A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

  • Polytheism in TTRPGs: How Well Is It Done?

    Now Playing: The Manifesto by Elvenking Within the realm of tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) such as Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder, we consistently find examples of deities and whole pantheons. Some of these pantheons are taken from real world mythologies and cultures, and others are entirely created for a given campaign by the game master,…

  • Dumb Laws In Canada

    Now Playing: The Last Saskatchewan Pirate by The Arrogant Worms If you really take the time to think about it, there are some pretty dumb laws and by-laws in places. People are weird and sometimes stupid, what else is new? Canada, as nice as we often are in the modern day, is no exception. We…

  • A Year of Metal

    Now Playing: Son of a Wolf by Powerwolf 2023 was a solid year for power metal. New albums from Elvenking, Twilight Force, Bloodbound, and Powerwolf (as well as a live album from Freedom Call), several EPs and singles from Sabaton, Rhapsody of Fire, and DragonForce, with album announcements set for next year from several of…

  • Artistic Worship: An Intersection of Music, Studies, and Paganism

    Now Playing: Rún by SKÁLD (Intimate Version) Paganism, especially in its modern, reconstructed form, is incredibly diverse, both in terms of the number of types of paganism and the differences between different kinds of people who practice the religion. How it’s practiced and the specific beliefs will differ from person to person. (Ask ten different…

  • To The Souls Of The Fallen

    Now Playing: In Flanders Fields by Sabaton Now, I think it’s no secret that I’m a military history nerd, or that I have a partner in the military. (No, I won’t tell you what unit. Please don’t ask. This is a strict boundary.) I also don’t try to hide the fact that while I would…

  • Wicca: What Is It? A Pagan Perspective

    Now Playing: Witches Gather by Elvenking So, you’ve stumbled across Wicca, paganism, and witchcraft. You’re curious, maybe because you want to practice, maybe because you have a more academic interest in it, maybe because you’re a fundamentalist Christian and want to discredit those pesky demonic heathens who are just mad at your god. (I don’t…

  • Interests and Composition Style: Should They Overlap?

    Content warning: Mentions of death, mental health, suicide, and war. Now Playing: The Time of Your Life by Elvenking A question that composers who are just starting out sometimes ask, and one that is very worth considering, is the question of how to make music, specifically what music one should make. This is an interesting…

  • Chance Encounters: People We Remember

    Now Playing: Forest of Destiny by Twilight Force So one thing that I think is interesting is that sometimes, we meet someone by chance and we remember them for years to come, even though we’ll probably never meet them again. These people may not have been anyone of any particular note, they may not have…

  • Release Incoming: Autumn Leaves

    Now Playing: The wolf path by Sanctorum So, I’m a musician. “You must write music then,” one might say. First of all, how dare you assume things of me. Second of all, how dare you assume things of me and have the audacity to be correct. /lh Yes, I do write music, and it can…

  • Bird Friends

    Now Playing: Snow by Alec Holowka So for about 3 months this summer, I had to take care of my partner’s apartment, as he was away on business. I didn’t really ask for details, so I don’t really know exactly what he was doing. While he was gone, one of my duties in caring for…