of Upcoming Album
UK Independent Artist Combines Dark Fantasy Storytelling, Symphonic Metal Grandeur, and AI-Assisted Production in a Bold New Chapter of Modern Metal
Listen / Pre-Save “The Witchfinder’s Flame”: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/jameslegendforge/the-witchfinders-flame-2?ref=release
Purchase the Album: https://jameslegendforge.bandcamp.com/album/the-witchfinders-flame
United Kingdom-based independent power metal project James Legendforge has opened the gates to a new world of cinematic storytelling with the release of debut single “The Witchfinder’s Flame,” the first chapter in an ambitious multi-release campaign leading toward the upcoming debut album The Witchfinder’s Flame , arriving September 20, 2026.
Blending symphonic power metal, melodic hard rock, dark fantasy themes, and dramatic orchestration, James Legendforge creates an immersive sound built around epic melodies, anthemic choruses, and stories of myth, conflict, transformation, and inner struggle.
“The Witchfinder’s Flame” introduces listeners to a world of ancient fears, judgement, and defiance. Driven by soaring vocal melodies, powerful guitar work, theatrical arrangements, and a cinematic atmosphere, the track captures the feeling of a legendary tale brought to life through modern metal production.
“The Witchfinder’s Flame is the first spark of the James Legendforge world, a dark, cinematic power metal track about fear, judgement and defiance. It brings together my own lyrics and original vocal source recordings with AI-assisted production to create something that feels huge, cinematic, theatrical and completely true to the story I wanted to tell.”
— James Legendforge
The creative force behind the project, UK artist James Spreadbury, brings together original songwriting, human-created lyrics, and original vocal source recordings with AI-assisted production tools supporting arrangement, instrumentation, sound design, and studio effects. This unique approach allows James Legendforge to achieve the scale and atmosphere of a full production team while maintaining a personal and independent creative vision.
The debut single is only the beginning. The upcoming release campaign will continue with additional singles including “Alter Ego – The Beast Within” arriving August 2, 2026, and “The Grip of Insanity” arriving August 23, 2026, before the full 10-track debut album The Witchfinder’s Flame is unleashed on September 20, 2026.
Drawing inspiration from the worlds of fantasy, folklore, history, and personal reflection, James Legendforge delivers melodic metal for fans of Dionysus, Rhapsody, Avantasia, and listeners who crave powerful hooks, epic arrangements, and music that tells a story.
With “The Witchfinder’s Flame,” James Legendforge begins a journey where myth meets melody, and where the past, present, and imagination collide in a blazing new era of independent metal.
Release Details
Artist: James Legendforge Release: “The Witchfinder’s Flame” Release Date: July 19, 2026 Upcoming Album: The Witchfinder’s Flame Album Release Date: September 20, 2026 Genre: Cinematic / Symphonic / Melodic Power Metal / Melodic Hard Rock Label: Independent / Self-Released via DistroKid
Credits
Lyrics: James Spreadbury / James Legendforge Original Vocal Source Recordings, Melodies & Creative Direction: James Spreadbury / James Legendforge Arrangement, Instrumentation, Production Support, Sound Design & Studio Effects: AI-assisted production workflow utilizing Suno and related digital audio tools Final Mastering / Audio Preparation: Mixea Mastering via DistroKid
Management: Self-managed / Independent Artist
For interviews, reviews, airplay, and promotional inquiries: zach@metaldevastationradio.net
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Considering I was hired 3000 years ago by the Almighty 