The 20 Best Albums of 2009

20. Orcustus - Orcustus - Southern Lord aren’t typically known for Black Metal Releases, but this album came out of nowhere are totally killed it. Really great beefed up BM that is equally planted in traditional style and with some thrashy guitars thrown in to round things out. Definitely worth checking out.


19. Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God - I’ll be honest, I really didn’t like Goatwhore until I heard this album, and even then it took me almost a dozen listens to admit I was into it. A lot of people call this “Southern Black Metal,” but I think that’s a little generous. I would say it’s about 75% thrash and 25% BM. The real star on this album is the guitar work; some of the best riffs of the year.


18. Drudkh - Microcosmos - I love this band. They play BM that’s lo-fi but in a very likable way. Couple their tr00 sound with a great knack for song structure and great atmosphere and you’ve got a winner. Microcosmos is as epic an album as I’ve ever heard, and definitely one of the best in BM in the last 5 years.


17. Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Agorapocalypse - A lot of people tried to hate on AN for slowing things down on this album, but they can all fuck off. AN was borderline painful to listen to on previous release, but Agorapocalypse highlights all of the band’s strengths. Scott Hull is a total badass and can shred like no one else.

16. Lord Mantis - Spawning The Nephilim - I love this record. It’s super sludgy, doom, death metal. It’s brutal and never lets up. This album is all things metal. Check the review posted a while back for more details.

15. Kylesa - Static Tensions - This is the album I’ve been waiting for ever since Damad broke up. Kylesa’s last few albums were good, but not great; Static Tensions is great. Easily the best sludge album of the year, and contender for best of the decade. If you like sludgy metal with a D-beat hardcore influence then look no further.


14. Urna - Iter Ad Lucem - This album took me a little while to get into because it takes a long time to get through all of the tracks in one sitting, but once I invested the time I was blown away. Inter Ad Lucem is a stunning mix of funeral doom and black metal. Musically, Urna do a great job creating an eerie atmosphere but the star for me are the vocals, which are BM through and through and round out the sound of the album beautifully. A must own for doom fans.


13. Wodensthrone - Loss - I reviewed this album recently so I won’t say much about it. I love this record and feel it’s one of the strongest BM releases to ever come out of the UK. A stunning debut for sure.



12. Culted - Below the Thunderous Upper Deep - The most amazing thing about this album is the fact that these musicians have never played together in person. BtTUD is a crushing slab of blackened doom that gets more infectious every time I listen to it. I’m surprised how much I like this album now, because I didn’t really care for it all that much at first. A grower for sure.


11. Sunn O))) - Monoliths and Dimensions - The most accessible Sunn O))) album ever, and it’s totally great. This is Sunn O))) doing what they do; heaps of atmosphere that switch between suffocating and vast. If you like Sunn O))) then I’m sure you already have this and if you never liked them I doubt this will change your mind.















10. YOB - The Great Cessation

FUCK YES! I love YOB. They have been one of my favorite doom bands for the last 5 years, and I was really bummed when they split-up, so imagine my joy when I heard they were reuniting and putting out a new studio album. The Great Cessation plays on everything YOB did well on their first two records, but it sounds meaner this time around. A killer album from beginning to end.














9. Asphyx - Death…The Brutal Way

Another recently reviewed album, Death…The Brutal Way is a real barn burner. This is the epitome of the Swedish death metal sound, and it’s coming from a Dutch band.














8. The Gates of Slumber - Hymns of Blood and Thunder

If you like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, or even relatively new bands like Pharaoh, but want less annoying vocals then you should love this. Classic metal with a kick. Killer riffs, great grooves, and songs about dragons = Awesomeness.

















7. Funeral Mist - Maranatha

Arioch (Daniel Rosten) is probably the best black metal vocalist working today. Pulling double duty between Funeral Mist and Marduk, this guy just sounds like the devil. Maranatha is only slightly eclipsed by the new Marduk album.


















6. Marduk - Wormwood

I never took this band seriously until now. Wormwood is stunning black metal that pushes the boundaries of the genre. The great thing about this album is its pacing; switching between slow and grating, and high octane shred-fest. A truly great album in a year filled with excellent BM releases.

















5. Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness

This is BBtS’ swansong, and it is magnificent. I posted a more in=depth review a month or so ago in which I gave praise to the attention to groove present on Heart of Darkness, and I stand behind my initial reactions wholeheartedly. Math metal can be good!

















4. Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest

Nile finally delivered on the promises made on In Their Darkened Shrines. If you love death metal go get this album, if you don’t stay far, far away.















3. Napalm Death - Time Waits For No Slave

The band who basically invented Grindcore deliver the best grind album of the year…go figure. This is probably the catchiest grind album I’ve heard since Nasum’s Helvete. Time Waits… is brutal, unrelenting, and altogether fantastic.

















2. Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough

Nerd metal album of the year for sure. This is black metal for people who think too much. I liked Krallice’s debut, but I never imagined that a year later they would come back with a monster like Dimensional Bleedthrough. Listen with headphones.


















1. Ahab - The Divinity of the Oceans

Here it is, my pick for the best album of 2009. This was a stellar year for metal releases, but the one album that stands above the rest is Ahab’s The Divinity of the Oceans. A modern funeral doom classic, TDotO is a gorgeous album that builds layers and layers of texture and engulfs its listeners. The audio mix on this album add a lot of extra punch, and helps translate the band’s talent for songwriting. A fantastic example of funeral doom, and a must own for any self respecting metal fan.

Anyone Remember Post-Metal?

Amen Ra - Mass IIII

This album came out a while ago so this review will be brief.

The reason I wanted to post something about this record has to do with my annoyance with the genre known as post-metal. Bands like Isis, Pelican, and Cult of Luna all put out some absolutely stunning albums early in their careers, but as post-metal continues to grow into a legitimate genre, with numerous bands offering up slabs of pretentiously artful doom, the music has become stagnant. The major players of the genre are still pumping out decent work, but I feel like no new ground is being tread. Enter Amen Ra. Hailing from Belgium, this band are the new darlings of post-metal.

Mass IIII is a dark and corrosive beast. All of the fundamental aspects of the post-metal sound are here, but Amen Ra have thrown them in a meat grinder and spit out a vitriolic combination of early screamo, hardcore, and Through Silver in Blood era Neurosis. The guitars are sharp and build to massive peaks of distorted dissonance, and the drums keep the guitars in check with simple yet effective tribal rhythms.

I haven't cared about the post-metal movement for a while, but Mass IIII has reignited my interest. If you like this style then there is no reason not to get a copy of this amazing record. I know I'm gushing, but it's better then ranting about Pelican's shitty new album, right?

xoxo
Beardo

What the new Wolves in the Throne Room album could have been

Wodensthrone - Loss

Black Metal is by no means an easy genre to love. The style itself requires a lot from its listeners, but beyond that is the fact that about 80-90% (subjective estimation) is total shit. I have been a huge BM fan for quite a few years and lately I've been frustrated with the way bands have been "reinventing" the style. This is not to say that there haven't been any stellar releases recently, quite the contrary if one looks at bands like Krallice, Drudkh, Marduk, and Funeral Mist; but it feels like for every shinning example there are 10 pieces of shit trying to pass as tr00 or kvlt.

I am pleased to announce that Wodensthrone have outshined their competition with a stunning debut. To say that this has been a good year for BM would be an understatement. Along with releases from the bands listed above, 2009 has seen exceptional work from Horna, Culted, Orcustus, and Deathspell Omega, and in my opinion you'd be hard-pressed to find a better BM release than Wodensthrone's Loss.

As the title of this review states, Loss is what I expected to see from Wolves in the Throne Room's Black Cascade, which was good but not great. Wodensthrone play what they call English Heritage Black Metal, which totally falls into my pet peeve of stupid and unnecessary sub genres, but I'll let it slide because at its core Loss is traditional BM with hints of folk music added for atmospheric purposes. The success of this album lies within its atmosphere. Wodensthrone do a bang-up job of combining relentless BM riffage with traditional folk music. The result is cold and bleak, just the way BM should sound.

Another aspect of Loss that adds to the overall effect are the vocals. The desperate howls of Brunwulf coupled with the lower and more guttural vocals provided by Wildeþrýð round out the bands sound and add enough depth to keep the vocals from getting monotonous. There is a slight symphonic element present, but it's buried in the mix enough that it doesn't sound cheesy.

In a year spotted with fantastic BM releases, Wodensthrone have made their mark. For me it's a toss up which BM album can be credited as the "best," but right now Loss is at the top of the heap.


xoxo
Beardo

Waaaay better then I expected

Lord Mantis - Spawning the Nephilim

I'll be honest, I have a very special place in my heart for quality doom and sludge metal and Lord Mantis play music that I can't help but love.

I was late getting this release but thank god I finally did, because it is one sludgy beast.Lord Mantis hails from Chicago and features members of Indian, Avichi, and an ex-member of Nachtmystium, which might have you expecting to hear complex soundscapes and experimentation, but you'd be wrong. Spawning the Nephilim exists for the sole purpose of kicking your fucking teeth in, one riff at a time.

From a an unbiased point-of-view, which I am forcing myself in to, this album doesn't do much to expand the sludge genre on the whole, but that's not really a bad thing. There are plenty of bands trying to recreate doom and sludge and, frankly, I'm getting a little tired of it. That's not to say that I don't love bands like Kylesa and Baroness (less so for the latter), but every now and then I just want some straight forward, no frills sludgy doom metal that's free of pretension and all about being brutal as fuck. Guess what? I just described Lord Mantis.

This album plays like a wrecking ball. It's filled with huge riffs and grooves, and each track has a very distinct feeling that adds to the atmosphere of the entire album. The vocals are guttural lows and screeching highs layered on top of one another, which really helps the album stand apart from a lot of other doom/sludge bands working today. The guitars are chunky and fuzzy, while the drums focus heavily on keeping the grooves going, and at times even take on a tribal feel.

For me, Spawning the Nephilim is a winner, and most definitely holds a place on my "Best of 09" list. I can't say that the same will be true for everyone. I understand why I love this record, it's nostalgic and represents pretty much everything that metal is about. If you fancy yourself a doom or sludge fan, I urge you to check this out.



xoxo
Beardo

old school death

Asphyx - Death...The Brutal Way

I'd like to get something out of the way before diving in to this review; I do not approve of this album's title, because it's stupid. Ok, let's move on.

When I was younger I could have cared less about Swedish Death Metal and was more focused on bands like Nile, Sepultura, and Napalm Death. These days I can't get enough of that sweet Swedish DM sound. I don't know what it is, but I love the whole death n' roll thing. It's badass.

I should let you know that Asphyx are actually Dutch, but their sound is SDM through and through.

I remember hearing a lot of buzz when this album came out in August, but I totally forgot about it until a few weeks ago. The main reason behind all the hype is that this is the first album since 1992's The Rack to feature Martin Van Drunen (who also fronts the band Hail of Bullets) on vocals. Van Drunen absolutley kills on this record, and has become one of my favorite SDM vocalists alongside Dismember's Matti Kärki and Death Breath's Scott Carlson.

Death...The Brutal Way is a total barn burner from beginning to end. The guitar tones are chunky, fuzzed-out, and down-tuned, and the riffs are simple yet undeniably brutal. My favorite thing about Asphyx is the way they blend elements of traditional Doom Metal into their songwriting; It's pretty obvious that these guys are Candlemass fans. The band is able to slow things down to an almost dead stop and once you're comfortable with that pace they swoop and bring things back to break-neck speed.

A lot of SDM albums can be tedious after a few songs, but Death...The Brutal Way doesn't fall victim to that problem. I'm bummed that I didn't grab this when it came out, but I feel like I'm making up for lost time by listening to it non-stop. If you like SDM there is no reason you won't love this album. It's killer, and will most definitely be on my year end list.

xoxo
Beardo


Stay tuned for my Best of 2009 list coming up in a week or so.

a welcome funeral

Ahab - The Divinity of the Oceans

I promised a review of the new Ahab album, and here it is.

Funeral Doom isn't an easy genre for most metal fans. It's slow dirges take time and patience to appreciate, but the pay off is like no other for fans of Doom Metal. Ahab have been releasing quality FD (Funeral Doom) for a few years and they seem to get better with every album. The Divinity of the Oceans is truly epic and shows the band at the very top of their game.

There are a few reasons why this album stands above the majority of FD bands. First, Ahab are masters of atmosphere, which is due in part to the production of the album. The mix on TDotO is crafted to make everything sound big and grandiose. The guitars seem to sweep in and out from a distance while the guttural howling vocals are buried just enough to sound desperate and menacing.

Second, is the way they slow down Death Metal technique to a grinding pace, and then switch to beautiful Opethian solos that are equally grounded in classic metal and classical music. The songs here are epic odes to the sea, which isn't anything new for Ahab, but they seem much more confident and open to experimentation on TDotO. This album is gorgeous from start to finish.

If you like painfully slow doom or are a fan of bands like Opeth, Samothrace, Urna, and Mournful Congregation, then you should love this. Hands down the best doom album (in any of the genre's sub categories) this year.


xoxo
Beardo

use your headphones

Krallice - Dimensional Bleedthrough

I really liked Krallice's debut self-titled album. I thought it showed a lot of promise and a refreshing take on modern day Black Metal. Dimensional Bleedthrough blows that release out of the water. For those of you who aren't familiar with Krallice, they play fast-paced, off-kilter, dissonant Black Metal that can be compared to bands like Wolves in the Throne Room and Leviathan, but even that is a bit of a stretch.

The main focus of this album, as well as their debut, is the guitar work. This makes sense considering the two guitarist are Colin Marston (Gorguts, Behold... The Arctopus, Dysrhythmia) and Mick Barr (Orthrelm, Octis, Ocrilim). There are a ton of BM bands that use dissonant chord progressions to evoke atmosphere but Krallice go one step beyond and create a sound that is altogether bleak. The songs are structured to work in movements, and each movement is a guitar riff. Barr and Marston play each riff to death and then seamlessly switch to another crushing display of speed and technical prowess.

The vocals on Dimensional Bleedthrough are desperate howls reminiscent of old Screamo bands like City of Caterpillar and Page Ninety Nine, and fit the tone of the album perfectly. Every song on this album made me say "holy shit!" at some point, and each track flows beautifully into the next. I can't remember the last time a BM band showed this much raw talent and creativity. This may very well be my album of the year.



P.S.
This album absolutely demands to be listened to through a good pair of headphones, but if you don't have some or can't spare the money, decent speakers and very high volume will do the trick.

XOXO
Beardo

a taste of extreme mediocrity

Hypocrisy - A Taste of Extreme Divinity

I always think I'm going to like this bands new albums, but there's just something about Hypocrisy that feels tired. I will concede that they have put out some pretty good records (NOT "Catch 22") in the past, but they haven't ever blown me out of the water. For me the problem lies more with their style than with the band's ability to write songs. The whole melodic death metal thing has run its course, and has been adopted and bastardized by literally hundreds of deathcore bands. So I'm sitting here trying to decide whether or not this album warrants the praise that critics have been giving it. All of the material on AToED is super solid, but if you listened to "Virus" then you already know what to expect. I guess my overall assessment is that this album is solid. There's nothing here that blew me away, but there also wasn't anything that turned me away. I wanted this to be as good as the hype made it sound, but at the end of the day it's just veterans retreading old ground. Thank god they do it well.

xoxo
Beardo

the first of many...

This is active blog number three for me. I decided to create this blog because metal seems out of place on my other pages, but is an integral part of my musical taste and has grown in both breadth and depth over the years. The purpose of this blog will be to highlight bands which I feel are of high quality and/or creativity (which is totally subjective, I know). If you stumble across this page and see something you like please leave a comment or follow it...and be sure to tell your friends.

With that said, here's a shortish list of all the metal I can't stop listening to lately:

Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest

I haven't really listened to Nile since "Annihilation of the Wicked," an album which I felt lacked the punch of "In Their Darkened Shrines" and other earlier albums. "Ithyphallic" was a step in the right direction, but still left me wondering what happened to this band that made them lose their luster. I am proud to report that "Those Whom the Gods Detest" totally makes up for the the bands last two efforts and, dare I say, has positioned itself at the top of the bands impressive catalog. What I really like about TWtGD is the bands return to an Egyptian theme. Past albums seemed to focus more on straight-forward tech death without the atmospheric quality of "In their Darkened Shrines." I also really love the vocal performances on this record and both Karl Sanders and Dallas Toller-Wade have outdone themselves. If you like technical death metal, or have liked anything Nile has released then you need to get a hold of this gem.

Marduk - Wormwood

Talk about a fucking return to form! This album totally caught me off guard. I haven't ever thought of Marduk as anything more than mediocre black metal, but I had to eat my words after hearing Wormwood. I think the reason I enjoy this album so much has to do with the addition of Mortuus (who also fronts black metal band Funeral Mist) on vocals. I love Funeral Mist's latest album "Maranatha," and I think my adoration of Mortuus's vocal style has made me a bit biased, but whatever, this album stills smokes. The mix of dark atmosphere and clever songwriting make Wormwood memorable and unique. Old fans are sure to love this, and I assume that this album will convert most haters.

Black Anvil - Time Insults the Mind

I'll be honest, I bought this album because of the praise emblazoned on the packaging...so what? and you know what else, who cares? This shit is awesome. "Time Insults the Mind" is a really interesting combination of old school black metal and sludge/doom (think Darkthrone meets Black Sabbath). I really love the guitars on this album, which provide a healthy mixture of technical proficiency and straight up power chord metal. Paul Delaney's vocals aren't setting new standards by any means, but they do fit perfectly with the music and his cadence compliments the song structures well. This record is just plain fun, and anyone looking for some new development in the world of black metal should give this a shot.

Burnt by the Sun - Heart of Darkness

OH FUCK YES! I've been waiting for this album to drop for 6 years, and I'm happy as hell with what this killer band has presented to the masses. When I was younger (18/19) I really had trouble appreciating a lot of math metal bands like Dillinger Escape Plan and The End(their early stuff anyway), but this band showed me that math metal can be pretty badass. There are some noticeable difference between "Heart of Darkness" and the band's last album, 2003's "The Perfect is the Enemy of the Good," and the most obvious is the attention given to big, punishing grooves. I always wished this band would slow down a little and explore melody and hooks, and 6 years later they made my dreams come true. This album kills from beginning to end, so go get it.

Ahab - The Call of the Wretched Sea

I love doom metal. I love it slow and crusty and brutal, and Ahab is all of those things. "The Call of the Wretched Sea" is a beast of an album, with 7 songs clocking in at over an hour, but it never drags. Every song flows beautifully into the next, and I find more to love every time I listen to this. The vocals are guttural and buried in the mix a little bit, which makes this album feel quite epic. There are some bands who are playing up the whole Moby Dick thing (like Mastodon), but this never crosses the line into cheesy metal territory. I know this came out in 2006, but I'm just now getting into this band. I will post a review of their latest album later. For those of you who like doom or think you like doom, you owe it to yourself to check this out.

That covers it for now. Stay tuned for more reviews, etc...

xoxo
Beardo