Daniel’s Top 31 Albums of 2021

Another year, another list of favourite albums released 3 months too late. At least I’m consistent in my poor timing nowadays, I suppose.

Either way, 2021 was a fun year for my music browsing. A good amount of healthy variety throughout, even if there wasn’t too much that truly astounded me. But yeah, I’m hoping this list will have a little something for all sorts, even if my tastes fell in a rather particular direction this year. (Perhaps someone will notice.) Regardless, I’ve spent more than enough time typing this out already, so with no more fuss to be had, … Read more

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

The Algorithm – Brute Force

In today’s world, the modern metal scene finds itself facing an odd paradox of being more diverse and varied than ever before, while also having a notably larger number of puritans than a lot of other music scenes. As such, the word “gimmick” gets thrown around way more than it has any right to be, and with an act like The Algorithm I’d say that finding this label tossed about is pretty much a given. However, with the release of its latest album Brute Force, The Algorithm not only completely dismisses the notion of being merely a “gimmick act” … Read more

Fire! – She Sleeps, She Sleeps

When one first hears of the band Fire!, one may be tempted to first imagine a hardcore punk act, brutally tearing down establishments one performance at a time; an in-your-face barrage of aggression which unleashes your adrenaline and demands your attention. Is this not how one would generally imagine “Fire!” after all? A cry shouted out in the wake of uncontrollable destruction which will shortly reduce all around it to ash? It is a powerful force to say the least.

Yet there is another, more subtle side to fire which many tend to overlook. The flames can emerge, small … Read more