(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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(Un)Focused Definition Ep. 20: A Hodge Podge

This is it. Next week we’re back to regular programming! The Hooptober Horror marathon was a joyous slog, and I’m exhausted having just returned from seeing Opeth live at the King’s Theater in Brooklyn, NY and man…I forget just how great a band they are, and the new tracks sounds phenomenal live: “§1” is going to be a staple on their setlist going forward, let me tell you.

More music just keeps coming in the door – at this rate my wife’s going to divorce me either from the sheer real estate my new vinyl and CDs are taking up or because I’ve been on a massive Les Rallizes Dénudés kick, having grabbed three of their archive live sets from Temporary Drift Records in the last few weeks. So this week is a hodge hodge of what I’ve been putting in my ears lately. Next week the plan is to get at least 1-2 reviews in and back to the liner note style of these playlists. So thanks for bearing with me during the dry month and it’s great to have you with me on the other side. Music rocks, and I can’t wait to dive back in again.

Off to the playlist.

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