Author Archives: valleyofsteel

Sacri Suoni – Time to Harvest (2026)

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Well good morning, and happy Friday (I guess)!

After about a day and a half of reprieve during which I turned off all our auxiliary heaters in the kitchen, bathroom, and basement — because the outdoor temperatures actually had hovered just slightly above freezing for a brief while — we’ve dipped back into frigid cold and it’s projected to continue to get worse over the next day or two.

Plus the entire eastern part of the USA is bracing for the worst snowfall we’ve had in quite some time. Around here (western Pennsylvania), folks are already making comparisons to the Snowmageddon of 2010 or even the Blizzard of ’93 … and we haven’t even seen a single flake yet.

So obviously it seems like a perfect day to be listening to music that comes from a region known for its extreme cold and winter weather! Presenting the first new 2026 release we’ll be checking out: Time to Harvest by Sac—

Err, whoops. I’m being informed (pretend for a second I’m wearing an earpiece) (and that you can see me rather than just reading these words I’ve written) that I’ve apparently misread the band’s name, which is Sacri Suoni (which means “Sacred Sounds” in Italian), not Suomi, and as it turns out the band is therefore not actually Finnish as I had initially thought, but they’re from Milan, Italy. Where it’s currently — (checks notes) — in the mid-40s. (Degrees Fahrenheit, that is.) And probably significantly higher than that during harvest time.

Well since we’re all here already, let’s listen to this album anyway. Brand-new off the presses today! (Also, don’t you hate when people say “checks notes”? Isn’t that so annoying? It’s just the worst, right?)

 

Sacri Suoni – Time to Harvest (Electric Valley Records, 23 January 2026)

 

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Nomadic Rituals – Fust (2025) || Cursed Monk Records – Year IX Compilation (2026)

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Fucking earwigs, amiright? I watched Spike Lee‘s 2025 film Highest 2 Lowest over the weekend (which I enjoyed, by the way, despite its middling ratings — although admittedly I have not seen the Kurosawa original it was based on; I guess I probably should), and almost nonstop over the past few days I keep finding “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’” (originally from Oklahoma, but it plays during the opening of this movie as Denzel‘s character looks down over New York City from the balcony of his probably-billion-dollar apartment.

Anyway, it is NOT a Beautiful Mornin’ here in the valley. It’s like six degrees outside (Fahrenheit, which I think is something like negative a hundred in the rest of the world), and it’s been the kind of windy that wakes you up sporadically throughout the night because it keeps rattling the windows. So I am very much dragging this morning. Fortunately I don’t actually need to go outside (thank you, remote work) so I can just throw on an extra layer or two and push through it. And anyway by this afternoon I heard it’s supposed to go up to like 15F (aka minus 50C or something).

And fortunately, there is a simple doctor-recommended remedy for getting rid of earwigs: listening to something else, ANYTHING else. Especially at a high volume. And I’ve got some great candidates here.

 

Cursed Monk Records – Year IX Compilation (03 January 2026)

 

Nomadic Rituals – Fust (digital: self-released, CD/vinyl: Cursed Monk Records, 14 March 2025 | cassette: Fiadh Productions, 11 July 2025)

 

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Daevar – Amber Eyes (2024), Sub Rosa (2025)

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Hey y’all. Remember the other day when I told you about The Lasting Dose Fest? If you’re planning on hitting the Hamburg gig tonight, you should probably already be on your way there! Since it’s around noon here in the eastern U.S., it’s probably getting close to showtime in Germany, if my understanding of time zones is correct (which is rarely the case).

But if you were sleeping on the event or weren’t already excited about it, what if I told you one of the performers put out one of my favorite albums of the year — in each of the past two years? Interested now?

 

Daevar – Amber Eyes (The Lasting Dose Records, 22 March 2024)

 

Daevar – Sub Rosa (The Lasting Dose Records, 28 March 2025)

 

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GRIN – Acid Gods (2025) || The Lasting Dose Fest 2026

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The Lasting Dose Fest 2026

 

The Lasting Dose Records has announced a showcase festival for several bands involved with the label, to be held later this week in Hamburg and Berlin.

The Hamburg show will be taking place at MS Stubnitz on Friday the 16th (tickets and more information here), and will feature performances by Daevar, GRIN, Ultrablut, and Earthbong.

Then, in Berlin at Neue Zukunft on Saturday the 17th (tickets/info here), with GRIN, Ultrablut, Earthbong, Sarkh, and Blacksmoker.

 

So if you find yourself in northern Germany on those dates, or if you’re anywhere within driving/train/whatever distance of the country’s two largest cities and feeling adventurous, it’s highly recommended that you go check out what TLD has to offer.

But if you need a bit more encouragement — or for those of us who find ourselves on the wrong side of the planet, but who would like a little something to listen to at home in order to live vicariously — let’s check out Acid Gods which was released last year by one of the bands who’ll be gracing both nights of the fest with their presence: GRIN.

 

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Aint Pancakes – Love Your Neighbors (2025)

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Every day we hear about people doing shit like this and we love to see it and it fills us with joy and momentarily restores our faith in humanity, but at the same time we hate that people HAVE to do shit like this, which once again makes us wonder if the world wouldn’t be better off getting hit with another dinosaur-extinction-level asteroid.

I guess this is just the world we live in now. Happy Thanksgiving Eve, y’all.

 

Aint Pancakes – Love Your Neighbors (Philip K. Discs, 15 November 2025)

 

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Birdathon for Birders of Palestine (17-20 October 2025)

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Good morning and Happy Friday, everyone!

I’d like to share a fundraising campaign with you all, which started today and runs through next Monday (the 20th).

We’ve often talked about fundraisers here, usually in the form of compilation albums. Like this one that specifically benefited birds, several (here, here, and here) intended to support people of Palestine, and even this one that sounded bird-related but was also for Palestinian people. And I fully encourage you to check out all of those if you haven’t already.

But today I’ve got one that’s a bit different: supporting Palestine AND bird-related, but surprisingly NOT music-related.

 

 

Birdathon for Birders of Palestine

presented by Feminist Bird Club

 

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New Cathedral Release! || Bandcamp Friday Merch

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Inbox overflowing with messages from every band and label you’ve ever heard of (and tons you don’t even remember subscribing to)? Must be Bandcamp Friday!

If you need help wading through the oceans of stuff being marketed at you all day, I’m here to help with a few selections to highlight.

 

First: our good friends over at Philip K. Discs have dropped some sweet exclusive merch today.

  • They’ve got super-limited mystery bundles, packed in custom-designed cereal boxes and filled with tons of label-related goodness, but there are only TWO sets available!
  • “This Vending Machine is a Compilation” full-color poster-sized prints as companion pieces to last year’s compilation of the same name.
  • From Chaos to Ambiguity: A Theology of Noise Rock – the guidebook to noise rock written by the label’s owner (spoiler alert: not Philip), now available signed by the author.
  • And there’s lots more where these came from, from printed ‘zines to sculpted mini-figurines to hot sauce bottles to a special edition Touching Grass CD bundled with an actual packet of grass seed — check it all out right here!

 

Next, get yourself ready for winter weather with a brand new pair of socks! But not just any socks, these ones come emblazoned with the logo of Italian dark-occult/doomsters Messa. Wear them in good health!

 

And finally…

 

Cathedral – Society’s Pact With Satan (Rise Above Records, 03 October 2025)

 

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Xoth “Exogalactic Actuality” Tour || ABA Community Weekend

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Hey there! I’ve got two (completely unrelated) things to bring to your attention today, both of which might interest you if you live in or around the Pittsburgh area, and one of which might still interest you if you are in any of several other areas throughout the eastern or central United States.

First up:

 


 

ABA‘s Pittsburgh Community Weekend

20 & 21 September, 2025

Join the American Birding Association for a fun weekend of birding in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!

On Sat. morning, Sept. 20, we will bird together at Hartwood Acres Park where we will explore the trails around the estate buildings, meadows, and mature woodland areas. In the afternoon, we head over to Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve for two presentations, one by Brian Shema and the other by Nick Stahlman, hosted by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. In the evening, come down into the city and join us at East End Brewing for a little urban birding and socializing over pizza and local drinks on their outdoor patio.

On Sun. morning, Sept. 21, we will visit Frick Park, one of the area’s top birding locations, to look for fall migrants. Later we will gather at the Frick Environmental Center for a fun presentation by Mike Fialkovich, president of the Three Rivers Birding Club.

All bird walks, talks, and workshops are free and open to the public (with cash bar/food during the evening social), but registration is mandatory. The ABA’s bird-friendly SongBird Coffee will be served before and after each bird walk and presentation.

We are grateful for the support of Vortex Optics, who are providing a variety of excellent Vortex binoculars for participants to use during our field trips. There are limited binoculars available for loan, and we will distribute them on a first come first served basis, so sharing might be needed and appreciated.

Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow bird enthusiasts and enhance your birding skills. Sign up now and join us for an unforgettable weekend!

 

All of the locations listed here are local hotspots for bird activity — especially Frick which has been buzzing with reports of migrating warblers and flycatchers over the past few weeks. As stated above, all of this weekend’s events are FREE, you just have to sign up here. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since the ABA first announced it early this year, and I hope to run into some friendly faces over the two-day gathering!

 

* * * * *

 

and next:

 


 

Xoth – “Exogalactic Actuality” Tour 2025

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T4T Productions – T4T2! (2025 Compilation) || The Great Pottery Throw Down

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Happy Bandcamp Friday!

WordPress has reminded me that this month officially marks 14 years since this website launched. So happy birthday, Valley of Steel. Meanwhile the entire world continues to circle the drain more and more rapidly, but I guess we all need to take comfort in the little things wherever we can.

Like… huge recent news I wanted to make sure to share with you folks — specifically, U.S.-based folks. There are finally new seasons of The Great Pottery Throw Down available for us to watch! If you aren’t familiar with this former BBC, now Channel 4, competition show, you need to catch up! While the rest of the world was spending the 2020 pandemic obsessing over the Tiger King documentary, HBO MAX quietly released the first few seasons of a delightful series set in a pottery factory in Stoke-on-Trent, central England — essentially the clay and porcelain sibling to the more widely-known Great British Bake Off.

I was immediately hooked on these amateur potters’ magical creations, and especially on the show’s endearingly gentle and positive vibes: the judges have been known to tear up, even more than the contestants, with pride over some of the final products. I absolutely couldn’t get enough through five whole seasons, until suddenly the well dried up. Announcements for a sixth edition came in 2023, followed by a seventh the next year, but HBO was too busy flip-flopping on what to call their streaming app to bother adding any new content. So for the past few years I’ve had a sad, pottery-shaped void in my life — that is, until just a few weeks ago when I discovered that the whole run (so far) of the Throw Down, all the episodes that were on HBO but also the two newer missing seasons, are now streaming for free on Roku Channel!

I would’ve told you all sooner, but I was too excited about bingeing my way through the new episodes to find time to write anything. But now that I’ve completed the sixth and seventh finals, I didn’t want to wait any longer to spread the news. Go check it out ASAP! We have one of these doodads plugged into our tv, but you can access Roku Channel content through other devices like Firestick or Google TV or just stream through their website.

I realize this is starting to sound like a paid advertisement for Roku, but I promise it isn’t (although if they wanted to throw me some $$ I would not turn my nose up at it!) — I’m just a really big fan of this particular competition show and I think more people need to know about it. Which is pretty much my whole shtick here, although it’s usually music I’m sharing with you. OH! Speaking of which…

 

Various Artists – T4T2!: A Mutual Aid Compilation by Trans People for Trans People (T4T Productions, 15 August 2025)

 

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See You On The Other Side.

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See You On The Other Side.

 

End of an era: John “Ozzy” Osbourne (3 December 1948 – 22 July 2025), Rest in Peace.