NINE SONGS I LIKED THIS WEEK IN LIST FORM – AKA ME JUDGING OTHER PEOPLE'S YEAR-END LISTS EDITION

Hi. So, not judging per so, more picking stuff I've never heard of from other people's lists and I that I check out and ended up liking, but we haven't really matured to that "supporting other people = internet clicks" phase of online life, so I had to go faux-negative to get your attention. Oh, and here's my list too. Other than that I published a personal-esque essay this week, the first in a very long time, about me missing the wonderful Drew Hays but also bemoaning the end of the world, or something like that. Here it is here. Keep safe.

As always, check out my various interview projects and other cool shit. And if you'd like to keep abreast of the latest, most pressing developments follow us wherever I may roam (FALSE!) (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Spotify and now also a tape-per-day series on TIK TOK!), and listen to my, I guess, active (?) podcast (YouTube, Spotify, Apple), and to check out our amazing compilation albums. You can support our unholy work here (Patreon), if you feel like it. Early access to our bigger projects, weekly exclusive recommendations and playlists, and that wonderful feeling that you're encouraging a life-consuming habit.

1. Rites of Tara – "One Final Year (In the Mortal Plane)," from To the Otherworld of Silver (Atmospheric Black Metal – Résilience). Very weird, very lovely black metal on the raw side of things found on Ryan's list on Your Last Rites. Ryan's a good dude with great taste, though a lot of our Venn diagram diverges on his love for heavy/trad metal (for the most part). But it definitely converges on stuff like this. Just enough nastiness and weirdness to make you think it wasn't made by a human, and just enough melody and charm to convince you it's the kind of human being you'd like to settle down with and raise black metal babies. FFO: Esoctrilihum, Revenant Marquis

2. Paroxysm Unit – "Data Mess," from Fragmentation // Stratagem (Brutal Death Metal – New Standard Elite). Another cherry picked from the Your Last Rites orchard, this time from Captain's list. I was already an admirer of Colin Martson's nastier side (Adharcáil, Encenathrakh) so kind of surprised I wasn't aware of this international project, especially since it also includes members of the wonderful Passéisme as well. Pinging horridness to fill your heart's desire. FFO: Encenathrakh, Dangerous Thing.

3. Thysia – "Moira Krataià," from Islands in Cosmic Darkness (Black Metal – Chaos Records). This absolute gem/masterpiece comes courtesy of best-of list posted by 20 Buck Spin on Twitter. Again, kind of surprising seeing how into all things Chaos Records I was this year, but you can't win them all. If you're into that addictive orb fashioned by the coming together of kinda-sorta melodic black metal and Swedish death metal then this is a must-listen for thousands of reasons. One of the few members of this list of lists that would have easily cracked the two 30-40 for me. FFO: Tribulation, The Ruins of Beverast.

4. Summer Haze '99 – "Destino," from Inevitable (Blackgaze/Post-Punk – Fiadh Productions). A beauty of a thing, courtesy of the great people at Stereogum's Black Market (Wyatt Marshall being the specific culprit here). What in the world is this, anyway? Is this screamo, blackgaze? raeggae revival? Post-punk? Who knows. What it is, for sure, though, is fucking great. Emotive, original, and sounds like it was quarried from within someone's soul. Beautiful. FFO: Sadness.

5. Sick Sinus Syndrome – "Rapid Tissue Decay," from Swarming of Sickness (Goregrind – Obscene Productions) + 6. Excarnated Entity – "Corridor of Flame," from Mass Grave Horizon (Death Doom – Nuclear Winter Records). A couple of (very different) tracks from this pretty great YouTube list from Mendicant Media. The first is basically very sick, very effective, and highly enjoyable goregrind, that fills in the hole left in my heart caused by a lack of new Pharmacist. The other is another one of those surprising ones, given just how many (former) bands are at play – Ash Borer, Anhedonist, -Triumvir Foul and so on. Brilliant death doom that makes you want to put together your own funeral. 

7. Corrupted – "Mushikeras," from Mushikeras (Doom Metal – Independent). A very beautiful doom EP/long track from Japan's Corrupted, which I found on Jon Rosenthal's list on Invisible Oranges. On the one hand, what you get here is basically a long, very sad track of sombre, depression-blooming doom. But, really, what you get is just that, but it just so happens that it's absolutely perfect. So heartfelt, so pretty and the performances here, including and perhaps foremost the vocals, are incredible. You both feel like you're in the room and wish you were actually in the room. FFO: Sunn O))), Warning.

8. Diego Caicedo – "Primer Principio: Ex Nihilo," from Seis Amorfismos (Avant-garde Black Metal – Burning Ambulance Music). Another sure-fire top-of-the-list-candidate-had-I-even-known-about-it album, this time from the Popmatters list (Antonio's Version). So fucking weird, so unruly and unhinged, and so god-damn great. Every primal-yet-weird impulse is here, from Ackercoke to Grey Aura. Brutal, unnerving, and fucking genius. FFO: Being murdered by your loved ones while playing Ligeti on the stereo.

9. Anti-God Hand – "The Horde at the End of Language from Blight Year (Screamo/Black Metal – American Dreams Records). Again popping into the Popmatters list, this time with one of Spyro's picks. I actually saw this one kind of making the rounds and was more than mildly surprised that anything this hot completely evaded my SauRon-like gaze, but then I remembered my life is an avalanche of shit and I cut myself some slack. This feels primitive and heartfelt, like boring into someone's chest, and all kinds of black goo sprays out and it's somehow also an addictive substance. So fucking weird and intense and great. FFO: Self immolation. 

FIVE MORE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

ONE: I actually have new tracks to recommend to, and yet none of the energy required to do so.

TWO: Nope. 

THREE: Nope.

FOUR: Keep safe.

FIVE: Nope.

ONE LAST THING, PROMISE: Nope.