AnataFan4Life's Top Ten Modern Tech-Death Albums of the Past Decade

[jd091]

Originally Posted by AnataFan4Life

2. Obscura - Omnivium

You guys didn't think I was going to forget about this, did you?

I honestly didn't know if it would have been possible for Obscura to top an album like Cosmogenesis. That album had all the makings of not only an amazing tech-death record, but an amazing metal record in general, and was easily a highlight of 2009. So when they announced that they had a new album in the works, expectations were obviously very high, and they had a pretty high bar to raise.

Well, those expectations were surpassed, and the bar was risen even HIGHER.

This is without a doubt Obscura's most progressive album to date. With this album, Obscura move forward with a bit more of a darker sound. This album's ominous, cosmic atmosphere is a lot stronger than on Cosmogenesis. While their last album was a well done mixture of old and new, this time we find Obscura discovering their own sound. One thing I really like about this album is that even though all of the songs are tied to a concept (Friedrich Schelling's "On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World), each song is distinct. Every song has something that makes it stand out from the rest of the songs. Whether it be the acoustic dynamics of "Septuagint", or "Ocean Gateways" and it's sludgy, twisting crawl, or even the dissonant, warped atmosphere of the black metal influenced "Velocity", every song has something in it that will make you want to listen to it again.

Another new aspect of the album is the use of seven string guitars. They really give the riffs and solos THAT much more impact. Speaking of which, there are some great riffs on this album. Steffan and Christian really stepped up their game in that regard, writing some amazing riffs that blow you away with their technicality, yet they are very well structured and will stick in your head. Christian handles most of the lead guitar on this album. The soloing is some of the best in the genre, HANDS DOWN. The solo in "Vortex Omnivium" has to be one of my favorite guitar solos of all time. Steffan's vocals are more or less the same as they were on the last record, but he does experiment a bit on this album with things like pitch shifted vocals and just a bit more clean vocoder vocals than on Cosmogenesis. On bass we sadly have Thesseling's final performance with Obscura, but boy is it a FANTASTIC performance. Just listen to the beautiful bass solo in the aforementioned "Septuagint" to see what I mean. I'm not sure where the hell he comes up with stuff like this, but few can match his level of skill and creativity with the instrument. Hannes does an EXCELLENT job. Not only has he managed to upstage both his performance on Necrophagist's "Epitaph", but also his performance on Obscura's previous record! His blasting is tastefully used and is faster than it's ever been in his entire career. His technical chops are better here than on anything else he's done, with amazing usage of fills and tempo changes.

Omnivium is truly a testament to one of my favorite genres of music. With extremely talented musicians at the helm who have a penchant for amazing songwriting, Obscura have crafted one of my personal favorite records. Bravo gentlemen, bravo.

Examples:
Septuagint
Vortex Omnivium
Ocean Gateways
Prismal Dawn
Velocity
Aevum

YEEEEAH! Definitely in my top 5 this year, and way better than Cosmogenesis. Nice pick! But that is eliminating a lot from the top spot... since as we all know...



THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

[AnataFan4Life]

Well, we are almost to the end of the list! Here's one last recap:

20. Dying Fetus - Destroy the Opposition
19. !T.O.O.H.! - Order and Punishment
18. Decapitated - Winds of Creation
17. Martyr - Warp Zone
16. Fleshgod Apocalypse - Mafia
15. Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
14. Necrophagist - Epitaph
13. Quo Vadis - Day Into Night
12. Lykathea Aflame - Elvenefris
11. Nile - Annihilation of the Wicked
10. Beyond Creation - The Aura
9. Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest
8. Revocation - Existence is Futile
7. Anata - Dreams of Death and Dismay
6. Augury - Concealed
5. Obscura - Cosmogenesis
4. Anata - Under a Stone With No Inscription
3. Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
2. Obscura - Omnivium

#1 will come shortly...

[DethMaiden]

I was gonna be pissed at the lack of Death/Cynic/Atheist, but oops, "modern."

Hey, at least you have the two best Nile records on the list. Don't particularly care for any of the rest of these bands though.

[AnataFan4Life]

1. Rings of Saturn - Embryonic Anomaly

Yep.





































































































































































































































































































































I couldn't do that to you guys in all conciousness

Will post the REAL #1 tomorrow.

[jd091]

Well done, sir. Well done.

But seriously, the fact that Antithesis isn't on here so far worries me. A lot.

[AnataFan4Life]

Originally Posted by jd091

Well done, sir. Well done.

But seriously, the fact that Antithesis isn't on here so far worries me. A lot.

Antithesis is an awesome album, but it had too much competition IMO.

I take it you're a big Origin fan?

[jd091]

Originally Posted by AnataFan4Life

Antithesis is an awesome album, but it had too much competition IMO.

I take it you're a big Origin fan?

Yeah, I love Origin. Kind of sad that they're not gonna be on this list; they definitely deserve it.

[AnataFan4Life]

Originally Posted by jd091

Yeah, I love Origin. Kind of sad that they're not gonna be on this list; they definitely deserve it.

There were a lot of albums I wanted to include, but just couldn't fit. Some bands I thought about including, like Immolation and Hacksaw to the Throat, ended up being omitted because I didn't think that they were considered technical by most people. I tried to just stick with the twenty albums I personally enjoyed the most out of them all. It was a tough list to make, considering that there's hardly ANY tech-death that I don't like.

[AnataFan4Life]

1. Anata - The Conductor's Departure

I'm pretty sure everyone saw this one coming.

This album. THIS FUCKING ALBUM. Where do I even start?! Merely calling this the pinnacle of Anata's career so far would be an injustice to this masterpiece. When someone asks what a technical death metal album should sound like, the correct answer would be to hand them a copy of this album. Not only is this what every technical death metal band should strive for, but this is also what a metal album in general should sound like. This album right here makes me proud to tell everyone that I am a death metal fan.

The songs are very progressive in structure, but without the pretension. The instrumentation is technical, without being self-indulgent. The brutality is bonecrushing, without becoming monotonous. The atmosphere is powerful, without being overbearing. The melody is emotional, without being cheesy. They have taken every facet of their sound, and polished it to a razor fucking sharp point. Most albums have that one part where you have thoughts like "They could have done without this song", or "This part should have lasted longer", or "Why is this section here?" This album has none of that. Bad songs do not exist on this album. Boredom? NOT HERE, ASSHOLE. The entire 54 minutes that this album runs, they are doing SOMETHING to catch your attention. Whether it be a catchy riff, a breathtaking melody, a jawdropping solo, a tasty drum fill, you name it, it's here.

This is a progressive/technical death metal album that has NOTHING to prove. This album has four guys who pick up their instruments, and proceed to blow away every single stereotype that you may have possibly concieved of their genre, just because they CAN. This album is bursting at the seams with passion and emotion. Fredrik and Andreas use every necessary skill on their guitars to achieve one of the most unique sounds in the technical death metal realm. Every riff, every solo, every melody, is EXACTLY where it should be. Just listen to the counterpoint riffing of "Downward Spiral Into Madness", or the moving, back and forth melodies of "Better Grieved Than Fooled" or the jagged, passionate, juggernaut known as "The Great Juggler". Brutality and technicality coexist with emotion and melody here. Not a single goddamn note is wasted on any type of meaningless filler. Even the interlude "Children's Laughter" is an amazing display of emotive clean guitar. A lot of the guitarwork on this album sounds...sentimental. That may be an odd way to describe it, but it's true. They are quite possibly the only death metal band i've ever heard to capture such an emotion and channel it through ten tracks of technical insanity. Fredrik's vocals stick to his tried and true "wild boar" style growl, but there's something different. He's not just trying to sound "brutal" or "evil", but his growls are truly coming from within his soul. How he manages to come off as being this sincere with death metal vocals is beyond me. Then we have Conny. Christ this guy has really done it this time. He has displayed COMPLETE control over that drumkit of his. Every fill, roll, beat, and blastbeat is in the right place. He never tries to show off, never tries to play "REEL FUKIN FAST DOOD", and never gets stale, lazy, or repetitive. His fluidity is at its finest here. Everything sounds COMPLETELY natural. He is obviously an amzing drummer, but he never tries to shove this fact in your face, and never overpowers the guitars like in some albums. Henrik Drake, their bass player whom I regrettingly failed to mention until now, is even a standout here. His basslines are quite possibly the darkest part of the album, and while they may not be at the level of technicality of the rest of the band, they play a VERY important part, as they give the album much of the low end that allows for such a moody, melancholic atmosphere. Yes, you're reading that correctly. A tech-death album that achieves melancholy.

Umm...why the FUCK are you still reading this?! Why aren't you listening to this?! With The Conductor's Departure, Anata have taken the entire genre of technical death metal, and proceed to completely shit upon it's altar. They have taken the crown, and rightfully claimed their spot on the throne as the kings of this genre. They rightfully stake their claim as the number one band on my list and...JUST LISTEN TO THE FUCKING ALBUM AND GET YOUR COLON BLOWN OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN SHITHOLE.

BTW, the title track will be the best eight minutes of your life. FACT.

Examples:
Downward Spiral Into Madness
Complete Demise
Better Grieved Than Fooled
The Great Juggler
Cold Heart Forged in Hell
I Would Dream of Blood
Discordance Pays
Children's Laughter
Renunciation
The Conductor's Departure

(That's right, the entire goddamn thing )

[llama lom]

I saw this coming from a mile away. I will agree with you though. When my friend gave me a copy, bricks were shat. I fucking LOVE this album.