2023 saw an absolute glut of great music so much so that I spent a lot of time rethinking my choices for best albums this year. Lo-fi black metal cemented it’s rise as did dungeon synth as well as a breakthrough of dark folk into more mainstream channels. While wars rage in the world our collective soul is hurting and perhaps the most salient sign of this is the ferocity and force of the music we are creating. So here it is: my top albums of 2023 ALL GENRES, IN …

2022 was a whirlwind of a year for keeping up with new music. There was just a TON of great stuff released, much of which I poured over indecisively. One theory is that this is the time that many albums – presumably recorded while in a 2020 quarantine – are finally seeing the light of day. It does after all, take quite some time for a proper physical record to be manufactured. Wild theories aside, here are the albums I was most thankful to have graced my ears.
22. KMRU & …

My year as a music fan was quite a fruitful one. Sourcing album news and suggestions from mailing lists, friends, the BandCamp feed, and other nefarious back channels that I’ve cultivated for years I really feel like I ran the gamut of releases this year. Although I’m sure there are some essentials I may have missed I’m more than satisfied with the array of excellent albums that saw the light of day this year.

Welp, here we are at the end of what we all pretty much collectively agree is maybe THE shittiest year in modern memory. The year was mostly defined by the covid pandemic and when I came to the full realization of what this would actually mean for us as a society I also realized how there would be some absolute incredible music that would come out of this experience.
Sadly the pandemic has crippled live music events to the point where they are basically nonexistent which means I will not be …

This year was a good year for music and I saw many of my favorite artists releasing very good albums. My honorable mentions list was big this year, so big in fact that I decided to ditch it all together for fear of being so inclusive that it wouldn’t do justice to the top ten that I chose with care to stand a head above the rest.
 
 
10. Volahn – El Tigre Del Sur [ Nuclear War Now! Productions / Iron Bonehead Productions ]
FILE UNDER: BLACK METAL / FOLK

El Tigre del …

This was a very difficult list to compile because merely 10 releases over 10 years is extremely limiting. For what criteria do I possibly rate a “best of” for an entire decade?! Do I simply list my most listened to albums?
The criteria I’ve used to choose this is music that shows a big step up for the artist, music that draws the listener in and builds interest over repeated listens, music that pushes the envelope, music that achieves a certain unique atmosphere or mood, and of course music that has …

1. V/A – Amplified Humans Festival 2xDVD [ New Forces / Skeleton Dust Recordings ]

FILE UNDER: HARSH NOISE / EXPERIMENTAL / INDUSTRIAL NOISE
I am old, and so this is how I prefer to experience festivals now. Fuck having to buy a plane ticket, travel all the way to a distant city only to spend countless hours holed up in a dingy club. Now I can appreciate the festival sights and sounds, energy and vibes all in the comfort of my living room. This DVD has really incredible quality featuring mixing …

Janzeits/Altered Form 7″

Anthems Of The Undesirable Bandcamp Link

Janzeits and Altered Form both hail from the US but conjure a nostalgia for German ambient and modular artists of the 80’s that hits the hammer on der Kopf.

Janzeits’ name might be recognizable if you’ve dug into the deep discography of Chad Davis whose work includes playing for Hour of 13 and Subklinik. Fresh from his recent full length called Cosmic Orbits, here he takes a chaotic and spacious axe to the modular palette of jagged triangle waves and precise envelope filtering to …

Compactor/Vitriol Gauge – Economic Devastation CS
Bandcamp link
It’s been a minute since I last reviewed something, but I have to say, this review pulled me out of the tomb I’ve been in. Destructive sounds from two similarly minded industrial artists comprise this take on economic progress, and damn is it a rewarding experience.
The oversized tape box format is underutilized for the most part. Thankfully the team at Waste Management knew how to maximize the dimensions perfectly. It’s not often that I am taken aback by how thoughtful inserts are since most …

Silent Chaos – micro CDr
Bandcamp link
Scottish dark-ambient outfit Silent Chaos hurls five tracks of experimental dark-ambient and hopes listeners will be patient enough to see what sticks to the wall.
There’s very little that coheres Silent Chaos‘ meticulous filtering, EQ-ing, and general attention to detail to the concepts presented in the digipak. The first two tracks – “Odysseus’s Journey” and “Ab Orgenes” – plunge past the ten minute mark. Too much stuff is present. Grueling climbs, oscillating hisses, awkward percussion, resonant filtered crackles, and synth string stabs are stacked much too …