Black Metal record of the year:
Árstíðir lífsins - Aldrlok Atmospheric Pagan Black Metal | Ván Records
Transportative in every possible way, a soundtrack for an intoxicating yet-to-be-made documentary about the turbulent times of early Icelandic history.
Strong contender: Paysage d’Hiver - Die Berge (ATMOSPHERIC Raw Black Metal)
Death Metal record or the year:
Mefitis - The Skorian / The Greyleer Progressive Death Metal | Profound Lore Records
Adventurous, individualistic and engaging Death Metal for fans of Morbus Chron/ Sweven.
Strong contender: Necrot - Lifeless Birth (DRILL THE SKULL!)
Doom/Sludge Metal record of the year:
Chat Pile - Cool World Sludge/Noise Rock | The Flenser
For my tastes they finally have hit a mere perfect mix of uncompromising punk attitude, sludge-y heaviness and noise rock angularity.
Strong contender: Thou - Umbilical (now crushing you a bit faster)
Best Different Metal record of the year:
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - of the Last Human Being Avantgarde Rock/Metal | AVANT NIGHT
A fabulous comeback album from this one-of-a-kind band, which still highlights their refreshing and wicked vaudeville-style upredictability.
Strong contender: Inter Arma - New Heaven (dissonance and melody in unison)
Best Punk/Hardcore record of the year:
Respire - Hiraeth Screamo/Post-Rock | Dine Alone Records
Emotionally and sociopolitically charged Post-Rock-Screamo, using violins and trumpets to further enrich their captivating sound.
Strong contender: Planes Mistaken for Stars - Do you still love me? (Love PMS, RIP Gared O’Donnell)
Best Indie/Folk record of the year:
Bonny Light Horseman - Keep me on your mind / See you Free Folk-Rock | Jagjaguwar
Multi-faceted American Folk-Rock bliss with Irish accentuations and beautiful vocal harmonies.
Strong contender: Landless - Lúireach (…speaking of beautiful vocal harmonies and Ireland…)
Best Rock/Pop record of the year:
The Cure - Songs of a Lost World The Cure | Fiction
It’s The Cure and their best album in 30 years, what should I say, its as devastatingly melancholic and heartachingly beautiful as many have desperately waited for and wished it to be.
Strong contender: Meer - Wheels Within wheels (Symphonic and Progressive Pop-Rock with great vocals)
Best Alternative/Post-Punk record of the year:
Henrik Palm - Nerd Icon Rock/Post-Punk | Svart Records
Former Ghost- and In Solitude-guitarist Henrik Palm is back with his third soloalbum, a wonderfully eclectic palette of his so-called “Negative Rock”.
Strong contender: Soror Dolorosa - Mond (Post-Punk earworms from France)
Best Jazz record of the year:
Nubya Garcia - Odyssey Modern Jazz | Concord Jazz
Epic, expansive and orchestral - an magnificent album full of soul and moments of transformation.
Strong contender: Amaro Freitas - Y’Y (magical rainforest of Brazilian jazz)
Best Electronic record of the year:
salute - True Magic House/Garage | Ninja Tune
Pure hedonism. Sometimes you just have to lift your hands into the air and party!
Strong contender: Akira Kosemura & Lawrence English - Selene (gravity, cosmos and the ambience in-between)
Top 3 concerts of 2024
| Die Wilde Jagd Roadburn 2024 | April | NL-Tilburg | Last day of RB, first act on the main stage. Electronics, orchestra and theatrics. For me this came out of nowhere and took me by surprise, big time! |
| Inter Arma Roadburn 2024 | April | First day of RB, evening slot from one of my must-sees. And they delivered, big time! |
| Afsky and Havukruunu March | FIN-Turku | Ferocious, emotive music delivered with full conviction, motivation and skill. Nothing more, nothing less. Great! |
Other favorite stuff from 2024
Arcane tv-series. Beautifully done game-inspired animation series. Gripping eye candy.
Heavy Metallürgy YouTube channel. A treasure trove of music related content with charismatic hosts, knowledgable guests and a nice community.
Sports. Keep yourself in shape and sane! For me it’s been playing tennis, padel, disc golf and going to the gym. Next year hopefully more regularly.
