The Tradition Must Go On

Have a COOL YULe Fuckers!

Beast of 2012

The end times Mayan calendar all that shit...I've watched enough ancient aliens to know we should be kissing our asses goodbye right about now. But you know what? Not without reviewing this years beast in metal (and other genres)!! Make sure to grab these puppies when the nuclear atomic suck-partay begins.

10. Dreaming Dead - Midnightmares

Thrash-Death-Black bouillabaisse...pretty much anything you can think of thrown into a delightfully tight and well constructed melting pot set to boil over at any moment. The proggy spirit of later Death and epicness of Destroyer 666 are incarnated through this talented LA band.

9. Aluk Todolo - Occult Rock

A daunting monument to all things dark and spaghetti westerny. Has always taken me a bit of time to get into this band's releases, but once things clicked I couldn't stop listening.

8. Diskord - Dystopics

Diskord's surreal technical purely Scandinavian form of death metal returns and once again blows my mind...just like Doomscapes did a few years back. Weird chords, bass HIGH up in the mix and that bizarre doomy/grindcore atmosphere that they seem to have perfected...also, best cover artwork of the year, total win.

7. Weapon - Embers and Revelations

What the fuck Paulus, when are your arms just gonna fall off you gaoddamn maniaac?!! Super catchy songs that sound just plain evil as fuck. The highlight of their rather impressive discography thus far.

6. Bigg Jus - Machines That Make Civilization Fun

Biggie stutter-steps his politically paranoid flow over glitch-dub-chill-beach-minimalist-house-wave whatever...as ugly as it sounds and just about perfect.

5. Ultraista - Ultraista

Smalltalk is the song of the year...and the rest of the album lived up to the hype. Incidentally, seeing them live was prbly my favorite show of the year.

4. Linea Aspera - Linea Aspera

Dark Entries might just be the best label goin' right now. Bewitching gloom pop for your midnight seance... or your midnight romp!

3. MGLA - With Hearts Toward None

This was gonna be my number 1 for most of the year...hands down really...it still could be. MGLAs best material to date, which is indeed saying something considering the masterpiece that was Groza. I will forever and no more make Polish jokes...well maybe a few, just not in MGLA's general direction.

2. Gorod - A Perfect Absolution

These are the most amazing musicians in metal. PERIOD. What that last Atheist disc should've sounded like.

1. Witchcraft - Legend

Riff sublimity empty into despair...a new world opens and I am there

Surprises

The new Rush, the new Van Halen, the new Borknagar...all pretty good guys

Honorable Mentions

Die Antwoord - Ten$ion

Master's Hammer - Vracejte konce na místo

Comus - Out of the Coma

Yurei - Night Vision

Beastmilk - Use Your Deluge

Agmen - Call of Blood

Magma - Félicité Thösz

Linear Sphere - Manvantara

Trust - TRST

Realmbuilder - Fortifications of the Pale Architect

Avenger - Bohemian Dark Metal

Scenery - Mental Confusion

Vesperian Sorrow - Stormwinds of Ages

Occultation - Three & Seven

Blutmond - The Revolution Is Dead!

Starving Weirdos - Land Lines

Qhwertt - He Who Has Known The Gardens

Goat - World Music

Vaura - Selenelion

Violens - True

Self Spiller - Worms In The Keys

Graveland - Pamiêæ i Przeznaczenie

Grimes - Visions

Salamandra Eccentric - Moderato

Lunatic Gods - Vlnobytie

Iblis - Menthell

Dysrhythmia - Test Of Submission

Hellwell - Beyond The Boundaries Of Sin

Kontinuum - Earth Blood Magic 

Enthroned - Obsidium

Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron

Forgotten Silence - La Grande Bouffe

Favna Abisal - Rerum Imaginaria

I love u, I love u, I love u

Mortuary Drape - Tolling 13 Knell

I posted this one waaaaay back when I first started this blog, but it is one I keep coming back to and for the past couple weeks I haven't been able to listen to too much besides it. The riffs awesome, vocals awesome, atmosphere amazing....and the drummer is the guy that drummed on Janvs's Vega album, goddamn! This is the very essence of Italian SpookProg. How many black metal bands can get away with singing "La la la La la la la la" for a chorus in one of their songs (Winged Priestess)?

Only one

Tolling 13 Knell

Nostalgia c. 2006

Kind of a weaker year actually, but that Circle of Ouroborus had such a deep influence on me at the time....and the last Dissection, pure masterpiece, Maha Kali!

Nostalgia c .2005

That Reggie and the Full Effect is a guilty pleasure to end all guilty pleasures.

Nostalgia c. 2004

A bunch of old bands came back to school us in 2004. Cadaver, Varathron and Mortuary Drape + you can't fuck with ex-girl even though you may want to :)

One Man Black Metal Series 1-3

A pretty well done series of vids put out by VICE offshoot NOISEY. Features in depth interviews with the guys behind Leviathan, Striborg and Xasthur. No huge surprises (they don't like society, they rather be alone, can't relate to most people blah blah blah). I'm really envious of the Striborg guy's place in Tasmania, how cool would it be to live there??!

Nostalgia c. 2003

A disgustingly good year....of course Root's gonna be up there, and that Sceptic album is an unheralded gem of tech-death

Morgus - Closer to Mercury than Pluto is the Sun

here's a dandy, a real meass. If Mortician fell down a garbage disposal, those darn kiwis. Why must I subject myself to this? Or a better question, why must people make this? Mood musick for sure.

Closer to Mercury than Pluto is the Sun

Nostalgia c. 2002

Another fucking good year! I might have to put up some mixtapes of these or something.

Nostalgia c. 2001

Let's keep this gravy train rollin

Nostalgia c. 2000

A trip down memory lane...the year 2000, a banner year for metal

Loudness - Hurricane Eyes

Sandy's a comin', so I couldn't resist.

Hurricane Eyes

Zef Stylez

I'm sure most of ya have heard of Die Antwoord, and if not check out their artful brand of insanity. Truly a guilty pleasure, but I must admit that Yo-Landi is one hot little number.

To Drum with the Air

Let it be known I enjoy air drumming. Oh sure I've played on a kit before, but you just don't get the same thrill as flailing your arms into the vast wide open, doing those pantomime double strokes tom tom rolls 280 bpm blasts and mach 5 double beaters. Plus your neighbors don't hate you nearly as much (sure they still hate you but at least not because of a fucking loud snare drum). So, here are my fav songs to rock out to...

....and of course, the motherlode

Wetwork - New Start Human

Creepy Canuck tech-thrash...prbly better than the vp debate.

New Start Human

Sveta Istina Vjestica - Witches In The Air

Suck on this one...French avant black/grind dealing with such hard-hitting issues as "witches, death and madness"... free download baby so don't mess around.

Hunting For Witches

Reencarnacion - Egipto

Another strange, strange release by these Columbian shamans. Reencarnacion's debut 888Metal was black/thrash as filtered through European RIO, Egipto does away with nearly all of the metal influence, instead we are put on a spirtiual avant-garde journey that is more Basho than Bathory. Maybe comparisons can be made to the controversial MH album Slagry, but that shit was structured, Reencarnacion are improvising and riffing all over the place. This has to be improvised, if they actually structured these tunes they should be locked up for crimes against humanity (or given some kind of genius grant, I really can't decide)....Much like the cover image, Egipto is completely fucked and unexpected stuff!

Egipto