Hi, Demigod here, and this is my first post as a new contributor to CitA. So to kick start my contributions I thought I'd start with one of my favourite albums. This album is, from start to finish, a collection of classic Death 'n' roll tracks. Catchy riffs, rabid drums and powerful vocals from LG Petrov are packed into this 35 minute masterpiece. This is a must have for any metal or rock fan.
Anathema have, since 'Alternative 4', been the oddity of the Peaceville Three, but this is a classic slab of 'don't fuck with this' death-doom. I'd go as far to say it were their best album, despite later efforts producing some of the better music of the light rock spectrum.
Swans are without a doubt pioneers in music. Even the term 'grindcore' ultimately finds its origin in them, even if it's far from an accurate descriptor. This is... a Swans record - repetitive yet never boring, and pervaded throughout by haunting, almost shamanistic vocals.
Another one of the excellent albums that are so few and far between in the shit-filled DSBM movement - the vocals in this are mental, and tormented (the vocalist was later institutionalized), and the instrumental work is, well, instrumental.
One of the lesser-known latecomers to black metal's second wave, Kvist have all the credentials: raw, only released 2 demos and this album before splitting up, and most importantly, Norwegian. This is a charming piece of Darkthrone-esque BM with keys.
The much-awaited new Atheist album received mixed reviews on release, as any comeback album inevitably will, but to me, it's nearly as good as the classic 'Unquestionable Presence'. It still has awful lyrics ('Faux King Christ' is a word play that could be expected of an 11 year old), but the music is spectacular.
Well, didn't this one piss off the metal purists. I'm guessing, of course - I wasn't born back then, but I can easily imagine many being annoyed by heavy influence from outside genres, and little death metal influence. It's not Atheist's best, but it's a good album.
Atheist's 'Unquestionable Presence' was a landmark in metal, death metal, and just extreme music generally. It, along with Nocturnus' 'The Key', essentially defined the progressive death genre that was to come into vogue in the late 90s, yet doesn't suffer from 'Opeth syndrome' - that is, long meandering songs that ultimately go nowhere. Straight to the point.
Although this little gem may be outshone by the late, great Chuck Schuldiner's work in Death, it is still one of the best pieces of progressive metal around - technical yet catchy, complex compositionally yet never losing touch with the need for songs.
I was initially drawn to this demo through a mixture of the high cult status and the incredibly long title, but it's a solid slab of funeral doom. It consists only of the 25-minute title track, which builds a growing sense of unease throughout with various faster passages which feel almost like exorcisms, however pretentious that may sound.
This is one of the, if not the, best albums of the NWOBHM movement. Although not as well known as Maiden, Saxon or even Diamond Head, this is now finally beginning to receive the attention it deserves.
So whilst I was posting Taake, I thought that I may as well post this year's EP, which contains 1 new track along with re-recordings of four 'classic' Taake tracks. It's good, but unnecessary if one has the other Taake albums, especially seeing as the new album is a little lacking.
To be honest, I haven't listened to enough Taake to form a fully informed opinion on this album, but it came as a request, and from what I have heard, it's a good solid piece of modern Norwegian BM, and well above average.
Enslaved's most recent album was not, for me, the best thing of 2010, but then again, it had to compete against Darkthrone, Fukpig and Triptykon, and it came damn close. It strikes a more metal-aligned balance than predecessor 'Vertebrae', and I think that was the way that they needed to go.
Now isn't this just a treat. Although I'm soon hoping to announce some new contributors, as soon as they've created accounts, this is a masterpiece of black metal, with plenty of folky and the beginnings of the progressive elements that would dominate Enslaved's later career.
This is quite possibly the best pure doom metal album ever released. Messiah Marcolin's vocals are wonderfully overblown, and the songwriting is impeccable. Nothing since it comes close, although many have tried.
Perhaps the origin of traditional doom as we know it today, this is a hugely enjoyable debut from the Swedish masters. Although 'Nightfall' has better songwriting chops, the honest and emotive vocals of Johan Längqvist and songs like 'Solitude' make this a classic nonetheless.
This is Carcass' best. Although grindfreaks may prefer the filthy feel of 'Reek Of Putrefaction' and melodeath fans will plump for 'Heartwork', this is the best all-round album. Grindcore elements are still present here, but to an even greater extent than 'Symphonies Of Sickness', the focus here is death metal.
Carcass' follow up to the raw and filthy 'Reek Of Putrefaction' still has many grindy elements, although there is far more of a concentration on death metal here. It's more refined, but don't be expecting a Dream Theater album.
Whether this is the best Pungent Stench album is debatable; what is not is that it is the only Pungent Stench album that I have. Despite the grotesque artwork, it is excellent, combining much of the doomy death of Autopsy with faster passages.
Perhaps a little bit controversial as the final choice for the first batch of Maiden albums to be uploaded to this blog, I will stand by 'AMOLAD' to the death as an excellent album. Really allowing Maiden's progressive leanings to come to the fore, it doesn't get boring throughout its 72 minutes.
It is no disrespect to 'Powerslave' et al that I have chosen not to upload them at this moment - I made my selection of four (yes, there is one coming) from Maiden's excellent albums arbitrarily. Indeed, this is yet another excellent album of Maiden's.
I read somewhere that no band has ever released more than three great albums - Maiden are living contradiction to that, with 6 or 7. This is the home of live staple and absolute metal hallmark 'The Trooper'.
Iron Maiden are one of the biggest metal bands ever, but unlike Metallica, they didn't reach their success by compromise. This, possibly their most successful, and their best, album, features the key singles of their ascension - 'Run To The Hills' and the title track.
When you go on metal forums, and they are talking of 'CoD' in reverence, they are not, in fact, speaking of the overrated videogame series. It is this, the follow-up to Obituary's scene defining debut that they speak of. Although in my personal opinion it does not come close to 'Slowly...', it is still a damn good album.
Obituary are one of the greats of death metal, and for good reason. This, both their debut and their classic (I don't rate 'Cause Of Death' quite as highly), essentially defined the Floridian DM scene at the time.
Once again, apologies for the incorrect year on the .zip and the mp3s for this one - the year on the post is the correct one. This takes Emperor's previous complexity to a new extreme. Unfortunately suffers from incredibly quiet bass.
One of the greats of the Norwegian black metal scene, it took me a long time to get into Emperor due to their complexity, but doing so led me to one of the most rewarding musical experiences I have ever had. Different from their peers due to the use of symphonic elements, but fear not, this is not Dimmu Borgir.
Chaos UK were one of the greats of the UK82 sound. D-beats and shouty, pumping choruses galore, this is hardcore at its best - catchy, thumping, but with a witty, political undercurrent, undoubtedly against the Tory government of the time.
So the new Autopsy has dropped upon us, and despite not being there during their heyday, I can assure you that it is looking to be right up there with the likes of 'Mental Funeral'. Already a strong contender for album of the year - and I've only listened to it twice!
This is the first pornogrind album I've uploaded, and don't be surprised if it's the last. Despite the usual tacky quality of the genre, this caught first my eyes as a 12 year old, and then my ears as I got into grindcore 3 years later. It's nothing exceptional, but good fun.
Despite pushing the limit of a single CD (this is pretty much 80 minutes long), this never gets boring. A fascinating piece of black metal that's winding, claustrophobic and progressive at once. I don't think this would disappoint anyone.
Featuring members of the power electronics masters Whitehouse, this is one of the most depraved audio-trips you will ever go on. Much of the lyrical content can be guessed from the names of both artist and album, but this is power electronics of the highest quality.
Okay, so I'm quite possibly the biggest Code fanboy in the world (I was devastated to learn that Kvhost (or however you spell it) left their ranks), so this is right up my street. This contains two of their three demos before they changed their name, and two tracks from the 'Resplendent Grotesque' recording sessions.
Skipping out 'Upon The Throne Of Apocalypse', because I'm not as well acquainted with it as I probably ought to be, this proves that some death metal bands can produce sheer quality past their 3rd album (consider Carcass' output past 'Necroticism').
Incantation's second album, and lo and behold, their second death metal classic. Many have imitated this style over the years - which has admittedly produced some fantastic albums, but none have close to the original.
These kings of NYDM released this, their debut, back in 1992, which features one of the most filthy productions one will hear this side of Autopsy, and one of the best opening riffs in the history of metal, right up there with the opening strands of 'Black Sabbath'.
This is Negative Plane's debut full-length - they released a follow-up this year, but that hasn't quite caught me in the same way as this. It is one of the best black metal albums of the last ten years without a question.
This lovely piece of sloppy death/grind is widely considered, along with Terrorizer's World Downfall, as one of the best US, and indeed worldwide grindcore albums. Absolutely essential in every way.
Mutant are one of the more promising acts from the UK axis of the new wave of retro-thrash. This is one of their two EP releases so far (I can't find the other despite my attempts to do so), and it's very good for a band that has not yet released their debut full-length.
One of the unfortunately lesser-known bands of hardcore, probably partially due to the fact that they hailed from Switzerland, and released mainly tapes and EPs before splitting up. However, this is excellent, as is Dave Phillips' recent compilation of unreleased FoG material 'The Hermeneutics Of Fear Of God'.
Timeghoul are one of the most underrated death metal bands of all time - probably because they only released these two demos. Nonetheless, they are fantastic. Certainly avant-garde for the time, they manage to seamlessly blend technicality with an old-school necro feeling.
Given that my first post was Cogumelo-thrash, erm... at 128 kbps, it seems appropriate that my 200th should also be so (although this is at 192). And it's just as bloody good as INRI, which is a recommendation if there ever was one.
Originally released under the name 'Illusions', but then re-released as 'Chemical Exposure', this is Sadus' debut full length. Given that it was preceded by releases entitled 'Death To Posers', 'Certain Death', and 'Raging Death', it was never going to be subtle. Death/thrash the way it ought to be done.
I'll admit, this is nothing particularly special, just good ol' fashioned blackened metalpunk. Reminds of the Japanese Sabbat at times, especially on standout track of the album 'Bitch With A Bulletbelt'. It's not often you see something this... fun come out of Sweden.
This is one of THE grindcore albums. Although more crusty than a lot of its counterparts, particularly once one considers the American axis, ENT still created some of the best, most aggressive, not to mention socially pertinent, grind ever. The loss of Phil Vane to the clutches of death earlier this year was a great shame.
The follow-up to their self-titled debut, this may be slightly more melodic than that, but I assure you, it's equally aggressive, and certainly a good listen. A perfect mix between a raw and polished production only adds to it.
Liverpudlians Short Sharp Shock, or SSS for short, are one of, if not the, best band of the thrash revival at the moment. Like most thrash acts, their energy crosses over well to the live arena, but these kicking crossover songs stand up well on record as well.
