... categorize, sitting somewhere at the crossroads of blues, rock, country, folk, and Americana, and while their recent albums have been a little more traditional as compared to the slightly more experimental Peach or Venom And Faith, their output has been consistently great.

...electric/acoustic) and incredible singers, and Bloom is another fantastic example of the duo’s incredible skills and their knack for harmonies and counter-melodies. As always, this is not the kind of thing I typically listen to, but I'll always make time for this band. They're difficult to...

I heard of them only recently, I think after their last album came out, but I dig them. I liked Wilderun even more, but Lör is really good.

...Tub Ring and vocals that occasionally recall Nuclear Rabbit or (of course) early Mr. Bungle. It's not exactly unexplored territory, but it's weird as hell and really, really good if you're into that sort of thing.

...and a former member of Lör. Musically, NiDi sit somewhere on the oddball metal spectrum between Diablo Swing Orchestra and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, occupying at times a similar space to Carnival In Coal or öOoOoOoOoOo, with a guitar tone that strongly reminds me of Zoo Hypothesis-era...

...the heavy electronic beats, distorted synths and guitars, and anti-consumerist, anti-fascist lyrics that keep getting more and more relevant.

...ever since, and this year is no different. Red End is more or less business as usual for Angelspit, with sole member Karl Learmont finding new ways to tweak his formula without straying too far from the sound that makes Angelspit unique, but it's that distinctive sound that keeps me coming back..

...but it is some excellent melodic black metal, which is my favorite kind of black metal. Well, aside from the Bands That Sound Like Obsequiae subgenre that is now populated by two bands (and maybe more, although I haven't discovered them yet).

...and if you told me that this was some lost Obsequiae demos I would have taken you at your word.

Skjolden, on the other hand, is a melodic black metal project, helmed by Carl Skildum of Inexorum, Majesties, and Obsequiae's live incarnation. It doesn't sound like Obsequiae, for the most part...

... Obsequiae. As with most worship bands, the final product isn't quite as good as the original, but the production and the guitar tone are spot on, and the album features several contributions from Obsequiae's Tanner Anderson, which is as strong a stamp of approval as I can conceive of...

...a one-person band that I was previously unfamiliar with, but checked out because I had heard that sole band member Eric Wing was shifting from atmospheric black metal to “True Minnesota Castle Metal”, which is essentially Obsequiae worship. And goddamn if To Carry On doesn't sound just like...

Like, that bass tone is perfect.

Werewolves - Ugliest Of All
Whitechapel - Hymns In Dissonance
Wormrot - TNT
Zeicrydeus - La Grande Heresies

There's honestly probably more albums i could have added here if I really thought about it, but this part of the list was already getting absurdly long. Stay tuned for the top twenty!

The Algorithm - Recursive Infinity
The Omen Machine - Criminals
The Reticent - Please
Tribal Gaze - Inveighing Brilliance
Tyler Childers - Snipe Hunter
Unaligned - A Form Beyond
Unreal Overflows - Slaves Of The Inhuman Future World
Valhalore - Beyond The Stars
Vertebra - The Same

Shadow Of Intent - Imperium Delirium
Sick Destroyer - Sick Destroyer
Spire Of Lazarus - Those Who Live In Death
Spiritworld - Helldorado
Stillbirth - Survival Protocol
Subterranean Lava Dragon - The Great Architect
Synaptic - Enter The Void
Terror Corpse - Systems Of Apocalypse

Obscura - A Sonication
Ominous Ruin - Requiem
Orbital Gate - Demonstration Of Post-Apocalyptic Warfare
Pendulum - Inertia
Perturbator - Age Of Aquarius
Retromorphosis - Psalmus Mortis
Sage Francis - A Sick Twist Ending
Saor - Amidst The Ruins
Scalp - Not Worthy Of Human Compassion

Human - Concetto Transeunte
Hypermass - Apparition Day
Impureza - Alcázares
In Mourning - The Immortal
Katatonia - Nightmares As Extensions Of The Waking State
King Parrot - A Young Person's Guide To
Lamp Of Murmuur - The Dreaming Prince In Ecstasy
Lik - Necro
Nine Inch Nails - Tron: Ares