(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 30: Best of 2024: Metal Honorable Mentions

Last playlist of the year is all metal. On Thursday I released my Nine Circles Honorable Mentions, and it’s a beast: 25 albums that moved and rocked me in some way. So similar to last week’s (Un)Focused Definition this is going to focus on those albums, with the final, “official” best of metal list coming in the first year of January, and then my “all-in” playlist accompanying the year-end round up post here, sometime in mid-January. I want to say I’m looking forward to getting back to older albums again, but the truth is there were so many great records released this year I’m having a blast going back and revisiting them all. So grab your denim vest, don your spikes, and let’s get heavy for round #2 of great 2024 metal.

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Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum

夢遊病者 – Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum (2024)

Any new release from 夢遊病者 (again, loosely translated to Sleepwalker) is cause for celebration, simply because at this point in the band’s career you have no idea what you’re going to get. Is it going to be the frenzied noise expedition on earlier albums like 5772 or 一​期​一​会? Perhaps the more ambient (though no less harrowing) and enveloping grace of last year’s Skopofoboexoskelett? The answer is, of course, “none of the above”. Delirium Pathomutageno Adductum is a sprawling, global-encompassing exploration of various genres and styles that attempt to channel the whole of human experience into an album both heart-breakingly lovely and crushing in its accusation. Multiple listens yield new secrets and interpretations, and like all of the band’s previous work it lingers long after the air is silent.

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Consuming Metal in 2024: The Nine Circles Reviews

With the end of the year looming I want to start getting some of my favorite albums of 2024 posted. The problem? Some of my favorite albums, particularly in metal, are over at Nine Circles where I somehow have managed to stay writing since 2016. The solution? Get a post listing, linking, and highlighting some of those reviews over here at Consuming the Tangible. I won’t tell you where these albums rank on my list (you’ll have to check 9C in late December for that), and the plan is in early January to do a round of all my favorite music for the year in a manner similar to what I did back in 2021.

With that, let’s dig into some great metal.

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(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 13: 2024, Bringing The Heavy (Another Slightly Past Mid-Year Review)

Not gonna lie: I enjoyed the stroll through 2024’s big hitters. And I have my attention being torn in a myriad of directions, having to get the Nine Circles playlist ready, the next post in Cinema Dual’s ongoing Kurosawa retrospective, a concert to attend Friday (I’m seeing Dweezil Zappa), and an extended weekend in the mountains to celebrate the last days of Summer. All of which is just my roundabout way of saying it’s time for another abbreviated post celebrating the music of 2024. This time we’re focusing on the heavier side of the spectrum, so expect the playlist this week to be loud, fast, and ferocious. Except when it’s slow, low, and meditative. Or progressive. This is why I love metal so much, you know?

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melvins/boris - twins of evil

Melvins/Boris: Twins of Evil (2024)

At some point I’m going to take a deep dive into the music of Boris, a band I have come to absolutely (amplifier?) worship over the years, starting from their later, more accessible moments and spiraling down to their early, fuzzed out droning earthquake sonics. Melvins are a more mysterious band for me, a collective I know in small pockets despite only only a few releases on digital. The history of these two monsters of noise is long and intertwined, continuing to this very moment with the release of Twins of Evil, a split commemorating the bands’ 2023 tour. Two tracks, each one about 20 minutes long and currently only available as a cheap but awesome $5 CD from Amphetamine Reptile. I couldn’t wait for the vinyl coming soon, so here we are, the CD arriving today and a virgin listening experience awaiting below.

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