I can’t speak for everyone, but when it comes to this metal fan, the end of year season begins with Decibel Magazine’s annual “Beat ’em at their own game” posting (sans commentary) of their Top 40 of the Year. This year’s list was just released, and there are the usual biases and prejudices along with a handful of surprises. But guess what? That’s true of every list, and while I’ll admit I do look to see where my own tentative picks have landed (or been omitted entirely), I mainly use it to fill gaps in my listening and re-evaluate albums I may have glossed over. So this week’s playlist is a cursory listen and evaluation of those gaps and glosses, with a little reaction summary.

• Deadguy – “Kill Fee”
• Lamp of Murmuur – “Forest of Hallucinations”
• Tribunal – “Ruin”
• One of Nine – “Dreadful Leap”
• Eternal Darkness – “Into the Crematory”
• Decrepisy – “Deific Mourning”
• Volahn – “La Pesta Negra Diabólica”
• Haggus – “Do You Love Minecore?”
• Terror Corpse – “Sons Of Perdition”
• Morbikon – “Heavens That Burn and Eons Divided”
• In The Company Of Serpents – “A Patchwork Art”
• NyreDolk – “Martyrliv”

Deadguy earned the top spot on the list this year, and I get the attraction of the narrative: metalcore legends with a near perfect debut comeback over 30 years later with their second album. And it’s fine…really good, even. Just not in my sphere of listening right now…Lamp of Murmuur (#10) have been steadily expanding their black metal bedroom sound, with 2023’s Saturnian Bloodstorm taking Immortal’s vibe and running with it. This just came out Friday, so I need some time but I on first listen I’m digging the direction and grandiose arrangements…Full transparency: I’ve listened to and enjoyed the latest from Tribunal (#11) but the playlist was short by minute so I added this tiny interlude to hit the hour mark…

One Of Nine (#12) was a complete surprise, not shocking since Dawn Of The Iron Shadow came out two weeks ago. Black metal that sounds like a lot of black metal. Honestly fine, though I don’t hear anything that stands out from what a lot of other black metal bands are doing…There’s a dank, guttural, funeral death metal march to Eternal Darkness (#15) and their eponymous debut. Again, perfectly fine if you’re into this sort of thing, but it sounds like a lot of what the sites and “serious” writers consider to be the cutting edge of metal. Meh…I don’t know if you’d put it in the same ballpark, but Decrepisy (#16) does the death/doom thing in a way I can get behind. Lots of dive-bombs and chugs to break the doom sections up. This steps a little more into OSDM, probably why I’m connecting with it…

Never heard of Volahn (#17) before, but I guess the guy behind is part of some black metal collective called Black Twilight Circle? Not where I typically lean when it comets black metal, but there’s enough pick scraping I’m intrigued to hear more…Haggus (#17) are on Tankcrimes, which should tell you all you need know. That’s a good thing to me; I dig the hardcore punk thrash hybrids the label supports, and this does seem up my alley…looking at their Bandcamp page I guess Terror Corpse (#24) released a short, 18-minute album earlier this year? No idea, but Ash Eclipses Flesh comes out next week and based on the available tracks I pre-ordered a cassette, if that gives you an indication of my enjoyment of this stanky death metal…

I know I’ve heard Morbikon (#33) before, and maybe it’s the fact they’re an outlier on Tankcrimes, but I don’t recall their sound. I still don’t after listening to the opening track from their forthcoming album (it’s another one that releases next week), but I like it – I’m fickle and chaotic when it comes to the black metal I like, and this mix of styles hit the spot…The same sense of (perhaps mistaken) familiarity lands with In The Company of Serpents (#34), who tap into the kind of stoner sludge I love – another one where after listening I grabbed a CD for cheap from their Bandcamp site...Finally there’s the blitz punk attack of NyreDolk (#38), who take black metal and make it punchy and fun in a way I find utterly delightful. Super short, but damn this record works for me…

Be safe, be good to each other. See you next week.