Jan 092011
 

We’re not superstitious. The fact that this is the 13th installment of our Most Infectious song list means nothing to us. Hotels skip the 13th floor, but only the weak-minded would skip from Part 12 to Part 14 on a list of songs. In fact, just to show how un-superstitious we are, we’re doubling down by including The Cube in this 13th part.

We did make sure our wills were in order before publishing this post. That’s not superstition. That’s just being prudent. Because The Cube is not superstition. Its existence is a documented fact. So is the uncontrollable destruction it causes. But more about that later.

Now, let’s get on with the first song we’re adding to our list — and if you’re new to this series and want to understand what we’re doing, read this and check out the other songs on the list by visiting the Category link on the right of this page called MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2010.

NOCTIFERIA

Noctiferia is a long-running band from The Republic of Slovenia whose 2010 album, Death Culture, we reviewed in July, summing up our reaction with these words: “Noctiferia takes a rock-solid foundation of syncopated death metal, adorns it with everything from industrial to ethnic stylings, and then sets the whole thing on fire in a spirited romp. Noctiferia blazes with speed and fury, but prays at the altar of groove.”  (more after the jump . . .)

We really liked everything on this album. The song we featured in our review was “Demagog”, which we called a “titanically rifftastic motherfucker”, but we also singled out “Demoncracy” as “our current favorite for just rocking-the-fuck out.” As you can tell, that was a really eloquent review.

“Demoncracy” has remained one of our infectious favorites. As we said in the review, it’s a bit of on outlier compared to the rest of the album, with an industrial-metal feel to it and a heavy rock beat — but damn, is it fun to hear! Welcome Noctiferia to our Most Infectious list:

Noctiferia: Demoncracy

(And to see the band’s cool video for “Demoncracy”, go back to our review.)

GOAT THE HEAD

No surprise here. Even if “This Tube is the Gospel” weren’t one of the most infectious songs of the year, we would put it on the list anyway. Leaving it off would risk rousing The Cube from its slumbers and provoking . . . something . . . something unknowable, something random, but definitely something we’d rather not have happen. Because that’s what The Cube does.

Don’t believe us? Well, that must be because you haven’t watched the documentary film made by Norway’s Goat the Head called “Darwinian Minions”. It explains the fundamental mysteries of the universe, such as where television came from, what enabled our primitive ancestors to play the electric guitar, and what causes trailer homes to spontaneously explode. (Guess what the answer is.)

We reviewed Goat the Head’s 2010 album, Doppelgängers, here. It satisfied our longing for contemporary primal caveman death metal. In another burst of eloquence, we said:

Do you want the kind of adrenaline jolt you can usually get only from having live electrodes shoved up your ass, but without the rectal bleeding? Doppelgängers delivers.

Do you want to have all your nagging anxieties and petty annoyances eradicated with the head-clearing force of a club to the back of your head, but without the usual risk of having your eyeballs ejected from your cranium? Doppelgängers delivers.

Have you been waiting for a death-metal band that would use song titles such as “Neolithic Rocket Science”, “This Tube Is the Gospel”, “Bestial Domestication”, and “The Ubiquitous Cube”? Look no further than Doppelgängers.

Have you ever embarrassed yourself by asking complete strangers in a bar, or on a bus, “Why can’t death metal be clever and fun?”  Well, it can be, and on Doppelgängers it is.

The album is chock full of kick-ass songs, but “This Tube is the Gospel” is the one that belongs on the Most Infectious list. It features the powerful, soulful voice of Norwegian clean-singer Kirsti Huke, and lots of headbanging dementia from the Goats. Check it out:

Goat the Head: This Tube is the Gospel

  7 Responses to “OUR LIST OF 2010’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: PART 13”

  1. Random fact of the day: Many moons ago a much earlier incarnation of my band played a show opening for Noctiferia and Hypocrisy. Noctiferia were AWFUL then, but have clearly improved dramatically!

    Good for them!

    • Some bands start awful and stay awful. Noctiferia do seem to have hit their stride. They recently finished a European tour with Melechesh and Svart Crown — that would have been a nice one to see.

  2. I’m surprised it took you this long to mention the Cube. You’ve been taking a huge gamble waiting this long.

    If you were to suffer the wrath of the Cube, who would feed your cat or clean up its puke? Who would collect the millions from your friends in various African countries – and the bags of gold dust to go with them?

    I know you’re married, but something tells me that she might not be up to maintaining NCS if you were to become a smear on the street because of your negligence.

    • I got the shivers reading this and realizing just how close I cut it. If I’d been smart, “This Tube” would have been in the first installment instead of the 13th. I’m pretty sure my wife would rejoice at the demise of NCS rather than keep it going. I hope she would be less gleeful at the loss of me, but I wouldn’t be around to find out.

  3. Hell yeah, This Tube Is the Gospel is the best song of the past year, i’d say. And it’s nice to see a band from my own country getting to my favourite metal site. ^^

  4. Entire “Death Culture” album is killer!

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