Dr. Wvrm delivers his Top Ten(ish) of 2020 to all his patients. It sure as hell ain’t no trve vaccine.
The Night Flight Orchestra
Huck N’ Roll’s and Eldritch Elitist’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020
Huck N’ Roll and Eldritch Elitist will now hold court with their well-thought-out Top Ten(ish) lists. Appear or be held in eternal contempt.
El Cuervo’s and Diabolus in Muzaka’s Top Ten(ish) of 2020
El Cuervo and Diabolus in Muzaka want in on this whole Top Ten(ish) thing that’s going around. Let them have a turn.
Sentynel and Twelve’s Top Ten(ish) o’ 2020
Sentynel and Twelve are ready to show you all their year-end wares. Shop til you drop.
The Night Flight Orchestra – Aeromantic Review
“Aeromantic hardly breaks new ground for these excitable Swedes. By this, I mean that it is seemingly purpose-built to mainline dopamine directly to my brain, being, as it is, more 80s than the 80s. Each NFO release reaches deeper into this era, and Aeromantic nails the schmaltzy, overblown tone which has come to characterize the retrospective view of it.” Aeroma therapy.
Aktor – Placebo Review
“Chris Black (AKA Professor Black) has been a living wellspring for great metal over the past decade, crafting great music with Dawnbringer, High Spirits and Pharaoh. Somewhat overlooked in his mighty repertoire is his Aktor project, which until recently only had one release to its credit, 2015s Paranoia. It was a rocking affair heavily influenced by 70s acts like Thin Lizzy and Blue Oyster Cult and it was a fun, breezy listening experience with plenty of hooks. Placebo is the outfit’s second release and keeps the basic formula intact while adding an ass-ton of crazy synth and keyboard work, making for a somewhat loony soundscape.” It’s time for your medicine, Mr. Black.
Dream Tröll – “I Will Not Die Today” Video Premiere and Second to None Review
“Dream Tröll. It’s a weird-ass pairing of words even in the realm of metal bands, yet one that glides off the tongue, despite every synapse in my brain screaming “That’s not right!” Sonically speaking, Dream Tröll is beholden to convention, but their splicing of genres is handled so ingeniously as to make such an unclassifiable name somehow fitting. It’s easy to draw correlations between traditional metal, power metal, and good ol’ fashioned rock ‘n roll, yet Dream Tröll plays with these tropes in delightfully unexpected ways, resulting in a distinct sound displaced from any defined era of metal music.” Trölling with the oldies.
Besta – Eterno Rancor Review
“Hello, it’s me. I was wondering if, after all these years ov atmoblack reviews, maybe you’d like to meet something different? After rolling in the deep end of our promo bin’s blackest, mopiest waters for so long, it felt appropriate to set fire to the reign ov black ‘n boo-hoo bands and send my love to a new genre.” Muppet grinder.
Soilwork – Verkligheten Review
“Not long ago, sweating the steely Damocles ax of content output, I considered outing my own Indefensible Position: Soilwork‘s most recent two full-lengths, The Living Infinite and The Ride Majestic, are their best. Formulaic? Sure, but riddled with tip-top bangers and speedy sing-alongs stronger than any they’d ever done. That both received 2.0s balled my segmented digits into puny rage nuggets whenever that betrayal came to fore. But then, an oddity: I re-spun the damned things, probably for the first time with my shiny reviewer ears, and found my ire lessened.” Still tilling the same soil.
El Cuervo’s and Diabolus in Muzaka’s Top Ten of 2018
The holidays are near, but this is no time for shopping! Instead you should be consuming the Top Ten lists of the esteemed El Cuervo and Diabolus in Muzaka. These are the gifts that keeps on giving.
