That’s an excellent soundtrack.
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Here’s one from, arguably the best cyclist of the modern era.
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Zeal & Ardor last night at Urban Lounge was absolutely epic. Best show I’ve seen this year, easily. Just a masterful performance from start to finish with a ton of insane energy for sold-out small club show.
This was my first show that I attempted to stay in the mosh pit for the entire show since I turned 50. That’s definitely a young man’s game. I did actually make it through (all those morning runs paying off, I suppose) but am paying for it this morning. I could barely roll out of bed. 
There are some shows you go to and think “man, I’m bugged that I paid so much for that show”. King Diamond a couple weeks ago was one of those. Then there are shows that you think “man, I would have gladly paid 2 or 3 times more to have that experience”. Z&A was one of those. It may be a personal top 10 show for me. I’ll have to sit it’s it for a couple days and see what I think after the post-show high wears off. Seeing them absolutely rip through “Gottedamerung” live was a core concert memory, without a doubt.
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KD did the same show as always but Night Demon was crazy good. And OverKill? Best live band in the world even without DD.
While neither is really my style of metal, I thought both Night Demon and Overkill were really good. Both were better than King Diamond, but I’m not really a huge KD fan to begin with. I was mostly just kicking myself for paying $80 for a band I’m not big on to begin with, just because I really needed to see a metal show.
I did love seeing Myrkur doing backing vocals for KD. I simply adore that woman.
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I don’t think there’s anything else that will be dropping in the next couple weeks, so here’s my top 10 for 2024. Ended up being a really solid year.
#10 Nails, “Every Bridge Burning”. Just 18 minutes of pure, raw, unadulterated fury. No filter, no filler, just absolute anger. Best Track: “Every Bridge Burning”
#9 Aquilus, “Bellum II”. As one of my most-anticipated albums in the past several years, I’m actually a little bummed this one is lower on the list than I would have initially expected. His formula of complex orchestra arrangements mixed with brutal metal still works really well…just not quite as well as it did on the first album. Still an excellent listen, just doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of it’s predecessor. Best Track: “Night to Her Gloam”
#8 Fleshgod Apocalypse, “Opera”. Another album that I had hoped would be a little higher on my list, and probably would have been if not for two clunker tracks in the midpoint. The expanded use of operatic vocals gave this entire album a very epic feel, especially when you know the backstory (lead singer almost died from a climbing accident, the album is about his extended recovery). Best Track: “I Can Never Die”
#7 Slimelord, “Chytridiomycosis Reliquished”. Slimy, mucky, oozing doom from the depths of a forgotten bog. Just a nasty album all around that hits all the right doom-y, murky buttons for me. Best Track: “Gut Brain Axis”
#6 Thy Catafalque, “XII”. For me, Tamás Kátai can do no wrong with his mix of metal, folk, doom, EBM, and trance. I just really love his style and all the Hungarian folk elements that range from fun bounciness to crushing sadness. Best track: “Vakond” (if you’re toes aren’t tapping with this one, you may be dead)
#5 Zeal & Ardor, “Greif”. After the first couple listens, I though this might end up on my “most disappointing” list for the year. Once I started appreciating it for what it was instead of being disappointed by what it wasn’t, the album really clicked. It’s a fun rock 'n roll record, not a metal album. Best Track: “To My Ilk”
#4 Ihsahn, “Ihsahn”. I’m finding that I actually prefer Ihsahn’s solo albums to his output with Emperor, which I never thought I’d say. This album uses symphonic elements to brilliant effect, creating sweeping and epic soundscapes that tell wonderful musical stories. Best Track: “Blood Trails to Love”
#3 Weston Super Maim, “See You Tomorrow Baby”. This is one of the most chaotic albums I’ve every heard. The blending of hardcore, Industrial, death metal, techno, drone, and other styles creates a truly unique sound. And through all the anger, there’s still a ray of positivity and hope that shines through. It’s really a fascinating listen. Best track: “See You Tomorrow Baby”
#2 Opeth, “Last Will and Testament”. We had all hoped for a return of “old-Peth” and they didn’t dissapoint. Wild, intense, unexpected, and always fun as hell, this album was everything I hoped it would be and more. The inclusion of Ian Anderson (one of my all-time favorite musicians) was an especially inspired touch. Best Track: 3
#1 Album of the Year: Blood Incantation, “Absolute Elsewhere”. I bounced back and forth between this one and Opeth’s “Last Will and Testament” several times, but this one ultimately won out. While Opeth was a fun return to form, I honestly think “Absolute Elsewhere” will be held up as a genre standard for years to come. It’s a truly remarkable piece of art, coming together in all the right ways to create far more than the sum of it’s (very disparate) parts. There hasn’t been anything like this one in a long time. Best track: “Stargate I-III”
Song of the Year: Blood Incantation “The Stargate”. From brutal death metal, to dubstep, to proggy ambient (yes, that is actually Tangerine Dream at the 8 minute mark), to folk, back to death metal, straight through to Pink Floyd…and on it goes. As soon as you think it has settled into one thing, you get a remarkable left turn into something entirely different. It’s just a truly astounding piece of music from start to finish.
Honorable mention:
- Ulcerate “Cutting the Throat of God”
- Sarke, “Endo Feight”
- Hellbutcher, “Hellbutcher”
- Funeral Leech, “The Illusion of time”
- Misotheist, “Vessels By Which the Devil is Made Flesh”
- Necrowretch, “Swords of Dajjal”
- Octoploid, “Beyond the Aeons”
- Spectral Voice, “Sparagmos”
- Gaerea, “Coma”
Disappointment(s) of the Year: Probably a toss up between Wind Rose’s “Trollslayer” and Tribulation’s “Sub Rose in Aeternum”. I was hoping the former would be a bouncy, silly, sing-along album, but ended up just kinda…boring. The latter tried to shift more to clean vocals (a la Sisters of Mercy or Clan of Xymox) but didn’t have nearly the vocal chops to carry that switch. Also, their songwriting has gone way downhill since “Down Below”.
Pallbearer’s “Mind Burns Alive” would be on this list as well, but I already knew that boring slog is the way they were headed after the last album so I just sort of expected this.
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Blasting this song right now…
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I really like Lord Huron. They’re playing Sandy Amphitheater in May.
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Just heard this song from The Day of the Jackal on Peacock.
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I see your Tennessee Waltz and raise you…a Morphine Walz?
Maybe a Nervous Waltz?
Or perhaps a Crackhead Waltz? Very creepy.
Although I suppose all of those may be fitting for Tennessee as well, depending on where you are. 
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That’s a bingo!
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He’s my new favorite actor !!
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