Huck N’ Roll and Eldritch Elitist weigh in with their own Top Ten(ish) of 2019 lists, and they have a lot to say.
Pure
Adrift – Pure Review
“You wouldn’t know from my reviews, but I listen to plenty of extreme metal. Pretty much anything that gets a 3.5 or higher from my fellow writers will get a spin in Chez Huck. I don’t often write about extreme metal because, to be honest, pretty much all of my cohorts are more well-versed in that subject matter. I would be doing you a disservice by faking my way through a review. But once in a while, something comes along that a: really grabs my attention, and b: arrives on my doorstep before anyone else can get their filthy hands on it. Last year’s excellent Agrimonia album is a great example. And this year, Adrift struck the same chords. So here I am, about to fake my way through a review about some excellent blackened post-metal.” Fake reviews!
In the Woods… – Pure Review
“I have a strange relationship with In the Woods…. Back when I was first discovering underground metal and devouring all the obscure releases I could find in the Internet’s further reaches, I remember being taken aback one night by a mysterious 1995 debut called Heart of the Ages. Both the record’s hazy cover art and the esoteric black metal contained within conveyed a haunting, archaic timelessness that, oddly enough, was so powerful it actually discouraged me from returning to the album after my initial awestruck listens. The mystique was furthered by the fact that Woods broke up in 2000 – years before I ever heard of them.” Mystique and aura aren’t just friendly girls at the local gentlemen’s club.