“We are Forerunners. Guardians of all that exists. The roots of the Galaxy have grown deep under our careful tending. Where there is life, the wisdom of our countless generations has saturated the soil. Our strength is a luminous sun, towards which all intelligence blossoms… And the impervious shelter, beneath which it has prospered.”

The Didact’s Best Albums of 2023

The Didact’s Best Albums of 2023

Surprisingly, this year I did not listen to much by way of really new heavy metal – nor did I listen to all that many metal albums. But the ones I DID listen to, were in many cases really damn good. Here are the top albums I heard in 2023. 1. VISION DENIED...
“For we saw His star when it rose”

“For we saw His star when it rose”

It is Christmas Eve – or, as my Russian Orthodox brethren would call today, “yet another Sunday, what’s the big deal, comrade?”. Seeing as this is the case, I think it is worth setting the scene for the day of joy and celebration that follows...
The Mandrake Project

The Mandrake Project

This is the news fans of Bruce “The Dyslexic Voice of Dog” Dickinson’s solo work have been waiting, no joke, TWENTY YEARS to see. He will release his first solo album since Tyranny of Souls early next year, and will go on tour with his solo band as...
Happy HELLOWEEN 2023

Happy HELLOWEEN 2023

It is that time of year again, when the rest of the (Western) world celebrates October 31st with people dressing up like idiots and going to wild parties, while I celebrate by playing the music of the true granddaddies of European power metal: They did rather more...
Didact’s Album List 2022

Didact’s Album List 2022

The Great Heathen Army by AMON AMARTH (4.2/5) Cyan Night Dreams by PARASITE INC. (3.8/5) Curse of the Crystal Coconut by ALESTORM (3.0/5) Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum by ALESTORM (3.4/5) Warfront by WINDROSE (3.4/5) The War to End All...
The Didact’s Best Albums of 2022

The Didact’s Best Albums of 2022

This year was a pretty big one for new music, judging by what I saw of various bands that I follow across YouTube, but oddly enough, I didn’t really listen to a whole lot of new metal albums. I tend to be pretty snobbish when it comes to metal, mostly because I...
Gingerbread cookies

Gingerbread cookies

I don’t spend a whole lot of time looking for redheads, in general. Unlike many of my fair readers, I do not suffer particularly badly from gingervitis. My preferences go to brunettes, blondes, and raven-haired types – as Any Fule Kno who keeps up with the...
Didact’s Album List 2022

Didact’s Album List 2021

IRON MAIDEN – Senjutsu (5.0/5)HELLOWEEN – Helloween (4.3/5)SHADOWKILLER – Until the War is Won (3.8/5)BLAZON STONE – Damnation (4.0/5)ANCIENT EMPIRE – Other World (3.9/5)ANCIENT EMPIRE – Wings of the...
The Didact’s Best Albums of 2021

The Didact’s Best Albums of 2021

Unlike my rather paltry reading record this year, I managed to listen to quite a lot of great music. This is thanks in large measure to YouTube channels like NWOTHM Full Albums, which allows you to (re)discover some truly great stuff from obscure but highly talented...
Hark now, hear, the Dark Lord sings

Hark now, hear, the Dark Lord sings

Those of us who have followed Our Beloved and Dreaded Supreme Dark Lord (PBUH) Vox Day the Most Merciless and Terrible for any significant length of time, are well aware of both his reputed and actual polymath abilities. This is a man who has done far more in his...