A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Another New Album: Moonlight Haze Album “Beyond”

    Now Playing: Beyond by Moonlight Haze So it’s no secret that I enjoy symphonic power metal. I am the kind of person who will happily commit to the bit, and that is the essence of this particular subgenre of metal, a fact which warms my soul. Now, Moonlight Haze in particular is a band I…

  • Just Local Band Things: Lycanthro’s New Album “Remnants of Rapture”

    Now Playing: Iris by Lycanthro As many metalheads tend to do, I enjoy supporting small and local bands. It keeps a place’s culture going and it gives a certain solidarity in the scene and between musicians. (This is something we could always have more of, all the petty in-fighting gets tiring sometimes.) Now, in my…

  • Reading the Runes: Pagan Storytelling in a Christian World

    Now Playing: Reader of the Runes – Book II by Elvenking Stories have been a part of human culture since time immemorial, and nowhere is that more clear than in the realm of religion. Every religion has their own stories, telling of both gods and mortal heroes, as they attempt to make sense of the…

  • Where have I been?

    Now Playing: Reader of the Runes – Book II by Elvenking Hi. It’s been a minute. Walk with me. (Metaphorically.) So where have I been? Why did posts just kinda stop for like two and a half months? Are posts going to continue? To answer those questions, my offline life got a bit chaotic, I…

  • A New Band Emerges: Hans & Valter Debut Album

    Now Playing: The Endless Night by Hans & Valter So I enjoy some good cheesy symphonic power metal. (I am, after all, a Twilight Force fan.) However, I’m also a low baritone singer. So when I was informed (via this Reddit comment and this further reply some months later) that there was a new Twilight…

  • The End of a Trilogy: Reader of the Runes – Luna

    Now Playing: Luna by Elvenking Ok, so quick preface, I have already listened to the three singles an unholy number of times before the album dropped, and this is being written after listening to the album all the way through about a dozen times. (I’m just like that, and the album is just that worth…

  • Collaboration in Music: Important Aspects of Creation in Art

    Now Playing: Nightfall by Blind Guardian So as an artist, there are a few things to consider in one’s approach to creation. (I will make a note here that within the realm of music, my area of expertise, both performance and composition are acts of creation. I will expand on this later.) One aspect, yes,…

  • Ostara: Spring Equinox

    Now Playing: Gone Epoch by Elvenking So Ostara was a bit ago. (Like almost a full week ago, at this point, get off my ass, my brain sucks.) Ostara is the name most pagans use to describe the spring equinox, especially in pan pagan spaces that involve multiple traditions. A feast of fertility and new…

  • The Western Myth of Classical Music

    Now Playing: Incantations by Elvenking So I’ve talked about how there’s some elitism in Western classical music in the past. (Go read that mini rant here.) Now, I stand by that. There’s potential for elitism and racism basically everywhere in Western classical music, because a lot of the composers that we play and study were…

  • Oaths and Pagan Paths

    Now Playing: Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns) – Remastered 2007 by Blind Guardian Oaths are a concept that are at least loosely known to the general population, especially if they’re in any way familiar with the concept of paladins in TTRPGs and various other fantasy media. (You know, those youth camp counselor types who swear an…