3 Albums I Didn’t Review in 2024…
…but I should have!
So yes, I’m still trying to wind down on the album reviewing part of this website. However, as per usual, there are always a few releases that I miss for one reason or another: I was too tired, I didn’t have time to get the review out in good time so I didn’t end up bothering, or I didn’t have anything inspiring to say…
Since it’s the end of the year then, it’s time to shout out those albums that I didn’t get around to checking out properly, but that I regret not getting around to writing up because they were cool albums. So here are the three albums that I feel the most guilty about not reviewing this year!
Where’s My Bible - “Kave”
Where’s My Bible is one of those bands that I came across rather by accident, first when they were part of the Maaliskuu Musta Messu [March Black Mass] in 2022, when they played with Machinae Supremacy. I’ve seen them a number of times since then, like at this year’s Maaliskuu Musta Messu, at Lost in Grey’s album release show (they share a drummer), and during their album release show, to name a few. Though I’ve never been much of a fan of extreme metal, the way they blend folk and extreme sensibilities together actually works very well melodically and this was a really great release. I also love that they have Riina Rinkinen guesting with them regularly, because she’s a riot (and extremely talented).
Simone Simons (ft. Arjen Lucassen) - “Vermillion”
While I’m not a particularly big fan of Epica or Simone (talented band, but not really my jam), I am a big Arjen Lucassen geek, so it was wild to me that I didn’t get around to listening to this release before December, especially considering it was released back in August. Now, while I do think (as you can see in how I labeled this), that Arjen left enough of his signature blueprint on this album that I really feel like this shouldn’t have been a Simone Simons solo album and it should have been outright called Simone Simons & Arjen Lucassen, but I digress… Simone’s got an incredible voice and every time she’s paired with Arjen’s writing, magic happens. This is certainly a release worth checking out.
Adamantra - “Act III: Pareidolia of Depravity”
I won’t lie, I’m not a huge prog buff by any means. As such, I’ve known of Adamantra for ages (they were literally one of the first bands I ever saw in Finland when I moved here in 2009) but haven’t really given them a chance. Well, this year, I realized that Jukka Hoffrén, who is also a part of Coventhrall, was one of the members of Adamantra. So, I gave the album a spin and it’s actually quite nice—lots of talent on display!—so long as you don’t mind how much they’ve clearly been heavily influenced by Dream Theater. Someday I should ask them about the stories behind these albums, considering this seems to be the part III of something…
A final shout-out to the new EP from Vies Vignette too! Really nice work, sorry it took me until the end of December to listen to it! Recommended for lovers of classic psychedelic rock.
Then, there are a few albums that I still need to check out from 2024 as well, which slipped under my radar. I’ll have to listen to them eventually, but here are the bands of interest that I accidentally ignored this year:
Leaves’ Eyes
Bring Me the Horizon
Devin Townsend
Linkin Park
Unleash the Archers
