2010 Favorite Metal Albums

As I have talked about before, I am not a huge of “best of” lists. However, it is that time of year when the music world is inundated with “best of the year” lists and we are forced to hear that Avenged Sevenfold put out the greatest album ever. That is complete BS in so many ways. So what I am writing now is my “Personal Favorites of 2010.” This is by no means a best of list and because music is subjective there cannot be a greatest album. What I want to put forth is a list of my favorites and have other people discuss which ones they liked. This way a debate can be created and more bands can be introduced to more people. So here it is, my list of albums that I have thoroughly enjoyed over that past year.

Eluveitie - Everything Remains As It Never Was
Coming back strong this year with a new album of folky goodness is Eluveitie, the Swiss powerhouse that never fails to deliver. Strong songs such as the title track and “Quoth the Raven” show off the death metal side as well as their clean folk side. This band has several dimensions that work well together that made this album a must have.


Blasphemophagher - ...For Chaos, Obscurity, and Desolation
Stepping up this year with a heaping blast of death/black metal pandemonium is Italian hate mongers Blasphemophagher. These beasts created an album of extreme metal magic that seems like it could blast through the speakers and rip out your soul right out of your body. Tracks such as “Fleshripping Terrordeath” display the evil constructions that this maniacal band has spewed from their puke ridden bodies. An album for the whole family!


High On Fire - Snakes For the Divine
Stoner metal maestros High On Fire came back this year with one of my favorite albums I have listened to in ages. This album is so bottom heavy and so full of amazing riff after riff that you will want to listen to it back to back to back. The album never gets boring and stays heavy after repeated spins. This one will definitely be on many year end lists this year.

Immolation - Majesty and Decay
New York’s own Immolation put out an album of pure death metal. These legends have been around for so long it is reasonable to think that they have lost their touch and would simply put out a decent album that people would buy based on their name alone. However, Immolation did not rest on their past success and put out an amazing album. Incredibly heavy, loud, and punishing, Majesty and Decay fits right along with the rest of Immolations illustrious back catalogue.

Hour of Penance – Paradogma
Brutal death metal has been flooding the scene for awhile now and there are many bands out there that are terrible, playing simplistic music that offers nothing innovative or original. Hour of Penance are not one of those bands. Their newest album Paradogma is a brilliant follow-up to the incredible The Vile Conception. Tackling the issues of religion and society, they are not afraid of raising issues of controversy that might get them in trouble with certain groups of people. However, that anger fits perfectly along with their heavy sound. Definitely a band to follow in the next few years.

Misery Index - Heirs To Thievery
Death metal, grindcore, and organized chaos; all ways that one can use to define Misery Index. Their newest album is one that surprised a lot of people by just how good it was. The mastery that they use to combine death metal and grind is very impressive and no one, in my opinion, has put out a death/grind album of this caliber in awhile. I can’t say enough good things about this album.

Nevermore - The Obsidian Conspiracy
What can I say about Nevermore that has not already been said by countless others. Combining thrash and prog into one tasty treat, The Obsidian Conspiracy displays the undeniable talent that these Seattleites continue to demonstrate with each album. The incredible vocals of Warrel Dane and the beauty of and intricacy of Jeff Loomis’s guitar are never more evident than on this album. Do yourself a favor and buy this album, along with the rest of their albums.

Witchery – Witchkrieg
Witchery are a “super-group” that has been around for 5 albums and they continue to get better with each release. Witchkrieg shows off the newest addition to the band, former Marduk frontman Legion. His black metal style of singing brings an added dimension of heaviness that makes this incarnation of the band an undeniable force. This is possibly my favorite album of the year.

Allegaeon - Fragments of Form and Function
A relatively new band, only putting out an EP in 2008, Allegaeon burst out onto the scene with a tremendous melodic tech death album. I purchased this album on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. From beginning to end, this album is unrelentingly brutal with enough technical ability to impress the most hardened critic. Showing the new wave of young brutality while not conforming to the deathcore grave, Allegaeon have proven that they can be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.

Electric Wizard - Black Masses
If you don’t know who Electric Wizard is by now, then you would be hard pressed to call yourself a metalhead. True purveyors of doom, this quartet of metal heavy hitters always put out some of the year’s best music time and time again. Black Masses is no exception, bringing the as low as possible. The weight of their music cannot be measured as it constantly gains more heaviness with each listen. Straight from the bowels of the center of the earth, Electric Wizard never disappoint.


Some honorable mentions include: Ares Kingdom – Incendiary, Nominon – Monumentomb, The Ocean – Heliocentric, Arsis - Starve For The Devil, Athiest – Jupiter, Melechesh - The Epigenesis, Dark Fortress – Ylem, Orphaned Land - The Neverending way of OrwarriOR, Watain - Lawless Darkness

Slayer = Christmas Joy

Here's a little something to get you into the holiday spirit \m/

Metal is Just Noise

BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!! This is an argument that many a non-metalhead has used to attack those of us that love extreme music. “It’s just 5 guys playing their instruments really loud while a guy screams,” this is something that I have heard many, many times. The problem is that Metal has some of the most accomplished musicians and prolific song writers around. While there are the few that are trend hopping jokers, the true artists outweigh them ten-fold. Whether they started out by studying music at college, attending prestigious music schools, or learned from the masters of the genre, no one can deny the true musicianship that goes into metal music. And for those around that do not believe these statements of fact, here are some great examples.

Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy has long been one of the greatest drummers around. Shown expertly on albums such as None So Vile and Blasphemy Made Flesh, Mounier has consistently shown his expertise with his instrument, even going so far as releasing a DVD of his drumming. Here is a small sample of his drumming, note that all of this footage is in real time, nothing is sped up.

Guitar is one of the most obvious instruments of showing off metal’s musical expertise. The next video is from tech-death geniuses Gorod. This example from the duo of Mathieu Pascal and Arnaud Pontaco shows the dexterity and musical ability of what goes into a death metal song. It is simply amazing.

One of the most criticized factions of metal music is the vocals, saying that it is nothing but screaming. In reality that is not true in all forms. In prog, power, even some thrash, the vocals are many times beautiful that can contrast the harshness of the rest of the music that creates something magical. One example is that of Warrel Dane, the lead singer of Nevermore, Sanctuary, and his own eponymous band. Here exemplifies that of his amazing voice.

However there are a majority of bands that have vocalists that have extremely harsh vocals. Screams, yells, growls, and many other adjectives describe the sewer dwelling sounds that are emitted from many vocalists. What many people do not understand is that it takes a lot to be able to scream 250 days of the year in front of hundreds or even thousands of people without destroying your vocal chords. Metal singers work at their craft and are able to scream and growl in tune with their music day in and day out without obliterating their voices. For example, here is Mikael Akerfeldt, lead singer and guitarist of legendary prog-death band Opeth. He is able to sing as sweetly as a nightingale and growl like a diseased mutant rising from the dead all in the same song.

So there you have it, perfect truth that metal is not simply 5 guys screaming in a booth and playing their guitars loudly, it is much more than that. Metal is the response to the mainstream crap that inundates the world, the music that dumbs down our youth, and doesn’t let the world know and understand anything else than what corporations let them. Hopefully more people can learn and understand this underground world that we all know and love.

Nergal Health Update

Behemoth frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski, diagnosed with leukemia this summer, has checked in from a Polish hospital. Here you go:

"Hello everyone! I’m still in the hospital but in quite a good shape so I write to let you know about my health and the further stages of treatment. I’ve been through four planned chemotherapies and have stayed in hospital for over 3 months now. I’ve gone through the whole therapy smoothly, though I also had a couple of difficult moments. All this means I finish the stage of pharmacological treatment and I am about to start the irradiation and then the marrow transplant. Yes, we’ve found a donor! Having searched for months, the fundation has found a person whose genotype is identical to mine. It would have been difficult to achieve if it wasn’t for the support of so many people. Most of all, I want to express my admiration for Dorota - my wonderful and devoted fiancée. She did everything she could to help me and many other people, regardless of adversities and comments which were often unfair. Your help is invaluable! Thank you! I love you. On behalf of me and all other people ill I thank everyone who registered in the bone marrow bank regardless of origin, skin colour or religion. The concerts for charity have been organised all over the world and people of show business, bands and, most of all, the fans got deeply involved. You are beyond great! One of you made my transplant possible, but remember, your attitude may save many others in need. So I appeal to everyone: don’t stop the madness! The march for victory continues! Horns up!'"
(from www.lambgoat.com)

Metalcore / Deathcore Playlist

Here it is, the last in our series of genre playlists.About four years ago, there was no place that you could hide from metalcore/deathcore bands. They were rising out of every conceivable corner of this entire world. Containing a mix of hardcore beats and vocals with the guitar lines and hooks of Swedish melodic death metal bands, metalcore bands “created” a sound that was more accessible to people not generally into metal music to begin with. What went wrong with this genre is that it became so easy to make a band popular that the majority of bands were simply following an exact formula to create success. There was hardly any originality or personality behind these bands and a sense of staleness was imparted to these groups. However, there are still a few shining lights in this much maligned genre. Here are some bands that don’t follow that rigid formula that killed a genre as well as a few of my personal guilty favorites that got me into metal that do follow that formula.

Integrity – To Die For
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-r0h6yXSq8

Bleeding Through – Just Another Pretty Face
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AztRKCjWzgc&feature=related

Heaven Shall Burn – The Weapon They Fear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-f8qItRY_OA

Despised Icon – The Sunset Will Never Charm Us
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g62ZFUrL42g

Through the Eyes of the Dead – Malice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwzvVDd4BKw

Nodes of Ranvier – The Years to Come
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVGCYaxzCkY&p=4C8668933C80CE4D&playnext=1&index=4

Impending Doom – My Nemesis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRhRwAAHNTI&ob=av2e

Converge – Eagles Become Vultures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjZMySPcQfI&ob=av2e

Botch – Saint Matthew Returns To The Womb
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0_jmR8HeY

Dillinger Escape Plan – Panasonic Youth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGNb-YT5ECA

Electric Wizard - Black Masses

The band that many people believe to be THE preeminent doom band of today, Electric Wizard, has just released another amazing album this week, Black Masses. This band is undeniably one of the heaviest bands around and they continue to put out quality releases time and time again. Their new album is no exception as it continues on their tradition of slow moving heavy compositions that rattle your soul. Evoking much of Black Sabbath’s work, Electric Wizard is here again to destroy your colon with its immense riffs. Here is "Black Mass."



http://www.mediafire.com/?99j6hamzfqacjwm

Heavy Metal Election

Its election season and I thought that we should have a little election here at \m/ All Metal All The Time\m/ This is going to be a simple who do you like more between bands of a similar genre. Either leave a comment at the end of this post or shoot me a message and I will tell you all the results in a few days. Let the world know who you think is the best!!!

Crossover:
Municipal Waste vs Gama Bomb




Death Metal:
Blood Red Throne vs Man Must Die




Black Metal:
Barathrum vs Urgrund




Grind:
Trap Them vs The Berzerker

Football Soundtrack

Well the football season is in full effect and as usual my fantasy team is underperforming. Regardless of that fact, this is one of my favorite times of the year because football season and soccer season overlap. My two favorite sports are kicking into gear and asses are being kicked all over the place. The brutality of this football season is huge this year, hits are getting harder and excitement is growing. What I was thinking about was, “What music would be the best soundtrack to this carnage? “ And as usual, the answer to that question is METAL!!!! The speed of thrash, the brutality of death, and the pure balls of grind could be played at any football game and it would sync up just like The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd.

Imagine you are the quarterback for the Washington Redskins and you are lined up against the Dallas Cowboys and you see just across your front line a lion stalking you , never taking its eyes off you, and making you want to just throw the ball down and run for your hotel room. That lion is Demarcus Ware and he his waiting to burst through the line and completely obliterate you until you are nothing but a bleeding pile of putrid puss and feces. And there is no better soundtrack to that than Dying Fetus!
Dying Fetus – Justifiable Homicide

Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans is one of the best running backs that the NFL has seen in a long time. He is always capable of darting off on an 85 yard run and is always in danger of ripping well over 100 yards against any defense. The speed and technicality of his runs are reminiscent of thrash and all its glory. What else would make more sense for Chris to run against than Gama Bomb!
Gama Bomb – Zombie Blood Nightmare

The craziness that can come from offensive lines and defensive lines battling in the trenches is one that if filled with blood and sweat (and prrobably some other unmentionable fluids.) The O-line trying to push back the oncoming hordes of the enemy and the D-line trying to storm the castle that is the opposition can be a battle for the ages. With all the dirtiness and working man ethics of these two embattled opponents, grindcore would be the perfect music to ramp up their energy.

Allegaeon - Fragments of Form and Function

One of the biggest trends hitting the world of heavy music today is the rise of tech death bands. These are usually younger groups that play death metal but put more of an emphasis on the technicality of their playing abilities rather than simply trying to be the most brutal or heaviest band out there. With these bands, you are always going to hear an increasing number of guitar solos that sometimes seem to defy the world of physics in their intricacies and blazingly fast drums that batter the listener with more blast beats than the average drummer can even fathom. One of the newest bands to bring their version of technical death metal to the masses is Allegaeon from Colorado.  Their newest album entitled Fragments of Form and Function is a searing display of the beauty that tech death can deliver. This is their first full length album and it is a great way to start off their career.  According to the Encyclopaedia Metallum they play melodic tech death, which is a great way to describe their particular adaptation of death metal.  They have all the technical aspects that bands such as Necrophagist or Anata have but they don’t get bogged down with trying to just noodle all over the fret board. They are able to demonstrate their prowess as musicians while also writing great songs that never bore the listener. The album kicks off with “The Cleansing” which has an almost symphonic feeling to it that rushes the listener with high-speed and increasingly technical riffs. The song progresses from that almost symphonic beginning to the brutal beat down that us metalheads are custom to hearing.  The blast beats arrive and drive this song into a dark alleyway that would scare even the most hardcore MMA fighter. The vocals continue this beating with a typical melodeath delivery that fits in perfectly with their sound.  A gentle (in comparison to the rest of the track) bridge breaks the gap to the solos that are simply mind blowing.  It is not something easily described as they are uber-technical without sounding dry and stale. They continue to drive the song while showing off their extreme technicality. There does not seem to be a bad track on this entire release however some of the standouts are “Across the Folded Line,” “From Seed to Throne,” and “The God Particle.”  These songs demonstrate the band’s abilities as songwriters in addition to showing off their increasingly amazing guitar work.  This has to be one of the better releases of the year and no one seems to be talking about the.  This is indeed a must have album for anyone that listens to death metal in all its varied subgenres.

http://www.myspace.com/allegaeon

Doom / Sludge / Stoner Playlist

When the term “heavy” was coined in correlation with music, it was used to describe a little metal band called Black Sabbath. Their sound resembled the effect of a thousand woolly mammoths trampling an entire village.  And the music that they created is the wonderfully titled genre called Doom, a name that simply exudes heaviness.  Two offshoots of this genre are stoner and sludge, subgenres that create a sound just as heavy in similar but different ways.  I have combined all three of these subgenres in order to create one of the heaviest lists ever. Get ready to be crushed!

Black Sabbath – War Pigs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTRMZk-l_VY

Electric Wizard – Dopethrone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWHplp10kQM

Acid Bath – The Blue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjBwxXmNY0Q

High On Fire – Hung, Drawn, and Quartered

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmsXYwrZxV8

Lesbian – Black Forest Hamm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg4X4CYwl84

Shrinebuilder – Pyramid of the Moon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MOvk-dNLRY

Confessor – Condemned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcdzRU7jpkI

Jex Thoth – Son of Yule

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-ckjRiwa48

Bongzilla – Amerijuanican

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqGOy6YapVw

Candlemass – Bewitched

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3uvf0cn0jo&feature=related