Here we go! Part FIVE of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums!

Snot – Get Some – 1997

It’s hard to fathom to me that ‘Get Some,’ Snot’s debut and currently lone album is turning 30 soon, as it still sounds as fresh and snappy as the day it was released. For those who don’t know, ‘Get Some’ came out, Snot got a ton of buzz, but then tragically their singer, Lynn Strait was killed in a car accident – along with his dog and band mascot, Dobbs – after leaving the recording studio. A tribute album (Strait Up), a soundtrack song and a live album followed, but none of it holds a candle to the power and attitude of ‘Get Some.’

I distinctly remember the first time I heard ‘Stoopid,’ their first music video. It was on MuchLoud and once the video ended, I knew I needed to track down the album. The musical mix of punk, thrash, a hint of ska and rap, that was all blended into a metal album was phenomenal and to this day, it’s one of the greatest crossover albums and heavy multi-genre albums out there.

There’s new hope in Snot Head land, with the arrival of Andy on vocals, who seems to be channeling Lynn like no one’s business and the tease of new material has me salivating.

Key tracks – ‘Stoopid,’ ‘The Box,’ and ‘Unplugged.’

Live – actually yes! Though, without Lynn. Back in 2008 or 2009, Snot reformed with Tommy Vext on vocals and toured. They came to Vancouver, opening for Devildriver and we managed to get tickets and see them. The live show was great, Vext on vocals did a solid job of handling Lynn’s spot and it was a great experience. Saying that, seeing the live videos of Andy on vocals, I’m excited for the possibility of seeing this new, true, revival of Snot at some point in the future!

Misery Index – Rituals of Power – 2019

If you’ve read my novella, ‘We Watch,’ you’ll know I’m a Misery Index fan. Hell, I have lyrics of theirs tattooed on my chest. I was turned onto them with their classic DeathCrust album ‘Traitors’ and have really enjoyed everything they’ve done. But their 2019 release, ‘Rituals of Power’ took everything that is awesome about them and ramped it up by a bajillion. From the opening track to the closing track, Misery Index slays with each and every song and pummels you with their musical muscle as well as their insanely layered lyrics.

They kept the vibe going with 2022’s ‘Complete Control’ album, which was also phenomenal, but ‘Rituals of Power’ takes the cake, as every song feels like both a ‘single’ but also a part of the whole.

Key tracks – ‘The Choir Invisible,’ ‘Hammering the Nails,’ ‘Rituals of Power.’

Live – lamely, no! They’ve come through a bunch, in the various places I’ve lived, but I’ve just never managed to get out and see them! They’re high on my list of bands I still need to experience live and I’m hoping we’ll see a new album and tour cycle shortly.

Terror – Keepers of the Faith – 2010

‘Keepers of the faith, I will defend your name’

What happens when you mix a lifelong hardcore punk kid with the full belly assault of Slayer infused music? Fucking Terror, that’s what. A hardcore band that loves to slam just as much as offer an insanely heavy breakdown, Scott Vogel and crew sing about loyalty, respect and sticking up for your fellow person, while also delivering blistering track after blistering track.

But for me, ‘Keepers of the Faith’ is their classic album and best album. A mix of rock and roll tempos with blast beats and breakdowns, ‘KotF’ goes from one strength to the next and showcases why they’re the leaders of the hardcore punk/crossover pack.

In this case, Terror came onto my radar by seeing them live. Back in the mid to late 2000’s they opened for pretty much EVERY metal band we saw live, and they could care less about size of venue or size of crowd. If they were there playing, they were playing for a million people in their eyes, and every show was crazy and fucking amazing.

Throughout ‘KofF’ the band calls out fake fans, fake bands just as equally as they do government and political bullshit. It makes for a sociopolitical album that equally speaks to the casual fan, but also to the hardcore, long-time listener. A masterpiece.

Key tracks – ‘Your Enemies Are Mine,’ ‘Stick Tight,’ & ‘Keepers of the Faith.’

Live – yup! Actually, they’re up there with bands I’ve seen the most live. I think I’ve seen them at least eight times, if not ten. And every show was sick!

Here we go! Part FOUR of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums!

Sworn Enemy – The Beginning of the End – 2006

I can vividly remember the first time I heard Sworn Enemy, as it was also the first time I ever saw Sworn Enemy. My wife, my buddy Pat and I went to see Hatebreed at Richards on Richards in Vancouver. Richards was a typical dive bar/show hall, on the main floor, though it also had an upper level which was a narrow deck/balcony that surrounded the entirety of the stage. It made for some memorable moments, such as when we saw The Haunted there and their singer, Dolving, looked up, pointed at me and gave me the horns. Same with when I saw Gojira there. Maybe 50 people in attendance and they killed it.

But at the Hatebreed show, it was one of the few times we went to a show without really paying attention to who the openers were. I still can’t remember who the first band was, nor what they sounded like, but after they finished, a dude with long hair and camo shorts came onstage and did a quick sound check. He went into the intro of ‘Scared of the Unknown’ and the ENTIRE show hall went silent, everyone shutting up and turning to look at what they fuck they’d just heard. Not ten seconds later, Sal, the singer grabbed the mic, said ‘We’re Sworn Enemy from New York fucking City and we’re here to fuck you up!’ They cut into the actual ‘Scared of the Unknown’ song and we all had our brains collectively melted. I bought a copy of the CD after, chatted with them for a second and have been a fan ever since. Their previous album ‘As Real As It Gets’ is fantastic, as are their other releases, but ‘The Beginning of the End’ is their high-water mark – a crossover classic. Every track slams and, as always with Sal’s lyrics, feature a lot of real life commentary.

Stand Out Tracks – ‘Scared of the Unknown,’ ‘Save Your Breath,’ & ‘Here Today.’

Live – Yup! Twice actually. The second time we saw them was in a VERY small bar in Vancouver, where they opened for the mighty Pro Pain. It was an awkward set up, where instead of being straight on, they were on one side, and the bar was on the other side, and the total width of the bar was maybe twenty feet. Fucking awesome to be there with only 20 other people but still made for an odd set up.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Come Find Yourself – 1996

When I was younger I didn’t mind rap and hip hop. I even went through a period where I dug Dr. Dre and 2pac and Eminem etc. etc. But I moved on from rap/hip hop many years ago. The music just doesn’t grab my attention like other stuff. Not to say there are not the occasional tracks that I really enjoy, but for the most part, I don’t seek out new rap/hip hop music. My dislike of most rap was so much that when I loved Nu Metal, I tended to stay away from bands that rapped a lot.

One band that utilizes hip hop a bunch that I still dig, however, is Fun Lovin’ Criminals.

I first heard them in a friend’s car when we were on a quick trip between Burton and Fauquier. Fifteen-minute drive from Point A to Point B, to grab a mutual pal. When we got in, the car started and the first track, ‘The Fun Lovin’ Criminal’ kicked in and I was sold. There’re so many great tunes on the album and though many people are most familiar with ‘Scooby Snacks,’ I’d suggest that’s the only song on the album I tend to skip. Over the course of the album, they sing/rap about different life moments and it all feels real and gritty, much like the iconic album cover displays.

Since that album, they’ve put out six more albums – though I haven’t heard any of their latest, a 2025 album which is their first to not feature original member and original singer, Huey – and of those five I’ve heard they continue to put out great albums with fantastic tunes that span numerous genres.

Stand Out Tracks: ‘Passive/Aggressive,’ ‘Smoke ‘em,’ ‘Come Find Yourself,’ & ‘Methadonia.’

Live – sadly no, and unless I can get over the UK for a summer festival, I doubt I ever will, as they tend to not tour nor come to North America for shows.

Type O Negative – October Rust – 1996

An album that saved my life several times.

When I got this album – I bought it without having heard a single note, after seeing the cover art in Columbia House – I had no idea how much it would play a significant role in my life.

I’d previously heard a bunch of ‘Bloody Kisses’ and really liked it, but it wasn’t until ‘October Rust’ came along that ToN became one of my fav bands of all time. When ‘October Rust’ arrived, I was in the throes of a deep depression, and I often contemplated different ways to leave this world. After everyone in the house would go to sleep, I’d sneak out and go for long walks in the woods, listening to my disc man. The number of times I’d walk listening to this album is incalculable. But it kept me going. Kept me focused on the songs and the layers of each tune enough to get me back home again and allowed me to wake up one more time.

It’s not a stretch for me to estimate I listen to this album about a hundred times a year. If not more. In fact, there’s only one album that I’ve listened to more than this one, which will arrive in a later post. ‘October Rust’ is constantly on, constantly playing in my head if it’s not in my headphones or car stereo speakers. And as the year’s have gone by, their name and logo have come to signify family for me as both my wife and son have type O negative blood type.

I could go on and on about this album, and though I dearly love all the ToN albums, ‘October Rust’ stands head and shoulders above the others for me, an album that I’ll always cherish for keeping me alive.

Stand Out Tracks – ‘Love You To Death,’ ‘Green Man,’ ‘Burnt Flowers Fallen,’ ‘In Praise of Bacchus,’ ‘Wolf Moon,’ & ‘Haunted.’

Live – sadly, no. I did however get to meet the guitar player, Kenny, when he was touring with Kingdom of Sorrow and shook his hand and told him how much his music meant to me. It was a surreal moment and I’m glad I was able to do that at least.

Here we go! Part THREE of my Favorite Albums Series!

I’m just gonna start diving into each album from here on out!

This time – I’m sharing three more of my fav albums! And bonus – they’re all Canadian!

The Trews – Time Capsule – 2016

Back in 2003, The Trews released their debut album ‘House of Ill Fame,’ and I was immediately excited. The two stand out track – ‘Not Ready to Go’ and ‘Tired of Waiting’ – were phenomenal then and remain phenomenal now.

For whatever reason, I stopped listening to them for over a decade. It wasn’t until 2014’s self-titled album that returned me to being a huge fan. The lead single of ‘The Trews,’ titled ‘Rise in the Wake’ had me grinning like a maniac. Featuring amazing guitar work, a huge sing-along chorus and as close to an Alternative Canadian Rock Breakdown as you can get, the track had me exploring all of their music I’d missed while not listening to them.

Then, in 2016, they released a ‘Best Of’ titled ‘Time Capsule,’ and though it may seem like a cop out to choose a ‘Best Of’ on a list of fav albums, this collection has everything magnificent the band did up until that year. Their latest album, ‘The Bloody Light,’ just came out in October of 2025 and songs like ‘Manifest’ and the title track indicate we should be getting many more years of phenomenal tunes from this band.

Stand out tracks – ‘Not Ready to Go,’ ‘Tired of Waiting,’ ‘Paranoid Freak,’ ‘Sing Your Heart Out.’

Live – Yes! July 1st, 2017! And the reason for me remembering that exact day is because for Canada Day, my father-in-law, my son and I went to Spruce Grove and watched them perform for free for the Canada Day celebration. It was Auryn’s first concert and The Trews put on a simply amazing show!

Sam Roberts – Lo Fantasy – 2014

Much like The Trews, Sam Roberts debut album ‘We Were Born in a Flame’ also came out in 2003. And much like with The Trews, I loved Sam’s debut instantly. Hearing ‘Brother Down’ for the first time sold me and made me a lifelong fan. Between the lyrics, the music and the music video of Sam in a boat on wavy waters, I couldn’t get enough.

Fast forward and when ‘Lo Fantasy’ was released, I couldn’t stop listening to it. This was the album I was listening to when we found out my wife was pregnant and to this day I remember driving to all of the check up appointments with this album playing. Each song is an earworm and each song will make you bob your head and sing along.

Stand out tracks – ‘We’re All in this Together,’ ‘Metal Skin,’ & ‘Chasing the Light.’

Live – Yes! Edmonton has an annual festival called K-Days and I think it was 2018 when Sam Roberts performed there. It was such an amazing concert.

The Glorious Sons – A War On Everything – 2019

How’s this for connectivity? When The Glorious Sons debut album came out, the guitar player from The Trews produced their ‘Union’ album. Fast forward and in 2025, the singer and guitar player of TGS produced The Trews newest album. Cool eh?

Considering my love for Canadian music, TGS came onto my radar shamefully late. It was only a few years ago that I heard their song ‘S.O.S. (Sawed Off Shotgun)’ on the local radio station, THE BEAR here. I checked out more of that album and loved the songs ‘Everything Is Alright’ and ‘Comedown.’ Then, in 2023, their album ‘Glory’ was released and that album is near perfect. Songs such as ‘Mercy, Mercy,’ ‘Cellular,’ ‘Speed of Light’ and ‘You Stay Young,’ are magnificent and I’m constantly going back to that album, as it’s so good. But for some reason, I never checked out 2019’s ‘A War On Everything’ until early this year. Not sure why I never got around to listening to it, but as soon as I did, I was blown away. To me, this is their best album (so far) and I’ve probably listened to it close to a dozen times a week since I snagged the CD some months back. The song mix on this album are both a perfect example of the high energy tunes they write, but also the emotional, atmospheric music they create.

Songs such as ‘A War On Everything,’ ‘Wild Eyes,’ ‘One More Summer,’ ‘These Wicked Things,’ & ‘Pink Motel’ are some of the best songs you’ll ever hear.

Stand out tracks – ‘A War On Everything,’ ‘Wild Eyes,’ & ‘Pink Motel.’

Live – Sadly, no. I’m hopeful that they’ll be here again next summer as over the last few years they’ve played five or six times in and around Edmonton, but for various reasons I just haven’t managed to get to a show.

Welcome back to PART TWO of my Favorite Albums Series!

In part one, I shared an album from Knocked Loose and Six Feet Under, two albums that crush it and today’s two picks fall into the same category!

I always love chatting about music and seeing concerts, though over the last number of years, my concert attendance has greatly dipped. So, I’m adding a section discussing if I’ve seen a band live. It doesn’t change anything from the first post, as I’ve not been able to catch either band live yet, and it doesn’t even apply to today’s two albums! But, I figured it’d be a fun thing to mention.

Alright, here we – the next two albums that are personal favorites.

Power Trip – Nightmare Logic – 2017

I have a love/hate relationship with thrash, but when done right, it hits a sweet spot in my musical brain. I tend to lean more towards crossover bands, which I think Power Trip are, in my opinion. That perfect blend of hardcore and thrash, making for some insanely fast riffs but also some brutal, brutal breakdowns.

I first heard their song ‘Hornet’s Nest,’ which was a stand alone single, and when I went to search for more music, I came across their performance for George Stroumboulopoulos’ ‘House of Strombo’ show he had where he’d have bands literally come play in his kitchen/living room or basement. He had amazing acts like The Cult and even Behemoth perform there, but the Power Trip episode (which you can find here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fV0Wdjxyis&list=RD3fV0Wdjxyis&start_radio=1) is fucking amazing and shows the energy the band is known for and the energy Riley brought. That performance had me pop on their album ‘Nightmare Logic’ and get absolutely blasted by how phenomenal it is. It is a perfect example of melding thrash and hardcore together to produce this crossover music that you can’t help but mosh – no matter where you are.

I’m excited to see what the future brings, now that the surviving members have been joined by their new vocalist, Seth.

Stand out tracks – ‘Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)’, ‘Firing Squad,’ & ‘Nightmare Logic.’

Live – Unfortunately, no.

I – Between Two Worlds – 2006

Oddly, I’m not 100% sure how I came about discovering I’s one and only album, though I think it was from reading reviews in Metal Hammer magazine. I’ve always enjoyed Immortal, but it wasn’t until I discovered this album that I started listening to them in any sort of consistency.

I is a supergroup, made up of members of Immortal, Gorgoroth and Enslaved, who released this album and played a handful of concerts and then continued on with their usual bands, leaving all of us who FUCKING love this album desperate for more. Sure, Demonaz (who wrote the lyrics for the album) released his solo album ‘March of the Norse’ five years later and it has a very similar feel to ‘Between Two Worlds’ – hell, Ice Dale returns on here to play guitar and bass and Armagedda once again plays the drums – but it isn’t a true follow up.

‘Between Two Worlds’ feels much like Six Feet Under’s ‘Haunted’ album does. It’s that Death ‘n’ Roll rumbling that slows down what the members usually perform in their normal bands and focuses on rhythm, head banging and controlled riffs. This album slays from start to finish and if it wasn’t so perfect from note one to the very last, I’d have put ‘March of the Norse’ here instead, because while that album is phenomenal, this one is just a hair better.

Abbath has covered a couple I tracks in his own band, but even then the feel and flow just isn’t the same.

Stand out tracks – ‘Warriors,’ ‘Between Two World’s’ & ‘Far Beyond the Quiet.’

Live – Unfortunately, no.

Music has had a significant impact on my life for as long as I can remember.

Growing up, my parents always had music playing in our vehicles, often country like Johnny Cash, but as I got older, other things grabbed my attention.

I can still vividly remember two key moments in my young, music life.

The first was the Christmas I received a CD player boom box and 3 CDs. It was the first time I’d been given music as a gift, and it changed my life. I had that CD player for a few years before upgrading to the mega 6-disc changer!

Those first 3 CDs? Tiffany’s Greatest Hits, Alan Jackson’s ‘A Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ’bout Love),’ and Tom Petty’s ‘Into the Great Wide Open.’ I played those albums an insane amount in my bedroom, singing along at the top of my lungs.

The second key music moment was hearing our neighbour’s son – Bob Moody Jr. – blasting White Zombie’s ‘La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One’ maybe a year later. Bob was a few years older than I was, and he was the cool guy in my small town. At least in my eyes. He used to catwalk his BMX up and down the road in front of our house and on weekends he’d always have parties – teenagers galore with loud music blasting. He would lend me CDs of his (just like how his mom would lend me her Stephen King books) and his heavy metal loving music mind definitely influenced what I liked. I borrowed countless albums from him. From White Zombie to GnR to Rainbow Butt Monkeys to Bon Jovi and Judas Priest.

Not long after, I discovered Columbia House and from there, my music taste evolved and expanded. (If you’re not aware of what Columbia House was, it was a mail in CD/Cassette business, where you got like 30 CD’s for free to start with and then had to buy 5 over the next few years to fulfill your contract. It was amazing!)

So, while trying to figure out some content for here, I realized that I’d not spent much time sharing the music I love.

I’ve chosen 30 albums that I absolutely adore, though there are far more albums out there that could’ve easily made the list. Some I kept out simply because I wanted to only chose 30 and do three posts. Like The Crow soundtrack. What an amazing batch of songs that album has.

Today, I’m sharing the first two on my list (Which was put together without any particular order of which are my more favs of the others.). For each album, I’ll share how I came to discover the album and some of my fav tracks on the album!

Without further ado, here are the first two albums on my list.

Knocked Loose – A Different Shade of Blue – 2019

I’d previously heard Kentucky’s hardcore punk/metal band Knocked Loose on Liquid Metal before, with their song ‘Billy No Mates,’ and while I didn’t mind it, it didn’t grab me. That changed when their song ‘Mistakes Like Fractures’ was released, and I couldn’t help but bang my head.

It was frenetic, chaotic and an absolute monster, though in comparison to some of the other tracks on the album, it’s not even as heavy as they are. Usually, I’m not a fan of the vocalists screamo approach, for this album, and the subsequent releases they’ve had, it’s grown on me.

From the opening boom of ‘Belleville’ to the insanity that is ‘Forget Your Name’ which has a legendary guest appearance by Keith Buckley, the album simply fucking slams. Their subsequent EP’s and Albums have been solid, but ‘A Different Shade of Blue’ – in my opinion at least – is their perfect album.

Stand out tracks – ‘By the Grave,’ ‘Guided by the Moon’ & ‘Forget Your Name.’

Live – not yet!

Six Feet Under – Haunted – 1995

One of the first albums I ever snagged from Columbia House – which was purely because of the cover art – SFU’s ‘Haunted’ has been in constant rotation for me ever since it arrived. I wasn’t a fan of Cannibal Corpse back then, had never even really heard them before, so I wasn’t aware of who Chris Barnes was or that he’d been kicked out of CC or any of that drama. All I was aware of was when the first song – ‘The Enemy Inside’ – kicked in, I was in for a treat, and the album never relents. To this day, I still think this is the best SFU album they’ve released, though there are many, many solid releases in their discography. Barnes previously said that this album was Death ‘n’ Roll, and I have to agree. Mid-paced for the most part, each song chugs along and delivers atmospherically. There are a few faster bangers as well, but this showcases the band just as they rocketed into stardom and when Barnes was arguably the best death metal vocalist on the planet.

Stand out tracks – ‘Still Alive,’ ‘Human Target,’ & ‘Haunted.’

Live – sadly no!

Title: Final Boys

Author: John C. Foster

Release date: November 14th, 2025

*Huge thanks to John for sending me a digital copy of this one!*

When this book was announced, I was super stoked for it, purely because of the cover. Honestly, this is a book I’d have read no matter the description, purely because of what the cover suggests. Snow? I’m in. Skull? I’m in! Disheveled people displayed in ‘survival’ mode? I’M IN! Bloody tracks in said snow? YES, YES, I’M IN!

I have this on my ‘to buy list’ and planned on snagging it here this month in my monthly eBook budget I have. (Hey, if I didn’t have an eBook monthly budget, I’d bankrupt us faster than you could blink!) But John reached out to me to ask if I’d like a review copy and knowing I’d be buying this anyways, I agreed, wanting to get this read ASAP for him.

It’s been a number of years since John and I connected, and I’m a fan of his blend of gritty horror. Everything he writes feels like it’s written by an old private investigator smoking a cigar in a dusty office that happens to have a ghost. And I say that without any hint of suggesting John’s old!

What I liked: A group of long time friends meet up at a remote cabin in the middle of nowhere for a sort of intervention. A mental health intervention if you will. One of the friends recently attempted to take his own life, so the group decides to get together, have some laughs and some drinks, in the hopes that being their for their friend will help him.

Unbeknownst to them, the cabin lies near a small town with a mysterious past. One night, everyone disappeared. Some say madness, others a government conspiracy and others UFO’s.

On top of that, the caretaker of the place, a young woman named Lila, is just breaking free of being a member of an extreme cult called Name of God, or NOG.

Foster sets things up nicely, giving us a little bit about each of the characters – for example, the writer Jackson, who recently lost an eye. The group is rounded out nicely and we feel like we’ve known these guys forever, for better and for worse.

Soon though, things start to stack up. A storm rolls in, the story of the nearby town is revealed and, after two hunters have a run in with the group, things start to unravel.

I found myself zipping through this, even as things grow sinister, and then, after a wounded coyote arrives, the body count begins. The arrival of the coyote is a firm turning point. Up until that moment, there’s the threat of violence. A hint of things to come. And once the animal is there, the match is lit and tossed onto the kindling, a fire bursting to life.

It becomes a case of who will survive – hence the title – and we see each member fight – and often fail – to survive against what it is that’s behind this. The culprit/culprits were a lot of fun and their method of killing and decapitation made for some truly gruesome scenes.

The ending was also a ton of fun. There’s a change of location, which allows for some unique set pieces to be put into play and Foster doesn’t squander any of it.

What I didn’t like: A couple things stuck out for me. The first was that the cult element was fairly unnecessary. If it was removed completely, the story wouldn’t change and I was expecting far more from it. If you had Lila be a woman fleeing an abusive ex and they came after her, the story would play out exactly the same with Yomiel’s role.

Secondly, learning the ‘why’ of our crazy killers was fantastic, but I wished it was a bit earlier on, so that we kind of knew what the characters would be up against. Very minor, but with where it was placed in the book, it almost felt like an afterthought.

And lastly – and this one could 100% just be me missing this – but I felt like there were a few things with our characters that we never learned and that would’ve heightened the story. How did Jackson lose his eye? Why was the one character’s nickname Friar? And why did Raymond attempt to take his own life? Would’ve loved to have these discussed and re-referenced a few times as it would’ve really elevated the friendship/group element.

Why you should buy this: Look, I’m pretty much game for anything that has those check box ticks that I listed above. You have a book set in an isolated cabin in a snowstorm and people need to survive? I’m all in and if you love that stuff as well – this one is PERFECT for you!

And, if you love reading cold-weather thriller/horror novels when the snow hits or December rolls around, then this book will be right up your alley.

Foster’s delivered a high-octane, fast-paced thriller set in an isolated, storm battered world. What more could you possibly want? Oh yeah, how about crazy things that come to kill ’em all! SOLD!

This was fantastic!

Title: Little Horn: Stories

Author: Gemma Files

Release date: October 14th, 2025

Welcome to a mild rebrand/relaunch to my reviews. I was chatting with someone else recently on IG about ‘branding’ and such and figured I’d try to see if this little tweak from ‘Book Review’ to ‘Stred Reviews’ can help get more eyes on the books I share with my reviews! We’ll see!

First up, is ‘Little Horn: Stories’ by Canadian Master, Gemma Files.

It’s funny, because Gemma’s novel ‘Experimental Film,’ was a book I initially DNF’d, but then returned to try it once again and absolutely loved it. I had a lot of fun with her ‘A Book of Tongues’ novel, so when I saw she had a new short story collection coming, I decided I’d buy that and make it my next read from her.

Safe to say, Gemma’s a pro at long fiction and the short stuff, because each of these stories is nuanced, layered and bleak.

What I liked: Featuring fourteen stories – ranging from some shorter, quick reads to novelette length, Gemma weaves us through tales that all work to really grab your spine and crush it between bloody knuckles. Even some stories that begin a little bit on the brighter side soon turn black and grow blacker with each additional word added. It made for a heavy, heavy experience reading through these. I think the last time a collection was really this devoid of anything resembling a smile was ‘The Nameless Dark’ by T.E. Grau.

From the starting block, the first story sets us up nicely. ‘The Sanguintalist’ follows a necromancer on an investigation. This one just might be the story with ‘the most fun’ as it covers urban fantasy and horror equally. From that point on, its all bleakly downhill.

My favorite stories were;

– ‘Only Children’ – This was a very subtle story, but also blindingly horrendous. It follows a woman, now a mother, who as a child was the only one of her friends who didn’t go missing after they went to a specific place in their town. Stories of the boogeyman have remained over centuries, and Files highlights those, while also keeping it within the walls of what this story is telling. The woman seemingly managed to snap a photo of the boogeyman and so she educates her own son, about what to look for, as she believes the thing may come for him. Though, there may also be, other, more sinister motives behind her actions.

This would’ve been my favorite story of the collection if it wasn’t for one other one that absolutely hit every note for me, but I’ll discuss that one shortly. This story felt like an entire film wrapped up in five-thousand words and was dripping in palpable tension.

– ‘Hagstone’ – one of a handful of epistolary/mixed media stories within this collection, ‘Hagstone’ follows a woman analyzing and transferring old movie reels for what she believes is a job simply to have the film re-released as a limited Blu-ray. Told through emails between herself and a colleague as well as text and phone transcriptions and a few essay parts, we see this woman and her colleague uncover the true reasons and layered elements to why the film was even made and what it was trying to accomplish.

It was a slow-burn escalation as one character descends into madness and the story itself with absolutely remind readers of ‘Experimental Film’ on a number of levels. I think, for me personally, this one worked even more, or was heightened that much more, because of what I’d previously read with ‘Experimental Film.’

– ‘Little Horn’ – unabashed religious horror. I’ll actually leave it at that. It’s the final story in the collection and it easily caught me off guard and made me happy to see it wasn’t a throw away track at the end of an album. Unflinching.

– ‘Poor Butcher-Bird’ – if you know me, you know I do love me some brutal cult fiction and this one morphs from what seems like a straight ahead cult initiation story into something involving another subgenre and turns the story that much more bloody and sinister. A woman meets up with a cult she seemingly wants to join. It’s from there that she herself fakes them out, in order to be joined by her own ‘master.’ I’d be curious to know how many buckets of fake blood would need to be used if this story was to ever be filmed, because Gemma had no qualms with eviscerating everyone.

And now, time for my favorite story of the entire collection – and I need to add that this might be one of the best short stories you’ll ever read. It’s one of the best short stories I’ve ever read, that’s for certain.

‘Echo Chamber.’

– ‘Echo Chamber’ – another epistolary based story, we follow a woman on an obsessive hunt for an mp3 file of a lost song. A former film star became an Avant Garde artist and musician. Urban legend has it that they only performed this specific song one time, at their final show ever, deep in a set of caves. During the show, every attendee blacked out, coming back while dancing and the musician was gone, never to be seen again.

Within the story, we learn of a single episode of an old entertainment-style show that obtained a copy of the song and played it, but the episode either never aired, or was only aired once and was destroyed, depending on whom you believe. Additionally, the host suffered a mental breakdown after hearing the song within the performance.

It all leads us to an intricate look at plagues, songs that become popular or are created around plague times and as each new section is shared – whether an email back and forth or DM transcription or text messages between people – the creep factor goes up exponentially. It was such an unsettling read and one that I’ll be thinking about for a long, long time.

What I didn’t like: While I did really enjoy every story, I will say – as always is the case – I struggle a lot with epistolary storytelling and this collection had a number of stories that utilize that method of storytelling. It’s a mode of storytelling that’ll often keep me at a distance or completely turn me off of what’s happening. In this case of the collection, two such stories really connected with me, which I was very happy with.

Why you should buy this: Gemma is easily one of the best writers out there currently, creating stories with depth, dread and layered sociopolitical commentary. Her writing is sublime and the way she tells her stories, you can decide to just enjoy the story itself, or, you can spend time making notes and looking deeper within the subtext that resides between each and every word.

This collection is a must read for all dark fiction lovers and I’d make the case that this one should be read just so you can experience ‘Echo Chamber’ in all of its glory.

Absolutely loved this collection.

Title: False Prophet

Author: Dave Jeffery

Release date: October 3rd, 2025

I’ve long been a fan of Dave’s through his stellar ‘A Quiet Apocalypse’ series and his great werewolf novel, ‘Tooth and Claw.’ I still need to get to reading his ‘Frostbite’ series, but when I saw he had a novel coming out through Eerie River, I was stoked to check it out and quickly pre-ordered it.

A few years back now, I read (and really loved) Clive Barker’s ‘Next Testament’ comic series. When I saw this one announced, I was curious if this was a similar idea. Of a God among men type situation, though it soon became apparent when I read the synopsis it wasn’t going down that road. Still, between the cover art and the synopsis, I was very curious to see if we’d see some of that territory and knowing how well Jeffery weaves mental health topics into his books, I couldn’t wait to dive in.

What I liked: The story follows Ray, a man whom you’d believe to be just a normal guy. He works a demanding job in administration, overseeing a team, and has been happily married (for the most part) to his love, Denise. But he also hides a secret. Though he tells his wife that it’s a form of Epilepsy, in truth, he has crazy, apocalyptic visions and lately, they’ve been happening more frequently.

We soon learn that his wife had an affair, and the man she cheated on Ray with doesn’t want it to end. As well, Ray’s team has some issues going on Eloise is being stalked by a cleaner in their building, while Mike secretly loves Eloise, all the while keeping his craft-making ability to himself, hoping to share it with Eloise when he gets up the nerve to share how he feels with her.

Jeffery blends the stories together, snapping back and forth between Ray’s increasing visions, Denise’s attempts to get rid of her former fling and Eloise, Mike and the stalker’s triangle of strangeness.

It all comes to a head when Ray has a vision during a big presentation. It’s these visions that really drive his breakdown, his inability to determine what is real and what isn’t and it was a fascinating look at psychosis and how the brain reacts when reality becomes blurred and someone snaps. His boss insists he go get checked out and when Denise won’t answer her phone, Ray tracks her down, leading to a final confrontation that ties back into the opening of the novel.

As well, we see how Jeffery handles the trio and their storylines and it made for a fun – and subtle – sleight of hand between how we think things are going to go and what actually happens.

It’ll keep the reader on their toes and ultimately made for a very engaging final quarter of the book.

Throughout, Jeffery’s warm writing voice carries the story, making for a world where I easily fell into and was more than happy to revisit over a handful of reading sessions.

What I didn’t like: It’s going to sound odd, but I’m still not sure why we had the Eloise/Mike/Stalker storyline. It didn’t connect to Ray’s story other than the fact that Eloise and Mike worked under Ray. I kind of wish that storyline was it’s own story completely, as I wanted to know more and more about Ray and his visions and Denise and her own story. The Eloise/Mike/Stalker aspect was great and engaging, but when the two are held up together, side by side, they feel very disconnected.

Why you should buy this: If you’re looking for a really engaging story about marital stress, trying to find common ground and dealing with something unsaid between partners, Dave has nailed that here. If you’re also looking for a story about coworkers, uncomfortable situations and confronting a situation head on, Dave’s also nailed that here.

And, if you’re looking for a fast-paced story about a man dealing with uncontrolled visions featuring potentially Biblical beings who give him instructions and details that he really shouldn’t be able to know on his own, look no further.

Jeffery’s ‘False Prophet’ was engaging, exciting and veered awfully close to careening off the tracks, except Dave’s masterful storytelling mind kept it on the rails, benefiting the reader and the outcome.

This was a lot of fun and a novel that’ll stick with me for some time.