Hello readers and rioters. Today is Trans Day of Remembrance, honoring those who were killed due to transphobia. I am contemplative and worked hard today but now am resting and wrapping up my year end list. We have several coming over the next few days from all enby or binary trans writers which happens to be the bulk of staff and also (guess what?!) is normal! Yep, there are all kinds of people in the world. Deal with it.
Anyway, I like to get the lists going around the week of Black Friday so that (ugly yoke of capitalism pandering aside) you or your friends might actually buy something on here for yourself or -gasp- as a gift to others. And yes, naysayers, most writers in music media have heard a slew of Haulix promos months in advance and besides last minute album drops during weeks when most press are already on break in December, rest assured we pretty much might know what we liked already. This year it was HARD to condense because I liked so many albums and some really, really good ones did not make it. I trimmed this in half from thirty, blah blah blah. I am pleased however with the variety of styles I ended up with which reflects a semi-decent range of the underground though also is somewhat slanted towards my tastes, bigly. I really believe in these bands, though.
I had an intense year. Was part of making an awesome psych folk/indie album with my partner and I am really proud of her and it. Also finished a collab record due out next year with Gridfailure and my solo project Walking Bombs that features some nuts guests like Mike Score (All Out War), Brett Netson (Caustic Resin) and many more amazing people TBA in 2019 (stay tuned). I stopped HRT after a year and am living more non binary than a fully binary transition. Losing my parents house and some other mental health factors led me to decide to be super mindful of my moods right now and I have been mostly successful and am feeling more level than I have in half a decade, thank God. I might in the future take estradiol again but I also lost my father only a few years ago and it weighs on me so I also stopped electrolysis because the resemblance of our faces is one of the last tangible things I have of him. It’s complicated, I don’t know. Love you all though.
But through all that and some other challenges music remained a wonderful blanket and refuge or a brittle, cathartic ice water bath both invigorating and frighteningly emotional as we live under fucking Trump. Let’s NOT ever have as stupid a President again, Ok? This is toxic on a world level.
Anyhow, here are my favorite top 15 of 2018 for Metal Riot. Support the arts and your friends and say no to the nasties out there. – Morgan Y. Evans
1. My album Of The Year: Soft Kill – Savior
From tragedy comes one of the most elegant and inspiring, beautiful albums you’ll ever hear. Cold and warm completely blur into one emotional high and low and high and low and we’re dancing on glass. Treasure your moments and create fearlessly the art and world you want to live within. Crucial.
Read more top picks below.
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