We have reached the 50th chapter of the diary and we have a special guest for this one. Aaron Rieseberg's musical journey is one that only a fan could dream of, talking about finding his musical outlets as a native Oregonian, getting to know YOB well before joining as a fan at practice sessions, cutting his teeth with his first band, Bureau of Minds, pulling together disparate influences in Norska, learning how to adapt to YOB style and teaching himself to balance the pocket, Mike Scheidt's karaoke secrets, how staying communal with music keeps his love of it going, why YOB can headline a small festival or open for Tool, his dream tours, and covering Kate Bush on Two Minutes to Late Night.

Photo by Tinnitus Photography

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Song featured is "The Screen" by YOB off Our Raw Heart

Perhaps to the chagrin of some, today's chapter celebrates the birthday of our cipher, so he invited returning guests August West and Vater Boris on to talk about some of their favorite records of the year so far. They also diss on man buns, see Jason Voorhee's band, smoke out the cops, figure out Trump's inner body defense, do Celebrity Jeopardy impressions for the millionth time, toke up with cool uncles, dine pretentiously with T-Rex's, reveal Frank Reynold's theory of how Trump got COVID, go to the Primitive Man pool party, find some crack pipe life hacks, dismiss Portnoy's (camera) complaint, and get quietly excited for the new Macabre album.

Bands Discussed:

• Napalm Death - Throes of Joy in the Wake of Defeatism

Legalize Recreational Riffs shirts can be found here.

Cincinnati's Grey Host gathered together for the first time in a while, not only to enjoy some quality virtual time with each other, but also to talk about how they were exposed to metal from Ace Ventura, the long, porky history of their hometown, forming the band over Skyline chili, using keys and synths to expand their sound, crafting their own album art, the Ohio metal scene, and good Conan the Barbarian vs. bad Conan the Barbarian.

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Track featured is "Hunter's Ascent" off of The Barrow Path

No, not that old joke again (looking at you, Santos from Old Man Gloom)! We've got the impeccable artist Santos in house this week to talk about sucky art teachers, using lyrics to articulate imagery, playing the hell out of the Heavy Metal soundtrack, Steve Brodsky's love of turtles, how High on Fire helped kick his art career off the ground, getting into the psyche of musicians, making the slow loris the most metal cute animal, and Quack Metal (don't ask, just look).

You can pick up Quack Metal shirts here and check out more Santos stuff over at his Big Cartel page (with new shit to come!).

Jeremy Hunt of the experimental noise rock group Qoheleth joins the cipher this week to discuss how he learned to comprehend music through John Williams, that Floor is the least Florida thing about Floorida, writing his dissertation on the evolution of heavy music, his love of horror movies by way of Freaked, and seeing the current state of things through the lens of horror.

Qoheleth did the soundtrack for a five-minute short, Black and White Electric Light, which you can check out here.

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Song featured is "Tombs of White" off of God is the Warmest Place to Hide

Abandoning his presumed actual home at a drive-in movie theater, Vater Boris waxes potently on old smoking habits, snacking with the dead, who wins in the one-man black metal vs. one-man doom metal band battle, getting an education on Sabbath over morning coffee, decides if DejaGravy is Satanic OM or cat scan metal or eerie basement jams, finds the humor and beauty in horror, instigates positive subliminal messaging, why R.I.P. should open for GWAR, and more bad NJ opinions, all the while the cipher gets an education in Marilyn Manson, horror surf, and what a carbuncle is. Google at your own risk!

Band Discussed - R.I.P.

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Song featured is "Cabin Fever featuring Kevin Goon" off of Carcosa

Dual shredders Leanne Martz and Gina Gleason manage to save our cipher's ass more than once while dialing in to talk about their new project, Darling, also featuring Dorthia Cottrell of Windhand. They talk about picking up new instruments to keep their creative edge, how Gina learned the blues (on VHS), when Leanne found a 1968 Gibson SG Melody Maker in the trash, going from Guitar Center to School of Rock, and who has the best buttz in doom.

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Song featured is "Baptists"