Wil Cifer Archives - Page 13 of 18

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 PROGRESSIVE METAL ALBUMS OF 2016

LISTMANIA 2016 No Responses »

Jan 022017

(Wil Cifer continues his series of year-end lists with a Top 10 ranking of progressive metal releases.)

Progressive means you allow your music to progress. If you are putting out the same album of indulgent noodling, I don’t care if it is under the guise of a rock opera or not, your sound is not evolving; you are not progressive.

So these are not albums serving as bookends to keyboard solos, and are all more focused on the songs rather than trying to just make musicale bukkake. Many genres are touched on within this list. Some are more black metal than others, some are death metal, some are hard rock, but they all break the mold and embody progressive metal even without operatic vocals and frilly shirts. Here are my choices for the top 10 progressive metal albums of 2016. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 SLUDGE ALBUMS OF 2016

LISTMANIA 2016 2 Responses »

Dec 302016

(Here’s the fourth and final 2016 list from NCS contributor Wil Cifer. Follow these links to check out his Top 10 lists for black metal, doom, and death metal.)

When it comes to defining sludge, the density is the prime factor, so I find myself throwing in anything that is not dark enough to be doom. Sludge generally holds true to its punk rooks, but projects defined as stoner metal are also being included here. That doesn’t mean there is not legit sludge all over this list, as sludge is the dirty crust punk cousin of doom. Some sludge bands have just grown up and gotten more rock ‘n’ roll over time, so what sludge is has changed some over the years and this year’s crop is certainly evidence of that fact. Some of these bands might even think they are doom or have gotten their start as a doom band, but now have smoked too much pot to keep it that dark. So heaviness is often an organic by-product of the sounds compiled here with the top ten sludge albums of 2016. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 BLACK METAL ALBUMS of 2016

LISTMANIA 2016 7 Responses »

Dec 292016

(Wil Cifer delivers the third of his year-end lists, and in this one he names his top 10 black metal albums of 2016. The first installment, which focused on doom, is here. The second, focused on death metal, is here.)

Black metal continues to spread its curse, having left its stain as an influence on everything from punk rock to doom. The genre flourishes in even the most obscure corners of the world as it becomes the sound of anger for the isolated souls of this doomed generation.

The albums here have been gathered from every sub-genre. Veterans are being honored alongside new American bands who are taking risks to push their music into new places. I need more from black metal than just a collection of boring blast-beats recorded in a trash can. These albums have dynamic layers and songwriting that inspired me to return to these songs throughout the year. So here are my top ten black metal album of 2016: Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 DEATH METAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

LISTMANIA 2016 9 Responses »

Dec 282016

(Wil Cifer delivers the second of several year-end lists, and in this one he names his top death metal albums of 2016. The first installment, which focused on doom, is here.)

Judging from my in-box this year, it seemed like there was more death metal coming out than any other sub-genre, though black metal was hot on its heels. I need my death metal to be dark and hateful. This was a dark and hateful year, so here are some of the albums that provided the best soundtrack to that.

I have gathered these from many different sub-genres, though most tend to have a blackened edge to some degree. While most of the world is crying like babies in fear of war and wanting the world to just get along, here is the death this world needs set to music. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 DOOM ALBUMS OF 2016

LISTMANIA 2016 21 Responses »

Dec 272016

(Wil Cifer delivers the first of several year-end lists, and in this one he names his top doom albums of 2016.)

This was a rough year for the genre and the universe. By the end of it I needed my doom to be even darker and more more dismal than what I was finding. These albums are what I felt to be the best gems of the year’s doom crop that I did come across. There are many shades of doom here — a sense of loss and mourning is what I need from doom, more darkness than death metal, so that is reflected here. Abandon all dope ye who enter here, for here lies my top 10 doom albums of 2016. Continue reading »

BLACK TABLE: “OBELISK”

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Nov 012016

(We present Wil Cifer’s review of the new album by NY’s Black Table.)

This band from New York have spawned a dark hybrid of metal sub-genres that stands out from all the run-of-the-mill blackened this or that flooding my in-box. Black metal might be the intersection where most of these sounds meet, despite using only occasional blast-beats that come when the band are at their most raging.

Thanks to producer Billy Anderson this album sounds great, with the production complementing the depth of Black Table’s dynamics. The arrangements get murkier going into the song “Helm”, and with the more melodic riffs providing a path to follow as they wander into more of a jammed section. When this occurs it feels more like sludge at this point than black metal. Continue reading »

BARGHEST – TEETH SPLIT

Album Reviews 2 Responses »

Sep 262016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new split by Louisiana’s Barghest and California’s Teeth.)

This is a split that captures two different shades of metal. They are both dark.

The first side of this cassette release showcases Baton Rogue’s Barghest, who are just as feral as in their earlier releases, but this time around the buzz-saw of rapid fire guitar you face is smoothed out by the more cavernous production, giving them the needed ambience for me to fully digest their sonic venom. Continue reading »

NEUROSIS: “FIRES WITHIN FIRES”

Album Reviews 12 Responses »

Sep 122016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Neurosis.)

The pioneers of sludge metal are back, and ironically by some of today’s standards Neurosis are no longer a metal band. This is not to say the album is not heavy. Heavy just comes in different colors.

It doesn’t take long for the band to make use of this dynamic, as it happens midway into the first song “Bending Light” when the gruff vocals kick in. They spend the first half of the song wandering around a dark and trippy landscape. This is fine with me. Neurosis had gone too far in Pink Floyd’s direction back on Honor Found in Decay, almost to the point that I thought certain portions sounded like they were from Obscured By Clouds. I am glad to hear more sonic menace infiltrated back into their sound.

I can accept that this is not going to be Souls at Zero or Through Sliver and Blood. If that is what you are looking for going into this, it’s time to face the fact they have moved on from there. The direction this album finds them on is darker and feels to me more true to who they are as a band. Continue reading »

LESBIAN: “HALLUCINOGENESIS”

Album Reviews 1 Response »

Aug 292016

(Wil Cifer reviews the new album by Seattle’s Lesbian, which is out now on the Translation Loss label and features striking cover art by Dan Seagrave.)

Before reviewing this album I went back and listened to Lesbian’s album Stratospheria Cubensis for a little perspective. Six years ago when that album came out, they were still pretty committed to not neatly fitting within any sub-genre of metal, and now they have continued to defy those boundaries even more.

Former members of The Accüsed formed this band back in 2007 and have now evolved their brand of proggy death metal into something even more darkly bizarre. Their new album finds the vocals becoming even more varied, blending sung vocals and growls. This is done in a very tasteful way that might win over some of you who think this approach is dated. In some ways it makes me think of what might have happened if Acid Bath had collided with Cynic. Continue reading »

INQUISITION: “BLOODSHED ACROSS THE EMPYREAN ALTAR BEYOND THE CELESTIAL ZENITH”

Album Reviews 5 Responses »

Aug 222016

It is time to put to rest any of the grumbling you might have heard in regard to the new Inquisition. Some people were more than likely already in a bad mood after hearing the new Metallica or only had a marginal intrest in Inquisition to begin with. The truth is, their new album sounds just like them, right when Dagon lets the chords ring out with such eerie dissonance.

They are not out to win over any new fans. This is not to say they are just dialing it in, as drummer Incubus brings some sinister grooves and really lays into his high hat. In the car my wife complained the crash was a little tinny, but I didn’t hear that, and overall the mix has the dense sound that I want from them. Continue reading »

Older Entries Newer Entries