The Top 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time : 10 - 1

Here we are the top ten heaviest albums of all time. If we are counting hard core as metal  then all but one of these albums are metal. But no matter what you want to call them what they have in common is that all of these albums defy description. Blurring lines of genres to create monsters of their own. Unless you are a regular reader or have the tastes of our regular readers ...meaning are not afraid to dig outside of the mainstream into the more underground sectors, there might be some bands where you are like who the fuck is this? Of course some of these albums would have to come from the more underground corners of the scene because they are too heavy for your run of the mill metal head to digest.  If you think Slipknot is heavy, you might not be able to handle this.


10- Author & Punisher - "Ursus Americanus"

The heaviest industrial album of all time. A man and his machines beating the fuck out of your head. 

9-Nails- " You Will Never Be One of Us" 

This album is mean as hell, bullying you into submission. Is it hard core or grind core? It's both fist fucking one another. 








8- Code Orange - "Forever"

These kids used to more closely conform to the hard core genre, other influences like industrial crept in over the years. They became heavier in introducing these elements. I think what really secured their place here, is they do this is a way that makes you believe each note they are playing. 

7-Leviathan - "True Traitor True Whore" 



As with the previous band if you can make me believe you mean every note of anger or torment and are honestly throwing the dark places in your life in your songs, if will feel heavier than if you are just going through the motions of metal. Whitehead had some fucked up shit going on in his life when he made this one. Black metal often postures here it oozes will malice and ill intent. 

6- Zohamah- "Spread My Ashes"

This is where I might lose some of you as we are going to start diverting from mainstream metal. This blackened Doom band is vicious. They play ugly chords and make you feel their anguish. 

5-Altar of Plagues - "Teethed Glory and Injury" 


This Irish band's take on sludgey black metal is dark and dissonant. Yes there are blast beats , but done in a manner that crushes and not just drones. Noise laden atmosphere adds a depressing touch.  Sadly this was their swan song. 


 

4-Anaal Nathrakh- "Vanitas"



Another black metal band proving it works best when you bring other elements to the table. In this case it's grind core and industrial. If Emperor had gone completely insane from smoking meth they might have created something similar.


 

3- Dragged into Sunlight- "Hatred For Mankind" 


It's rare when the fury of the vocals makes an album heavier than it is. That is the case with this nasty blackened sludge fest. If you asked me what album lives us to it's title, I would point to this one.

2-Lord Mantis - "Pervertor"

Less black metal influence that Dragged into the Sunlight. The density of their brand of hammering sludge, is still very musical, but it hits like a rabid wall of sound.

 1- Hexis - "Abalam" 

I got this album six years ago and have not heard anything that comes close to touching it's grinding blackness since then. That is impressive if you take into consideration how much metal I am sent on a weekly basis



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the Top 10 Sludge Albums of 2019

It's that time of year again, to sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres and then compile all the number ones into the top 10 albums of the year. Then I will make the top 10 lists for the decade. To be blunt 2019 is  the decade's weakest year for music.  Especially when it comes to new artists, as 7 of the 10 bands are veterans  to our lists here. You had to search much harder to find ten albums that rose above, yet that is what I did. In fact I might have complied more than in the past, as I split up the genres more. In past years sludge was lumped in with stoner rock. This was because it was basically bong worshiping metal that was not doom.  I think this points out the distinction between doom and these genres even further.  You will see here how there is more of a feral sonic rawness to these bands than doom. While they might lumber quite a few pick up the pace a good deal and pull influence from black metal and death. Not looking for Neurosis worship here.  As in past years I am  giving a brief explanation as to why these albums stand over the peers in lower positions on the list. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can  bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list, I listen to five new albums a day, so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed and no, I do not care what you think about. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and  included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Sludge albums of 2019 .

10- Bather- " s/t"

On the crust side of sludge, this album has a balance of raw attack and atmosphere guitars . They create a creepy mood to provide a more bleak current to these songs. With a sound that is  dense and heavy, this is  done with taste and attention to serving the songs

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/bather-st.html

9- Weird Tales - "Hell services cost a lot

" One thing I like about making these lists is it reminds me of albums that came out earlier in the year that I in turn rediscover. This Polish band is great, so don't let this become an album you sleep on. The vocals are more sung than the typical gruff barking sludge employs not making it any less heavy. Lots of freaked out drug crazed rock n roll influence.



 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/01/weird-tales-hell-services-cost-lot.html

8-Oceanwake- "Lights Flashing in Mute"



The Finnish are not known for sludge, so this is not straight up sludge. There are elements aside from death metal here. Some touches of post-rock and flourishes of almost neo folk. The production serves it well, for the ambitious scope of what they are doing these guys hit all the marks. The reason it beat out Bather, these guys have more dynamic range.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/07/oceanwake-lights-flashing-in-mute.html

7- Aseethee - "Throes" 


They defy the conventions of sludge . While this album sounds great , there are songs and not just drone. This is a band doesn't play it safe and they break way from the pack to do their own thing.It beat out Oceanwake for this spot because they are more refined in their heaviness, making them heavier.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/aseethe-throes.html

6-Naga - "Void Cult Rising"


More uptempo and feral than the last album, more feral but not as dark. There is a warmer mix than I remember the . The blackened touches are sparse, but the riffs are still fucking mean.There sound is really dialed in on this album, might not be as heavy as Aeethee, but they captured an overall better quality of sound


. https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/12/naga-void-cult-rising.html

5-Cult of Luna-" A Dawn to Fear"

This album firmly reestablishes their return. The are lots of layers and dark melodies buried with in them. The vocals are the throaty growl. The mix of groove and atmosphere is strong. Despite the two bands vocals being pretty much the same these guys used said groove to beat out Naga.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/cult-of-luna-dawn-to-fear.html

 4-Dead to A Dying World - "Elegy"

 This is blackened sludge, yet I can hear where people might be quick to call it post-rock. This album also features guest performances by two former Swans members, Jarboe and Thor Harris, who appear on "Vernal Equinox" . So how can they go wrong ? The album is really dialed in when it comes to the sense of dynamics. In fact it is the expansive sense of dynamics that Cult of Luna can't compete with.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/dead-to-dying-world-elegy.html

3-Helms Alee- "Notiluca"

 When I went back to listen to this album again it clicked with me how great it is. I can appreciate being hooked on Fistula albums, but even though this is not the most crushing sludge album of the year, the songs are fucking well written and make this worth repeated listens and stand the test of time . Yes there is noise rock and a prevalent Melvins influence to this album, this doesn't make them any less sludge, in fact it puts them head and shoulders over most of their peers.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/helms-alee-noctiluca.html

2- Fister -"Decade of Depression"

It was a tough call between this and the album that beat it out for the top spot. Yes, this album is more than half covers. It is not the only only covers album that is going to do well this year. They fucking wreck these songs. I mean picking Slayer and Danzig tunes and laying them to waster is impressive. The album sound great it is crushingly heavy, but still musical. It's this vulgar display of raw power that beat out the more diverse sounds of Helms Alee.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/fister-decade-of-depression.html

1- Lord Mantis - "Universal Death Church"

This wildly feral sludge band often chugs it's way towards making raw and nasty death metal. Sanford Parker who produced the album made some interesting choice on what he choose to to with the vocals. The sonic darkness of the throb these songs take on is just the kind of heavy I look for in music. This one beat out Fister for top spot as the power of this band's originals out muscled the Fister album that found it's strongest moments to be covers.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/lord-mantis-universal-death-cult.html

Lord Mantis : " Universal Death Cult"

There is still some pretty fucking great music coming out this late in the year. Here is a prime example why I am hesitant to really into into my end of the year lists until December. There was a time when I might have considered these guys to be a wildly feral sludge band , but from some of the chugging on this album it feels like they making a turn towards  raw and nasty death metal. Raw doesn't mean  the production is intentionally shitty for effect. In fact Sanford Parker who produced the album made some interesting choice on what he choose to to with the vocals on the opening track which is more unrelenting than the second that offers more clarity in it's mix. There is more of a thrashing sludge attack in the chugged riff.  At times this reminds me of Parker's other project Minsk. Though darker and uglier though this time around there is an undeniable weight to the sonics .

They are able to twist this into some more melodic moments that recall earlier non- progressive rock Mastodon. So in this way they straddle the line between sludge and death metal."Consciousness exe' is more deliberate. This song also provides of a good example of the kind atmosphere I could hear some one mistaking for black metal. It does come close to a band who might have been black metal but was influenced by other types of  modern music like say Nachtmystium. This album is much more experimental and diverse in the dynamics than previous efforts. There are some great drum sounds on this album bolstered by the great playing. The vocals production is great as well as the textures brought on by the effects coating the vocals brings out a more aggressive feel to the already poisonous performance.

I like the shift in sonics of " Low Entropy Narcosis" . The needed changed in guitar tone, but it seems to drone in one place and doesn't actually develop as a song so it is more of an interlude. "Damocles Falls" has a much nastier tone. There is an intense sonic side to this one.  The enraged chant of kill yourselves is the best part of "Flesh world". It does take a darker shift in it's mood and leans away from the straight up hammering. The bring out the saxophones for "Hole" to close the album. I like the slower pulsing throb of this one. It works off this droning throb with out any significant shift. This is a very solid return for this band I will give this album a  9. 

Cobalt : "Slow Forever"

Now the albums we have been waiting for around here are in a steady stream, the bands can gear up for summer tours. It's been 7 years since their iconic "Gin" album so the stakes are high. Charlie Fell from Lord Mantis is now on board.  I would not be quick to call this a black metal album. Of course with Fell along for this ride it gives them a more sludge like sound. The riffs are sharp and hooky. It's a well produced album, so sound wise there is little to complain about. I doubt they are going to shoot their wad on the opener, which has a powerful mid tempo metal pulse that almost sounds like Tool or Mastodon. So it's not as grim and nasty as Lord Mantis. There is more of a hypnotic march to "Animal Law" that is darker than the more overt metal opener. This however only acts more as an interlude leading up to "Ruiner". The band ends up entangled in a riff that is very Neurosis. The bass driven groove taking them out of that place is pretty cool, but not black metal at all.

"Beast Whip" is a pretty mean one, but it also sounds like a lost track off of Kylesa's "To Walk a Middle Course". Then they return to another Tool riff before hitting the seven minute mark. Then they punch you in the face with the more mid-tempo "King Rust". This monster of a track unfurls into an 11 minute epic. They jam/ drone on this one for a while, and I'm not sure if they made the best use of their time.  The chant of "Forcing myself/ out of myself" is a theme raised throughout the song. There is an acoustic interlude before they rip into "Cold Breaker". The bass tone in this one add some muscle to this song. After the Celtic Frost grunt the song goes into a more rock n roll groove. The drummer takes on a more tribal pound as the song builds. There is a "When the Levee Breaks" like throb to "Elephant Graveyard" before it speeds u into something more punk inflected.

They go on another 11 minute excursion. I'm hoping this one has more of a pay-off. Two an half minute in and they are handing a big riff pounding. At the midway point they have mainly turned the chug around to various angles. The midsection staccato riff is pretty effective. I would say the pay is pretty marginal in comparison. The title track is really where it is at as it's much darker and more brooding affair, offering up they dynamic shift this album has needed. This eventually finds them returning once again to yet another Tool influenced riff. I hope they try to deny Tool was an influence on this album so lightning can strike them down. The first blasty thing that comes closer to being black surfaces on this song. He even has the nerve to cry out "Locust Star is screaming" on a section that sounds like Neurosis, being flogged to a militant industrial metal beat. If you are going wear your influences on your sleeve they might as well be good ones. I'll give this an 8, it's well done and sounds good, though neither all that original or black metal. I think this album will do well with a younger demographic who is not as versed in either Tool or Neurosis and then it will sound like some next level shit.

Abigail Williams : "The Accuser"

Their singer says this album was written from the perspective of a nihilistic occultist shit head, so I should find it very easy to relate to. Their last album "Becoming" found the band actually playing legit black metal and they are sticking to that formula for this one , though they are still melodic in much the same way Nachtmystium can be. Things get darker for the creepy pulse of "The Cold Lines". It feels more like up tempo DSBM, with some less coarse vocals crying out in the distance, not quiet sung yet very emotive. The go back to a blastier tone on "Of the Outer Darkness" .  The vocals have improved on this album there is much more anguish in them. Compared to the previous song the blast beats are well executed, but it gets more interesting when they slow down. Charlie Fell from Cobalt is on the drum throne for this album, so the drums are always going to deliver, but it is the slower more dismal grooves that are the most moving.

There is a more rock n roll vibe to the guitars leading into "Will , Wish and Desire". The keeps a mid-tempo throb, with the guitar weaving solos around it. It builds into a soaring drone. It good to hear black metal with plenty of guitar solos. They serve the song are are not distracting or overly flashy. These songs are well written and they waste little time with sprawling things out for the sake of atmosphere or cluttering the song with by forcing to many transitions into the composition. "Godhead" goes back to the blast with an almost Darkthrone like quality. They finally slow into the darker depths at the four and a half minute mark .The vocals take on a more sinister throat singing like chant in the songs closing moments.

"Forever Kingdom of Dirt" finds the vocals behind a filter of distortion and after a short burst of blast the tempo shifts around into a slower gallop. The bass emerges from the walls of guitar it is often buried behind. The double bass builds it back up , before dropping down into some tribal tom work. They duck in and out of grooves, through out this one defying traditional song structures. The guitar solo is well place in this one. He screams out about there being no future and nothing else to build on " Lost Communion" where a life time of mistakes is haunting him. Coming out of the faster opening verse they go into a gang vocal like chant  that is set against a more deliberate sonic texture of punches. The guitar tone gets really interesting on "Nuummite" with some almost gothy effects creating the atmosphere. I'm not surprised that the vocals are sung rather than screamed here. They are set back in the mix and under an effected filter.I'm pretty impressed by this album, there are a few moments when they blast beat a dead horse, but over all it's well written and compelling black metal American or otherwise. I'll give it a 9.5.

Lord Mantis: "Death Mask"

Faster than sludge should be , but not quiet black metal by the standards of most, though this album moves the band closer to the blackness. I really liked "Pervertor" it hung tough in my iPod for some time, because not many other bands summoned up the mean streak these guys have.With that said it raises the bar on what I expected from this album and so far it seems to deliver, though is requiring a few listens to solidify my opinion.

There is little debate on the opening track which comes in with the sonic vomit similar to Neurosis on Through Sliver and Blood , but more like if they had rabies when they recorded it. Metal bands do have that advantage where the first song they can really slam you in the face by the intensity and there is no way not to like it then the challenge becomes how to make every song that awesome without being one dimensional. The title attempts to show how it's done, but even then in the immortal words of Spinal Tap, when  you are at 10 where else is there to go from there?

The blurred frenzy that ensues sounds like a collision of Today is the Day with Eyehategod. The vocals are wretched and scathing, just like on the first album, the main change seems to be the need for speed as this albums gets much more blasty. Not unlike the Great Old Ones I just reviewed , these guys have gotten heavier on this one, here it is much more of a feat and makes them less accessible , where it had the opposite effect on the French band.

There is almost an industrial feel to the chant that opens "Possession Prayer" This once stomps with machine like deliberation and I like the fact it sounds little like the two previous songs providing  more depth to their sound. "Negative Birth" lumbers in at an even more sludge like pace, almost bordering on doom. It's pretty fucking apocalyptic, though the most like Neurosis in its lumber. When the need for speed kicks in picking up the pace doesn't add a lot to the song.In fact it makes the band sound like every other death metal band just without the guttural vocal and a more screamed approach. By the end of the song it hits the point of being white noise.

"Coil" has a darker slink to it that I like. The vocals start with a weird robotic effect on them. Its cool, but kinds stays on the same thing and feels more like an interlude than a fully developed song. Though this is made up for in the 10 minute "Three Crosses". When its a ten minute song you better believe they are going to take their time launching into it/ The intro is the most black metal section on the album. At around the minute mark the vocals come in to herald the song is under way, though it lingers with a pounding rumble. The guitars actually achieve some melody on this one even if it is a fleeting refrain. The song can not resist their new found urge to fly off into blasting , but established enough element to where when this happens it's alright.  

I will give this one a 9.5 and see it it can stand the test of time, the more blackened approach seems to be balanced out with the sound we know they are good at and makes this a good listen in the days where new heavy music is slimmer picking.  

   

Avichi:"Catharsis Absolute"

The 2011 "The Devil's Fractal " was pretty impressive , so this one man band out of Chicago has the bar set pretty high for it. Aamonael also works with Lord Mantis and played guitar for Nachtmystium so it more than capable of creating some next level blackness. The album opens with a piano ditty, before bursting into "Flames in My Eyes" which sees this project taking a darker, rawer and more chaotic turn.

The big change is the use of more clean vocals which are a lower baritone chant or croon. This gives the album more of an Emperor feel and more ritualistic element. "Light Weaver" is blast heavy but finds a more melodic guitar phrasing, that is pretty damn catchy when the drums latch onto the the groove. Aamonael does not feel the need to really pay much homage to his past associations as this song feels more like Watain to me than it does Nachtmystium. Though coming out of the chorus there is a slight Nachtmystium feel to the triumphant march the guitars take.

A doomish lurch hovers over the opening passages of " Voice of Intuition". The guitars are notably melodic and smartly played , though not as much emphasis is played of jarring technique. The pace picks up and the vocals drone on chant in the background. The  vocals do return to a roar for a moment here and there.The guitars are dense and well layered with subtle melody.

The 12 minute "All Gods Fall" is the album obligatory epic, which all black metal seems to have these days. From the drone , unfolds a sinister riff that recalls the more depressive side of black metal. The vocals have a very Emperor feel to them, so in some sense that would be by proxy a King Diamond feel, to the mid range moan. Surprisingly the song stays on the one epic riff the drone builds up to, which seems to work though I would expect a more dynamic range in twelves minutes ,particularly after the ever shifting landscape of riffs "
"The Devils Fractal" explored.

Oddly the seven and a half minute title track that closes the album is just a piano ditty that serves more as an outro than an actual song. So this album when stripped down to the actual songs is pretty to the point ,as a songwriter Aamonael  keeps it simple focusing more on the layered guitar melodies and vocal nuances than trying to show off. I'll give this one an 8.5, as its quality melodic black metal that's not afraid to warp the mold.

Lord Mantis : Pervertor

O.k in keeping with the theme of Nachtmystium affiliated based bands , it makes sense of go ahead and review Lord Mantis who holds bassist Charlie Fell and guitarist Andrew Markuszewski in it's ranks. this mean machine was touched on in one of my future of black metal diatribes, and while it's up for debate how cvlt as fuck Chicago's Lord Mantis reminds me of a more feral Today is the Day, they do rock your face in the most fierce manner possible.

Title like blackened sludge are tagged to the band but the churn of a song like "Septic Christ" seems to fast to be sludge. The drums on this songs have more attention to detail and relentless double bass, helps to defy the sludge label.

The guitar tone is more fuzzed and thick than what typically is thought of as black metal. But " Vile Divinity" is as majestic in it's gallop as any Immortal, OK maybe any is a tall order but it's worthy of rolling 20 sided dice over a bloody bible to. I hear a little Coroner in this one as well, so some German thrash thrown in, Sodom influence tends to be found in rawer thrashier black metal and this song sound more like Nachtmystium than most of the album. I imagine the session for this one came before " the silencing machine" but now listening to this post "Silencing Machine" I can hear how it influenced that album.

the vocals lower on "Levia" into a raspy narrative. the uncanny ambiance of the chords on this songs gives more credence to the black metal label. This songs seethes in it's restraint as the toms build.

"Ritual killer" captures the kinda of gargantuan lumber all of the djent Meshuggah clones would like to ape , but with out all of the mall metal connotations. They aren't content with just beating you with one type of riff nor to the have to blind you with solos to obscure the fact. What I suppose passes for solos are single note melodies that color the back ground rather than hog the spot light. The tempo shift in "ritual killer" alludes to " through sliver and blood" Neurosis, but for the most part this one is singular in purpose.That purpose is blunt force trauma.

Wolvhammer comes to mind at the start of "at the mouth", the like the syncopated vocal out burst when the hit the groove in this one . I also recognize more eyehategod influence and maybe even brutal truth, though if the truth be brutall told I had to have Ben in high school the last time I heard that band. About this point in th album is here the argument for melody and atmosphere in heavy music can be made, as this all starts running together and blast beat at the end adds to the blur.

The Acid bath unfolds on "the whip and the body" , the churn of this one is a slight variation, it could use some Dax Riggs crooning as th bark of the scalded dog loses some of the burn it started with. Like the blog I posted on sex and metal ,I think if you are going to look for it is entitled "now that's fucking metal" and sticking to the theory we are jack hammer dry humming like a dog for dominance rather Than pleasure and the solo at the end of this one isn't erotic.

I will give this one a six because the sheer venom it bites with at first is a lot of fun, but the incessant nature of its bite numbs out and like marathon masturbation it feels good but the grows less inspired the longing it beats you raw.

How much blacker can you get ?

The kvlt is alive. The second wave of black metal is now thought of along with other classic period of metal like the New Wave of British Heavy Metal or the Combat records years, yet as a sub-genre evolved to develop a sustainable life of it's own.  While metal head can be the most stubborn when it comes to change it is esstential to keep a sub-genre moving forward and not going the way of hair metal or grunge. Granted over exposure was the death of those genres which record companies fattened the cash cows for the slaughter. Black metal escaped that in part to it's abrasive nature, it skimmed the outskirts of pop culture. Sure a Lords of Chaos movie would have been the nail in the coffin, it won't happenat this late juncture so are going to accept the stagnation of say Marduk putting out the same album over and over again until they are as old as Lemmy going to cut it . So rather than bitch and moan lets take a look at ten bands who have a chance in hell at pushing the genre forward .

Atriarch-We discussed these guys talking about the death rock resurgence, and in the grimness of the darkness  rolling in with the storm cloud in every note this band plays I think these guys are taking black metal into a loenly enough corner. At times it borders the Depressive Suicidal Black Metal, which since Shining went all rock n roll is a banner some one needed to wave, this one just has a darker shade. In future releases I can forsee the Portland quartet dabbling in extremes at both ends of the sonic spectrum busting out the blastoids of hell fire and chanelling Rozz Williams . I'm good with either of those options, I just want to hear more from these guys and if opther feel that way then theres a future.

Nachtmystium- i know they arent a new band their new who's album the silencing machine drops at the end of the month is the next black metal band I see reaching a bigger audience, regardless of the albums reception Blake Judd and friends will push the genre forward, the first few track were a return to a rawer sound yet incorporated industrial undertones, in interviews during the writing process judd stated he was drawing more of an influence from the depressive suicidal side of black metal no surprise considering wrest is one of his collaborators in the side project twilight,

Bosse de Nage-Beautifully brooding while vocal chords are vomitted on the stage, yes bring it. Another band who is off their meds and feels the influence of dsbm, with out being as heavy handed as say a band like Make a Change Kill Yourself was. These Californians aren't hampered by the sunshine when it comes to going intoa full on snare blizzard.Their newest release 3, find them reverting into more of this rawer head on attack, yet is sprinkled with several sections of quirky post/indie rock interludes with cleaner guitar sound doing some interesting things rhythmically

Black Breath: Ok no corpse paint and a very prominent crust element, but on first listen to their "Sentenced to Life " album older Watain came to mind. So not a feast of blast beats, but they are more black metal in attitude if nothing else than some of the genre's bigger blackened acts like Behemoth or Dimmu. Does this also lean heavy into death metal at times but it seems angrier almost punk at times.


Oranassi Pazuzu- The French five piece occupies the same level of hell as Blut Aunord. Highly experimental but not forsaking songs, they have crazed sounds just melting off the walls. Their album Kosmonaut, has an excellent mix and with that kind of production value they can execute the boundaries they are pushing.


Ash Borer- Have already covered ground on these guys before but they have a new album out that is going to feature some female and will see the band venturing into more Wolves In the Throne Room like territory. 


Lord Mantis-The initial burst of their new album" pervertor"  brings to mind what Gorgoroth might sound like if they got really stoned. The includes a former guitarist of Von, which if you ask Watain it doesn't get any truer than that  along with the bassist of Nachtmystium and the drummer from Indian which explains who brought the weed to the party here.


Lunar Aurora-One half of the German duo was Trist. With him he brought the ambiance of the Bavarian woods. The new albums Hoagascht,  grinds away with the hypnotic churn of post- prison Burzum. 


Vorkreist- The French music scene might be more incestuous than the Norweigan, as every one in the band has played in Merrimack before, and also features former members of Glorior Belli and Secrets of the Moon. While the shoe-gazey BM put France on the map to most , this band is more like a collision of Immortal and DeathSpell Omega, not a epic as in rush to the long boats sense Immortal might be there are some big powerful riffs with a dense darkness to them. Futher listens shows shades of Morbid Angel and really outstanding guitar work. 

Dragged Into Sunlight - In many ways this British band is more death metal, but there is something darker to them than say Disma who does something very similar, there is more of the sonic dissonance in Dragged into Sunlight's music, the all out chaos which they blast into sections feels more black metal to me though like lots of other bands mentioned her there is a crusty grindcore like grime to the mess they are making, and that's aside from the vomit on a spider web logo. The higher register shrieks help to seal the deal for me to include them as a dark element and abrasive yet sonically intense instrumentation is what I look for in black metal and even if the guys and most noticeably black breath are more blackened than cold and grim, this is music that would appeal to fans of black metal who reside slightly outside of Mordor's zip code.

the Best in Metal for 2012' so far ...

"I decree zee punishment for bad metal is death"

For this to be the year of  the Mayan apocalypse we are going out with a whimper  in terms of the creative out put in metal and horror movies both are having weak showings. Of the artists I have compiled for the mid year progress report card , more border on just having metal elements , yetthey sound heavier to me than the half-hearted Meshuggah. So here's who is delivering the goods for the soundtrack to the apocalypse this year .

1- Pinkish Black- Self titled-  recently reviewed, casts it's dark shadow over what most might consider metal but it's still heavier in tone than any of the mall-metal djent crap

2-Ihsahn- Eremita- Well crafted  leaning  towards progressive metal, a sliver cloud with only black metal in the shading around its edges. Will be hard pressed to find better guitar playing on an album this year.

3-Pallbearer-Sorrow & Extinction - I must admit I was a little disappointed with the vocal performance I have seen of their  more recent live footage but it doesn't stop it from being the most soaring doom so far.

4-Lunar Aurora- Hoagascht- Noticed deficit in good black metal, these guys understand ambiance doesn't have to put you to sleep

5-Royal Thunder -CVI- Another non-metal release but close enough to help fill the void, looming ,morose and swinging melodies which get lodged in the back of my mind.

6-Lord Mantis- Pervertor-Kellhammer turned me onto this, sure it's sludge drenched but like Dragged into Sunlight, still comes closer to being being black metal than half of what is slathered in corpse paint these days.

7- Burzum -Umskiptar-Not a big departure from the other post- pokey albums, this one feels more depressing  and has a slower drone it , making it a piece of frost I'm warming up to.

8-Sigh - In Somniphobia- Another step away from black metal and into exotic cartoonish lands where Mr. Bungle and Frank Zappa were only thought to tread.Think evil mario cart muzak.

9-Merrimack-the Acausal Mass- Not the kind blasty mcnastiness I expected, but it is still an all round well crafted slab of hell charred blackened...um death thrash..maybe

10 Huntress- Spelleater- it was a toss up between this and Rumplestiltskin Grinder , but Huntress has melodies I actually find myself singing after the fact, where the Grinders pretty much adhere to just Carcass worship.

Alcest and Christian Mistress are both good albums, just not metal,  the singer of Christian Mistress reminds me of the girl from Rainer Maria, but maybe not as much as the chick from Witch Mountain reminds me of Fiona Apple. Then there's  whole contingency of albums by bands like Horse Back and Nachtvorst which touch on greatness but are too caught up in creating soundscapes and noise.

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Most likely to unseat some of these by the end of the year ...Nachtmystium, A Forest of Stars, Katatonia, Converge