Another year down, my friends, as we all race headlong towards our inevitable demise. And while 2024 for me wasn’t as awful as some of the more recent previous years, it certainly wasn’t all puppies and rainbows. Life was its usual pain in the ass: I still didn’t win the lottery. My car died; Richard Simmons died; Kris Kristofferson died; Martin Mull died. The stupid Chiefs won the Super Bowl again. The Yankees lost the World Series, and common sense and decency lost yet another election. And here we are… cheerful, I know, but at least we all have some great music to get us through…
So with that small bit of solace firmly in mind, I present to you: My Most Favoritest Releases Of 2024, and also, a few caveats and preliminary offerings. Since I’m in the final position, winding down List Season here at Last Rites, I’ll try to keep everything as short as I can (which will undoubtedly consist of me just saying, repeatedly, “this rips”), and after this, we can all move forward into the rest of 2025 together.
But first: a few side lists and honorable mentions. As I put this list together, I realized that, as always, I had some old favorites that released great albums this year that didn’t quite fit, so I pulled them aside for honorable mentions. These bands have earned the right to exist outside the realm of criticism, as far as I’m concerned, so…
THOSE OLD FRIENDS, STILL KICKING ASS
- Master – Saints Dispelled – Paul Speckmann’s thrashing death metal outfit just keeps on a-rolling, with yet another strong entry, filled with snarling vomitous growls and Discharge-Venom-Slayer-indebted death metal in the old Chicago tradition.
- Riot V – Mean Streets – Don’t look now, but the Mighty Tior is back again, riding strong on that motorcycle and this V-laden line-up’s third album of soaring, guitar-shredding US-style power metal. It’s damned near impossible for me to listen to this one and not crack a mile-wide grin, and that’s what Riot does best.
- Flotsam & Jetsam – I Am The Weapon – A recent interview with guitarist Michael Gilbert proclaimed his belief that these last few Flotz efforts have been their strongest, and while I’ll never give up on Doomsday or No Place, he’s not too far off the mark there: These Arizona legends have been on the upswing, with some seriously fiery melodic thrashing and that inimitable A.K. bite. An absolute blast.
Also, there were a few releases that I didn’t get the chance to really process, for two distinct reasons. The first is that the record in question is completely overwhelming, and I’m not sure I could process it in two lifetimes, let alone one in which my attention is strained. And the second reason, which applies here to three of the albums below, is because they were released either right before or right after the point at which year-end lists must be decided, so there simply wasn’t time to connect. Worthy of mention, all of these, though they fell through the cracks:
THOSE FOR WHOM I NEED MORE TIME
- Ingurgitating Oblivion – The Ontology Of Naught – Ingurgitating Oblivion has always been a challenging band, but damned if they didn’t outdo themselves here. This one’s just… so goddamned much. But whenever I get the energy and the attention span to try, it’s rewarding, no question.
- Opeth – The Last Will And Testament – An album by one of the greatest bands in the genre dropping in mid-November is a list-season nightmare, but here we are. Every listen I’ve had has been incredible, and I think, were I able to really devote time to it before I had to write all this up, this one would land in the Top Five below easily. Adding the metal back was a good idea, Mike.
- Lifeless Dark – Forces Of Nature’s Transformation – Killer crusty thrashing in the vein of vintage Sacrilege, this one has already seen many listens, and will continue to do so. Absolutely essential for anyone with an interest in the filthy stenchy side of fun.
- Morgue Breath – Plaga Sin Rostro – Filthy grindcore, this one — you’ll see the name pop up somewhere below for a different release (SPOILER ALERT, I know), but this full-length dropped right at the end of the year, and if I’d known then what I know now (which is to say, that it completely rips), it would’ve placed somewhere in the big list below, no doubt.
THOSE IN THE TOP 20
20. Oxygen Destroyer – Guardian Of The Universe
This kaiju-themed outfit brings Godzilla-sized riffs, death metal with a stout thrash base and just a dash of blackness, all raspy snarls and full-on slaughter, almost entirely unrelenting for its full half-hour run. Oxygen ain’t the only thing these fellers destroy, and Guardian is a serious stomper, ready-made for the destruction of a major city near you.
Oh, no, there goes Tokyo… and your skull.
Favorite bits: “Shadow Of Evil,” “Awaking The Malevolent Destroyer Of The Heavens And Earth.”
19. Noxis – Violence Inherent In The System
Thrashing techy death metal mastery, the debut from these Clevelanders ripped a hole in the space-time continuum, very much of the now at the same time that it harks back to the then, with massive names like Death, Sadus, and Monstrosity to contend with. A viciously fresh take on a classic style, regardless of the timeline.
Also, there are horns on one song, but don’t hold that against them.
Favorite bits: the title track (and the title itself), “Blasphemous Mausoleum For The Wicked”
18. ACxDC – G.O.A.T.
I’ve been a flag-waver for these devilish SoCal PV/hardcore “demoncore” bashers for a while now, and in the interim, they’ve landed a pretty big record deal and smoothed off some of their rougher edges. Still, even if it’s a bit shinier than the earliest days, sometime-groovy violent aggression is still all of those things, and G.O.A.T. hits that spot quite nicely.
A blasting beatdown beneath throat-rending screeches — what’s not to love?
Favorite bits: “Clout Chaser,” “Goatcore”
• We didn’t really cover this, although I lamented that omission here.
• Bandcamp
17. Feind – Ambulante Hirnamputation
After last year’s strong Moloch (which I overlooked until this year, sadly), this German trio landed fast and loud with their first full-length. Savage oddball death/grind, Ambulante levels up on the EP, a twisted and quirky take on tech-y violence, with a triple vocal attack (plus some goofy but effective cleans), turn-on-a-dime blasting, and a few hints of glitch.
Seventeen songs in thirteen minutes, and not a moment wasted.
Favorite bits: “Toxic Positivity,” “Planet der Affen” (there are those cleans), the title track
• We didn’t cover this one, but Spencer listed it, too, so I’m not alone.
• Bandcamp
16. Meat Spreader – Mental Disease Transmitted By Radioactive Fear
In a genre crowded with gross-out medical terms for band names, sometimes simpler is better, and “Meat Spreader” certainly has its own share of subtle, indistinct ickiness. Something of a supergroup (Neuropathia, Dead Infection, Squash Bowels), these guys follow that lead: gnarled, bloody, punky and puky grindcore coated in some serious filth, and it kills.
Spread the meat; spread the disease; spread the grind.
Favorite bits: “Antisocial Cunt,” “World Is Running Out Of Body Bags”
• We didn’t cover this one, either. We have failed you thrice so far.
• Bandcamp
15. Septic Vomet – Real Life Insanity
Septic Vomet’s demo made a splash in the muck amongst the grinders ’round here, and now they’re here with their first official full-length, which is the next step up: Grimy, gross, guttural goregrind, absolutely nasty in tone and vomitous vocal, and all with the same skillful use of soundbites as the previous “Rip Your Soul Out.” More of a side project than a full band, hopefully the Vomet can keep on spewing out sickness like this for a long time to come.
Extra bonus, if you’re just catching up: The demos are included as bonus tracks.
Favorite bits: “Observing Inflammation,” “Psych Ward Riff Raff,” “Pathological Mire”
• We didn’t cover this one, either. We have failed you four times so far.
• Bandcamp
14. Replicant – Infinite Mortality
Replicant rides the line between the brutal side of death metal and the weirder side, between the visceral and the cerebreal, the body and the brain. And they capture the best of both, the chunky chugging beatdowns and the off-kilter sideways riffery, complicated rhythms and wonderful metallic nerdery. These Jersey Boys have become something of site-wide favorites, and for all the best reasons above, and their third full-length does not disappoint.
Spencer said it best: Be smart and get dumb.
Favorite bits: “Reciprocal Abandonment,” “Planet Of Skin”
13. Exorbitant Prices Must Diminish – For A Limited Time
The first full-length from these Swiss grinders (with former members of Mumakil), For A Limited Time is razor-sharp, vicious, entirely pissed-off, and timed as tightly as one of those watches their home country is known for. Don’t let the colorful balloons fool you, kiddos — this one’s not bubbly, not bright, not happy. It’s angry, explosive, destructive, and that’s why it’s here.
The prices must diminish, it’s true, but the grinding must remain.
Favorite bits: “Quaternary Mobs,” “Words To Live By”
• We didn’t cover this, either, but Dan did talk about the art here.
• Bandcamp
12. Hemorrhoid – Raw Materials Of Decay
First off, just look at that awesome album art. And second off, just listen to this awesome album. More gurgle-gore death/grind greatness, this time from the Pacific Northwest, with members of Witch Vomit, Nekro Drunkz, Brain Rot, Torture Rack… Total sickness filled with catchy and chunky goregrind riffage and some great sicky song titles. (See: “Ultimate Commode Of Chaos,” “Moderate To Severe Plaque Psoriasis,” “Cacophony Of Bloody Lactation”…)
Another debut album — first-timers were on fire this year, it seems.
Favorite bits: “Rancid Rectal Rupture,” any of the songs listed above, “Raw Materials Of Decay”
11. Submerged – Tortured At The Depths
While we’re on the topic of song titles, “Infested With Barnacles” is a great one, too. And while we’re on the topic of debut albums, another one of those, too, this time from the label of new standard bearers for elite smashings. Submerged mines the murky depths of breee-breee vocals, pinch harmonic-laden almost-unmusical riffs, and a generally oppressive heaviness to come up with one of the best brutal beatdowns in a long time.
Good ugly, violent fun. Leave a certain part of your brain at the door and let’s sink down to the bottom together.
Favorite bits: “Colony Of Spores,” “Disenchanting The Ancient Ents”
• We didn’t cover this one, either. We have failed you six times so far.
• Bandcamp
THOSE IN THE TOP 10
10. VISCERA INFEST – TERATOMA
And while we’re on the topic of beatdowns… Japanese hyberblasting heavies Viscera Infest are back with their third album. Predominantly known for the nearly inhuman speediness of drummer Yuya Yakushiji, this trio’s raw blast-driven madness is built on a goregrind base (heavily influenced by the Mexican Disgorge), and now that is shot through with notable amounts of a more brutal death approach (not unlike the American Disgorge). Compared to Verrucous Carcinoma, Teratoma is almost tame, but in that, it’s also markedly better, more actually interesting and less of an aural endurance test, even as Viscera Infest ratchets down the 300-plus BMP tempos and all-out drum assault in favor of a more … traditional-sounding goregrind effort. Which is another way of saying: You can actually hear the riffs instead of only the drums, and that’s a good thing; you can feel some instances of groove, and at times, the tempos even drop all the way down to a slower, almost doomy feel, and that drastically increases the dynamics… which is a good thing; the mix is more balanced, and thus — while Teratoma is not exactly shiny and slick, by a far margin — it simply sounds better… and that, also, is a good thing. There are likely those grinders who will decry these changes as Viscera Infest sacrificing the sheer sonic bludgeoning that heretofore was their calling card, but I am not one of them. Verrucous Carcinoma is a fine record, and one that has a place, sure, but listening to it can sometimes be as exhausting as playing it must be for Yakushiji. Teratoma is a step down in tempo and a step up on every other level, and a seriously brutal death/grind slugger.
Favorite bits: “Teratoma,” “Guttate Psoriasis”
• We didn’t cover this. We have failed you seven times so far.
• Bandcamp (and a note: This one’s not easy to find digitally, so you should go physical. Remember: The Metal Detektor is your friend. It is, of course, available on YouTube.)
9. DISSIMULATOR – LOWER FORM RESISTANCE
Oh, hey, another debut album, and another “supergroup,” this one with members (or ex-members) of Chthe’ilist, Atramentum, and First Fragment, among others. Dissimulator is a Quebecois trio clearly raised on the records of their regional rulers Voivod, cranking out a techy sci-fi thrashing type of death metal that nods also to Cynic and Sadus and Vektor. More important, of course, than where and whom it came from, is what it does, and what it does, put simply, is riiiiip. Lower Form Resistance made multiple lists around here this year, including our staff-wide one, and there’s not much that I can say about it that hasn’t been said before, so I’ll leave this one in the hands of those who came before me this year, except to emphatically state that, if you have any appreciation for the bands I listed above (and you should, and have lots of it), then get on this one, post-haste, before its science-fiction tomorrow’s sound becomes today…
Favorite bits: “Automoil & Robotoil,” “Lower Form Resistance”
8. ERASER – HARMONY DIES
Sometimes innovation is overrated. Sometimes it’s perfectly awesome just to do something that’s already been done, as long as you do it at least as well as those who’ve come before (or close enough to count). Italy’s Eraser plays a type of classic grindcore that is very much of the early model — think Repulsion, Terrorizer, early Napalm Death — and they do it exceptionally well. Building on the solid base provided by 2020’s Mutal Overkill Deterrence, their second full-length, Harmony Dies, sees the band with a new vocalist, who brings with him a slightly more hardcore-punk approach, and yet Harmony Dies also maintains the course, or at least, the trajectory. As such, it’s a stellar example of just straight-ahead classic-styled grind, now with just a little more punk edge. And by that, of course, I mean blast beats roiling around the occasional slower moment, throaty guttural growls offset with the occasional raspier scream and a few barked hardcore bits, all based on a slew of catchy and punk-tinted riffs. And really, all that means this: This Harmony is uncorrupted. No bullshit, no avant-garde flair, no droning clean vocals, no technical weedles. Nothing but … damned great grinding. Just like the good lord intended…
Favorite bits: “Sarin Attack,” “Flamethrowaaaargh!”,” “The Man Who Taught His Arse To Talk”
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you eight times.
• Bandcamp
7. SICK/TIRED – WHIP HAND PARANOIA
Only Sick/Tired’s second full-length in 15 years (amidst splits and various shorter releases, because…. grindcore), Whip Hand Paranoia builds off the No Coast grinders’ usual blend of noisy-AF, ocassionally electro-tinged aggression, and damned if it’s not an absolute full-tilt rager, exactly as I expected. There’s a nearly palpable sense of filth and scuzziness in the tones, and paired with those electro-ambient touches, it lends Sick/Tired a lightly industrial noisiness that perfectly fits the whole vibe. This is purely the sound of anger, of frustration, of every negative emotion welling up beyond the breaking point. It’s total fury. It’s sick and tired of everything wrong with everything and it’s all the goddamned better for it. I don’t want to sell it short by not writing a huge blurb here about how unrelenting it is, but goddamn… just listen to it already. It’ll kick your damn ass, and if you don’t listen to it (and especially if you don’t love it), then I sure as shit will.
Favorite bits: “Storm Cellar,” “Death In California,” and yes, I realize it’s silly picking favorite nineteen-second songs from an album of sheer short-burst savagery. It’s how I roll. Also, fine, “Dying In Dog Years” is like 3 minutes and rules, too.
• We didn’t cover this either. We have failed you nine times.
• Bandcamp
6. MALIGNANCY – …DISCONTINUED
Kings of brainmushing technical brutality, Malignancy released their first record of new material in over a decade, and it’s a monster not unlike that one on the cover there. It’s got riffs that spin off in every direction, like those tentacle arms, pushing you around and pulling you in, as they move individual of each other; it’s got rhythms that seem random and scattered, and yet somehow the whole of it coalesces into a glorious cacophonic sprawl. It’s got the kind of technical madness that makes you wonder how the band can actually remember any of it, and yet, you know because somehow it worms itself into your brain, too. It was a good move, adding Jacob Schmidt on bass (he of Defeated Sanity, one of the only bands who can hold their own against Malignancy), and the longtime trio of Nelson, Kachnic, and Heller have created a monsterpiece of modern heaviness. Break your bones and your brains, all at the same time.
Favorite bits: “Biological Absurdity,” “Purity Of Purpose”
5. MOOM – PLAGUE INFESTED URBAN DUMP OF THE FUTURE
Man, I love this record. Like the Speech Odd record from last year, this one captured my ears from second one, and then never let go, and that’s especially fun because Plague Infested Urban Dump was also one of those early-in-the-year entries, and to find one of those that doesn’t fall by the wayside as the days go along is an extra treat. Vicious, caustic hardcore from Tel Aviv, this one ticks all those boxes that I clearly love: Filthy distorted tones, dueling harsh and biting vocals, purely pissed-off punky powerviolence that shifts between a more deliberate stomp and full-on blasting. Seventeen short bursts of energy, wrapped and done in less than twenty minutes, with the final track taking a full 20% of that — that one begins life as a regulation-style rager, then downshifts into a Swans-ian stomp, and finally winds itself up into a tribal beatdown, a solid deviation from the fury before and an avenue that I wouldn’t mind to hear further exploration of. Fast or slow, in full explosion or hanging just on the verge of it, however MooM brings the anger that fuels this Urban Dump, it all adds up to a serious ass-kicking.
Favorite bits: “Ma Ha’tafkid,” “Your War,” “Lo Babayt”
4. PYRRHON – EXHAUST
Saying Exhaust may be the most accessible Pyrrhon (pronounced “Pyrrhon”) record to date is a bit like saying that one particular path is the easiest way to free-solo El Capitan (pronounced “El Capitan”)…
Which, of course, means that, while it may be technically true, it doesn’t mean that that path is actually easy, or that this album is all that accessible, and it likely means that neither is for the faint of heart. Like the Pyrrhons before it, Exhaust is filled with skronking riff and clanking bass and pummeling rhythm, the bastard children of Gorguts and Albini-an noisiness, all beneath Doug Moore’s white-knuckle tales of burnout and weariness with the modern world. (Not like we’d know anything about that, right?) It’s angry, chaotic, exhausting in all the best possible ways, and the music matches the theme exactly as it should. A very different kind of progressive, technical death metal, from a band that has yet to disappoint, Exhaust will leave you deader’n that bird right up there…
Favorite bits: “Out Of Gas,” “Concrete Charlie”
3. MOTHER OF GRAVES – THE PERIAPT OF ABSENCE
What is it about sadness that sometimes feel so damned good?
Probably my favorite new band find in the last two years is this one, these Indianan death/doomers who so perfectly capture the classic morose mopery of the Peaceville Three. Building off a stellar debut in 2022’s Where The Shadows Adorn, The Periapt Of Absence is both more of the same and an improvement, a refining of the band’s aesthetic and just an all-around killer death/doom album, in every way. Huge guitars that perfectly balance melodic and uplifting leads against crashing, crushing chords; rhythms and tempos that are simultaneously trudging and electrifying; Brandon Howe’s heavier-than-hell world-weary bellow. As the resident president of the Last Rites Paradise Lost Fanclub, this type of thing is guarandamnteed to find its way to my heart, and though I wear my sadsack goth-death-doom fanboy patch proudly upon my sleeve, don’t let that enthusiasm for the gloom overshadow the fact that Mother Of Graves is two for two on full-lengths now, making the shift from a great start on Wise Blood to the larger tidepools of Profound Lore and only getting better along the way. Sweet, sweet sadness…
2. JUDAS PRIEST – INVINCIBLE SHIELD
There’s nothing that I can say about Judas Priest — and not too much that I could say about Invincible Shield — that hasn’t already been said dozens of times. I could tell you that I fell in love with this band way back in the late 80s or so, and I’ve been a rabid Priest-er ever since, although like most of us, I checked out during the Ripper years. (No offense to the man, himself — he can wail, for sure. But it’s Halford’s spot, and those two records did nothing to dissuade me from that opinion.) I can tell you emphatically that, after the mostly-unfortunate Nostradamus, and the subsequent departure of KK and the arrival of Richie, Judas Priest has now released two straight bangers. But you should know that already. The Metal Gods are back on top, after a few decades of turbulence, and Invincible Shield is exactly what a modern Priest record should sound like. Ripping riffs, all big and slick and shiny, and all of it topped with Halford’s slightly-worn-but-still-absolutely-kingly voice… Is Shield better than Firepower? I dunno — I find that often depends on which one I’ve listened to most recently — but I do know it’s certainly equal to it, and honestly, they could just keep doing this forever and I’d be happy. So let’s hope they do.
Favorite bits: “Panic Attack,” “Escape From Reality”
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you ten times.
• Official Site
1. DEFEATED SANITY – CHRONICLES OF LUNACY
Of course, this one sits up top, right? Just as it did on our staff-wide list, and just as it deserves to do. With our collective sanities having been long ago defeated, pretty much the whole staff ’round these parts loves Defeated Sanity, so when they drop not only a new record, but one that’s as strong as Chronicles Of Lunacy is… well, the celebration begins. You’ve read about a dozen blurbs on this one from all of us already, and there’s not too much more that i can say that Captain didn’t say in the review, or in his list, or that Zach said in his, or Spencer, or Isaac, or whomever else was smart enough to mention it… So let’s just say this: Take it from all of us when we say this one (and this band) is as mandatory as death metal can be.
Favorite bits: “Condemned To Vascular Famine,” “Temporal Disintegration”
UNRANKED: THE SHORT
Pest Control – Year Of The Pest
I love me some crossover thrash, it is known, and these Loiners do it correctly, with all the spark and fury that the style requires, plus some seriously catchy shout-along mosh moments. Four kick-ass tracks to follow up the equally strong Don’t Test The Pest from last year. New thrash bands don’t always get it right — this one does.
• We didn’t cover this, but it did make the big list of short stuff here.
• Bandcamp
Disentomb – Nothing Above
Another tech-ish death metal beatdown, from a band with a history of just that, this short-style burst of winding riffery is both twisted and brutal, all vicious turn of guitar lead and spiraling rhythms. Don’t think too much about the thinking they’re doing — just let it slide over you, envelop you, destroy you. And you’re done.
• We also didn’t cover this one, but it also made the big list of short stuff here.
• Bandcamp
Warfuck – Fail.Repeat
A five-song EP from the rare grind band that has more full-lengths than splits and EPs across its decade-ish existence, this new Warfuck rips like shit for all five of those songs in around ten minutes, total. Raw, raging, all the fun things. Blink and you might miss it, and you certainly don’t want to do that.
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you thirteen times.
• Bandcamp
Haggus – No End In Suffering / 3 Cadavers, 2 Corpses And A Carcass
Two EPs from this American mincegore trio, with a new lineup and now signed to Tankcrimes. 3 Cadavers is a little more controlled, less chaotic, a little riffier, whereas No End In Suffering is more frantic mincing, but both are strong, more or less equal in terms of quality, and a perfect pair of rancid sloshing gurgles and punkish pummeling.
• We didn’t cover these, either. We have failed you fifteen times.
• Bandcamp
Sepulcher – Veins Of The Void
I feel like I’m the only person that pays attention to this band, but man, I get it. Death / thrash with distinct nods to crust punk and blackish metals, Sepulcher rolls it all up into a riff-tastic mish-mash of killer whateverthisis. Both full-lengths kick ass, and so does this EP. Dropped just a few days into last year, I think this one got lost, and it deserves a little love…
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you sixteen times, and whadda ya get? Another day older, etc etc…
• Bandcamp
UNRANKED: THE SPLITS
Archagathus / Whoresnation
It took these two fordamnedever to get this thing out — a decade or so, at least, it seems like. But here it is, and it kicks ass, from one side of Archagathus’ gurgling gory mince to the whip-tight pounding of Whoresnation. One of my most-listened-to splits of the last few years, and two bands who are mandatory purchases for me… Hard to ask for more from a little ol’ piece of vinyl.
• We also didn’t cover this one, but it also made the big list of short stuff here.
• Bandcamp
Chadhel / Jack
And speaking of two bands whose releases have become mandatory purchases for me… Another perfect split, from two distinct but complementary grind exporters. Quebecois ragers Chadhel kick shit off with a seriously riffy and blasty blitzkrieg, and then the Hungarian punks in Jack follow up with a crustier, less technical destruction. Seriously, kids, splits don’t get much better than this one… Hell, most albums don’t…
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you seventeen times.
• Bandcamp
Roskopp / Sick Destroyer
The Bandcamp description says this is the final offering from Denver’s Roskopp, and that’s a shame, as they’re a dependable source of crusty bashing. Paired here with Czechians Sick Destroyer (featuring half of venerable grindcore outfit Lycanthrophy), this one’s two sides of toughness, blastbeats, chunky riffery, and just damned ol’ anger. Fun, fun, and more fun.
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you eighteen times.
• Bandcamp
Anklebiter / Prevention
Can’t remember where I ran across this one, on some “best of, so far” list a little ways back, but I’ll admit that both bands were new to me. And both bands kick ass, both hardcore punk, with Anklebiter being a bit looser and raucous, while Prevention is tighter, more metallic. A perfect one-two punch of punk, and damned fun stuff from start to finish.
• We didn’t cover this, either. We have failed you nineteen times.
• Bandcamp
Lymphatic Phlegm / Morgue Breath – Feast On Autopsied Remains / Poseído Por Supuración
Lymphatic Phlegm is one of those weird Recent Andy Obsession Goregrind Bands — see also: Pulmonary Fibrosis, Oxidised Razor — and Morgue Breath is one of the most promising up-and-comers, so this one’s a grand feast on goofy gurgly goodness. Lymphatic brings their signature icky riffing, couched in that strangely soft, oozing production that seems like it shouldn’t work at all and does so awesomely well… and Morgue Breath just straight rips, which is what I expect of them. Totally killer.
• We didn’t cover this one. We have failed you an even 20 times.
• Bandcamp
THOSE TO WHOM ONE LAST GOODBYE
I’m getting older — I get it. But with every year, more losses… This year was atough one. I lost one good friend, and two personal icons, and a whole bunch of other people I cared about at least a little bit. I won’t do the big list this year, like I usually do — I’ll just say this: Enjoy the people you love while you’ve got them, because it doesn’t last forever.
So with that in mind: Thank you to all of you, whomever you may be. We (I) appreciate and love each of you. Onward we go…
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Martin Mull died??
Hooray! Killer listicle, mate. Plenty of unheard tunes for me to dig into. Cheers for another year of great reviews and recommendations. All the best for ’25, sir. (And how great is that Lifeless Dark, huh!?!)