adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 20, 2019 23:17:32 GMT -6
adamclark52s Top Ten Disappointments of 2019 This year was a year much like last year was. I blinked and it was late December and I was all "shit, I gotta do my thread". So I took fifteen minutes out of my busy day and here we are and here we go. Buckle up bitches.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 20, 2019 23:22:21 GMT -6
10. The WWE is even worse than I rememberI don’t know what possessed me to resubscribe to the WWE Network in time to watch the Royal Rumble in January but I did. People’s opinion on the WWE had changed a lot in the two years since I’d last watched but the funny thing was the product really hadn’t. It seemed like everyone had just finally woken up to what I was criticizing the WWE for all those years before. I guess having an alternative (AEW) finally allowed the audience to accept that it really is garbage and move on.
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metalisart
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Post by metalisart on Dec 21, 2019 7:35:01 GMT -6
Lol you really hate Daisy, don't you. :lol:
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 22, 2019 1:36:39 GMT -6
9. Devin Townsend - EmpathI haven’t been a big fan of Devins music the last few years but his albums usually still had something I could enjoy. Even if it was just one song. This album had no redeemable qualities. Not one song. It was an overindulgent wank-fest of a mess that had song I even fast-forwarded on my first listen. I never do that. I think I’ll be taking a break from Devins music for a while but I think I say that every time he releases an album. But this time it’s 4 real.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 22, 2019 21:35:44 GMT -6
8. Missing BONES live
I only missed BONES’ first Toronto concert this past summer because I found out about it literally hours before it happened. I’ve wanted to see the guy live for years and I don’t know how the show flew under my radar. I just didn’t have time to adjust my busy schedule and I think it may have been sold out anyway. But I have a feeling he’ll be back some day.
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metalisart
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Post by metalisart on Dec 23, 2019 2:31:26 GMT -6
Devin Townsend is hugely overrated.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 23, 2019 20:49:59 GMT -6
7. In Flames - I, the MaskAs the only person in the world who’s liked In Flames’ last two albums I had high expectations for this album to continue to alienate their audience but appeal to me and only me. It was a decent album but lost all its steam for the last four songs and ended particularly horrible. Like, really bad. So it was a good album but not the fantastic album I was expecting. The singles were good but there’s nothing on it I really care to hear live.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 24, 2019 21:13:14 GMT -6
6. Missing Boy Harsher live in February...but then seeing them in OctoberThis was another show I found out about way to late and it had sold out by the time I’d found out. I was pissed because for the first few months of 2019 I was listening to and loving their album ‘Careful’ a lot. And as I found out afterwards their set that night was awesome. They returned in October to a much larger venue and I was able to get a ticket. But I was just not feeling that show. The crowd were all obnoxious jerks, the opener was brutal and their set was terrible, neglecting my three favourite songs of theirs (of which I think they’d played two of the first time around). What really did kill the show though was that the night before I’d seen the best show I’d seen all year (which I’ll get to later in some other list) and I should have just stayed home and recovered from that instead.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 25, 2019 22:04:29 GMT -6
5. Star Wars Episode IX: the Rise of SkywalkerI bet you were expecting this to be #1. What is it Rain Johnson said? “Subverting expectations”? Yeah that makes me sound smart. Thanks word-a-day calendar. In some ways this wasn’t even a disappointment because it was the movie I feared would get made the moment that Disney bought the Star Wars license. It didn’t break me like the Last Jedi did because I had lower than low expectations going in to it. I’ve just reached the point where I really don’t give a fuck what they do. Maybe that should be the disappointment? Disney has been able to make one of the world’s largest Star Wars fan not care about Star Wars. But they did that two years ago. The Rise of Skywalker even exceeded my expectations in parts. There was none of that abnominal “Marvel humour” (what humour there was actually kind of funny, mainly C-3P0). There was no Admiral Holdo and her fucking secret plan that was so secret that she couldn’t even tell her subordinates about it. No Benicio Del Toro stuttering. No Captain Plasma getting wedgied. Rose Tico was a horrid character so it was a good thing she was in it for five seconds. So, there was a lot to keep it from the bottom spot of the Star Wars universe. It’s the second worst, where it should be. Wedge was in it for a nanosecond and he was always one of my favourite characters. His cameo was the only time the movie managed to give me wood. But it was truly a steaming pile of trash and I hope (and I believe) Disney steps in now and does some restructuring at Lucasfilm. #impeachKennedy
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 26, 2019 21:16:49 GMT -6
4. Swans - leaving meaning.I’m not going to get all wordy with this entry. This album sucked. It just sucked.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 27, 2019 22:35:08 GMT -6
3. Alcest - Spiritual InstinctAlcest are one of my favourite bands. My top five bands has been set in concrete for a long while now but if I were to ever decide on a top ten I think Alcest very well would be in it. This album just didn’t sit well with me at all. They took somewhat of a step backwards to a less shoegaze, more aggressive sound and it didn’t feel right. I liked the direction they were going on with Shelter. Reviews painted it as more “black metal” than they’d been in years and that wasn’t true at all. I didn’t want that at all. But I didn’t want this sound either. It wasn't horrible but it was the first time I wasn't floored by something they did.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 28, 2019 16:04:36 GMT -6
2. Work, just fucking workI knew going in to this year that work was going to be terrible because it was the 13th year I’ve been with the company I work for. It really hit in April when I got a bad shock at work that very well could have killed me (I’m an electrician BTW). Since I’m an idiot I walked to the hospital and went back to work the next day, not knowing that had I instead taken the next day off the company is legally obligated to employ me for a full year afterwards. So instead two weeks later (and a week before m my birthday) they laid me off! Yay being a loyal employee. Between the first week of May and the last week of August I worked two weeks. Six days actually. Then I got called back the last week of August and had steady employment until just last week. Then the job I was on came to a conclusion and it being an off-time of the year there’s nowhere for me to go. So I didn’t get laid-off but a week before Christmas I kinda lost my job again. DOUBLE WHAMMY! The last one isn’t really anyone’s fault but the first lay-off really taught me a lesson. Thirteen years with a company, working for some of the worst people in that company, working in some of the worst conditions possible (I know I’ve been exposed to asbestos and God knows what else), working until 3am and sleeping in my car so I could be back to work for 7am, doing the work of a foreman, a journeyman and apprentice at the same time and I was treated like fucking meat. I’m old enough that I should’ve known better. But my eyes were opened and I’ve reached the point of being one of those disgruntled old guys who doesn’t give a fuck. Those same old guys that told me when I was early in my career “yeah just watch out kid, it’ll happen to you too” and I was like “yeah maybe you buddy, not me, I’m Adam Fucking Clark”. Now I’m going to be the guy telling that to younger workers. It wasn’t just that though. I worked with a small crew or by myself for the last ten years. Last year I went out and explored the company more and in doing so met a lot of people from outside my small bubble. And they’re all fucking morons and were all given kosher jobs by even bigger morons. It makes me sad that some of these people are running jobs and the company but since I checked out anyway I’ll just let the ship sink. I still go in every day. I still do the best job I can and I’m still a better electrician that most of these punters. It’s not what you know though, it’s who you blow. If they got rid of me tomorrow I couldn’t give a shit and if I end up working for them for 13 more years I couldn’t give a fuck.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 29, 2019 23:05:00 GMT -6
1. Coalition ClosedCoalition was the Toronto metal communities “Cheers”. I never saw one of the “best shows of the year” there. I’m fact, I saw a lot of shitty bands there. But it was just the vibe and the feeling. The fact that the bartender knew exactly what I wanted when I walked up to the bar. The fact that there was always parking nearby. The free coat check. The one toilet that didn’t work for the last two years that the place was open. I’d go to shows at other places that blew and make up for them by going to Coalition afterwards. The owner vowed to open again at a different location but that was in April and I’ve heard nothing. As of now the building sits empty. Other places have tried to fill the void but they’re just not Coalition. It was a once in a lifetime kind of place. That does most of the bad stuff. At least the worst of the worst. Tomorrow I'll start posting good shit if I can think of anything.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 30, 2019 18:30:59 GMT -6
I went to a lot of shows this year and saw a lot of bands. I think I saw 235 individual bands over the course of 70+ shows. And that’s not including the bands I saw two or three times. So usually I’d do a top ten live acts/sets of the year but that just didn’t seem right. So I’m doing a top twenty-five instead. adamclark52s top twenty-five live acts of the year 2019
_______________________________________________________________________ 25. Fuming Mouth (August 10th at the Hard Luck Bar)Fuming Mouth released a wicked as fuck album this year but their live show was even greater thanks to the more varied vocal stylings the singer uses. They only played for twenty minutes and at first I was sitting at a table not paying as much attention as I should have been. By the time I clued in to what was going on they were done but I was able to talk with the singer after the set and he was a really good kid. _______________________________________________________________________ 24. Exes (April 20th at Coalition)I don’t remember too much from this set but it was a great start to a very special night: the last night at that bar Coalition. _______________________________________________________________________ 23. Blood (May 25th at Maryland Deathfest)I’ll never forget standing there with Nate at Maryland Deathfest when Blood came on and saying to each other “great, another grandpa death metal band that was around for three years in the 1980’s and got back together last year”. Then they started playing and boy were we wrong. They played some of the hardest grindcore that we’d heard in a while and after so many “grandpa death metal bands” that weekend it was breath of fresh air. Plus they looked so overjoyed to be playing to a large crowd we couldn’t help but smile with them. I saw a lot of good bands that weekend but Blood were far and away the best discovery I made. _______________________________________________________________________ 22. Humanities (March 8th at Coalition)Humanities came at just the right time, after I’d watched three pretty bad bands and was wondering why I’d come out that night. Their performance of Kiss Me With Fists that night was one of the best single songs I saw live all year. _______________________________________________________________________ 21. Nervous Impulse (October 25th at Junction City Music Hall)Some good old brutal death metal from Quebec! _______________________________________________________________________ 20. Ammo (March 23rd and April 20th at Coalition, December 13th at the Hard Luck Bar)Ammo gets on the list just because they’re so fun. They’re cheesy as hell and don’t take anything too seriously but it’s always an enjoyable time seeing them. _______________________________________________________________________ 19. Thrashards (April 19th at Coalition)These guys were good musically (some crossover thrash) but even better was just watching them and the crowd. It was probably the craziest I’d seen people go at Coalition and feeding off the energy was cool. _______________________________________________________________________ 18. Mount Cyanide (July 27th at Velvet Underground)Mount Cyanide are a special band. I can remember looking over to the side of the stage during their set this night and all the guys in Pig Destroyer (who they were opening for that night) looked really impressed too. _______________________________________________________________________ 17. Astaroth Incarnate (December 6th at the Garrison)These guys are another cheesy, fun local band _______________________________________________________________________ no picture 16. Revenge (May 25th at Maryland Deathfest)Sadly I remember nothing from this set aside from my beer getting knocked out of my hand multiple times but I know they were awesome because they’re Revenge.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 30, 2019 18:45:51 GMT -6
15. Abyssal (May 26th at MDF)A last-minute addition to Maryland Deathfest and something I never thought I’d see live. It was everything I wanted and more. _____________________________________________________________ 14. Old Witch (August 16th at Doors Pub and August 18th at Duffy’s Tavern)There’s nothing like seeing a guy with a sampler and candles screaming his head off. _____________________________________________________________ 13. Uxvae (August 1st at Sneaky D’s)This was some cool ass shit. _____________________________________________________________ 12. 30 immolated; 16 returned (May 4th at Duffy’s Tavern and August 16th at Doors Pub)These guys are just fucking sonic chaos live. _____________________________________________________________ 11. Elevation (November 30th at the Hideout)Yes, a U2 tribute band. But they were so much fun and didn’t play any of the shit from 2000 onwards. _____________________________________________________________ 10. Phobocosm (April 18th at Smiling Buddha)Ummmmmmm…wow, just wow. _____________________________________________________________ 9. Die Hexe (March 8th at Coalition)These guys just played a blistering fifteen-minute set of art-grind to close out a so-so show (it was the same show with Humanities, but three other bad bands). They just ripped everything up and I’m dying to see them again. _____________________________________________________________ 8. Darsombra (August 1st at Sneaky D’s)I had no idea who this band was when I went to see them. I usually just go to the promoters shows trusting that he’s bringing out something good. This was totally different from what he usually promotes but even better than usual. _____________________________________________________________ 7. Pig Destroyer (July 27th at Velvet Underground)This was a dream concert for me. I’ve been listening to Pig Destroyer since their earliest days and never seen them live, mainly because they’ve never played Toronto. This was extra special, especially when they played Trojan Whore and Piss Angel. I was in the middle of my down period at work and this set brought me out of the dumps. _____________________________________________________________ 6. Sophie Trudeau + Michaela Grill (March 31st at the Array Space)I wasn’t sure what to expect from Godspeed You! Black Emperor violinist Sophie Trudeau but what I got was something really incredible, plus some really awesome visuals from Michaela Grill.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 30, 2019 18:53:43 GMT -6
5. Efrim Manuel Menuck & Kevin Doria (May 10th at Burdock)Efrim is always great live and this was no exception. ____________________________________________________________ no picture 4. Vatican Shadow (October 12th)This was some harsh techno that ended a particularly wicked night. ____________________________________________________________ no picture 3. Mortician (May 25th at MDF and November 15th at Saint Vitus Bar)Unlike a lot of people I unironically love Mortician. Seeing them live this year was extra special because they were at shows were I had to leave the country. So, since I didn’t have to drive home afterwards (I was staying in hotels instead) I was able to go completely nuts. I don’t even remember much from their sets other than they ruled hard. ____________________________________________________________ 2. Kontravoid (March 30th and October 12th)Once again Kontravoid sits at the top of my list of live acts. But what? HE’S ONLY NUMBER TWO??!! The first time I saw him was in some abandoned warehouse that was getting condemned the next day and that show just didn’t sit right. They only had shitty warm beer and his set was actually too loud. But the second time made up for everything and was a perfect show. ____________________________________________________________ 1. Minimal Violence (October 12th)It took something big to knock Kontravoid out of the top spot for best live act I saw this year but Minimal Violence were just that. It was a mixture of everything being perfect in the club; the music, the lights, the movement. It was like being in Purgatory on the Citadel in Mass Effect 3 and I never wanted it to end. _____________________________________________________________ Without question the best show I saw all year was the one with Minimal Violence, Kontravoid and Vatican Shadow on October 12th at a venue that didn't even have a name. Another act Xarah Dion played that night too and she was awesome, just not on the level of those three. And DJ Kehdo was spinning between sets and she’s incredible. It was one of those shows that I don’t know if it will ever be topped. Honorable mention to Day 3 of Maryland Deathfest, which is when I saw Mortician, Revenge and Blood, as well as Neckbeard Deathcamp, Scour (which is only notable for Phil Anselmo playing Strength Beyond Strength), Devourment and Deicide.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Dec 30, 2019 19:03:01 GMT -6
It wasn’t all good though, so here’s the five worst and/or most disappointing live acts I saw this year. adamclark52s bottom five live acts of the year 2019 ____________________________________________________________ 5. Ice Cream (October 11th at the Horseshoe)This performance was just…awkward. The music was “meh” to “okay” but the poorly choreographed dancing and discomfort on stage were hard to watch. I may have been watching a joke that I just wasn’t in on. I’m not sure. ____________________________________________________________ 4. Vesication (August 3rd at Duffy’s Tavern and October 26th at the Baby G)These guys are just terrible. The first time I saw them I outright left after two songs. The second time I stuck around because a better band (Malignancy) was coming up after them but it was torture. ____________________________________________________________ 3. Malhavoc (October 19th at the Hard Luck Bar)This was like watching amateur night. It made me sad. ____________________________________________________________ no picture 2. Conan Troutman (April 6th at the Bovine Sex Club)I love Kyuss but they’re never playing again so I figured a Kyuss cover band might be fun. The guitar player was good but the bass playing had the charisma of a bag of wet napkins. I wanted to get on stage and tell him to go take a seat it was so boring watching him. And the singer was drunk off his ass struggling the entire set. They made me momentarily hate Kyuss. ____________________________________________________________ 1. Labradoodle (May 18th at the Garrison)This was like Yoko Ono meets Frank Zappa (who I’m sorry but I don’t like at all) with a ukulele. It was beyond terrible. ____________________________________________________________ It’s hard to pick a worst show of the year because I try to avoid going to bad shows. But the show I went to on August 3rd that was Vesication album release show was pretty terrible. Like I just said Vesication were terrible themselves and I just left. But Blastomycosis were particularly terrible that night too. Burdizzo do nothing for me and Mors Verum…ho boy. Ontario Deathfest was pretty horrible too. And Vesication and Mors Verum both played that, along with some other garbage. Tommorow the top ten albums of 2019 and then we're done.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Jan 1, 2020 0:04:00 GMT -6
adamclark52s Top Ten Albums of 2019 10. Pissgrave – Posthumous HumiliationIf I gave an award for album cover of the year this would be the winner, hands down. Perfect death metal hatred. __________________________________________________ 9. Kontravoid – Too DeepDoesn’t even come close to his live show but still an incredible album. __________________________________________________ 8. Adversus Semita – Ad Mortem Cunae AgitanturThough not as mind-bottling as his demo album from ten years ago still a great work of death misery. __________________________________________________ 7. Goatkraft – Sulpurous Northern BestialitySome angry war metal from Norway. As opposed to all that cheerful war metal from Norway that I’ve been listening to. __________________________________________________ 6. Darsombra – TransmissionOne song, forty-two minutes. And unlike a lot of one song albums it actually is just one song. But it works so well. __________________________________________________ 5. Blut Aus Nord – HallucinogenBlut Aus Nord reinvented themselves again on this album and managed to put out one of their career best albums. I can’t wait to see what they do next. Even if it’s jazz they’ll probably somehow manage to make it incredible __________________________________________________ 4. Neckbeard Deathcamp – So Much for the Tolerant LeftThis band may be a joke band but the album is still really f***ing awesome. Its just brutal noise turned up to “11”. __________________________________________________ 3. Fuming Mouth – the Grand DecentFor as good as their live show was the album managed to be even better. These guys are a band to watch out for in the death metal world. __________________________________________________ 2. Boy Harsher – CarefulThis held the number one spot for most of the year and it probably would have held it all year…if I hadn’t heard a better album in September… but the second half of the album does fall off the map quite a bit. A stronger back half would have probably kept it at number one. __________________________________________________ 1. Antichrist Siege Machine – Schism PerpetrationI can’t say much more about this other than “wow”. This is just a fucking bulldozer of an album with riffs for days and a drum sound that made me respect the lesser instrument.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Jan 1, 2020 0:19:09 GMT -6
Song ov da YearBoy Harsher - The Look You Gave (Jerry) I think playing this song live would have been the one thing that would have made me NOT label their live show a disappointment. I heard this in January and it never got dethroned. Artist ov da YearMortician Yeah I know Mortician haven't released new music for almost twenty years but they returned to the eye of the metal world after a long period of dormancy this year and destroyed everything. Seeing them live those two times awoke a beast inside me that needed to come out. Primal, brutal, knucle-dragging death metal; and there's nothing wrong with any of that. you can probably see me going absolutely nuts during this video, on the right side of the screen.
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adamclark52
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Post by adamclark52 on Jan 1, 2020 0:43:22 GMT -6
Leftover crack Some other albums that just didn't rock me like a hurricaneAbyssal – A Beacon in the Husk (This was in my top fifteen but anything other than absolute perfection after Antikatastaseis was bound to be a let down. Babymetal – Metal Galaxy Misery Index – Rituals of Power Nile – Vile Nilotic Rites the few Good Things things that happened in 2019...nothing really. Fuck 2019 Bad things on the horizonMy back is getting really bad Disney retconning their own work and starting a third EU to try and fix what they've done Some things I AM looking forward to in 2020Castlevania Season 3 the Mandalorian Season 2 Your mom The Closing I can't say much more. I knew it was going to be a bad year and it was. It could have been worse. There's always that. But thanks to the work shit 2019 was just one harsh kick in the balls after another. I spent most of 2019 waiting for 2019 to end. People say that every year but I really mean it. I can't even think of a happy, uplifting inspirational message to end this year on. Fuck you 2019. Here's a picture of me and Nate at Maryland Deathfest just before Mortician. He's wearing the Weregoat shirt. I'm thinking about stealing his beer. That's my year in one picture. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
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