Bear Wiseman's Year-End Recap
Fear not, it's also chaos and madness in here!
A year-end recap? How deliciously basic of me! But hey, that’s what this time of year is for, isn’t it? Reflection and rebirth! So let’s have a quick look back on 2024, shall we?
On a personal note, this was a year of attempted forward motion for me. In 2023, I faced a lot of harsh realities about what my life had become when compared to where I had hoped it was going. I’ve taken some steps to change that now. While I generally feel like I am swimming in the middle of the ocean without a boat, nor a destination in sight, I do keep grabbing onto anything I encounter in the hopes that someday I might have a raft that keeps me afloat.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that my website has picked up this year! I’m publishing more general articles, some guest blogs, and a lot more reviews of things besides music. Gathering of Geeks has continued more casually, while Off the Record Interviews has kicked off strongly! I’ve also released the first volume of “The Vitmar Chronicles,” a mere 16 years after I started writing it. I’m hoping to release TVC: Vol. II and possibly III in 2025, plus I need to finish rewriting a short story that I promised to anyone who bought Vol. I directly from me.
My body remains an endless adventure, which is me putting a positive spin on how frustrating it is to feel pain ranging from 1-10/10 on any given day and it’s always in flux. It often feels like one step forward, two steps back, but perhaps it’s more like one step back and two steps forward. Patience, it seems, is not actually as strong of a suit of mine as I thought it was.
I experienced a rather major miracle this year insofar as I was able to drop my anger at the world. It’s been a huge weight on me for many years now, my disgust towards my own species, my dislike of how we treat one another, all that sort of thing. It’s the sort of thing that prevents a depressed person from healing, because… how can you forgive something that’s ruining your life, the life of your loved ones, and the planet you live on? Well, I haven’t forgiven it, but I have — via some extreme measures — let go of the anger and that’s huge for me. That makes me feel like there’s a world in which my depression can go away fully someday, which is huge for me, because I was quite sure I’d never find a reason to let go of that anger. And, it’s worth mentioning that, since I’ve restructured a lot of things in my life, my depression has gotten worlds better. It turns out that dropping things that don’t benefit you can make a huge difference in your mental health, as well as pursuing things that you love.
My goal in 2025 is to re-assess my relationship with certain things, like my body, my scheduling, and that sort of thing. I’m hoping to try some methods to make sure that I am not neglecting my creative writing. I’d love to get back into more regular exercise, if my body will allow it. I hope to start finding more random jobs… it’d be nice to be able to have a company again.
So, those are my loose goals for next year. Now, take care of yourselves, work hard, get enough rest, and have an awesome 2025! Here’s a brief look-back on some of my favorite things from this year…
Books Published in 2024
“The Vitmar Chronicles, Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning” (October 4th, 2024): The first edition of “The Vitmar Chronicles,” wherein the two brothers learn something unsettling about one of their partners, and then deal with life after trauma - story teaser
- get it from Bear - get it from Amazon (EU link) - get it from Google - get it from Kobo (free with Kobo Plus) - GET IT FOR FREE (until the end of the year)!
Best New Albums
Top 5 Metal
Lost in Grey - “Odyssey into the Grey”
Ayreon - “01011001: Live Beneath the Waves”
Wintersun - “Time II”
Crimson Sun - “Sorrowbreaker”
Nightwish - “Yesterwynde”
Top 3 Metal-ish
Merta - “Virta”
King of None - “In the Realm”
Cory Marks - “Sorry for Nothing”
Top 3 Non-Metal
Mia Hafrén - “For the Brave”
Plan Nine (Lucasseen & Soeterboek) - “The Long-Lost Songs”
Octopie - “Green Divine”
Best New EPs
Kiuas - “Samooja: Pyhiinvaellus”
Jo Below - “New Worlds”
Vies Vignette - “Burden Is a Blessing”
Best New Songs
Metal
“The Entourage” // “The Bottomless Pit” by Lost in Grey
“Capital Punishment” by After Infinity
Everything from Kiuas’ new EP
“Sailing Home” // “Retrospectator” // “Neon Lights” by Crimson Sun
“Left on Mars” // “Frankenstein’s Wife” by Marko Hietala
Everything from Nightwish’s new album
“Saint and Sinner” by Dead End Finland
“Cute AF” by Rabbit Cult
“Dance with the Devil” by Delain
Metal-ish
“Mielivalta” // “Harha” // “Katso mua silmiin” // “Virta” // “Tahto” by Merta
“Low ‘n’ Slow” // “Lizards for Brains” by King of None
“Can’t Fight the Spiral” // “Interstellar” by Frozen Factory
“Make My Country Rock” by Cory Marks ft. Travis Tritt & Mick Mars
Non-Metal
“Tyhmä rakkauslaulu” by Monotonia
“For the Brave” // “goodness (Letter to a Dictator)” by Mia Hafrén
“Rawthentic” by Infected Mushroom & Mr. Bill
“Nuori Sydän” by Timo Kurkela
“Armoton mestari” by Helena Haaparanta
“Drunker than Whiskey” // “Annie Moore” by Plan Nine
“The Unknown” by Jo Below
“Forest Syntax” by Pihka Is My Name
“Muggy Boneheads” by Ott & Balkan Bump
“PVC 1999” by Lasse Soundblaster
Best Cover Songs
“Toxic” by Classless Act
anything Marko Hietala did for Vain Elämää
10 Best Live Events
Metal
Lost in Grey “Odyssey into the Grey” album release show @ Hyvinkääsali
Merta @ G Livelab
Non-Metal
Pihka Is My Name @ Playhouse Bar & Helsinki Psych Fest
JoJo & Friends @ Junk-Y-Vegan (vol. 4)
Smalltime Players @ Rekolan Kino (16.10) & Sellosali (19.10)
Johanna & Mikko Iivanainen w/ guests (“Seimi-yö”)
Top 5 Interviews
(Plus a nod to the Yuletide Special from some of these same artists!)
Best Games (I played this year)
5 Best Video Games (games that came out in the past 5 years)
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings & The Lost Ocean (2003/2023 remaster)
Minute of Islands (2021)
Cobalt Core (2023)
Disco Elysium (2019)
Table-Top Roleplaying Games
Best Series (I watched this year)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Babylon 5 (season 2)
The Umbrella Academy (season 1-2)
Steven Universe
Best Blog Articles
Kathy’s guest blogs from her January trip: pt. I, pt. II, pt. III
Kathy’s listen-back of Auri’s debut album
How to Interact with Music Medias & Bloggers
Kathy’s guest blog from our trip to the Netherlands
Nightwish Fan Meetup 2024
Whirling Lifedance autumn workshop
Crimson Sun are kinda great
Kathy’s guest blog from her December trip