Episode #2 Of Metal Morpheus On The Borderline, Plus A New Music Video!!

In our first post of August 2021, let's do a formal recap of the second and episode of local metal singer Josh Amendola's new internet radio show Metal Morpheus on The Borderline, plus a bonus local video at the end! As of this writing, four episodes are online to stream on demand at this link, with episode #5 premiering at 9:00 PM tonight on the station's live stream. In case you're not familiar with the format, click here for our recap of episode #1 from last month, and since that point, episodes have all been themed around metal subgenres. Episode #2 premiered on July 11th, it's about 61 minutes long (slightly shorter than the previous week), and it is themed around doom metal, so what should you know about it? After the too-chaotic opening theme, Josh explains the origins of black metal and starts for a second straight week with the pioneers of metal, Black Sabbath, this time via their doom metal-inspiring classic "Into The Void".

8 minutes in, Josh transitions to talking about British doom metal legends Witchfinder General and the origin of their name, before playing their own self-titled song. The next segment (at around the 13 minute mark) focuses on Saint Vitus & their song "The Lost Feeling", which is about depression, though note that Josh's introduction primarily takes place over the song's intro. Staying with pioneering 1980s doom metal bands, Josh next throws to Trouble at the 18:30-ish mark, playing their song "The Tempter" on air. The first half ends with a segment on British doom metal group Pagan Altar (25:10 or so in), whose played song is "Judgement Of The Dead". Metal Morpheus continues at about 33:25 with Pentagram, from which Josh plays their song "Starlady". This episode's local content follows at about 39:40, when Josh introduces a segment on inactive doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA.

Josh does give AlgomA some nice props, and while he does optimistically note that he can't wait for their next concert, remember that they have only played live once since 2017, and not at all in over two years. AlgomA actually get TWO songs played on air here, both from their 2014 debut EP "Reclaimed By The Forest", including the title track and "Go On, Git!", which Josh explains is based on a true story, and you can infer further from the lyrics. At about 50:20, we leave the Soo to look at Cathedral via their song "Midnight Mountain", before closing at about 55:45 with The Obsessed's "Sodden Jackal" and some summative thoughts about what makes doom metal distinct from other subgenres. Entertaining episode that helps give a crash course in the foundations of doom metal, so this is a good way to learn a bit about what makes the genre appealing! Stay tuned soon for our recap of episode #3, and hear episode #5 on The Borderline tonight at 9:00 PM!

Finally for today, let's head south for a look at St. Ignace, Michigan progressive death metal quintet Heavy Lies The Crown's new (if very belated) music video for their song "Knucklebutter"! Premiering on their YouTube channel on July 26th, this is apparently one of at least two videos they shot when the band gathered together in the E.U.P. last week (nice to see Nathan and Cale back north of the Mack), and they also apparently discussed the band's future plans at the same time. No word yet on the second music video, but the one for "Knucklebutter" features the guys playing the song in a Victorian house that dates back to the 19th century, that allegedly was once the home of a pirate, and is currently being rebuilt. The video is well shot and suits H.L.T.C.'s sound nicely, and it's good to see their 2019 EP "Scatter Brain" getting some full realization like this! Give the full video a look below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!