CHICAGO: GO TO FACE THE STRANGE TONIGHT!

Wrekmeister Harmonies

Along with the city's vibrant metal community, one of the things I miss the most about living in Chicago were Tuesdays at the Museum of Contemporary Art (220 East Chicago Ave.). Admission was free, and quite frankly, you couldn't put a price on some of the oddities on display. Goes to show that art is alive and well, depending on your definition of "art."

Tonight, as part of the museum's monthly Face The Strange Series, some of Chicago's finest are coming together to provide a live musical score for You’ve Always Meant So Much To Me, a film done by local sound artist J.R. Robinson, aka Wrekmeister Harmonies.

Who did Robinson get to join him? How about Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit, Bloodyminded, most well dressed man in extreme music), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Circle of Animals, the real Sexy Sax Man), Jef Whitehead (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice, Twilight, leading cause of butthurt comment sections), Sanford Parker (Twilight, Circle of Animals, Nachtmystium, producer wunderkind), and Stavros Giannopolous (The Atlas Moth, Twilight, Chrome Waves, mustache gone but not forgotten)? What a lineup, especially given that this will be a rare appearance from Whitehead. And since today is a Tuesday, admission is free for the performance and the museum as a whole. Don't miss out!

Check below for a clip from the film, as well as samples of some of the artists performing with Robinson.

You've Always Meant So Much To Me from Wrek Harm on Vimeo.

Twilight - "The Cryptic Ascension"








heightoftherifles by chromewavesofficial

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HAPPY HOLIDAZE: A GRINDCORE CHRISTMAS

Does your Christmas need to be wackier? Than we've got just the thing for you - A Grindcore Christmas!

Phil Acevedo, a Rio Grande Valley experimental musician who records under A Beautiful Lotus, has assembled a collection of demented carols from a wide swarth of grindcore and noise artists. These aren't your grandfather's Bing Crosby yuletide classics, and better yet, these are surely not your aging rocker uncle's Trans-Siberan Orchestra lite-metal jams. The only thing these tracks have in common is the Christmas theme - from there, things get freaky.

Among the 28(!) tracks, there are some choice cuts. Dutch "don't call 'em jazz" sax-grinders Dead Neanderthals contribute "Thunderbolt," and if you checked out The Saw earlier this year, it's more of that skronk you love. Agoraphobic Nosebleed get in on the action with "Santa's Got a Brand New Bag," complete with a Bad Santa sample and a throwback to the band's blastier material. Kindergarten Hazing Ritual hold it down with "Go Go Bukkake Xmas Mayan Dream Match," and you need to check it out for the names of the band AND the song alone. Electro-grinders Totally Pissed Off state that "Santa is Satan Misspelled," and we're inclined to agree. In an 8-bit mood? Pow, Pow, Slam has you covered with "Saving the Snow Princess." And this is only a mere sampling of all the madness on Christmas.

Get that ish at Grindcore Karaoke. While you're there, check out Agoraphobic Nosebleed's holiday-themed A Joyful Noise, originally released as a flexi to Decibel subscribers.

Happy Holidays to you, your loved ones, and your un-loved ones from the Crustcake bros.

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VAN DAMNED'S BEST OF 2011

I will not be sorry to see 2011 go. I am, by nature, an optimist, but there are limits on what a man can take and still wake up smiling. And it got pretty close on more than one occasion. To be sure, highlights abounded, but in the win-loss columns of life, I'm leaning towards the latter for this one.

I do have high hopes for 2012, however. It's not every day you get to witness the end of the world. And hey, if we're all still here in 12 months, so much the better right? So here's to today (what's left of it anyway) and to tomorrow (it's gotta be better than today) and let's let yesterday lie.

Excelsior!


10

In Solitude
The World, The Flesh, The Devil
[Metal Blade]

In Solitude have boldly staked their claim to the throne once occupied by the ailing -- and aging -- King Diamond, that much is clear. Whip-thin and dead earnest in fox fur, ghoul paint and Chelsea boots, these five lads from Uppsala are both a throwback to the denim 'n' leather/thrash 'til death days of yore and a peek at a new generation of hessian true believers. Flying hair and Flying Vs aside, The World's smart performances and catchy riffs are the hallmarks of a more mature band and point to a strong future.


9

Primordial
Redemption at the Puritan's Hand
[Metal Blade]

Sure Primordial really only do one thing, but when that thing is Redemption at the Puritan's Hand, it's whack for my daddy-o, there's ungodly good whiskey in this jar-o. Like hyper-literate Celtic shamans in full ríastrad, charging into battle brandishing guitars instead of stone axes, these five Irish berzerkers have issued one of the most blood-stirring and anthemic black metal epics in recent memory.


8

Ash Borer
Ash Borer
[Psychic Violence/Pesanta Urfolk]

True cult black metal fury from Northern California. No gimmick, no manifesto, no trend -- just wave after torrential wave of swirling guitar chaos, blasting drums and cavernous wailing that howls mockery at recent inclinations toward ham-fisted "innovation." A dark undercurrent of resourceful guttercrust sensibilities has kept bloated press hype to a minimum (until now!) and the band shadowed in a refreshing miasma of mystery.


7

Peste Noire
L'Ordure a L'etat Pure
[La Mesnie Herlequin]

Points of reference explored in L'Ordure: blistering black metal, sketchy French Nationalist political ideology, wolves, folk music and instrumentation, a trombone, medieval weaponry, pig shit, techno, guns (cocking and firing), savage alcohol consumption, shoegaze, fake chickens and hip hop. If this sounds like an obtuse mess, it's because it pretty much is. But it's spectacularly catchy, undeniably addictive and yet another standout from this most recent bumpercrop of French black metal experimentalism.


6

Gridlink
Orphan
[Hydra Head]

Another year, another 12-minute grind masterpiece from this multi-continental collective. Orphan fits more riffs, more fills and more thrills in each micro-song than most other bands can muster in an album. Come for the Chang, stay for the Fajardo.


5

Loss
Despond
[Profound Lore]

I'm a happy guy. I really am. But 2011 was tough. Really tough. And this unbearably heavy statement of utter and profound sadness hit like a punch to the emotional gut. Stately and composed, but never plodding, Despond unfolds in slow-motion, even as it crumbles amid grief and decay. Vocalist Mike Meacham breathes a flicker of life into these monuments to despair with an impossibly deep and guttural exhalation. This is sad music for dignified people; death-doom for those left behind.


4

Negative Plane
Stained Glass Revelations
[The Ajna Offensive/Invictus Productions]

Rare is it when black metal pulls off evil without sounding cheesy. It's a narrow margin, but one that Negative Plane absolutely nails. Beginning with the cavernous, gothic intro and straight through to the ghostly benediction, the 10 tracks on Revelations raise hackles in the most blood-chilling way. Spindly, crystalline guitar solos, echoing church bells and Fulci-esque keys skitter and dance over proggish black psychedelia dripping with bad acid reverb and cankerous, bottom-heavy riffs. It's a haunted chapel and Negative Plane are rising from the crypt.


3

Oathbreaker
Mælstrøm
[Deathwish Inc.]

While Converge axegod Kurt Ballou has his polished prints all over this Belgian hardcore quartet's debut, the epic, apocalyptic D-beat crust that populates it is singularly their own. In opener "Origin" through the one-two punch of "Sink Into Sin I & II" to the closing title track, riffs fly thick and heavy, the scorched Earth rips open and heavens cleave. Vocalist Caro is feral and ferocious; drummer Ivo, a battering ram. Debut? Could have fooled me.


2

Exhumed
All Guts, No Glory
[Relapse]

Fun and deathgrind are two words that aren't often seen together. Exhumed do both, really well. The long-running California goregrowlers have dug up a coffin's worth of rotten blasts, sick shred and bloody hooks and run them through a meat-grinder of maniacal joy. Don't let punny song titles like "Funereality" or "Dis-assembly Line" throw you off -- Guts is all-killer, no-filler and will have you grinning ear-to-ear like a fresh Colombian necktie. Great for the gym, the commute or fending off pesky in-laws.


1

The Atlas Moth
An Ache for the Distance
[Profound Lore]

Sometimes, when deciding on important things like year-end list-toppers or where to eat for lunch, you just have to go with your gut. A good barometer for me (regarding Top Ten lists, anyway) is my iTunes playlist: What got played the most? What captured my attention more than any other band? This year, the Atlas Moth made it easy.

Reminiscent of everything, but sounding like nothing else, the Windy City sextet are stamping their mark on metal in indelible ink by cherry-picking their favorite bits from across the heavy music spectrum -- the chugging crawl of New Orleans sludge, post-metal's drama and atmosphere, hardcore's cathartic release, noise and acid-drenched psychedelia, rock, soul, Chicago blues -- and constructing a sound unique to them. It's heady, dizzying stuff that's grown on me like an encroaching shadow, demanding repeated listens. The dual vocal attack from tortured, throat-shredding Stavros Giannopoulos and baritone Dave Kush provides dynamic point-counterpoint. Three guitars combust in ultraviolet unison; drums, bass and keyboards erupt like polychromatic solar flares. Lush production from guitarist Andrew Ragin permeates every inch of these 44 minutes with the sound of expanding fractals churning away in liminal space. Sorry Yob, but cosmic doom just got launched into another starsystem. Supernovae don't explode with this much force or clarity.

The Atlas Moth aren't a household name (yet). There is no Atlas Moth tequila. They haven't appeared on Adult Swim. They've headlined a tour exactly once. But all of that is about to change by a giant leap. An Ache for the Distance is the one small step.


+++

Almost

Absu - Abzu [Candlelight] 
Blood Ceremony - Living With the Ancients [Rise Above/Metal Blade]
Burzum - Fallen [Byelobog Productions]
Corrupted - Garten Der Unbewusstheit [Nostalgia Blackrain]
Crowbar - Sever the Wicked Hand [Century Media]
Deafheaven - Roads to Judah [Deathwish Inc.]
Earth - Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light Vol. 1 [Southern Lord]
False - False [Gilead Media]
Fell Voices - Untitled [Gilead Media/Howling Mine]
Glorior Belli - The Great Southern Darkness [Metal Blade]
Hot Graves - Knights in White Phosphorous [NHR Records]
Indian - Guiltless [Relapse]
Junius - Reports from the Threshold of Death [Prosthetic]
KEN mode - Venerable [Profound Lore]
Leviathan - True Traitor, True Whore [Profound Lore]
Morne - Asylum [Profound Lore]
Nader Sadek - In the Flesh [Season of Mist]
Opeth - Heritage [Roadrunner]
Portrait - Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae [Metal Blade]
Seidr - For Winter Fire [Flenser]
Thou - To the Chaos Wizard Youth EP [Vendetta]
Tombs - Path of Totality [Relapse]
Ulver - War of the Roses [Kscope/Jester]
Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage [Southern Lord]

+++

Kassetten

Acephalix - Flesh Torn Twilight
Alda - Tahoma
Arizmenda - Without Circumference Nor Center
Badr Vogu - Demo 2011
Barghest - Barghest
Hell - II
Iron Age - Saga Demos
Iskra/Doom Siren - Untitled Split
Merkstave - Spawn of a Lower Star & Lament For Lost Gods
Ruin Lust - Demo
Velnias - Velnias
Vradiazei - Vradiazei
Whorelord - 2011 Demo

+++

False music

Andy Stott - Passed Me By & We Stay Together
A$AP Rocky - LiveLoveA$AP
Battles - Gloss Drop
Bohren und der Club of Gore - Beileid
Burial - Street Halo
Clams Casino - Rainforest EP
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
Death Grips - Ex-Military
Desolate - The Invisible Insurrection 
Low Places - Spiritual Treatment
Oneotrix Point Never - Replica
Planning for Burial - Untitled
Prurient - Bermuda Drain
Soft Kill - An Open Door
Zombi - Escape Velocity

+++

Library

Tony Iommi - Iron Man: My Journey through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath
John Kristiansen - Metalion: The Slayer Diaries

+++

Zine

Chips & Beer No. 1
f666 Issue 1
HateFuck Issue 10
Invocation Issue 1
Submit to Satan Vol. 2
Tubal Cain

+++

RIP

Jani Lane, Seth Putnam, Mike Starr, David "Ypres" Gold, Jonas Berqvist aka B (Lifelover), Cory Smoot aka Flattus Maximus (GWAR), Michael "Würzel" Burston (Motörhead), Ludicra

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THE SWIZARD'S BEST OF 2011

2011 was a weird year for metal. On one hand, any metal band with some sort of “artistic” element was embraced and pumped up by indie rock media, which lead to a lot of deserving bands and labels getting some well-earned garnered acclaim and maybe even some money, but for the rest of us lifers. it kind of felt like a lot of fireworks for not a lot of delivery. As a 31-year-old recovering hardcore kid, one would think that more dynamic, thought-provoking music would have captured my attention more this year, but the reality is (for me at least), it seemed as though bands who were ignored by the metal press mostly for writing mosh parts that often lead to venues being closed and choruses that often lead to thirty dudes piled up on top of each other. That’s not to say that shredding and hair-whipping didn’t do anything for me, but metal in the traditional sense of the genre fell short of what I expected from it, and really lacked a breakaway album that turned the genre on its head in a refreshing way. Without further ado, here’s what killed in 2011...



10
Harm’s Way
Isolation
(Closed Casket Activities)

Heavy as hell hardcore that borrowed extensively from bands like Godflesh and Disembodied. The guitar tone on this record is ignorant as fuck and at their recent show at Emo’s with The Acacia Strain and Terror, Harm’s Way turned the floor of the room into a warzone. Harm's Way could also qualify as having the "buffest" frontman in aggressive music in 2011. Had Harm’s Way made an appearance at Fun Fun Fun Fest this year, I wonder if Dragzig would have acted like such a tough guy after he let his own set get cut short.

Crucial Crust - “Scrambled”



9
Low Places
Spiritual Treatment
(A389 Recordings)

Another one of those fucked-up Southern California bands going in the exact opposite direction of the mosh-laden metal that region has been responsible for over the last decade. Low Places combine the desperation and depression of Eyehategod with the hardcore fury of Infest or Integrity. Earlier this year, Low Places apparently stirred up some controversy over "derogatory" statements made from the stage, lighting up messageboards across the country. That sort of shit-starting is something aggressive music in general seems to be lacking these days, and for that, Low Places are appreciated. Expect to see a lot more of these guys in 2012.

Crucial Crust - “Crawl”



8
Retox
Ugly Animals
(Ipecac Recordings/Three One G Records)

Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbian of The Locust return from homoerotic dance music and weird indie garage rock (respectively) and hit us with one of the greatest hardcore punk records in decades. Some might call it an updated Swing Kids record while others might say its more of a My War-era Black Flag put through that chaotic and jazzy San Diego hardcore style. Call it what you will, the anger and urgency on this lp is unfuckwithable and it was nice to see that Justin Pearson could step away from aggressive music momentarily and still do it better than most in the game.

Crucial Crust - “Piss Elegant”



7
Anne
Dream Punx
(A389 Recordings)

Anne may make more nods to shoegaze bands like Ride or My Bloody Valentine than Cannibal Corpse, Sleep, or Mercyful Fate, but if Decibel loved the Deafheaven and Junius records so goddamned much, I’m going to do the world a favor and let y’all know about something else shoegaze-ish and sad from Portland, Ore. A lot of bands are co-opting noise-heavy guitars and dreamy vocals into their sound, but no one is doing it as well as Anne. I caught them twice on their West Coast tour earlier this year and both sets left me with tinnitus and inspired. Shouts out to Dom from A389 for sneaking this gem of a record in at the nick of time.

Crucial Crust - “Virginal Plight”



6
Steel Mill
Jewels of the Forest (reissue)
(Rise Above/Metal Blade Records)

Some say that including reissues on a Top 10 is cheating, but 2011 was that lacking in quality for me and this collection is too good to not give the right amount of propers to. One of the UK’s more mysterious and legendary heavy prog-rock bands, the dudes over at Rise Above were able to compile the Steel Mill's God’s Green Eye single (which originally dropped in 1971) as well as several other rare jams onto one collection for those of us who don’t have a few hundred to drop on rare vinyl. Fans of Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Leaf Hound and Witchcraft will love the stoney riffs and the use of wind instruments that run rampant on this collection. Jewels of the Forest was easily my favorite record to smoke weed to in 2011.

Crucial Crust - “Blood Runs Deep”



5
In Solitude
The World, The Flesh, The Devil
(Metal Blade Records)

In Solitude blew me away on several different levels this year. Their unique homage to the almighty King Diamond/Mercyful Fate, winning over crowds opening for Down all over the US this fall, and their frontman Pelle "Hornper" Ahman's ever present fox shawl are three of many things that made In Solitude murderers of so many mediocre bands that put out lukewarm records this year. They have the keen ability to stay metal as fuck yet having as much crossover hard rock appeal as legenary bands like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. Certain members of In Solitude are rumored to be involved in mysterious masked metallers Ghost, which would up their swag immensely, but if given the choice, I’d rock The World, The Flesh, The Devil over the Ghost LP any day of the week.

Crucial Crust - “The World, The Flesh, The Devil”



4
Crowbar
Sever The Wicked Hand
(E1 Music)

Thanks to Beavis and Butthead, Crowbar are a novelty act in the eyes of many children of the '90s. A lot of people seem to focus on the heaviness of the band members themselves when really, the heaviness of Crowbar's jams is what really does all of their crushing. After a somewhat public struggle with addiction, Kirk Windstein got the band back together and wrote one of the heaviest records dealing with personal issues in the history of music. I’ve been a Crowbar fan for the better half of my life and I had absolutely no idea Sever the Wicked Hand would be the monster of a record it ended up being. Deafeningly heavy guitars, gutteral, agonizing vocals, and punishingly dirge-like rhythms make this year's offering of deathcore/mosh metal releases laughable at best. They stole the show on tour with St Vitus and Helmet earlier this year, and their newer songs were actually the highlights of the set, which is a rarity when seeing veteran bands these days.

Crucial Crust - “Liquid Sky and Cold Black Earth”



3
Graveyard
Hisingen Blues
(Nuclear Blast America)

A month ago, I relocated to Austin, Texas, from Oakland, Calif. I made the three-day drive from "the Bay to the A(TX)" with my father, who has what I like to call "classic rock tendencies." For the most part, he dominated the car stereo with awful political talk radio, but occasionally I was able to sneak some jams in from time to time. I caught him nodding his head along with Graveyard’s Hisingen Blues more than once between Arizona and New Mexico. This sort of mutual enjoyment of music between my dad and I is much like a unicorn, "often discussed, yet rarely seen." Graveyard combine vintage '70s stoner rock with 2011 vigor and umph that put them at the top of the incredibly oversaturated world of doom and stoner rock. After reading about Graveyard dominating the uber-hippie/hipster Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee earlier this year, their cancellation at this year’s Fun Fun Fun Fest was a bit of a sore spot for me. I will definitely be up front at Mohawk on Jan. 31, banging my head and pumping my fist like an asshole when Graveyard blow through Austin early next year.

Crucial Crust - “No Good, Mr. Holden”



2
Trapped Under Ice
Big Kiss Goodnight
(Reaper Records)

Trapped Under Ice are responsible for keeping tough-guy hardcore relevant and fresh in 2011. Not dis bands out there pushing the bounds of black metal with psychedelic influences or stoner metal bands rediscovering the Amphetamine Reptile back catalog, but sometimes the most powerful thing a band can do is write hard-as-fuck breakdowns and use the word “motherfucker” lyrically as many times as possible on one record. Having New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert and Death By Stereo’s Paul Miner behind the boards helped launch Big Kiss Tonight into that upper tier of hardcore classics occupied by records like Sick of it All’s Scratch The Surface, Madball’s Set It Off, and Hatebreed’s Satisfaction is the Death of Desire. I defy anyone to listen to Big Kiss Goodnight and not feel the urge to knock someone the fuck out.

Crucial Crust - “Pleased To Meet You”



1
Saviours
Death’s Procession
(Kemado Records)

Saviours' newest record isn’t just a record, it’s a tribute to Oakland, Calif. In nine songs, Saviours manage to capture the wild partying, "no time for bullshit" attitude, and haunting imagery of hard-luck streets unique only to San Francisco’s infamous sister city across the bay. Between the galloping NWOBHM-esque drums, shred-tastic dueling guitar leads, and “no choice but to do wrong” themes of frontman Austin Barber’s lyrics, Saviours paint a vivid picture of day to day life in one of America’s hardest towns and runs circles around records that bands that have taken them out on tours’ latest offerings. Death’s Procession has something for everyone, and that’s what makes a record the best record of the year.

Crucial Crust - “To The Grave Possessed”

+++

Honorable Mentions:

Unearth - Darkness In The Light (Metal Blade Records: Unearth were one of the breakout bands of the Ozzfest class of 2004, and Darkness In The Light proves that just because you’re old doesn’t mean you can’t still fuck up the younger bands who bite your style. Heavy and crammed with clever guitar leads, Unearth have secured a spot among American metal's old guard with this latest release.

Midnight - Satanic Royalty (Hell's Headbangers): Midnight have found that sweet spot between Motorhead, Darkthrone, and Turbonegro. Filthy, grim metal with an emphasis on “Lust, Filth, and Sleaze”. What’s not to like?

Deafheaven - Roads To Judah (Deathwish Inc): Black metal’s favorite band to hate must being doing something right if they manage to piss people off so fucking much. If one can put their replica broad sword and twenty-sided dice down for a second, maybe they’d see that Roads To Judah is far more of a haunting, heavy shoegaze album than it is an attempt to rewrite A Blaze In The Northern Sky. At least they aren’t Liturgy though, AMIRITE?

Glorior Belli - The Great Southern Darkness (Metal Blade Records): Who knew that black metal’s answer to Eyehategod would be from France? Van Damned turned me onto this band earlier this fall and their bluesy, haunting brutality made many a morning commute to my shitty call center job more tolerable.

EPs/ Splits:

Trash Talk - Awake (True Panther Sounds): This would have been in my top ten list had EPs been allowed. Trash Talk drop their most accessible yet hardest material to date. The overall anger and desperation of this EP is eerily relevant to the harder parts of life in the US in 2011. This hardcore how it sounded in 1981: real and unrelenting.

Children Of God/Seven Sisters of Sleep Split LP (A389 Recordings: Two of Orange County, California's newest bands combine chaotic metal hardcore fury and slowed down, Holy Terror inspired doom-core on one convenient release. Two up and coming bands that will have your full attention in 2012.

The Love Below/Homewrecker Split LP: While I wasn’t blown away by the Homewrecker side of this lp (sorry guys, no fault of your own), The Love Below songs blew me away. Vile, angry, agonizing hardcore in the vein of Black Flag. Again, what the fuck is going on in Southern California these days?

Demos:

Magic Circle: I’m not even supposed to have a copy of this. Magic Circle are dudes from hardcore underdogs The Rival Mob playing Sabbath/Pentagram-influenced doom metal better than a lot of that bands in that genre did this year. I don’t know how widespread this release is, but if you can get it, buckle up for a sweet ride.

Plagues - (): Crusty D-beat hardcore from Southern California with a touch of that Entombed buzzsaw guitar sound to it. Well rounded and full of potential.

Misc:

Best Live Show: TIE Sleep at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland and Dillinger Escape Plan at Yerba Buena Gardens mid-rainstorm in San Francisco.
Best Metal Music Video: TIE Saviours “Crete’n” and Red Fang "Wires".
Best Festival: Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX.
Best Taco: The trailer in front of Once Over on South First in Austin, TX.
Best Burrito: Taqueria Del Valle in Carmel Valley, CA.
Best Thing On The Internet: bigghostnahmean.blogspot.com

Best Non-Brutal Releases:

Set Your Goals - Burning At Both Ends
Title Fight - Shed
Childish Gambino - Camp
Moving Mountains - Waves
Lil B The Based God - Bitch Mob
Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra
Wavves - Life Sux

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CHASE MACABRE'S BEST OF 2011

Ahh, it's that time of year again. One of my favorite times of the year in fact. Christmas lights, rampant consumerism, the approaching NFL playoffs, the sun beginning to set before 5pm which causes depression and sickness, and a chill in the air that feels like it wants to choke you to death.

Seriously folks, the thing I actually love the most about this season is all of the fabulous "Best of the Year" lists that pop up on blogs and publications everywhere. So many people outwardly hate them, complain about them, blog about how much they all suck 'cause such-and-such dissed your favorite band, but I love them. There's so much music released each year, it's impossible to hear it all so catching up via other critics' lists certainly brings the yule to the holiday season for me. So, without further malarkey on lists, here is MY LIST of some of the albums I totally dug in 2011.


10~

Vastum
Carnal Law
(20 Buck Spin)

Very seldom do I listen to death metal and think it sounds sexy. Vastum's Carnal Law did just that for me. The back-beat of the slow, grinding, pulsating opener "Primal Seduction" is reminiscent of two love birds enjoying a bit of kratom and their bodies on a Saturday evening. Fucking to death metal? In this case, yes and with rose petals and candles and all that romantic shit.

Crucial cut: "Primal Seduction"



9~

40 Watt Sun
The Inside Room
(Metal Blade Records)

2011 was a tough year for me and it saw a lot of changes. Without getting too personal, The Inside Room was welcome solace in crashing chords and cathedrals of reverb. I could have written the lyrics to "Restless" and "Open My Eyes", there's such tragedy, conflict and beauty in lines like "I can move the stars in space/but I can say nothing for the weight of the action that lies like scars upon my face/but I will say for you anything you need to hear" (this is coming from someone who isn't into lyrics!) 40 Watt Sun blew me away when I first heard The Inside Room and they still do each time I listen.

Crucial cut: "Restless"



8~

Wolves In The Throne Room
Celestial Lineage
(Southern Lord)

We've talked a lot about black metal on this site, and we love how it riles you up. Wolves in the Throne Room's Celestial Lineage surprised me. Perhaps because Nachtmystium's most recent LP was such a disappointing follow up to Assassins, I didn't expect WITTR to put out a record better than Black Cascade, but they most certainly did. Everything about CL is better but especially the production. The ambiance added by all the keyboards and synth pads; the guitars are shimmering and full; the drums are bombastic and powerful; the female vocals are gorgeous and ethereal. The melodies are strong and memorable especially on the opening track "Thuja Magus Imperium". Celestial Lineage does sound otherworldly, but also distinctly American as though playing the chord progressions on an acoustic guitar would reveal folk songs one hundred years old.

Crucial cut: "Astral Blood"




7~

Black Cobra
Invernal
(Southern Lord)

I have to agree with Crustcake's own Van Damned that Invernal is one of the worst album covers of the year. What the fuck is going on with the ice covered, evil and treacherous paths leading to some snow capped mountain with a sky behind it that looks more from an episode of Wily E. Coyote than a frozen tundra? I mean, #srsly? Perhaps the paths are leading to Riff Mountain 'cause that's where Black Cobra not only lives, but mercilessly enslave the population. I'm way into off-time, weird meter riffs and Invernal is chock full of good ones in 5, 7 and other numeros not divisible by 4 while maintaining a steady groove so you can still bang your stoner head. I like 7 AND I like banging my head. Win fucking win.

Crucial cut: "The Crimson Blade"



6~

Altar of Plagues
Mammal
(Profound Lore)

I enjoyed both the albums released by Liturgy and Deafheaven this year, but neither of those two did what Altar of Plagues did for me. Altar of Plagues perfectly balances patience and repetition with varying musical structures and dynamics. Their songs have melodic and harmonic depth, they change shape and grow over their 8, 11, 13 and 18 minute playing times, they breathe. Riffs last long enough to create space but never so long that I lose interest. Mammal is a very mature, and well-crafted work of diligence and execution.

Crucial cut: "Neptune Is Dead"



5~

Flourishing
The Sum Of All Fossils
(The Path Less Traveled Records)

Flourishing slay. The Sum Of All Fossils is a brutal record full of orange crush. Their use of dissonance works as pop hooks like the guitar hammer-ons half way through "The Prospects of Rejection" which immediately comes to mind anytime Fossils is mentioned to me. The Sum Of All Fossils is also like an excavation of heavy music: I hear all sorts of bands from Intronaut, to Bloodlet, to Godflesh, to Napalm Death and everything in between. And if you didn't catch the interview we did with the band's guitarist and vocalist Garett Bussanick about the record earlier this year, do it now.

Crucial cut: "In Vivid Monochrome"



4~

Trap Them
Darker Handcraft
(Prosthetic Records)

I've been a huuuuuge fan of Trap Them since the Seance Prime EP and they were one of the first crusty, punky, Swedish death'n'roll bands that cropped up a few years ago. This band just keeps getting better. The addition of Chris Maggio (formally of Coliseum) on drums is a match made in hell. The drums have been the only element lacking on any of Trap Them's previous releases and anytime I've seen them live. Maggio's frenetic playing perfectly complements Brian Izzi and Steve Lacour's fretwork and Ryan McKenney's aggressive, throat-shredding. Everything on Darker Hardcraft is fucking pissed off and it feels so good.

Crucial cut: "The Facts"




3~

Fucked Up
David Comes To Life
(Matador Records)

Much like my Comeback Kid or Deftones pick from last year (it's even in the same #3 slot as Deftones), Fucked Up's David Comes To Life is a bit out of left field for this blog. I fell in love with this release slowly. At first I thought it sucked. It sounded worse than The Chemistry of Common Life by far, the songs were too similar, and there wasn't anything by which to hang my ear. After a few more listens, my ears were hooked. David is a slow-grower. Pink Eyes writes some great lyrics especially "Turn The Season" which I shouted with all my might many times this year. David is obviously more a pop record than anything resembling the records we cover, but when your favorite hardcore band starts writing songs as good as Fucked Up then they'll be on this list.

Crucial cut: "Turn The Season"



2~

Dark Castle
Surrender To All Life Beyond Form
(Profound Lore)

I love the spiritual vibe I get from Dark Castle. I also love the actual vibe I get from them on Surrender To Life Beyond All Form. Stevie Floyd employs multiple cool effects on her guitar throughout the record. The oscillating, chorus effect that dominates "Stare Into Absence", "Seeing Through Time", "I Hear Wind" and most of Surrender. The perception of multiple guitars when there is only one as a reminder that we aren't one. We are connected to this world, the people in it and perhaps a world beyond.

Crucial cut: "Stare Into Absence"



1~

Capsule
No Ghost
(Rorschach Records)

These dudes are from another planet. That's seriously how their drummer described them when I saw them play live in St. Louis this past spring (he recently joined for that tour.) He said "these dudes are aliens." I don't think they're extraterrestrial, but they're certainly Riffologists. Capsule write frenetic grind/screamo influenced hardcore with telecaster indie rock guitar tones. I literally do not understand how they come up with their riffs. They're all over the fretboard, played at insane speed for the type of riffs they are (they're not shredders) and they only repeat riffs two or three times before moving on. I've listened to No Ghost at least 30 times, and I'm still baffled and impressed by the musicianship. I bow to the technical skill of Riffmaestros.

Crucial cut: "Future World Citizen"


Barely missed the cut:
11. Palehorse - Soft As Butter, Hard As Ice
Slint + Doom = Fun

12. KEN mode - Venerable
"Never Was" is the winner for heaviest song of 2011.

13. Rwake - Rest
Totally would've made the top 10 if the riff on "Was Only A Dream" didn't suck ass.

14. Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
Damp, dark, and dank death metal. Probably shouldn't leave that in the closet too long.

15. Ulcerate - The Destroyers of All
OMG HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY!

EPs:
Trash Talk - Awake
Peste Noire - L'Ordure à l'état Pur
Immolation - Providence
Ash Pool - Together They Serve to Define the Process

Favorite live band of 2011 (tie):
KEN mode
The Conformists

Also enjoyed:
Loss Despond, All Pigs Must Die God Is War, Amebix Sonic Mass, Tombs Path of Totality, Bongripper Hate Ashbury, Cannabis Corpse Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shalt Rise, Cianide Gods of Death, Clinging To The Trees Of The Forest Fire Visceral, Cloud Rat Fever Dreams, Deafheaven Roads to Judah, Disma Towards the Megalith, East of the Wall The Apologist, Fister Bronsonic, Fuck the Facts Die Miserable, Krallice Diotima, La Dispute Wildlife, Liturgy Aesthethica, Maruta Forward Into Regression, Motherboar Beast Becomes the Servant, Mountain Man Grief, Negative Plane Stained Glass Revelations, Negură Bunget Poarta De Dincolo, Nightbringer Hierophany of the Open Grave, Noisear Subvert The Dominant Paradigm, Parasytic Poison Minds, Portrait Crimen Laesae Majestatis Divinae, RABBITS Lower Forms, Saviours Deaths Procession, Sonne Adam Transformation, Speedwolf Ride With Death, Touché Amoré Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me, True Widow As High As the Highest Heavens and from the Center to the Circumference of the Earth, Rotten Sound Cursed, Chelsea Wolfe Apokalypsis

Albums I spun the most in 2011:
1. Slint - Spiderland
2. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
3. Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
4. Capsule - No Ghost
5. Dark Castle - Surrender To Life of All Form

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ANDREW WILHELM'S BEST OF 2011

Time to make the noxious cloud of information smog even thicker! At least I'm telling you about awesome music you should be listening to, instead of giving you false empowerment through hackneyed optimistic sayings or trying to co-opt you into a political movement by saying you are JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Or worse yet, using the internet to complain about how metal was better back in the 80s and the internet ruined everything. Just fucking stop.

But not before you complain about my list!

Fuck Life, Love Life.


10~

Vastum
Carnal Law
(20 Buck Spin)

Without a doubt, my favorite death metal recording this year was Acephalix's Interminable Night, but since it's technically a compilation, I can't put it on this list. But another death metal group with 3/4s of Acephalix's crew? Count me in! Vastum's debut Carnal Law proves that the dudes in Acephalix can spread their talents around. It's a little slower and definitely groovier than Night, but no less filthy. Solos are given more room to breathe, and there are some worthy leads on display. Vocalist Dan is also more upfront on this record than in Acephalix, contributing to the rawness that Vastum is empowered from. The stench of death is strong in the Bay.

Crucial cut: "Primal Seduction" [Stream]


9~

Blasphemophagher
The III Command of the Absolute Chaos
(Nuclear War Now!)

There exists a sizable contingent of bands that nurse from the putrid teat of Blasphemy, but Italy's Blasphemophagher is pushing the limits of the sound the most. Chaos is raw, but it doesn't sound like it was recorded in the fallout shelter of a fallout shelter. The sweet spot of clarity and grit is hammered relentlessly for nearly 34 minutes. While the sound is dense and consistent, the songs are strong enough to avoid the mark of "sameness." And check out that album art! Totally gallery-worthy.

Crucial cut: "Chaostorm of Atomization" [Stream]


8~

Servile Sect
Trvth
(Handmade Birds)

His Holiness the Hunter S. Thompson once famously said, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." While he was talking about journalism, Servile Sect make that their credo for their cosmic style of black metal. The first half of Trvth is not so much music as it is transmissions from aliens trying to understand our music. Long, dark drones pull you into a void, and what exactly is that void? Your guess is as good as mine. Side B reveals sees the duo getting grim, though their spaciness still holds. "Zodiacal Light" has trippy leads that were seemingly found on the intergalactic "Bridge of Sighs." This is my journey to the stars. [Servile Sect will release a companion piece to Trvth, entitled Svrrender, on Thursday, also through Handmade Birds.]

Crucial Cut: "Zodiacal Light" [Stream]


7~

Speedwolf
Ride With Death
(Hells Headbangers)

LMFAO is brought to trial for the alleged fraud committed by branding their music "Party Rock." Prosecuting are Denver thrashers Speedwolf, and they've got some damning evidence with Ride With Death. Songs like "Up All Night" and hometown anthem "Denver 666," brimming with energy and swagger. LMFAO's defense team can't deny that vocalist Reed Bremmer has that voice by Marlboro that is suited for Speedwolf's tunes. Whiskey flows into the courtroom to a rapture. The jury rules unanimously in favor of the prosecution. LMFAO are sentenced to watching Berry Gordy headbang furiously to Speedwolf - for life.

Crucial cut: "Up All Night" [Stream]



6~

Lifelover
Sjukdom
(Prophecy Productions)

On Lifelover's final release, the blackened deathrockers plunge to their darkest depths. As its cover suggests, the grays are stained by the reds. While the goth-rock angle is still prominent, the hooks are buried deeper in angst and depression. The raging tracks, like "Led By Misfortune" and "Homicidal Tendencies," sound even more violent this time around, boiling over in hatred. And per Lifelover's standards, there's always moments that throw you off base. Witness the unusually bright drone break in the middle of "Doften Av Tomhet" or the reversed guitar that drives "Bitterljuv Kakofoni." With the death of guitarist and key songwriter B., we'll never see anything from Lifelover again. It was a tortuously great ride, guys.

Crucial cut: "Expandera" [Stream]


5~

The Body & Braveyoung
Nothing Passes
(At A Loss)

Greensboro, NC, duo The Body (formerly from Providence) don't seem like the group that can share the spotlight, even if they wanted to. Their ultra-heavy, ultra-weird brand of doom takes up all the air in the room, not allowing others to get a wisp of breath in. Well, fellow Greensboro residents and chamber doom rockers Braveyoung managed to break through the barrier and got The Body to record an album with them. There's no speaking in tongues on this record, but Braveyoung's qualities for delicacy and using space create an fruitful tension with The Body's blunt low-end assault. "Song 2" allows Chip King to really unleash the howl of his throat and his amps, and final track "The Vision" sees the collaboration going with an apocalyptic folk direction. We're ready for Round 2, dudes.

Crucial cut: "Song 2" [Stream]


4~

Gridlink
Orphan
(Hydra Head)

Gridlink follow up their excellent debut, Amber Grey, with 12 more minutes of labyrinthine hyper-grind. John Chang and co. pack so many ideas into frenetic bursts of songs, it can be dizzying if you come unprepared. Orphan should serve as a barometer for all bands, new and old. If you can't make a record as awesome in an hour as Gridlink did in 12 minutes, you need to practice. Practice A LOT. Or better yet, quit.

Crucial cut: "I Accept Your Last Wish"



3~

Dreamless
All This Sorrow, All These Knives
(Handmade Birds)

For most of 2011, this release did not exist. And now that it's out there, I am astonished to wonder how I lived without it. Not since The Angelic Process' Weighing Souls With Sand has shoegaze been so dreamy (despite that they are named Dreamless), so engrossing, so HEAVY. There's also a overarching sense of melancholy, as if Mark Kozelek was spiritually in the studio when the Minneapolis band was making this. A headphones album in the truest sense of the term. [This album will have a physical release on Thursday.]

Crucial cut: "Discordance" [Stream]



2~

Batillus
Furnace
(Seventh Rule)

Yes, Batillus' drummer Geoff Summers gave birth to this very blog you're reading now, and I saw them record part of the album, but even independent of all that, the Brooklyn quartet put out the best debut of the year with Furnace. Batillus knew they had to make a statement, so they recruited Chicago's finest, Sanford Parker, and he invoked more doom than they realized they had in themselves. Vocalist and electronics commander Fade Kainer is a vital addition to the group, with his industrial-wasteland soundscapes and feral vocals adding dimensions of heaviness to the already-searing guitars. Per most competent doom groups, the plod dominates all (especially on closer "Mautaam"), but the upward shift in tempo in "Uncreator" proves Batillus knows how to keep a listener from complacency.

Crucial cut: "Deadweight" [Stream]


1~

Yob
Atma
(Profound Lore)

Mike Scheidt and crew get rawer on Atma, and the result is their finest near-hour. All the songs - the epic "Before We Dreamed Of Two," the drifting "Adrift In The Ocean" - are top notch, but "Prepare the Ground." Holy shit. Those riffs hit all the points - memorable, heavy, and swingy. Schedit has really worked on his wail too - it's the kind of voice that you'll want to follow along with while your roommates look at you confused. Their loss! "Ground" will one day be recognized as a song that makes metal metal, like "Overkill," "Master of Puppets," or "War Pigs." Speaking of Sabbath, Tony and Geezer need to ditch Ozzy and get Scheidt into a new incarnation of Sabbath. You know I'm right on this.

Crucial cut: "Prepare the Ground" [MP3]

Man, I have a lot of consolation prizes to give out:

Deafheaven - Roads to Judah
Villains - Road to Ruin
Heinali and Matt Finney - Ain't No Night
Tree of Sores - S/T
Absu - Abzu
Flourishing - The Sum of All Fossils
Forteresse - Crépuscule d’Octobre
Seidr - For Winter Fire
Avulse - I Am the Liquor
Combat Astronomy - Flak Planet
The Atlas Moth - An Ache for the Distance
The draped up, dripped out versions of Sleep's Holy Mountain, Candlemass' Epicus Doomicus Metallicus and King Diamond's Abigail from Not Heavy Enough

Odds, sods, and hard bods:

No Gang Colors – 666 Mixes For Cash
Acephalix – Interminable Night
Masakari/Aplinist Split
Planning For Burial – Unitled and Late Twenties Blues
Immolation - Providence
Dead Neanderthals - The Saw
Dethroned Emperor - War Grind Hell
Hot Graves - Necros Mixos Sacrificio

My favorite albums and EPs that aren't metal so I can avoid looking like a meathead:

Crooked Necks - Alright Is Exactly What It Isn't
Prurient - Bermuda Drain
Zombi – Escape Velocity
Clams Casino – Instrumental Mixtape
Memoryhouse – The Years
Death Grips - Ex-Military
Burial – Street Halo
Cold Cave - Cherish the Light Years
B L A C K I E - True Spirit and Not Giving a Fuck
Marissa Nadler - S/T
SPACEGHOSTPURRP - Blvcklvnd Rvdix 66.6 (1991)
A$AP Rocky - Live Love A$AP

What I regret missing in 2010:

Knelt Rote – Insignificance
Imperial Triumphant – Obeisance
How to Dress Well – Love Remains
Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire – Songs of Ill Hope and Desperation
Pallbearer – 2010 Demo
The Outrunners – Running for Love and Money
Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal
Undergang - Indhentet af Døden
Airs - Rainclouds Over The Remains Of Hope

Ten live shows that proved life is worth living:

Autopsy @ Emo's, Austin, TX as part of Chaos in Tejas 6/3
Speedwolf @ 1.21 Jigga Watts, Denver, CO 9/4
Down @ Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO 9/6
Slayer @ Auditorium Shores as part of Fun Fun Fun Fest, Austin, TX 11/6
Immolation @ Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO 10/19
Devin Townsend @ Marquis Theater, Denver, CO 10/22
The Atlas Moth and Batillus @ Moe's Original Barbecue, Englewood, CO 11/21
Deafheaven @ Red 7 as part of FFF Nites 11/5
Agalloch @ Barbarella as part of SXSW 3/17
Masakari and Trap Them @ ND at 501 Studios as part of SXSW 3/18

Say, girl from A$AP Rocky's "Purple Swag" video, gimme yo digits (and yo measurements):

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THESE SEANS' BEST OF 2011

Music is an intensely personal form of art - for both those who create and those who take the time to appreciate. Music is often reflective of time periods within life. I feel that this list represents a very significant change in my life within the last year: the disappearance of time. My list last year had records that I enjoyed on a very deep level. I spent a lot of time listening to Coffinworm, Unearthly Trance and Castevet alone in my room. This year most of listening was done digitally, while commuting, or from my laptops speakers. This is not to say that the records on the list are inferior to those on my 2010 list, just that I enjoyed them in different ways and for different reasons.


10~

Sutekh Hexen
Luciform
(Wands)

Almost a straight noise record, Luciform is the most thrilling black metal record I've heard in years. The unlikely success of guitars, drums, vocals and noise getting equal attention and balance makes Luciform satisfying on many levels.

Crucial Cut: "In Worship They Weep His Name"


9~

Gridlink
Orphan
(Hydra Head)

Gridlink's first record, Amber Grey, was impressive in its very existence. Jon Chang on vocals, Bryan Fajardo on drums and the fact that the band is split between Japan and the United States makes pretty much anything they do cause to stop and pay attention. Orphan, however, makes the big jump from a "wow" factor to just "this is a really fucking good record." Takafumi Matsubara's (guitars, song writing) songs are better, the band is tighter and Jon's vocals range wider - with success. As emphasized by my pick for Crucial Cut, I love Jon's guttural moans.

Crucial Cut: "Deliverables"


8~

Defeatist
Tyranny of Decay
(Self Released)


Defeatist's swan song shows the most adventurous side of them yet. While there was certainly growth in the band's material before, Tyranny of Decay manages to take Defeatist's signature twist on grind and throw grooving double bass heavy riffs into the middle of the record - and still have it race past you, leaving the listener again and again, trying to keep up.

Crucial Cut: "Symptoms Of Rejection"


7~

The Body & Braveyoung
Nothing Passes
(At A Loss)

The Body have a knack for being experimental, and having it work. Their collaboration with Braveyoung uses a lot of noise, melody and The Body's oddly recognizable, shrill doom sound. Ideas are developed with eyes only for what is right, as songs range from three minutes, to eight minutes, to 15 minutes. Nothing feels rushed or dragged out, under or over developed.

Crucial Cut: "Song 2"


6~

Wolves In The Throne Room
Celestial Lineage
(Southern Lord)

Two Hunters wowed me, Black Cascade bored me. Celestial Lineage was an immensely surprising and enjoyable listen. I didn't have to time to delve into the bands intent for their trilogy. While often the subject of ridicule for pretension, I thoroughly support that idea that musicians treat their music as art, and as such, a means for artistic expression of ideas they possess. But even without taking the time to slip into WITTR's intent and message, I got lost again and again in the rises and falls of this great record.

Crucial Cut: "Astral Blood"



5~

Krallice
Diotima
(Profound Lore)

In the past I've not cared for them (Krallice) and had them grow on me (Dimensional Bleedthrough), but Diotima connected with me immediately. Perhaps, as such a staggeringly unique band, their very presence demanded assimilation before I could accept and enjoy them, or maybe it's just Nick McMaster's awesome death metal vocal presence on this record - either way, Diotima struck me, and stayed with me, as an adventure through abstraction.

Crucial Cut: "Diotima"



4~

Cannabis Corpse
Beneath The Grow Lights, Thou Shall Rise
(Tankcrimes)

As a shtick band, Cannabis Corpse never really aroused my interest. A friend recommended I listen to Beneath… rather enthusiastically and I took his rabid insistence as a foreshadowing that it may just be great. On first listen I was mildly underwhelmed, it was slightly death tech-y, and slightly too clean of a record for my tastes. But I gave it a couple more listens and soon discovered that the songs wouldn't leave my head. Before long I was incredibly into what I initially thought were faults. This record has moments of great technical prowess displayed by the band, but that never over powers the songs they are playing. In fact, it is perfectly appropriate for the death metal they spew. The production - sure, it's cleaner than the Sutekh Hexen record I listed above, but it, again, perfectly highlights the real star of this record - the powerful, well crafted songs…. about pot.

Crucial Cut: "Immortal Pipes"



3~

Disma
Towards The Megalith
(Profound Lore)

Towards The Megalith needs little explanation. A few listens are all that is necessary to find a balance of pure death metal and an unconventional style and knack for composition.

Crucial Cut: "Chaos Apparition"



2~

Despise You
And On and On… (their side of the split only)
(Relapse)

Without a doubt the record I listened to the most this year. While the clean-ish vocals took a second to get used to, they work perfectly with Despise You's most accessible, and best material to date.

Crucial Cut: "You Can't Fix Me, Don't Trip"


1~

Autopsy
Macabre Eternal
(Peaceville)

Admission: In the past, I was never a huge Autopsy fan. Mainly, for the reason that many people revere them: their riffs. The constantly harmonizing riffs of their past were just a bit "too metal," and too up front for my taste. Growing up, I was more into hardcore than Maiden or Priest, and this prevents me from really enjoying some bands that are too riff-oriented. Macabre Eternal pushed Autopsy's material in new directions, and these slight changes made this record an instant fit for my tastes. The longer songs (and longer record) that was immediately jumped on by the "popular" presses, don't affect my opinion one way or another - this record, and these songs stay interesting, which is all that matters. The change I like the most is subtler riffs. The guitars are blunter, filthier and even when harmonizing, less up front. This record feels like a punk record despite the gore, the vocals, the guitar solos. Chris Reifert's vocal delivery is possibly the best of his career, or maybe it just seems that way. That is what is special about this record - it is four people playing together honestly, and you can feel it. There are slow songs, fast songs, long songs and short songs - but all of these songs still sound like a band that is playing for no one but themselves.

Crucial Cut: "Always About To Die"


Unranked:

Batillus - Furnace

Furnace is an incredible record. I did not put it on my list… for a number of reasons. None of which really have anything to do with the record itself. It deserves to be on this list, and that's why I am writing this now. The above list represents what I was really into this year, and Furnace was given to me mid-way through 2010 and I devoured it then. Look at my list from last year. That is where it belongs. Doom was not a big part of my life this year, but that doesn't mean that Batillus, or Furnace, should be neglected.

Tombs - Path Of Totality

This record puzzles me. I love Tombs' Winter Hours, and Path Of Totality is, start to finish, excellent. I just can't settle into it. It is constantly uncomfortable and challenging, and I say both of those things in praise. I've given this record a lot of time, but I said in the start of my list, time isn't what it used to be for me. When I would find myself with an hour-plus commute, this is the record I would reach for - to ensure I could listen to it start to finish. Maybe if could have enjoyed it under different circumstances this year it would have settled differently in my brain. I know that I'll keep coming back to this record, maybe 2012 is the year for me and Totality. The compulsion to continue to pursue Totality compels me to include this record in this post somehow.

Also enjoyed:

Origin - Entity

Triac - ...Always Meant To Hurt You

Column Of Heaven - Ecstatically Embracing all that we Habitually Suppress

Dark Castle - Surrender To All Life Beyond Form

Archgoat - Heavenly Vulva

Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Angels Of Light

Immolation - Providence

Prurient - Bermuda Drain

Psychic Limb - Queens

Servile Sect - Trvth

Trap Them - Darker Handcraft

Wormrot - Dirge

Wormrot - Noise


RECENTLY LISTENED:

Altar of Plagues - Mammal

I just listened to this record yesterday and I already feel like it should be on this list. Sprawling, but muscular.

RECORDS I HAVEN'T LISTENED TO, BUT AM INTERESTED IN:

Ash Borer - Ash Borer

Circle Of Ouroboros - Eleven Fingers

Indian - Guiltless

Mitochondrion - Parasignosis

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