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| FEATURES | THE BEST OF 2011 | |||
IT'S A 7 INCH EXTRAVAGANZA IV |
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We are sloppy, we know. See the banner up there, it reads Top 10 and the list below, actually contains thirteen records. Furthermore, this list for 2011 includes an album released late in 2010, but fuck it, the band in question deserves all the accolades they can get. Even if they come one year too late. |
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Dephosphorus crushes cocks and balls and on its way, it shits all over all the grind albums put out in 2011. Yeah, yeah, we have all heard about how good Rotten Sound’s latest album is and yeah, whatever that sounds like grindcore and was released on Relapse shall be making the rounds of all the other lists, but in our book, quality grindcore has gone through a makeover and it has come out like a strange fruit with panda bear make up. Axiom, Dephosphorus’ first is an absolute beast of blast beasts, ripped throat screams and guitars so menacing you will instinctively have to hold onto your testicles as if they were the rounded and hairy embodiment of your mommy. In a day and age when Greece is broke as fuck, we thank for the utilities service in Athens and wish that the power never goes out in the ancient city. If only so that Dephosphorus continues to make albums as cock-crushing as Axiom. |
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These guys don't get any respect. Well, perhaps they do, but if Taming the Cannibals is any evidence to the fact, we're all probably way behind what they've accomplished or the majority of the 'metal' crowd out there needs to at least pretend. Their sound has been called 'satan jazz', and that pretty much sums it up. If someone was to successfully fuse death metal, black metal, and jazz, this is exactly what would come out of it. Ehnahre rolls, they wail, the drummer strikes random parts of his kit for flavor, Taming the Cannibals is easily the most confrontational metal album of the past century, and add to it the one before. There are lots of bands out there saying they "experiment" with sound, but Ehnahre truly does, like really, most of you out there probably won't be able to stomach it. If you're used to Cannibal Corpse, Exhumed, or some shit like that, this album is going to give you about a dozen ulcers. These guys are years ahead of the pack. Hell, there isn't even a 'pack' they can belong to. Songs like "The Clatterbones" break tempo as drum sticks click off of metal rims and stands, the guitars randomly appear from the background in pure dissonance, and the singing sounds downright suicidal. If you're a metal elitist, you're just not going to get this one. From our perspective, that's a really good thing. Ed's Note: This album was released in November of 2010, since that late date pretyy much disqualified them from appear in any Best of 2010 lists, we consider them now. |
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From Demilich to Aarni, the Finnish have always created some of the weirdest metal on the planet. It must be something in the pristine water. Oranssi Pazuzu proudly continues the Finnish tradition of putting out quirkiest metal in the world, with their extremely odd, highly experimental and at the same time addictive sophomore release Kosmonument (Spinefarm). If you could somehow turn Pink Floyd’s Saucerful of Secrets into a black metal album, you would have Kosmonument. Kosmonument is a like a trip to deep space; sometimes you see stunning heavenly bodies, other times there is nothing but blackness. This is an extremely trippy piece of black metal full of eerie ambience, quirky melodies and infectious grooves. Still, when this band goes necro, they have some serious bite. A nice, dreamy landscape is torn apart by gnashing dissonant riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Blut Aus Nord album. It’s like shrooming in a park on beautiful, sunny day when all of a sudden you stumble right into a cop. Always something new around every turn, Kosmonument is as diverse and original a work of black metal as you’ll hear. |
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A couple of years ago, we reviewed an EP from a Spanish doom band called Monkeypriest. The name of the band was silly, but the contents of their recording Defending the Tree were beyond promising. Two years have passed and this trio from Seville has just dropped the best doom metal album you haven’t heard. To put it bluntly The Psalm (Feretro) has the best riffs of 2011. And they are all so fucking simple. Listening to this album and dissecting it makes you realize why it is that the slowest of subgenres appeals to so many of us; its primitivity and primal nature connects with our most basic idiosyncracies. The Psalm proves it and if you think that that sentence made no sense, fuck you! Check this album out and realize what good doom sounds like in 2011. The Psalm even includes a cover of Cerebral Fix’s “Feast of the Fools”. Shall we say more? |
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Easily this year's greatest cassette release, n.s. Drugs (CS) comes from the little-known Pollution, a noise rock/hardcore act from out of Brooklyn that some idiot tagged as simply 'hardcore' so now they're cursed with that for awhile until more of us actually listen to them. Pollution is most definitely not hardcore, because calling something 'hardcore' brings up a whole lot of genre referencing and cliche that these boys have about a much of a part in as maggots in rice. Their music tears it up using a raw quality that's clearly and carefully intentional, with uniquely echoed vocals that rip apart your ear drums like a sandstorm of glass fragments. The riffs are original and the lyrics actually make you think of more than not paying attention to them, so just forget that whole "hardcore" thing, kay? Hopefully, these guys take a little more time with their exposure next time around, because they're in dire need of recognition. We'll feel awesome loving their music either way, and that's when a band has truly succeeded, when we can all get in a circle and agree to punch each other in the face to it regardless of our backgrounds. This is a tape you're going to play until it's so analog you can't make it out anymore. |
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2011 was the year of the post-black metal explosion. While many of these bands blend the genres with about as much skill as a high-schooler making mix drinks, Lantlôs’ songwriter and guitarist Herbst is like a professional mixologist. Blending post rock, black metal, jazz and sludge with the greatest of ease, Herbst composes an album with a strong first bite, a smooth middle and a great aftertaste. Integrating crushing force and building toward a stunning closer, Agape (Lupus Lounge) is an unforgettable album. As a bonus, the album is full of Niege’s world class howls that are used far too sparsely in Alcest. Agape sets the bar for the emerging post-black genre by transcending the title all together. |
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Germany’s Angel of Damnation may be the sloppiest band on the planet, but since when has that been an issue? Never, that’s right. Our very own Arkus The Evil Dictator only gave it three sparrows a few months ago, but this scribe has been hooked on Carnal Philosophy since the first chord of “Doomed Forevermore” made me jones for a time when Pentagram didn’t put out forced and utterly shitty doom metal albums. Not bad for a bunch of lifers whose resumes read like a list of who the fucks? Teutonic thrashers Nocturnal may be the biggest name of the bunch, regardless, the trio would do good quitting even the faintest idea of a new musical project as concentrating on Angel of Damnation would be a very wise move. In a day and age when doom seems close to reaching out to styles like polka and reggaeton as a means of staying fresh, it is awesome to hear a band so basic making albums that are as vital as Carnal Philosophy. |
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Zeromoon definitely wears its 'intelligent noise music' tag well, and Blue Sausage Infant makes sure they do with Flight of the Solstice Queens. This guy's been around in the underground for awhile on plenty of cassettes and vinyl, so he's definitely played the part long enough to deserve a CD press. This one is packed with everything that makes him what he is; smart, experienced, and skilled, though we still don't have a fucking clue what the name means. But at least he knows what his music means, because there's probably not a more accurate representation of sound and substance than Blue Sausage Infant. Tracks like "Gezundheit!" playfully utilize commercial snippets to suggest sneezing, while others take a more ambient approach and sound like listening to the ambience of the universe as a rocket takes you to a distant, dead planet. With a refreshing amount of diversity that gives one hope for electronic music, Flight of the Solstice Queens is a must-have for fans, so support the dude in his bunny costume so he can keep it up. The cover is kind of 'what-in-the-hell', but we'll let that go. |
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My Dying Bride have the perplexing distinction of releasing one of the worst albums of 2011 and one of the best albums of 2011. In May, they released the pretentious, cheesy and utterly embarrassing nosedive of a triple disc, Evita. Basically three hours of spoken word poetry over ineffective “neo-classical” tunes, Evita is the doom metal version of Lulu. Then November comes around and My Dying Bride gives us The Barhest O’ Whitby, their best recording in ten years. This one track, 27 minute EP is a reminder of just how damn good My Dying Bride can be. The riffs just kill—some are absolutely gorgeous, others are sheer goliaths. Aaron’s vocals are stellar, ranging from a sultry gothic croon to a thick bestial growl. The violin adds plenty of melancholia throughout. While in one sense The Barhest O’ Whitby is a “return to roots” recording, it also quite adventurous; never before have they done a song so massive and sweeping in scope. Here’s hoping it’s not the last time! |
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| Why Americans still aren’t hip to bands like Bong is beyond anyone who has ever heard them and understood them. The prolific British quartet has certainly worked harder than anyone in the business to establish themselves as the elite of the elite-leaning doomster few. To prove it, one only needs to look at their prolific career; spawning no less than eight splits, nine live albums and three full-lengths in the span of six years, their material is the thickest and foggiest sounding around. Maybe that’s why their sound hasn’t exactly crossed the pond. On Beyond Ancient Space, Bong explores oriental textures and washes its droning doom with sitars and tablas. Their songs are long. As in fucking looong meditations topped with floating chants and vague drumming. Excessive they may be, but they are also poignant exercises in inward gazing. Listening to Beyond Ancient Space one gets the idea that these three tracks are one offs; spontaneous results of the massive consumption of barbiturates. If Om pushed post-metal (for lack of a better term) onward for some, bands like Bong take it to a whole other level that hasn’t been labeled yet. |  |
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2011 also proved one thing, post-hardcore is starting to come around, but unfortunately not among the fans it should be reaching. Dudes with skinny jeans and ear plugs stay away, this is not for you! As We Draw's Lines Breaking Circles has become a crime in lack of recognition, and it's probably punishable by death since post-hardcore has a new name through bands like this. The genre's starting to avoid the in-mom's-basement singing style, the chug-a-lug-skanking breakdowns, the juns, the arepeggiated sweeps that don't make much fucking sense, pretty much everything that turned hardcore into a spent old man in the past twenty years has had its life support shut off by bands like As We Draw. Lines Breaking Circles, well, it's easily the most solid hardcore album eva, or at least of the past year. By the time the scene kids figure it out, they'll have kids of their own, and perhaps this kind of style will be their thing, or we can only hope, and mom and pops won't have a chance of understanding. |
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| Dark, hot, sweaty and smothering, Aosoth’s III is certainly the evilest recording of 2011. Following in the footsteps of fellow Frenchmen Deathspell Omega, Aosoth summon forth a sound straight from the depths of Abaddon. The scorched growls are truly demonic and the riffs are uncompromisingly dark, displaying venom force and hatred. While there is an occasional tragic moment, there is not a single moment of joy or beauty. This is a harrowing, smoldering manifestation of Hell that would give Dante cold sweats. In the realm of true black metal Aosoth are at the head of the class for 2011. |  |
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Remember when hardcore sucked ass? We do, we certainly do. For the most part it still does actually, but some have wised up and have understood that hardcore, by itself, ain’t not much fun. It is boring and it takes itself too seriously. If you need proof of how the sound has evolved and how smaller subgenres have revitalized it, just look at the about face taken by Southern Lord Records, whose roster now reads like a list of aid up wirey bastards instead of the typical mopey sadboys it used to contain. The Ominous Order of Filthy Mongrels just started to make headway into out ear cannals, but if we can judge their future ahead of time just by checking out this their Bastard demo (Safety Meeting) we can envision a fucking revolution full of punches to the face and kicks to the head. Also, maybe a deal with Southern Lord records. |
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On the creepo end of the spectrum, we were treated to a rather confrontational album by the likes of Melted Cassettes, an up-and-coming electronic noise rock act from out of Arizona. If the cover doesn't make you wonder (no, it's not George Bush), the vocals sure will, and the keyboards, and the arcade samples, or whatever the hell these freaks are using. The Real Sounds From Hell Recordings was indicated in the release as a manifestation of the supposedly true-life event of some geologists capturing the "real" sounds of hell. If this is what they recorded, there's no doubt even the tenth ring doesn't have enough ice to keep these guys at bay. And what an accurate band name! You can literally feel the vocals melting into your ears as the drums blast with this essence of lo-fi/noise grain, and the hypnotic keyboard lines take children's toys, or what sounds like it at times, and turns it into something that hipsters will probably never have the guts to listen to. Melted Cassettes are noise rock for true fans, not that AIDS Wolf bullshit that tries to explain its horrible sound through references to "art". The Real Sounds From Hell Recordings is noise rock at its most pure, and that means at its least accessible to the "in" crowd. Fuck em. |
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