Top 15 LPs
1. Purity Renaissance - Purity Renaissance Aristocratic black metal. When I bought the promo tape earlier in the year, I was floored by it. The mastered LP sounds even better. The music and presentation are everything I find best in terms of black metal.
2. Graustich - Morality Ends My favorite PE/Industrial release of the year. It sounds malicious while keeping it subtle.
3. Circle of Ouroborus - Vangin Laulu Instantly captivated by anything this band releases. Melancholic dark metal.
4. Mania/Deterge - Lay Waste/Future of Pulse Constantly on the turntable this past year. The dedication to the compositions and themes is extremely impressive.
5. Cirrhus - Unimpeachable Madness Masterful USBM that stands on its own.
6. Interior One - Revenge Against Society This record is great in every way - the focus on sounds, mood, and subject matter.
7. Akitsa - Credo A long time favorite, while this record is a bit different than previous efforts, the quality is among their very best.
8. Clandestine Blaze - Tranquility of Death Did not expect another album so soon after last year's City of Slaughter. Excellent as always. This project feels genuinely "evil" as opposed to the child like mass of overtly "satanic" black metal bands.
9. Terror Cell Unit - Psalm 137:9 The depth of sounds on display is insane. Usually I like to keep an arms distance from art and the process of art, but seeing how these guys operate makes my appreciation for this project increase even more. Genius.
10. BizarreSSMania - II Excellent collaboration. Everything on it sounds huge, yet intimate. The first half of side B is one of my favorite pieces I've heard all year. Unnerving, yet restrained.
11. Geography of Hell - Hiroshima 1945/Nagasaki 1945 This flows so well across both LPs. Well detailed and expertly executed.
12. Candelabrum - Portals Majestic black metal. I've seen complaints regarding how up in the mix the keys are, but I think that is my favorite thing about it.
13. Circle of Ouroborus/Cenotaphe Superb material from two idiosyncratic projects that compliment each other so well.
14. Vernichtung Durch Arbeit - Hungertod Forbidding and dark, very nice.
15. Infernal Darkness - Into Infernal Darkness... Truly depraved music. This is exactly how this sort of metal ought to sound. Makes Perverted Ceremony sound like a gay kids bop band.
Honorable mentions: Vile Gash, Cadaver Dog, City Hunter. Great records that provide a non-gay taste of modern hardcore/punk. I really liked these albums a lot, just found my mood for hardcore/punk reach record low levels.
Still waiting on acquiring some albums that would most likely have made my list like Necropole and Peste Noire. Never got around to buying the latest Lebanon Hanover.
Top 15 Tapes/10"/Comps
1. White Medal - Jorviking Anything by this project is essential for me and this release is no different. One of my absolite favorite contemporary black metal projects. Really like the leads featured on some of these tracks.
2. Zyklon SS - Moral War It just keeps getting better and better. The samples are woven into the tracks so well. The only con regarding this is the length. What a tease.
3. Blackwatch - In the Company of Dead Heroes This tape is incredible. Blackwatch has a sound and aesthetic of its own that really stands out among everything else currently in vogue. Really like the influence of 90s euro PE/Industrial, yet it avoids falling into tribute traps.
4. Najwyższy - An Orchestration In Shadows Supremely crafted black metal. Absolutely need more of this.
5. Annihilation of Human Faculties - s/t Endangered Species had a great year of top notch releases. This was my favorite of theirs.
6. Missing and Exploited Children compilation Great variation without losing any cohesion. Really stellar material from all contributions. This compilation will certainly be remembered.
7. Striations - Vietnamization The obsession poured into this release is astounding. The end result is no less impressive. Lucky enough to obtain a zine of the artwork made to accompany this release. Vinyl would do this release great justice.
8. FFH - Zyklon and Leather Excellent tape, but now I need to hear more new (and hopefully longer) material.
9. Deterge - Superannuated Considering the length, this never loses focus throughout the 100 or so minutes between both tapes.
10. Concave/Convex - Victory Over Body Fascinating and a bit disturbed, yet you can't stop from indulging. The constant output from this duo across their different monikers is the cream of the crop of modern PE/Industrial.
11. Agonal Lust - Modern Atrocities Deserves every bit of praise garnered. Extremely dark sounds and atmosphere.
12. Concrete Mascara - Decay Sequence Haven't been able to spend as much time with this release, but have been captivated by each listen. This project never disappoints.
13. Ærekær - MMXVII Intriguing and well done blend of dungeon synth with black metal. Not fully one or the other. Alluring and mystical.
14. Reptile Womb - Blood Sacrifice for Serpent God A genuine release that experiments with black metal and noise formulas without any sort of pompous wankery. Ends on a high note with a GG Allin cover.
15. Fless/Lampir My favorite material from both projects, really flows well together.
Highlights
- Ride for Revenge show. Was only able to go the first night. Its great that the promoters didn't just settle for whatever openers for this show as Ride for Revenge is mandatory on its own. They really put effort into curating an all around great show. Powerful headlining set that successfully translated the primitive ritualistic feel of their recordings. Excellent opening sets by all too, especially Reptile Womb.
- Genocide Organ/Anenzephalia U.S.A. shows. Was lucky enough to attend all 4 shows. Each performance was great, however GO's L.A. set stands as perhaps the best I have ever witnessed. Everything about it was perfect - the masterful performance, energy, video, and crowd response. The pre show was also great to be apart of and attend. Aside from the quality acts, it was great to gather everyone for one night. Both weekends provided a great time outside the shows as I got to spend time with people I've been corresponding with for a while and meet new people.
- Akitsa in L.A. Finally was able to witness this band. Excellent set.
- Prurient in L.A. High energy and captivating. Was worried about the use of guitar when I was first told about it, but it worked extremely well.
- Don't want to keep going on and on with shows, but it was a great year for live music personally. Others that stood out was Of the Wand and the Moon, Hellvetron, Nyogthaeblisz.
- Film wise, I didn't get to watch as much this year. Perfect Blue at the cinema was an amazing experience though.
- Fulfilling year spending time with people I value.
Lowlights
- Pest.
