Building on the basis that Carcass laid down a zillion years ago – and the title and album cover add an obvious nod to that band’s second record – Houkago Grind Time rips through Lee’s seemingly endless well of quality riffs, the twisting guitars and generous usage of pinch harmonics pulling from the more death metal side of the spectrum. Opening track “HGT Live At The Budokan” actually isn’t live (what a cheap trick, Andrew), but it does set the stage admirably, furious grinding swagger giving way to a thrashy middle bit before resolving in all the pong-y snare blasting a kid could want.

From there, it’s seventeen more songs in about nineteen minutes, variations upon the theme, but each with their own array of hooky riffs and the occasional shreddy guitar lead. (For a prime example of both, see the tandem of “Some More Moe” and “Disgrace To The Corpse Of Watsuki,” two of Koncertos’ longest numbers and two of its best.) With guest vocals from Billy Smeer (Sauce) and Joseph Schafer (Colony Drop), “I Like Dubs Over Subs” is a mid-album shoutalong beatdown with another fun guitar solo, this time courtesy of Tom Maher of Mass Extinction. “I Love Jelly-Filled Donuts” certainly lives up to that culinary delight’s deserved high-billing, and by the time “Why Do You Post?” wraps up these Koncertos, it’s been a short but blistering ride through yet another strong batch of grinding geekery from the best anime-grind outfit around.

Even if you don’t know where you stand on the battle between dubs and subs, Houkago Grind Time still cares, and thus, there’s much to love here in the bizarro world where savage blastbeats and razor riffery walk hand-in-hand with cuddly, wide-eyed cartoon characters. In a world where legions of goregrinders have combined every possible medical term in ways both coherent and nonsensical, at least Andrew Lee is bringing a new lyrical slant to his brand of icky sickness, and with it, a welcome sense of silliness… and of course, all those killer riffs certainly help, too.

The post Houkago Grind Time – Koncertos Of Kawaiiness: Stealing Jon Chang’s Ideas, A Book By Andrew Lee Review appeared first on Last Rites.

Even with two years of pandemic bullshit, constant political sturm und drang the whole world around, the death of Betty White, the Packers epic 2022 collapse, and the fact that olives still exist (utterly wretched things, olives), it’s been a pretty good year, I admit. Mostly, it’s been a pretty good year because the last few years have been awful, and everything is relative, but let me have my bright-side moment. It feels like we’re on the upswing again, after a long dark stretch. Above even that, let’s agree that there are better days to come, kids, and if we agree upon that, then let’s agree upon this: More important than anything is that we’ll get there together, and we’ll have much metal to listen to along the way.

So, in lieu of any further waxings of poetics (not that I was doing all that well there, anyway — “ramblings” is perhaps a more accurate description), let’s get to the list, right?

But before the big reveal, two quick notes:

1 – 2022 was (finally) the year I got rolling on the grind feature I’d quietly threatened to do many times before, a personal goal achieved and some meager justification for the hours I spend on Bandcamp / YouTube / blogs trolling about for the blasty things I do so love. So a thanks to anyone who read Blast Rites this year, and to all of the bands featured across it (and more to come in 2023, for sure) — each release was handpicked for coverage, which is another way of saying, “If I wrote a Blast Rites about it, then it could easily have been in the list below because it was already better than most.”

2 – as is customary, as soon as the list is committed, a thousand omissions present themselves, and the guilt and self-kickings begin. To ameliorate that, I’ve included a quick list of contenders that should’ve gotten more love below. Just because they aren’t numbered doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy.

Cheers,
AE

A FEW MENTIONS, EVER SO HONORABLE

Or some of those to whom I should’ve given more time…

– Candlemass – Sweet Evil Sun – Dropping a record in the middle of November is a pain in the ass when it comes to list season. I didn’t have much of a chance to live with this one, but what I heard, I thoroughly enjoyed, even if it’s pretty much also exactly what I expected from these eternal doom masters. Listen up.

– Blind Guardian – The God Machine – Many of my compatriots will be concerned to see this down here, vs. anywhere in either of the lists below, but I’m a relatively late convert to the powers of Blind Guardian’s pompous metal (even though, on paper, it seems like something I should immediately love). The God Machine is good, no question, but it didn’t wrap itself around me like it did others, apparently. Don’t worry, Hansi: I’ll keep trying. Listen up.

– Suppression – The Sorrow Of Soul Through Flesh – Classic tech-tinted death metal from Chile, touching on the obvious champions like Death, but also the next level heroes like Monstrosity and Malevolent Creation. Old school, for sure, and vibrant, vicious, and very very … good. I ran out of Vs, but you get the point. It’s just damned good.  Listen up.

– Tишина – У​в​о​д​.​.​. -The incredible Mother Of Graves record was my favorite death / doom offering of the year, but damned if this one from one-man Serbian project Tишина (Tishina) doesn’t give it a run for its money. Sadness prevails across these five tracks, in classic fashion, the morose and the majestic in perfect balance. And just as with Mother Of Graves, they’re (he’s) just getting started. Listen up.

– Heaving Earth – Darkness Of God – Dissonant death metal done damned… good. Ran out of Ds there, too. These guys upped their game on this one, and I heard many a rumbling about this one the year throughout, but didn’t get around to actually listening to it until list season, so it felt a bit disingenuous to include it below, even though it likely belongs there. Listen up.

AND FEW MORE MENTIONS, EVER SO GRINDY

Or some of those Blast Rites left behind…

– Fake Meat —腐肉 – Gurgleblast Taiwanese goregrind… what’s not to love? Burp-grunt-growl vocals lost in the caverns, atop a vaguely Lymphatic Phlegm-ish reverbed-out production — it’s atmospheric and icky, just like it should be. Plus, get a load of that guy’s smiling mug, will ya? Listen up.

– Blasted Pancreas – Pathogenic Organisms In Blood – I mean, c’mon, the band is called “Blasted Pancreas,” so you know it’s good, right? But yeah, for sure, it is good. Pathological death/grind with all the right blasts and all the right vomits and all the right riffs and just… all the rights. Listen up.

– Shitstormstrooper – Gulf Coast Grindviolence – Absolutely furious crossover-tinted grindviolence — twenty-three bursts of stop-start speed in a mere eleven minutes, all punked-out and topped with snotty sociopolitical rage. What’s not to love? Listen up.

– Wadge – Grindcore Penitentiary – A concept album themed around a prison for grindcore stalwarts like Shane Embury and Will Rahmer and the rest, this one’s ridiculous, through and through — a declaration the record makes in its spoken-word intro. But it’s also a damned fun punked-out blast. Like the hype sticker on the CD says, it ain’t for everyone. But it is for me. And maybe for you. Listen up.

– Shitgrinder – Shitgrinder – Well, if you thought I could make it through this whole article without saying “Shitgrinder,” think again, grandma. I didn’t even make it to the third section. Regardless, these Aussies dropped a massive bomb of filthy — you guessed it — grind with this self-titled ear-smasher. Put simply: Shitgrinder by Shitgrinder grinds shit up, and good. So there, I’ve said “Shitgrinder” an even five times now…

Ah, what the hell, one more for the road: “Shitgrinder.” Listen up.

THE BEST OF THE LONGER, PART TWO

Or those that ruled, but perhaps not quite as much as others…

20. Putrefaction Sets In – Repugnant Inception Of Decomposing Paroxysm

First outing from this international collaboration of grody-grinders, with members of Nasum, Regurgitate, Expurgo, and Lymphatic Phlegm scattered across three continents. You know what to expect from that list of names: gnarled and raw riffage, jackhammer rhythms, and vocals that run from the pitch-shifted to the typically throat-ripping. This one’s a killer start for a new band of old rats.

• Don’t believe me? I guess you missed this.
• Listen up.

19. Massgrav – Slowly We Rock

I dunno who these Stockholm rockers are tryna fool with that “slowly” bit, because Massgrav doesn’t do much of anything at less than full-tilt speed. Like Motorhead colliding with Anti-Cimex in a whirl of punked-up metallic rock ‘n’ roll frenzy and fun, Slowly We Rock may have lied about the slow part, but it damned sure nailed the rock.

• Don’t believe me? Well, Google it. We didn’t cover it.
• Listen up

18. No/Mas – Consume/Deny/Repent

Beatdown groovy grindcore, another swaggering success from these Mid-Atlantic bashers, Consume/Deny/Repent is a total bruiser, filled with big swinging fists and enough steamroller drive to crush anything in its path, the burly rumble of a Misery Index ratcheted up another notch. Yes, mas, por favor.

• Don’t believe me? Well, we sort of covered it…
• Listen up.

17. Suffering Mind – Lifeless

Blink and you’ll miss it: That’s the name of the game here, for half this one, at least. Filled with blistering grinding, the latest from these hyperkinetic Poles (and formerly hyper-prolific ones, although regrettably not as much of late) is a rip-roaring great time, with Side A dedicated to nonstop fast-punch grindcore, and Side B an ambient musique concrète exploration with bits of grindcore in the mix. Still, all new Suffering Mind is worthy, and Lifeless is suitably kick-ass.

• Don’t believe me? Ask Blast Rites.
• Listen up.

16. Ripped To Shreds – 劇變 (Jubian)

Andrew Lee is a bad-ass, if you haven’t noticed. Between this straight-ahead classic-styled death metal ripper and the shorter, grindier Houkago Grind Time and his guest appearance on Pharmacist tracks, he’s the all-star of my list season, and here’s his first entry. Just plain old kick-ass death metal, pulled apart and stitched back together into something that feels as fresh as it is familiar, this Ripped To Shreds does exactly that to your earholes.

• Don’t believe me? How did we miss this one?
• Listen up.

15. Wake – Thought Form Descent

When Misery Rites came out and topped my year-end list a few years back, I made a big deal about how Wake was growing up, expanding, developing, moving on… and then they did, and basically moved on from grindcore. Which is entirely fine, of course, but it’s hard to call Thought Form Descent a “grind” record, per se. However, it’s easy to call it a great record, because it goddamned is, pulling from many different sub-genres in such a manner that it’s sort of undefinable, except as “new Wake” and “still great.”

• Don’t believe me? Ask the same jackass.
• Listen up.

14. Clutch – Sunrise On Slaughter Beach

Clutch has carved themselves a nice little niche in jammy stoner… metal? rock? Whatever side of the line you put it on, it’s catchy as hell, bouncy, filled with pentatonic riffs and groove for days, plus Neil Fallon’s inimitable lyrical skills. Coming off one of their lesser efforts in Book Of Bad Decisions, Sunrise feels a bit like just that: the dawn of another day, not so much a new one as just the next step down the line, and sometimes it’s great just to wake up again to the same ol’ bright sunshiney world.

• Don’t believe me? It’s Clutch — you know it rules.
• Listen up

13. Human Cull – To Weep For Unconquered Worlds

2022’s earliest released grind monster is still one of its finest, this one dropping mid-January to get the party started. Continuing the band’s upward trajectory across their decade-long career, To Weep For Unconquered Worlds is Human Cull’s finest hour so far, filled with dissonant blasting death/grind. That any band can project this much fury is impressive enough, let alone a trio. Just pure fiery ugly perfection.

• Don’t believe me? Ask the me from eleven months ago.
• Listen up.

12. Whoresnation – Dearth

This French grindcore unit occupied a large portion of my listening time in the spring, leading up to a fun set at Maryland Deathfest. Never thought I’d get to see Whoresnation live, so I can check that off the ol’ bucket list, but more important than that, it came alongside Dearth, one hell of a death-grinding good time, riffy and roaring and impeccably tight-wound, landing like a thousand punches right to the skull.

• Don’t believe me? Try again.
• Listen up.

11. Ares Kingdom – In Darkness At Last

Some bands just have the magic. Ares Kingdom has the magic. What these Midwesterners do is a fairly straightforward death/thrash amalgam, obsessed with war and filled to bursting with riff after riff, but that’s not meant to short-sell it even a tiny bit, because it’s exactly what Ares Kingdom does, but exactly what they do is seriously kick ass. If you can put this record on and not move, not thrash around, not bang your head (figuratively, if not literally), then you’re hopeless. This is Ares Kingdom. This is heavy metal done right.

• Don’t believe me? Tough luck. We didn’t cover this, either.
• Listen up.

THE BEST OF THE LONGER, PART ONE

Or those that were ostensibly better than those before…

10. EXHUMED – TO THE DEAD

I admit it: I’m an Exhumed fanboy. Why is that, you ask? (Or maybe you didn’t, but it’s my article, so I’ll tell you anyway.) It’s quite simply because Exhumed rules. Taking the well-worn Carcass blueprint and pushing it around into something recognizable but still unique, this Californian quartet churns out some bloody disgusting (and disgustingly great) gore metal. After the grindier climes of Horror, the simply titled To The Dead takes a few small steps back towards Exhumed’s middle ground, but it’s still a razor-sharp blast-happy riff-fest, all high-energy slice ‘n’ dice beneath the perfectly paired gurgle-and-snarl vocal team of Ross Sewage and Matt Harvey. Add to that a not-unsizeable dash of sick humor, and whaddaya got? You got Exhumed, and they’ve got another great record for you.

• Don’t believe me? Well, then you’re wrong, but okay…
• Listen up.

9. PHARMACIST – FLOURISHING EXTREMITIES ON UNSPOILED MENTAL GROUNDS

I admit it: I’m becoming a Pharmacist fanboy. Why is that you ask? (Or maybe you didn’t, but see above.) Well, it’s because, not unlike Exhumed up there, Pharmacist rules. And also not unlike Exhumed, Pharmacist works within the same framework, which is highly Carcass-indebted but also more than strong enough to stand on its own. This two-man Japanese project has been on a flesh-ripping sonic tear these past few years, and Flourishing Extremities is the highest peak (so far) in a career that has seen only peaks (so far). To add to the fun: Atop Pharmacist’s seemingly endless wellspring of killer riffs — riffs and riffs and riffs being Flourishing Extremities‘ most prominent factor — we’re treated to many melodic shred guitar leads courtesy of wunderkind Andrew Lee, he of Ripped To Shreds and Houkago Grind Time and others. A masterful display of carving goregrind, Flourishing Extremities is proof that the greatness Pharmacist showed on Medical Renditions Of Grinding Decomposition and the EPs wasn’t just beginner’s luck…

• Don’t believe me? Ask me again once you click this.
• Listen up.

8. ESCUELA GRIND – MEMORY THEATER

Escuela Grind’s debut dropped two years ago, a stout mix of hardcore, grindcore, death metal, and powerviolence that certainly got the moshpits of our hearts a-thrashin’. Flash forward to now, and Memory Theater tops Indoctrination in almost every way — it’s stouter, heavier, groovier, angrier, tighter, more fierce and ferocious and fiery, and all of that in spades. Produced by noise maestro Kurt Ballou, Memory Theater sounds as heavy as it hits, taut and tight and punchy with just enough polish. Kris Morash’s guitar tone is gnarled, appropriately filthy; Katerina Economou snarls and barks, spitting venomous hooks across the smashing and blasting rhythms that add a masterful sense of groove amongst grindcore’s inherent aggression.

• Don’t believe me? Le sigh — I tried.
• Listen up.

7. ANTIGAMA – WHITEOUT

Since Meteor landed however many years ago, Antigama has been positioned in the upper reaches of the grindcore pyramid, their blend of sci-fi-tinted technicality, electronic influences, jazz and ambient moments, and sheer pummeling coming off like a Napalm Death from the 24th century. With Whiteout, Antigama trimmed away many of the proverbial bells and whistles, stripping their sound down to an even-more-Napalm Death-y experimental modern death/grind, and though it’s free of any of the extraneous frills that sometimes make it easy to define Antigama’s approach, it pulls everything back to what matters: Rage and riff, and each of those are present and countless. Sebastian Rokicki rips through dissonant chords and chunky thrashing bits; Pawel Jaroszewicz is damned-near machine precise; Lucasz Myszkowski grunts, growls, screams, evokes Jaz Coleman-esque clean-toned menace… Even without the space-age weirdness, Antigama brings the bashing.

• Don’t believe me? Not my fault…
• Listen up.

6. WORMROT – HISS

If you’re gonna go out, go out on top, right?

It’s not so much that Wormrot is going out, though — at least, I certainly hope not. But they are changing voices, as founding vocalist Arif announced his departure on June 1 of this year, just a little over a month before Hiss was let loose into the world. That’s tragic, of course, because across three previous albums, Wormrot established themselves as a grindcore force, taking the raw-edged primal nature of classic grind and spinning their own way through it. Knowing then going into this that the first chapter of Wormrot was over only makes Hiss that much more impressive, but really, the story is its scope, the deviations from Wormrot’s earlier works. Hiss is a sprawling record, covering far more ground than just mere grinding — blackness, death metal, all kinds of weirdness — pushing boundaries sideways and outwards and in every other direction even as it never once forgets to Just.&^%$ing.Crush.

• Don’t believe me? You’ll have to — for some dumbass reason, we didn’t cover this.
• Listen up.

5. THE CHASM – THE SCARS OF A LOST REFLECTIVE SHADOW

The Chasm doesn’t make bad metal — it’s that simple. And here we are with another album’s worth of explosive, thrashing, raw-nerve death metal from these two fine fellows, all blistering riff and sheer adrenaline, catchy and comforting at the same time that it rips your damned throat out. It’s a more direct take on The Chasm’s inherent power than some earlier efforts, filled beyond the brim with riff after riff after riff after riff. (And hey, this one has vocals again.) Old school and yet somehow ahead of time itself, mystical and nebulous even as they carve and cut with a straightforward flair, The Chasm is a beast above all but the beastliest of beasts, and The Scars Of A Lost Reflective Shadow is further proof.

• Don’t believe me? Ask the boss…  (But not Springsteen. He has security people to prevent that.)
• Listen up.

4. MOTHER OF GRAVES – WHERE THE SHADOWS ADORN

When it comes to these year-end lists, I’m often accused of playing to favorites established decades ago. (I mean, see the next three entries, if you don’t believe me.) I can’t help it — it’s rare when a completely new band comes barreling in with something that shakes me out of the warm glow of a new effort from old friends. But it can happen, and for this year’s biggest barreler, look no farther than this debut disc from Indianan death/doom outfit Mother Of Graves. Maybe it helps that they work within established parameters, particularly those of the Peaceville Three and early Katatonia, but Where The Shadows Adorn feels like the work of a band that emerged fully formed, a confident and masterful take on sadsack melody and crushing despondent riff, all topped off with Brandon Howe’s formidably morbid growl. A young band plying an old sound on par with the legends who built it — the future is bright for these dour fellows, so surely they’re happy about that…

• Don’t believe me? Well, that’s rude…
• Listen up.

3. QUEENSRŸCHE – DIGITAL NOISE ALLIANCE

I don’t have to admit that I’m a Queensrÿche fanboy — I would imagine by now that everyone knows it. Now over a decade into their resurgence, and thirty years after the classics that built their name, these progressive metal kings continue to kick ass, even with 3/5 of a new line-up. If you’re still one of the “No Tate, no ‘Ryche” doofuses who crop up on social media posts every.single.time, then do us all a favor and move on because you’ve been left behind. Todd LaTorre has more than proven himself worthy of holding that microphone, and here as on The Verdict before (and two albums before that, even), he soars and screams and brings that stately sense of majesty that characterizes Queensrÿche’s greatest moments. Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson bring in some absolutely killer tracks — “Lost In Sorrow,” “Behind The Walls,” “Hold On,” “In Extremis” — and “new” drummer Casey Grillo slots in perfectly. (He’s making here his debut on a ‘Ryche studio recording after filling in for the past few tours.) There are days when I’d tell you The Verdict may still slide in as just a little bit better than this one, and days when I’d tell you the opposite, but the end result is that Digital Noise Alliance is another killer record from the reborn ‘Rÿche, forty years atop the progressive metal tower, and may they never stop.

• Don’t believe me? I done told you once, you son of a gun…
• Listen up.

2. IMMOLATION – ACTS OF GOD

Is it cool to call Immolation gods when they’ve railed against one god for their entire career? Who cares? That’s overthinking it — just let the fury overtake you, get lost in the anger and the riff, the squall and the crashing, in Vigna’s weirdo dissonance and Dolan’s furnace-fiery roar. Immolation has been making impeccable death metal for thirty years now, and Acts Of God is yet another high point in their impressive catalog, and finally one that rights the production woes that have plagued some more recent Immo offerings. Playing to all the band’s myriad established strengths, Acts Of God is one of Immolation’s strongest, particularly in the back half of their career — if that main riff in “Noose Of Thorns” doesn’t cut you to pieces, then you’re made of a stronger steel than I am. All hail the old gods. Long may they rule.

• Don’t believe me? Ask Sasquatch.
• Listen up.

1. VOIVOD – SYNCHRO ANARCHY

Voivod is such a Last Rites-wide favorite that we dedicated an entire week of February to our (admittedly ridiculous) Voivodentine’s Week love affair with them, culminating in a review of this, their latest and an absolute smasher of a disc. Like the equally influential and tenured prog-metal giants in Queensrÿche, these Canadian weirdo thrashers returned to the top with a record that was both exactly what they do — and thus exactly what we want from them — and yet one that’s still fresh and interesting, even within that established comfort zone. Now three albums into an unlikely second-half rejuvenation, Voivod is still one of the greatest bands around, and as long as they can keep coming up with metal this interesting, there’s no stopping them.

• Don’t believe me? Ask the Proglodyte.
• Listen up

THE BEST OF THE SHORTER

Or EPs, demos, splits, and other rank oddities; unranked, except for one…

Defect Designer – Neanderthal

We’ve covered this one multiple times now, both in the initial review and in several lists since then, so you should be familiar with both Defect Designer and Neanderthal. It’s weird tech death/grind spazzy fun, filled with riffs and shifting rhythms, and all of it engaging as all hell. It was the #1 staff-wide EP for a reason — because it rules.

• Don’t believe me? Read this for like the fifth time.
• Listen up.

Deliriant Nerve – Uncontrollable Ascension

These DC blasters released two EPs this year, of which this is the first and, I’d say right now, the best, but I also had more time with it. Regardless of which one you pick, the answer is that both are worthy, and these death-infected grinders are equally worthy of your time. It’s not too far outside the box — it just kicks the living shit out of anything unfortunate enough to be in the box with it. Let’s hope the future holds many more records like this to come.

• Don’t believe me? Hey, look, it’s a grindcore review that I didn’t write.
• Listen up.

Endorphins Lost – Head Sick

Been keeping tabs on this Pacific Northwest powerviolence-grindcore-hardcore unit for awhile now, and Head Sick is another quality rager in a catalog of just that. Leaning a bit heavier into the hardcore side of their formula, Endorphins Lost bring the expected anger, plus killer covers of Cryptic Slaughter and Negative Approach as icing on the proverbial cake.

• Listen up.

.

Septic Vomet – Infected Cadaveric Slaves (Demo 2022)

G.R.O.S.S. and grindy — that was pretty much the theme of my 2022, and this second demo from these German lifers (featuring Moshfred from the underrated Mindflair) definitely scratched the itches from all those oozing sores. Featuring the best use of an opening film sample in recent history, Infected Cadaveric Slaves is really about the icky riffy cacophony that follows, but damn, how that opening sample does kick ass…

• Don’t believe me? Check this out.
• Listen up.

— GOLD MEDAL WINNER — Napalm Death — Resentment Is Always Seismic: A Final Throw Of Throes

I mean, come on… Did you think my top EP of 2022 was going to be anything but this one? Napalm Death is an all-time favorite band, and they’re still riding high on a creative crest that’s spanned two decades. Even with its tracks being outtakes from the previous record, Resentment rips from start to stop, among its wonders the blistering punch of “Narcissus,” and a wicked cover of Slab! in the industrial-funk destruction of “People Pie.” Napalm Death simply never fails.

• Listen up.

THE BEST OF THE LIGHTER

Or unranked rock, the best of the rest…

Scorpions – Rock Believer

One of history’s greatest hard rock bands returns after their alleged retirement, with the stated goal of recapturing the spark of their early 80s classics, and what happens next will blow your mind…  They actually (almost) did it. Sure, Rock Believer isn’t Blackout, but after 50 years, Scorpions have hardly lost any sting at all, and that, my friends, is damned amazing.

• Don’t believe me? We actually did cover this one.
• Listen up.

King’s X – Three Sides Of One

First one in fifteen years for this eternally underrated trio, and it’s a fine return, for sure. You know the drill: killer melodies, killer harmonies, heavy riffing, dreamy bits, Doug Pinnick’s soul, Ty Tabor’s spirit, Jerry Gaskill’s spark. For many reasons, these guys have been moving slowly the past however many years, but when they brought it this time, they brought it big time. Welcome back, fellas. Maybe don’t stay away so long again.

• Catch up on the band: Part 1 and Part 2.
• Listen up.

Marillion – An Hour Before It’s Dark

The last Marillion album was a grand example of their neo-prog style, and one of my favorite records of 2016, but An Hour Before It’s Dark is better in every way. Defined by the pandemic experience that shaped and inspired it, An Hour is as good as modern Marillion has been, all expansive, emotive, epic, melodic, soaring grandiosity. “The angels in this world are not in the walls of churches,” H repeats in the album’s closing moments, a reminder that, in the last few years, we’ve learned to appreciate a new set of heroes.

• Listen up.

Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa

Can’t say I blame ol’ Scratch — I spend as much time on the sofa as I can, myself. In fact, I’m on it right now, as I type this and undoubtedly (or at least, hopefully) right now, as you read this, whenever that may be. But that’s not the point, really. What is the point is that there’s a new Spoon album after a five-year wait, and it kicks ass. If you keep up with Spoon (and you should), then you kinda know what it is, on a fundamental level: Bouncy, catchy, fun alt-rock, although a little harder-edged than some more recent efforts, and there’s much to enjoy, from your sofa or wherever.

• Listen up.

The Afghan Whigs – How Do You Burn?

The grungy kings of menacing cool are back again. It’s likely that they’ll never top the days of Gentlemen and Black Love in terms of impact — but these past few Whigs-reunited releases prove that they’ve still got a whole bunch left to offer, aspects of their sound as fluid as the membership of the band these days. All the usual adjectives apply: soulful, dark, boozy, world-weary, haunting, impeccable, impressive… Another old friend come back for a visit, and I’m always happy to see them.

• Listen up.

TO ABSENT FRIENDS…
Or a list incomplete, in completely no order…

Nichelle Nichols
Dan McCafferty of Nazareth
Mark Lanegan
Loretta Lynn
Jerry Lee Lewis
Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood
Burke Shelley of Budgie
Meat Loaf
Ian McDonald of King Crimson / Foreigner
Nik Turner of Hawkwind
Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters
DH Peligro of Dead Kennedys
Ronnie Deo of Incantation
Ric Parnell / Mick Shrimpton of Spinal Tap
Howie Pyro of D Generation
Keith Levene of Public Image Ltd. / The Clash
Garry Roberts of The Boomtown Rats
Fredrik Johansson of Dark Tranquillity
Trevor Strnad of Black Dahlia Murder
Andrew LaBarre of Impaled / Ghoul
Gabe Serbian of The Locust / Cattle Decapitation
Alec John Such of Bon Jovi
Manny Charlton of Nazareth
Nicky Moore of Samson
Steve Grimmett of Grim Reaper
Gord Kirchin of (The Exalted) Piledriver
Bob Heathcote of Suicidal Tendencies
Ted Kirkpatrick of Tourniquet
Michael Bloodgood of Bloodgood
Stuart Antsis of Cradle Of Filth
Dave Sherman of Earthride / Spirit Caravan
David Andersson of Soilwork
Alan White of Yes
Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode
Ronnie Spector
Coolio
Vangelis
Jerry Allison of the Crickets
Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown
Ronnie Hawkins
Mickey Gilley
Klaus Schulze
Angelo Badalamenti
Bobbie Nelson of Willie Nelson’s band
Mo Ostin of Warner / Reprise
Jon Zazula of Megaforce Records
Ralph Emery
Paul Sorvino
James Caan
Tony Sirico
Ray Liotta
Leslie Jordan
and others I may have inadvertently overlooked…

The post Best Of 2022 – Andrew Edmunds: An Antonym For Synonym Is Antonym, But A Synonym For Antonym Is The Opposite appeared first on Last Rites.

He’s never once written back – apparently, he’s kind of a pain in the ass – but thankfully, multi-band wunderkind Andrew Lee magically heard my prayers, and now we have Archaganini…

Each of those is filled with anime-themed mincing grinding greatness, short bursts of raw riffing and blasting, goregurgle vocals and hints of Lee’s guitar shred capabilities. (Despite the mincecore leanings, Lee can’t hide his musical talent, and HGT’s riffs are a bit more technical than purely punky. But still, far more of that shredding comes later.) So if you’re on board for Houkago Grind Time’s awesome grinding times, here’s another four songs spanning approximately three and a half minutes (or just under). Each of the four is more of the same downtuned riffing with the occasional pinch-harmonic for flavor, all buoyed by blasting rhythms and topped with Lee’s pitch-shifted low-end growls. Three tracks fly by in killer mince-grind perfection before the chunky chug of “Miyajima Reiji Can’t Keep Getting Away With It” locks into a groove, albeit a short one, and then a minute later…

Archaganini, the undisputed gods of mincecore shred, the crossroads where early Earache and Shrapnel meet… Four songs of neoclassical guitar-laden grinding, Unholy Grave if Marty Friedman had joined them instead of Megadeth, blastbeats and arpeggios, Jan AG and Beethoven… The basic riffs buzz like bees atop the hammering drums, but those guitar solos carry the day, Jason Becker and Ludwig Van and Mussorsky as references (and inspirations and co-composers), and yeah, sure, it’s ridiculous, but you know what else it is? Awesome. So there…

It’s not every day you get a split release where the number of band members is equal to one-eighth the number of songs, and to half the number of bands. But if anyone can do it, Andrew Lee can do it, and he has. Maybe you’ve got a better way to spend 7 minutes, but I can’t think of any offhand. Get ripped, get shredded, get ground.

The post Blast Rites #5: Houkago Grind Time / Archaganini – Split Review appeared first on Last Rites.

Here’s another idiot’s list-based opinions on heavy metal albums in the shitty year of 2020.

The First Half…

20. Palaces – Hellas Chasma

Palaces and I are from Atlanta, and that’s at least part of the reason I like them. Support your local scene and all that. But more importantly, they scream and rock and riff and blast like only the best hardcore + noise rock bands do. There are great individual songs here, and a carefully constructed (chaotic) flow to Hellas Chasma that makes the whole thing so damn satisfying. The sooner this pandemic fucks off, the sooner we can all meet in the pit.

• My 100% correct review
• Bandcamp

19. Barishi – Old Smoke

Old Smoke took a few listens to click. Blame my constantly wandering, quarantine-addled mind for that one. But sludgy, progressive metal is my catnip, and I eventually succumbed. Inhale deeply, friends. There are a lot of juicy leads and hazy riffs here for you.

• Bandcamp

18. Thætas – Shrines to Absurdity

Kids these days, amirite?? With all their gusto and enthusiasm. With their wonky, playful, heavy-as-shit riffs. For such an unapologetically extreme album, Shrines to Absurdity put a smile on my face with every spin. The kids will indeed be alright.

• Run through a sprinkler with Cap’s review!
• Bandcamp

17. Earthbong – Bong Rites

Bong Metal 4 Life

• Click here for a slightly longer review
• Bandcamp

16. Judicator – Let There Be Nothing

Epic, triumphant, and speedy, with just enough bite. That’s how I likes my power metals. I was late to the John Yelland party, but Dire Peril’s 2018 sci-fi funstravaganza, The Extraterrestrial Compendium, got me hooked on his voice, and Let There Be Nothing is crammed full of even more hooks and bitchin’ riffs.

• The #23-est power metal of 2020, according to Captain
• Bandcamp

15. END – Splinters From an Ever-Changing Face

END will beat your ass. You will thank them and ask for another. Mosh the pain away.

• Bandcamp

14. Wayfarer – A Romance With Violence

I’m a sucker for a well-executed gimmick. Or rather, I’m a sucker for the addition of the thoughtful application of a theme or outside genre that elevates a band beyond the lazy application of the ‘gimmick’ tag. Wayfarer mines the lyrical, visual, and musical themes of the American Southwest and combines it with their considerable black metal chops to create a package that transcends a simple “Western black metal” genre label. Stetsons and corpse paint go together like chocolate and peanut butter, at least in the hands of Wayfarer. And hey, this particular bandwagon is an actual wagon, so climb aboard!

• Bandcamp

13. Ritual Dictates – Give in to Despair

Much like their origins in Revocation and 3 Inches of Blood, Ritual Dictates is fun as hell. High energy, genre-splicing fun. Tell despair to kiss your grits.

• Hey look, another 100% correct review!
• Bandcamp

12. Fuck the Facts – Pleine Noirceur

Grindcore is truly bastardized when nu-metal is the first genre mixed in, on opener “Fear, Doubt, Neglect.” Fear not, for Fuck the Facts have only just begun to splice and dice, and the effortless excellence of their erudite experience is evident in the entirety of this awesome album.

• Mr. Edmunds is wrong all the time, but very rarely when it comes to grindcore
• Bandcamp

11. Ripped to Shreds – 亂 (Luan)

There was no shortage of rippin’ death metal this year, but Luan stood out amongst the shredding masses.

• A review, packaged with some other reviews. Neat!
• Bandcamp

THE SECOND HALF!

10. Marrasmieli – Between Land and Sky

Riffs, baby! Atmospheric, folky, woodsy, etc black metal is all fine and good, but it don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got bangin’ riffs. (I think that’s how the song goes?) Marrasmieli scratches a similar itch as Lunar Strain does (and it’s In Flames’ best: fight me). It’s probably the strings, and also the bitchin’ riffage. I kept returning to Between Land and Sky throughout the year, which is a testament to the rock solid riffs and excellent compositions.

• Cap said it would be a Year End Lister, he just didn’t specify which list. Hi!
• Bandcamp

9. Thy Catafalque – Naiv

Plenty has been written about Naiv, especially on these very digital pages, and those words are all correct, and likely still insufficient. It’s a weird, only marginally heavy metal album, but it’s undeniably unique and so well executed.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

8. Vous Autres – Sel de Pierre

More black metal, but this time with a harsh, mechanical drive. Vous Autres create a crushing, bleak atmosphere, with drums leading the riff assaults, and calm ambient passages that provide excellent counterweight to the sludge. I loved 2019’s Champ du Sang, and was excited to see such a quick follow up. The excitement continued when I heard the music and confirmed Vous Autres had another winner on their hands. This French duo has mastered the crescendos and dynamics that lead to epic moment after epic moment.

• So strange that there are so many 100% correct reviews on this list!
• Bandcamp

7. Sweven – The Eternal Resonance

RIP Morbus Chron, but long live Sweven! (and Tøronto!) The Eternal Resonance is exactly the fantastic voyage my mind needed on many occasions this year. To dip my feet in the ocean, and gaze across the horizon into the wormhole. To ponder my existence and place in the universe. I still don’t know if Sweven is better than Sweven (or vice versa), and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter.

• Last Rites review
• Bandcamp

6. Afterbirth – Four Dimensional Flesh

Wompitty skronks, chonking wheedilies, and gurgle-gurgle-BLEUAGHGHHHs. Four Dimensional Flesh has it all. Honestly, the cover should give all the preview you need. They’re called Afterbirth and have a cute lil fetus guy in the logo, but the art is a detailed, trippy sci-fi scene. So naturally the music is gross, intelligent, ignorant, slick, technical, and just damn fantastic.

• Another nifty assortment of reviews. Neat!
• Bandcamp

5. Wake – Devouring Ruin

Wake was bursting at the seams on 2018’s Misery Rites. Their grindcore was damn near perfected, and you could hear an evolution just scratching at the shell, demanding release. Devouring Ruin hatched, sprawling between grind and sludge and post-metal, elevating itself beyond the sum of its parts. The energy was clearly electric enough to birth the Confluence EP this year as well, which builds a blackened edifice around those new ideas. It’s as exciting to blast their current catalogue as it is to speculate about where they will go next. Shine on, you crazy Canadians!

• You guessed it, another 100% correct review
• Bandcamp

4. Ulthar – Providence

Ulthar wants you to get fucked. Not in a mean way. In a distorted, wild way. Like a skeleton hanging from the tip of your dick on the Fucktree, like the little fellow on the right side of Providence’s glorious cover. And like that disorientingly sexy scene, riffs fold through riffs like a skeleton orgy on acid. It’s awesome, A+ death metal is what I am saying. Get. Fucked.

• A higher resolution version of the cover
• Bandcamp

3. Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin kynsi

Oranssi Pazuzu rules. It is known. The band is moving away from black metal, and deeper into synth-driven, psychedelic madness. I honestly don’t know how the band can top their last three albums, but I’m absolutely excited to see where they go next. Good thing Mestarin kynsi, along with Värähtelijä and Valonielu, can be dissected and endlessly experienced anew while we wait. Time is a flat circle, after all.

• My inadequate words, for an album I still haven’t fully digested
• Bandcamp

2. Fluisteraars – Bloem

Say hello to gorgeous black metal. Not overly made-up or dressed in the latest runway fashion. But just smoking hot, natural beauty. Real, human, and willing to get silly or crack a few jokes. The kind of effortless sexy that makes you forget they’re out of your league. Amos Burton or Inara Serra, if you will. Unfairly attractive, mysterious but approachable, and just delightful. The kind of black metal that surprises you by writing songs that are completely fresh and exactly what you needed. Don’t make it weird, just put on Bloem and tell me I’m wrong.

• Art, maaan.
• Bandcamp

1. REZN – Chaotic Divine

Infatuation, or as close as a jaded mid-30s asshole like myself can muster, is actually kinda fun now. In exploring all things Bong Metal related, I ran across REZN last year. The spacy, psychedelic rock elements, blended with stoner metal and just a dash of pizzaz (that’s the technical term for the addition of non-standard instrumentation) were exactly what I needed. And once I got familiar with their catalogue, a pandemic hit, and all I wanted were a few comfort riffs to soothe the anxiety. And there was REZN, patiently holding my hand, taking me across the desert, through the ocean depths, and beyond. To see how seriously the band takes their craft, whether it’s dedication to the highest quality recording, or using local companies for merch and hand packing shipments themselves, is a delight. Even more delightful is how prolific they’ve been over the last few years, which bodes well for more uplifting music and exciting collaborations in the near future. Once touring returns, you’ll find me right up front, singing and swaying along in my new REZN shirt like a dork. Thanks for the excellent tunes to soothe a shitty year, fellas.

• More words from me about how good this album is
• Bandcamp

Bonus Round!

Now it’s time for a few EPs that rustled my jimmies this year. As with full lengths, there was so much excellence to choose from, and I’ve only just begun to explore the EPs I missed. So here’s the finest of what I heard and what stuck with me.

6. Misanthropic Aggression – Alcoholic Polyneuropathic Freaks in Hell

“Companion, open that beer,” ends the introductory sample on APFiH, and then out charges buzzsaw punk riffage and hateful snarls. Don’t mind if I do, reverend, don’t mind if I do. Another Atlanta band to start another list? You betcha! They opened for Sanguisugabogg and Graveview at the last live show I saw in March, and dammit, it was great. But then Tom Hanks announces he’s got the dang ‘rona, and the world goes to shit. Good thing Misanthropic Aggression are already pissed as hell and (mal)content to crank out EPs and shift along the grimy powerviolence/punk/metal spectrum. Since this EP dropped in April, the band is back to their core duo and released another EP with covers and demos that’s also worth your time. So set aside less than 30 mins to blast through their catalogue, and meet you in the fucking pit (eventually).

• Bandcamp

5. Goblinsmoker – A Throne in Haze, A World Ablaze

I got a little carried away with the story behind Goblinsmoker (a Toad King that smokes his goblin subjects! Awesome!!) in my review of part two of this epic tale. I’ve since explored the lore and learned my version diverges a bit from canon, but here’s hoping that the final EP will inspire more fanfiction. Worship him.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

4. Resin Tomb – Resin Tomb

It’s dissonant, grindy death metal, a heck of a debut, and a great way to start your exploration of the Brisbane underground. Not really sure what else you could possibly need? A cold beer maybe? The end of the pandemic? I’m not a magician, just an idiot with incredible taste and endless recommendations.

• I said it’s good, and I still do!
• Bandcamp

3. Vital Spirit – In the Faith That Looks Through Death

Spoiler alert: 2020 was a great year for debut EPs. As with Wayfarer, there’s plenty of room on the ol’ bandwagon for fans of Western Metal, and Vital Spirit’s debut is both vital and spirited, taking a slightly different angle to reach the same great heights. I originally wished there was more blackened cowboy music out there, but there’s a lot to be said for niche genres that contain only earnest quality.

• Ryan says it’s good, and he’s always right
• Bandcamp

2. Lamentari – Missa Pro Defunctis

“Holy shit.” That’s what I said to myself at least thrice while listening to this magnificent symphonic black metal gem. It’s epic, perfectly composed, and a hell of a debut (have you discovered the theme of this section?).

• Zach said it’s good, and he’s under a curse that prevents him from lying
• Bandcamp

1. Fleshvessel – Bile of Man Reborn

Set aside 25 minutes, remove distractions, and just listen to this damn thing. Debut EPs of a single long song with programmed drums and unusual instruments should not be this good. It’s gurgly death metal until it’s not. Bile of Man Reborn does exactly what an EP should: introduce something fresh that leaves the listener craving more. Fleshvessel, please continue to experiment with your death metal, and your flutes and strings, and your programming, and your formats. I get the feeling our minds aren’t done being blown.

• Bandcamp

There was plenty of non-metal that I dug this year, but I’m much less list-oriented outside of the heavy stuff, so I’ll spare y’all a half-assed list. However, I do need to mention that King Buffalo is the finest stoner rock band in the business right now, and Dead Star is my #1 non-metal album of the year by a mile.

Thanks for reading, and here’s to a better 2021 for us all.

The post Best of 2020 – FetusGhost: What Retirement? appeared first on Last Rites.

The problem that 2020 shined a fat glaring light on for so many of us is that people we thought we knew turned out to have very different core values, truth be told. That will be 2020’s lasting legacy for many. I read recently that the phrase, “Blood is thicker than water” is a modern misinterpretation of the original, “Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” Turns out that’s probably not entirely accurate, but I’ll let the etymologists and other word nerds figure that one out. Meanwhile, I really like the idea that bonds forged through shared experience can be stronger than those gifted by kinship. It’s an old idea that feels new and different now and has helped to reshape my notion of relationships going forward, especially how my energy is apportioned among them. It also seems like a role custom built for music and the people who love it.

Of all the stress in 2020, family-related tension weighed the most for me, contributing the most to sleepless nights and angst-ridden days. Again, though, the meaningful struggle focuses on what we can control and one of the most helpful responses I could muster was, as always, to listen to music. So much music. All kinds at all times.

My music-listening experiences in 2020 included new music from beloved bands that had been dormant for years, sometimes decades, mostly in the heavy metal and progressive rock genres. These are huge genres I spend most of my time in, full of so many bands doing so many variations of the basic styles going back 50 years, so part of my great joy was discovering new music and even new bands in arenas I thought I knew so well, especially in subgenres like epic heavy metal and Italian prog rock. I also got to share a lot of it with friends looking for something new.

I also learned to begin to find some love for a lot of music I actually hated for most of my life, most of it created in the 80’s. Bands like The Cure, Tears for Fears, and Roxy Music, and albums like Grace Under Pressure, previously scorned and derided for their simplicity and plasticity, were now met with an open mind and genuine curiosity, leading to a real appreciation of a whole new world of music. A major factor in my willingness to open up was insistent prompting by good pals who want their friends to feel the joy they do when they listen.

During the summer, I got a strange itch to explore modern soul music, specifically what some people call new old soul. Not so much a new interpretation of soul music that pushes that genre forward (that’d be neo soul), but a reinvigoration of the old style of Al Green and The Temptations and Aretha Franklin. A few weeks of exploration yielded wonderful experiences with Son Little and Fantastic Negrito and Durand Jones & The Indications and many more, along with the knowledge that I’d only barely begun to scratch the surface of the tippy top layer, not to mention the countless wonderful artists of nearly a hundred years past. Suddenly I had language for conversations that might have eluded me before. Yet another whole new world.

It’s hard to know just what flipped these various switches, but I like to think that during a time when I needed more light in my life, something within me knew that music would provide it, if I’d only let it in.

Here’s a necessarily incomplete list of the music that shined most brightly for me in 2020:

THERE’S PLENTY OF DARKNESS, SHOULD YOU SEEK IT

20. Atramentus – Stygian

Funeral doom has to get it just right to grab me and Atramentus gets it just right on Stygian. It’s fathoms deep and horizon wide, endlessly empty between landmarks and every bit as heavy as all that implies. But it’s the little bit more painted into all that blackness that makes Stygian great: Faintly silver crescents and halos, interwoven tendrils of gray smoke, amorphous shimmer that looks like the fear you’re struggling to contain.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

19. Elder – Omens

One of the highest accolades I reserve for a band is that they create the kind of music that makes me squeeze my eyes and sway or nod my head as I follow along. I don’t think about it; I just realize after a while that I’ve been doing it, the music grabs hold so hard and so fully. Elder has been making this kind of music for a lot of years now, and Omens shows they’ve got it in them to keep finding new and exciting ways to squeeze those eyelids together.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

18. Molassess – Through the Hollow

Molassess was born following a reunion of The Devil’s Blood members in remembrance of founding member Selim Lemouchi, who took his own life in 2014. Selim’s sister, Frida, is the voice of Molassess, whose music is deep and dark and steeped in the occult, drawing from the counterculture of the late 60’s and early 70’s when music was as much belief as it was signifier. Through the Hollow was a wonderful, all-encompassing escape in 2020.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

17. John Petrucci – Terminal Velocity

I thought I’d heard all the guitar solo albums I’d ever need to hear, especially by members of bands I know very well. When John Petrucci’s Terminal Velocity hit, though, it was just so full of goodness I couldn’t resist it. The man’s talent goes without saying, of course, so it was the feeling that sold it. Pure joy and love for the music.

• Official Website

16. Ripped to Shreds – 亂 (Luan)

亂 (Luan) was my favorite way to release the rage in 2020. Besides just being a fucking relentlessly angry album, there’s a strange comfort in the familiarity of its Swedish death metal roots and colossal heaviness. Ripped to Shreds is mostly the product of one talented and angry man named Andrew Lee who, as it turns out, is also apparently a fine human being invested in social justice who reserves his fury for those particular assholes of the world who deserve it most.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

15. Pharmacist – Medical Renditions of Grinding Decomposition

Super gross death metal isn’t something I belly up to the bar for very often. In fact, it’s so infrequent that I had to be told that Pharmacist’s Medical Renditions of Grinding Decomposition isn’t super gross death metal at all, but goregrind. Well… who fucking cares. All I know is that there were more occasions than usual in 2020 in which I needed a vicarious release of gross feelings I don’t need to be carrying around and this album lightened my load too many times to count.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

14. Enslaved – Utgard

It’s hard to tell whether Enslaved has begun making more accessible music or we’ve simply become accustomed to something the majority of the world would find perplexing at best. Utgard is testament to Enslaved’s greatness in that it makes you really squint to see what’s new and yet, once you see it, you feel it as deeply as you have on any record before it.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

13. Katatonia – City Burials

There’s more than one way to heavy, of course, and Katatonia has long-since mastered the art of “feels heavy even when it doesn’t sound heavy.” City Burials sees the Swedes draw again from an apparently endless well of melancholy to create yet another amazing album that finds its strength in the listener’s willingness to recognize and identify with those fucking feelings.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

12. Mekong Delta – Tales of a Future Past

Tales of a Future Past has all the hallmarks of a great Mekong Delta album, including killer riffs and solos couched within complex song structures inspired by classical composers. But there’s an emphasis this time around on melodies that push things closer to prog metal than past records, an approach that maximizes symbiosis between lead singer Martin LeMar and guitarist Peter Lake. Ralf Hubert has been the core dynamo of Mekong Delta for a long time and Tales of a Future Past is easily among his best.

• Official Website

11. Lord of Light – Morningstar

Sweden’s Lord of Light came seemingly out of nowhere in late 2019 with their self-released Morningstar and then No Remorse Records wisely snatched them up quick for a CD release in March of this year. Morningstar is difficult to label. It’s progressive metal, but it’s power metal, but it’s pretty plainly good old heavy metal with a white hi-top sneaker firmly planted in the 80’s. What’s beyond dispute it is that it’s awesome, full of powerful riffs and solos, strong melodies and compelling hooks. Short of being a perfect album, Morningstar is a magnificent collection of heavy metal songs that bodes well for Lord of Light’s future endeavors, God willing.

• Bandcamp

THERE’S AS MUCH LIGHT AS YOU’RE WILLING TO LET IN

10. Autonoesis – Autonoesis

Autonoesis, the band (or person), is a mystery. Fittingly ironic, given the meaning of the word, which refers to the awareness of oneself in relation to past, present, and future. The music Autonoesis makes is mysterious, too, but in a much friendlier way, blending attributes of progressive and technical death metal so that it makes you forget the particular aspects of both for the all-consuming power of the riffs, not to mention miles of brightly shining leads. Autonoesis may be a bedroom project, but it’s got the soul of a full-fledged and well-travelled collective.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

9. Oranssi Pazuzu – Mestarin Kynsi

It’s hard to communicate the appeal of Oranssi Pazuzu’s music to someone who doesn’t share a fan’s perspective. To me, though, it kind of just makes sense, even when it doesn’t and sometimes especially when it doesn’t. Mestarin Kynsi is like some oily alien entity that exists only as an amalgamation of the darkest and most deeply repressed memories siphoned from beings unfortunate enough to stray within range. Just that, floating around in space. Music that feels like that? That makes the listener feel like that? That’s pretty fucking cool.

• Bandcamp

8. Wytch Hazel – III: Pentecost

Like Valkyrie in the seventh spot, Wytch Hazel’s 2020 offering is golden-hued and imbued with a reserved melancholy. Unlike Fear’s inward focus, III: Pentecost finds strength through spirituality and celebrates that connection with the stately countenance of a thrice blessed Paladin. What makes this album truly special is that it genuinely feels as if the band is singing with you. They’re worshipping, for sure, but they’ve got your hand in theirs. The salvation and glory Wytch Hazel celebrates is every bit as much yours as it is theirs.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

7. Valkyrie – Fear

Fear is a heartfelt expression of anxiety, sadness, loneliness, doubt, and regret. Like all of us from time to time, Valkyrie found themselves in emotional space that didn’t quite jibe with a summery vibe and, rather than ignoring or avoiding it, they faced it, embraced it, and turned it into music. Good for them. But you don’t even need to get into all this feelings stuff to enjoy this record. The guitars are so strong and the songwriting so good, the production so robust and lush, that this album stands on its own merits regardless.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

6. Psychotic Waltz – The God-Shaped Void

I was so happy to be able to write about a new Psychotic Waltz album in 2020 after a 23 year recording hiatus. From my review: With The God-Shaped Void, Psychotic Waltz has created a bold, contemporary statement of progressive metal relevance and folded into it a beautiful and wonderful paean to their past. They took their time, prioritized their values of integrity and craftsmanship, and created an album full of melodic and emotional hooks that will set slowly but deeply for listeners willing to invest. What a coup for a band who had so many years and apparent reasons to give up, yet stayed true to themselves and their musical vision and, through it all, refused to relent their drive toward the light.

• Last Rites Review
• Official Website

5. Falconer – From a Dying Ember

If you’d have told me at the beginning of 2020 that my end-of-year list would include a Falconer album in its top five, I’d have told you to lay off the peyote, muchacho. And yet here we are. From a Dying Ember is (mostly) mid-paced power metal, which typically ain’t my bag. It’s not particularly heavy or complex or eclectic or any of the things that usually woo me. It is, however, bright and triumphant and just relentlessly joyous. And it’s delivered with all the unabashed verve of a master thespian, which turned out to be the active ingredient of a prescription I didn’t even know I needed.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

4. Dark Quarterer – Pompei

Dark Quarterer’s great strength is telling epic, sweeping stories through the music, as lyrics and vocals and instruments are braided in the songwriting process so that the weave is both stronger and more aesthetically interesting than the strands individually. The listener’s experience, of course, is the proof of concept. We all know the story of Pompei: there’s a volcano, it erupts, people are killed and buried. Yet the music on Dark Quarterer’s eighth album captures the imagination nonetheless through their immersive and dynamic songwriting approach coupled with passionate playing that touches the listener emotionally.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

3. Hail Spirit Noir – Eden in Reverse

Eden in Reverse is rooted in psychedelic rock and krautrock, pulls tones and textures from 80’s synth aesthetics, dresses up its melodies in the proto-prog style of the late 60’s and layers it all into the modern black metal interpretation and expansion of those musical enclaves. Blackened psychedelia blends into a swirling krautrock that swells and threatens violent dissolution but maintains a weird spiraling integrity. The lingering effect is the disquieting sense that you know what this is even if you don’t quite recognize it.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

2. Fates Warning – Long Day Good Night

Long Day Good Night feels like coming home. A hackneyed sentiment, to be sure, but think a little on it. Just like Fates Warning’s music, the bare face of those words belies a deeper meaning, a duplicity, a recognition that life is rarely so simple and acceptance that we’ve ultimately got very little say in how it transpires outside of our responses to it. Coming home, of course, signals an arrival to a place of comfort, of sanctuary. It also represents the end of a journey and, thus, a bittersweet culmination of emotion, an orange gradient horizon casting a warm, life-giving glow on what might otherwise die in shadow.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

1. Thy Catafalque – Naiv

Tamás Kátai’s Thy Catafalque is one of those projects that’s really difficult to describe but, out of all the many words used to describe what Kátai does, the one that seems to do it best does it simply: Adventure. Rooted in Hungarian traditional and folk melodies and spliced within a black and progressive metal lattice, Thy Catafalque’s truest mystery is how Kátai so fully and naturally shoots it all through the human experience and up into the cosmos. On Naiv, the answer isn’t any clearer, though the listener is surer than ever before that they are more than observer, more than passenger, finally and fully integrated with Thy Catafalque as both conduit and, ultimately, cognizance.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

SOMETIMES A LITTLE BIT’LL DO

1. Lör – Edge of Eternity

I only really spent very much time with one heavy metal EP this year and it was Lör’s Edge of Eternity. The truth is, if this wasn’t categorized as an EP, it would have made my regular list, probably at least near the top ten. Besides being well-written and -executed, it’s just all the things I want a Progressive Heavy Metal album to be: bright, smart, complex, and fiercely unique.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

MOST EVERYTHING FALLS SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN

20. Jaga Jazzist – Pyramid

What if jazz from the 60’s discovered synthpop in the 80’s through a post-rock portal?

• Bandcamp

19. Long Earth – Once Around the Sun

Beautiful, stretched out and melodic space rock as reverent as it is personal.

• Bandcamp

18. J G Thirlwell & Simon Steensland – Oscillospira

Spooky avant prog reminiscent of early Univers Zero with just enough familiar flavor to be more palatable than disagreeable.

• Bandcamp

17. Magick Brother & Mystic Sister – Magick Brother & Mystic Sister

Spacey, funky psychedelic prog with retro soul so groovy it practically reanimates the best of the 70’s from Pink Floyd to Khan through half of the Canterbury scene.

• Bandcamp

16. Onségen Ensemble – Fear

Dark and ritualistic heavy prog, dashed with jazz and folk, with an ear for the eclectic and an eye for grand vistas.

• Bandcamp

15. Ring Van Möbius – The 3rd Majesty

Straddling the line between Yes and ELP with all the fire and spirit of the scene they invented.

• Bandcamp

14. Airbag – A Day at the Beach

Patient and persistent melancholic soundscapes drawing inspiration from the background music of the 80’s.

• Bandcamp

13. Pat Metheny – From This Place

Pat Metheny is a master of what has become the clear Metheny style of contemporary jazz and fusion, and From This Place sees him executing it to perfection.

• Bandcamp

12. Antony Kalugin – Marshmallow Moondust

Nobody else is doing quite what Antony Kalugin is doing with prog rock. Marshmallow Moondust is such unabashedly uplifting ear candy that it’d be hard to take seriously if it wasn’t so seriously good.

• Bandcamp

11. Lazuli – Le fantastique envol de Dieter Böhm

A wonderful collection of melodic rock and roll songs filtered through the progressive sieve to tell a compelling story. Pretty much the epitome of effective prog rock.

• Official Website

10. Rick Wakeman – The Red Planet

Rick Wakeman’s The Red Planet is as big an idea as he’s ever had (and that’s saying something) and he absolutely nails it, emphasizing all the points that make a prog nerd drool. Maybe even the best solo album he’s ever made.

• Official Website

9. La Maschera di Cera – S.E.I.

Modern Italian prog with an affinity for the ways of the old guard. La Maschera di Cera wraps outstanding RPI style songwriting in pure and polished classic prog sounds of mellotron and flute and amazing vocals.

• Bandcamp

8. Karfagen – Birds of Passage

Antony Kalugin’s Karfagen is the pure product of an artist in love with his craft. Two long passages interpret the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and William Blake, driven by emotion and held aloft by the joy of musical storytelling. (see Antony’s solo album at #12)

• Bandcamp

7. Tiger Moth Tales – Still Alive

Still Alive by Tiger Moth Tales, Pete Jones’ solo prog project, is essentially a love letter to everybody in his life, including family, friends, fans, and those he’s yet to meet. With the weight of the pandemic bearing down on artists and their circles the world over, Pete embraced us all with these songs, sharing a warm smile to lighten the load just a bit.

• Bandcamp

6. Monophonics – It’s Only Us

Motown and soul music more broadly imbued the 70’s with a warmth that persists today and those of us who remember the radio then can still feel the good vibes (well, so can everyone else, but I like to think it’s special for the dustier among us). Monophonics’ It’s Only Us channels all of it with equal parts confidence and deference.

• Bandcamp

5. Dai Kaht – Dai Kaht II

Dai Kaht is a strange marriage of zeuhl and Rock In Opposition, two very strange offshoots of prog, itself a strange manifestation of rock and roll music. More specifically, on Dai Kaht II, all the wacky eccentricities of zeuhl are crammed headlong through the distorted electric RIO filters to create an aggressively strange and ultimately addictive new, barely familiar monster.

• Bandcamp

4. Wobbler – Dwellers of the Deep

The only thing better than classic prog continuing to scratch its particular itch after all these years is young new bands carrying the torch as confidently and proudly as the vanguard in its day. And Wobbler does it better than just about everybody else, creating an album in Dwellers of the Deep that pushes typical time limits and still leaves the listener wanting more.

• Last Rites Review
• Bandcamp

3. Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience – To Know Without Knowing

Mulatu Astatke, known for his Ethio-jazz and as a champion of global jazz collaborations, worked for a second time with Black Jesus Experience to create one of 2020’s most amazing records. To Know Without Knowing is the album I listened to the most in 2020. In a year marked by strife and harsh reminders that people of color have long been and continue to be disproportionately harmed by the status quo, this album of international collaboration and multicultural celebration was a breath of fresh air.

• Bandcamp

2. Lunatic Soul – Through Shaded Woods

Lunatic Soul is the solo project of Riverside’s Mariusz Duda, through which he explores avenues of musical variation not quite suited for his primary band. His 2020 offering, Through Shaded Woods finds him miles ahead of where he’s landed before, celebrating traditional sounds with acoustic guitar and folk melodies with what feels like a genuine love and passion for the music. Duda has never sounded so deeply invested in his music, and that’s saying something.

• Bandcamp

1. LogoS – Sadako e le Mille Gru di Carta

The next time you decide to explore something completely new to you in the world of music, please make it Italian prog rock (aka Rock Progressivo Italiano or RPI) and please begin with Sadako e le Mille Gru di Carta (Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes). (Yes, I’m assuming you aren’t already familiar with RPI. Odds are good, I think). I could write a million words about what make LogoS and this album so great, but you don’t want to read a million words. Instead, I’ll remind you that a great many of the best albums ever find that oh so delicate balance between familiarity and novelty. LogoS recalls all the greats of Italian prog rock, including Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Premiata Forneria Marconi, and Le Orme, and yet they sound more like LogoS than anything else. Instruments include electric guitars and synthesizers and songs are written in the rock and roll symphony style, all per the prog way and all with that distinctive Italian flair that is as familiar as it is difficult to describe to the uninitiated. Sadako is bold, majestic, exceedingly professional and as reverent as it is brave. As near to perfect an album as can be found in 2020.

• Bandcamp

Thanks for reading my list, for letting me share my experiences with you, in a very small way sharing the heavy burden that is the here and now.

It’s not like any of us has the answers.

There is real strength, though, and hope in the desire to discover the way. Music has an almost impossible power to connect people with shared values and visions and wishes for the world. I really do cherish that connection, real and implied, and hope it brings as much light to your day as it does mine.

The post Best of 2020 – Lone Watie: We Find What We Look For appeared first on Last Rites.

And yet, I feel like every year-end list I’ve written for the past half decade has started with some variance upon “Well, this was a tough year, but…”  Is this what adulthood is, just an endless spiral of increasingly terrible years? If so, then imagine how unfathomably unfathomable the awfulness of 2021 will be…

Let’s not even go there.

Things are looking up, though, right? Here in the US, we at least elected a president that isn’t a total moron, although it remains to be seen if the current president (who is not only a complete and total moron, but is the defining complete and total moron) will somehow manage to wreck that, since he keeps trying. So maybe…

Let’s not even go there.

One thing that’s been here for me forever — or for as long as I can remember, at least — is music, which is why I’m here, doing what I’m doing, babbling incessantly about music. For all its myriad failures, 2020 at least brought me plenty of great music, so since we’re not going to those dark places, let’s cut to the damn chase and go here:

THE SECOND TEN, IN ORDER

20. Worm – Gloomlord

Apparently, Worm’s earlier efforts are more in the black metal camp, but however they got to it, Gloomlord is swampy death / doom goodness that borders upon the funereal, all echoed vocal and crushing slow riff beneath some sweet melodic leads. Think early Paradise Lost slowly drowning in a swamp and you kinda got the picture… Gloomy gloom, my good glum chums, and great.

• Don’t believe me? Ask this doofus.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ swamprat bone here.

19. Pharmacist – Medical Renditions Of Grinding Decomposition

You know what rules? Carcass’ second record, Symphonies Of Sickness. (Also, every other Carcass record, pretty much…) You know what else rules? This Symphonies Of Sickness second-coming from these Japanese sickos, all fuzzy riff and gurgle-guttural goodness from the Earache school of hurting ears. Don’t let the pretty picture on the cover fool you — this is some gross stuff, kids.

• Don’t believe me? Ask me again.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ freshly defleshed bone here.

18. ACxDC – Satan Is King

Southern California’s favorite Satan-loving powerviolence / grindcore band returns with this subtly titled full-length. (The title is a pisstake on Kanye’s Jesus Is King, if you’re interested.) Sonically, it’s a fine and fun slab of the band’s trademark hardcore-leaning pummeling, hitting hard with the catchy “singalong” of the title track, the relentless barrage of “Copsucker,” and the raging on-a-dime turns of “Turncoat,” and all of it wrapped in the stoutest production ACxDC has yet seen. ACxDC will knock your ears about with powerful violence and warped sense of humor, and you’ll damn well like it.

• Don’t believe me? Ask me again, except over here this time.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ demoncore bone here.

17. Necrot – Mortal

Frills? Bells? Whistles? Who needs ’em… Necrot certainly doesn’t. Mortal is old-school death metal done right, which is to say that it’s straightforward, brutal, crushing, carving, deadly… Nary a wasted note or a misplaced beat, no other adjectives necessary — no “tech,” no “prog,” no “atmospheric,” no bullshit. Just death freakin’ metal, like the good Lord intended… Turn it up; throw the horns in the air; and scream along.

• Don’t believe me? Second opinion.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ spiky-logo old-school rifftastic bone here.

16. Incantation – Sect Of Vile Divinities

The production of this one has been a bit of a sticking point for some of the fellas, but to these ears, these newfound cleaner and less murky tones don’t detract much from Incantation’s best quality, which, of course, is their ability to create great and ugly death metal. Sure, now it’s less mucky, and that muckiness has long been a hallmark of the band, but when you can still knock out songs like “Entrails Of The Hag Queen” and “Fury’s Manifesto,” there’s more than enough beautiful ugliness to go around.

• Don’t believe me? Well, I done told you…
• Throw ’em a frickin’ blasphemous bone here.

15. Meth Leppard – Woke

This Aussie grind duo returns with a stellar full-length, filled with their usual blast-happy riff-o-rama and smart-ass humor. Sure, the one-note singular-grunt vocals can get a little monotonous, but still, tracks like “Dead Kardashians,” “Sick Bern,” and the killer (if titularly incorrect) “Thrash Sucks” are bringing on the headache in the best possible way. Are you geddon it? Yeah, you should gedd it.

• Don’t believe me? Don’t worry — I missed it, too, the first time around…
• Throw ’em a frickin’ bone here, mate.

14. Testament – Titans Of Creation

In the pantheon of classic thrashers who still got the fire, Testament is right behind Overkill to me, a classic-era band who fell just outside The Big Four and yet who has never fallen to the same lows that those four have. Coming off the lackluster Brotherhood Of The Snake, Testament’s back with a ferocious thrasher in Titans Of Creation, one of their heaviest to date, and further proof that these old titans haven’t lost a step. Does it reach the heights of The New Order or Practice What You Preach? Nah, of course not — we’re past that now. There’s no real surprises here: Just lyrics about the usual suspects like war and murder, and plenty of guitar-slinging riffs from the Peterson-Skolnick team. Still, all of that adds up to Testament doing what Testament does best.

• Don’t believe me? Ask-o-lito.
• Practice what you preach and throw ’em a frickin’ bone here.

13. Defeated Sanity – The Sanguinary Impetus

I don’t always like noodly technicality in my death metal, but when I do, I want all of it. Thankfully, Defeated Sanity can scratch that itch, and here, they scratch it with all the brutal subtlety of a chainsaw. There’s as many twists in these riffs as Chubby Checker and Dee Snider playing Twister in a tornado, as guitars and bass skitter and skedaddle around Lille Gruber’s rolling drumwork, and all topped with a beautifully toilet-level guttural from Josh Welshman. Sanity is overrated anyway; let it be beaten.

• Don’t believe me? Ask ol’ Captain Kick-Ass over here…
• Throw ’em a frickin’ brootech bone here.

12. Ripped To Shreds – 亂 (Luan)

Oh, what’s that you say? Classic-styled death metal with old-school grind influences? Well, sign me up, dammit. One-man project Ripped To Shreds is the brainchild of Andrew Lee, now expanded into a full line-up, and you can think of it as the unholy spawn of Terrorizer grinding and classic death like Asphyx. Themed around Chinese folk tales of war and battle, Luan is one hell of a rager, and another feather in the cap of a relatively young band. More like Riffed To Shreds, amirite? (I’m right. I’m always right.)

• Don’t believe me?  Ask DMD (Death Metal Dummies)
• 在這裡向他們扔骨頭.

11. Psychotic Waltz – The God-Shaped Void

First off, if you haven’t already, take a few minutes and read this primer. Therein lies a far better summary of the importance of Psychotic Waltz than I could ever give, here or elsewhere, and then, when you’re done there, you can get on with the business of The God-Shaped Void, which is an excellent album from an underrated band, and certainly one that I wasn’t expecting to land an album on my 2020 year-end list. But damned if they didn’t, and as you listen to the moody and melodic prog-metal mastery that The God-Shaped Void contains, you’ll understand why.

• Don’t believe me? Ask the Prog King himself.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ god-shaped bone here.

THE FIRST TEN, IN ORDER

10. PYRRHON – ABSCESS TIME

In any given year, there are probably dozens of extreme metal records — if not more than dozens — that are described by overly enthusiastic critics such as myself as “mind-melting” or “punishing” or “ear-destroying” or some other such appellation. And probably most of them don’t truly qualify as such because they aren’t Pyrrhon records. (Note: It’s “Pyrrhon,” pronounced “Pyrrhon.”) Brooklyn’s noisiest bunch of free-jazz-inspired prog-tech-whatever death metal nerds returned in 2020 with Abscess Time, their fourth full-length and their best one, another collection of skronky ugly mind-melting punishing ear-destroying hyperbole-resistant kickassery. Dylan DiLeila’s riffs twist and move in ways that no riff ever should, and yet these do move those ways, whichever ways they may be (and sometimes in many ways at once), and they’re all the better for it; the rhythm section of Erik Malave and Steve Schwegler skitters and slams and stomps and stutters through whatever strange dystopian nightmares vocalist and lyricist extraordinaire Doug Moore conjures up.

Pyrrhon’s world is a harsh one, and we’re lucky to live in it.

• Don’t believe me? Ask a ghost.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ bone here, or Doug Moore will kick your ass.

9. FUCK THE FACTS – PLEINE NOIRCEUR

After a five-year hiatus, Canada’s funnest fact-fucking grinders return with another slab of brilliant “bastardized grindcore,” which really just means that it twists and turns and zips and zags and lights and darks and fasts and slows and reds and blues and most of the other adjectives, all in one, balancing blasting aggression against post-metal melodies and outside-the-box arrangements into one long slab of half-French / half-English fury. They’ve been trending ever upward for nearly twenty years now, with each record more interesting than the last, and Pleine Noirceur continues their streak of excellence, from the brilliant “Doubt, Fear, Neglect” and the blistering “Ailleurs” through the sludgy and emotive “Everything I Love Is Ending” to the drifty dreamy “An Ending.” Total darkness never seemed so vibrant, and this band never fails. Each listen unfurls a new twist, a new turn, a previously unheard riff, or more likely, a new context, a new color, a new angle and a riff previously unheard in exactly that proper context or color or angle.

In today’s world, facts seem to matter increasingly less, so I guess it’s safe to say fuck ’em, at this point, right? So get on with it while the world burns, and let’s get to grinding.

• Don’t believe me? Well, here’s the facts, Jack
• Jette-leur un os frickin ici,

8. WAKE – DEVOURING RUIN

And hey, speaking of Canadian grindcore bands that operate outside the genre’s norms, here’s a new one from Calgary’s finest, and it picks up where the absolutely brilliant Misery Rites left off, pushing even further afield of traditional grindcore into the post-metal atmospherics that closed that album. Wake has long borrowed from various offshoots of extreme metal, but Devouring Ruin sees them exploring the more atmospheric side of their spectrum. It’s an expansive take on extremity, heavily reliant upon the NeurIsis palette, but it’s also a devastatingly visceral listen, as discordant riffing collides with chiming arpeggios and all of it ebbs and flows with a nearly cinematic scope. Fear not dedicated grinders: Some blastbeats do find their way in — underneath some skronking chunky riffs in “Mouth Of Abolition,” for example, or the blistering first half of “In The Lair Of The Rat Kings” — but mostly, Devouring Ruin keeps its pummeling to a more controlled attack, like the sludgy trudge of the ten-minute “Torchbearer” or the melodic haziness that colors the end of … also, the ten-minute “Torchbearer.” (It’s a long song, dammit; there’s a lot going on there.)  At this point, Wake is likely only truly a grindcore band about 35% of the time, and nominally a grind band because they traditionally have been one, but whatever genre description you choose to bestow upon them, they’re a Very Damned Good band and one of the more interesting outfits to break forth from grindcore’s admittedly limiting confines in recent times. Like the Fuck The Facts, there’s much to unpack in this atmospheric grinding, and repeated listens only peel back the layers further and further, revealing the greatness within.

Change is good; embrace the changes.

• Don’t believe me? Ask the ghost again.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ bone here, eh, you hoser.

7. NAPALM DEATH – THROES OF JOY IN THE JAWS OF DEFEATISM

Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism was quite awhile in the making – it’s been five years since Apex Predator, a gap only partially stopped with the collection of odds and ends in Coded Smears and the pre-Throes teaser Logic Ravaged By Brute Force. Still, not much has changed in the Napalm world, sonically, at least. Even without the creative input of guitarist Mitch Harris, who played on the record but did not contribute any material to the writing, the remaining core of Barney and Shane and Danny are still blending that signature ferocious death / grind with their other well-established influences, like the post-punk of “Amoral” or the industrialized “A Belly Full Of Salt And Spleen” or the blackened industrial grating of “Joie De Ne Pas Vivre.” All of those are among Throes Of Joy‘s least traditionally Napalm Death moments, and yet they’re among its best, and in that, and in their experimental bent, they somehow become among Throes Of Joy‘s most perfectly Napalm Death moments. Are you following me? No? Well, piss off, then, and just listen to the damned record — it’s a rager, from start to end, just like you’d expect from these Brummie bastards.

Napalm Death has been a personal favorite and an extreme metal standard-bearer for over a generation. Throes Of Joy In The Jaws Of Defeatism is exactly the kind of album that shows why we always come running back for more. Long the kings of grinding, and forever may they reign.

• Don’t believe me? You should.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ dead bird bone here. (No birds were harmed in the making of this link.)

6. DROPDEAD – DROPDEAD (2020)

Troubled times make for good political punk rock, at least. I’ll admit that that perspective is a huge case of bright-siding, and coming from a place of privilege in that these troubled times haven’t been as directly troubled for me as they have for many. But regardless of the impact of that trouble, in these days of strife unlike any most living generations have seen, it’s right and justified to be completely pissed off. And Dropdead is nothing if not completely pissed off. Back with their first full-length in 22 years, Rhode Island’s favorite fast-and-furious hardcore punks may be a little older and wiser now, and maybe just a hair or two less fast than before, but nothing much else has changed. Bob Otis still barks and screams out screeds against oppression (be it of humans or animals), against injustice and against the broken system that fosters it, and against the racist wannabe-totalitarian regime approximately half of us Americans installed in the White House in 2016. Arriving approximately halfway through the ten-month-and-counting COVID plague, and just a few months before the US election, Dropdead 2020 reminded us of the importance of paying attention, of being actively tuned into the world around you, of the need to “fight and emancipate, conspire and communicate, arise and retaliate.”

Listen to Dropdead. They speak truths. Listen often. And listen loudly.

• Don’t believe me? Dropdead probably doesn’t care if you don’t believe me.
• Throw ’em a cruelty-free vegan bone here.

5. KATATONIA – CITY BURIALS

Everyone’s favorite sadsack Swedish sonsabitches return with another maudlin set of songs that balance the band’s proclivity toward the progressive with the moody metal that made them one of the twin towers of extreme mopeyness. (And who’s the other tower, you ask? We’ll get there in a second… Be patient. Don’t rush me.) If you’ve been keeping up with the Katatonias, you know what City Burials sounds like: prog-rock-cum-metal arrangements, with the latter of those two styles in shorter supply than it was ages ago, in line with the previous however many Katatonia releases. Scattered Nyström riffs serve as punctuation, but mostly, Burials is about the downtrodden atmosphere built on Renkse’s minor-key melodies and a collection of stunningly killer Kata-tunes. When a band writes songs that are good enough to overlook the 8th-grade-notebook emo-ness of lines like “I can feel you pierce my heart,” you know they’re truly onto something. When those songs are as good as “The Winter Of Our Passing,” or “Behind The Blood,” or the killer “Untrodden,” then what they’re onto is greatness, so take your anti-depressants and join in the fun.

Unless you’re in baseball, there’s nothing wrong with crying sometimes.

• Don’t believe? Ask this yo-yo-lito one more time.
• Throw ’em a really sad frickin’ bone here.

4. PARADISE LOST – OBSIDIAN

Oh, you listened to the Katatonia and you’re still feeling sad, are you? But not quite sad enough? Well, fine, then; let’s get sadder. Come on over and join us in the throes of clinical depression, as brought to you by the wonderfully morose death/doom/goth hybrid that is modern Paradise Lost. Now several albums into their second wind, our Haligonian heroes are coming off their sidestep backwards into the more traditional death/doom of Medusa — that one being by far the heaviest album they’ve made in thirty years. Obsidian is that sidestep in reverse, back from the heavier metallic edge, again towards the balance achieved on the greatness of The Plague Within and Tragic Idol. Holmes’ despondent croon is offset by his recently rediscovered goblin growl, and Mackintosh has never lost that ability to bring those beautiful guitar melodies. So in that regard, Obsidian is vintage Paradise Lost, just updated for the new age, like all of their various vintages condensed, from the goth metal majesty of Draconian Times to the death/doom of Gothic to the perfect blend of Tragic Idol. Running at a kingly level from the Sisters Of Mercy-tinted “Ghosts” to the new-classic closer “Ravenghast,” Obsidian is a study in radiant darkness.

Thirty years in and still sadder than everyone: Let’s hope these poor bastards never cheer up.

• Don’t believe me? That makes me almost as sad as Paradise Lost.
• Throw ’em a clinically depressed bone here.

3. ARMORED SAINT – PUNCHING THE SKY

Noticing a trend yet? Yeah, that’s right: As usual, a large part of my top ten is dedicated to my longtime loves. But hey, it’s been a good year for the old guard, and high among those high-level entries is this latest from California’s finest, the East LA titans of traditional metal, Armored Saint. This band has never made a bad record, though obviously some are better than others, so I was expecting a damned solid slab of riffy straight-up heavy-damned-metal, with John Bush’s gravelly wail leading the charge, as always. What I was not expecting (but was not-so-secretly hoping for) was the band’s strongest record in three decades, the best they’ve released since the early 90s, when Symbol Of Salvation dropped and their classic era was subsequently truncated by Bush’s defection to Anthrax. (In his defense, he did help that band make their best record, Sound Of White Noise. Feel free to fight me on that opinion. You’ll lose.) Punching The Sky is classic Armored Saint, but it doesn’t feel old at all — in fact, it’s very much the opposite. This album crackles with life, with energy, with killer melodic metal like the title track, like the grin-inducing first single “The End Of The Attention Span,” like the blistering “Missile To Gun,” or the rollicking “Never You Fret.”

This, kids, is how heavy metal is done. Pay attention.

• Don’t believe me? Never you fret: You get another chance.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ bone here, or they may decide to punch you, too.

2. CIRITH UNGOL – FOREVER BLACK

And speaking of old California metal bands… I have to admit that, if you’d told me last year that a new Cirith Ungol album would sit near the top of my 2020 year-end list, I’d have told you, “Of course it will!” But I wouldn’t actually have believed you. I suppose that means I should listen to you more often, but why start now, right? Anyway, I certainly would’ve hoped you were right, and thankfully, you were. Let’s not make a thing of it. Forever Black is exactly the kind of new Cirith Ungol album that any Cirith Ungol fan has been hoping for for, what, three decades now? Which, of course, is to say that it’s a Cirith Ungol album that sounds like it could’ve easily been made back in the Golden Days, with some epic trad-doom mastery like “Stormbringer” sitting comfortably side-by-side with the sing-me-a-song-you’re-a-singer from “Heaven And Hell” bounce of “The Frost Monstreme” and the hard rock of “Fractus Promissum.” Tim Baker still has that crazy yelp, and Cirith Ungol still rocks like hell. All is right with the world…  well, at least, with Cirith Ungol’s world.

Welcome back, fellas. We really missed you.

• Don’t believe me? Read this masterwork here.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ Elric Of Melnibone here.

1. FATES WARNING – LONG DAY GOOD NIGHT

Long Day Good Night didn’t drop until November, and still, no album dominated my 2020 listening more than this one. But really, Fates Warning’s control of my year began even earlier, back in the Spring. You see, locked down in quarantine and bored and desperate for something new, I finally cracked and did that which I swore I wouldn’t ever do. I, dedicated purchaser of several (several, several) thousand compact discs, finally broke down and purchased new vinyl. But it wasn’t new vinyl, of course, because that’s a dicey prospect, so what I really did was start buying albums I love on vinyl. And one of those was Fates Warning’s early-90s masterpiece Parallels, which is by far the LP I’ve spun the most in 2020, without question. So that’s really where my 2020 Fates Warning re-obsession began, and it’s carried through into a complete re-immersion into every album they’ve released. (Except maybe FWX.)

And then, by some miraculous twist of fate, just when I’d re-listened to them all to death, they released a new album. And what’s even better than that is that it’s a killer, an absolute masterwork from a band that has about six masterworks and plenty that come close. Coming off one of those finest hours in Theories Of Flight, Matheos, Alder, and company have crafted another one of their finest works, with so much more moody prog-metal brilliance in tracks like “The Destination Onward,” the radio-ready-and-yet-still-strong “Now Comes The Rain,” and the utterly completely 100% astoundingly great “The Longest Shadow Of The Day” followed by the ominous “The Last Song.” Alder sounds great; Vera’s bass is both understated and perfectly prominent, particularly in the jazz fusion licks of “Shadow”; Jarzombek is rock-solid and inventive, as always… and yet, it’s still Matheos’ show here, because it’s his songwriting that always defines how incredible this band has been for decades now. Fates Warning is a damned national treasure, and they should never stop doing this.

So, yeah, seriously, guys — please don’t let that be the last song. Please. We need you.

• Don’t believe me? Check with the boss, then.
• Throw ’em the frickin’ #1 Bone Of The Year right here.

THE SHORT ONES, IN NO ORDER

Beaten To Death – Laat maar, deel een: ik verhuis naar Mastbos

This one’s sort of a cheater to include down here, because this EP is really part of an LP that the band released only to vinyl, and then broke apart and released as four digital entries. but with different mixes. Two of those EPs are out so far, of which this is the first. I don’t care how you get it, in short digital form or the longer physical one, just know that it’s Beaten To Death, which means it’s fun as hell grindcore with some really cool melodic moments and clever song titles like “Flatulence Of Emotion” or “The Old Man And The Internet.” Sure, the vinyl is probably cooler, but this works, too.

• Don’t believe me? You’ll have to. We didn’t cover this.
• Throw ’em one frickin’ bone in a four-part series here. Or buy the vinyl from the link off to the right on that page.

Septage – Septic Decadence

Another Carcass-loving batch of goons with another short burst of pus-dripping excellence, this one. It saw fewer spins than the Pharmacist full-length, but nevertheless, Septage’s brand of severed-tongue-in-rotten-cheek grossness (*) is worth that many spins and more. There’s a plague going on, as you likely know, so let Septage give you a safer way to get sick.  (*I’m pretty sure I used this exact turn-of-phrase in my Machetazo review. Deal with it. It’s a good one. I may use it again someday. That’s how I roll.)

• Don’t believe me? Ask the giraffe.
• Throw ’em a frickin’ lump of raw meat here.

Sulaco – The Privilege

There’s a band that’s been on my mind… all the time… Su-Sulaco… Okay, that might be overstating it a bit, but I got to make a Phil Collins joke, so sue-sue me, yo. Still, my amazing sense of humor notwithstanding, Sulaco is an underrated beast, a tech-grind collective that throws out killer riffs with a seemingly natural ease. Two years after their last full-length in The Prize, Erik Burke and company are back with The Privilege, and in the process, they’ve upgraded the weakest link in their savagery, adding new vocalist Jason Leone’s formidable array of screams in place of Burke’s more hardcore-barking style. In the process, they’ve reached a new level, and The Privilege is ours to listen.

• Don’t believe me? Well, you have the privilege of doublechecking…
• Throw ’em a frickin’ super-riffy tech-grind bone here.

Escuela Grind – GGRRIINNDDCCOORREE

It will take me longer to come up with a description of GGRRIINNDDCCOORREE than it will for you to listen to it, so why don’t you just click on that link down there, yeah? Oh, you’re going to make me do my job? Fine. How about this: Up-and-coming old-school grinders toss off a tribute to the classics; throw it all back to the days of early Earache Recods, when the grind was short and fast and raw as hell. Slap-A-Ham more your style? Then surf over to the partner release, PPOOWWEERRVVIIOOLLEENNCCEE. Let’s just hope they stop these EPs before they get to MMUUMMBBLLEERRAAPP.

• Don’t believe? Take 90 seconds to read this.
• Take 90 seconds and throw ’em a frickin’ bone here.

Wake – Confluence
Grindcore bands aren’t really known for eleven-minute songs — more like eleven-minute albums, usually— but then again, they also aren’t known for more drifty, dreamy post-metal stylings, either. But also then again, as I may have mentioned elsewhere, Wake isn’t your typical grindcore band anymore. Working well outside its chosen style’s confines, Confluence works… well.. well, especially as a companion piece to Devouring Ruin. From the eleven-minute “Disparity And Chaos” outward and updward, this EP lives up to its title, expertly merging the various facets of Wake’s influences into one cohesive whole, the atmospheric and/or aggressive in perfect harmony, and all of it churned together and killing.

• Don’t believe me? Ask the new guy.
• Throw ’em another frickin’ bone here, eh. Or 1.28 bones, at the current exchange rate.

THE NOT-METAL ONES, IN NO ORDER

Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You

The Boss proves he’s still in charge with this Letter To You, his first record with the E Street Band in 6 years. A reflection on mortality and aging from a guy who turned 71 this year, Letter is a powerful listening experience, both in terms of its thematic depth and also in terms of its sheer rock ‘n’ roll power, the latter of which is an E Street specialty. With three songs resurrected from nearly 40 years ago, it’s a celebration of where Bruce and the boys are now and also where they came from. More importantly, it’s one of the strongest records Springsteen has released in ages, with the blue-collar poet and the bombastic arena rocker in equal measure, that special balance that only the Boss can truly manage. Check it out.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Reunions

Of the past four Isbell releases, with or without longtime backers the 400 Unit, I think I like Reunions the least, but it’s testament to Isbell’s high-quality output that even the album I like the least is unquestionably a year-end-lister. From the opening self-examination and call to action of “What Have I Done To Help?” through the plaintive beauty of “Only Children” and the sparseness of “St. Peter’s Autograph” and the recovery rocker “It Gets Easier,” Isbell proves yet again that he’s one of the greatest songwriters in contemporary music, fearlessly painting vivid and beautiful pictures of himself and the world around him, the strengths and the shortcomings of both. Like Springsteen and the E Street Band, Isbell and the 400 Unit make American rock ‘n’ roll fused with the poetry of folk, muscular and cerebral in equal measure, and both of them continue to make stunning records.

AC/DC – Power Up

At this point in their career, I doubt that anyone was truly expecting AC/DC to return with their best album in decades, but damned if they didn’t do just that. Sure, that accolade isn’t exactly of the highest order — it’s been nearly thirty years since their last indisputable classic, The Razor’s Edge. But even the worst AC/DC is still better than most rock bands’ best work. Add to that the loss of bandleader and World’s Greatest Rhythm Guitarist Malcolm Young, and the fact that Power Up shows a reunited band (as much as possible, anyway) still firing on most all cylinders is very little short of amazing. You know what it sounds like; it’s AC/DC. And it’s damned good.  Check it out.

Black Swan – Shake The World

Frontiers Records has the market cornered on these collaborative efforts from the hard rock giants of yore, and most of those run the qualitative gamut from disposable to decent. Black Swan is the exception. Starting with ex-Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and Winger / ex-Dokken guitarist Reb Beach, Black Swan also benefits heartily from the still-powerful pipes of McAuley-Schenker Group vocalist and half-namesake Robin McAuley and from Ace Frehley drummer Matt Starr. Not surprisingly, this is a melodic rock platter in the vein of all those bands, with Beach’s tasteful shredding and some fine performances from McAuley, whose voice hasn’t lost a step. Classic hard rock from some classic hard rockers, and one of my go-to albums throughout 2020. Check it out.

Wobbler – Dwellers Of The Deep

Intricate arrangements that showcase instrumental flair in the manner of a certain classic prog band? Yes. Songwriting that never gets overshadowed by said flair, also in the manner of like a certain classic prog band? Yes. Ethereal harmonies that float atop that flair in melodies that lilt and soar majestically, again like a certain classic prog band? Yes. Vintage-styled prog rock that arrived forty-five years too late, this Wobbler album checks all the boxes for my inner prog-nerd, and do I dig it? Oh, absolutely: Yes. You should, too. Check it out.

RIP 2020, IN NO ORDER

Even the famous amongst us were not spared the unfathomable awfulness of 2020. We lost quite a few titans this year, so a hearty farewell to the following, in no particular order whatsoever, except — let’s be honest here — the top two did by far the most important work:

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
John Lewis
Neil Peart
Peter Green
Sean Connery
Ken Hensley
Lee Kerslake
Sean Reinert
Adam Schlesinger
Alex Trebek
Billy Joe Shaver
Jerry Jeff Walker
Toots Hibbert
Jerry Stiller
Sean Malone
Pete Way
Paul Chapman
Fred Willard
Edward Van Halen
John Prine
Jason Rainey
Lou A. Kouvaris
Riley Gale
Little Richard
Tony Lewis
Don Larsen
Gordon Haskell
Spencer Davis
Wilford Brimley
Johnny Nash
Chadwick Boseman
Joe Payne
Walter Lure
Max von Sydow
Alan Peters
Steve Priest
Justin Townes Earle
Frankie Banali
David Prowse
Martin Birch
Terry Jones
Keith Olsen
Kobe Bryant
Phil May
Florian Schneider
Brian Howe
Joe Diffie
Ian Holm
Bill Withers
Josh Pappé
Bob Kulick
Kenny Rogers
…and anyone else I may have forgotten.

And th-th-th-th-that’s all, folks. Let’s put all 94 months of this year behind us and get on with living. Stay safe; stay healthy; keep your head up; keep listening to all the music that you possibly can. Thanks for reading, and we love you all.

The post Best Of 2020 – Andrew Edmunds: Alligators Can Grow Up To Fifteen Feet, But Most Of Them Still Only Have Four appeared first on Last Rites.

Album art is part of this style, of this culture. At one point it might have actually been the source of it, although it’s been such a chicken and egg situation for so long that it’s probably a fool’s errand trying to pinpoint the first time someone stitched cover art onto a jacket. Just try to imagine Iron Maiden without decades of Derek Riggs doing their art. His visuals – and his various Eddies – are so linked to their music, the culture around their music and live shows, and their branding that it’s impossible (and even a mite unnerving) to imagine them apart. There’s even a book about it.

Think back to the first time you saw Eddie pulling ol’ Lucifer’s strings on The Number of the Beast, the murderous implications of Kill ’em All, or the simple horror of the self-titled Sabbath record that started it all. When several members of the Last Rites crew first saw John Martin’s incredible painting being used for While Heaven Wept’s Vast Oceans Lachrymose we simply stared in awe. Imagine death metal without Dan Seagrave. Imagine Tom G. Warrior without H.R. Giger. Imagine What’s Going On without the rain and that searching look on Marvin’s face. Imagine Born in the U.S.A. without The Boss’s fit ass. You can’t do it!

Album art obviously sets the tone for our perception of the music before we hear the soundwaves (or at least it does for the type of decent humans that still digest music in album form). Inappropriate art might give a misconception of the tone or emotion, while bad art might have a fan dreading upcoming music. At the same time, consistently bad art on the albums of great bands might eventually become points of endearment. Any big music fan that claims to have never been swayed one way or the other by album art is a goddamn liar. A goddamn liar, I say!

Cover art is also – and this is an incredibly important point – the work of artists. There are humans behind those images. Shocking! I like to do some art. I’m not very good at it, but I like to do it. Even making mediocre art for personal fun is a lot of work, and creating the kinds of visuals that often adorn our favorite music is an extremely time-consuming and painstaking process. The brushstrokes on the final image may only have taken 50 hours, but the research, trial and error, and time spent finding inspiration might have taken twice that amount of time. Peeking into the process itself is also often fascinating. (That’s another of my favorites from this year. Looks glorious on a t-shirt. Hello and how are you, Caroline. Thank you for the fashion.)

The point: these people deserve our praise and thanks. They help to shape our perceptions of music while also providing the looks that we sport when gathering en masse to celebrate tunes, friends, and drinks. In that spirt, we’ve chosen some of our favorite album art from 2020. These might have struck us due to their sheer artistic beauty, appropriateness for each album, or our desire to eventually have them sewn onto a vest (looking at you, Ryan and Freeways). The point is that they struck us in some way, and we like to give a shout out to our palette pals out there. [ZACH DUVALL]

WAYNE DEADDER 

full size image

Have you ever been on the open road? I mean really out there, counting the miles as they pass as you’re burning fuel across empty lands with nothing on your mind. It’s too early to start thinking about your destination, no. That kind of thinking when you’re over a thousand hard miles out from the goal sends you into a tailspin of anxiety at the sheer desolate asphalt before you. No, this is a time for good tunes, self-reflection, and wondering when you’ll be hungry enough to temporarily abandon your highway quest and pull over for a bite to eat. The cover art to True Bearings seems like something hanging up in a roadside diner way out in the wastes, the kind of place with checkered tablecloths, pie on the counter, and rarely witnesses patronage outside of anyone with less highway experience than the “road dog” class. What a perfect album cover for a band that makes those miles seem like yards. Of course, we’re referring to Ontario’s own Freeways.

The artwork so perfectly captures not only the feeling of the band, but the freedom of a big mover out on the open road. The steady stride of a rolling highway uninterrupted by the woes of traffic, nothing but the driver and the pavement. It’s not quite photorealistic – there are a few exaggerations in the artwork, particularly on the front end of the Winnebego, but it’s just enough to add to the feeling of the size of the wide, open range vehicle. The vintage paint scheme on the camper reflects the spirit of Freeways with their throwback rock ‘n’ roll swagger. While not exactly photo-realistic, the artwork is very honest in its portrayal of the imagery. The soft lines and gentle coloration make it all the more comforting, and the Winnebago just pops against the ice-blue backdrop. It’s an inviting cover, begging the observer to slip the record out of the sleeve and onto the platter of the turntable and off on a whirlwind, free spirited journey through the icy Canadian highway system. [RYAN TYSINGER]

AGHY R. PURAKUSUMA

full size image

At first glance, the cover for Stillbirth’s seventh full-length appears to be pretty standard bloody fare for a death metal band. The pseudo-mechanized gladiators sawing each other apart even act as a nice Warhammer 40K ode to Bolt Thrower. Allow your eyes to move above these armor-clad gut spillers, however, and you’ll find a bevy of hidden Easter-egg characters that further nod to the hint-hint, wink-wink brand of nonsense the band is partial to in their lyrics and sound.

Directly above the battle is a man inexplicably wearing a baseball cap in colosseum times serving up some sort of gutted and fried varmint. Head to the right in the same row and you’ll find Goro from Mortal Kombat quadruple-fisting massive beers. Just above him to the left, you’ll find a fish monster smoking a cigar. But, their finest achievement may just be the meme-ification of the cover art by adding smudge the cat silently judging from the left-hand corner. I highly encourage you to track down a physical copy of the release, so you can enjoy all the silliness that can be found on the full piece created by Aghy Purakusuma, including Jason Voorhees smoking a bong. To call a slam band ignorant has always bee a form of compliment and it is a delight to find an example of art that so perfectly captures the genre’s ignant-ass nature. [SPENCER HOTZ]

Instagram
ArtStation Page

NIKLAS SUNDIN

full size image

There are several reasons why I went with the art adorning Dark Tranquillity’s latest for one of my cover choices this year. First, it was done by former guitarist (and at one time one of their main songwriters) Niklas Sundin, who has been creating increasingly cool visuals for their music in recent years. Second, the sci-fi imagery is perfect for a band with so much sheen and futurism in their music. It also stokes the imagination, leaving a viewer wondering about this lone figure, this alien world, and that big fireball coming from the sky.

But the main reason I chose it? It’s just intensely cool. Sundin’s graphical style – which isn’t far off from that of another great in Costin Chioreanu – is as appropriately polished and precise as the band’s music, while I can’t imagine a better choice of colors for such an image. That streak of blue, like some sort of exoplanet lava that solidified suddenly mid-flow, adds so much to the yellow-orange-red hues of the rest of it. And the bar running down the middle, be it a transportation field or some sort of malevolent force of destruction (why are there words hidden in there?) ties the whole thing together. Even Sundin’s choice to have the whole thing dripping into the abyss below is a nice touch of surrealism.

Super cool. Wicked cool. Cool. [ZACH DUVALL]

Instagram
Cabin Fever Media

PATRICK ATKINS

full size image

Even when the album art isn’t necessarily great, you can always count on the cover of a Fates Warning album to give you a reliable sense of the mood and feeling inside. The album cover art for Fates Warning’s 2020 release, Long Day Good Night, happens to be the former and do the latter, perhaps better than any other album in their venerable catalog.

Commissioned to British artist and illustrator, Patrick Atkins, the art on Long Day Good Night reflects the music of the album in so many wonderful ways. The contrast between light and dark and, more importantly, the blending of them, recognizes their interdependence in a life of full experiences. The texture employed, a hallmark of Atkins’ work, especially underscores the importance of how we process those experiences and the notion that, depending on one’s perspective, where focus is centered, which detail might be highlighted under a given circumstance, the sense of what’s happening and what it implies will be at least a little different.

The composition of Atkins’ piece is so important and uncannily reflects that of the music it signifies. The simple figure looking into the sunset somehow conveys a thoughtfulness, a contemplation of what’s beheld. Behind the figure, its shadow is cast on the wall of a humble home, posing the plain and profound question of which position more accurately represents the figure’s place. Is it to the horizon, the wide open, to chase the sun? Or is it behind, where structure and stability provide safe station. Can it be both? Does it even matter? [LONE WATIE]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

LAUREN GORNIK

full size image

The artist behind this (Lauren Gornik) also handled the cover art for the brilliant Midnight Dice EP released in 2020. And, while these two covers are very different, they are both excellent. The point here is that Lauren is crazy talented when it comes to illustrating album covers (as well as racing fliers, comic covers, etc.). But, you ask, why are we highlighting the Sölicitör in particular? For starters, this cover has a frame on it which is basically my kryptonite. Second, it’s not even a straight up, boring square-inside-a-square type border. Instead, it’s got little angles that help situate the illustration inside the red border. Also, the red of the border ties in the red logo to the high contrast illustration in the background. Thus, we don’t end up with the frequent disaster of an album cover with a band logo haphazardly hurled into the mix by the layout editor just before they print. So all credit to Annick Giroux (layout) and Lauren Gornik for that beauty.

All of that belies the fact that the illustration back there is fucking badass. Sure, there are skulls, skulls on fire, zombie skulls glaring at you out of zombie hunger and plenty of sludgy grossness in which they can muck and mire their way towards their next meal (which is you). And sure, there is some awesome badass speed metal queen made out of lightning and energy to command those zombie troops. But above all it’s the attention to detail that makes the Sölicitör album cover stand out. It’s the fine line work on the brick building mixed with the thick marker work of the ooze. It’s the balance of the dark, dark blacks and the year-old semen tone of the grayish-whites. The piece is cohesive, visually exciting and altogether a perfect take on an older, sadly misplaced style of speed metal covers. More of this please.

Curious about the music that matches that beautiful cover? Check out our review! [MANNY-O-LITO]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

ZBIGNIEW BIELAK

full size image

Zbigniew Bielak may not be a familiar name for you, but chances are you have seen his work with a number of high-profile bands in recent years, including Ghost, Paradise Lost, and Gorguts. His past work shows a penchant for extreme detail with a majority of designs sticking to black and white with sparing use of bold colors to highlight the designs. The complex detail in his past work was generally used to either create an overwhelming effect across the entire piece (Pleiades’ Dust) or form into a unified, simpler whole (The Plague Within). With Alphaville, however, Bielak’s complexities become a background that better highlights the domineering centerpiece of a towering skyscraper, whose opulence demarks a sign of rule and condescension toward its surroundings. The face on the skyscraper is actually quite similar to the one on Pleiades’ Dust, almost as if that piece was merely a blue print offered to a mad architect to create an overcrowded future version of Gotham City that would appear in a reboot of Batman Beyond.

What you see on the album cover is only about half of the full piece and it is remarkable to behold as a complete creation. Imperial Triumphant has always tried to make music that embodies the crushing extremity of a city like New York and this piece does a great job of showing a metropolis that continues to sprawl at the expense of humanity; so much so that sparse inclusions of green life at the bottom still have sharp geometric lines and if you look close enough you’ll see one of the only humans in the piece throwing themselves out of a building to die. This cover is a suffocating, complex and garishly opulent work that perfectly pairs with the band’s mission and looks to the point that it immediately brings to mind the brass masks Imperial Triumphant sport onstage. [SPENCER HOTZ]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

ALASTOR NIHILOSATAN

full size image

Even though the genre is now 50 years old and sports a head-spinning amount of stylistic diversity, if I asked you to pick out, say, a half-dozen album covers that best exemplify heavy metal and have worked to solidify its iconography, if our lists didn’t look quite the same they could at least pick each other out of a lineup. A bit of Black Sabbath here, a dash of Don’t Break the Oath there, and perhaps a soupçon of Overkill or The Number of the Beast or British Steel. Can you imagine, then, if you tried to stuff as many such elements as possible into a fanatically detailed whole? That’s not quite the intent of the the cover art for Körgull the Exterminator’s Sharpen Your Spikes, but Alastor Nihilosatan’s effect is to lovingly render a fiendish range of gruesome detail from across the spectrum of heavy metal’s bulging purse of visual signifiers in this monochromatic assault on simplicity and common decency.

Of course, for a band that took their name from a Voivod song, you can see a fairly outsize influence from the timeless covers of War and Pain and Rrröööaaarrr, given the… *ahem*… rather spiky nature of so many of these lines. Although the Sharpen Your Spikes cover is almost impossible to parse at a simple glance, the lack of color actually works to really draw the viewer’s eye in to try and pull out each and every grimy scene. And although they’re not quite easter eggs, it’s hard not to feel like you’re part of a conspiratorial sort of wink when looking at that very Bolt Thrower-ish skull in the top-left border, or the somewhat doughty dwarf-like figure at the lower-right, or the slightly Left Hand Path vibe of the engraved tablet at bottom-left, or the chainmail-hooded dude straight out of the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade sporting a wicked nosebleed, or the eyes and hands creeping out of the triangular cave, or the nuclear waste-huffing figure with the gas mask, or, I don’t know, the HALBERD-TOTING SKELETON WARRIOR ASTRIDE A MECHANICALLY ARMORED HORSE CLUTCHING THE SEVERED HEAD OF A SLAIN FOE. This is a piece of art which says, in summation: “Heavy metal is fucking great.” Are you not entertained? [DAN OBSTKRIEG]

MARIUSZ LEWANDOWSKI

full size image

I’ll be the first to admit, I was one of those who thought Mariusz Lewandowski art was getting a bit overdone by the end of last year. This really isn’t a criticism against the artist, but seeing his work pop up on the covers of Atlantean Kodex, Mizmor, False, and Fuming Mouth, to name a few, began to highlight a certain repetitiveness in style and palette selection. However, there’s an undeniable larger-than-life quality in Lewandowski’s work, and the bands that chose his art similarly mirror a particular grandiose trait in their music. Of course, it’s no exception when it comes to Atramentus, whose epic debut centers around the curse of immortality as its protagonist witnesses not only the deaths of all he ever loved but the end of time on Earth itself. The looming spectre of hooded death descending over not only the warrior, but encapsulating the entirety of the landscape and the sky itself piles on the weight of the horrific drama of the album’s theme. Lewandowski’s palette choice is much more muted and somber – few oranges and yellows are used, drawing out that feeling of the dying sun’s last light and the freezing cold that envelopes the planet. The lone warrior stands broken and defeated, a minuscule remnant of uncanny life, forced to suffer through the twilight of existence as everything collapses into emptiness.

Many a great cover have been sullied by poor logo and title placement, yet the cover to Stygian ties the descriptors in well. The ornate descent of the band logo is reminiscent of the old Helheim covers, with a golden side panel adorning the empty space on the left side of the cover. Unobtrusive, yet noticeable and balanced with the artwork, this is one of the few times where the logo actually adds to the art, rather than distracting from it. The album title in the lower right corner is there, should one choose to seek it out, but doesn’t detract from the mood of the piece itself, allowing the cold, somber, emptiness of a world long dead to emanate from the brush of Lewandowski, and solidifying his place amongst the great contemporary artists that the heavy metal world keeps on speed dial. [RYAN TYSINGER]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

GUANG YANG

full size image

The artwork for Ripped to Shreds’ sophomore full length is one that was destined for vinyl. The busy lower half of the artwork, along with the darkened reds and purples of the sky, make for a piece that could easily be overlooked as a thumbnail on your phone or in the corner of your Bandcamp page. What appears to simply be a warm glow in thumbnail becomes a violent warzone of carnage when it’s in your hands. Several soldiers are engulfed in varying levels of flame, a man drags his fire-ravaged body across the ground and another is seen being blown apart with his severed arm flying away. Ripped to Shreds main man, Andrew Lee, has been vocal about trying to incorporate his Asian-American heritage into a music scene that all too often permits or outright supports racism. Guang Yang brings that aspect into the cover art with the beautifully drawn lion statues as well as the architecture of the building that burns in the background. The colors are lush and blend wonderfully from the top to the bottom to create an eye-catching piece displaying a few fellows that perhaps should not have followed the motto of “fire walk with me.” This is a great example of an artist and band wanting to bring the carnage and gore typical of death metal and grindcore into a direction that is uniquely their own; and they nailed it! [SPENCER HOTZ]

Instagram

LEV SLOUJITEL

full size image

The world of metal artwork is largely bereft of true art. Primarily, the covers we see are illustrations (albeit some brilliant ones) or over-touched graphic design. Frequently we the same sad ideas rehashed over and over ad nauseum until their shock value has been lost to the passage of time. When a band does opt for true art (say Panzerfaust) it’s usually a historically significant piece or a Zdzisław Beksiński or Hans Ruedi Giger ripoff. Never are those works delivered with the specific album in mind. But with Egregore (and many Sentient Ruin releases) there is an attention to artistic detail of the whole that belies the often comical nature of heavy metal’s serious business.

For the piece chosen here Lev Sloujitel (rumored to be involved in the criminally underrated 夢遊病者) has chosen to trend DARK. If you blow that image up you’ll see evidence of the obsessive compulsive, Type A personalities often connected to genius. Like some sort of anarchist Mark Rothko there are layers and layers of black and slightly-darker-black which create an organic, textured abyss upon which he renders the horrifying creature-thing meant to embody the sonic destruction of Egregore contained within. And while Lev’s work on the background shows just how much effort can go into subtlety, the main focus, that creature-thing, shows us just how successful restraint and the use of negative space can be when attempting to induce crippling fear.

The set of arms (or is it just one set of arms in motion a la Duchamp?) wrested from hell (a seeming mix of ballpoint, brushes, charcoal, pencil, photography, calligraphy and digital scans went into the summoning) and placed upon the demon’s body begin heavily-detailed (at the top) and fade into swampy terror as layers of work are stripped away revealing the stringy sinew that makes up the skeleton of the beast. There are few, if any, artists working the metal scene that understand subtlety (in addition or both organic and digital mediums) and there are even fewer that have the ability to push their understanding of history and culture into a work that can be either visually terrifying or theologically provocative (depending on the viewer). Lev Sloujitel (aka The Lev Hand Path aka Heart of a Lion aka Lionheart) might just be the one. [MANNY-O-LITO]

Artist’s Official Website

KEVIN E. TAYLOR

full size image

It would be easy enough to appreciate Kevin Taylor’s gorgeous art for Grayceon’s latest album on purely artistic merits. The detail on the emerging butterfly and chrysalis; the way his touch makes the butterfly appear slightly wooden, or the branch appear almost muscular; the slightly muted color palette; the fibrous look of so much of it. All signs of an artist that isn’t just immensely talented but also comfortable with his style and approach.

But the appropriateness of this cover for Grayceon goes far beyond just the beauty (although beauty and their music obviously go hand in hand). The choice of a monarch butterfly finishing its transformation is so perfect a metaphor. Few things in nature appear so miraculous to the layman’s eye, as if the metamorphosis from caterpillar to monarch is a work of magic. Grayceon’s music itself often feels magical and inexplicable, as the simple combination of cello, heavy metal guitar, drums, and vocals create a sound so much more lush, orchestrated, and emotionally deep than it would appear on paper. These elements go into their band chrysalis, and out comes a creation with as much grace and almost painful beauty as the monarch butterfly. Hard to think of a more apt representative in nature for this album and band.

Taylor’s composition also shows a similar restraint as the band, with nothing but a very light gray background behind the subject. The band wisely made their logo and album title barely visible as not to distract from the image. Far more bands should embrace such an approach. [ZACH DUVALL]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

JEKYLL & HYDE

full size image

As is the case for most any band lucky enough to count twenty-plus releases to their name, Deep Purple’s art direction over the years has seen more than its fair share of ups and downs. While the bulk of the work has traveled a terrain most would consider “serviceable,” we’ve also seen everything from the utterly iconic (Burn and In Rock) to the absurdly unfortunate (Bananas and Now What?!) to the surprisingly derivative / Devinative (Infinite).

With album number twenty-one, Whoosh!, the band finally loops back to the iconic zone, thanks to a Milano, Italy graphic design firm called Jekyll & Hyde (with further assistance from Jenny Seiler.) Deep Purple has a fairly long history of relying on graphic design teams in lieu of more traditional brush & palette artists, and one of the advantages of electing for this route relates to how a graphic design firm will generally take care of everything having to do with a record’s overall look. This may not seem like such a big deal until you realize how often we’re faced with a tremendous looking commissioned artwork that ends up having the band’s logo and the album title haphazardly slapped overtop by someone who wouldn’t know cohesion if it snuck up from the sewer and bit ‘em while perched on the can.

In the case of Whoosh!, everything front-to-back looks as smooth as silk, and it’s of course crowned by an exemplary visual on the front cover that encapsulates the band’s overall concept behind the record—“the transitory nature of humanity”—in a way that makes it nearly impossible to not wonder what sort of music hides within. Jekyll & Hyde even goes so far as to tweak the 1968 version of the band’s logo in deference to the fact that Whoosh! sneaks a nod to Shades of Deep Purple by including a fresh interpretation of “And the Address.” VERY smart. And very sharp looking.

As for the image itself, what better way to depict the fleeting essence of humankind than an astronaut slowly disintegrating while in the midst of “boldly going where no one has gone before?” And yes, there’s even some, um, deep purple in the mix. Really just top-shelf design work from every angle, and something certainly fitting of a band as iconic as Deep Purple.

And hey! The record itself is pretty damn great to boot. Victories all around! [CAPTAIN]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

TRAVIS SMITH

full size image

Psychotic Waltz’s triumphant return to the progressive metal stage in early 2020 benefitted mightily from the band’s willingness to honor their past while simultaneously embracing the present and focusing keenly forward. Album art isn’t critical to a record’s success, of course, but it is often a reflection of a band’s depth of commitment to the project at hand. For A God-Shaped Void, Psychotic Waltz knew they were going all-in and that meant bringing back Travis Smith for the cover art.

Smith did the artwork on Psychotic Waltz’s last studio album, Bleeding, his approach to which was successful in capturing the band’s approach to the music. His focus on A God-Shaped Void was similar in casting his interpretation of the music in the mold of the unknown, both cosmic and cognitive. Psychotic Waltz loves to explore such themes and Smith conveys that third eye focus perfectly in his presentation of themes, both temporal and existential.

The colors and textures of the piece feel old and traditional, even as its subjects convey a futuristic, other-wordly space. The strange detritus (eyeballs and devils and angels) in the foreground points to a past that feels familiar but is barely defined in present terms, and from it rises a series of stones representing the pathway to somewhere else that may be the future, but maybe just a new interpretation of what’s been and is. And where some sense can be made of the abstractions, connections drawn between elements, strange pixelations cast even that into doubt, because of course only uncertainty is certain. [LONE WATIE]

Instagram
Artist’s Official Website

The post Best Of 2020 – Our Album Art Favorites appeared first on Last Rites.

And as I watched, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

One day I forgot the CDs I’d pulled, and I was ironically too lazy to walk down to the parking garage to get them, so I thought, “Well, I’ll see how this Dragonball Z is now that I can hear the dialog.”

And as I watched, I had no idea what the hell was going on.

What I’m getting at here is that I know sweet FA about anime. Once, back in college (roughly 400 years ago), my friends invited me over to watch a movie called Giant Robo (or something like that), and all I remember about it was that it was about a giant robo(t).

But on the plus side, what I do know a thing or two about is grindcore.

Of course, what matters most about Bakyunsified is this: The grinding part of Houkago’s time is damned fun, and Bakyunsified benefits greatly from the same level of skill and reverence that Lee brings to Ripped To Shreds. Like that band, Houkago Grind Time is clearly indebted to the greats of the genre, but it manages to tread in their footsteps without feeling rehashed or kitschy in any way. (Save, of course, the whole anime schtick, but that’s part of its appeal. It’s precious — one might even say “adorable.”)

Musically, Bakyunsified is a raw and ripping rager in the bloody spirit of classic Carcass and the legions of their worshippers, the early Exhumeds and Regurgitates, et al. The vocals are appropriately gurgling and growled and grotesque, and these guitar tones are filthy and gnarly. The production on hand is far from perfect, of course, and that’s a good thing; it’s roughshod and grimy, both sharp and blunt in equal measure, almost dripping with that certain viscous nastiness, which is precisely a great start for gory grinding greatness. Guitar solos boil up like discharge oozing from the open wounds of tracks like “Effortless Regurgitation Of Kyoani Moeblobs,” and later guest spots from fellow grinders Leon del Muerte (Impaled, ex-Exhumed, ex-Phobia), Yamocho “Harlan” Hagamoto (Aspirate Coma), and Dave Callier (PLF) spread the fun around, even as Lee is clearly a more-than-capable lead guitarist in his own right.

It’s difficult to pick individual highlights because all of Bakyunsified is a bloody blast, a weirdly gleeful romp through sixteen pummeling tracks in twenty minutes. There are some standout riffs — the death metal steamroller introduction of “War Bad,” before the blasts and Callier’s Slayer-esque guitar mistreatment, or the stomping slice-’n’-dice of “M Is For Moe” — but like most of these, Bakyunsified is better taken as a whole, instead of its individual parts. At the end of these twenty minutes, the entire affair — both the grinding and the silly (one might say “adorable and / or precious”) humor that adorns it — is damned near irresistible; and that’s more than enough to sell me on Houkago Grind Time, even if I don’t understand any of the references. If nothing else, as much as I love a good medical-dictionary-quoting Carcass tribute (see: Pharmacist), just knowing that the lyrics reference something different — especially something as diametrically opposed as anything one might call adorable and / or precious — is an interesting twist on the well-proven goregrind formula.

Whatever the hell is going on here, I’ll take some moe of this, please.

Now I guess I’ll go see if I can find somewhere to stream Giant Robo…

The post Houkago Grind Time – Bakyunsified (Moe To The Gore) Review appeared first on Last Rites.