The Top 10 Albums To Listen To Before You Die

The Grim Reaper watches over us this October fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

On the 1st of this month, I took a look at the top 10 movies you need to watch before you die, and as I alluded, I’m not just making lists about film. Today’s list is about the 10 albums you gotta listen to before you croak & leave this planet. Much like the first one of these, I’ve decided to focus on a variety of music styles, rather than just concentrate on one. As much of a die hard Heavy Metal disciple as I am, for perhaps a decade now other styles have been creeping in I once enjoyed, and thus there’s quite a selection here. With that out of the way, here are the top 10 albums to listen to before you die. Let’s begin.

10) Laibach - Opus Dei (Song)

Industrial has always been a music style that’s more European than American. Apart from a few home-grown exceptions here in the states, it never caught on as strongly as other musical genres. One group that definitely had some presence in America (Despite not having concerts in the U.S. if I recall correctly) was the legendary Laibach. For nearly 4 decades, they have crafted some of the most interesting albums not just in the Industrial genre, but in music period. Perhaps one of their most iconic was 1987's Opus Dei, or Work Of God translated from Latin. Opus Dei contains perhaps some of their most iconic tracks, which includes a German cover of the Queen song “One Vision” & a reworking of Austrian band Opus' sole international hit single “Life Is Life”. While it wasn’t a colossal smash in my home country, it definitely acquired a sizable cult of fans (One that’s gotten stronger overtime, btw), and remains a staple if many places throughout Europe. If you’re in the mood for some artistic Industrial music with political undertones (That doesn’t come across as too pretentious), then I suggest that you give Opus Dei a try.

9) John Denver And The Muppets - A Christmas Together (Song)

Okay, it seems a little goofy to say that one record to listen to before you die is a Christmas album, but I’m being genuine with this. Taken from the sadly obscure special of the same name (Click Here), the music that came from it has remained far more popular, and for good reasons. The songs, are warm, cozy, full of laughter & heart, and there’s a hint of history as well. I reviewed this release years ago (Click Here), and in that review I spoke very highly of the music, as it was something that was incredibly sacred in my house, and still is to this day. The fact that it still has it’s oldest fans says something to it’s quality, as is the fact that it’s got fans among younger generations also. If you’re looking for Christmas/Holiday music that’s as warm as a fireplace, make it this one.

8) Devin Townsend - Devlab (Song)

Only an album as weird as this could only have come from the mad Canadian knows as Devin Townsend!

In recent years, I’ve gotten pulled into the realm of Ambient music. Cyberpunk & Fantasy Ambient, to be more specific. Anyways, leave it up to HevyDevy to create an Ambient record that’s seemingly nonsensical, yet forms an oddly cohesive whole. Each track on their own feel like a bite-sized tornado of insanity, full of audio nonsense that makes it come across like a pretentious art project. However, if you listen to the whole thing from beginning to end, you’ll find that it’s actually one genius story. Sure, it doesn’t make a lick of sense 90% of the time, but the fact that each songs bleeds into one another without any trouble does give you some kind of clue as to what’s going on. It’s really hard to describe, so I suggest you go out & listen to it right away. You may come back confused, but you’ll be entertained at the same time!

7) N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (Song)

Funny story. I actually didn’t listen to this album, along with Devlab, until a few months ago for the very first time when I was beginning to pick the records for this list. Anyone who’s known me for a very long time knows I am not a fan of Rap & Hip-Hop, and outside of some very specific exceptions, I’m still not a fan.....and then comes Straight Outta Compton. Released on the 8th of August in 1988, the debut album of the N.W.A (Niggaz With Attitude) would go on to be one of the most important & infamous Rap albums ever released. Important because it helped add further to the Gangsta element that was moving more & more into the genre, and infamous because they got a warning letter from an FBI agent for their song Fuck Tha Police. That last aspect would eventually call themselves “The World's Most Dangerous Group”, which actually just helped their career. While Straight Outta Compton doesn’t pull me into the fold like how certain Death Metal & Black Metal albums did, I none the less respect it’s legacy, and acknowledge it’s place in music history. If you are ever in the mood for Gangsta Rap that doesn’t insult your intelligence, then the first outing of the N.W.A. is for you.

6) Queen - Innuendo (Song)

I will forever punch myself in the face for waiting so long to get into Queen. From the early 1970s to 1991, Queen and their iconic frontman Freedy Mercury took the world by storm, and assaulted all of their fans with some of the best Rock And Roll in the history of the style.....and I waited until the mid/late 2010s to get my foot in the door. One of the ways I got into said door was the second to last album of their career, Innuendo. For the first time ever in their career, everybody in Queen was united like never before. Even Freddy himself, who was supposed to die about 3 years prior, has never sounded so amazing as he does on Innuendo. From Gospel, to Rock And Roll, to AOR, and even a little bit of Heavy Metal, there’s something for everyone on this record. It’s a shame that Freddy’s health was so bad by that point, as even a small world tour to promote this album would have been very appreciated by the fans. Even so, Innuendo is a testament to Queen’s legacy as one of the most iconic bands of the world, and those that still continue to praise their work are nothing short of important to the preservation of the band’s history. Take my advice: listen to Innuendo just one at least.

5) New Radicals - Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too (Song)

Sometimes we listen to an album because of the genre. Other times it’s because of how it makes us feel, and not to dissimilar to that, we listen to a record because of nostalgia. The lone release from the New Radicals, Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too, is an example of that for me. I spoke about it a few times back in 2022, so I’ll keep things a little brief here. Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed is, in my opinion, the single best record that perfectly embodies the 1990s. Yes, it came out in 1998, but the album manages to encompass the entire decade with ease. All of the positives, negatives, hopes, dreams, and fears of the 1990s are found within each song. I don’t think any other release from that decade was even remotely capable of doing that feat, nor manage to be quite varied in track styles as well. It’s sadly a little difficult to find these days, as there’s never been a remaster or simple re-release as far as I know, and it’s over 25 years old, but Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too is just such an essential record from the last great decade, that it wouldn’t be right to leave off this list.

4) Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack (Song)

If Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too encapsulated the 1990s, then this soundtrack to one of the most iconic vampire movies is to the 2000s. To be more specific, it had a hold on the early 2000s. Originally the music was written & sung by Johnathan Davis of Korn fame and Richard Gibbs, but Davis was taken off of the project due to contract issues if I recall correctly, and any trace of his vocal work on the songs he did was taken off & replaced with a different singer. Even with that factored out, the Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack was on the button of the music buzzer of some highly popular genres at the time. Nu Metal, Gothic Metal, and Industrial Metal are all found aplenty on this release, & they’re all absolute bangers in one way or another. I remember loving this back when I first listened to it in the mid 2000s, and there’s just something incredibly nostalgic about it almost 20 years later. If you’re looking for music that makes your fangs grow out, then the Queen Of The Damned Soundtrack is for you!

3) Led Zeppelin - In Through The Out Door (Song)

It took my Dad decades to get me into Led Zeppelin. It took him forever to get me into one of the bands that are practically responsible for laying down the foundation for Heavy Metal to eventually be born, despite being a Blues & Folk Rock band. Then, on Christmas of 2017, I finally got my first album from these legends in the form of what would be their last release together as a band, and that was In Through The Out Door. I reviewed this almost 5 years ago for it’s belated 40th birthday, and you can read the review here (Link), but I spoke pretty highly of it, and even said it was the only Led Zeppelin I truly like. Hell, even before getting it close to 7 years ago, I was always a fan of one song off of it, but upon listening to it, I realized that the whole thing is great. Even though it was torn apart by many people when it first released, it none the less managed to become a favorite among Led Zeppelin fans in the years afterwards, and in one circumstance.....they got me hooked.

2) Nirvana - Nevermind (Song)

Grunge. Often reviled by hardcore metalheads from the 1980s as being the main culprit of classic metal getting “Killed” in the 90s (Even though there were more business & social factors at work), it was unfairly maligned by many, and some still to this day have a brain aneurysm over it. What they all fail to realize is that Grunge was far more Metal than they knew, and even a lot of the Grunge bands kinda had that mentality as well (Whether they admit it or not). None perhaps were more iconic to the Grunge movement that Nirvana, as well as it’s troubled frontman, Kurt Cobain. Though they had an album released beforehand, it was 1991's Nevermind that established themselves as legends until the end of time. Singing about things that were more real than something like most of the Hair Metal bands from the prior decade would have in their music, Nevermind would help a burgeoning new generation find someway to make sense of the new decade, which made it all the more tragic when on the 5th of April, 1994....he took his own life by a self-inflicted shotgun blast.

1) Type-O Negative - World Coming Down (Song)

Another soul-crusher to end one of these lists.

Yet another album I reviewed 5 years ago, it might be surprising to some of you that I enjoy this record. In fact, it’ll definitely surprise you to know that it’s one of my absolute favorites coming from the Brooklyn powerhouse Type-O Negative, especially considering how bleak the music on this release is. Everything from graphic drug addition, to suicidal analogies, and to sexual fascination with fire can be found on World Coming Down. The whole experience is absolutely dark, tragic, and for almost all of the time, strangely hopeless. Yet, as I said in the review, it was also cleansing for Pete Steele. Whether he knew it or not, he was releasing just about all of his personal demons with every track, and maybe some of the other band members were doing the same thing as well. World Coming Down is most definitely a miserable experience, but it’s a well-made miserable experience, and I can’t fault it for that.

And those were the top 10 albums to listen to before you die. Records taken from across musical time & space, they’re a testament to their legacy that they’re all remembered fondly even in these dark times. So, I will see you all on Halloween Day, when I’ll talk about the top 10 games to play before you die. Before that, I believe a certain October tradition is in order. Until then, take care.

Game Review: MegaMan's Battle Network

October moves on fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

The days are getting shorter. The nights are getting colder. The leaves are falling more, and the spirits of Halloween are creeping closer & closer. On the first of this month, I showed off the top 10 movies to watch before you die, but I didn’t want everything I published this month to crush the soul. I gotta treat you all once in a while this October, and I got something fun for today! The subject of today’s review is from a game series I got into earlier this year, and it’s one I’m glad I did. An alternate take on one of the most iconic console characters of all time, it spawned it’s own little series of games, but for today’s purposes I’m looking at the first title of this franchise. So, get yourself onto the Net, make sure you have the most up to date virus protection, and take a look at my review for MegaMan: Battle Network. Let’s begin!

Story
Taken from Wikipedia:

“Mega Man Battle Network is set in an ambiguous year in the 21st century ("20XX AD") in an alternate reality to the original Mega Man series. Within the world of Battle Network, the Net has become humanity's primary means of communication, commerce, and even crime. Users are able to "jack in" to the Net and other computerized devices and explore their various aspects using (or "operating") program avatars called "NetNavis (Network Navigators)" as if they were physical locations. The Net and the inner workings of computers are displayed as a virtual world within which users (through their NetNavis) and computer programs can interact. Users often do so by communicating through a "PET (PErsonal information Terminal)" device. The plot of Mega Man Battle Network follows one such pair, Lan Hikari and his NetNavi MegaMan.EXE. Lan is a fifth grader in the town of ACDC. His father, Dr. Yuichiro Hikari, is one of the world's top scientists and NetNavi researchers. Throughout the story, Lan and MegaMan solve various criminal cases around ACDC involving other Navis and their operators. Some of the confrontations with the various criminals involve desperate, life-threatening situations including school students being re-educated as mindless slaves, the city's waterworks freezing over, oxygen being cut off at a large party, and a bus rigged to explode. The duo continuously crosses paths with Eugene Chaud, an official "NetBattler" commissioned by the government to investigate crimes on the Net. Chaud and his NetNavi ProtoMan.EXE act as rivals to Lan and MegaMan.EXE.”

On the initial surface, Battle Network’s story comes across as rather anime cliched (Good & Bad), and as things progress a lot of said cliches stick around. However, the genius of this game’s story is that for every cliche, there’s a twist or surprise that catches you off guard! Much like when I talked about Everfrost’s 2019 release Winterider almost 5 years ago, there’s a giant degree of deception going on, but the kind of deception that works really well. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say there’s a few moments in the story that will come right out of left field......and I only knew one of them before I came into the game.

Setting
Battle Network is of two worlds: ours, and the Internet. In the real world, you got Lan’s hometown of AC/DC, and it a simple place where the player’s friends are, the school he goes to, and one of the local businesses. There’s also DenTown, a nearby city filled with commerce & frantic activity. Finally, there is the Government Complex, where some of the most important political & internet related decisions are made. There are a few other places, but they’re more for quests, and as such they don’t stick with you as much as the bigger locales. Regardless, there’s a surprising amount of detail for a game from the Game Boy Advance days. There’s a lot of color in every locale, and the more realistic places feel believable to an extent. The Internet, however.....is where the real imagination kicks in.

The Internet (and by extent, the dark & mirrored Undernet) is one of the most varied world’s I’ve ever seen in a game. Due to the fact that practically everything appliance, computer, everyday object, and more curious things have connections to the Net, there are so many micro worlds with their own personality. Since it’s a virtual world, you can have funky patters, bright colors, and paths that are designed in ways that makes sense in a computer. The parts of the Internet that are involved in main quests definitely have more room, and more detail because of their importance. That being said, sometimes things are too maze like and/or gimmicky in some locales, and you can get lost rather easily. The PowerPlant is infamous in this regard: in addition to being on a timer to get to the end, many of the pathways are invisible, and you have to know EXACTLY where they go once you’re somehow on them.

Characters
Battle Network’s cast of characters is bright & colorful, and they all have their own personalities that help them stand out. Lan, the character you play as, is bright & plucky, but perhaps a little dense at times. MegaMan is just as bright and plucky, but is incredibly more observant than his partner. Lan’s also got a bunch of friend by his side: the adorable Mayl (Who has a crush on Lan, btw) and her cute Navi, Roll. The spoiled but oddly caring Yai, and her butler Glide. You also have Dex, who starts out as kind of a bully, but ends up becoming the lovable oaf of a friend along with the equally tough Gutsman. Finally, there is Chaud. Though he’s not friends with the gang per se given his cold & distant personality, he none the less knows that sometimes going at it as a group is better than going in alone. His Navi, Protoman, pretty much thinks the same way.

However, it’s not just Lan & his friends that take center stage. There’s plenty of other characters as well! There’s Yuichiro Hikari & Haruka Hikari, who are Lan loving parents. Yuichiro isn’t home all the time, but he still cares for his son, and absolutely loves his wife. Meanwhile, Haruka is a kind housewife & mother, who has a passion for baking bread & is on a quest to make the perfect cheesecake. There is also Mr. Famous, who’s known for challenging young Netbattlers that are going down his path. Using a variety of Navis, he teaches these Netbattlers various techniques & information so that they might do well in the future. You also got the pair of Baryl & his Navi, Colonel. The two are practically inseparable, and have been together throughout numerous battles. Finally, there is the highly mysterious Bass. A Navi that is within the Internet’s depths, he’s constantly seeking out strong opponents to fight in his pursuit of more power, and has stood in the way of MegaMan on numerous occasions. There are also numerous other NPCs all over the game, each with their own quirky personalities, and they all add further personality to the world

And then we have the WWW, or World 3 as they’re known. These guys are.....conflicting for me. On the one hand, they genuinely do some awful stuff, and most of them are equally awful people. On the other hand, they seem unintentionally comical. Some of their actions kind of come across like the classic dastardly villain that ties the girl to the train tracks, and just taunts the hero to come to them. When it was revealed that Dr. Wily was the one leading the group, I was kinda surprised. Compared to his appearances in the original MegaMan games, he’s not quite as threatening. He’s still a chicken shit, but there’s a lack of menace from him this time around, despite still having a sliver of a threatening aura. Still, WWW could have been so much worse, and are more than appropriate for this first outing in the Battle Network series.

Gameplay
And here’s where we get to a conflicting area of this game for me. For an RPG, it goes through a lot of typical motions of the genre. You go around the world, doing quests, finding items, fighting enemies, and leveling up your character. It’s actually done very well, but what makes it special in Battle Network are the twists it does. For example, since you’re fighting in the cyberworld, you have to find various CHIPS that’ll give you attacks & abilities. Some you can find on the internet, while others you get from completing quests, merchants, finding in the net, and fighting the various viruses & Navi. That last part is a bit annoying sometimes, as you have to have certain circumstances met in order to get their special CHIPS. The Boss Navi in particular can be incredibly frustrating if you want their special CHIPS, as you really need to have certain conditions happening in order to get them. As for leveling up your stats (Attack, Rapid, Charge, Health), you find PowerUp.exe & HealthUp.exe items in pretty much the same manner as the CHIPS. These are perhaps more important than CHIPS at times, and are practically vital when it comes to boss encounters. Maybe not so much when it comes to the ones in the beginning, but after them you better level up your stats!

Apart from that, there’s a couple other issues I have with the gameplay at times. For starters, some of the quests involve a lot of backtracking, and that gets old real quick. Secondly, some of the fights you get into feel incredibly rigged. Maybe not so much with the average viruses, but when it comes to the boss Navi......ooooooh boy did a couple of them feel rigged. Even with my stats at a fairly high level, it still felt like they had an advantage somehow (Looking at you MagicMan). Finally, it can be really confusing when it comes to where you have to go to complete a quest. There’s a few times where you’re told where you gotta go next, but more often than not it can actually be hair-pulling, and since there isn’t a map, it’ll feel like you’re just running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off.

Graphics & Sounds
Despite being over 20 years old, the graphics for Battle Network are nostalgically delightful. Something about the pixilated looks & feel of everything is just charming. From the various NPCs & Navi, to all of the locales you wander through, there’s just something about the various settings that brings a smile to my face. Even the various attacks coming from you & your enemies look grace, as there’s a surprising amount of fluidity to them. The remaster from last year, however, looks so much better. Things are expanded from the original Game Boy Advance edition, and looks really well on bigger screens. I played it on the PC, and it looked fantastic! It wasn’t too expanded, as there is a border around the gameplay to help take up space. Still, it managed to keep the nostalgic vibes of the GBA version, while at the same time looking really fresh.

The one thing that I don’t think was changed was the sound effects, and I’m strangely thankful that they didn’t. Much like it’s graphics, the sounds & music are 20+ years old, but in this remaster it sounds nice! They sound just like they did on the GBA release, and I must say that the soundtrack tickles the nostalgia bone for me, even though this year marked the first time I played this.

Overall & Rating
Battle Network No. 1 is just a charming little game. Small dents not withstanding, it is a fun time in this tactical RPG that slathered in virtual MegaMan goodness. Thanks to the release of all 6 games last year (Especially on the PC), those who missed out on them the first time will have a chance to experience them in their full glory today. I salute you Battle Network!......no. 1 that is.

Battle Network No. 1 gets a 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was my review for the first MegaMan Battle Network game. A fun little title from a colorful series of games, it wonderful that they’ve come back onto the gaming market for anyone to enjoy, regardless of the system it’s being played on. With that out of the way, it’s time to come back to my haunting retrospective on media, so join me next week when I’ll show off the top 10 albums you should listen to before you die. Until then, don’t download any weird viruses off the net!

The Top 10 Movies To Watch Before You Die

Hello fellow Otaku & Metalheads. Welcome to the 1st of October!

I wanted to do something a bit different this year. Don’t worry, I’m okay. As dark as the title says, I’m not in some awful slump or anything. As a way to further vent out how I’ve been feeling since March & make some sense of it, I wanted to think of a list. 3 special lists in fact, on essential media that we all should partake in before we pass on to whatever realm of existence is in the beyond for us. More specifically, the 10 movies to watch, the 10 albums to listen to, and finally the 10 games we should play. I’m starting off the month of spooks and specters with the 10 movies to watch before you die.

As I made this list, I attempted to make sure that it was as varied as possible when it came to genres. One style of film might have been easier to do, but I wanted to cover a variety of styles so as to have a cornucopia to choose from. I may do a second one of these next year, but time will tell. In any case, here are the top 10 movies to watch before you die. Let’s begin!

10) Koyaanisqatsi (Trailer)

Like I’ve probably stated a few times on this blog, I’m not the biggest fan of Arthouse films. More often than not, I think they talk down to their audience, and feel like fluffy pieces that just stroke the director’s ego. That doesn’t mean they’re all like that, as there’s a couple that really make the brain cells ignite. Case in point, we have Koyaanisqatsi. Translated from the Hopi Indian language as “Life Out Of Balance”, it is one of the most stunning features I’ve ever watched. While there is some ego around the beginning, there isn’t much else in that regard during the rest of it’s 86 minute run time. It really is something not just to see, but hear as well, thanks to Philip Glass’s incredible soundtrack that plays across the entire movie. There’s no spoken dialog, and there aren’t any characters, though one could argue that when it focuses on a specific person there could be. Godfrey Reggio never put a story in, as he wanted all of it’s viewer to come up with their own opinion about what they saw. In the 42 years since it was released, older fans & newer fans alike have come to appreciate the wonderful photography & amazingly crafted music, and it’s contributions to motion picture should never be forgotten.

9) A Nightmare On Elm Street (Trailer)

In the past few years, I’ve grown more appreciative of the Horror genre. Like I’ve said for a while on this blog, I’m not a big fan, but like I said I definitely enjoy it far more now than I do maybe a decade ago (Even though I enjoyed it a little back then also). One such Horror film I’m a big fan of is the iconic & infamous A Nightmare On Elm Street. Directed by the late Wes Craven, it has been on this Earth for almost 40 years (Exactly 40 years on the 9th), and in all that time it carved a path through so many teenagers. Though aspects of it haven’t aged well over the nearly 4 decades (Mainly when it comes to certain special effects), much like the feature above the overall experience is awesome! Robert Englund chews up each & every scene he’s in, and was absolutely perfect as the titular Freddy Kruger, and everybody else does a great job as well (It was also Johnny Depp’s first screen role if I recall correctly). From the cinematography to the music, and even the special effects despite the hokiness at times, A Nightmare On Elm Street was a pop culture phenomenon, and did incredibly well at the box office. Even now, it manages to keep viewers’s lights on, and maybe just a little nervous when they go to sleep. If you want to get into Horror, perhaps a trip to Elm Street is in order.

8) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Trailer)

Animation has always been a powerful medium, no matter where it comes from. Japan especially has always been a juggernaut when it comes to that, as the titan that is Anime continues to be a powerful force practically everywhere. One of those champions from the Land of the Rising Sun is the iconic Studio Ghibli, where the grumpy yet oddly lovable Hayao Miyazaki & his cohorts have created some classic films. One of the best they’ve ever created was Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. It turned 40 years old this March on the 11th, but even before it turned 4 decades old it was incredible over in Japan, and made U.S. viewers’s jaws drop one it came over here. An environmental piece that’s the exact opposite of something like Avatar, it has wears the typical Ghibli charm on it’s sleeve, and isn’t ashamed of it because of critics. In addition to it’s environmental aspect, it’s also a great fantasy feature as well, filled not just with swordfights, but fantastical creatures, epic scenery, and even technology that counteracts nature. The voice acting is great also, whether it’s the original Streamline Pictures or the Disney re-release, as they’ll stay in your brain for quite some time. Studio Ghibli has released some amazing films since 1984, but it must be said that Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind might be their most essential. Definitely one to watch.

However, Japan is not the only country that wields animation like a sword. The United States is pretty damn good with it as well, and a little over a decade later after Nausicaä, something amazing created with computers was released.

7) Toy Story (Trailer)

By today’s standards it looks pretty primitive, but back in 1995 when this Pixar classic was released it was nothing short of amazing. Computer work beforehand was regulated mainly to special effects & action scenes, so to see a whole movie made by it was really incredible. I remember seeing Toy Story in theaters, and was completely enchanted by it from beginning to end. I was one of those kids that always wondered what my toys were doing when we weren’t looking, so to see that in front of my pre-teen eyes was really something. While CG since has been overdone in many movies since, back in the mid-90s to see an entire film made of it was incredible. The amount of work that was put in Toy Story is still evident today, and many of Pixar’s features in 2024 show that with the right crew, Computer animation can be a powerful force for film making.
 
6) Enter The Dragon (Trailer)

50 years old. That is how old Bruce Lee’s most iconic Martial Arts film turned in August of 2023 (August the 19th of that year more specifically). For half a century, it has wowed & awed viewers of all ages with it’s spectacular stunts, and blood pumping fights scenes. The acting might not be up to snuff when compared to everything else, and the cinematography is definitely dated by today’s standards, but the overall experience is just wonderful from beginning to end. The Dragon definitely cemented his legacy with other films after this one, but Enter The Dragon is such a landmark film in the Martial Arts genre, that they don’t quite have as much weight to them. If there was one Kung Fu feature that is required to watch, Enter The Dragon is that movie.

5) Rocky Horror Picture Show (Trailer)

More so that Horror & Arthouse films, I’m not a fan of musicals. Whereas I’ve gained some appreciation for the previously mentioned genres, when it comes to musicals not much ground has been gained (Outside of a few exceptions). However, my heart always had a home for the B rated classic Rocky Horror Picture Show. Getting slammed for the first 6 months, it would eventually gain a behemoth of a cult following due to midnight screenings back in the 70s, and eventually takes it’s place as a classic piece of cinema. Even today, the legion of fans it has all over the world shows it’s incredible staying power, what with it’s cast of quirky characters & surprisingly good songs. Not only that, but many in the Queer & Trans communities consider it an important piece of media when it comes to representation and such. Coming in on just under 50 years old last month (Turns exactly 50 years old on the 26th of September in 2025), it is a safe bet to say that nobody with ever forget Rocky.

4) Die Hard (Trailer)

For starters, I am one of those people that think Die Hard is a Christmas Movie! Yes, call me a dork, but this is a Seasonal essential for when December comes around.

Hell, even if it didn’t have anything to do with Christmas (Which it does), I & many others would still hail it as an 80s Action Movie classic! For the first time ever as a lead role, Bruce Willis was highly convincing as the fish that was massively out of water. Up against some highly armed & highly skilled “Terrorists” (If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I mean), he’s gotta do everything he can to rescue his wife & as many people as he can from out of Nakatomi Plaza, all the while avoiding getting shot at. All of the 80s Action Movie cliches are in Die Hard, heightened to a T, yet it all works so well that it somehow doesn’t feel old nearly 40 years after it came out in theaters. It is still an 80s film essential almost 4 decades since it first came out on the silver screen, and whether you watch it around the Holiday season or not, it’s sure to be exciting!

3) Blazing Saddles (Trailer)

Yet another movie that’s celebrating a half-century on this planet (Turned 50 years old back in February of this year on the 7th), Blazing Saddles could only have come from the minds of Richard Prior & Mel Brooks, who himself turned 98 back in June on the 28th. Taking the Western genre & turning it into a comical farce of the best kind, as practically every single joke lands and makes me laugh. Not only that, but Blazing Saddles is also one of the best examples of anti-racist media that’s ever been made. The acting is superb from beginning to end, with greats like Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, and of course Mel Brooks chewing up every single scene they’re in. Given the social & political environment we unfortunately have nowadays (Most if not all critics don’t realize most the jokes are done at the EXPENSE of the racists), we’re likely to never have another movie like Blazing Saddles made, but that’s okay.....because one Blazing Saddles is enough.

2) Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (Trailer)

In a highly political year like 2024, it seemed only right to talk about this documentary. I remember watching this about 20 years, and while I didn’t understand a lot of the material back then, I comprehend practically all of it nowadays. The story behind the formation of Fox News is equal parts intriguing & terrifying, and it’s existence in then 2004 when the documentary came out. Those who were in the political sphere in the early 2000s were likely aware that Fox was nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Right, but for average joes like myself it was like staring into an abyss that none the less provided an illuminating yet horrifying experience. The inner working of this “News” network has become all the more obvious 20 years later, and it’s a shame that a 3rd version of the film hasn’t been released. Even so, Outfoxed is an important documentary that every one should watch at least once. Speaking of watching at least once.....

1) Schindler’s List (Trailer)

It’s a bit of a downer to end this list on a such a heavy note, but it’s only right.

I’ve known about what is perhaps Steven Spielberg’s biggest film ever (That’s saying something, considering what he released in the years before) for a long time, with my first actual introduction towards the end of 2019 thanks to a movie list I watched (Click Here), and I did view a few scenes afterwards, but it wasn’t until May of 2024 when I finally witnessed the story of one of the most incredible acts of bravery during World War 2. The story of Oscar Schindler, a man who sacrificed everything, saving the lives of 1,100 Jews from the hands of the Nazis. Though it does start further into his life during the war, we still see him turn from quite the prick, into one of the most heroic individuals ever in history. The fact that he is the only Nazi to be buried in Israel is testament to what he did, and screw those who discredit him. If there was ever a movie that you truly needed to watch once before you die.....it is Schindler’s List.

And those were the top 10 movies to watch before you die. More than any other list I’ve ever done, there’s something for pretty much everybody on here. Now, I turn my attention to the realm of music, as I’ll speak of the 10 albums you gotta listen to before you die. See you all around the middle of the month, but see you all next week for a spooky surprise!

No. 1 Movies From 2014 To 2024

Last list, and it’s a little shorter compared to the others!

As you know, I didn’t have a top 5 movies list for 2020 & 2021. The reason why should be very obvious, but regardless my no. 1 movies of the years you see before you are certainly an eclectic bunch. Fortunately, there weren’t any ties for my no. 1 films of these respective years (Save for 1), so making this list was quite a bit easier when compared to the others. So, with that said fellow Otaku & Metalheads, here are my no. 1 movies from 2014 to 2024, Enjoy!

2014) The Lego Movie (Trailer)

Hard to believe that this turned a decade old earlier in 2024. In all of that time, my love for this film has never once wavered, and while later features in the Lego world did fluctuate somewhat in terms of quality, the very first one has been a massive bedrock in that regard. It really did feel like my Lego collection came to life, and I was transported into my toy chest’s world to have my imagination blown out of the water. Though there hasn’t been a new Lego movie on the horizon for over 5 years now, we still have releases like this one to scratch that childhood nostalgia itch when we need it.

2015) Kung Fury (Trailer)

It is incredibly frustrating that the 2nd Kung Fury movie is being held up in post-production for the past few years, all thanks to lawsuit issues with an investor. It’s a massive shame, since if it’s anything even remotely like what the first one was, it’ll be a hell of a good time. The original Kung Fury, despite being only a little over a half-hour in length, is a wonderful love letter to every cheesy martial arts movie & cheesy action movie of the 1980s, complete with purposeful bad acting and special effects. It might be a relic nowadays on the internet, with it being almost a decade old now, but I’m willing to be that many of you who’ve watched this short feature get a kick out of it every time.

2016) Deadpool (Trailer) 

The first time we saw the Merc With The Mouth, it was in the notoriously awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Luckily, that awful taste was washed out with 2016's Deadpool, and what a refreshing film it was! Nobody was ever expecting a rated-R movie from Marvel, but by god we got one. Swearing, sexual content, politically-incorrect humor, and so much more was in this film! Ryan Reynolds was perfect at the lead role, and the rest of the cast put in great performances as well. Over 8 years later, a cancer-ridden mutant in red spandex still piles on the bodies & makes me laugh until I’m on the floor wheezing from said laughter. If you ever missed out on this movie somehow, then I suggest you give it a go!

2017) Lego Batman (Trailer)

And here marks the only year that I ever had a tie for the no. 1 movie of the year. In 2017, we got not 1, but 2 Lego movies. At first I was considering to put them both here, but I had to step back & think about it, and ultimately I decided to go with just one of them. Make no mistake: Lego Ninjago was definitely entertaining, and looked just as incredible as the films before it, but it still comes across as the weakest of the series in my view. Lego Batman, on the other hand, is a glorious feast of silly! We already got a glimpse of the titular character back in 2014, but for him to take center stage in his own film was a smart movie. A little bit of the humor isn’t as good as what was in The Lego Movie, but that doesn’t ruin what is a really fun time. If you liked the first Lego movie, then you’ll love this!  

2018) Christopher Robin (Trailer)

Hard to believe that pre-2023 Disney still rocks despite it’s faults, and 2023 Disney was such a dismal failure (Save for one or two exceptions). I don’t know what was going on last year, because it doesn’t reflect on the quality of movies like Christopher Robin. In a year that saw the Marvel monolith Avengers: Infinity War, it was nice to see a more simplistic & sunshine-filled feature that really tugged at the heartstrings. Like I said in years prior, I actually teared up at least twice while I was watching it with my folks, and even if it didn’t make me weep, Christopher Robin is still fantastic. Great acting, simple story, and harkening back to characters that many of us had in our childhood, it all comes together into a film that’s old-school Disney with modern day filming techniques. If you want to see a feature from a time where one of the most iconic companies still had credibility, make it Christopher Robin.

2019) A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood (Trailer)

Maybe now, more than ever, we need Mr. Rogers to come back from the dead. We need the neighbor that we all knew & loved when we were growing up to come back, and help make sense of what life is like right now. We got a sliver of that in 2019, when Tom Hanks decided to step into the shoes of the legendary neighbor, and headline a movie inspired by an actual event from Fred Roger’s life. It was funny, it was serious, it was emotional, and it treated the incident that inspired the film fairly well from what I understood of it. Again, more now than in 2019, we need Mr. Rogers’s love.

2022) Violent Night (Trailer)

2020 & 2021 were brutal years for us, and at this point it seems silly to say why, because we know all too well what recent memory was like. Thankfully, by 2022 there seemed to be some amount of normality coming back, but at the same time we needed a few band-aids to put on us after the amount of scars we all got. One of these band-aids came in early December of 2022, when the absolutely over-the-top Violent Night was released in theaters. I’ve talked about it twice that year, and in both circumstances I gave it nothing but praise. Almost 2 years later I give it praise still, and I don’t think it’s gonna stop anytime soon. The movie was gory, funny, dramatic, and surprisingly touching in places I didn’t expect to happen. If you happen to be looking for a Christmas movie in a few months that’s different in all the right ways.....make it a Violent Night!

2023) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Trailer)

Over a year later, and I still can’t get over The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Like I said in my top 5 movies of 2023 list, this movie made me nostalgic for a game series I have never connected with outside of a few circumstances. This movie made me feel for characters I never really had any connection to, and this movie made me cry in one scene (You know the one). When 90% of video game movies tank (Tank hard in some cases), it’s nice to see one that not only isn’t afraid to not only experiment a little bit, but also show that it has nothing but immense respect for it’s subject matter. If Illumination can keep this level of quality in future films based off of Nintendo games then I will be at every one of these, but even if they don’t for whatever cataclysmic reason, it was nice to know that they did it at least once.

2024) Deadpool & Wolverine (Trailer)

Like I talked about a few months ago, And seemingly throughout most of this year, my friends Isabelle & Neil passed away in March and April, and my year since their passing has been nothing but hot garbage (To be honest, it’s kind of been sucking since the start). There’s been a tiny few bright spots, and I’m doing a little better now, but overall 2024 has sucked nothing but ass. Not the kind of ass that would make a straight guy question himself, but the kind of ass that would turn a gay guy completely straight for the rest of their life. However, I digress.....

Back at the end of this past July, a special movie was released to the masses. A dumb, stupid, brain-rotting, over-the-top, foul-mouthed, hyper violent, dirty movie was aired on the silver screen, and some how.....some way.....Deadpool & Wolverine gave me some pep back into my step. Make no mistake: the movie has some small bumps in it’s armor, but the overall package makes this film one of Marvel’s best since Endgame from over 5 years ago (And Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 from last year to a lesser extent). Ryan Reynolds & Hugh Jackman are genuinely perfect together, as every joke & quip they say to each other makes me laugh and smile. Hell, practically every joke that was said or shown was genuinely funny, and everybody in the theater was laughing from beginning to end. It’s definitely one of my favorite movies of 2024, and as you can tell by this list.....it’s my number one of the year.

And those were my no. 1 movies from 2014 to 2024. Again, it’s a weird bunch all things considered, but it’s a bunch that I think shows off my taste in film quite nicely. Well, the spooky season isn’t that far away, but I’ve got something different planned. Very different. See you in just a few short days!

No. 1 Games From 2014 To 2024

From albums, we’re looking at the best no. 1 games of the past 10 years!

There have been plenty of titles that have crossed my path during the decade that my blog has been up. Though some releases have since left my personal spotlight, the ones here definitely haven’t. Like with the last list, any year that had a tie will be narrowed down to just a single game. Most of the years that I have been doing these haven’t had a lot of game ties, so this was easier than I thought it would be. With that out of the way, here are my no. 1 games from 2014 to 2024!

2014) Diablo 3: Reaper Of Souls (Trailer)

Me & a friend of mine have been saying this for a little over a decade now, but Reaper Of Souls basically saved Diablo 3. Some gamers might not remember, but D3's launch was rather rough. Launch Day has a server crash a few hours into it, balancing was rough on higher difficulties, and of course there was the Auction House (Gold Auction House wasn’t an issue in my mind). With the release of this expansion, most of the game’s faults were practically wiped off the map. There were still a few small hiccups, but they didn’t hinder the rebirth of Diablo 3 at all, and in all that time has made the game a certified classic!

2015) Heroes Of The Storm (Trailer)

I’ve stated this a few times since 2015, but I was never a MOBA fan at all. I don’t mind beating the crap out of other players in a nice battle, but with so many bells & whistles attached to the genre (Not to mention a steep learning curve for some), it can be oddly daunting to get into. Heroes Of The Storm has been the seemingly lone exception to this rule, and sure modern-day Blizzard almost does nothing with the game aside from some patches & maintenance the past few years, but it still has a sizable fan-base almost a decade since it’s release. Taking the MOBA genre and distilling it to it’s most basic formula, HotS has an incredibly simple learning curve, thus making it easy to get into! With Microsoft now owning Activision-Blizzard, many are hoping that this title has a big revival, and given that there are still people that play it.....I hope it does.

2016) Overwatch (Trailer)

It hard to believe that Blizzard’s most original I.P. in nearly 16 years by 2016 was sacrificed at the altar’s of Bobby Kotick’s greed. Today, the game that was Overwatch is a shadow of it’s former self, what with the wonky balancing, copious amount of broken promises, and a Battle Pass system that’s somehow more predatory than the Loot Boxes it used to have. It’s a crying shame, as the original OW was fantastic! Sure, there was the issues of balancing & previously mentioned Loot Boxes, but the game was an absolute blast to play. Hell, even in the era of Overwatch 2, a few wisps of the past creep into a match here & there. Still, for creating a colorful world with equally colorful characters, it’s hard to turn your gaze away from what was.

2017) Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Trailer)

RE7 still gives me the absolute creeps almost 7 years later. A massive reboot after the franchise went down a more action packed path, players had been a little worried when they were told that it was going to be first person, but those worries were thrown into a dumpster when the game came out. Bringing the series back to it’s survival horror roots, Biohazard is still chilling & horrifying over 7 years since it came out. Though the subsequent remasters & new games are absolutely scary, there’s just something about seeing biologically grown horrors in the first person perspective that really puts you on edge. As a gateway into the world of Resident Evil, however little I’ve traveled down, I’m more thank thankful for RE7 holding that door open for me.

2018) Hellgate: London (Trailer)

I may have said it in a prior list, but it was due to sheer blind nostalgia that this oft forgotten RPG got to the no. 1 spot in 2018. Hellgate: London doesn’t have the best reputation, but there was just something about it that charmed me all the way back in 2007 when it was originally released, and I was surprised that it was re-released (With multiplayer exclusive content from later additions) 6-something years ago. Funny enough, this is the no. 1 game that I’ve actually played the least, as I only have a few short hours put into this due to a weird save-prevention bug I never figured out. Even so, Hellgate is such a fascinating dumpster fire, it’s hard to not look at it a little bit.   

2019) Resident Evil 2: Remake (Trailer)

Resident Evil 7 was a blast, but the remake of Resident Evil 2 was huge! Going back to the 3rd person view, fans were treated of a wonderful reconstruction of an iconic game. Perhaps even more challenging that RE7 and the original RE2, I was definitely on edge as I explored the ruined Racoon City Police Department, not to mention the decrepit sewers & wrecked Umbrella labs. It was clear from the first few moments that massive amounts of love was put into bringing this title into the modern era, as well as a lot of respect when it comes to the Resident Evil lore. Coming in at 5 years old back in January of this year (The 25th of January to be specific), it’s a modern day classic that’s still talked about fondly.

2020) Doom: Eternal (Trailer)

Perhaps even more metal & Doom than the series’s triumphant return back in 2016, Eternal was an absolutely visceral experience! Taking everything that the previous Doom game did, turning the knob up to 10, and adding a few new bells and whistles helped Eternal become a game that was even more like Doom that what it was a few years prior. Even the lore that was added fleshed things out, as the once simplistic world has become surprisingly deep, and the implications of characters behind the scenes adds more to what’s going on. Even if you didn’t care for the lore or those that inhabit it, on gameplay alone Eternal has since become a timeless classic over the 4 years that it’s been out. If you’re in the mood for a Heavy Metal festival of demonic violence, then this is for you!

2021) Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery (Trailer)

Out of everything that came out in 2021, and out of everything on this list (With maybe 1 exception a little later), Behind The Frame is the most peaceful game that I’ve ever played. A puzzle game centered around that of love & art, and using a visual style that’s reminiscent of Studio Ghibli, it was a great counterbalance to the disease-ridden year of 2020. Perhaps it’s biggest flaw is that subsequent playthroughs aren’t all that different from the very first, save for looking for achievements. This did go away a little when the DLC for Jack was released, but then came back by the time it was completed. Even so, Behind The Frame is a soothing and heartfelt experience that was absolutely needed when compared to what 2020 was like.

2022) Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (Trailer 1/Trailer 2)

I will eternally sing the praises of the first MTG release of 2022. I will forever cheer on the return to one of the card game’s most iconic planes, and I will forever squee over all of the cyberpunk & anime references that were put in. To be honest, the circumstances around the release of Neon Dynasty were truly perfect in my opinion: the pre-release took place at a Hibachi restaurant, the actual release happened while I was at Katsucon 2022, and while this isn’t completely related, the release of Elden Ring happened a week after. All of these circumstances made a massive impact on my nerdy self, and it still hits me over 2 years afterwards. With glimpses of the plane being revealed in March Of The Machine & it’s aftermath, I can only hope that we go back again sometime this decade.

2023) Gloomwood (Trailer)

I will forever love this game!

From the pre-alpha demo all the way back in 2020, to it’s early access release in September of 2022, to it’s current early access state here in 2024, Gloomwood has be nothing short of a genius game. In addition to being a loving tribute to the stealth classic Thief: The Dark Project, the title’s biggest strength is the studio that’s working on it. New Blood Interactive & it’s developers have been nothing short of transparent about the development of this game, showing off little changes in videos on their Youtube page, as well as the Twitter pages of some of the developers. This transparency has resulted in an early access title that feels like it’s complete.....and they’re still working on it! Hopefully by 2025 it gets fully released not just on PC, but on Switch & other consoles as well.....because everyone deserves to play this game.

2024) Botany Manor (Trailer)

2024 has been an incredibly rough year for me. Probably has been for a lot of us.

Like I talked about a few months ago, my dear friend Isabelle passed away 6 days shy of her 90th birthday, and her husband Neil died not even a month after her. Coupled with a few other things since around the end of last year, not to mention the fact that now I’m close to middle age, to say life has been a bitch is understating. However, leave it to an incredibly cozy game to bring a spark back. Leave it to a puzzle game about the growing of beautiful fictional flowers at a equally beautiful manor in the English countryside to make me feel a little more warm & fuzzy once again. Can’t say much else, other than this was fantastic!

And those were the no. 1 games from 2014 to 2024. Each of these were taken from a variety of genres, and I can only wonder what the next decade will bring us. Well, I got one more decade retrospective to cover, and it’ll be perhaps the most interesting. See you all at the end of the month!

No. 1 Albums From 2014 To 2024

10 years fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

10 years that I’ve been doing this blog. 10 years that I’ve been review anime, metal albums, conventions, and whatever else caught my fancy. 10 years that I’ve claimed my little piece of the internet, and hopefully I will claim 10 more & beyond. It’s a strange thing if you ask me: time is fleeting, but somehow what we do online can stay for quite a while. It’s weird, but there’s something oddly comforting about it at the same time.

So to celebrate this decade of me being online, I wanted to go over what all of the number 1's I’ve had over these years. The number 1's among my albums, movies, and games that is. To challenge myself somewhat, any year that had a time or such will have one of them picked out instead of any of the others so as not to clutter these up. On top of that, these 3 lists will also preview something that’s come from 2024 so far, and it may or may not change by the time December rolls around. With that out of the way, here are my no. 1 albums from 2014 to 2024. Let’s begin!

2014) Septicflesh: Titan (Song)

Over a decade by the time this list is released, I still hold the first ever Death Metal album I got into close to my heart. Septicflesh have been producing albums for a little over 30 years here in 2024, and it’s albums like Titan that keep it’s fans invested. The record is a perfect balancing act: just the right amount of symphonics, and just the right amount of Death Metal. Neither aspect overpowers the other, and the two walk a tightrope together without even remotely falling off either side. I may have physically owned the album since 2016, but I’d like to think it’s been with me for longer than that. I believe I’d said it before, and I’ll say it again, but Titan is the album you’ll want to listen to first if you want to get into the slaughterhouse that is Death Metal. Guaranteed!

2015) Faith No More: Sol Invictus (Song)

I dropped my jaw when I found out that Faith No More got back together & released a new album. It had been over a decade since the band released anything, as they split up in 1997 to pursue other things, but when they came back in 2015 it felt as if they never left us. Taking everything they learned from their time in the late 80s to 90s, they brought that all into the middle of the 2010s, and the end result is a massive nostalgia blast! For a while I’ve fallen away from it somewhat, yet I still can’t deny how hard it hit me nearly a decade ago. If any of you weren’t a child of the 90s and would like a gateway into what that decade was like, then I highly suggest that you listen to this!

2016) David Bowie: Blackstar (Song)

The stars were dimming quite a bit since Ziggy Stardust left Earth nearly a decade ago. For over 8 years, the airwaves have been a little less special with David Bowie no longer being in the musical picture, but not long before he left he managed to crank out a beast of an album! While I do think it’s perhaps a little too artistic, and there’s some ego to be felt here & there, I wouldn’t say that Blackstar is bad. Far from it: the album is perhaps at Bowie’s creative zenith. Much like Freddy Mercury on Innuendo, he is pouring our his heart & soul, and spending what little energy he had left in crafting his Magnum Opus. Though the No Plan would come out a year later, and have some great songs in it’s own right, it’s Blackstar that has a lot of punch behind it’s music. If you’d like to see the stars twinkle for only a little bit, I think this is the album to make them shine.

2017) Kreator: Gods Of Violence (Song)

In a year of political upheaval in the United states thanks to a certain somebody becoming president, it was comforting to know that one of the cornerstones of German Thrash Metal would release Gods Of Violence right at the very beginning of 2017. The album is exactly what you expect from modern-day Kreator: hard-hitting & heavy riffs, raspy & brutal vocals, and political commentary that’s in your face. In the years since Gods Of Violence was released, it seems that time is reflecting upon the album a little too well, especially here in 2024. I can only imagine what things are gonna be like by the time we get to 2027.....if we all make it to then. Speaking of reflecting.....

2018) Ministry: Amerikkkant (Song)

I will continue to defend this album. Flaws and all, I will continue to stand by putting this at no. 1 in 2018. One of the few pieces of anti-Trump media that has aged surprisingly well, one of the biggest advantages of Amerikkkant is that it actually isn’t fully anti-Trump. If anything, the former president is barely on the record at all, as Uncle Al & the gang wanted to examine the circumstances that led to the cheeto-in-chief taking power here in the United States hopefully for the only time. With Hopium For The Masses being released earlier this year (A great release in it’s own right, btw), we still have Ministry cranking out damn good music with a potent political message, but if Trump gets back into the White House, then I think that Amerikkkant might have a resurgence of sorts.

2019) Rammstein: Untitled (Song)

You might recall me heaping a lot of praise on Rammstein’s 2022 emotional colossus Zeit, and I still say it’ll take a baseball bat to the feels, but for whatever reason I love their incredible return in 2019 a little bit more. Turning 5 years old a few months ago, this album comes out of the gate hitting hard & fast, and upon each listen since then is just harder and harder. Whether it’s on this CD or live, the songs on this release are perhaps the most potent that the band has ever created. If you a longtime fan that for some reason never listened to this, or you’re a new fan that’s curious about Rammstein’s return, then you gotta seek this album out.

2020) U.D.O. - We Are One (Song)

When I reviewed this album in 2021, one of the issues I had with We Are One was that the message that Udo Dirkschneider was trying to convey on the release was perhaps a bit too cheesy & hippy-ish.....but to be perfectly honest I’ve kind of repaired that dent in the armor. Perhaps now in 2024 more than 2020, we need the message of hope, togetherness, and working with one another to make this world a better place before it’s too late. Acquiring the services of the German Military’s own marching band, the end result is the modern equivalent of We Are The World......only more metal!

2021) Mastodon: Hushed & Grim (Song)

By the time Hushed & Grim came out, I was listening to the band for a little over 4 years. Emperor Of Sand and Cold Dark Place may have been the albums that got my ass in a seat, but it was the band’s most emotional colossus that has kept me glued to said seat. It may be a bit on the long side (Nearly an hour and a half), but their 2021 release was the culmination of everything that the band was feeling. From the aftershocks of EOS, to the isolation of 2020 & 2021, Mastodon were definitely in an emotional hotbed, and the end result is perhaps their strongest outing ever in their career. If you got over an hour to spare, Hushed & Grim is a great way to spend that time!

2022) Devin Townsend: Lightwork (Song)

A perfect counterbalance to the plague-ridden chaos that was 2020 & 2021, Devin Townsend’s mental balm that was Lightwork was a much needed breath of fresh air in 2022. Though I said in my review from last year that at times it’s too soothing, at the same time the soft energy from a majority of the album was needed as we were all leaving the diseased miasma from the prior years. Devin had already captured what we were already feeling somewhat in 2021 with the dual release of The Puzzle and Snuggles, but Lightwork amplified that to 10, and continues to do so in 2024. If there was a way that HevyDevy would barge into this new decade, and with plenty of that Mad Canadian style, it was definitely with this album.

(Also, we got Powernerd coming towards the end of October, and if the title track is anything to go by, he’ll have another hit release on his hands!)

2023) Host: IX (Song)

2023 was definitely a rough year. Wasn’t it?

With all of the social & political upheaval here in the United States, not to mention the horrors going on over in the Middle East (That are still going on, btw), it’s easy to see why a lot of people were really down & out. Hell, a lot of us are still feeling that year’s aftershocks, and I don’t think that’ll stop anytime soon. Because of that serious energy, I felt that more serious albums should end 2023, and this Paradise Lost side-project was at the top of the list. Nick Holmes & Greg Mackintosh really managed to bring back the Host era of the band, but without the record company interference, as well as vastly superior recording & production technology behind it. The end result is an album that’s nostalgic in every way, yet doesn’t feel like it’s old either. If you’re able to survive going through a little bit of the black, then you’ll like what IX provides!

2024) Judas Priest: Invincible Shield (Song)

Invincible Shield marks something of a significant milestone for one of the world’s most oldest Heavy Metal bands: Judas Priest has been releasing albums for half a century. In fact, it will be exactly 50 years this month on the 6th that they’ve been putting out releases. That alone is simply incredible. On top of that, Rob Halford just recently turned 73 years old! Sure, his body (Along with the oldest band members) shows off his age nowadays, but the one thing that hasn’t lost any vigor is his voice. He can still scream, screech, bellow, and other things with his voice, which is impressive if you ask me. As for Invincible Shield, Judas Priest knock it out of the park! There is a little bit of fluctuation when it comes to the quality of certain songs, but the overall experience was just wonderful. If the group was to bow out at any points during the rest of 2024 (and beyond) for any reason, Invincible Shield is not a bad way to say goodbye.

And those were the top 10 albums from 2014 to 2024. An interesting bunch of records from classic acts across the ages, it’s a safe bet to say that there will be something for everyone on this list. Now, we transition to the realm of video games, so see you all in the middle of September for the number one games of this past decade. Until then, take care!