Category: Metal

Review: Warish – Next to Pay

Let’s just start with this: Warish‘s new album, Next to Pay, is not a happy-go-lucky record. Lead singer / guitarist Riley Hawk has said that the album “is about a sense of imminent doom, everyone is going to die.” So, be prepared for what’s to come when you hear it.

What you’ll hear is a lot of rage, screamed vocals, blaring guitars, punk drumming, and throbbing bass. Warish’s love of Nirvana is prevalent on the album, as the influence of Misfits and Black Sabbath‘s crazier material. The title track opens the album with guitar riffs that sound like they’ve been deep fried as Hawk sings about time slipping away from him and the Grim Reaper getting one step closer each day. Hawk’s guitar on “Another No One” blares like a tornado warning siren. “S.H.M. (Second Hand Misery)” could’ve been a Bleach-era Nirvana B-side in another life. Hawk’s voice sounds like it’s going to crack at any second throughout it.

“Burn No Bridges” has Hawk trying to fight his way through physical and metaphysical storms. “Do you have a broken mind, or is it just your brain?” Hawks asks on “Say to Please,” a song that rages about the little guy fighting for the dreams of rich elitists. His guitar solo on it is a damn barn burner. “Seeing Red” is powered by Alex Bassaj‘s cool yet heavy bass walk. The drums and cymbals on “Destroyer” pound so hard that the song more than earns its name.

“Woven” is one of the jauntiest songs on the record, but is no less fuzzy and fiery. Hawk’s voice takes on Kurt Cobain qualities during the chorus. Bassaj’s bass cranks up on “Scars,” while Hawk tells everyone he doesn’t care what they think of him or anything else and new drummer Justin de la Vega puts down precision beats like Gatling gun rounds.

“Ordinary” takes on a bit of a doom energy and the vocals sound a a bit goth. “Superstar” takes off at about eighty mph and doesn’t let off the gas for a second. “Make the Escape” reminds me of Iron Maiden with its epic metal riffs and vocal styling. Hawk’s voice takes on a deeper tone and a break from the screaming he’s done through most of the album. The effect is excellent. The closer, “Fear and Pride,” brings back Hawk’s guttural growls and I’m sure will bowl over audiences once they get to play it live on a regular basis.

It’s a loud, heavy record, but what else do you expect from Warish? The band had plenty of rage to purge that was built up in 2020, and Next to Pay is here to help the rest of us burn that rage out of our system.

Keep your mind open.

[Be the next to subscribe.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

French post-metal legends Year of No Light announce 20th anniversary box set.

Bordeaux, France post-metal sextet Year of No Light announce their forthcoming fifth studio album Consolamentum today, sharing the first single “Réalgar” via all DSPs. Hear and share “Réalgar” via Bandcamp, Spotify and YouTube.

Consolamentum is the band’s first album on Pelagic Records. To celebrate joining the label and Year of No Lights‘s 20th anniversary, they will release a limited edition deluxe wooden box set of the band’s entire discography, titled Mnemophobia on July 2nd. The handmade, hand-silkscreened wooden box features 12 vinyl LPs in 6 gatefold sleeves, exclusive colored vinyl variants, a slipmat, metal pin, patch and poster. For more information, see HERE.

Year of No Light’s lengthy, sprawling compositions of towering walls of guitars and sombre synths irradiate a sense of dire solemnity and spiritual gravity, and couldn’t be a more fitting soundtrack for such grim medieval scenarios. But there is also the element of absolution, regeneration, elevation, transcendence in the face of death. Consolamentum is dense, rich and lush and yet somehow feels starved and deprived.
It comes as no surprise that ever since the beginning of their career, the band have had an obsession for the fall of man and salvation through darkness. The term “consolamentum” describes the sacrament, the initiation ritual of the Catharic Church, which thrived in Southern Europe in the 12th – 14th Century – a ritual that brought eternal austereness and immersion in the Holy Spirit.

“There’s a thread running through all of our albums”, says the band, collectively “an exploration of the sensitive world that obeys a certain telos, first fantasized (“Nord”) and reverberated (“Ausserwelt”), then declaimed as a warning (“Tocsin”). The deeper we dig, the more the motifs we have to unveil appear to us. Yes, it’s a bit gnostic. This album is invoked after the Tocsin, it’s the epiphany of the Fall.”

With debut album Nord (2006) and sophomore release Ausserwelt (2010), the band madethemselves a name in the European avant-metal scene. Extensive tours of Europe, North America and Russia in 2013 and 2014, including two appearances at Roadburn festival, Hellfest and a spectacular performance in a 17th Century fortress in the Carpathian mountains introduced them to a broader and quickly growing international audience.

With their seminal 3rd album Tocsin, released in 2013, Year Of No Light reached the peak of their career thus far – a logical decision that Consolamentum was made with the same team again: recorded and mixed by Cyrille Gachet at Cryogene in Begles / Bordeaux, mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side.

“We wanted this album to sound as organic and analog as possible”, comments the band. “All tracks were recorded live. The goal was to have the most natural, warm and clean takes possible, to give volume to the dynamics of the songs. We aimed to have a production with a singular personality.”

For the adept listener, Consolamentum seems to be venturing deeper into the dark and claustrophobic spheres explored on Tocsin – but the band doesn’t conceive of the evolution of their music in a linear way, as it would be apparent from looking at their discography. 

“It’s more a matter of sonic devotion. Music against modern times. Year Of No Light” is above all a praxis. We wanted intensity, trance, climax and threat, all of them embedded in a bipolar and mournful ethos.”

Consolamentum is huge, poignant, frightening, sublime, smothering and cathartic – and, much like Decibel Magazine says of its predecessor, it’s “audacious, memorable and supremely confident.”

Consolamentum will be available on 2xLP, CD and digital on July 2nd, 2021 via Pelagic Records. Preorders are available HERE.

Keep your mind open.

[Stay heavy by subscribing.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Alastor dare you to examine “Dead Things in Jars” from their upcoming album.

Swedish rock band Alastor share the first single from their forthcoming album Onwards and Downwards today via Heavy Blog Is Heavy. Hear and share “Dead Things In Jars” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.)

Metal Injection recently hosted the first single, the driving rocker “Death Cult” HERE. (YouTube.)

Excelsior! It’s the hail of yore that one should go ever onward and upward. And so, fittingly Onwards and Downwards is the occultist Swedish band Alastor’s clever call to arms… and also a reflection of our collective dark state of mind these days. 

“If our last album Slave to the Grave were about death, this record is more about madness,” says guitarist Hampus Sandell. “You can look at the whole record as one person’s gradual slip into insanity. An ongoing nightmare without end. It also sums up the state of the world around us as this year has clearly shown.” 

Alastor is heavy doom rock for the wicked and depraved. Drenched in heavy, distorted darkness and steeped in occult horror that will make your skin crawl and ears cry sweet tears of blood, the band is revitalized in 2021 with meticulously crafted songs and new drummer Jim Nordström bringing a hard-hitting and precise energy. 

“It’s a more focused record but at the same time it’s more personal and naked. More raw emotion and pain,” Hampus says. The band recorded the album with the help of Joona Hassinen of Studio Underjord, who has helped with mixing since their ”Blood on Satan’s Claw” EP in 2017. Christoffer Karlsson of The Dahmers also assisted with overdubs and encouraged the band to demo the material early on, aiding in the album’s more deliberate and tighter feel. 

From the first note of opener “The Killer In My Skull” the guitars are far thicker and out front than ever, and Nordström pummels the snare and kick like a young Dave Grohl. Bassist/vocalist Robin Arnryd’s chorus-drenched voice soars above it all like a one-man choir, at times harmonizing beautifully with shimmering Hammond organ notes. Nary a moment is wasted on the droning navel-gazing of lesser bands. Particularly, the driving anthem “Death Cult” which sounds like it would fit comfortably on QOTSA’s Songs For The Deaf, though there’s considerably more heft here. The title track pays its due to the Devil’s tritone in a marvelously woven framework of intertwining melodies befitting the album’s theme of descent into madness. 

The quartet released its epic 3-song debut album Black Magic in early 2017 via Twin Earth Records, followed by the 2-track “Blood On Satan’s Claw” EP on Halloween the same year. Joining forces with RidingEasy Records in 2018, Alastor summoned the 7-track hateful gospel Slave To The Grave, which was packed with dynamic twists and turns, and funereal girth. It was met with considerable praise, setting the stage for the band’s greatest step onward (and upward… or downward, depending on your preferences.) 

Onwards and Downwards will be available on LP, CD and download on May 28th, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. 

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Motörhead’s classic “No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith” 40th anniversary edition is as massive as it sounds.

Deluxe CD Box-Set and Special 40th Anniversary Editions of No Sleep‘ Til Hammersmith to be Released on June 25th 2021 Watch a New Video for a Previously Unreleased, Live Version of “The Hammer” Plus Preorders & Exclusive March Bundles Here – https://motorhead.lnk.to/nosleep40PR

Back in the Summer of 1981, MOTÖRHEAD got louder, dirtier and more universal, and you’re getting an invitation to relive this most glorious of achievements once again…

Following on from 2020’s year-long celebration of MOTÖRHEAD’s iconic Ace Of Spades album comes the live album to end all live albums, the undisputed definitive live record of all time: No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this number one album, it is being presented in new deluxe editions. There will be hardback book-packs in two CD and triple LP formats, featuring a new venue demolishing remaster of the original album, bonus tracks and the previously unreleased – in its entirety – concert from Newcastle City Hall, March 30, 1981, the story of the album and many previously unseen photos. Also, the album will be released as a four CD box set of all three concerts recorded for the album released here in their entirety for the very first time and primed to gleefully shatter what’s left of your grateful eardrums.

Upon that original June 27th ’81 release, Lemmy is quoted as saying of No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith after it crashed into number one in the UK charts, “I knew it’d be the live one that went best, because we’re really a live band. You can’t listen to a record and find out what we’re about. You’ve got to see us.”No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith was MOTÖRHEAD’s first and only number one record in the UK and is still the most necessary live album of all time.

The No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith CD box set contains:

  • The No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith album, remastered from the original master tapes, featuring extra bonus tracks and newly unearthed, previously unreleased sound check recordings.
  • The three full recordings of the concerts that made up No Sleep, never before released in their entirety.
  • The story of No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith told through previously unpublished and new interviews with the people that were on the road at the time.
  • Never before seen photos and rare memorabilia.
  • Double sided, A3 concert posters from 1981.
  • Reproduction USA ’81 tour pass.
  • MOTÖRHEAD ‘England’ plectrum.
  • 1981 European tour badge.
  • Reproduction Newcastle City Hall ticket.
  • Port Vale gig flyer post card.

MOTÖRHEAD in 1981 was a band of extremes; a flammable mix of non-stop celebration over their rising success and punishing graft, underscored by an inter-band powder-keg dynamic. After recording Ace Of Spades, it had shot to number four in the UK; the killer breakthrough after Overkill and Bomber had done essential groundwork, late 1980s Ace Up Your Sleeve UK tour was a triumphant lap of honour that spilled into the recording of No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith. The album took its title from an inscription painted on one of the trucks, referencing the 32 gigs they were playing with only two days off. The track listing ended up featuring three tracks from Ace Of Spades, five from Overkill, Bomber’s title track and two from their self-titled debut.

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll get no sleep until you subscribe.]

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Review: Mötorhead – Louder Than Noise…Live in Berlin

Recorded on December 05, 2012 in front of an audience of about 12,000 fans, Mötorhead‘s Louder Than Noise…Live in Berlin is a good record of the band’s power and ferocity. The trio of Phil Campbell (guitar), Mikkey Dee (drums), and Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister (bass and vocals) was the longest-running Mötorhead lineup, and their locked-in energy is palpable throughout the show.

The show begins with Kilmister yelling, “Guten abend! How you doin’? All right? We are Mötorhead…Phillip, if you would be so kind?” in his signature bourbon-and-cigarettes-laced voice before they rip into the snarky “I Know How to Die.” “Damage Case” swings with a bluesy groove that is made dangerous by Kilmister’s growls and Campbell’s rock riffs. It rolls right into “Stay Clean” thanks to Dee’s relentless yet effortless drum fills.

They give the crowd and the listener a brief break before rolling out “Metropolis,” which starts like a stoner metal track and then two sharp snare cracks from Dee turn it into a fuzzy rocker. Kilmister dedicates “Over the Top” to Campbell, probably because Campbell shreds for almost three minutes straight on it. “Doctor Rock” is just as fun and fast and furious as you hope it will be. Campbell plays a nice two-minute solo (“String Theory”) and then his bandmates join him in the classic “The Chase Is Better Than the Catch.”

“Rock It” comes after the band takes a quick drink of…something, and then it rolls into the wicked, dark blues cut “You Better Run,” which I’m sure had the mosh pit amped up even more than it was at the start of the show. “The One to Sing the Blues” has some of Dee’s most ferocious drumming, including a tremendous solo. The whole track sounds like Mötorhead are daring any challengers to their throne of skulls.

“Now, then, this is a rock and roll song,” Kilmister says before they launch into the swinging, blazing “Going to Brazil” (as if all the other songs aren’t). “Killed by Death” brings plenty of fuzz and power to warm you up (if you’re not already sweating) for, of course, “Ace of Spades” to close the main set. “Remember? We’re deaf!” Kilmister yells to the audience after the song ends. I’m sure the whole audience was, too. “Overkill” is the crazy, wild finale, with Dee going for broke and Campbell and Kilmister doing their best to blow the back of the joint.

It’s a fun recording, and I wish I could’ve seen them live before Kilmister left for the giant after-party in the sky. This is a good substitute, however.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not go over to the subscription box while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Review: Brown Acid – The 12th Trip

RidingEasy Records is back with another round of obscure, rare stoner rock, metal, and psychedelia on Brown Acid: The Twelfth Trip. This one brings you ten tunes that stretch from Hawaii to Belgium in terms of their places of origin.

First up is the fuzz-filled “Mother Samwell” by Louisville, Kentucy’s The Water. It’s like T. Rex meets The Guess Who and 1969 southern rock. It fades out far too soon and makes you wish The Water had stuck around after 1972. Hamilton, Ontario’s Village S.T.O.P. brings us the trippy, melting, fuzzy freak-out “Vibrations.” The drums sound like they were recorded in another room with walls of chicken wire and mud, and I mean that in the best way possible.

The bass on White Lightning‘s (hailing from Minneapolis) “1930” is so fat you could stick it on a Parliament track. Shane drops the funky, yet heavy “Woman (Don’t You Go)” from the San Francisco Bay area in 1968…and nothing else. They broke up not long after releasing the track, which is a shame because it sounds like they could’ve been a pretty successful psych-funk band.

Dallas’ Ace Song Service unleashes a hefty Hammond B3 organ on “Persuasion,” and combines it with a sizzling guitar solo. Opus Est is the Belgian band on the record, and their heady song “Bed” is about sex and, apparently, and drugs and rock and roll (Go figure.). The aforementioned Hawaiian band is The Mopptops, who are described in the liner notes as “the Blues Magoos meets Iron Butterfly.” I don’t think I can sum it up better than that (or that wild guitar solo!).

Do you need more cowbell? Youngstown, Ohio’s Artist gives you plenty of it (and plenty of mega-riffs) on “Every Lady Does It.” “Comin’ Home” by Carthage, Missouri’s Stagefright is akin to a MC5 track with its wild drumming, fuzzy vocals, and heavy guitar and bass. The closing track is the wonderfully bizarre, ultra-rare “Don’t Talk About My Music” by Dickens – a band made up of members of and roadies for NRBQ who barely knew how to play the instruments they jam with and recorded in an impromptu session after Jim Nabors cancelled some studio time. The result is a trippy, fun jam of which only fifty or so known copies are in existence. It’s a great treat to end a wild anthology.

Keep your mind open.

[Trip over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Deathchant unleash “Holy Roller” from upcoming album due June 25th.

L.A. quartet Deathchant share the first single from their forthcoming sophomore album Waste today via Metal Injection. Waste is the band’s debut on RidingEasy Records. Hear and share “Holy Roller” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.)
Heavy music’s evolution has always been a murky swamp of sub-genres. So, combining Thin Lizzy’s glistening twin guitar harmonies with Melvins-grade sludge and a hearty dose of proto-metal psych probably shouldn’t sound so revolutionary as it does in the hands of L.A. quartet Deathchant. But theirs is a special, transcendent sound.

Waste, the band’s sophomore album and first for RidingEasy Records, is anything but. The 33-minute, 7-song blast flows seamlessly from song to song, aided by droning segues, while simultaneously slithering between genres and moods. Rumbling noise, chiming guitar melodies, bluesy boogie, NWOBHM thrash, COC grunge and punk fury all rear their head at times, sometimes all at once. 

Though you wouldn’t be able to tell by the concise structures and well-crafted songs, a lot of Deathchant’s music is improvised, both in the studio and live. That’s not to suggest their songs are jammy — they’re very tightly organized compositions. But the four musicians have that special musical telepathy that allows them to keep the song structures open-ended.

“Improv is a huge things for us and always has been,” singer/guitarist T.J. Lemieux says. “The musical freedom to look at the other dudes in the band and be able to take things wherever we want to go is magical. I like the feel of flying off the hinges.”
Likewise, the band itself is similarly amorphous in its membership. “We run the band with an open door. No lineup is definitive,” Lemieux explains. On Waste, the lineup is: Lemieux, George Camacho on bass, Colin Fahrner on drums, and John Belino on second guitar. 

Waste was recorded live in a rented cabin in the mountains of Big Bear, CA. “We packed a big-ass van and set up in the living room and kitchen,” Lemieux says. “Tracked it live, with overdubs after.” The whole album was recorded over two separate weekends, engineered by Steve Schroeder, who also recorded the band’s 2019 self-titled debut album. 

“I’d say it has sort of a DIY LA punk aesthetic,” he adds. “Very ironically going hand in hand with a classic metal vibe: Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, classic Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and other melodic heavy rock bands.” 

Waste will be available on LP, CD and download on June 25th, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. 

Keep your mind open.

[Roll over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Mac Sabbath stars in a new pop-up book. Yes, really.

MAC SABBATH has revealed details on their first book, Drive Thru Metal, but don’t expect a stereotypical biography from the fast food-themed parody kings. There’s plenty of “juice” inside, albeit in the form of burgers cooking in the kitchen as the four members of MAC SABBATH take fans on a journey through a dystopian fast-food world polluted by its own waste in an innovative hybrid pop-up book.
Mysterious MAC SABBATH frontman Ronald Osbourne comments on the book, “What’s that? A pop-up book is not what you were expecting? Well SUFFER! ….and you’re welcome.”

Watch an amazing teaser video for the book here.

Available via Poposition Press, Drive Thru Metal features illustrations by Gris Grimly, well-known for his darkly whimsical children’s books and the upcoming Netflix film adaptation of his Pinocchio book, and will be available in Regular and Special Editions. Both editions are available in limited quantities, so be sure to pre-order now to reserve a copy of this piece of Drive Thru Metal history! Pre-orders are available at https://macsabbath.bigcartel.com/.

Both editions of Drive Thru Metal include pop-up scenes highlighting “The Factory,” “The Ascension” and “Utopia” and include a special vinyl surprise with seven MAC SABBATH stories, including “Organic Funeral,” Sweet Beef” and “N.I.B.B.L.E.” The Special Edition is a super limited version complete with a foil stamped cover, a Gris Grimly art print and ketchup and mustard splattered vinyl surprise.

Mixing raucous comedy with borderline-horrific theatrics, the only thing more petrifying than impending health problems resulting from years of overeating is a MAC SABBATH show. MAC SABBATH puts on a theatrical, multimedia stage show – complete with a smoking grill, laser-eyed clowns, bouncing burgers and many more magical surprises… basically anything and everything an unwary show-goer could ever want in their wildest dreams. The band has been named by Buzzfeed as one of the “13 Metal Bands You Didn’t Know How to React To”, and as LA’s “Best Tribute Band” by LA Weekly.

MAC SABBATH online:

www.facebook.com/macsabbath/

https://twitter.com/macsabbath

www.instagram.com/officialmacsabbath

Tumblr: macsabbath

TikTok: @macsabbath

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe while you’re here?]

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Warish release wild new single from upcoming album.

Southern California trio Warish share a new video & single from their anticipated sophomore full length, Next To Pay (RidingEasy Records) today via Kerrang! Watch and share “Second Hand Misery” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.)
Consequence of Sound recently shared the single “Seeing Red” HERE. Revolver Magazine premiered the video for “Say To Please” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

About the video, Riley says:“This video came to mind when I heard the ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ song by Barney playing somewhere while I was in a bad mood and was thinking, this song is kinda evil sounding. Then I went home and instantly started editing the video to the track S.H.M. Because it’s the polar opposite of If You Are Happy And You Know it. It fit nicely I thought, hah.” 

With a name like Warish, the San Diego noisy punk-metal trio assured listeners they were in for a maniacal bludgeoning from the get-go. But the band has never been as dark and bitingly vicious as the wholly ominous Next To Pay. The band’s mix of early AmRep skronk, dark horror rock and budget doom antipathy is taken to a whole new level on this 13-song invective. 

“‘Next To Pay’ is about a sense of imminent doom, everyone is going to die,” vocalist/guitarist Riley Hawk says. “It’s not the happiest record, I guess.” To say the least. On the title track opener, Hawk screams through shredded vocal chords with the tuneful rage of Kill ‘Em All era James Hetfield and the seething desperation of Kurt Cobain. 

“This album is more of an evolution, it’s a little more punk-heavy,” Hawk says of the group quickly founded in 2018. “We figured out what our sound was.” And with that evolution comes a change in the lineup. Original drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell plays on about half of the songs, while new drummer Justin de la Vega brings an even tighter urgency to the remaining, more recent tracks. Bassist Alex Bassaj joined after the debut album was recorded and here showcases muscular and melodic low end previously missing. Riley Hawk is also the pro-skater son of Tony Hawk. 

Inspired by early-Nirvana, The Misfits, The Spits and Master of Reality-era Black Sabbath, Next To Pay keeps things heavy and pummeling at all times. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Greg Ginn’s and Buzz Osbourne’s wiry contortions, and occasionally drenched in chorus effects. The rhythms bash right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated. Warish’s cover of 80s DischordRecords punks Gray Matter turns the emotive flail of “Burn No Bridges” into a Motorhead style basher. 

Next To Pay will be available on LP, CD and download on April 30th, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

Keep your mind open.

[Will you be the next to subscribe?]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Top 40 albums of 2016 – 2020: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are at the top of the music mountain. Again, putting this list together wasn’t easy. It went through at least four drafts before it felt “right.”

#5: BODEGA – Endless Scroll (2018)

This post-punk record by the Brooklyn band took a good chunk of the world by storm, receiving a lot of airplay in England and across U.S. alternative radio stations and being played at Paris fashion shows. It’s full of great hooks, scathing lyrics about hipsters, death, perceptions of masculinity, sex, and people willingly enslaving themselves to technology. BODEGA instantly became my favorite band of 2018 when I heard this.

#4: Flat Worms – Antarctica (2020)

This wild psych-punk (and I’m not sure that’s an accurate description) album unleashes raw power from the get-go and doesn’t let up for the entire run. It takes subjects like consumerism, rich elitism, racism, existential angst, and xenophobia head-on with hammering guitars and drums as heavy as a glacier. This album was locked into my #1 spot for Best Albums of 2020 after its release.

#3: The Well – Death and Consolation (2019)

This doom metal album from Austin, Texas’ The Well was my favorite album to send to fellow doom-lovers for Christmas in 2019. It hits hard in all the right ways – chugging bass and guitars, fierce yet in-the-pocket drumming, and lyrics about mortality, horrible things that lie beyond the veil, epic mystical battles, and overcoming fear of such things to transcend this illusionary existence. Heavy stuff? Yes, but The Well carry it with the ease of Hercules.

#2: Kelly Lee Owens – (self-titled) (2017)

This album made me want to create electronic music even more than I already did. I hadn’t touched my digital turntables in months, and then Kelly Lee Owens releases her self-titled debut of house, ambient, and synthwave music and slaps me awake with it. Seeing her live at the 2018 Pitchfork Music Festival only slapped me harder. The problem? She’s so good, and this album is such a strong debut, that it’s tempting to hear it and think, “Damn, why should I even bother?” I’ll be happy if I can create something a fifth as good as this.

#1: David Bowie – Blackstar (2016)

I mean, come on, was there any doubt? David Bowie’s final album is a masterpiece. I can’t say it any better than that. He faced his mortality with introspection, acceptance, and even humor. His backing jazz band is outstanding on this, and every song carries extra weight when viewed with the hindsight of knowing the Thin White Duke was getting ready to head back into the brilliant dimension that spawned him.

Thanks for all the good music, everyone.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]