I think it's time to make the blog about more than just random technical stuff. I've started plenty of non-technical drafts but for some reason haven't really felt like publishing them. I want this blog to also provide a bit of history/context to things when I look back. Maybe I'm feeling nostalgic after reading through a bunch of my old notes when I started the move from bookstack to wikijs.

If there's one good thing that came out of 2020 I feel like it's some great music. I don't remember the last time this many solid albums came out in a single year. Obviously this is by no means a comprehensive list and it also includes some stuff from before 2020 that I'm including since this is the first list like this I've really done.

'68 Baptists Marilyn Manson The Black Dahlia Murder * Konvent Fiona Apple Amigo the Devil Septicflesh Harley Poe Gojira Pucifer

Konvent

This band really grounded me this past year. Any time I found myself needing to focus or calm down this was at the top of the list. They're more doom than groove, but the riffs are really where they get you. Neither fast nor slow, they have such a commanding presence you can't help but stop and really listen. It's not even that you hear something new every time but that it's still so well executed. Other bands have songs that wear you down after a few times, but here we have a solid album with a couple of clear winners, one being the title track on Puritan Masochism followed closely by Bridge on the same album. I liked them so much I started looking for other doom metal bands I might have missed, but I didn't really find any I liked. I have this very subjective opinion of what's generic and what isn't that I can't really put into words, but everything I else I found just seemed to be missing something. Whatever it is this band has it and I can't wait for their next album.

Gojira

I was told to listen to these guys for years and they finally snuck onto one of my automatic playlists. I still feel like they're overhyped at times but they have some good songs including the Art of Dying. They also led me to Car Bomb which hasn't quite become a daily listen is definitely worth a listen. I listened to a couple of their early albums and can see where the heaviness was. They seem to have gone through the same change that Mastodon did, start off super heavy and then chill out over the years. Both are still good bands, but lost what they originally had.

Fiona Apple

I have trouble listening to Fiona Apple as background music because there is always so much to it that just pulls you in and forced you to pay attention. I think it comes down to Fiona Apple doesn't set out to be different she just is.

Amigo the Devil

This one I found in 2019ish but they deserve to be included. Somehow they make incredibly dark songs that are somehow relateable and catchy.

Puscifer

Those who know me know I was more than a little obsessed with Tool for a long time. Puscifer had some decent songs but never struck me the same way. Until Apocalyptical came out and it just fit the year so well. They were no longer just quirky but soothing. Like the world is fucked so you might as well sit back and listen to some good music.

Septicflesh

These guys are another pre-2020 carryover but I still think they are the best metal band that has managed to include orchestral elements. I don't want to lump them in with the symphonic metal crap that just comes out contrived and cheesy. These guys put together a solid album, and the phrase "all killer, no filler" is completely accurate. Titan is still there best album but they really don't have a bad one.

Harley Poe

I don't know if I love or hate this band. They fit into that trash grass/folk punk genre that reddit and youtube are so in love with. Sometimes I think they've got some good stuff and other times they come off as that annoying kid that is the reason millenials got a bad name. Avoid the music videos, they really come off as trying too hard to be cool.

Marilyn Manson

I've listened to Marilyn Manson since forever, but it was never something you really admitted. Like he was too pop for real metalheads. But he's got talent and its clear even when he was going for the full shock rock effect he was still making good music. And then this year he put out an album with one of the most human singles that got you to really rethink a lot of his other music.

'68

Once I heard this band I realized this is what should really be considered rock. For a duo they have a lot of depth and 100% their own sound. Great riffs, good vocals, catchy without getting boring after a few listens.

Baptists

2022 edit since I forgot to fill in this band What's there even to say about this band? They have that groove element like Konvent but they go a little harder.

The Bad

She & Him

At some point I outgrew the Hollywood hipster stereotype that was portrayed so well in 500 Days of Summer. OK fine I still secretly like the movie, but She & Him is easily one of the worst bands I've ever heard and the talentless whininess is like nails on a chalkboard. I've been trying to not be openly negative but here we are.