iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Been a busy couple weeks but the new Hellripper rips. Current music room setup.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

I like it. It’s not perfect but there’s some good jams and some sick riffs. They tried some different things and it doesn’t always land. Some parts just end when they feel like they’re building to something. Overall though I find it enjoyable and far from their worst.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Honestly, ESP should just make a licensing deal with Gibson for the Explorer body shape then fucking destroy them by having a guitar that dominates the Gibson in every conceivable way.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

I’m reminded you can have friendly banter over here. On X if you declare your love of a Rueben somebody would be like “so you hate blt sandwiches you fucking bastard?!”

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Some spins last night to unwind. Looking forward to a new Powertrip record with Seth on the mic. The John Carpenter anthology is super cool if you’re into his scores. Him, his son, and godson do majority of the instrumentation and I attached the tracklist for those curious.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Filling in some gaps in my collection

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I miss him, didn’t see him around much last summer.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Getting some texts about the Metallica Sphere news and I’m so uninterested in it. 72 Seasons was meh, this no repeat weekend shit is pretty predictable, and it’s going to be expensive. I’m content with seeing bands I like in theaters and clubs these days. I’m over seeing Metallica.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

People talk about Load and Reload would be a banger if you took the best from both and made one album. I saw a poll for Hardwired and 72 Seasons and thought you could apply the same logic. This would be a banger of an album and follows that 80s flow.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Been playing The Outdoor Boys videos while sorting my Magic The Gathering cards and part of me wants to do extreme winter camping and part of me realizes I’d probably die.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

I’m looking to sell my Magic The Gatherinf collection and so far I’ve sorted almost 5000 cards. I’m maybe a quarter of the way through what I have….

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Some new acquisitions and an accidental beaver shot.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

When I saw them I asked about a new record and they said they’re aiming for 2026. I really hope it happens because a new record from Casket Robbery is on my shortlist of highly anticipated releases. youtu.be/BYTRzqbyBCc?...

youtu.be

CASKET ROBBERY - The Lacryphagist (Official Video)

YouTube video by Casket Robbery

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

That’s the best Arch Enemy song I’ve heard in years. I like Lauren Hart but she was definitely a safe choice by the band. Curious what the album will be like because the band has been pretty boring for a few albums now. Hopefully Lauren gave them a shot in the arm.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Usually I’ll buy vinyl, I’ll buy CDs if vinyl is cost prohibitive but every once in awhile I will buy the vinyl release because the cover is just too fucking good for that tiny ass cd insert.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Phantom Slaughter was listening to a lot of Michiru Yamane compositions when Necropalace was written, you can’t convince me otherwise. Especially with some of those string parts. The first part of that intro piece is straight up Bear McCreary’s Walking Dead theme though.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

I don’t need fancy vinyl, I’m usually just happy enough getting a physical copy of an album. That being said I do like some splatters and swirls from time to time and these Deicide pressings look killer.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Stabbing - Eon of Obscenity Nothing screams brutal death metal like purple vinyl. All jokes aside, really digging this band got CDs of their EP and debut coming later in the week.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Everyday you get up and find out people are somehow shittier than they were the day before.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Got my tax return so I did some frivolous spending after using half of it for some grown up shit. Got Stabbing’s new record and the first 2 Deicide albums on vinyl.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Cheer up Patriots fans it could always be worse. The Flyers haven’t had a championship in 18,521 days.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I’m getting real fucking sick of every guitar discussion being injected with “but the price” motherfucker everything is expensive and getting more expensive. It sucks but a guitar going up a couple hundred bucks is pretty low on my priority list of things that need to get cheaper

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

It appears Gibson quietly discontinued the Dave Mustaine signature Flying V. I suspect production cost is a factor since it’s their only 24 fret 25.5” scale non custom shop guitar. The Epiphone and Kramer guitars are available but that may be NOS. Weird.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I’m 100% there is a blue hair, blue Honda account on twitter that has people absolutely fooled it’s a metal loving gym girl. It’s very obvious the pictures are fake but the power of boners is strong for some I guess.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Listened to this on the way to work, admittedly it was kind of a passive listen but I was liking what I was hearing. “Aeon’s End” stuck out to me. Can’t wait til my copy shows up so I can really dig into it.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

My biggest problem with social media is how confidently wrong people are. In this case I’ve had the guitar since November and my video went up on November 30th. NAMM was last week.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Epiphone SG Custom ebony. Solid guitar for $699 and perfectly useable as is but I just wasn’t digging the gold. Put chrome hardware, had to ream the tuner holes to accommodate new modern tuners, and put a set of DylanTalksTone 8 Ball pickups in. Tuned to D standard.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

I am far more frivolous with $40 cash than I am with a $40 gift card and I have no idea why.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

The 40th anniversary Darkthrone box intrigued til I realized it’s basically all the Darkthrone albums I have on vinyl already.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

If your guitar brand has been around for 10 years but nobody heard of you until you threatened to sue Phil McKnight you orally don’t have the brand recognition to survive the fallout of these actions.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

No shade towards James LoMenzo but David Ellefson would have made that RTL cover thump.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Epiphone put out a more accurate 70s style V, a more accurate 80s style explorer, and an RD. The fuck we need Gibson for?

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Epiphone was so close to perfection with their 2026 lineup then they did this. Are they afraid of money?

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

They lied. Although I find it funny the guitars are being called “too perfect” after decades of being told how Dave and whoever at the time are better technical guitarists than James & Kirk.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

I don’t remember this much snow dropping in my adult life.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

10” at last check, more now I’m sure. Hasn’t stopped since I got up. Also getting sick so that’s fun.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

The most interesting thing about Megadeth is that Dave’s voice both kneecaps that band and makes that band what it is.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

An album called Arctic Thunder just feels appropriate for this fucking wicked ass cold.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

When your daughter throws up in the middle of the night and you have to harsh the stuffed animals that were in the blast zone…

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Halestorm’s Ride The Lightning cover > Megadeth’s Ride The Lightning cover

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Megadeth is so metal they’re doing Walmart and Target commercials on their socials to sell albums. Fucking hell how the mighty have fallen.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Megadeth: “here’s our final album!” Metal rags: “listen to Megadeth’s Metallica cover!” Christ guys, you ain’t even trying to hide your desire for clicks anymore.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

It’s alright, not bad by any stretch but not very memorable. It definitely feels like a career spanning album as a little bit of everything Dave has done over the years creeps into the writing. Wish these legacy thrash bands would turn the fucking hi-hats down in the mix.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Interesting but I gotta be honest, I’ve never felt a need for all this wizardry lol. I have had guitars with Fishmans and I never utilize the tonal options. I do like a coil split though for some clean sounds or lead tones.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Most bands eventually have one guy that steers the ship and sometimes that doesn’t work for everybody involved. I liked the last SFU record so hopefully the next one continues down that path because I genuinely love Jack’s riffing.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Exodus, Hellripper, and Mayhem pre orders are done. I was hoping to get more cushion money after Christmas but eh, with the state of things just buy that record you want. Might as well get some joy out of life.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

My mom participated in a chili cook off over the weekend, she took 1st place. So go mom! However, I have ingested far too much chili over the weekend. The upside though is nobody will be sticking around me at work today.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Some pictures from the mountains.

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Varkensstad @varkensstad.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Up in the mountains for the weekend. I could live in a place like this.

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