MOTORPSYCHO live at Knust, Hamburg (October 8th 2023)

Hey Stephan, it's Wednesday already! So what about Sunday? Time to finally write that review! Ok, I'm on it! Who played again? No, just kidding. Of course it takes a couple of daysweeksmonthsyears more to forgot about a Motorpsycho show.

The Knust was sold out, but not too jammed. Is it possible that post covid all clubs have reduced their official capacities to a healthier number, where it's still possible to breathe and move? Anyway, there was no support band, so the Norwegians kind of took over that job themselves by beginning their mammoth show with a (semi) unplugged set, featuring mostly songs from their recent album "Yay!".
So both Hans Magnus Ryan and Bent Sæther played on acoustic guitars.

Since other than back in 2019, when I saw them the last time, drummer Tomas Jarmyr isn't in the band anymore, Motorpsycho take changing line-ups on tour this year. On their Norwegian dates they were a quartet featuring long-time collaborator Reine Fiske and Olaf Olsen (who played my favorite show of 2021 with Fra Det Onde). For the rest of Europe however they're playing as a trio featuring Kanaan's Ingvald Andre Vassbø.

At least as long as I know them Motorpsycho have always been a band, where the drums are the epicentre of spectacle, so the profile for that position must read like: Norwegian with insane Rock drumming skills, possibly Jazz background and great endurance. Well, if you've ever seen Ingvald live, you know that this madman is the absolutely right man for the job, which not only included percussions, but also keys and occasional backing vocals. So while the first handful of songs only featured relatively tame drumming, you could already witness him do some multi-tasking - and also confirm that he's indeed capable of restraint - if he has to be.

After that Motorpsycho didn't immediately go into maximum volume mode, but slowly worked themselves towards it, starting with the psychedelic epic "Chariot Of The Sun" from last year's "Ancient Astronauts". And that still felt like only the start of a giant show, which consisted of all in all eighteen pieces from all over their decades long career - plus two covers of Wishbone Ash and UFO songs. Yeah, it once again was a very long and equally as great. I guess when they actually used a bass guitar for the first time (not that it was missing before!) other bands would already have left the stage.

What else can I say? Walk you through the whole setlist? It was a versatile mix of greatest hits, smaller tracks and larger monsters. It was quiet and beautiful. It was overwhelming and bonkers. Extremely bonkers at times. Of course I had my personal favorites like "The Transmutation of Cosmoctipus Lurker" or "The Tower". And who can resist "Nothing To Say"?

Ultimately though it wasn't about hearing, missing or wishing for song x or y in particular. Motorpsycho's discography is way too intimidating for that approach. No, the magic comes more from the scale of the whole experience, from this hardest working in band Scandinavia just washing over you for hours, never tiring, a giant creative whale in the fishpond of Rock'n'Roll.

Yeah, this was good. Nothing more to say.

MOTORPSYCHO ? Yay!

Yay, there's a new Motorpsycho album!

MOTORPSYCHO - Yay! (CD) (2023)

Ok, that sentence above not only is the absolutely lowest-hanging fruit to start this review with, but it also applies every year anyway, at least once, since the Norwegian are always so impressively productive. And neither plagues nor line-up changes can stop their discography from growing. That being said despite his recent departure the new album still features drummer Tomas Järmyr as the third band member besides Hans Magnus Ryan and Bent Sæther.

But even with the same trio as on the previous records (plus some guest flutes, violins and vocals) the overall vibe on "Yay!" is quite different than on those often very proggy epics.
This one is in a way smaller and simpler. The songs are shorter and you can easily tell that most of them were composed singing along to a strummed acoustic guitar.
Some like "Real Again (Norway Shrugs And Stays At Home)" are mostly kept that way, other tracks sound way bigger with added layers and harmonies, yet still maintain the overall singer/songwriter feeling of the album.

So "Yay!" isn't a wild party scream, but rather a sound of glad relief after a time of nebulous uncertainty. If you especially dig the feeling of easier Motorpsycho classics like "Let Them Eat Cake" (1999) or "It's A Love Cult" (2022) this will certainly be one for you.

And when towards the end "Hotel Daedalus" marks the pinnacle of their more heavy and bombastic mode,  it's a really well-earned climax on this perfectly structured, wonderfully dreamy, catchy, relaxing, but still intriguing album, which for the bazillion's time proves that these boys just cannot do wrong.

MUSIC 2022: TOP 22 albums

Here we go again! As you could already see in my TOP 5 reissues, TOP 7 live albums, TOP 13 live shows and TOP 6 non album releases I'm trying to keep my end of the year lists short.

And what a year I've chosen for that decision! It was hard, a lot of ins and outs, but I ultimately stuck to just twenty-two favorite albums! No sneaking in of extra recommendations under each entry like last year, just a plain TOP 22. As always these are only studio albums which I own in physical format. So I know that there are tons of stuff out there which I just didn't indulge in yet, Kendrick Lamar and The Mars Volta just being two of the most popular examples. (Oh, there's sooo much more like Brutus, Chat Pile... ok, don't even get me started, haha.)

I tried to consider earlier releases which I might have neclected a little, but also took the risk of including some very recent material. And for the time being I am happy with it. Looking back on this a year from now I will have some changed opinions about the ranking anyway, because that always happens. Hell, if you compare this list with my TOP 5 albums on VEILOFSOUND.COM (which I had finished a couple of weeks ago), even those have changed a bit already!

From A as in Autopsy to Z as in Zola Jesus and back from Zeal & Ardor over The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble and Jo Quail to 300,000 V.K. so many artists I would have expected here didn't make it. But well, I guess that's just unavoidable if you don't do at least a TOP 36. But even then I would still feel bad about those albums who fell off the edge. So fuck them, right? No, don't fuck them! Music is awesome. Check out all my reviews from 2022 stuff and go listen to some music! 


But now without further ado....  here finally are my...

TOP 22 ALBUMS 2022:

1. VOIVOD - Synchro Anarchy
   
   
   
   No, it's no suprise that this is my album of the year. But while I suspected "Synchro Anarchy" to wind up here as soon as its first songs had been released almost a year ago, that has never been a pure matter of course. With so much great music coming out all the time I found myself more than once wondering whether Voivod really should take this spot. But than I listened to this masterpiece again and all doubts went to bed, because damn, this is so fucking good! After over fourty years the French Canadian sci-fi ProgPunkThrashers are still on top of their game, pushing the envelope with complex and catchy material that not only lives up to their own legacy, but actually couldn't be more relevant today. Yet another incredible show of force of the seemingly unstoppable SnakeChewyRockyAway lineup.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT - Spirit Of Ecstasy



The future of Extreme Metal and the apocalpyse of Jazz inseparably intertwined and mangled through the Manhattanite maelstrom of glorious dissonance. With guest musicians from Alex Skolnick to Kenny G, from Andromeda Anarachia to Voivod's Snake! It's one thing to sport a mind-blowing musical vision, yet a totally different thing to exceed oneself in it like the New York Avantgarde Black Metal trio did on "Spirit of Ecstasy". The ferocious mega city moloch rampages purposeful but more disturbingly chaotic than ever and it's indeed... ecstatic.









3. WIEGEDOOD - There's Always Blood At The End Of The Road
   
   
   
   Psychotic. Relentless. Devastating. Destructive. Misanthropic. Those were probably the keywords of my review for this monstrous Black Metal assault. If I had to pick out just one thing which makes this unique panic attack of an album special I would just say: those killer riffs! (And those hypnotic licks of course... and the tireless brutal highspeed drumming... and the abrasive vocals... and the occasional throat singing...) Fuck it, this just slaps!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. FORLESEN - Black Terrain
   
   
   
   What an epochal journey of Doom Metal is this? Consisting of past and present members of Botanist, Kayo Dot and Lotus Thief the band with the name that sounds completely different to German ears than its actual Middle English meaning "to lose completely" takes us through manifold musical worlds on this vast atmospheric future classic.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. ARCHIVE - Call To Arms & Angels / Super8
   
   
   
   Is this Archive's magnum opus? I'd rather not claim something like that, but the double album "Call To Arms & Angels" for sure is a huge earnest masterpiece in an undefinable place between soulful ballads, dark experimental electronics and epic Post Trip Hop Progressive Art Rock. With multiple singers and guest musicians the collective created a seventeen tracks strong soundtrack to the quarantine and isolation of the pandemic years. And if that wouldn't already be enough to take in, some versions of the album come with the equally great bonus of the whole score to the making of documentary "Super8".
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. MARC URSELLI'S STEPPENDOOM - SteppenDoom
   
   
   
   John Zorn producer Marc Urselli bringing together an international all-star ensemble of Doom, Stoner and Post Metal instrumentalists and indigenous  (Tuvanese, Mongolian and Inuit) overtone singers for a primal and  powerful fusion of styles that through its diversity also works as an almost anthropological overview of the art of throat singing. Ten years in the making this ambitious project transcends the promise of its premise and dooms and drones in an ancient place far beyond the origins of Doom itself.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. GGGOLDDD - This Shame Should Not Be Mine
   
   
   
   Outside flowers claim it's spring - and inside Milena Eva works through her trauma in clear and stark words to come out of it with her head held high. Adding many new electronic elements while maintaining their roots in Post everything from Punk to Rock to Black Metal, the band formerly known just as Gold provides a perfect backdrop for one of the most important stories told this year. Profoundly touching.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. KEIJI HAINO + SUMAC - Into This Juvenile Apocalypse Our Golden Blood To Pour Let Us Never
   
   
   
   

   Is this rollercoaster a free jazz version of noise rock or the essence of metal dragged through the unfiltered existential chaos of the human condition?
   I've asked exactly this question before, but since I still haven't come close to a satisfying answer, it seemed appropriate just to repeat it. On their third album encounter Japanese experimentalist Haino and the North American Sludge trio Sumac unleash brutal improvised magic which defies explanation or classification - and ultimately this brilliant noisiest of all releases on this list doesn't need to answer any of my small mortal questions at all.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. AFTAB DARVISHI - A Thousand Butterflies
   
   
   
   Performed by various chamber orchestra constellations including a cello solo piece, the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet or the duet of piano and clarinet in the title track, the music of Iranian composer Aftab Darvishi melts Contemporary Classical arrangements with traditional influences from her home country and experimental Ambient ideas.  "A Thousand Butterflies" rewards the attentive listener with an immersive emotional experience. A precious musical gift that keeps giving. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. JOHN ZORN - Perchance To Dream
    
    
    
    No Bandcamp, no YouTube, no Soundcloud. On this one I'm afraid you just have to completely trust me, because you'll only get these wonderful compositions of John Zorn, performed by a quartet including John Medeski and Bill Frisell on this CD. Cymbals, chimes, organ, piano, Fender Rhodes... Soothing vibrations and light guitar breezes are the primary language of a dreamily Smooth Jazz experience. designed for nocturnal hours of either contemplation or just letting your mind drift to other places. On par with Aftab Darvishi this is one of the purest and most sincerely beautiful albums of 2022.
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. LAIBACH - Wir Sind Das Volk - Ein Musical Aus Deutschland
    
    
    
    In Laibach's half-theatrical work, which sees them collaborating with several stage actors and drum duo The Stroj,   Slovenian Retrogarde meets the texts of German playwright Heiner Müller and forms a kaleidoscopic stream of consciousness of German identity during and after the Second World War. Closer to the accustomed band sound and a little less deeply overwhelming than the live performance it is based on, "Wir Sind Das Volk" still is a very strong and serious experience burning with recent relevance.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. KIKAGAKU MOYO - Kumoyo Island
    
    
    
    The farewell year of the Japanese street musician collective turned world-acclaimed Krautrock phenomenon Kikagaku Moyo has been a joyful victory parade with celebrated live shows everywhere (including Berlin) and a final studio release which sparkles with variety, dynamic and visceral musical storytelling. Not only a wonderful album, but one which is always even a little better than I remembered from its last spin. And that lead guitar in "Yayoi, Iyayoi" lives rent-free in my head anyway.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. WORMROT - Hiss
    
    
    
    If you understand Grindcore more as a mindset than as one rather narrow specific style you can take it to the most unexpected places. Napalm Death have proven that many times, and so do the Singaporeans Wormrot. Being fluent masters in the language of Grind they allow themselves to take the twenty-one tracks on "Hiss" to the worlds of Punk, Post Rock, Thrash and Death Metal, Voivod worship, tribalistic and even symphonic parts without ever risking to lose their ferocious grindibility, summed up in the song title "When Talking Fails, It's Time For Violence". This is undoubtly among the very best Grindcore that has ever smashed my mug!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
14. GOAT - Oh Death
    
    
    
    Dang! Both visually and sonically these Swedish masters of Psych ceremonies don't waste any time funking right into your face.
    Vivid and groovy, at the same time jazzy, tribalistic. folkloristic, krautrocky and post-punkish the jams on "Oh Death" fly by faster than you could ever die of a sudden bliss overload.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. SPINIFEX - Spinifex Sings
    
    
    
    "Spinifex Beats the Plague" had been among my favorite Jazz releases of 2021 and the Fusion sextet doesn't even for the blink of an eye think of cooling things down on its successor. Strengthened with the two amazing singers Priya Purushothaman and Björk Níelsdóttir interpreting Indian and Icelandic poetry, Spinifex are spinning a carousel of adventurous Free and Vocal Jazz, Jazzcore and what our forefathers called World Music, on which Mats Gustafsson's The End and Christian Vander's Magma are chasing each other's wiggling tails. Absolutely bonkers and brilliant experimental fun!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
16. THE LOVECRAFT SEXTET - Miserere
    
    
    
    Jason Köhnen had a productive year releasing several albums with various projects, two alone with The Lovecraft Sextet. Other than den 80's synth of "Nights Of Lust" this one however can be described as a direct crossbreed of Bohren & der Club of Gore and Black Metal, just like White Ward's "False Light" - but it sounds completely different in every way! A sinister, often depressing, sometimes eery elegant mass of the most evil Darkjazz ever, drenched in cavernous screeches, organ, cello, Colin Webster's longing saxophone and crowned with opera singer Lilian Tong's soprano voice "Miserere" is a timeless horror score one of the most daring and possibly the most haunting entry in Köhnen's discography.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
17. ASSUMPTION - Hadean Tides
    
    
    
    Inspired by Death and Doom Metal greats like My Dying Bride, Sorrow, Paradise Lost, Mournful Congregation, but also classic Celtic Frost and Morbid Angel, this bleak new album from Assumption screams oldschool without ever sounding antiquated. Consequently the Italians don't let traditionalism hinder them from also incorporating Ambient and Neubauten influences  into their hugest and most exciting work so far.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
18. MOTORPSYCHO - Ancient Astronauts
    
    
    
    Side A: A powerfully rolling FuzzProg'n'Roll opener as we know and love it from the Norwegians. A short Yodok III style interlude. A half ballad / half freakout Mellotron epic. Side B: Just one cinematic 20+ minutes (almost) instrumental Krautrock score for an imaginary movie. Nothing more, nothing less. And done by Motorpsycho this is of course jawdropping stuff.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
19. LILI REFRAIN - Mana
    
    
    
    A mystic shaman and guardian to invisible realms beyond our perception? Or just a vessel of the unfiltered pure joy of music? No matter as which you understand Lili Refrain, there's no doubt that the Italian singer and multi-instrumentalist ultimately wields life-affirming magic on "Mana". On a loop-based backdrop of synths, drums and guitars her voice mesmerizes between incantatory whispers, Eastern European and Scandinavian Folk spheres and other-worldly Opera. Wondrous and spellbinding.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
20. LONDON ODENSE ENSEMBLE - Jaiyede Sessions Vol.1
    
    
    
    Whenever El Paraiso Records go Jazz, it's worth noticing anyway, but an album which is the culmination of what was growing on two albums of the Martin Rude & Jakob Skøtt Duo and a third extended to the Rude Skøtt Osborn Trio seems especially interesting. Bass, drums and saxophone now find themselves in the company of keyboards and guitar and together they burn a smooth firework of timeless Miles/Coltrane/Hancock worship between hippie Prog, Psych Rock and Latin Jazz Fusion with electronic sprinkles on top. Embedded in a warm dynamic production the chemistry and momentum of these sessions leave nothing to be desired. Volume 2 incoming soon...
    
    
    elparaisorecords · London Odense Ensemble: Sojourner
    
    
    
    
    
    
21. E-L-R - Vexier
    
    
    
    On their second full-length album the Swiss trio transforms mountains into riffs and lends the landscapes and ancient myths of the Alps an ethereal voice, incarnated through the levitating harmonies of their two female singers. "Vexier" is an escapist, dreamily headbanging monolith, which unifies Shoegaze, Doom, Post Rock, sludgy Post Metal and a pinch of Black Metal in elemental majesty.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
22. EMMA RUTH RUNDLE - EG2: Dowsing Voice
    
    
    
    So intimate yet so very strange. So experimental yet so pure and direct. Mostly inspired by traveling through Wales on her own for one month and recorded with minimal equipment Emma Ruth Rundle created an album she doesn't even try to sell as something equally as big and important as her regular work. But even though this wordless journey seems closer to Lingua Ignota, Jarboe or Diamanda Galas  being lost in the wilderness than to her usual sound, there is no reason to shrug this sinister subconscious twin of "Engine Of Hell" off! Dark and intriguing.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

MOTORPSYCHO - Ancient Astronauts

Angesichts der hohen Arbeitsmoral der Norweger ist man ja bei jedem neuen Album von Motorpsycho, welches man in Händen hält, froh, es nicht verpasst zu haben. Und dann kommt ja auch noch der Backkatalog dazu... Die 2019er Neuauflage des exklusiv auf Vinyl erschienenen "Child Of The Future" von 2009 ist z.B. komplett an mir vorbei gegangen. Und jetzt, wo ich sie mir zusammen mit dem neuen Album bestellt habe, muss ich tatsächlich feststellen, dass ich jenes Album irgendwie zu unspektakulär, zu formelhaft finde. Vielleicht meine erste leichte Enttäuschung, seit ich die Band höre?

Aber zum Glück war ja auch das brandneue "Ancient Astronauts" im Carepaket von Stickman Records, und jenes schickt sich an, unmittelbar an das kreative Niveau voriger Alben "Kingdom Of Oblivion" (2021), "The All Is One" (2020), "The Crucible" (2019) oder "The Tower" (2017) anzuschließen, ohne diese zu kopieren.

MOTORPSYCHO - Ancient Astronauts (violet vinyl LP) (2022)

Personell zeigt die Band sich diesmal sparsam. Abgesehen vom eigentlichen, mit viel Liveenergie aufspielenden Trio ist nur Helge Sten, mit dem die Band schon seit den frühen 1990ern in unterschiedlichsten Formen zusammenarbeitet (zumeist hinter den Kulissen beim Recording / Mastering, aber auch als Sänger und Instrumentalist), zu hören. Wer genau was spielt, ist in den Credits nicht spezifiziert, doch es ist davon auszugehen, dass vieles, was hier in Richtung Ambient und Soundtrack tendiert, auf seine Kappe geht. Und das ist gar nicht wenig. Schon der Opener "The Ladder" beginnt mit einem sehr filmscorehaften Intro, um dann allerdings schnell in unverkennbarer Motorpsycho-Manier zu rocken.

Diese speziellen, mächtig rollenden, aber auch detailversessen beschäftigten Midtempogrooves sind im Grunde fast unmöglich zu kopieren. Dafür ist schon der urgewaltigen und doch anspruchsvollen Bass Bent Sæthers einfach zu eigenwillig. Zusammen mit Gitarrist Hans Magnus Ryan und dem irre jazzrockig derwischenden Tomas Järmyr ist hier halt nicht nur die Konzentration von Klasse und Erfahrung unvergleichbar, sondern es entsteht auch dieser ganz eigene ultradynamische Ton, den ich außerhalb von Motorpsycho eigentlich bisher nur bei einer Handvoll weiterer norwegischer Künstler vernommen habe. Ein wenig strahlt die Magie also offenbar regional ab.

"The Ladder" gibt einem gleich alles was man sich vom Rockmodus der Band erhofft. Doch natürlich begnügt man sich nicht damit. Der zweite Track "The Flower Of Awareness" ist eigentlich nur ein kurzes Zwischenspiel oder Intro, eine Ambient-Geräuschkulisse von Järmyr und Sten, die im Grunde komplett einer Yodok III-Performance (siehe mein diesjähriger Roadburn-Bericht) entnommen sein könnte. Doch nach dieser Gelegenheit zum Durchatmen haut die Band mit dem zwölfminütigen Mellotron-Proghalbballaden-Kreativdampfhammer "Mona Lisa/Azrael" wieder grenzenlos richtig auf den Putz und lässt einen mit begeistert offenstehendem Mund und spiralförmig eskalierend wippendem Genick zwangsmitgehen. Epochaler Prog, Jazzrock, räudiger Rock'n'Roll - Motorpsycho können das alles gleichzeitig und knallen einem dabei unvermeidlich die Frage um die Ohren, was zum Henker denn noch auf der B-Seite kommen soll.

Ok, wir sind es natürlich schon gewohnt, dass diese Band irgendwie doch noch einen Schritt weitergehen kann. Auf "Ancient Astronauts" allerdings versuchen sie nun nicht mehr, diesen wilden Ritt noch weiter zu steigern, sondern widmen die komplette zweite Hälfte einer zweiundzwanzigminütigen Komposition, deren Titel uns schon verrät, dass sie etwas anderes möchte: "Chariot Of The Sun – To Phaeton On The Occasion Of Sunrise (Theme From An Imagined Movie)"

Beinahe hätte ich gerade "Instrumental-Komposition" geschrieben, doch dieser Mix aus tatsächlich filmischen Passagen und krautrockig jammender Freiform enthält durchaus einige Gesangspassagen, die sich allerdings Text sparen und vor allem als weitere harmonische Klangfacette dienen.
Zwar nennen Motorpsycho ja mittlerweile einen immensen Katalog an Longtracks dieser Größenordung ihr eigen, doch die Art und Weise wie hier vor allem während der ruhigeren Abschnitte mit Stimmung gepinselt wird, ohne an Vorwärtsbewegung und Eingängigkeit zu sparen, klingt immer noch frisch. Erkennt man den Bandsound? Selbstverständlich. Tut man ja immer. Doch diesen Song haben sie meines Wissens nach vorher noch nicht geschrieben. Und das ist bei der ständig rotierenden Trondheimer Musikmaschine schon durchaus bemerkenswert.

"Ancient Astronauts" ist wieder einmal unschlagbar grandios. Klar, irgendwie ist es schon another day in the office, aber wer einen solchen Büroalltag hat, wird sich wohl niemals über seinen Job beschweren wollen, oder?

Das cineastische Artwork des eine wahlweise schwarze oder transparent violette LP beherbegenden Gatefoldcovers rundet den Gesamteindruck perfekt ab. Fazit: Spitzengruppe in Spitzenform macht alles richtig.

Nur etwas internetaffiner könnten sie ja schon sein, die Jungs, so dass ich diesen Post hier jedenfalls mit einem kleinen offiziellen Previewsoundschnipselchen abschließen könnte. So muss ich mich jetzt wieder darauf verlassen, dass der geneigte Leser meiner vertrauenswürdigen Expertise schon taub vertrauen wird. 

MUSIC 2021: TOP 21 albums

Yes, in anticipation of the coming year (20+22=42) all signs are on silly numerology here. So after my 7 favorite live shows, 7 favorite live albums and 7 favorite non-album releases, it's only consequent to present my top 21 albums of the year now, to make the number which explains everything, 42, full again. But since 21 really isn't that much for this category, I've coupled each position with one more or less fitting extra recommendation. So yeah baby, we got 42 again.

The general rules are: This is my own fucking personal ranking, so no whining is allowed. It's only about albums which I already own in some form. It does not include reissues (my favorites are the first vinyl version of Brian Ellis's "Quipo" and the 25th Anniversary Edition of "Relaxing With..." The Heads), unless there hasn't been a physical release before. Following that logic also all releases, where I'm still waiting for my copy (I'm looking at you, Rostro Del Sol, Zaäar, The Lovecraft Sextet...) aren't considered until next year.
And of course there's also stuff still coming in now, which is just too late to the game.

As always - and most important: Music shouldn't be a competition anyway, so after the first couple of places the order really doesn't matter much and could be different on any day depending on my mood. So with all that being said, here are my...

TOP 21 ALBUMS 2021:

1. AD NAUSEAM - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse
   
   
   
   It's already hard to be more death metal than the Italians Ad Nauseam. But it's close to impossible to push the genre into more unique, unheard territories of dissonant avant-garde than they do on "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse". Armed with their very own tuning, tons of dynamics and brutal virtuosity they created a sick masterpiece that makes most other metal albums look like elevator music in comparison. Listening to this double album might risk your sanity, but I prefer to imagine that it rather stimulates my cerebral receptiveness. A gift that keeps giving!
   
   
   
   
   
   One other boundless, yet in its loyalty to the core idea of the genre still somehow astonishingly pure death metal release of comparable magnitude is "Poison Palinopsia" by Qrixkuor. It consists of just two mammoth-tracks, over twenty-four minutes each, which fly by like a swarm of puking winged demons.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. SENYAWA - Alkisah
   
   
   
   Rooted in folklore, drone and unbridled experimentalism, amplified by self-build string, percussion and noise instruments and the exceptional vocal presence of Rully Shabara, the Indonesian duo Senyawa conjures a timeless spirituality and primal heaviness. While this music couldn't be more singular, its distribution is manifold, as "Alkisah" has been released in dozens of alternative versions by various labels all around the globe. The CN Edition by WV Sorcerer Productions, which includes a bonus CD with well-made remixes is a perfect package inside and outside.
   
   
   
   
   
   Senyawa also recently released their second (so far only digital) album of 2021. "Membaladakan Keselamatan (Ballads for the Survivors)" features acoustic reinterpretations of songs from previous albums and proves that even reduced to only acoustic guitar and voice the band's music is still incredible impactful, heavy, amazing.
   
   
   
   
   
3. LINGUA IGNOTA - Sinner Get Ready
   
   
   
   The day has yet to come, when I will write something about Lingua Ignota and feel that I have done Kristin Hayter's art any justice. Even after dialing the obvious noise and brutality from "Caligula" down on her new wrath opus "Sinner Get Ready" and replacing it with a more naturalistic, folkloristic sound that sometimes even includes pure, pristine beauty, the way she channels heaviest themes and personal experience into profound, emotionally touching (if not even oppressing) art, is just one of a kind. A mercilessly uncompromising and unforgiving gospel that cannot leave you indifferent.
   
   
   
   
   

   Fans of Lingua Ignota should also check out "Mausoleum" by the Latvian trio Pamirt, whose singer Kristiāna Kārkliņa does not only remind of Hayter, but also takes notes from Jarboe, Anna von Hausswolff and Chelsea Wolfe. Their debut is rather short, but a grand and theatrical work of art nonetheless.  
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. ÅRABROT - Norwegian Gothic
   
   
   
   Kjetil Nernes, Karin Park and their family are living in an old church (which also works as recording studio and photo / video location) in the Swedish countryside. Rock'n'roll is their religion. On "Norwegian Gothic" their band Årabrot is redeeming everything this premise promises - and more. Recruiting help from members of Motorpsycho, Zu and Jaga Jazzists, as well as cellist extraordinaire Jo Quail they created nothing short of a dark noise rock / post punk masterpiece, filled with hits and creative surprises -  a carnival of the 80s, 90s and ultimately timeless rebellion.
   
   
   
   
   
   Oh well, fuck my no re-issues rule! There's no way of honouring "Norwegian Gothic" without uttering Karin Park's last solo album in the same breath. "Church Of Imagination" is equally as sprawling and intriguing, while speaking a different musical language of artistic pop with chamber, gospel and alternative rock elements. With "Omens To Come" it even features the original version of Årabrot's "Feel It On".
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. SONS OF KEMET - Black To The Future
   
   
   
   They have done it again - the Sons Of Kemet are absolutely on fire! Fueled by the ongoing oppression and injustice people of colour keep facing "Black To The Future" is burning with urgency. Armed with two drumkits, tuba and saxophone, the Sons and guests like Moor Mother and Joshua Idehen continue their fight against the pain of the African diaspora and explore Black identity with a spectacular mix of bebop, funk, hip hop, Carribean and tribal music. Especially when the vocals halt for most of the second half of the double album, the musical storytelling gets spectacularly strong.
   
   
   
   
   
   A much more traditional, yet still vivid and exciting take on jazz can be heard on "The Space Where The Uncontrollable Unknown Resides, Can Be The Place From Which Creation Arises" by Work Money Death. The two longtracks "Dusk" and "Dawn" are perfect homages to the spiritual masters Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra and John and Alice Coltrane.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. EMMA RUTH RUNDLE - Engine Of Hell
   
   
   
   You can call the instruments of Emma Ruth Rundle's minimalistic acoustic album piano and guitar, but in truth she's playing directly on our heartstrings. Mostly recorded in complete live takes "Engine Of Hell" is her most vulnerable, purest and bravest album to date. No other album on this list has captivated me inside a repeat loop and made me neclect the rest of my collection for weeks like this channeling of Emma's inner Tori Amos.
   
   
   
   
   
   Speaking of Tori, whose impact on my taste cannot be overstated, since there are at least four albums noticeably influenced by her on this list alone: with "Ocean To Ocean" she added a wonderful new gem - which in comparison to Emma's album is rather maximalist - to her now sixteen studio albums strong discography. Outstanding as ever!
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. CYNIC - Ascension Codes
   
   
   
   After the passing of both Sean Reinert and Sean Malone it seems like Paul Masvidal pulled off an almost impossible miracle with this new Cynic album. While "Ascension Codes" surely carries the sentiment of tribute, eulogy and solace, the new age / alien genesis themed concept work doesn't bind itself to the past at all, but instead bravely thinks forward and explores new territories within and beyond the band's established cosmos. Just like Cynic has always done. But in a scope - filled with just so incredibly much music - noone could have ever dreamed  of. Rest in peace, Sean and Sean!
   
   
   
   
   
   Albeit I haven't come across anything even remotely similar to Cynic, I feel that this is the right place to point at the also very progressive, genre-defying and spiritually charged masterpiece "Har" from the Romanians Dordeduh, who have widened their palette of influences far beyond black metal and folk into all thinkable directions.
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. KING WOMAN - Celestial Blues
   
   
   
   Doom metal album of the year? Thanks to Kristina Esfandiari that's an unusually easy choice for me. Not only due to her stunning vocal performance, which seems more rooted in grunge and shoegaze than in metal, King Woman's "Celestial Blues" has a luring quality which makes you voluntarily follow her Lightbringer / outcast Eve persona to the darkest pits of the underworld. In a very relative way by the standards of the genre every track on this crushing album is a compact, downright radio-friendly hit, an unheard yet still eerily familiar hymn of doom and gloom.
   
   
   
   
   
   It takes two bands to come close to King Woman's addictiveness. So dial up the oppressive riff power and let your ears be blasted by Jon Davis' (Conan) other, equally devestating Ungraven and the  masters of shared doom split releases, Slomatics, who present themselves in the most epic Khemmis shape here, on their mighty as fuck untitled split album!
   
   
   
   
   
   
9. WANG WEN - 100,000 Whys
   
   
   
   How are Wang Wen doing this? You're always thinking that the Chinese almost-instrumental band has already reached post rock perfection, but then they keep proving that there's still room to grow with every album. The morriconisms of the guitar and keyboard licks and the glorious horns, trumpets and flutes alone are the stuff of dreams. Dipping into prog, jazz, latin influence, shamanistic chants and whatever they please at any given moment, but always keeping accessibility and a coherent uplifting spirit in focus, they finally recorded their perfectly wonderful, ultimate masterpiece with "1000,000 Whys". Well, at least for now, I guess.
   
   
   
   
   
   If you know my post rock monumentalism favorites, it won't surprise you that I can't say Wang Wen without also gushing about their better known Japanese half siblings Mono, who followed up an career-encapsulating live album with a studio release ("Pilgrimage Of The Soul"), that shows that they still have some new tricks up their sleeve, while never once loosening their special grip on your primal emotions.
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. 夢遊病者 - Noč Na Krayu Sveta
    
    
    
    "This is Alice Coltrane and Toby Driver having a raging black metal baby. This is Mansur torturing Mono in hell. This is ambitious and beautiful, a piercing bliss so bright, it burns the eyes out of your skull." I doubt that I could summarize this chaotic thunderstorm of infinite instruments and styles under the umbrella of ritualistic black metal any better than I already did. Even though "Noč Na Krayu Sveta" is a rather short border case between EP and full album, the Russian/Japanese/American project 夢遊病者 proves itself as one of the most creative forces in (and far beyond) metal today.
    
    
    
    
    
    Sentient Ruin Laboratories released more than one other album deserving to be recommended here, but the most important one is probably "Abominion" by the US blackened industrial death doom metal war machine Abstracter. This relentless, destructive, pessimistic onslaught develops a vortical atmosphere which pulverizes you and inescabably sucks the remaining particles into the void.
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. JÜ - III
    
    
    
    The third album of the Hungarian trio Jü has a truly complex premise, as it interprets traditional music from Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and Southeast Asia by drawing lines from psychedelic prog and math rock to experimental jazz fusion, from phase "Red" King Crimson over Mr. Bungle to Javanese gamelan music. And that doesn't even describe half of the experience, which also includes enchanting and insane guest vocals and electronic ambient noises. Few albums of 2021 blow over faster than "III" - and even less are a purer joy to spin.
    
    
    
    
    
    If especially the atmosphere of Jü's opening and closing tracks speak to you, you should immerse yourself in the already third album from The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation mastermind Jason Köhnen's trio Mansur. The improvisations on "Minotaurus" drone with a foundation of bass and electronic sounds, over which oud and Martina Horváth's voice levitate to the furthermost mystical heights.
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. MOTORPSYCHO - Kingdom of Oblivion
    
    
    

    I've stopped trying to fathom how Motorpsycho are doing it a long time ago. The Norwegians are putting out these huge sprawling subgenre-defying rock (double) albums so fast that there's just no other way than to feature the band in these rankings almost every single year. And "Kingdom of Oblivion" is a complete work in all respects: Music, lyrics, artwork, gatefold design, quality of the transparent disc... everything about this double album is just as top class as their "Gulvåg" trilogy.
    
    
    
    

    

    If you dig Motorpsycho and love instrumental rock, you should also check out "Ding Dong, You're Dead!" by their fellow Norwegian country(wo)men Hedvig Mollestad Trio. It's an explosive mix of jazz, prog, funk, metal, experimentalism and hard rock that is guaranteed to kick your ass and brain!
    
    
    
    
    
    
13. NICK HUDSON - Font Of Human Fractures
    
    
    
    "The Quiet Earth" by The Academy Of Sun was one of the greatest albums of 2020, but that's obviously no reason for Nick Hudson to rest on his laurels, as his solo album impressively proves. Between experimental synth pop, post punk, chamber sounds and grand piano art rock "Font Of Human Fractures" glistens in new facettes on each track, among which especially the multi-layered epic "Ballad of K69996 Roma", the glorious Exuma cover "Dambala" and "Come Back When There's Nothing Left" with Nick's transatlantic buddy Toby Driver as guest vocalist stand out.
    
    
    
    
    
    Speaking of Driver: His band Kayo Dot has also released a fantastic new album. "Moss Grew On The Swords And Plowshares Alike" was recorded by the line-up of the predeccessing group Maudlin Of The Well and is a sentimental throwback both within his autarkic musical cosmos and the bigger picture of the genre. Yet of course it's still as unparalleled and  forward-thinking as any piece of avant-garde gothic death ambient black etcetera metal could ever wish to be. 
    
    
    
    
    
    
14. MONG TONG 夢東 - 台灣謎景 Music from Taiwan Mystery
    
    
    
    One of the most enigmatic albums of this year weaves Taiwanese folk and field recordings together with ambient drones and noises, experimental electronic music and a pinch of psychedelic rock. The interplay of modernism, tradition and anachronism which builds the mosaic of "Music from Taiwan Mystery" is utterly fascinating. A strange story, which I don't even come close to deciphering, yet it still transfixes me from beginning to end.
    
    
    
    
    
    Mong Tong have released a second album in 2021, but since my physical copy hasn't arrived yet, I'm using this space to highlight another outstanding WV Sorcerer release: "Míng Míng" by Otay:onii (aka Lane Otayonii, singer of the shoegaze band Elizabeth Colour Wheel) is an impressive and thrilling artistic statement between Björk and Dead Can Dance, brutal electro noise and Chinese tradition.
    
    
    
    
    
    
15. LANA DEL REY - Chemtrails Over The Country Club
    
    
    
    Yes, the pop music slot on this list is reserved for Lana Del Rey once again. The songwriting, instrumentation, production... all the creative decisions which had to be made and on top of everything of course the absolutely flawless vocal performance are all pretty much perfect on "Chemtrails Over the Country Club". Even the featured guests hit the nail on the head again, so I'm actually more convinced now than back in April that the organic, dreamy, nostalgic folk ballad appeal of this is once again a perfect summation of how great pop music can actally be.
    
    
    
    
    
    Even though her albums never suffer from too short playing time, Lana Del Rey had enough stuff up her sleeve to release a full second album with "Blue Banisters". It sounds more deliberately washed-out (like "Ultraviolence"), sees more daring experiments and and at the same time feels even more nostalgic than "Chemtrails", because the lyrics are more autobiographic and several of its songs had been written years ago, but didn't find the proper place to be released before.
    
    
    
    
    
    
16. BIG|BRAVE - Vital
    
    
    
    How do you break down music to its most minimalistic and brutal core while still keeping it engaging? Big|Brave are amongst those bands who have found and perfected the formula. The Canadian drone rock trio smashes you with guitar noises which can only just be called riffs at all, demonstrating an ever-growing mastership in the application of pauses and sounds - and still finding room for subtleties in this confined space. Robin Wattie multiplies the impact of "Vital" with a devastatingly emotional, raw vocal performance and heavy personal lyrics.
    
    
    
    
    
    Big|Brave also released a collaborative record with The Body this year, and surprisingly it's not the complete eardrum obliteration one could expect from this constellation. Instead "Leaving None But Small Birds" is their very intense and sincere take on English / American folk and country traditionals. In my mind this album completes a triumvirate, whose other parts are the ranks 3 (Lingua Ignotas) and 6 (Emma Ruth Rundle) of this list.
    
    
    
    
    
    
17. NAOKO SAKATA - Dancing Spirits
    
    
    
    Ok, technically speaking, especially in a world which unvoluntarily questions the parameters defining a live show,  you could also count Naoko Sakata's "Dancing Spirits" as a live album, since it's just the Japanese pianist purely improvising seven pieces, recorded inside a church in Gothenburg. The profound moods, ideas and virtuosity flowing out of her fingertips into swirling, rousing, moving pictures beyond the parting lines between contemporary classical music, jazz and whatever drives her in the moment, make this records one of the most stunning  experiences of the year. I keep discovering something new every time I immerse in it.
    
    
    
    
    
    Since I don't have anywhere else to go from "Dancing Spirits", the only link to this recommendation is the common ground of improvisation. And the Danish freeform fusion rock ecstatics Mythic Sunship are exceptionally, explosively good at it. More krautish than ever, again sporting Søren Lyhne Skov's power saxophone, "Wildfire" does its title more than justice.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
18. NADJA - Luminous Rot
    
    
    
    There's a good handful of drone albums, which would rightfully deserve to be featured here, but since I'm feeling that I've neclected metal in this whole thing a little too much, I'm just going with the most metal one. Besides Nadja's "Luminous Rot" is also actually the most magnetic monster of that bunch. A formidably crushing beast of droning sludge / drum computer industrial metal and shoegaze, which cites from basically all phases Godflesh and Jesu have ever been through and adds a strong influence of the last White Hills albums. I strongly recommend the Japanese CD version, which features a worthwhile bonus longtrack.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Ok, since we're already in the business of referencing industrial-ish greats, let's not omit the odd fact that this list is missing some Laibach, who sadly didn't get any of their recently promised studio works ready yet. Their metal countrymen Noctiferia (plus guests like Attila Csihar and David Vincent) however released an appropriately reconstructive cover album called "Reforma - Tribute To Laibach", which is pretty damn awesome.
    
    
    
    
    
    
19. KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - Butterfly 3000
    
    
    
    Does anyone still count how many albums König Muskelmagen und der Eidechse Zauberer (their name on my German version of "Schmetterling 3000") have put out at this point? Among the shapeshifting catalogue of the psych madmen from Down Under this one stands out with a very specific - and over its whole runtime very consistent - sound. Weird time signature psych rock meets sugary dream pop meets synth loop electronics. The result is dunked in almost obscene sweetness, but oh it's so fucking good! Addictive.
    
    
    
    
    
    Of course "Butterfly 3000" is not the only King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard work of 2021! "L.W." is equally as great and only doesn't get the spot in the ranking, because the successor of 2020's "K.G." is just not as completely original, being already the third full album of their microtonal explorations. It is however arguably the the most diverse and ultimately best one of that lot.
    
    
    
    
    
    
20. SULA BASSANA - CV Sessions
    
    
    
    In current times recording a bedroom album while being stuck at home isn't exactly a unique selling point. Luckily Dave Schmidt's "CV Sessions" - even though they reflect the zeitgeist with a lot of ominous and brooding atmospheres - can confidently stand on their own without the context of the outer circumstances. The golden thread of this double album of elektrokraut jams is the use of modular synthesizer loops - which are connected via CV cables. The result is much more varied than the concept suggests and even in its darker moods developes soothing hypnotic qualities.
    
    
    
    
    
    One double album is something, two double albums in one year are certainly something more. "Loop Station Drones" is the spiritual sister of "CV Sessions" with a similar idea, but the subtle difference that these improvisations are based on effect loops. The quality of both is pretty much on par.
    
    
    
    
    
    
21. AGUSA - En Annan Värld
    
    
    
    Once again the gorgeously extravagant psychedelic prog rock of the Swedish intrumental band Agusa just brings a big happy smile onto my face. Even though some darkness has crept into the two 20+ minutes longtracks, it's still a gloom which remains part of the big escapist fairytale, through which organ, guitar and the wonderful unmistakable flute are leading us. This music just let's me feel like a little round-eyed, big-eared child discovering everything in the world for the very first time again. And like that small boy deep down I know only one convincing explanation for what I'm experiencing here: magic!
    
    
    
    
    
    There are certainly a lot more deserving albums of both the psychedelic and the progressive kind out there, but I feel that the most exciting work to conclude this with is the gathering of Conny Ochs, Sicker Man and Kiki Bohemia under the moniker Trialogos. On their adventurous debut "Stroh Zu Gold" every single track explores a different flavour of kraut, while also wandering beyond that realm. Even though you should eat neither straw nor gold, this couldn't be more delicious!
    
    

So that's a wrap! 2021. Of course I feel bad for a bazillion albums that didn't make it, but this already too long as it is, haha. Here are the previous parts:

MUSIC 2021: TOP 7 live shows

MUSIC 2021: TOP 7 live albums

MUSIC 2021: TOP 7 non-album releases

And here's a YouTube playlist with most of all that stuff: