Another year and another beast of list and while my blog writing has tapered off as of late, I still feel compelled to give my .02 to the year that was. What surprised, what shocked and what titillated. Probably my favorite find of this year was getting to know spotify which is possibly the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have been finding such good underground and obscure bands on that site that it boggles my mind. So, onto the beasts...
10. Duobetic Homunkulus - Ani Já Ani Ty Robit Něbudzeme, šedněme Do Koča, Vozit še Budzeme
10. Duobetic Homunkulus - Ani Já Ani Ty Robit Něbudzeme, šedněme Do Koča, Vozit še Budzeme
I'm lovin' me some Duobetic Homunkulus. Wokis and Freedom broke loose from the !T.O.O.H! camp after Rad a Trest and have really spread their wings continuing on in an expanded vein from that amazing album. This is RIO mets tech meets prog meets folk meets death meets gettin down and funky with it, and despite having an album and song titles that give Fiona Apple a run for her grapes, the boys' keep everything concise and memorable...the question is which !T.O.O.H! duo made the crazier album this year--Wokis and Freedom or Humanoid and Schizoid--and the answer is Humanoid and Schizoid but I find Ani Ja to be a slightly more digestible experience.
9. Euphoric Defilement - Ascending To The Worms
There has been a glut of terrific brutal death metal releases this year...Wormed, Deeds of Flesh, Necrambulant, Afflictive Emasculation...but only one rose to the top, only one had that indefinable X-Factor that makes it transcend and that is this beautiful beast known as Euphoric Defilement. Meat'n'Potato bludgeon riffs with enough calculating technical slice'n'dicing is what makes it bang, but then the creepy atmoshperic tremelo'd bits make it soar. Its rare that an album like this warrants repeated listens for me, but I've been listening to this at least once a week since it came out...and enjoying it more each time.
8. Blackdeath - Phobos
Blackdeath will for ever be among my favs when jonesing for Russian black metal supreme...These spiraling riffs those histrionically cackled vocals always provide a surreal and alien listening experience that gets me into the right kind of mood. Until Old Wainds/Nav get their shit together for a new one, Phobos will more than suffice as the harbingers of Mother Russia (Musn't forget Rossomahaar either, refer to the 2010 list for that one).
7. Humanfly - Awesome Science
You want chops? Humanfly's got chops and then some. Awesome Science is straight up awesome. Soaring emo vocals are combined with abolutley phenomenal musical workouts that sound like something out of Crimson's Discipline. An absolutely stunning piece of work!
6. Beastmilk - Climax
An album chock full of hot anthems with Kvhost from DHG, Code and other great bands. Sounding a little bit like the Babylon Whores by way of Danzig, Climax is a perfect choice for midnight escapades during these long winter nights.
5. Voices - From the Human Forest Create a Fugue of Imaginary Rain
Powerful black metal featuring former Akercocke members, this one was a number 1 sleeper hit for me over the summer. Eyes Become Black is a fuckin anthem and David Grey is owning just about all drummers out there. The man can play straight as an arrow and blast like a demon, tasteful and astute as always.
4. Inquisition - Obscure Verses for the Multiverse
Inquisition just keeps getting better with each passing album...honing that enviable sound, true master's of their craft.
3. Carcass - Surgical Steel
Carcass 2013 is > Carcass 1991-1993, or if not greater than then at least equal to, and that is more than enough for me! Surgical Steel is as deadly as its name implies, and Bill Steer absolutely steals the show with a riffgasmic performance par excellence! Carcass is and was (and more than likely will carry right on being) everything I love about metal.
2. Todtgelichter - Apnoe
I could shower this band with superlatives till I'm blue in the face and nothing but a dry foam of spittle sprays from my mouth and it still wouldn't be enough. This isn't the album I was expecting after the masterpiece that was Angst, but damn if Apnoe hasn't grown on me. Alt-metal that manages to restore some respectability to a genre that ain't always grand.
1. Mindly Rotten - Effacing The Origin
A no-brainer to top this year's beast of, cuz this band is the coolest walking the earth at this moment, like if Sarcofago transmutated Yngwie Malmsteen's inglorious dexterity in a flurry of swwep picks and whammy abuse but kept it dirty...not just dirty, but dripping in filth and ire. Doing Colombia proud and keeping me happy into 2014 and beyond.
Surprises
Pestilence - Obsidio, a mean fucking album, I'd call it a return to form but Pestilence have never really ever sounded this pissed off! A rebirth perhaps.
the new Soilwork Speed and crew's magnum opus, easily their best by a country mile.
Honorable Mentions
Kaviar Kavalier - Musik aus Ordinationen
Code - Augur Nox
True - Symptoms
Luctus - Stotis
Cult of Fire - something sanskrit
Zemial - Nykta
Tera Melos - X'ed Out
Tera Melos - X'ed Out
WTF's of the Year
...that new !T.O.O.H!, that new Timeless Necrotears, that new Vom Fetisch Der Unheirrtheit...good goddamn on all of those.
I enjoyed alot of great electropop this year, so heres my pick of that litter.
NoNoNo - Pumpin' Blood EP
Austra - Olympic
Gatekeeper - Young Chronos
Forest Swords - Engravings
Om Unit - Threads
Oh Land - Wishbone
Son Lux - Lanterns
Laurel Halo - Chance of Rain
Emancipator - Dusk to Dawn
Oneirogen - Kiasma (more drone than anything else...a haunting listen)
Prized hawgs of the year
Porky Vagina - Chlew Machina
Sorry, but I hear absolutely no Sarcofago in that Mindly Rotten song, just another irritating tech-death band with too many sweeps for their own good. I really appreciate that this is about 50% albums I haven't heard though - a lot to check out. I don't think I've commented here before but I love a lot of what you post.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot! Fair enough on the Mindly Rotten, I can definitely see how it would not be to everyones taste. I do think they are doing something very interesting with the tech-death genre and will be an exciting band to watch.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say thanks, you have no idea (or maybe you do) how many great bands you have put me onto. I have no metal associates so I have to find my recs where I can get them. From the Human Forest and Climax were both incredible albums and I never heard of the bands before.
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