LIST: TOP 50 METAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

It’s that time of year, where I face a legitimate heavy metal Sophie’s Choice and somehow narrow all of the releases I’ve enjoyed this year down to 50. A lot of truly solid albums are not listed here, and honestly, my rankings have fluctuated nearly every day for the past two months, when I handed in my initial Top 40 list to the editors at Decibel Magazine. I have no doubt that if I look at this list in another year or decade, hell, even another week, the rankings could shift and shuffle depending on my mood, the cereal I eat, how crowded the subway is that morning, etc. Feel free to inform me of how lousy my selections are, how overrated band A is, how album B is obviously the top selection of the year, and how I’ve terribly under-represented genre C.

2013 Top 50 Metal Albums of the Year

1.       Church of Misery – Thy Kingdom Scum

2.       Carcass – Surgical Steel

3.       Gorguts – Colored Sands

4.       Inquisition - Obscure Verses for the Multiverse

5.       Ramming Speed – Doomed to Destroy, Destined to Die

6.       Anciients – Heart of Oak

7.       Nails – Abandon All Life

8.       Baptists – Bushcraft

9.       Shroud Eater – Dead Ends

10.   Lesbian – ForesTeleVision

11.   Serpent Eater – Hyena

12.   Tribulation - The Formulas of Death

13.   Obelyskkh - Hymn to Pan

14.   I Exist – From Darkness

15.   Noisem – Agony Defined

16.   KEN Mode – Entrench

17.   Usnea – Usnea

18.   Skeletonwitch – Serpents Unleashed

19.   Naam – Vow

20.   Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Mind Control  

21.   Deafheaven – Sunbather

22.   Olde Growth – Owl EP

23.   Mammoth Grinder – Underworlds

24.   Exhumed – Necrocracy

25.   Koresh – Chump

26.   Serpent Throne – Brother Lucifer

27.   No Fealty – In the Shadow of the Monolith

28.   Toxic Holocaust - Chemistry of Consciousness

29.   Full of Hell – Rudiments of Mutilation

30.   Lycus - Tempest

31.   In Solitude – Sister

32.   Mount Salem – Endless

33.   Bone Sickness – Alone in the Grave

34.   Noctum – Final Sacrifice

35.   Weekend Nachos - Still

36.   Blood Red Throne - Blood Red Throne

37.   Red Fang – Whales and Leeches

38.   King of Pigs - Drown Out the Sound of Widows Grief

39.   Cokegoat – Vessel

40.   Obliteration – Black Death Horizon

41.   Revocation – Revocation

42.   Lumbar – The First and Last Days of Unwelcome

43.   Suffocation - Pinnacle of Bedlam

44.   Autopsy - The Headless Ritual

45.   Watain - The Wild Hunt

46.   Pyrexia - Feast of Iniquity

47.   Deeds of Flesh - Portals to Canaan

48.   Occultist – Death Sigils

49.   Great Falls – Accidents Grotesque

50.   Deuil – Acceptance/Rebuild

If you haven’t checked it out yet, go buy the new issue of Decibel Magazine, where the whole staff helps to select the Top 40 Extreme Albums of the Year. Check out all the other lists popping up around this time also and feel free to send Tweets about my questionable metal taste over to @MisterGrowl.

UPDATE: READ MY STUFF

  Just a quick update on ways to read my work in print and in downloadable forms, comrades:

DECIBEL MAGAZINE - ISSUE #110

Page 36: Pyrexia - Feast of Iniquity profile. I talked with Chris Basile, founder of Pyrexia, when I hadn’t yet heard the whole new album, basing my opinions on one song. Finally got the full experience, and it’s a killer record. I have a lot of respect for these guys and I was bummed to hear their tour with Six Feet Under was just cancelled.

Page 86: Ringworm - Bleed review. Solid EP from these Cleveland hardcore titans, keeping things lean and mean with plenty of metallic punk and a Discharge cover. I gave it 7/10.

Go over here to subscribe to Decibel Magazine. At $29.95 for a whole year this is one of the biggest bargains out there. The writing staff is fantastic, the editors are awesome, and the design is sleek and filled with trippy illustrations. Definitely worth your money:  http://store.decibelmagazine.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals

GIRLS & CORPSES - VOL. 7 WINTER ISSUE

FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROT - CARCASS, WATAIN, and EXHUMED. In the debut of my metal column for this brilliant, bizarro magazine, I interviewed Jeff Walker from Carcass, Erik Danielsson of Watain, and Matt Harvey of Exhumed, asking their thoughts on metal, sex, death, and the afterlife. I toss in reviews of their new albums and a few bad puns. I really need to thank the creator/deaditor in chief, Corpsy, for giving me a shot at this.

Pre-order this insane magazine now, as it ships December 1st. I promise there’s no better conversation-starter for your coffee table: http://www.girlsandcorpses.com/%5C/store/index.html

KUNG FU BREAKFAST - ISSUE #13

Page 37: “An Invisible Man Hypothetically Visits Wisconsin.” I dusted off an old piece of flash fiction and expanded the story with more sadness and perversion. It’s the one-year anniversary issue of Kung Fu Breakfast and has some amazing work from some of my favorite artists: Jay Kantor, Sean Whitman, Jessica Towne, Nate Eggert, and Kendra Lin.

Download the issue for FREE over at this link, just be warned that it has nudity and bad words and all the stuff that makes living worth all the fuss: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/647037

CONCERT REVIEW: CARCASS and IMMOLATION

Carcass

Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, a venue perhaps too cozy (despite being the headquarters of the New York metal scene) for titans like Carcass and Immolation. The tickets sold-out in less than ten minutes, and thanks to my buddy Ellie (whose Noothgrush back patch made her the belle o’ the ball), I was able to snag a ticket. After getting a new drink special (Storming the Castle: One Newcastle pint and a shot of Jameson Black) I perched at the front of the stage like a gargoyle.

I saw Immolation play at the Decibel Magazine Tour this past summer, but they treated the crowd to several new songs off their upcoming album, as well as “God Complex,” which they played live for the first time. Ross Dolan (vocals/bass) pre-emptively apologized in case they “fucked up.” Fucked up they didn’t. It took half a song for drummer Steve Shalaty to warm up, but once he got locked in the whole band worked together like an efficient killing machine.

Despite their fantastic performance playing song from their whole discography (though understandably leaning on Kingdom of Conspiracy), the crowd was a bit mild, except for one very vocal audience member claiming to be a fan from the “old days.” Dolan sized him up and replied, “You were born after we recorded our demo.” Closing with a new track called “All That Awaits Us,” Immolation’s new material sounds amazing, with even more drastic tempo shifts and dangerous groove mixed with their signature technicality.

Immolation

A brief intermission where I refuse to leave my spot, enjoying Slaughter of the Soul playing over the Saint Vitus speakers. I eat an obscene number of gummy dinosaurs. Then: Carcass.

“So Williamsburg, I remember when you were just called Brooklyn,” quips Jeff Walker, snarling frontman/bassist of Carcass.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Walker in the past month for Girls and Corpses Magazine, an article which will be included in their Winter Issue. Walker continued his playful antagonization of the audience by inquiring, “Are the guys from MetalSucks here?” After silence from the crowd: “Didn’t think so. They’re a bunch of poseurs.” Unfortunately he didn’t ask if Decibel Magazine staff was present, or I would have humiliated myself by raising my hand silently like I was in social studies class.

While Walker was having a blast skewering the crowd with barbed words, Bill Steer (lead guitar) was caught between smirking and grinning the whole night. Along with new members Ben Ash (guitar) and Daniel Wilding (drums), they raged through songs from Reek of Putrefaction to Surgical Steel, insisting with a smile they’re playing new stuff because their record label was present. “Wait ten years, and you’ll be calling that a classic,” Walker said after completing their most recent single, “Captive Bolt Pistol.” Kicking out greasy death’n’roll and goregrind in equal measure, the crowd barely had enough room to headbang or mosh without causing constant concussions, but what’s a little brain bruising when it’s CARCASS? Playing with a slideshow of penises plagued by venereal diseases in the background, the band members seemed to have as much fun as the crowd.

“Our last song is off the album you love to hate,” promised Walker. The song: “Keep on Rotting in the Free World” off of Swansong. That track was my first introduction to Carcass, which I heard on an Earache Records sampler when I was in junior high. I discuss this more in my Girls and Corpses piece, but my fondness for that song is undying, and it was an entirely appropriate way to end the evening. Here's the Carcass set list for the night:

Pro tip: Click to enlarge.

While Carcass are only making a few brief stops here in the states, Walker promised a “proper tour” in the Spring. That’s enough notice, so save your pennies, gorehounds.

In the meantime, buy Surgical Steel and support the return of this legendary band. While you’re at it, pick up Kingdom of Conspiracy too. Both of these albums are on my current top 40 list for the year, and come highly recommended.

Surgical Steel can be purchased from Nuclear Blast Records here: http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/discography/details/3075960.3025043.surgical-steel.html

And Immolation’s most recent album is waiting to punch your cerebellum here:

http://www.nuclearblast.de/en/label/music/band/about/71092.immolation.html 

REVIEW: EXHUMED - NECROCRACY

I bought Gore Metal from a little tattoo shop that carried Relapse releases due to the success of local deathheads Skinless. I was a freshman in high school and more curious than passionate about death metal. If you know someone who’s on the fence about extreme music one of the most persuasive things you can do is have them listen to a few songs written by Matt Harvey. As a Mets fan I will clarify: The founder of Exhumed, not the All-Star pitcher/nude model of the same name.

Exhumed again triumphs over significant lineup changes, this time welcoming back past-bassist Bud Burke as a guitarist. While the supporting cast is formidable (especially Mike Hamilton, also of Deeds of Flesh), this is a horrorshow that always hinged on the performance of its founder. Always honest about the pop song structures of his blood-drenched compositions, Harvey has understands the power of a good (meat)hook. On their newest release, Necrocracy, Exhumed display the melodic tendencies of Anatomy Is Destiny, the tight songwriting of Slaughtercult and All Guts, No Glory, and the sheer brutality of Gore Metal. We hear all the time that bands are borrowing elements from their entire discography while working towards a sound that’s entirely new, and 90% of the time it’s a load of zombie shit. But Necrocracy is not zombie shit; it’s looking backwards at their history of jubilant bloodshed, then stepping forward.

Kicking off with “Coins Upon the Eyes,” Exhumed blast into their dual growl/snarl attack and deliver the first memorable chorus on the album, hinting where vocal melody might exist if this wasn’t death metal. Other memorable hooks include “Dysmorphic,” which features a Carcass-esque groove fit for a marauding gang of re-animated bikers, and “The Shape of Deaths To Come,” a slick powerhouse song that throws razor sharp At the Gates riffs into the cannibalistic fray. Fans who are particularly hungry for bile-puking grind will devour “Sickened” and “Carrion Call,” which could both chainsaw-duel classics like “Necromaniac” and “Limb From Limb” for supremacy. The album closes strongly with “The Rotting,” with riffs that carve flesh from the bone before settling into a mid-tempo prowl and fading thrash.

I even hesitate to mention this, but I also noticed how similar a few songs felt to the most intense moments of Cradle of Filth’s Midian. From the abyss-scraping growl to the higher-pitched shrieks and the muscular mid-tempo guitarwork, I was just amazed at how comparable elements can deviate due to the direction of one visionary participant (Matt Harvey/Dani Filth). That isn’t saying Exhumed will end up writing songs about mysterious pale women exploring their bloodlusts in foggy woodlands, it’s just interesting how metal can intersect and then speed away from itself.

Like always, Exhumed have a great balance of catchy and disciplined songwriting, brutal technicality, and a macabre sense of fun that continues to scratch, claw, and feast their way to the top of the death metal food chain. This album proves once again that Californian death metal is as mean and nasty as the best examples from any other location, because the constant sun makes the corpses rot faster.

Necrocracy comes out in North America on August 6th, so save your lunch money, creeps. For more info on the band (including merch and upcoming tour dates with Dying Fetus), check out their page at Relapse Records: http://www.relapse.com/label/artist/exhumed.html

And if you want to yell at me for the Cradle of Filth comparison feel free to send me angry Tweets (@MisterGrowl) or hate mails (mistergrowlblog (at) gmail (dot com)).

REVIEW: GRASSROLL - GORILLA SIZED SOCIAL PROBLEMS

When searching to confirm the definition for “grassroll” I encountered a few different possibilities: 1) A scroll-like piece of turf that unrolls like a carpet, usually to replace grass in stadiums. 2) The unsportsmanlike act of faking an injury on the soccer/football field to waste time late in a game. 3) A doobie. With the strung-out NOLA sound prevalent on this album I figured it would be the latter, but a quick trip to Grassroll’s Facebook page shows “football” as one of their three listed interests. Maybe it’s a combination, like a catastrophically stoned footballer writhing on the unrolled turf. Just so you all know, I don’t put this much effort into considering a band’s name if I don’t dig their music, and Grassroll fucking rip.

Formed in Greece in 2009, they would fit perfectly in the New Orleans scene with their bluesy groove and sludgy undercurrent of thick bass. Their EP, Gorilla Sized Social Problems, is supercharged with addicting enthusiasm and rages with a unique sense of fun, despite the brutal influences that show up in their songs. The band that mostly comes to mind is Soilent Green, whose dusty, down-tuned grinding death has been criminally under-appreciated by most metal fans. But not Grassroll. They have likely listened to Sewn Mouth Secrets & A String Of Lies a thousand times and built upon that foundation of death metal and classic rock boogie with hooks that result in supremely catchy calls for revolution. “Aileen” stampedes through Carcass’ Swansong territory with concise, hook-driven death’n’roll before including elements of djent-leaning metalcore and stoner metal. I also want to mention that Annie’s vocals are as menacing as hell is hot. I couldn’t find a last name for her, but she spends a lot of this album sounding like a Candarian demon unleashed by the Necronomicon.

Grassroll cave skulls on “Fuck Your Best,” pulling off devastating tempo shifts that halt crusty grind mid-gallop with towering riffs that compare favorably with Acid Bath’s best work. “Under Destruction” starts with a V For Vendetta quote and feels like a call-to-arms totally prepared to hand out the baseball bats and pitchforks. The only bummer is that this EP is already short at 13 minutes, and 3 of that is music-box ambience lingering after the final guitar fizzle. Still, the old adage “leave ‘em wanting more” is definitely effective here, ‘cause I am absolutely craving more tunes from these maniacs.

Check out Gorilla Sized Social Problems over at Bandcamp: http://grassroll.bandcamp.com/album/gorilla-sized-social-problems

And follow them on Facebook, where I learned they recorded 5 songs for this EP. Note to Grassroll: YOU MUST RELEASE THE OTHER TWO. MY EARS NEED IT: https://www.facebook.com/grassroll

REVIEW: DESECRATION - MIXTAPE

Listening to Desecration’s mixtape, a free sample of cuts from their 20 year discography, is like watching a predator adapt to its surroundings in reverse. It sort of reminds me of the animals in the upcoming film After Earth, where the planet and all its creatures have become more and more efficient as killing humans. Except with Desecration you don’t get some shitty Shyamalan twist, you get exactly what you came to the party for: Lethal doses of sinister Welsh death metal, sharpened like a backwoods chainsaw.

Beginning with two songs each from Forensix and Process of Decay, Desecration show their most polished work first, with hooks that dig into your softest brain flesh and haunt you all day. “Sadosexual Suicide” grinds and batters the listener with blastbeats while remaining one of the catchiest death metal songs I’ve ever heard. There is a ton of groove in the chorus riffs off those albums, contributing an anthemic quality seen in the most addictive songs from Exhumed and Pungent Stench. “Raping the Corpse” celebrates the perversions of Ed Gein with pummelling Tomb of the Mutilated fury, reminding me that once upon a time Roberts Blossom, who played Old Man Marley in Home Alone, played a barely-fictional version of Gein in the film Deranged. “To Kill With A Drill” stomps defiantly, offering the finest batch of memorable riffs in the collection as vocalist/guitarist Ollie Jones unleashes razor-wire sharp licks. Part of the joy of listening to Desecration is the celebration of violent grindhouse-style films, like the winks at Abel Ferrara’s Driller Killer, which make a horror geek like me geek out even more.

“Dig Up, Dig In” commences with the eerie snarl of flies blanketing some swollen, disgusting cadaver before launching into grinding death. “Murder in Mind” and “Turning Black” cover similar territory, exploring the grind-groove-grind formula they’ve exploited with great success throguh their entire blood-drenched career. “Crave For Rot” ends with the most primitive production quality, but the song beneath the murk is stellar, with the lead guitar squealing over foreboding doom before speeding to a downright evil breakdown closing out the mix. There’s legitimately something for every death metal fan here. If you can’t boogie to “Bacterial Breakdown” then I’m going to need you to cut that Carcass back patch off your vest right now, chief. Desecration definitely lean towards old-school death metal, limiting technical flourishes while focusing on concise songwriting, controversial content, and songs that will inspire pit-rage and dislodged vertebrae. It’s a helluva lot of fun, as long as you’re not the corpse they’re defiling in each song. Actually, how the hell do I know, it might be fun for the corpse too.

This mix is available on Bandcamp as a “name your price” download. If you like what you hear support the band, you know how it works. Also, look for Desecration to be featured in my upcoming article for Decibel Magazine, I’ll post more details when the release date for the issue has been confirmed. Many thanks to Ollie for taking the time to answer some of my desperate “FIVE DAYS TO MY DEADLINE OMG” questions.

Listen to Desecration over here on Bandcamp: http://desecration.bandcamp.com/album/free-desecration-mixtape

And check out their website for gig dates and merch:  http://www.desecration.co.uk/