2024 was a year that happened.
Working on a list like this inherently pushes me to reflect on the year that was, which typically leads me to discover some sort of throughline that summarizes the past 12 months. Here’s a glimpse into how that trail of thoughts went:
Thanks to my PlayStation Wrap-Up telling me I played about 150 hours of From Soft games in January and February, I guess I began the year with seasonal depression. I got laid off. A good pal around these parts connected me with a friend and I got to see some behind-the-scenes processes for opening a restaurant. I got a new job. It pays more. Yay! The wife and I went to Australia for our delayed honeymoon. I was supposed to cage-dive with great white sharks, but those rat bastards didn’t show up. Fuck you, sharks! Just kidding, I still love you. Josh and I saw Judas Priest and sang “Turbo Lover” to each other. It was precisely as unarousing as it sounds. All the vaginas in a three-mile radius got so dry that only an IV could save them. A family member ended up in the hospital. They didn’t die. Memorial Day in Chicago was a good time. Codenames clue: Bitches for two (Rafa knows what I’m talking about). Annual tubing trip. Annual week of vacation with the inlaws. If you ever want to see grown men revert to pure kid mode, give them a pool with a beach ball and an inflatable slide. Another family member went to the hospital. They didn’t die. Strong-armed some friends into seeing the Lamb of God and Mastodon 20th anniversary tour. That led to writing what is arguably one of my better pieces for this place. Took the wife to see Missy Elliott. Absolutely incredible show even though our seats were horrendous. Family visited us, which meant I had a good excuse to enjoy all the wonders and madness of the children’s museum. Spent Labor Day with my wife’s high school friends. We ended up outside passing a joint, and for the first time in my life, I had the That 70’s Show experience. Brewery tour and live jazz with my wife’s cousins and grandma made for a great long weekend. We had a surprise party for one of our Last Rites goons because his wife is awesome and much too kind. Surely, she’ll never invite this gaggle of morons into her home again. That was one of the most fun weekends of the year. Speaking of good times with LR pals, some of us got to see King Diamond together. My favorite show of the year. We didn’t make it to brekkie. The election royally sucked. My wife finally left her job. She went to visit family in Arizona, but her grandma ended up in the hospital. She didn’t die. Wife stayed through Thanksgiving, leaving me to fend for myself with my family’s 40-person gathering. Those small kids gave me a gnarly cold. I’m sitting in my mother’s living room typing this nonsense ahead of our 40-person Christmas with my family before we fly out to see my wife’s family for a few days. Chaos continues to reign supreme.
So, 2024 was a year that happened.
Overall, it was a good year. Some bad stuff happened. Some really great stuff happened. But, in the end, I don’t think this will be a banner year that I reminisce about on my deathbed, and, quite frankly, that’s just fine. A good year is better than a bad year and I’ve decided I’ll celebrate average when it comes to the passing of time. In many ways, that’s how I’ve come to think of music most years as well. They can’t all be 1991 and my head would probably explode if they were. A ton of great music was released this year that I didn’t hear. My small chunk of it was still wonderful, though. Will they all be the ones I want to listen to on my deathbed? Probably not and that’s ok. The best of the year needn’t be the best of all time and trying to add that hype is unfair to any release. The months and years ahead will be the true judges of these albums, but for me, these were the ones that brought me the best experiences throughout the year, whether I was enduring a negative stretch or reaching the peaks of my best moments.
As always, I like to add a theme to my best-of blurbs, but this nonsensical reminiscing provided me precisely zero ammunition for doing so. As such, I’ll do as all artists do and steal (but in the cool, fun way. Not the shitty AI way). This interview with Nile’s Karl Sanders, asking him to discuss the danger levels of the animals he includes in his lyrics, was one of the most entertaining reads of the year. So, my extremely loose theme for below will be animals. Hope you’re ready to get dumber as you read!
THE ANIMALS YOU SEE ON A SAFARI THAT BLOW YOUR MIND BECAUSE HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THAT, IT’S SO MUCH BIGGER AND COOLER THAN I EVER EXPECTED
(20-11)
20. The Black Dahlia Murder – Servitude
Animal: A moldy phoenix
I’ll be honest, this is absolutely a fanboy pick and I feel no shame about it. The Black Dahlia Murder was one of the first death metal bands I ever got into and they remain a favorite. It would’ve made total sense for these guys to call it a day after Trevor’s passing, but instead, they brought back Ryan Knight on guitar and Brian took over vocal duties to gift fans a strong addition to an excellent discography. All their earworm melodies, big choruses and high-flying leads remain intact. This band is back on the rise and I couldn’t be happier about it.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
19. General Fibrosis – Crossbreed Generation
Animal: The biggest, dumbest dog you’ve ever seen absolutely ravaging its favorite toy
Dumb dogs are the best dogs. Sure, Air Bud was cool, but give me a pit-mix that thinks it’s a lap dog and tries to open doors by ramming its head into them. General Fibrosis makes killer, brutal death metal with big idiot beatdowns that put a smile on my face, making me appear to have fewer (less) than one functional brain cell. When you need the Head Empty, No Thoughts experience, Crossbreed Generation has you covered.
• Bandcamp
18. Necrot – Lifeless Birth
Animal: A grizzly bear performing trepanation
Necrot create burly, classic death metal with touches of finesse. The riffs are big, the leads are immaculate and the rhythms are battering. They close with the longest and most complicated track of their career in “The Curse,” but they also know the value of a hook with death metal’s 2024 best shout-along via “Drill The Skull.” Necrot keeps getting better with each release and prove once again that they can mash your brain with brute force and technical precision all at once.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
17. Gigan – Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus
Animal: Nibbler from Futurama
Much like Leela’s pet, Gigan is alien, intelligent and capable of shitting out some of the densest matter in the universe. This trio firmly established their style long ago, but Anomalous Abstractigate Infinitessimus is the strongest album they’ve put out since their debut. There’s an aggression and rougher edges giving the album an extra bite big enough to consume animals whole. Gigan deftly balances the space-invasion bullrush of a short track like “Katabatic Windswept Landscapes” with the lengthy sucked-into-a-blackhole mind-eraser experience of songs like “Emerging Sects of Dagonic Acolytes.” More death metal with theremin, please.
• Bandcamp
16. Concrete Winds – Concrete Winds
Animal: A herd of elephants exploding amidst a swarm of bot flies during a sandstorm
Concrete Winds by the band Concrete Winds sounds like, well, what you read right above this. It’s violent, chaotic, bloody and explosive in the auditory form of a tornado sucking up death metal and grindcore with some debris of black metal. After you put your headphones on and hit play, your room will look like a Dexter blood-spatter test matching the album art. This is 25 minutes of telling your ears to go fuck themselves.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
15. Inter Arma – New Heaven
Animal: A glitching chameleon
Despite being Inter Arma’s shortest full-length to date, New Heaven is their most varied. Whether it’s the discordant assault of the title track, the engaging instrumental of “Endless Grey,” the rhythmic violence of “Desolation’s Harp,” or the Americana cleans of “Forest Service Road Blues,” Inter Arma is showing all the quick-changing colors of their nature on this one.
• Last Rites Missing Pieces Blurb
• Bandcamp
14. Rezn – Burden
Animal: A gorilla smoking a J
Rezn’s Solace was my #1 album last year. Burden comes from the same recording sessions, meaning this is essentially a continuation of the band’s previous release. Burden, however, is a more muscular affair, spending a larger portion of its runtime on the heavy stuff than its predecessor. Sure, it still has the ethereal weedian goodness all over it, but don’t let the chill fool you, as this gorilla can still wallop you at a moment’s notice.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
13. Civerous – Maze Envy
Animal: A building-sized minotaur wielding Gallagher-style mallets made of steel
Maze Envy is HEAVY. Civerous’ death doom is claustrophobic as it bears down on you. It’s like a panic-inducing run through a labyrinth, knowing you’ll never escape being crushed by the minotaur that stalks it. Even with clean moments and whispers of beauty, the one-two punch of the title track and “Geryon (The Plummet)” closing the album is an impressive, oppressive gauntlet that will pulverize you like an ant under a hoof.
• Last Rites Missing Pieces Blurb
• Bandcamp
12. Feind – Ambulante Hirnamputation
Animal: This guy
The debut album from Germany’s Feind is 13 minutes of no-frills grindcore in the vein of Nasum. It will take all of one second of Ambulante Hirnamputation to turn you into a human perpetual motion machine whirling around your living room. The riffs are razor sharp, the vocals are animalistic and varied, and the rhythm section is pure battery. This is the music equivalent of fuck around and find out.
• Bandcamp
11. Pyrrhon – Exhaust
Animal: a grumble of maggots nestled in that there pigeon on the cover
Pyrrhon is always full of squirming, disgusting little surprises that make it impossible to predict what any release may entail. Exhaust turned out to be their most straightforward album, but it’s still packed to the gills with madness, technicality and intensity. The band gladly balances a traditionally structured diddy like “Strange Pains” against the noise-rock ranting and tension of “Out of Gas.” Exhaust is as uncomfortable as falling face-first into that pigeon and coming up with a mouthful of wriggling fly babies, but that’s exactly the kind of filth you want from these NYC sickos.
(if you dig this more noise-rock-oriented brand of Pyrrhon, be sure to check out guitarist Dylan DiLella’s work in Couch Slut as well. Their newest also features some guest work from vocalist Doug Moore.)
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
THE MYTHICAL BEASTS SO ENRAPTURING THEY COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE REAL, BUT I REALLY WISH THEY WERE, EXCEPT THESE ALBUMS ARE REAL, SO MAYBE CRYPTOZOOLOGY IS COOL AND FUN
(10-1)
10. HEMORRHOID – RAW MATERIALS OF DECAY
Animal: 10,000 lbs of roadkill on the Portland International Raceway during a speed trial
Like any good racer, Hemorrhoid keeps their laps short. Raw Materials of Decay is 15 tracks of gore-soaked grind dripping with viscera, bone fragments and tires slicked with vomit for 25 minutes. Despite its title, the Oregon Trio’s debut is not as unlistenably raw as you might expect from this heavily Symphonies of Sickness-influenced type of record. Don’t get me wrong, it still sounds like an album that has no interest in wiping its own ass as it comfortably soaks in its filth, but there’s just enough clarity that each vile riff cuts the cheese with power. Disgustor and Crystal Seth trade off barfing their “vocals” all over the place to make the affair that extra bit more repulsive, but it truly is the riffs and occasional bowel-zapping leads that make this experience so good. Amongst a barrage of grindcore nonsense, Hemorrhoid manage to make songs that are memorable and even have the occasional touch of groove. Who knew hooks could be useful beyond hanging up roadkill raccoons to dry? Right, Jerry Jones?
• Blast Rites Review
• Bandcamp
9. BRUTALLY DECEASED – CHASMS
Animal: A school of piranha stripping a water buffalo to the bone
Brutally Deceased worship at the altar of the almighty riff, but they make sure those prayers are fast. The Swedish influence on this Czech quintet lands not just in the riff styles but also in the fuzzier sound without going full Sunlight. These eight songs are absolutely buzzing with the energy of a feeding frenzy. Opener “Deus Mundi” should probably be called “Modus Operandi” because it sets the tone for the whole record with an immediate set of varying buzzsaw riffs backed by Tomáš Mařík’s relentless drumming that acts like the gnashing of a million teeth. 41 seconds in, Michal Štěpánek roars, “As thou art I am,” and the power of the song goes full super saiyan. The only real rest comes with the clean instrumental as the second-to-last track. If you’re looking for a fresh take on an old genre, go elsewhere. If you’re looking for a band that knows exactly how to treat a classic style and redline death metal for just shy of 30 minutes, then speak friend and enter.
• Bandcamp
8. DETERIORATION – PARANOIA & VIOLENCE
Animal: Two hawks fighting
Just how grindcore is this Minnesota duo? Well, they open their 18:33 album with 58 seconds of a sample from the scene in Predator where Mac sees a flash of the Yautja and unloads every single bullet he has for his mini-gun as everyone else joins him to shoot at the jungle blindly. I swear, like, a third of the album is samples, but everything else is so damn perfect that I don’t care, even when one of them is a lengthy sample of Mr. Glass from Unbreakable. I saw these guys play live and drummer Joe Kahmann has one of the most basic kits I’ve ever seen. The thing is, he doesn’t need more because he is an absolute animal beating those few pieces like they owe him money. Guitarist Jim Kahmann provides burly gutturals and the occasional crocodile gurgle, but his screeching vocals are the sweet spot, particularly when he goes full speed. The man screams with his whole body and it’s really something to behold. There’s a part in “Break Like Glass” where he goes fully unhinged and it’s one of my favorite parts of any album this year. Paranoia & Violence is an album that sounds like its players are trying to kill each other and I often hit play again as soon as its done.
• YouTube
7. INGURGITATING OBLIVION – ONTOLOGY OF NOUGHT
Animal: An extinct Lord Howe Gerygone preserved in amber in a mansion being overrun by a horde of zombies
In complete opposition to the previous three albums on this list, Ontology of Nought is an incredibly dense 73-minute monster of an album. To be completely honest, this album is fancy and knows its fancy, which will reasonably turn many away. For those willing to sit with it, you’ll have one of the most interesting and unique experiences 2024 had to offer. You’ll get woodwind instruments mixed into Deathspell Omega insanity. You’ll get a hotel lounge spoken-word passage that’s preceded by gravity blasts. You’ll get an effectively implemented 10-minute track that feels more like a mini-opera performance than a metal song just before the album closes with its greatest violence. Ingurgitating Oblivion creates music that lets Lille Gruber flex his more traditional jazz drumming knowledge as often as it lets him go into Defeated Sanity mode with a dizzying battery. Ontology of Nought is an album you won’t listen to often, but equally needs many listens to unpack. This is a rich experience that doesn’t forget the genre’s deathly horror origins. With rapt attention paid, this challenging listen unfurls incredible musicianship and brain-breaking ideas well worth the time invested.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
6. BEDSORE – DREAMING THE STRIFE FOR LOVE
Animal: Turducken
On album number number two, Bedsore was able to stuff quite a few influences inside this beast. When I reviewed Dreaming the Strife for Love this past November, all of the following things popped into my head: Genisis, Castlevania, John Carpenter, Opeth, Horrendous, Pink Floyd, Flash Gordon, symphonics, Hellhole demons, jazz, and more. This is capital P Prog with a death metal overcoat. Whether it’s the pomp of “Fanfare for a Heartfelt Love,” the ever-shifting power and beauty of “A Colossus, an Elephant, a Winged Horse; the Dragon Rendezvous,” or the spooky vibes and fretless bass gymnastics of “Scars of Light,” Bedsore put together a pretty unique album (even in the face of other 70’s Prog death metal albums from Blood Incantation and Opeth). You can reasonably argue that this might not even qualify as a metal album, considering all of the ground it covers, but whatever label you give it doesn’t really matter when the quality is this high.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
5. BEATEN TO DEATH – SUNRISE OVER RIGOR MORTIS
Animal: An orgy of poison dart frogs
If you were to stumble into an orgy of poison dart frogs, you would surely die. At least you would pass knowing they were having fun. Beaten to Death’s brand of grind is as perfect for their name as ever, but it continues to show that the band seems like they’re having a pretty damn good time making it. You needn’t look further than the middle of the album to find “Mosh For Mika (Waddle Waddle).” I shouldn’t have to go into more detail when a song includes the word waddle, but I will. It starts with a staggering, chugging assault before popping in clean guitar notes that sound more like they were destined for a surfing video. When it gets to the chorus, those same guitars start to get an underwater bubbly effect, to boot. That chorus is a clearer shout of “Mosh for” quickly cut into by a death metal “waddle waddle!” that’s so rapidly blurted it sounds more like someone making Cookie Monster ribbit. The song is heavy grind with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek goofiness that it’s impossible not to smile when you listen to it. The rest of Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis is much the same, proving that being beaten to death can be a pretty good time.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
4. NIGHT VERSES – EVERY SOUND HAS A COLOR IN THE VALLEY OF NIGHT
Animal: A ball of rattlesnakes in the winter
Night Verses’ (mostly) instrumental music is a mix of cold clinical precision, clear moments set beside fraught noise, crisp heft fighting against chaotic dissonance, and aggression taking on a sense of triumph. It swirls, whirls, and rattles amidst a tempest. Every Sound Has A Color In The Vally Of Night is a two-part album that laces Slugdge’s alien strangeness into Cloud Kicker’s driving mechanical nature. The opening to “Karma Wheel” would be right at home on a Car Bomb album, while its middle would get a high-five from NeurIsis bands all across the land. What would it sound like if Meshuggah covered the Doom (2016) soundtrack? Maybe something a little like Night Verses.
• Last Rites Missing Pieces Blurb
• Bandcamp
3. DEFEATED SANITY – CHRONICLES OF LUNACY
Animal: A chimp raid
If you haven’t seen the chimpanzee raid from the show Planet Earth, it is harrowing and fascinating. One group of Chimps stalks through the jungle tracking a competing family in an eerily human fashion. They carefully walk, sniff and listen with a precise intent for every move they make. It culminates in the attacking group creating a din of noise to confuse the intended victims as they’re surrounded, assaulted, ripped apart and eaten. The David Attenborough voiceover includes the terrifying nugget that chimps are vegetarian outside of their cannibalistic victory celebrations that close such raids. Doesn’t that sound like perhaps these apes had their sanity defeated?
This quartet creates some of the most chaotic death metal imaginable but with inhuman precision, creating art that’s more brutal than cannibalizing a toddler for stumbling into your front yard. What makes Defeated Sanity’s particular brand of brutality all the more engaging is that it remains human. They stick to a more natural production that would’ve fit in the 90s but it doesn’t sap a single note of its power by remaining on the raw side. “A Patriarchy Perverse” blasts and fires off about five different riffs before dropping into its first Suffocation beatdown 15 seconds in. Oh, and that stuttering drum fill to transition into it is ridiculous. I owe Lille Gruber several hundred beers for the amount of time his drumming captivated my brain between this and the Ingurgitating Oblivion album this year. You’d think with this being monstrous death metal, giant speakers would be the way to go, but get a good pair of headphones and you’ll discover an absurd amount of little details that make each second feel more potently murderous than the one before it.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
2. NOXIS – VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM
Animal: An anaconda eating a hippo
We all like to make jokes about how the bass doesn’t really matter in metal because it so often gets mixed into purgatory, but Noxis would like to kindly tell you to go pound shit. On the band’s debut album, I’d argue that Dave Kirsch’s bass is the driving force of this band, acting like an anaconda weaving and winding through varied terrain, ready to crush the life out of any creature in its path. The dry pop of the drums against the steel-wire thickness of the bass makes for an incredible rhythmic pairing, but Kirsch is riffing as often as he’s supporting. The wiliness and importance of his role aren’t unlike that of Éric Langlois on None So Vile. Don’t get it twisted; the other three players here are absolutely dominating their roles, too. The cohesive whole is funky, brutal, pulverizing, and unafraid of experimentation (see “Horns”). Violence Inherent In The System needs to be the death metal violence in your audio system right the fuck now!
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
1. ORANSSI PAZUZU –
MUUNTAUTUJA
Animal: Hypnotoad
Yes, that’s two Futurama references in one year-end list. So, what? Want to fight about it?
I’m not saying you have to be in some doped-up state of mind like you’ve been staring at the Hypnotoad for 6 hours to be able to enjoy the newest Oranssi Pazuzu album, BUT it wouldn’t hurt. This is the band’s weirdest album in a long career of making weird tunes. The title track is a sci-fi adventure in hell like Event Horizon, with robot vocals, bleeps, bloops, eery plonks of piano, and a bunch of creepy fuckery. “Voitelu” is much more aggressive, providing a more direct channel to their black metal roots, but man, those piano parts that start streaming in are diabolically haunting. “Hautatuuli” sounds more like a funky improv session that turns into The Challenger explosion. The opening to “Valotus” and the interlude before it remind the listener just how uncomfortable the quiet can be. “Ikikäärme” is a glorious microcosm of the entire experience across its nearly ten minutes; it’s slow, beautiful, upsetting, tense, explosive and incredible. I think these Finns took some acid, ate some mushrooms, smoked a bowl, and then played Mariner and Black Medium Current simultaneously while trying to record their version of what they were hearing.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
THE CUDDLY LITTLE PILE OF PISS-SOAKED FILTHY HAMSTERS YOUR MOM HAD TO TAKE CARE OF BECAUSE YOU WERE A TERRIBLE CHILD
(EPs & DEMOS)
10. Squassation – Demo 2024
Three tracks of glorious snare abuse and utter brutality. A perfect shot in the arm for this type of New Standard Elite mental abuse. Get in, get out, get crushed.
• Bandcamp
9. Kryatjurr of Desert Ahd – Unforgiving Heatwaves of Psychosis and Deforestation
This EP is goddamn weird and I really don’t understand what is going on through most of it. They add whackadoodle electronic and ambient elements to their black metal base that make for an unnerving and uncomfortable experience. I didn’t hear anything else quite like this in 2024.
• Last Rites Top-10ish EPs and Demos Blurb
• Bandcamp
8. Pest Control – Year Of The Pest
More straightforward thrash tends not to be my go-to, but when it’s this hostile and fiery, I’ll eat it up every time. These four tracks absolutely rip and Leah’s punk-inflected, Kat Katz-style vocals add such a potent punch to the proceedings.
• Last Rites Top-10ish EPs and Demos Blurb
• Bandcamp
7. Vomitrot – Emitic Imprecations
Look, the band is called Vomitrot. You absolutely know what this is and that’s perfectly fine. This is biting old-school death metal grown in a pool of bile. There’s an undercurrent of war metal in the rhythms, too, and the glottal vocals really stand out. The first 20 seconds of “Emetophilic Cro-Magnon” sounds like a prolonged vocal barfing session. Plus, the band members go by Vomitroth, Rotted Vomitor and Cave Belcher. 25 minutes of hideous goodness right here.
• Bandcamp
6. Glassbone – Deaf To Suffering
The song titles are in all caps, and the EP opens with a sample of Toni Collette’s character in Hereditary, who is breaking down and screaming about how she wants to die. Subtlety and complexity are not in the cards for this one. On brand with most of this EP/demo list, Glassbone plays brutal death metal. This, however, is a knuckle-dragging hardcore version of it meant to inspire you to try and break concrete over your head.
• Bandcamp
5. Sonic Poison – Grinded Leftovers
In case the full-length portion of this list didn’t clue you in, I’m a big fan of grindcore, no matter the release format. This is a Swedeath brand of grind with a howling, pained take on Van Drunen for half of the vocals. The quadruple “blech” into a “GOOOOOO” just before the minute mark of the opening track will get the blood flowing every time.
• Bandcamp
4. Repugnancy – Vile Ancient Transfiguration
BDM in grind mode. Drums ping. Riffs riff. Vocals gross. New Standard Elite new standard elites. Five songs in under five minutes. What else could you need?
• Last Rites Takes A Demo Dump
• Bandcamp
3. Foul Deformity – Disgust
Foul Deformity offers up a bit more than the average EP with 20 minutes of brutal death metal. So much of this is ready for the Suffo-chop while being inspired by real-life horrific events. Peep that newscaster sample opening “Willowbrook” and you’ll have a good idea of the horrors that inspired the sonics.
• Last Rites Top-10ish EPs and Demos Blurb
• Bandcamp
2. Pedestal For Leviathan – Festering Apparition
On paper, brutal death metal and symphonic black metal shouldn’t work. Somehow, Pedestal For Leviathan pulls it off. The EP opens with cheeseball keys that would fit on an early Cradle of Filth album but then brutalizes your ears a minute later. Think what it would sound like if Fleshgod Apocalypse was on New Standard Elite and you’re starting to get it.
• Bandcamp
1. Owl – Ghosts of Summer
Owl has a similar sense of heaviness to Meshuggah. They don’t play djent-style at all or lean into polyrhythms, but it’s sonically crushing, and every note lets your ears feel like you are hearing physical heft. Owl brilliantly utilizes space but rather than it providing a sense of relief, it simply makes isolated moments feel even heavier. Oh and the last track has several minutes of absolutely wild lead guitar work. Simply put, Ghosts of Summer is preposterously, stupidly, ridiculously heavy, and that aspect alone is worth the price of admission.
• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp
BEASTS OF A SNUGGLIER PERSUASION THAT AREN’T BARKING, BITING AND CONSTANTLY MUTATING LIKE ALL THE OTHER ONES
(NON-METAL TOP 5)
5. Kamasi Washington – Fearless Movement
After getting hooked by The Epic a few years ago, I have rabidly consumed the works of Kamasi Washington. The challenge, of course, is that each of his last two albums were around three hours long. One of the perks of Fearless Movement is that at 86 minutes, it’s much more approachable and a more varied experience despite its shorter runtime. “Get Lit” has the inimitable George Clinton blending 70’s funk with modern hip hop. Andre 3000 throws some flute onto “Dream State,” giving it an airy Floating Points vibe. “Computer Love” features gorgeous singing and a melodious hook in the chorus that will be stuck on repeat in your brain for days. “Road to Self” blinks about with a sci-fi flavor to its jazz proceedings. As always, there’s a lot going on with a Kamasi Washington release, but that just means more reasons to keep spinning it over and over again.
• Bandcamp
4. Mdou Moctar – Funeral For Justice
I drove down to Lousiville in October to see The Red Chord and Pig Destroyer on a Wednesday night. That meant driving two hours back home late at night on a work day. I used this time to have my virgin experience with Mdou Moctar and that lonely dark road was the perfect fit. The electric energy of the drums, the rocking nature of the guitars, and the rhythmic patter of a voice I couldn’t understand provided the drive so much gusto. The guitar leads are right out of the 70’s rock playbook and they are a delight.
• Bandcamp
3. The Cure – Songs Of A Lost World
As a relatively new convert to The Cure fan club, the lengthy time between albums wasn’t all that impactful on my experience, as nostalgia and a long gestation of anticipation weren’t part of the equation. What that means, though, is that this album was so damn good that rose-tinted glasses would be superfluous. The driving bass and floating keys of “Alone” automatically feel like home for the band, but they didn’t forget the value of a guitar squall on “Warsong” or putting a little scoot in your boot with “Drone:Nodrone.” Seems like the Brits spent 16 years studying their own discography and figured out how to give fans at least a little more of all the different things they do so well.
• YouTube
2. Amaro Freitas – Y’Y
Brazilian pianist Amaro Freitas’ Y’Y is significantly more experimental than its predecessor, Sankofa, and all the better for it. That’s not a knock against Sankoafa by any means because it’s a wonderful album. The guest musicians who join Freitas for the second half of the album simply add so many more textures and colors to his works, pushing what he does in very fresh and engaging ways. There’s whimsy, intensity, introspection, spirituality and a million other elements at play throughout this phenomenal album.
• Bandcamp
1. Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few – The Almighty
I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that at least part of what you love about heavy metal is the drumming. What if I told you one of the most impressive and energetic drum performances I heard all year was on this jazz album? The drumming on The Almighty is in a constant barrage of motion that manages not to overwhelm the song even in calmer moments. The early part of “Love” is pretty chill, but listen closely to the drums and you’ll hear steady rolls, fills and changeups like the player is struggling to hold back. Put on the massive “Duality Suite (I. +, II. -, III. Divine Masculine, IV. Divine Feminine),” however, and the drums (along with every other instrument) absolutely GO OFF. That suite can go toe-to-toe with Lille and Defeated Sanity any day.
• Bandcamp
THESE ARE THE ANCIENT CRONES OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM WAITING ON THEIR DEATH BEDS TO BE CONSUMED BY THEIR CHILDREN AND RETURNED TO THE EARTH THAT CRUELLY FORGOT THEM
(NON-2024 ALBUMS)
5. Disgorge – Consume The Forsaken
Have you ever wondered what it would sound like to put your head inside a cement mixer full of angry wolverines riding jackhammers? Click play; find out.
• Bandcamp
4. Katalepsy – Autopsychosis
Militant brutality, meet blindingly ignorant slams. Blindingly ignorant slams, meet barely-open-mouthed wind-tunnel vocals. Barely-open-mouthed wind-tunnel vocals, meet my rapidly softening skull caving in on itself.
Fin
• Bandcamp
3. Joanna Newsom – The Milk-Eyed Mender
One of these things is not like the others.
It can’t all be brutal death metal all the time, even if Ryan tried to make it so earlier this year. Granted, the first time I heard “The Sprout And The Bean” was in The Strangers, and we all know horror and metal have a long, loving marriage. Joanna Newsom’s folksy blend of indie and pop is as odd as her voice, which makes it all the more engaging. But how could you expect anything but something a bit peculiar when the artist approaches these genres armed with a harp as her primary instrument?
• Bandcamp
2. Cadavoracity – Vitiosus Forma Exilium
We here at Last Rites are firm supporters of snare abuse, but drummer Polwach Beokhaimook should probably be charged as a war criminal. Nuance ain’t on the menu and that suits me just fine.
• Bandcamp
1. Gorgasm – Destined To Violate
Considering my love of Cannibal Corpse, it’s a little silly that I ignored this band for so long. Their name seemed goofy and I assumed it was just run-of-the-mill slams. Wow, was I wrong. This is pure, straightforward death metal with just the right amount of brutal armor wrapped around it. I’m not sure how song titles like “Funeral Gangbang” and “Lubricated In Vomit” didn’t get me in the door a decade ago. At least now, there’s a solid discography for me to dive into.
• Bandcamp
THE TAMAGATCHIS THAT HOPEFULLY YOU DON’T KILL BY LETTING IT POOP TOO MUCH
(VIDEOGAMES)
11. Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Layer – A decent little platformer with some cute characters inspired by Banjo Kazooie. I got it on sale for about $3, and I don’t know if I’d recommend spending much more than that on it, though.
10. Evil West – Sometimes, I need a simple bloodbath of a game. This is a Western with demons and follows a combat style like God of War in a level-by-level structure. Don’t worry about thinking too much, just cycle through as many weapons and items as you can to blow up 20 monsters at a time.
9. Immortals Fenyx Rising – Think Breath of the Wild but simpler and with a cartoony, comedic take on Greek mythology. It gets a bit repetitive, but if you don’t focus on trying to do every little thing, you’ll have a good time.
8. Demon’s Souls – The From Software game that launched a new genre. The remake for PS5 is visually stunning, but the shortcomings of its original version are sort of baked into it. It still has plenty of cool boss fights that clearly inspired even better ones later on.
7. Dark Souls II – The hate this game gets is silly. Is it too long with too many bosses? Yes. Does it still nail the Souls formula and come up with some really cool ideas? Yes. Plus, the DLCs are great and The Burnt Ivory King fight is an all-timer.
6. God Of War: Valhalla – Remember when I said sometimes I just need a simple bloodbath? This DLC focuses exclusively on letting you perfect your combat skills in a rogue-like format. Short, but tons of fun as you string together wild combos.
5. Remnant II – This is some of the most co-op fun you can have with a game. Procedurally generated maps and bosses mean each level plays out a little differently, even on repeated playthroughs. The game is tough but not unreasonable, meaning you’ll have to communicate and plan, but you shouldn’t be stuck in a pain loop for too terribly long.
4. Bioshock – “Would you kindly”…fuuuuuuuck. Clever combat mechanics, one-of-a-kind weirdo world-building, and a hell of a story.
3. Nier: Automata – I have never played anything quite like this game. It blends multiple styles of games together but also requires several playthroughs to see the story to its real end. The thing is, each of those main playthroughs is actually pretty different, including substantial shifts in the later ones. Some moments will probably even make you cry.
2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – This is From Soft at its most From Soft. There’s no buildcraft or ways to cheese your way with magic. You simply have to master the combat and learn the bosses’ tells. If you can’t, you’re cooked. If you can, the flow state you’ll hit in a fight is so ridiculously satisfying.
1. Dark Souls III – This one combines everything that made all the previous Souls games and Bloodborne great. It’s dark, it’s punishing, the world is incredible and some of these boss fights are best in From Soft’s catalog. The middle cutscene for Sister Friede is my favorite of any game they’ve made. That fight also happens to be INSANE with one of the rudest tricks those developers ever pulled.
THANK YOU MY FELLOW MAMMALS FOR LEAVING THE PRIMORDIAL GOO (YOUR MOM) TO SIT ON THE TURLET AND READ THESE WORDS
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Anything on reissues? Like the four Tony Martin era Sabbath albums…