2021 was fantastic, much the same way that 2020 was.
Didn't get to play very much music this year, not with other humans present at least. Here's what I got up to musically in 2021...
We, the members of GREATHUNTER, have been sitting on a finished album for a few months now. Not too sure exactly how to move forward with it. The natural instinct is to play a show to celebrate the release of said album! Since that's not an option, I imagine we'll just quietly release it into the ether and that'll be that. While we busy ourselves with working on the follow-up to said unreleased album, we did manage to get one song released to the general public. Well, 2 versions of one song. It's called TO THE SEA. Check it out here!
I also started playing drums in an as-yet unnamed punk/hardcore band as of about 2 months ago (featuring my friends Andy from GREATHUNTER and Kevin from ORNAMENTS). Coming along quite well and my first taste of playing music with other sentient beings again since March of 2020 so that's been a real gas, to say the least.
Probably the most prolific musical endeavor of mine of late has been PALLBEARER INDUSTRY who managed to release one full-length (ASTRAL POLLUTION) and one EP (MAP OF THE MISTS), both in 2021. This band actually thrived as a result of the pandemic so that's been a bit of a beacon of hope for me. Check out some PI music here!
2022 - Really hoping to get back on track with COASTAL PIGS, HAMN, WORLD WAR 4 (if that's a band anymore, I'm not totally sure), as well as my own THE SUN THROUGH A TELESCOPE endeavors. We shall see.
On with the list! As always, in no particular order!
1) GENGHIS TRON - DREAM WEAPON "An awesome reinvention of sound from this band as they return from an extended hiatus. I liked em before when they were all screamy and grindy. This album, however, is a huge step up. Not a blast beat or a distorted vocal to be found. Cool, hypnotic stuff."
2) QUICKSAND - DISTANT POPULATIONS "Probably the album I listened to the most this year. INTERIORS - the album prior to this one (their 'comeback' after being broken up for many years) was a good one. This one is even better. Super catchy, super memorable, and proof positive that not all the great guitar riffs have already been written. Check out the song 'Colossus' to see what I mean."
3) DINOSAUR JR. - SWEEP IT INTO SPACE "I'm just a sucker for the 90s bands who refuse to call it a day, huh? Actually, of the 4 albums DJR had released since reforming, FARM was the only one that really hit me hard. This, however, (their 5th) is pretty damn great. I love how it starts off quite mellow and works its way up into a rockin frenzy! What fun!"
4) NARAKAH - BLAST HAVEN EP "I don't remember how I came across these Pittsburgh-based deathgrinders. Probably cruising through some blog or another (Invisible Oranges, I'm guessing) to see what's good in metal. I'm always on the lookout for grindcore that hits just the right way. The problem is, I have the attention span of a gnat for this stuff and usually decide within 5 to 10 seconds whether or not a given band is worth a continued listen. This EP contains many interesting elements. It's fast and brutal, it's also ambient and strange. It also does not overstay its welcome which is a crucial component in metal. Oh, and the album art is also very cool and somewhat atypical of the genre."
5) DEAFHEAVEN - INFINITE GRANITE "A huge left-turn for these guys. Then again, it's one that we heard glimpses of on all previous releases, more and more as time went on. They basically took the vibe of the mellow interludes that show up in many of their twisted metal songs and made an entire album out of it. And that is just okay with me! Awesome blend of shoegaze, dreampop, mixed with some lingering heaviness. Some quite lovely clean vocals from mostly-screamer George Clark as well."
6) MIDWIFE - LUMINOL "THE FLENSER is a fantastic record label (found out about it via HAVE A NICE LIFE) so I check in from time to time. That's how I discovered this beautiful release from Denver, Colorado's MIDWIFE. Self-described as "heaven metal" which is pretty accurate. Strange, droning, ambient, experimental, minimal, you know. All those words that describe something very cool and unique."
7) KOWLOON WALLED CITY - PIECEWORK "A very interesting take on sludge metal from this band - you could almost call it math-sludge...post-sludge...I don't know. Lots of unfuzzed guitars, angular chords, and clean(ish) vocals. Also a lot of slow tempos with tons of space between the parts. I'm reminded very much of 90s post-rock by this, albeit with that unmistakable sludge thing running through it."
8) MOGWAI - AS THE LOVE CONTINUES "When it comes to MOGWAI, I am a complete idiot. Insomuch as I COMPLETELY ignored them the first time around. I mean, people were telling me about them from the very start and I was like "naaaaahhh, sounds stupid!!!!". Well, as we all know, I am the one who is stupid. So I'm making up for lost time here and, fortunately for me, these guys are still putting out amazing stuff. Beautifully textured post-rock for all to enjoy (unless you're an idiot, like I was)."
9) BIG BRAVE - VITAL "Another fantastic release from this Montreal-based band. Slow, sludgey heaviness with incredible vocals overtop. I'd love to witness this in a live situation if the world ever decides to stop having sex with itself."
10) THE WAR ON DRUGS - I DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE "I like this band. For me, I've always found that they had a good song here, good song there (Black Water Falls is a big favourite of mine). Never really found an album of theirs that did it for me. This one though really makes with the goods. I found myself coming back to it several times. Some fantastic songwriting and equally fantastic production. I get a real TEARS FOR FEARS vibe in spots."
11) SIGIL - NETHER "Again, I have no memory of how I came across this band. A fortuitous recommendation, I'm sure! After a striking, string-based intro, we get some totally decent blackened doom metal vibes. But then all these other sounds start creeping in. Eerie, ethereal guitar parts, very reminiscent of KILLING JOKE in places! Lots of atmosphere going on. And then its back to the pummeling riffs. Not your typical metal stuff, that's for sure! And you know that's right up Mr. Newton's alley!!! He hates the generic metal bullshit, don't he just?!?!?"
12) FULL OF HELL - GARDEN OF BURNING APPARITIONS "Hey, speaking of non-generic metal stuff! Here we have yet another full-length offering from a band within the grindcore/deathcore/etc genre who I've found to be just consistently on point. For 10 years now, these guys have been serving up the goods and this latest offering is more of the same. An incredible mix of brutal riffs, piercing noise, blast beats, slow & churning chuggers. Every song manages to have some kind of character to it in terms of memorable parts, even the super-fast ones. Well done again, fellas."
13) COLONIAL WOUND - DEGRADATION EP "A very cool 3-songer from this fairly new Florida band. A sweet mix of hardcore, post-rock, noise rock, all delivered with an air of desperation. Very tasty indeed."
14) TECH LEVEL 2 - DEPTHS EP "Turns out Justin Broadrick, along with being Mr. GODFLESH, JESU, JK FLESH, etc, also has a drum n bass alter ego and this is it. And it sounds pretty much the way I would have imagined his take on DnB would sound - old school and evil."
15) DARKTHRONE - ETERNAL HAILS...... "The band have stated that this album is their take on doom metal, which is pretty much right on the money if we're talking about the 80s/90s version of doom (think early TROUBLE or CANDLEMASS). Which is to say, it's got that gloomy vibe to it whilst still being fairly uptempo throughout. Which is to say, doom metal doesn't always default to 20 beats per minute. Which is to say, this is a great album! And it's so great that people are still making these kinds of albums!!!"
16) ARTILECT - INFINITE TENSION EP "If you like your drum n bass dark and eerie, then this is your guy. Not much more to say. He delivers the goods!"
17) FIDDLEHEAD - BETWEEN THE RICHNESS "Pretty sure I came across this band thanks to the 'Fans Also Like' section on Spotify (probably linked to GLEEMER or NOTHING or something). They've got that 90s emo sound down pat and do it up real nice. Every song is more or less an anthem. This band hasn't been around for very long but, since all the members look approximately my age, I'm sure there's a collective history there (if only there were some way to look into that oh well)."
18) EMMA RUTH RUNDLE - ENGINE OF HELL "A very stripped down offering this time around from ERR. Lots of piano, lots of acoustic guitar and lots of dry vocals overtop (the heavy reverb is almost completely absent). With nothing to hide behind, the songs must speak for themselves and what they have to say is 'we are incredibly beautiful songs!'. I agree, songs."
19) TEENAGE WRIST - EARTH IS A BLACK HOLE "A sweet mix of alt-rock, shoegaze, dreampop, and grunge. More 90s shit, basically. It's probably enough already, huh? Anyways, I really dig this. One super catchy song after another. It's the kind of thing I almost wish I disliked but it's not really up to me, is it? My ears told my brain that we enjoy this! Who am I to argue?!??!"
20) PORTAL - AVOW / HAGBULBIA "PORTAL put out 2 albums this year - a more typical sounding one and a 'weird' one which, in and of itself, is an absolutely ludicrous statement with regards to this band as a typical sounding album of theirs is the sound of an alternate universe where only indescribable nightmare beings exist ripping a hole through the fabric of space and time in order to pull you into said demonic existence for 30 to 40 minutes. So yeah, you get your reliable PORTAL fix with AVOW and then HAGBULBIA is kind of an ambient, atmospheric version of the band. Both are delightful."
21) FILMMAKER - SCREENING PLEXUS / MULTIVERSE NIGHTMARE / COUNTERSPELL / VLAD TAPES "4 releases in a year? Yeah, that oughta do it, I think! I love this guy's take on industrial music. Very old school, very colourful, very without vocals."
22) NADJA - LUMINOUS ROT "I'm dumb because I keep forgetting that this amazing Montreal duo exist and wind up missing the 4 or 5 releases they put out each year. I'm glad this managed to fly across my radar because it's so damn good. Ambient, shoegazy, industrial, doom metal with weirdo, lo-fi production and super droney vocals overtop. It somehow manages to be incredibly catchy and memorable as well."
23) SUGAR WOUNDS - CALICO DREAMS "This may or may not be someone's solo project. The precious little info I can find about this 'band' on the 'internet' would suggest so. Well regardless, what we have here is a full-on mashup of shoegaze and grindcore. Like a DISCORDANCE AXIS/MELT-BANANA/LUSH triathlon. Super spazzy with gratuitous use of the Whammy pedal."
24) BOTLFY - LOWER THAN LOVE "Awesome metallic noise-rock from these Halifax dudes. They might win best lyric of the year with 'I'm not here to impress/I'm just trying to feel less depressed'. Yes indeed."
25) GROUPER - SHADE "One of the few albums that might also show up on the more high-minded lists (Pitchfork, et al). Chances are, if Liz Harris aka GROUPER puts out an album, I'm gonna love it. That's been the case so far, at least. And continues to be, thanks to SHADE! Another beautiful offering of her very specific brand of ambient folk music. These songs would definitely stand on their own 2 feet if presented within a standard mix but what really does it for me is the insanely weird, lo-fi production value. If you don't like this, well that's okay. It's certainly not for everyone."
26) WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM - PRIMORDIAL ARCANA "When it comes to atmospheric black metal, these students have, without a doubt, become the masters. All the elements are here - blast beats, eerie riffs galore, keyboards, passages of acoustic guitar, witchy vocals. This is like a pagan-themed journey through a freezing cold forest at night. They really nail it on the production value as well. Definitely a step up from the "necro" (shitty) quality of the 2nd wave black metal stuff but nowhere near the disgusting polish of some of their contemporaries."
27) KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD - BUTTERFLY 3000 "Really like the other album they put out this year as well but THIS one just grabbed me from the start and never let go. KGATLW are not unlike MR. BUNGLE in their ability to masterfully take on several different genres. The difference being, where BUNGLE will throw many different styles onto one album (or within one song even), KING GIZZARD will usually dedicate an entire album to a specific sound. In this case - bright, shiny psychedelic pop with heavy, heavy usage of modular synths. Some serious DEVO vibes on here. Constantly catchy, even when things get really proggy. Just a darn tootin good time!"
28) PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND - RIEN NE SUFFIT "This band has been putting out absolute nightmare music for about a decade now. Their sound falls somewhere within black metal, hardcore, industrial, and all out avant garde noise. Seriously intense and scary stuff! Have fun with it!"
29) CEDRIC NOEL - HANG TIME "I was fortunate enough to discover this New Brunswick-native, one-time Ottawa resident, now Montreal musician when he opened for NO JOY a few months ago (one of 3 shows I managed to see this year). He played stripped-down renditions of his songs (just him and his guitar), many of which appear on this album, and I was just floored. The album itself is filled out with a bit more of a 'band' feel to it plus a plethora of gorgeous vocal harmonies. Kinda folky, kinda indie rock, kinda singer-songwriter. An amazing collection of songs."
30) SWARM OF SPHERES - BROTHER, TAKE FIVE EP "One of Ottawa's finest offerings! So glad these guys are back at it! Another firey collection of cranked-up stoner/doom, complete with Mr. Jay Wishmaster's awesome barking vocals and the AMAZING drumming of Mark McGee! Well done, fellas!"
31) TEEN DAZE - INTERIORS "I had never heard of this British Columbia electro-dude until this year. Lo and behold, he has an extensive discography which I fully intend to dive into (at some point before I die). Starting with this! An excellent blend of ambient and house music."
32) CEVIN KEY - RESONANCE "Yet another installment in CEVIN KEY's neverending worship of all things synthesizer. Be it SKINNY PUPPY, DOWNLOAD, or a solo album, chances are I'm really gonna dig what this guy puts out (that's been the case for the past 30 years, give or take!). Some excellent contributions from Edward Ka-Spel, Otto Von Schirach, among others!"
33) GNOD - LA MORT DU SENS "These Manchester lads have been at it for a little while now. I've been vaguely aware of their existence for some time but finally checked em out thanks to a recommendation from a friend. And this is the album I checked out. And it's great! Super weird blend of doom metal, noise rock, psych, experimental, etc. Tons of driving rhythms. Oh, and you better believe there's some sax in there too!"
34) CONVERGE - BLOODMOON: I "A very cool collaboration between CONVERGE, Chelsea Wolfe (whose music I am almost totally unfamiliar with, gotta rectify that), and Stephen Brodsky of CAVE IN. The basic CONVERGE framework is there but what's really interesting is hearing them get way outside of their usual cadence. The sound of a hardcore/metalcore band branching out into folk, goth, and almost classic rock in places. The variety of vocalists on here (4, including bassist Nate Newton [great name]) is a real treat as well. Excellent!"
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: U-ZIQ, FRONTIERER, ZOMBI, TOBACCO, FAILURE, YEAR OF NO LIGHT, TOMAHAWK, HTRK, MOUTHBREATHER, CRUELTY, SCORN, TUNE-YARDS
And that's that. I feel like the new FAILURE album could grow on me, the last one certainly did. My initial impression was "good, very good, not great" even though the first single 'Headstand' really blew me away. THE DIRTY NIL, on the other hand, really had nothing for me. Hard to say why, it just rang really hollow for some reason. Then there's BLACK MIDI who I more appreciate than actually enjoy. Impressive as all hell but, I dunno, I just don't listen to that kind of music, I guess. I don't feel it's gravitational pull ever. I think probably, in this case, I'm wrong. I can't think of anything else to dump on. Thanks for reading! Happy new year!!!
