2026 First Half Recap

In previous years my lack of posts was due to being too busy writing for other, more legitamate sites. That's not the case this year. I've been listening back through all the CDs that I own in alphabetical order by artist. And some records obviously. This has left me with less time for new releases. I haven't been completely isolating myself from 2026 though. Here are a bunch of new releases that I feel obligated to say good things about. But only a few good things. I'm in the middle of a Mastodon marathon right now and I'm anxious to get back to it. Enjoy!

Blackwater Holylight - 'Not Here, Not Gone': I admit it took me a few spins to warm up to this. My expectations were off and I had to see the album for what it was. Beautiful. January album of the month for sure. Of note: new Pelican EP and new Wild Fuzz Trip.

Weedpecker - 'V': Do you like trippin' on tunes? Isolate yourself with this album and you'll go places. Especially if you like bands like Elder. Textured psychedelic proggy stoner doom. Nothing stood out more in February. Of note: the new Belzebong and Axe Dragger's debut need a revisit.

Serpent Worship - 'So Mote It Be': To borrow from their Bandcamp page this "heavy and hypnotic" release takes its time across four tracks of experimental doom with samples from the late King Cobra JFS serving as vocals. It's the only March album I went back to again and again. Of note: Witchcraft EP, new Filth is Eternal, and I need more time with 'Excavations' by Supercontinent.

Corrosion of Conformity - 'Good God Baad Man': Now we're talkin'! This shit fucking rocks. Rocks and fucking rolls. Apparently Woody and Pepper can do just fine without Reed (R.I.P.) and Mike. Fantastically fine. There's one part that brings tears to my eyes just about every time but damn, if this isn't the most fun CoC album yet. A spiritual companion to 'America's Volume Dealer'. And potential album of the year.
April was a pretty good month to be honest. I'll recommend the Soft Sun and Ten East split, Angine de Poitrine (so much fun!), Truckfighters, WITCH (the African one), Witch Ripper, final Sepultura EP. A few others I need to revisit.

May was a damn fine month. Damn fine.
Lair of the Minotaur - 'I Hail I': Capital-M Metal. Makes me think of battle and spikes and headbanging while not being too serious. Rips though!
Bongtower - 'The Color of Pomegranates': Heavier and darker than Weedpecker but heavy doom prog nonetheless. Very cosmic at times. Just a massive album. I wish the documentary about it wasn't in Polish.
Gozu - 'Gozu VI': Stoner rock with some metal vibes, dynamicism, and more than enough fun. Fun is good.If you don't rock with Gozu yet. Get on board here.
Elder - 'Through Zero': Speaking of Elder, their new one is really good! Sounds like Elder! Well, modern Elder at least. I'm good with that. I need to listen to it more though. At the end of a proper Elder marathon. Elder always takes some time to sink in.
Monolord - 'Neverending': I'm still recommending these stoner doom titans but it's not my favourite of theirs. Need more listens for sure.

I've only got one album for June. 'Fantasia' by Slift. It's the only album you need. Right up there with my favourites of the year. This trio makes some powerful prog-doom, people. Epic doesn't even touch it. Texture and shade, darkness and light, gravity and weightlessness, explosive and genteel. The fact that they recorded it live with no overdubs or anything makes it that much more impressive. I liked 'Ummon' well enough (and missed 'Ilion' altogether somehow) but 'Fantasia' takes it up several notches! And it gets better with every listen!

I'll try and have more for July but I'm hitting the Megadeth, Metallica, and Monster Magnet sections of my collection soon and that's EXTENSIVE.

October 2025: Matt Recommends

October was a pretty good month (for music) if we're being honest. This is gonna be a spitfire of recommendations with little insight. Strap in!

Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Lifeblood: The month started off really well with the latest from this dynamic cellist. Lifeblood is a captivating and passionate affair that draws you in as if you weren't freely giving yourself over to it already. Excellent work, as always.



M.E.L.T. - Innervate/Obliterate: High-energy psych/indie/fuzz/stoner rock power trio. Very high energy. Best enjoyed very high.



Verona Florrist - Verona Florrist: Stoner doom trio from Toronto. Big powerful sound with nuance. Not afraid to "get into'er" and crush some skulls. FFO AAWKS.



Frayle - Heretics and Lullabies: Heavy doom rock with haunting melodies and ethereal vocals. The atmosphere fills the room in a similar way to Alice in Chains.



Biohazard - Divided We Fall: I've been a Biohazard fan for over 25 years and I was not disappointed by this return! First album in 12 years! (Not on Bandcamp.)



Soulfly - Chama: I'm a big Soulfly fan. My first ever tattoo was the Soulfly wings logo. They sound a lot different than 1998 but Max always rules! (Not on Bandcamp either.)



Cattlemass - Alpha 1128: Kick-ass fuckin' doom. Fuzzed-out and dripping with groove. Crank it! Crush something!



Hawklords - Faith: Yes, this is an offshoot of Hawkwind. And they sound like it. Always a trip with these lads!



The Acacia Strain - You Are Safe From God Here: I don't always go for deathcore. If you can even call this deathcore. It's pretty doomy. And angry.



Space Witch - Mountains of Neptune: Instrumental space doom masterpiece! It's been eight years since their last album. Well worth the wait. Safe travels, friends.



Like I said, it was a good month and I wanted to highlight as many as I could. Check out my October Playlist for more good tunes.

2006 Re-revisited

Before I started this blog in 2008, I would send my "Best of 20XX" lists around to my friends via email. Back in 2015, I posted my list from 2006. For that, I just cut and paste the email right into the post. Bad spelling, worse punctuation and grammar. I'm leaving the ugly in. This time I went and listened to almost the albums to reassess my feelings almost 20 years on. Comments with better spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Results below.

1. Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006 - no comment)
2025 - I wouldn't put it at the very top but it's probably still my favourite Mastodon album.

2. I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (Very close second, great mix of styles, great live, and awesome people)
Of all these albums I listen to this one the most. By a wide margin. Considering this is a favourites list, move it to the top.

3 . Lamb Of God - Sacrament (I got the invitation, and I am going!)
There are some good tunes on here. But it would be nowhere near this high now. They just feel too one-dimensional to me. Randy is a fascinating guy though.

4. Kalas - Kalas (Matt Pike! incredible first, last and only album. R.I.P. Kalas)
Incredible seems like a stretch. I still dig it. I had largely forgotten what it sounded like by 2010. With Spotify I do go back to it often enough but I don't own a physical copy.

5 . Slayer - Christ Illusion (They still got it! and Lombardo is back!)
Yeah, still a pretty good Slayer album. Better than the two that came after. But not one I go back to.

6 . Accept Death - Accept Death (Death Accepted. Cool samples, great doomy feel, scary vokills)
Jesus H Christ. I had totally forgotten about this album until I heard it again. Pure fucking evil sludge filth. It's not streaming so I have to hunt down a physical. It's on youtube though. Save and download.

7 . Deicide - The Stench of Redemption (I am SO glad Benton didn't kill himself at 33)
This might be the last Deicide ablum I was really that in to. I know I've heard later ones but wasn't "in to" them. This one has some serious shred going on.

8. The Abominal Iron Sloth - s/t (uh, it's real good)
I had kinda forgotten about this one too. I won't fucking do that again! Heavy fucking shit motherfuckers!!

9. Kylesa - Time Will Fuse It's Worth (Two drummers, two vocalists, too good)
This is the album that hooked me on Kylesa. Still good! Shame on me for not owning this either. And for never publishing the interview I did with them a couple years later.

10 . Kataklysm - In the Arms of Devastation
Definitely not in the top 10. I dig Kataklysm. I don't listen to much death metal anymore but I went and saw these guys play last year. As good as this is it woulnd't make top 10 again.

11 . Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Hunger (not metal, not conventional, like Veruca Salt on LOTS of drugs) It was kinda weird listening to this knowing the kind of stuff they did after this. Still a great album. More "metal" moments than I may have indicated.

12 . Om - Conference of the Birds (two ex-members of Sleep crafting epic doom masterpieces)
Move this baby way up! Probably listen to this the most of anything else on this list. LOVE.

13 . The Sword - Age of Winters
Considering what's above this, move it up. Still lovin' it!

14 . Witch - s/t (This stuff makes you high just listening to it!)
While we are at it, move this up too. I like it more than their follow-up.

15. Napalm Death - Smear Campaign (grind at it's best)
Oh, my Napalm era. I barely made it through listening to this again. I said better things about albums after this but I wouldn't care if I never heard them again.

16 . Sepultura - Dante XXI (who needs Cavaleras? I know Iggor played on this one)
Still alright I guess. They've done better without Max, they've done worse.

17 . Bury Your Dead - Beauty and the Breakdown (If you're gonna be metalcore, at least be good at it)
Is this really metalcore? I dunno. It's not bad. And it's honest. So many breakdowns. I had a hankering for this album (in 2025!) and it inspired this whole exercise.

18. Sworn Enemy - The Beginning of the End (token hardcore album)
Token? You could argue other albums on this list are also hardcore. This didn't launch me back into a hardcore phase or anything.

19. Lair of the Minotaur - The Ultimate Destroyer
One of those bands nobody talks about but that put out some cool stuff. Fun at least.

20. Black Cobra - Bestial (great tone, sounds like a giant tank plowing across the landscape blowing up everything in sight)
Move it up! I come back to this often. My 2006 comment holds up. I fucking love duos.

21. Hatebreed - Supremacy (formula starting to get old, just enough difference to make the list)
2006 comment holds up again. I don't listen to any of their stuff after this.

22. Saviours - Crucifire (another great "stoner" album)
Forgot about this one! Move it up! I need a physical of this.

23. Norma Jean - Redeemer (who knew christians could rock so well?)
Still a pretty cool, energetic album. Don't ask me about the lyrics though.

24. Scissorfight - Jaggernaut (if you like Clutch, you'll like these guys)
If you like Clutch interbred with Appalachian mountain trolls. So much damn fun. Move it way up.

25. Fucked Up - Hidden World (if this is fucked up, I don't want normal)
Nah, bro. I wasn't feeling it. 2006 comment invalid.

26. Dry Kill Logic - Of Vengeance and Violence (Cliff Rigano rules)
I still dug it. "Rules" may be an exaggeration. They put out a new single in May. I should check it out.



Top 5 "Really fun to listen to but not necessarily great albums"

1. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage (2025 - I listened to it all. That was more than enough.)
2. Funerot - Invasion from the Death Dimension (Tyrannosaur could be my fave song of the year) (2025 - That was fun! I feel bad I had forgotten about it!)
3. Cross Examination - Hung Jury (2025 - 'The Hung Jury' is the correct title. Also, fuck me for forgetting this! Super fun crossover! Fuck yeah!)
4. Venom - Metal Black (2025 - I didn't bother.)
5. Motorhead - Kiss of Death (2025 - I tried to listen to it. Shoot me. I don't like Motörhead. I don't know why I put this one here. I don't like Venom either.)

Surprise of the Year:

I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (who knew I'd love a local band this much, and the fact that Mike Kopko hated it)

Disappointment(s) of the Year (other than no new Clutch):

Tool - 10,000 days (2025 - Most forgettable Tool album.)
Five Horse Johnson - Mystery Spot (JP from Clutch drumming, thought it would be better) (2025 - Same. Couple cool tunes.)
The false start (demise?) of Black Veil Choir (Justin Marler from Sleep)(2025 - I can't even find info about this failed project.)

Stuff I Thought I'd Like But Wasn't Really Feelin':

Trivium - Crusaders (bad lyrics) (2025 - I concur. It's 'The Crusades' though.)
Protest the Hero - Kezia (hate the vocals) (2025 - I concur.)
Isis - In the Absence of Truth (2025 - I actually listened to this three times. Better than I gave it credit for at the time.)

Compilation of the Year :

Sucking the 70's 2: Back in the Saddle Again (2025 - I didn't look for it. I will say it probably still is the best comp of that year.)

Collaboration of the Year :

Rebel Meets Rebel (2025 - I didn't bother.)

Top EPs of the Year:

Jesu - Silver (2025 - It was fine? Not something I'll go back to.)
Arise and Ruin - The Fear of... (Unavailable. I probably couldn't find the mp3s around if I tried. A burned disc or a hard drive somewhere but whatever. I have both their albums.

Album of the Month - April 2025: Conan - 'Violence Dimension'

Greetings, fellow voidfillers. I'm going back to Album of the Month for at least April. I'll note some other releases at the end but Violence Dimension from the mighty Conan definitely stands above the rest of the pack. The Mizmor/Hell collaboration stands pretty fuckin' tall but I'm not here to pit them against each other. Plus, the collaboration needs to grow on me to understand it's depth. Conan however, Conan has already put me six feet under and pushin' up daisies. It's fuckin' killer. I'll want to dig into the lyrics but if we're being honest I mostly enjoy Conan for the pure sonic bludgeoning. Being buried in fuzz. Vibrating with tone. Beaten senseless. Taken to a dimension of violence.

I'm pretty sure the Violence Dimension guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis is growling/yelling about is in some way the one we're living in. Earth on this plane at this time. Certainly feels like it anyway. I've come to realize that I either connect with an album and it's sound, or I don't. And I won't. The frequencies don't line up. I don't resonate into violent frequencies all the time. There's enough of that in this dimension. In a fight fire with fire kind of way, my shield against violent waves is itself made of violence in sync with MY frequencies. That's where Conan comes in. There are all kinds of violent music. Hyper-violent. Black, death, grind. Not the right frequency (most of the time). Crushing, hulking, muscular, fuckin' doom-sludge worthy of the Barbarian's name is a most effective defense. Anytime. Every time.

What isn't as consistent with Violence Dimension - at least compared to their previous three albums - is the man wielding the bass. This time it's former Fudge Tunnel bassist David Ryley. Chris Fielding returns solely to the producer/engineer's chair for this effort. Thank the gods he didn't abandon Conan completely. I don't think Conan would sound like Conan without him in that position. So what does that mean for the new album? I haven't worked that out scientifically, comparing and contrasting details of sound and performance and atmosphere across years of material. But my gut, my real brain, my gut said "capital Fuck Yeah, bud."

Maybe I didn't anticipate the frequencies of Violence Dimension lining up with mine so perfectly, or something, but when the hammer dropped on this bad boy the energy shot right through me. It felt more vigourous, more powerful, more effective than I was expecting for some bizarre reason. It gave me marching orders. As if drummer Johnny King issued a command. "We're fucking shit up with sonic energy. Get on board." Then boom! By the time we hit "Total Bicep" the sprint towards battles of warfare and death is downright lustful. Rage and heaviness and thunder and a fucking doom drop that takes you to your knees drags you to your feet again for a weary march to the next encounter.

The next encounter being the title track. It's a more subdued affair. At least at first. The nine-minute track starts with more space, somewhat majestic, not unlike the album cover. Still massive. It plods through its midpoint, drawing energy, expanding dimensional sonic horizons in waves of droning chords. Punishing gravity returns in the tracks later third, with a beastly growl at that. A track worthy of identifying the collective material.

I could go trying put sounds into words for more of the eight tracks but you get the idea. I've been a remorseless Conan fan since at least Monnos in 2012 and I've never lost faith so I don't know exactly why Violence Dimension hit me so hard. I won't complain. Aligned frequencies, I guess. Low, pulsing, menacing, tense, frequencies. I'll get carried away again here. I can't recommend this enough especially if you're already fond of sludgy, heavy as all fucks doom. Worship!



Also recommended from the April collection of releases: Mizmor/Hell - 'Alluvion', Action & Tension & Space - 'New Dimensions', Ponddigger - 'Nocturnal Hymnal', and Blackwater Holylight - 'If You Only Knew' EP.

And as always, every release I listened to in April all wrapped up in my April Spotify Playlist. The first 80 or so tracks are all from my seven favourite bands. The new release stuff starts after that.

2024: My Favourites

(image generated using AI)

Here we are again. Another year gone by and another list of albums to call my favourites. Honestly, I think it was something of a "down year." There were plenty of albums that I absolutely love but the choices weren't terribly hard to make. Many of the bands featured are familiar names and all-time favourites. Almost a dozen are bands that are relatively new to me. Two of the bands don't even exist anymore. Almost everything will fit into the stoner/sludge/doom/psych sphere. If you've been paying attention here that should be no suprise. Enough babbling. Here are my 25 favourite releases of 2024 and then some bonus releases that I still think you should know about and that I might listen to in the future. Ear time is precious. Outside the Top Three the order is relatively artibrary.

1. Slomosa - Tundra Rock (Stickman): I discovered Slomosa's 2020 self-titled debut in 2023 via Weedian's Trip to Norway compilation and was completely hooked. Tundra Rock buried another barb. This time even deeper. High energy desert rock culling influence from obvious players like early QOTSA and Kyuss with probably some influence from the European scene like Dozer, etc. Tundra Rock just kicks so much ass that I had to list it above the masters of ass-kicking...

2. High on Fire - Cometh the Storm (Southern Lord): The flames are definitely high! I was cautiously sceptical about Coady Willis replacing Des. No need. Des will be missed and I do have his autograph on my original CD copy of The Art of Self Defence but Willis fuckin' gives'er, man! This new era is going to rule just as hard. Jeff Matz is doing some crazy cool stuff here and Pike, well, Matt Pike for President. Anyone who shits on the record needs to wipe their face after extracting it from their own ass.

3. Fu Manchu - Return of Tomorrow (At the Dojo): Any Fu Manchu album is going to make my list. Bias is real. But it still rules. All the talk about the album mentions the two "sides" of the album, one being more mellow than the other. I guess that's true but I didn't hear anything that didn't sound like Fu Manchu to me. "Mellow" is relative, I suppose. Bonus: I finally got to see Fu Manchu live this year. They only played for like 35 minutes and I missed the first 10 due to a doors vs. start of show misunderstanding. (ALWAYS show up early, Matt! Idiot.)

The rest (more or less in order of release):

Brugada - To Slow Death and Fast Riffs (Tone Zone): Canadian west coast outfit with former members of Astrakhan. Complicated and somewhat artful hardcore-eged prog-sludge? I dunno. The band actually split years ago and it took that long to get this album out. I didn't think I'd ever see the day. Now I have the cassette tape. Booyah! (January Album of the Month)

Fearbirds - Aux Blood (Batskull/New Damage): Another left coast Canuck band that feeds the aggro beast with members of other bands I used to love. Specifically Kevin Keegan of Barn Burner (and Dead Quiet but they're still going). The other members are scene vets as well. I think they split too. Their van bit the dust, they canceled their tour, and they called it a day. Seems kind of fucked but life goes on. (February AOTM)

Weedow - Weedow (self-released): Polish stoner doom trio. As smoked out as you would expect.

Kungens Män - För samtida djur 1 and 2 (Majestic Mountain): Experimental, avant-garde, psychedelic, meditative rock from Germany.

Uncle Woe - Oblivion and Further Disaster (Packard Black Productions/Owlripper Records): Depression Doom from the Ontario wilderness (not terribly far from me actually). Main man Rain Fice enlisted Aussie drummer Mark Witworth of X's for Eyes for this one (and Well from 2023). I don't do a lot of sad stuff these days but I almost have all the Uncle Woe records on vinyl so.... (March AOTM)

Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol - Big Dumb Riffs (self-released): I liked this one better than Doom Wop. All big dumb riffs. Makes you want to break things.

The Cosmic Dead - Infinite Peaks (Heavy Psych Sounds): Heavy psych space rock from Scotland. It's a long trip, man. One of my favourite sub-genres of music these days.

Bongripper - Empty (self-released): Their songs are instrumental so they aren't about ripping bongs but Empty will nonetheless take all your worries away. For about 66 minutes. The doom looms.

Eye - Dark Light (New Heavy Sounds): Jessica Ball of MWWB brings us Dark Light, a darkfolk, dream pop, electronic psych doom, and more exploration of feeling with new project, Eye. It's intimate and textured. It's hard to explain, and hard to explain what it is that draws me in so much. I like it that way.

Ufomammut - Hidden (Neurot): The Italian psychedelic sludge masters just keep pumping out quality stuff. I've been enjoying their drony, hypnotic, snyth-laden, industrial heaviness for decades and they haven't let me down yet. (May AOTM)

Beaten to Death - Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis (Mas Kina): Back to Norway. This time with the explosive melodic grindcore of Beaten to Death. Sunrise continues the sonic bludgeoning with the same playful ferocity I've come to expect. This is where I go for quick pent-up energy release.

Thou - Umbilical (Sacred Bones): I really should have this one closer to the top just in case someone doesn't read this far. This is where to go to feel absolutely crushed. The music is heavy but it also makes you feel the weight of humanity's suffering with each riff. I shouldn't have to explain Thou.

Causa Sui - From the Source (El Paraiso): Aaaaahhhh more escapist music. Instrumental, experimental, proggy, psychedelic rock. It puts me in the same space as Dead Meadow, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Colour Haze. There is a lot of good stuff on El Paraiso Records.

Penza Penza - Alto e Primitivo (Funk Night Records): Psychedelic and instrumental but this time it gets funky. And jazzy, I suppose. But I like how it makes me move. It feels good! Ow! (July AOTM)

delving - All Paths Diverge (Blues Funeral): This side project of Elder's Nick DiSalvo is so chill. Light and airy, psychedelic. Beautiful sonic explorations that just seem to flow naturally from one movement to the next. Similar vibes to a lot of the places Elder goes. (His other project, Weite, is a little different. See below later.)

Anciients - Beyond the Reach of the Sun (Season of Mist): If you like guitars, and lots of them, this is for you. I feel like Anciients have moved further from the sludge of "progressive sludge" into the prog end but still fucking rip. The songs are good obviously too but the big standout for me is listening to all those notes! (August AOTM)

Brant Bjork Trio - Once Upon a Time in the Desert (Duna Records): The legend Brank Bjork brings back his Duna Records label with this beaut with the legend Mario Lalli on bass. And that's what it sounds like. Yawning Man bass on a Brant Bjork album. Sweeeeeet.

Goat - Goat (Rocket Recordings): My favourite psychedelic funk rock collective brings more hip-hop style beats into the mix on this one and I'm obviously okay with that in this instance. It was my October AOTM and I described my feelings pretty well in that post. Yeah, I picked it over Brant Bjork Trio. It's that cool.

Sun and Sail Club - Shipwrecked (Heavy Psych Sounds): Tony Adolescent, Bob Balch, and BOTH Scott Reeders! Fast! Aggressive! Punk! Relentless! (Except the jazzy guitar yacht rock bookends!) Fuck off attitude! Not stoner rock!

Low Flying Hawks - Makebelieve (Sympatry Records): Hard to explain this one. Hypnotic, sludgy, noisy at times, art-rock, psych. But it's even more complex than that. Gothic. Emotional, through anguished screams or harmony. I still need to spend WAY more time with it. It just keeps getting better. October was a pretty hard choice for AOTM.

Hawklords - Relativity (self-released): I like this better than the more recent Hawkwind albums! The associations with Hawkwind are pretty loose at this point but Relavity occupies the same space. AI concept album. I dig it. But like, sci-fi Asimov stuff not ChatGPT or whatever. Plus, it's really cool space rock, man!

There they are. My favourite 24 albums of 2024. I cheated by lumping the Kungens Man albums together but who's counting? As promised, here is another bunch of albums I thought were cool enough to mention.

Elephant Tree/Lowrider - The Long Forever (Blues Funeral): Honestly, I kind of forgot about this one and I know I liked it but didn't feel comfortable putting it above. Oops.
Baardvader - When the Stars Arrive (self-released)
The Whims of the Great Magnet - FRYDOM (self-released): December AOTM
Weite - Oase (Stickman)
Cosmic Fall - Back Where the Fire Flows (self-released)
Tube Warmers - Fertilized Eggs and Honey (River Records)
Crippled Black Phoenix - The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature (Season of Mist)
Vessel - The Somnifier (Majestic Mountain): November AOTM
Babel Map - Teeth (Lost Future)
Ian Blurton's Future Now - Crimes of the City (Pajama Party): (The crimes are that for most of their shows in Toronto they don't go on stage until 1am or some nonsense.)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD (Constellation)
Mammoth Volume - Raised Up By Witches (Blues Funeral)
Free Ride - Acido y Puto (Small Stone)
Ainu - Ainu ((Subsound Records)
Rezn - Burden (Sargeant House)
Khruangbin - A La Sala (Dead Oceans/Night Time Stories)
Locrian - End Terror (Profound Lore)
Sons of Alpha Centuri - Pull (Exile on Mainstream)
Monkey3 - Welcome to the Machine (Napalm Records)

There are more but really, that's enough. Comment below if you have anything to say. Keep an eye for my playlists!

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!!!!!!!

Album of the Month - February 2024: Fearbirds - 'Aux Blood'

Last month I mentioned how Kevin Keegan and Devon Motz were guest vocalists on the Brugada album. In digging into the guests I was unfamiliar with, specifically Motz in this case, I stumbled upon Fearbirds and their debut album, 'Aux Blood'. As it turns out, both Motz and Keegan are in Fearbirds. I'm tellin' ya, man. Everybody knows each other out in that West Coast/Vancouver scene. So in Fearbirds we've got Motz (Brass) on vocals, Keegan (Dead Quiet, Barn Burner) on guitar (and vocals), Heron's Scott Bartlett on bass, and Taylor Freund (best known from Barn Burner) on drums. I'm a big Barn Burner fan so immediately I was in.



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

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

Nebular Nine: December 2023

Full disclosure. I'm tired of this format. This will be the last collage/what I listened to most post.

I'm not sure what's next, if anything, but this post at least will be kind of half-assed.

These don't usually show up here but I'm always listening to the Weedian compilations. December featured at least the Trips to Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Arizona too, I believe. 

I missed out of the Giant Lungs album when it first came out. But I'm sure loving it now! Tone and riffs and appealing vocals. Let's doom!

Speaking of doom. Uncle Woe gave us a new EP called 'Well' and well, it's pretty awesome. There's something about them that just resonates. Heavy, a little psych/post/prog and stuff. Interesting structures and all that. My vinyl is gonna be great when it gets here. 

I already know my Slower CD will be great when it arrives too. It's a January release though. I very rarely check out promos before release but I went ahead with this. I mean, Slayer but slower? Fuck yeah!

I'm going to have to check out the Mars Red Sky album again. I can't remember. December was weird.

Ok, bottom row we have three releases from Goat. I listened to the whole discography. 'Levitation Sessions' kicked things off and I went backwards from there. These three just had the most tracks. 

Van tunes: Talkin' Slayer Podcast

As I Go December 2023 Playlist

My Favourites of 2023 coming up next.

Nebular Nine: August 2023

We have quite the diverse lineup this month! Some psych doom, some stoner doom, some death metal, some metallic hardcore, some Metal with a capital M, and whatever we call Mutoid Man. 

The collaboration between Rezn and Vinnum Sabbathi is just so fucking cool. Spaced out concept album full of atmosphere and tone, telling a pretty cool story if you ask me. I need the vinyl to put with 'Eldovar' and 'Mariner'. 

Mutoid Man and Uncle Acid came through again this month. Just great albums. The reissue of High on Fire's 'The Art of Self Defense' is pretty great too. As expected. 

I expected the new Ringworm to be as vicious as it is but honestly I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the new Kataklysm. Going to see them play at a coffee shop in November. Rad!!! 

New Moon Coven is pretty good. Need more spins. Ya know, I'm not as excited about recent Spirit Adrift albums as I used to be. 

And holding down the center is Swamp Ritual's 2017 album. I just discovered them thanks to Weedian's Trip to Montana (not pictured. Neither is Trip to Washington). Love them! 

Van tunes (compact discs): Gozu - 'Remedy', NIN - 'With Teeth', Slayer - 'Reign in Blood' and 'War at the Warfield', and Them Crooked Vultures - self-titled.

Instead of another collage of small pictures of more of my listens I made a playlist of one song from every album I listened to at least once in August, in order. It's "only" eight hours long. For now it's just a link. I'll try to embed it later.

August 2023 Spotify Playlist

Nebular Nine: May 2023

May 2023! What a month! Well, I make every month good because of my good taste. Ha! The Nebular Nine may have nine albums listed but most of the air time was spent on Gozu and The Acacia Strain. Gozu makes me feel oh, so good and The Acacia Strain can make you feel oh, so bad. 

The new Blood Ceremony is oh, so good too. Probably my favourite of their releases. Some stiff competition there though. 

Clutch's Pitchfork and Lost Needles isn't totally accurate. While I did listen to most of those tracks it was actually an mp3 folder where all the "rare"/off album tracks were labeled as being from that album. ALL KILLER.

Still spinning Crown Lands! Just discovered Rotor on this album and now I'm a fan! Instrumental stoner rock? Yes, please. And of course a Weedian comp. A good one too!

Blast off! It's party time! Had some serious SOAD urges in May!

Van tunes: Slayer - Undisputed Attitude, Hell Awaits, God Hates Us All, NIB Black Sabbath tribute, SOAD - Mesmerize, Toxicity, QOTSA - Songs for the Deaf, Monster Magnet - Last Patrol, Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun, Welcome to Sky Valley, Gozu - Remedy

Now playing: Odyssey by Vokonis (Kicking off Pride Month!)

Also.....new Kanaan, Djunah, Last Rizla, Dozer, Cattle Decapitation, Clutch live, Giobia, Void Master, and Galactic Empire.

More System of a Down, the Budos Band, Negative 13, Corrosion of Conformity, Fear Factory, Crown Lands, and a full Danko Jones run (studio albums). Not shown but the three Mountain Tamer albums also got love.

2022: My Favourites

Well, here we are again. 2022 was actually a decent year personally. There are always big things hanging overhead but at least not many fell. I drifted further and further from the more extreme forms of metal. I mean, most of what I'm going to list below isn't even metal. Most of it can be heavy but there's almost no death, black, grind, noise or whatever. 

I've even sort of reinvented myself in terms internet presentation. "MetalMatt Hinch" doesn't really exist. I dropped Twitter a while ago, I changed my IG handle, lastfm account, and other associations with that handle. It's just me now. And these are 40 albums that really turned my crank in 2022 tiered into the four higher states of being. Enjoy!

FULLY ENLIGHTENED BEINGS (pure beings devoid of faults)

Clutch - Sunrise on Slaughter Beach (Weathermaker)

Stöner - ...totally (Heavy Psych Sounds)

Brant Bjork - Bougainvillea Suite (Heavy Psych Sounds)

16 - Into Dust (Relapse)

Elder - Innate Passage (Armageddon Shop)

Dead Meadow - Force Form Free (Blues Funeral)

Colour Haze - Sacred (Elektrohash)

King Buffalo - Regenerator (self-released)

Mammoth Volume - The Cursed Who Perform The Larvagod Rites (Blues Funeral)

MWWB - The Harvest (New Heavy Sounds)

GODS OF THE FORM AND FORMLESS REALMS (aeons of refined bliss)

Black Space Riders - We Have Been Here Before (self-released)

Marc Urselli's Steppendoom - Steppendoom (Magnetic Eye Records)

Baardvader - Foolish Fires (Baardvader Records)

Freedom Hawk - Take All That You Can (Ripple Music)

Soulfly - Totem (Nuclear Blast)

Gypsybyrd - Visions (self-released)

Wo Fat - The Singularity (Ripple)

Ufomammut - Fenice (Neurot)

Fuzz Meadows - Orange Sunshine (self-released)

Dhidalah - Sensoria (Guruguru Brain)

DESIRE REALM GODS (enjoyment and satisfaction of desires)

Witchfinder - Forgotten Mansion (Mrs. Red Sound)

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying... And The Dead! (Universal)

Blackbraid - I (self-released)

Ian Blurton's Future Now - Second Skin (Pajama Party)

Druids - Shadow Work (Pelagic)

Nebula - Transmission From Mothership Earth (Heavy Psych Sounds)

10,000 Years - III (Death Valley Records)

Uncle Woe - Pennyfold Haberdashery & Abbatoir Deluxe (Red Spade)

Cult of Luna - The Long Road North (Metal Blade)

Gnome - King (Polder Records)

PRECIOUS HUMAN LIVES

Earthless - Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (Nuclear Blast)

Pike vs The Automaton- Pike vs The Automaton (MNRK)

Crowbar - Zero and Below (MNRK)

Somali Yacht Club - The Space (Season of Mist)

Lazer Beam - Man In The House/Lost in Oblivion (LCF)

Cancer Bats - Psychic Jailbreak (New Damage)

My Sleeping Karma - Atma (Napalm Records)

Messa - Close (Svart)

Mizmor - Wit's End/Myopia (split with Thou) (Gilead Media)

Sons of Arrakis - Volume 1 (self-released)

Tell me what I missed!

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)

Favourite 40 of 2018

I read once that on average, people stop looking for new bands to listen to in their mid 30s. I turned 40 late in 2018 and I'm definitely feeling the pull of complacency. Maybe it's just because I'm getting old but my patience level has plummeted. Time is precious and I no longer force myself to listen to something because I feel obligated to. If I wrinkle my nose enough in the first three songs, I'm out. Besides, the endless swarm of new albums and bands that only gets bigger with each passing year is too much to consume. I wasn't giving anything a fair shake. So in 2018 I shrugged my shoulders and said "fuck it." I spent as much time with whatever album as I wanted to. A solid month of almost nothing but the new Corrosion of Conformity? OK! A deep dive into Brant Bjork's solo career? Why would I ever stop?! Weeks of Tomb Mold worship? Oh, Canada! With such a pullback on new explorations, I'm surprised I even had 40 albums I felt deserved to be on my list. I did have some rather unfortunate cuts to make though. Who cares? Anyway, here are the 40 albums that made me happiest in 2018. That's all that matters.

Please note, Clutch's Book of Bad Decisions is my absolute favourite of 2018 but I CANNOT be objective with Clutch under any circumstances.

40. Lucifer - Lucifer II (Century Media) - For some reason I was reluctant to like this. Still busted up about The Oath being a one-and-done? Regardless, I thought this rocked enough to make sure I mentioned it. 

39. Deicide - Overtures of Blasphemy (Century Media) - I was into Deicide before I was into Cannibal Corpse, okay? They're my kind of death metal. Deal with it.

38. Scorched - Ecliptic Butchery (20 Buck Spin) - Again with the my kind of death metal. Brutal. Hard. Dark. Sci-fi themed just makes it that much cooler! 

37. Ulthar - Cosmovore (20 Buck Spin) - Whoa! Death metal again? Ya, man. It was a good year. Ulthar throw a little more technicality into the brutality but do so with just the right dosage. 

36. Bongripper - Terminal (Gilead Media) - Instrumental, leaden doom will bring me pleasure every day of the week. So long as it's done as expertly as these laid back dudes who know how to name a band.

35. Sundrifter - Visitations (Small Stone) - So smooth! This kind of desert rock influenced warmth will take me to my grave. I could listen to these fuzzy-eyed jams til the end of time.

34. Domkraft - Flood (Blues Funeral) - Give me psychedelic doom or give me death! So blissfully easy to completely lose yourself in their dense and textured sound.

33. A Storm of Light - Anthroscene (Translation Loss) - Always been a fan of Josh Graham's work with this band. Thoughtful and hypnotic darkness that repeatedly smacks you in the face.

32. Trappist - Ancient Brewing Tactics (Relapse) - Beer and grind combine to make an intoxicating brew of absolute good times. I got 99 problems but Trappist ain't one! 

31. Monster Magnet - Mindfucker (Napalm) - This is far from the best Monster Magnet album. More rock and less psych isn't usually what Monster Magnet fans ask for but I'm still psyched at how much it rocks! 

30. Extremity - Coffin Birth (20 Buck Spin) - Top shelf death metal and 20 Buck Spin go together like peanut butter and jelly. As in, consumed by me on a very regular basis. This one just plain old tears your throat out.

29. Mountain Tamer - GodFortune // Dark Matters (Magnetic Eye) - You could throw this in with the stoner rock crowd I suppose. It is the riffs that make this so addictive after all. But the real clincher is the "SATAN!!!" scream. I won't tell you when it hits. 

28. Alice in Chains - Ranier Fog (BMG) - Fine. They're a different band since Layne died. We get it. What did you expect? That doesn't mean they aren't still one of my favourite bands EVER and don't deserve it, goddammit! 

27. Dead Meadow - The Nothing They Need (Xemu) - I heard Dead Meadow playing in a record store back in 2001 and bought it immediately. They still connect with my soul.

26. Vile Creature - Cast of Static and Smoke (self) - This heavy-as-fuck Canadian duo made quite the splash in 2018. The nihilism and heft of this crushing slab of catharsis should make everyone want to join their angry queer doom cult.

25. Wiegedood - De Dodden Hebben Het Goed III (Century Media) - I wasn't as enamored with this one as I was with II but there's something bewitching about the tornado of fierce black metal they employ to put the ice in my veins. I can't shake the desire.

24. Khemmis - Desolation (20 Buck Spin) - I saw Khemmis play at Migration Fest and they needed a longer set. Such great songwriting. Power, melody, passion. Even better with beer.

23. Psychlona - Mojo Rising (Ripple) - Sometimes I just need an overdose of psych dancing in oblivion with a god-like profusion of fuzzed-out riffs. It gets my mojo rising. Man.

22. Castle - Deal Thy Fate (Ripple) - Speaking of riffs... This duo really cranks them out. Sorta lo-fi, sorta retro, lotsa headbanging fun. A doomy crunch nodding to classic rock. Catchy as all get out!

21. Sunnata - Outlands (self) - Oh my goodness have I enjoyed sinking into the ethereal place this album takes me. The psych factor here is sky high. Dangerously hypnotic and completely mesmerizing.

20. Conan - Existential Void Guardian (Napalm) - I'm always down for some caveman battle doom! And with that extra muscle the new drummer brings you know my steering wheel is getting a serious beating! 

19. Slaves BC - Lo, and I Am Burning (Fear & The Void) - I had the pleasure of meeting drummer-vocalist Josh Thieler and he's basically the polar opposite of the gnarly, dark, at times terrifying menace that comes blasting out of my speakers. Only ashes remain.

17 and 18. Black Space Riders - Amoretum Vol. 1 & 2 (Black Space/Cargo) - Not sure how to describe this. It makes me think of 80s/90s goth/emo/new wave but they carry a swagger and a hard edge that keeps it from feeling sappy. And we got two albums of it this year! Did I mention the tags of psychedelic, stoner, prog and space rock on their bandcamp?

16. Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No Crown (Nuclear Blast) - Pepper's back!!! Not that I didn't like the other lineup (again) but I discovered the band during the previous Pepper years so this return to form hits all the right spots!

15. Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms (20 Buck Spin) - Funny how I had to go all the way to Pittsburgh to see Tomb Mold when Toronto is two hours down the road. It was worth it to see all their filthy death metal in the flesh.

14. Gozu - Equilibrium (Metal Blade) - I bought one vinyl record in 2018. This one. How was I lucky enough to see them "at home"? No matter. There's stoner rock/metal and then there's Gozu. They are like a drug. A highly addictive, psychedelic, somewhat progressive, hard-hitting drug. With the year's best album cover. (Edit: I bought the Slaves BC vinyl too.)

13. Beaten to Death - Agronomicon (Mas-kina) - Keeping a new B2D album out of the top 10 was hard. But it came out on Christmas Eve. I basically had to postpone this list because it. They are their own brand of melodic grindcore. Crazy good craziness.

12. Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light (Prosthetic) - I never doubted Adam Clemans as the new singer in Skeletonwitch but now I have fully embraced him. This seems like a more mature album that still rips as hard as they always have.

11. Wolvhammer - The Monuments of Ash and Bone (Blood Music) - Speaking of Adam Clemans.... He kills it with Wolvhammer too. This album takes over my body until I am "The Failure King"! Burly black metal that still hammers the riffs into you forever. Incredible.



Because I thought I did a good job, and because I want to get this thing posted now that it's MARCH, the following blurbs are copied from an original post at Hellbound.ca. Enough procrastinating!!!

10. Cancer Bats - The Spark That Moves (New Damage/Bat Skull) - I was more than pleasantly surprised when this dropped out of nowhere on April 20. (Coincidence?) The Spark That Moves feels like a comeback record to me. They’ve never not been great but this has an energy that supercharged my being in a way they haven’t since Hail Destroyer. It was a daily listen for months. The summer months were definitely the brightest days thanks to their high energy, meaningful, and fun fusion of hardcore, sludge and whatever else they can squeeze in. I saw some these songs live too and let me tell you, dude…

9. Soulfly - Ritual (Napalm) - I would usually leave Soulfly off a list like this altogether due to personal bias (the first tattoo I ever got was a Soulfly logo) but Ritual warrants the recognition due to the change in direction the band takes. Soulfly had been going in a more intense death-thrash direction on recent efforts but Ritual sounds more like Max Cavalera in the mid-to-late ’90s. Late Sepultura, early Soulfly. Not nu-metal though. Groovy? Sure. Tribal? Some. Intensity? You better believe it. It impressed many fans who had given up ages ago and even some that have hung in the whole time.



8. Windhand - Eternal Return (Relapse) - Virginia’s Windhand teased ever so tantalizingly with their half of a split with Satan’s Satyrs. That appetizer was the perfect setup for the satisfying main course. Eternal Return satiates all doom desires. The warm tones penetrate your body while the flowing riffs liquify your bones into a vaporous syrup. Dorthia Cottrell continues her reign among the most affecting doom vocalists of this, or any age in the genre’s evolution. Windhand’s earthly and bewitching doom is a blessing of mood music. The beauty of it is there’s a whole range of moods Eternal Return can amplify or soothe. A potent elixir for all your ills.

7. Secret Cutter - Quantum Eraser (self) - Have you ever seen an industrial metal stamp in action? Bending thick steel into whatever shape the creator desires. Intense irresistible downward force. Complete obliteration. That’s how Secret Cutter destroy you. They crush so hard you’re erased down to a quantum level. It’s a heavy as fuck exercise in sludge, doom, and grind. Spine-tingling vocals set hairs on end as their curiously bent chords mold your skull into new and interesting shapes. Nothing else out there this year hits like the planet smashing sledgehammering Secret Cutter dish out. This music will bruise you.



6. Astrakhan - Without New Growth Process is Bloodshed (self) - RIP Astrakhan. With this release it was made known that Astrakhan was to be no more. The SADness of February’s cold days took a new twist as Sans Astrakhan Disorder. The cure actually comes in the form of listening to the album. WNGPIB is masterful. There’s no term for their progressive, post-, hard-charging, doomy, sludge-into-stoner metal. That indescribability adds to its charm. Serpentine riffs and dynamic intensity take the listener through a lifetime of emotional shifts. Harmonies and vocals stretch your soul like puddy, solos send your mind exploding across galaxies, and the whole package… sadly wasn’t released on vinyl. I’m pretty excited for the guitarists’ new project Brugada though.



5. Fu Manchu - Clone of the Universe (New Damage/At the Dojo) - All that really needs to be said about Clone of the Universe is that there is an 18 minute song on it that features Alex Lifeson of Rush. He doesn’t play for the whole 18 minutes mind you but it’s still way cool. It’s also pretty cool that a band known for short-ish punchy tunes pulled off such a monster track and even embedded it with a new essential Fu Manchu moment. Light the throttle!!! Scott Hill and company do have surprises up their sleeve! Rest assured though the runtime friendly anthems of California-baked coolness that make up the rest of album leave their mark too. Fu Manchu doing Fu Manchu, with an adventurous twist.



4. Sleep - The Sciences (Third Man) - I’ve been a Sleep fan since I first discovered them in 2000. Jerusalem was unlike anything I had heard before. I finally got a chance to see them play back in August. They didn’t play all of Jerusalem/Dopesmoker but they did play some of it. They also played a bunch of songs from The Sciences, their first full-length since Dopesmoker was originally released in 2003. “Sonic Titan” is a holdover from those days given a boost from studio production. The songs range in length from the 3 minute intro/title track to the 14:23 of “Antarcticans Thawed” and every second is unmistakably Sleep. “Giza Butler” might be the second best song they’ve ever written. There’s a riff in there that is my spirit animal. Throw me off a bridge. I don’t care as long as that’s what I hear on the way down.



3. Brant Bjork - Mankind Woman (Heavy Psych Sounds) - This past year or so I have REALLY gotten into Brant Bjork. I loved Black Power Flower and Tao of the Devil but I never really dug into the past. I did this year. Partly due to Mankind Woman. I needed more. And more. As much as I could get. (HPS is actually reissuing most of his back catalogue so….) I can’t even get enough of this album though. Shades of funk and blues. Groove. Psych. Stoner vibes. An overwhelming sense of chill. These are some of my favourite things…about the album. And the lyrics. Songs about life. Diamond hard nuggets of wisdom. “Nation of Indica” is my favourite song of the year for just such reasons. Stay chill, my friends.



2. High on Fire - Electric Messiah (eOne) - My guess is that after dragging his strings around in Sleep and their new material he needed to balance that by making a new High on Fire album as intense as humanly possible. There is a fire burning under Electric Messiah that’s heating those riffs to a rapid boil. Add in the white hot electricity of this trio and you’ll be seeing God. Everything feels 110%. They’ve been at this a long while, and not without challenges, but they bludgeon with such conviction here you’d think their faces were young and fresh. So muscular, so intense, so brilliantly executed. I don’t care how people feel about High on Fire production (I hear nothing wrong here). It’s about the songs. I LOVE THESE SONGS.

1. Yob - Our Raw Heart (Relapse) - Yob’s Mike Scheidt fought a battle with death and won. Our Raw Heart is the result. No album this year made me FEEL as much as this one. As heavy as it is triumphant, it stirs the emotional pot for the duration. “Beauty in Falling Leaves”, the longest track on the album, challenges “Marrow” for most heart-wrenching Yob song ever. It feels like the band really came together on a higher level for this. I’m still baffled there was a time I didn’t even like Yob. Now I can’t imagine a world without their music. Such powerful doom is therapeutic, transporting the listener to a place both of and beyond suffering. To me at least, music like this is essential.

Thanks for hangin' in there.

Kingdom of Noise Picks the Best of 2017: Top 20

Hey! Yeah, I meant to get around to posting this weeks ago but life gets in the way. Life is continuing to do that so I'm just going to post my Top 20 of 2017 without blurbs and stuff. Just the band, album, label and a link. That should be enough, eh?

20. Monolord - Rust (Riding Easy)


19. Archspire - Relentless Mutation (Season of Mist)


18. Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black (Metal Blade)


17. Necrolytic Goat Converter - Isolated Evolution (self-released)


16. Mutoid Man - War Moans (Sargent House)


15. Woe - Hope Attrition (Vendetta)


14. River Black - River Black (Season of Mist)


13. Pallbearer - Heartless (Profound Lore)


12. Ufomammut - 8 (Neurot)


11. Queens of the Stone Age - Villians (Matador)

Villains on Spotify

10. Spirit Adrift - Curse of Conception (20 Buck Spin)


9. Space Witch - Arcanum (HeviSike)


8. Royal Thunder - Wick (Spinefarm)

Wick on Spotify

7. Hell - Hell (Lower Your Head)


6. Wiegedood - De Doden Hebben Het Goed II (Consouling Sounds)


5. The Atomic Bitchwax - Force Field (Tee Pee)


4. Elder - Reflections of a Floating World (Stickman)


3. Couch Slut - Contempt (Gilead Media)


2. Olde - Temple (STB/Medusa Crush)


1. Alunah - Solennial (Svart)


Until next time!