The keys to the chapel
Vayse review
Rating – 
I’m not too sure how I actually heard of this one. My “must listen to” list seems to be growing exponentially at the moment, and I don’t tend to keep track of these things. I saw the new series advertised and it piqued my interest. I am (as you may know by now) a big fan of anything strange and unusual, but I will refrain from quoting Lydia Deetz again here.
So, intrepid voyager, let us free ourselves from the shackles of consensus reality and investigate what’s really going on behind the curtain as we step off into the multiverse with Vayse.
So what’s it about?
Vayse is an investigation of sorts into the occult, UFOs, cryptids and high strange in general. Presented by two eager neophytes, Peter Hine and Stephen Buckley, they take some deep dives into the strange connections and synchronicities that usually go unnoticed by the vast majority of the population.
A lot of this research isn’t purely academic either. Both of them study and practice various esoteric and spiritual disciplines, and this podcast is a document of that. Everything from dream analysis to I-Ching and sigil magic is discussed, as are comics, TV shows and movies that fit into this high strange way of thinking. This, I’m sure you will agree, is quite the cocktail of ideas, something seemingly portrayed in their sigil logo.
Each episode has a different topic and occasionally a guest to discuss the given subject. One of the standout episodes in fact was a two part interview with grandfather of high strange, Dr. Allen Greenfield. To be honest though, any interview with Dr. Greenfield will stand out. He is such a great character, I could listen to him for hours.
Is it any good?
This podcast is an excellent primer to an awful lot of interesting subjects. Because the hosts are still relatively new to a lot of it, you feel as though you are on the same journey of discovery. Which, if you’re listening to the podcast, I suppose you really are.
Hine and Buckley are great hosts. Their light hearted and witty style is refreshing, and helps keep this show from feeling slow, stodgy, and overly academic. For an example, I have just finished listening their analysis of the Ghostbusters film. From what starts out as a (quite justifiably) bout of fanboy fawning, soon flips into a very interesting and thought provoking dive into an alternative take that had never occurred to me. Whether the subcontext is intended or not is irrelevant. It actually reminded me of Aleister Crowley’s analysis of nursery rhymes at the end of Book 4. Yes, this is a very niche reference to give in a review of a podcast, but it really struck me, given the podcast subject matter.
If you are a fan of shows like Hellier or books by Robert Anton Wilson, then you will love this show. In fact, their episode on Hellier shares the same title as my review on the Newkirk’s podcast. You could surmise therefore that it was a rather obvious pun, but I prefer to think that great minds think alike.
Final thoughts
The guys have also introduced me to another podcast called Penny Royal. Of course, I ended up bingeing that entire show in a few days (much to the detriment of Vayse, sorry guys!) I will be reviewing that next Sunday. Who knows, this may end up kickstarting a series of reviews based on the occult. I have had a few series on the go for a while now, but haven’t found a way to segue into them.
There is a huge amount of overlap in their interests and mine, so it almost feels a bit disingenuous to give this a 5 brain rating. This show could be tailor made for me after all. It is a well deserved score though, and anyone with even a passing interest in any kind of mysterious subjects would do well to subscribe to this show immediately.
And so, with this review finally written, I’m going to finish re-watching Hellier for the third time (bing bang bong).
You can get Vayse here:
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods