Dan’s Top 31 Albums of 2020

A bit late to the party, but here we are, nonetheless.

Let’s get the obvious out the way first. 2020 was a bad year, and this did have a knock-on effect with the amount of music that was released as well. While I personally would not say we had any absolute gamechangers this year, that doesn’t mean the year was an absolute waste. (At least, not in this one regard…) It was enough to bring me back from the dead, after all.

I may not have the same mettle for metal as Matt, nor the same dedication to deathlessly digging … Read more

Devin Townsend – Empath

Devin Townsend is an artist that has always been hard to classify. Releasing such a wide range of music, from death metal, to ambient, to new age, to progressive rock, to country. But to be confined to just one genre wouldn’t be Devin Townsend. Which is why he lets it all out on Empath, jumping from style to style at whim, and creating something truly unique as a result.

I reviewed the last Devin Townsend Project (DTP) album Transcendence back in 2016 saying it took Devin’s sound to a new level. Now that I reflect on it, that … Read more

Panu-Pekka Rauhala – 60 Songs in 60 Minutes

The Music

The Words

Please don’t skip this because of the cover art shown above. I know it’s probably the worst album cover you’ve seen recently – or, ever! –, but the music it forbids is worth your time, I swear! Honestly, I debated whether or not I should include the “artwork” in this review… But out of respect for Panu-Pekka Rauhala‘s artistic choices, I decided to keep it, at the cost of this very warning. Ugh, it’s such an ugly cover for such a good album… It could win many art anti-awards, of that I’m sure! Well… enough … Read more

Silent Whale Becomes a° Dream – Requiem

Silent Whale Becomes a Dream, along with a° random degree sign (°) as part of their style, is an anonymous French post-rock group – they just released their sophomore album, Requiem, and it’s a true statement of modern post-rock. Symphonic, methodical, mournful, deep, poignant, and heartfelt, this new full-length hosts four new tracks showing restraint and abandon. The newly-become quintet summons lush, echoing atmospheres, which they mollycoddle and raise gently, slowly, with care and patience, until they become their own, full-fledged being: not a human, not a song… but a living thing nonetheless. The symphonic elements, new to … Read more

Chaos Moon – Eschaton Mémoire

The ambient black metal of American quartet Chaos Moon is unleashed upon the world with their fourth full-length, Eschaton Mémoire. Their usually quite expansive compositions are shrouded in thick fogs of ambient guitars, which sound just like keyboard pads. The album’s forty minutes follow an interesting pattern of tension and release that really drive this album home. Be sure to not miss this unique and intense release.

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