It’s half-way through the year, and we’ve all heard a lot of metal so far. We’ve seen releases by some big names—Mastodon, Behemoth, Mayhem—but sometimes smaller releases can get lost amidst the noise. That’s why the Last Rites scribes have assembled twenty-five of the best albums that came out in the first half of 2014 (or sometimes the very tail of 2013) that you may have overlooked. Even if you’ve heard over two-hundred albums so far this year (like this critic), you might find an album or two in our list that you missed. And it might be really, truly good, too.
Dig in and enjoy Day Two.
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THE GREAT OLD ONES – TEKELI-LI
With their compressed, pinched guitar tones, enveloping atmosphere, and utilization of sometimes “soft” blast beats, The Great Old Ones certainly has parallels with the whole “post/black” thing. But what sets them apart is that sophomore album Tekeli-Li is dark, and maintains a far more blackened vibe throughout. This is not some praise of purity, but rather a description of sound, and likely an inviting statement to those tiring of the cheery approach.
The album’s most immediate trait is that semi-alien atmosphere, within which the mix of blasting and shuffling rhythms, churning bass, and absolutely cutting lead lines reside. An attentive ear will also hear the mildly progressive rhythm guitar motifs and smart structures.
The combination of these elements is what gives moments like the soaring finale of “Antarctica” or the general mood of “Awakening” – in which a person, an emotion, an invader…something must be expulsed – that much more gravity. The heftiest weight lands with “Behind the Mountains,” the album’s near-18-minute closer. The gripping nature of the track means that the length never enters the listener’s mind, a trait also shared by the album as a whole, which is a seriously quick 53 minutes.
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ISKALD – NEDOM OG NORD
The Norwegian duo Iskald has long carried the mantle of Emperor’s most progressive bent. With guitar lines that interlock like jigsaw pieces and song and drums that neither relent nor grow stale, this fourth full-length sees the band hone their sound to a fine cutting edge. While their influences are clearly on display—Emperor, Enslaved, Opeth—Simon Larsen and Aage André Krekling have something unique in the Norwegian scene.
Nedom og Nord presents six longer songs (none of them less than seven minutes) that are studies in contrasts. Despite the longer songs, the whole album running time is less than their last album, and never overstays its welcome. The production is modern, but not over-compressed. If you couldn’t hear the parts, you’d be missing out, and that’s a commentary on “necro” as well as “plastic” sound.
Iskald have been living in the shadows for close to a decade now, but their label seems to be doing little to promote them. Each release they put out is better and better. Similar bands receive spotlights on NPR, while Iskald gets overlooked—even by me, occasionally. Nedom og Nord is powerful music and deserves to be heard. Share it—turn up the volume.
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INFERNO – OMNIABSENCE FILLED BY HIS GREATNESS
Lost in the shuffle late last year, the Czech Republic’s Inferno released a dynamo of an album in Omniabsence Filled By His Greatness on Agonia Records. With an air of Orthodoxy, Inferno strips away the excess fat of symphonic black metal to lay down a fast, melodic assault.
Awesome riffing, a sense of grandeur, muted vocals, and clarity in the production reveals a great album that most of us (including me) just completely missed. Songs are long, rich, and insanely catchy, resulting in a solid example of the genre.
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LANDSKAP – I
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. But if it just looks like a duck, it might actually be a witch… Or maybe a doom band.
Based purely on the band’s name and the album cover artwork for the aptly titled I, one might expect to walk into some form of progressive, windswept black metal. Not even close, adventurers; London, England’s Landskap is 100% Grade-A psychedelic, swirling, bluesy, jam-centric doom that’s perfectly suited for cool summer evenings, hazy couch sessions, or just about any sort of activity that could stand to be enhanced by a hugely rewarding (weirdly under-appreciated) gem of a doom record. Just look at the damn pedigree behind the band: Pantheist, Indesinence, Serpentcult, Thee Plague of Gentleman, Centurion’s Ghost and Bunkur. Yowza.
Oh, and pay what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the law.
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IRKALLIAN ORACLE – GRAVE EKSTASIS
Irkallian Oracle peddle death of the pleasantly impenetrable sort. Grave Ekstasis serves up the avalanche of aural oblivion I oft crave, revving its two-speed transmission at either lumbering or raging-in-the-red. The oscillating meat-grinder experience reminds me why I loved that first Dragged into Sunlight LP. Consistently ripping riffs mean ears filled with delicious mincemeat.
Although Grave Ekstasis is grounded in bestial severity, the chanty howls and Wagnerian percussion recall a birthday party for Kali, supreme mistress of the universe. When the obscene, noodling bass wriggles up out of the maelstrom, I receive much perverse pleasure. Nuclear War Now! pulled Grave Ekstasis from the abyss of tape-only release and put it out on plastic and vinyl in February.
