02/19/25 — 01/2025 FAVORITES

DEATH'S JANUARY TOP 10 (UNRANKED)

You can click on the song name to listen to it on Spotify. :-)

1. Acid Bath's "Finger Painting Of The Insane" • 8/10

   Always a big fan of Acid Bath's devious tone and heavy basslines. This song is no different; in fact, I think this song has one of my favorite basslines from their When The Kite String Pops album. I won't say this is my favorite song on the album, but it is definitely one of my first few recommendations for someone who may want to get into Acid Bath, or even just sludge metal.

2. Machines of Loving Grace's "Golgotha Tenement Blues" • 10/10

   I'll admit... I haven't watched The Crow (1994). Fret not, it's on my watchlist. But knowing this song is on the soundtrack only excites me more for the day I finally decide to watch it. I love, love, love the malicious and almost manipulative sounding instrumental for this song. I don't listen to Machines of Loving Grace much, or at all, really, but the sound of this song in particular reminds me a lot of Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor's unsettling energy.

3. Meg Myer's "Desire" • 10/10

   A classic! I used to love this song when I was younger, and rediscovering it in 2023 was like a peace offering sent to me from the universe itself. There's nothing I love more than a woman who expresses her sexuality, especially when she does it in an aggressive and almost gross way. While I wouldn't say the topic of this song is any sort of disgusting, I appreciate her rigidness in the music video as she has sex with an invisible person, putting all of the focus on her, adding to her already extreme vulnerability.

4. Far Apart's "Hazel" • 10/10

   Oh... my... fuck... I think this is probably my favorite find ever. People really need to look into new bands, especially ones that don't have many listens or likes and are only uploaded on websites like YouTube or Soundcloud (though, YouTube probably has many more artists that aren't shitty rap made by 15 year old boys.) One of my favorite parts about this song is it's the only song this band has released, at least to public knowledge. They blessed us with this absolute fucking boss ass song and then dipped. Oh, Far Apart, how I hope you're doing well, wherever you are.

5. Brokencyde's "Get Crunk" • 11/10

   Jesus Christ, you can't get much more camp than this. I miss this era of "scemo swag," if that's what we may call it. A trap beat mixed with screamo vocals is something you never knew you needed until you finally hear it. This is what scene and emo were meant to be, yet here we are, with retarded artists like fucking boyfantasy and Vampyyx. I can't lie, though, I do enjoy my fair share of shitty modern day hyperpop...

6. Gezebelle Gaburgably's "Quarter Pounder" • 9/10

   This loses a point simply because I thought it was cringe at first. Don't get me wrong, I loved this song as soon as I hit play. I love the lyricism and the artist's tone and flow, it's something I haven't heard much before, especially not in this genre. Whatever this genre may be, that is... Electronic? Power pop? Something along those lines. Anyway, I wish there were more artists that made music with feminine voices and presentation, and Gezebelle definitely hits the mark. Kudos to Gezebelle!

7. Polkadot Cadaver's "Slaughterhouse Striptease" • 8/10

   Ugh, I adore taboo and fucked up topics in not just music, but media in general. This song has the same vibe — NOT sound — as "A Little Piece of Heaven" by Avenged Sevenfold, and if you told me PKDCDV was inspired by that song, I wouldn't accuse you of being a filthy liar. If I'm being honest with you, I wish more people made songs like this, even if they're just one-offs and experimental. However, PKDCDV is fantastic in the way that this isn't their only fucked up song. They have plenty of other unsettling and disgusting songs just like this one!

8. Plumtree's "Scott Pilgrim" • 9/10

   A recommendation from my lovely wife. This is definitely something I expected of her to listen to and enjoy, and I'm not complaining because this song fucking rocks. As I mentioned before, I love women in music. I especially love when women are a little weird and awkward, and if you ask me, the two girls in the official "Scott Pilgrim" music video fit into that criteria. I give them bonus points for having such satisfying vocal layering as well. Though, this isn't exactly my favorite genre of music, hence the -1 point.

9. Portishead's "Wandering Star" • 8/10

   Wow... Not a big fan of calm music. Like, at all. But Portishead always seems to hit the spot. Maybe because it's triphop, so it's a weird and kind of niche version of calm, like if Pink Floyd took a fucking chill pill for once. Shout out to my good friend Marina for recommending me this band, I definitely would have never listened to them (despite how many times I've heard the name before) unless she reinforced their listenability. Plus, women in music. Yay. 

10. Lowertown's "Best Person You Know" • 7/10

   Again, not a big fan of calmer music. I enjoy how the singer's voice gets angry and loud at times to contrast the rather melancholy instrumental. My wife discovered this while we were on call, which is the only reason I heard it. I rather like the music video solely because it's a chick killing some dude, who I think is her ex. In my interpretation, it seemed like he kept crawling back to someone who keeps hurting him, but the girl was getting revenge for all the time he hurt her in the past. Even if there wasn't a reason, I would still be for a woman hurting a "man!"

If you have any recommendations for me, feel free to drop them below. I love analyzing music and thinking about the meaning behind them way harder than the artist ever intended nor imagined.