Mick's Töp 15 Albums of 2021

2021 was an interesting year. It cleared the lowest bar possible of being better than 2020, but still was another year of adjusting to whatever the “new normal” is supposed to be. I work from home and do have a job that I love, but the monotony of not leaving my house basically ever has surfaced more moments of existential dread than I typically like to allow in one calendar year. My wife and our two cats have continued to be my foundation. Having each other has certainly meant the world in navigating through these weird times. I fell deeper into some hobbies which mostly were video game related (shocker, I know) but the tradeoff was that I wrote about music less. Durf really put the team on his back by coming up with the Durf’s Weekly Workout column, but it was personally a slow year around these parts. All in all, 2021 was like beating Dark Souls (which was also something I did for the first time this year); there were plenty of moments that felt like I was beating my head against the wall, but seeing it through was ultimately worth it. And since I didn’t write a ton this year, please allow me to word vomit a bit about the albums that carried me through.

Durf's Weekly Workout # 11: April 2, 2021

You know, when March started and I found myself with a second kid and a scheduled vasectomy and a work schedule approaching 55 or more hours a week, I said to myself "You can do this."  And, shockingly, by and large I've managed to, in fact, do this.  I'm pretty proud of myself, except now is the part where I say that of all the things I thought would drop from these posts over the last month, the last one I expected was this little blurb up top.  I figured I'd always have something to say, always want to shoot my mouth off about something, but that hasn't been the case.  These entry paragraphs have, in fact, been the absolute hardest part of this whole endeavor, and I woke up at 2am three times this week because I had to be at work early and still wanted to lift.  It's crazy how that happens.  And so, in the vein of cutting myself some slack, I hereby declare the intro paragraph over, and the music paragraphs beginning.  Onward!

 

Genghis Tron - Dream Weapon

In a genre of music that is anything but shy in making a concerted effort to clearly subdivide its variations, "experimental" isn't a term that you see thrown around too liberally. Sure there's "avant-garde," but to my knowledge genre-tagging something as "experimental metal" isn't really a thing. Whenever that or related topics come up, however, Genghis Tron is always a band that immediately sticks out in my mind. Between the programmed drums, the not so subtle synthesizer melodies and backdrops, the intense screams, and the spiraling guitar riffs, the output of the band from 2005-2008 encapsulated the frenetic and unpredictable energy one would associate with the likes of the Dillinger Escape Plan and turned it completely into its own brand; a brand so unique I still feel like I haven't heard anything completely like it before or since. Coming off of that hype some 13 odd years later, Dream Weapon marks the band's return with a bit of a personnel change and refinement of their sound. It may not be the kind of refinement old-school Genghis Tron purists may want to give credence to, but it does see the band tapping deeper into certain areas of their repertoire which end up producing lush soundscapes that in many ways are just as gratifying to hear as the older material.

 

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Board It Up!

We apologize for again being inactive.  It's certainly been a busy past couple of months for everyone here. We're hoping to be able to post more content more regularly soon.  But until then, how about another WDILF post?!

Check out what live clip I have in store for you guys after the break.