It's been a relatively intense week with the election in the US on Tuesday, and even though things went the way I hoped (and then some!), I'm still ready for something to help me chill out a bit. That makes it the perfect time to talk about Inhabit, the new album from Italy's Bosco Sacro. 

If you want to lose or gain weight, you almost certainly need to track your calories. It's incredibly difficult to estimate how many calories you're consuming, and the short video from Jeff Nippard expertly makes that point. In it, he shows you a few comparisons of what you can eat for 100 calories. Spoiler: in most cases, it's not much. 

If you're like me (and you probably are if you're here), you love discovering new bands. I recently discovered Stricken, a blackened sludge metal band from the Seattle area that has a new album on the way this Friday. From Dark Dimensions An Unspeakable Presence Awakens is easy to recommend for fans of Neurosis, Yob, Inter Arma, Conan, and other bands of that nature. I had the chance to speak to Stricken drummer Chris Wozniak last night, and we had a great conversation about the band and its influences, where to hike in the Seattle area, and much more. Watch our conversation above. 

I'll be back to my regular content soon, but sometimes even music and fitness matters have to take a back seat to more important issues, like democracy. 

It's election day here in the United States. Based on the staggering early vote numbers, many of you have already voted, but if not, let me add to the chorus of voices you're certain to hear today imploring you to go vote. Not sure where to vote? Click here to find your polling place. Voting is your sacred right as an American, but I'll go farther and say that it is your duty. If you don't participate in the process yet you complain about the state of the country, you're basically Ned Flanders' parents declaring "We've tried nothing and we're all out of ideas!"

That's the core of my argument right there. Get out and vote. If you want to read me ramble on a bit more about why it's so important this year, I've got more for you below. 

Madam Orange is the duo project of bass clarinetist Emily Beisel and drummer/percussionist Bill Harris. Beisel and Harris combine their respective sonic worlds into a project that often sounds like far more than two people playing, pushing toward the outer limits of heavy improvisation, rhythmic interlock, amplification, and feedback. Their music moves fluidly between dense, aggressive intensity and spacious, highly sensitive textures, driven by a near-telepathic musical connection and a shared interest in extending acoustic instruments through electronics. Their debut album is available now, and as I wrote in my review, I find it quite fascinating. I wanted to learn more about it, and Beisel and Harris were kind enough to answer questions about it via email. Our conversation is below. 

Can you believe that Halloween is tomorrow? This month has absolutely flown by for me, and it's been a lot of fun to add some horror content to the site this month. It's also been an incredibly busy month for reviews - this week was the first time I didn't get to all the albums I intended to cover due to lack of bandwidth. I'm giving those albums a shout-out below, along with re-hyping a few albums I did write about in greater depth, and adding some more new music to boot. Plus, my final horror movie recommendation of the year is below. Into the pit with you!

My phone is probably monitoring me. I shared some advice about the best grip for pull ups, and moments later a notification for this video popped up. Apparently SkyNet really wants me to make sure I know how to grip the pull up bar. Watch this short video and you will, too. 

Last night, All Them Witches headlined First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis. I didn't see them, but I was in the room. I've seen ATW a couple times before and wouldn't have minded seeing them again, but I had a really early morning today so I didn't stick around for their set. I was there specifically for the tour's opening act, the mighty Emma Ruth Rundle. By chatting with members of the crowd before she took the stage, it was pretty clear that a sizable chunk of the audience had also turned out just for her. 

I will never be able to separate Enslaved from my experience of attending the Fire in the Mountains festival in 2026. Prior to attending, they were the highest-billed band that I wasn't particularly familiar with, inspiring me to listen through their entire catalog in order. This deep dive gave me the foundation I needed to enjoy their set at the festival, which contributed to what was a genuinely life-changing experience. I emerged from Fire in the Mountains as bona fide Enslaved fan, and since then their new album, Mið, has been one of my most anticipated albums of the year. 

I recently read a post from some tech bro that claimed that the era of streaming music was over, because AI music would soon wipe out the need for any kind of human-made music. Just tell the agent what kind of music you like and mood you're in, he said, and exactly what you were looking for would be automatically generated. 

I can't think of anything that sounds less appealing. 

The new album by Master Boot Record, Computer Metal, was created with the computer as the primary instrument. But, as the band is quick to point out, every note on this heavy chiptune album was composed and guided by a human. Master Boot Record is the project of multi-instrumentalist Vittorio D’Amore, and while the music on Computer Metal is primarily electronic, you can always hear the human heart that guided its creation.