Nick Holmes, the stalwart gothic metal pioneer is a right ‘gobby’ bloke (for someone who's boring after three pints of lager, as described in his own self-deprecating Twitter bio) – it’s a requisite for the job as singer in the morose doom metal outfit Paradise Lost. In the early 1990s in Yorkshire, Paradise Lost seemingly channeled the lament of long-haired youth who were witnessing their metal greats blundering about aimlessly as grunge invaded the popular consciousness. In comparison, grunge’s flirtation with despondency was piecemeal in comparison to the UK doom scene’s dyed-in-the-wool, consummate romance with bleakness and sorrow.
Review: Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light (Metal as Fuck)
Writing: Australia Day - And What it Means to Us (Onya Magazine)
(By Editor Sandi Sieger with contributions from the Onya Team)
I’m in the business of celebrating Australia every day. Being Editor-In-Chief of this magazine means I see, do, taste and feel so much of this great land every day of the week. So when I sat down to think about the meaning of Australia Day, I was a little stuck. It’s just another day, after all.
Sure, there’ll be a lot of stereos beating to the sound of Triple J’s Hottest 100. There’ll be a lot of barbeques sizzling with snags and steaks, and tops being twisted off bottles, and corks being popped. There’ll be Australian flags emblazoned on windows and cars and tattooed on the shoulders and backs of the citizens of this country. But what about it should matter?