DECIBEL’S TOP 25 MOST ANTICIPATED RECORDS OF 2011

 Listmania, Metal News  41 Responses »
Jan 122011
 

I got home from my fucking day job last night and what do you think was waiting in my mailbox — other than more fucking bills?  No, it wasn’t cash from Hong Kong — not yet (see the post below this one). It was the February issue of DECIBEL magazine (the only metal mag worth reading any more).  And what do you think was inside the magazine? Well, lots of stuff, of course, but what immediately caught my eye was the magazine’s list of the Top 25 Most Anticipated Albums of 2011.

We try to keep up with news about forthcoming releases. In fact, we run a monthly list that collects news items about albums headed our way. But the DECIBEL list still included some albums we hadn’t yet heard about. Fuck, we hadn’t even heard of some of these bands. Beyond that, of course, is the question whether the albums on the list belong on the list, and whether other deserving releases were omitted. We’re curious what you think about those issues, so leave us some comments please.

Here’s the DECIBEL list:

TRAP THEM, Darker Handcraft
COFFINS, Fleshland
DIM MAK, TBA
PIG DESTROYER, TBA
KRALLICE, TBA
BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, TBA
PRIMATE, Draw Back A Stump (EP)
AMON, Liar In Wait
SKELETONWITCH, TBA
DECAPITATED, TBA

(the rest of the list follows the jump, plus some names DECIBEL left off their list. . .)

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2011: MORE SICKNESS AHEAD

 Forthcoming Albums, Listmania  7 Responses »
Jan 012011
 


HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Did you see what we did?  We had to change the logo for this edition of SICKNESS.  Because 2010 is behind us, and the new year lies ahead.

We spent the last 30 days, as we’ve been doing for the last year, collecting news blurbs and press releases about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like, or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know them yet. And in this post, we’ve cut and pasted the announcements and compiled them in alphabetical order.

All of our previous monthly updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages, and because we’re not keeping a cumulative list, you might want to check the last couple months of these posts if you want to get a full picture of what’s coming. The list that follows, in alphabetical order, are albums we didn’t know about at the time of our last installment when November ended, or updated info about albums we’d previously heard were on the way. And be forewarned: This is a really long list. There’s a massive slag of new metal coming our way, and man, does it look hot.

So, without further ado, let’s get started. See if there’s anything on the list that makes you moist, or tumescent, or just generally slobbery.

ABORTED: “Good news is that we are starting pre-productions for our upcoming record on January 4th. This means we will demo all the songs for the record, make sure everything sounds good and make the necessary adjustments to make sure they are all more lethal than a chainsaw in Mr. Leatherface’s hands. We’re all very excited about the material thus far and can’t wait to get this over with and proceed to the actual recordings later this year. Expect a fall 2011 release through our culprates in mayhem Century Media.”

AGNOSTIC FRONT: “The Godfathers of New York Hardcore, Agnostic Front, have just finished recording their highly anticipated follow up to their 2007 release, Warriors. The yet to be titled album features 13 new powerful and anthemic songs laid down by Erik Rutan (Madball, Goatwhore, Cannibal Corpse) at his Mana Recording Studio in Tampa, FL under the watchful guide of producer Freddy Cricien of Madball. The record was mastered by Alan Douches (Nile, Mastodon) and will be released in Europe of March 4, 2011 and in North America on March 22, 2011.”

(the list continues after the jump . . .)

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BADWOLF’S 10 MOST METAL NON-METAL ALBUMS OF 2010

 Listmania, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  9 Responses »
Dec 302010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Our regular contributor BadWolf has one more 2010 list. To show how broad-minded we are, we’re posting it. It’s not about our usual music, but it’s worth considering.  And below this post is the third installment in our list of the year’s most infectious extreme metal songs.]

So it’s the end of 2010, and finally the unstoppable torrent of mostly useless end-of-year lists is beginning to come to a close. As always, finding some consensus within the metal community isn’t that difficult—the same albums show up on lots of lists in different places over and over again to remind readers that yes, they should probably go pick up that new Deathspell Omega album and now’s as great a time as ever to get into deathcore or post-sludge or whichever genre those readers have not indulged in yet . . .

But aren’t we all missing something?

It’s been my personal experiences that metalheads as a whole can be slow to appreciate some genres outside our collective approximate comfort zone. I can be that way, at least. Fortunately for me, I have friends and fellow music lovers who expose me to tons of great not-metal records.

There are entire worlds of other genres of music that we haven’t even touched upon. And normally we would continue to not touch upon them, but it’s the end of the year and a great time to add just one more album to your download list in the interest of trying something new and exciting.

So, just for the sake of variety, this is my list of 10 unranked not-metal records that deserve a little love from our community. Every one of these is a good album, but they all have something or other that as a metalhead I find very compelling—a post-punk/dance band with grim, frostbit symphonic arrangements, a tremendous slice of guitar loving hardcore-influenced prog, the most brutal lyricist I’ve ever heard, and so much more await below.  (after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

THE BABOON’S BEST REPLAY VALUE LIST

 Listmania  3 Responses »
Dec 242010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: NCS has developed a close relationship with DEATH METAL BABOON, and especially its Netherlands-based founder and mastermind Niek. He e-mailed me a list of the best albums he reviewed this year for DMB — with “best” being defined based on Niek’s desire to listen to the albums repeatedly. And then I talked him into letting me publish the list here — which is pretty cool since he could (and probably should) have used it for his own site.

The one request he made was that I add my own comments on his selections. Seemed like a cheap price to pay for getting to post Niek’s list, so I agreed. Here’s the list and Niek’s comments about the Top 3. My own comments are identified by name. Plus, I’ve added links for Niek’s favorite songs from the top 3 albums on his list.]

My list is a list of the best albums I’ve reviewed on The Baboon this year. Mind you, these are not necessarily the ones to which I gave the highest marks, although most of the high ones are in here. The ones that are in this list aren’t ranked based on marks either. Instead, I’ve ranked them based on my desire to listen to them again. Call it long-term replay value if you like. With that as the definition of my list, seven albums that I reviewed this year have that long-term replay value and are listed below.  (after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

JOHAN HULDTGREN’S 2010 TOP 10

 Listmania  11 Responses »
Dec 242010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Not long ago, we ran a mini-series about Long Songs that we really liked. The longest, and last, in the series was a powerful, album-length opus by a Swedish black-metal duo called Obitus (our review of the album is here). Through that review, we made the acquaintance of Johan Huldtgren, the vocalist and lyricist of Obitus, and his comments on this site have turned us on to some stunning music.

Eventually, we figured out that Johan was the brother of Fredrik Huldtgren, the vocalist for Canopy — another metal band whose work we had praised earlier in the year. We asked the brothers Huldtgren if they would contribute to our Listmania Week, and they did. In this post, Johan gives us his Top 10 list (it’s more mind-expanding than most lists you will read this year), and a selection of one song from each album. In the post below this one, we’ve got Fredrik’s list.]

10. Ash Pool – For Which He Plies The Lash

Noisy, nasty, primitive, minimalistic, and all around disgusting.

Ash Pool: Holocaust Temple

(the balance of Johan’s list follows the jump . . .) Continue reading »

FREDRIK HULTDGREN’S LIST OF THE YEAR’S BEST

 Listmania  4 Responses »
Dec 242010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: One of the best discoveries we made in 2010 was the music of a Swedish band called Canopy. As we wrote in our review of their 2010 release Menhir, “Canopy has a knack for creating melodic death metal with power grooves and prog-metal flourishes, without ever losing an ominously heavy cutting edge.” It was a powerful follow-up to the band’s excellent 2009 album, Will and Perception. We asked Canopy’s awesome vocalist Fredrik Hultdgren if he would give us a list of his favorite albums from 2010, and he obliged. Read on . . .]

Here is my list for 2010. These are all albums that I thoroughly enjoyed this year. Most of them fall under metal of the more extreme kind, but there are some others in here, too. I chose not to place them in any order, as doing so would be too difficult, so you will have to survive with this as is.

Kveleratak – Kveleratak

Jebus almighty. This album is fucking fun to listen to. Not the most original perhaps, but this is one of those albums that is just perfect to drink to! Mashing hardcore, black metal and punk influences into one huge mix that works so well. Artwork is done by John Dyer Baizley [Baroness] and is, as always, pretty damn cool. I managed to get ahold of the double gatefold vinyl of this release, and the artwork looks even better at such a size!

Rotting Christ – AEALO

Yet another great album by Rotting Christ, probably the act I saw the most of live this year.

Even though I might find the songs a bit monotone on CD (especially the drums!) they transform into a completely different beast live.

(more after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

ANDY SYNN’S TOP 10(s) OF THE YEAR

 Listmania  8 Responses »
Dec 232010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE:  We finally come to Part 4 of Andy Synn‘s review of the year in metal. In previous posts, Andy identified the Great, the Good, and the Disappointing releases of 2010. In this final installment, Andy lists his Top 10 favorite albums of the year as well as a critical Top 10 list. Turns out that the same album is in the top spot on both lists.]

Well ladies and gentlemen, finally we come to my personal top ten of the year, followed by my objective, critical top ten.

The first list contains the albums that I consider my favourites, in some cases regardless of relative quality, and that I have gone to for listening pleasure most frequently this year. I love these albums despite (and in some cases because of) their flaws.

The second list contains the albums which I think were the most artistically ambitious and successful, performed the best, and contained the best and most interesting examples of song-writing as art. These are the albums which I feel set a gold-standard for objective value this year, regardless of personal feelings towards the music and/or artist.

There will definitely be some expected names on both lists, but also hopefully some surprises! Continue reading »

BADWOLF’S TOP 10: THE YEAR’S BEST ALBUMS

 Listmania  21 Responses »
Dec 232010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Earlier this week, we posted our contributor BadWolf‘s article on the “most listenable” metal albums of 2010. You can see that here if you missed it. Today, we’ve got BadWolf’s list of the ten best albums, selected based on artistic achievement.]

The following is my list of the ten greatest artistic achievements in heavy metal this year—in my humble or not so humble opinion of course. If you want mosh music or workout music—that was the previous list. Any albums that appear on both lists would constitute an unranked objective best albums of 2010 list.

In summary for the lazy, 2010 was the year USBM raped everything in sight.

Because I feel the purpose of top 10 lists is to expand taste, spur discussion, and examine contemporary metal music I have not included any ‘legacy’ acts—sorry Accept, Iron Maiden, Immolation, Blind Guardian et. al., but you don’t need me.

Honorable Mentions – unordered:

Castevet – Mounds of Ash
Enslaved – Axioma Ethica Odini
Intronaut – Valley of Smoke
Woe – Quietly, Undramatically
Nachtmystium – Addicts
Stargazer – A Great Work of Ages
Ihsahn – After
Watain – Lawless Darkness
Triptykon – Eparistera Daimones

(BadWolf’s Top 10 comes after the jump . . .)

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THE DEVIL’S FAVORITES: THE TOP 10 OF DEATH’S EMBRACE

 Listmania  11 Responses »
Dec 232010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: “Death’s Embrace” is the nom de guerre of one of our most loyal readers, who’s been with us since sometime in the last geologic epoch. Or at least since last November when we started NCS. Anyway, he has a Top 10 list, and now we have it, too, along with his recommended songs from each album. Read on . . .]

These are the albums that got the most replay on my Ipod. And for a couple of albums, I just had to keep coming back to them over and over. They were so good in my mind that I just couldn’t replace them with something else. I also added some links to my favorite tracks off of each album. I am sure that most of you will have some issues with my choice for the best album of the year, but I can’t get it out of my head. I listen to the whole album, beginning to end, at least three or four times a week. It never gets old.

I could not narrow my list down to ten, so first, here are my honorable mentions for 2010:

Daath – Daath

These guys are settling into their current lineup, and their self-titled release shows it. I love the Eyal Levi/Emil Werstler combo. These guys are really coming into their own as songwriters and Sean Z is creating some great vocals and lyrics.

(more after the jump . . .)

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GOBLINS MAKE “BEST OF 2010” LISTS, TOO

 Listmania  9 Responses »
Dec 222010
 

[EDITOR’S NOTE: SoCal’s Nekrogoblikon is an NCS favorite. If you doubt that, go here. And today we’re favored with a retrospective on the year that’s almost ended from one of the goblikons — Timbus, who helped bail us out while I was on vacation in November. To see his previous post, visit this location. To see what he thought of the year in metal, simply light your heads on fire and continue reading. I’ve heard a grand total of two albums on this list — which is awesome . . . more discoveries lie ahead.]

The past few years have been an interesting time to be in the metal scene. Technicality has made a comeback in a big way and combined with a giant improvement in modern metal production, has produced some of the most intricate, precise, heavy, fast, dense, mind-bending, ferocious music ever created. If someone had gone back in time with After The Burial‘s Rareform or Periphery‘s self-titled and given me those albums say in 1999, I would have probably shat my pants and said that nobody could possibly do this. Arguably, this response would have been correct, since most metal albums nowadays are heavily, heavily quantized (every note of the drums and guitars aligned with a grid).

Anyway, the point is, metal music is moving forward and we’re quickly approaching the second decade of the third millenium. EPIC AS FUCK, YOU GUYS. I have been asked to provide my view of the best albums of 2010, and so I shall. First though, a disclaimer:

I do not listen to a large number of bands on a regular basis. I am not really one of those people that will actually check out every album stream or new release that comes (though I do read Lambgoat pretty regularly). I will check out lots of things, but it takes something visceral and unexplainable to get me to incorporate a new album or band into my regular rotation.

Therefore, if I’ve left out an awesome album or 50, this is why. Also, despite the fact that this blog is called “No Clean Singing”, I unfortunately must admit I listen to very few bands nowadays that don’t have at least “some” clean singing. There haven’t really been very many good straight-up death/black/grind releases in a while, so I have to make do with all sorts of other shit. (see the shit that Timbus makes do with after the jump . . .) Continue reading »

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