[Heavy News] They Could Not Kill The Metal: #MusicMonday Musolegion Edition
DISCLAIMER FOR CONFUSED NEWCOMERS DRAWN BY SEO AND OTHER TECH-MAGICK:
For those of you completely new to Inner-Strength Check, I need to explain several things as it probably sounds like a very (?!) title to come out of nowhere.
Heavy News is our categorical moniker for any music-related news pieces, promotional updates, album teasers etc.
It just also happens to be a convenient (and bad) pun, given our tendency to post a lot of heavy genres on ISC.
That said, you don’t need to scatter like a buncha late 80’s Satanic PMRC Boomers if ‘ThAT ScReAMo MuSiC’ tears your soul to shreds.
(Personally, it soothes and calms mine, but anyhow…)
Not only are we offering a wide spread of genres in Monday’s weekly segment, we also have a very wide breadth of topics on offer overall.
Funnily enough, with a dearth of content overall other than old posts (trying to be thorough and chronological here, as much as possible), we’re lacking on that aspect thus far.
C’mahn.
It’s a week-old site, dude.
I’m busy manually resurrecting hundreds of articles and images paragraphs at a time. It’s taken days just to get a few up!
Whaddyawant?
Post-Script: If you truly subscribe to the ol’ ‘heavy music bad/evil’ trope we won’t the podcast/blog for you, TBH.
Just to be clear.
FROM THE LEGION 06/01/2025 - aka REGIONAL VICTORIAN HUNGER. (I’m hungry lol)
nomnomnom feed me blastbeats nomnomnom. No, I’m being serious. FEED. ME. BLASTBEATS.
For those of you familiar with ISC - welcome back, and welcome to our inaugural #MusicMonday!
Normally, we scatter this weekly segment with a whole host of news updates, updates on what myself and other ISC crew have been working on musically and all other manner of random caper.
However, due to the frankly exhausting effort that is resurrecting 4 years’ worth of content brick-by-brick, and my intention to really get cracking on MANY 2024-related articles and podcast episodes… I’ll keep today targeted and brief.
We capped 2024 off with a send-off dedicated to my much beloved online music community, Musolegion.
Brendo was kind enough to have me join his admin team in 2018 (?) and I’ve been involved ever since.
From that time, Musolegion has grown from a few hundred in number to yeesh, a LITERAL legion! As of today, we have 2,000+ members. Which is something myself and the admin team are more than stoked about!
Furthermore, ML has expanded beyond just a Facebook group presence - there’s a dedicated and active Discord server, Youtube playlists, Spotify playlists and even its’ very own official website! Plus Bandcamp and a heap more.
There’s big plans for 2025 where the group is concerned. Particulary with respect to group engagement but also more good stuff in the works for the blog!
In essence, that’s what I want to focus on for today.
#1 MUSOLEGION RECOMMMENDS (AOTY EDITION)
I put a whole heap of effort into a Finnish-focused segment right on Christmas time, so that’ll be coming up later on as I get to said post.
Rather than continue dithering from my perspective, why don’t you go be a good little metalhead and go check out what albums were loved most by the Legion? (Link below).
We crowdsourced thoughts from the FB group, Discord, our admin channel and more to synthesise as many folks’ individual recommendations as possible!
Sigh, fine. Fuck.
If smartphones have really melted your brain so much you’re insistent on leaving the hyperlink unread… 1. I get it, and 2. I’ll summarise what ended up as a broad spread overall.
Basically everything was up for album-of-the-year contention - which is unsurprising given our onus on people promoting whatever music they’re into!
From Admin (and immovable-force-in-the-pit-IRL) Sammy’s death-metal focussed picks (Carnosus, Hideous Divinity, et al), Admin ‘Bro, I guarantee you my stretchers are bigger’ and recent entrant to Dadosphere Ash (CONGRATS!)’s sentimental reflection mixed with similar extremity (Fulci, Oranssi Pazuzu, Vitriol) right through to a smorgasbord of admin/community selections (i.e. everything from heavy/power/trad metal in Sabaton, Dolmen Gate and Cemetery Skyline through to folk-metal (Ensiferum) and slam (Disentomb)) - it’s a veritable metal-charcuterie!
Hop on in via the link HERE to check it out!
I SAID, HOP. IN.
#2 MUSOLEGION RECOMMENDS (POLAND EDITION)
Break out the pierogi’s.
Fire up those dusty Polandball comics.
Chuckle at Nergal doing yoga poses on Instagram. IDK. It’s been A Day.
Speaking of this day - Musolegion’s tireless admins also sought community input on their recommendations of all great things heavy and Polish. Of which there’s a great amount, fortunately!
Something we instated briefly around the time of That Whole Thing With A Bug From Wuhan came along and messed up our plans/lives for a bit, we had a regular spotlight on specific nations in the Facebook group.
Well, like any great entity, Musolegion cannot simply (Boromir voice, sans untimely death - thanks) be contained to just the increasingly-irreverent, AI-slop-and-sponsored-post-beleaguered pile of dung that is Facebook. Especially not in 2024.
Thus, we spread our wings together into the blogosphere. Always twirling, twirling towards victory!
But in non-kitsch-millenial-Simpsons-cringe-nostalgia seriousness - there’s a whole slew of great recommendations on offer here from myself, the Admin team and of course, our wonderful Legion.
Matter of fact, c’mere. No, seriously. Get over here.
Here’s an introduction to the Musolegion…-iverse!
Still on the horrendous walled-garden ecosystem known as Facebook? Good, so am I, and myself and the admins + many others have fantastic conversations, link-sharing, discussions, polls, promo, and much much more in this space.
As mentioned in my send-off last year (whereby ISC.com died literally hours later, grrr) - Musolegion is one of the biggest bastions of the platform for me. For at least a few years, it’s been one of my primary motivations to keep the social media platform.
No joke. Unless I’m over-sharing or sharing dumb, cooked shit on my own feed, or working on ISC stuff, or scoping out upcoming gigs? I’m pretty much landing at the Musolegion FB group. And that’s not to perform admin/mod duties (the bulk of that’s handled in our admin chat/comms), that’s to scope out the great array of bands, posts and new music finds on offer.
It’s a welcome and inclusive community, and very self-regulating with such a fine group of people. Obviously we don’t suffer fools, so your usual Internet-etiquette applies.
(Reptilian Big Tech Overlord Not Included. Well, technically included. You get me.)
Exhibit B: The Discord Server
[redacted, classified. Please get in touch with myself here and/or via the Musolegion website if you’d like to join. Obviously it’s nigh-on genocide to any public server to leave it to the behest of being made public on larger websites. Get in touch with me or the team via any of these links if you’d like to join!]
Similar deal with Discord re: Facebook, for me. I’ve been really overwhelmed for quite some time and thus whilst my Discord engagement is a bit down for ML, the server itself isn’t.
We have multiple channels for music recommendations, musicians’ chat, topical channels for gaming/media etc AND (seeing as we have a stance on NOT making our FB Group an outlet for shitposting) even a meme channel!
Want In?
Ask Us! Oh, and Homers ARE Welcome.
You Want More?!
Here - have a Youtube Channel, which includes both domestic (Australian) and International playlists.
Ohhh, tough guy eh?
Righto - here’s our Australian and International playlists on Spotify. It goes without saying that we actively encourage input from fans AND artists for both of these!
Not done yet? Wise guy, ah?
Try on a subreddit for size. Yes, we’re even on goddamn Reddit.
Ohh, more? Clever girl!
Chomp on some Bandcamp while you’re at it!
Something fresher for m’sir/madam?
Well, our official Instagram account just launched (thanks Joseph, proper right good job, gov!)
Appetite not yet sated?
Then you obviously haven’t been Legion-ing, ‘cause there’s a lot of a lot. But not overwhelmingly so, either - the Facebook group, Discord server and blog constitute the majority of our online activity.
From far and wide, the Legion will rise - and welcome you with open and stoked arms!
To the Musolegion community, I am a broken record but - thank you. Thank you for being such a pivotal community for me in the online space.
To the Admins - mad respect, brethren.
To YOU - join us.