The end of the year is the time when many media outlets and fans create “best albums” lists, trying to evaluate what marked the past 12 months in the world of music.
While it’s understandable that people enjoy summarizing their impressions and sharing opinions, I personally oppose making any such lists. Here’s why.
Music is not a competition
When we rank albums from “best” to “worst,” we reduce art to mere numbers, as if we’re talking about a sports tournament. Grindcore and death metal bands, which often operate outside the mainstream system, are particularly affected by this approach. Their art shouldn’t be measured by the same standards as commercially-oriented albums. Sure, making a list of the most-listened albums of the year is fine, but I’m certain that a lot gets overlooked in favor of older releases and favorite albums we revisit daily.
Subjectivity prevails
What’s exceptional to me might be average to someone else, and vice versa. That’s the whole point. Why should an album by an underground death metal band be considered less valuable than one by a more famous act just because it has fewer listeners? Lists ignore the personal, emotional aspect of music and often marginalize scenes rich in creativity, whether in extreme music or otherwise.
Lists as marketing tools
More often than not, these lists serve as promotional tools rather than genuine tributes to artists. Major outlets/news magazines tend to favor bands and albums from well-connected labels, while grindcore bands playing in living rooms, basements or garages and DIY death metal releases go unnoticed. Plenty of excellent bands get overshadowed by the “big names.” I’ve never seen a major outlet compile a top 10, 20, or 50 list of albums by bands most of their readers haven’t heard of, purely for the sake of giving them some promotion.
Injustice toward different genres
How can you compare, for example, the raw sound of grindcore to the technical precision of a death metal album or the atmosphere of a post-metal release? Such genre leaps make any list even less relevant. If you want to rank albums, you should focus on specific genres and the unique stories each band brings.
Listening to music takes time
One of the main reasons I avoid lists is that it’s often impossible to fully listen to and understand all the (important) albums released in a single year. Some grindcore albums captivate with their raw energy at first listen, while death metal releases often require more time to sink in. Additionally, albums released last year or even years before often resurface throughout the year and, in my opinion, didn’t get the recognition they deserved. These albums also deserve attention, not to be ignored in the race for “new releases.” Many of these bands release albums on their own, without significant promotion, which is why they often get left out of “best-of” lists. Their dedication and creativity deserve more than to be marginalized in favor of more popular names.
I started this webzine purely out of love for extreme music and writing. Its focus is primarily on grindcore and death metal, though it’s not strictly limited to them. I enjoy highly polished, perfectly produced albums that blow me away, but a “dirty” goregrind or porn grind release with raw sound and genuine energy can also bring a big smile to my face and keep me hooked for days. However, I’m aware that expanding into too many genres would make this project scattered and lose its focus. To some, even this current format might seem pointless or not “DIY/Underground” enough, but this is my way of doing things, and that’s how it works.
I receive daily emails with requests for reviews of new (even old) albums, singles, EPs, and band interviews. Recently, I’ve also started receiving physical releases in the mail, which means a lot to me – it shows that someone actually read this shit. 🙂
Despite my immense desire to dedicate 101% of my time to this, everyday obligations currently don’t allow me to fully focus on the webzine. However, this doesn’t diminish my passion for it; it only highlights how challenging it is to maintain such a project alongside life’s other struggles.
Rather than creating lists, I prefer to write about albums that left a personal impression on me, without ranking or competing. I especially want to highlight underground grindcore and death metal bands that give their all to keep the music alive, regardless of recognition. Every album can be presented as something special, without the need for comparisons. On the other hand, if I don’t like an album, EP, or single, I won’t be the one to trash a band’s hard work.
To conclude: Music isn’t something that should be reduced to “top 10” formats. Instead of looking for the “best” albums, let’s each, in our own way, celebrate and promote the diversity and richness brought to us by grindcore, death metal, and many other genres. Music should be a space of freedom, as it truly is, not a space for ranking.
