The King of the Eyesores (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} crimson_ghost) wrote,@ 2009-01-01 13:40:00 |
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Best of 2008
Alright, I know this is a long read and most of you don't give a fuck, but if you're into metal, it will be worth reading because you'll probably discover something awesome that you may have missed this past year. I was actually able to do a top 15 this year! Here we go...
Best albums of 2008
1.) Toxic Holocaust - An Overdose of Death...
I've been a huge fan of Toxic Holocaust since "Evil Never Dies", and I've been impressed with everything I've heard from them since. I had been anticipating this release for quite some time, and it was worth the wait - this is the best thing Toxic Holocaust has done yet. The first thing that struck me about this album is the production - it's full, thick, and beefy, as opposed to the relatively thin and tinny sound of the previous material. Not that the thinner sound didn't work for them, but this is just so much better. Even if the songs weren't good, I would listen to this album for the guitar tone. It's huge, thick, and ballsy. None of that scooped mids garbage here. I can actually hear bass. The vocals are less raspy, more throaty and vicious. Donny Paycheck (from Zeke) on drums really added something that the previous albums didn't have as well. Even with better production, it maintains a raw, blackened feel.The songs are riffier and more complex, but remain pummeling and aggressive. There are cool melodies and breakdowns and change-ups going on all over the place, but everything is still straight-forward and thrashy. On past Toxic Holocaust albums, there always seemed to be a couple throw-away tracks that I usually skip. This one is much more solid... really, the only song that's not doing it for me is "Feedback Blood and Distortion". Everything about this album is just absolutely killer. Joel really stepped it up and hit it outta the park with this one. Any doubters of the "thrash revival" movement should pick this up and have their minds changed by a face-melting nuclear blast!
2.) Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
Amon Amarth's unique brand of melodic death metal has been consistently raping and pillaging the world for 10 years now. Every one of their seven albums is great. They have mastered the art of having a signature sound without everything sounding the same. Each album has it's own unique feel. "Twilight of the Thunder God" is a bit different from their recent output. It's a throwback to their first couple releases. it doesn't have much of the "epicness" featured on "With Oden On Our Side", but focuses more on unbridled, vicious brutality. This album is huge, pummeling, and relentless, front to back. Amon Amarth is showing us that they can do it all, an do it all well.
3.) Warbringer - War Without End
For some reason, Warbringer seems to catch a lot of flak. They are often accused of being trendy "posers". One listen to "War Without End" should clear up this nonsense - Warbringer is here to thrash your face off. This album is full of killer riffs, great songwriting, wailing solos, and vicious vocals. It reminds me a bit of late 80s Sepultura (Schizophrenia, Benath the Remains). The production isn't great, but really, how many classic thrash albums had good production anyway? If you like brutal old school thrash, ignore the elitists and check out this killer album.
4.) Merciless Death - Realm of Terror
Merciless Death has been one of the leaders of the L.A.'s thrash revival scene, but they remain relatively under the radar in the big picture. 2006's "Evil in the Night" was a hallmark for the resurrection of thrash metal. They returned in the spring of 2008 with "Realm Of Terror", a more cohesive and consistent effort that doesn't skimp on the evil. This is straight-forward, old school thrash filled with unrelenting riffage, classic screaming divebombing solos, and a healthy dose of pure evl. Did I mention that it's just evil as all hell?
5.) Paint it Black - New Lexicon
Paint it Black is here to remind us what hardcore is really about. It's not about trendy douchebags with bad haircuts whining about their ex-girlfriends. This is 100% speed, aggression, and anger. New Lexicon is full of frenzied 2-minute anthems played at a million miles an hour while Dan Yemin spews his venom on everything that pisses him off. There is the occasional melodic break that allows you to catch your breath before diving back into the madness. THIS IS REAL HARDCORE. Androgynous teenagers roundhouse kicking eachother is not.
6.) Bonded By Blood - Feed the Beast
I initially wrote off this band because I thought they lacked creativity, naming themselves after what might be the greatest thrash album of all time. Boy was i wrong. While Metal Blade is focusing on garbage like Job For A Cowboy, totally killer bands like Bonded By Blood remain ignored at the bottom of the roster. This album delivers a thrashing good time with a touch of technically that adds some really interesting dynamics to the songs. The solos absolutely rip, with a nice blend of "shred" and old school wailing. The shout-along choruses will be stuck in your head for days. "Feed The Beast" is highly recommended for fans of thrash, both old and new.
7.) Sunn - Domkirke
Sunn is an strange and interesting band. Just two guys with guitars, playing ultra-slow, hypnotic, minimalistic drone. They often walk the line between music and ambient noise. It seems like people either love them or hate them. I'm usually kind of "on the fence" with Sunn. They've done some really great stuff, and some that is just totally uninteresting. Domkirke is one of the best things they've done so far. It is a "live album", but Sunn's live albums are not typical. There is never a repertoire of favorite songs from their albums. Sunn's live albums are all new material, usually recorded in interesting locations. Domkirke was recorded in a medieval cathedral in Norway. The band is accompanied by the cathedral's massive pipe organ, adding another level of hypnotic droning. I don't know how this band does it, but they somehow manage to make 20 minutes of low-frequency noise feel like a song. I can't describe it, but it rules. This vinyl-only release is not something that you would put on to rock out, its something that you would put on to zone out, and totally immerse yourself in the crushing drones.
8.) Hatchet - Awaiting Evil
Another band that you'll find lurking at the bottom of Metal Blade's roster, San Francisco's Hatchet bring a unique flavor to the thrash revival movement, blending a classic thrash sound with NWOBHM-style melodic dueling guitars. There's great riffage all over the place, and great songwriting throughout. This is a must for fans of 80's metal seeking some fresh meat.
9.) Disfear - Live the Storm
Forget what you've heard from anyone hyping mediocre American hardcore bands. Sweden's Disfear effortlessly destroys most US hardcore these days. Two parts late 70s/early80s punk, one part old school metal, heavy, massive, roaring guitar tone, and a generous helping of mad-at-the-world, "Live The Storm" is a raging, ripping, euro-core masterpiece. In a time when hardcore is in such a shitty state, the world needs more bands like Disfear.
10.) Hail of Bullets - Of Frost and War
Featuring and all-star cast of Dutch death metal, former members of Pestilence, Asphyx, Gorefest, and Thanatos, came together to form Hail Of Bullets. And wouldn't you know it, they're another killer band stuck at the bottom of Metal Blade's roster while shitty trend whoring bands get the star treatment. Anyway, "Of Frost And War" is reminiscent of old school Swedish death metal. The keyboard intro may lead you to believe that you're getting into some lame Nightwish-esque symphonic metal garbage, but this impression is quickly smashed when the ripping riffage kicks into gear. The guitar tone is totally lifted from Dismember, but that's not bad thing, especially if you like a thick, chainsaw-edged roar. The riffs remind me of Grave, early Entombed, Autopsy, and Bolt Thrower, ranging from high speed ripping, to brutal chugs, to rolling tank-tread rhythms, with the occasional melodic break. The WWII theme and historically accurate lyrics are a plus for the nerd in you. This is highly recommended for anyone who likes REAL death metal and is sick of trendy garbage.
11.) Moss - Sub Templum
I accidentally stumbled upon Moss a couple years back and have been a fan ever since. They are proteges of Electric Wizard's Jus Osborn, who also produced this album. That should be reason enough for any fan of extreme doom metal to give it a listen. Moss is seriously pushing the boundaries of doom metal to new extremes. If you're looking for great riffs and catchy choruses, look elsewhere. This album is all about a feel of total desolation, bleakness, and sheer terror. I think there is more space between the notes on thus album than there are actual notes. The minimalistic guitar work consists of simple, ultra-downtuned power chord progressions that evoke some of the most dark and evil ambience i've ever heard. The gutwrenching vocals sound something like the death screams of someone being slowly devoured by a creature from another dimension. With the Lovecraftian lyrics, i'm pretty sure this is what Cthulhu himself would be listening to while lying dormant at the bottom of the sea. "Sub Templum" is just like something from a Lovecraft story - we're not supposed to know about it, but once you discover it, you are doomed to become obsessed and driven insane by it.
12.) Cannabis Corpse - Tube of the Resinated
It's easy to write Cannabis Corpse off as a novelty act. They come across as a silly side-project parody band. They don't help this by naming all of their songs and albums pothead-parodied Cannibal Corpse titles. But looking past all this goofy stuff, Cannabis Corpse are actually a killer death metal band. This album rips front to back. The sound is somewhat similar to, you guessed it, Cannibal Corpse's older material, but maintains it's own unique flavor. It's got that disgusting brutality and touch of technicality that makes this particular style of death metal great. Not only is the music immensely enjoyable, but the lyrics are downright hilarious.
13.) Witch - Paralyzed
Vermont's stoner-doom heroes Witch have been slowly gathering a loyal cult following since appearing in 2006. Their rocking, fuzzed-out, supernatural stoner metal sound is unique and truly awesome. "Paralyzed" took a step away from their 2006 eponymous debut, speeding up a bit and adding some punk-ish elements. It's an odd combination, but it somehow works very well. Witch remains under the radar for now, but I believe that they are on the verge of something bigger. Definitely check these guys out if you like doom metal and/or stoner rock.
14.) Exmortus - In Hatred's Flame
Exmortus is a band that you have probably never heard of unless you've been following the relatively new Heavy Artillery Records. They've been signing some great young metal bands over the past few years, and Exmortus is their latest acquisition. "In Hatred's Flame" is a killer chunk of death-thrash that balances old school catchiness with insane technical mastery. This album us absolutely worth picking up for metalheads the world over.
15.) Decrepit Birth - Diminishing Between Worlds
There are lots of technical death metal bands out there these days, and it seems like the majority of them are just cold, mechanical, soulless, wankery with no "feel" (i'm looking your way, Necrophagist). What happened to bands like Death, Suffocation, and Gorguts? Decrepit Birth is one of the few death metal bands these days who have that magic mix of technical mastery and actual songwriting ability. "Diminishing Between Worlds" is a great album full of unrelenting brutality and unique melodies. They wear their influences on their sleeves, ranging from Suffocation to Vital Remains to Death (the melodies are uncannily Schuldiner-esque). This is a seriously great, but overlooked piece of brutal yet melodic death metal.
Honorable Mention:
Testament - The Formation of Damnation
Cyaegha - Steps of Descent
Motorhead - Motorizer
biggest disappointments:
Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King
This is a rather long rant, seeing as this isn't merely a disappointment, but a downright atrocity. It's always sad to see one of your favorite bands become money-grubbing trendwhores. Once upon a time, Cryptopsy was one of the world's best death metal bands. Their first three albums are classics and absolute must-haves for anyone into death metal. Even the comparatively lackluster ones that followed were enjoyable, and Cryptopsy remained a loved and respected band in the metal scene. Their ever-shifting lineup has brought lots of changes over the years. The departure of principal songwriter Jon Levasseur in 2005 was disconcerting, but they managed to put out a solid album anyway. I don't think anyone foresaw what would happen with the departure of legendary vocalist Lord Worm in 2007. They recruited some douchey kid from a metalcore band on vocals. Then got some skank to play keyboards? Somewhere in there, Flo Mounier started sporting a faux-hawk. What the hell is going on here? 2008 saw the release of "The Unspoken King". This is not Cryptopsy. It can't be. They jumped on the "deathcore" trend. They have clean vocals and keyboards. Theres no way this is Cryptopsy... but, it is. Not only did they alienate their fans by abandoning their signature sound and jumping on the latest trend, but when the backlash came, they mocked and patronized their fanbase for disliking the album. Even if they came to their senses and put out another album that sounded like "None So Vile", they have lost the majority of their former fanbase. The saw Job For A Cowboy and their ilk cashing in, and wanted a piece... but when deathcore is no longer "cool", they will be worse off than before, and regret ever committing the crime that is "The Unspoken King".
The Sword - Gods of the Earth
The Sword was launched into noteriety in 2006 when a song from their debut "Age Of Winters" was used on a Guitar Hero game. I had heard lots of mixed reviews on this band, but when i found "Age Of Winters" used for $5, i decided to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised to find a solid and enjoyable doom metal album that i found myself listening to more often than i thought i would. in 2008, when "Gods of the Earth" was released, they streamed the entire album on MySpace. I listened to it, 4 or 5 times, and ended up not remembering a single thing about the album. There killers riffs and catchy hooks that "Age of Winters" had were gone. It was just an uninspired, directionless mess. But apparently, this 45 minute meandering bore-fest is good enough to get an opening slot on a Metallica tour...
Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery
Bloodbath is a "supergroup" of sorts, featuring a star studded cast of swedish metal musicians. They were formed to "bring back old school death metal". This was another band that seemed to get mixed reviews, but I personally was totally floored by 2004's "Nightmares Made Flesh". It is one of my favorite death metal albums. I was pumped for their new album, hoping it would be another "Nightmares...", but I was let down by "The Fathomless Mastery". This album is mostly uninspired an rushed sounding, with a few cool parts here and there. It's definitely not the worst album of the year, but it's just so "okay". I don't know how they went from total death metal mastery to total mediocrity. I guess the problem with "supergroups" is that these guys all have "main" bands that they focus on more than the side project, even if the side project is better than all of their main bands combined...
Thoughts on "Death Magnetic":
Yeah, a new Metallica album. It's a huge step up from "St Anger", but that's not really saying much. It's solid. They've got a pretty decent mix of late 80s and mid 90s Metallica sounds here. Unfortunately, this album is topping "best album of 08" lists all over the place, when in reality, it would be lucky to sneak into the top 25. It's a step in the right direction. We should be telling them "good effort guys, you've almost got it back, just push it a little further next time" instead of patting them on the back and showering them with awards for a relatively mediocre effort. The video for "All The Nightmare Long" is sweet though.
looking forward to:
There are plenty of bands who say "in the studio now!" or "new album coming soon!", but how many bands have said that and done absolutely nothing for years (ahem, Testament)? There are a few of those I'm looking forward to for 09, but who knows what's really going to happen? The following albums have been officially announced and will actually be released in 2009:
Wolf - Ravenous
Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Suffocation - Blood Oath
First Blood - Silence is Betrayal
That about wraps it up. Hope you enjoyed it.
Alright, I know this is a long read and most of you don't give a fuck, but if you're into metal, it will be worth reading because you'll probably discover something awesome that you may have missed this past year. I was actually able to do a top 15 this year! Here we go...
Best albums of 2008
1.) Toxic Holocaust - An Overdose of Death...
I've been a huge fan of Toxic Holocaust since "Evil Never Dies", and I've been impressed with everything I've heard from them since. I had been anticipating this release for quite some time, and it was worth the wait - this is the best thing Toxic Holocaust has done yet. The first thing that struck me about this album is the production - it's full, thick, and beefy, as opposed to the relatively thin and tinny sound of the previous material. Not that the thinner sound didn't work for them, but this is just so much better. Even if the songs weren't good, I would listen to this album for the guitar tone. It's huge, thick, and ballsy. None of that scooped mids garbage here. I can actually hear bass. The vocals are less raspy, more throaty and vicious. Donny Paycheck (from Zeke) on drums really added something that the previous albums didn't have as well. Even with better production, it maintains a raw, blackened feel.The songs are riffier and more complex, but remain pummeling and aggressive. There are cool melodies and breakdowns and change-ups going on all over the place, but everything is still straight-forward and thrashy. On past Toxic Holocaust albums, there always seemed to be a couple throw-away tracks that I usually skip. This one is much more solid... really, the only song that's not doing it for me is "Feedback Blood and Distortion". Everything about this album is just absolutely killer. Joel really stepped it up and hit it outta the park with this one. Any doubters of the "thrash revival" movement should pick this up and have their minds changed by a face-melting nuclear blast!
2.) Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
Amon Amarth's unique brand of melodic death metal has been consistently raping and pillaging the world for 10 years now. Every one of their seven albums is great. They have mastered the art of having a signature sound without everything sounding the same. Each album has it's own unique feel. "Twilight of the Thunder God" is a bit different from their recent output. It's a throwback to their first couple releases. it doesn't have much of the "epicness" featured on "With Oden On Our Side", but focuses more on unbridled, vicious brutality. This album is huge, pummeling, and relentless, front to back. Amon Amarth is showing us that they can do it all, an do it all well.
3.) Warbringer - War Without End
For some reason, Warbringer seems to catch a lot of flak. They are often accused of being trendy "posers". One listen to "War Without End" should clear up this nonsense - Warbringer is here to thrash your face off. This album is full of killer riffs, great songwriting, wailing solos, and vicious vocals. It reminds me a bit of late 80s Sepultura (Schizophrenia, Benath the Remains). The production isn't great, but really, how many classic thrash albums had good production anyway? If you like brutal old school thrash, ignore the elitists and check out this killer album.
4.) Merciless Death - Realm of Terror
Merciless Death has been one of the leaders of the L.A.'s thrash revival scene, but they remain relatively under the radar in the big picture. 2006's "Evil in the Night" was a hallmark for the resurrection of thrash metal. They returned in the spring of 2008 with "Realm Of Terror", a more cohesive and consistent effort that doesn't skimp on the evil. This is straight-forward, old school thrash filled with unrelenting riffage, classic screaming divebombing solos, and a healthy dose of pure evl. Did I mention that it's just evil as all hell?
5.) Paint it Black - New Lexicon
Paint it Black is here to remind us what hardcore is really about. It's not about trendy douchebags with bad haircuts whining about their ex-girlfriends. This is 100% speed, aggression, and anger. New Lexicon is full of frenzied 2-minute anthems played at a million miles an hour while Dan Yemin spews his venom on everything that pisses him off. There is the occasional melodic break that allows you to catch your breath before diving back into the madness. THIS IS REAL HARDCORE. Androgynous teenagers roundhouse kicking eachother is not.
6.) Bonded By Blood - Feed the Beast
I initially wrote off this band because I thought they lacked creativity, naming themselves after what might be the greatest thrash album of all time. Boy was i wrong. While Metal Blade is focusing on garbage like Job For A Cowboy, totally killer bands like Bonded By Blood remain ignored at the bottom of the roster. This album delivers a thrashing good time with a touch of technically that adds some really interesting dynamics to the songs. The solos absolutely rip, with a nice blend of "shred" and old school wailing. The shout-along choruses will be stuck in your head for days. "Feed The Beast" is highly recommended for fans of thrash, both old and new.
7.) Sunn - Domkirke
Sunn is an strange and interesting band. Just two guys with guitars, playing ultra-slow, hypnotic, minimalistic drone. They often walk the line between music and ambient noise. It seems like people either love them or hate them. I'm usually kind of "on the fence" with Sunn. They've done some really great stuff, and some that is just totally uninteresting. Domkirke is one of the best things they've done so far. It is a "live album", but Sunn's live albums are not typical. There is never a repertoire of favorite songs from their albums. Sunn's live albums are all new material, usually recorded in interesting locations. Domkirke was recorded in a medieval cathedral in Norway. The band is accompanied by the cathedral's massive pipe organ, adding another level of hypnotic droning. I don't know how this band does it, but they somehow manage to make 20 minutes of low-frequency noise feel like a song. I can't describe it, but it rules. This vinyl-only release is not something that you would put on to rock out, its something that you would put on to zone out, and totally immerse yourself in the crushing drones.
8.) Hatchet - Awaiting Evil
Another band that you'll find lurking at the bottom of Metal Blade's roster, San Francisco's Hatchet bring a unique flavor to the thrash revival movement, blending a classic thrash sound with NWOBHM-style melodic dueling guitars. There's great riffage all over the place, and great songwriting throughout. This is a must for fans of 80's metal seeking some fresh meat.
9.) Disfear - Live the Storm
Forget what you've heard from anyone hyping mediocre American hardcore bands. Sweden's Disfear effortlessly destroys most US hardcore these days. Two parts late 70s/early80s punk, one part old school metal, heavy, massive, roaring guitar tone, and a generous helping of mad-at-the-world, "Live The Storm" is a raging, ripping, euro-core masterpiece. In a time when hardcore is in such a shitty state, the world needs more bands like Disfear.
10.) Hail of Bullets - Of Frost and War
Featuring and all-star cast of Dutch death metal, former members of Pestilence, Asphyx, Gorefest, and Thanatos, came together to form Hail Of Bullets. And wouldn't you know it, they're another killer band stuck at the bottom of Metal Blade's roster while shitty trend whoring bands get the star treatment. Anyway, "Of Frost And War" is reminiscent of old school Swedish death metal. The keyboard intro may lead you to believe that you're getting into some lame Nightwish-esque symphonic metal garbage, but this impression is quickly smashed when the ripping riffage kicks into gear. The guitar tone is totally lifted from Dismember, but that's not bad thing, especially if you like a thick, chainsaw-edged roar. The riffs remind me of Grave, early Entombed, Autopsy, and Bolt Thrower, ranging from high speed ripping, to brutal chugs, to rolling tank-tread rhythms, with the occasional melodic break. The WWII theme and historically accurate lyrics are a plus for the nerd in you. This is highly recommended for anyone who likes REAL death metal and is sick of trendy garbage.
11.) Moss - Sub Templum
I accidentally stumbled upon Moss a couple years back and have been a fan ever since. They are proteges of Electric Wizard's Jus Osborn, who also produced this album. That should be reason enough for any fan of extreme doom metal to give it a listen. Moss is seriously pushing the boundaries of doom metal to new extremes. If you're looking for great riffs and catchy choruses, look elsewhere. This album is all about a feel of total desolation, bleakness, and sheer terror. I think there is more space between the notes on thus album than there are actual notes. The minimalistic guitar work consists of simple, ultra-downtuned power chord progressions that evoke some of the most dark and evil ambience i've ever heard. The gutwrenching vocals sound something like the death screams of someone being slowly devoured by a creature from another dimension. With the Lovecraftian lyrics, i'm pretty sure this is what Cthulhu himself would be listening to while lying dormant at the bottom of the sea. "Sub Templum" is just like something from a Lovecraft story - we're not supposed to know about it, but once you discover it, you are doomed to become obsessed and driven insane by it.
12.) Cannabis Corpse - Tube of the Resinated
It's easy to write Cannabis Corpse off as a novelty act. They come across as a silly side-project parody band. They don't help this by naming all of their songs and albums pothead-parodied Cannibal Corpse titles. But looking past all this goofy stuff, Cannabis Corpse are actually a killer death metal band. This album rips front to back. The sound is somewhat similar to, you guessed it, Cannibal Corpse's older material, but maintains it's own unique flavor. It's got that disgusting brutality and touch of technicality that makes this particular style of death metal great. Not only is the music immensely enjoyable, but the lyrics are downright hilarious.
13.) Witch - Paralyzed
Vermont's stoner-doom heroes Witch have been slowly gathering a loyal cult following since appearing in 2006. Their rocking, fuzzed-out, supernatural stoner metal sound is unique and truly awesome. "Paralyzed" took a step away from their 2006 eponymous debut, speeding up a bit and adding some punk-ish elements. It's an odd combination, but it somehow works very well. Witch remains under the radar for now, but I believe that they are on the verge of something bigger. Definitely check these guys out if you like doom metal and/or stoner rock.
14.) Exmortus - In Hatred's Flame
Exmortus is a band that you have probably never heard of unless you've been following the relatively new Heavy Artillery Records. They've been signing some great young metal bands over the past few years, and Exmortus is their latest acquisition. "In Hatred's Flame" is a killer chunk of death-thrash that balances old school catchiness with insane technical mastery. This album us absolutely worth picking up for metalheads the world over.
15.) Decrepit Birth - Diminishing Between Worlds
There are lots of technical death metal bands out there these days, and it seems like the majority of them are just cold, mechanical, soulless, wankery with no "feel" (i'm looking your way, Necrophagist). What happened to bands like Death, Suffocation, and Gorguts? Decrepit Birth is one of the few death metal bands these days who have that magic mix of technical mastery and actual songwriting ability. "Diminishing Between Worlds" is a great album full of unrelenting brutality and unique melodies. They wear their influences on their sleeves, ranging from Suffocation to Vital Remains to Death (the melodies are uncannily Schuldiner-esque). This is a seriously great, but overlooked piece of brutal yet melodic death metal.
Honorable Mention:
Testament - The Formation of Damnation
Cyaegha - Steps of Descent
Motorhead - Motorizer
biggest disappointments:
Cryptopsy - The Unspoken King
This is a rather long rant, seeing as this isn't merely a disappointment, but a downright atrocity. It's always sad to see one of your favorite bands become money-grubbing trendwhores. Once upon a time, Cryptopsy was one of the world's best death metal bands. Their first three albums are classics and absolute must-haves for anyone into death metal. Even the comparatively lackluster ones that followed were enjoyable, and Cryptopsy remained a loved and respected band in the metal scene. Their ever-shifting lineup has brought lots of changes over the years. The departure of principal songwriter Jon Levasseur in 2005 was disconcerting, but they managed to put out a solid album anyway. I don't think anyone foresaw what would happen with the departure of legendary vocalist Lord Worm in 2007. They recruited some douchey kid from a metalcore band on vocals. Then got some skank to play keyboards? Somewhere in there, Flo Mounier started sporting a faux-hawk. What the hell is going on here? 2008 saw the release of "The Unspoken King". This is not Cryptopsy. It can't be. They jumped on the "deathcore" trend. They have clean vocals and keyboards. Theres no way this is Cryptopsy... but, it is. Not only did they alienate their fans by abandoning their signature sound and jumping on the latest trend, but when the backlash came, they mocked and patronized their fanbase for disliking the album. Even if they came to their senses and put out another album that sounded like "None So Vile", they have lost the majority of their former fanbase. The saw Job For A Cowboy and their ilk cashing in, and wanted a piece... but when deathcore is no longer "cool", they will be worse off than before, and regret ever committing the crime that is "The Unspoken King".
The Sword - Gods of the Earth
The Sword was launched into noteriety in 2006 when a song from their debut "Age Of Winters" was used on a Guitar Hero game. I had heard lots of mixed reviews on this band, but when i found "Age Of Winters" used for $5, i decided to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised to find a solid and enjoyable doom metal album that i found myself listening to more often than i thought i would. in 2008, when "Gods of the Earth" was released, they streamed the entire album on MySpace. I listened to it, 4 or 5 times, and ended up not remembering a single thing about the album. There killers riffs and catchy hooks that "Age of Winters" had were gone. It was just an uninspired, directionless mess. But apparently, this 45 minute meandering bore-fest is good enough to get an opening slot on a Metallica tour...
Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery
Bloodbath is a "supergroup" of sorts, featuring a star studded cast of swedish metal musicians. They were formed to "bring back old school death metal". This was another band that seemed to get mixed reviews, but I personally was totally floored by 2004's "Nightmares Made Flesh". It is one of my favorite death metal albums. I was pumped for their new album, hoping it would be another "Nightmares...", but I was let down by "The Fathomless Mastery". This album is mostly uninspired an rushed sounding, with a few cool parts here and there. It's definitely not the worst album of the year, but it's just so "okay". I don't know how they went from total death metal mastery to total mediocrity. I guess the problem with "supergroups" is that these guys all have "main" bands that they focus on more than the side project, even if the side project is better than all of their main bands combined...
Thoughts on "Death Magnetic":
Yeah, a new Metallica album. It's a huge step up from "St Anger", but that's not really saying much. It's solid. They've got a pretty decent mix of late 80s and mid 90s Metallica sounds here. Unfortunately, this album is topping "best album of 08" lists all over the place, when in reality, it would be lucky to sneak into the top 25. It's a step in the right direction. We should be telling them "good effort guys, you've almost got it back, just push it a little further next time" instead of patting them on the back and showering them with awards for a relatively mediocre effort. The video for "All The Nightmare Long" is sweet though.
looking forward to:
There are plenty of bands who say "in the studio now!" or "new album coming soon!", but how many bands have said that and done absolutely nothing for years (ahem, Testament)? There are a few of those I'm looking forward to for 09, but who knows what's really going to happen? The following albums have been officially announced and will actually be released in 2009:
Wolf - Ravenous
Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
Suffocation - Blood Oath
First Blood - Silence is Betrayal
That about wraps it up. Hope you enjoyed it.
