FIMAV, photo by Martin Morissette It is well known that I seldom venture out of the comforts of my abode to seek the fellowship of likeminded individuals in a live music ritual. However, upon seeing the delightful programme that the FIMAV (the French acronym for Victoriaville’s International Contemporary Music Festival) had to offer this year, I was tempted—and later fulfilled these temptations—to journey beyond the borders of my realm and into the unknown. You have to hand it to the organizers of this festival for the awe-striking programme: Poil Ueda (opening the festivities), Ikue Mori, Z ..read more

Imperial Triumphant – Spirit of Ecstasy (Century Media) Alright, we have to talk about the new Imperial Triumphant. That album is truly something else. Not only does it take avant-garde black metal by storm, comparing favourably to the likes of Thantifaxath, but it does so with style and passion, shining the spotlight on many legendary musicians in the process (including Denis Bélanger, singer of Voïvod)! The music is dirty, oppressive, decadent, jumping from one filthy backstreet to another, and occasionally peeping through the window of an ivory tower to hear some fancy jazz being played ..read more

Tzadik Records is a very special thing to me. John Zorn’s label showcases his own compositions, ranging mostly from jazz to classical, as well as other groups and albums who are spearheading their respective genres. It’s often pretty difficult to listen to these albums, since they are usually not streaming online, so I’ve gathered them all here and got the five best Tzadik releases of 2021. This way, you’ll know where to start looking to dive into the surreal world of Zorn. Number Five: John Zorn – Heaven and Earth Magick Heaven and Earth Magick is one of the truer … Read more The post Best ..read more

Let’s dive into the electronic world of synth music! Number Five: Oh Yung – Godless Oh Yung released Godless in May, and ???? ? ?????? it still is! Every song is worthy of praise, but perhaps none so much as “What U Wanna Do” for its complete bonkersness! The only flaw is its shortness! Number Four: Big Lad – Power Tools I’ll always remember the time I saw some dude cover a Venetian Snares song on an actual drum kit. I was so impressed by that! Well, Big Lad have turned that energy into the physical world, and play breakcore … Read more The post Best Synth Music 2021 appeared first on CTE ..read more

Mathcore is an amazing genre, full of technicality, creativity, and often also humour and weirdness! But, if you’re here, you probably already know that, so let’s go with our top 5! Number Five: Pacman, the Movie – 2: Eat Lives Pacman, the Movie comes to us from Houston, Texas, and their second album is truly one that should be on everyone’s mathcore playlist this year. Check it out! Number Four: Frontierer – Oxidized The new Frontierer goes hard! Number Three: Lou Kelly & Friends – Shriek On Shriek, Lou Kelly and a bunch of guests came together to release … Read more The post Best ..read more

The filthiest, rankiest, dirtiest, grindiest shit out there. Number Five: Gross Pizza – Pepperonivirus 2: Pizza Variant “One step on the balls… Two steps on the dick” is perhaps my favourite lyrical passage of the year, and this is all thanks to this amazing and funny discovery I made earlier this year. Indulge. Number Four: Rat Punch – It’s a Drink Rat Punch released an awesome album this year. It’s a Drink is fast-paced and chaotic and heavy hitting; it’s all we need from a grindcore album! Disclaimer: bass player writes for the blog, so take that any way you … Read more The post Best of ..read more

Contemporary classical is a Pandora’s box. You don’t know what you’ll find, and you have no idea how it could affect you! The new classical composers are always after something new, on the brink of knowledge and theory, they’re like post-doctorate fellows, and I’m sure some of them actually are! So, new compositions are fascinating, but new recordings of modern composers or even older ones can be truly satisfying as well. And on top of that, there’s another branch of composers; they might not be after a new sound, and don’t tread old ground either, but rather make new music … Read more The po ..read more

A bit late to the party, but here we are, nonetheless. Let’s get the obvious out the way first. 2020 was a bad year, and this did have a knock-on effect with the amount of music that was released as well. While I personally would not say we had any absolute gamechangers this year, that doesn’t mean the year was an absolute waste. (At least, not in this one regard…) It was enough to bring me back from the dead, after all. I may not have the same mettle for metal as Matt, nor the same dedication to deathlessly digging … Read more The post Dan’s Top 31 Albums of 2020 appeared first on CTEBCM: Ca ..read more

Devin Townsend is an artist that has always been hard to classify. Releasing such a wide range of music, from death metal, to ambient, to new age, to progressive rock, to country. But to be confined to just one genre wouldn’t be Devin Townsend. Which is why he lets it all out on Empath, jumping from style to style at whim, and creating something truly unique as a result. I reviewed the last Devin Townsend Project (DTP) album Transcendence back in 2016 saying it took Devin’s sound to a new level. Now that I reflect on it, that … Read more The post Devin Townsend – <i>Empath</i> app ..read more

What Is Chaos? by Kurushimi Sydney’s improvisation grind-jazz ensemble Kurushimi—or 苦しみ—is a strong musical statement since their self-titled debut in 2016, which I pretty much adored. Whether you call it directed improvisation or a musical game, they fear nothing and owe nothing to anyone. With What Is Chaos?, the act sees Andrew Mortensen at the helm, and a revolving (and impressive) set of improvisers on their respective instrument. In over an hour of new music, they make hints to many respected and beloved (and sometimes obscure) musicians; from John Zorn to the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemb ..read more