It should be said that I found this to be a spectacular year for Heavy Metal! My list therefore is going to be a little odd... and broken into the parts! First the top 11 I guess... :)
In no particular order...
Albums
Deathhammer- Onward to the Pits
Vampyric Blood- Ordo Dracul
Eternum- Veil of Ancient Darkness
Iron Dogs- Cold Bitch
Alchemyst- Nekromanteion
Arkham Witch- Legions of the Deep
Bible of the Devil- For the Love of Thugs and Fools
Superchrist- Holy Shit
Cauldron- Tomorrow's Lost
Saint Vitus- Lillie F:65
My Dying Bride- A Map of All Our Failures
Eps/ Demos:
Oath of Cruelty- Altar of Impalement
Amulet- Cut the Crap
Visigoth- Final Spell
Stone Magnum- Stone Magnum Promo
Honorable Mentions:
Zuul- To the Frontlines
Corsair- Corsair
Air Raid- Night of the Axe
Hellwell- Beyond the Boundaries of Sin
If I had had more time with these I might have expanded my list! Seriously some great metal this year!
Happy New Year!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Alchemyst- Nekromanteion
Wow... just Wow!!! This was a total surprise release for me! I found out later it had members of Anael in it... Which if you don't know them you need to check them out, like, now! This is great Occult sounding Black/Death metal.
To start, what's really interesting about these guys is the vocals. They are not screamed or grunted as one might expect, oh, no... rather they are clean!!! That's right The vocals are shouted in a very old school way. You even get a few of those old Tom Warrior "ugh"s that we all know and love! And if you don't know what I am talking about then you should leave the hall!
Musically this is everything right about black and death metal. Its heavy and powerful, emotive and occult. Its atmospheric but doesn't take away from the metal side. Every song is amazing and I will listen to this over and over again! Especially in candlelight during ritual moments for which atmosphere is called for undoubtedly!!!
I will be honest that this record was hard to find but it is worth every minute of the search. This record is amazing and should be bought listened to and included on everyone's top lists at the end of the year. Go out and get this!!!
And I lied... I will put together a end of the year list but it will be tomorrow or the next day and at least before the New year...
To start, what's really interesting about these guys is the vocals. They are not screamed or grunted as one might expect, oh, no... rather they are clean!!! That's right The vocals are shouted in a very old school way. You even get a few of those old Tom Warrior "ugh"s that we all know and love! And if you don't know what I am talking about then you should leave the hall!
Musically this is everything right about black and death metal. Its heavy and powerful, emotive and occult. Its atmospheric but doesn't take away from the metal side. Every song is amazing and I will listen to this over and over again! Especially in candlelight during ritual moments for which atmosphere is called for undoubtedly!!!
I will be honest that this record was hard to find but it is worth every minute of the search. This record is amazing and should be bought listened to and included on everyone's top lists at the end of the year. Go out and get this!!!
And I lied... I will put together a end of the year list but it will be tomorrow or the next day and at least before the New year...
Corsair- Corsair
Another release I had been avoiding! Well, when Decibel magazine gives anything a thumbs up I wonder off and ignore it... after all, it is Decibel. But this time they may be onto something.
After an well played but unimportant intro, "Chaemera" kicks off and we are treated to a good and authentic late 70's/early 80's metal style. Imagine, if you will, combining Thin Lizzy with a more N.W.O.B.H.M. sensibility. Its heavy in all the right places with great harmony and technical skill as well as a wonderful ability to write songs, but what makes this really great is mastering the smoothness of Thin Lizzy. It comes across as a Heavy Metal band who have mastered what makes rock and roll great. This really how Iron Maiden might have sounded if they wanted to start bar fights! Its solid rocking heavy Metal.
The band can play and have solid song writing skills definitely but what's interesting is how they split the vocal duties. The guitarists and bassist sing on different songs. While this is very cool, I personally feel the should just let Paul Sebring sing as I think his voice fits the music the best.
This is a great fun and laid back metal release and everyone should listen to it at least once in their lives. My favorite tracks are Falconer, Gryphon Wing and Of Kings and Cowards, but all the tracks are good. So check these guys out.
After an well played but unimportant intro, "Chaemera" kicks off and we are treated to a good and authentic late 70's/early 80's metal style. Imagine, if you will, combining Thin Lizzy with a more N.W.O.B.H.M. sensibility. Its heavy in all the right places with great harmony and technical skill as well as a wonderful ability to write songs, but what makes this really great is mastering the smoothness of Thin Lizzy. It comes across as a Heavy Metal band who have mastered what makes rock and roll great. This really how Iron Maiden might have sounded if they wanted to start bar fights! Its solid rocking heavy Metal.
The band can play and have solid song writing skills definitely but what's interesting is how they split the vocal duties. The guitarists and bassist sing on different songs. While this is very cool, I personally feel the should just let Paul Sebring sing as I think his voice fits the music the best.
This is a great fun and laid back metal release and everyone should listen to it at least once in their lives. My favorite tracks are Falconer, Gryphon Wing and Of Kings and Cowards, but all the tracks are good. So check these guys out.
Hellwell- Beyond the Boundaries of Sin
Man, its been a while... Well, I never promised you consistency! But I am going to post 3 reviews and a end of the year list so... :)
So for whatever reason, I have been avoiding this release. Now, I have no idea why but its true. Maybe its fear of disappointment. Maybe it was because I heard there were keyboards on this thing and there can be such a thing as too much synth! Either way, I was so wrong!
For those of you not in the know Hellwell is a side project from E.C. Hellwell and Mark "the Shark" Shelton of Manilla Road fame. It also contains a few other members as guests. As I said I was fearful for some reason I cannot at this point explain. But coming out of this I really like this record. It combines Manilla Road's epic metal stylings with Deep Purple's use of organ. You know how in Deep Purple sometimes the keyboards were what anchored the riffs and helped make it heavier... yeah, that's happening here in some songs too. Every song on here is classic and powerful heavy metal.
I honestly cannot think of standout tracks for this record. Every track works together to create a cohesive whole in a way that great classic rock records do. So all the tracks are not only essential but very amazing! This record is a shoe- in for me for my top ten list. I believe this record will be considered a metal classic and truly stand the test of time! Go and buy it now!!!
So for whatever reason, I have been avoiding this release. Now, I have no idea why but its true. Maybe its fear of disappointment. Maybe it was because I heard there were keyboards on this thing and there can be such a thing as too much synth! Either way, I was so wrong!
For those of you not in the know Hellwell is a side project from E.C. Hellwell and Mark "the Shark" Shelton of Manilla Road fame. It also contains a few other members as guests. As I said I was fearful for some reason I cannot at this point explain. But coming out of this I really like this record. It combines Manilla Road's epic metal stylings with Deep Purple's use of organ. You know how in Deep Purple sometimes the keyboards were what anchored the riffs and helped make it heavier... yeah, that's happening here in some songs too. Every song on here is classic and powerful heavy metal.
I honestly cannot think of standout tracks for this record. Every track works together to create a cohesive whole in a way that great classic rock records do. So all the tracks are not only essential but very amazing! This record is a shoe- in for me for my top ten list. I believe this record will be considered a metal classic and truly stand the test of time! Go and buy it now!!!
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