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I've got huge blindspots in many music styles and I just cannot figure out why I didn't notice this band earlier.  With lead singer Phil Anselmo, of Pantera fame, you may wonder how I could miss this band at all...  Anyway, I discovered today's song while listening to a new metal show on Willy Radio presented by Andries Beckers.  Andries is a well-known guitarist in bands like Born From Pain (hardcore) and Diablo Blvd (metal-hard rock).  His show has allowed me to make some discoveries.  It has also confirmed that the majority of metal music doesn't really connect with me.   So from a recent show, here's the band Down.  They released their debut album "NOLA" way back in 1995 when grunge was already dying.  They introduced an exciting mix of genres I like a lot: some hardcore punk, southern rock, stoner rock and grunge. This songs last 20 seconds or so are so epic that you just have to put this song on repeat.  And then it becomes just better and better. Do

Nobody knows the identity of the members of this band.  There are 5 and we suspect them to be Flemish as the band hails from Steendorp in Belgium.  The band name is the literal translation from Dutch to French. This music immediately catches you and takes you on a wordless journey.  Where to?  I don't know, but it is dark and somehow mesmerizing. Another band best enjoyed in a pitch dark room with your amp a tad too loud to be comfortable.   Their debut album caused a stir in the Belgian metal scene when they buried 20 CDs somewhere in Flanders, only to be found through piecemeal publication of their location through GPS coordinates. Every song they publish is an "akte", from their new third album, I give you Akte XII. Akte XII - Briqueville  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jzo6rq_cNQ

In this case the punch comes from one of the best ways to teach about intolerance and xenophobia and to what it leads. We need stories to learn.  And this story is about the lynching in the South of the US in the interbellum (between the two world wars).  Add a soul singer and a fantastic music score and the impact of this cannot be underestimated. For those who don't know the poem written by Abel Meeropol in 1937 and first put to song by Billie Holiday in 1939, check this out . Next week I will try to find you some light entertainment. I promise. Bettye LaVette - Strange Fruit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hEuQyWFBQs

Now that daylight is getting shorter we need help to keep the chill out of our soul.  A great way to help with this comes with the gems created by Jonathon Linaberry, better known as The Bones of J.R. Jones.  Here's a couple of his songs which will find a way to warm you and stay with you for a long time.  As ever, use proper audio equipment, because these are well produced and great sounding pearls for our ears. The Bones of J.R. Jones - The Heat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuYynruLwJ8 The Bones of J.R. Jones - Sing Sing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYOQ4w9EXzI