OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 8)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  3 Responses »
Dec 312015
 

Motorhead-Bad Magic

 

I was going to add these songs to our Most Infectious list eventually, but it seemed like posting them this week, on the last day of the old year, was the right thing to do — especially the first song.

This list is supposed to be devoted to infectious extreme metal songs, and the first two below don’t really fit that description. But just about every year I’ve bent the rules a few times, and today is one of those. To see the other songs on the list so far, use this link.

MOTÖRHEAD

With Lemmy’s death this week, Motörhead has perished as a band as well. But obviously the music will never die. Though the band couldn’t have known for sure that Bad Magic would be their last studio album, they went out strong. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 7)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  2 Responses »
Dec 302015
 

VHOL-Deeper Than Sky

 

Welcome to the 7th Part of our list of the year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. To listen to the other songs that have been named to this list so far and to read about the criteria for the list as a whole, go HERE.

So far, our list hasn’t included any thrash, but I’m remedying that deficit today. One song comes from an outstanding album by a group of outstanding and well-known American musicians, and the other comes from a much more obscure but very talented Turkish band.

VHÖL

The first song I’m adding today comes from an album we didn’t manage to review this year. It’s not the first or the last entry of that kind. Try as we might, we often fail to pay proper attention to excellent albums due to lack of time or congenital mental deficiency. And VHÖL’s Deeper Than Sky really is excellent. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 6)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  6 Responses »
Dec 292015
 

Mgla-Exercises In Futility

 

Here are two more songs that I’m adding to our evolving list of 2015’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. They come from albums that I heard before most people did and then promptly reviewed — which says something about how powerfully they both affected me, given how few reviews I write and how delayed most of them turn out to be. I’ve been delighted to see how often both albums have appeared on year-end metal lists; they richly deserve the acclaim they have been receiving.

(To see the other songs that have been named to this list so far and to read about the criteria for the list as a whole, go HERE.)

MGŁA

I doubt anyone who follows our site on even a semi-regular basis will be surprised or disgruntled to see a song from Exercises In Futility on this list. However, I won’t be surprised if some of you prefer a different song. That’s inevitable, because the album is so loaded with infectious songs. As I wrote in my review: Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 5)

 Exceptions to the Rule, MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  9 Responses »
Dec 282015
 

Altars of Grief Side B

 

Welcome to Part 5 of our list of Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs for this year, as selected by me and only me from the massive list of candidates received from numerous sources, as well as my own notes haphazardly created as the year rolled along. To learn about the selection criteria and to discover the songs that have already been named to the list, go HERE.

For each of the first four installments in this series I included three songs, grouped together because they seemed to go well together. And I’ve done the same thing with this installment, though beginning tomorrow I plan to drop down to two songs per post.

ALTARS OF GRIEF

In June we had the pleasure of premiering for you a fantastic track named “In Dying Light” by the Canadian band Altars of Grief. It appeared on a split release entitled Of Ash and Dying Light that also included excellent tracks by the band Nachtterror. I’ve been a huge fan of the song ever since and never had any doubt about including it on this list. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 4)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  8 Responses »
Dec 272015
 

Alkaloid-The Malkuth Grimoire

 

We have arrived at the fourth installment of our 2015 list of the year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. Like the first three, this one includes three songs. All three of these are types of death metal, but certainly not the same type. It’s also kind of hard even to slap a genre label on any of them individually, other than the broad one to which I just alluded.

If you’re new to this evolving list, go HERE to see the songs we’ve already named to it and to learn what we mean by “most infectious”.

ALKALOID

The debut album of this German “super-group” drew a lot of attention from us this year, including a premiere of the song I’m now adding to this list. culminating with my comrade Andy Synn naming The Malkouth Grimoire both to his list of the year’s “Great Albums” (here) and to his list of the year’s “Critical Top 10” (here) — anointing it “the No. 1, ‘best of the best’ album of 2015” and lauding its “sheer creativity, mind-blowing instrumental prowess, ball-busting heaviness, and esoteric, progressive melodies”. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS: (PART 3)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  3 Responses »
Dec 262015
 

Tau CRoss cover

 

Welcome to Part 3 of our list of 2015’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. For the third day in a row, I’m adding three songs to the list, and I’ve again combined three selections because I think they sound good together.

For more info about the criteria I’ve used in picking these songs and to check out the preceding songs on the list, click this link.

TAU CROSS

By this time of the year I would guess that most fans of heavy music have at least heard the name Tau Cross, especially since their debut album has been popping up frequently on lots of year-end lists. But for those who may still be unaware, it includes Amebix vocalist/bassist Rob “The Baron” Miller, Voivod drummer Michel “Away” Langevin, Misery guitarist Jon Misery, and War//Plague guitarist Andy Lefton. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 2)

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  3 Responses »
Dec 252015
 

Firespawn-Shadow Realms

 

Here’s the second installment in our “most infectious song” list. When you hear them, you might suspect that I hand-picked this particular trio to coincide with this particular day — and you would be right!

FIRESPAWN

I didn’t give this band enough attention this fall. Their debut album Shadow Realms detonated late in the year, and I’m still picking the shrapnel out of my head. It was a surprise in more ways than one — the quality was no surprise, given the line-up of the band, but the style of the music was a surprise (given the line-up of the band):

Alex Friberg (Necrophobic, Unleashed) (bass)
Victor Brandt (Dominion, Entombed A.D.) (guitars)
LG Petrov (Entombed A.D.) (vocals)
Fredrik Folkare (Unleashed, Necrophobic) (guitars)
Matte Modin (Skineater, Raised Fist, Defleshed) (drums) Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2015’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 1)

 Exceptions to the Rule, MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  9 Responses »
Dec 242015
 

Wolfheart video clip-2

 

And so it begins, the last piece of our year-end LISTMANIA extravaganza: For the seventh year in a row, I present my list of the year’s “most infectious extreme metal songs”. As I’ve done in the past, my goal is to roll out this list gradually, with one installment per day (including weekends and holidays) until I’m finished, and usually with two songs in each installment. This is a goal, not a promise, because life is too damned unpredictable.

I will add that, as in most other years, I’m starting the rollout before actually finishing the list. Because it’s a work in progress, I don’t know how long it will be. My goal (not a promise) is to finish it before the end of January. To be clear, this is an unranked list; there’s no rhyme or reason to the order in which I’m announcing the songs.

To get a running start, I’m including three songs instead of two in each of the first five installments of the series, and these groupings aren’t random; they may not make sense to anyone but me, but I have my reasons for putting them together as I have.

Okay, let’s get started — and if you don’t know what I mean by “most infectious songs”, go HERE for an explanation. Continue reading »

A REQUEST FOR YOUR “MOST INFECTIOUS SONG” CANDIDATES

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2015  58 Responses »
Nov 192015
 

Infectious

 

It’s that time of year again, when we start preparing for the frenzy of year-end Listmania. For those of you new to the frenzy, our Listmania extravaganza comes in four parts. First, we re-print assorted lists of the year’s best albums, leeched from other big web sites and magazines. Second, we will collect our readers’ lists of the 2015 albums and shorter releases they enjoyed the most. Third, we post the year-end lists of our own staff and assorted guest writers. And fourth, I’ll roll out my list of the year’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs.

And that last list is the subject of this request for help (we’ll be inviting you to give us your lists of the year’s best albums as we get closer to the actual end of the year — so start thinking about that).

In case you’ve become an NCS reader since this time last year, here’s what this Most Infectious Song list is about: Continue reading »

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