Bryan Wright

HUNTSMEN put out one of the albums of the year in 2024 but I was late to the game.

A bit doomy, a bit artsy and a lot of Americana background from clearly good musicians. Surprising in the best ways

Been a while since I posted... had a chance to get out to Two Mile Run this morning with my brother and my old pal Chris Deitzel. Weve been disc golfing together since the 90s. Good day

Feeling the same.... I done really wanna be in Twitter but starting over is a big hassle really

Sometimes as a metalhead you get down the end of a particular rabbit hole and wonder how the hell you got here. This ain't normal folk music haha

I love the band PENTAGRAM and have listened to every album despite a problematic singer. This will likely be the last though. This is freaking awful

I have been really getting into the Danish black metal band AFSKY in the past few months. A bit depressive but sublimely beautiful. Literal audio paintings.

Just wish the vocals were a bit higher in the mix on their streaming tracks

Don't even get me started on the folks who are incapable of putting an Out of Office message on their email

I wish it were not snowing but as long as it is... sometimes you gotta just get out there and enjoy the weather anyways.
Disc Golf at Schenley Park

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #1
Greif by Zeal and Ardor

I just kept listening over and over. The haters don't like that it's not metal enuf anymore. While not every experiment here works it's an album full of great songs

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #2
Never, Neverland by Unto Others

It's the best elements of melodic metal mixed with a heavy dose of gothy new wave influence. Add in the Seattle connection and you can hear some Queensryche here also

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #3
Songs of a Lost World by The Cure

It's one thing when a band you've loved since 1988 is still releasing music. For that album to be legit on par with anything else they have released is more than i could have wished for

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #4
In the Age of Doubt by Bridge City Sinners

They are getting better as songwriters with each album while still very much remaining true to the same core sound. It's a solid album all the way

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #5
Aghori Mhori Mei by Smashing Pumpkins

They'll never regain the angst of their best work but this is the best lp they've released in a long time. A true return to their guitar rock roots

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #6
Les Chants de l'Aurore by Alcest

At this point this "post-metal" band has pretty much left metal behind. What they created was a beautiful album that is immersed in the sounds of 00s shoegaze while still being unique to them

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #7
Hollow by Hauntologist

Brilliant debut from Polish black metal band. There is something about the use of cymbals here that creates an unsettling sound

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #8
Fueled by Fear by Wraith

One of the absolute best of the new wave of Thrash bands. Wraith adds some blackened edge

Also love the lack of pretension. They look like they coach your kids little league team

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #9
Die Urkatastrophe by Kanonenfieber

The man known as Noise is the driving force behind 3 separate black metal projects. This one thematically focused on the horrors of WWI

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #10
Social Grace by Brat

Literally thought they were a YouTube skit when I first saw the band but then the music melted my face. The debut from this NoLa grindcore band is good from start to finish

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #11
Invincible Shield by Judas Priest

I don't think it's as strong as their last lp but the fact that these legends can still out out anything this viable is amazing. Rob is better at 73 than most metal singers

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #12
Wake Up the Wicked by PowerWolf

This is my geeky power metal side coming out. They are a bit formulaic but nothing gets me singing along in my car like these guys can

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #13
Dark Matter by Pearl Jam

Been a few albums since I listened to a new PJ this much. "Running" is an absolute banger that's been in my rotation a lot this year

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #14
Decimator by Kryptos

Thrash is one of my favorite metal subgenres and this band from India is one of the best of the new wav

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #15
Chains & Stakes by The Dead South

A fave of the new bluegrass wave. There are great songs here but I do worry as they "grow" they are losing what made them unique.

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #17
Dark Superstition by Gatecreeper

Death is one of my last favorite offshoots of the metal tree generally so for an album to catch my attention this much is rare and says something about how good this one is

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #18
Coma by Gaerea

Portuguese Black metal that fits right into my favorite little niche of BM. It's big and full sounding w a ton of emotional depth

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #19
Warp Speed Warriors by DragonForce

I long for their glory days. They are sliding farther down the cheese scale but there are a few tracks here that still recall why I love this bands energy

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #20
Songs of Blood and Mire by Spectral Wound

I usually prefer my Black metal a bit less raw but this Canadian band has a perfect amount of groove to their riffs to keep it interesting

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #21
Cometh the Storm by High on Fire

Fist lp since pre COVID first w a new drummer. A lot of cool Middle Eastern folk flourish and the same ole thunder from on high sound for these guys

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #22
Perpetual Terminal by Darkest Hour

It's been 7 years since we had new material. One of my favorite bands of the 00s metalcore scene because they always leant a bit more to melodeath than emo

FAVE ALBUMS OF 2024 #23
Heavenly Down by Sear Bliss

Symphonic black metal from Hungary. That genre generally means a lot of synth but in this case yes synth but also an honest to goodness horn section