This was kind of a weird year for me, in that I didn't have one clear favourite record, or even or a few favourites. I did hear a lot of records that I liked so I made a list, but take these rankings with a grain of salt. Because putting them in order seemed needlessly arbitrary, I debated not doing numerical rankings at all, but that's no fun. For now, this is the order I settled on.
So, here's the wordage...
50. L'épée - Diabolique
Droning psych jams with plenty of jangly Brian Jonestown Massacre hooks and fuzzed-out Black Angels grooves.
49. Martyrdöd - Hexhammaren
Veteran Swedish hardcore blasters deliver another bulldozing collection of riff-drunk hardcore.
48. The Ivory Elephant - Stoneface
Mellow, colourful space rock/psych jams with enough heft to keep the listener from drifting off into the ether.
47. Lochness - Black Smokers
Quebec sludge band bests Monolord at their own cosmic doom game this year, delivering a set of massive, galaxy-flattening riffs.
46. Oozing Wound - High Anxiety
This noisy thrash unit has always been able to whip up a terrifying high-speed frenzy, but when they slow down on side 2 for the grinding, doomy dirges "Birth Of A Flat-Earther" is where their newfound mastery of dynamics really shines.
45. Diocletian - Amongst The Flames Of A Burning God
New Zealand war/black/death metal band lays down their most punishing and yet spacious record yet. More breathing room gives the songs more impact, and while still shatteringly fast and uncompromisingly brutal, this increased restraint means there's now more room than ever for the chatoic Kerry- King-style solos that rip across every break in the madness.
44. Thee Oh Sees - Face Stabber
Yet another in a series of endless permutations for John Dwyer's restless rock and roll id. This time out they adopt elements of skronky ITCOTKC-era King Crimson and driving motorik rhythms, to go along with the blasts of fuzz guitar fury.
43. Nocturnus AD - Paradox
The original lineup of the legendary Nocturnus return as Nocturnus AD to reprise their role as high priests of outer-space technical death metal, as perfected on their classic 1990 debut record The Key. Their return coincides with the rise of a number of younger bands embracing their influence, and it's good to see the masters are still capable of showing their students how it's done.
42. Pounder - Uncivilized
Blistering speed metal with a tough-streetwise approach indebted to the likes of Overkill and Agent Steel that avoids the cheesiness that sometimes afflicts similar bands in this style. Strong songwriting makes for anthemic, memorable tunes like "Red Hot Leather" and "Fuck Off And Die" that BEG for raised horns and shouting along.
41. Hemptress - Alchemy
Kamloops-based stoner metal crew delivers resin-scraping boogie-sludge riffs. Rock and roll.
40. Black Mountain - Destroyer
A new look for the legendary Vancouver heavy prog/psych band led by Stephen McBean. New lineup, and new production style as well. This time out there is a definite '80s Ozzy vibe on some tracks, which melds surprisingly well with their usually drugged-out '70s style rock. "High Rise" is absolutely phenomenal.
39. Earth - Full Upon Her Burning Lips
More a refinement than a revelation for this long-running unit, but Dylan Carlson's spacious, hypnotic guitarscapes are as majestic and evocative as ever.
38. Crypt Witch - Bad Trip Exorcism
Creeping occult-laced proto-doom that draw from vintage Pentagram, Witchfinder General and Electric Wizard. The riffs and vintage horror-movie atmosphere make for an engaging if reverent listen.
37. Flying Luttenbachers - Shattered Dimension
Skronky, chaotic brutal prog/noise rock unit shares more than just a song title with King Crimson, but these jams are even more unhinged and aggressive than the middle section of "21st Century Schizoid" man. Great performances and creative use of space make for an exhilarating and dynamic listening experience.
36. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rat's Nest
Yeah, they're genre tourists, which metal fans are supposed to hate, but King Gizz do such a good job on this record, I can overlook it. "Planet B" captures bulldozing Motörhead and Venom-inspired speed sludge, "Organ Farmer" replicates the demented, hellish leads of Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, and "Superbug" does an admirable job emulating the lumbering stupor of Sleep and Black Sabbath. Artifice has never been so much fun.
35. Noisem - Cease To Exist
Blinding ultra-thrash flecked with elements of grindcore and death metal. A new pared-down lineup is leaner and meaner than ever.
34. Atlantean Kodex - The Course Of Empire
Bavarian epic power metal masters deliver their greatest and grandest statement yet. Sweeping, widescreen epics deliver glorious, transcendent heavy metal thrills and leave the listener primed to ride into battle.
33. Ossuarium - Living Tomb
It was easy to miss some of the awesome death metal releases that came out this year amid the crowd, but Portland unit Ossuarium stay true to the old school on their debut. Dungeon-crawling atmosphere, raw but powerful production, and nothing too fast or complicated, this record kicks ass from start to finish.
32. Witchers Creed - Awakened From The Tomb
High-quality 70's riff-rock with occult touches. Atmosphere, playing and song-writing are all superb, with wailing vocals providing several highlights.
31. Waingro - III
New Westminster boys deliver their best record yet, a charging morass of crusty hardcore and feedback-spiked sludge metal.
30. Sunn O))) - Life Metal/Pyroclasts
Mirror images of the drone doom stalwarts' current itineration. Life Metal is the sprawling, incandescent, psychedelic opus, while Pyroclasts is its frosty opposite, a dark, compact nightmare that evokes howling winds and stinging ice storms. Amazing that after over two decades they are able to explore new tonal colours within their limited conceptual framework.
29. Gatecreeper - Deserted
Gatecreeper tear death metal into bloody chunks and fuse it with the cadaver of crusty Swedish hardcore. Similar to Cerebral Rot's ghoulish hymns to decay and Vastum's filth prison of aural gore, but more compact and direct than either, Gatecreeper retain a strong melodic sense buried beneath the dirt. Anthems like "Deserted", "Boiled Over" and "Anxiety" are some of the best actual songs on any metal release this year. Little wonder guitarist Nate Garrett also helms heroic metal masters Spirit Adrift... dude has so many great songs coming out of him he needs to have two bands.
28. Drab Majesty - Modern Mirror
LA's Drab Majesty do pulsing, danceable goth rock swathed in dreampop haze and muscular shoegaze-inflected guitar. With plenty of Joy Division, Depeche Mode and The Cure in their musical DNA, this stuff should be equally immersive to lovelorn teenagers and moody middle-aged record nerds. This is makeout music for graveyards.
27. Devil Master - Satan Spits On The Children Of Light
Now that's a fucking title. Devil Master do anthemic blackened thrash with a few dramatic touches which make for a fun and memorable listen. The triumphant twin leads of the bloody coda to "Her Thirsty Whip" make it my personal favourite track.
26. Smoulder - Times Of Obscene Evil And Wild Daring
Toronto's Smoulder blend a high-fantasy epic heavy metal sound with occult-laced proto doom, and top it with soaring banshee wails from vocalist Sarah Ann. The Michael Moorcock-inspired "Ilian Of Garathorm" provides a pretty spectacular example of the band's penchant for triumphant sword metal anthems and righteous riffage.
25. Vastum - Orificial Purge
San Fran death metal crew delivers another album of crushing midtempo grooves, sometimes downshifting into tar pits of doomy sludge. Featuring erotically-charged lyrics and horrifically bleak atmosphere, Vastum are never about showing off their instrumental prowess. Instead, they exist only suffocate the listener with the relentless power of their kickass riffs.
24. Wormwitch - The Heaven That Dwells Within
Local black metal unit delivers rushing black metal with a dash of heroic heavy metal guitar soloing. It's rare to find musicianship and riffs of that quality in black metal without sacrificing the ferocity that is inherent to the genre.
23. Lizzo - 'Cuz I Love You
I don't listen to a ton of pop or hip-hop or R&B but Lizzo made such a splash this year I thought I should give this record a listen and was blown away. She's got buckets of personality and a voice the size of the sky. She's equally at home doing confessional soul, club bangers, infectious self-empowerment anthems and sultry R&B. This record is a total party.
22. Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - Yn Ol I Annwyn
Crushing cosmic doom with dreamy vocals shimmering through the haze. These Welsh heshers can grind a riff into dust as well as anyone this side of Electric Wizard, but there are moments of poignant beauty to be found within the clouds of weed smoke.
21. Slough Feg - New Organon
This long-running classic heavy metal unit has kept churning out bombastic, lighter-lifting anthems since the mid-'90s, and once again they deliver a strong record packed with hooks, blistering guitar work and philosophical musings. This one contains a few interesting psychedelic flourishes, demonstrating that it is possible for a veteran band to stay true to itself while still keeping things fresh.
20. Darkthrone - Old Star
The days of the frigid and razor-thin production of the grim Peaceville trilogy are over a quarter-century in the past now, but even though they no longer adhere to the TRVE NORVVEGIAN BLACK METAL aesthetic they initially helped popularize, these Norwegian legends have been keeping the torch of underground metal alive over the last couple decades. Their more recent albums have seen them work an extremely satisfying blend of raw, primitive death and first wave black metal, muddy thrash, galloping NWOBHM riffs, doomy howls and plenty of Celtic Frost-worship. Old Star is another in a long line of sold records by lifers who have been doing it long enough to enjoy themselves.
19. Tomb Mold - Planetary Clairvoyance
Another example of a run of highly accomplished and ambitious sci-fi death metal releases that have appeared over recent years. This one may not quite be the same filthy morass as their first few releases, but their compositional complexity and technical proficiency has been taken to a new level.
18. Cosmic Putrefaction - At The Threshold Of The Greatest Chasm
This otherworldly Italian Cthulu-death metal outfit came out of nowhere with an cosmic nightmare of a record. Isolating individual tracks doesn't really work, the whole thing ebbs and flows with the purpose and assuredness of a fully-formed whole.
17. Csejthe - L'horreur De Cachtice
Metal Quebecois Noir.
16. Gygax - High Fantasy
Much like Sheer Mag, Gygax bend the knee to the masters of melodic hard rock, Thin Lizzy. However, Gygax inhales more Maiden than Priest, and their concerns primarily revolve around hanging out in the basement rolling 20-sided dice. "Mirror Image" is a total ripper.
15. Xoth - Interdimensional Invocations
Technoid sci-fi thrash/death metal mixes widescreen Voivod-worship with Lovecraftian terror in an unstoppable flurry of guitar wizardry.
14. Cerebral Rot - Odious Descent Into Decay
Filthy, putrid old school death metal rich in atmosphere. This thing is a total riff box, with awesomely dense and crusty production. What a time to be dead.
13. Stef Chura - Midnight
The irresistible garage punk blast "Scream" was what initially hooked me to this record, but it's a bit of a red herring. What kept me coming back was the gloriously ragged '90s vibe about it, as if Chura put Pavement, Dinosaur Jr. Sleater-Kinney, Nirvana and Sonic Youth in a blender, then shot that aesthetic through a distinctly 21st century slacker lyrical lens.
12. Magic Circle - Departed Souls
Magic Circle's first album in 4 years dials down the straight-up '80s heavy metal vibe of their excellent first two records in favor of a distinctly '70s leaning hard rock sound. It's a more organic feel, but Magic Circle don't lose any of their power by slowing down a bit. Instead, it allows their excellent song-writing skills to shine though. A modern classic rock record, and a damn good one at that.
11. Ty Segall & Freedom Band - Deforming Lobes Live
Ferocious, molten fuzz and chaotic rock and roll abandon has been a calling card of Ty Segall's from the very beginning, so is it any wonder that their live album is even gnarlier and more unhinged? Plus, they do an incendiary cover of the Groundhogs' "Cherry Red," one of the greatest rock songs ever written, and it RULES.
10. Sunwatchers - Illegal Moves
People talked a lot about the weird cover with the Kool Aid guy on it, but I didn't think it was nearly as bad as some people thought. In any event, this record speaks for itself. Dusty blues, sunbaked psych jams, palls of feedback, dirty saxophone bursts and corrosive electric wah-fuzz destruction all find a way to meld into a delicious free-rock gumbo.
9. Spirit Adrift - Divided By Darkness
Blistering LP number three from this classic heavy metal/epic doom unit. Like a smouldering pot pourri of molten heavy metal, chugging thrash riffs bubble up against epic melodic solos, and lighter-lifting wails sit side by side with thunderous stoner crunch. Plus, the songs are all memorable and fun, made for lifting goblets and horns. If you like any type of heavy music, there's something here for you.
8. Saint Vitus - The Grey Album
These doom metal legends' new self-titled record carries the same name as their 1984 debut, so henceforth we're just gonna have to go with a whole Black Album/Grey Album thing. In any event, original singer Scott Reagers returns to the Vitus fold for the first time in a quarter century, and his terrifying Ozzy-esque banshee wail has deepened and wizened, matching the tone of these hymns to a dying world. Of course, Dave Chandler is front and centre throughout, and his slow and low-ridin' riffs and wah-drenched leads sound better than ever. Don't call it a comeback.
7. Blood Incantation - Hidden History Of The Human Race
One of the most anticipated death metal releases of the year did not disappoint. Four dynamic, complex, surprising and well-thought out compositions that balance brutality with space and textures not normally found in this type of music.
6. Enforced - At The Walls
Meaty, slamming thrash with hardcore vocals, very much in the same vein as Power Trip. Riffs for days.
5. Haunt - If Icarus Could Fly
I discovered Haunt's 2018 album Burst Into Flame too late for it to make my list last year, but if I head, their highly melodic take on classic speed metal would have been HIGH on my list. The followup (and its accompanying EP Mosaic Vision) doesn't quite scale the same heights, but it's still an addictive, non-stop party of a record. Sticking point for some people are the vocals, but I happen to like the way the gruff, streetwise approach add an aggressive Paul Di'anno touch to the clean but awesomely intense guitar work. Some of the best soloing you'll ever hear is all over this record.
4. Riot City - Burn The Night
Ripping speed metal with hooks to burn. There's a TON of Judas Priest's Painkiller in these guys' DNA, and for me that catapults them right to the forefront of this "New Wave Of True Heavy Metal" moment we've been witnessing with young bands the last few years. This record makes me want to drive fast late at night and break laws.
3. Venom Prison - Samsara
Destroying the patriarchy with finely crafted and unbelievably intense death metal. Razor-sharp riffage, devastating drumming and vocals caked in anguish and fury. In a year where death metal saw more than its fair share of landmark albums, Venom Prison flipped the script on the usual horror and violence-obsessed outlook of the genre and made something truly unique and fresh.
2. The Comet Is Coming - Trust In The Life Force Of The Deep Mystery
An incandescent vortex of ultra-modern psychedelic funk, electric jazz, driving space-rock, pulsating dronescapes and abstract electronic music. At times both apocalyptic and life-affirming, this record surprised me at every turn and consistently revealed new nuances with every listen. Honourable mention for TCiC's other album this year, The Afterlife.
1. Sheer Mag - A Distant Call
Hugely melodic Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest-worshipping hard rock with a plethora of "singable" guitar solos and surprisingly tender lyrics bellowed by a scrappy frontwoman with a HUGE voice. Infinitely replayable, highlights like "Steel Sharpens Steel" and "Hardly to Blame" are tough enough to melt the heart of even hardened headbangers, and every song is an irresistible gem. I've been aware of them for a few years but their raw, early EP's didn't make much of an impression at first. I must have had mud in my ears because upon re-listening I have to conclude that this band was great from the start, they're just getting the full colour, high gloss treatment now. This record hit the streets in late summer and it hasn't been far from my ears since.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
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