TTRPG Character Creation Vids

 You know, there's tons of these things around(character creation videos)...at least kinda. Okay, maybe not *tons* of certain editions. Newer editions of games, yes, but I can't really find a lot of older ones.

Considering doing some now and then for fun. VERY off the cuff stuff; not really edited, just like old-school style for old-school editions. No face shots(maybe a mask shot once or twice), but more like "Hands and Books" style with the camera above, you guys know the type I think. Rolling stats on camera and the like. 

Yes, I'll be wearing the spikes/studs on the hands, lol. I think to add something to it I'll pick an album to play in the background(one that doesn't run afoul of any license stuff; AKA albums that are all available on official band channels online/otherwise available for streaming, even though I won't stream them.) I'll have to feel out what's playable and what's not, but sticking to stuff on official band channels seems a safe bet. 

I might be able to find three people who watch me do chargen tutorials for 30+ year old games while Dark Medieval Times plays in the background! (Hell, even if I got three hits in a month I'd count myself as happy.)

I'm not a streamer, nor a 'content creator'(I am not fond of that phrase at all), nor anything like that, I am not taking sponsors, nor monetizing anything, nor do I care to-just a person who likes to talk about old RPGs. 

(Plus after looking through, I can't seem to find too many chargen videos for stuff like 1st-2nd edition AD&D, or 1st-3rd Shadowrun...just a handful. More might always be welcome.) 

Azzy Ranks: Mercyful Fate

Continuing on with my little random series(I really should pick a game series to do this with one day, Castlevania, maybe?) to celebrate seeing King Diamond live, I decided to do a back to back ranking of both Mercyful Fate's and King Diamond's discogs, starting with Mercyful Fate. 

Once again, we have acts like Sodom, Satyricon and a few others where I really enjoy their entire discographies, so there are no "Bad" albums in either of these, which makes it, once again, challenging. I stand by the fact I feel like it's harder to rank albums when they're all good, than when there are extremely obvious stand-outs or ones that don't work. 

Out of the two, I DO slightly prefer Mercyful Fate as a whole, but I do love the King's solo endeavors as well. I think MF just has a little bit more of a sound that hits me just a tiny bit more. But it's close. 

Mercyful Fate's most recent album was out in 1999, 26 years ago, but they ARE working on new material! So I'll get to see where that lands. As per usual, I'll be doing the full-lengths. I feel a little bad sometimes leaving out EPs and such(especially because some bands have EPs that I consider my favorites, like Keep of Kalessin with Reclaim or even In the Sign of Evil with Sodom), but I think it makes for a more clear and concise list to do so. Mercyful Fate only has seven full-lengths, so without further ado:

7. Dead Again(1998)

Starting off the list we have Dead Again. As I stated above, "A 'low' ranked Mercyful Fate album is still a really good album that I'd suggest to anyone looking for classic dark heavy metal to get.' I think overall I just end up putting this on less than the other 90s albums since I feel like even though it's overall good, it lacks those 'really standout tracks' that all the other albums have at least one of. There are still some really good songs here though, even if the production feels a bit odd sometimes. I can't say there's anything stand-out 'wrong' with the album. Since Forever and the Lady who Cries are both a couple of songs that almost hit that stand-out status, though! Fear is really good as well. 

6. Into the Unknown(1996)

Into the Unknown certainly has some gems on it. Fifteen Men(and a bottle of rum) is a pretty awesome evil pirate tribute, which is not something you'd expect from Mercyful Fate(but it's nice to see a more Bad Guy Pirate Song), and being a Lovecraft junkie I have to appreciate Kutulu. This is another one of those "Huh, I haven't put this on for awhile" albums. But for a classic, dark heavy metal album in the 90s, this still sounds great. Mercyful Fate didn't try to turn industrial, or go way into the left field in order to battle grunge or anything, they just stayed Mercyful Fate, and it works. 

5. 9(1999)

Their latest album(yeah, 26 years ago and counting, but once again praise satan that they're making more music!) I would say ranks sixth for me. An album that I'd continue to suggest to anyone -- being a band where owning their whole discography I would say is a nice idea -- 9 has some great songs and riffs on it. Last Rites and Insane are great tracks, and Buried Alive is like old-school levels of good with its riffs and is probably my fav track on the album and a song I'd actually rank up there with some of my favorite Mercyful Fate songs. King Diamond sounds as great as ever. This is another case of 'Well, something has to be down here', and I just find myself putting it on a little less than the ones further down the list/depending on my mood. They didn't try to change their sound too much like a lot of classic and thrash bands in the 90s, and in their case, I feel like it was for the best(as much as I can like when bands progress.)

4.  In the Shadows(1993)

More horror-themed than Satanic-themed(much like King Diamond's self-titled work, though it's not a concept album like the King is known to do, though there is no lack of mention of witches and the like). In the Shadows might, after some thought, come in third. Their first album in almost ten years after Don't Break the Oath, it's a fine offering with Shermann's riffs being as catchy as always. Classics like The Bell Witch, Egypt, and the callback to the old days with Is that you, Melissa? make this an album I do find myself putting on a bit when I'm not running their 80s discography. Just overall a great album(but, for the hundredth time, all Mercyful Fate albums are great. 

3. Time(1994)

Time is a pretty incredible album that I think delves back more into the old-school Mercyful Fate more than ever. Maybe my brain sort of clicks with certain styles in certain bands, and while I'm always a fan of bands progressing through time(heh), and evolving, sometimes bands that keep going with their tried and true methods can work out and I think Mercyful Fate is one of them. Despite coming out in 1994(a time where a lot of those older bands went far into experimentation mode, for better or worse), it totally sounds like it could've been part of that 80s discography. Maybe that's why it kinda goes here for me? I like MF when they're on with the satanic themes too, I admit. Nightmare Be Thy Name, Angel of Light, Witches Dance right in a row hit hard and there are some super-killer riffs on this album. The Mad Arab of course appeals to the big Lovecraft fan in me, much like the sequel on Into the Unknown. 

2. Melissa(1983)

Melissa could be number 1 I think sometimes, and for a lot of folks I know it is; but it's very close in any case. How can one listen to the sounds of the legendary Evil(IMO one of their best songs), Black Funeral, or the epic Satan's Fall and NOT put this album at least close to the top? Melissa was one hell of a debut full-length(they did have their self-titled EP, later affectionately nicknamed' Nuns Have No Fun'.) Like, easily one of those upper echelon debut albums; while some bands' debuts left something to be desired and their real stride wouldn't be hit until their second or third album(see Judas Priest for a great example of this), Mercyful Fate hit the ground running straight to Hell with a big evil grin. All I can really say is to go out and immediately listen to this without stopping to pass Go or anything like that, if you're at all a fan of dark heavy metal. 

1. Don't Break the Oath(1984)

GodDAMN 1984 was a great year. Bathory's S/T album, Ride the Lightning, Morbid Tales, Apocalyptic Raids, At War With Satan...and Mercyful Fate's timeless sophomore effort, Don't Break the Oath. 

I think DBtO or Melissa could be interchangeable, depending on my mood, to be honest, but somehow I felt like this one just hit a tiny bit harder, or hits a tiny bit harder for me more often. Like, very tiny. Almost microscopic. Don't Break the Oath had the evil sound of Melissa, but they really went off musically on some of these tracks. A Dangerous Meeting, Nightmare, The Oath, Come to the Sabbath...all incredibly dark and wicked sounding offerings. I think one thing that sticks out to me almost more than Melissa is the extra slightly darker tone which ended up into that formation of black metal(okay, all Mercyful Fate did, but this album's sound was kinda transformative, I think.) Just like Melissa, go out immediately and listen to this album. Not much else to say but "What the fuck are you waiting for." 

--

And that's the list! I'm not sure where I'd put the self-titled EP, but probably around Time, hovering right in that area right before or after it depending on my mood that day. Mercyful Fate is pretty incredibly influential, and really you can't go wrong with listening to any of their albums; that said, if I had to pick three, go with the first three at the start. Then branch out(since others may well find more stuff on the other albums they like even more than I do.)

Looking forward to doing my King Diamond ranking as well; he too has an incredibly strong discography. 

Anyway, 'til next time, readers! 

Hellsinki Metal Fest 2025

 While I'm not going to make this into a full-on review, but I decided to recap my weekend at Hellsinki Metal Festival this year!

The past couple of times(it started in 2023) I wasn't able to make it since the timing was extremely close to trips that we ended up taking, if not overlapping, but given we didn't go visit the US this year or anywhere else, I managed to finally make it, and from here on I think I'll definitely be making it a yearly thing.

In short, this festival feels a lot like Tuska used to back in the day(I'd say before it moved to the new area from the center of Helsinki), which was wonderful. Tuska really started to feel differently after it moved; its last year in the center was 2010(which I missed due to, you guessed it, visiting the US), and I managed to go twice since then, once in 2015 and once in 2018. (My favorite year was 2006, as an aside; getting to see Celtic Frost, Venom, and Sodom in one weekend was amazing.)

It has an excellent setup, very easy to get to stages, and I went toward the covered VIP area and that was nice, too. Great food offerings and even craft beer. The lineup was particularly great this year; King Diamond was the main reason I went and was indeed the MVP of the festival. His stage show always looked amazing on video, and I was right up front enjoying it. The Funeral-Arrival combo is one of the coolest intros ever! King Diamond was another one of those 'white whale' acts of mine that I've listened to for ages, but never got a chance to see him live(or Mercyful Fate) just due to bad timing. 

Also of note were getting to see Sigh finally live; they were another one of those white-whale acts, seminal black metal from Japan, and they put on a great show(and packed the indoor stage, too, so I think a whole lot of people wanted to catch them.) Enslaved put on a great show, and Candlemass were fantastic(another 'finally got to see them' act!). The sun disappeared and the rain rolled in right before their gig and stayed away during it, and I appreciate that as the old doom wizards are best suited for performing in the shade. The Blood Fire Death Tribute to Bathory was the closest thing I came to actually getting to see Bathory live(one of the OG bassists who used to help Quorthon was part of it!) so that was excellent, with Atilla Csihar showing up to do vocals for a track. 

For Marduk, I of course had to show up in my plague gear. I had bought the mask with me, but ended up not wearing it a lot due to how hot and sunny it was over the weekend, but Marduk went on in the evening, so it was cooler for it. 

(Also my DJ outfit.)

I didn't take a whole lot of pictures -- I mentioned this in a past blog, but I'm pretty old-fashioned and don't like to watch a gig through my phone. I just take a few, and a couple of clips of my favorites, and am happy. But here's a few select pictures I took of various acts, in no order whatsoever:

Marduk

Blood Fire Death

                                                                       King Diamond

Enslaved

Sigh

Venom

Anyway, IMHO this is one of the best Finnish metal fests these days. Tuska isn't for me anymore, and that's fine; people into the more mainstream rock and metal or whatnot can have fun there, but Hellsinki is tops. 2 days is perfect I think(I'm feeling my age now despite being in, at least what my watch claims, decent shape for it, but damn 3+ day fests are not it for me anymore), in a great location, with a great setup, and great bands. Here's hoping next year's lineup keeps it going with the past years! 

I hope to be back with my "Azzy Ranks: Mercyful Fate and Azzy Ranks: King Diamond" discographies soon. The first two I did were fun, and I think doing those next would be fitting since I'm still riding the concert high!