Where did I go?

If you've stumbled into this page, I can only imagine that you're likely lost among the glittering ruins of the world wide web. But just in case you're actually looking for the guy who used to write music reviews here on the regular, I thought I'd update.

First, I'm pretty busy writing books and stories these days, so I'm writing fewer music reviews. I've got quite a few fantasy and horror stories and one middle-grade novel out there right now, with more on the way in the very near future. If you want to check out what's available, you can visit my Amazon page. You can also find me at fredwritesfantasy.com. If you see something you think you'd like and want to pick it up, that would be awesome.

I am still writing the occasional music review or article. They come a little less frequently, but they're still coming. I'm collecting those, along with my book reviews, updates on my stories, and the occasional random thought over on my Fred Rants Substack. If you're still interested in keeping up with my ramblings, please subscribe there.

I can't say for sure that this page will never come back. It's faded and been resurrected a number of times since I started doing this back in the mid-1990s, and I'll never say never. But I do believe that it's unlikely. I will leave the library of past reviews up, so feel free to browse those, and if you like what you see, come join me on the Substack.

Best of 2024: Hard rock and metal

Though there were some fantastic releases by a few classic bands in 2024, I didn’t feel that it was, overall, nearly as strong as some other years in recent memory for hard rock and heavy metal. The year also brought a few notably disappointing highly-anticipated albums from bands who have been very dependable in recent years, like Zeal & Ardor or Ad Infinitum.

While a few surprises are scattered among my 15 favorite releases of the year, I’m struck by the lack of newer and younger bands in my picks. A few debut albums show up on the list, but most are at least partially made up of veterans that I’ve been listening to for years. I’m willing to admit that maybe with everything going on in my life that 2024 was perhaps a year of musical comfort food for me.

Here are my thoughts on the year in hard rock and metal:

METAL MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Metal got perhaps its biggest global stage ever in 2024, being featured in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. And we’re not talking a glorified pop act with a few heavy guitar riffs. No, it was progressive death metal band Gojira offering up an epic performance of “Mea Culpa (Ah Ca Ira),” a take on the song “Ca Ira” from the French Revolution. Complete with shooting towers of flame and a finale with streamers that resembled spraying blood, it was not what most of us expected to see at the Olympics, but it was awesome. I’ll admit that I mostly ignored everything else about the ceremony and the games, wasn’t even watching live when it happened, but I jumped online just as soon as I heard to find the clip. It was a bit of vindication for an old metalhead who has, for the most part, seen the heavier end pushed into the dark corners.

Best of 2024: Country and Southern Rock

 For some reason, 2024 brought a lot more country and Southern rock to my playlist than usual. There’s always some mixed in, but at least according to Spotify, three of my top five bands and four of my top five songs of the year were country or Southern rock – and I can’t deny that the genres produced two of my absolute favorite albums of 2024. I’m still a metal guy through and through, so I’m sure there’s some great stuff out there that I missed that will leave the true aficionados of country shaking their heads, but here’s a look at my favorites for what it’s worth:

No. 10. JOHNNY BLUE SKES – PASSAGE DU DESIR: I’m firmly in the camp of folks who wish that Sturgill Simpson would return to the traditional country of High Top Mountain or even the psychedelia of Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, but I guess we just have to accept he’s not going to do that. The things he’s done since then have been a mixed bag, some I liked and some I really disliked. Now comes his alter ego Johnny Blue Skies, a mix of country, blues, blue-eyed soul and at least one song that has some ’80s pop leanings. While I like it, Passage Du Desir is very much a mood record for me and not something I’d listen to regularly. I’m still more drawn to the songs here that lean to the country side of his sound.

Standout songs: “Scooter Blues,” “Who I Am,” “Mint Tea,” “One for the Road”