100th Post! My 100 Favorite Metal Albums Of All Time
I started this site back in December 2011 for pure catharsis. I simply needed an outlet to vent my thoughts on music, honestly. It’s grown and blossomed into something cool and allowed me to grow as a writer. In honor of this, I decided to make my 100th post special, mostly because I’m shocked the site has gone on this long without me getting bored with it. The reason this site has grown into something awesome is because of the cool people that read it. Now, as a reward to you cool people, I’ve decided to arbitrarily list my 100 favorite metal albums of all time. Before you judge my list too harshly, just remember, this is completely for fun, and based solely on personal taste. I’m not egotistical enough to call these the best metal albums of all time. I just feel that each one of these albums has affected my life in some way or another and regardless of rank, every one of them holds a near and dear place in my heart. Enjoy the list, and be sure and comment below with your thoughts.
100. The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza – Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo
99. Floor – Floor
98. Napalm Death – The Code Is Red…Long Live The Code
97. Blood Has Been Shed – Spirals
96. Isis – Wavering Radiant
95. Unearth – The Oncoming Storm
94. Napalm Death – Time Waits For No Slave
93. Decapitated – Organic Hallucinosis
92. Torche – Torche
91. Grief – Come To Grief
90. Isis – Celestial
89. Nasum – Shift
88. Pantera – The Great Southern Trendkill
87. Indian – The Unquiet Sky
86. Dillinger Escape Plan – Calculating Infinity
85. Coalesce – 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening
84. Darkthrone – A Blaze In The Northern Sky
83. Sleep – Dopesmoker
82. Between – The Buried And Me – The Silent Circus
81. Cryptopsy – None So Vile
80. Dismember – Like An Everflowing Stream
79. High On Fire – Blessed Black Wings
78. Death – Human
77. Godflesh – Streetcleaner
76. Bolt Thrower – For Victory
75. Pestilence – Consuming Impulse
74. Paradise Lost – Gothic
73. Napalm Death – Scum
72. Crowbar – Crowbar
71. Entombed – Clandestine
70. Carcass – Heartwork
69. Nile – Annihilation Of The Wicked
68. Church Of Misery – Houses Of The Unholy
67. Kylesa – Static Tensions
66. Carcass – Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious
65. Botch – We Are The Romans
64. Immortal – Sons Of Northern Darkness
63. Opeth – Blackwater Park
62. Grave – Into The Grave
61. Exodus – Bonded By Blood
60. Suffocation – Effigy Of The Forgotten
59. A Life Once Lost – Hunter
58. Converge – Axe To Fall
57. Bloodbath – Nightmares Made Fleshh
56. Dark Angel – Darkness Desceneds
55. Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
54. Cannibal Corpse – Tomb Of The Mutilated
53. Lamb Of God – New American Gospel
52. Dillinger Escape Plan – Miss Machine
51. Meshuggah – ObZen
50. Killswitch Engage – The End Of Heartache
49. Baroness – Blue Record
48. Nuclear Assault – Game Over
47. Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood
46. Voivod – Dimension Hatross
45. Life Of Agony – River Runs Red
44. Monster Magnet – Dopes To Infinity
43. Autopsy – Mental Funeral
42. Judas Priest – British Steel
41. Zao – The Funeral Of God
40. Entombed – Left Hand Path
39. Testament – The New Order
38. Converge – You Fail Me
37. Anthrax – Among The Living
36. Obituary – Cause Of Death
35. Bolt Thrower – Those Once Loyal
34. Motorhead – Overkill
33. Megadeth – Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying?
32. Mastodon – Leviathan
31. King Diamond – Abigail
30. Electric Wizard – Dopethrone
29. Pantera – Vulgar Display Of Power
28. Judas Priest – Hell Bent For Leather
27. Celtic Frost – Morbid Tales
26. Killswitch Engage – Alive Or Just Breathing
25. Rwake – voices Of Omens
24. Meshuggah – Chaosphere
23. Living Sacrifice – The Hammering Process
22. Sepultura – Arise
21. Voivod – Killing Technology
20. Suicidal Tendencies – Lights, Camera…Revolution!
19. Saint Vitus – Born Too Late
18. Death – The Sound Of Perseverance
17. At The Gates – Slaughter Of The Soul
16. Overkill – The Years Of Decay
15. Kyuss – Welcome To Sky Valley
14. Iron Maiden – Powerslave
13. Metallica – …Master Of Puppets
12. Converge – Jane Doe
11. Metallica – …And Justice For All
10. Pantera – Cowboys From Hell
9. Metallica – Kill Em All
8. Slayer – Reign In Blood
7. Black Sabbath – Paranoid
6. Megadeth – Countdown To Extinction
5. Down – NOLA
4. Slayer – Seasons In The Abyss
3. Iron Maiden – Number Of The Beast
2. Metallica – Ride The Lightning
1. Megadeth – Rust In Peace
Listomania: My 13 Favorite Death Metal Albums
Friday the 13th has always been one of my favorite days. Not because of the movie of the same title, but A: because it falls on Fridays, and B: because the vibe throughout the entire day always seems to be fairly creepy, particularly if it’s raining. In celebration of a strange semi-holiday and a fairly brutal series of horror films, i’ve dedicated my post of the day to celebrate 13 of my favorite death metal albums of all time. I’m sure there are better genre choices for this list, but i’ve been listening to a ton of old school death metal recently and felt compelled to blab about each, also, this is just a small list(in no particular order) and I know there are many better choices out there, but these are my main albums I constantly go back to, if you feel I left off something awesome, leave a comment. For more strange lists and tons of other stuff, be sure and “like” my Facebook page. Thanks for reading!
P.s. After reading all the band names on here like Autopsy, Death, Obituary, and Grave, it reminds me of this classic Mitch Hedberg joke.
“I used to play in a Death Metal band. Most Death Metal bands have dark names like “Obituary”. We weren’t that intense. We were just “Injured”.
Autopsy – Mental Funeral
One thing you’ll notice about this list is that each of these albums have one thing in common, aside from containing awesome, brutal music, they have incredible artwork. This album has one of my favorite album covers ever, but it also contains some of the most putrid, vile riffs/lyrics/vocals i’ve ever heard. Thanks to songs like “Twisted Mass Of Burnt Decay”, “In The Grip Of Winter”, and “Dead” this album is definitely a death metal icon. Though the album has awful production, that makes it even more heavy because Chris Reiffert and co were able to craft music genuinely heavy without the use of any sort of studio tricks.
Bolt Thrower – Those Once Loyal
Anybody reading this who’s familiar with Bolt Thrower might be thinking “what? where is “War Master” or “For Victory?”. The thing is, man, this album was actually (and sadly) my introduction to Bolt Thrower. I read an article about them in Decibel when the album came out and it sounded cool, so I decided to pick up the album. I expected it to be incredibly heavy, however, I did not expect it to completely change the way I looked at death metal, nor did I think it would be one of my favorite metal albums of all time. Simply put, everything about this album is 100% perfect. It’s got well-crafted lyrics about war, it’s got an incredibly ominous vibe to it, and most importantly, it’s got some of the most disgusting riffs ever. On top of the awesomely brutal riffs, each song is perfectly encased in the most bone-crushing production value ever that gives it an incredibly explosive sound. It’s kind of weird saying that this is my favorite Bolt Thrower album considering their impressive discography, but I developed a connection to this album unlike most and i’m forever loyal to it and still listen to it multiple times to this day.
Death – The Sound Of Perseverance
Regrettably, I got into death metal much later in life than I would have liked, so most of the albums that got me addicted to the genre are more recent releases, thus I had to do more digging to get into the classics of the genre. I mention that as my reason why I chose “Perseverance” for this list instead of “Scream Bloody Gore” or “Human”. This is one of two albums that got me into death metal. The first time I heard “Scavenger Of Human Sorrow” on a radio show I was listening to that focused on metal, my jaw dropped and I couldn’t believe it was possible to craft something so heavy and technical. Though this album isn’t rated as highly by most fans of the band, I honestly believe it’s one of their best albums. It’s got some of their catchiest songs ever like “Scavenger”, “Bite The Pain”, “Spirit Crusher” and “Flesh And The Power It Holds”. Also, this album could very well be called “Guitar Hero: Death Metal” because of the guitar clinic that Chuck Schuldiner and Shannon Hamm put on, but the album also features some incredibly preposterous drumming by Richard Christy. I owe my love of death metal to this album, and though it’s not their best album, it’s number one to me.
Dismember – Like An Everflowing Stream
This is another album that, alongside it’s incredible riffs, features absolutely legendary album art. Everytime I put this cd in, I find myself completely lost in the scenery on the album cover, it’s so awesome. One interesting thing about this album is that it features a song that I would consider to be a prime candidate for the top five or ten of my favorite metal songs of all time, in fact, I would go so far as to say that the riff in “Override Of The Overture” has one of my favorite riffs of all time in it. There’s just something about the tone of swedish death metal that just completely rules and I can’t get enough of it. I think you could play Nickelback songs through that HM-2 pedal and make them sound amazing. This album is one that’s not very technical and they don’t have alot of tricks other than the tone that they utilize, but man, this album is a necksnapper of the highest degree thanks to it’s breack-neck pace and a handful of mosh-worthy songs that will make you want to start a circle pit anywhere you happen to be listening to it, whether it be at work, or in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner with your family.
Suffocation – Effigy Of The Forgotten
If you read much about metal, you’ll see that many critics overuse the term “brutal” to describe riffs (guilty!), but this album, for me, personifies the term in two ways. First of all, it’s because they are the originators of the “brutal death metal” style, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a death metal band playing anything more brutal than Suffocation in the early 90′s. The second reason is because I had just recently purchased this album on cassette and I was driving down the road listening to “Infecting The Crypts” when a lady went straight in a left-turn only lane while I was turning left in a left/straight lane and BOOM…the brutality took a new meaning. Listening to brutal death metal and feeling metal collide into metal at 35 mph is a feeling I still can’t shake, man. Also, ya know, they completely caved my skull in when I saw them live at MDF X. Anyways, the point of this is, this album is absolutely the definitive brutal death metal album and you’ll have a hard time convincing me of any album that out-brutals Suffocation, vocal-wise or otherwise.
Gorguts – Obscura
Once I discovered Death and fell in love with technical death metal, Gorguts were one of the next bands of the genre I came across and they made my jaw drop equally as much, but for a different reason. See, I always thought technical meant playing alot of different riffs as fast as possible, but Gorguts does things a little differently, they play with a ton of actual skill. They are definitely the most progressive band on this list. The only thing about this album is, like bands like Cynic, it’s a little difficult to consistently headbang to this album, you just kind of sit back and enjoy the crazy riffs and hope your brain doesn’t explode from Luc Lemay’s incredibly complicated riffs and gravel-throated, demonic screeching vocals.
Grave – Into The Grave
This album is one of many on the list that not only has a band name and album title fitting of a death metal best of list, but it also contains badass artwork and incredibly brutal songs. Grave are a swedish death metal band and like their fellow Swedes Entombed, Dismember, and At The Gates, they are absolutely 100% devastatingly heavy. They use the same type of guitar tone you hear on Entombed and Dismember albums, but they are a little more old school in their approach, using more gravel/bile/coal-gargling vocals over sludgy, violent old school death metal riffs to beat you over the head instead of a thrashier approach like other bands of the genre. I didn’t discover this album until a couple of years ago sadly, I really think if I had discovered Grave in high school, they would be one of my all time favorites. This album definitely holds it’s weight on this list alongside the other genre heavyweights, and if given a choice between this album, Entombed’s “Left Hand Path” and “Everflowing Stream” by Dismember, i’ll usually choose this album just because of it’s maximum headbangability.
Decapitated – Organic Hallucinosis
Decapitated are a band i’ve never listened to much, but have always had a great respect for. My introduction to Decapitated came when I heard “Spheres Of Madness” on Headbangers Ball and I was floored at how brutal the opening riff was, but for some reason I didn’t listen to many of their albums. This album was released very early in 2006 and since it was fairly early in the year, I was able to give it a fair listen and when the opening riffs of “A Poem About an Old Prison Man” came crashing in I was blown away at just how vicious this album was. Cool thing about Decapitated is, they were formed in 1996 when their drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka was just twelve years old…TWELVE! You can tell the dude was a master of his craft because on songs like “Day 69″ he absolutely disembowels his drum kit. It didn’t occur to me until after about five or ten listens just how technicaly masterful, and aurally devastating this album really is but it still floors me to this day just how good this record is. The sad thing is, this album is the last that “Vitek” would ever perform on, but the bright side is…it fucking rules!
Bloodbath – Nightmares Made Flesh
Bloodbath is a death metal supergroup of epic proportions and they are another band that I may have never discovered if it weren’t for listening to metal hour on a random college radio station. I had read before that Mikael Akerfeldt was in this band which I didn’t think much about, but when I first heard the song “Eaten” I knew this was a band i’d never stop enjoying. Though this is the only album by them i’m a huge fan of (probably because Dan Swano left), i’m DEFINITELY a huge fan of this album. The riffs on here are super heavy and stuff thanks to the ever-prolific Dan Swano, but the two reasons I ADORE this album are A: Jens Bogren’s production. Crushing doesn’t describe what the sound of this album feels like. B: Peter Tagtgren’s monstrous vocals. The M.V.P. on this song, other than Tagtgren and the production, however, is the song “Eaten”. It’s lyrics are a vile, disgusting, sadistic plea to be cannibalized, but the reason I love it is how catchy it is, also, the part at 3:27 where the drums come slowly creeping back in leading to more brutality just kills me every time, man. I have the lyrics to that song memorized so if i’m ever in a precarious situation, surely I can sing my way out of it.
Obituary – Cause Of Death
This isn’t the first time i’ve written about this album on my site, and honestly, it’s a crime I don’t mention it more. This is seriously one of the finest death metal albums money can buy. It came out in 1990 just before the huge death metal explosion hit, but it’s timing was perfect as it inspired many of the bands to come shortly thereafter. This album features some incredible musicianship courtesty of James Murphy(Death/Testament/Cancer) on guitar and Donald Tardy on drums, but the real instrument on this album that really stands out about them all is the voice of John Tardy. The dude’s voice is absolutely unreal and aside from Chris Reiffert of Autopsy, he has the best voice in death metal. If you haven’t heard Obituary, or James Tardy, picture what it would sound like if you were driving down a haunted road and you ran over your neighbor’s cat and said cat was decapitated, yet due to mystical forces, it became reunited with it’s head, only to track you down and gnaw at your brains while you’re sleeping…that’s what it would sound like…or ya know…something like that.
Pestilence – Consuming Impulse
Next to Obituary, Autopsy, and Dismember, Pestilence’s “Consuming Impulse” has one of my favorite album covers on this list. In fact, if I could own a shirt with any album cover from this list on it, I would either choose this album, or Obituary. “Pestilence” is the second album by these Dutch death metal monsters and it’s definitely the rawest of the albums on this list…well, almost as raw as Autopsy. Also, other than awesome names and album covers, they share one more thing with Autopsy and Obituary…they have one of the most recognizable voices in metal. Their vocalist is the legendary Martin Van Drunen(Asphyx, Hail Of Bullets) and he unleashes an aural assault on this album that is just as heavy as Reiffert or Tardy, but it’s more vicious, anguished screams than blood-curdling growling. The album has some amazingly fast, upbeat riffs and it’s a banger for sure. This record is also incredibly fun to listen to while jogging, until you punch someone in the face on accident from flailing your fists wildly that is…
Nile – Annihilation Of The Wicked
This list is pretty varied in what metal subgenre’s it covers, you’ve got brutal death metal, technical death metal, Swedish death metal, Dutch death metal, old school death metal, and in Nile’s case…Egyptian death metal. The funny thing about that whole “Egyptian death metal” style is the fact that Nile’s main songwriter Karl Sanders actually lives in South Carolina. Another funny fact about Karl Sanders is, other than being an incredibly talented guitarist with a violent growl, he’s also pretty talented at other instruments. In the liner notes for “Annihilation Of The Wicked” he’s credited for also playing keyboards as well as two instruments i’ve never heard of called a bağlama as well as a bouzouki. I’m not sure what they are, but i’m sure they add to the super weird vibes the album gives off at times. On top of weird instruments and lyrical concepts the album is actually stupid heavy. It’s the first to feature drum-god George Kollias on the skins and when you hear songs like “Cast Down The Heretic” and “Sacrifice Unto Sebek” you can hear him put on a clinic. The best song on the album, and another of my all time faves though, is “Lashed To The Slave Stick”. I could write an entire blog post on just how bad ass this song is. The riffs crafted by Karl Sanders and Dallas Toler-Wade is absolutely mindblowing. Seriously the most brutal song ever.
Cannibal Corpse – Tomb Of The Mutilated
For my final album on the list, i’ve included the only one that has an album cover so disgusting that it needed a censored version (i showed the unedited version on the left cause i’m rebellious). If you don’t listen to death metal, or if you’ve ever seen Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, you’ve heard of Cannibal Corpse and particularly their hit single “Hammer Smashed Face”(seewhatididthere). With song titles like “I Cum Blood”, “Addicted To Vaginal Skin”, and “Necropedophile”, the first time I came across this album I was completely shocked, disgusted, and a bit queesy, and I KNEW I had to hear more. I would consider Cannibal Corpse to be the gateway drug to death metal due to their violent lyrics/song titles, their astonishingly disgusting album art, and of course, their wrecklessly vicious music. It’s the perfect music to listen to as a rebellious teen mad at your parents and the world, seeking the meanest, nastiest music you can possibly find. Oddly enough, my introduction to this band came from someone who didn’t listen to any metal at all, he just thought “Hammer Smashed Face” was a brutal song and it would scare me and he’s right, it totally did, but it also inspired me to listen to more violent music and if I were to ever start a death metal band, my vocals would be completely 100% inspired by Chris Barnes.
Jams Of The Week 02/26-03/03
Over the last few weeks, there have been some great albums released, in fact, February has been the best month for metal in quite a while. Aside from all the new music i’ve been digesting over the last month or so, i’ve also been returning to some old classics. This edition of Jams Of The Week is a tribute to some of the awesome albums i’ve been listening to this week that I haven’t busted out in a while.
Metallica – Ride The Lightning
Every time I try to decide which Metallica album is my favorite, it’s always a tie between this album and Kill Em All. I recently pulled this record out after a long, stressful day at work, and immediately I forgot that I was pissed, and all I wanted to do was rage. Ride The Lightning has three of my favorite metal songs of all time: Fade To Black, Creeping Death, and For Whom the Bell Tolls, but it’s also got skull-crushing thrash anthems like Fight Fire With Fire, Ride The Lightning, and Trapped Under Ice. There is literally, not one bad moment on this entire album, and in my opinion, it’s better than Master Of Puppets…that’s right, I said it.
Obituary – Cause Of Death
This album is, without question, one of the definitive 90′s death metal albums. Everything about “Cause Of Death” is awesome; it’s got fantastically heavy guitar tone, mixed with the incredible lead guitar work of James Murphy, it’s got John Tardy’s maniacally violent vocals, and it’s got one of the best Celtic Frost covers you’ll ever hear. Admittedly, I didn’t like this album, or Obituary in general when I first heard them, however, after listening to more and more death metal over the years, it’s easy to listen to Obituary and appreciate exactly what they did for the genre back in 1990 with this glorious masterpiece of destruction. As a side note, after listening to alot of Autopsy recently, I would love to hear Chris Reifert and John Tardy compete in a “who’s vocals sounds more like the violent ramblings of a serial kiiller from hell” contest.
Meshuggah – Chaosphere
Meshuggah are definitely one of my favorite bands ever. Oddly enough, I first heard about them when Jack Osbourne used “Destroy, Erase, Improve” to terrorize his neighbors on an episode of “The Osbournes”. I honestly think Chaosphere is my favorite Meshuggah album, mostly because it’s got the thrashiness of their first few albums mixed with the technical prowess that has helped them continue to drop jaws. Songs like “Corridor Of Chameleons” and “The Mouth Licking What You’ve Bled” are pure audio violence thanks to their incredibly thrashy, belligerent, strangely timed riffs, and “New Millenium Cyanide Christ” was built specifically to cause serious degrees of whiplash. Their new album “Koloss” comes out in 24 days, and i’m not sure how it’s going to sound, but even if it sounds crappy, at least I have Chaosphere to fall back on when I just want to bang my head and break everything in a 20 mile radius..
Descendents – Milo Goes To College
I’ve listened to this album seriously five or six times in the last two days. In fact, i’m listening to it right now. Something about this album is perfect to listen to when i’m in a really bad mood. The lyrics are angry enough to appeal to my metalhead side, but they are also cheeky and humorous enough to make me crack a smile. Though I grew up in Florida on the east coast, and not the west coast in California, and even though I don’t ride a skateboard, this iconic punk album speaks to me in ways some records just can’t. My favorite song on this album is “Catalina” and always makes me miss home. There are also songs like “Hope” which anybody who’s ever been in “the friend zone” can relate to. It’s a shame that nobody makes records this good or meaningful anymore.
Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables
This is my favorite punk rock album of all time without question. It’s got angry political songs, as well as humorous tongue-in-cheek songs that create a perfect molotov cocktail. Songs like “Holiday In Cambodia”, “California Uber-Alles” and “Kill The Poor” are three of my favorite songs ever, and definitely three of the best punk songs ever written. You can have your Clash and Sex Pistols sell out, poser punk, DK are the real deal and this album still stands the test of time perfectly and it’s lyrics are still very meaningful even to this day.
Record Reviews: February 28th New Releases
I have been looking forward to this week ALL year! At least four albums that came out today will be in my top albums of the year list, and every one of them (except Death) was on my most anticipated albums of the year. Check out these albums if you get a chance, because they are all awesome, and worth a listen.
Napalm Death – Utilitarian 10/10
The founding fathers of grind are back with their fifteenth studio album, and are just as pissed as ever. Napalm Death have always been one of my favorite metal bands and it seems like every album they’ve put out since 2000′s “Enemy Of The Music Business” has been A: basically flawless, and B: better than the one before it.
There are alot of things that help make this album absolutely fantastic. You’ve got Danny Herrera’s blistering drums, Barney Greenway’s incredibly violent, angry howl, and pissed off lyrics, and of course, the trademark riffs of bassist Shane Embury, and guitarist Mitch Harris. Even though there are all of the signature Napalm tricks on this album, there are also some elements you don’t hear on a normal Napalm Death album. The best example of them shaking things up, and going for a more unique sound are the ever increasing use of Mitch Harris’s angry punk rock howling, which appears most notably on the song “The Wolf I Feed” which features him screaming like a maniac and complimenting Barney one minute, to singing like Burton C Bell of Fear Factory the next. Mitch’s backup vocals appear throughout the album and really add an awesome punk rock element to the songs and make them even more enjoyable.
You’d think that after creating the grindcore genre, and putting out fourteen albums, that Napalm Death would be out of unique ideas. After listening to “Utilitarian”, I actually think Napalm Death have created their best album in twelve years. If you are a fan of Napalm Death, bad ass grind, or good music in general, do yourself a huge favor and buy this album.
Christian Mistress – Possession 10/10
I first read about Christian Mistress in a magazine who had their last album “Agony & Opium” on their top albums of the year list. After giving that album a few listens, I became obsessed with this band. When I saw they signed to Relapse and planned to put out a new album this year, this became my most anticipated album of the year. The thing I love about this band is their old school approach, which is as heavily influenced by bands like Thin Lizzy and Deep Purple, as it is Slayer and Darkthrone.
Christian Mistress seem to be a 70′s rock band caught in the body of a NWOBHM band. On their debut album for Relapse, Christian Mistress are now able to introduce the mainstream to their unique brand of old school heavy metal played through a classic rock filter with fast, almost punk rock like rhythms, mixed with incredible solo’s and Christine Davis’s whiskey-soaked, Marlboro-drenched vocals. Every song on this album features incredibly catchy guitar solo’s/riffs and vocals, but the title track “Possession” has the finest of them all, with a chorus that’ll stay in your head for days, it’s also eerily reminiscent to a line in the Thin Lizzy song “S&M”. The other stand out track on this album is “Black To Gold”, which features excellent basslines, an incredible chorus, and some fantastic guitar work.
I can’t say enough to stress how awesome this album really is, man. It’s got traditional classic rock riffs that you’d hear on a Deep Purple album, mixed with the NWOBHM attitude that you’d hear on an early Motorhead album and they make for a deadly combo. This album is a perfect drinking album, but it’s also good for listening to while driving, and of course it’d make a hell of a soundtrack, should you choose to mix the two.
Corrosion Of Conformity – Corrosion Of Conformity 9/10
The new self titled album by Corrosion Of Conformity is definitely a milestone for the band. It’s their first album since 2005′s “In The Arms Of God”, and it’s the first album with Reed Mullin on drums since 2000′s “America’s Volume Dealer”. More importantly, however, is the fact that this album marks the first time Woody Weatherman, Reed Mullin, and Mike Dean have been a three piece since 1985′s crossover hall of fame album “Animosity”. Granted, this album sounds nothing like their old hardcore punk/thrash days, but it is still a great mixture of the two era’s of the band.
One unique thing about COC is the fact that they have, over the years, developed two distinctly different sounds, but both era’s have fans who only like a few particular albums. Some people are only drawn to the more doomy, southern rock albums like “Deliverance”, “Wiseblood”, and “In The Arms Of God”; others are only drawn to their more hardcore punk albums like “Animosity” and “Technocracy”. The neat thing about their self titled, eighth studio album is that it mixes both era’s perfectly. There really is something for fans of both styles on this album. Songs like “The Doom”, and “Psychic Vampire” have mixtures of the Black Sabbath style tone with some more punk rock sounding drums. Then there are other songs like “Leeches”, and “Your Tomorrow” that have a more consistent, fast paced punk vibe throughout, and songs like “River Of Stone”, and “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here” which would have fit in perfectly on “Arms Of God”. At one point on the track “Come Not Here”, they sound like what Black Label Society would sound like if they got rid of Zakk Wylde’s horrible vocals, and over-squealy guitar style.
The most important thing about this album isn’t the two different styles being demonstrated, it’s how perfectly they are able to pull them off. The best example of this is the one-two punch of “Your Tomorrow”‘s more punk vibe, leading into “The Doom” which has a fantastic mixture of Black Sabbath and older COC. I’m very impressed that these guys were able to come together as a three piece for the first time since I was one or two years old, and put out an absolutely solid record. It doesn’t matter what era you prefer more, if you’re a fan of Corrosion Of Conformity, this album is most certainly worth checking out.
Asphyx – Deathhammer 8/10
Asphyx have always been one of the more intriguing stories in death metal. Few bands are able to succcessfuly mix brutal, up-tempo death metal with slow, down-tempo doom metal quite like these guys, the fact that they have legendary vocalist Martin Van Drunen, makes them even more interesting. Their last album “Death…The Brutal Way” caught quite a few people by surprise due to it being their first new material in almost 10 years, and the fact that it blew away their last decades worth of albums. Strangely, they have managed to blow that album completely away with their ninth studio album “Deathhammer”.
The first thing you should know about this album is, as Martin Van Drunen states at the beginning of the title track, “this is real death metal, you bastards!”. The second thing to note about this record is, it’s heavy as hell. The riffs on this album are seriously ridiculous, there are songs like the title track “Deathammer” which features incrediby brutal riffs that put most modern bands to shame; then there are songs like the doomier “Minefield” which moves at a slower pace and doesn’t lose an ounce of heaviness. But the real gold on this record are the songs that mix both the brutal death metal riffs, and the slower paced riffs that sound like a tank driving over a field of dead bodies, specifically on tracks like “Der Landser”, and “We Doom You To Death”. The other obvious stand out on this album is Martin Van Drunen’s vocals which, at times, sound like a demonic werewolf, hungry for blood and vengeance, howling at the top of his lungs.
This album is definitely one of the best death metal albums you’ll hear all year. The riffs on “Deathhammer” are very similar to what you’d hear from later Bolt Thrower, except with a doomier influence that decimate the competition completely. I absolutely love this album and think it’s perfect for anybody wanting something to listen to while they smash their enemies skull with a sledgehammer, or just somebody who wants some brutal jams.
Autopsy – All Tomorrows Funerals 7/10
Last year, Autopsy released “Macabre Eternal”, which was their first studio album in 16 years, and they proved they were back with a vengeance. Hot on the heels of a hellacious comeback album, they have now released “All Tomorrows Funerals”, which is a re-working of all of their previous Ep’s, which is a genius way to keep building momentum.
If you’ve ever heard Autopsy, then you have a pretty good idea what this album sounds like, especially if you’ve heard any of these Ep’s before. The thing that makes this collection so cool is because there are, not only four incredibly violent new songs, but because all of the songs on here have the same violent, murderous production and feel that made “Macabre Eternal” so awesome.
I think this album is a great way to keep the Autopsy name in the spotlight while they work on a new record, which will be out next year. This album is certainly worth checking out if you’re a fan of Autospy, or if you enjoy hearing death metal done right because, as Chris Reifert stated so elegantly “There will be no compromise and no holding back. If you want 100% pure death metal brutality, you will certainly get it.”.
Death – Vivus! 7/10
Death is one of the most influential bands in all of heavy metal, in fact, the genre was basically named after them. Vivus! is a package of the now-defunct death metal legends’ last two live albums “Live In Eindhoven”, and “Live In La”, and it’s a perfect reminder of just how good these guys really were.
Due to Chuck Schuldiner’s untimely passing in 2001, there are plenty of people like myself who never got to see these guys live. This album gives you a perfect glimpse at what it would have been like to see the band at their peak. Even though the sound isn’t perfect, it’s nice to hear classics like “Flesh And the Power It Holds”, “Sound Of Perseverance”, “Lack Of Comprehension”, and “Zombie Ritual” played by one of the strongest lineups the band ever had.
The only downside to this collection is that neither of these recordings are newly released, and contain several duplicate songs, but any chance you get to hear Chuck shred is a good thing. I think the Relapse reissues of the Death discography is a wonderful thing, and this definitely fits perfectly along side the others in your collection. I’m just hoping they’ll finally release the 2nd Control Denied album this year.
Jams Of The Week: 01/03-01/07/12
Like any good music nerd, I listen to music as often as i can, and on whatever format I can. I’m starting a new category called “Jams Of The Week” which will spotlight some of the best records, tapes, cd’s, and mp3′s i’ve listened to during the week. I’m going to try and make this an every week column, because it’s incredibly fun for me to write about the music i’ve listened to during the week when i get an over-abundance of tasty jams.
Floor – Below & Beyond 8 disc boxset (Cd)
Floor is a doom metal band formed by Steve Brooks who later formed Torche, it also feaured Juan Montoya from Torche in one of its incarnations. This boxset contains pretty much every song ever written and recorded by this now defunct, sonic titan from Miami, Fl. I heard about Floor a long time ago when I first got into Torche, but never could find anywhere selling their music, so naturally I was very excited to see this boxset get released. This set was released on a version with 8 lps and 8cds and a version with just the cds, I really wanted the vinyl version, but there was no way I could afford it, so when I was at Good Records in Dallas a few months ago and came across it, I elected to purchase the cd only version.
Most of the songs in this collection are from ep’s, and demos, however, there are also 2 full length albums as well, the 2nd of which is their self-titled which is my favorite disc in the set because you can really hear alot of the elements in it that are now employed in Torche, in fact, disc 8 features demos from the self titled album as well as live songs, one of which is “Charge Of The Brown Recluse” which turned into a Torche song. This collection is worth what I paid for it just for the self titled disc, the full length “Dove” and disc 5 which features songs like “Ein”, “Figbender”, and “/Song” which are all full of some of the heaviest noises i’ve ever heard. If you are a fan of Torche, or doom metal in general, this collection is ABSOLUTELY essential, without question.
Exodus – Pleasures Of The Flesh (Cassette)
I recently picked this cassette up at Spazz Records because it dawned on me that, for some reason, I have never heard this album before. After Exodus released “Bonded By Blood” they fired their singer Paul Baloff and hired Steve “Zetro” Souza and signed a major label deal to Sony/Combat Records and thus, Pleasures of the Flesh was born. This album is in the same vein as it’s predecessor, but with Zetro’s howling, Bon Scott influenced vocals, and honestly, I think i enjoy Zetro’s voice more than I do Baloff’s. This album fits in my tape collection perfectly alongside other Exodus classics like “Bonded By Blood” and “Fabulous Disaster” and it is an absolute monster and i’m very glad I finally checked out this album.
Lamb Of God – New American Gospel (Lp)
I’ll never forget the firs time I saw the video for “Black Label” on Headbangers Ball, because it scared the crap out of me. I was iffy about checking this album out back in the day because i thought the album title was stupid, but after listening to it multiple times, I really do believe this album title is appropriate, due to the fact that it set down the groundwork for a brand new breed of american heavy metal. This record is full of preposterously fast and complicated drums, monster riffs ripped straight from the Pantera discograhpy, and some of the meanest vocals i’ve ever heard. With all the hoopla that will soon be surrounding their new album, I saw this in the store the other day and felt the need to pick it up to be reminded of the band I used to be obsessed with, instead of the commerical metal machine they are nowadays, and after giving it a few spins, i’m very glad that I did, because this record is an absolute beast.
Dark Angel – Darkness Descends (Cassette)
I previously wrote about this cassette in my “music buying adventures christmas day cassette shopping” post and I finally got around to listening to it in my car and i’m very lucky I didn’t run anybody over because this album is incredibly intense. It’s got that awesome old school thrash metal vibe combined with some of the greatest thrash metal drumming ever courtesy of Gene Hoglan the human drum machine. For some reason this album and band are incredibly underrated, but it’s easily one of the highlights of the genre for sure. Also, unlike some tapes, it’s very loud which makes it even more fun to drive fast to.
Autopsy – Mental Funeral (Lp)
I bought this record on Amazon a couple weeks ago and when it arrived I was very excited, I then showed the super gory album cover to my wife and she gave me a very confused look in return. This is one of the all time greatest death metal albums ever, and it boasts one of the greatest album covers ever, actually, every Autopsy album cover could be on that list. When I put the record on, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was printed on red vinyl and it’s back cover was hand-numbered by Peaceville number 1329/2000. As far as the sound goes, the drums and vocals sound like they were recorded 6 feet under my house while the guitars and bass were recorded in my bathroom, so needless to say, it sounds exactly like it’s supposed to.
Listomania: Favorite Metal Albums of 2011: 1-10
I’m closing out my year end listomania special with, of course, the most important list of all, my 10 favorite metal albums of the year. The reason i chose favorite instead of “top metal albums of the year” or “best metal albums of the year”, is because it’s all about opinions, and these are just the 10 albums i really listened to alot and enjoyed more than the others. This list will also be included in the January 2012 issue of the Spazzine along with top 10 lists from members of local bands, as well as Andrew Hernandez, drummer of Tombs, so be sure and check that out, and if you would like one sent to you, be sure and contact Spazz Records.
1. Mastodon – The Hunter
Mastodon managed to take all of the elements from their previous albums that made them absolutely groundbreaking, and put them all together on this record and i couldn’t be happier about it. I love this album more and more every time i hear it, sure, it’s not totally metal, but it’s so catchy and full of awesome riffs that you can hear it 3 or 4 times in a row and not get bored.It really is just a super fun album that rewards more and more with every listen. Favorite song(s): Curl of the Burl and Spectrelight.
2. Hammers of Misfortune – 17th Street
I had a very hard time not making this album my number one of the year. I’m a sucker for the incredibly heroic riffs on this album, as well as the mega-infections hooks, namely on songs like “The Grain” and “The Day The City Died” that stay stuck in my head for days on end. Joe Hutton’s voice is absolutely breathtakingly awesome and the choruses are very easy to sing along like a ding dong to. This album also is seriously fun to air-guitar along to. Favorite song: Staring (The 31st floor).
3. Rwake – Rest
Simply put, this is, by far, the most entertaining doom metal album of the year for me. It’s got some crazy, off the wall solo’s, it’s got very sluggish but awesome riffs that take a southern-fried take on traditional doom. It’s also got an abundance of chrome-peeling screams, and it takes you through a truly twisted soundscape that is not for those with weak minds or weak stomachs. There are only 4 real songs on this album and they are incredibly epic and take the listener on a truly unique journey that they will want to re-live many times. Favorite song: An Invisible Thread.
4. Tombs – Path of Totality
This album is the first one i heard this year that i KNEW would be one of my 5 favorite albums of the year. It is also the most complete metal album i’ve heard all year. It’s got alot of awesome black metal parts full of some incredibly well synced guitars/drum parts, but Mike HIll’s vocal delivery is what sets it apart from every other album people might refer to as “black metal”. This album is certainly full of anger and it’s got enough riffs and crazy air-raid siren guitar tone to satisfy the needs of even the angriest headbanger. Favorite song: To Cross The Land.
5. Yob – Atma
Mike Scheidt returns with another album full of pulverizing doom riffs and polarizing atmosphere, and one of the more unique vocals stylings you’ll hear in any genre. This album is very similar to Neurosis at times with it’s unique mix of atmosphere and bruising riffs, and Scott Kelly’s appearance doesn’t do much to play down that influence. This is easily one of the most entertaining doom album of the year for me. Favorite song: Prepare the Ground.
6. Megadeth – Th1rt3en
Megadeth returns with their 13th album and it’s just as relevant as number 1 if not moreso. With Dave Ellefson back in the fold the songs seem to have a little more punk rock influence than on recent albums, but also, they are loaded with super catchy, almost too catchy for thrash metal hooks that will keep these songs stuck in your head for days. A very solid effort from both Daves on this album. Favorite song: New World Order.
7. Disma – Towards the Megalith
I can’t describe with words how much i love the complete and utter domination displayed on this record. The riffs are STUPID heavy and have a very sluggish and undescribably heavy tone and the way they seemlessly go from earth shatteringly brutal death metal to soul-melting doomy parts makes me smile wider than a redneck at a Taylor Swift concert. Favorite song: Chasm Of Oceanus.
8. Autopsy – Macabre Eternal
The masters of death metal have returned with a new album and it’s as if they never left. This album is an absolute monster, mostly because of the fantastic musicianship, but also because of Chris Reifert’s amazing lyrics and blood-gargling vocal delivery. Favorite song: Dirty Gore Whore.
9. Atriarch – Forever the End
Very depressing record, Has plenty of elements of funeral doom, drone, regular doom, and what it must be like to take too many shrooms and get trapped in a mine shaft. First time i heard this album, a girl at work passed out and was wheeled out on a stretcher while i was jamming it loudly. Very creepy to say the least. Favorite song: Plague.
10. Animals As Leaders – Weightless
Absolutely incredible instrumetal album. Amazingly beautiful melodies and horrifyingly heavy meshuggah-esque brutality mix together like one gorgeous, angry cocktail on this beast of a record. Favorite song: Do Not Go Gently.
