Sound Obsession

I've said it before and I'll say it again - 2013 was an epic year in music and the finest in recent memory.  Those who know me best won't be surprised by my top pick, but the rest of my list might be unexpected.  In 2013, after years of bashful flirtation, I dove headlong into "metal" without pause or irony.  There was an abundance of excellent metal albums this year - many recorded and produced by an always rock-solid Kurt Ballou (of hardcore punk heroes Converge, and proprietor of GodCity Studio in Salem, Massachusetts).  Otherwise, 2013 continued a trend of "retro" with contemporary artists continuing to referencing the sounds of the 70's, 80's and 90's - even some former heroes from those decades made solid comebacks.  These are my favorite albums of the year.*  Enjoy. . . .                1.  Queens of the Stone Age: ...Like Clockwork (9/10) "Risk nothing, get nothing" claimed   Queens of t...

Heads up!  Beastmilk Climax full-album stream. Cool albums rarely get released in December, because, frankly, who can compete with Yuletide gems like this ?  Well, ditch your Santa hat and throw on some black leather - fuckin' Beastmilk is here. "He chose, poorly" - guessing that milk went bad Beastmilk (rad name right?) are a Finnish post-punk goth rock band, fronted by a British dude named "Kvohst," who are about to drop (or have already dropped, depending on your locale) their debut album Climax produced by King Midas studio-wiz Kurt Ballou.  These guys synthesize equal parts Danzig, Morrissey, The Cult, Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, and Bauhaus - but with more balls. Climax is streaming in full for free here , and available for paid download ( iTunes , Amazon etc.) and streaming (Spotify etc.) now.  CD and LP available December 10.  Watch the video for "Death Reflects Us" here .