Zheani has transformed from a pretty basic soundcloud rapper to a very raw and uncompromising artist. Her EP from this year, The Zheani Sparkes, is fucking awesome. It encompasses a trillion various genres while her voice kind of sticks everything together. The first time I heard it I thought it was alright, but like a lot of really good albums it grew heavily on me and is now one of my favorite releases this year.

This isn't from the EP, but a general gist of what she's about:

Repairs - Repeat, Repeat. A post-punk band I got to know by way of seeing them play shows with bands I was into. They didn't win me over at all until I heard the album. It brings out the Gang of Four fan in me somewhat.

Tallah's debut album Matriphagy is an absolute banger. It came out beginning of October if I remember correctly. Id classify it as nu-metalcore so not metal to archive standards. Its definatly not the cringy bs that you think of when you think of that genre. Its a concept album about a man who is locked in a house with his mother who he has had to take care of his whole life due to her becoming paralyzed because of an accident she had. As the album progresses he gets more and more fed up with her abuse and eventually he brutally kills, dismembers, and eats her. Its a fantastic journey with heavy breakdowns and riffs that make you want to mosh. The drummer of the bad is Max Portnoy and he's amazing. His drumming is so varied from blast beats to more bouncy drum lines and even some calmer stuff. The guitars are a great mix of chugging and more melodic passages with some awesome solos. The vocalist Justin Bonitz uses a ton of variety from some awesome mids and highs to gutturals and pig squeals to amazing clean singing and even some rapping. Its definitely my favorite album of the year and a good contender for one of my favorites of all time. They also have a series of videos on their YouTube channel where Justin explains the concept of the album in detail and they are great. You can find the album on most streaming platforms so its not hard to find. I'd definitely recommend giving it a listen.

I thought I'd share this. Released in late 2020 but I've just had the chance to listen to it. Mesmerising instrumental psychedelic/acid rock from Croatia.
http://daliborovogranje.bandcamp.com/album/hainin

Daliborovo Granje || Hainin

I'm a few months late but seeing as I'm involved in a discussion about punk elsewhere on the forum I got inspired to write here. A friend of mine recommended I'd listen to Get Dead's Dancing With the Curse. Really good and melodic punk rock fused with some other genres as well.