DEDES 2024 END OF THA YEAR
a little early
I don't care
This took me 30 cumulative hours
I want a milkshake |
| 1 |  | Swallow the Sun
Shining
The 2.5's-Swallow the Sun taking a boring hazy approach is something I did not expect after Moonflowers which showcased the most vigor and creative aptitude they’ve had since “The Morning Never Came”. It’s not that it’s too clean, but rather too sterile, with vocals more processed than a can of spam and a noticeable extraction of the endless buffet of riffs that STS have pulled in the past. Glimpses of greatness are still in our remembrance with tracks like “Charcoal Sky” with some of the more biting/scathing riffs that the band has done period complimented even further by Mikko’s still tremor-inducing roars, but otherwise it’s all sadly insipid and, while I understand it’s hard to replicate the equal measure of melancholy and beauty of Moonflowers (being a record directly touched by death as founding member Juha Raivo had lost his wife prior) it is still unfortunate to see them falter so heavily after showcasing they can veer farther from death-doom with an almost swanlike grace |
| 2 |  | Shallow Waters
All Colours Blur To One
All sounds blur to one. Yeah honestly I don’t remember this but on current relisten, this actually is far too mended together into one singular mass for its own good, but I suppose there isn’t much good to be extracted regardless since a lot of the riffs are relegated to uninteresting seldom changing power chords, a genuine absence of any engaging drum patterns and unrefined death growls with even more unrefined clean singing that sounds like a poor mans Woods of Ypres. YET I do believe the aim for what I believe to be a more ambient/sprawling take on the likes of modern Dark Tranquility is an idea that simply has great potential and so I do hope the band can refined their semi-established core into something wicked in the future. |
| 3 |  | IDLES
TANGK
The obnoxious deep-toned British punkness is there in voice and sometimes works (Gift Horse) but can otherwise sound like a less-energetic version of the absolute banger-cities that were “Joy As Act of Resistance” or “Brutalism” or even rather the feeling of sitting in an empty paint-peeling rat-infested apartment complex watching pigeons fight each other outside “A Gospel”. That is to say, it’s an act not so much of resistance, but of boredom. |
| 4 |  | Wintersun
Time II
The 3's-Jari Sauna chronicles part II. |
| 5 |  | SIG:AR:TYR
Citadel of Stars
This is fun! The riffs are big and spacious and this record as a whole does do the atmosphere of a particular frigid silent night some justice, albeit in this it does start to, ironically, gear towards nothing as it emulates the great nothing it desires to sound like which definitely makes it feel a touch bloated (although the semi-hamfisted but still wildly impressive shreds that peek in and out DEFINITELY charge this album with a bit of much needed energy). |
| 6 |  | Balance and Composure
with you in spirit
Pleasant/airy/atmospheric albeit too meandering for its own good, as if there are moments that have a desire to break into a big almost post-rock style climax but decide not to i.e “cross to bear” having maybe the only power chords off the entire album for 4 seconds total and never capitalizing on it. Yes I am angry. But the twinkly leads (“believe the hype” being an example) are still a kind of nice motif to ride on. |
| 7 |  | Thermality
The Final Hours
Kinda good DT/In Flames worship that has potential to become something much better than it is. Czech my review for more. |
| 8 |  | God Dethroned
The Judas Paradox
This is good, the riffs are there, vox sound vaguely rasp as if perhaps they’ve become slightly damaged in time. Is it Under the Sign or Bloody Blasphemy? No. Should you listen to it? Sure. |
| 9 |  | Opeth
The Last Will and Testament
The 3.5's-I never understood the hype of Opeth bringing back the death growls since it would, unsurprisingly, still be progpeth with an interjected pleasant caveat rather than a return to their form during Watershed or even pre-Watershed days, but I do appreciate that Opeth did at least properly craft a darker Victorian-esque tone to masque even if it is a bit stitched together. The more calamitous heavy pieces and oddball organ/synth loving prog rock bits are somewhat at odds even if they are both immensely accomplished in their own right, with the only real constant being the wild nuanced groove-laden drum patterns that serve as a wonderful bedrock as well as its own source of flashiness |
| 10 |  | Winterfylleth
The Imperious Horizon
I had something of a difficult time properly analyzing this one. I’d argue this for the whole of Winterfylleth (The Hallowing of Heirdom notwithstanding) that, whilst impeccable at conjuring great wintry storms and beautiful images of isolated mountain peaks and sounding absolutely frigid that they are so incredibly bound to this concept that seemingly it becomes a homogenous portrait. That is to say that, for as much as riff-driven catharsis swells and as satiating as those witchy rasps are, for as thunderous and wonderful as the blasts can be, it does all mend into a big atmoblack static void (aside from the track “In Silent Grace” due distinctly to Alan of Primordial fame and his MASSIVE wails). |
| 11 |  | Gaerea
Coma
This was quite good even if it blends into a great homogenous slab of massive wall of sound that doesn’t yield sometimes. Tbh Gaerea can do this BECAUSE they have the ferocity and massive presence to pull it off, with blast and fills that verge on near Dark Funeral level speeds with more grandeur for such bombastic thrills and frills to service (i.e the absolutely beastly roars/gutturals/screams/all things loud n mighty off of “The Poet’s Ballet”). It’s an exercise in excess for sure that pays out in spades during its truly BEEFY moments (i.e that dummy heavy guttural-tremolo sorta staccato that introduces the t/t) even if the full listen becomes a bit weary. |
| 12 |  | Svrm
Прощання
The way to describe what limited amount i’ve heard of Svrm’s rapidly growing discography is “thunderous yet lonesome”. There’s a slight haze of melancholy over each melody and riff, and the barks are more unhinged and feral than one would expect, like a cornered animal lashing out against nature’s own cruelty. Very much for someone who is still clinging to the traditional frosty origins of Darkthrone but craves the greater ambient appeal of bands like Walknut or Drudkh. |
| 13 |  | Darkest Hour
Perpetual | Terminal
I will rescind my statement in that this may not be the greatest Darkest Hour since Godless Prophets and, quiet admittedly, is a bit of a bag of fun but forgettable Gothenburg melodeath’d up metalcore and a few of DH’s finest moments i.e “Goddess of War” and potentially still, “Societal Bile”. It’s v much the slightly less vicious counterpart to Godless Prophets and for that it’s still a riff-tastic slab of tasty jams. Uhhh ig check review for more. |
| 14 |  | Ihsahn
Ihsahn
I for sure want to give this a proper relisten since even as I rejam a track or two now the wildly nuanced carnival ride of symphonic swells make for something that’s already cooler than I remember. Ihsahn has always been a bit hard for me to grasp even if it’s all cool and eccentric in the moment, I do think his interest in old-school prog rock is definitely not something I much align with, however the ability to still spit out a variety of moods that stick (i.e the chaotic sinister bile of “Pilgrimage to Oblivion” juxtaposed against the quirky aloofness of “The Promethean Spark”) is something that few bands accomplish so well within a still black metal framework. |
| 15 |  | Casey
How to Disappear
Casey definitely set up almost unfair expectations with the two greatest tracks they’d released since their debut “Great Grief” and “Atone” which were high-octane heartstring smashing fests. And then they weren’t on the album. For that great lie alone I would say this record is a -⅕ BUT Casey simply have a surprising ability to make slightly-generic alt-rock transmuted from post-hardcore elements somewhat more pleasant than the half a million other bands that made the eventual transition due to surprisingly lush buildups into actual catharsis (i.e “For Katie) that make for something that feels like a genuine desire for change and not a limp-wristed attempted at jumping into an easy sound. |
| 16 |  | Borknagar
Fall
BM with gargantuan epic power metal energies and a big blackened boner (might require amputation due to gangrene) for prog-rock organs. Czech review 4 more |
| 17 |  | Andrea von Kampen
Sister Moon
I love Andrea’s voice. It’s nothing complex, it’s not overly bombastic nor the absolute most quaint/ethereal thing out there but she is for sure just an overall warm and mellow presence, bringing faint rays of shimmering sunlight to whatever her voice touches. Tbh maybe it tethers me back to my roots being that I spent the first 19 years of my life living in the middle of goddamn nowhere, in the midst of farmland and forests where the nearest convenient mart was an hour long walking expedition. It’s in those quaint country vibes yo. |
| 18 |  | Witch Vomit
Funeral Sanctum
Like Sacramentum-lite did a death-doom record while still keeping their lightning fast tempo at points. The gutturals are deep, the riffs are icy, the drums now with extra tin can. How death metal was meant to be. |
| 19 |  | Like Moths to Flames
The Cycles of Trying to Cope
This album is actually impressively groovy and definitely brings a whole lotta proficient yet wicked earworms to the table when it leans into its more biting and aggressive side, but is still slightly held back by its constant desire for slightly limp sing-songy choruses ala most any modern metalcore. The day that comes and only the scathing screams of “Angels Weep” (alongside those TASTY kick-snare bits) are left then LMTF will accomplish true greatness but until then, they are almost there. Also “Dissociative Being” has riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place off of an ERRA record which is absofuckinglutely a good thing. |
| 20 |  | Charli XCX
Brat
Fun sassy bratty pop. I beyond understand the adoration of this record as something rife with slightly eccentric yet easily digestible beats and a cool girl semi-robotic voice that these beats aim to drive. HOWEVER I must confess that personally, I enjoy this album moreso explicitly for the wicked wub-wubs (“Club Classics”) and off-the-wall turn-of-a-dime beat changes (“Mean Girls”) rather than Charli’s voice which is for sure not my thing, due partially to the poshness of her tone which is, well kind of the idea lmao. I will say when she’s pushing the dynamics a little harder however I kinda dig it i.e “Sympathy is a Knife”. |
| 21 |  | Lupe Fiasco
Samurai
Lupe Fiasco, in is rather unsteady trajectory, knows how to make fuckin HITS when he hits. Samurai just has so much in regards to intricate, jazzy beats while still implementing notions of modern hip-hop tropes (i.e “Mumble Rap”) but repurposed to feel like a pleasant accentuation to a track rather than its body. It all amalgamates to be a somewhat fleeting memory but it’s hard to care when the vibes are so cozy off of “Samurai”. |
| 22 |  | Assemble The Chariots
Unyielding Night
This takes the ridiculous excess of symphonic deathcore and distills it to the essence of its essence. The blasts are faster, the growls are growlier (?), the lightning in a bottle riffs are rather fully fledged storms stuffed inside a vape cartridge (which as a deathcore fan you know you have) and the symphonies are alight with celestial flames large enough to burn like supernovas. It’s a one trick pony and that one trick is sprinting full speed through titanium plated walls. Is it mad fun? Yes. Is it a bit much? Lol hell yes! But if you ever wanted Shadow of Intent after a marathon of snorting 8-balls then here’s your jam. |
| 23 |  | A Wake in Providence
I Write To You, My Darling Decay
Yeah this is good. Surprisingly muted for symphonic deathcore of all fucking things but A Wake In Providence still have competent powerful gutturals and they bring the riffs and I can’t lie and pretend like I remember this 1/10 |
| 24 |  | beabadoobee
This Is How Tomorrow Moves
Honestly might be a 4 since everytime I hear this i’m still incredibly stoked with how quaint yet incredibly intricate the arrangements actually are here with nice soft jazzy touches all over the place. “Tie My Shoes” contender for the most absolutely adorable song of all time evah the first notes are like coming home from work and opening your apartment door and dozens of kittens and puppies spill out from the doorway (don’t put too much thought into the cost of care-puppies and kittens!!!). |
| 25 |  | Ellende
Todbringerin
Ellende make pretty, dainty atmoblack and this for sure is a representation of that even if I found even with multiple attempts it isn’t much more than a simple fleeting beauty. For crisp autumn breezes and crimson leaf-lovers only. Soft boi/girl fall vibes. |
| 26 |  | The Black Dahlia Murder
Servitude
Sick high octane melodic riffs with rapid fire chugs and equally gnarly blast beats to back it, with ofc the obvious and still tragic omission of Trevor (rip u beautiful soul |
| 27 |  | Touche Amore
Spiral in a Straight Line
Touche Amore roll with the punches and just make music that makes em happy and while it’s hardly their best work they can absolutely not be faulted for finally being OVER the constant melancholy and self-doubt (and by them I more so mean, at the least, fellow cuddly sadboi Jeremy Bolm) and wanting to fully embrace those slivers of sunlight that were just started to gleam through on “Lament”. “Nobody’s” might be a bit lambasted for Jeremy’s incredibly off-tone clean singing but imo moments like this ARE the charm of the record. No fear of what shit may come, only excitement in the present. |
| 28 |  | 156/Silence
People Watching
Heavy is as heavy does. I’ll undoubtedly admit that there are perhaps a -few- too many bands trying to emulate sonic excess whether it be through more brickwalled djuns, whoever can make the funnest animal noise or whoever can implement the highest number of beat-drop type electronic effects before a breakdown, and I do think 156/Silence do still sprout forth from this modern core garden. However they manage to amalgamate many of these traits into something that feels impressively cold and mechanical, and while maybe not truly approaching the psychosis they so desire to sound like, the distorienting riff game and OG The Plot in You-style harsh vox they bring definitely form a gnarly foundation. |
| 29 |  | Paysage d'Hiver
Die Berge
THE 4'S-I was beyond intimidated by my first foray into Paysage being a 100 minute foray given my goldfish level attention span but I was so goddamn enamored with this. It’s patient to unfold, and is equal parts bitter/desolate and soothing/hypnotic. I can almost hear the wet crackling snow beneath my feet on my hikes, the faint babble of snowmelt streams and the euphoric sight of standing on the ledge and gazing at an endless azure sky with lifeless forests dotted by coves of evergreen. As a born child of winter (6 days until my 27th birthday as of writing this lol gross) perhaps it’s innate, or maybe i’m being weirdo paganistic tryhard. W/e it is, Paysage does a beautiful job of channeling it. |
| 30 |  | Counterparts
Heaven Let Them Die
Counterparts have been meticulously gearing away from their more post-hardcore influenced style of metalcore and more so towards something that feels like the culmination of a brand that is admittedly more in line with the razor-sharp edginess of any modern core with a bitter disdain for society that has a rather vague interpretation of itself. And yet still, Counterparts are doing the best version of this branding, brickwalled production massive djuns bleeding angel imagery and all. To say the least, melodramatic as it may be, the aggression and ferocity off this EP are undoubtedly real, with there being enough newtons of force behind the t/t main riff alone to bore a hole straight through the center of earth as well as enough fire being Brendans ever-improving MASSIVE midrange-screams to envelope our whole galaxy in the sweltering blaze. It’s edgy as hell and it fucking rules. |
| 31 |  | Truck Violence
Violence
Truck Violence are to backwoods Canada what Chat Pile is to Midwest America, with their sole motif being to expose the sad and ugly underbelly of societal addictions that plague much of their region of Western Canada. They are abrasive, brazen and punk as FUCK, and yet still beyond that is something more sinister, maybe even alien? The dissonant oddity of songs like “Undressed You Layn’t Before” would sure as hell convince you of such, with the thick country twang of songs like “Guns Buried in the Front Yard” balancing this otherworldly fuzzy with a monstrous sense of loss that, while still uncomfortable, for sure feels more human. |
| 32 |  | Panzerfaust
The Suns Of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion
Hell fucking YEAH this is probably my favorite new band discovery of the year. If there was a scale between the “surely horrific but primarily historical war accounting” of 1914 and “humanity is riddled with shit at the root of their being” approach to BM that is Mgla, then Panerfaust lies directly at the middle. In their philosophy, war is representative of the human cycle, the pain we deflect from ourselves, the puppeteering at the hands of greater powers and the infinite recycling of chaos and control that comes from the morbidity of war. Through chaotic blast-beats with loads of satisfying hi-hat patterns and cymbal crashes, brooding harsh chord progressions and vocals that are more akin to hoary-maned giants bellowing their harshest cries from mountaintops, Panzerfaust know how to craft sadness and anger with wicked precision. The opening dissonant melancholy of “Hesychasm Unchained” right to the constantly escalating catharsis of “To Shadow Zion” are odes to the misery of war. |
| 33 |  | Akhlys
House of the Black Geminus
Basically Melinoe but a little less frightful and therefore a little less engaging. Still occultic and great at manifesting the energy of the worst of nightmares in audible form, and it’s hard to doubt the legitimacy of Naas Alcameth being constantly plagued by sleep paralysis and parasomnia induced visions given his ability to, with such apt and vivid textures, capture the fear that can only be felt and not explained. |
| 34 |  | Underneath
From the Gut of Gaia
Unhinged animalistic metalcore ala a more dissonant END. It's fearsome and while a bit overbearing is within the apex of its style. |
| 35 |  | Rhun (USA-ME)
Conveyance In Death
This straddles such a cool line between the quaint and pleasant folk-isms of traditional Falls of Rauros while being filtered through a dirty dingy psyched out black metal lens. To be clear-there really aren’t actual folk instruments on this record, but the homely natural holisticness that FoR exude is still very much present, just with a darker, eccentric shroud alongside that makes the record feel a bit liminal. “Howl of Gleaming Swords” is a wildly good example of this, with guitar work that sounds simultaneously like a winds wicked howl and a warped spacial vortex opening up all in the same moments. These space-void-otherwordly bits more than likely stem from the influence that krautrock i.e Cluster (and apparently Can who i’ve never listened to!!) had during the writing process alongside less traditional bm i.e Darkspace and Antediluvian. |
| 36 |  | Vitriol (USA)
Suffer & Become
Hate, spite, and misanthropy are the great propellant behind Vitriol’s unstoppable train of explosive/implosive death metal/deathcore. This is a rolling storm of endless blasts and caveman gutturals with loads of schizophrenic leads to string together this soundscape and it rules. See review 4 more. |
| 37 |  | Willi Carlisle
Critterland
This album traverses such an intense array of emotions ranging from upbeat honky tonk joy (“Critterland”) to uncomfortably relatable reminiscence on an unloving loved one (“Arrangements”) to straight up outlaw bad boy swagger (ending mainly spoken word track “The Money Grows on Trees”). It’s appreciable, really, just how eloquent Willi can be in his prose while still painting a sound through lovely country croons, jangly acoustics and some SICK harmonica riffz (m/m/m/m/m/) that is actually super charming and earnest. “I hear drunk footfalls through bedroom walls/buying comfort in the south/but i’m my own father now” is maybe the most painful and surreal lyric i’ve been struck with this year, having just seen my father for the first time 2 years and coming to understand that, even with the number of wildly negative moments that may have occurred in the past a result of alcoholism, i’m terribly over lacking forgiveness because “it’s still sad when bad men die”. |
| 38 |  | meth.
Shame
Shame is an album that is, imo, incredibly mood dependent. It’s so extremely intent on almost indiscernible low-end open notes, feral spastic barks and screams and just overall being immersed in a heroin-induced haze that your own immersion of it almost feels as if its contingent on your own emotionally-sapped energy. That is to say, this is an album that feels like the worst of the lows shame can bring, like the music is the soundtrack to a faltering alcoholic stupor. Is it good? Should I be jamming Helcaraxe instead? Yes and yes. |
| 39 |  | Eternal Storm
A Giant Bound to Fall
The way Eternal Storm manage to create such towering, glistening epics is something that can only be conjured with the use of actual sorcery. They’re for sure somewhat akin to a lot of colossal prog melodeath within their territory i.e the best of In Mourning and Omnium Gatherum, but their propensity to imbue both the calm and the storm with a constant ethereal shroud is mesmerizing. This is in no small part due to their use of synths and keys that add whatever they need at a whim, be it the wispy heavenly beauty at the start of “An Abyss of Unreason” or the menacing swell at 7:20 of the same track. Ofc, everything else is a vital factor in crafting this sheer wall of grandeur, as the closing title track greets us with warm, lush guitar melodies that give way to MASSIVE power chords that are weighted even more heavily by deep, bellowing death growls. It’s as if, in these moments, the heavens themselves are being dragged down from the sky, bound to fall. |
| 40 |  | Convulsing
Perdurance
And tha dissonance begins. Honestly as far as avante-garde wonky weirdness goes within this genre I would say Perdurance is actually relatively tame and rather attempts to instead use traditional non-traditional structures (does this make any sense???) to imbibe an actual sense of atmosphere and dareisay emotion. There’s a hazy, distant grief that puts a thin veil over this album until it -really- culminates in the zany technically proficient and impressively melodic (at points) “endurance”. It sprawls into all sort of dark and horrid corridors for minutes on end until it sprouts into something almost spritely or jubilant, and is one of the few times i’ve ever seen joy as something that rears its head in a dissodeath record. I gave this a cursory listen not long after release (big ups to Hawks for spreadin tha love m/m/m/) but hardly touched it since so I shall be rejammin heavy in the future!! |
| 41 |  | Night Verses
Every Sound Has a Color...: Part II
Admittedly i’m not sure it’s right to dissect this as it is the second later released portion of something that is supposed to exist as a complete but separate whole but it’s on the list and their marketing tactics were bizarre so fuggit. This is the more reserved and atmospheric counterpart to part 1-rather than lush arpeggios and shreds constantly giving way to thudding, chaotic drum fills (those still exist more sparingly however) and fuckin FERIOUSLY heavy low end rhythms, there is a more slow-burning approach, as if more patiently boding the endless catharsis that is to swell from the quaint ripples from tracks like “Aska” and “Glitching Prisms” that coalesce into continent-consuming tidal waves ala “Pheonix V-Invocation”. While my preference leans towards the constant dynamic shifts that weave in between each other beautifully off of part 1, I respect greatly how little changed of the core ethereal starry-night vibes while utilizing a completely different structure |
| 42 |  | Aborted
Vault of Horrors
Honestly the most invigorated Aborted have sounded since Goremaggedon. I think the band has always exuded a surprisingly upbeat energy given their gory and gruesome subject matters, and Vault with all of its bouncy guitar leads and wildly amusing vocal gymnastics (and a surprisingly effective gimmick i’ll explain later) is maybe the best portrayal of this idea. Vocal gymnastics I believe has become cause for alarm thanks in no small part to the animal noise trend perpetrated by Lorna, however the much more subtle diversity that comes from incorporating guest features on EVERY track makes for loads slight tone variances that are satisfying to hear in DM even if it’s hard to make distinct separations entirely (uhhh Archspire feature aside for obvious reasons lmao). Still, the core of Aborted’s instrumental prowess is never overshadowed even with such massive presences, as evidenced by gnarled breakdown-shred combo off of “The Shape of Hate”. |
| 43 |  | Acathexis
Immerse
Acathexis are immense. If you could translate the near constant wailing of an endless icy gale pricking off pieces of your flesh into a great sonic wall this would be it. Shrieks as fierce as the piercing cries of an eagle, trems that swell like the rising tides of oceans, blast that pulse with the fury of a thousand suns. It’s as hellbent on constant elation and catharsis as black metal can be, and while I think it makes it surprisingly a -bit- one note, it’s as pristine as such a sound can get. |
| 44 |  | Brodequin
Harbinger of Woe
I didn’t honestly jam Harbinger as much as expected but admittedly my desire for truly primal death metal has waned a little over the years (i.e i’m a little baby child who needs his melodies). However when the moments for caveman metal arrive, this album is absofuckinglutely apt for that, with slimy gutturals and dirty trems that are oozing sheer toxic viscera. The blasts are also particularly satisfying, maintaining a level of tinniness that is raw but not quite “banging a stick against a coffee can” level of raw. And blasts there are a many, as this record is not a slow ooze, but rather a hyper-accelerated blast of venomous snot from “Diabolical Edict” until only the final track aka the title track decides to take this miasmic mess to much more grinding territories. |
| 45 |  | Hideous Divinity
Unextinct
Unextinct is a mad fun riff city piece of thunderous death metal ala Hate Eternal structures with a Fleshgod approach to atmosphere (can atmosphere consist entirely of blast beats???). The premise is simple and a bit meatheaded but when the results are these bone shattering it’s hard to much care. Another “see review 4 more” cause im 20 hours deep into this phat behemoth. |
| 46 |  | Frail Body
Artificial Bouquet
Catharsis for hours, for days, for a millenia. Artificial Bouquet is a nearly relentless pursuit of concentrated agony made audible and boy it is a strangely beautiful listen. Like turbulent winds whipping across otherwise chill winter streams, this record has an energy of “so catastrophic it's almost peaceful” that permeates from the opening blasts of “Scaffolding” to the ebbing and flowing of quietude and destruction that is “No Resolution”. It’s actually so intense, with extremely tight high-octane drum fills, wall of noise shrieks and MASSIVE tremolos that in spite of its diversity it does sort of creating a fleeting memory of individual moments, but a surprisingly astute one as a collective whole as an ethereal and heart wrenching mosaic. |
| 47 |  | Boundaries
Death Is Little More
Big BIG shoutout to my good bro Jackie (u won’t see this but dawg you RULE) for showing me Burying Brightness because it unlocked quite a powerful love for the wholesome empowering big cahonas metalcore that Boundaries pedals. I do think this is a small step down from the mentioned record, but admittedly only because it seems like Boundaries are leaning harder into their already impressive menace and grit and a bit away from their more triumphant bits (even if “Face the Blade” is literally one of the most smile-inducing things i’ve heard from them). Still, this more frenzied side of them does become pleasantly frightening in a ways that very little music does for me now, i.e the transition between “Darkness Shared” and “Like Petals From a Stem”. Whew lad. |
| 48 |  | Benighted
Ekbom
The best Benighted since Asylum Cove. This album is so unhinged and ferocious that it could probably be mistaken for an impending hydrogen bomb rather than any typical discernible sense of “sound”. This is probably the most creatively stoked they’ve been in awhile, and while there’s nothing particularly weird here happening, there are surprises like the harrowing quietude that is penetrated only by a quick blast and highly unintelligible pig squeals on the opening track “Scars”, or the sick ass hook game that is served via choppy chugs and rap gutturals (courtesy of Oliver Rae of Archspire fame) off of “Nothing Left to Fear”. Even when they’re running their usual course they run with greater fervor than ever, i.e the sheer force behind the witchy screeches off of “Le Vice Des Entrailles”, or the beautifully bass-bolstered groove of “A Reason For Treason”.This rules. |
| 49 |  | Dvne
Voidkind
Jesus ever loving christ does the opening of “Summa Blasphemia” still exert the force of a million imploding suns. Voidkind is incredibly well versed in balancing masculine barks, wildly groove-centric riffs and hypnotic melodies in a progressive context that it makes for something as primal and meaty as it is composed and nuanced. I’ve seen comparisons to Mastodon, Tool, The Ocean, what have you, and while they for sure draw elements from all 3 I can’t help but feel Dvne’s take on this is something more cinematic and soaring than any of the aforementioned, with aggression and mesmerization as underlying energies that carry this record to its coalescing grandeur. |
| 50 |  | In Vain (NO)
Solemn
Wonderfully epic/ethereal balance of triumphant riffs and fleeting melodies and great vocal dynamic that masters natural progressive tendencies. See review 4 more. |
| 51 |  | Knocked Loose
You Won't Go Before You're Supposed To
Literally one of the most “Heavy for heavies sake” albums i’ve ever heard and I could not give a SHIT because maybe the best band to ever do it imo is KL. Could it be Bryan’s insanely distressed high pitched wails? Could it be low end riffs that emulate the literal stomping of elephants? Could it be that phat fucking snare tone? The increasing (and absolutely wanted) prominence of Isaac’s super death gutturals? Poppy having potential the actual best and most genuinely disconcerting voice for hardcore that I -think- i’ve heard as evidenced off of the absolute crotch stomper that is “Suffocate”? It is an amalgamation of all these things really, and the fact these boys took off as far as to have a Jimmy Kimmel presence makes for an extremely, extremely exciting age for hardcore and metal. |
| 52 |  | Gatecreeper
Dark Superstition
Verifiably not industry plants but rather chonky dm with a fun penchant for old-school metal stylings and big heavy grooves and simple goofy riffs and I will never forgive u Hype this band owns and you are WRONG/10 |
| 53 |  | Gigan
Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus
Ok uhh, holy friggin WEIRD. This record is a perfect sonic translation of its morbid storyline of a great insectoid warrior race absolutely curb stomping all humans, red gleaming eyes and gnashing mandibles and the like. This record sounds crisp and calculated but as well dense and warped, with guitar tones that sound like constantly accelerating wormholes colliding into each other laid atop drum patterns that seemingly contain every possible rhythm a single song could ever contain, tethered together by mighty and cacophonous drum fills. The least odd thing here is the vocals and even those sound unhinged and animalistic, like a great insectile beast whose only language is undulating snarls and razor-sharp rasps. If Artificial Brain is the smoldering post apocalyptic wasteland of a void once galaxy, then Gigan is the great primal force that destroyed it. |
| 54 |  | Billie Eilish
Hit Me Hard and Soft
Luscious textures for goddamn days. I’ve always rather enjoyed Billie’s subdued ASMR-esque bad girl pop stylings but it was admittedly one note, so witnessing her first stages of evolution (Happier Than Ever) fully bloom into a multifaceted beauty of saucy sexiness, elating aloofnesses and a tincture of melancholy is so satisfying to watch. From what limited pop I have heard, none of it has managed the immense levels of layers that “Chihiro” has that imbibe a smoothness I cannot even perceive, or the ability to nearly draw tears from my eyes ala “Blue”. There is, ofc, many moods traversed between these tracks (even a straight horny banger in “Lunch”), but the fact that this album can sprawl its root into my soul and make me -feel- is beautiful and has me stoked on more Billie to come. |
| 55 |  | One Step Closer
All You Embrace
I uhh, actually really didn’t jam this much and some of this for sure stems from the fact that I prefer the more high-octane grit of This Place You Know, but even with that in mind it for sure deserved more listens. All You Embrace is still youthful and exuberant, but with a surprising clutch on warm sunshine-laden nostalgia factors that are undeniably smooth and pleasant. |
| 56 |  | Tzompantli
Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force
Dummy primal guttural death doom that conjures images of ritualistic bloodletting over a fiery sputter of volcanic ash and magma. It’s the sound of primeval warfare, spears of stone being driven through flesh in a dense jungle thicket with an impenetrable mist. It’s the immutable rancor of death and decay amidst a vibrant land turned bloody battlefield. Oof this is NASTY. |
| 57 |  | Thou
Umbilical
Heavy and misanthropic is as heavy and misanthropic does and this is perhaps the gnarliest and most morbid example of blackened sludge in Thou's discography. |
| 58 |  | If Kansas Had Trees
Where You Thought You Would Be
I’ll scream this for as long as the sun still burns-god fucking BLESS valleycore. For those unknowing it’s a style of emo/punk associated with Wyoming Valley, an area of PA that stretches roughly from Plymouth to p much Carbondale (also an area I live in!!!). It’s essentially, to varying degrees, a mish-mash of more abrasive pop-punk, grunge rock with a sprinkling of midwest emo and/or shoegaze. If Kansas Had Trees are a beautiful and earnest representation of this consoling and loving sound, and here they have crafted something that is equal parts stoked on life and disillusioned with reality. It definitely draws from the Tigers Jaw handbook but is, imo, a cleaner and almost more wholesome approach to such a sound. |
| 59 |  | Evergrey
Theories Of Emptiness
Evergrey’s knack for slick, almost sinister groove and insanely bombastic operatic/arena-rock type vocals is something that, imo, is guaranteed to make near every record work, and Theories of Emptiness undoubtedly still proves that. Tracks like “Falling From the Sun” and “Misfortune” are amongst some of the most cathartic and riff-laden Evergrey have ever done, even if up until “One Heart” the excitement does taper off slightly. And then “The Night Within” arrives and i’m balling over my toilet eating a gordita crunch at 3 AM. Oh yeah dawg. |
| 60 |  | Ulcerate
Cutting the Throat of God
This is very good as something that sees Ulcerate manage to implement faint flourishes of melody in a way that is more direct than it ever has been before. It’s always been a pleasant yet fleeting bit throughout Ulcerate’s tried and true formula of infinitely chaotic classically composed dissodeath, but it seems here it’s more of a focused intent than simply an accidental footnote. Still destructive, still incredibly nuanced, and still hella good (even if, imo, it’s in the lower echelons of their discography). |
| 61 |  | Crypt Sermon
The Stygian Rose
See review for more details. This is absolutely mega fun cornball doom metal with a penchant for spooky skeleton raising necrotic hymns via ominous keys and lush yet melancholic riffwork, not to mention some moderately gritty yet undoubtedly operatic vocals. Hell yeah brother. |
| 62 |  | Foreign Hands
What's Left Unsaid
This is V Poison the Well influenced and I absofuckinglutely FUCK with it. It’s as chaotic and riff-centric as even some mathcore but with a wonderfully fun capability to turn to mind-numbing caveman beatdown slammathons as well as flurrying heart-warming melodic bits Mis Sigs style. Foreign Hands, as their forefathers have done, know how to expertly string together constant rhythmic changes into a hodgepodge of insidious hooks and sweetheart melodies with just enough sick one-liner callout moments to make the core panties sodden. With that in mind-ANGELS OF STONE MOURN/AS LOVE DIES/BY FOREIGN HAAAANDS |
| 63 |  | The Story So Far
I Want to Disappear
I will admit immediately I did underjam this but these boys never miss the mark of sadboi vibes made warm and jubilant. This record is as spritely and open-armed to the world as ever, and yet the lamentations of the self and the implications this has on the world surrounding are almost as intense as they were off of Proper Dose (even if the latter was a little more emotionally visceral due to Parker being fresh off the heels of sobriety.) And as always, the riffs are still slick as fuck. Defend Pop Punk. |
| 64 |  | Wormed
Omegon
It is said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but upon listening to this record I have come to conclude that it is actually straight through the intergalactic ultrasonic typhonian wormhole that tethers universes instead. Omegon is all intense, all the time. Nonsensical gargles and inhuman mutterings are thicker than an aliens slime, the riffs so acrid all flesh is induced with necrosis as powerful percussive blasts come forth like gamma ray flares. This roided-out take on space themed brutal DM isn’t something new to Wormed but this is definitely their most impressively massive and detailed take on it. For big burpy cosmic vox jam “Pleoverse Omninertia” and get vaulted into the goddamn nether. |
| 65 |  | Blasfeme
Black Legion
Black Legion brings to mind mighty images of war, of hussars ravishing entire countrysides and decimating any neighboring being unfortunate enough to be within a 100 mile radius. It has wonderfully fun gritty half-baked snarls and a biting riff style that, while for sure melodic, definitely has enough abrasiveness to add to the veiling fogs of war that permeate this bad boy. riffs/10. |
| 66 |  | Respire
Hiraeth
The strangest yet most wholesome and glistening cacophony of screamo/post-black/violin concerto music that feels like the collective of the universe giving you a hug. See review 4 more. |
| 67 |  | Acrid Tomb / Tomb of Annihilation
Hermetic Invocations (Split)
Equal parts murkier caveman bludgeoning you with a club style death doom and moderately more upbeat yet still decidedly gritty melodic DM with more brutal tendencies. I owe this way more listens but absolutely worth jamming if ya dig any modern death doom revival as this sits at its bone-crushing apex. |
| 68 |  | Nile
The Underworld Awaits Us All
This is much akin to the last Nile but even phatter bass tones and potentially more dizzying riffs. Not much changes in the realm of Nile-incantations are sung, mummified pharaohs are risen from their tombs, scarabs swarm your body and desiccate your flesh, the usual. |
| 69 |  | Spectral Wound
Songs of Blood and Mire
The most fun and cornball bm i've heard on this side of Sargeist. Bring your latest corpsepaint fashion as we dive into rifftown and check review 4 more. |
| 70 |  | NAILS
Every Bridge Burning
New NAILS is much of the same but with a slightly weakened emphasis on sheer sonic intensity and a more notable focus on sneering punkish attitude.“Give Me The Painkiller” is a stellar example of this marriage of still manic intensity that is imbibed with an almost death’n roll level of buzzsaw riffage and thrashing shredz, which allows for a level of upbeat excitement that I never usually associated with NAILS, even if the likes of “Imposing Will” are still jam friggin PACKED with animalistic barks and 3000 bpm blasts that resonate sheer masculinity. I.e, this is dive-bar bar-fight music for punks well past their 40’s and it rules. |
| 71 |  | 40 Watt Sun
Little Weight
A slightly warmer and more consoling take on the love and loss that permeates every waking moment of Pat Walker’s life. Weakest 40 Watt maybe, but still absolutely goddamn heart wrenching. Check review 4 more. |
| 72 |  | The Flight of Sleipnir
Nature's Cadence
An equally portioned blend of hazy, stonerified semi-groovy bm riffs and Agallochian (implementation into Webster dictionary coming soon) acoustic folk segments, Nature’s Cadence is as much the howling of hind that stirs the life of rolling hills as it is the faintly audible babble of lowland streams, the spritely chirp of bluebirds in the verdant pines that extend into infinity. Even vast desert vistas have their time under the cascading moonlight by the time “Wanderer” arrives with an almost cowboy-folk infection to it, which feeds into this great and beautiful shaman-esque character that I, for sure, would want to pass the pipe with. Interestingly however, the bands origins stem from viking mythology (the band name being the 8-legged horse of Odin birthed by Loki after he transformed into a mare. Oh, you Norse and your goofy ways!) so uh that’s a cool bit ig! |
| 73 |  | Blood Incantation
Absolute Elsewhere
This was very good but I will confess I definitely did not give it its deserved attention (as many records on this list I have not lmao). BI leaning harder into their prog tendencies isn’t necessarily surprising, but it is still impressive how much of a spacious and sprawling epic they craft, with waves of calm and great miasmic swells balancing each other to craft the perfect imagery of an infinite outerworld abyss . |
| 74 |  | Black Curse
Burning in Celestial Poison
“Members of Blood Incantation, Primitive Man, Spectral Voice, Khemmis” has to be the biggest banner that a death metal band could ever fly, and does this absolutely meet those dismal gnarly and distorted expectations. It’s like this impending swarm of locusts that consumes all for miles, with the still wind and solitude between each passing storm the only quiet to break its own destruction. Caveman growls, chunky riffs and tumultuous blast beats are absofuckinglutely the name of the game here, just sprawled over impressively nuanced 7-12 minute tracks (“...To Babylon” aside). |
| 75 |  | Mork
Syv
And even now still, I want to Mork. |
| 76 |  | Better Lovers
Highly Irresponsible
I love that this is manic as hell while being a bit more punk leaning rather than crafting manic energy by injecting with a dozen MEGA HEAVY genres. It’s really the myriad of frightening semi-human noises that Greg Puciato emits (that are possibly his zaniest) that makes this album such a fun chaotic but decidedly catchy mess. |
| 77 |  | Underneath
It Exists Between Us
The way this band went about their rebranding is a bit bizarre considering this doesn’t deviant wildly far from the slightly skronkified (oxford dictionary meaning-to have been skronked) unhinged deathcore of before, it’s just channeled through a deathgrind lens. And it rules! Super chunky, lightning in a bottle riffs and animal noises to satiate your meatheaded hunger. |
| 78 |  | Fit for an Autopsy
The Nothing That Is
The most menacing and meaty slap of deathcore FFAA have done, see review 4 more. |
| 79 |  | Veilburner
The Duality of Decapitation and Wisdom
PA represent m/. Veilburner have, at least since Sires (i’m unfamiliar with albums before then) pedaled this wonky/harrowing/kinda groovy dissonant fun that tempers with these atmospheres to varying degrees off of each record to follow, and to say Duality dips -heavily- into the weird would be an understatement. There’s so many chaotic and unconventional riffs that it would be difficult to count on both hands how many times I pondered how the FUCK a certain guitar tone was even possible, and even moreso the number of times an animalistic muttering or cacophonous howl or uh, some -sort- of vocalization made me even more perplexed. It all comes together alongside some musty, dusty keyboard effects to make something that, while still holding its distinct parts, is decidedly alien and murky and brimming with eldritch horror. Burn those veils, baby, |
| 80 |  | Job For A Cowboy
Moon Healer
THE 4.5's-JFAC started channeling their inner Atheist/Cynic starting on Sun Eater and imo honed it with magnificent attunement on Moon Healer. The guitar leads are always chaotic and whimsical in a way that conjures images of teeming stars of a variety of colors swarming through an endless expanse of night, with phlegmy hook-laden snarls laid on top that aureate flair and fire, injecting a healthy bit of havoc into the technically rife death metal lense in which JFAC channel the freakiest of acid trips. Also, and ofc, the drums bring only the tightest of fills and the bass works as a magnificent counterpart to the main riffs, always filling in empty spaces with its own brief flourishes or wonky scales as well as emboldening the wonkiness of the guitar work with its own sense of wonder. Moon Healer might be as wildly technical as any masturbatory tech death out there but by the gods does it truly feel FUN. Best tracks are a rough call but the stretch from “Beyond the Chemical Doorway” |
| 81 | | Job For A Cowboy
Moon Healer
to “Grinding Wheels of Ophanim” as well as “The Agony Seeping Storm” absolutely are taint smashers. |
| 82 |  | The Cure
Songs of a Lost World
The Cure popping in from the shadows to release their greatest album since Disintegration and, in my most humble opinion, their second greatest record period was a gargantuan surprise. Considering the lament Robert Smith has always portrayed, it makes sense that his confrontation with old age would come to fruition in The Cure’s music. Still, how well this has translated into a contemplative swansong, a last dance of sorts is mesmerizing and even a bit painful to listen to. This record is so lush, so incredibly nuanced with all sorts of spacious synths and chime effects and thudding percussion ebbing and flow beneath the weighty croon (which has, imo, grown achingly beautiful in an almost Johnny Cash sense of the way) of Robert Smith. This is especially evident in the final chapter of the record “Endsong” which serves as both the frigid isolation and purging catharsis that death itself brings, almost as if to portray the coalescing on an entire lifetime and its equal portioning of |
| 83 | | The Cure
Songs of a Lost World
of beauty and sorrow within a 10 minute frame. Songs of a Lost World is the comfort following the fear of the acceptance of death, and while hopefully not so, does feel very much like the closing of The Cure itself. |
| 84 |  | Chelsea Wolfe
She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She
Chelsea has always been a fluid master of merging shadowy distorted heaviness and beautiful, almost saccharine melodies into one chilling mass and I think this is absolutely the best embodiment of all that she has done. Whether through the frigid isolation of near-whispers off of “Whispers in the Echo Chamber”, the feverish spell of clattering bells and quasi-accordion sounds off of “Eyes Like Nightshade” or even the cathartic mournful swell off of “Dusk” Chelsea has crafted something that is, imo, the peak of all variants of doom-glazed ASMR gothic that she has done, as it rides a beautiful balance of stalker in a city alleyway vibes equally as much as the pleasant wispy haze of an alt nightclub. |
| 85 |  | Saidan
Visual Kill: The Blossoming of Psychotic Depravity
Saidan has the concept of “integrating jolly genres and styles into sargeist-inspired trad BM by the cahonas in a manner that makes BM purists LIVID and for that alone, I commend them. Edgelords stomping edgelords aside, what matters is that the punk imbibements of past still work hella hard here but with a decided addition of 80s glam-metal style shredz and anime op energy that makes this record so pure, so unquestioningly fun and vibrant that it makes me want to bench the leg press and curl the squat rack (the rack, not the weights) and barrel my way through the PF walls like an unstoppable sugar-addled child impossibly hopped up on RIFFS. Tldr; jam “Sick Abducted Purity” and feel the scathing screms and bewitched solos shred your soul. |
| 86 |  | Alcest
Les Chants de L'Aurore
The second best thing Alcest has ever done, and in the right seasonally-driven mood even surpasses Kodama. This album is so spritely and jubilant and crafts images of brilliant rays of sun peaking through verdant mid-summer blooms of beautiful forestry and flower-strewn grasslands that expand for miles. It has a perfect balance of calm and catharsis that feels a little more distinctly separated than the aforementioned Kodama, with tracks like “Amethyst” being immediately so gratifying and bombastic as opposed to the much more restrained heart-ripper and a fucking HALF that “Flamme Jumelle” is (meaning twin flame, alluding to the concept that love does not die in death and the “twin flame” still burns as memory). Niege made me cry to an interpretive dance video, and for that alone I commend him as no mortal but rather a beautiful Frenchie softboy deity. |
| 87 |  | Chat Pile
Cool World
I cannot even begin to call it a surprise that this is a record that fulfilled my desires for all things dirty dingy and depraved but still I was taken aback by just how well Chat Pile have managed to keep a healthy dose of bite and bile and bisect between “feral hellfire-pissing chaos” and “fucked up heroin blues”. That is to say, tracks like “I Am Dog Now” are spastic with a much more harsh and snarling vocal performance spearheading probably the chunkiest guitar tunings the band has yet to utilize, while tracks like “Shame” and “Masc” have an almost ethereal take on grunge that creates a greater sense of melody and -perhaps- more hook staying power while still feeling steeped in disappointment. If God’s Country was the heat of high tensions in ultrafucked America, Cool World is the morose but not acceptable armageddon aftermath that has occurred. |
| 88 |  | State Faults
Children of the Moon
5.0-A PERFECT JAM-Oh man, oh MAN. The experience when listening to any of this is so visceral, so stuffed to the brim with suffering and beauty and all the crossroads that link the two that in times it becomes too much to properly bear. Jonny Andrew’s screams are nothing short of the fully bloomed culmination of panic and its subsequent aftermath turning into something mystical, spiritual even. They are incredibly shrill and are balanced beautifully by the more loving and ethereal cleans that sometimes compliment them. There’s so much in the way of massive instrumental layering that builds beneath all this grandiosity, however immense and catastrophic the vocal presence may be. “Blood Moon” gently rolls in with the soft humming of snares, “Leviathan” has a backbone entirely constituted of tranquil rings that are only broken by a -sick- guitar solo that arises from the woodworks. “Heat Death” has drum fills with enough high octane THUNDERING energy to light planets ablaze in their |
| 89 | | State Faults
Children of the Moon
entirety. The top 5 musical one two punch of “No Gospel” into “Transfiguration” take these concepts of 24/7 mega-harsh anxiety addled screams arching over multi-faceted ethereal/comforting/cathartic compositions to their absolute limit. The slow-burning constant guitar swell driven by practically danceable bongo-esque (or maybe they’re bongos??? idfk???) with the most memorable and eviscerating one-liner i’ve heard in my life (THE ONLY HOLY BOOK IS THE ONE INSIDE YOUR HEART) is something I never even feel proper trying to justify or explain, it becomes fuckin’ -spiritual-. To follow this with the tearjerker (more like sobbing waterfall but I digress) of “Transfiguration” is almost unreasonable, it’s so lush and angry and snarling at its own self that it feels like a manifest of one's own desperation and self-loathing. All those times of darkness and having manic meltdowns in my car, with the unhinged fearful shrieks of “Now the flowers have gone/The ashes fall like snow” feel like a |
| 90 | | State Faults
Children of the Moon
pairing tailor made for me, for self-imposed anguish. There’s so much to dissect, but in essence, this goes beyond my words. Children of the Moon is deeply, deeply personal. In tldr terms, riffs m/m/m/m/m/ |
|
