The Miscellaneous Goings On Of Tom - No Plan Survives First Contact

"What's Going On In That Mad Mind Of Yours?"

A great multitude of priorities and inconveniences have gotten in the way in the recent month. So much so, motivation has come and gone, ideas have flashed in the pan then became quickly extinguished, just a whole cluster of frustration in all honesty. Not how I wanted to start 2020 in regards to the blog and my music. The shining light however was donating my hair, small and simple victories followed as my shower time got shorter (by that I mean I wasn't spending 15 minutes washing and sorting out my hair) and I could wear beanies without it giving me hat head. I miss it as I felt I lost a little of my pagan warrior identity but you can be badass with short hair as well. I am enjoying the new season of Vikings though, you should have seen my face when Eric The Red got an appearance, it has only taken 7 years! Even though it is utterly heartbreaking that it is the final series, it's opened my up to an area of history I knew next to nothing about and as a result I've now fallen in love with everything Norse, Nordic, Viking and even my own country's history during that period. I recently did a post over on Fjordhammer History on my favourite god Týr which you can view here. I have really enjoyed writing the few posts I have done for Fjordhammer History, I hope that over time you'll start to see where my historical inspiration comes from that sometimes gets transferred into Vanaheimr. I do need to get out and about more to local historical sites though, but as many of you would agree, this cold weather knows how to keep you in your bed. Anyway, whilst I'm overhauling myself and my future I will try to keep the blog as varied as I can, as I feel I've starved you of any decent content for a while, so as soon as the 2020 releases start rolling out, I'll make sure I'm on them straightaway! In the meantime, thank you for your patience, it means a lot to me!

What I'm Listening To At This Very Moment

Absolutely love this song, chronicling the feats of T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence Of Arabia) in World War 1. I love it so much so that I am seeing this weekend in Wembley Arena (their only UK show this year)! It was an easy sell to my dad, I asked him if he wanted to see a band with a tank for a drum riser and showed him a live video, the yes was almost instantaneous. I'm looking forward to a phenomenal show from my favourite Swedish historians. 

What I've Been Jamming To This Week

Mostly Behemoth and black metal to be fair, something about the cold, dark, winter nights that just set the mood for me when I'm walking to and from work. I loved seeing them support Slipknot in Cardiff, I did think their set was a bit short though, I wanted more! They're pretty much my gateway band into black metal alongside all the usual icons, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, etc. I still think The Satanist is one of the best metal albums of the last decade. As you can see from the photo though, we were all contending with each other for the best photo. 

A Good Book For Any Sabbath Fan

As you all know I'm a massive Black Sabbath fan, they have been massively influential on my music (just like everyone else's). So, when I found this book in Sheffield HMV for only £3.99 I had to get it and found out more about one of my favourite bands. The cover grabbed me before the subject matter but I've been really enjoying reading it. Symptom Of The Universe by Mick Wall has been a great read for me so far, so I'm looking into buying his Led Zeppelin, Lemmy and Hendrix books soon. I know Mick Wall can be quite controversial and triggering for some people but I like to get multiple perspectives and his writing style is really easy to follow, which is refreshing for me after reading so many proper academic texts. Anyway, I'd recommend it so far!


Thankyou for Your Patience

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much for your patience with me over this big transitional time. You're the motivational force behind this blog and I'm going to keep it going for you! There will be another Metal Scholar's Weekly Listening List coming at you tomorrow!