Metaling Mage: The Stuff Too Long To Tweet

    We are halfway through December, and for whatever reason I just haven't been listening to as much music the past two weeks.  I have definitely found the various year-end lists less inspiring this year.  There is not very much overlap on them at all, which some people might misinterpret as a positive sign. "There is so much good music nobody could agree!".  I do not think it works that way- I think there is a lack of agreement because there were few albums this year that really transcended genres and appealed to a wide audience. This has meant that I have not been able to make a short-list of must-listens, and so far my attempts to cast a wider net have not led to many pleasant surprises. Luckily, there is still a bunch of stuff I already knew I liked...  Couch Slut- Take A Chance on Rock 'n' Roll Couch Slut is still really good!  I don't think I enjoyed this album quite as much as Contempt, but this is still some of the best noise/sludge/whatever stuff aro

  Obviously, 2020 was a pretty terrible year. We do not need to rehash that here. One thing that was not terrible in 2020 was music- music is still great!  I still have a lot of music to listen to this month (I spend December each year listening only to music released that year), but I feel comfortable that these albums are my favorites of the year. Let's start with the heavy stuff: I am pretty sure that my favorite album of 2020 is Code Orange's Underneath.  This is not a popular choice among music nerds, and as an aspiring music nerd this does worry me a bit. But, I am 45 years old and comfortable with my own taste and I think this band and this album absolutely rule.  The riffs are super sick and heavy as hell, the electronic and industrial elements are interesting with A+ production and I actually think the "radio-friendly" rock songs are pretty great.  Reba's vocals really stand out for me as well.  Yes, I have friends telling me this sounds like nu-metal or