The Year of Dedes
Hey my dudes (and dudettes!!!) I'm sorry for my rather quaint activity these days. The jamming has far from stopped but i've split my already precious extra time between more gym efforts (aiming for 200 bench for full set and 300 squat by the end of the year, current full set PR's are 165 and 290, albeit my best weights for both are 200 for 4 and 300 for 10 respectively) and a woman (kind of a thing, complicated situation, she has a long term man but he's a big POS, more details if one inquires). I'd like to return to writing more frequently as the gears are really starting to rust, hence the almost 3 weeks of effort it took me to complete this dogwater list. I hope y'all find something of interest and any jam recs are appreciated (rly on a melodic bm grind so anything in that vein is appreciated!) List is vaguely ranked from bad to middling to good to RULES (last 3 are exact rankings however) Edit-I accidentally submitted somehow so everything will be uploaded in segments lmao. |
| 1 |  | Sleep Token
Take Me Back to Eden
I’ll preface my disdain for Sleep Token as a whole by saying that I do not believe the fusion of pop (or uh, R&B here I suppose) and metal to be problematic, or that the integration even has to be seamless. Poppy’s EAT ep was stupid fun, a bit jarring yet still -fairly- easy to absorb. These dynamics can be interesting and fun and a plethora of things so long as there is at least a fair grasp on the genres presented. The problem with [i]Take Me Back to Eden[/i] is the metal elements are incorporated in the form of uninspired DJUNS as if they are to juxtapose the more dramatic croons that [i]aim[/i] to sound sensual and sexy and it sounds rather like the laziest derivative of all things known as modern core instead. As a standalone R&B record this is simply outside my spectrum of interest, as a “experimental” fusion-it sucks |
| 2 |  | Glen Hansard
All That Was East Is West Of Me Now
This is fine and I wish I remembered more. I can appreciate the mellow but still slightly gritty overtones present in this slab of indie-folk but I cannot remember discerning much of…anything from this otherwise. Sorry Sowing shoulda jammed Helcaraxe. |
| 3 |  | Cryptopsy
As Gomorrah Burns
The new era of Cryptopsy and their individualized take on totally chaotic tech-death is something I can appreciate, but it’s a fine line they straddle between chaos and indiscernibility. There are flashes of great riffs that unfortunately get stifled by their inability to latch on before moving onto a new idea. Ofc this [i]is[/i] tech-death but I do wish there was a semblance of flow here, even if the flash-in-a-pan punch is fun in the moment. |
| 4 |  | Silent Planet
Superbloom
Everything Silent Planet does lives, to me, somewhat in the shadow of [i]The Night God Slept[/i], but I cannot deny that they still know how to intertwine heavy/oppressive atmospheres with an impressive sense of catharsis. Surgically clean for sure, but with enough musicianship to make for moments that bring -slightly- harrowing vibes. |
| 5 |  | Fuming Mouth
Last Day of Sun
The context surrounding this record makes it rather wholesome and does add to the sense of authenticity, it being a record working as a posi-vibes strain through the strife death metal hardcore hybrid as their frontman Mark Wheilan was declared cancer-free. It’s a bit homogeneous and derivative for sure, but there is a sense of groove (as well as some truly RUFF howl-bark vocals) that still make it mad fun. |
| 6 |  | Humanity's Last Breath
Ashen
Lol I liked this far more than I would suspect! It can be seen as Black Tongue under the facade of prog metal ala Meshuggah or as poor man’s Vildhjarta, whatever they may be i’ve found i’ve enjoyed this more than either bands. It’s not as complex as it tries to be, but at face value it does present itself as a nigh comically heavy semi-dissonant deathcore slab with some interesting ways of ascertaining that (i.e,the wonky bends on 1:44 of “Bearer”). |
| 7 |  | Jesus Piece
...So Unknown
It’s angry modern borderline incomprehensible beatdown. If you like feral yelling and low tunings and CHONKY vibes than this is good. Slightly less good than [i]Only Self[/i] |
| 8 |  | VoidCeremony
Threads of Unknowing
Brutal DM that barrels along faster than a rifle blast whilst incorporating loads of ANGULAR riffs and somewhat jazzy time signatures and nutty oddball guitar shreds. A lot to digest, probably needs more revisits. |
| 9 |  | 100 Gecs
10,000 gecs
This is a bit inconsistent but ultimately made me finally somewhat appreciate the sugar-induced mania that is 100 gecs music. “757” is fun and uplifting in a way that few songs have ever captured for me-the ultimate way to turn your brain off and forget what makes music [i]good[/i]. Does the album as a whole capture this height? Not quite, but flashes of brilliance (silliness) still pop up (Frog on the Floor). |
| 10 |  | To The Grave
Director’s Cuts
Fun animal noise deathcore with literally one of the raddest riffs i’ve heard (ever?) off of “Axe of Kindness” from 3:06-onwards. Closest description would be if Lorna Shore stripped the symphonics and implemented a few more squeals. So is it like Lorna? Idk, but it is deathcore. |
| 11 |  | Katatonia
Sky Void of Stars
Tbh Katatonia don’t exactly have to prove anything by now, as even them rehashing their quasi-prog dark metal direction that began at [i]The Fall of Hearts[/i] is perfectly enjoyable and still makes for more a dismal and serene experience, however it -can- be said that the amounts in which these feelings are presented has begun to wane, if only for Katatonia retreading their own grounds perhaps a few too many times. This means basically-as a standalone this album rules, as an album lost in a massive discog sea, it’s serviceable. |
| 12 |  | Dryad
The Abyssal Plain
Murky as hell d-beat influenced black/death metal hybrid. A bit lost in its fuzzy trems and murk but decidedly impressively voracious in its combination of witchy howls, caveman gutturals and head-smashing nut-bashing in ur face RIFFZ. |
| 13 |  | Family Dynamics
Service
Another pleasant surprise! I don’t much dig what little indie folk I try to jam these days but records like this remind me that, outside of my narrow metal-minded noggin, [i/]other[/i] genres too have their scenes with distinguishable atmospheres and not every folk artist is a sad douche with an acoustic guitar lamenting that time he dropped his peanut butter sandwich in the middle school hall. This record is rather more like the more positive elements of a pleasant psychedelic winter wonderland trip, as if i’m wandering an endless snow bank mesmerized by the lights refractions and the gentle plopping of snow from pine limbs, not the more negative shroom scenario wherein i’m being spitroasted by a feral Alaskan frontiersman. |
| 14 |  | Full of Hell and Nothing
When No Birds Sang
Big shoutout to my mothafuckin bro JAYENDER here for convincing me to jam Nothing, a band that has slowly crept from being a generally enjoyable wad of fuzz to a hot and [i]rockin[/i] ball of fuzz. Their more peaceful but still present sense of melancholy and ability to conjure dismal atmospheres serve as both a way to empower and emphasize the Full of Hell segments here, which instead choose feral cat-fucking cacophony to meet those same ends of immeasurable pain and sadness. |
| 15 |  | Suffocation
Hymns From the Apocrypha
This was very good and because it is so good it does beg me to wonder why I only ever take Suffocation in short doses. Admittedly, this album [i]is[/i] dense, it’s template being classical scalings smattered in a fat helping of gore and viscera. The vigor is as imminent and ferocious and ever, and yet I cannot help but be a bit perplexed at the ridiculous levels of nuance surrounding a total guttural fest like [i]Dim Veil of Obscurity[/i] (a personal favorite). Best suffo since Pierced. |
| 16 |  | Dying Wish
Symptoms of Survival
For a more fleshed out thought process see my review, but for now I will state as much as-this is definitely my favorite scene of metalcore. That sweet, sweet mid 2000’s melodic-core done with so much love and finesse. It’s fun, it’s charming, it’s nostalgic, bring back KE and a tall boy of monster energy 26 is too goddamn old for me. |
| 17 |  | Wayfarer
American Gothic
Prospectors ravishing the wild American west in pursuit of selfish fortune. Saloons kickin’ up dust as two grisled cowboys throw left and right hooks in a bourbon induced fit. Great plains upheaved for industrial smokestacks to line the ever-hungry pockets of railyard owners. American Gothic is a wicked slab of black metal/country that captures the west of yore in a way that paints both the zany, goofy imagery that we all [i]wish[/i] it was (sorry Red Dead Redemption) with a healthy dose of the sad realities (pos oil tycoons and railroad owners lining their pockets at the expense of the destruction of the American west). It also contains within the single raddest song title of all time, [i]To Enter My House Justified[/i] sp basically it rules hard. |
| 18 |  | Primordial
How It Ends
New Primordial is always a cause to be stoked about, and How It Ends absolutely keeps the whiskey-slingin’ potato-gnashin’ Irish spirit alive. This is, imo, an album that fashions itself from the best rock and roll sensibilities of “Exile Amongst the Ruins” alongside the more scathing, cathartic elements of Primordial’s earlier black metal elements (ala “The Gathering Wilderness” or even “Storm Before the Calm”). Also “Call to Cernunnos” might be the most wicked and primitive thing they’ve ever made and is reason alone to check this BANGER. |
| 19 |  | Hexvessel
Polar Veil
Dude from Dodheimsgard doing weird psychedelic doomy things. With a voice that swoons in an odd fashion above an endless expanse of snowy moors and isolated mountain peaks accompanied by plodding tremolos, “Polar Veil” captures in it the essence of a beautiful but forlorn cold winter night. Brr. |
| 20 |  | Tomb Mold
The Enduring Spirit
Whew BOY was this an album that resurrected my decaying interest in dirty death metal, perhaps because this is only [i]kind of[/i] dirty. In fact moreso than anything this brings absolute chaotic prog wankery, but if prog wankery could actually be [i]good[/i]. If you dig ridiculous guitar chops and an atmosphere that is as beautiful as it is eccentric, then this shit shall rock you and rock you hard it shall. Also has good albeit slightly homogenous caveman gutturals. 11/10. |
| 21 |  | Baroness
Stone
New Baroness slaps. Great atmosphere-driven stoner metal/rock with some particularly fun and impressive drum patterns (“Under the Wheel” and “Last Words” being some [i]wicked[/i] examples of this.) Baroness merge a hodgepodge of beautiful croons, sludgy DIRTY guitar riffs and a wonderful sense of patience and calm in the record's more reserved moments, and henceforth it rules. |
| 22 |  | Polaris
Fatalism
Modern core naysayers, avert your eyes (and ears) because this album is absolutely rooted in the modern trend of big sing-songy choruses, an emphasis on [i]slightly[/i] odd time signatures and BIG chugga-chugga riffs and breakdowns. It takes the foundations of bands like old Northlane and to a lesser extent ERRA and morphs it into its own creature by having an even tighter knack for groove and imo a greater sense of personability (which is, tbf, an extremely subjective matter). It is both a mournful and radiant record all in one, which is only inflated even greater by the loss of Ryan Siew (guitarist) at the wildly young age of 26. RIP brother, your riffs were real and i’m sure you owned just as hard. |
| 23 |  | Horrendous
Ontological Mysterium
Imagine your listening to Death. Hell yeah!! Now imagine Death had melodic death metal leanings. Now imagine Death also had a slight knack for beautiful acoustic passages. Now imagine they wrote one of the best songs of all time (ever!) (it’s “Preterition Hymns btw”). Honestly, the way great proficiency and scathing energy and catchy riffs and (and?and!) beautiful buildups merge together here is actually a little boggling. It really dawned upon me just how impressive their craftsmanship was when I was nigh brought to tears when the drums and guitars fade into a single defeated rasp on the aforementioned “Preterition Hymns”. |
| 24 |  | Fen
Monuments to Absence
This is maybe the most scathing Fen have ever been. There isn’t a great emphasis on patience and restraint, or at least not on the level of Carrion Skies, or even moreso their opus Winter. Monuments to Absence instead rides the calm through catharsis, with ripping tremolos and some particular gnarly rasps that still aren’t afraid to allow tranquil melodies and moments to pierce through this much more abrasive side of Fen. Case in point-the distant ringing and tight snare fills that segway the more energetic half of “Scouring Ignorance” into its much more reserved and doom-laden 2nd half. |
| 25 |  | Loma Prieta
Last
This is good but I cannot even begin to remember what it was like aside from marrying chaotic energy and ethereal atmospheres quite well. Good skramz for the people??? |
| 26 |  | Mental Cruelty
Zwielicht
Modern Lorna Shore with moderate melodic-bm influences and a greater emphasis on big castle-sieging symphonies. This might exist in its own slightly homogenous corner of the deathcore globe, but for I revel in gross amounts of sonic excess and overtly loud production and stupid animal noises in my death metal, I can say sufficiently this is one of the much better deathcore albums i’ve heard in quite a long time. |
| 27 |  | Knower
Knower Forever
I owe this so much more attention than what I have given it thus far. I don’t know to aptly describe it. Jazztronica? It’s chaotic, a little odd, extremely fun, and definitely seems like the product of all things internet-related. It’s a wildly love or hate experience imo-if you can’t embrace the goofy genre-hopping and sugar-addled adhd this record present then chances are you’ll have a bad time. |
| 28 |  | Incendiary
Change The Way You Think About Pain
Meaty, mega pissed D-beat hardcore with some of the most memorable and fun one liners that have ever graced such a lyric-centric genre. It doesn’t matter what political musings Incendiary sings-when you hear the rallying cry of “every window deserves a brick” from “Echo of Nothing” paired with a particularly groovy and [i]gnarly[/i] riff, all disposition and disbelief is gone. It’s time for a fucking war. |
| 29 |  | Age of Panic
Blades Drawn
For an extensive opinion, check my review. For the tldr, Zao and Knocked Loose have a baby and it has a slightly affinity for old school DM. It’s like a 13 minute EP just jam it losers. |
| 30 |  | Fires in the Distance
Air Not Meant For Us
Fantastic melodic death/doom metal with some progressive tendencies (think Be’lakor song structures but with a Draconian knack for doom and atmosphere). This makes me feel like i’m wandering through a misty forest in the final hour of night, within a realm of creatures both magical and mortifying. |
| 31 |  | August Burns Red
Death Below
Best ABR since [i]Found in Far Away Places[/i]. The riffs have renewed vigor and proficiency. The vocals are [i]especially[/i] more full and scathing then they have been maybe ever. It’s a beautiful thing to witness a band that was so formative to my interest in music manage to drag out of what was becoming a big slump and make something actually exciting rather than a record that just coasted on its laurels. Needs more jamz. |
| 32 |  | Invent Animate
Heavener
I have also not jammed this enough and had it nearly forgotten! This is ethereal and makes me feel like i’m drifting into a sea of stars and clouds. The riffs whirl in and out in a way that is lovely and seamless and the vocals can both grind metal into dust and pierce your goddamn soul in the same breath. |
| 33 |  | Viscera (UK)
Carcinogenesis
Another exercise in sonic excess but this time with a much bigger emphasis on ridiculously fast shreds and scalings. Technical deathcore, symphonic edge, extremely cathartic, surprisingly hearty clean vocals that actually sound better than the harsh vocals (a rare deathcore feat!) |
| 34 |  | Insomnium
Anno 1696
"Heart Like a Grave" was a moderate dissapointment but oml is the ambition back heres. The wildly cathartic ferocious 1-2 of "1696" into "White Christ", the sprawling ethereal epic of "The Rapids". Vocally this may be the most energy Insomnium have ever had and instrumentally they seem to have found a satisfying middle ground between Winter's Gate's ambition and Across the Dark's simplicity which I greatly admire. |
| 35 |  | Underneath
Nothing Here is Held Sacred
In a ways this reminds me of END-certainly unhinged, dismal and unforgiving and with a big emphasis on making things as freakishly heavy as possible, but i’d say the distinguishing factor for sure comes in the vocals, opting instead for some extremely grime-ridden low-mid range bellows over the unhinged screams that END leans towards. Extremely stoked to see what vicious sounds are being conjured for their first LP (coming in 2 weeks!) |
| 36 |  | Inherits the Void
The Impending Fall Of The Stars
Oof this thing is wonderful. Sparkly cosmic synths overlay visceral screams, trems that could heal the greatest wounds within the soul and some particularly visceral rasps that could bring the most callous of men to a torrent of tears. The musicianship here is ridiculously tight and proficient without ever sounding meandering or like a pile of wank, which helps keep the album thoroughly exciting instead of losing its legs. |
| 37 |  | Tribulation
Hamartia
Actually perhaps the best thing Tribulation has done and its only a 4 song EP. As per all their more goth-doom oriented material this is quite atmosphere driven (conjuring the most wicked gleans of red-eyed werewolves and bloodsoaked moons), but it’s for sure not without some [i]sick[/i] riffs (i.e, the t/t). Perfect for lazy Sundays playing Diablo with a nice cup of espresso. |
| 38 |  | Ahab
The Coral Tombs
For as much as an Ahab fanboy as I can be, I have truly ignored this record by and large (not for its lack of quality!). It’s a mammoth and a half to absorb, unsurprising when you spend 66 minutes being lashed at by gargantuan krakens and having your ribs crushed into dust by such great oceanic pressure. This is not unlike most Ahab records, with long pieces of respite still coming to and fro (the cleans in “Prof.Arronax” are particularly lush), but it’s still hard not to feel a slight but well enjoyed mental exhaustion by the time you approach the absolutely [i]immense[/i] gutturals of “The Maelstrom” (with an Esoteric feature at 8 minutes starting off the wails of “Descend!” that ironically, do, indeed descend in tone into a warbling gurgle). |
| 39 |  | END
The Sin of Human Frailty
Heavy is as heavy does and boy howdy is this fucking [i]heavy[/i]. Ofc this is the modus operandi of END to sound like two bulldozers smashing together whilst a metric ton of dynamite are blasting down a quarry, but this is the best END has ever been at it. For sure, there are heavy djuns and vicious snarling one-liners, but add to that even heavier elements of mathcore (Embodiment of Grief), dark industrial (Thaw, also best track IMO) and the dark ambient-isms that bands like Full of Hell helped propagate (Hollow Urn) and you have something that feels like it is defined by “heavy” on all fronts, crafting something that, while still emotionally one-note (hate everyone and everything yourself included, thou shall not be exempt) is actually extremely varied in its absolutely visceral pissed-the-fuck-off end goal. |
| 40 |  | Moonlight Sorcery
Horned Lord of the Thorned Castle
Lol ty Hawks you mad consumer of frosty riffz, this rules and probably deserves a bit more attention than i’ve given it! This is an absolute flash in the pan of power metal/black metal hybridization, bringing forth images of lightning-addled night skies striking with great frequency upon charred mountain tops, the crackling of thunder being pierced only by the low simmer of lava at the earth below. This is very fantasy-centric, so if you don’t like a little bit of cheese this might not be your vibe. If you want a healthy slice or two however, czech this, it rules. |
| 41 |  | Night Verses
Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night...
Instrumental prog metalcore masterpiece that still has yet a second half to be released. Will wait until then for full opinion. |
| 42 |  | Johnny Booth
Moments Elsewhere
Strangely enough this is one of the few albums I adore that I few distinctly as a more summer-oriented album. It's bright and hoppy with a lot of sass and bite and some grossly HEAVY moments, but it's this jubilance that pops in often (i.e Full Tilt and Bright Future) that don't -quite- fit in with the cold and isolated nature of winter. Regardless this is Johnny Booth approaching their groovy and punkish peak and is something that keeps me excited for how the quality of sheer mosh material keeps evolving to have more emphasis on actual songwriting even if it's juxtaposed with an ever-growing penchant for greater down tuning still. |
| 43 |  | Blackbraid
Blackbraid II
I greatly appreciate how, for all its divisiveness and narrow-minded subcategory spergelords, bm can be a deceptively open and accepting genre. That is to say that there are a million and one different ways to incorporate the sounds and energies of different cultures within it. A surprisingly large niche soundscape within that is Indigenous black metal, including the likes of Nechochwen, Pan-Amerikan Native Front and a young but ever so vibrant Blackbraid. Blackbraid II is so immediately cathartic, with a plethora of stompy trems and almost laughably fast blast beats (“The Wolf That Guides the Hunter’s Hand” is a wicked example) and some excellent fierce n raspy pipes (vocal chords, return to Saor if bagpipes where your expectation). There are as well some slow burning epics that allow for some respite, but imo this album is at its best when it comes steamrolling like a Iroquois tribe hailing arrows from the top of Appalachia. |
| 44 |  | Burner
It All Returns To Nothing
This album is so goddamn meaty you’d think you got blinked into a butcher shop. The guitar tone is THICK and CRUNCHY, the vocals marry together creaking gutturals and grotesque snarls in a way like no other hardcore hath done before, and in this pure brimstone-chucking hellfire-pissing metalcore/hardcore/death metal is born. Burner are intimidating in just how much bite and menace back up all aside from the occasional melodic moment (the surprise crescendo in “Affirming Flame” being a wildly effective and emotional moment within an otherwise unforgiving pummelfest). This is the best metalcore i’ve discovered in a strong year, check if you like A N G R Y jams. |
| 45 |  | Knocked Loose
Upon Loss Singles
Make this an EP you pricks |
| 46 |  | Ne Obliviscaris
Exul
I was a bit skeptical as to what trajectory this band would take with the departure of Dan Presland (drummer), who’s drum style served to greatly underscore the massive crescendos and slow-burning waltzes that made NeO so goddamn great, even following a -slight- weak point with [i]Urn[/i]. There was nothing to fear. The drums are still equal parts graceful and ferocious, and have a wonderful sense of refrain and payoff, as can be said about the entirety of this record. Hell, this may be the most patient and calculated NeO have ever been, and while in that some of the unfiltered emotion may be a touch obscured, it makes those moments of unbridled beauty that much more goddamn wonderful. Tldr, check “Equus” and tell me that final riff didn’t make your panties sodden. |
| 47 |  | Majesties
Vast Reaches Unclaimed
This is a true match made in heaven, with the winding fantasy guitar stylings of Obsequiae mending with a more concise Dark Tranquility penchant for catchiness and songwriting. It’s adventurous, sprawling even, but always being reigned in enough by the fact that there are simply so many goddamn earworm riffs that allow it such that you are never entirely lost within the great red horizon, rife with dragons and dwarfs alike. Do you like scathing rasps and fun ass riffz? Do you like In Flames? Do you like slammin horns of mead? Can you even find authentic mead in your area that isn’t honeyed wine posing as mead (pls send some)? If so then check this plebeian. |
| 48 |  | There Will Be Fireworks
Summer Moon
I’ve always had a hard time identifying with the more positive themes of romanticism and love present in a lot of songs, but something about Summer Moon feels so distinctly…romantic to me in a way that crafts both a gross and gaping yearning that is equally paralleled by excitement for what is (potentially???) blossoming. I think it’s because Summer Moon is so reflective rather than being completely entrenched in boring lovey-dovey nothings-no cheesy sappy you are my world bullshit, but rather the more important if menial things like jamming a song you both like on a warm day on the front porch or sharing a beer and showing off silly animal pages you’ve started doomscrolling (for me, it’s those goddamn capybaras man). For the boys in TWBF it’s all reminiscing on the past, but it makes me want to not fear loving strongly in the present knowing that one day that love can become a pleasant fading memory of my own. IMO almost as good as TDDB. |
| 49 |  | Panopticon
The Rime of Memory
This. This was, for me, a slow-burn quasi-masterpiece. It details Austin’s reflections on death and the value of life and how it is the finiteness of it that causes it’s perceived value, which would sound like an overdone statement if not for the fact that Austin is a beautiful goddamn heartthrob and the fact that this album patiently snaps the sinews of one's heart with beautiful folk passages and twinkly crescendos and the occasional BIG RIFF. It’s a post-black/folk hybrid that exudes so much warmth and love that it’s impossible not to let loose a teary-eyed grin by the end of “The Blue Against the White”. -Potentially- 2nd best Panopticon. |
| 50 |  | Sulphur Aeon
Seven Crowns and Seven Seals
And still it is, even with the emotional value eschewed by the previous two records, my AOTY goes to cthulian death metal. Or rather a completed amalgamation of many metal genres, in descending order-death metal>heavy metal>black metal>power metal (?). Seven Crowns is about dark, patient aquatic passages, big chunky guitar riffs, THUNDEROUS stomping kick pedals, cathartic shreds, filthy snarls, hell even moments that are downright [i]gorgeous[/i] (the buildup in “The Yearning Abyss Devours Us” being actually a top 10 moment in all of goddamn music). It’s such a wildly fun album that impressively never loses staying power because all the pieces of the puzzle are just so immaculately constructed, allowing for both meatheaded riffage and tasteful ambiance to coexist at all the right moments. Almost a 5. Perhaps it might just be. |
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