There has been a ton of good music this year. I'm not sure what started but I've gone back to the metalcore/mathcore of my high school years, along with a bunch of new heavy stuff. At least some of it could be explained with the fact that I've got the classix ii speakers now and a REL subwoofer, so the filthy breakdowns that I was previously missing out on with my whimpy Edifiers (not to say they were bad, just that they couldn't get low) now sound amazing. Do I need a second set of speakers that are a bit more refined? I don't think so, Amanda Palmer and Ane Brun still sound amazing on the classix. I think I just kind of lost interest in the likes of Amigo the Devil and the Dead South, they had their time and it was good but they just didn't follow it up.

2022 Releases

Callous Daoboys - Celebrity Therapist

These guys showed up just in time to fill the empty spot left by Dillinger Escape Plan. That's probably unfair, since Callous Daoboys have their own sound and aren't even that close to Dillenger's style. They just evoke similar emotions. Some of the critics didn't care for Celebrity Therapist, but I think they were judging the album based on what they wanted, not what the album actually is. This one was the frontrunner for AOTY(album of the year), but is it able to hold the title?

Botch - One Twenty Two

This has to be the best single of the year, simultaneously super heavy and a groove that makes it hard to stop listening. I really hope they follow it up with a full album, but if nothing else its gotten me to listen to the rest of their discography which I had mostly skipped over for reasons I'm not really sure about.

Varials - Scars For You To Remember

They tried some new stuff, and I just didn't care for most of it. Good on them for trying new things, but I'll stick to the old stuff.

Spite - Dedication to Flesh

Solid album, listened to these guys a ton this year along with Knocked Loose and a bunch of other heavy hardcore.

Paleface - Fear & Dagger

Easily the scariest opener ever. And then they jump into some absolutely brutal beatdown deathcore. Then right when you think you have them figured out as a one trick pony they drop "My Grave / Lay With Me" and you realize they have a depth that dare I say every other band in this genre is lacking.

Capra - In Tramission

This one was actually released in 2021 but I didn't hear it until this year so here it is. The vocals and lyrics have that rawness that I love, there is no question about how the singer feels and there are no generic lines.

Konvent - Call Down the Sun

This is a great followup and unfortunately didn't get as much listening time as it should have due to my foray into the hardcore/deathcore stuff most of the summer. Thanks to Tidal I think this album also turned me onto Fleshgod Apocalypse and Behemoth among other black/doom/symphonic metal.

Septicflesh - Modern Primitive

Good album, but I don't think they'll ever match Titan.

Old Stuff That I Just Got Into

With the unfortunate passing of Trevor Strnad from Black Dahlia Murder, I started listening to a lot 2000s metalcore, and found a bunch of bands that I had missed back then, but perfectly matched that style. As Blood Runs Black, Drop Dead, Gorgeous, He Is Legend, Agorophobic Nosebleed and a bunch of others filled in the high school era nostalgia. I also dug into some classic hardcore like Bolt Thrower and Terror that probably end up sprinkled in my daily mixes but I don't specifically go chasing very often. La Dispute and other post-hardcore also deserve a shoutout.

Final Notes

I don't know what, but this year I kind of lost interest in a lot of the hipster/folk stuff I had been listening to. Like I realized there is no good reason to grow out of metal and tripled down on it. That's not to say I don't still venture out into other stuff. Yeah Yeah Yeahs had a good album and Paramore released a decent single. I think I also drifted back into the *core because I realized I shouldn't have to hold myself back just to fit in. So there we have it, it's been an epic year in music and it'll be interesting to see what 2023 brings.