As before, so again. Like in years gone by, in 2025 I managed to take a lot of photos of bands. These are some of my favourites, in chronological order. Enjoy. That's it, that's the post.

Astute readers might have noticed that Terror Management (this here publication) has not been particularly well-stocked this year with Big Thoughts or otherwise interesting output. Not counting this o

It’s perhaps strange that I haven’t properly seen one of my newest favourite bands play live yet, despite buying their one full-length record at a show they played. Blame it on my aggressive loyalty t

Hark! New word from the long-forgotten apostle of music and death! Hear ye, etc. It’s been a while, with forces beyond my command – and at times, comprehension – conspiring to keep me from sending y

Apologies for sending what basically amounts to an ad. I'll keep it short. As I hope you're aware, I'm an avid photographer. Looking at my work in 2024, I found three themes emerging: the countryside,

It’s hard to determine what broke inside of me or when it broke, but for some reason I find experiencing live music most enjoyable if I’m photographing the artists. This illness does not seem to have

Greetings. ’T is the time for looking back, though frankly I’ve skipped a lot of the year-end lists. I’ve also not much of a stomach for creating one of my own, or at least one that pretends to be a

The record is a sweet circle, container of tones and delivery mechanism of sweet catharsis. Whether dulcet or harsh, slow or fast, soft or loud, this physical object is filled with ethereal emotions.

Before we begin, a small reminder that I have zines for sale. Find them here. Any purchase is appreciated. The big tent was restless, its occupants aware of things that were, as of that moment, secre

Continuing last issue’s topic of writing about receiving curios in the mail, recently this humble author received his copy of the Birds In Row/Coilguns collaboration You and I in the Gap. A truly coll

A curio arrived in the mail the other day: a 12" vinyl version of metalcore pioneers Undying’s 1999 EP This Day All Gods Die (available from Holy Mountain Printing still). A curio, because back in the

Hello. Rolf here from Terror Management with a new issue. Hopefully you won’t notice, but just in case you do: I’ve moved away from Substack as a publishing platform because it has no problems hosting

Terror Management is an online zine/newsletter about music and, somewhat related, death. Each issue is a personal essay. Why should I care? I don’t know, man. No, seriously, I don’t. Maybe you lik

Recently, I published my latest zine, How To Photograph Punk Musicians In 5 Easy Steps. This newsletter contains the final chapter of that zine, with previous ones still available on terror.management

Recently, I published my latest zine, How To Photograph Punk Musicians In 5 Easy Steps. This newsletter contains a chapter of that zine, with more to follow. If you like it, please consider buying a p

Recently, I published my latest zine, How To Photograph Punk Musicians In 5 Easy Steps. This newsletter contains a chapter of that zine, with more to follow. If you like it, please consider buying a p

Recently I published my latest zine, How To Photograph Punk Musicians In 5 Easy Steps. This newsletter contains a chapter of that zine, with more to follow. If you like it, please consider buying a ph

Recently, I published my latest zine, How To Photograph Punk Musicians In 5 Easy Steps. Over the next few weeks, starting with this newsletter, I’ll be sending out issues containing chapters of that z

This issue is brought to you by a close brush with a mid-life crisis. (Also, it’s related to punk music but it’s a bit of a lead-up to get there, so hold on.) The concept of identity is a head-scrat

Thoughts on photography as art Any object, unperceived, is devoid of meaning. It is not until we engage with it, that something begins to mean something. Whether it’s by merely perceiving, or by inte

On letting go. Part I: Goodbye Not with a bang, but with a whimper. Not the world, but Terror Management. Yes, this will be self-indulgent. Have a seat. If you’ve been hanging around here a while

On the spiritual experience of live music Part I: Audience attuned The creation of and attachment to culture is nothing less than the pursuit of immortality. As mortal beings consciously and subco

This is about as straightforward as I might ever get with this newsletter. A lot of amazing music came out this year, and I wanted to be sure as many people as I can reach, know about it. Please cons

Sorry it’s been a while, save a somewhat cryptic message sent through this channel a few weeks ago. However, I emerge from the content mines with fresh wares: a physical zine! Get it right here: store

Find my physical zines here: terrormanagement.bigcartel.com.

Apologies upfront for a somewhat cryptic e-mail. I just wanted everyone to know I’m not dead and I haven’t abanboned Terror Management. In fact, I’ve been hard at work on something related to this pro

On money and music Part I: Pay me, daddy Life would not be worth living without art, in all its beautiful, dumb facets – this much I know. Its ability to communicate that which cannot be put into d

On the hype around the music we listen to Part I: Rotten dream On the best of days, my memory could be described as a loose collection of acorns rattling around in my skull. When I shake it enough,

On the words that drive us Part I: What matters For those of us who have an inclination to linger in the darker parts of our minds, it is incredibly easy to convince ourselves that whatever we say,

On the current situation. Part I: This wretched world Show me an artist who has successfully encapsulated the mad tragedy of the current world and I will show you a genius. What a horrible, reprehe

On feeling like you don’t belong. Part I: Shoes and pegs In the grand scheme of things, this author likes to think of himself as a fairly well-adjusted person. As the years roll on, the demands of

On loss. Part I: An empty shell A husk was laying before me. An unconscious man on a hospital bed, gasping for air. My father warned me before coming here, telling me: “He’s in a bad way, he’s not

On looking back. Part I: The List™ (in no particular order) * Fiddlehead – Between the Richness * Drug Church – Tawny * Hundreds of AU – Acting From Remote Satellites * Ekulu – Unscrew My Head

This took a while. For some reason, I really had to drag this one outta some deep place in my brain. Should’ve been easy enough to line up a couple of new releases and have opinions, but sometimes it

On ending it. Part I: Legacy “This is the terror: to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consiousness of self, deep inner feelings, an excruciating inner yearning for life and self-expressio

On holding up. Part I: A musical bond It’s some time in 1998 or 1999 and my buddy Daniel gives me a tape he made. It has some bands on it he thought might be up my alley. This tape contained, among

On radical innovation in music. Part I: Double middle fingers A basic law of energy is that when the intention is to transform one form into another, some of the energy gets lost through one or mul

The format of the ‘regular’ issues of this newsletter is not really conducive to speaking about recent music releases. It’s something I’m slightly bothered by, as I do listen to new music. In fact, mo

On radical honesty, the humor in that and putting a pretty bow on a grimy reality. Part I: Woof Drama in my inbox. Drama with myself. Not too long ago, when searching for a particular email, I fou

On musical performance as a holistic concept rather than a representation of the recorded. Part I: A rare occurrence Memory is tricky. There is one particular live show I recall vividly. The atmos

In this one, our young protagonist converts to an ancient eastern religion on the promise of the salvation of his eternal soul and the easing of the burden of this physical manifestation of life. Or:

A tale of yearning for more than we have, of hope through acknowledging the darkness around us, and of connection. And of worshipping a sick as hell record. Part I: The Confusion A moment of silenc

Hello. Welcome to this awkward introduction. Truly, an exciting new evolution of “trying out this twitter thing.” Why this newsletter? In plain language: I like to write and I like records. This is