Cav's Place

I was saying that I was apparently going to have a comment published in this week’s The Upside weekly report on The Guardian, sent in response to the one about the new population estimates. Well, that did happen, but what showed up in today’s report was less than half of it, not even the entire first paragraph, quite clearly only quoted for shock value, what was removed even from that paragraph allowing readers to get the impression that I might advocate killing people to reduce the population. And even leaving aside how much and exactly what was removed, the simple fact that something was surprised and disappointed me, after spending quite a long time struggling to fit something in 250 words, which I remembered to be the strongly recommended limit. And what they kept from it made it into one of the shortest published comments, while one of the others was actually a little bit longer than the complete message I had sent.

So, just to make sure that it shows up somewhere, I’ll add the complete comment in this post, along with a screenshot of the e-mails, just to make it clear that I didn’t make any edits now. The full comment sent was this:

“A drastic population reduction is the main necessary condition to even have a chance to solve the world’s major environmental and social problems. So it’d be great if it would fall, but what this estimate presents would be far too little, far too late. The only way to offer everyone a decent standard of living and a large amount of freedom in all other aspects of life, continue to improve health and lifespan and reduce mortality, and also, eventually, have a healthy ecosystem, is to not only fully embrace and encourage far fewer births but, considering how bad things are, even find ways to completely stop births for a time.
Yes, consumption is another major problem, and some behaviors and products need to be phased out or outright banned because they’re damaging in and of themselves, but many others are harmful because of our numbers and the situation would be much worse if the large majority wouldn’t live in poverty, deprived of options they should be as entitled to as those better off. Therefore, it may be said that the immediate necessity is slashing birth rates, even to zero, for the better off, while for the poor it will become necessary as the standard of living improves. And the end of growth and different age structure requiring replacing this economic system that causes so much environmental destruction and human suffering with, preferably, a postcapitalist, post-work, mostly automated, resource-based one guaranteeing goods and services as fundamental rights is only another benefit.”

As you can see, they removed “continue to improve health and lifespan and reduce mortality” from that first paragraph and quoted only the rest of it, completely ignoring the second paragraph. And I’d say that both that removed bit and the entire second paragraph make points that go against what is typically believed of those fighting for population reduction, while what was quoted is likely to just produce the typical outraged reaction. And there was also that last part, about changing the economic system, added in response to what that recent study listed as the major concern, making it clear that, from my point of view, there are only benefits when it comes to that, so it’s something that’d have clearly fit what The Upside should be all about, yet it was also cut… But what’s done is done, I guess…

I keep adding such posts, expressing my disappointment and anger at the loss of interest for space exploration, and the fact that what is still being done focuses on nearby bodies, is in good part driven by the private sector and looks at possible commercial developments. Some of those posts are about humans getting back out there, but those from 2017 and 2014 are more relevant now, dealing with how, decades ago, we could send probes to all planets and even beyond, maintain a continuous presence even beyond Jupiter, and now we apparently can’t do that anymore. Those past posts are more detailed than this will be and include quite a number of links, so have a look if you want, I won’t repeat what’s already written there.
All I’ll repeat now is that humanity’s plans that go beyond Mars are few and far between, those beyond Jupiter even fewer and far in the future, and a return to the ice giants still pretty much out of the question. And, as I already mentioned, the involvement of the private sector and commercial interests pretty much destroy the chances that most of the missions to nearer destinations will be done for the right reasons and aim for actual scientific goals. And, of course, there’s still the lack of cooperation, nations still operating separately to a large extent, competing and even using such missions to become even more of a threat to each other and this world as a whole.
Still, I guess I should mark these recent launches, Al-Amal (Hope), Tianwen-1 and Perseverance all making use of the opportunity provided by the current launch window for Mars. Still working separately, still focusing just on Mars, and it obviously remains to be seen how many of these missions will be successful, but at least the launches themselves were, it’s been a while since we’ve had such a series, and the very fact that the plans weren’t put on hold because of the current situation should probably be noted as well. Maybe this will send a signal, possibly leading to positive developments, whether down here or up there, that wouldn’t have taken place otherwise. Humans being humans, I doubt it, but I guess it remains to be seen…

It’s again because I need to throw something here as the week’s second post and want to avoid a pointless Sunday update, but at least I’m doing something that’s somewhat useful by adding another post to this series. It’s another rushed one, but again focuses on bands that released new material this year, same as the last one. It’s harder to decide just how many bands I should say are included in it, however, even if that may seem strange. As far as the list is concerned, there will be five, one of them only added to the list now, because I’m including it here, though it’s definitely not a new find and in fact should have no business being in such a post at all. But what makes it tricky is that the other four come in pairs, the two that are currently active being formed by the core members of the other two, after those split up, and one of these also had another stage, with another name, in between. Since that, shall we say, intermediate band only released covers, it was never actually on the list and I won’t include any of its songs here, but some may count it as having been mentioned, which means that, depending on how you look at it, this post may be said to include anything between three and six bands.

The band that wasn’t on the list so far, and which has no business whatsoever being in such a post at all, is Draconian. It’s old, clearly known by anyone with any interest in their genre, and said genre isn’t what I’m looking for. However, just last week they released Sorrow of Sophia, which is a song from the album scheduled to be released later this year, and I happened to listen to it and found myself keeping it on repeat for quite a while over the past few days, so it may be said that it’s what made me think that adding another such post may just be the thing to do in order to have a second one this week. The second, much older, pick is without a doubt Death, Come Near Me, which is a song I do occasionally return to, maybe even having it on repeat for hours when that happens. There are growls in these two songs as well, but for some reason they appeal to me, while pretty much everything else released by them that I tried listening to chases me away, the other songs that I even managed to listen to all the way to the end without wincing and needing to force myself to put up with it just to be able to say I gave them every chance being counted on the fingers of one hand. Still, for those whose preferences differ from mine in this manner, there’s some new material coming.

Next comes a band I kept meaning to add to such a post, but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. Their current name is Alexandrite and the first EP under this name was actually released earlier this year, even if all four songs were in fact posted last year. However, it’s formed by the core members of Revontulet, which was apparently active for a decade but only released one album during that period, at a time when the two of them seem to have already been the only remaining permanent members. Complicating things even further, there was a relatively brief intermediate period, between Revontulet and Alexandrite, under the name of Rainheart Symphony, which released only covers. So I’ll skip over that period, but pick two songs by Alexandrite, Enough and Find the Light, and two by Revontulet, Rainheart, and The Pianist of the Darkest Night. Admittedly, can’t say I was the one who picked these last two, since they’re the only two that are posted officially, not counting any live recordings, but they are definitely good, as are all those released as Alexandrite. I’d say I’m expecting great things from them, but that will likely require finding some stability, in order to be able to focus on the music, so I hope that will happen.

As for the last pair, I’m adding it because I kept going through the list, searching for other bands with something released this year, and found that Beneath My Sins released an album. But Beneath My Sins was formed by the members of Evolvent after that band split up, and that may well be the reason why I placed it where I did in this version of the list that’s ordered differently. Not that I’m thrilled by either, but after listening to the three Evolvent songs and six Beneath My Sins songs posted officially, I must say that the former sound clearly better than the latter. Being the only one of those three from a full album, Love Doesn’t Love Me must be one of the picks from Evolvent, and it actually sounds pretty nice despite the growls, which are at least rather subdued, while the other will be Spiritual Confession. On the other hand, if I’m to pick What You Feel from that recent Beneath My Sins album, it’s pretty much just because I can listen to it, not because I actually recommend it. I tend to wince at their vocals in general, and plenty of the songs have growls that chase me away, the second pick, From the Flames, being the only one of the six that sounds somewhat better, and it’s probably the reason why I ended up adding them on the list at all, back when I did.

After deciding to not go Saturday as well, when the day’s discount at Kaufland was for watermelon, Sunday I jumped to check the time as soon as I woke up to pee the first time, seeing 8:38 AM and deciding to stay up, since I meant to go there early, that day’s discount being for citrus fruits. So I quickly got ready and was leaving at 9:25 AM, going straight there, passing through that mall this time, and getting some oranges. After getting away from that crowded area, looked around a bit, then waited for quite a while at the self-checkout, the people using those that also accepted cash not knowing how to use them and repeatedly needing help from the single employee. At least that meant that the impatient man who had placed himself behind me and was trying to slip ahead, muttering about how long it was taking, got fed up and moved to one of the regular checkouts, so he didn’t end up standing right next to me and hurrying me up when my turn eventually came, which was likely to happen otherwise. But things were definitely concerning over there, one of those using a machine that only took cards also walking right up to the employee to demand help pretty much in her face, pulling his mask down as he did so, and she had her nose out of hers as well… And then another man apparently slipped his money in the machine through the wrong place, saying that it caused him to lose 100 RON and shouting repeatedly for someone to come and take it apart in order to retrieve his money for him, also taking his mask down as he did so.
I went to that Carrefour after that, getting some things from there as well, including watermelon, which I’ll write more about later, then returned to Kaufland, to also get lemons. Needed yogurt too, and had seen a good one at a good price again when I first had a look, but knowing that it could wait another day, after the purchases from Carrefour I no longer had the money for it. What I could still afford and also get a 0.50 RON coin as change, since it’s always useful to have one and I no longer did, was pretty much exactly 750 grams of lemons, but it was too difficult to get an exact amount when it was so crowded and there were always lines at the scales. Spent quite some time among all those people as a result, trying to not stay in one place for long but nevertheless being in that area for quite a while, though at one point I went to use the scales for frozen products, which area was almost clear, to try to get closer to that amount. The closest I could get was about 770 grams though, and then a guy came to use those scales as well and I went back to the crowded area to put the larger ones back and get a few more smaller ones, again unsuccessfully trying to get as close as possible to 750 grams there, before returning to the frozen products area and managing to find a way to get 740 grams, after which I finally returned there to weigh the bag again and print the label. The wait at the self-checkout was much shorter that time, however, people knowing what they were doing even if it was in fact getting more crowded.
Left Kaufland at 11:40 AM and was back here at 12:05 PM, a little before dad woke up. Then he went to my grandmother’s, and when he came back he said my mother wanted us to buy a freezer, asking me what I thought about putting it in the kitchen, where the cabinets where we currently have the pots and pans are, with some things on the counter that’s on top of those cabinets as well. That strikes me as a bad idea, making us need to move so many things that we actually use often when I don’t even see where they could be moved, but the first issue was that I thought we had money problems and had to be very careful even with day to day expenses, or at least that’s what I keep being told, in between seeing how much they spend on the day to day stuff they get for themselves, being called a miser for how careful I am with such things and dad saying he can’t spare the time needed to save money. So I mentioned that, and also that I was thinking of something I never intended to even mention for that reason. But this is another thing I’ll write more about later.

After managing to nap for maybe about an hour and a half Sunday evening, Monday morning the alarm woke me up at 11 AM and just before 12:15 PM we were out, dad coming with me to purchase those state bonds. The walk was rather frustrating, as I had to keep my pace in check when after a while he was panting and complaining even so, and he also kept trying to talk to me, but we got there well enough and things went smoothly, the only issue I made a mental note of being that the clerk’s mask was pretty much on her lower lip. There was nobody else there at the time, just one guy came and waited his turn as I was waiting for the clerk to do what she had to do, and after dad stepped away to wait by the door it didn’t even feel too awkward. He had made it so at first, rushing to start telling the clerk what we were there for as I meant to take a moment to mentally prepare myself for it, and at first standing next to me and looking ready to pounce after I awkwardly cut in, which made her ask which one of us was actually going to make the purchase, but then I waved him away and there were no problems.
It was done at 12:45 PM, and after I took a moment to quickly read through the document, we walked out and then went our separate ways, since I meant to go to Carrefour and Kaufland again, and also check at least one Mega Image on the way. Needed that yogurt, after all, and wanted to check out the day’s discount at Kaufland again as well, since I’ll be there, but he had also told me that he wanted to cook something and needed quite a list of vegetables for it, which he’d have bought for way more from nearby stores otherwise, so I said I’ll get those as well. Did ask him to have a look on his way back and tell me the prices, just to check, and while I was in Carrefour the first time he sent me an SMS with some, not including all those he had written on the list but including carrots, which weren’t on it, and also having a price for regular cabbage when he had written red cabbage on the list. But I just went with the list, only adding carrots to it because of that message.
Since I hadn’t entered a Mega Image on the way, meant to first check prices at the hypermarkets, then go to the Mega Image from that area, make any purchases I was going to make from there, then get back to the hypermarkets, but when I first went to Carrefour I saw that they had a lot of bags of peppers of all kinds next to the area of expiring products, those peppers also being 50% off due to starting to spoil. So I had a look at the bags of regular ones, which was what dad wanted, and picked one right away, before going to check the prices for the other things. Then I went to Kaufland, leaving the peppers in a cabinet and going in to check the prices before moving on to that Mega Image… Where I found other piles of such bags, this time with various kinds of fruits and vegetables, and since we needed those things for cooking, they were good enough and I picked one of beets and another with a handful of small carrots, then had a look around and eventually got myself a pretzel as well before checking out. Couldn’t see the kind of paper bags they usually have for bakery products anywhere though, and when I asked an employee she pointed me to some very narrow ones, asking whether they’re too small when I stared in surprise, then saying that as far as she knew those were meant for pretzels, so I struggled to somehow squeeze a pretzel in one. When I broke a piece off it, I considered leaving that pretzel there and trying with another one, but I doubted it was going to be any easier to get that second one in the bag whole, while getting this one in it in pieces was at least possible, so I took it like that… Then was surprised when I was charged a little more than the listed price for those vegetables, noticing on the receipt that I had been charged for the plastic bags they had been in as well, though I was forced to use them instead of my own.
Returned to Kaufland after that, putting those purchases in that same cabinet and then buying what I meant to buy from there… Which again included watermelon, but this is still something I’ll write about later. Felt a bit rushed by some employees while using the self-checkout though, as they seemed to also want to buy some things and came to stand right next to me, commenting to each other that I wasn’t done yet as I was waiting for the machine to give me my change, but at least thanking me for rushing after I hurried to move my stuff from the machine to the floor in order to let them use it as I put everything in bags. And since I wasn’t taking up the machine anymore, I took my time at that point, arranging things somewhat more carefully, checking the receipt and counting my money before finally leaving the self-checkout area. Stopped again on my way out though, after grabbing those things from that cabinet as well, because I realized I couldn’t find the receipt from Carrefour, for those peppers, and I guess I lost it at some point, if I even took it at all. Seem to remember stuffing it in a pocket, but couldn’t find it anywhere, then or later.
Speaking of Carrefour, I of course returned there at that point, first struggling to fit everything I already had in one of their cabinets and then getting what I still had to get from there, plus one expiring yogurt which had appeared in that area by then. Then I took everything back out of that cabinet and arranged everything better in the three larger bags I had, the problem being that only one was sturdy, one of the flimsy ones already having some holes at the bottom and the other one’s handle starting to tear as I used it instead of a shopping basket in Carrefour. Also calculated what I had spent and how things were split at that point, checking to make sure I hadn’t lost any money, and was finally walking away at 4:10 PM. That handle that was threatening to tear continued to worry me though, so after leaving that mall I stopped again and moved some of the vegetables from that bag to the two small ones I had that also had handles, leaving them in it but in a way that meant the weight didn’t really pull on that handle anymore, since I was holding them by their own handles. And that allowed it to hold, so at 4:45 PM I was in front of the building without anything tearing. The other flimsy bag, the one with holes at the bottom from the beginning, seemed just about to fall apart, but it held long enough for me to get here. And yes, checked how much I carried again, seeing 15.5 kg, that time just in my hands.

There was a blackout that evening, the logs stating that it started at 11:47 PM and I let the computer run on battery for 7.5 minutes, just in case the power was going to return quickly. It only did at 12:25 AM though, so I waited a few more minutes, then turned the computer back on and got back to the kitchen, where I had been when it had started as well. So I didn’t have to make salad and eat by candlelight, but was still only back in my room at 4 AM, since I first had to finish cleaning up after dad, and after I finished eating I also had to figure out how to make everything fit in the fridge.
The far more unpleasant and depressing part came earlier though, and it has to do with the mouse. After writing Saturday’s post and mentioning those likely T1 double clicks, I had a look and saw that the store I bought this one from had it on sale, stating that they just had one left, and it seemed gone from everywhere else, being replaced with the Remastered version, so it seemed that what I had in mind when writing that post, getting another one at some point over the next couple of months, won’t be possible and I started wondering whether I could actually get that one right away, to have one that will be under warranty for two years again and keep this one as a spare, ensuring that I won’t need to worry about choosing another model for at least the next few years. That’s what I was referring to Sunday afternoon, during that talk with dad, but since I no longer have anything set aside and knowing what they keep saying about money, I assumed there was no way for that to happen and, as I said, didn’t even mean to mention it. Yet he asked what it was, I ended up telling him, and he told me to go for it, stressing repeatedly that it was fine when I kept being wary. So I ended up making the purchase after all, though the shipping had to be paid as well, since that store no longer allows people to pick up orders either and they only have free shipping on orders above 500 RON!
Well, the site stated that the one that was left was in the store’s stock, which should be updated in real time, and indeed as soon as the order was made and paid, since dad paid by card, the status changed to say it was no longer available. However, Monday I received a message telling me that it wasn’t in stock after all, and when I asked how did that happen they eventually explained that one more piece was listed in their system as being left, but it couldn’t physically be found… Either way, they asked whether I wanted to replace it with something else, which I obviously didn’t, so the order was canceled and they said they’re refunding the money. I asked if they needed an account to refund them to and there was a reply asking for that, so I provided dad’s, but then I also received an e-mail from the payment processor saying that they were informed that the order was canceled and the money will be returned to the card used, so I took the opportunity to add another comment to the order, telling them that, as it should already be obvious, I have no idea how such things work and that wasn’t even my own card, as I stick to cash, and want to again complain about the fact that they discourage cash payments, and have done so for a long time, adding another fee if you pay cash on delivery, and now you can’t even pick up an order yourself anymore and pay cash there, without that additional fee. Had already complained about the fact that they now require customers to have orders shipped and shipping isn’t free, or doesn’t at least become free if the order exceeds a relatively low value, 500 RON in fact being by far the highest threshold for free shipping I’ve seen anywhere. But, while I also told them to let me know if they ever find that one or get this model back in stock, it does seem to have been discontinued by the manufacturer, so at this point I doubt I’ll be able to find one again…

To get to the watermelon now, after deciding to not go to Kaufland on Saturday just for it, I didn’t think I was going to get any, but when the price I saw Sunday was still lower than at this nearby store, I decided to get one from Carrefour, the price of the cheapest kind being the same in both places, before dad would get another from here. However, that proved to be a bad choice the very next day, when it wasn’t only cheaper again in Kaufland, but actually cheaper than I think it should have been on Saturday. I’m not absolutely sure, since I didn’t go then and the site only listed the discount, not the resulting price, but Monday’s price was 46.5% lower than Sunday’s, while the listed discount for Saturday had been 40%. So I bought another one then as well, to at least take advantage of that price.
The truly unpleasant part came Tuesday, however, when I ended up dropping the first one, and the plate it was on, as I was about to put it back in the fridge. I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but it fell out of my hands in front of the fridge, smashing on the floor, pieces of plate and watermelon flying in every direction, watermelon juice ending up on my clothes, legs, slippers… Washed the slippers a little and then spent the rest of the day with my feet in wet slippers, without socks, and it took me about an hour and a half to clean everything up, getting the worst off my clothes, washing the floor a little, vacuuming the entire hallway, since shards of plate had ended up even at the other end of it, throwing away the parts of the watermelon which had ended up right on the floor and washing the rest of it, cutting or tearing it in usable pieces, more or less along the cracks, and finding a way to fit all the separate pieces back in the fridge. Had been sort of considering cleaning my room a little that day, but definitely wasn’t going to do that anymore after that, and still haven’t.

Also Tuesday, I received an e-mail asking for permission to quote the message I had sent to The Guardian‘s The Upside, in response to the weekly report that was about population, and it will apparently be in next week’s weekly report. On the other hand, that evening dad again told me he disconnected his computer without actually doing it, and an error I saw when I checked the system logs before going to bed that night also made me wonder whether he had unplugged it before leaving that day, since I didn’t think to check when I finally finished cleaning up and went to my room to connect until he got back.
And since I got to dad again, Wednesday he brought what he said was bulgur pilaf, snapping at me for “being like a computer” and asking what did he mean instead of immediately realizing what he was referring to when he mixed up some of the letters in bulgur. It got worse when I said I was already eating something else then and won’t get to it that day, not that I wanted it in the first place. He said he was also rather upset when he saw that I had left some pastries he had bought for me, again obviously without me asking him to, for days before eventually eating them, saying the things he usually says to make sure I feel terribly guilty about it, responsible for waste and expenses. Was also angrily saying that this is how it works in families, people getting things for others when they can and want to and expecting them to eat them right away and so on. So I snapped back a few times and then walked away, being left to run the whole thing endlessly through my mind and feel even worse after that, which led to sending him an e-mail before going to bed at night, also touching on matters like what he supports, and therefore makes me responsible for supporting, through such purchases and how needing to use what he buys for me in this manner means giving up on what I’d actually want to get. He replied to that from work, again saying I’m not responsible or guilty for what he does for me but I won’t make him feel that way either, ignoring that whole part about supporting things and saying he’s thrifty but won’t be a miser like I am, and that everyone’s allowed to state their opinion but he won’t allow me to tell him what to do and make him like I am… But he apparently can force me to do what he wants in this manner… Got even more messed up after sending another reply yesterday, two of them in fact, also including things like his impulsiveness and desire for instant gratification versus my long-term thinking…

At least there was no other reply, so I could try to put it out of my mind when I ran today. Still slept poorly, however, waking up several times, though at least I also kept getting back to sleep quickly. That was no longer the case when, a little before 12:30 PM, the reason I woke up again was the noise made by dad in the kitchen, and despite trying to get a little more sleep after going to pee, the alarm being set to ring at 2 PM, I don’t know if I even got a few more minutes before giving up and getting up at 1:15 PM, when he left. Then I partially clipped a few toenails, since there seemed to be a risk of them jabbing the toes again, and ate an orange, since I’m again out of apples. Had the usual stuff plus almonds otherwise, including those wheat things with jam as something sweet, and again got worried when I weighed myself and saw a mere 45 kg, actually dropping a little below that when I weighed myself again, just in my underwear, after getting back, so I’m definitely stuffing myself tonight.
Went out at 3:15 PM, wearing the full running gear and thinking that if I won’t manage to get back under 48 minutes, I’ll go for 16 km or even a half marathon distance again, especially considering next week’s forecast, with highs around 35°C each day, even reaching 37°C. However, the reported temperature when I went out was 31°C and it was sunny, and when I felt that heat and how it was burning when I wasn’t in the shade, I gave up on that idea, just hoping to not embarrass myself too much… And I guess I didn’t, pushing all the way and managing 48:17.67, with sector times of 4:19.21, 4:57.41, 5:49 (5:48.71), 4:33 (4:32.75), 5:05.05, 5:58.46, 4:41 (4:40.52), 5:12.02, 5:54.40 and 1:49.14, making for lap times of 15:05.33, 15:36.26 and 15:47 (15:46.94). Even managed that good first lap, the fastest one since getting back to the park, though the heat took its toll after that.
I must say that there were no problems other than the heat, which definitely helped. Sure, had to weave and go the long way around occasionally, but the park wasn’t crowded and there was just one moment, on sector one of lap two, when there was a bit of a misunderstanding and I had to slow for a moment, and another one on a sector three, possibly also on lap two but I don’t really remember anymore, when I had to go on the grass and around a trash can. There was a little wind in a few places, but this time I’m not even counting that as an issue, feeling that the cooling effect helped me more than going against it hindered. The most important thing, however, is that I didn’t feel any physical problems, not even any noticeable warnings from any muscles or joints, the only issue being that I was clearly getting tired from sector three of lap two. That meant I really pushed on lap three, even more so after that slow first sector, and when sector two didn’t look good either I was thinking of “penalizing” myself by getting back after I’ll finish and handing the 1 RON I had taken with me to the busker who was sitting next to the stairs if I’ll finish three laps in more than 46:30. Since I had covered sector three of lap two in 5:58, needed 5:55 on sector three of lap three in order to avoid that and was also noticing myself losing focus and briefly dropping back to a jogging pace a few times, that seemed a certainty, yet it somehow wasn’t the case, since despite those moments I managed that 5:54 on that sector… And followed it with a final sector that was surprisingly fast under those circumstances.

I need to rush this week’s second post today, and in order to avoid a Sunday update, especially since I’ll have more to add in personal posts after tomorrow, I’m going to try another rushed post in this series. Not that I checked anything since the previous one, so there are no actual new finds, but I looked over the bands that are towards the top of the version of the list that I have in a file and which haven’t been added to such a post so far, looking for those that released something this year. Somewhat surprisingly, I didn’t have to go through too many before finding three, so I can put together this post, albeit once again doing it in a hurry. Admittedly, only one of the three released a full album, and that was back in February, the other two just releasing a new single, but doing so just this month, which should be good enough, especially considering the current circumstances.

To start with the band that released a full album this year, that’s Diabulus in Musica. I’ve known of them for several years, but was never certain whether I wanted to include them in such a post or not, because they have good, at times even great, female vocals, choir parts and choruses, but other parts of their sound can put me off, and that’s even before getting to the fact that some songs have growls. That sent me away each time I wanted to try listening to a full album, so I couldn’t even say how many of their songs are like that, but I do know that there are at least some that aren’t, and I’m obviously only picking out of those. And, since I’m in a hurry, I obviously didn’t try to listen to full albums now either, so I’m only picking out of the songs without growls that are posted officially, meaning that there may well be way better ones available, but also that these may be the odd ones out and most or even all the others have growls; I just don’t know. That said, out of those from that recent album that are officially posted, I have to go with One Step Higher. Not that I like it too much, considering those harsh instrumental parts that sound as if they’d lead to growls but actually don’t, but the other two are quite clearly out of the question. There are some better options when it comes to older songs, however, and out of those I’ll go with Inner Force, though this again is only out of the few which are posted officially.

Next, one of the bands which just released a new song this month is Hamka, that song being Suffering Ages. I’m sure I ended up adding this band to the list, and possibly even actually tracking it down instead of simply happening to stumble upon it, because Elisa C. Martin is their vocalist and her voice struck me as distinctive ever since I heard it on a Dark Moor album that was among the first ones downloaded back when I started getting into the genre, so maybe once every few years, possibly after hearing one of those songs again at a time when I’m actually paying attention, I may find myself searching for any other bands or projects she worked or is working with. That said, Hamka’s sound could be way better, and she also sounded better while working with other bands in the past, for which reason I also tried to quickly listen at least to parts of most of the songs from their first full album in order to search for a second pick, but in the end I stuck with my original choice, Earth’s Call, which I had initially picked out of the few from their last one which have been posted on their channels. That choice was at first made in good part because of what it’s about, but now that I compared to some of the others as well, it strikes me as one of their best songs in terms of sound as well.

If I sounded less than impressed with the two bands listed above, that will change now, the second band I’m adding because it released a new song this month being Karnataka. That song is Forever, which gives me the obvious first pick. It has a beginning that instantly reminded me of something I struggled with for half a day before finally identifying as A Final Dream, which also led to finally finding out who actually sings that, and then a later part reminded me, also instantly and this time without any need to struggle to identify the song, of If We Hold on Together. But, leaving that aside, it’s a nice song on its own. Selecting a second one is harder though, what makes it even worse being that they don’t exactly have anything posted officially and therefore didn’t offer me the same method to limit the options as the others. I could just listen to one album though, since it seems to be the full one that they’ve been promoting more actively, and I must say that it’s just amazing. I have no idea whether the others are also this good at the moment, but when it comes to this one, I listened to all of it and was blown away, so I must state that this really is a band that belongs in such a post, and one that I truly recommend. Still, if I’m to stick to my usual rule and pick a second song, I’ll go with Poison Ivy, in part also because of the message.