Kingdom of Noise
RULED BY THE RIFF
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Album of the Month - September 2024: Slomosa - 'Tundra Rock'
Back in the dark times, August 2020 to be exact, a band from Norway named Slomosa released their self-titled album. I had no idea. Then, about 3 YEARS later I stumbled upon "Horses" on the WEEDIAN "Trip to Norway" compilation and found my socks on the other side of the room. Late to the party or what, man?! Being unaware of their awesomeness for 3 years when I could have been feeding Slomosa to my internal heppy place that whole time is a sad feeling. But! It means I only had to suffer through ONE year of waiting for MORE! MORE! MORE! The more we were all waiting for is 'Tundra Rock' and my socks are way the fuck over there again.
'Tundra Rock' is the perfect name to describe Slomosa. So self-aware. To paraphrase the band themselves, "it's like desert rock but since they're from Norway the desert is tundra." Not all deserts are sand. Snow and ice are smooth. Just like Slomosa, man. From the riffs to the tone to the timing and flow, it's all smooth. There's nothing wrong with the grit of "desert rock" bands like Kyuss of course. Bands like Slomosa wouldn't be around without them. It's like Slomosa used those desert sands to take the rust off an old machine and make it shine with a new energy that feels invigorating. Especially on 'Tundra Rock'. Song after song it pumps out banger after banger of intuitive songwritng full of sweet riffs maxed with fuzz and a chemistry you can feel.
Opener "Afghansk Rev" is a slow, thunderous build. You know it's working up to something. Like the opening song to a show where the lights aren't even on yet. Then it's high gear. Stoner rock at its best. Powerful riffs, tension, release, layers and nuance. "Rice" and "Cabin Fever" were the first singles release and they're also the first "full on" songs on the album. In fact the first four "full on" songs are the four singles but not in order. So the first half of the album was familiar before release. "Red Thundra" was last and coincided with the full album but I digress. Luckily picking a single from 'Tundra Rock' would be as easy as throwing darts at a board that's all bullseyes. They're all unmistakeably good and unmistakeably Slomosa.
As mentioned above, Ben Berdous (vocals/guitar), Marie Moe (bass/vocals), Tor Erik Bye (guitar), and Jard Hole (drums) have incredible chemistry. The way they play off and play into each other is just so good. Whether presenting a united wall of air-moving sound to push away the cold with warm tones or undulating in parallel, slightly out of phase like a pod of belugas playfully traversing the fjords the quartet feel entirely natural and instinctually cohesive. Listen to "Monomann" and you'll see. Barrelling riffs with little dips and swirls and various elements rising and falling against a force that just keeps propelling forward. That song's follow-up, "MJ" has some of the most Kyuss-y moments and album closer "Dune" is where you'll find a Clutch influence.
I don't think I'm alone in saying that Slomosa are creating special and lasting music. I know I'm not. From what I understand from the hole I live in they're so hot right now. I even read one redditor posit that in 30 years we'll be talking about Slomosa with the same reverence as we do with Kyuss today. That redditor wasn't me but I upvoted that hard. I sincerely hope Slomosa can keep it together longer though! In the tundra you have to stick together and stay close for warmth. That may play into our favour. In the meantime, 'Tundra Rock' (and 'Slomosa') will be more that enough to keep us comfortable until they're next batch tunes thaws from the permafrost.
Released September 13, 2024 on MNRK Heavy.
You can find "Monomann" on my As I Go September 2024 Spotift Playlist along with a bunch of other cool stoner rock. (and a little Slayer.)
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Album of the Month - August 2024: Anciients - 'Beyond the Reach of the Sun'
I'll admit that I'm better at listening to this type of music than writing about it. I like the long songs with plenty of different parts. I like just how progressive it is. Not too much wandering or music nerd stuff. I like how it feels like there's a story being told (lived?) all the time. I'm awful at lyrics unless I read them so I'm not sure what that story may be. See, I'm terrible. I'll keep trying.
'Beyond the Reach of the Sun' as a phrase sounds cold and dark. Much colder and darker than the musical journey it represents. Personally, I feel more light and warmth coming at me from the headphone speakers. Oh, and this is definitely a headphone record. Definitely. The depth and complexity CANNOT be full realized otherwise. I've listened on my phone speaker, my smart speaker, in two vehicles, and on my headphones and it's not even close. Maybe the vehicles without all the road noise. When the headphones are on and isolating your auditory experience to just the interwoven and dynamic lines tearing through space on "Celestial Tyrant" you'll appreciate how full the void can become. Like you can hear the low hum of background radiation. (Sound is a wave, so is radiation. We don't know what type of being is processing that wave in what type of brain.)
I mentioned the long songs but they aren't too long here. The longest is opener "Forbidden Sanctuary" at a little over eight minutes and there are a few around four minutes. With most being between six and seven minutes Anciients do pack a lot in. Ups, downs, loud, quiet, slow, fast, spacious, oppressive. It is prog metal after all. Hopefully at this point you've hit play on the embedded link and know what I'm talking about. But if you haven't heard it already why are you even here?
I should wrap this up. Funny, as I finish this album closer "In the Absence of Wisdom" gently seeps through my central nervous system and I find myself in fact lacking a great wisdom to impart. Perhaps because instead of giving myself over to the album I've been splitting my focus to try and tell you specifically why you should not split your focus. Take the hour out of your day and dig in. It's really the best way. I know from experience. That's not too long to take you beyond the reach of the Sun. Released August 30, 2024 on Season of Mist Records. For my August 2024 Playlist CLICK THIS SPOTIFY LINK.
Sunday, August 11, 2024
Album of the Month - July 2024: Penza Penza - 'Alto E Primitivo'
To be honest I listened to almost no July new releases (in July). I was stuck on a psychedelic music trip. Yawning Man, Colour Haze, Naxatras, Yuri Garagin, Dead Meadow, Causa Sui, and Kungens Man mostly. But that extended trip was partially inspired by my album of the month for July, 'Alto E Primitivo' by Penza Penza. Penza Penza is just one of the projects of multi-instrumentalist Misha Panfilov. It's not metal. It's barely loud. But it's freakin' cool. And instrumental.
Things start off with "Guten Morgen". It's got a a funky vibe with garage rock flavour and some screaming sax. Things get a little dirtier with "Much Sharper, More Focused." The guitars get more garage-y but we don't lose the funky swagger. Everything gets moving, man. Hips, shoulders, head groovin' to the riff. I'm not gonna go song by song here. There's 14 that swing by a little over 32 minutes. Penza Penza aren't sitting on a riff forever. Get in, get funky, get out.
While they may simplify the songs they use a wide range of instruments bringing keys/organs/synths and brass into the mix. I'm not ususally one for brass but here they "fit" and are "not annoying". It varies though. Tracks like "Charlie Loves Garcia" let the organ set the tone while the brass fills in the background amid an easy, breezy sway.
The Bandcamp tags for this release are "experimental jazz punk garage psychedelic" but they forgot "funk" or it's a typo. I read something that labeled them "psychedelic funk" and that's about the feeling I get. I mean, "Midnighter" is pretty funky, dudes. I had it playing one day and I walked into the room and my wife says "now, I don't mind this over most of that other stuff." It's real funky, baby. Smooth jazzy at times with an undeniable fucky swagger. Sexy music.
Anyway, July was hot so I went cool with this month's choice. It's feel good music. You can dance to it. It's psychedelic funk flavoured with garage rock and a generally 60s/70s feel. It's just very, very cool without saying a thing.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Album of the Month - June 2024: Fu Manchu - 'The Return of Tomorrow'
There is no questioning that 'The Return of Tomorrow' by Fu Manchu is the album of the month for June. Possibly for the first half of 2024. Maybe of ALL of 2024. Not gonna lie, extreme bias here. Fu Manchu has been one of my favourite bands for a long time. Mostly because they rock! For this baby the boys have put together a double album (on vinyl anyway) where one half is heavy, fuzzy tracks and half is mellow(er) tunes. All I hear is Fu Manchu. Sure, not all the songs hit you like a Chevy van on the highway but at no point did I ever think a song was all that mellow. I guess that's where the "(er)" comes in. I dunno, man. There isn't too much I feel like dissecting with this. It's new Fu Manchu and basically already classic Fu Manchu. Instant anthems. Catchy as fuck. Just what the doctor ordered. Live long and fuzz.
Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Album of the Month - May 2024: Ufomammut - 'Hidden'
Italy's mighty Ufomammut have the distinguished honour of being Album of the Month for May 2024 here at Kingdom of Noise with 'Hidden'. The "psychedelic sludge" trio celebrate their 25th year by releasing their 10th album. Not a bad pace if you ask me. Pacing is a large part of the appeal of Ufomammut too. The band has always mastered their pacing. Mostly a lumbering gait kinda thing. As doom does. Ufomammut dial up the repetition more than most locking the listener into whatever otherworldly headspace they're creating. Drones, synths, and FX round out the full effect. Ufomammut albums are a trip, man, and 'Hidden' feels of no diminished quality this deep into the band's career. Ufomammut are remarkably consistent in that regard.
There's just something about them that clicks with me. So it makes sense that 'Hidden' does too. It's heavy as fuck for starters. The transisions are near perfect. When they move between parts it doesn't feel forced or clunky even if it's abrupt. Even without the snyth effect, the industrial undertone persists. All the synths and FX do is take it to another level. It's what takes all their albums to the next level. It's so integral to their sound. I mean, it's right there in the name Ufomammut. UFO and mammut (Italian for mammoth). The power of a huge, earthshaking animal infused with otherworldy influence. Charged darkness comes to mind. An atmosphere alive and sunless and ancient.
'Hidden' is a muscular and nuanced album. It deserves your attention. The more undivided that attention is, the better. Hide yourself in the layered sonic intensity and let it overwhelm you.
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Album of the Month - April 2024: High on Fire - 'Cometh the Storm'
I am pretty much phoning this month in. From long distance. You don't need me to tell you that High on Fire's 'Cometh the Storm' is the best album released in April of 2024. There were other great albums released but holy fucking shitballs, does this fucking RIP!!!
I will admit that I had some small concerns about Coady Willis (Big Business, Melvins) taking over the drum throne. I mean, Des is a fucking legend, right? Those concerns were quickly put to bed. Mr. Willis just slid right in there like he always belonged. I love it!
As for the album it's just what you want from a High on Fire record. The riffs just keep on coming. It's just repeated sonic beatings. Especially "The Beating". Matt Pike lets rip some wicked vocals too. I like when it sounds like he's just yelling. And those solos? Fuck. You know who else is a legend? Jeff Matz. Goddamn I wish I could play like him. Goals. I saw an instagram post asking what song was your favourite. The responses covered almost every song on the album. I was not surprised because they're all worthy.
Yeah, I'm running out of talk time here and I don't have anymore change for the booth. There isn't much to say other than HIGH ON MOTHERFUCKING FIRE!!!!!!!
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Album of the Month - March 2024: Uncle Woe - 'Oblivion and Further Disaster'
Ya know, I can't even remember how I came across Uncle Woe exactly but since hearing 'Pennyfold Haberdashery and Abbatoir Deluxe' a couple years ago I have made Uncle Woe music a part of my life. A place to go for refuge. A sound I can wrap around myself and become seaparte from the outside world. This month's outstanding release, 'Oblivion and Further Disaster' adds another layer of protection. A thick, insulating layer. Thick in tone, thick in emotional heft, thick in vocal expression.
I suppose those are the attributes one looks for when searching the doom forests for a balm for your soul but finding the unique combination that just clicks is becoming increasingly rare. Uncle Woe, and 'Oblivion' in particular doesn't so much click as slide gently into place. As loud as the tube amps get, and they get loud, as heartwrenching as the wails become, as forcefully as the drums impact, there's a soft quality that's hard to define but it definitely isn't as harsh and potentially brittle as a click would suggest. The connection is intuitive, sub-atomic, and seemless.
Throughout 'Oblivion' I often find myself almost frozen. The massive doom riffs, slow and patient, hold me in place. Not through oppression so much as thickening the space around me. The vocals, disorienting, calling from the mists beyond the pines, make my bones vibrate. It's about the frequency. The frequency of life. Uncle Woe is tuned into my frequency, or the other way around. I mean, it's miserable music much of the time. It's not happy. I'm generally a happy person. I practice being happy. But I've yet to acheive spontaneous and everlasting happiness. Suffering and delusion still hold sway over parts of my mind. That's where Uncle Woe comes in. Matching frequency, acting as a channel for expression even if it's just between my ears.
I've matured to a point where the music I really connect with largely depends on how it makes me feel. Sometimes that involves shaking my hips like I'm looking for tips, head-and-shoulder groovin', or in the case of doom, the feeling moves inward. Mind and soul. Uncle Woe is good for my heart and soul. Perhaps 'Oblivion and Further Disaster' will be there for you too through your own oblivions and further disasters. Only one way to find out.
Full March 2024 Spotify Playlist (this Unlce Woe release is not on Spotify)
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Album of the Month - February 2024: Fearbirds - 'Aux Blood'
Upon hearing this goddamn ripper of an album I was definitely in. It's the kind of hardcore/metal hybrid that grabs your shirt right at your throat and doesn't let go. Totally in your face. Bruising. Hot breath in your ears. Constantly in motion, vibrating. Urging you, compelling you, forcing you to join in.
Hardcore is kinda like that, I suppose. A lot of the bands out Vancouver way are kinda like that. Listening to this gave me a craving for some Baptists and some Bison. A triple dose of head-clobbering. I quickly returned to the present and planted my feet firmly for additional onslaughts of 'Aux Blood'. Is that what trickles out of my ear when I've got this cranked? It's imperative though. Max volume. The riffs demand it. The percussion and vocals demand it.
Alright, I gotta say this even though I don't like making too many bad comparisons. Most likely what's made me connect to this album the most, member familiarity aside, is how much it reminds me of the band I Hate Sally. I've seen Barn Burner and I Hate Sally play the same stage so there's a connection there too. (Not at the same time but the guitarist from IHS put on shows BB played.) Fearbirds employ a similar feeling on a bunch of tracks. The shape of the songs, the elasticity of movement that lands a kidney shot over and over, and a sharp energy channeled right from the very earth. They gallop over the same ground at different times, on different missions. Hardcore muscle powering the killing edge of metal.
Anyway. You get what I'm saying. I've dropped enough names already. Now drop what you're doing and check 'Aux Blood' out.
February Spotify Playlist
Saturday, March 9, 2024
Album of the Month - January 2024: Brugada - 'To Slow Death and Fast Riffs'
"Better late than never" applies to this post in a couple ways. First, the post is a few weeks late. Second, the album is a few years late. But that's better than not at all! WAY better. Honestly, I wasn't sure 'To Slow Death and Fast Riffs' would ever see the light of day.
You see, Brugada was basically over before it even started. Well, let's back it up even more. Brugada members Rob Zawistowski and Adam Young were in a rad band called Asktrakhan and put out a handful of kick ass releases ending in 2018's amazing 'Without New Growth Process Is Bloodshed' in early 2018. Sadly that album never saw a physical release and the band split with Zawistowski and Young forming Brugada. They posted a couple small samples/live videos, just enough to get the feel of it. Similar enough in the progressive sludge sorta style but obviously a little more aggressive. Then nothing. For years. Until one day I get a message from Rob along the lines of "Hey, Matt. Guess what's finally coming out." I may have familiarized that a bit but whatever. I might not have known otherwise though! Here, start listening while you read the rest. (It's not on the regular streamers.)
'Slow Death' opens with "Bangar 18" and doesn't waste any time spreading their tools out. Hard-driving riffs, passionate roars, tight, spidery excursions around the fretboard, and the percussive complexity to match. The poetry of violence. That's kind of the feeling I get from the whole album in a way. There's a violence to it but it's not blind. It's pensive and self-aware. The lyrics are included on Bandcamp (but not on the J-card of the cassette available from Tone Zone Records) so you can see what I mean.
How can I expand on this? Let's go with feeling. It FEELS hard. Sharp. One second a series of quick punches. The next, slicing. And often enough it breathes, taking in air for the next push. Highs, lows, quick transitions. Vocally as well we've got a whole spectrum of tones and volume reflecting the lyrics. That's where the real poetry is. I've always liked that about the works these guys have done.
On Bandcamp the band have the line "Fast and fun. Mean, and sassy". I can't argue with that. I can't argue with "progressive sludge" either despite that term's association with bands like Mastodon and Baroness. I mean, heavyiness with a sort of thrashy, hardcore edge mated to melody and technicality with a healthy dose of rage sounds about right to me. In Brugada's case maybe a little more rage. Fun rage. A quick burning rage that exhausted all its fuel since this album is all we'll get from them. That's ok because it's awesome!
I'm not sure what else to say. I loved Asktrakhan, I love Brugada. I just love this style. Wicked riffs, cool vocals, bangin' drums, and the technicality is woven into the fabric keeping the songs tight and to the point. If that wasn't enough there are some guest vocalists. Jeff Radomsky of Neck of the Woods on "A Nod to Process" (total banger), Twitchy Claire Carreras (Vancouver scene vet) on "Return to Bangar" (total banger), Kevin Keegan (Dead Quiet, Barn Burner) on "Skin and Blood" (total banger), and Devond Motz (Brass) on "Spaceman" (total banger).
It's just a total banger.
Yeah. 'To Slow Death and Fast Riffs' kicks ass. It rips. It rages. You need to hear it. And here's the video for "Bossfight".
Brugada - Bossfight (Official Music Video) from Robert Zawistowski on Vimeo.
January Spotify Playlist
Sunday, January 28, 2024
2023: My Favourites
Man, the evolution continues. Or is it a de-evolution? Not society. That's totally fucked. I mean my music listening habits. Long gone are the days of knowing every sub-genre. Or trying to anyway. I really, really feel most at home when I'm enjoying stoner rock and metal, doom, stoner doom, sludge, psych, heavy psych, more and more prog, shit like that. I think I listened to one black metal album all year? ('Blackbraid II') Thrash? Probably just Slayer (more or less) thanks to the Talkin' Slayer podcast by D.X. Ferris. As for death metal well, most of that input was in the live setting. Anyhoo.
Once I got down to it putting together this year's list wasn't so hard. I value my time to the point of not wasting any of it if the tunes don't resonate. That made that long list shorter and the cuts easier to make. There are no consequences. Go with your gut. Music is transcendence. Music is prayer. Music is salvation.
Following last year's format here are the 40(ish) releases that gave me the most feelings in 2023.
Favourites of 2023 Spotify Playlist Song Version
Favourites of 2023 Spotify Full Version
FULLY ENLIGHTENED BEINGS (pure beings devoid of faults)
Hippie Death Cult - 'Helichrysm' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Baroness - 'Stone' (Abraxas Hymns)
REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi - 'Silent Future' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Royal Thunder - 'Rebuilding the Mountain' (Spinefarm Records)
Melt - 'Replica of Man' (self-released)
Acid King - 'Beyond Vision' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Dozer - 'Drifting in the Endless Void' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Blood Ceremony - 'The Old Ways Remain' (Rise Above Records)
Mutoid Man - 'Mutants' (Sargent House)
Psychic Trash - 'Psychic Trash' (Riding Easy Records)
GODS OF THE FORM AND FORMLESS REALMS (aeons of refined bliss)
Miss Mellow - 'Miss Mellow' (self-released)
Frankie & the Witch Fingers - 'Data Doom' (The Reverberation Appreciation Society/Greenway Records)
Giant Lungs - 'Giant Lungs' (Transporta Records)
Iron Buddha - 'Raze/Repose' (self-released)
Goat - 'Medicine' and 'Levitation Sessions' (Rocket Recordings and The Reverberation Appreciation Society)
Mizmor - 'Prosaic' (Profound Lore Records)
Choose the Juice - 'Meteoria' (self/Artemis Kaiser)
Dopelord - 'Songs for Satan' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Night Verses - 'Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night: Part 1' (Equal Vision Records)
Astral Hand - 'Lords of Data' (Romanus Records)
DESIRE REALM GODS (enjoyment and satisfaction of desires)
Bongzilla - 'Dab City' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Dead Feathers - 'Full Circle' (Ripple Music)
Dead Quiet - 'IV' (Artoffact Records)
Snakes Don't Belong in Alaska - 'Sounds of a Forming Planet' (Catacomb Family Records)
Swamp Ritual - 'Vol. III' (self-released)
Domkraft - 'Sonic Moons' (Magnetic Eye Records)
Sâver - 'From Ember and Rust (Pelagic Records)
Danko Jones - 'Electric Sounds' (Sonic Unyon Records)
Green Yeti - 'Necropolitan' (self-released)
Gozu - 'Remedy' (Metal Blade Records)
PRECIOUS HUMAN LIVES
Crown Lands - 'Fearless' (Universal)
Black Rainbows - 'Superskull' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Auralayer - 'Thousand Petals' (King Volume Records)
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - 'Slaughter on First Avenue' (Rise Above Records)
Restless Spirit - 'Afterimage' (Magnetic Eye Records)
Howling Giant - 'Glass Future' (Magnetic Eye Records)
Sonic Demon - 'Veterans of the Psychic War' (Majestic Mountain Records)
Warp - 'Bound by Gravity' (Nasoni Records)
Moon Coven - 'Sun King' (Ripple Music)
REZN - 'Solace' (self-released)
FAVOURITE EPs OF 2023 (some of the above were technically EPs too but whatever)
The Budos Band - 'Frontier's Edge' (Diamond West Records)
Stöner - 'Boogie to Baja' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Olde Grale - 'Blood of Fools' (Salt of the Earth Records)
Uncle Woe - 'Well' (Owlripper Records)
Ufomammut - 'Crookhead' (Supernatural Cat)
Friday, January 5, 2024
Nebular Nine: December 2023
Friday, December 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: November 2023
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: October 2023
Monday, October 2, 2023
Nebular Nine: September 2023
Friday, September 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: August 2023
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: July 2023
Saturday, July 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: June 2023
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: May 2023
Monday, May 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: April 2023
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Nebular Nine: March 2023
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Nebular Nine: February 2023
I spent most of February obsessing over a handful of albums. Most notably that Slomosa debut from 2020. I missed it then but I'm making up for it now as there was news of a new album on the way. I love everything about it. The riffs, the vocals, the lyrics even. Obsessed.
The Weedian Trip to Maryland comp ranks high mostly because there are a lot of tracks. But also because it's cool. So are Blue Heron but I know I didn't listen to it more than Acid King. 'Beyond Vision' is album of the year material, my friends. All praise to Lori S.!
I found Warp through reddit (and Doom Charts) and listened to 'Bound by Gravity' a ton of times. I love everything about that one too.
Miss Mellow came to me via Morphy on YouTube. Funk, psych, riffs, swagger, all around good times.
I heard a new Isaak track and immediately said "Shit, man, shit. This song rocks fuckin ass!" Then proceeded to see what I'd been missing all this time. A killer band, that's what. Eager for the new album! Happy to have found 'Sermonize'!
I can't quite remember how I found Mountains but I'm glad I did. Grunge-ier than most other bands in my rotation but there's nothing wrong with 90s-early 2000s influence. Another happy discovery.
Ok. Last but not least. Deep Purple's 'Deep Purple In Rock'. Why, why, why for the love of all that riffs had I never listened to this before. I failed myself. I heard "Child in Time" on a show or movie and was captivated by the snippet. Then became captivated by the whole album. I know Deep Purple. I own 'Machine Head' on cassette, CD, and vinyl (I think). So why did I not explore their other albums? My bad.
In the van I listened to the newest Megadeth, Brant Bjork. Melvins 'Stoner Witch'. Dozer's 'Madre de Dios'. Some others I suppose that I can't recall at the moment. But it was mostly the stuff above and some podcasts about Marxism.
Garage tunes only happened Feb 1 and it was Dozer's 'In the Tail of a Comet'.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
January 2023 Playlist
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
2022: My Favourites
Monday, January 3, 2022
2021: My Favourites
The end of 2017 was bad. 2018 was subsequently sad. 2019 was shitty. 2020 was really shitty. (There was also the pandemic.) 2021 was even shittier. (There was also the pandemic.) 2022 is shaping up to be pretty shitty. (There will also be the pandemic.) Through it all was the music. Everyone has their escape, their grounding point, their way to drown out the tinnitus. However, the music that gets me through the good times and the bad has changed quite a bit. In 2018 I attended Migration Fest which was predominantly black and death metal and never wanted to miss a second of it. By 2021 I barely listened to black or death metal at all. Or thrash. At least not anything new. Nope. It was all about the doom, the stoner, the rock, the sludge, the psych. With exceptions. Nothing too violent or aggressive. I don't have time for that. I needed chill. I needed vibe. I needed groove. I needed dark and slow. I needed stuff to take my mind away. So, here's what filled those needs the most in 2021!
Instead of a numbered list, I used three tiers for the top 25 albums. After the top tier is a big ole list of albums that I felt obligated to list because they were also pretty damn good.
Third Tier
Gojira - 'Fortitude' (Roadrunner Records)
Monster Magnet - 'A Better Dystopia' (Napalm Records)
Hippie Death Cult - 'Circle of Days' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Yawning Sons - 'Sky Island' (Ripple Music)
Dvne - 'Etemen Ænka' (Metal Blade Records)
Go Ahead and Die - 'Go Ahead and Die' (Nuclear Blast Records)
Kadabra - 'Ultra' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Redscale - 'The Old Colossus' (Majestic Mountain Records)
Snake Mountain Revival - 'Everything in Sight' (Rebel Waves Records)
Monolord - 'Your Time to Shine' (Relapse Records)
24/7 Diva Heaven - 'Stress' (Noisolution)
High Desert Queen - 'Secrets of the Black Moon' (Ripple Music)
Dayglo Mourning - 'Dead Star' (Black Doomba Records)
King Buffalo - 'Acheron' (self-released)
Earthless - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock Records/Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Second Tier
Lazer Beam - 'Lazer Beam' (LCF Records)
Danko Jones - 'Power Trio' (Sonic Unyon Records)
Fear Factory - 'Aggression Continuum' (Nuclear Blast Records)
Sons of Alpha Centauri - 'Push' (Exile on Mainstream)
Archspire - 'Bleed the Future' (Season of Mist)
Top Tier
Olde - 'Pilgrimage' (Seeing Red Records)
King Buffalo - 'The Burden of Restlessness' (self-released)
Stӧner - 'Stoners Rule' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Blackwater Holylight - 'Silence/Motion' (RidingEasy)
Elder and Kadavar - 'Eldovar: A Story of Darkness and Light' (Robotor Records)
Other Rad Albums
Appalooza - 'The Holy of Holies' (Ripple)
16 and Grime split - 'Doom Sessions Vol. 3' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Acid Mammoth - 'Caravan' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Shiva the Destructor - 'Find the Others' (Robust Fellow)
Greenleaf - 'Echoes From a Mass' (Napalm)
Bongzilla - 'Weedsconsin' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Domkraft - 'Seeds' (Magnetic Eye)
Moon Coven - 'Slumber Wood' (Ripple)
Vokonis - 'Odyssey' (The Sign Records)
Head of Jeddore - 'How to Slaughter a Lamb' (self-released)
Somnuri - ' Nefarious Wave' (Blues Funeral)
Black Sky Giant - 'Planet Terror' and 'Falling Mothership' (self)
Smiling - 'Devour' (Rebel Waves)
Black Label Society - 'Doom Crew Inc.' (eOne)
Jointhugger - 'Surrounded by Vultures' (Majestic Mountain)
Lucifer - 'Lucifer IV' (Century Media)
Mastodon - 'Hushed & Grim' (Warner)
Kowloon Walled City - 'Piecework' (Neurot/Gilead Media)
Crystal Spiders - 'Morieris' (Ripple)
Bogwife - 'A Passage Divine' (Majestic Mountain)
Holy Death Trio - 'Introducing' (Ripple)
Hooded Menace - 'The Tritonus Bell' (Season of Mist)
Trappist/Connoisseur - 'Crossfaded' (Tankcrimes)
Marc Rizzo - 'Living Shred Vol. 1' (Godsize)
Low Flying Hawks - 'FUYU' (Magnetic Eye)
Kal-El - 'Dark Majesty' (Majestic Mountain)
Comet Control - 'Inside the Sun' (Tee Pee)
Snail - 'Fractal Altar' (Argonauta)
1782 - 'From the Graveyard' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Sunnata - 'Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth' (self)
Heavy Temple - 'Lupis Amoris' (Magnetic Eye)
Sion - 'Sion' (self)
Spirit Mother - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock/HPS)
Stӧner - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock/HPS)
Mountain Tamer - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock/HPS)
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
2020: My Favourites
It goes without saying 2020 was fucked. But between all the flaming garbage I think I made big personal strides in really discovering what mattered to me. And well, here are the albums from 2020 that mattered to me. Top 20 and Next 20, in alphabetical order, because numbered rankings are pointless.
All these albums are available on Spotify and/or Bandcamp. You know how the internet works.
TOP 20
The Atomic Bitchwax - Scorpio (Tee Pee)
Bantha Rider - Binary Sunset Massacre (Bantha DIY, Piranha Music, AimDownSight)
Black Rainbows - Cosmic Ritual Supertrip (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Brant Bjork - Brant Bjork (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Dead Quiet - Truth and Ruin (Artofact)
Electric Hydra - Electric Hydra (Majestic Mountain, Tee Pee)
Gypsybyrd - Eyes of the Sun (Cosmic Stone)
Hymn - Breach Us (Fysisk Format)
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero (Nuclear Blast)
Khruangbin - Mordechai (Dead Oceans, Night Time Stories)
Local H - Lifers (Antifragile)
Moths & Locusts - Exoplanets (NoiseAgonyMayhem)
Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi (Nuclear Blast)
Psychlona - Venus Skytrip (Ripple)
Sevendust - Blood and Stone (Rise)
Sons of Otis - Isolation (Totem Cat)
Somnus Throne - Somnus Throne (Burning World)
Turtle Skull - Monoliths (Art As Catharsis)
Yawning Man - Live at Giant Rock (Heavy Psych Sounds)
NEXT 20
Big Scenic Nowhere - Vision Beyond Horizon (Satin) and Lavendar Blues (Satin)
Body Count - Carnivore (Century Media)
The Budos Band - Long in the Tooth (Daptone)
Deftones - Ohms (Reprise)
Elder - Omens (Armageddon Shop)
Dirt Woman - The Glass Cliff (Grimoire)
Goatriders - The Magician's Keep (self)
Huanastone - Third Stone from the Sun (Argonauta)
IAH - III (self)
Lowrider - Refractions (Blues Funeral)
Lucifer - III (Century Media)
The Pilgrim - ...From The Earth To The Sky And Back (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Pink Cigs - Pink Cigs (Harvest Studios)
The Re-Stoned - Thunders of the Deep (Qiasum Music)
Sepultura - Quadra (Nuclear Blast)
Spirit Adrift - Enlightened in Eternity (20 Buck Spin)
Thomas V. Jӓger - A Solitary Plan (RidingEasy)
Tombs - Monarchy of Shadows (Season of Mist) and Under Sullen Skies (Season of Mist)
Yatra - Blood of the Night (STB) and All is Lost (Grimoire)
Monday, March 30, 2020
2019: My Favourites
(Note the above intro was written well before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. My hermit powers are even stronger now.)
Honourable Mentions: Cult of Luna - A Dawn to Fear, Scissorfight - Doomus Abruptus Vol. 1, Speedealer - Blue Days, Black Nights, Alunah - Violet Hour, Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring
36. Tool - Fear Inoculum (Tool Dissectional/RCA)
11. Wizard Rifle - Wizard Rifle (Svart)
T-1. Colour Haze - We Are (Electrohash)