EDITORIAL This is an annual “what I think, where we’ve been, what I’m doing next” post (which used to be the late July/early August anniversary of Grizzly Butts) which cycles us back around to Mystification Zine’s second completed year as a website while extending the reach of our past life. This ‘blog entry’ is aimed at longtime readers who want to gauge what works, what doesn’t, where the site is going and what ideas I have for features in ~the coming year. Things won’t change drastically year-over-year, this is for the sake transparency and re-establishing a yearly cycle of intentional change. Feel free to contact me with any inquiries, comments, or ideas here: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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SAPIENTIA MELIOR AURO

NIHIL. I // Consciousness’ ascent to its divine abode causes friction.

Mystification Zine intends to stoke the mind in addendum to the pure listening experience. The task of identifying and analyzing valuable music is proposed as a prompt for appreciation where curation, shared observation and discourse help channel the reader’s own personal pathos. With decades of self-driven education and experience in hand a higher standard should be demanded as the writer approximates the experience of music discovery. Through regimented examination the work of contextual research and discussion will ultimately transcend the zeitgeist away from passive consumerism as it becomes habit. If you choose to participate it will inevitably lead to a superior cult of mind, a better informed and less reactive class of listener. Bring your own philosophy, insight, method and enthusiasm as you see fit but enter these halls in good faith pursuit of a sharpened ear and deeper deranged mind. — Not sure if that warrants a mission statement but it is an early draft.

NIHIL. II // Do what thou wilt shall be thy hill to die upon.

Last year when I’d detailed the priorities of Mystification Zine they’d read as such: Album reviews, supplemental videos, Zine issues/Interviews and episodic features. This turned out be false beyond the first six months of the year as my full-time job took over much of my free time. In 2026 that order will rearrange to focus on Album reviews and written features primarily, putting the newest zine issue (and consequently interviews) ahead of video supplementation to start. Otherwise a major goal for this new year is to return to exploring heavy metal’s past equally as much as the present.

NIHIL. III // Modernist-fundamentalist controversy in perpetuum.

The death of any fandom is the absence of conversation. The greatest dilemma my efforts face heading into 2026 is a lack of inquisitive editorial impulse: I have not found any particular challenge or inordinate compulsion in the majority of the music presented within the last five years. As the years’ve droned on I’ve seen under-thought idealism and parroting (hero worship) from one side and an endless chase toward a false sense of innovation (progressive reinvention) on the other. The modernist depends entirely upon a constant influx of trending/innovative material and lives or dies based on the quality of their access. The well-meaning breath of the die-hard fundamentalist becomes stagnant as they trawl and dredge up the past, reintroducing and replicating “period pieces” for the sake of a pacifier lodged in their mouth. I am not so sure a balance between these two extremes can be coherent beyond chance though I am interested in both aspirational ideation and true idealism. Either way, the concept of “balance” applied to extreme metal as a source of exceptionalism becomes less and less appealing over time. The status quo is yet insanely boring and meaningless.

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CRESCIT EX MACHINA

VOID. I // If you are not working, you are not learning theretofore you are not an artist.

While I do not wish to be perceived as a privileged fellowe complaining about such incredible access to music I will say that the age of AI generated imagery/music has severely undermined the heavy music artform and irreparably damaged its aesthetic. I would like to emphasize that two of every five releases which are presented to me on a daily basis contain either AI art or some manner of prompt-generated feature. Last year a total of ten completely AI generated albums (music and all) were propositioned to me, all of them were denied and all of them failed to generate any attention from the paying public, facing deserved scorn and dismissal. I don’t want anything to do with artists, writers, musicians etc. who deploy AI-enabled shortcuts toward their low-hanging ideal: Put in work, any work at all, or fuck off.

VOID. II // YouTube is a volatile, exploitative medium experiencing mass depersonalization and decay.

Starting in August of 2025 I paused all YouTube uploads, no longer having enough free time on weekends to edit a high volume of videos. This was for the sake of two things: Working overtime from home and maintaining social relationships in person. Though I am not concerned with popularity the reality is that the YouTube ecosystem and its system of reward and discovery are built around a wheel-bound goalpost which insists upon sensationalism and exploitation. I am not willing to achieve those goals using shortcuts and manipulative tactics as this would create a disingenuous conversation with readers/viewers — this is the antithesis of my goals for this site. All of this to say that I’ll return to the medium next week but there won’t be a regular schedule.

VOID. III // Neurodivergent sub-genre travel ban incoming.

The most persistent, impassioned fandom in heavy music often comes from sub-genre specialists who stay in their lane hoping value and identity will arrive within a contained headspace but this is not realistic (or admirable) in an era of absolute access. As an omnivorous traveler I’ve routinely covered any/all unique combinations of sub-genre where tradition hopes to meet up with innovation, horrifying realities a la “post-metal/old school death metal”, “dissonant symphonic deathcore” and “blackened atmospheric noise rock” etc. While the focus of this site is generally upon death, black, doom, thrash/speed and heavy music this is not a complete enough picture when seeking to enrich the reader beyond the status quo. Writing for a defined audience naturally demands some manner of exploratory hand to remain compelling yet there is often pushback when examining different realms. If you are the type to hyper-focus on one sub-genre of music I view this trait as “novice” level cope, an inability to engage with the bigger picture. I cannot relate to taste which is less than holistic, uncurious and void of historicity.

VOID. IV // Flake news.

Covering new release announcements for years bored me to death. Rather than refine the Endtymer idea I’d opted to discontinue the weekly news blurb + video dump for the sake of low engagement. This year I’ll be creating a semi-regular video series which is either streamed or edited focusing on new releases and related. It won’t involve a regular schedule and will be fairly short.

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HOMO HOMINI LUPUS EST

Efforts in development throughout 2026. No guarantees made on anything!

ÆTHER.I // Mystification Zine Issue VIII [TOMB-24]

Issue VIII: Repulsive Diatribes will release in PDF form in the second quarter of 2026. It will be substantial in length and more thoughtfully designed/cohesive than Issue VII.

ÆTHER.II // Twitch/YouTube streaming.

As suggested I’ll begin streaming live on Twitch/YouTube regularly for short periods of time in Q1 of 2026. This will essentially replace the old News/Endtymer columns, allow for folks to Ask Me Anything anytime, and bring readers/viewers into some of the process. There will be no regular schedule and this idea may become edited video content instead.

ÆTHER.III // Various video editorials/reviews.

Rather than creating weekly content on YouTube and adhering to a set schedule I’ve created an extensive checklist of video features and various other ideas which I’ll begin implementing in early 2026. With regard to video reviews and Best of the Month features missed those will return in January including a six month backlog of AOTM lists and the 50 Best Albums of 2025.

ÆTHER.IV // There can be only one.

In the future please only use e-mail to contact me, I will likely not respond on social media. // The following links are the only official places to engage with me online. Anything else is an impersonation. I am not active in any online communities. I do not chat or post anywhere unless specified. I represent only myself and I retain zero employees. I do not engage personally or professionally outside of these locations:

Website: https://mystificationzine.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@terraasymmetry/
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/mystification333
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mystificationzine
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrizzlyButts/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/grizzly_butts [to be discontinued in Dec. 2026]
Bandcamp: https://bandcamp.com/grizzlybutts
Store: https://mystification-zine.storenvy.com/ [to be discontinued Feb. 2026]
BigCartel: mystification.bigcartel.com/

The only e-mail I will ever use to contact anyone is still: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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