Blog Post // 2020-12-31

The End of 2020!

This year has been tough for many! The small town I am from has been hit hard lately with cases of COVID-19 and we are in our second lockdown. Somehow, this time around my job is considered essential. I moved during this pandemic, same area different location, still have a job (even if it is way less hours), and I have a place to lay my head at night. This I am very thankful for! I have land to wander where I am not crowded by people, the air is fresh, my brain can somewhat unscramble.

A pandemic in the midst of living in a cold and small-town climate has proved interesting. Slathering my hands, frozen from the cold, with sanitizer just freezes them another layer. Though I live in a town where many people know each other (or at least your family), I feel like I know no one. Apparently, I don't recognize people's eyes, which is all you can see with masks covering the rest of faces. I have a new-found level of understanding for those who can't read facial expressions (such as my autistic son). The reality is, it is hard to truly smile at someone or communicate with them without seeing the bottom half of their face. And an added dimension for us soft-spoken folks is that no one could hear you prior to wearing a barrier across your lips. You can imagine conversations now, lol. This is how the pandemic craziness has been in my part of the world. I am sure you are dealing with your own chaos! I think many are happy to see this year pass. I hope this coming year is better for you, even if things are still odd in the world.

In some ways this past year has been a fight to not give up in many respects. 

And so, I got to thinking about my musical experience over 2020.

The top bands I have been listening the hell out of this past year (so says Spotify):

Harakiri for The Sky

I have much more to hear from this band. I have only listened to 2 of their albums in full. I have also heard their newest releases. I am impressed in many ways! This band is a painting of every detail of sadness!! Such pain and honesty, such a mixture of melody and intensity. I am glad to have discovered them!

Swallow The Sun

When a Shadow Is Forced Into The Light is a beautiful discovery I made this year. Though I am not into romantic themes, loss is something we have all experienced, and will continue to. I have more to hear from this band.

Abnormality

I was very disappointed to discover that this band broke up this year! I was looking forward to hearing more from them. I put them on in my times of struggle when I need to blast away the negativity and get myself ready for something I am not truly ready for.

Borknagar

I have much more to listen to from Borknagar, but I have started into their library of albums. I know many diehard fans probably don't like True North the way I do. For me it feels comfortable and uplifting. I sing along with the entire album all the time!

Spiritbox

Though I don't listen to an album by Spiritbox, I listen to a rotation of about 7 songs that I love by them. I think I like that I can sing along. Their mood is so mixed between excitement and depression that it captivates me. The feelings are almost conflicted, but it makes sense for them.

Agalloch

I have been listening to Against The Grain and The Mantle. This band just does melancholy so well! They grab ahold of the sorrow in my heart.

Some releases that I awaited from this past year only to be disappointed are:

Megadeth

I was very much looking forward to their new album, but I do understand that Mustaine needs to be a part of every detail, which has made it a challenge. 

Katatonia - City Burials

I thought about doing a review for Katatonia's latest album City Burials, but quite frankly I didn't want to have to listen to it several more times. It just didn't do it for me. It didn't feel metal. Though I feel that Jonas Renkse is a talented vocalist, as are the band, this fell hugely short. It didn't have the atmosphere I was looking for, nor the pace.

Unleash the Archers - Abyss

There are a few songs I like on this album, but overall, this album is forgettable. That is all I have to say about that.

Deep Purple - Whoosh!

I very much enjoyed Now What?! by this band. And I really need to take the time to listen to more stuff from their earlier days. I so wanted to enjoy this album. I found it just felt like radio music. With all due respect to the band for the good things they have done, this was not their better material.

What I am hungry for, this coming year:

I am finding myself wanting to find music to blow the negativity right out of my brain, to release the tension and anger I sometimes hold onto. I am hungry for chaos and fast paces.

I am hungry for melancholy and sitting in pain so I can move past it.

A mixture of the two works, too.

I think that these are my two sweet spots!

Cheers to a better 2021!