Dec 222022
 

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s done so again this year. This one is the second of a 5 (or 6?) part installment of Neill‘s lists. And to be clear (again), Neill wrote the title of this feature himself.)

There’s no real need for me to write anything more than welcome to part II of my annual titterings. We’re going to start this one with a fucking bang.

Continue reading »

Dec 202022
 

 

(One of the perennial highlights of our year-end LISTMANIA series are the articles Neill Jameson has contributed, and we’re very happy that he’s done so again this year. This one is the first of a handful of Parts we’ll be publishing. To be clear, Neill wrote the title of this feature himself.)

I think I’ve struggled with the introduction to this more than the actual list. If 2022 was a flavor it would be lukewarm soft-serve dogshit with a sprinkling of cardamom for that nice little pop at the end. We could sit and examine the state of the world but that’s an increasingly depressing affair and this is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, afterall. So instead I’ll just get into the reason for the season. 

I spent a lot of time with cassettes and eps this year so the bulk of the forthcoming prattlings will focus around that. I’ve tried to do theme pieces in the last two years but really the only one I’ll do is the coup de grâce with my favorite releases of the year. So until then nothing on these lists is in any kind of order. Hopefully one or two selections tickles you and if so then please support the artists directly, especially since Bandcamp is now taxing the fuck out of us. I’ve included links where I could find them. 

If I write about anything that came out at the end of 2021 and you’re excited to educate me on it, don’t.  Continue reading »

Dec 272021
 

 

(Here’s the final part of Neill Jameson‘s 5-part series of year-end lists for NCS. As always we’re grateful to him for letting us share them, and we hope you’ve made as many great discoveries from them as we have.)

So now we’ve come to the end of several days’ worth of things to read while you’re on the shitter which, according to Christmas tradition, should be full. I didn’t do full albums for this, you can use Google to find my list of those, and I would have added Funeral Mist and Ifernach to the heap but both of those came out too late for me to really do much about it, and by now you should have already guessed they’re both great.

Again, these lists are entirely subjective and I’m sure I missed whatever bullshit you’ve been chubbing up to, which you’ll tell me about in some forum I’ll never read. Or worse, perhaps you’re one of the people who spend the other 51 weeks of the year talking cash shit about me only to suck up this last week of the year hoping I’ll do something for your band or label, only to fall back into the internet sewing-circle of dry dicks waiting for me to do something that finally gets me “cancelled’.

Well, get fucked, your band sucks and I’ve had shows cancelled due to Antifa decades before you even knew your dick was for anything besides pissing. If this is the first you’ve heard that it can be used for anything else, congratulations and welcome to 2022. I’ll be leaving 2021 the same way I came in: making crass dick jokes some shitty webzine will dissect thinking it’ll get them somewhere. They can get fucked, too. Here’s the best of the best of the last twelve months in my eyes (ears?): Continue reading »

Dec 242021
 

 

(We’ve reached Part IV of the year-end lists we’re gratefully sharing from Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood), with a fifth and final segment slated for publication on Monday.)

This was a huge year for small releases. What do I mean by that? I mean that these lists are taken up mostly by EPs, splits, cassettes, etc. Not necessarily bite-sized pieces, that’s too fucking cutsey, but a lot of bands did a lot of shorter releases this year that held my attention way more than the traditional long-player. Some excellent pairings that helped introduce me to new sounds as well as some that paired so well you’d think a fucking sommelier crafted the menu.

I don’t really need much more of an introduction than that. Here’s the splits of 2021 that really kept my attention: Continue reading »

Dec 232021
 

 

(Today we present Part III of a five-part series of year-end lists from Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood).)

I guess I’ve talked about my waning interest in dungeon synth every time I’ve written about it for the last few years, which has been frequent, so that makes me either dishonest with myself or an idiot. I’m sure the internet will provide a measured response to such an existential question so while I wait patiently for the polite and measured response I’ll walk you through the synth pieces I’ve really enjoyed in 2021.

As a note: not everything is dungeon synth or even remotely linked to it, the music here just shares the common thread of being ambient, electronic or synth-driven in nature. And like every year I tend to stick to the same few labels so I’m sure I’ve missed a few great recordings elsewhere (and probably a few hundred not so great ones). This is one genre that I’m always willing to listen to recommendations in, so if you have any then shoot your shot. Continue reading »

Dec 222021
 

 

(Our friend Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood) has joined us again with year-end lists as 2021 draws to a close, and today we have Part Two of a five-part series.)

2021 was an outstanding year for the cassette, at least until the last few months of it because the little screws that are used to hold the fucking things together were apparently stuck on one of those boats that contained 80% of the country’s supply chain. Even still there were a ton of releases that were pushed through, some of them were even good.

This was probably the most difficult part of this year’s trophy parade because there were so many killer tapes that I left off this list but I really had to cut the fat, otherwise this would be a thirty-band list and nobody wants that. Continue reading »

Dec 212021
 

 

(Our friend Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood) has joined us again with year-end lists as 2021 draws to a close, beginning with this selection of EPs and LPs.)

It felt like I blinked and this year was over. When I did these lists last year I was at various hotels traveling while I trained for a new job. Now I just celebrated a year without anyone (either customer or upper management) calling me hurtful names that make me sad. I found that I’ve kept most of my 2020 picks in rotation (and still a good chunk of 2019’s as well) and I don’t really have a dour tone to strike this year, unlike the mess my 2018 list was. I don’t think I listen to anything except Extinction of Mankind from that list at all anymore.

I’m sure you’re all on the edge of your seats to hear more about my personal life and that’s all well and good but I’m here to deliver what I thought were the most interesting musical moments of the past 12 or so months. Like the previous two years there were a lot of really worthwhile recordings that came out, especially in the category of splits and demos. For this first list I’m going to touch on a few LPs that I didn’t go into detail with elsewhere as well as the EPs, just to start off slowly since I’m trying to romance you into paying attention for a few thousand more words.

And with that, we’re off: Continue reading »

Jul 272021
 

 

(We’ve previously published (here and here) two installments of a “dirty black summer” playlist compiled and written by Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood), and now we’re happy that he’s followed that with a third set of recommendations for your summer listening, presented below.)

I hadn’t really planned on revisiting this series quite so soon but there were a few releases I missed last time and a few coming up that I wanted to shed a little light on, so here we are. There’s a few gloomier bits and some hints of the upcoming autumn in here which should help those of you who get a pumpkin spiced hard-on right after the Fourth of July get a bit of a fix in. Continue reading »

Jul 082021
 

 

(A couple months ago we published (here) a “dirty black summer” playlist compiled and written by Neill Jameson (Krieg, Poison Blood), and now we’re happy that he’s followed that with a second installment of recommendations for your summer listening, presented below.)

Normally for me summer means a change of listening habits to old Swedish death metal, Danzig I-IV, and early Queens of the Stone Age, but this year’s been a little different; seasonal listening hasn’t really come into play for me in the way that it has in years past. I understand there’s a bit of a stigma attached to the idea of seasonal listening anyway but that’s the sort of shit boring people with boring existences have to come up with to shit on people with richer emotional lives. Anyway, if you’ve got a moment here’s another list of things I’m listening to.

You’ll see a batch of Death Kvlt Productions releases in nearly any list I put together these days, which I understand can be a little frustrating if you’re into owning physical releases since the label tends to sell out within minutes only to be flipped to kids who won’t actually listen to the fucking records but post pictures of them incessantly on their social media feeds, almost like a roadmap to letting people know they’re assholes without actually getting to know them, saving everyone a lot of time. Continue reading »

May 172021
 

 

(Here we are, a solid year into the pandemic and maybe you see some signs of hope on the roadside, but if you’re still as confused, haunted, and angry as ever, this playlist compiled and written by Neill Jameson may improve your dark moods, or further darken them. Either way, we’re delighted to present it.)

I was planning on putting together something to mark the year anniversary of the few-part playlist series I did last year that began when everyone was stuck inside, a piece of fabric on your face wasn’t yet considered to be the master’s whip, and taking a shit in the halls of Congress wasn’t a patriotic act, just something the older members of Congress did naturally, but then I had a child and the best-laid plans etc etc.

My initial impetus for it was the same as the listicles (gross word) I did on this very same site starting in 2016(?) where I went genre by genre and that’s because I enjoy shedding light on music I enjoy and I’m an attention-seeking asshole and by reading these you are indulging me. Anyway, here’s some things that have been keeping my interest the last few months: Continue reading »