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Pyramid Mass Reveal Influences Behind Their Sick New EP

Posted in Interviews, Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 03/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Earlier this month, Richmond, Virginia’s Pyramid Mass dipped a ladle into their cauldron of blackened sludge, progressive metal, thrash, black metal, hardcore, avant-garde—Jesus, need we go on?—and poured a heaping helping of their lethal stew into a bowl beautifully named Gargling Rot. The wretched EP, issued by Ossien Records, contains five songs that would make for great house music in Guantánamo Bay. In other words, it’s killer.

Mastered by the legendary James Plotkin of Khanate, Gargling Rot is the chaser to 2023’s Monolith, the debut by the band consisting of Matt Wild (drums/vocals), Nick Crider (guitar/vocals) and Joey Anderson (bass/vocals/synth). The EP commands strict attention from start to finish, even though no matter how hard you concentrate on what Pyramid Mass are doing, you won’t be able to make sense of it. What better way to guarantee repeat spins of a record.

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David Lynch Tribute: 10 Unforgettable Moments From His Films

Posted in Lists, Videos with tags , , , on 01/26/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

These brief video clips comprise a simple, terrifying tribute to one of America’s greatest auteurs: David Lynch, who died January 15 at 78 years old. Partially raised in Idaho, Lynch depicted nightmares onscreen with such fear-inducing flair that he ensured viewers had many more of them after watching his films.

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Best Albums of 2024: Gaerea, Shellac, Chat Pile, Kim Deal

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , , on 01/03/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
  1. Gaerea – Coma (Season of Mist)
  2. Shellac – To All Trains (Touch and Go)
  3. Chat Pile – Cool World (The Flenser)
  4. Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More (4AD)
  5. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild God (PIAS)
  6. St. Vincent – All Born Screaming (Total Pleasure)
  7. Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja (Nuclear Blast)
  8. Thank – I Have A Physical Body That Can Be Harmed (Big Scary Monsters)
  9. Necrot – Lifeless Birth (Tank Crimes)
  10. Alcest – Les Chants de l’aurore (Nuclear Blast)

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Gaerea, Oranssi Pazuzu, Alcest, Knocked Loose: Best Heavy Albums of 2024

Posted in Lists with tags , , , on 01/01/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Hop over to Knofest.com for four of my favorite heavy records of 2024, the website for Slipknot’s freaky rock festival.

They include:

• Gaerea – Coma (Season of Mist)

• Oranssi Pazuzu – Muuntautuja (Nuclear Blast Records)

• Alcest – Les chants de l’aurore (Nuclear Blast Records)

• Knocked Loose – You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To (Pure Noise Records)

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FLOOD’s Best Albums of 2024 and My Two Cents

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags , , , , , on 12/10/2024 by Kurt Orzeck

FLOOD recently released its list of the top 50 albums that the outlet’s contributors determined mattered most in 2024. Expect it, once again, to be regarded as one of the more authoritative and reputed chronicles of the year in music.

What follows are my reviews of releases on the list, and a related interview to boot, that FLOOD published this year:

• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds‘ Wild God review (published 12.10, FLOOD)
• Kim Deal‘s Nobody Loves You More review (published 12.2, FLOOD)
• Touché Amoré‘s Spiral in a Straight Line review (published 10.11, FLOOD)
• Sleater-Kinney‘s A Little Rope Goes a Very Long Way feature (published 4.10, FLOOD)
• Brittany Howard‘s What Now review (published 2.9, FLOOD)

Infinite thanks for your support, and that of my invaluable editors at FLOOD and other outlets that tolerated my contributions, in 2024. It mattered this year more than ever before.

For my pre-2024 writings on the aforementioned artists and many more than appeared on other top 10 lists this year, go to my Interview Index and Reviews Archive.

Lastly, stay tuned for The Bad Penny‘s annual Top 10 Albums of the Year list for 2024. (That is, if you place any value in rundowns like those.)

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Happy Halloween: The Bad Penny’s Top 10 Favorite Masked Bands

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 10/31/2024 by Kurt Orzeck

10. The Residents

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Best Albums of 2023: Cloak, Insomnium, Horrendous, Jeromes Dream

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 12/20/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
  1. Cloak – Black Flame Eternal (Season of Mist)
  2. Insomnium – Anno 1696 and Songs of the Dusk EP (Nuclear Blast)
  3. Horrendous – Ontological Mysterium (Season of Mist)
  4. Jeromes Dream – Gray in Between (Iodine)
  5. Warcrab – The Howling Silence (Transcending Obscurity)
  6. The Armed – Perfect Saviors (Sargent House)
  7. Svalbard – Weight of the Mask (Nuclear Blast)
  8. Fen – Monuments to Absence (Prophecy Productions)
  9. Thy Catafalque – Alföld (Season of Mist)
  10. Great Falls – Objects Without Pain (Neurot)

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Best Movies of 2022: ‘Stranger,’ ‘Tár,’ ‘Emily the Criminal,’ ‘Hellbender’

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , on 01/28/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Sharing this year because the Oscar nominations stink especially bad:

  1. The Stranger
  2. Tár
  3. Emily the Criminal
  4. Hellbender
  5. The Outfit
  6. The Innocents
  7. X
  8. Moonage Spacedream
  9. Barbarian
  10. Happening

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Best Albums of 2022: Amorphis, All the Fury, Halo Effect, Cave In, Khold

Posted in Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 01/16/2023 by Kurt Orzeck
  1. Amorphis – Halo (Atomic Fire)
  2. All the Fury – Layers (self-released)
  3. Halo Effect – Days of the Lost (Nuclear Blast)
  4. Cave In – Heavy Pendulum (Relapse)
  5. Khold – Svartsyn (Soul Seller)
  6. Celeste – Assassine(s) (Nuclear Blast)
  7. Dark Funeral – We Are the Apocalypse (Century Media)
  8. Deathspell Omega – Long Defeat (Season of Mist)
  9. Early Moods – s/t (RidingEasy)
  10. Sigh – Shiki (Peaceville)

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Guilty Pleasures: Dez Dare Digs Grand Funk Railroad, More

Posted in Features, Guilty Pleasures, Lists with tags on 01/12/2023 by Kurt Orzeck

Dez Dare is up to something. Scratch that: psych/punk/garage vet Dez Dare is always up to something. 

Starting on the first day of this year, the indefatigable U.K.-based punk-rock vet posted five cryptic Instagram posts piquing fans’ interest. Each post alluded to a big announcement that Dez — a.k.a. Darren Smallman — plans to make imminently.

Dez promises “records a plenty + weird videos + odd touring + a slick new website” in the posts.

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