!!!!!!!! ILX METAL ALBUMS of 2009 POLL RESULTS!!!!!! (FINAL RESULTS NOW IN! LISTENING TO THESE ALBUMS WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER FRAIL INTERNET PERSON!)

And here we go, results are in. Thanks to Glenn for tabulating the results last night! Please everyone thanks him!

Thanks to all who voted, we got the magic number of 50 ballots!! And increase of 20 over last time, so thanks!
Because of the amount of ballots we can stretch to a top 100 this year.
I aim to publish them Monday - Friday night. And onwards we go!!

#100, 46 Points, 6 votes
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xaZYdnOpfog/SmitBzQkN6I/AAAAAAAAAZU/uhkDJQsEJ-8/s320/municipalwastemassiveag.jpg
Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive

Anyone wishing to do blurbs let me know

Well done Pfunkboy and Glenn for sorting this, looking forward to some metal mayhem over the next week!

A procedural question on the tallying of the votes: if Album no. 100 got 46 points does that mean no album with just a number 1 vote and no other votes can get in the top 100? If that makes sense?

Indeed it does make perfect sense and the answer is, Yes! As you can see 6 people voted for the #100.

244 albums got at least 1 vote. The lowest # was 1 point for Sonata Arctica - The Days of Grays which of course was in 244th (and last place)

I will publish the entire list in detail at the very end and like last year, Glenn shall provide lots of interesting stats on all the votes. I loved that part last year and I look forward to it.

Im sure Glenn will be happy to answer any other questions you have (as long as they don't give the results away)

# 99, 47 points, 3 votes
http://extreemmetaal.nl/wp-content/uploads/covers/T/tyr_northernstar.jpg
Tyr - By the Light of the Northern Star

and i never tire of tyr. maybe now that i'm moving to western mass i might actually make it for some of the metal mayhem in worcester.

― scott seward,

Oh, and the new Tyr is good, really good at times. A little top-heavy with more emphasis on the English more than on Land (I prefer it when they're singing in Norwegian and Faroese, their English lyrics can be goofy), the best track being the alliteratively-obsessed, pagan metal rave-up "Hold the Heathen Hammer High". Rousing little tune, that one.

― A. Begrand,

The new Tyr is pretty solid, a lot more upbeat than the last few, with some great vocals. But only two songs in Faroese...I think this band is always better when they don't sing in English.

― A. Begrand,
OK, now I've heard the Tyr album. Whee! 100% predictable, and I do not mean that as a criticism in any way.

- glenn mcdonald

Listening to the Tyr album now, good stuff!

That Tyr album is just a blast. They don't reinvent the wheel but they sure keep it rolling.

#98,47 Points, 4 votes
http://c.ilike.com/w/0604/363/0604363351_l.jpg
Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness

Not much in the archives or the rolling metal thread Maybe some of you can post here about it now. I like the band and this album but I dont really have much to say..

I don't think Burnt by the Sun are all that bad. The only thing I dislike about them is their generic vocals.

― latebloomer (latebloomer),

i dig burnt by the sun and discordance axis, but he's done a ton of stuff that i've never heard.

― scott seward (scott seward),

Burnt By the Sun is pretty good, yeah

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle),

No 18 in Terrorizer's Albums of 2009

I got to review Burnt By The Sun's (supposedly) very last show, which for some undisclosed reason took place in my hometown Haarlem last October in front of no more than fifty people. Too bad vocalist Mike Olender couldn't make it, his adequate but very drunk replacement being The End's Aaron Wolff. Also, seeing him amidst the bunch of balding geezers with grey goatees that is BBTS was quite entertaining in it's own right, apart from it being an awesome show allround. I was one of the voters for Heart of Darkness, although I don't think it's as good as its predecessor The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good. It deserves inclusion on the list just for the bulldozing live set opener "There Will Be Blood" though, so I'm glad to see it made the cut.

#97, 49 Points, 4 Votes
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Masters_Pine.jpghttp://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/mastersofreality/crossdover.gif
Masters of Reality - Pine/Cross Dover

Most chat appears to be about the early albums or me talking about seeing them live. It's a good album and I'm glad to see it made the cut.

Thanks to mighty metal dudes for dedication to the cause. Horns up. \m/

Hey johnny there are some ties actually. Hadn't realised. Oh well i was always going to do a top 100 anyway.
There's a tie after next, do you guys still want me to post one by one or do i just post them together? (which I favour)

should've voted in this! like books, i'm always ashamed of how few things on the list i know, though

post together if it's easier for you

Is there another Maria or is that scott on the wrong account again? lol. Im confused!

#96, 50 Points, 4 votes
http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Saviours-Accelerated-Living.jpg
Saviours - Accelerated Living

Love that Saviours album.
― A. Begrand,

I was very taken w/ the Saviours album on first play, much more than expected.
― you used to sleep with somebody who avoided a soap (DJ Mencap),

another maria, i am just a lurker on ilm

Aha. Welcome to ILM!! Hope you enjoy the results of the poll over the rest of this week.

I wouldn't call Saviours a classic or anything but it is definitely a solid box ticker and one of those four votes was mine iirc

Which metal micro-genre would you place it in?

I voted for that Tyr album. I got into it through a Viking-folk compilation. My second favorite viking-folk metal album of the year (third if you include the comp).

cue hipster-metal jibe..
xp

Just interested to hear what it might sound like, and yes I'm not troo metal!

Going to try and listen to some of these, chosen by a system of how much I like the cover art and whether it is on spotify.

TIED

#92, 51 Points, 3 Votes

http://www.guitarworld.com/sites/future.p2technology.com/files/tcv.jpg
Them Crooked Vultures - S/T
http://www.nuclearblastusa.com/nb/images/album/660/medium/Augury_FragmentaryEvidence_300.jpg
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
http://file.blog-ocha-metal.diskunion.net/SAROS.jpg
Saros - Acrid Plains
http://www.art-of-propaganda.de/shop/cover/1018pestenoireballadecuntreloanemifrancordigi120090414.jpg
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre Lo Anemi Francor

I only know the Them Crooked Vultures album but I didn't vote for any of those four. That Augury cover is kinda awful tho.

Peste Noire dude has been accused of being NSBM but he denies it saying he is a nationalist not a socialist. I don't really know anything about them, maybe someone else will?

Neige of Alcest used to play guitar in them I think.

The cover for the Augury isn't that great, but the album itself is pretty impressive. I was hoping for a higher showing.

The Augury is the first one of these that I liked a whole lot. The Municipal Waste was a huge leap forward for them but still somehow...unnecessary, as was the Saviours disc (and it wasn't even that big a leap in their case), and the Burnt By The Sun just didn't do it for me - I never really liked them. The others I haven't heard.

Two albums featuring Dave Witte already! How much nominations did he get? Birds of Prey was also on the list.

#91, 51 Points, 4 votes
http://www.metalkingdom.net/album/img/d20/24319.jpg
Revocation - Existence Is Futile

Shame on me for not listening to the new Revocation sooner. What an incredible album. Traditional yet proggy in places, and can that dude ever shred. Why aren't those meatheads at Liquid Metal not playing the hell out of this? This is groovy American metal at its finest.

― A. Begrand,

That Revocation album is awesome. Made my Top Fourteen for the year.

That's an incredibly low placing actually...

You think? I could only find 2 mentions of it on the rolling metal thread and both were by Adrien!

I remember Phil enthusing for that one too, figured it would place higher!

I guess not many else did. Need to check the album out I guess.

I was going over my list earlier today and the one thing I regret is not putting Revocation in the top 10, at least. What would be the other serious contenders for best new/young band besides these guys? Stylistically they're all over the place, even throwing in some downright twangy stuff here and there, but they make it work in an incredible way. Chops, inventiveness, hooks, they've got it all in spades, and the execution is punishing and playful at the same time. 'Pestilence Reigns' is the catchiest extreme metal song of 2009 imo, and 'Across Fjords & Forests' is as good an Immortal tribute as I've ever heard by an American band. Looking forward to seeing them in April, when they will share a bill with Carcass, Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death and Dying Fetus among others at Neurotic Deathfest.

#90, 53 points, 2 votes
http://c.ilike.com/w/0300/523/0300523443_l.jpg
Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution

So far I'm not impressed by the new Brutal Truth. The BT is OK, but slower than previous efforts. It includes a cover version of the Minutemen's "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs" that adds nothing to the original, but does justify Kevin Sharp's disturbing resemblance to Mike Watt.
― unperson,

I was thinking exactly the same thing when I saw him in the new Terrorizer (got it for the grindcore special, first time I've bought it in years). Not the first time that song's been covered by a grind band, either -- that is if you count Melt-Banana as grind.

And that's not the only Watt connection to grind: he used to play A.C. on his old internet radio show, and I read an interview once where he met Seth Putnam in Boston. I don't recall if that was a positive or negative experience...

― MacDara,

I am looking forward to the Brutal Truth, that's for sure.
― A. Begrand,

Saw Brutal Truth play in Toronto on Friday night. I really like them with the new guitarist, something I wasn't sure of going into the show. However, a band like them touring without their own sound guy is a huge no no. The club they were playing in, the Wreck Room, was just that. A shithole with a bar down through the middle did nothing for creating a good atmosphere and the club sound dude was just atrocious. Mix was brutal. No guitar, too much bass, drum sounds were fucked. Anyway, they were great despite all of that. Nice to see them playing again after all these years.

― S. Palmerston,

TIE
#88 , 53 Points, 3 votes
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_eeIxCpLBAp0/ShX1wQEbDbI/AAAAAAAAC6w/uRouW9O5UYE/s320/www.perfectdowns.com.br.jpg
Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OBR_OdKiYfI/ShK8q4NlwmI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/E-zXhGzAoAM/s320/cover.jpg
Glorior Belli - Meet Us at the Southern Sign

I know roxy is a fan of Glorior Belli so it couldve been higher if she had voted but hopefully she's happy it placed. Anyone got any thoughts on these albums?

Hey it's my annual tilt at listening to some metal. I listened to more than last year but nothing like enough to justify actually voting for anything.

Anyway good work & thank you K & G.

For fellow dabblers wanting to check these out, a good few are on spotify so far:
Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressive - spotify:album:6uQ0MftEHBxUFBgmTTy64o
Tyr - By the Light of the Northern Star - spotify:album:1gigJvXjF9sgPyrINVMih6
Masters of Reality - Pine/Cross Dover - spotify:album:5lHqP66G1aqYBa0aQ6ilOC
Saviours - Accelerated Living - spotify:album:678W5eRcLqlDLxfWg9j8ji
Them Crooked Vultures - S/T - spotify:album:2Tue2cd1zxKZdsVevrH0iS
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence - spotify:album:3l5d8NIMcnLIMND4mbwCDD
Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague - spotify:album:1dr77LDDrNaulAJfLky2yz

Nice touch onimo. I'll let you provide spotify links as we go on since I dont have spotify on my laptop. Thanks!

Damn it, why can't we get spotify here? So frustrating. Guess I'll settle for the 30 second iTunes clips for samples.

Liking Tyr more than I thought I would from reading about them.

Metal polls are awes for brilliant and/or stupid artwork.

Yeah, I liked that Tyr from the samples I've heard, never really gave them the time of day before but I like the sounds of this album.

Oh, once again before I forget to mention it, thanks for putting all this together again. These are always a fun read!

Guess I'll settle for the 30 second iTunes clips for samples.

http://listen.grooveshark.com/ might have a few of these. I rarely use it but it's occasionally handy for something you can't find elsewhere.

e.g. http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/album/Massive+Aggressive/3811731

Cool, thanks! I'll give it a try.

Damn it, why can't we get spotify here? So frustrating.

There are ways around it!

Are there really? I wasn't aware of that, do you have a link to more info or something?

I'll email you. Once you're set up it's easy, you just have to remember to reset the proxy every week.

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

Back to the tunes, Revocation deserves to be the next big thing in mainstream metal. It's all there, accessible Lamb of God riffing, cool technical death stuff, and very strong songwriting.

Just hope then they dont do what Lamb Of God did and start aping fucking pantera. Had such high hopes for that band too so ending up pantera clones was a crushing disappointment.

Yeah, exactly. I still dig Lamb of God on a fun, trite level, but they've already started plagiarizing themselves in addition to Pantera, which obviously isn't a good thing.

I actually just finally streamed the Revocation album from the Relapse site and was really sorry I didn't get to it sooner, it surely would have made it on to my list. Great to hear a young American metal band with such promise.

Im not a fan of death metal much but you guys at least make me want to check it out.

It's not death metal per se, lots of thrash, black, NWOAHM, even fusion and twang stuff on there. I only wish they would do away with the overblown modern drum sound, that's a bit too much for my liking really.

that drum triggering type of stuff?

Yup, especially the clockwork double kick is way too prominent in the mix. Not so prominent that it ruins the album tho, so yeah, do check it out.

Ok shall do since it's on spotify.

The next album goes out to all you canadians. A canadian metal institution, anyone want to guess who?

Sacrifice?

Actually I forgot to vote for Sacrifice.

no...

Voivod?

i dont think you actually voted for this album adrien.

#87, 53 Points, 4 votes

http:/✧✧✧.tbay✧✧✧.net/~tga✧✧✧@tbay✧✧✧.n✧✧/anvil/thirteen_big.jpg
Anvil - This Is Thirteen

Listening to the new Anvil album right now. It's...good! Much heavier than I thought it would be, almost reminds me of the Heaven and Hell disc in a way, and the vocals are almost Ian Gillan-esque. Note: this is my first experience with Anvil - haven't heard the back catalog, haven't seen the movie. So if anyone can tell me if this is a major change for them (if age has slowed them down) or if they were always sorta doomy classic/power metal?

― unperson,

I'm so glad those guys are finally getting paid.

― Nate Carson,

I take back what I said about Anvil upthread, I'll never trust a listen through shitty Borders headphones again.. the record is indeed pretty good. Not great, the lyrics are sometimes painful, but some of the tunes really hit me. "Thumb Hang" was on repeat for a bit last night.

― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Anvil this low?

(xpost - ha!)

http://purerockradio.org/requests/pictures/Anvil-This-Is-Thirteen.jpg
Perhaps a mod can replace the url that didn't work and add this one then remove this post?

Sheesh, hadn't seen the cover art for that one yet. Ouch.

thrash > Roberta from Spotify > thrash doesn't work. I'm still not paying for it though.

Listened to all of Týr and Municipal Waste so far and have thoroughly enjoyed it, despite having to play it at don't wake the kids volume. Anything droney on the list so far that I can check out?

That Anvil album is actually good. And they'd been putting out a lot of mediocre music as of late.

No drone yet but the Masters Of Reality is a good late night non heavy album.

thanks everyone for posting here and making this thread more fun than the vampire weekend thread!

Oh great. Lex baiting. Do you really wanna hear him explain how the lyrics on the Revocation album are terrible? :P

(Btw, great album. I'm sorry I didn't hear it in time to vote for it.)

None of my votes turned up yet, and from memory I'm not sure I've heard much, if any, of it. Some listening ahead, then.

I'm sure LJ will be along in a minute to say how it's not innovative or prog enough ;)

6 songs in and I'm not feeling Masters of Reality.

Suppose I should give Them Crooked Vultures a go. Their existence sort of passed me by until recently.

I like the masters of reality album, but its not as good as their 1st 5 granted, but then again i love the albums others dont so i guess I'm a fan.

Check out their first album Onimo.

The first two Masters of Reality albums are straight-through awesome. There is definitely some decline over time, but there are good tracks on the next couple at least. Haven't heard their latest, nor the Revocation album; will be rectifying that shortly.

#86,54 Points, 2 Voters ,1 #1
http://www.unrestprod.com/FRONTS/VOM%20Primitive%20Arts.jpg
Vom - Primitive Arts

Is that supposed to be #86?

I wonder if I decided to wait for vinyl. God i really need to catalog my records n cds so i know what i have. The days of having colour vinyl doubles are long gone for me.

Ahh bollocks ive managed to miss out 86

#85 , 54 Points, 3 votes

http://samorast.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/white-tomb2.jpg
Altar of Plauges - White Tomb

New Altar of Plagues on Profound Lore - metalgaze music from Ireland

Altar of Plagues
http://www.myspace.com/altarofplagues

nice epic production sound on the track: Earth as a Womb - starts Isis like but as the track unwinds it reminds me of the last Withered album with the hyper-speed backwards reverb meets Isis / Cult of Luna atmsospherics

ALTAR OF PLAGUES Completes Work On New Album
http://bit.ly/14mNw
Ireland's most promising extreme metal band since PRIMORDIAL, namely ALTAR OF PLAGUES, has completed work on its debut full-length album, "White Tomb".

...

The album's warm-edged sound and uncompromising production portray's the band's visceral wall-of-sound effect without falling into a typical synthetically triggered digital-sounding paradigm nor falling into a post-whatever sounding mess. Other elements such as KHANATE/BURNING WITCH-esque painful slow trudging doom also find their way into the mix, as "White Tomb" also features guest vocals from Nathan Misterek of the now-defunct doom gods GRAVES AT SEA, minimalistic electronica and haunting Cold Meat Industry industrial ambient, along with the towering apocalyptic vibes of OLD MAN GLOOM and old-school ISIS ("Mosquito Control"/"Celestial" era) layered with the instrumental textures that bands like MOGWAI and RED SPAROWES portray, "White Tomb" (mastered by Colin Marston of KRALLICE/BEHOLD… THE ARCTOPUS/DYSRHYTHMIA etc.) is a vicious and atmospheric pillage that orchestrates the collapse of Earth; a depiction of civilization (or what's left of it) in despair attempting to re-build a world destroyed and shattered by their own hands.

"White Tomb" will be released April 17 via Profound Lore Records.

― djmartian,

Funny, I just happen to be listening to this album. It does not disappoint...the aforementioned "Earth as a Womb" really blew me away. Actually, if anything it's more stylistically varied than I was expecting, and far more interesting than Cult of Luna, that's for sure. Love the production as well, epic like you said, but also quite warm.

― A. Begrand, Wednesday, 28 January 2009 21:32 (11 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I need to get on Profound Lore's promo list. HINT HINT

― jon /via/ chi 2.0,

Sorry, but I just edit a full on stereotypical djmartian post. I JUST CAN'T YOU PLANKS!

I meant to buy this album but haven't yet I don't think, Im pretty sure I liked it a lot and intended to buy it. Oh well im skint and hardly bought anything for months. Not that ive been out lately due to being ill.

DJ Mencap calls this kinda stuff Wuss BM btw. Great term.

vom! whoa!

Another one I dont know and not something searchable on ilx!

I bought ^that from the label guy last week when he was having a Jan sale - it is pretty good on initial plays. Killing Joke basslines and 80s noize bleakness sort of thing. Not a metal album but hey. Clockcleaner are still the best modern example of gothpunknoize I know of but I'm down w/ this lot

also I don't recall coming up w/ wuss BM as a 'genre' name but it was probably not too serious if it was me - Altar of Plagues do have about as much uh post-metal in them from what I remember (and are good) so it's all gravy

*Whistles*

Keeping on the Altar of Plagues/wuss BM/kind of stuff djmartian c+p's press blurb for into this thread tip, I have 'Kold' by Solstafir on right now. This probly needs way more time to get involved with than I have to review it, which is a shame, but they do that Neurosis-with-blastbeats-and-then-some-quiet-tinkles thing pretty well it seems

― Peter Andre Test Tube Babies (DJ Mencap), Thursday, 29 January 2009 20:57 (11 months ago)

#84 , 54 Points, 4 votes
http://dyingmusic.com/shop/images/1349%20-%20Revelations%20of%20the%20Black%20Flame.jpg
1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame

I'm at least tentatively in favor of the new 1349.

― glenn mcdonald,

Surprised to see how much Cosmo L33 didn't like that 1349 record, I have yet to hear it. But really, his negative descriptions made me want to hear it more than I did before!

― the sideburns are album-specific (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Well, that was pretty much the antithesis of a memorable quote from me about 1349, but I think RotBF is a pretty interesting album, and might come to be seen as 1349's Cold Lake for all the atmosphere instead of constant slamming. I think all bands should have at least one album that risk, at least a little bit, alienating all their existing fans.

Ha, I never did get around to checking out the full album. I heard a couple songs and decided that was probably enough for me.

lol that was the only talk about the album I could find, Glenn. The albums without quotes are because I can't find any. I need blurbs!

I didn't like the 1349 album much at all...the Floyd cover is terrible.

Someone asked earlier about albums that got a #1 vote but didn't make the top 100. There were only 3 of those, and all three got just the single vote. #s 50-100 have three more albums that got any #1s (1 each in all three cases). Vom, the lowest, is also the highest-ranking album with just 2 votes.

thinking i might have been the highest 1349 vote. I like it!

jj can you fix the album order cock up? vom should be 85 and altar of plagues 86

please?

i have to run out and eat steak and hang out w/dudes right now, but ill do it when i get home.

if i fail in this, feel free to harass me without guilt

akinator said you liked to hang out with dudes so i dont see how you can fail..

#83 , 58 Points, 4 votes

http://farbeyondmusic.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/obscura-1.jpg
Obscura - Cosmogenesis

This new Obscura album, Cosmogenesis, is ridiculously great. Total tech-death madness with two ex-members of Necrophagist and one ex-member of Pestilence. Ultra-complex riffing with jazz-fusion interludes (including some Cynic-style computer voice!) and really prominent fretless bass lines, including bass solos. It's like the best aspects of Necrophagist, Pestilence and Cynic all wadded up into one big ball of awesome.

― unperson,

"Cosmogenesis", the second full-length album from German death metallers OBSCURA, is available for streaming in its entirety at ObscuraCosmogenesis.com. The CD is being released in the U.S. today (February 17) via Relapse Records (March 2 internationally). The CD features guest appearances from Ron Jarzombek (WATCHTOWER, SPASTIC INK, BLOTTED SCIENCE) and Tymon Kruidenier (CYNIC, EXIVIOUS). "The new album sounds very intense and brutal", the band says in a statement.

Obscura - Cosmogenesis
http://www.obscuracosmogenesis.com/

― djmartian,

I think the Obscura is one of my surprise albums of the year so far. It has better songwriting than Necrophagist and some great fretless bass playing. I've had a few people compare it to Human-era Death so far, but I don't really think they're comparable. Two completely different beasts.

Picked it up on vinyl a few weeks ago when I was in Philadelphia. Cool packaging with a diecut sleeve inside and nice blue vinyl.

― S. Palmerston,

Really like that album, looking back now I'm wondering if I should have nudged it a few spaces higher.

#82 , 58 Points, 5 votes

http://www.livexs.nl/Joomla/images/stories/CDhoezen/doomriders_darkness_comes_alive.jpg
Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive

Which is why so many 70's hard rock fans look desperately for heavier "metal" bands to pick up the torch and run with it. And when they don't it's like they are lacking in character. which begs the question: has anyone heard the new Doomriders album? Dude from converge rocking with his cock out. i wanna hear it.

― scott seward (scott seward),

i dig it. dude from converge getting his doom on.

― scott seward (scott seward),

Good album by a good band btw.

I might post #81 tonight if no 82 gets some comments.

Not sure what to say, Scott hit it pretty well on the head - dude from Converge gets his dooooom on to great results. Not the best album of the year, but certainly a surprise for me - I really enjoyed it.

Yeah, it's impossible not to like that Doomriders record.

#81 , 58 Points , 6 votes

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Nf-R8Os1BVA/SaCFWVoaEQI/AAAAAAAABNo/YFptz9-ZJ3c/s320/artwork.jpg
Gnaw - This Face

GNAW was formed in 2006 by Alan Dubin (ex-Khanate, OLD) along with Jamie Sykes (ex-Burning Witch, Thorr's Hammer, Atavist), Carter Thornton (Enos Slaughter), Jun Mizumachi (ex-Ike Yard: 80's NYC industrial legends) and Brian Beatrice (Emmy Award winning sound design/mix wizard). Dubin thought it would be fantastic to collaborate with some of his respected musician/friends, all who have diverse music backgrounds to see/hear what would develop. GNAW's debut album "This Face is the sonic culmination of over a year of sound experimentation. It's a genre destroying journey that almost defies description. Sykes is a percussive madman blasting out anything from tribal beats to ultra slow tom killings. Mizumachi is a renown sound designer for film & TV and is a master of electronics including synth, factory noise, metal bashing and other craziness. Beatrice is also a sound designer and mixer for film & TV and was the mixer for "This Face" as well as experimenting and adding additional sounds. Thornton is a crafty musician who actually makes his own instruments. He played guitar, bass, piano and some unnamed home-made "things". Additionally, Thornton supplied field recordings and arranged many of the songs. Dubin rounds out the group with his gut-wrenching vocals, noise and arrangements. Screaming, singing, whispers and chants can be heard throughout "This Face". Dubin's lyrics are vivid portrayals of all things bad.

Julian Cope's review:

Doom fans should also make a big effort to catch Alan Dubin’s hefty new release THIS FACE, from his current All Star ensemble Gnaw. Released on the excellent Conspiracy Records (conspiracyrecords.com), Gnaw celebrates missing out like nobody else in the whole damn Universe (sample lyric: ‘Everybody’s fucking but you.’ Nice.). My absolute fave is ‘Backyard Frontier’, the lyrics of which depict the mind of a serial killer whose outside world has become so restricted that even sharing the retaining wall with his neighbours has become the most major compromise of his life. Babies, I know the Dubin’s vocal delivery can seem a mite unyielding at times, but he has – across almost a decade now – established such a grinding level of direct action in his delivery that we just have to keep paying attention. Obligation? U-Betcha! Especially when the musicians themselves are such dab hands at cuntedness; seemingly effortlessly strewing, nay, daubing the very Cosmos with sonic shards of pure un-directed Jackson Pollock paint splatter. Although iTunes tells us to file this mung worship under ‘Children’s Music’, I’ve found it difficult to contain under-5s for long enough to complete the experiment; a coupla cages off eBay might do the job. You know what? Methinks this entire album should either be highly expensive and difficult to obtain, or issued (along with free 10K Matamp PA) by local councils to all of those within earshot of a local mosque. 5am with the Dubin? Now that’s what I’m talking about.

The countdown so far..
100-81

100. Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressor
99. Tyr - By the Light of the Northern Star
98. Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness
97. Masters of Reality - Pine/Cross Dover
96. Saviours - Accelerated Living
92. Them Crooked Vultures - S/T
Saros - Acrid Plains
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre Lo Anemi Francor
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
91. Revocation - Existence Is Futile
90. Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution
88. Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Glorior Belli - Meet Us at the Southern Sign
87. Anvil - This Is Thirteen
86. Vom - Primitive Arts
85. Altar of Plauges - White Tomb
84. 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame
83. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
82. Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
81. Gnaw - This Face

Obscura's another good newcomer, thought that was from 2008 though. I liked that 1349 album, but it took me quite a while to start appreciating it, it's somehow very... aloof, but for me it works. Didn't vote for it in the end, one of the last minute casualties.

That Gnaw album kills, played it on Sunday for the first time in a few months - it is at least as original as Khanate but a fraction of ppl seem to have picked up on it even compared to how popular Khanate were

wow, that Obscura album placed surprisingly low here. first one on this list that i've heard (and voted for) thus far.

Playing catch-up from work. No more spotify links to add :(

I'll need to check out the Doomriders record.

#80 , 59 Points, 4 votes
http://www.scenepointblank.com/reviews/covers/02731.jpg
Jodis - Secret House

Now playing: Jodis, Secret House. A new group featuring Aaron Turner of Isis on vocals and guitar, with bass and drums from James Plotkin and Tim Wyskida of Khanate. Very spacious, moody, somewhat psychedelic (super-reverbed vocals), not very metal at all. I like it a lot so far. Coming on Hydra Head in October.

― neither good nor bad, just a kid like you (unperson),

TIED
#79 , 60 Points, 4 Votes

http://www.uniqueleader.com/merchandise/Behemoth-Evangelion.jpg
Behemoth - Evangelion
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Z1hg7qKrRZs/SegLgCGOWQI/AAAAAAAAABQ/7INP-MpqXxk/s320/Crows.jpg
Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Crows Eat the Eyes From the Leviathan's Carcass

Behemoth - Evangelion - spotify:album:7id91RB4imNmgVxUwXn5QE

Just giving Jodis a go, drone at last?

Secret House is the first one of my votes to turn up. I really grew to LOVE this record, having originally had the same sort of opinion as unperson.

Agreed it's not really a metal record, it makes me think most of the This Mortal Coil version of Come Here My Love. Which is no bad thing.

Kinda surprised to see Behemeoth that low, its a good album. Maybe because it really wasn't anything other than a very well executed Behemoth album and didn't really push for new things? I've never heard anything by Blue Sabbath Black Cheer, even though the name makes it sound like it would hit me perfectly.

That Gnaw album kills, played it on Sunday for the first time in a few months - it is at least as original as Khanate but a fraction of ppl seem to have picked up on it even compared to how popular Khanate were

― i swear on my life i feel so powerfull (musically) (DJ Mencap),

Possibly because it's on a euro label. Americans don't like to pay the higher cost of importing. We euros are used to it as we import most of our albums from the states, but if you look at msg boards , americans hate to import anything especially vinyl due to shipping charges.

re Jodis

Agreed it's not really a metal record, it makes me think most of the This Mortal Coil version of Come Here My Love. Which is no bad thing.

OTM, much of this would be right at home on mid-80s 4AD. First in the list so far that I'm guaranteed to play again.

Doomriders coming up next...

old goths never die

oh, that Jodis record sounds like my kind of thing. never heard of it before, tho.

Here's what I said about Behemoth at the time, and I still stand behind my review:

New Behemoth is the aural equivalent of having your eyeballs pried out and then getting skullfucked in the empty, bleeding sockets by the two-pronged phallus of Evil. Not that I would know.

― Drum machines have no sole (J3ff T.)

low placing for the behermoth album really is surprising.

still have to hear it, tho...

I really liked the Behemoth album when it first came out, but then didn't really pay much attention to it until I had to dig deep into their stuff prior to interviewing Nergal the other week. It is really good, but I probably like Demigod and The Apostasy more.

Demigod is still my favorite too. Evangelion didn't do anything for me, it's just *too* Behemoth, in a way.

low placing for the behermoth album really is surprising.

several "too low" placing comments already, but it's hardly surprising when several rolling metal regulars didn't vote, the more extreme or real metal bands will suffer in this case. A couple of high votes each from a few of those would boost albums way up. But at the end of the day, this is how people voted.

TIED]
#76 , 61 Points , 3 votes.
http://mediaportal.ru/uploads/posts/2009-10/1256150504_00-the-audacity-of-hype-front.jpg
Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine - The Audacity of Hype

http://decibelmagazine.com/admin/assets/uploads/dethalbum2.jpg
Dethklok - Dethalbum II

Man, I wish the Mastodon/Converge/High On Fire tour didn't include fuckin' Dethklok. I might as well just come out and confess: I don't find Metalocalypse funny. I've watched about half of each season on DVD and never laughed once. What a waste of an hour of my life their set is gonna be.

― unperson,

Yeah, Converge opening for Dethklok just doesn't feel right.

(I like the show, though)

― A. Begrand,

I saw Dethklok live and it was better than Dragonforce...

― Nate Carson,

I was struck by how little the second Dethklok album sounds like a "novelty" thing. The vocals aren't mixed as "up front" as they were with the last one, and if you weren't paying close attention it certainly wouldn't be as obvious where this band came from. I mean, during my first background listen, they mostly sounded like your average-to-decent band.

― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Sunday, 4 October 2009 04:20 (3 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeeeah the first album is definitely a novelty but the second one they're making a bid for Serious Mid-Level metal band

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver,

That Dethklok CD is shockingly good, Small did away with the joke songs and focused more on celebrating the whole metal lyric shtick on a more sincere level. Plus the songs are all stronger. And Hoglan's drumming doesn't hurt.

Evangelion is definitely Behemoth's best since Demigod, but Demigod is still Behemoth's best record. Wish I could see their current tour.

As for Jodis, it's alright, but I wound up getting that one at the same time as Greymachine, and Greymachine just blew me away. I ended up forgetting about the Jodis album.

I'm glad that Jodis album placed in the top 100. It was one of my top 10, and a great successor to Khanate - much more inviting to me than the Gnaw one, which I just couldn't get into at all. Ditto Greymachine. Diff'rent strokes, I guess.

hey my edit worked and i didnt break the thread!

its gonna be a good day

Til Dan appears?

#75 , 62 Points, 4 votes

http://community2.metalreview.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Discussions.Components.Files/7/6371.Black-Boned-Angel-_2D00_-Verdun.jpg
Black Boned Angel - Verdun

The eagerly awaited and much delayed (our fault!) new studio album from Black Boned Angel. Described by Rock-A-Rolla magazine as the bands "most sombre and realised work to date", and who are we to argue ?

Sharing a similarly bleak ground to Corrupted, Sunn 0))) and Earth, New Zealand's Black Boned Angel return with their fourth full length album 'Verdun', and perhaps their most sombre and fully-realised work to date.

The Battle of Verdun was fought between the German and French armies, and was one of the critical battles during World War 1 on the Western Front. It resulted in more than a quarter of a million battlefield deaths and at least half a million wounded. Verdun was the longest battle and one of the most devastating in World War 1 and indeed in history. Over the course of 50 minutes, BBA soundtrack that brutal conflict with their trademark dark ambient drones and doom-laden riffs.

The first album I voted for to appear.

And... it's a good one.

I get the feeling it is sombre and realised, maybe even fully.

I was very 'out of touch' with metal last year, this one flew by my radar as well, but the quote makes it go on my things to listen list immediately!

ps. K and Glenn thanks for putting in all the work!

A shock low entry btw coming up @ 74

Ulver?

Baroness?

Pearl Jam?

I've created a collaborative Spotify playlist for the list, where available, using Onimo's list above. Please feel free to add stuff if I don't have time etc. Here's the URL:
http://open.spotify.com/user/nstewart/playlist/0bPofQLVRFL7VoiAHYaRim

Gay Witch Abortion?

not pearl jam

or anything mentioned

metals fave born again christian

#74 , 62 Points , 6 votes
http://images.thegauntlet.com/pics/megadeth-endgame.png
Megadeth - Endgame

The new Megadeth album is really quite shockingly good.

― neither good nor bad, just a kid like you (unperson),

!!!! they had a split 7" with Less Than Jake circa '99 I think (lol memory) and their half was CRUSHING, great stuff, and I was bummed that there wasn't any followup on it...wonder if the new one's gonna be at that level of arty prog-thrashy feel

― Man Is Nairf! (J0hn D.),

Megadeth last night, the positive reviews are nailing it - great album. Never really expected another album from Dave that maintained that consistency.
― Size-zero-brigade-embrace-token-chubby-chops (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

I couldn't believe how good the Megadeth turned out to be.

― A. Begrand,

Yipes, this Megadeth album really is good. I half thought some people had agreed to pretend to like it as some sort of elaborate group prank. But no. It's good.

Alestorm, on the other hand, suck piss.

― glenn mcdonald,

I predict that Megadeth will wipe the floor with the competition at that festival btw

― a full circle lol (J0hn D.),

And, yep, didn't end up ranking on my list. I think it basically would have been '31'. I kinda soured on it over the year as m focus shifted to other stuff, but this still remains a really great latter-day Megadeth album and it deserves to be heard.

I had no idea Dave Mustaine was born again. Information plz?

Was in kerrang and terrorizer a good few years back.

#73 , 63 Points , 6 votes
http://www.teethofthedivine.com/site/uploads/2009/10/subarachnoid-space-eight-bells.jpg
SubArachnoid Space - Eight Bells

Not strictly a metal release, but certainly of interest to many here. Promos for the new SubArachnoid Space on Crucial Blast should be going out soon. Highly recommended. Production is by Steve Lobdell (ex-Faust).

― Nate Carson,

I kinda lost interest in SubArachnoid Space after their studio debut on Relapse, Endless Renovation. Too many guest players and nonessential extra instruments. The two live and/or live-in-studio discs they did before and after it, Almost Invisible and These Things Take Time, were enjoyable, though.

― unperson,

I'm not into early SubArachnoid, personally. To me it's all about the latest few. The band is darker and more focused than it was in the early days.

― Nate Carson,

I really like the new subarachnoid space!

― scott seward,

Decibel hates SubArachnoid Space, apparently :(

― Nate Carson, Thursday, 8 October 2009 21:47 (3 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

That's a shame...I think they're cool. I love spacey Krautrock metal.

― A. Begrand,

Never heard them before, but "spacey Krautrock metal" just ensured that I will be looking them up tonight!

― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 8 October 2009 22:55 (3 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

SubArachnoid Space rule. Fuck which ever journo slagged it off

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname),

Listening to samples on iTunes right now, loving the shit out of these 30-second clips. That descriptor is actually pretty good because I do hear a bit of Circle (probably my favorite band right now) in these. Any recommendations on the album to start with?

― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Here's a link to that absurdly lazy SubArachnoid review in Decibel: http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=333999

― Nate Carson,

^ Cool record, that one. Like the full art design, too.

Mustaine's so devout he won't even perform "The Conjuring" ever again. Which is a disappointment, considering it's my favourite Megadeth tune.

New album's great, though. He's got his best backing band since 90-94.

SubArachnoid Space was in my list.

I really liked (and voted) for this one. Spacey and creepy, without too much Kraut to turn me off.

What does SubArachnoid Space sound like? For some reason when I hear the name I keep thinking of the video game Dead Space.

http://www.myspace.com/subarachnoidspace

#72 , 66 Points, 3 votes
http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/1958143/300.jpg
Magrudergrind - S/T

That Magrudergrind album is cool.

― A. Begrand,

someone wanna add to adriens insight before i post the next one? i dont like posting straight after i put a result up with another one.

Haven't heard it, sorry ;)

Ballou's production on that album is probably the best thing about it.

#71 , 66 Points, 4 votes
http://www.golivewire.com/forums/img.cgi?i=70368
Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone

Not sure what the rolling metal denizens think of Minsk, but I'm enjoying the new album. The bit about halfway through "Almitra's Premonition" when the Hawkwind keyboards come in just kills me.

― homage is parody gone sour (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 28 April 2009 03:05 (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Great band. New album? awesome! cant wait to hear it.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Tuesday, 28 April 2009 03:07 (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeah, it comes out May 26th. Lots of stuff going on here, very heavy and full sound. Quite a few of the songs incorporate keyboards, but never in a way that detracts from everything else. I'm really impressed after first listen.

― homage is parody gone sour (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 28 April 2009 03:16 (8 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I've enjoyed the last two Minsk albums a lot. I don't listen to those Relapse streams, though; I'm waiting for a real copy to show up in the mail, or at least downloadable files from that Play MPE system.

― unperson,

he-ey. what's up?

I recommend the Minsk, I like them a lot. I think I still need to pick them up.

ok next album may be a shock low entry or a shock high entry, but i know 2 ilxors who will be disappointed

The Minsk is great. I liked their last but this is a big step forward.

#70 , 69 Points, 4 votes

http://www.imm3moria.org/v4/images/covers/Eluveitie-Evocation1.jpg
Eluveitie - Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion

Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion is kinda the perfect folk metal album. I've gotta be in a specific mood to listen to metal (ie: a mood that does not involve a headache), but since Eluveitie does away with the hardness/aggression while keeping the lyrical metal tropes, the metal chord progressions, etc, I can listen to it anytime. It's simultaneously pretty and creepy, evocative (like the title says!) of some exotic locale and immediately accessible. One of my favorite metal albums of the year, even if I'm skeptical that it's TRU METAL. Oh well. It's folk metal. Pretty cool anyway.

Mordy

For an acoustic album, the new Eluveitie packs quite a punch at times. Pretty cool.

― A. Begrand,

I'm loving the new "acoustic" Eluveitie album. I was kind of worried it was going to be noodly and gutless, just to prove some sort of cultural point, but it's not. It's basically a metal album performed on acoustic instruments (including drums). And a really good one.

― glenn mcdonald,

Yeah, the Eluveitie was a really pleasant surprise. Pretty darn heavy for an acoustic record, too.

― A. Begrand,

Yeah, I liked that Eluveitie disc too.

― unperson,

So obviously we're cheating here by knowing, for reasons external to this particular album, that Eluveitie "is" a metal band. But if we didn't, I think you still have as prominent clues the more-rock-than-folk drumming style on a bunch of songs (most particularly "Memento"), the growly male vocals on "Brictom" and "The Cauldron Of Renascence", and the thunking cadence of "Omnos" (even the regular version). But probably the more accurate thing I mean to say is that this feels to me like an album from the same band that did Slania, rather than, as the premise might have just as easily lead to, an album of some wholly other music that happens to share personnel with the earlier one.

― glenn mcdonald, Monday, 22 June 2009 20:07 (6 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I agree with Glenn. Metal is like porn: you know when you hear it.

― don't cry, emo hamster (J3ff T.),

Somehow that album completely slipped past me, I didn't even realize they put a new one out this year. Probably because I've yet to be completely sold on the band.

Seeing Eluveitie live is what convinced me they were for real.

And another institution up next..

Another canadian one at that..

#69 , 70 Points, 3 votes

http://brushvox.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/voivod_-_infini.jpg
Voivod - Infini

Speaking of which, new Voivod!

― homage is parody gone sour (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Voivod isn't touring Canada. More money in the festivals, but still, boooo.

Cannot wait to hear the new record.

― A. Begrand,

The new Voivod is killer. Much heavier than Katorz, more lurching cadences, loads of great riffs from the immortal Piggy, and some really cool vocal work from Snake, a little more aggression and malevolence from the guy. "Destroy After Reading" is my early fave so far.

― A. Begrand,

Listening to a stream of the new Voivod. ( http://www.voivodinfini.info/ )
I'm really digging it. What do the rest of you think?
Tried a search but can't find any threads on it.

― steampig67,

I have tried and tried but have finally resigned myself to the fact that Voivod does nothing for me.

― unperson,

I thought Katorz was Voivod's best album since Nothingface, but Infini goes even further. Plus the production is a little better this time. "Destroy After Reading" and "Volcano", those are the two knockouts in my opinion.

I'm devastated their tour is skipping my province.

― A. Begrand,

I wasn't expecting much but it floored me on first listen.
Seems like the spotlight continues to escape them.

― steampig67,

I can't see how Katorz is better than the self-titled on any level. But I'm a pretty obsessive Voivod fan. This discussion probably deserves its own thread.

Phil--really? Not even Nothingface, Dimension Hatross, or Killing Technology?

Phobos is their other great work that is sadly overlooked by most.

― Nate Carson,

No outraged canadians?

#68 , 70 Points , 6 votes

http://wildchild1991.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/skelet-breath-thumb-400x400-1057.jpg
Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire

#67 , 70 Points , 8 votes

http://www.metalextremo.com.br/wp-content/uploads/candlemass_deathmagicdoom_300.jpg
Candlemass - Death Magic Doom

Another excellent album with the new singer. Anyone still missing Messiah?

- pfunkboy

now the Piss & Mop results are out I think noone is gonna read this thread so I might just leave this til later unless there's actually people reading here.

I'm reading, not a whole lot to add right now. Love the Skeletonwitch album and missed out on the Candlemass record, I need to give it a go.

Yeah, Skeletonwitch made it into my Top Fourteen (tied with Revocation).

the Candlemass is on Spotify.
Shall I continue with more albums tonight before I go to bed or keep them for tomorrow?

you should go to #60 at least, surely!

That Candlemass CD is a good one. It's rare that a band can replace its lead singer so late into its career and sound better than they have in years. They're on a huge roll with the Aeturnus guy.

and Solitude Aeturnus still exist which is just as great!

#66 , 73 Points , 4 votes

http://bastonate.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/melvins.jpg
Melvins - Chicken Switch

Love the Melvins but remix albums? No ta.
-pfunkboy

Um no, Need more Melvins in my life thanks.

― you gone float up with it (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Haha, funny pull form me since I heard one track and decided quickly that, after all, I did NOT need this in my life.

"from"

I just dont care for remix albums generally. You can get great remixes on singles but very few great albums IMO. Especially in rock.

I liked the last two "real" Melvins albums a lot but that remix thing was awful.

#65 , 75 Points , 4 votes

http://www.golivewire.com/forums/img.cgi?i=70387
Hacride - Lazarus

really digging the new Hacride album today! serious riff after serious riff! by the end track, you've got something totally majestic.

― scott seward,

Second the Hacride love. BIG step up from Amoeba, and I really liked that album. Amoeba got kind of monotonous after a while, but the new one switches it off the lot. I'd say more, but I reviewed it for Decibel, which frames my thoughts in a more coherent way.

― Kickstart My Heartwork (J3ff T.),

The new Hacride really sounds strong, alright. I'm always a week behind the rest of you guys when it comes to new arrivals. Thanks, Canada Post!

― A. Begrand,

The new Hacride is pretty swell

― unperson,

Hacride aren't very metal <winking thing> they recommended me some goats cheese last week.

― Doran,

After seeing Gojira completely destroy last month, I'm surprised I didn't find out about Hacride sooner. Downloaded it last weekend, loved it, bought the CD at Metal Haven last night. Nice packaging too.

― Fastnbulbous

If you like Gojira, you'll really enjoy France's Hacride. Their last two albums are superb.

― A. Begrand,

#64 78 Points, 5 votes
http://www.20buckspin.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/spin028_lp400-300x300.jpg
Nadja and Black Boned Angel - S/T

The idea for a collaboration between Canadas prolific neo-doom duo Nadja and New Zealands pitch black droners Black Boned Angel was first hatched in conversations between 20 Buck Spin and Nadjas Aidan Baker around the time Nadja released their Truth Becomes Death EP on Alien8 Recordings in 2006. 20 Buck Spin ran the idea by Campbell Kneale of Black Boned Angel, who at that point was unfamiliar with Nadja. After hearing their material, the complimentary potential was realized, and the groups began their cross-continental collaboration sending music back and forth digitally.

Time passed and both groups, along with Campbells altar-ego Birchville Cat Motel, were extremely busy releasing their own material. By the end of 2007 the collaborative effort had realized three fully formed tracks. One more accessible track that included vocals called Christ Send Light was released in 2008 as a CD EP on Kneales own Battlecruiser imprint. The other two long tracks were combined for a full length release for 20 Buck Spin. With the album being a collaborative effort 20 Buck Spin also convinced two close comrades, David DAndrea and Stephen Kasner, to collaborate on some artwork. Again, artistic collaborations take a great deal of time, and finally in 2009 both art and music have finally come together for this much anticipated release.

The two 20+ minutes tracks contained on this self-titled collaboration have a less accessible vibe then the Jesu-like track on last years Christ Send Light EP. There are no vocals to be heard. They are comprised in equal parts of Nadjas fuzzed-out, lurching and hazy dream-doom, and BBAs razor-sharp metallic riff-shards. Extended passages of riff-static noise bleeds one track into the next while deep space eerieness looms ever present in the shadows. Finally the whole thing collapses under the weight of its own self-created black hole. This is the end.

That Hacride album is really a grower. I'm finding new exciting details every time I hear it.

Not heard it, anything you can say to tempt me?
I still haven't heard the BBA & Nadja. Not had the money to buy it.

J3ff's write-up for decibel does a better summation than I can:

Hacride - Lazarus

I guess I would say I don't like much of anything that could possibly be categorized as death metal, but they really won me over. I liked Gojira's last one quite a bit but think this is even better.

Death metal isn't usually my thing either bar coffins and entombed usually but i might give it a go if its on spotify.

#63 , 78 Points , 5 Votes, One #1 Vote

http://www.auralexploits.com/ebay_images/lp/Keelhaul_TriumphantReturnToObscurity_180g_1.jpg
Keelhaul - Triumphant Return to Obscurity

Keelhaul is like the one friend that you're actually looking forward to seeing when you fly home for the holidays... Still smoking weed in the parent's basement, but, try as you might, you can't fault him for doing it because ultimately you're fucking convinced he's got some shit figured out that you're still years away from. Basically, this guy Keelhaul is a solid dude and maybe part of you wants to be him, no shame in it... most people are susceptible to societal pressures... you wanted to be an adult and you thought you knew what that meant... trips to the wine store... you should kick your own ass.

Keelhaul's Triumphant Return to Obscurity, is not just a clever name for an album title marking a band's return from obscurity, it's an album title for a band's release marking that same band's return from obscurity. init? Chris Smith, Aaron Dallison, Dana Embrose, and Will Scharf have been at it as Keelhaul for over ten years and it shows. This record picks up on the band's progression as if they were steadily releasing records throughout their six year hiatus. The pace is precise, the instrumentation is masterful and the guitar tones are absolutely appropriate. Look, your old pal Keelhaul knows what he's doing and he ain't affiliated with no williamsburgers, so he feels no need to overcompensate by adding strings, vibes, horns, boners (well maybe boners), harps and/or electric flutes... to his compositions... which is a god damn breath of fresh air if you ask me.

Didn't hear that in 09, poor show i swear on my life i feel so powerfull (musically) (DJ Mencap)

Also until just now I thought that the Nadja/BBA thing was just a straight vinyl reissue of the 2008 CD (which I really liked) - should prolly get on that too then

#62 , 79 Points , 4 votes
http://www.candlelightrecordsusa.com/store/images/anaal_nathrakh_myspace.JPG
Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow

i never pay attention to metal lyrics but the quality of the vocals matters a lot to me--timbre, timing, style, and just generally fitting in well with the music. a lot of solid bands are dragged down by a boring singer, but most of my favorite bands have a singer who is really trying to do something interesting. for example anaal nathrakh is to me a sort of forgettable band without their singer.

― call all destroyer,

Anaal Nathrakh also solid but nowhere near career best.
― Siegbran,

Not career best but better than the last couple of albums IMO ^^^

I will always have a sweet spot for 2006's Eschaton, but these guys have never made a mediocre record, I love every one of their albums. And yeah, some of the most amazing vocals in all of metal, def a big part of what makes this band so special. This was in my top 10.

I really dug that one, too. That album's nuts...and incredibly hooky.

Does blurbs mean we're supposed to write stuff?

Anyway, here's what I wrote about the three albums I voted for at the time. (And yes, I know it doesn't necessarily paint me in a good light . . .)

I'll try and keep up with the rest.

Gnaw

“Have you ever noticed how as horror movies get less and less scary, the opposite is happening in computer games? This has everything to do with the glut of talent in the games industry mirroring a dearth in mainstream cinema. Sonically titles such as the ‘Silent Hill’ series lean heavily on the most forward thinking advances in electronica and metal. With Gnaw the inspiration actually flows both ways. As well as Alan Dubin (Khanate) and Jamie Sykes (Burning Witch), the group contains two soundscape artists who work with field recordings and electronic manipulation. This provides more grist for the gore mill than most could cope with. ‘Heaven’s Vault’ is howling white noise and harsh blackened vocals but the centrepiece is ‘Feelers’ whose remorselessly increasing bpm could drive a sensitive person to tears. Horrifically effective.

Hacride

Near death experiences cut straight to the heart of the third, fantastic album by the Gallic four piece. After all it is called ‘Lazarus’, named after an unfortunate character from the bible. After a life of hardship Larry was on his deathbed and word was sent to his best mate, Jesus of Nazareth. The long-haired rabble rouser was so late in going round to his pal’s house that not only was he dead when he got there but he’d been buried for nearly a week. Instead of just apologizing to the grieving family for his lamentable behaviour, Jesus brought the terrified guy back to life, which was great for the Son Of God’s rep but not so good for the nerves of poor old Lazarus, as John 12:5 reveals: “And lo, all the Bethanites did think Jesus a most righteous dude but poor old Lazarus was less sure saying ‘Christ, that was fucking terrifying. Eh? What’s that? I have to die again after he leaves? WTF!!! Jesus, you’re such a cunt . . .’” Basically, Hacride are yet more proof (if any were needed) that les Francais sont formidable! Vive Overmars! Vive Gojira! Vive Mistaken Elements! Vive Klone! Et vive Hacride!

Sub Arachnoid Space

When the dishes are done, the lady wife is at bingo and the kids have been sent to play by the burnt out car at the end of the road, Subterranea likes to kick back with some hydroponic science smoked through a bong constructed from a bucket of weapons grade anal relaxant and a horse’s shin bone. And what better sonic accompaniment than Sub Arachnoid Space, who take the prize for most satisfying exploration of inner madness this month with their tenth album ‘Eight Bells’. The continued success, of these San Franciscans lies in the fact that they obviously love cauterising their connections to reality but underneath all the churning guitars is the fearsomely pounding heart of a thunderous yet razor sharp rock band. No matter how much elephant tranquilizer they’ve had.

Really didn't get on that well with the Keelhaul album.

Keelhaul was my number one, I love it. I wish it placed higher, of course, but I can't complain too much.

xxxpost Candlemass was pretty high on my list too. It's kinda frontloaded but man, those first three tracks are *so* good. With all the dronedoom-y stuff nowadays I've come to appreciate old fashioned heavy doom metal more than ever in recent years (Grand Magus, Hammers of Misfortune, Heaven & Hell).

I especially like it when bands like that do uptempo stuff and *still* manage to make it sound like DOOOOOM, like Candlemass "If I Ever Die".

Candlemass was on mine I think.

Doran, thanks for that, look forward to seeing more!

Grand Magus have kinda moved away from doom to more trad heavy metal I think. Still good, just not as good as they were.

#61 , 81 Points , 4 votes

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UzANGJamcNE/SyylcdqrFcI/AAAAAAAAH4I/HdFzRq29lE4/s400/Lifelover+-+Dekadens+%2812%29.jpg
Lifelover - Dekadens

I'm liking this new Lifelover "EP" (7 songs, 26 minutes) Dekadens. I'd somehow never heard this band, or else never quite paid attention. Somewhere between black metal and HIM, which I assume means it pisses somebody off a lot.

― glenn mcdonald,

Not heard it but I quite liked their other albums.

Grand Magus have kinda moved away from doom to more trad heavy metal I think.

Exactly, that's what I meant with 'heavy / doom metal', love that stuff. Iron Will is one of my favorite albums of the 2000s. No, really.

#60 , 82 Points , 5 votes

http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ahabcover.jpg
Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans

i want the new Ahab album! i didn't even know there was one until i saw an ad for it.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 24 June 2009 21:17 (6 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I didn't know there was either!

― the sideburns are album-specific (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

whoa! had no idea that there is a new ahab coming out. sick!

I still play call of the wretched sea pretty frequently. like I'm doing RIGHT NOW.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

listening to the new Ahab. sounds like Ahab!

― scott seward,

I have to give the Ahab a spin. Their last album was cool, but those darn beeped Napalm promos are never fun.

― A. Begrand,

man, that Ahab record is something else! i do dig it.

― all you need is love vs. money (that's what i want) (Ioannis),

Yet another album I've been unsuccessfully trying to find! I suppose I'll just break down and get it off iTunes.

awesome record cover & ILX metal thread recommendation--I'm going to check this one out

man, I loooove me some call of the wretched sea but I played divinity of oceans many times over the course of last year and very little stuck.

the very low key clean breaks (w/clean vox) were pretty cool, I suppose.

I eventually just shelved it. will probably come back sometime down the road.

this thread is making me want to check out so many records, btw. I really slept on new metal last year.

#59 , 82 Points , 6 votes

http://www.auralexploits.com/ebay_images/lp/Xasthur_AllReflectionsDrained_1.jpg
Xasthur - All Reflections Drained

Got the new Xasthur, but haven't played it. Haven't been feeling miserable enough yet.

― glenn mcdonald, Friday, 29 May 2009 18:56 (7 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

You will be miserable enough after listening to it.

― slugbaiting (rockapads),

Latest Xasthur is a further step in the direction of BM as big 60's film themes. Great moments, but the drawback is that I can't see any structure or flow - just seems like "here's the last dozen things I wrote in chronological order. Back in six months."

― Soukesian,

I've been playing "All reflections drained" again over the last week, and I've convinced myself that there's one track that sounds exactly like Serge Gainsbourg backed by Einsturzende Neubauten. It's definitely not a generic Xasthur record.

― Soukesian,

#58 , 83 Points , 5 votes

http://www.boomerangshop.com/dvdcover/Imagecd105/BloodyPandaSummonBonusD580_f.jpg
Bloody Panda - Summon

Finally got my hands on a copy of the now-mastered unreleased Bloody Panda album. It definitely delivers on the promise of the first, featuring further realization, better production, and more tuneful singing (betwixt plenty of gut-wrenching screams).

― Nate Carson,

Echoing Nate's sentiments from a few weeks back, the new Bloody Panda is definitely as cool as expected. One of the more original doom bands out there, not to mention one of the most genuinely scary.

Terrific artwork on this album as well...

― A. Begrand,

much like the "gay witch abortion" issue for some, i have a really hard time listening to something called bloody panda

does "bloody panda" mean anything? I've heard loads complaining about the name.

no its not slang AFAIK, it just grates at me. every time i see the name i assume the band is going to look like paramore and sound like iwrestledabearonce

What a great cover on that Skeletonwitch album. That guy means serious business.

"nothing wrong with being sexy" "no, sexist!"

If all bands look like the singer of Paramore I bet they would get lots more votes.

i mean obv i'll give it a shot with that placing and those pull quotes, but ugh that name

i realize as the guy who likes bands named gay witch abortion and sleepytime gorilla museum i should prob STFU about that tho

i was gonna say..

Bloody Panda are really good fwiw

# 57 , 88 Points , 4 votes

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/reviewpics/ancestcd.jpg
Ancestors - Of Sound Mind

Also, was listening to the new Ancestors in the background while poking around the Internet just now, and holy crap, it totally just snuck up on me. "Bounty of Age" is pure Mellotron goodness.

― don't cry, emo hamster (J3ff T.),

uhh... is this the stoner/doom ancestors or the noisy black metal ancestors?

― self-aware psych tropes (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ),

Stoner/doom Ancestors. The ones on Teepee.

― don't cry, emo hamster (J3ff T.),

Another thing I like is the new/forthcoming Ancestors album. It's four long songs paired with/separated by four short interlude things, so clearly intended to be owned/heard on double vinyl, but they've really gotten a lot better since the debut. Big Uriah Heep influence, at least to my ear, and that's never a bad thing.

― neither good nor bad, just a kid like you (unperson),

unperson's review for AllMusic of the Bloody Panda is really accurate. Love this bit: "Vocalist Yoshiko Ohara shifts between an almost Gothic, monotone croon and a fierce scream, as organ, sludgy guitar, and throbbing bass shadow her. The drums combine tribal pounding with avant-rock improvisational sensitivity for a cumulative effect that recalls no wave as much as doom. Even when they come up with a somewhat normal song structure, as on "Pusher," a nonstop piercing keyboard tone manages to disrupt and keep the listener off-balance, unable to truly rock out with abandon."

And he did the review for Ancestors too! "Though there are no new ideas here, Ancestors have cherry-picked the best ones from 35 years ago, and longhairs who think rock music's been on a downward slide since 1975 will love this album."

I love both of these - my #2 and #7, respectively.

#56 , 88 Points , 8 Votes

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51m3Cj%2BwCDL.jpg
Greymachine - Disconnected

anyone hear greymachine yet? i like it a lot. i'm actually surprised by how much i'm liking it, as justin broadrick's stuff tends to bore me after awhile.

― borntohula,

Greymachine is the first time I've not been annoyed by Turner .
― Alex in SF,

I'm really digging that Greymachine. Harshest stuff Broadrick's done in ages.

― A. Begrand,

So much better than expected, this is top top stuff. Wonder what new Isis/Jesu fans will think of Turner/Broadrick getting "back to their roots!?

-pfunkboy

That's much lower than I thought it would be. I half-thought that would crack the top 10.

#55 , 91 Points , 4 votes , One #1 Vote

http://decibelmagazine.com/assets/uploads/51cDvVgPbVL__SS500_.jpg
Jamie Saft - Black Shabbis

Shabbis is the Yiddish for the Jewish Sabbath, so you'd be excused for thinking Black Shabbis is a shticky Jewish Black Sabbath cover band. But you'd be wrong. Jamie Saft takes metal very seriously, and though he might be harnessing it to fight anti-Semitism (a particularly fraught move in a genre full of its own ambiguities on the subject) he never drops the ball on the metal just to make a point. The album is always uncompromising and at points is one of the most horrifying, terrifying, most vicious metal albums I've heard this year. "Army Girl" sounds like some kind of demonic call for peace from the grave and "Blood," about Medieval blood libels is a simply tremendous track. Take a look at the cover where Saft has transposed a Magen Dovid over a Satanic goat figure and you'll get what he's doing. There's nothing novelty about the album -- the magen dovid looks like it belongs. In a genre that whole-sale borrows and steals Jewish + Kabbalistic motifs for its own use, Saft is just taking a little back.

Mordy.

I just wanna say how much I'm loving that Jamie Saft album. I highly recommend. "Der Judenstein" is this really sludgy, doomy track, and "Army Girl" sounds amazing. I think this might be my favorite album of the year so far - metal or not.

― Mordy,

Thanks to Mordy for providing the blurb.

fantastic album. I think it was mordy who alerted me to its existence. so thanks!

He certainly turned a few folk on to it.

hai thyere.

#54 , 93 Points , 4 votes

http://www.metal-experience.com/images/interviews/Wardruna/wadruna2008-cover.jpg
Wardruna - Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga

My rave for today: Wardruna. Gorgoroth side-project, probably not metal by anything but association, but wow. Pagan-ambient rune-drone? Dunno what to call it, but it does for trolls what Enya does for elves.

― glenn mcdonald,

OK, this Wardruna album sounds better to me every time I listen to it. If it gets any kind of buzz-momentum I can imagine it being this year's non-metal-by-metal-guys crossover, and if it doesn't, it'll be the thing I hit people with whenever they get dismissive about what metal musicians are capable of.

― glenn mcdonald,

Glenn -

I too love that Wardruna album but it just doesn't seem metal at all. Awesome creepy folk music, but it's hard for me to see it as metal despite the pedigree. And a big second to Madder Mortem - on paper I should hate it but it just captivates.

― EZ Snappin,

Yeah, Wardruna is arguably metal by association only, at least taken strictly on its musical characteristics, but because of that association I listen to it in a metal context, and it makes cultural and aesthetic sense to me that way.

- glenn mcdonald

The idea of WARDRUNA began to take shape in 2002 as a project where founder and main man Einar Kvitrafn Selvik could work with a musical expression and instrumentation very different from what his involvements in various metal bands would allow. Naturally, it also became a place where his passion for and practice of Norse paganism and runes could be combined with music.

In the spring of 2007, the project started to attract attention after it was featured on the soundtrack of the widely publicized "True Norwegian Black Metal" documentary about Gaahl (TRELLDOM, GORGOROTH, etc.) by Peter Beste and Vice Films. Despite the fact that the band has not released any product or performed live, WARDRUNA has garnered a respectable and surprisingly diverse following.

Nearly six years in the making, WARDRUNA's long-awaited debut album is the first part of the planned "Runaljod" trilogy which will musically interpret the runes of the elder futhark. This highly visual music is hard to place into any specific genre, and there isn't really much to compare it with. The style can perhaps be described as a curious blend of folk, world and ambient music, but without being limited by the sometimes restricted scope of these genres.

"Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga" has a very profound and unique sound that consists of a wide array of instruments, some of which are rarely used. A few examples: deer hide frame drums, mouth harp, goat horns, lur, Hardanger fiddle and tagelharpe ("viking fiddle"). Sounds of more unorthodox ‘instruments’ like trees, stones and fire are also incorporated into the music, and it's all topped off with powerful vocal performances from no less than three vocalists.

The upcoming album entitled ‘Gap Var Ginnunga’ will be the first in the planned Runaljod trilogy that will interpret the runes of the elder futhark. The subsequent albums will be entitled ‘Yggdrasill’ and ‘Ragnarok’. Each album will feature eight runes, but not in accordance with the order of the three aettirs (families), which is most commonly used.

So who besides Glen and I are Wardruna fans? It's really something different and quite special.

$35 import on Amazon. is there a cheaper, legal way to purchase this? :(

#53 , 93 Points , 4 Votes

http://www.golivewire.com/forums/img.cgi?i=70367
Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy

Japanese four-piece, Church Of Misery, combine doom metal with heavy hints of 70's psychedelic rock in "Houses Of The Unholy," an album of sick gore, screechy guitar work, and weirdly-assembled song structures, where each disconcerting track is based on the sins of serial killers in a similarly ghoulish style to American death metal band Macabre. With disquieting lyrics that reach back to 1998’s "Taste the Pain," Church Of Misery have quite clearly outdone themselves with doom-riddled tracks and gloomy melodies.

So who besides Glen and I are Wardruna fans? It's really something different and quite special

Count me in, too: I was hugely impressed by it.

i had never heard this until the youtube thread but voted it kind of high. would never have guessed that it was a japanese band! xpost

Yeah John CoM are a brilliant band. Think I voted for it.

grimly its a shame you didnt vote this year.

$35 import on Amazon. is there a cheaper, legal way to purchase this? :(

― kshighway (ksh)

Amazon used to have it in the MP3 store for $9.99 (that's how I got it). Appears to no longer be an option. Sorry.

I think if I had heard the Church of Misery (and the Jamie Saft) earlier I would have voted for it. Had space left on my ballot but didn't get to spend enough time with either to properly judge.

Weird, Wardruna used to be on iTunes, too, but isn't there anymore. No heroics, please: if there's no easy way to pay money for it, just get it the normal way.

if there's no easy way to pay money for it, just get it the normal way

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Maybe it means someone has snapped it up for North American distribution. That happened with Dizzee Rascal - second album was available on itunes for months, then pulled before domestic release. We can hope!

#52 , 96 Points , 6 votes

http://www.godflesh.com/discographies/jesu/jesu-infinity_big.jpg
Jesu - Infinity

Full album length song 'Infinity' on Avalanche Recordings (AREC017), written, recorded and mixed early 2009, with all instruments by Justin K Broadrick. 'Infinity' is the most expansive and organic jesu release to date, here JKB revisits his roots of heavy guitar driven music yet still retaining the ethereal atomsphere / soundscape of modern jesu. Approximately fifty minutes of music, CD housed in a beautiful 6 panel digi sleeve. First edition of 2000. Vinyl edition of 1300 copies of which the first 400 are on grey vinyl, the remaining 900 on black, all pressed on super heavvyweight

I'm off the Jesu train. This just did nothing at all for me. Only Broadrick release I liked this year was White Static Demon, his ambient feedback thing.

I thought it was great.

Hmm. I was kind of the consummate Jesu fanboy for a while but Infinity is by far and away my least favourite thing Broadrick's every done, I think. (At least, of what I've heard.) I dunno: it just didn't grab me at all, in any way. I can barely remember anything about it.

I'm not really surprised it's your least fave Jesu tbh.

I was about to comment that I could barely remember anything about Infinity, either, but then I realized that's because I never heard it. Fix that now.

I think the Opiate Sun ep is more Grimly's thing.

infinity def is kind of a snoozefest.

#51 , 96 Points , 7 votes

http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/PSYCHICMAPS.jpg
Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps

Over the course of four albums Philadelphia's DYSRHYTHMIA has taken complex, instrumental, heavy music to new heights. On 'Psychic Maps,' the band continues to push themselves to new levels of technicality while also adding a healthy dose of melodic songcraft. Thus, 'Psychic Maps' is the most accessible recording the band has ever released, yet still retains the incomparable, mind-blowing musicianship that is DYSRHYTHMIA's raison d'être.

Also on the bill was Dysrhythmia, who were playing lots of new stuff as they're going into the studio next week. They were bang on and the new stuff is stellar.

― S. Palmerston,

New Dysrhythmia is very good.

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname),

Dysrhythmia co-signed.

-Doran

Now at the halfway stage, here is a recap of what we have so far

100. Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressor
99. Tyr - By the Light of the Northern Star
98. Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness
97. Masters of Reality - Pine/Cross Dover
96. Saviours - Accelerated Living
92. Them Crooked Vultures - S/T
Saros - Acrid Plains
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre Lo Anemi Francor
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
91. Revocation - Existence Is Futile
90. Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution
88. Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Glorior Belli - Meet Us at the Southern Sign
87. Anvil - This Is Thirteen
86. Vom - Primitive Arts
85. Altar of Plauges - White Tomb
84. 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame
83. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
82. Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
81. Gnaw - This Face
80. Jodis - Secret House
78. Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Crows Eat the Eyes From the Leviathan's Carcass
Behemoth - Evangelion
76. Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine - The Audacity of Hype
Dethklok - Dethalbum II
75. Black Boned Angel - Verdun
74. Megadeth - Endgame
73. SubArachnoid Space - Eight Bells
72. Magrudergrind - S/T
71. Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone
70. Eluveitie - Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion
69. Voivod - Infini
68. Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire
67. Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
66. Melvins - Chicken Switch
65. Hacride - Lazarus
64. Nadja and Black Boned Angel - S/T
63. Keelhaul - Triumphant Return to Obscurity
62. Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow
61. Lifelover - Dekadens
60. Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans
59. Xasthur - All Reflections Drained
58. Bloody Panda - Summon
57. Ancestors - Of Sound Mind
56. Greymachine - Disconnected
55. Jamie Saft - Black Shabbis
54. Wardruna - Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga
53. Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy
52. Jesu - Infinity
51. Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps

$35 import on Amazon. is there a cheaper, legal way to purchase this? :(

― kshighway (ksh)

Amazon used to have it in the MP3 store for $9.99 (that's how I got it). Appears to no longer be an option. Sorry.

― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, January 20, 2010 3:47 PM (1 hour ago)

Thanks EZ Snappin!

i actually went to their official website, and it looks like you can download it in MP3 or FLAC from their shop: http://www.wardruna.com/shop/music.html

that title work for u pfunk?

Indeed it does (Thanks) and at no 50...

Big string of stuff I hadn't heard there, until the last two. As grimly said above, that Jesu thing did very little for me even though I'm typically a big fan of his. Loved the Dysrhythmia though. That Church of Misery album is sounding fucking awesome though.

really hoping that portal and vreid will make the top 50, but not sure at this point if that will pan out xposts

yeah the church of misery thing keeps growing on me. it sounds like some retro thing i cant put my finger on, but better in pretty much every way

#50 , 98 Points , 5 votes

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Asro0En56rM/Sq5dd-akekI/AAAAAAAADWk/foXDK_M_KRg/s400/part-chimp-.jpg
Part Chimp - Thriller

i actually went to their official website, and it looks like you can download it in MP3 or FLAC from their shop: http://www.wardruna.com/shop/music.html

― kshighway (ksh)

Cool! I'll direct some inquiring minds their way. Under $10 for high quality MP3s.

#49 , 98 Points , 6 votes

http://stereogum.com/img/nadja-pyramids-album-art.jpg
Pyramids With Nadja - S/T

Across four extended soundscapes, psychedelic Denton post-metallers Pyramids team with seemingly everywhere/highly collaborative Toronto duo Nadja to create expansive ambient dirges that feel both fragile and heavy. You get the blast beats and wraithlike black metal vocalism of Pyramids' gorgeous self-titled debut on the airily pummeling "The Sound of Ice and Grass" and for sections of the highly triumphant closer "An Angel Was Heard To Cry Over The City Of Rome," but elsewhere the Texas quartet meld with Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff to create something entirely new: A spacious, darkly illuminated naturalist drone. The collection includes well-chosen guest spots from Cocteau Twins/This Mortal Coil bassist Simon Raymonde, Albin Julius of Der Blutharsch, and Mineral's Chris Simpson. The Mineral/Gloria Record frontman provides haunted vocals for "Another War

Part Chimp 'Thriller'

It’s hard to tell if Part Chimp’s third album will transform them from London’s best ‘undiscovered’ rock band into a household name, but the fact that it shares the same name with the best-selling album of all time shows that they have at least become slightly more ambitious. Their trademark sound of bowel crepitating low end, cone shredding riffology and jack hammer drumming has never sounded so goddamn attractive. On ‘Trad’ they find the no man’s land between Queens of the Stone Age and early Earth. But as loud as their amassed henge of Orange speakers and Marshall stacks makes ‘em (and everything is much louder than everything else here) they’re never far from an absolute killer riff such as the Deep Purple versus Hawkwind with everything in the red ‘Sweet T’. We know it’s bad to speak ill of the dead but this glorious racket would have blasted Jacko’s nose clean off.

A sterner man than myself would suggest that there is a tendency for really good, noisy UK bands to self sabotage, with bonkers humour and slackness, which means they don’t have to compete. This of course applies to many more bands than just the mighty Chimp. Don’t get me started on Selfish Cunt, Todd, That Fucking Tank, Hey Colossus etc. Perhaps the most recent addition of former Ikara Colt bassist Tracy Bellaries (drafted in to replace Scouse Lord Joe, who left to concentrate on avant doom synthesizists Kling Klang and was last seen in Merseyside getting sued by Kraftwerk) will raise their game a bit. Although judging by the artwork, this is highly unlikely... Part Chimp are the best rock band you haven’t heard yet. Fact. There is no such thing as someone who doesn’t like Part Chimp; just people who haven’t drunk enough beer yet. Fact. And no one can resist the lure of the ‘Thriller’. Fact.

I didn't like the Pyramids album as much as last year's (which was my #1 pick) but it's mighty fine indeed. The key I found was to get over the thought you were listening to two records at once, possibly by just accepting it.

Okay, I'm going to have to check out that Part Chimp tonight.

#49 , 103 Points , 7 votes

http://www.mindovermetal.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Nadja-WISTSASOTV.jpg
Nadja - When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV

But the Nadja album looks really interesting. The MBV cover sounds colossal, like a 45 rpm played at 33 1/3.

― A. Begrand,

Album of the year (maybe)

― Ned Raggett,

The A-Ha cover is monumental, even in crappy MySpace streaming version.

― a golden unicorn who poops diamonds (EZ Snappin),

nadja tracklisting makes me want to kill myself

― Just one thing I was thinking about as I was getting on the copter (J0hn D.),

I actually have the album on now and the MBV cover sounds exactly how you'd expect, which I'm OK with.

― Luka ModReq (DJ Mencap),

I think they make the song a lot creepier and heavier than the original. And I've always liked Slayer's version. No question, going in, you know exactly what Nadja's going to do with these cover songs, just draw them out as long as possible, but with these songs especially, the shtick works really well.

― A. Begrand

I get the impression listening to Nadja's cover of Dead Skin Mask, that if you were in the same room with them while they were recording the track, you would barely hear them playing. It doesn't sound to me like they are playing their instruments vigorously at all.

I would bet good money that their whole process with the exception of their vocals (and maybe drums on certain records) are all internal using VST distortion on guitars and synths (to create that fake feedback/drone sound they bury all of their songs with). It's a sound I used to find really compelling, but now that I've had six or seven of their samey albums to deconstruct their sound, it sounds kind of dull and flat and doesn't really fit my personal definition of metal at all.

― The Lost Boys Buff Guy Playing Sax (rockapads),

Oh no! False Metal Alert!

What will people who like it ever do?

― EZ Snappin,

#48 , 105 Points , 7 votes

http://static.boomkat.com/images/282238/333.jpg
Eagle Twin - The Unkindness of Crows

A fearsome set of slow-motion doom melodramas and sludge-lined shred odysseys from new Southern Lord band Eagle Twin. "Behold the debut album from Eagle Twin! Although Eagle Twin is a very new entity its helmsman: Gentry Densley is no stranger to innovative, heavy music. Densley was the musical visionary and leader of the legendary Jazz, Prog, Rock, Metal, Hardcore group Iceburn from 1991-2001. In order to disseminate his majestic and mountainous riffs in the present day he enlisted massively behemoth skinsman Tyler Smith. The drums are not only a driving force that efficiently steam rolls over you they conjure a repetitious mantra that is eerily infectious. The riffs and music definitely have familiar reference points (Caspar Brotzmann Massaker,Earth, sunn 0))), Melvins etc..) but are crafted in a way that stands miles beyond the others. "The Unkindness of Crows" was recorded to tape in Seattle by Randall Dunn (earth, sunn 0))), Kinski, Ascend). Beautifully packaged in a digi-pac with original artwork from Gentry, Sri Whipple and others. Designed by Stephen O'Malley.

Pretty impressed by the Eagle Twin record on first listen. Guitar tone is thick as hell. One or two of the songs sound like Mark Lanegan if Screaming Trees had been a doom band

― splash the praying duck (DJ Mencap),

All those Nadja releases thus far are excellent.

#47 , 106 Points , 8 votes , One #1 Vote

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_D_lt8ZCBSOo/SxCOeMjzAeI/AAAAAAAAAXo/JV2x-rDwazM/s1600/Napalm-Death-Time-Waits-For-No-455535.jpg
Napalm Death - Time Waits for No Slave

Couldn't find any chat on it. Most chat was on the bbc sessions

#45 , 107 Points , 6 votes , One #1 vote

http://www.bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/files/eightways.jpg
Madder Mortem - Eight Ways

I am crushed at the lack of worship here for the new Madder Mortem cd.

Seriously, when it comes to metal bands whose name starts with 'M', MM simply obliterate Mastodon by any criteria one can imagine aside from 'swinging dicks'.

― i, grey,

The Madder Mortem is pretty good. Whatshername keeps reminding me of the way less bombastic Hanne Hukkelberg, who I greatly prefer. The heavy guitars actually sound a little intrusive on this album at times.

― A. Begrand,

Name is Agnete M. Kirkevaag but she understandably just goes by Agnate.

The thing is, she doesn't fit any metal femme template. She isn't operatic (Nightwish etc), rockin' (Lacuna), ethereal gothic or misplaced-indie-chick (Serpent Cult).

Sometimes she's almost gospel, but David Lynch gospel.

I think they may be evolving themselves out of metal entirely, which may be why those guitars seem intrusive. And for fear of being first wave feminist, but I think if she were a dude, their profile would be vastly higher. Or if she were anorexic.

I forget which mag it was, but they gave the record raves--except they had a wee problem with Agnate's tendency to scream.

Imagine--someone screaming in a metal band, how tactless.

― i, grey,

Another awesome thing about Madder Mortem are the quiet/clean guitars. They way the parts are so perfectly sculptured and play off one another/around each other or answer the vocals. For real, Isis needs to steal some shit from these guys.

― i, grey, Sunday, 12 July 2009 22:37 (6 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

omg a girl that cant be categorized

― gucci gone bonkers (roxymuzak),

Am listening to the Madder Mortem, thanks to the mention above. Haven't decided how much I like it, but it's definitely interesting, and I'd never heard of them, so another point for Rolling Metal.

― glenn mcdonald,

Getting to like, as opposed to being distantly impressed by Madder Mortem...it takes a little investment.

At first I was all, Oh, this is, uh...something else. And there was enough to pique interest to keep listening.

Part of it is that each song has a great deal of density--of ideas, of the way things are composed/structured. And be sure--these things are composed. not glib verse-chorus-verse or even madcap-black-metal structuring. Every part relates to an earlier part for maximum effect in the part playing currently.

I guess "Armour" is a good start point, what with it being the single but their idea of a single include a mini-etude on bass and the singer turning into a theremin every few choruses.

― i, grey,

Right now, I'm loving how all the clean guitars have this definite Dick-Dale-on-barbiturates feel.

― i, grey,

OK, when I said "Am listening to the Madder Mortem ... Haven't decided how much I like it, but it's definitely interesting", I was literally playing it for the first time. They had me by the end of the second listen. This is a fantastic, fantastic record. At times I feel like I'm hearing Cowboy Junkies as a metal band, at times I think "See, the problem with Marnie Stern as 'metal' is that she only understands lead guitar, and metal is 92.3% rhythm guitar", at times I think this is what Voivod could have sounded like if they'd understood why the original version of "Diamonds and Rust" is 1000 times spookier than Judas Priest's cover. And most of the time I'm just mercifully speechless.

― glenn mcdonald,

Recent posts mentioning Madder Mortem's "Eight Ways" prompted me to register and stop lurking. I fell in love with Madder Mortem with 2005's "Desiderata", which is one of my favorite discs this decade. I was nervous about "Eight Ways" because it's hard to live up to a disc that you love. "Eight Ways" is a worthy successor, and one I'm falling for just as much. In fact, I forced myself to stop listening to it for fear that I'd burn out on it like I did with Nevermore's "This Godless Endeavor", which I also think is one of the best discs this decade.

― Kindjal,

Also, I'll reiterate my endorsements of the new Madder Mortem and Urna, both of which are holding up incredibly well under extreme repetition.

― glenn mcdonald,

Madder Mortem seems really likely to be my #1.

― glenn mcdonald, Sunday, 8 November 2009 01:14 (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Madder Morten screams number 1.

― i, grey,

And it WAS Glenn's #1

Here's an unused review I wrote for the Ancestors record:

Ancestors
Of Sound Mind
Teepee
8
PROG DOOM
Ancestors should have subtitled Of Sound Mind thusly: "In which five LA doom experimentalists add an organ to their repertoire, get positively wacky, and leave any semblance of song structure or easy characterization behind." Their previous outing, Neptune with Fire, consisted of two sludge-paced epics. This one contains two tracks that barely make it over a minute, two of reasonable length, and four that would fill an entire side of an LP, which begs an interesting question: is it harder to write really short non-songs or really long non-songs? Even though no Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, or Iron Butterfly albums were harmed in the making of this recording, Ancestors pilfer pretty freely from the aforementioned bands' catalogs, and create the progressive doom version of a sound collage. The tinkling of a piano here, vocals buried deep in the mix there, disconnected guitar noodling, organ swells, a rumble reminiscent of the way that Sabbath's guitars and drums never quite seemed to line up. The instrumentalists get lost inna Gadda da Vida, and sometimes don't seem to find their way out. It all works together as an entire piece, though. Pretty great stuff if you have the patience to see it through, because even though it doesn't seem like these guys know where they're going, they do.

never heard MM before. listening now. not entirely convinced, but there's definitely an instant 'whoa!' factor and some entirely unique elements there.

the singer has great voice though...reminds me a bit of sam ireland from die cheerleader.

Good review Jeff, thanks for posting that.

#44 , 108 Points , 5 votes

http://burningworldrecords.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/voorkant1.jpg
Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity

Gnaw Their Tongues is a revelation.

― Doran,
Which album are you listening to John? Love this guy tbh

― Vladislav Delap (DJ Mencap),

Seconded, although I'm not sure I've heard anything he's done this year.

― I thought I could make it work because you look a bit like a man (aldo),

Gnaw Their Tongues. I was completely unaware of them until hearing about them on this thread then All The Dread Magnificence Of Perversity turned up at my house for me to review. It isn't necessarily from this year, the post has been so bad in London recently.

It's just breath taking. The use of orchestral samples - manipulated to sound like a full contingent of musicians have just gone mad and started murdering each other with their instruments, Burial Hex-style horrotronix, some blackened vocals but not so much that you could call it ambient BM, more something odd that's influence by it like 'Black One'.

I love it that it's all made by one jovial looking Dutchman called Maurice.

Also it's a fine line in metal with crazy 'evil' titles but I feel a thunder in my chest when songs called shit like 'The Stench Of Dead Horses On My Breath And The Vile Of Existence In My Hands' named after a Gustave Flaubert poem actually live up to their nomenclature for a change.

I bought another couple of albums by him; I'm still completely bewildered by it really. Which is a good thing. Buzzing off it.

― Doran,

Hmm, this Gnaw Their Tongues is definitely interesting. Metal? More like Occult Atmospherics, but close enough. I won't be too surprised if I end up thinking it's a little too staged, and I'm curious to see if I'll find it as compelling once it isn't surprising anymore. But if it holds up, musically, I'll have to decide what I think of the nominal aesthetics and the relationship between those and the music...

― glenn mcdonald,

I think I liked this a lot but need to play it again.

#43 , 110 Points , 7 votes , One #1 Vote

http://vox2.cdn.amiestreet.com/album-art/Mind-The-Drift-by-Big-Business_nlYafKQXdC8x_full.jpg
Big Business - Mind the Drift

anyone heard the new big business?

― borntohula,

After much anticipation, Los Angeles based rock heroes BIG BUSINESS have just released their latest and most epic album to date. Entitled "Mind The Drift," the album is available courtesy of the renowned Hydra Head Records, and was produced by Phil Ek (Built To Spill, Fleet Foxes, The Shins) in his Seattle studio.

Featuring the ferocious vocals and bass duties of Jared Warren (ex-Karp, Tight Bros From Way Back When), dominating drumming abilities of Coady Willis (also of the newly revived Murder City Devils), and for the first time, guitar madman Toshi Kasai (also a respected producer in his own right), "Mind the Drift" echoes the band's trademark motor-oil thick, thundering sound, and adds to it layers of spaced out effects, making for the band's most dizzying and progressive album yet. Here's what the people have to say:

"Mind the Drift reveals a serious expansion of the Big Business sound: Though each of these tunes is still built atop a lumbering low-end groove, tracks like “Gold and Final” and the nearly 9-minute “Theme from Big Business II” ascend to trippy psych-metal heights any Hawkwind fan could love." - Revolver Magazine

"The trio organizes a head-banging assault, with snarling bass and cymbal smashes underpinning Warren's burly shouts and Kasai's piercing detours into grandiose metal riffs." - Spin.com

"As evidenced by the plundering beats and awe-inspiring riffage, they're dead serious about songwriting. While the tunes on Mind the Drift follow the same chaotic constructs as their first two discs, there's more of an emphasis on guitar, providing more sonic shades for the musicians to trample." - Headbangers Ball Blog

"The sludge and the swagger known as Big Business are hitting the road again; they've got a new album coming out called 'Mind The Drift' on May 12 via Hydrahead Records, and in an exclusive interview with Noisecreep drummer Coady Willis called the album "the most ambitious thing we have tried yet." For those not in the loop, Big Business is no longer a two-some of just drums and bass. Toshi Kasai has been added on guitar and keyboard. 'Mind The Drift' is the first full length that Big Business has shown off this new three-man stoner-esque heaviness for the masses." - AOL Noisecreep

"Big Business bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis churn up the tonal equivalent of an oil spill, and write songs too violently catchy for the usual “sludge” and “stoner-rock” tags. Their bleak, queasy third album, Mind The Drift, tries to look beyond the euphoric whiplash of 2005's Head For The Shallow and 2007's Here Come The Waterworks, keeping the dense lows while guitarist Toshi Kasai adds squiggly underpinnings and melodic leads." - The Onion AV Club

"Kasai's presence is easily detected via prominent, quasi-clean guitar lines that undulate high above Willis and bassist Jared Warren's familiar murk and mire. Bits of organ and bizarre vocal moments additionally separate Mind the Drift from its predecessors, and purposeful restraint is evident on nearly every track." - Alarm Press

"Kasai's squealing guitar flourishes supplement the boisterous low tones of "I Got It Online," while the staggering energy of "Found Art" shows a cohesive new three-instrument sound." - The Washington Post

And of course they're in the Melvins too.

The Madder Mortem was my #3. Between Glenn and i, grey, the mentions on the rolling metal thread intrigued me. I was - like many others - blown away by the time I finished the first run through; by the second I was hooked, and joined in the general proselytizing. There is enough of both Faith No More and 70s Priest in their sound for me to get intrigued, but what they're doing is much more than the sum of any influences.

That Gnaw Their Tongues sounds really cool. Another to add to the "must check this out" list, along with Ahab and Dysrhythmia.

I hate the image on the cover of that gnaw their tongues lp so much that I've never checked them (him?) out

I can't say I've heard Madder Mortem, but that is absolutely one of the best album covers I've seen in a long time. The architect nerd side of me just loves seeing buildings like that in weird landscapes. Its like a glipse into a whole other world. I mean, are those stairs to some interdimensional transportation system? Are they interconnected by miles of complicated tunnels underground? Are they just houses? Man, so cool.

I think the cover artist used to be in the band. The founding guitarist, if memory serves.

#42 , 112 Points, 8 votes

http://www.teethofthedivine.com/site/uploads/2009/11/portal-Swarth.jpg
Portal - Swarth

New Portal!!!

http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/mp3/portal_larvae.mp3

Wicked.

― A. Begrand,

Got the new Portal today! All writing assignments immediately postponed 40 minutes so I can spin this sucker post-haste.

So far so great, too. Gotta love these furniture-wearing freakazoids.

― A. Begrand

There is no death metal band on the face of the planet that can even match the aesthetic power that Australia’s Portal emit. Easily one of the most original and unique death metal acts that have ever existed, the world of horror that Portal create holds a power that such films like Fritz Lang’s M, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Murnau’s Nosferatu, and Salvador Dali’s Un Chien Andalou possess. Picture a more twisted, subterranean, and warped Immolation with the catacombic power of Disembowelment, and the unforgiving rawness of Beherit, and this is just a glimpse of where Portal dwell on a musical level. Also known to put on a devastating and surreal live show, one that mirrors the music that the band create, Portal’s surreal and twisted cinematic vision is why they are considered to be the future of death metal. A band that will take the death metal genre, invert it, twist it inside-out, skinning its layers, creating a monster of utter devastation.

.....

The approach to Portal’s style of death metal has always treaded the fine line between sheer madness and the intricately artful. Cinematic in scope, like a death metal interpretation of The Cabinet Of Dr. Cagliari or the death metal soundtrack to an ancient silent arthouse flick gone terribly awry, Portal have pretty much transcended the interpretation of what death metal should portray, and simply inverted and twisted it to no end. Even moreso with "Swarth".

Almost serving as the missing link between Portal’s previous abominations (namely “Seepia” and “Outre”), “Swarth” continues to bring the band’s aesthetic to new disturbing levels of unease. Musically, “Swarth” is very labyrinth-like, very claustrophobic and suffocating where twisted counterpoint and scathing dissonance merge with earth scraping atmosphere to unveil the inevitable rising chaos.

And as usual, with every Portal release, what is surely to divide and polarize death metal enthusiasts who either realize the substance, depth, and genius that Portal portray and the ones who simply cannot comprehend or understand the enigma that is Portal. And those who continue to be indifferent and can’t seem to form any kind of opinion or expression because Portal’s music is so fucked, uneasy, and just wrong in a way that it continues to push and tear the boundaries of extremity within death metal like no other band can through the filth, mire, and the utter crawling chaos that unearths itself through each chapter that creates a Portal release as a whole. Nonetheless, no death metal band has created such debate and dialogue as Portal have, and surely with “Swarth”, such debate and dialogue will no doubt continue, confuse, and perplex. Nonetheless, this is how Portal's music, in a way, thrives.

Packaged in a stunning gatefold hard cover Stoughton produced 5 x 5 digi-sleeve, with a 16-page booklet and a designed inner sleeve which houses the CD, tracklisting for “Swarth” goes as follows:

This - Easily one of the most original and unique death metal acts that have ever existed, the world of horror that Portal create holds a power that such films like Fritz Lang’s M, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Murnau’s Nosferatu, and Salvador Dali’s Un Chien Andalou possess. - is one of the biggest BS press release sentences I've ever seen. Kind of awesomely over the top and kind of horrible. Which, coincidentally, is what I think of Portal themselves.

Madder Mortem was my #1 in the Pazz & Jop, too, where it got my 15 points and a total of 0 other points from 0 other voters.

The cover has been my desktop image for months and I haven't even vaguely tired of looking at it.

Really don't get Portal. The other album a couple of 'em put out this year, Impetuous Ritual, wasn't as bad as Swarth, but it wasn't exactly good, either.

sigh.

i really dig portal, and often whine about how they will never (prob) play a show in MN

they dont really set off my bullshit meter at all, but i can see where wearing a cuckoo clock as a headdress might maybe give that impression

i think i voted that album #4? also, that press release sounds a lot like almost every other grarrrrrrr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsKO_r76kfQ press release in the world, just subbing filmmakers for underground superstars/obscure refs

ok dan you are a motherfucker

hahahahahahaaaaaaaa FUCK

Part Chimp isn't too shabby.

the substitution there is for the word https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsKO_r76kfQ btw

OH COME ON

hint: word between "ILX" and "ALBUMS" in the thread title

test:

gay witch abortion

thanks dan plz leave that one alone until after the poll closes

metal

hm

no worries, it is only my upside down cross to bear

Big Business was my #1. Couldn't get over the sludge-prog of The Ayes Have It all year.

lol Dan you wonderful evil bad mang.

#41 , 116 Points , 10 votes

http://www.decoymusic.com/images/album_covers/0001/9201/coalesce_cover_medium.jpg
Coalesce - Ox

Really liking the new Coalesce so far.

― display names have been changed to protect the innocent (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

i've only listened once so far, but the new coalesce is kicking my ass.

― borntohula,

man, the new coalesce is gooooooooooooood.

never liked the vox too much, but like w/meshuggah, I can forgive the angry dude yelling at me in an intense way because the music is so head nodding and SICKK.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

coalesce fucking destroyed yesterday. danzig might as well have worn a fucking tutu.

― Nanobots: HOOSTEEND (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver),

100 - 41

100. Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressor
99. Tyr - By the Light of the Northern Star
98. Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness
97. Masters of Reality - Pine/Cross Dover
96. Saviours - Accelerated Living
92. Them Crooked Vultures - S/T
Saros - Acrid Plains
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre Lo Anemi Francor
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
91. Revocation - Existence Is Futile
90. Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution
88. Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Glorior Belli - Meet Us at the Southern Sign
87. Anvil - This Is Thirteen
86. Vom - Primitive Arts
85. Altar of Plauges - White Tomb
84. 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame
83. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
82. Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
81. Gnaw - This Face
80. Jodis - Secret House
78. Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Crows Eat the Eyes From the Leviathan's Carcass
Behemoth - Evangelion
76. Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine - The Audacity of Hype
Dethklok - Dethalbum II
75. Black Boned Angel - Verdun
74. Megadeth - Endgame
73. SubArachnoid Space - Eight Bells
72. Magrudergrind - S/T
71. Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone
70. Eluveitie - Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion
69. Voivod - Infini
68. Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire
67. Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
66. Melvins - Chicken Switch
65. Hacride - Lazarus
64. Nadja and Black Boned Angel - S/T
63. Keelhaul - Triumphant Return to Obscurity
62. Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow
61. Lifelover - Dekadens
60. Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans
59. Xasthur - All Reflections Drained
58. Bloody Panda - Summon
57. Ancestors - Of Sound Mind
56. Greymachine - Disconnected
55. Jamie Saft - Black Shabbis
54. Wardruna - Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga
53. Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy
52. Jesu - Infinity
51. Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps
50. Part Chimp - Thriller
49. Pyramids With Nadja - S/T
48. Nadja - When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV
47. Eagle Twin - The Unkindness of Crows
46. Napalm Death - Time Waits for No Slave
45. Madder Mortem - Eight Ways
44. Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity
43. Big Business - Mind the Drift
42. Portal - Swarth
41. Coalesce - Ox

GNAW THEIR TONGUES

There is almost a sublimely awful moment when the psychedelic experience goes wrong. Everything slows to about a hundredth of the speed; all faces and other recognizable objects twist into grotesque parodies of themselves; a perverse confusion of the thoughts occurs like a thousand jabbering voices crying out simultaneously; neural networks become crossed and one ‘sees’ fear and ‘tastes’ insanity. This beastly slump is represented in lysergic clarity by Gnaw Their Tongue’s amazing fourth album ‘All The Dread Magnificence Of Perversity’ which has just been released now on Crucial Blast.

The band is actually one musician, a jovial looking Dutchman who goes by the name of Mories. He is the primary member of the already fairly far out electronic Black Metal outfit Aderlating but little will prepare even the most dedicated follower of all that is fucked up and foul sonically for the bitter tide of GTT – what he describes as “a stinking pile of nightmare”. Most comparison points are only vaguely helpful. At most points it has the sheer visceral impact of Wolf Eyes but nothing here is improvised or even collage. This is scored music that uses complex time signatures, which you can feel at work under all the chaos so perhaps Stockhausen would be a more apposite comparison; except even the most hardy of avant classical fans would shit bassoon shaped bricks if they heard this fucking atrocity. There is a similarity to Clay Ruby the boss of Aurora Borealis’ Horrortronix project Burial Hex except his is a purely electronic project. Astoundingly, nearly all the instruments here were played live by Mories and then painstakingly positioned into the mix. So that’s drop tuned guitars, tubas, trombones, cellos, French horns, bass, timpani and lots and lots and lots of feedback, drone and screeching death summoning noise.

On other tracks such as ‘Broken Fingers Point Upwards In Vain’ the ghosts of hallowed composers such as Ligeti and Ravel struggle out of the miasma of disturbing racket as do lolloping rhythms that glue the chaos together. Mories agrees. Kind of: “Yes. But on the other hand, I’m not sure that I want it to hold together. If it’s on the edge of falling apart, it’s much more interesting. Tension is what I like.”

And trust us. That’s the understatement of the year.

I don't really understand all the Coalesce fuss. The vocals bore me.

Did I read that GTT piece in Metal Hammer, John? I read it somewhere.

Yeah, everything that I've posted here is just excerpts of longer pieces that I've written for Hammer, Stool Pigeon, Quietus or Classic Rock.

I've lost everything that I've written about Broadrick and Nadja this year for some reason. I must have left the gate open to the metalgaze pen in my hard drive so all the words could escape.

"I don't really understand all the Coalesce fuss. The vocals bore me."

^This x 1000.

Btw, sorry for not voting and thanks for doing this thread guys. I am reading and enjoying when I'm not stuck in the studio. :)

#40 , 119 , 5 votes , One #1 vote

http://www.fensepost.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mount-eerie-winds-poem-cover-300x300.jpg
Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem

Inspired in equal measures by the moody TV series Twin Peaks and the dark drones of black metal, Phil Elverum’s third album is yet another epic journey into the mindset of this singular performer and artist. In keeping with the title of the disc, the songs vary between slow synth-driven pushes to brash distorted tree-topplers. Occasionally, he and his cohorts will settle somewhere in the middle, as on the shuffling, haunting “Between Two Mysteries”, a track anchored by a sample from Angelo Badalamenti’s Peaks soundtrack. But within those two extremes that Elverum and band are able to strike the deepest chord, one that haunts, mesmerizes and deliciously chills one’s spirit.

The Microphones dude? Is this really a BM thing?

No not 'really', this is firmly in the 'wuss' department ;) Like it plenty, but I'm not voting for it in a metal poll.

Don't know anything about it. No mentions on the rolling metal thread but noone said anything when it was nominated, it got plenty of votes and it sounds interesting. I guess our metal voters are an open-minded lot.

Really enjoying the Masters of Reality album, it reminds me a bit of Wire believe it or not. I'm listening to it on the ILM metal albums playlist, which I'll try to fully update this evening:
http://open.spotify.com/user/nstewart/playlist/0bPofQLVRFL7VoiAHYaRim

Masters of Reality = Wire + ZZ Top

#39 , 121 Points , 8 votes

http://atlmetal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Immortal-All-Shall-Fall-300x300.jpg
Immortal - All Shall Fall

Speaking of Immortal, new album sounds great (out in Europe tomorrow, hah!). It's got a definite classic thrash / Ride the Lightning-vibe going in tracks like "Norden on Fire" and with the Tägtgren 'empty warehouse decked in ice'-production. Favorite track thusfar is definitely "Hordes to War", with its main riff going back and forth underneath the drums and that huge galloping fast polka bit at the end.

― Thijs,

I liked that Immortal album pretty well on first listen last night, too.

― glenn mcdonald,

#38 , 122 Points , 8 votes

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/reviewpics/marduk_cd.jpg
Marduk - Wormwood

Judging by the new album Wormwood, Mortuus now has total creative control over Marduk. It's nothing short of Maranatha pt. 2, really. Which off course is a good thing.

― Thijs,

Marduk is not bad, but is not that good, either.

― Carl,

The bass outro of 'Into Utter Madness' on the new Marduk is kinda cool. But off course bm is basically all about the treble, right?

― Thijs,

Picked up the Immortal late, I like it well enough but I'm not sure it would have made my ballot. Marduk is still on my "to hear" list.

I was a bit disappointed Marduk didn't do any of the more experimental midtempo stuff when I saw them a couple of months ago. They're touring Holland again right now, I might go and see them on Monday, they'll probably play a different set (plus, yeah, I'm a total Mortuus fanboy). Nice to see this didn't place above the more difficult but superior Maranatha :)

coalesce vox ARE boring. and too loud in the mix.

but I think the music totally makes up for it.

I've always meant to check out a marduk album but have never gotten around to it. any suggestions on where to start?

If you like nonstop blastbeat fury Panzer Division Marduk, for a little more variety and compelling vocal performance definitely Wormwood. Opus Nocturne is a good one from the old days, though I haven't heard it in ages.

I am into nonstop blastbeat fury (sometimes), so it sounds like I'll be starting with PDM. thanks!

#37 , 123 Points , 8 votes

http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pelicancover.jpg
Pelican - What We All Come to Need

I quite like the new Pelican. Not as catchy as the last one, if one could call it catchy, but it's nice to nap on the couch to. Also, instrumental band with vocals on one track shocker LOL

― wronger than 100 geir posts (MacDara),

I'm probably one of the few other people in this thread that is actually curious to hear that Pelican. Seems like they bear the brunt of a lot of the NeurIsis overload.

― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Feel like Pelican still have it in them to make good music by the simple expedient of chancing on a strong riff and rinsing the fuck out of it avec good clear production. Also feel, on initial listens, like this doesn't really happen on the new one

― Vladislav Delap (DJ Mencap),

All their haters moan like fuck about the drummer

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname),

I know, and it's pure parroting. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's certainly not bad enough to completely ruin the band. Like I said, I think his simple style actually benefits Pelicans music.

― Thijs,

the drumming on their stuff always seemed to me like an obvious stylistic decision--never understood the "he can't play" crowd.

― call all destroyer,

I like that Pelican album. Pretty much the only Pelican I like, but still. Not that I'd put it on this sort of list either.

― & other try hard shitfests (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

Pelican can be nice in tiny doses, but it always feels as bland as those paintings of sunbeams poking through clouds (I forget the name of the guy who's famous for making those). And yikes, could the drumming get any clunkier?

― A. Begrand,

Forgot to vote for Marduk :(

Thijs' suggestions are good ^

I might go and see them with Anaal Nathrakh next week...

Awesome. We're getting no-name melodeath opening acts over here I think :( I did see Anaal Nathrakh once already, at one of their first gigs ever; 2006, 2007? Good stuff, though still a bit chaotic and nervous at the time.

Pelican was also in my top ten. I don't just condone Larry Helwegs style of drumming, I'm a big fan (and a drummer myself). I just love it when drummers do very little and still make it work (see also Brad "EZB" Morgan of Drive-By Truckers for instance). The gentle midtempo grooves and the interplay of two guitars have a mesmerizing quality that even reminds me of Sun Kil Moon sometimes. Maybe it's because they're both big Priest fans, I don't know.

I generally don't like postrock or NeurIsis type bands btw, Neurosis and Pelican being the two main exceptions.

#36 , 124 Points, 7 votes

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8CN0D81QZ4E/Suy5ooQbOLI/AAAAAAAAAEc/dY0CtRL6oOg/s400/3858.jpg
Orthodox - Sentencia

one of the best albums this year for sure. Orthodox just keep getting better and better , progressing with each album. Even LJ would approve

-pfunkboy

Looking forward to Orthodox.

― Doran,

I'm listening to the new Orthodox now. I loved Gran Poder but was bored by Amanecer en Puerta Oscura, so I guess my expectations are low. Although it's having some weird Spanish effect on me, because I swear I just looked out my window and for a moment the sight of a construction crane next to the turret of Harvard's Memorial Hall threw me back to looking at the perpetual construction of Sagrada Familia on the skyline of Barcelona.

― glenn mcdonald,

Listened to the new Orthodox last night. It's amazing. They get better every album; Gran Poder bored the shit out of me, but Amanecer showed big improvement, and the new one isn't even a metal record. The first track sounds like an ultra-creepy alternate soundtrack to Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia.

― neither good nor bad, just a kid like you (unperson),

Here's the opening track from the Mount Eerie record, for those curious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtuCP1ExC_I

So, any thoughts about big hitters (as in mainstream-ish or long-term popular acts) yet to place? Slayer? Lamb Of God? Pearl Jam? Mastodon? We've already had Megadeth, of course...

^NB above post is 33rd new answer, or half the number of the beast, lets see if we can make it to 666 this week!

sorry 333rd!

hoping to see pearl jam not place

Big hitters still to come

thinking mastodon will make top ten
lamb of god and slayer in top twenty

infact one up next..

I think PJ are pretty certain to place...

#35 , 126 Points , 7 votes

http://rockandrollchildren.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/heaven-hell-the-devil-you-know-2009.jpg
Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know

I'm more than ready for an "all-doom" Heaven & Hell record. Children of the Sea and After All and Sign of the Southern Cross are exactly what I like about that band...

― Nate Carson,

holy crap! i am, like, totally digging the hell outta the new Sabba...er Heaven & Hell album! riffs galore; production dark & densely packed; Dio's voice aging well and far more than bearable; Bill Ward, alas, missing. my top two metal albums of the year locked in place already. next?

― \m/ metal oaf \m/ (Ioannis),

Not me:

http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/27386930/review/27534978/the_devil_you_know

― xhuxk,

Heaven & Hell was so fantastic and inspirational. They're all in great form, Dio sounded fantastic (reaching for extra notes and nailing all of them). Vinnie's drum solo was a blast, Iommi's solo was moving, and the new material sounded great. Big shout out to the light and stage crew as the gargoyles and lights were top notch.

It was so great to see these guys be classy and excellent. It's always a bit embarrassing when Ozzy is in the house, flubbing notes. None of that with H&H.

― Nate Carson,

Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know : Surprisingly good, but not sure how well it'll age

― Kindjal,

Anyone think Alice in Chains will chart, then?

How does the Heaven & Hell it hold up now?
xp

it?
How does the Heaven & Hell hold up now?

I've never been into non ozzy sabbath so i never checked it out. Maybe i should play the classic dio sabbath stuff on spotify.
Funny how in the last few years older bands have managed to come back with really good albums. Celtic Frost & Unsane I thought were as great comebacks as ive ever heard. But lots of older bands (maiden,priest,ac/dc etc) seem to be getting rave reviews now. Wonder if its a Classic Rock Magazine effect of these bands being covered and new fans finding the band and the bands just raising their game rather than coasting it. The AiC album was really well received, which I was surprised with because i thought more would agree with me that AiC without Layne could not be AiC, but the music seemed to be so well received that ppl forgot about it and loved it.

Colonel Poo told me that Napalm Death have been on a roll with their last 3 albums too

oh and the already placed Megadeth and the will it/wont it place Slayer albums are seen as their best albums in eons.

How does the Heaven & Hell hold up now?

Still play it to death, almost on a daily basis. There really are so many nice touches in the arrangements that it never fails to move me in a big way.

And another big hitter up next..

I cooled on the Heaven & Hell album so much that I ended up dissing it in the process of praising something else on my list. The Megadeth album didn't last long in my rotation, either. It's a good Megadeth album, and I find that that isn't worth a whole lot to me anymore.

I really like the Heaven & Hell album. It's Old Testament doom.

Based on that one track up there and the other stuff that's already charted on here I have no problem w/ the Mount Eerie album being waved through - if it was some no-promo-photos dude on Southern Lord/Aurora Bourealis/blah no-one would bat an eyelid

That one track is the only one with blastbeats on it IIRC.

As for the Classic Rock effect etc, I don't personally think the last AC/DC is remotely brilliant or remotely awful but every time they've had an album out in my music-listening lifetime (ie three albums) the press have queued up to blow them so ppl's reaction overall is maybe a touch inflated

I know what you mean re: the AC/DC but i got the feeling that the last time everyone still felt it was the best thing they had done in 20 years a year after it came out.

And with Unsane ,Maiden, Celtic Frost etc you do get people who really do believe they were as good as any of their old classic albums.

I still don't like the Heaven and Hell album. One great song ("Bible Black"), and the rest either feels uninspired or just plain goofy.

same here. I love dio sabbath but could not get into that heaven and hell. felt like a bit of a chore to sit through.

but I should prob listen a few more times.

but they were so, so awesome live.

Hopefully chuck or scott might pop in with their thoughts on why (and comment on the rest of the poll too)
xps

Glenn how many of our poll's top albums made the P&J poll?

#34 , 129 Points , 9 votes

http://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Nile_-_Those_Whom_The_Gods_Detest_artwork-300x300.jpg
Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest

I'm not a big fan of the belching vocals or the post-metal vocals, to be honest. Like, I can't even listen to Nile.

― Vulgar Display of Flowers (J3ff T.),

And speaking of blindsided, the Nile is unreal. Ithyphallic didn't click for me, but this one is just shattering. This is the kind of follow-up I wanted to hear after In Their Darkened Shrines and Annihilation of the Wicked.

― A. Begrand,

I was enjoying the new Nile last night, which is significant because I usually hate that band. So take that as a recommendation, I suppose.

― Defender Of The Girly Metal Faith (J3ff T.),

There were 92 albums that appeared on both polls, and I won't spoil any surprises here, but there's substantial similarity at the top. But there's also one album in the top 10 here that got only a single vote in P&J, and another in this top 20 that wasn't mentioned in P&J at all.

see, i still really dig the H&H disc, tho i admit that "Bible Black" may be the only classic Sabbath-worthy track on it. on the other hand, the Nile album seems to get duller every time i listen. what can ya do?

xp

So which of Slough Feg or Gay Witch Abortion (both of whom got one P&J vote) didn't make the top ten - I would guess the latter. Of course I could be totally wrong and might have missed something.

Glen - since I know you're reading this thread, I spotted an album credited to two different artists. One was "Ray Davies and the Crouch End Festival Chorus, The Kinks Choral Collection" and the other was "The Kinks Choral Project, Ray Davies". It's not going to push it into the top ten or anything, but thought you'd want to know.

wow the fact that slough feg only got one P&J vote is a real bummer

but yeah that makes me think that gay witch abortion didnt make the top ten

Do you know the P&J Gay Witch Abortion voter?

#33 , 131 Points , 6 votes

http://dhex.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/125779.jpg
Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse

ANb album only has 13 songs - what the hell is that about? Guess that's what happens when you let a girl in the band...

― unperson,

wait, but did you actually listen to the new agoraphobic nosebleed?

I've noticed that they've been writing slower/longer songs on a couple of their recent splits, so I was curious if they'd keep on going that route with the next full album. and that could explain why there's only 13 tracks... maybe?

haven't heard it yet myself, but I'm looking forward to it.

― Alan N,

...and agoraphobic nosebleed has a cute girl on board now. (!?!?)

I wonder if they'll ease up on the casual misogyny?

and my first impressions for the new anb are positive. they took the short songs thing about as far as they could, so I don't mind them stretching things out. it's a bit like what pig destroyer did on their last one; this isn't exactly the new cryptopsy.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

The new ANb album is easily my favourite grind album to come out in a while. The songs are really well-written, the lyrics are twisted, the artwork is over the top, and it's exceptionally produced.

― A. Begrand,

i dont think so? i have no idea who it was tho xpost

Jesse Fox Mayshark.

Thanks, EZ. First (and so far, only) thing I missed and somebody else spotted. Album/Artist flip plus significantly different names! Just a little glimpse into why tabulation of human input is hard...

I totally understand why everyone running these things here want cut and paste!

nope, don't know that dude, unless hes one of you all xxpost

Really didn't like that ANb disc at all, not at first nor after trying two or three more times to get into it. And Nile? Fuck Nile. Never liked 'em.

#32 , 131 Points , 7 votes

http://www.art-of-propaganda.de/shop/cover/1559drudkhmicrocosmos120091223.jpg
Drudkh - Microcosmos

Mordy if you want folk black metal try Drudkh

― Pfunkboy in blood drenched rabbit suit jamming in the woods (Herman G. Neuname)

yeah, I was going to recommend them... but they're, uh... pretty racist, right?

― picture me lolin' (Alan N)

but if that's not a problem, then yeah, they're good.

― picture me lolin'

no one actually knows. I heard they recently denied that they were.

― Pfunkboy in blood drenched rabbit suit jamming in the woods (Herman G. Neuname),

in any case, dicey territory.

yeah, I mean, I own burzum records, so I can't exactly point fingers.

but I actually haven't listened to drudkh in years. what releases do you rate?

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

thats why i refuse to buy drudkh stuff alan and i just download it. Normally i avoid anything dodgy like that as you know, but the music is so damn good its worth d/l. Plus im pretty sure they denied being nsbm.
Until its totally cleared up i wont buy their stuff, but you arent giving them any cash if you d/l it at least if they are racist.

― Pfunkboy in blood drenched rabbit suit jamming in the woods (Herman G. Neuname),

Drudkh's politics, I'm unaware of, but I have never purchased any Burzum or early Emperor for similar reasons. Safer to download (or at least buy used), than to support that kind of crap.

― Nate Carson,

I'm doing a piece on Janvs, who recently were censored by Terrorizer because their bass player was in some nsbm-related band, despite the fact that Janvs's music is completely apolitical. There are a lot of knee-jerk reactions to black metal going on these days, it's quite interesting.

I own Burzum albums. I'm fully aware that Varg is an ass, but over the last few years I've come to admit that stuff like Filosofem and Hvis Lyset Tar Oss are, musically speaking anyway, works of genius.

― A. Begrand,

Drudkh claims his lyrics aren't political at all, but I'm pretty sure he openly admits to having extremist right-wing, possibly white supremacist views. I guess I'm a hypocrite, but I love the guy's music.

― fwiw (rockapads),

I meant he openly admits to views we would classify as extreme right-wing and, I think, racist - though I don't know this for sure. Poorly worded; sorry for multiple posts.

― fwiw (rockapads),

I think they said it was Ukrainian ultra nationalist views. But it probably all amounts to the same thing.

― Pfunkboy in blood drenched rabbit suit jamming in the woods (Herman G. Neuname),

I think Drudkh are pretty well known for having some rather suspect political leanings. They're very cagey about stating them directly, but they're there. It brings up that thorny old dilemma about separating the artist from his politics. I can understand someone being so disgusted with modern society that they would try and make the most ugly, distorted sounds possible. What I don't understand is why that so often leads to a flirtation with Neo-Nazi imagery and ideology. You see a lot of the same dynamic play out in early Industrial music. See Boyd Rice.

― leavethecapital,

As is the proggy new Drudkh album. Things are really starting to pick up, there are tons of killer metal releases this summer.

― A. Begrand,

i need someone smart like adrien to explain to me what the hell drudkh are up to on their new album. ??????????????

― scott seward,

Ha, I was as just as baffled as you. But a few spins had me liking this album a lot...it feels a little like Enslaved at times. At any rate, it's better than Estrangement, but not as great as Blood in Our Wells.

― A. Begrand,

still haven't listened to that drudkh. I heard that there's slap bass on it or something... that can't be true, right??

― ' ( *_*) ERROR HANDLING (^_^ ) (Alan N),

hahah @ the "slap bass" ... yeah there's a single riff/solo thing that may start out with a slap, but it's not an ongoing theme.

― richie aprile (rockapads),
i can't really tell if it's a slap or if the dude just pulled on the strings causing it to hit the frets a little. it's actually one of my favorite little moments on the disc, because i love bass and it doesn't get to shine enough in black metal.

― richie aprile (rockapads),

i think the whole Drudkh racist thing is one of those internet rumors gone "where there's smoke there's fire". i haven't seen any evidence of it.

― richie aprile (rockapads),

main dude was in hate forest, who generally seem to be regarded as NS. and there are tenuous connections to astrofaes and nokturnal mortum, the latter being really try-hard NS dudes (swastikas made of ak-47s in their album art and shit). drudkh does seem to leave it alone, though.

― that's not a logo it's a fucking font (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ),

It would seem that Drudkh are not NSBM (as in the band dont have lyrics about it or promote the ideology) but possibly have extreme politics personally(maybe in the past but not now?).
Anyway noone knows. The only fact we have is is that they make very good music, would be a shame if they were neo nazis, but until it's cleared up I still wont purchase their music.

#31 , 137 Points , 7 votes

http://www.metalkingdom.net/album/img/d7/23856.jpg
Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God

New Goatwhore's the best new record I've heard in a while, though.

― A. Begrand,

Goatwhore blew my face off.

― A. Begrand,

that onion list is kind of strangely constructed, but the streaming album player allowed me to catch up on a few things i'd never heard. i'm liking that goatwhore album a lot--could anyone tell me how it stacks up to their other stuff?

― omaha deserved 311 (call all destroyer)

Ask Phil - he loves him so Goatwhore.

― EZ Snappin,

Did you check Phil's MSN column today? http://music.msn.com/superfans/heavy-metal/blog/the-year-end-and-decade-end-lists-begin/

"Goatwhore are a terrible, boring black metal band whose appeal is utterly inexplicable to me. Otherwise smart friends of mine swear by them but their albums send me diving for the eject button."

― EZ Snappin,

Don't get what's so great about Goatwhore myself I must say

― 19349 things paedophiles like to complain about (DJ Mencap),

What's wrong with Goatwhore? Good, old-fashioned, Celtic Frost rip-off metal...their past albums were always a bit on the plain side, but the recent one blows them all away. I have them pretty darn high on my list.

― A. Begrand,

Yeah, me too. That all-guns-blazing Rutan production helps a lot.

― Chuffed Wiff Morrisound (Thijs),

The addition of the dirty rock 'n roll really made a world of difference, Goatwhore-wise.

― Van Slyke Paidbreed (J3ff T.),

I just don't like 'em. I like Celtic Frost just fine. Shit, I like Gallhammer and Crucifist. But something about Goatwhore just doesn't work for me. I can't make it through a whole song, and life is too short to keep trying.

― neither good nor bad, just a kid like you (unperson),

you really like gallhammer? you are a strange old man.

― scott seward,

I'd listen to the last Gallhammer thing ten more times before I fancied playing the last Goatwhore thing again

― 19349 things paedophiles like to complain about (DJ Mencap),

nope, don't know that dude, unless hes one of you all xxpost

― D@n P3rry is the drummer on Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (jjjusten), Thursday, January 21, 2010 9:58 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh, he's an ilxor alright

#30 , 141 Votes , 7 votes , One #1 vote

http://www.first-avenue.com/files/images/performer/gaywitchabortion.jpg
Gay Witch Abortion - Maverick

GAY WITCH ABORTION

cant complain about that really, considering they are on a teensy local label.

and they have a crap name that will stop anyone checking them out

so perhaps you can say why they were your #1 and why we should check them out?
oh also can you change the thread to top 30 ?

Another on the list of albums to get. Love the sounds of the 30-second iTunes samples enough to want the whole thing. Thanks for all the pimping guys.

yeah, that does look/sound really interesting.

As I said before, wonderful album. Hope they ditch the vocals going forward - the instrumentals are all better.

I'm surprised at how low Gay Witch Abortion placed. I thought it was a lock for the top 10.

The love is deep not wide.

#29 , 143 Points , 9 votes

http://cowsarejustfood.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/jesu-opiate-sun-caldo-verde.jpg
Jesu - Opiate Sun

Regarding Gay Witch Abortion:

Hope they ditch the vocals going forward - the instrumentals are all better.

That's precisely why I placed them so low in my vote - some really good tunes, but the vocals suck. And I'm all for silly names, but theirs is just stupid.

#28 , 147 Points , 7 votes

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/reviewpics/katat_night.jpg
Katatonia - Night Is the New Day

katatonia are my favorite modern rock group, and i know for a fact that i benefited from their cure, red house painters, and shoegaze fandom (they can have jeff buckley).

-Scott Seward

It's a horse race between Cobalt, Katatonia, and Converge for my #1
I just might have to take the coward's way out and just assign 1a, 1b, and 1c. All equally good in completely different ways, and no other metal records quite reach that level of excellence, in my opinion, there's quite a gulf between the first three and the rest.

― A. Begrand,

Listening to the new Katatonia album. Very beautiful (a couple of the tracks really sound like outtakes from Opeth's Damnation), but is it even a metal album? I'm not sure.

― neither good nor bad, just a kid like you (unperson),

how does Katatonia manage to get the whole techno-presets-meets-metal thing so right? The synth/keyboard work on this album is top notch.

― Buck Utah (rockapads),

The Katatonia record actually reminds me of Catherine Wheel (specifically in the vocals). Which isn't a bad thing, but how can it be compared to something like Liturgy? Still, it's a very good record; I don't mean to say otherwise.

― Sonic Bum,

No one at all, not specifically -- but unperson asked if it was "even a metal album?" I was kind of responding to that. I can't think of any sonic criterion by which it is really "metal," I don't see how Katatonia can be objectively considered metal. However, that's an admittedly subjective and arbitrary standard. Just my reaction.

― Sonic Bum, Monday, 9 November 2009 18:24 (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeah, it's more darkwave than anything, I guess. But us metal writers are pretty much the only press that will give this album any attention, despite its very broad appeal. Anyway, Renske's singing on the album is just unreal, and the production is immaculate. I think it's as big a revelation as the Cure's Disintegration was back in '89, as if all the right pieces fell together at the same time at long last.

― A. Begrand,

could be that metal fans are the only target for their sound anyway, whether they are metal or not. their name, doom-and-gloom atmosphere, and the chunky guitars on certain songs probably make it seem metal than any other genre to non-metalheads. the only Katatonia fans I've met in person have been metalheads my age (mid 30s). the audience when I saw them a few years ago was decidedly older, too.

― Buck Utah (rockapads),

I think Katatonia's sound has advanced enough to the point where it can appeal to anyone who digs vintage goth/darkwave, and the subtle Massive Attack thing they have going on NITND sure doesn't hurt either.

I'm reminded me of all the bitching and moaning from non-metal folks who say they want to like so-and-so metal band but can't get past the harsh vocals...you want textured singing in heavy music, well, here it is. Doesn't get much better than this record.

― A. Begrand,

seems like koch and roadrunner have done okay opening opeth up to new crowds. another band that should have been snatched up by the beast years ago. i mean, its not like i think the big companies DESERVE to have good bands on their labels when its obvious the only thing they have going for them is money, but it just seems like its their JOB to steal good bands from tiny labels. it's an insult that their hasn't been a big money bidding war for katatonia. it boggles my mind. and what they choose to spend millions on is likewise just as mind-boggling.

― scott seward,

wow, this katatonia IS great!

― ' ( *_*) ERROR HANDLING (^_^ ) (Alan N),

yet another record i didn't get to spend the minimum required time with in order to be able to properly/accurately evaluate its worth and maybe even vote for. bah.

OK, would definitely have put money on that being top 10.

Partly my fault I guess. I took "metal albums" literally, and did not vote for albums like Baroness, Them Crooked Vultures, Katatonia and Gay Witch Abortion, which I like very much but consider variations of heavy rock than metal. However, I then inconsistently voted for Kylesa because I felt they might need a boost, heh. I wonder if Raise The Red Lantern will make it?

so perhaps you can say why they were your #1 and why we should check them out?

you know before i voted i was thinking that strategically it made sense to put them in first, but as i went through stuff i realized that it was the m.etal record that had had the biggest impact on me this year - esp since i couldnt give a shit about the lightning bolt/whoever 2 piece bands anymore. theres something just different going on, and yeah the drumming is just fucking ferocious, but its more than that, the guitar work is super sludge with crazed soloey stuff and technically dead on. the biggest thing is that unlike all those other bands, it never has that out of control holy shit what are we doing thing going on, everything is ultra composed and super locked in. and tight tight tight, even more so live. btw in case it isn't clear, i seriously doubt that the record is really multitracked at all, the grindy "bass" parts are all pulled off using an octave pedal, which i think might dilute the record for peeps that dont know that.

wrt the vocals, they arent great but they dont bother me, i just basically tune them out.

xposts aplenty

m.etal?

i have a terrible substitution related affliction these days

#27 , 147 Points , 11 votes

http://www.musicdirect.com/shared/images/products/large/ldt2114.jpg
Tombs - Winter Hours

Meanwhile, I get the feeling Tombs' Winter Hours (Relapse) is pretty good, but it keeps going through one ear and out the other. Not to say that it won't grow on me, but so far nothing has stuck. Noisy post-black metal stuff never really does, though.

― Agent ov Fortune (J3ff T.),

Like the first thing I put on this morning was the new Tombs album 'Winter Hours', which is also pretty badass

I've been meaning to check out that Tombs album, but I've been having loads of trouble getting the Relapse promo flash player to work right.

― jon /via/ chi 2.0,

They sound virtually nothing like Jesu for anyone taking djmartian notes btw - I mean they both have an evident boner for olde tyme shoegazing but take it in basically the opposite direction to each other

― Peter Andre Test Tube Babies (DJ Mencap),

Yeah, I hate the streamer too. I don't see the Jesu thing, either. I heard something a bit more post-post-metal.

― Vulgar Display of Flowers (J3ff T.),

Okay, I'm really liking the Tombs album. Post-metal that actually gets to the point, it doesn't drag on and on.

― A. Begrand,

will this album crossover to a wider audience? i.e fans of these bands: My Bloody Valentine, Swans, Black Flag, Wetnurse, Helmet, Killing Joke, Botch, Dazzling Killmen, Husker Du.

elements of: sludge metal, post-metal, hardcore, shoegaze, experimental rock, mathcore, math-rock

you know, they can say this stuff, but as someone who has listened to a fair amount of "shoegaze, experimental rock, mathcore and math-rock" but not a lot of metal, the tombs album doesn't sound especially different from most other metal albums to my ears. so i'm guessing the crossover elements are exaggerated. i am a philistine though.

― congratulations (n/a),

with Tombs there is a heavy shoegaze, hardcore and indeed industrial-rock twist embedded into their sound vortex - that's why the metal purists have probably barred them from metal-archives

― djmartian,

got that tombs album the other day, ppl tar me as a "purist" sometimes but I thought that album was great

― J0hn D.,

Tombs sounds very 90s to me; like I dunno, a boogie-less meeting of Neurosis, Tad and Fudge Tunnel? But then "Beneath the Toxic Jungle" that has a black metal lead riff.
(Note that I've not heard the album, I've just played the stuff on their myspace page)

― Øystein,

lissening to tombs. liveblog! first track = boring, though scary-pretty at times. screamo vox a huge problem, gotta admit. almost gave up, but "golden eyes", holy shit! esp dig the straight-up, heavy-handed rock drumming. first half of "beneath the toxic jungle" is great too. then it drags again. don't dig the stonefaced blackened postrock when they play it straight. want more catchy shit. and the ambient stuff is straight filler.

second half (side 2) ups gaze quotient, for the better. "the divide" could easily be some midwest amrep also ran. hammerhead? really, really prefer the less hysterical vocals here. dude should pull back more often. good shit, fucking standout track. jeez, now that i think about it, hammerhead/vaz seem like the template for a lot of this record's tricks. beyond the more obvious godflesh thing i mean. "merrimack" goes back to the wounded howling (with some embarassing "look inside your soul" lyrics), but melodicism saves it. kinda started to tune back out after that.

really nice guitar tones throughout, raw and sharp, albini-ish, kinda, but thicker, more lo-end luv. clink clanky junkyard cymbals are weird, but maybe that's just the rip. good record, though the harder they try to crush my soul, the more bored i get. serious godflesh vibes on the 2nd half of "filled with secrets".

super short! without the short interludes, only about 33 min. probably for the best at this stage, though i'm surprised they don't stretch out more.

― welcome little swetty (contenderizer),

^ maybe that sounds too unimpressed/bitchy. i dug it, spun it twice, will listen again.

― welcome little swetty (contenderizer),

I'm glad the Tombs isn't more than 33 minutes. Any longer would have been overkill...this album gets it right, concise and catchy.

― A. Begrand,
weird! my friend mary came in to the store - i sell her handmade art cards - and i was blasting Graveworm and i turned it down when she came in and she said: "oh you don't have to turn it down my son is in a metal band i don't mind this music." turns out her son is the drummer in Tombs! they are touring europe right now. i told her if they ever wanted to play in the store to let me know! hahaha!

― scott seward,

Fucking love that Tombs record, just fantastic!

#26 , 163 Points , 11 votes

http://shop.northern-silence.de/cover/10199amesoeursstcd2720090313.jpg
Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs

Meanwhile, the samples from the new Amesoeurs CD have me very excited for the full album: http://www.myspace.com/amesoeurs

Coldwave metal!

― A. Begrand,

And the new Amesoeurs songs I've heard have me geeked. This is going to be one of my 09 faves, I just know it.

― A. Begrand,

Amesoeurs will definitely have some of the purists hollering 'false!', but the new album's not without some vicious moments, including one track of full-on, stripped down black metal.

― A. Begrand,

There was some pretty traditional black metal stuff on the EP, IIRC. Really excited about the upcoming full length. Have they set a hard date yet, or still just sometime this spring?

― EZ Snappin,

Yeah, 90% of the album follows where the last track on the Ruines Humaines EP left off. So much so, that the raw BM track kind of sticks out...it's still a good track though. There's a European date, I just don't know when it is. March something? For North America, yeah, it's apparently April-ish.

― A. Begrand,

Liked the Amesoeurs EP, looking forward the album.

― glenn mcdonald,

you do get two or three indie-oriented tracks ("Video Girl"), and the one straight BM track sticks out a bit. Neige's guitar work and the girl's 4AD style vocals cinch it for me, though, I'm a total sucker for that stuff.

I think "La Reine Trayeuse" perfectly encapsulates what they're trying to achieve on this record...

― A. Begrand,

i have been awaiting this new amesoeurs for what seems like forever ( 2 years anyways) and what i have heard so far has not disappointed. i just hope it does well enough that they follow it up with at least one more. although i was getting used to the idea that all i was ever gonna get from them was the ep and the split single.

― drone/a/sore,
They split up

I had no idea...it was only today when I did a little searching that I learned of their almost comical girl-related squabble.

― A. Begrand,

Never actually listened to the Tombs album but saw them open for Marduk and they were pretty good. The drummer would raise his arms way over his head and bring them smashing down on the snare; I liked that. Also they didn't wear corpse paint or anything - they kinda looked like Unsane.

#25 , 168 Points , 10 votes

http://www.metalrockmuseum.com/band/absu/absu.jpg
Absu - Absu

I'm listening to the new Absu. I was not a big fan of Tara, so I fully expected to just skip through a few songs and delete this, but it's holding my attention so far.

― glenn mcdonald,

The new Absu kills, I wasn't sure what to expect. Another blackened album that benefits hugely from a cleaner, warmer mix. I like this trend.

― A. Begrand,

maybe it's just the grim, frostbitten weather, but the last absu album is sounding pretty good to my ears after a disappointing few spins when it first came out.

still ain't no tara, tho.

― ' ( *_*) ERROR HANDLING (^_^ ) (Alan N),

Another really great example of cover art and, yes, yet another album on my "to get" list.

I like the art too, musics pretty good as well.

#24 , 175 Points , 9 votes , One #1 vote

http://www.earache.com/webstore/images/225598.jpg
Funeral Mist - Maranatha

So I'm really transfixed by the new Funeral Mist album. So much of it is such overly contrived black metal (processed vocals, samples of sermons, disturbing artwork), but it's so deliriously over the top and above all catchy, especially the wickedly groovy 12 minute jam "Blessed Curse". Good stuff.

― A. Begrand,

Absolutely, my fav album of the year so far. Glad someone finally brings this one up, def. deserves a lot more attention. For instance, "Sword Of Faith" has got a positively mindblowing Dick-Dale-in-corpse-paint tremolo picking breakdown. Also the buzzing amp atmospherics in "White Stones", very impressive. And that's just the first two songs.

― Hiram,

nd the new Funeral Mist disc is great. First black metal record I've really liked in what feels like forever.

― unperson,

Absolutely, that Funeral Mist album is incredible. The artwork on that thing is something else, too.

― A. Begrand,

My newest Black Metal discovery is Funeral Mist, who I'd somehow ignored until now. Nothing too likely to convert outsiders, but the new album, Maranatha, is a particularly good mix of ominous atmosphere and intermittent breakneck BM sputtering.

― glenn mcdonald,

Also, I'm so into this Funeral Mist album. More after each listen. The cover needs to be cropped, however. Logo to the bottom left, angel in the top right, make it square. Much better.

― glenn mcdonald,

I think lately my tolerance for doom shit is even lower than my tolerance for black metal. At least black metal has coughed up that new Funeral Mist album.

― unperson,

Also also, I'm still thinking the new Funeral Mist has album-of-the-year potential

― glenn mcdonald,

finally listened to the new funeral mist today. does "jesus saves" sample popul vuh? (opening track on einsjager & siebenjager.) this is during the last couple minutes. sounds EXACTLY the same! very weird.

album seemed cool but I got reeeeeeeal tired of the preacher sermons.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

Finally got around to listening to Funeral Mist's "Maranatha", much raved about upthread: Amazing production, wild Lovecraft-monster vocals, reminds me quite a bit of Leviathan, specifically "Massive conspiracy . .", which makes me wonder about some common 2nd wave influence I haven't got to yet. Lots of effects and samples, and changes that make you feel like your head is coming off. Suspect I'll be spending some time with this.

― Soukesian,

ok im making my way through here and listening to the stuff i didnt know and wow i am really digging that saros album

and the peste noire as well

yeah good stuff. Peste Noire, dudes dodgy politics aside, are not bad. Wish music i liked didnt attract such arseholes.

yeah really. wont much matter since as far as i can see the album has only been released on limited run cassette, so not much chance of getting my hands on it?

its fucking insane though, the song i found on youtube was the one with the "la la la la" section in it and its really great and super legit creepy

ok john one of your faves is up next i think

if this is pearl jam you are getting stricken from the metal christmas card list

actually its not you, it was whiney i think.

and dj mencap and jess and colonel poo, so they can post here why they rated it so highly

#23 , 193 Points, 8 votes , Two #1 votes

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/pissedjeanscov.jpg
Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans

It's tighter, doomy almost. "Spent" is like Swans, if Gira lived in a milltown.

― bendy,

like "Hope For Men" tried to be emotionless. just this boring album about scrapbooking and jogging and shit. To wit:

"Mainly we just wanted to bludgeon the listener with dull, monotonous droning rock music that just sucks the energy out of you, the musical equivalent to watching a toilet flush.”

And now they have balls, and play like they give a shit, and are awesome. The end.

― kschoice (Whiney G. Weingarten),

this is awesome

― plax (I know, right?),

I'm digging this one way more than "hope for men", it's great.
"she is science fiction" is the jam. These guys are getting better with age!

― chad,

Just listened to it again after gorging on it for a review. I'm thinking it's my fav of the year now, displacing Future of the Left.

― bendy,

or to put it in terms whiney might better understand: think of it as "break stuff" for people who want to skip the middleman and get right to the self-abasement and self-disgust that's pooling under the i-hate-everybody attitude. with appropriate sonics to match.

― strongohulkingtonsghost,

posts taken from the pissed jeans thread.

I wrote some stuff about it here http://thequietus.com/articles/02527-pissed-jeans-king-of-jeans-album-review

See, I love that album but I didn't even think of voting for it in this poll. I guess its a very thin line separating early 90s style pigfuck from metal sometimes, but I just didn't associate those guys with metal at all.

hahaha glad that got straightened out, i would have been really confused since i dont really like pissed jeans much at all

some of your faves are bound to come john

feel free to start speculating on whats still to come

I think the next entry will shock people..

great band/album though..

i want slough feg to be in the top five, this better not be that

Wolf?

ok so wait if pissed jeans really now sounds like early 90's pigfuck i will give them another go, that isnt what i remembered them sounding like AT ALL

and bear in mind that initially it was stoner rockers that were into this band (in europe at least) before the band got labelled it and hated it and moved away from it.
xp

I'm honestly no expert on pigfuck, but I've heard Pissed Jeans mentioned as similar to that many times. And from what I have heard of pigfuck bands, there are similarities.

There's quite a run of great albums going on right now.

#22 , 205 Points , 10 votes , Two #1's

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/media/rated_o.jpg
Oneida - Rated O

don't even know where to start with Rated O, in a good way. i've listened maybe 5-7 times and can't find anything that isn't mind blowing about it

― I'M IN MIAMI, TRICK-OR-TREAT (Beatrix Kiddo),

OMG
am listening to 'rated o'

it is quite something

― Puddle of Thudd (acoleuthic),

It is feckin' brilliant.

― Doran,

okay, so i picked up Rated O the other day. holy shit this is great! by far by far BY FAR the best thing i've ever heard oneida do, like Each One Teach One made more and better longer louder crazier crazier world without end. on that note kinda funny how the MC who does vocals on the opening epic dub track even namechecks EOTO (each one a teacha waaaan).

surprised by the mixed reviews. i mean, if yr averse to epic length hammering on a single change (or chord!) this obviously isn't the band for you, but if yr at all interested in the space btwn heavy garage rock, noise & space/kraut hypnosis, this is the fucking GODHEAD. space ritual shit right here. three lps, each aesthetically/conceptually distinct, and all fucking fantastic. i even like "the human factor", which seems to be the sticking point/bellwether for folks who don't quite "get it". yeah, he's shrieking hoarsely for like five minutes, but it's kinda funny and the drumming is awesome.

SO glad i made time for this. instant top-of-the-heap album of the year contender, displacing a lot of potential favorites.

― a dimension that can only be accessed through self-immolation (contenderizer),

Kid just emailed me the other day. He's sending me the triple vinyl. Stoked!

― Nate Carson,

Fucking great album

Don't recall Oneida having stoner rock attached to them at all as a thing but that doesn't mean it wasn't the case - I was really into 'Come On Everybody Let's Rock' (which I'll grant you is a red flag of a title, and also features a song about coke) when it came out (2001, 2002?) but didn't really have a handle of where they sprang from I don't think

trust me they did, it was because of that i bought their 1st or 2nd album. Kerrang definitely had them down as stoner rock for the album you mentioned.
Back when Kerrang was still decent pre-emo days.

Dudes! Off the rails! They're good albums an all, but this is indie rock!

#21 , 239 Points , 11 Points , One #1 vote

http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/4871/cover_3141319112009.jpg
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars

I'm really liking the new Blut Aus Nord album. It is, as the Memoria Vetusta II title implies, a little more accessible than their last couple, but I kind of think that maybe (unlike with Deathspell Omega) they were closer to their personal strengths in that mode, and the combination of focus plus distance ("maturity"? experience?) sounds pretty good to me.

I've also been doing some remedial catalog-spelunking while things are still pretty quiet on the new-release front, and am really enjoying Ven Buens Ende's old album Written in Waters. A Black Metal Classic, I've been assured by the internet, but I had never heard of it until a few days ago. Excitingly strange, in no small part because it was done in 1995 before as many of the genre-tropes had been trope-ified.

― glenn mcdonald,

Switched over to the new blut aus nord instead. loving it on first listen. surprisingly melodic for a hypnotic, repetitive black metal album. (especially after that dissonance fest a couple years back.) plus, it swings.

― Alan N, Friday,

man, the blut aus nord is KILLER. I wish the longest track on it went on forever. and I found it on youtube! compressed as all hell but hey...

the melodic guitar leads on this are just fantastic. almost remind me of a more polished countess. work so well with the head-nodding drums.

and I've liked bits-and-pieces of what I've heard for blut aus nord before but I love this whole thing. well, maybe except for the generic black metal keyboard intro, but that's hardly offensive and kind of funny in a "how to make a black metal album" checklist kind of way.

― Alan N,

Wow, Blut Aus Nord has really found a perfect middle ground between their experimental side and raw black metal. Brilliant album..."Meditant" (Alan N is right) and "Disciple's Libration" really stand out, plenty of gorgeous melodies in there.

― A. Begrand,

from what I've heard of the new Blut Aus Nord, I am going to love this album for a long time.

― The Lost Boys Buff Guy Playing Sax (rockapads),

still loving that blut aus nord. anyone even mildly interested should check that one out, imo.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

Yeah, I like Oneida, but calling them (and Mount Eeerie) metal is pushing it. But then again, I voted for Amesoeurs, so what do I know?

so, I'm the only one voted blut aus nord at #1... :-/

also - wtf @ katatonia barely cracking the top 30!!!

Yeah, wow @ Oneida. I mean that was my overall fifth favorite album of the year, but no way was I voting for it here!

oneida are totally not metal but I think oneida dudes are in knyfe hits and they cover "running free" so oh well.

mind you, the album is first class

and I'll just say it again - the blut aus nord album is really special. check it out if you have any interest at all. masterpiece.

also - wtf @ katatonia barely cracking the top 30!!!

It kind of mirrors the album's sales. I was one of two people who gave it a Pazz & Jop vote, too.

Hey guys remember to go vote in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~FINALLY - 2009 ILX Albums 'n' Trax Poll voting thread ahoy~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ballots due TOMORROW)

I'll start the top 20 about midday prob, will try finish by midnight UK time so americans at work can see it.

Thanks again for all your hard work!

oh and since i didnt do it upthread, thx to glenn for all the work he put into this, esp considering i was a chump and didn't send in my ballot on time.

Glenn rules!
JJ can you change thread title to 20 (Final Day Of Poll Results) now?

Everyone reading feel free to have a guess at predicting what will make it as well as what you think of the poll and the albums in it so far.
Good conversation on the thread makes it all worthwhile especially if ilxors then discover stuff they may otherwise have missed.

The top 20 might have albums you will be surprised are in it, surprised at being lower than you thought, higher than you thought and maybe even something you expected to make it wont. Perhaps the order will surprise you.

It was very close btw so no runaway winner like last year.
So lets the predictions and suspense start now!

And finally for tonight

A recap of 100-21

100. Municipal Waste - Massive Aggressor
99. Tyr - By the Light of the Northern Star
98. Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness
97. Masters of Reality - Pine/Cross Dover
96. Saviours - Accelerated Living
92. Them Crooked Vultures - S/T
Saros - Acrid Plains
Peste Noire - Ballade Cuntre Lo Anemi Francor
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
91. Revocation - Existence Is Futile
90. Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution
88. Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Glorior Belli - Meet Us at the Southern Sign
87. Anvil - This Is Thirteen
86. Vom - Primitive Arts
85. Altar of Plauges - White Tomb
84. 1349 - Revelations of the Black Flame
83. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
82. Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive
81. Gnaw - This Face
80. Jodis - Secret House
78. Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Crows Eat the Eyes From the Leviathan's Carcass
Behemoth - Evangelion
76. Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School of Medicine - The Audacity of Hype
Dethklok - Dethalbum II
75. Black Boned Angel - Verdun
74. Megadeth - Endgame
73. SubArachnoid Space - Eight Bells
72. Magrudergrind - S/T
71. Minsk - With Echoes in the Movement of Stone
70. Eluveitie - Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion
69. Voivod - Infini
68. Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire
67. Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
66. Melvins - Chicken Switch
65. Hacride - Lazarus
64. Nadja and Black Boned Angel - S/T
63. Keelhaul - Triumphant Return to Obscurity
62. Anaal Nathrakh - In the Constellation of the Black Widow
61. Lifelover - Dekadens
60. Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans
59. Xasthur - All Reflections Drained
58. Bloody Panda - Summon
57. Ancestors - Of Sound Mind
56. Greymachine - Disconnected
55. Jamie Saft - Black Shabbis
54. Wardruna - Runaljod - Gap Var Ginnunga
53. Church of Misery - Houses of the Unholy
52. Jesu - Infinity
51. Dysrhythmia - Psychic Maps
50. Part Chimp - Thriller
49. Pyramids With Nadja - S/T
48. Nadja - When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV
47. Eagle Twin - The Unkindness of Crows
46. Napalm Death - Time Waits for No Slave
45. Madder Mortem - Eight Ways
44. Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity
43. Big Business - Mind the Drift
42. Portal - Swarth
41. Coalesce - Ox
40. Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem
39. Immortal - All Shall Fall
38. Marduk - Wormwood
37. Pelican - What We All Come to Need
36. Orthodox - Sentencia
35. Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
34. Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest
33. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
32. Drudkh - Microcosmos
31. Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God
30. Gay Witch Abortion - Maverick
29. Jesu - Opiate Sun
28. Katatonia - Night Is the New Day
27. Tombs - Winter Hours
26. Amesoeurs - Amesoeurs
25. Absu - Absu
24. Funeral Mist - Maranatha
23. Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans
22. Oneida - Rated O
21. Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars

Amesoeurs/Absu/Funeral Mist is my favorite run so far. Maranatha slipped a little ways down my list, in the end, but that was due to other greatnesses, not my getting sick of it at all. Amesoeurs I liked a few songs better than others. Blut Aus Nord I cooled on in the same way I did with their last album: the more attention I paid to it, the more samey it started sounding to me. Which is the opposite of what happens to me with Deathspell Omega, to whom Blut Aus Nord are often compared.

Sadly, most of the bands I personally care about have now gone by. But not quite all, and there's something very interesting waiting to happen with one of them...

But you guys will have to wait to find out who he means..

So, any thoughts about big hitters (as in mainstream-ish or long-term popular acts) yet to place? Slayer? Lamb Of God? Pearl Jam? Mastodon? We've already had Megadeth, of course...

― Neil S, Thursday, 21 January 2010 17:27 (Yesterday)

thinking mastodon will make top ten
lamb of god and slayer in top twenty

― D@n P3rry is the drummer on Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (jjjusten),

Join in the guesses. Will they all make it? Who will make the top 10? Any surprise omissions or placings?
You will find out friday...

Oh and anyone wanting to write blurbs? pm them to me.

you forgot to mention my deep hope that pearl jam eats shit in this poll xpost

Apparently I missed something re: Pearl Jam.

There's always gonna be disappointments for some people, john. (thanks for changing the title)

Who would you like to see in the top 20? (everyone can answer that)

I love that Pissed Jeans record, and I'm glad it posted high. In lieu of any new Jesus Lizard material (and I'm unsure if that would be a good thing anyway), its the best noise rock going IMO.

I'm going out on a limb - number one will be Converge.

I still think it will be Baroness or Sunn0)))) personally.

Will you be waiting until our North American friends are about, Pfunkboy? If so I'll actually be able to get some work done this morning!

Yeah another hour til I start posting i think, so speculate away!

Fingers crossed for YOB, but it'll probably be Baroness.

what about the top twenty in general? what do you guys hope to be in it or expect to see in it?

Before I post the top 20 here are what the big magazines had in their lists of 2009 so you can see what critics thought of last year.

KERRANG

20 Kylesa - Static Tensions
19 Placebo - Battle For The Sun
18 Leathermouth - XO
17 Lamb of God - Wrath
16 The Ghost of a Thousand - New Hopes, New Demonstrations
15 Steel Panther - Fight The Steel
14 The Wildhearts - Chutzpah!
13 Alexisonfire - OldCrows/Young Cardinals
12 Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
11 Brand New - Daisy
10 Rammstein - Liebe Ist Fur Alle Da
9 The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
8 Paramore - Brand New Eyes
7 Converge - Axe To Fall
6 Pearl Jam - Backspacer
5 Mariachi El Bronx - El Bronx
4 Mastodon - Crack The Skye
3 Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
2 Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue
1 Gallows - Grey Britain

DECIBEL

1. Baroness-The Blue Record
2. Converge-Axe To Fall
3. Coalesce- Ox
4. Napalm Death-Time Waits No Slave
5. Cobalt-Gin
6. Kylesa-Static Tensions
7. Slayer-World Painted Blood
8. Tombs-Winter Hours
9. Marduk-Wormwood
10. Isis-Wavering Radiant
11. Immortal-All Shall Fall
12. Agoraphobic Nosebleed-Agorapocalypse
13. Obscura-Cosmogenesis
14. Magrudergrind-S/T
15. Nile-Those Whom The Gods Detest
16. YOB- The Great Cessation
17. Mastodon-Crack The Skye
18. Paradise Lost-Fath Divides Us,Death Unites Us
19. The Atlas Moth-A Glorified Piece Of Blue Sky
20. Asphyx-Death...The Brutal Way
21. Altar of Plagues-White Tomb
22.Mournful Congregation-The June Frost
23. Funeral Mist-Maranatha
24. The Gates of Slumber-Hymns Of Blood And Thunder
25. Burnt by the Sun-Heart Of Darkness
26. City of Ships-Look What God Did To Us
27. Goatwhore-Carving Out The Eyes Of God
28. Gaza-He Is Never Coming Back
29. Katatonia-Night Is The New Day
30. Keelhaul-Keelhaul's Triumphannt Return To Obscurity
31. The Red Chord-Fed Through The Teeth Machine
32. Brutal Truth-Evolution Through Revolution
33. Krallice-Dimensional Bleedthrough
34. Culted-Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep
35. Goes Cube-Another Day Has Passed
36. Suffocation-Blood Oath
37. Javelina-Beasts Among Sheep
38. Municipal Waste-Massive Aggressor
39. Millions-Gather Scatter
40. Funebrarum-The Sleep Of Morbid Dreams

TERRORIZER

1: Converge - Axe To Fall
2: Cobalt - Gin
3: Kylesa - Static Tensions
4: Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars
5: Napalm Death - Time Waits No Slave
6: Mastodon - Crack The Skye
7: Megadeth – Endgame
8: Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse
9: Funeral Mist - Maranatha
10: Immortal - All Shall Fall
11: Drudkh - Microcosmos
12: Beherit - Engram
13: Portal - Swarth
14: Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
15: Marduk - Wormwood
16: Absu - Absu
17: Tombs - Winter Hours
18: Burnt by the Sun - Heart Of Darkness
19: Heaven & Hell - The Devil You Know
20: Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation Of The Black Widow
21: Arckanum - ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ
22: Baroness - Blue Record
23: Madder Mortem - Eight Ways
24: The Devil's Blood - The Time of No Time Evermore
25: Archgoat - the Light Devouring Darkness
26: Shining - VI - Klagopsalmer
27: Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
28: Hacride - Lazarus
29: Fuckpig- Spewings from A Selfish Nation
30: Amorphis - Skyforger
31: Brutal Truth - Evolution Through Revolution
32: Greymachine - Disconnected
33: Behemoth - Evangelion
34: Unanimated - In the Light of Darkness
35: Obscura - Cosmogenesis
36: Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity
37: Shrinebuilder - S/T
38: Teitanblood - Seven Chalices
39: Gorgoroth - Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt
40: Evile - Infected Nations

That Cobalt record might be in with a shout.

Are we ready for # 20?

#20 , 253 Points , 13 votes

http://rathausartprojects.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Earthly-Delights.jpg
Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvu3UhXeLg8

This record was received as Lightning Bolt's metal record, and it certainly has some extremely heavy moments.

Really, though, its more of the same, but when more of the same is the crushing grooves and drill-'n-bass played live, its difficult to resist.

Diminishing returns don't really apply to Lightning Bolt: its more a matter of honing and refining an aesthetic defined by pounding a single, brilliant, idea into the ground.

The question of whether it's metal is moot: when you're this good, genre ceases to be an issue.

Neil S

Like what I've heard. Kinda gives off a Gravitar/Helios Creed/Hawkwind vibe at points, less of a spastic joy than their other stuff.

― te reo speedwagon (CharlieS),

I like it. it sounds like lightning bolt. but I've come to accept that they'll never really change all that much and that this is OK.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

last track does indeed rule. love the little dubby touches on the drums that pop off here and there.

― picture me lolin' (Alan N),

Solid all the way through

― van smack,

I'm guessing noone thought that would be top 20.

I voted it pretty high because I thought it banged hard, seems like the thing to do

sick of not-metal being on the metal poll

No-one has mentioned The Gates of Slumber yet in terms of stuff yet to place - a lot of ppl on rolling metal were gay for it myself very much included. Top 10, I'm calling it

"Sick of"

This is so lame. I remember what people like you said about grindcore etc etc fucking etc when that first came up. Stop whingeing.

Being into metal isn't primarily about being an uptight, rule following stick in the mud.

Curtis is just joking , Doran.

ready for #19?

Sorry Curtis. I am, on the other hand, extremely uptight and unable to perceive humour in any aspect of my shoddy life.

LIGHTNING BOLT

Rhode Island Providence power duo Lightning Bolt exist as temporary royalty in the realm of the senses. Not just their nomenclature but album titles such as Ride The Skies and Wonderful Rainbow give you an idea of the elemental kingdom they oversee. Brian Chippendale plays drums and sings simultaneously with a microphone in his mouth while Brian Gibson plays bass and from this deceptively simple set up they create, marshal, amplify and then unleash a projectile jolt of "heavy metal" that nods briefly to hardcore, punk, psych rock and black metal as it hurtles past. Speeding like a Japanese bullet train constructed of whale carcasses, stalactites and diamonds. Of course they don’t deal in idyllic, sylvan or even red in tooth and claw notions of nature but that of vast weather systems, tectonic shifts, batholithic ruptures, cave collapses, mega tsunamis. Gibson’s bass is run through an impressive array of FX units that conjure up a massive sound out of which solidifies battleship heavy riffs and surprisingly user friendly hooks while Chippendale’s octopodalic drumming forms not just a rhythm but another layer of fizzing texture. While the pair are often described as noise or as having a very ‘difficult’ sound, their latest album Earthly Delights shows that they are more then capable of producing righteous rock (Transmissionary) and gentle aqueous Frippery (Rain On The Lake I’m Swimming In) when they feel like it. However, mainly their noise is akin to a single span suspension bridge in a violent earthquake – the roads rippling and buckling as the giant cables snake free.

BROADRICKWATCH

At the weekend when the car has been washed and the tax returns filled out, what better way than to relax with an amyl nitrate enema followed by a session snorting enough meow meow plant food to subdue Boris Johnson’s hairstyle. If consciousness can be maintained, what better way of spending the rest of the afternoon than lying on face down on the kitchen floor listening to releases by Birmingham's finest son Justin Broadrick?
Everyone’s favourite urban avant nihilist turned country dwelling ray of sunshine, the hardest working man in bleakcore, JB has returned with a new Jesu EP Opiate Sun which contains some of his most uplifting and positive work under that moniker to date. Losing Streak not only has an extremely overdriven country rock chord progression but also features an experiment with what appears to be Kanye West’s favourite plaything – autotune!
Actually it looks like we spoke to soon! JB was obviously saving up all his bad vibes to pour into the insanely good Greymachine project. Along with Aaron Turner of Isis, Dave Cochrane of Head Of David and Diarmuid Dalton of Jesu they have released a deeply unnerving album Disconnected on Hydra Head, which bears some relation to Godflesh, augmented by horrortronix, atonal synth sounds and improvised guitar noise. Let’s hope he’s saved some bleakness to one side for the Godflesh reformation later this year.

ONEIDA

A mad man's breakfast. Jaw dropping.

i seem to recall someone or other proclaiming the GoS top ten fodder up above. but i could be wrong, of course.

Lightning Bolt disc is far from their best (that would be Wonderful Rainbow, no?), imo.

still can't believe Coalesce didn't do better tho--i thought they had serious fans hereabouts.

next please.

#19 , 260 Points , 16 votes

http://www.phantomcityrecords.net/store/images/spin031_liturgy400.jpg
Liturgy - Renihilation (20 Buck Spin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5J6FcAtAxo

Brooklyn, NY’s Liturgy deal in a style of black metal steeped in the genre’s most basic foundations of buzzing, dissonant guitars and whirlwind percussion, and yet they demonstrate an acute ability to make the sound firmly their own, both modern and ancient. Liturgy’s unique take on the genre only slightly recalls their NYC friends Krallice and the earlier works of the Norwegian wolves Ulver (particularly their 3rd LP masterwork Nattens Madrigal). In some sense Liturgy represents the seeping of black metal into the consciousness of the indie music world at large. The band claim influences ranging from cult black metal figures Vlad Tepes to Angelo Badalamenti to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, all of whom can be distantly identified in Liturgy’s approach.

Renihilation is the band’s debut LP, following two demo tapes and a 12 inch, Immortal Life. The album weaves intricate waves of dissonant dual guitar riffing and complex blackened harmonics between main songwriter Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and second guitarist Bernard Gann. The strange tonalities they seamlessly create providing layers of eerie dimension over which Hendrix’s tortured howls battle to be heard. The ultra-chaotic yet superbly minimalist drumming of Greg Fox, utilizing only a kick, snare and crash symbols, adds a dose of old, raw punk/grind to the mix. Several intros and interludes consisting of vocal pieces and drones break the album up into distinct sections.

Renihilation was recorded and mastered at the Thousands Caves Of Menegroth with Colin Marston of Krallice at the helm. The purposely low-res minimalist artwork recalls the work of German photographer Thomas Ruff in both aesthetic and intent. A photograph of a total eclipse, a massive celestial event, its aura being subdued and defeated by the void the low resolution of the image leaves in its wake – an apt analogy for Liturgy’s ecstatic sonic experiments.

BTW, just got files of the new Liturgy (from NYC). This stuff is really fucking impressive. Need to digest more fully. Sorta indie-fied trance Black Metal from NYC with a nice, original angle.

Check it: http://www.myspace.com/liturgynybm

― Nate Carson,

Listening to _Renihilation_, by Liturgy. Brooklyn blast-metal band, first full album. Wow. Who needs to slow down? Or breathe? Produced by some guy from Krallice; I never managed to appreciate Krallice, but this is magnificent. Ever so vaguely in the same realm as Wolves in the Throne Room, but more like the wolves got distracted ripping some rabbits apart on the way in.

― glenn mcdonald,

tis good

― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname),

This Liturgy album is like Parts & Labor as a metal band.

― glenn mcdonald,

I like that Liturgy album quite a bit.

― A. Begrand,

played last night with this BM band liturgy from brooklyn. they were good, nice too. did an elaborate gregorian kind of chant with the help of a loop station. they have an interesting style (imo, and i mean live -- i haven't heard their record yet and i don't know what it's like). a lot of weird pausing, but not like intricate bizarre timing/crazy stops or anything like that, just kinda like weird, heaving pausing before going back into a repetition or going into a change. thumbs up.

― heave haw (roxymuzak),

<3 liturgy!!! dudes are totally super nice for real.

― ian,

Did an email interview with the guy from Liturgy last week, and I came away mightily impressed. Smart guy. Not often you get a fella who goes into great detail describing the similarities between black metal and spectralism.

The drumming on that album is nuts.

― A. Begrand,

Liturgy seconded. Fucking amazing.

― Soukesian,

I think Liturgy is probably the heaviest record I have heard this year

― Sonic Bum,

Ioannis: it's of similar quality to Wonderful Rainbow. They had a total misfire with Hypermagic Mountain but this is them on fire again. (And this isn't the thread for it but they're better than ever live now - especially because they've stopped playing on the floor instead of the stage.)

i don't know, the new one is good and all (i voted for it too) but i just don't see it being up there with their best previous efforts. need to listen to it some more doubtlessly.

Haven't seen Lightning Bolt on stage yet but tbh last time I saw them it was just annoying them being on the floor, too many people and the sound was crap because you couldn't get anywhere near them

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They were in the top five bands at both December ATPs in the UK. The tenth birthday one where they were joined on stage by Afrirampo was phenomenal. So refreshing not to be surrounded by loads of wankered clowns who've just turned up because they've heard there'll be people getting knocked over and "moshing" or whatever. They're a genuinely great band; they don't need a novelty aspect to what they do.

Unlike Monotonix.

Any thoughts on the great album at #19 by Liturgy?

Haven't seen Lightning Bolt on stage yet but tbh last time I saw them it was just annoying them being on the floor, too many people and the sound was crap because you couldn't get anywhere near them

It's for this reason that I've never seen them. I even bought a ticket to see them play here in Dublin a few years ago, but was so put off by the idea of being stuck behind concentric rings of tall hipsters with big hair that I gave it a miss.

haven't heard it yet.

xp

liturgy album is cool and definitely sticks out amongst the sea of black metal releases... but I think they will improve with time. good album but I think they have a great one in them yet.

also, the record seemed really tinny. (yeah, black metal, I know...) to the point where it kinda hurt to listen to it with headphones.

and I liked the lightning bolt but wouldn't vote for it them on a metal poll, personally.

but it's basically more lightning bolt. everyone probably knows whether they want that or not at this point.

#18 , 293 Points , 15 votes
http://i48.tinypic.com/309looo.jpg
Slayer - World Painted Blood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFw9l_TFokU

The album artwork perfectly encapsulates what Slayer means in relevance to modern extreme metal in my world today
-J0hnD

You can't go wrong with Slayer - they've never made a bad record.

― unperson,

my prediction: it sounds EXACTLY like a Slayer album!

― scott seward,

I liked Christ Illusion quite a bit, but I have to say, World Painted Blood is better. The title track is the best thing I've heard from Slayer in quite a while.

― A. Begrand,

My track-by-track (p)review of the forthcoming Slayer album can be read here http://music.msn.com/superfans/heavy-metal/blog/slayer-s-world-painted-blood-track-by-track-review/. Short version: It's good.
-unperson,

Oh, and I agree with you, Phil, the Slayer is really good. Nice preview piece!

― A. Begrand,
God, Araya looks ancient. And Lombardo looks like Andy Garcia.

― Bill Magill,

Nice Slayer write-up Phil, makes me a lot more excited to hear it than I was.

― 3 mods 1 banhammer (jon /via/ chi 2.0),

So, I've finally heard Slayer - Oh yes!

I hope they don't clean it up too much . . .

― Doran,

The difference on the Slayer thing is that Psychopathy Red and that other track have both been released as singles, therefore are the finished product. I kind of wish they'd just release the rest of it all punky.

Well, like I said, I checked up on it and the whole promo is 'finished product', apparently.

― Thijs,

Unicorn chaser!

Kerry King's not going to be happy about this.

hahaha.

kinda want to hear this, kinda don't care too much anymore. I tuned out after this one:

http://cover6.cduniverse.com/CDUCoverArt/Music/Large/superd_2984565.jpg

He's too busy watching WWE dvds to care
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