To celebrate Finnish Independence Day, here’s my primer on Finnish metal. Probably the most metal country in the world—over 5,000 bands currently listed on Metallum.

#metalsky #finnishmetal #metal

Following the hardcore/noise rock leanings of their 1993 debut, Clutch redefined their sound two years later on their self-titled second album. High on spacegrass, these Maryland groove merchants crafted one of the most quintessential stoner rock albums of all time. #rocksky #metalsky #clutch

Christ! And that’s not including my time spent on Tidal this year or any of the promos I’ve listened to or the vinyl I’ve spun. I think I’ve a problem…

Simply put: Dead Congregation’s Graves of the Archangels is one of the best death metal debuts of all time. These Grecian titans revitalised the cavernous, pure-death sound back in 2008. #metal #deathmetal #extrememetal

There are very few vocalists in metal these days with the range of Jón Aldará, vocalist for Iotunn, Hamferð and Barren Earth. From soothing to rousing to roaring to straight up demonic, Aldará can do it all, and his ability to convey a range of emotion is second to none. 1/2

Blasphemic riffs, scorching solos, hellfire rhythms and Araya’s forked tongue orations make this record the undisputed alpha and omega of extreme metal. Like evil incarnate, Reign in Blood remains ageless in the passing of time.

#metal #slayer #reigninblood #thrashmetal

A bone-chilling concept record from the ghastly mind of Kind Diamond, “Them” is a Henry James-worthy tale set to the soundtrack of histrionic, occult heavy metal.

#metalsky #metal #kingdiamond

With Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere crowned as my LP of the year, I thought it might be cool to share a primer on some of the finest classic prog rock. 40 LPs. One per band. Alphabetical order. No psychedelic drugs required—the bands themselves consumed enough for all of us. #prog #progsky

My top 100 heavy LPs of 2024. #metalsky

Now, some end of year list business: Any other year, these 100 LPs could have featured in my top 100, but because this year was so strong, let’s just say that they’re all tied at 101. I fully back these albums and recommend you check ‘em out! #metal #metalsky

OPTIMUS PRIMER: A look at 50 of the finest LPs from Metal Norway. One album per band. This is just a snapshot of the brilliance Norway has produced, as there are many more bands and many more albums by the acts featured in this list that have influenced and forged metal history over the decades.

Pagan winds and unforgiving Nordic landscape have forged another Borknagar record that is as panoramic as its naturalistic inspirations, with ICS Vortex putting in perhaps his strongest, most rousing vocal performance to date (regardless of band). #metal

A revivalist phenomena in heavy music during the 21st century, modern occult rock was massively popular. Labels such as Rise Above were at the forefront of new odes to the Fallen One, as a plethora of bands sworn to the dark emerged out of the fog, like a sudden apparition.

For those unfamiliar with funeral doom, or those looking to revisit, here’s a primer on the subgenre. 20 albums; alphabetical order; one inclusion per band; and a varied mix between genre-founders and more recent disciples of these lightless arts. The deepest, darkest, most extreme subsect of doom!