By Jimmy “Explosive Diarrhea” B
The past year was full of anxiety and absence. It was topped off, like it is every year, with well-meaning-but-misguided friends wishing me a merry CHRIST-MYTH even though they have been asked to stop. Those few disrespectful words automatically spoken or typed send me into a multiday funk. It is in this fuck jesus mood that I write my year-end musical obsession list. Therefore, I must put a compilation of Mercyful Fate’s early evil songs in the number one spot. This doesn’t mean it was my favorite album of the year, but it definitely belongs on the list. Live by the horns!
Mercyful Fate, The Beginning (Metal Blade Records, 2020).
I have never thought of myself as a Mercyful Fate fan. I developed a dislike for King Diamond when I was in high school. I thought his vocal style was silly. A friend sent me a copy of The Beginning a few months ago. I have changed my mind about King Diamond and MF. After thirty years of ignoring anything King Diamond related, I am ready to admit that I was wrong. The music is great, and the vocals add an important element of creepiness and surprise.
Cirith Ungol, Forever Black (Metal Blade Records, 2020).
Forever Black is an album I have been looking forward to for years. For those unaware of Cirith’s recent history, they were coaxed out of retirement several years ago to play the headlining slot of the Frost and Fire festival held every year in Ventura, California. The annual festival was doing well, and it seemed inevitable there would be a new Cirith Ungol album. Forever Black is not for everyone, but I feel like it was produced for me. Forever Black is a natural extension of what the band was doing in the mid-1980s. Forever Black has better production than past records, but the style and sound are unapologetically ‘80s Cirith Ungol.
Gerry Paul Nestler, Mama’s Child (The Wild Red Mother Records, 2018).
I stumbled upon Mama’s Child accidently. I am a fan of the band Philm, featuring Dave Lombardo of Slayer. I was trying to find information about the band and a date for a new album (Lombardo left the band; there will be no new Philm records). Nestler was Philm’s guitarist and vocalist, and I believe he was the driving artistic force behind the project. I found his website. I listened to a few tracks from Mama’s Child and was completely blown away by it. It has sweet folksy moments and bluesy moments. It is a very earnest record by a very earnest artist.
Mel Tillis, Mr. Entertainer (MCA Records Inc, 1979).
This is a strange record. Is it country? How about pop? Rock? I guess it is all three. It is country with rock/pop sensibilities, particularly the rhythm section. I even heard a jazz flourish in one song. It also has that bullshit orchestration that Chet Atkins popularized as the Nashville sound. The orchestration on this record contributes to its odd character. When I was a kid, I would see Mel Tillis on television, often playing the straight man for the jokes of others. The jokes were usually about Mel’s speech impediment. I suppose I had heard him sing as well, but I have no memory of it. I consider Mr. Entertainer my first introduction to Tillis. I think what really grabs me about Mel Tillis and this record is the quality of his voice. There is no shortage of great voices or dominating voices like George Jones or Dolly Parton in country music. Tillis has a big voice that cuts across through the music. There is no twang in Tillis’ voice; it works well for all musical styles.
Joy Division, Closer (Rhino/Warner Brothers, 2020).
I am embarrassed to admit that until 2020 I was more or less oblivious of Joy Division. I knew songs covered by other bands, but little more than that. The phrase, “holy shit!” sums up my response to JD and Closer. I will be exploring JD and New Order in 2021.
Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Artlessly Falling (Firehouse 12 Records, 2020).
Mary Halvorson has become one of my favorite guitarists over the past few years, but she is one that I approach cautiously. Mary’s jazz vision can get a little too experimental for my taste. Artlessly Falling is loaded with Mary’s chicken-cluck guitar style, as well as odd vocalizations and tempo changes, but it is brilliantly done. The album is weird, but also very listenable. This my favorite Mary Halvorson album.
Sodom, Genesis XIX (Ent. One Music, 2020).
In the 1980s, I avoided Sodom. They seemed like the lesser of the thrash bands coming from Germany. Actually, I avoided all of the German bands at that time. I still find the early albums by Kreator and Sodom to be unlistenable. The 1980s metal bands grew up as their audience grew up. The albums became more political while the music remained aggressive but more accessible. Some of this is probably due to the band members becoming better musicians while metal fans developed a better or more particular ear. Sodom probably won’t replace Kreator as my favorite German metal band, but they are solidly in second place. Genesis XIX is their best album to date.
The Fall, Re-Mit (Cherry Red Records, 2013).
The Fall is a difficult band to love. The vocalist, recites poetry to music. Some of it makes sense and some of it is contradictory; it is all mumbled. Fans of the Fall tend to pan Re-Mit and most of the later Fall albums as uninteresting. I couldn’t disagree more. Mark E. Smith’s rants became less noisy, but musically the later albums are much better. I think Re-Mit is one of the top three albums in the Fall’s catalog.
Unknown Instructors, Unwilling to Explain (Org Music, 2019).
Mike Watt! All anyone should ever have to say when describing a Watt project is “Mike Watt!” Those two words tell you the album is going to be interesting. Unknown Instructors, I believe, is a nod to the Kraut rock band, CAN. I love CAN. I CANnot easily explain the style of CAN, but here goes nothing: it is art rock with hypnotically spoken words, backed up by raucous and repetitive music. It is wonderful. Unknown Instructors didn’t go for the hypnotic element, or as much repetition, but the CAN influence is unmistakable.
Ray Russel, Fluid Architecture (Cuneiform Records, 2020).
This album contains ethereal new age passages, progressive rock, and jazz. To me there are both Pink Floyd and Bill Frissell influences.
Rubba, In Motion: Modern Progressive Group Sounds (Music De Wolfe, 2020).
The best way I can describe the music of Rubba is to call it progressive pop. It is much lighter on the rock than I usually like my prog. I liked the album right away, but I wasn't obsessed with it until it had spent a couple hours on the turntable. The friend that recommended this album led off with "this is going to be your new favorite record." It's not. But it is one my favorite new discoveries of 2020.
Honorable mentions:
Bill Frissell, Valentine (Blue Note, 2020)
Shabaka and the Ancestors, Wisdom of the Elders (Brownswood, 2016)
Dylan Ryan/Sand, Sky Bleached (Cuneiform Records, 2015)
Demon Fuzz, Afreaka! (Esoteric, 2009)
Secret Chiefs3, Book of Souls: Folio A (Web of Mimicry, 2013)
Lite, Multiple (Topshelf Records, 2019)
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