Name:  Jesse Desha (aka Cryptosporidium)
Location:  Austin, Texas
Date Of Birth:  September 28th, 1978
Contact Info:  *jdesha at metalcoven dot com*
Position:  Full Time Reviewer & Forum Moderator

About Jesse:   Born and raised in Austin Texas by my two parents among two brothers and of us five, I'm the only one with any taste in music. Just kidding.... wait. I have a very small family and am grateful for every member.

I am an animal lover, a somewhat avid reader, a nerdy video game player, a writer of fiction, a firearm owner, but above all else, a devoted and lifelong lover of all things metal. I got started early at around 12 years old with the classic bands such as Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, and Testament. I was awestruck by the aggression and the rebellious attitude, both of which can be very appealing to a young kid. Only a year later, I was introduced to Slayer and that's when everything changed.

Growing up, it was decided for me by my elders that I were to be a Christian and even though I never paid much attention to the teachings and never truly accepted it for whatever reason, I still could not fathom the idea of rejecting God or even entertaining the notion that he didn't exist. That was incomprehensible. So the next three albums that crossed my path changed my life in that they opened my mind up to a totally new level of thinking.. for better or worse. Those albums were Slayer "South of Heaven", Morbid Angel "Covenant" and Deicide "Legion." I was fascinated by their seemingly steadfast and fearless rejection of everything I had known to be "right" or "true." From then on, metal has been my life and my only regret is that I never took the time to learn an instrument. My musical tastes have since obviously broadened significantly and no longer am I the hateful, rebellious adolescent I once was, but I'll never forget where I came from and what brought me to where I am now.

I've been a member of Metal Coven since late 2003 and right from the first day, I knew this site was different. A breath of fresh air and I hope to never leave

Essential Albums Every Metal Head Should Own:  
Agalloch - everything
Amon Amarth - Once Sent from the Golden Hall
Behemoth - Satanica
Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated
Carcass - Heartwork
Darkthrone - Transilvanian Hunger
Death - all
Deicide - Legion
Grave - Soulless
Holymarsh - all
Hypocrisy - Abducted
Marduk - Panzer Division
Megadeth - Rust in Peace
Morbid Angel - Covenant
Orphaned Land - Mabool
Paradise Lost - Draconian Times
Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers
Sad Legend - all
Slayer - three-way tie South of Heaven/Reign in Blood/Seasons in the Abyss
Testament - The Ritual
Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness they Fear
Tristania - Beyond the Veil
Vesperian Sorrow - all

Favorite Bands:
Well just look at the list above and you'll get a good idea. But my top 5 bands of all time are (in no order) Death
Slayer
Agalloch
Rotting Christ
Bolt Thrower.

Favorite Movies:
Braveheart, Falling Down, True Romance, Resevoir Dogs, In the Name of the Father, the original Night of the Living Dead, As Good as it Gets, Lost in Translation, Requiem for a Dream, Die Hard, Trainspotting, Ghost in the Shell, Akira, Ninja Scroll, Hero, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Magnolia, The Shining, National Lampoon's Vacation.

Favorite Books:
Pretty much anything by Russell Banks, Affliction, Rule of the Bone, Cloudsplitter, Trailerpark, etc. All of Andre Dubus' books of short stories especially Separate Flights and The Times Were Never So Bad.The Mosquito Coast.

Favorite TV Programs:
Mostly just Sportscenter... I am a sports nut and I abhor network TV shows.

Hobbies:
Movies, music, sports, collecting stuff, video games, traveling... if I could afford it, I would travel 6 months out of the year.