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

Thrailkill – Detach

The Music

The Words

Wes Thrailkill is back with another killer release! This time, a 20 minute EP titled Detach. Wes wrote this during quarantine after having trouble finding inspiration and second guessing nearly everything he produced. But in the end he relinquished himself to the creative process and forged this beauty. Wes compares his mindset while creating Detach, to pulling a random card from a shuffled deck. Despite that mindset, he still managed to make it flow as a cohesive piece. It’s heavy, melodic, jazzy, chaotic, virtuosic, and everything in-between. Wes’s guitar tone is flawless as usual, … 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

Byo Noise Generator – Neuromechanica

The Music

The Words

Russia’s Byo Noise Generator—stylized as ByoNoiseGenerator—just released their sophomore release: Neuromechanica. The band claims to merge brutal death metal, grindcore, and jazz into a coherent whole, which is an impressive feat if it’s true. But there are a few amendments to make to it.

First of all, the music here on display is indeed brutal and grinding, and the composition, interpretation, and production of it is quite stunning. One thing that sets Byo Noise Generator apart from other similar bands is their permanent use of a saxophonist. Alas, sax does not jazz make, … Read more

Big Heart Machine – Big Heart Machine

The Music

The Words

I’ve been waiting on this release for as long as it has been announced (or very nearly so), but, when it was finally released, it was impossible for me to listen to it attentively and, thus, prepare a short review before the month’s end. It is doubtless that I can say that Big Heart Machine would’ve made it in August’s monthly recommendations, but you’ll have to be content with this belated, overdue one.

Big Heart Machine is the eighteen-piece big band under the baton of Miho Hazama and the production of Darcy James Argue, another Read more