Spotlight: Fifteen Dead

Okay, quick story for you all. Fifteen Dead are fucking awesome. Story complete. I did say quick. In case you weren't aware, I've loved the recent emergence of dozens of incredible blackened crust bands, and Fifteen Dead are one of the best (along with Ramlord). They've only been around since 2010, but they've already created a discography of impressive size and quality. I still haven't heard the split with Chronocide (I really should - Chronocide are great too, much more of a blackened death sound than Fifteen Dead though), or the live demo, but the rest of the stuff is catchy, angry, and moderately atmospheric. What's more, it's all available on Bandcamp, mostly for free. So seeing as I can't upload, I'm going to treat you all in this manner.

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Free Shit(You Sould Buy): Sun Worship- Sun Worship

Being a musician is expensive as fuck.

As a former vocalist for a shitty Grindcore band, I learned first hand just how expensive it can get... even though I was just the vocalist and didn't even play an instrument. Now in this particular case, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, mostly because half the band was Native American(Indian Casinos: Making Punk Rock Possible). But despite the fact that half the band was getting a fat check of free fucking money, things still got expensive. Between the microphones, the gas, the food, the drugs, the booze, the guitar strings, the recording equipment, the drugs, the booze, the time taken off from work, the repairs, the drugs and the booze, every single underground band is losing money. Not most of them, or even 99% of them. All of them are.

Truth is, even if everyone bought all the music they possess and never downloaded anything, these bands would still lose money. By it's very nature, Extreme Music is anti-everything, including anti-money. Unless you are Cannibal Corpse or The Black Dahlia Murder, you are not making anything(and those two particular bands members would, at best, be described as "lower-middle class). But that is because the money you as a consumer spend goes right back into the band: they spend it on the music(or the substances to produce music), not on fast cars and loose women. It's art being created to fund the creation of more art... not a bad thing if you ask me.

Sun Worship hail from Germany, and play a fairly standard style of modern "Cascadian Black Metal" in the vein of Krallice, Ash Borer or Yellow Eyes. Not that this is a bad thing: Sun Worship is a highly enjoyable slice of modern Black Metal, filled with plenty of atmospheric riffs and a thick, inviting atmosphere that I am just a sucker for. It might not re-invent the wheel, but it's still quality and worth a listen. However, this two song demo is pushing the boundaries of cost in the US(5.25 plus 5.25 for shipping), but for you Eurofags there is no excuse not to throw the 4 whateverthefuckyoucallyourmonies at Sun Worship for the cassette.

Persona 101: Sharpy's recommendations are usually gold, but the cassette is sold out at the moment according to their Bandcamp. However, there are more pressings planned for June.

Sun Worship Bandcamp

Free Shit(You Should Buy): Shaidar Logoth- Chapter I: The Peddler

The future of the music industry, both mainstream and underground, will be decided in the next few years. Technology, connectivity and economic factors are leading us inevitably to an apex; hurtling through space to an unknown, alien world. The music industry as we have known it is dying: the CD is out-dated technology heading for at best a niche market(like vinyl); at worst, non-existence. Years of overcharging for low quality, mass production pop music and a relentless focus on radio singles has backfired into the faces of record companies, as the invention of the mp3 has made a large number of Top 40 pop and rock albums worthless: containing only one or two radio singles that anyone cared about, the introduction of mp3's allowed consumers to selectively download those singles without paying for whole albums. This massive loss in revenue has had an equally massive effect on the buisness practices of record labels. Namely, becoming freakishly paranoid about piracy and the internet as a whole, and doing everything in their power to destroy it. The mainstream music industry is fighting against a massive cultural and economic force, one that is more advanced and far reaching than it is.

It has almost no chance of winning. The mainstream music industry must evolve... or die.

Luckily for them, there is a blueprint for a new tomorrow already being written by several underground record labels and independent artists. One that embraces the reality of intellectual property in the 21st century while also allowing for financial gains. The premise is simple: give it away, believe in the quality of the property and let it speak for itself. It if says and does the right things, people will pay for it and support it like they do anything they care about. Since the introduction of Bandcamp, this practice has become more widespread and effective. So over the next several weeks, I will be drawing special attention to those record labels and independent artists who are embracing a better future for both musicians and consumers. Some of these will be pretty well saturated, some maybe not. But all will meet two requirements: the albums, EP's and demos will be free, and even though they are free you should still buy them.

Why? Because this concept needs your vote of confidence. And your vote just won't fucking matter if you can't pony up 5 to 10 dollars to support it. Remember, these are small, independent record labels or artists self-releasing their own material: support their DIY, grass-roots effort to change the music industry... buy the damn album.

Our first completely free album you should pay for is Chapter I: The Peddler, from Minnesota based Black Metal two-piece Shaidar Logoth. Featuring members of Iron Thrones and Wolvehammer, Shaidar Logoth play some incredibly awesome Raw Black Metal that draws from a lot of different influences: Darkthrone, Horna, Leviathan, Mayhem. All raw, all blistering and all shockingly atmospheric and intelligent. Chapter I: The Peddler blew my mind the very first time I heard it... Black Metal doesn't get any more intense or heart-wrenching. You can download the album free of charge, or pay whatever you want with the "name your price" feature. You can also purchase the CD for a mere 5 dollars. And for those who think that this new idea won't work, be sure to scroll far enough down the page where it shows that the tape of Chapter I: The Peddler is sold out.

Shaidar Logoth Bandcamp

Re-upload: Hell - Human Remains [2011]

So this was initially taken off Megaupload a while back - due to crappy internet and a large file size, it's taken longer than expected to get it back up. But put quite simply, this is one of the albums of the year - NWOBHM done in 2011 is rarely done well, but this, my friends, is a tour de force of excellence in the style. Although Hell may have lost their original vocalist to the clutches of death (christ, I should be a literary critic) a while back, this reunion, inspired by Andy Sneap, is more worthwhile than anything else he has caused - including Sabbat.

Re-upload notes 2: This had gone even before the purge but it's such a great album I will upload it until the cows come home.

320 kbps

Mediafire
DepositFiles
Zippyshare
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*shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo [2011]

I first listened to this album - would you believe - because I liked the cover art. It's the first album in a while I've gone into genuinely with no pre-conceptions, or even any idea what type of music it was. As it turned out, this album is a sort of post-rock/post-metal effort from a band that is described as "a supergroup of the British underground music scene". I can't comment on the validity of that statement since I have no knowledge of this music scene at all, but what I can say is it's a great album that has the "wall of sound" production that is often heard in post-rock. Check it out.

13 Tracks, 1:16:51, 174.25 MB
Mediafire (Mp3, 320 kbps)

Re-upload: Fukpig - Batcave Full Of Bastards EP [2011]

This is likely to be Fukpig's only release this year unfortunately, after full-lengths two years on the trot, and that's a shame, because it's quite possible the best five minutes of music so far this year. Brilliant song titles too - there's a title track, and 'One Of A Thousand Ways To Steal Your Liberty'. This really tears the listener a new one, and interestingly sees Fukpig trying new things - it's perhaps a little more melodic and groovy, but fear not, for neither of those tags could be used to accurately describe the music.

320 kbps

Filefactory
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REVIEW (with download): Wreck And Reference - Black Cassette [2011]

Due to technology, this EP (released on cassette – hence the name – through Music Ruins Lives) has been sitting in my inbox unnoticed for several months. For that, I apologize. From the name of the band, one might guess that they played post-something, and you’d be sort of right – the influence which jumps out instantly to me is Jesu, in the shimmering semi-industrial shoegazey sense. Jesu are always better on EPs due to their albums becoming boring over their full duration, and I suppose this is the same.

                                 

The aforementioned elements create quite a haunting ambient effect – but despite wholly miserable lyrics, the music is uplifting to some degree; consider the musical form of being haunted by a nice ghost who sings melodically rather than attempting to scare people. However, at times the raw production makes it somewhat difficult to discern individual melodies, particularly when notes used are chromatically close to each other. Although this rawness gives a warm feeling – like that of an LP – overall it probably strays far enough to slightly detract from the music. That said, it’s a cassette release, and therefore one should not expect outstanding production.

A point of particular similarity with Jesu in particular as opposed to many other practitioners of this kind of music is the choice to use something roughly resembling popular structure (verse-chorus-verse or variations thereon), particularly on the pleasing opener ‘All The Ships Have Been Abandoned’. The vocal approach, however, which is integral to the quality of the music, as many of the instrumental patterns are a little uninspired, is more similar to that utilised by SubRosa (although from my guess the vocalist here is male). Unfortunately, for the most part they sound a little frail – and in a way that is more weak than ‘woe is me’, something which is particularly evident when they are brought to the forefront of the music by quieter instrumentation.

Speaking of the instrumentation, the email from the band, as well as the label’s website, informed me that no guitars were used in the creation of this, which they are still calling ‘rock music’ (a tag that I would loosely agree with). To be honest, I really don’t see the point in bringing this to our attention. The timbre of one of the instruments used (presumably one of the synthesisers mentioned) sounds so much like an electric guitar (a matter that the mucky production aids little to clear up) that it may as well be one. I’m not criticizing the use of alternate instruments, more so the particular highlighting of this factor which has so little effect it ultimately amounts to little more than a gimmick.

An unusual, but effective, use is made of the juxtaposition of what, at the end of the day, is inherently catchy music (although one would struggle to call any of the motifs and melodies used strictly ‘poppy’, they lean that way at times) with industrial (we’re talking Throbbing Gristle, not Combichrist here) and noise elements in middle eight sections. This blends smoothly rather than clashes awkwardly as one would expect – a true success on their behalf, and something that’s not really been done before (no, Merzbeat doesn’t count).

There is a fine line to be trod between suffocating emotion and tedium in music, and Wreck And Reference manage to trample haphazardly on both sides of that line with roughly equal proportion. Where their style works, it moves towards ‘stunning’, but there are simply too many sections of the EP where I’m looking at the second hand on the clock to justify too much positivity about the good parts. The same feeling comes from some of the odd diversions they go on in the EP – they’re of decidedly mixed quality, and some leave a jarring effect and hamper the continuity of the individual piece or the EP as a whole.

A good last track on a release is probably more conducive to wishes to listen to it again than any other track – that last impression is a lasting one, and fortunately the closer here, ‘A Lament’, is the standout track. The drones and synths bring a shimmering quality to it, and the vocals come across as sufficiently strained to introduce some real heart-ripping emotion to it. This may be so, but many other sections of the EP go through the mind as though it were a sieve, and although this EP shows promise, and future Wreck And Reference releases could be something indeed, to those with a busy listening schedule it’s definitely one that can be passed on with no harm done.

Bandcamp

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Code - Discography [2002-2011]

Since I heard their stunning second full-length, Resplendent Grotesque in 2009, Code has been one of my favourite bands. From that album's incredible mixture of decidedly progressive black metal with pop (yes, you read correctly) influence, without ever sounding cheesy, to their demo and debut and the decidedly more depressive approach there. Although part of that will always be due to ex-vocalist (since 2010) Kvohst's outstanding vocals, the musicality is such that it rivals the classics of the black metal genre and those of their other influences in terms of sheer quality. Every song is a stunner.

N.B. I've also included Seasonal Code's Aortian Dialectus here, which is a collection of demos released under the Seasonal Code moniker and a few unreleased tracks from the Resplendent Grotesque sessions.

If I haven't given you enough enticement to now go and get the lot, you are hopeless.

Neurotransmissions: Amplified Thought Chemistry demo [2002]
Nouveau Gloaming [2005]
Resplendent Grotesque [2009]
Seasonal Code - Aortian Dialectus [2011]

James Blake - James Blake [2011]

Boy, did I miss a trick here. Had I listened to this album just a month ago it could have been sitting proudly among my favourite of the year. Anyway, I really did just download this on a whim the other day, and boy was I pleasantly surprised. "Imagine Jeff Buckley is still alive and making minimalist electronic music" is how I've been describing it, and I reckon that's pretty close to what it is. It's been officially described as 'post-dubstep', but I'm really not seeing it here. Whatever it is, it's short and sweet and a great listen. Check it out.

11 tracks, 38:00, 58.94 MB
Mediafire (Mp3, 320 kbps)

SebastiAn - Total [2011]

On its release in May 2011, Ed Banger Records artist SebastiAn's first album was met with some anticipation. He had gained some exposure as a remixer and as an opening act for Justice on their "A Cross the Universe" tour, but people were interested in hearing what his own work sounded like.

Unsurprisingly, it sounds a lot like Justice. The French duo's fidgety style is prominent here, and there's a lot of sampling of split-seconds of singing, occasional individual bass notes and so on. However, "Total" is both harsher and lighter than the work of Justice at the same time. Harsher in that a lot of the time there's an almost industrial edge, though there's also much less bass here than, say, "Cross".

Either way, if you like Justice you'll be sure to like this, so check it out.

22 tracks, 51:18, 73.46 MB
Mediafire (Mp3, 192 kbps)

Mediafire pulled the link. E-mail us if you want a re-upload.

Shining - VII: Född Förlorare [2011]

Shining purportedly play depressive black metal, but I think that that's as much to do with frontman, and indeed mainman, Kvarforth's antics than their actual musical approach. In addition to featuring on other classic albums like Bethlehem's S.U.I.Z.I.D., Kvarforth has built a strong legacy through this band (recently he suspended his activities with all other bands), the closest similar artists to which which springs to mind being Lifelover (sorry for the awkward grammar). He plays fairly clean-sounding black metal with a defined poppy approach, stopping a fair way short of the likes of Ved Buens Ende in progression and eclectia, but still being far from the BM hordes. This has naturally attained him lots of fans and lots of haters, but I find this album, although just outside my top 50 of 2011, to be a very satisfying listen.

~260 kbps VBR

Megaupload

Los Campesinos! - Hello Sadness [2011]

Since it was my album of the year, I figured I may as well post it. Following on from 2010's "Romance is Boring", Cardiff-based indie-poppers Los Campesinos! have put out a slower, darker, and ultimately more mature fourth album. Apparently ten songs about breaking up or loss of love or something (so a bit like Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", only more pretentious), not that I'd know as the lyrics are as bullshitty as ever. Still though, the songs on the album work whether or not the lyrics make sense, as it's all about tone and emotion here. A trend beginning with "Romance is Boring" was to shy away from the relentless upbeat energy of their earlier work, "Hello Sadness" is a further natural progression of that. Not that there are no upbeat songs, they've just manifested themselves in a less 'twee' way ("Songs About Your Girlfriend" is probably the fastest track on the album, and it's also one of my favorites).

Anyway, as I said before, "Hello Sadness" was my album of 2011 and you'd do right to give it a listen.


10 tracks, 40:02, 84.45 MB
Mediafire (Mp3, 320 kbps)

DMCA came calling. E-mail us if you want a link.

Persona 101's top 50 releases of 2011

So here we have it, the fabled end of year list. Don't read too much into the order - whilst in general, the higher up the list, the better the album is, it isn't so precise that two albums next to each other couldn't happily be swapped around.

50) Wolves In The Throne Room
       Celestial Lineage
       [Southern Lord Recordings]

As it turns out, this is the final release from the band who have essentially epitomized 'atmospheric' or 'hipster' black metal over the last few years, depending on which way you look at it. Appropriately, it is the culmination of everything they have produced over the years - it has the harsher approach of debut Diadem Of Twelve Stars and the demos, and at the same time uses the somewhat more airy approach of Malevolent Grain and Black Cascade. 

Astral Blood

 49) Sólstafir

       Svartir Sandar

       [Season Of Mist]

I was wary of this album before listening to it for two main reasons: 1) it's a folk metal album and 2) it's a double album. Fortunately, the album itself assuaged my fears of intense boredom. One hears the term 'epic metal' bandied around all the time, but rarely does one encounter a band or album who actually merits the term. Well, this is the album. Like Atlantean Kodex last year, Sólstafir have managed to combat the challenge of a longer album length with massive riffs and fantastic structures.

Ljós í Stormi 

48) Iced Earth

      Dystopia

      [Century Media Records]

Let's face it, with more than 25 years of experience, Iced Earth should certainly know how to write a damn good power metal album. This is demonstrated once again here; whilst many power metal bands flounder around with 10 minute songs which don't really go anywhere, Iced Earth get straight to the point, with hooks, catches and melodies beautiful galore. Every song on here is a winner - and isn't that the point of power metal?

Dystopia

47) Devin Townsend Project

      Deconstruction

      [HevyDevy Records]

Anyone who's been keeping up with my Weekly Album Analysis will know that I haven't exactly been enamoured with much of the strange Canadian's recent work, but this is a strong exception to the rule. A modern progressive metal tour de force, this visits all the strong points of Townsend's career, from the Strapping Young Lad craziness to more recent progressive tendencies, largely derived from Terria and Ocean Machine. Excellent choices of guests only improve the album.

The Mighty Masturbator

46) Brutal Truth

      End Time

      [Relapse Records]

Brutal Truth are one of the undisputed gods of grind, but after their 2009 album Evolution Through Revolution, I feared that they would be another reunion flop - it sat uncomfortably between the classic grind of their debut Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses and the experimental approach of Need To Control and Kill Trend Suicide. Fortunately, here they have fully embraced a newly developed style - a mixture of those experimental albums and the modern dissonant techgrind of Discordance Axis and Noisear to name a couple.

Fuck Cancer

45) Anaal Nathrakh

      Passion

      [Candlelight Records]

It was always going to be difficult to follow their career highlight In The Constellation Of The Black Widow, and here some would criticize Nathrakh for taking the safe route with what is essentially more of the same. To get the elephant out of the room, no, it's not on the same par as the previous, but yes, it is a worthy Anaal Nathrakh album, and thus perfectly worthy of this spot within this top 50. Musical nihilism perfected once again.

Drug-Fucking Abomination

44) Turisas

      Stand Up And Fight

      [Century Media Records]

The first controversial entry in this list, Turisas are maligned by many for being 'too fun for metal' (or something like that anyway). Well... I like fun. And I'm not ashamed to admit it. Bombastic? Check. Massive hooks? Check. Will have you shamelessly donning your viking gear, raising a fist and singing along by the third listen? Depends where your inhibitions lie. If you don't like Turisas, you're not going to like this, but for those who don't mind their extreme levels of cheese, they have struck again.

Venetoi! - Prasinoi!

43) Sheer Ignorance

      Conditioning EP

      [Self-Released] 
And so, the first crust EP in the list for a year which has had an abundance of excellence for crust newcomers and old-timers alike. This has the barest hint of black metal in it, but what it really is is a speedy, aggressive EP with variation in tempo and riffing styles. Although the standout track of the five is opener 'Pay Your Dues To Punk', there is no filler on here; the band even manage to pull off the slower tempo on the longest and centrepiece track.

Pay Your Dues To Punk

42) Nunslaughter/Nekrofilth

      Split

      [Hell's Headbangers Records]

I'm not normally Nunslaughter's biggest fan, but on this, they not only hit my buttons hard, but they also picked one of the best bands to make a split with that they could. Nunslaughter's best material that I've heard is on this release, and Nekrofilth are criminally underrated thrashy death metal. The split format is perpetually underrated, even though I've not heard much fantastic in the format this year, and this is a strong example why. Two bands doing what they do best without stretching it out for too long.

  Nunslaughter - Defacing Holy Icons

Nekrofilth - Take Them To The Grave

41) Merzbow & Balázs Pándi

      Ducks: Live In NYC

      [Ohm Resistance] 

I've never professed to be the biggest expert of noise or Merzbow, but I've always got that age-old idiom 'I know what I like' to fall back upon. And I like this, very much. I've liked Merzbow's more percussive approach to his recent body of work, and this is another fine example. Includes more variation than one would usually find in noise music, and in this case, that's a virtue (unlike recent Prurient). I'm not quite sure which bits are the Balázs Pándi's contributions, but the two together do make a damn fine live album.

I can't find anything off the album, so here's a live performance

40) Fifteen Dead

      NecroCrust EP

      [Self-Released] 

And another crust EP. This one is only three tracks and from Scotland, but the black metal influence has been pumped up quite a bit here. Socially relevant lyrical themes can only help the EP up its quality, and the multi-faceted vocal approach really brings some freshness in a scene that has begun to become a little stagnant recently. Softer moments and sampled spoken word sections allow reflection on the band's intentions and what has been achieved here. A highly promising EP.

Sample/buy on their bandcamp

39) Em Ruinas

      From The Speed Metal Graves

      [Mutilation Records]

As if their recommendation by old-school master Fenriz wasn't enough, here's a recommendation from me. The album title is pretty accurate - this is essentially a speed metal album. It certainly takes some influence from extreme metal though, particularly their native Brazilian scene - a raw, unkempt feeling pervades throughout this album, which is well juxtaposed with more than enough hooks to keep the album interesting throughout. If they have even more to offer in the future, it could be astounding.

Headbanger Race/Warriors Of Tomorrow

38) Lock Up

      Necropolis Transparent

      [Nuclear Blast Records]

Lock Up, the deathgrind supergroup have survived through the death of guitarist and grindcore legend Jesse Pintado and have come back with this album, which is far better than 98% of reunion albums. Is it on a par with Hate Breeds Suffering? Not quite. That said, it is still one of the best grindcore albums of this year and should certainly not be overlooked in any of the members' considerable legacies. You knew what to expect, and Lock Up delivered.

Accelerated Mutation

37) Wormrot

      Decibel Flexi Series EP

      [Earache Records]

This release is a paltry 111 seconds long, but so much raw aggression was fit into it that it is well worthy of its place here. With such a short length, there is little opportunity to do much evaluation, but I assure you this is classic Wormrot, with more of an Abuse style vocal approach than this year's (excellent) album Dirge. It's perfectly alright to simply stick this on the end of one of the two aforementioned albums as 'bonus tracks', but listening to it on its own can produce the most exciting two minutes of your life. If only there was more of it...

Vehemence Of Denials

36) Tom Waits

      Bad As Me

      [ANTI-Records]

A fellow contributor to this blog described Tom Waits as 'namedrop by the water cooler' music. Yes, his music is popular among the whole Pitchfork crowd, but as has been shown a lot recently, being liked by hipsters does not necessarily preclude music from being good. This shows all aspects of Waits' talented musical brain, from softer country parts like 'Talking At The Same Time' to the raucous bluesy goodness of the title track and 'Hell Broke Luce'. The consistent top quality that is part and parcel of his music is once again demonstrated here.

Hell Broke Luce

35) Nightbringer

      Hierophany Of The Open Grave

      [Season Of Mist]

Dissonance and technicality have been very popular in black metal recently, almost to the point of over-saturation of the style, but this is an album that stands head and shoulders above the crowd. USBM is often criticized for being overly concerned with histrionics, but this cuts to the chase well without forgetting the need for structured musicality. The main aspect which really sets this apart is its cohesiveness as an album; tracks flow from one into the next without ever sounding the same, something that is difficult and rare to achieve.

Lucifer Trismegistus

34) Fuck The Facts

      Die Miserable

      [Relapse Records]

Fuck The Facts are a band who have continually made good, but not great albums... until now. You see, previously, a late 90s metalcore element was a little too prominent in their music, which was somewhat jarring with their other death and grind influences, but here they appear to have replaced that element with a simple songwriting and tempo sensibility. Catchy from start to finish, this has Fuck The Facts really maturing into a band who could soon be a major player not only in deathgrind but in metal in general.

Alone

 33) Devil

       Time To Repent

       [Soulseller Records]

It seems that the retro-rock resurgence won't be falling down any time soon, which is good, as it is continually producing albums of this quality. Devil mix this with some blatant worship of the likes of Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath, which is quite welcome - and seeing as they obviously harness the power of the riff very well, not to mention some damn fine choruses, we can only hope that the scene, and indeed Devil themselves, manage to produce more of the same quality.

Howling (At The World)

32) Sonne Adam

      Transformation

      [Imperium Productions/Century Media Records] 

This can't be right. Dark, dank, and altogether foul death metal of this quality simply isn't released on Century Media. It seems that it is now - after their highly promising Armed With Hammers EP, Israeli band Sonne Adam (Hebrew for Hater of Man) have produced one of the best death metal records of this year with their debut album. Slowly boiling, this brings out the evil side of death metal without just sounding like another Incantation worship band. The furore around the blogosphere about this album was well-placed.

We Who Worship The Black

31) Nuclear Torment

      8 Bit Death EP

      [Self-Released]

It's a wonder that there hasn't been more thrash written about video games. Although much of the new thrash stuff which is supposed to be 'fun' just comes across as bland and soulless (Gama Bomb and Municipal Waste, I'm looking at you), Nuclear Torment here manage to make bouncy thrash with just the slightest crossover tendency which doesn't fall flat on its face. Admittedly, I'm not sure how well this would transfer to a full-length, but the three songs here are very good for such a new band.

8 Bit Death

30) Blood Ceremony

      Living With The Ancients

      [Rise Above Records]

And so, another recent retro-rock album. Blood Ceremony didn't really impress me with their eponymous debut, but compared to that, this is simply on another level. Influences are tastefully taken from hippie, prog and proto-metal scenes, and both the guitar and flute tones are simply delightful to behold. Blood Ceremony used to be overrated; no longer, they have drawn to the stage where they achieve to the high level at which they are rated.

Daughter Of The Sun

29) Marduk

      Iron Dawn EP

      [Regain Records]

Although Panzer Division Marduk appears to have become the most divisive album in black metal, few question the unerring quality of Marduk's recent output, at least since 2007's Rom 5:12. On Iron Dawn, Marduk have produced some of their catchiest material ever, whilst remaining firmly within the confines of black metal, and without losing their trademark blastbeats galore. Here's to a new album hopefully this year.

Warschau 2: Headhunter Halfmoon

28) Disma

      Towards The Megalith

      [Profound Lore Records]

Although the sheer saturation of Incantation-worship bands at the moment makes it somewhat difficult to enjoy any of them seriously at the moment, Disma are somewhat different for two main reasons - that they are quite original in their riffing structure and horror, and that they feature Craig Pillard - you know, the guy who sang on Onward To Golgotha - on vocals. This year's been an excellent year for death metal, and still Disma stand head and shoulders above most of the output.

Purulent Quest

     27) Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire/Nesseria

           Split

           [Throatruiner Records]

    Two of the most exciting new bands around at the moment combine to create a split on which they complement each other perfectly. Both play a delicious combination of death metal and chaotic grindcore with a tiny bit of sludge influence, yet both are quite distinct from each other. CTTTOAFF are the slightly better band here, perhaps due to their slightly greater experience, but both have made an incredibly worthwhile addition to both their own and metal's canons here. Distinctly modern, yet still distinct.

Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire - Wrinkled Claws

Nesseria - Freistadt

26) Violent Pink

      Propaganda Of The Deed

      [Ilse 5 Records]

Simply put, this is the best noise output of this year (that I've heard, anyway). Filtered through a power electronics spectrum, this is strongly reminiscent of Masonna's Frequency LSD (which itself is one of the best noise releases of all time), without being wholly derivative. It is nice, and actually somewhat unusual for noise, that this does not sound like a thousand other albums out there. A strong left-wing political influence is claimed, but is not evident through the music, as no lyrics can be heard. Fans of noise, don't pass this up.

Download (nothing on Youtube)

25) Gripe

      Pig Servant EP

      [Self-Released]

Gripe released their very first material, this and the demo, this year. And this is exactly how this style of music, grinding powerviolence, should sound. Short, sharp bursts of punk fury, it's at times uncertain what exactly the band are angry at or whether it's just everything, but this is another fine example of why punk is not, as Crass would claim, dead. Extra props for making this available for free via their bandcamp. It breaks no new boundaries, but this is still truly impressive.

Whole EP

24) Trap Them

      Darker Handcraft

      [Prosthetic Records]

At least since 2008's Seizures In Barren Praise, Trap Them have become more than just a blip on the radar of both metal and hardcore punk. a position well-cemented by this, their latest. Although I was somewhat let down by the interim Filth Rations EP, this shows Trap Them back to their finest. It's the sort of music which instantly sounds like you've known it for a long time, but you can't for the life of you place it or pigeonhole it. Mixing traces of death metal with hardcore aggression without resorting to dumbfuck beatdowns, this is Trap Them's best yet.

The Facts

23) Valborg

      Barbarian

      [Zeitgeister Music]

Although Germans Valborg have been around by 2002, this was the first I've heard of them, and I've got to say I was very pleasantly surprised by the exceedingly high quality of the doom metal on here. It's mixed with influences from all sorts of other genres, and so the label 'avant-garde' is often associated with them, but they don't sound remotely like a project of Mike Patton or John Zorn's if that's what you're expecting. The riffwork is splendid here too, and the rate at which they've been producing albums means we could conceivably have another next year.

Battlefield Of Souls

22) Deathspell Omega

      Diabolus Absconditus EP

      [Norma Evangelium Diaboli]

It should come as a surprise to no-one who's been remotely following black metal over the past few years that any new Deathspell Omega release is awaited with fervent expectations and bated breath, such is the consistent level of brilliance that they have produced since 2004's Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice. This is no exception - consisting of a single, 22 minute track, the EP twists and turns through all sorts of hellish convulsions, including some haunting female vocals in the middle, before coming full circle to end in roughly the same way it started.

Full EP

21) Sol Invictus

      The Cruellest Month

      [Auerbach Tonträger]

Sol Invictus are one of the greats of neofolk, along with Current 93 and Death In June, and the former of the other two has become something of a self-parody in recent years. This is what you expect from Sol Invictus, and it's also what you want. Although neofolk supposedly falls under the 'extreme' spectrum, upon listening to some of the beautiful melodies crafted here, one has to assume it is solely based on sometimes questionable lyrical content that this assumption is made. Although the album is somewhat long, it flies by in what seems to be a matter of minutes.

Toys

20) Gripe

      The Future Doesn't Need You demo

      [Self-Released] 

One of two acts on here to have two releases in my top 50 (admittedly a demo and an EP), Gripe are perhaps the best thing the powerviolence scene has for its future. It has a rare quality for powerviolence in that some riffs, drum beats and vocal lines stay in the head after just one listen. This is, by a fair old distance, the best demo I've heard from this year. Highly recommended to anyone who likes their music a bit punky, a bit powerful and a bit violent.

Full demo

19) Amebix

      Sonic Mass

      [Self-Released]

Self-released, not because of being a small band (indeed, Arise is arguably the most important crust punk record), but because of the true punk spirit, this sees a serious move away from Amebix's original sound into a very post-punky, and dare I say it, perhaps poppy sound. No, not quite, but certainly this is a little bit more accessible than previous Amebix releases. Not that that's a bad thing. This is a true triumph; proof that a longstanding band can radically change style in a highly successful manner.

Knights Of The Black Sun

18) Wormrot

      Dirge

      [Earache Records]

Wormrot are one of the best grind bands around nowadays; they don't bother with overly technical shtick, they just do the job they're supposed to damn well. This is a fine follow-up to their fantastic debut Abuse, in much the same style, except perhaps even faster this time around. Its short, 18-minute runtime ensures it doesn't outstay its welcome; moreover, by the end, I found I was desperate for more. Wormrot are simply the best thing in grindcore at the moment, and that doesn't look like changing any time soon.

Butt Krieg Is Showing

17) Sabbat

      Sabbatrinity

      [Iron Pegasus Records]

Japan has a reputation of being pretty spot-on when it comes to extreme metal, and Sabbat have always been one of the country's finest exports when it comes to it. This is another fine addition to the near-faultless Sabbat legacy, with riffs, speed, and just generally thrash galore. The highly distinctive vocals courtesy of Gezol only add to the experience, and this set of songs can be easily liked by any metal fan worth their salt. Posers avoid this for sure though.

Karmagmassacre

16) Ulver

      Wars Of The Roses

      [Kscope]

As surely as my back is going to itch on any given day, a new Ulver release is going to be any/all of the following: spectacular, panoramic, innovative, beautiful, thoughtful, avant-garde, piss off fans of Nattens Madrigal and Bergtatt. It seems that with each passing album, Ulver piss off fans of their previous material yet more, or at least those who can't adapt to non-raw black metal music. This album takes influence from sources as wide as The Beatles, Roxy Music and Tchaikovsky, yet still manages to come together as a beautifully coherent album.

Providence

15) Pensées Nocturnes

      Ceci Est De La Musique

      [Self-Released]

The mysterious French black metal entity known as PN has created top-quality albums time and again, and this is just another example. Whilst most metal albums which claim to have classical influence usually just have a cheesy keyboard melody or some major-key shredding, this is evidently genuinely influenced by neoclassical music. This band is one of the few to be making actual strides forward in black metal of late rather than reverting to being 'raw' or 'orthdox' - it's excellent stuff, and stuff that all black metal fans should hear.

A medley

14) Toxic Holocaust

      Conjure And Command

      [Relapse Records]

Toxic Holocaust has been around for a long time, considering it's widely seen as a 'new' thrash band - indeed, this is mainman Joel Grind's fourth full-length under the Toxic Holocaust moniker - and it's his best yet. Every riff is well-crafted, there's more variation in tempo than on previous albums, and of course, the album has its standout, unbelievably awesome track in 'Bitch'. If you like blackened thrash, there's no reason for you not to like this album.

Bitch

13) Steven Wilson

      Grace For Drowning

      [Kscope]

Regular readers of this blog will know that I don't usually have much time for prog, especially of the woefully insipid variety of Wilson's main band Porcupine Tree. So why do I like this? Simply put, it gets rid of many of the unnecessary frivolities which plague most prog and replaces them with pretty damn good songs. Admittedly, upon listening to both discs at once, the album becomes boring three-quarters of the way through, but if you listen to the discs one at a time, it's wonderful. Relaxing and beautiful music.

Deform To Form A Star

12) Vektor

      Outer Isolation

      [Heavy Artillery Records]

Vektor revolutionized modern thrash on their debut full-length (the band regards Demolition as a demo) Black Future in 2009, and although this is more of the same, it's even better. Whilst retaining that technical flair and attention to detail, the length of the album has been cut down a little, which made Black Future drag at times, and there has clearly been a little more attention paid to songwriting, and less on simply confusing the listener to the point of submission. If Vektor continue like this they'll make as good a case for an expansion to a 'big 5' as any.

Tetrastructural Minds

11) Ramlord

      Stench Of Fallacy EP

      [Self-Released]

I haven't yet heard the split with Condensed Flesh, so that could be up here too, but Ramlord are simply the best new blackened crust band of this year - and let's face it, there's been a few. They manage to seamlessly blend the most desolate-feeling parts of the two genres (and the feeling plays a major part in both) without it sounding forced like many of their contemporaries. With socially revealing lyrics to boot, Ramlord could conceivably within a few years be on the same level as the likes of Skitsystem and the late Disfear in the crust world.

Wolves Of Isolation

10) Decrepitaph

      Profane Doctrines Unburied

      [Razorback Recordings]

It really has been a good year for death metal - Decrepitaph are just one of the best of a fantastic bunch. The sense of emergent doom emanating from this album's every orifice is not in the slightest bit original, but it is damn well done. Taking influences from the likes of Asphyx, Incantation and Carnage is always a good idea, especially when you can back it up with a well-structured album like this one. Death metal is supposed to sound like the soundtrack to a particularly gruesome horror film, and Decrepitaph pull it off here with aplomb.

Desecrate Sacred Flesh

9) Altar Of Plagues

    Mammal

    [Candlelight Records]

Altar Of Plagues shocked the metal world with quite how stunning a debut album White Tomb was back in 2009, and this improves on even that. Although they still hold the core atmospheric black metal aesthetic, what is clear here is the band's movement into the Neurosis/Isis axis of post-metal to quite a large degree. Still, that is only beneficial to the shimmering soundscapes which pervade through this album, and it is only to Altar Of Plagues' credit that they have made such a stylistic improvement for their first major label release.

All Life Converges To Some Centre

8) Per Capita

    The Damage Done EP

    [Self-Released]

2011 was, for me, the year of crust, and this is the best crust release of the year. Grinding crustcore with relent only for some fantastic slower (but still pretty quick) riffs, it's a shame that the whole EP blazes by so quickly. Per Capita are truly an excellent band, even managing to make a cover of Dropdead ('Wake Of Deception') sound like their own. I imagine this is filling pits in their native Germany as you read this, such is the sheer quality of the release (also praised highly by the popular grind blog Grind And Punishment).

The God Delusion

7) Fukpig

    Batcave Full Of Bastards EP

    [Devizes Studio]

If this had been longer than five minutes, it would probably have been my album of the year. As it stands, although it's just an EP, it's a true ripper, which does more than whet the appetite for the third full-length in January 2012. Both tracks are absolute Fukpig classics, and although this release was overlooked by many, it was unfairly done so, as both tracks are up to the standard of anything Fukpig has put out so far. If it's too short for you, the simple answer to that is listen to it multiple times. You won't tire of it.

Batcave Full Of Bastards

6) Primordial

    Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

    [Metal Blade Records]

Primordial are perhaps the quintessential Irish metal band. They do not have a single dud in their discography, and this is amongst their best. Forsaking some of the more black metal elements of their earlier work for an earlier, more windswept feeling that can only come from the country of potato famine and multiple civil wars and wars of independence, this is 'folk metal' without the cheesiness. Lyrical maturity and simply crushing heaviness cannot be doubted, especially in the case of Primordial.

Death Of The Gods

5) Absu

    Abzu

    [Candlelight Records]

On another year, one which wasn't quite so wonderfully fertile for metal in general, this could quite feasibly have been album of the year. As it stands, it is another superlative effort from the American masters of 'occult metal'. What that means is anyone's guess, but this is a primarily black metal album with strong thrash elements and just a hint of death metal to keep you guessing. One thing is without doubt - it's metal to the core and a fantastic album, perhaps on a par with their nearly undisputed best, Tara. Even a 16-minute epic doesn't sound out of place.

Abraxus Connexus

4) SubRosa

    No Help For The Mighty One

    [Profound Lore Records]

When one hears 'female-fronted metal', what springs to mind is the dire concoctions of 'gothic' bands like Lacuna Coil, not something as hypnotic and inspirational as this. Stoner-y doom that somehow manages to sound nothing like Electric Wizard, what really sets this album off aside from the deliciously thick bass guitar tone is the effect of the violins and the incredibly haunting vocals. Somehow they've even managed to make a folksong in 'House Carpenter' sound not at all out of place.

Borrowed Time, Borrowed Eyes

3) Hades Archer

    For The Diabolical Ages

    [Kuravilú Productions]

Especially for a debut album, this album is beyond belief. Absolutely ferocious blackened thrash with a good dollop of bestial black metal is the best way to describe it, but that simply doesn't do it justice. There is no such thing as a bad song on this album - imagine what a collaboration between members of Blasphemy and Kreator would sound like and you've just about got the picture of this album. Hades Archer is old-school style metal in excelsis. Fans of the old Brazilian scene (Vulcano, Sarcofago, Morbid Visions era Sepultura) will also find a lot to like here.

Sodoma Eden

2) Hell

    Human Remains

    [Nuclear Blast Records]

It may have taken a long time to make and release due to the death of original vocalist Dave Halliday (suicide), but this is a modern-day NWOBHM classic. It really is up there with the likes of Lightning To The Nations and Angel Witch - and it may be a little more cleanly produced and theatric than either of those two, but this album is a nigh-on perfect NWOBHM album. Thank god for Andy Sneap's friendship with the band convincing them to reunite, for this truly is the best thing he's been remotely linked with.

Blasphemy And The Master

1) Autopsy

    Macabre Eternal

    [Peaceville Records]

And so we have it. Album of the year. Autopsy's reunion is by a considerable distance the best of the shitstorm of reunions we've been seeing for the last few years, and here they have it, they've produced an album which is on a par with their second classic Mental Funeral (which is, in this humble blogger's opinion, the best death metal album ever). Even the long 66 minute runtime doesn't fault the album, as Autopsy, masters of the filthy riff, manage to keep up the quality throughout. Don't question Autopsy, for if any future album is of this quality we might have to reconsider Napalm Death's position as the best band ever.

Sadistic Gratification

And the year wouldn't be complete without some ephemeral prizes:

Best full-length: Autopsy - Macabre Eternal

Best EP: Fukpig - Batcave Full Of Bastards

Best demo: Gripe - The Future Doesn't Need You

Best split: Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire/Nesseria

Worst release: Metallica & Lou Reed - Lulu (runner-up: Unexpect - Fables Of The Sleepless Empire)

Best artwork: Disma - Towards The Megalith

Best newcomer: Hades Archer

Best reunion: Autopsy

Best re-release: Death Strike - Fuckin' Death