"The Caul-Birth King and Other Abrubtions" is coming. A new album from Sons of Perdition is always a delight. Well, if delight is the right and appropriate term for the darkest and bleakest music imaginable. Sons of Perdition isn't the natural starting point for people who are interested in this kind of music, but don't know where to start. The album title evokes a sense of mystery and expectation. A caul birth is when a baby is born completely or partially enclosed inside the amniotic sac. It's a rare occasion. The former is more rare than the latter. Tradition has often viewed caul-born children as blessed, possessing powers or a destiny for greatness. Conversely, more dark traditions viewed them with suspicion or linked them to folklore, i.e. vampire myths with troubled spirits that have risen from the grave. What can we expect from the upcoming album? Not much is known. Dark and bleak music is anticipated. Reportedly, the upcoming album contains a collection of songs that were written and recorded over the last twenty years or so. The album contains twelve songs. It's an odd bunch. The songs either didn’t fit in the concept of an album or were too strange to be placed among other songs on a given album. The release date is set to October, 31 2026. Of course, this can change if founder Zebulon Whatley decides to make some last minute changes. I will write a review once the album is released. Until then, you can check out their latest release "Ars Moriendi" here (opens in a new window). 

Time flies. Forty-five years is a long time that spans nearly half a century. I was a conscript back then (Swedish mandatory military service). Strange things happened during this period in my life. A Soviet submarine (U-137) ran aground on 27 October 1981 on the south coast of Sweden, approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) from Karlskrona, one of the largest and most secret Swedish naval bases. The boat was hard aground. The locals could hear roaring diesel engines all night long when the captain tried to get the submarine afloat. Two fishermen discovered the foreign submarine and called the Navy. The captain claimed that failures of navigational equipment had caused the grounding. This was quite an achievement. Somehow the submarine had navigated through a treacherous series of rocks, straits, and islands. Things were tense. An extraction attempt could not be ruled out. The Swedish Prime Minister, Thorbjörn Fälldin, gave the order to "Hold the border" to the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. Eventually things de-escalated. On 5 November, it was hauled off the rocks by Swedish tugs and escorted to international waters, where it was handed over to the Soviet fleet. The classic line "Hold the border" has stuck. 45 years after being a conscript I'm still mounting guard. I'm holding the border against copiers, fakers, imitators, impersonaters and imposters who claim that they belong to the gothic country genre.

I'll try anything once. Well, that's not entirely true. For the sake of the argument, let us say so. American Taco Bell opened its first restaurant in Sweden on November 27, 2025. It has taken a while. The location is Vasagatan 14 in central Stockholm. I thought I should try it out. One of my kids told me not to go. There is nothing for you there. I knew perfectly well that Taco Bell was not Mexican food. Mexicans generally view Taco Bell as American fast food. In fact, Taco Bell has struggled hard to establish themselves in Mexico. It seems like the fast-food version cannot compete with the original. Taco Bell has taken ultraprocessing to unprecedented levels. They got a lot of free advertisment (despite the blurred logo) in reality television series like "My 600-lb Life". Taco Bell seems to be the favorite drug of choice among morbidly obese individuals. It's not their fault. Obesity is a disease. Severe psychological trauma and emotional distress are central themes for almost every one of them. Taco Bell is the enabler with their unhealthy food. Still, I was determined to give it a try. My encounter was short. I played safe and ordered one of their most "popular" meals. Yuck, it was really disgusting. And, not only that. The restaurant was in a real mess. Piles of garbage in tray carts, napkins and left-overs on the floor and unwiped tables. The staff was traumatized and passive. They suffered more than I did. This company setup in Sweden will not survive. I should have listened to my kid.   

O'Death has not played together since December 2019. Now the five members are going to reunite (one-time-only) to support the band Oodelally on their debut release party at Space Gallery in Portland, Maine on October, 10 2026. I guess they will have to rehearse at least one time after almost seven years of inactivity. O'Death was formed in 2003 and has released four brilliant albums: "Head Home" (2007), "Broken Hymns Limbs And Skin" (2008), "Outside" (2011) and "Out Of Hands We Go" (2014). NOTE: For the overly sensitive and literal. Obviously, I'm not counting the ultra-rare demo cdr "Carl Nemelka Family Photographs" sold at concerts. According to the Discogs statistics, no user has a copy (which is rare). Who and what could bring O'Death out of retirement? I have never heard of Oodelally. I found this information about their EP Loveloch on Bandcamp: "Oodelally's debut studio EP featuring songs about water and gay people and the moon. Loveloch embraces the fluidity of both genre and subject matter, with themes of life cycles, natural beauty, and unconditional love present throughout." Well, that was both clarifying and illuminating. O'Death are known for their live performances. Some people go as far as claiming that their albums don’t stand up to their live performances. That may be the case. I would like to attend this rare occasion, but I think I will have to pass. It's too far and expensive.  

Mr Plow released an album on September 11, 2026 called "At One With Nature". Brace yourself. Mr Plow has gone electric. Well, Mr Plow has always been electric, but Mr Plow pull out all the stops on the new album. The 12 songs are dominated by squealing and larming guitars. The guitars are definitely more aggressive than on previous albums. "At One With Nature" has a distinct gothic vibe. At moments, Mr Plow sounds like a British version of Link Wray or Hank Ray. At the same time, playful and melodic. Well, gothic country and its subgenres thrives in all time and climate zones. Mr Plow posseses a dark and euphonic voice, which he knows how to adjust and vary. The interplay between vocals and guitars is perfect, allowing both to excel on the album. The lyrics are dark and witty. The best songs are "The Great Dismal Swamp", "Every Loser Loses Again", "Find Joy", "Village Of The Damned" and "300 lbs". Two of the songs ("Every Loser Loses Again" and "300 lbs") were included on Mr Plow's 2022's album "Legendary Super Hits", but in slightly different versions. Executive summary: this is a great album from Mr Plow. The approach is laidback, yet focused and to the point. The buying signal is strong. You can listen to "At One With Nature" and buy it in the format of your choice at Bandcamp, just click here (opens in a new window). There's even a limited cd run (50 copies). You know what to do.