We’re already almost a third into June, so I guess you could say this newsletter is woefully late! Compared to last month, there’s been more activity on the ODIR website, including the first interview of the year.
Typically, summer has been a somewhat more productive period for ODIR, as summer vacation is a good time to catch up on ye olde review backlog. Perhaps so this year as well – although preparations for the second-ever Dieux Des Cimetières gig will certainly require both time and effort.
No vitriolic ranting this time around. Enjoy the summer.
J.
Highlights from ODIR
- We published a new interview with Gerhard Hallstatt of post-industrial legends Allerseelen, discussing the past and present of the project: https://onlydeathisreal.rip/2026/05/31/a-post-industrial-steppenwolf-in-a-colder-age-talking-with-gerhard-hallstatt-of-allerseelen/
- My review of Matti Rautaniemi’s rather brilliant biography of Finnish occultist Tapio Kotkavuori: https://onlydeathisreal.rip/2026/05/26/rautaniemi-matti-tapio-kotkavuoren-elama-ja-kuolema/
- I ventured into the ODIR vaults again, and uncovered a personally significant classic of otherwise dubious stature, namely Black Sabbath’s Never Say Die: https://onlydeathisreal.rip/2026/05/19/from-the-vaults-25-never-say-die/
Reading suggestions
- “They don’t even know what Walden is!” Henry Thoreau’s biographical book is considered a veritable American classic, and whilst many may not find the prospect of moving to a barren hut in the middle of the woods too enticing, there’s much in this book to ponder upon. Thoreau calls for a simpler, more independent and individual life (among many other things). He questions whether we really need all of our creature comforts, or if we feel we need them, because we work so hard; and we work so hard only to afford them. Would it then not be simpler to work less and feel less need to have them? Certainly, living in the age of ultra-materialist consumerism makes one wonder if Thoreau wasn’t on to something after all…
- Sticking to classics, Joost Van Der Vondel’s Lucifer. One of the most significant works of Dutch literature, this tragedy has been called the Dutch entry into the giants of world literature. It has also been theorized that Milton drew inspiration from Vondel’s at the time controversial play for his Paradise Lost – but, ultimately, especially when speaking of the worth of Vondel’s work, to pin it upon whether it influenced Milton is to belittle it. In its own right, Lucifer is a majestic, beautiful tragedy of epic proportions of Lucifer’s heavenly rebellion. And yes, of course: I was inspired to pick this up by neoclassical act H.E.R.R.’s two albums based on this play.
- Necrophilia must be one of the last almost absolutely taboo topics when it comes to sex. And that’s exactly what Finnish horror anthology Lemmen voima focuses on – and occasionally manages to rattle the reader a bit. The twelve stories offer up a potpourri of different approaches, from the serious and/or graphical to the surreal and/or comical, and more. Touchy subject notwithstanding, the anthology proves that underground horror lives and thrives in Finland.
From our friends
- Dieux Des Cimetières (e.g., yours truly) will be performing live in Korjaamo, Helsinki on Saturday 1.8.2025 supporting black metal pioneers Beherit. Other acts on the bill are Sum Of R and Rihmasto.
- DDC’s new album Mercy & Severity will be released on the 22nd of this month. The first teaser track is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Ywm5VhrwM
- Misantropia Records, who are releasing the new DDC album, will release two CD’s by outstanding Finnish dungeon synth act Waeltaja on the same day.
- The Rihmastosignaali/The Mycelium Signal podcast has once again been hyperactive. Here’s a roundup:
- Interview with horror author Marko Hautala in Finnish: https://tuonenportti.fi/rihmastosignaali-32-samaelin-kirja-vieraana-marko-hautala/
- A deeply provocative, unflinchingly merciless look at the state of man, the west and the world with Jussi K. Niemelä (in Finnish): https://tuonenportti.fi/33-viimeinen-ihminen-valonkantajat-osa-1-2-vieraana-jussi-k-niemela/
- A discussion with horror author Richard Gavin and musician Naas Alcameth in the Mycelium Forum format (in English): https://tuonenportti.fi/the-mycelium-forum-the-wholly-alien-other-with-richard-gavin-naas-alcameth/
Miscellania
- Danish neofolk/martial industrial/post industrial group Die Weisse Rose released their second album (not counting live releases) The Evenings And Other Songs About Sex, Violence And Nihilism on Steelwork Maschine. CD version to follow later on Ukrainian Old Captain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M03mlCWd-Hs
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