If you had asked me in early January whether I thought 2019 could compete with 2018 in terms of releasing an equal (or greater) quantity of obscenely killer music, I probably would’ve upturned my nose, scoffed, and replied with some kind of snarky comment deriding the idea – y’know, typical music nerd shit. I do my best to try and not get snobby, but (for me) 2018 felt like a pinnacle for music. From the depths of the metal underground with gutter-slinking acts like Hissing and Akitsa to Ariana Grande’s return to the summit of the Billboard 200, last year exuded an undefinable yet unmistakably palpable aura that seemingly elevated every piece of music that was released in its duration. At the time, to think we could surpass or at the very least match this exceedingly high standard, felt nigh impossible.
If you ask me today, I would have to admit that somehow, someway, 2019 was also graced with that elusive and amorphous blessing; four months into the year and I couldn’t really even give you a ballpark to how many albums I’ve drooled and dribbled over. Similar to last year, there is no one bastion of great music – no singular artist or dominating genre – but a widespread renaissance, from jazz to emo, emo to black metal, and black metal to infinity. In no small part due to the proliferation of apps like Bandcamp, who go the extra mile to spotlight more niche artists and scenes, to the accessibility and exponentially growing libraries of major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, great music is coming from above, below, and every other imaginable direction.
Given this omni-sided assault of excellence, my job as a music journalist has been made both easier and more difficult, existing in a contradiction where the overabundance of good music only makes it that much harder to narrow down what I find to be truly the best and worth investing our finite time into. It may sound like only a small problem (and uhhh, yeah, it sure as hell is), but a problem it remains nonetheless. However, despite the sensory overload, I (we) persevere, and it’s my pleasure to present to you a top 5 best releases of 2019 (thus far) list, curated by yours truly. Enjoy!
Last year Akasha’s debut demo Consuming the Soul was an exceptional piece of black metal, forged from thrashy, unyielding Hellhammer dirges and cloaked in musty vampiric atmosphere. Despite fitting ever-so-neatly in the parameters of modern raw black metal, there were hints that Akasha – manned by sole member Leech – had the potential to evolve from minor bloodsucker to legitimately nightmarish horror. The project’s first full length, Canticle of the Sepulchral Deity fulfills these unspoken promises, granting Akasha the visage of a metamorphosized, more mature entity seemingly overnight. Canticles… is everything Consuming the Soul was, but more; the blackened riffage has been sharpened even further, and the enveloping ambience is both more esoteric and alluring all at once. Like the project’s namesake vampyress, Akasha is bloodlust masked in ardor, a project that lulls you in with its siren songs and then sinks its teeth into your unsuspecting neck. Once bitten, your hers. Forever. Rating: 4.5/5
It’s impossible to deny the Iceland’s impact on black metal in the last decade. Established by Svartidaudi’s Flesh Cathedral in 2012, the scene (whose home is located in the county’s capital of Reykjavík) was initially known for its sinister and suffocating Deathspell Omega-inspired calamity, but has since grown to be recognized for its own brand of melodic ingenuity, a sound that’s best exemplified by Sinmara’s sophomore album Hvísl Stjarnanna, Mirroring its album cover, the music of Hvísl Stjarnanna feels steeped in rolling, greyish hues, exuding a damp chill that lingers throughout the record’s forty minute runtime. Melodies pierce through the foggy obfuscation like strikes of lightning, tendrils of harmony breaking away from the initial bolt to create their own paths to color the sky. Not dissimilar from the way Norway’s second-wave captured the unique beauty of its homeland, Sinmara does the same here, sculpting a sound that serves an aural translation of the solemn gorgeousness inherent to Iceland’s stunning landscapes. Once again, the country delivers a record that solidifies its standing in black metal’s illustrious cannon. Rating 4/5
Dance Gavin Dance have been steadily releasing music since 2013. Whether in the form of an album, a single, or a b-side, each year invites new material, a godsend for a band with a fanbase as rabid as Dance Gavin Dance’s. Even so, after having just dropped their 9th LP Artificial Selection in June of 2018, it was a genuine surprise when the sextet’s newest song “Head Hunter” appeared. Hearkening back to the dizzying, technical style of Acceptance Speech, Will Swan’s guitar lines defy all reason, twirling and twisting about while Tilian and Jon Mess trade-off for on the vocal spotlight. While Tilian’s poppy refrains are undeniable hookworms, Jon’s eccentric wordplay truly steals the show, culminating in a group chant of “BLESS THIS MESS!” that’s practically designed for mass crowd participation in a live setting. Perhaps the most noticeable quality about the song however isn’t a sonic element, but the underlying chemistry that holds the track together despite its explosive nature. Dance Gavin Dance’s tumultuous line-up history needs no repeating here, but if one thing is clear, the stability of this now four album line-up has only made Dance Gavin Dance better, and look no further than “Head Hunter” for the proof. Rating: 4/5
Lord Snow may be my favorite screamo act of all time and SHADOWMARKS only reaffirms why I hold this scrappy, four-piece band from Michigan in such high regards. There’s much to be said about a group that can that can wield atmosphere, chaos, melody, and cathartic outbursts so handily, something that Lord Snow had already exhibited on their 2010 demo and has been delivering without fail on every release since. SHADOWMARKS, feels like their most cohesive outing to date, and their most successful conglomeration of these raging disparities. It’s an EP that on first listen feels like it’s tearing you into one million directions at once; guitars oscillate between math-y and near black metal tremolo riffs, while front woman Steph Maldanado passionately caterwauls over the instrumental maelstrom. However, the dynamic drumming of Erik Anderson, a musician with seemingly a million arms wrangles the chaos, controlling it with his masterful array of percussive techniques. Overall, SHADOWMARKS feels like the work of a unit- well-oiled, well-intentioned, and giving it everything they have. Rating: 4/5
Personally, death metal played an enormous role in how I perceived the quality of music last year. The new-old of old-school death metal scene has been raging for over a decade, and 2018 felt like the culmination of the classic meets contemporary style peddled throughout the last ten years. Ossuarium’s Living Tomb could have easily stood among the pantheon of greats from last year. It’s a record that lives up to its name, lurching about with the swagger of an undead behemoth, stench of decay oozing from every rotten pore. It is immediately evocative of OSDM death/doom greats Autopsy, the greatest compliment one could give a band of this style. It doesn’t just rest of laurels however; there is a macabre sense of melody that lurks behind the putrescent riffage, a gothic undertone that lends to the feeling of this album being an anquitious abomination, traipsing about for the taste of human flesh. Ironically, it also gives the album a freshness, and something that has kept myself (and others) returning this death metal cemetery, a place unsettling yet enjoyable all the same. Rating: 4/5
