Post by slayrrr666 on Jan 1, 2015 13:17:55 GMT -5
After Thrash, this was the hardest and most difficult one to master out as there's literally another twenty albums I can think of without difficulty in being appropriate for this list so it was a real struggle to get this one, perhaps even moreso than the Thrash because so many of the albums switched places in this past week and dropped off at the last minute whereas the Thrash was difficult in assigning order. Overall there's so much to like here that it really does seem like such a huge force in the genre that there's going to be a huge battle in the coming years for the two genres to battle for supremacy in the genre, and it all starts in this list.
10. Vampire-Vampire
One of the biggest surprises of the year, this Swedish act managed to unleash a mighty burst of unholy Old-School Swedish-influenced assault from their homeland. Armed with that rather churning style of chainsaw riff-work that continues throughout the whole album, piled on with battering drum-work and a slew of varied performances here by attaining numerous tempos and arrangements, this is certainly a mighty weapon to wield, even more so on a debut offering which becomes all the more impressive. What makes this one so unique, though, is that this crushing style is bolstered by a production style more benefitting an American style band, reveling in a bottom-heavy sound which enhances and augments the riffing into a darker, more vicious attacked than expected. Sounding far more fuller and deeper than would normally be the case, it gives this a much more rich and dynamic sound that effectively mimics an American mid-90s type of production which is perfectly befitting the savagery of the attack here and certainly makes this one a potentially worthwhile act to follow while this release gives it enough to make the list.
9. Misery Index-The Killing Gods
Always one of the most overlooked and undervalued acts in the genre, this blasting Grindcore-influenced act has delivered one of their most solid and consistently-enjoyable works on the heels of their most successful album previously. That last attack was a dynamic, devastating assault filled with jagged, razor-wire rhythms and a ruthless energy deviated from the rather dramatic drumming, and this one continues that remorseless and pulverizing assault with one of their more frantic and enjoyable records in their career. Guided by that same toughened Grindcore approach that yielded spectacular results, here the same twisting, churning rhythms and frantic tempo changes that were a large part of the success of that previous release is repeated all the while keeping a tight hold on the arrangements so they’re delivered with maximum impact and forcefulness. This similarity to their previous work would ordinarily be worthy of bring up higher on the list although the combination of way too many other worthwhile releases and a failure to do anything new keeps this one down but still good enough to be here where it is.
8. Hour of Penance-Regicide
Always one of the most underrated and undervalued Italian acts, much like the majority of the country’s acts as a whole which makes this walloping behemoth one of the most underrated acts in the whole scene. With an attack reminiscent of Brazilians Krisiun, there’s a series of genuinely brutal riffing that zips, dives and careens through some of the most speed-driven assaults in the scene as a whole as there’s seemingly no stop to what’s on display with an attack that seemingly doesn’t let up with the frantic, incessant rhythms on display. Likewise, the charging blast-filled drumming tends to keep pace with the ravenous riffing with such a forceful charge that there’s a mighty wall of sound generated here which is perfect for laying waste to all before them which has since become the bands’ trademark ever since their landmark album three releases ago. That now makes this four legendary releases as the band continues to churn out top-notch quality material here and it’s only the fact that the scene is so strong this year that it keeps them this far back on the list despite doing more than enough to earn placement anyway.
7. Behemoth-The Satanist
After several disappointing releases in a row, it’s now back-to-back highlights for this mighty Polish institute which may have gotten the utmost controversy of any of the bands here. That aside, it’s good to see the health scare has officially subsided and the band is back doing what they do best, unleashing wave after wave of barbaric-sounding Black Metal against an onslaught of toughened Death Metal rhythms which leaves this one feeling all the more impressive due to the technicality featured to pull off such unrelenting material at the type of speeds featured throughout. That was when the band was clearly at their best in the past and the same atmosphere is featured here as well, making this a frantic and crushingly heavy release loaded with the type of swirling tones and evil presence that conjures up the best of their two chosen genres. It’s such a joy to hear the band being this confident in their approach and comfortable in their roles here that this becomes one of the chosen highlights in their Death Metal half of their career and earns easy placement here on the list.
6. Inferi-The Path of Apotheosis
From one of the most un-metal places in the world as Nashville, Tennessee, this devastating Melodic Death Metal act is quite possibly the contender for the single biggest surprise of the year. Hailing from such locations will do that, but there’s so much to like here it’s nearly criminal how good this band is as they generate one healthy serving of molten riffs, furious drumming and dazzling rhythms that are continually weaving a series of complex, technically-challenging leads supplying this one with plenty of firepower. That attack, when coupled with an exhaustive series of riffs played at dynamic and utterly engaging up-tempo speeds allows for this one to completely overwhelm with its incredible influx of video-game style melodies that are featured to off-set the various heavy rhythms at play here. This is exceptionally enjoyable and manages to get a lot of great parts about it as it goes through its business, so even though the band can sound far too much like Black Dahlia Murder for some to take, what else is here is so good that becomes irrelevant to keeping them off the list.
5. Alterbeast-Immortal
As the Technical Death Metal craze continues to expand and grow with an ever-increasing amount of bands employing this particular style, it's nice to see a band employing more of a traditional stance in the area rather than going with the more modern flow of the genre. Though these guys still employ breakdowns and heavy chugging that's become a prominent aspect of this particular genre, there's more old-school influences at play here as well that comes in the form of simply playing mind-bendingly technical riffs and rhythms as if there's no intention of showing off their skill-set but just so happen to have technical riffs and patterns to them. This is far more appealing and devastating overall which causes the music to have a greater degree of enjoyment about it, making for a smoother transition to the genre than most other bands of this caliber and age for this is just a debut. It'll be a lot of fun to see what will happen with age and maturity where they go from here, as they're looking at the top of the heap without a lot of room to go.
4. Vader-Tibi Et Igni
There comes a time in every bands' career where the path to success is fueled by experimentation or consistency, whether to continually shift your sound around with new influences and elements or stick with what brought them to the game. Fortunately for these Poles, consistency is their route and they've run this into a well-oiled machine that produces some of the highest quality Death Metal in the game. That hellfire and brimstone production sound on this album goes exceptionally well with the bands' already-famous attack, resulting in their dynamic Death/Thrash mixture gaining an extra degree of intensity just by the comparison against the rest of the material here, and naturally their reserved technicality and brash ethics come into fine form here. The welcome addition of short, blasting brutalizer tracks is a nice and welcome nod to their old-school style, but the real focus here is on their blazing multi-sectioned epics that retain all the trademark elements of the band in fine form, resulting in this one being one of the best in their almighty catalog and just barely missing out on the top-tier efforts above them.
3. Origin-Omnipresent
Finally getting into a good run, this devastating release is their second crushing release in a row and should helpfully cement their burgeoning status in the Tech/Death world. This is a completely, utterly pulverizing blast of brutal Death Metal with a tightness and sweeping violent intensity that matches the blinding fury of Grindcore at times all the while firing off a furious sense of technical prowess that is utterly overwhelming at the type of riffs and patterns on display here. The fact that the material is presented at this kind of speed is where this scores so well by managing to feature the kind of technically-complex riff-work as what's featured on this but to do so while playing at tempos that are utilized here is the more impressive feat about that kind of dazzling technical prowess as it just becomes all the more overwhelming how complex the riff-work can get at this speed. Managing to work in both elements found in Technical Death Metal about tight, dense chugging armed with segments of blistering brutality along the sweeping, fluid passages of thrash-infused madness makes for a wholly unreal experience that firmly continues the trajectory of their past albums as this one follows suit as one of their all-time best. Really, about the only thing wrong with this one is that there's a few too many interludes spaced throughout this album which manages to stick out quite obviously as such a short effort like this where it might've used that slot in the running order for something else, but to add in one or two more additional efforts like these are hard to swallow for its so good it doesn't really need more.
2. Destroying Divinity-Hollow Dominion
After one of the most crushing and utterly devastating releases on their last album, this Czech wrecking crew returns again with an astoundingly even more crushing and pummeling release that is nearly shocking at how good it is. Filled with monstrous guitar riffs that are simply jaw-dropping in their ability to retain a devastating fire and originality whilst complimenting the seemingly invincible rhythm section that just continually pounds dynamic riff after dynamic riff into the track, mixed with dazzling tempo changes and a feel for executing the kind of melodic interludes that are best served as breathers from the relentless onslaught of the rest of the music, this is quite a display of Old-School Death Metal that really teaches the old-guard how to go about matters. That is the most alarming factor about the album, that it is so well-executed at aping that Old-School approach and feel that it’s a shock to come from a band as young and hungry as they are, leaving not only a mesmerizing feel after the end of the disc but also relief that the scene has a figurehead to carry on for years to come. Without a doubt this is one to watch in the future and an absolute must-listen.
1. Cannibal Corpse-A Skeletal Domain
Another year, another Cannibal album at the top of the list and frankly, it’s not getting tiresome to have to keep placing the band up there. The devastating Old-School rhythms that have a thrashy bent to them which has long been associated with their sound is taken to a fine degree here with the brutality that welds onto their surgically-precise and unrelenting arrangements makes for a brutal sound that’s darker than most other bands dare to go to which only signifies their intensity all the more. The ravenous up-tempo works that are just pulverizing at their peak speed, the churning mid-tempo bruisers that contain Doom-like crawls and their frantic, chaotic assaults that seem like a blur of sound while George just barks away like a frantic madman being hacked at with a surgical knife are all familiar tropes in their attack and this one carries on the fine tradition of featuring enjoyable, scalding examples of each and really makes it quite easy to once again place the band here for their fourth consecutive release, a feat matched by only one other band (who has only done it three times and coincidentally also done in this very same year for a decent listing) but also manages to make this time around the undisputed overall Album of the Year. Congrats, gentleman, and keep this streak going.
10. Vampire-Vampire
One of the biggest surprises of the year, this Swedish act managed to unleash a mighty burst of unholy Old-School Swedish-influenced assault from their homeland. Armed with that rather churning style of chainsaw riff-work that continues throughout the whole album, piled on with battering drum-work and a slew of varied performances here by attaining numerous tempos and arrangements, this is certainly a mighty weapon to wield, even more so on a debut offering which becomes all the more impressive. What makes this one so unique, though, is that this crushing style is bolstered by a production style more benefitting an American style band, reveling in a bottom-heavy sound which enhances and augments the riffing into a darker, more vicious attacked than expected. Sounding far more fuller and deeper than would normally be the case, it gives this a much more rich and dynamic sound that effectively mimics an American mid-90s type of production which is perfectly befitting the savagery of the attack here and certainly makes this one a potentially worthwhile act to follow while this release gives it enough to make the list.
9. Misery Index-The Killing Gods
Always one of the most overlooked and undervalued acts in the genre, this blasting Grindcore-influenced act has delivered one of their most solid and consistently-enjoyable works on the heels of their most successful album previously. That last attack was a dynamic, devastating assault filled with jagged, razor-wire rhythms and a ruthless energy deviated from the rather dramatic drumming, and this one continues that remorseless and pulverizing assault with one of their more frantic and enjoyable records in their career. Guided by that same toughened Grindcore approach that yielded spectacular results, here the same twisting, churning rhythms and frantic tempo changes that were a large part of the success of that previous release is repeated all the while keeping a tight hold on the arrangements so they’re delivered with maximum impact and forcefulness. This similarity to their previous work would ordinarily be worthy of bring up higher on the list although the combination of way too many other worthwhile releases and a failure to do anything new keeps this one down but still good enough to be here where it is.
8. Hour of Penance-Regicide
Always one of the most underrated and undervalued Italian acts, much like the majority of the country’s acts as a whole which makes this walloping behemoth one of the most underrated acts in the whole scene. With an attack reminiscent of Brazilians Krisiun, there’s a series of genuinely brutal riffing that zips, dives and careens through some of the most speed-driven assaults in the scene as a whole as there’s seemingly no stop to what’s on display with an attack that seemingly doesn’t let up with the frantic, incessant rhythms on display. Likewise, the charging blast-filled drumming tends to keep pace with the ravenous riffing with such a forceful charge that there’s a mighty wall of sound generated here which is perfect for laying waste to all before them which has since become the bands’ trademark ever since their landmark album three releases ago. That now makes this four legendary releases as the band continues to churn out top-notch quality material here and it’s only the fact that the scene is so strong this year that it keeps them this far back on the list despite doing more than enough to earn placement anyway.
7. Behemoth-The Satanist
After several disappointing releases in a row, it’s now back-to-back highlights for this mighty Polish institute which may have gotten the utmost controversy of any of the bands here. That aside, it’s good to see the health scare has officially subsided and the band is back doing what they do best, unleashing wave after wave of barbaric-sounding Black Metal against an onslaught of toughened Death Metal rhythms which leaves this one feeling all the more impressive due to the technicality featured to pull off such unrelenting material at the type of speeds featured throughout. That was when the band was clearly at their best in the past and the same atmosphere is featured here as well, making this a frantic and crushingly heavy release loaded with the type of swirling tones and evil presence that conjures up the best of their two chosen genres. It’s such a joy to hear the band being this confident in their approach and comfortable in their roles here that this becomes one of the chosen highlights in their Death Metal half of their career and earns easy placement here on the list.
6. Inferi-The Path of Apotheosis
From one of the most un-metal places in the world as Nashville, Tennessee, this devastating Melodic Death Metal act is quite possibly the contender for the single biggest surprise of the year. Hailing from such locations will do that, but there’s so much to like here it’s nearly criminal how good this band is as they generate one healthy serving of molten riffs, furious drumming and dazzling rhythms that are continually weaving a series of complex, technically-challenging leads supplying this one with plenty of firepower. That attack, when coupled with an exhaustive series of riffs played at dynamic and utterly engaging up-tempo speeds allows for this one to completely overwhelm with its incredible influx of video-game style melodies that are featured to off-set the various heavy rhythms at play here. This is exceptionally enjoyable and manages to get a lot of great parts about it as it goes through its business, so even though the band can sound far too much like Black Dahlia Murder for some to take, what else is here is so good that becomes irrelevant to keeping them off the list.
5. Alterbeast-Immortal
As the Technical Death Metal craze continues to expand and grow with an ever-increasing amount of bands employing this particular style, it's nice to see a band employing more of a traditional stance in the area rather than going with the more modern flow of the genre. Though these guys still employ breakdowns and heavy chugging that's become a prominent aspect of this particular genre, there's more old-school influences at play here as well that comes in the form of simply playing mind-bendingly technical riffs and rhythms as if there's no intention of showing off their skill-set but just so happen to have technical riffs and patterns to them. This is far more appealing and devastating overall which causes the music to have a greater degree of enjoyment about it, making for a smoother transition to the genre than most other bands of this caliber and age for this is just a debut. It'll be a lot of fun to see what will happen with age and maturity where they go from here, as they're looking at the top of the heap without a lot of room to go.
4. Vader-Tibi Et Igni
There comes a time in every bands' career where the path to success is fueled by experimentation or consistency, whether to continually shift your sound around with new influences and elements or stick with what brought them to the game. Fortunately for these Poles, consistency is their route and they've run this into a well-oiled machine that produces some of the highest quality Death Metal in the game. That hellfire and brimstone production sound on this album goes exceptionally well with the bands' already-famous attack, resulting in their dynamic Death/Thrash mixture gaining an extra degree of intensity just by the comparison against the rest of the material here, and naturally their reserved technicality and brash ethics come into fine form here. The welcome addition of short, blasting brutalizer tracks is a nice and welcome nod to their old-school style, but the real focus here is on their blazing multi-sectioned epics that retain all the trademark elements of the band in fine form, resulting in this one being one of the best in their almighty catalog and just barely missing out on the top-tier efforts above them.
3. Origin-Omnipresent
Finally getting into a good run, this devastating release is their second crushing release in a row and should helpfully cement their burgeoning status in the Tech/Death world. This is a completely, utterly pulverizing blast of brutal Death Metal with a tightness and sweeping violent intensity that matches the blinding fury of Grindcore at times all the while firing off a furious sense of technical prowess that is utterly overwhelming at the type of riffs and patterns on display here. The fact that the material is presented at this kind of speed is where this scores so well by managing to feature the kind of technically-complex riff-work as what's featured on this but to do so while playing at tempos that are utilized here is the more impressive feat about that kind of dazzling technical prowess as it just becomes all the more overwhelming how complex the riff-work can get at this speed. Managing to work in both elements found in Technical Death Metal about tight, dense chugging armed with segments of blistering brutality along the sweeping, fluid passages of thrash-infused madness makes for a wholly unreal experience that firmly continues the trajectory of their past albums as this one follows suit as one of their all-time best. Really, about the only thing wrong with this one is that there's a few too many interludes spaced throughout this album which manages to stick out quite obviously as such a short effort like this where it might've used that slot in the running order for something else, but to add in one or two more additional efforts like these are hard to swallow for its so good it doesn't really need more.
2. Destroying Divinity-Hollow Dominion
After one of the most crushing and utterly devastating releases on their last album, this Czech wrecking crew returns again with an astoundingly even more crushing and pummeling release that is nearly shocking at how good it is. Filled with monstrous guitar riffs that are simply jaw-dropping in their ability to retain a devastating fire and originality whilst complimenting the seemingly invincible rhythm section that just continually pounds dynamic riff after dynamic riff into the track, mixed with dazzling tempo changes and a feel for executing the kind of melodic interludes that are best served as breathers from the relentless onslaught of the rest of the music, this is quite a display of Old-School Death Metal that really teaches the old-guard how to go about matters. That is the most alarming factor about the album, that it is so well-executed at aping that Old-School approach and feel that it’s a shock to come from a band as young and hungry as they are, leaving not only a mesmerizing feel after the end of the disc but also relief that the scene has a figurehead to carry on for years to come. Without a doubt this is one to watch in the future and an absolute must-listen.
1. Cannibal Corpse-A Skeletal Domain
Another year, another Cannibal album at the top of the list and frankly, it’s not getting tiresome to have to keep placing the band up there. The devastating Old-School rhythms that have a thrashy bent to them which has long been associated with their sound is taken to a fine degree here with the brutality that welds onto their surgically-precise and unrelenting arrangements makes for a brutal sound that’s darker than most other bands dare to go to which only signifies their intensity all the more. The ravenous up-tempo works that are just pulverizing at their peak speed, the churning mid-tempo bruisers that contain Doom-like crawls and their frantic, chaotic assaults that seem like a blur of sound while George just barks away like a frantic madman being hacked at with a surgical knife are all familiar tropes in their attack and this one carries on the fine tradition of featuring enjoyable, scalding examples of each and really makes it quite easy to once again place the band here for their fourth consecutive release, a feat matched by only one other band (who has only done it three times and coincidentally also done in this very same year for a decent listing) but also manages to make this time around the undisputed overall Album of the Year. Congrats, gentleman, and keep this streak going.