Well, I Guess I’ll Make A List, Too

Before we get into this blog, let me ask you a question:

Did you know that Weird Wide Web posts guest reviews?

Movies, books, music, theatre, art, you name it… If you write about it, send it in! All I ask is that you keep your review (mostly) positive. At first, I was fine with posting reviews that err on the negative side, but now–months later–I feel like Weird Wide Web has become a safe space for the world’s underdogs. So, I want to build up fellow artists! If you’ve got something, please send it to: admin@weirdwideweb.org and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!

Now, onto the latest Weird Wide Web music article, written by myself (Lindsey Beth Goddard) and eloquently entitled:

Well, I Guess I’ll Make A List, Too

👀 Man, have you seen all the lists coming out lately??? 👀 As soon as a new year rolls around, it feels like every social media influencer is at the ready with some kind of list detailing their “Best Of” the prior year.

But hell… I can barely keep track of what year it is anymore. How am I supposed to make a “Best of 2024” list when last year seems like such a tiny blip on the radar of my life? I’ve spent a few weeks pondering this, and I decided, fuck it. MY LIST is going to be the top ten songs that GOT ME THROUGH 2024. Isn’t that what music is really about?

Some of these songs did, indeed, come out last year, but I didn’t make that a priority. And please note that I listen to every genre, but I’m keeping this list purely rock and metal, because that’s how we do it here at Weird Wide Web. 🤘

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No Way Out – Not Enough Space

Emotionally charged clean vocals join with powerful screams and growls in an utterly addictive song by Not Enough Space. This Florida-based quintet has taken the metalcore scene by storm, and I suspect what’s turning a lot of heads are the talented females up front, but can we talk about the rest of the band for a minute? Sick shreds and brutal beats all around! This band’s energy cannot be topped! They’re attempting, at every turn, to bring something new and innovative to the table, and I am here for it!

Hollow – Execution Day

I’m an author, so I’m often drawn to the lyrics of a song upon hearing it. The lyrics of Hollow touched me… but it wasn’t just that. The melody wrapped around my heart, too. I’ve been a huge fan of Execution Day ever since. For me, the sound of this band harkens back to the alternative rock I grew up listening to in the 90s, but blended with all the modern technique of the metal I have grown to love so much more.

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How Can I Love With These Hands? – Cerement

I kept finding myself back on this song in 2024. I don’t have an interesting explanation as to why. It’s just good. Really good. If you like deathcore, that is. Those blast beats might prove too chaotic for those who don’t partake of death metal. Who knows. Either way, give this song a listen. It’s an exciting experience for the ear drums! These guys are flippin’ amazing! I hope to hear a lot more songs coming out from Cerement in the near future.

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Heaven Shall Burn – Imminence

It hurt my brain, trying to choose just ONE Imminence song to include on this list! Seriously… I have a headache now. Their entire discography is a thing of sheer beauty to my ears. It stays in constant rotation in my daily life. Their 2024 album, The Black, has been hailed as a “masterpiece” by reviewers, and I wholeheartedly agree. The Black is a concept album, but it wasn’t a pre-conceived idea. The writing process took a more natural course, and I think that’s part of the magic of Imminence. In a world where everything else seems artificial and manufactured, their music is filled to the brim with real creative juices. They are artists who love what they do, and it shows. For this article, I’m sharing the song that made me headbang the hardest when I saw them perform live, Heaven Shall Burn. And I can’t wait to see them again when they come back this Spring!

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Dystopia – Starset

Starset are masters of bringing poignant subject matter to centerstage and telling the audience, “Look at it!”. They’re not a band who makes public stances on politics, religion, or any of that jazz. They simply drop their art and let the audience interpret it. They dropped this banger on November 8th, shortly after I felt like the American public had dropped a bomb on my heart. I listened to this one… oh… about a hundred times or so. Fucking banger, it is.

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Impermanence (Live From Abbey Road) – Architects

Bro. This particular version of Impermanence by Architects makes my body hair stand on end. Seeing so many talented musicians raising this level of ruckus at the same time just thrills me! And Sam’s vocals are way better in this take than on the album, if you ask me. It’s a breathtaking rendition.

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Neverbloom (Live Acoustic) – Rain City Drive

Speaking of one-take performances that stole my breath away… 2024 was almost over when–BOOM!–Rain City Drive dropped this acoustic version of Neverbloom, performed solo by lead singer, Matt McAndrew, and I must have listened to it about three hundred times before the year ended. I almost can’t believe this much harmony comes from one person.

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Rage – Aviana

Of course you have to listen to this entire song, but I’ll admit, it’s around the 3 minute mark of Rage by Aviana that it became a staple of my metal diet!

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Another Ghost – Upon a Burning Body

This song delivers an important message, one that a lot of people choose to ignore. And I’m so grateful that Upon a Burning Body is speaking up on the topic of addiction, Fentanyl, and the devastating losses this opiate plague has caused our country… and our families. The more we spread knowledge and acceptance, the better chance we stand of fighting this monster.

“I didn’t hear the others calling,
But there’s still time to catch you falling,
And I won’t speak to another ghost.”

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Unhinged – Face Yourself

If you haven’t heard of Face Yourself yet, you might be wondering who that absolute beast on the microphone is! That is French-born vocalist, Yasmin Liverneaux Belkhodja, and she has studied music nearly her entire life. That might explain why Yasmin has such a strong grasp on all the subtle nuances of singing metal vocals. I particularly like this song and played it quite a bit in 2024.

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Okay, kiddos! Phew! That’s all ten! I hope you hung in there and gave these songs a listen.

Until next time, keep it weird out there, you weirdos!