In the Netherlands we're finding that more and more bands are outspoken in their defense and support of queer people in the scene, and that's part of the way. Start new bands, crowd out and shut out the hateful and bigoted elements, create a new reality together.

It's IDAHOBIT, and want to express all our love for and give strength to people suffering in an increasingly queerphobic world. Obviously this struggle is very much alive in metal, and especially in black metal. If you make black metal unwelcome or unsafe for queer people, fuck off.

Not your usual black metal show.

The last time we saw black metal at Lowlands was in the year 2000 when Abbath was playing in the midday sun screaming THE FUCKING SUN IS KILLING ME!! CAN YOU SAY FUCK THE SUN!!!

Guess who's been announced to play mfing LOWLANDS @lowlands-fest.bsky.social today!

After many years of overwhelming 190 BPM torrents of fury with @terzijdehorde.bsky.social, to sing quietly and from a place of vulnerability, tapping into a kind of aloneness, has been quite a trip. And I've honestly been more hesitant to share it as a result. Trying to get over that.

Friends, as you'll have seen, I recently released a debut EP for a dark/experimental folk project @sunlightaltar.bsky.social with my long time friend Jayant Makhan. I have little experience finding reviewers in this style. Would love to get suggestions. sunlightaltar.bandcamp.com/album/twilig...

Really enjoyed the EP, can't wait to see what they come up with next...

Our first EP is just out but we are already quite far with the next project. Working on this music is really a vibe. Lots to explore, curious to see where it will take us. Still enjoying the photos we took in the late winter darkness with Lisanne Lentink.

We have just a few limited tapes left from @fiadh.bsky.social! Get some ghostly folk this Bandcamp Friday: sunlightaltar.bandcamp.com/album/twilig...

Another one in the series for the same commission, made today. Happy with how this turned out. #art #metal

Watched Kill List yesterday to see what @untidymusic.com was referencing here, and yeah, I could see it (or hear it). What a unique slide across genres. bsky.app/profile/joos...

Get our tape now!

We have just a few limited tapes left from @fiadh.bsky.social! Get some ghostly folk this Bandcamp Friday: sunlightaltar.bandcamp.com/album/twilig...

Turning away from beauty. New project for an album cover commission. #art #metal

I did an experiment today at the start of two courses I coordinate. I showed this personal statement about the world I would like to see. I did it to open a discussion about genuine desire for a different world, and how we self-censor this, even to ourselves, for fear of being naive or unrealistic.

Love Teardrinker so much - they're really opening up a painful and beautiful space, so needed in today's world. Get it now from the wonderful @fiadh.bsky.social

Paul Verhagen took a picture of the best feeling in the world.

What a @roadburnfest.bsky.social. So grateful to have played our set + spit fire with two Integrity covers. Thanks everyone who came to see us when the surprise dropped. Shout out to our wonderful friends from Teardrinker and Lijkschouwer ❤️ really feels like we're creating a new reality together.

We could not be more honored to announce the beginning or our collaboration with Rotterdam-based screamo/post-hardcore/sludge outfit Teardrinker. Coming off a powerful performance at @roadburnfest.bsky.social, we immediately heard incredible feedback from US friends who were moved by the experience.

Very inspiring.

And you can listen to this album here: kallai.bandcamp.com/album/we-are... #FeatureFriday is presented by: @untidymusic.com @eveyweveydevey.bsky.social @randomdeadbird.satan.social and me! With thanks to @katesattler.bsky.social We hope you enjoy what we have for you today. Have a great Friday!

The family's over today, so the new music will have to wait. ☹️ But here are 4 albums I will HAVE to listen to on Saturday. Links below, if you'd like to beat me to them.

it’s 𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔡𝔥 𝔣𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔞𝔶 🗡️ abriction - Forbidden Bounds (lp) Hefnfelth - One Small Quest/Lofi Spells in the Moonlight (cs) Rune Scimitar - Cure for Enchanted Wounds (cs) Sunken Basilica/Spife - The Churn Beneath (cs) @mossknightcometh.bsky.social - Songs for Spring (spring ‘26 sub cs) 📷 source moodsby_v

The thing is with An Untidy Mind the music I get to play is fucking cool. The combination of playing stuff from the crates at the back of my addled brain and the brilliant submissions the station receives is a fucking thrill. untidyradio.com

Support small teams of people trying to move mountains. We know from @fossielvrijnl.bsky.social that it's possible.

Starting the sixtieth Starter Pack with all the bands, orchestras, independent labels, and musicians I can find on Blue Sky! Please have a look, follow some or all of them, and share this pack here and in other places! This is a work in progress and will be updated! go.bsky.app/Fpn2Qwm

I'd like to add my favorite podcasters @duckfeedtv.bsky.social because they've done amazing work for trans causes for forever and I remember them really opening my eyes way back when. All while making the absolute best podcasts about games, films and more. Go check them out: duckfeed.tv

@wolvendaughter.bsky.social is an absolute powerhouse, @janjupiter.bsky.social is an amazing artist, anything @ameokama.bsky.social does is essential, and every song @daisygoldmi.bsky.social releases is essential listening.

Today is trans day of visibility. All the love to our 🏳️‍⚧️ friends in dangerous and difficult times. Post your favorite trans artists (musicians, writers, game designers, film makers..), or your own work, and we'll share. We'll start: @teardrinker.bsky.social: teardrinkerband.bandcamp.com

For Trans Day of Visibility, I'd like to highlight the fantastic trans musicians I met in the last two years on here. All of them are amazing artists and I'm very proud to call some of them my friends. Here are 8 I've listened to today, but there are so, so many more!

Very glad our words connected as much with you as your music did with us! ❤️

Some very cool reflections/reviews by @florgoth.bsky.social, @eveyweveydevey.bsky.social and @untidymusic.com on @joostvervoort.bsky.social's project @sunlightaltar.bsky.social with @fiadh.bsky.social. Take a look:

' Shuffling, hunched, shamanic and enticing. [..] If this was a movie I’d watch the shit out of it. The more I listen the more I am impressed.' ❤️

'It feels folk horror, it has that cinematic sound design, that sensibility. I could hear this on Ben Wheatley’s Kill List or The Witch by Robert Eggers'

And review 3 by @untidymusic.com: 'Dark folk. It almost feels invasive to listen to. Like you have stumbled into some ancient dwelling and ritual. Dark, menacing, crushingly intimate. The sense of space and atmosphere is palpable.'

'Kinda reminds me of Nick Drake in places, both musically as well as in the vocal delivery at times. And add to that the lovely vibrato that the vocalist at times employs and it just gives the vocal performance such a gorgeous sense of frailty. Quite moving.'

Review 2 by @eveyweveydevey.bsky.social : 'while it all sounds very beautiful and melancholic it is drenched in quite a dark gloomy atmosphere. In that way, I would highly recommend this to fans of doom Metal, as this is basically akin to funeral doom in tone but without the walls of distortion.'

'It’s an almost meditative, timeless sound, something to get lost and drift in for a few minutes. There is a lot of emotion in this, but it is a subdued one; distant and mournful. And it sounds simply fantastic!'

'Vocalist Joost Vervoort’s bright and clear, yet almost aspirated voice is very centered and adds to the feeling of witnessing a ritual of some kind. He sounds aloof and distant, with a slight melancholia.'

These reviews of our EP are really hitting home. 'These five songs feel almost sacred and unworldly, like music you would expect to hear at a religious ceremony. The question, however, would be which religion we are talking about here.' ❤️🔥 @fiadh.bsky.social @florgoth.bsky.social

#featurefriday this week is the excellent Twilight Altar by @sunlightaltar.bsky.social Dark cinematic folk. Check out our reviews here. www.untidydownloads.com/featurefrida... #darkfolk #music #musicsky #diy #folkhorror

#featurefriday where I discovered the beautiful yet hauntingly dark 'Twilight Altar' by @sunlightaltar.bsky.social Here are our reviews... www.untidydownloads.com/featurefrida...

And you can listen to this album here: sunlightaltar.bandcamp.com/album/twilig... #FeatureFriday is presented by: @untidymusic.com @eveyweveydevey.bsky.social @randomdeadbird.satan.social and myself! We hope you'll enjoy what we have for you today. Have a great Friday!

Happy #FeatureFriday, folks! This is the day of the week, where we snatch up an album by a BlueSky artist and present it to you. Today we have something that can put you in a meditative state: "Twilight Altar" by @sunlightaltar.bsky.social! You can read our reviews here:

#FeatureFriday My favorite song from @sunlightaltar.bsky.social's "Twilight Altar" is the third track "This Body Is The Heart of a Portal". It has this massive sensation of space, while @joostvervoort.bsky.social's vocals are sounding their most sacred and ritualistic.

NO GAMES FOR GENOCIDE. All Will Rise returned a significant contract with Microsoft and won't be publishing their game on XBox because of their active support of genocide. Hope it gets more people on board with this. Read the story below:

And I was very surprised to hear @cinderwellmusic.bsky.social's music for the show - she also collaborated with us on @terzijdehorde.bsky.social's new album. Feels like many worlds colliding. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkt4...

Shelved by genre is GOOD. Some of the best @rangedtouch.bsky.social work with @ckunzelman.bsky.social @ztul.bsky.social and @austinwalker.bsky.social just going off on their reads of book series. Gained a new appreciation of the Hobbit and those Tolkien letters, especially the ones about planes.