Here are the seven albums we picked for the week of January 27th — February 2nd.

Sunday, January 27th

Ravencult – Morbid Blood (2011)

The entirety of Morbid Blood plays like the best sort of black metal potpourri. Ravencult has perfected a supremely focused blend of the sloppy black/thrash of Aura Noir or Desaster (see especially “Possessed on Burial Ground”) and the ruthless black traditionalism of the Finnish scene (think Horna, Sargeist, Baptism, Azaghal). “Hail Revenge” emotes like the best of De Mysteriis-era Mayhem, and even suggests a primitive reinterpretation of Thorns’ obsidian futurism. Meanwhile, the opening of “Winds of Damnation” is a dead ringer for Deathspell Omega circa Kénôse, or any of the other deadly serious “orthodox” black metal acts of the past five or six years. The song squeezes itself through a number of tight stylistic corners, shifting down into a funeral march before returning to the furious pace of the opening theme. Far more important than its ability to tick the boxes on this game of Black Metal Bingo (patent pending) is the fact that this album knows how to kick serious ass, mixing up tempos and styles with reckless and complete disregard for the health of one’s relentlessly banged head. (The breakdown into the harsh slow burn in “Hail Revenge” is a prime example.)

What all of this blackened variety means is that Ravencult doesn’t necessarily have a unique sound to call its own; what the band does have is an impressive knack for taking the best bits of a number of black metal’s kaleidoscopic dark hues and painting a diverse and intelligent landscape from this genre’s uniquely malleable and recombinant DNA. [Dan Obstkrieg]

Monday, January 28th

UFO – Seven Deadly (2012)

Seven Deadly hits the ground running with the classic-sounding riff of “Fight Night,” and between Moore’s riffs and Phil Mogg’s perfectly weathered voice, that track and the subsequent “Wonderland” serve up a pair of the hard-rocking tunes that put this band on the radar back in the early 70s. And while we’re on the subject of Mogg: The man has always been a powerful and (ahem) unsung voice in hard rock, but as he’s aged, that voice seems to have gotten stronger, tougher. He’s never been one to test the upper end of rock-god screaming—no Halford or Plant falsetto wails or Gillan piercing screams—but the man has soul, dammit, and his gritty style has only improved through the years. On the guitar front, Moore’s days as a Shrapnel shredder still color his playing—he does have a tendency to dance around the fretboard, although he’s tasteful about it, as Schenker always was—and he hands in a fine performance here, but still, the show is Mogg’s and its his voice and emotion that ultimately serves as Seven Deadly’s driving force. [Andrew Edmunds]

Tuesday, January 29th

Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini (2010)

As with each step in Enslaved’s career, Axioma Ethica Odini maintains the constant, if subtle evolution from recent albums. Remaining is the texture of Vertebrae, but with a much heavier delivery. Compared to Ruun and much of their recent work, it is more epic in scope—four songs at almost eight minutes and an album length of nearly an hour. The blackened roots remain, but the band also finds time to inject new styles into these prog landscapes, such as the doom/death which introduces “Giants.” But the most strikingly fresh aspect is the clean vocal delivery, performed as usual by both Kjellson and keyboardist Herbrand Larsen. No longer reserved, the singing here contains much more emotion and inflection, adding to the album’s quality at every turn and giving would-be ballad “Night Sight” a unique sensitive vibe hitherto untouched by the band.

One cannot say enough for the hard work and attention to detail that went into constructing these songs. Every track on Axioma Ethica Odini (outside of the tasteful and surprisingly necessary intermezzo “Axioma”) is a compositional clinic and musical journey, immediate in quality but rich in rewards for the repeat listener. Little details emerge, such as how the chorus of “Giants” starts without vocals to increase anticipation, or how the layered and sorrowful crescendo of “Raidho” gains intensity and reaches its peak with the song’s guitar solo finale (Ice Dale, we salute you). Closer “Lightening” is perhaps the best example of how the band builds a track while foreshadowing its climax. A section towards the beginning overflows with the sense of finality, but it is in how Enslaved returns to this idea over nearly eight thrilling minutes (including a wild bridge) that not only moves the song along but also ends the album in spectacular fashion. Only silence can properly follow. [Zach Duvall]

Wednesday, January 30th

Armored Saint – Win Hands Down (2015)

The opening title track is a straight rocker. I never thought the phrase “win hands down” would make for a fist-pumping crowd chant, yet the crowd at a recent live show proved me wrong (that happens a lot). It’s more blue collar than bullet belt, but John Bush makes it work; that guy could sing the phone book and make it sound like an arena anthem. “Mess,” meanwhile, is either a bit of biting social commentary, or an extended lament on the perils of dining at the Golden Corrals of the world (“The line at the all-you-can-eat buffet / will blow you away”). I can certainly relate to the latter notion. It’s all you can eat! Stop browsing—grab and move, then come back for more. “An Exercise in Debauchery” is a bit more serious in its talk of perverts and sickos, but the message is undercut somewhat by the energetic, rockin’ chorus.

Win Hands Down is arguably the best of the albums Armored Saint has released since reconvening 15 years ago. Yes, it’s a small sample size, and La Raza was damned good, but it’s close. The musicianship and songwriting are solid, and John Bush sounds as amazing as ever. If you like your heavy metal straight up, decked out in blue jeans, with lines in its face and grey in its hair, this is an album that you must hear—loudly and often. [Dave Pirtle]

Thursday, January 31st

Vreid – V (2011)

Until now, Vreid could rather conveniently be described as thrashy black metal with a good dose of rockin’ mixed in. On V, things get a mite more complex in the genre delineation department, coming in as something like “progressive blackened thrash’n’roll.” It’s not that different, mind you, but fresh enough within the band’s well-established framework to be worth mention. Still present are the punchy black/thrash riffs, harsh rasps, and flowing lead guitars that the band uses in lieu of keyboards for ambient effect. New to the party is a noted increase in instrumental prowess and prog leanings, no doubt spurned by the addition of another former Windir brother in Stian “Strom” Bakketeig on guitar. This new attention to fret-board activity is immediately evident with triple-lead harmonies—yes triple, bassist Hvall gets in on it too—in opener “Arche.” The band has also plastered the entire album with heaps of killer soloing, not the least of which turns “Wolverine Bastards” (gotta be a song title award for that one) into an early-album beast. At times these solos and proggisms will jump right out, and at others they are woven directly into the overall texture, aided by a lush and very astute production treatment for the instruments. (Only for the instruments however, for some reason the vocals seem quite separated from the rest—my only real complaint about the album.) [Zach Duvall]

Friday, February 1st

Seidr – For Winter Fire (2011)
Louisville, Kentucky’s Seidr is the full-band doom project of Austin Lunn, mastermind and sole member of anarcho/atmospheric black metal outfit Panopticon, and For Winter Fire is the band’s first full-length. It is also fucking awesome, and if two word album reviews were considered sufficiently “critical,” then we could just leave it at that. Alas, journalistic integrity beckons.

Seidr incorporates the delicate tremolos and emotional chord swells of post-rock luminaries like Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky into an otherwise caustic, stretched-out doom template. The post-rock trope almost universally comes across as one-dimensional, due in large part to the fact that even though the dynamics swing from quiet to LOUD, the LOUD parts are only ever distorted recitations of the very same quiet parts. Not so with Seidr—the band’s blending of these two styles is unique because while they do go all gorgeous post-rock trilling during quiet parts, when they amp up into massive riffs and dual-throated howling, they’re making an entirely different kind of noise.

At times, Seidr also evokes black metal, though more through an underlying mood or oblique suggestion than through actual musical gesture. The Norse-derived themes of some of the lyrics certainly help, but there’s also a vibe very reminiscent of some of Blood of the Black Owl’s dark-forested musings. (The campfire banjo and acoustic guitar strumming of “In the Ashes” goes a long way here.) One of Seidr’s strengths, though, is that the band seems to draw from whatever tradition will best communicate its vision at any given point. [Dan Obstkrieg]

Saturday, February 2nd

Anacrusis – Suffering Hour (1988)

They started strong and consistently improved. Less gonzo than Voivod or Thought Industry and more accessible than Coroner or Mekong Delta, Anacrusis found the holy grail at the crux of these extremes… only no one wanted to drink. They became a touchstone for seekers of the rare, sometimes surfacing after decades to maybe elicit slight hope for new material (looking at you, Watchtower). In retrospect, these Missouri mad men led by Kenn Nardi formed a complete artistic statement across their four albums proper and, even in their earliest form, focused their ferocity while maintaining meticulous melodies; Suffering Hour scarcely reveals their impressive eventual evolution. [Matt Longo]

———

See you next week.

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Here are the seven albums we picked for the week of November 18th — November 24th.

The week of Thanksgiving we’re serving up turkeys: this year’s lackluster records from from bands capable of much more.

Sunday, November 18th

Last Rites’ Turkey of the Day:

Primordial – Exile Amongst the Ruins (2018)

Two facts are indisputable: Primordial is a Very Good Band, and Exile Amongst the Ruins is a Very Bad Album. Maybe those facts seem difficult or painful to reconcile, but let’s face it: great bands release terrible albums. Old friends fall out of touch. Early loves lose luster. The erosion of time is indifferent and incessant. Hell, making triumphant sadness out of the tragedy of human transience has been one of Primordial’s primary themes for nearly a quarter-century, so perhaps coming to embody accidentally what they previously enacted dramatically is some sort of marvelous poetic resolution.

Thing is, it sure makes for a terrible heavy metal album.

For all the dramatic sweep that Averill’s vocals still bring to the picture, Exile Amongst the Ruins is the first album in Primordial’s entire career where that same drama and windswept vision is wholly lacking from the songs themselves. The instrumentation lacks any of the urgency that gave even the most formulaic songs on previous albums a sense of vitality. This is an overlong, undergood, and extraordinarily dull album that limps where it should gallop, trips where it should shuffle, and keeps going where it should gracefully bow out. [Dan Obstkrieg]

Monday, November 19th

Last Rites’ Turkey of the Day:

Vreid – Lifehunger (2018)

Lifehunger only furthers the impressions of an identity crisis, but in an overall less convincing manner than Sólverv. It’s both a bit of a retread and a step sideways, coming across as a combination of the sound which took them to heights on albums such as Kraft and Milorg with the rougher-edged material of Sólverv. But by not choosing one approach—and by further muddling things with a couple rather unfortunate diversions—it sounds a little haphazard. Make no mistake, there are moments on Lifehunger where Vreid sound positively ferocious, but as a whole album it feels disjointed, and is among the weaker records of their career, even if it isn’t outright poor.

Ultimately, it isn’t the stylistic semi-mishmash that holds Lifehunger back, but the lack of consistently top notch material. When Vreid has been at their best—which thankfully has been on the majority of their albums—they’ve delivered the goods no matter the particularly approach. Long time fans will still find some good Vreidnes here, but there’s unfortunately no denying that Lifehunger fits more into the aggressively mediocre minority of the band’s albums than the great majority. [Zach Duvall]

Tuesday, November 20th

Last Rites’ Turkey of the Day:

Summoning – With Doom We Come (2018)

While “Silvertine” is possible the album’s strongest track, it attains that distinction while sounding very much like an Old Mornings Dawn b-side. While nothing substantive has changed on With Doom We Come, there’s simply… less meat on the bones. Fewer of the melodies make a lasting impression once they’ve run their course. (By contrast, I typically find myself whistling the intro melody from Oath Bound’s “Bauglir” several times a week.) Additionally, Protector’s vocal style has become increasingly off-putting. On tracks like “Charcharoth” and “Night Fell Behind,” his pitched yell sounds almost like Rob Miller from Amebix, which works wonderfully for Amebix, but… not so much for Summoning. After the early success of “Silvertine,” the album’s quality drops fairly precipitously, and although it perks back up somewhat for the closing tandem of “Mirklands” and “With Doom I Come,” the overall impression is of an album that is very much the same. but with very much less of the same.

As with Tolkien’s, Summoning’s is surely a tale that grew in the telling, but it wouldn’t hurt them to recall that all their stories need the breath of inspiration to truly transcend the boring for the boring. For a band that usually prompts one’s mind to wander to Caradhras and Gorgoroth and Osgiliath, With Doom We Come is more likely to prompt one’s mind to wander to your grocery list or a new paint color for your mudroom or a different Summoning album. [Dan Obstkrieg]

Wednesday, November 21st

Last Rites’ Turkey of the Day:

Behemoth – I Loved You At Your Darkest (2018)

So here’s the quick take if you want to spare yourself any extra time reading about an album you should neither be excited about, nor purchase: Behemoth, arguably for the first time in its entire career, phoned in what is essentially a Walmart version of Aosoth on training wheels, and slapped a silly name on it as a marketing tactic to lure in teenagers still angry at their parents for making them go to church.

You know those moments when the people in life whom you love and respect give you the whole, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed” spiel? That is exactly the feeling fans are going to have after the letdown that is I Loved You at Your Darkest fully sinks in. While it’s true that not all of Behemoth’s 10 previous full-lengths have knocked listeners off their feet, most of them have played an essential role in taking Poland’s most popular black metal outfit to heights no other extreme band in the entirety of Eastern Europe has ever experienced. Most recently, the deservedly popular and now four-year-old album The Satanist re-captured plenty of older fans who saw it as an invigorating return to form after the stagnation of The Apostasy and Evangelion. The Satanist was packed to the brim with the same types of riffs that made the original Nergal/Baal era shine so brightly in the eyes of the underground, but with the energy and enthusiasm that Inferno brought to the table during the band’s most classic run of albums in the early aughties. [Konrad Kantor]

Thursday, November 22nd

Last Rites’ Turkey of the Day:

Pig Destroyer – Head Cage (2018)

Like Book Burner before it, Head Cage is still the work of a band filled with undeniable talent, but one that’s no longer playing to their strengths. Terrifyer certainly had groovy moments and thrashy moments, but they were balanced out by the grinding, and on Head Cage, the balance is off. Too many failed attempts at recreating a “Gravedancer” and too little following-that-up with a “Lost Cause,” and more damning than either, there’s simply too little fire beneath it all. It’s redolent of the mid-’90s when almost every thrash band shifted to a groovier sound and in the process almost uniformly created what history holds as their least interesting albums. In terms of the relative quality of its creators’ canon, Head Cage is more I Hear Black than Re-Load—and for that, at least, we can be thankful—but it’s still above only the uninteresting experiment of the Mass & Volume EP at the bottom of the Pig Destroyer pile. [Andrew Edmunds]

Friday, November 23rd

Enough with the “turkeys.” Let’s finish the week with some tasty leftovers: quick takes on 2018 releases we haven’t covered.

Leftover of the day:

Children Of The Reptile – The End (2018)

Children Of The Reptile play epic heavy metal, American style. While this instantly brings to mind bands such as Omen or Manowar, the quartet from North Carolina fall closer in line to acts like Slough Feg or Brocas Helm with their Thin Lizzy-esque twin guitars and seemingly limitless ability for fantasy storytelling in their songs. The End, the band’s second full-length released this past January, is a concept album rooted in endings—the ending of life, humanity, etc. While the subject matter may seem dark, the soaring melodies and up-tempos make for a fun and high-spirited journey from start to finish. The trading solos are fantastically unique to the guitarists, from Chris Millard’s technical shredding to Ozzie Darden’s soulful, more blues-influenced licks. Children Of The Reptile aren’t afraid to summon some more aggressive thrash riffing when the song calls for it. In fact, the head-whipping riff on “Cro-Magnon Combat” is just what is needed to kick in the afterburners for an extra punch. In fact, everything on The End is geared towards servicing the songs and the storytelling, including the subtle bits of flavor the rhythm section throw in to keep things spicy. Children Of The Reptile have created a vast sandbox for themselves from their musical, literary, and pop culture influences, and hopefully The End is still just the beginning. [Ryan Tysinger]

Saturday, November 24th

Leftover of the day:

Shadow’s Mortuary – Tulen valtakunta (2018)

Oh, look, we’re in Finland again! And guess what! More black metal! Maybe it’s the saunas or copious amounts of coffee, but there’s something about the Finns that almost guarantees a level of quality in their black metal. Take the debut full length from Shadow’s Mortuary, first released this past September. Utilizing the classic Finnish tones mixed with touches of almost folky rhythm on tracks like “Kylmään hautaan,” Shadow’s Mortuary aren’t necessarily bringing a whole lot of new to the table, but what they do, they do well. A large portion of the album plays to what is obviously their strength—locking into driving, mid-tempo paces powered by some impressively selective drum work. The kick tones are deep and you can almost feel the drum heads reverberating the speakers, appropriately spotlighted on tracks like “Blasts of A War Drum.” The song is surprisingly groovy for such an orthodox black metal outfit, and more surprised lurk around the corner. “Untentuoja” plays out like the black metal equivalent of a ballad: slower tempos with sky-reaching tremolo riffing and vocal cries of hate and despair reaching maximum levels. With Shadow’s Mortuary already comfortable letting their riffs breathe on mid-tempos, they really, really bring it home when things slow down for one of the strongest points on the record. While never really reaching doom territory, things are slow and powerful through “Melankolia,” with the band showing plenty of eptitude at keeping the music smoldering before picking back up the pace for the rest of the record before closing with a bang on “Labyrintti.” Whatever it is that Finland has going for its black metal, it’s infectious and even the newer, less established musicians are reaping the benefits.

———

See you next week.

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First, the bad. “Hello Darkness” is at best a poor decision, and at worst embarrassing. It is Vreid attempting a gothy ballad-ish song, and every element falls flat, from the guitar production and cheesily morose guest vocals from Sólstafir’s Aðalbjörn Tryggvason to the generic structure and not-effectively-tongue-in-cheek cowbell.

At the polar opposite of this stinker, however, are the songs that still show Vreid at the top of their game, including the fiery title track and the ripping “Sokrates Must Die.” The former successfully switches between the album’s harshest black metal material and its most arena drives, while the latter calls to mind the most rageful songs from Milorg, containing both riffs and vocal passages tailor made for the live setting. Efficient, determined, and feral.

Most of the album sits somewhere between two these extremes in terms of quality. Both as a whole and within individual songs, Lifehunger is an exercise in great ideas butting heads with unfortunate choices and diversions. “One Hundred Years,” for example, makes the most use of immediately catchy riffs, softer passages, and blazing black metal, but the song also contains some faux-modern-Enslaved clean vocals that just don’t work, while the abrupt finish seems to betray the song’s attempts at dynamics. “Black Rites in the Black Nights,” meanwhile, also offers plenty of goodness (the opening solo build is pretty stunning), but overall feels bloated and spends too much time being ineffectively plodding. (Sidebar: It’s also a little disappointing that they’ve reduced the use of the sustained, intertwining, guitars-as-pipe-organ leads that were such a huge part of the Windir sound and had returned to Vreid when former Windir bandmate Strom joined the ranks. Play to your strengths, Vreid; you have many.)

Ultimately, it isn’t the stylistic semi-mishmash that holds Lifehunger back, but the lack of consistently top notch material. When Vreid has been at their best – which thankfully has been on the majority of their albums – they’ve delivered the goods no matter the particularly approach. Long time fans will still find some good Vreidnes here, but there’s unfortunately no denying that Lifehunger fits more into the aggressively mediocre minority of the band’s albums than the great majority.

Oh well, at least the new Cor Scorpii album kills. Then again, Cor Scorpii no longer includes any active members of Vreid among their ranks… Interesting.

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We all ruminate on death. From that first moment when the truth is swallowed, it can never be avoided again, before the doom finally consumes. Imagine if the band you formed not only focused on this grim, inevitable reality, but whose existence was literally precipitated by an untimely demise. This goes far beyond losing a crucial core member at the height of success — a Cliff Burton or Randy Rhoads — Windir was essentially Valfar’s solo project, whose two 21st-century releases were backed by the four present members of what would become Vreid. Strom’s rejoining his former band members has in recent years developed into surgical axe work, with 2011’s V heralding a more memorable, riff-driven, war-torn monster.

And it’s the very spectre of war which looms most heavily over these sons of Sogndal. Where Windir’s sense of heritage ventured clear back to the Battle of Fimreite, Vreid stays relatively current when drawing their pointillistic shades. They exist not between two worlds, but rather in a sort of “reverse Pangaea” of several diverse regional styles converging into a single dark art.

Vreid have done away with virtually all synthetic elements of the band (read: no keyboards) but such subtle touches creep through, like the robotic harmonization in the chorus about midway into “The Ramble”. We shouldn’t be surprised by now — they’ve been this way nearly ten years to the day, experimenting with a variety of styles, increasing dynamics… oh, which reminds me: the mix feels off in a few spots. Nothing too major, but for example, the last two minutes in “Way of the Serpent” would benefit from stronger presence from the lead guitar. Odd, considering it’s front-and-center in “The Devils Hand” which immediately follows. There, everything sounds so properly placed: the enthralling three-part harmonies; the explosive blast beats; the efficient arrangements.

Impressive thought I Krig was, my first exposure to the band yielded some solid songs, but not a full album of gems. This all changed with, Milorg, which fast became a 2009 favorite as a late-year dark horse. Both are clearly concept albums about the struggles and perseverance of Norwegians during WWII, and while V closely followed this tradition, it reflected life from a more philosophical standpoint. However, the cover art unifies all, specifically with the flag of Norway proudly displayed in three different two-tone incarnations.

By contrast, Welcome Farewell looks ostensibly stark, but has more depth and a broader color palette than ever before. Although the image appears confusing since: Death directs people from his porch; down a winding path they’re already on; through an open gate and into the woods; where a line somewhere forms; in which they wait for the Devil to read them something at a glowing tree. This is likely one of the many things reportedly inspired by Vreid’s local community — its environment, culture, history — which may be initially lost on outsiders, but the beauty of our growing global collective is accessibility above all else. Xenophobia be damned.

Vreid is more than melodeath, beyond black and roll, and forging a route to greatness. Welcome Farewell is honest and sincere, fun and adventurous, daring and disciplined… goddamnit. They’ve rarely been this catchy, yet the music still seems challenging, but not remotely a chore. If this is your last hike, it’s worth it.

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Can’t say much else. I probably had 30 albums to try to squeeze into 20 spots and 15 into the top 10 this year. There was just so much wicked stuff I’d put in the 8-10 scoring range, and that’s not counting how lazy I got from about September and on with digesting new stuff. Regardless, as seen in the variety below, this was a killer year for heavy music of all styles. And when something sucked, it often did so in such glorious fashion as to provide unintentional entertainment. Overall, old legends returned to form, others shat on their legacy even more, and some newer favorites confirmed their status as true masters. Plus I got to see Immortal, Motorhead, and Absu live. Finally.

A special note about a certain weekend in Chicago. The 40 Watt Sun getaway was a time for the ages. The gathering of friends new and old, food and beer, chaos, that entrancing hour of music, and strange goings on like a late night spinning of A Love Supreme… that was perfect dudes. Thanks to y’all.

So now… TO THE JAMS!

1. AZARATH – BLASPHEMERS’ MALEDICTIONS

Holy shit. HOLY SHIT. That was my jaw-dropping, stuck-on-devil-grinning, utterly wide-eyed response to Blasphemers’ Maledictions from Poland’s Azarath. By the end of just one spin, I knew that this felt like an album of the year type. After 30 or so spins, it got the spot. I listened over and over, knowing that this straightforward of attack is rarely what hits me so hard, but there was no avoiding the truth: this is the most destructive and absolutely devastating death metal album I’ve heard in a long goddamn time. Complete and total annihilation. Listen to “The Abjection” and admit that you too fucking want some.

2. 40 WATT SUN – THE INSIDE ROOM

Lots of musicians try to bare their souls for the listener in an effort to appear naked and honest, but not too many quite achieve this like Patrick Walker. His follow-up to Warning may in fact surpass that act, and offers enough of a doomy difference to stand alone. Very, very alone. Minimal riffs (plus the only metal I’ve ever seen delivered with a capo) and rhythms are merely a vehicle to support Walker’s inimitable vocals, but that is not to say that each detail isn’t expertly crafted. From the fuzz to the echo of the voice, every ounce of The Inside Room is both fresh and eternal, harrowing and renewing. Song of the DECADE nominee: “Carry Me Home”

3. VREID – V

Vreid is getting increasingly difficult to pigeonhole into some sort of actual “genre,” but I’m going to go out on a short limb here and just call them great heavy metal. The return of Windir teammate Strom seems to have injected the band with an added touch of prog and melody, turning V into an album that is nearly as classic as 2009’s unbelievable Milorg. Best of all, this is the album that showed Vreid can turn out the monsters in succession, without having to toss out a couple decent albums in between. From the opener through incredible closer “Then We Die” this one is a complete beast worthy of all the popularity this band is gaining.

4. ARGUS – BOLDLY STRIDE THE DOOMED

Along with the unstoppable Pharaoh, Argus gets my vote for the top flag bearers of the old guard, despite not being of the old guard. This might be a heavy metal record, but something about Boldly Stride the Doomed is just smooth, and it isn’t just Butch Balich’s golden pipes. The leads, riffs, and just-intense-enough attitude makes up the kind of metal album that is trad enough to please the old guy you see at shows wearing the Witchfinder General jacket, but doomy and clever enough for the younguns. The debut was great, but Boldly might just be a classic. Also… 400,000 NUMBER THE SARACEN HORDE!!!

5. ARCH / MATHEOS –
SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE

I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t grow up on Fates Warning. In fact, I really didn’t hear much of the band until seeing them live with Dream Theater several years back. That said, the full length reunion of misters Arch and Matheos is nothing short of stunning. Jim Matheos’ expanded frameworks give John Arch the perfect spaces to do whatever exactly it is he does (create melodies while simultaneously ignoring them). Add a stellar backing band and you get an album that easily ranks among the best progfests of recent memory, and the lead album in a fall that got me feeling proggier than I had in ages. Highlight to hear: “Stained Glass Sky”

6. VEKTOR – OUTER ISOLATION

It’s thrash. It’s brash. It’s brash thrash! That’ll do. Seriously, after getting my ass handed to me by Black Future, there is little doubt that Outer Isolation was towards the top of the anticipated list for the year. And what did these upstarts from Arizona go and do? They went and made the most rip-roarin’, ax-shreddin’, down right skull crushin’ thrash album of the year. Someone must have found a new vein in the riff mines of the Bay Area and Deutschland, because there be riffs in these here riffs. RIFFS. Oodles and oodles of riffs, and gallops, and insane leads. It’s a wild ride, one that makes the entire “thrash revival” thing seem oh so meaningless.

7. SUBROSA – NO HELP FOR THE MIGHTY ONES

The inclusion of No Help for the Mighty Ones is not only for the incomparably gorgeous music, but because when I had a time of need, SubRosa was there. When attempting to get my study skills back for a professional certification, this was at the top of my book-hittin’ playlist. It was the kind of thing I could allow to sink into the background or dominate my attention, working on a variety of levels. Most importantly, it appeals to the doom metal guy in me, the bluegrass fan, soul, rock, etc etc etc, without seeming even the slightest bit schizo. Truly brilliant and inspired. Song of the year nominee: “Stonecarver”

8. DREAM THEATER –
A DRAMATIC TURN OF EVENTS

Easy, easy recipient of both the 2011 Happy Fanboy and Comeback of the Year awards. I’m not going to suggest that this is as objectively good as some of the other stuff on here, but as a long time fan, hearing them return to what made them great was such a breath of fresh air to me. After several years of excessive bullshit (mostly MIKE PORTNOY’S UTTERLY HORRID VOCALS), A Dramatic Turn of Events is a glorious exhibition of quality prog metal that puts the song first, and the band members second. Because of this, both sides are better. Kudos guys, and welcome to the fold Mr. Mangini.

9. DARKEST ERA – THE LAST CARESS OF LIGHT

While most will be rightfully lauding the new Primordial album , it was their group of protégées that sunk in a bit deeper for me. Darkest Era‘s classic rock adaptation of the folkish Irish metal thing was so well written and refreshingly unexhausting that the familiar riff patterns mattered not to me, at all. The Last Caress of Light carries a similar emotional heft to their veteran countrymen, but the feel here is less ultimate and more reflective. Honestly, about halfway through the year I thought this one might have a shorter shelf life, but recent returns have proven even more fruitful, and I’m quite excited to hear when these cats do next. Now tour The States, dammit. Song of the year candidate: “To Face the Black Tide”

10. BLUT AUS NORD – 777-SECT(S)

11. BLUT AUS NORD – 777-THE DESANCTIFICATION

Vindsval and company are releasing music at an exponential rate. And guess what, the quality is becoming more and more consistent. It’s fucking astounding. The first two parts of the 777 trilogy see the band somewhat referencing the industrial landscapes of The Work Which Transforms God, relying even more (and oh so gloriously) on a big ol’ heap of Godflesh beats and rhythms. It’s a shame that The Cosmosophy couldn’t get released in 2011 as well, because the link between parts 1 and 2 suggest that this is going to be a true trilogy. But, both still work brilliantly on their own. The hot, almost dance-ready dissonance of Sect(s) is both alike and very different than the deeper, darker Desanctification, but both do that weird thing that Blut Aus Nord does as well as anyone out there. Both sound like only one band, but both sound like only one album. Such has been truth of their past, and I expect will also be true of their future. Sink in, dance along, drift off, take it any way you like.

REST OF THE 20…

12. Vader – Welcome to the Morbid Reich

13. Hammers of Misfortune – 17th Street

14. Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestial Lineage

15. Burzum – Fallen

16. Ravencult – Morbid Blood

17. Valborg – Barbarian (Song of the year nominee: “Samantha Alive”)

18. Absu – Abzu

19. Grayceon – All We Destroy

20. Negative Plane – Stained Glass Revelations

BEST EPS OF 2011:

Twas a pretty good year for the extended play as well, what with the almost-full-length beauty topping this list and a few free offerings as well. Right to it!

1. Giant Squid – Cenotes

There isn’t much else to say here that I didn’t already say in my review, just that I found out REALLY late that this was actually an EP, making some of my comments a tad dickish. Oh well, my lack of research can’t change how peerless this band is, and how continually gorgeous and deep their music is becoming. Very well done, bring on the next voyage.

2. Corsair – Ghosts of Proxima Centauri

This is great and all, quite so actually, but release a full length already would ya guys and gal?

3. Enslaved – The Sleeping Gods

Free Enslaved? Yes please.

THE HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Primordial, Pentagram, Hell, Loss, Amorphis, Ave Maria, Crowbar, End of Level Boss, Glorior Belli, Johann Wolfgang Pozoj, Klabautamann, Manilla Road, Moonsorrow, Tombs, Ulcerate, Novembers Doom, Owl, Pyrrhon, Rwake, Saille, Sorgeldom, Thy Catafalque, and any number of other albums that rocked me for a day or a week this year. There was a lot.

MY NON-METAL FAVORITES…

…were all albums we reviewed here, because I was lazy this year:

1. Devin Townsend Project – Ghost

2. Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

PLEASANT (AND KINDA OVERLOOKED) SURPRISES:

Blut Aus Nord – The Mystical Beast of Rebellion

A reissue of a minor classic and very out of print album that includes another album’s worth of new material? Sure. That new material being on par with the unbelievable 777 albums? Even better.

Enslaved – Thorn

This one really went under the radar, most likely intentionally. But for those who missed it, it’s a quick 7″ vinyl of Enslaved going old school, sounding like a combo of Vikingligr Veldi and Drudkh.

And finally…

APOLOGIES TO: 

Just don’t have time to digest it all. The following either haven’t had their fair amount of listening or literally got me addicted in the last couple of weeks since I submitted my votes: Esoteric, Woburn House, While Heaven Wept, The Atlas Moth, The Wounded Kings, Midnight, Lvcifyre, and Yob.

The post Zach Duvall’s Top 20 Albums of 2011 appeared first on Last Rites.

Vreid’s journey to their throne was far from direct. Rising from the ashes of the incredible (and incredibly under-appreciated) Windir, they burst onto the scene with 2004’s top-notch Kraft before following it with two good-not-great albums. Not until the aforementioned Milorg hit in 2009 was Vreid’s full potential realized.

So now, barely two years removed from that album, they’ve returned (didn’t think I’d get to it did ya?) with the simply-titled V. (Bruce Dickinson sidebar: “You see, the album title, it works on two levels. In one way, “V” is just, like, a letter of the alphabet, roight? A letter which, you know, stands for Vreid. But at the same time, “V” is also a Roman numeral for, like, the number five [holds up hand to reveal five fingers], and this is Vreid’s fifth record, mate. So it’s like, two levels. It’s fuckin’ mind-bogglin’ if you ask me.”) And in V the band has done two things. First, they’ve proven that they’ve become far more reliable than Pitch Black Brigade and I Krig showed them to be, and secondly, they have wisely not attempted to duplicate Milorg, instead offering a new side to the face we know as Vreid.

Until now, Vreid could rather conveniently be described as thrashy black metal with a good dose of rockin’ mixed in. On V, things get a mite more complex in the genre delineation department, coming in as something like “progressive blackened thrash’n’roll.” It’s not that different, mind you, but fresh enough within the band’s well-established framework to be worth mention. Still present are the punchy black/thrash riffs, harsh rasps, and flowing lead guitars that the band uses in lieu of keyboards for ambient effect. New to the party is a noted increase in instrumental prowess and prog leanings, no doubt spurned by the addition of another former Windir brother in Stian “Strom” Bakketeig on guitar. This new attention to fret-board activity is immediately evident with triple-lead harmonies – yes triple, bassist Hvall gets in on it too – in opener “Arche.” The band has also plastered the entire album with heaps of killer soloing, not the least of which turns “Wolverine Bastards” (gotta be a song title award for that one) into an early-album beast. At times these solos and proggisms will jump right out, and at others they are woven directly into the overall texture, aided by a lush and very astute production treatment for the instruments. (Only for the instruments however, for some reason the vocals seem quite separated from the rest—my only real complaint about the album.)

Occasional prog flourishes aside, the biggest way in which V separates itself from the rest of Vreid’s catalog is through a newfound compositional subtlety. On Milorg, war-torn themes were brought to the forefront through very confrontational music, meant to grab the listener by the throat with unrelenting force. Here, the band is comfortable letting things occasionally drift with increased atmospheric sections (not far removed from Milorg’s “Blücher pt. II” in style and execution) and less-aggressive riffery, even when the dials are fully cranked to metal. Nowhere is this new approach on display more than with the duo of “The Others and the Look” and its follower “Slave.” The former is a ten-minute centerpiece that builds with a near stealth that can almost be missed until Sture screams out “with the ashes I rise!” and a twisted climactic guitar solo ravishes your ears. The latter begins with one of the album’s most infectious riffs, only to quickly drop it in favor of an intense and emotional crescendo that naturally builds back to said introductory riff. This deft attention to detail was also applied to the full construction of V, but while the album may rock your socks off from the first note, a full comprehension of its holistic structure will undoubtedly take many spins. This is a layered and deceptively complex collection of songs, but the more you listen, the more the brilliant finale of “Then We Die” will sink in and increase the album’s total worth.

As different in many ways as V is from its predecessors, an ultimate quality judgment has to be made. Is Vreid’s newest as strong as Milorg? In a word, no. But Milorg was a career album, one that very few bands can ever hope to make and one of black metal’s true classics of the last few years. So we might just have to forgive Vreid if they followed up their magnum opus with an album that is only “incredibly fucking killer,” “serious album-of-the-year contender” or “easily their second best.” Excuse them for merely solidifying their suspected status as new kings of Norway, and as some of the most kickass weapon-at-the-ready heavy metal gladiators working today.

Essential, goddamnit.

The post Vreid – V Review appeared first on Last Rites.

So, without any further fucking around, here’s a list and some discussion of the albums that most thoroughly kicked my ass this year.

1. The Chasm – Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm

Of all the places I’d like to one day visit, the weirdest and most wonderful might be the space between Daniel Corchado’s ears.  It would likely take a lifetime of steeling my nerves to endure the swirling genius mindswells that gave rise to Farseeing, but I’d give an eye for the chance.  This album’s intricately layered and latticed mystical death metal floored me in a way that only a handful of heavy metal records ever have.  I haven’t seen enough talk about Farseeing outside of MR and a smattering of niche sites, but in all honesty I don’t really give a shit because, as far as I’m concerned, The Chasm forged this glorious metal monolith for mine ears alone.

2. Los Natas – El Nuevo Orden de la Libertad

My favorite heavy music transports me somewhere and most often this year I’ve chosen to journey with Los Natas.  In fact, El Nuevo Orden de la Libertad has become my go-to record when I have the slightest trouble deciding what to listen to.  This Argentinean free rock floats my spirit over a dusk black desert sea, ranging to distant purple mountains, their peaks reaching into orange gradient horizon.  Nestled within captivating songcraft, the album’s sweet, smoky vocal melodies are finely balanced with fuzzy, insistent stoner rock riffs to create an incredibly rich sound that is heavy like a favorite old quilt on a drizzly November morning.

3. Vreid – Milorg

That’s a Norwegian Milorg officer on the cover, beating the living fuck out of a Nazi.  And there you have the perfectly simple, unapologetic premise of this near masterpiece from Vreid.  This is an album of intensely proud Norwegian black metal given color by traditional metal ideas and shape within forward thinking structure.  Beautifully triumphant and tragic in its ire, Milorg hasn’t released my throat since its first spin way back in January.

4. Porcupine Tree – The Incident

PT’s latest opus is an emotional exposé of the disconnect between the way we see tragedy around us and how we experience it ourselves.  Crafted as a series of seemingly unconnected events, the parallel is drawn via the music, progressive, punctuated and poignant.  It is Porcupine Tree, so you know what to expect, but this one somehow translates the ingenuity of Steven Wilson and Co. into perhaps the band’s most personal entreaty to the individual listener.

5. Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition

I remember seeing that Riverside had released a new record and thinking to myself that I hoped they’d let up on the PT worship, expand their sound and, above all, rock a little bit, for fucksake.  Imagine my surprise to hear on Anno Domini that they had done exactly that.  Steeped in a vibrant new take on their classic prog sound, this new one sacrifices none of the band’s songwriting chops, but augments them with a welcome intense heaviness.   Most notably, Riverside appears to have developed a fiery love affair with the classic rock sounds of the Hammond organ (and others), adding a rich layer of authenticity to their fierce new duds.

6. Woods of Ypres – Woods IV: The Green Album

I am not a fan of Goth-anything, really.  I just don’t buy the shtick.  But the doomy, dark despair pitched here is so sincere as to defy the shiny patent leather associated with so much of the sound, and that’s what makes it so appealing.  I must have listened to this album 1000 times while I was sick.  I smiled just a little every time I heard the refrain, Life is just pain and piss/ It’s nothing that I will miss, knowing that Mr. Gold meant just what he said and, in that moment, I knew just how he felt.  This is bona fide gloom in a black trench coat and I love every minute of it.

7. Blut Aus Nord – Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars

Cascading.  That’s the best word I’ve seen used to describe the sound on MVII.  It’s just an endless flow of absolutely stunning effervescent riffing.  Call it bright black metal, I suppose, because despite its obvious BM genealogy, this music elevates far more than it subjugates.  It’s impossible to escape the countless layers of exquisite melody, it’s so utterly hypnotizing.  I regularly find myself at the end of the last track wondering where I’ve been the last hour.  That tendency to engulf and whisk the listener away is the mark of a superbly crafted record.

8. Crescent Shield – The Stars of Never Seen

Hurtling through space on an intergalactic voyage of discovery is just one of the many compelling metaphors Crescent Shield use to celebrate life’s endless tribulations and triumphs.  And, boy, do they nail it.  Brimming with inspiration, the band’s second album of power-laced traditional metal is as uplifting as it is expertly crafted.  This is a record that takes me back to my youth, filling me again with an unbridled optimism; the sense that, if I always felt the energy that this music generates in me, I could conquer the fucking world.  The Stars of Never Seen is a classic manifestation of the spirit of heavy metal.

9. While Heaven Wept – Vast Oceans Lachrymose

Perfect artwork.  Perfect sound.  Perfect execution of a premise.  It engulfs like an epic doom tidal wave, tosses the listener about in a riptorrent of emotional introspection, and ebbs quietly, leaving serenity in its wash.  I was a little apprehensive about new singer, Rain Irving, because I am such a fan of the earlier vocals from guitarist Tom Phillips, but Mr. Irving’s ardent execution wasted no time in setting me straight.  This is a fantastic album from every angle.

Argus – Argus

I honestly can’t think of a way to succinctly describe the awesomeness of Argus’ brand of doom.  Suffice it to say that this monster could very well be the modern representation of the archetype of heavy fucking metal.  That is to say, if one were to gather all the greatest aspects of the genre’s foundations and stir them up in a cauldron, the resulting brew could only be this record.  Doesn’t matter what I’m doing when I listen to it, Argus pulls me from it and I end up leaned back, eyes closed tightly, mouthing the lyrics and picking my air guitar.  Every bit as invigorating as it is addicting.

11. OSI – Blood
12. The Prophecy – Into the Light
13. Between the Buried and Me – The Great Misdirect
14. Krallice – Dimensional Bleedthrough
15. Slough Feg – Ape Uprising
16. Absu – S/T
17. Razor of Occam – Homage to Martyrs
18. Urna – Iter ad Lucem
19. Glorior Belli – Meet Us at the Southern Sign
20. The Devin Townsend Project – Addicted!

Some albums that came damn close include offerings from Black Boned Angel, Zoroaster, Weapon, Sinister Realm, Sun of the Blind, The Firstborn, Altar of Plagues, Megadeth, Wino, and on and on and fucking on.  Honestly, this list could go on for days.  Such was the incredible depth of 2009’s heavy metal crop.  Fuckin’ A.

Best EP: Martolea – Gâlmele Întunericului

This is a demo from Alin Drimus, a Romanian dude that contributed wind instrumentation to Negura Bunget’s OM.  It’s awesome and it’s free for download at the band’s website.  Go get it.

Best Non-Metal Album: El Creepo! – S/T

Biggest Disappointments: Cage – The Science of Annihilation, Deströyer 666 – Defiance

I’d also like to say that it’s been just about a year that I’ve been reviewing with MR and it’s been a truly enriching experience.  Between the staff and all the regular forumites, I’ve come to feel as if you all are an extension of my family, complete with all the unconditional support and hilariously Springer-esque dysfunction.  Love ya one and all, folks.

The post John Ray’s Top 20 Of 2009 appeared first on Last Rites.

Following on quickly from last year’s Pitch Black Brigade, Vreid’s latest full-length, I Krig, sees the Norwegian band continuing to refine their unique fusion of black metal and classic rock. On this album Vreid combine strong hooks, distinct vocals and a broad musical palette into a powerful and just plain rocking collection of songs. From start to finish, I Krig is an innovative, distinct and above all entertaining release that stands apart from the black metal pack.

Vreid’s embracing of power-chord driven, four-bar rock n’ roll is immediately apparent on I Krig’s opener “Jarnbyrd”. Propelled by a simple but catchy main riff, the song has an almost 70’s rock feel, going so far as featuring a cowbell! The acidic, high-pitched vocals of lead throat Sture make an immediate impression, coming across like a young Quorthon (RIP) challenging Lind Blair to a razor-gargling contest. The fact that the lyrics are all sung in the band’s native Norwegian adds to the authenticity of the performance. While the following track “Under Isen” injects more speed into proceedings and has a more traditional 90’s feel, the title track sees Vreid start to open up musically, incorporating violin, clean guitar and layered vocals into a more dramatic song structure. From here the album expands on its black metal/hard rock base with other influences – folk in particular – coming into play.

As well as the vocals, the other standout musical aspect of I Krig is the textured guitar work. Apart from the abundance of hooky, groove-laden riffs there are some tasteful solos sprinkled throughout the album, as well as excellent use of melody. I Krig’s folk elements are most pronounced on its later tracks. Both “Dei Daude Steig Av Grav” and “Fangegard” feature cleanly sung vocals and spoken word interludes juxtaposed against galloping black metal rhythms, while album closer “Millom Hav Og Fjell” goes from a folk intro to black n’ roll stomp, concluding with an effective piano piece. The amalgamation of Vreid’s various influences in these last few songs is impressively tight.

On I Krig, Vreid have continued to refine their unique style in impressive fashion. There isn’t much I can fault this disc on, as it consistently delivers on the main points of musicianship, production values and especially songwriting. Black metal devotees who appreciate a bit of light and shade should eat this up. Solid.

The post Vreid – I Krig Review appeared first on Last Rites.