Yearly Top Tens
2024
2024 releases purchased: 46
Total albums purchased: 58
I significantly cut back my purchases this year, yet still I feel like I’m not giving enough attention to the music I buy. I’ve become more selective partly because in the past few years I picked up a lot of albums that I later decided I didn’t much care for.
- Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere
Absurdly brilliant melding of Death Metal & Prog Rock. This album deserves all of the praise that’s been heaped upon it in the press. - High on Fire - Cometh the Storm
The Metal titans return with a new drummer and the more deliberate sound of their early records. This is the album I’ve been hoping Matt Pike would release. - Whores. - WAR.
My favorite 21st century rock band is finally back after 8 years of wandering in the desert. Christian Lembach hates the world only slightly more than he hates himself. - Wretched Blessing - Wretched Blessing
A chunky mix of metal genres mostly rooted in Death. Rae Amitay is back behind the drum kit and I like it that way. - Julie - my anti-aircraft friend
The sound of the 90s is alive inPortlandwhatever town these kids are from. This is what I craved back in 1994. - Anti-Spectacular - Psychogeography
This gal is weird, and the weird works well. Reminds me of obscure early 90s bands like Thinking Fellers Local 292, My Dad is Dead, & Tone Dogs. - Mýrdal - Helvíti
A great heavy meat-n-potatoes Black Metal album. - Shellac - To All Trains
Steve Albini’s sudden death a week before this album came out hit me hard. He was a major presence in my musical & cultural world during the 90s and 2000s, and he was only a few years older than I am. His death added a very unwelcome depth to this album. - Jason Blake - Candles Burn
Warr guitar and cello mix together like chocolate & peanut butter. - Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God
I loves me some experimental Death Metal. It’s not non-technical, but it’s definitely not tech-death.
2023
2023 releases purchased: 60
Total albums purchased: 87
Purchased albums since rejected: 7
- Jute Gyte - Unus Mundus Patet
Adam Kalmbach strays from his usual microtonal madness with excellent results. - Victory Over the Sun - Dance You Monster to My Soft Song!
Vivian Tylinska is a one-woman engine of creativity. There’s a lot going on here. - Spirit Possession - Of the Sign…
Heavy Metal! Fast and furious. Fuck yeah! - Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit
Proggy Death Metal with a bit of jazz undertone. - Pyrkagion - The Catechon and the Unending Fire
Excellent Black Metal. - Ὁπλίτης - Ψευδομένη
Crazily energetic metal from an anonymous Chinese guy who writes and sings in ancient Greek to avoid government censorship. - Worn Mantle - Hole
Noise, but organized noise. - Velnias - Rending of Dyadic Convolution
Instrumental metal for people on drugs.
2022
2022 releases purchased: 63
Total albums purchased: 88
Purchased albums since rejected: 12
2021
2021 releases purchased: 55
Total albums purchased: 77
Purchased albums since rejected: 15
2020
Total albums purchased: 79
2020 releases purchased: 66
2019
Total albums purchased: 56
2019 releases purchased: 50
2018
Total albums purchased: 77
2018 releases purchased: 51
2017
Total albums purchased: 58
2018 releases purchased: 56
2016
Total albums purchased: 58
2016 releases purchased: 57
2015
Total albums purchased: 73
2015 releases purchased: 53