no I just have really good douchedar
Besides… Gaming, technology, anime and manga. I run, originally it was for fitness but now I do it because It’s actually fun.
I know this says geek hobbies but does gardening count?
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Haha, I was scared at first, but I know what I am capabke of of what my bakkie can do. Only once did I try an obstacle i had doubts about, nearly rolled the bakkie and decided I have nothing to prove. If I dont want to do an obstacle, then I wont. No amount of pressure will change my mind.
Most of the trips I do is only level 3 max 4, so low range is required. Its ina group in a scenic location like a goat trail in the Midlands or through a game reserve. That makes the trip more fun too.
@oltman I know AlphaJohn (is he on here yet?) is also super into LEGO. I have a secret passion for it as well, but don’t buy it. Every so often I’ll visit EuroBricks and have a look at the astounding MOCs some of the people end up building. I also like seeing the official expert range sets that LEGO releases (like that new Millenium Falcon).
Hobby-wise, I used to love collecting rare Christian metal albums. Stuff that’s usually boxed and individually numbered. I stopped around 7-8 years ago due to life priorities and little spare cash and haven’t started again since. No it’s a case of little spare time, which I just enjoy jumping into a game and escaping reality for an hour or so.
I’m with you on this one. Besides smoking weed my other hobbies are reading (is that a hobby) and playing guitar (definitely a hobby).
That sounds like an amazing hobby.
Aside from gaming, drumming and LEGO.
Sarcasm noted. You’d be surprised to hear what proper Christian metal sounds like. None of the 'core crap you get off commercial labels like Solid State and the like, nor the sickly Sweet stuff (there’s a pun there, if you knew the scene) like Stryper and the like. I’m talking about releases from Bombworks, Endtime Productions, Momentum Scandinavia, Fear Dark Records (on which Eluveitie’s debuted their first EP and full length) and and various other small, independent labels.
I have a couple of “official” bootleg albums and rare live recordings from bands like Antestor, specifically this one where Ravn (bassist and vocalist from black metal band Frosthardr) played session bass during a performance in 2006:
Antestor even managed to get Jan Axel Blomberg (a.k.a. Hellhammer, drummer for bands such as Mayhem and Dimmu Borgir) to record drums for their EP and full-length combo, “Det Tapte Liv” and “The Forsaken” - of which I’m a proud owner of the limited black box with matching digicase edition.
Seriously though, I scoured the web for the most obscure black and death metal in the Christian scene I could find. I built up relationships with distro’s and record labels in the Scandinavian region and managed to score a couple of ultra rare albums with very limited releases. Do yourself a favour and check out bands like Antestor, Crimson Moonlight, Drottnar, Miseration, Sáwol, Slechtvalk and Virgin Black.
Ha ha. No dude. That wasn’t sarcasm. That sounds like an awesome and weird thing. And I like awesome and weird.
Ah ok them. 
Very few people ever got the passion I poured into this collection. It was an amazing journey for me, and I got to meet many weird and wonderful people throughout the process from all corners of the world. Sadly, I only ever got to meet 2 of them in person - one who’s now my brother-from-another-mother staying at the opposite end of the country, and the owner of one of the distros and record labels, who also used to stand in as session drummer for Antestor and was full-time drummer for the bands Vaakevanding and Frosthardr (both are disbanded now). There was a very close-knit forum where we used to share music, stories and life where I spent a good 15 years of my life, but it has sadly grown to be a ghost town on a forgotten corner of the internet - averaging 5 posts a year now.
yeah dude that is interesting as fuck. It always amazes me what you can achieve if you really just put the effort in to make the shit happen that you want to happen. I am way to shy of a person to even attempt something like that. So hats off to you dude.
It’s not about being shy or outgoing - I’m an introvert by nature. It’s a case of your passion overcoming any obstacles in life. I have done a million things out of my character and comfort zone just due to a burning passion inside me. Even my job puts me in scenarios where I would normally not want to be, but the moment I get to talk about topics I’m passionate about, all inhibitions disappear and I get to draw people into my world and share my interests, views and ideas with them.
I’ve heard Virgin Black and Miseration but didnt really go that deep into their work. Youre also fan of the Scandinavian side of metal I take it?
Very much so. Even though I’m not that much into extreme metal anymore, my current favourite melodic/prog/symphonic metal bands all hail from the North (except one). Evergrey, Pyramaze, Epica and Teramaze are my current most-listened bands, even though Teramaze hails from Australia.
Damn I hit Epica like crazy when I was on the road a lot. I’ve also gone off the extreme stuff and starting going for the more melodic Swedish metal like Omnium Gatherum, Shade Empire, some Insomnium and that sort of thing. Even just traditional heavy metal (Orden Ogan) and prog metal (Threshold). I often just scan through Youtube playlists to discover new bands, of which I’ve discovered many that are now staples.
Edit: Pyramaze sounds freaking great
Omnium Gatherum is the shit and Insomnium is probably my favourite melodic band out there.
Listening a lot of that kind of stuff lately (Mors Principium Est, At the Gates, Dark Tranquility, Nightrage) , but also different vibes like Hideous Divinity, Avatar, ScraekOedlan and In This Moment.
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Threshold! Such an underrated prog metal band… I overdosed on them at some point. Epica’s latest stuff took some time to grow on me, but now I absolutely love it. Not their latest EP though, it’s very meh and generic.
If you’re up for something different with a MENA flavour, try Myrath and Orphaned Land. Both bands I love to death, especially their latest albums. Most of the stuff on Nightmare records is great though. I also binged so hard on Anubis Gate at some point… The song writer for Anubis Gate also wrote Pyramaze’s album “Disciples of the Sun” (which I prefer above their latest, “Contingency”).
I could drone on for hours about this kind of stuff…
Haha yeah a music thread is probably in order.
I’m actually listening to Anubis Gate now while doing some work. I checked out Disciples of the Sun and I fcking love it (shot for mentioning Pyramaze earlier) but I really didn’t get the same feeling from the newest album, so I’m working my way down their discography to their earlier stuff. As for Threshold, they’re probably my favorite band right now.
Give Evergrey a shot as well. Hymns for the Broken and The Storm Within are both stellar albums that you might enjoy…