Natrlhi's 2011 End of Year List Orgy

[smearCampaign]

Originally Posted by w00tasaurus

wtf, how come I'm just hearing about this band now? I don't recall any discussion about them on this site or elsewhere. It's excellent

Their previous album Hellsworn is really solid too.

[w00tasaurus]

Originally Posted by smearCampaign

Their previous album Hellsworn is really solid too.

thanks, I'll check it out!

[Natrlhi]

41. Death Grips - Ex-Military

Not that anyone was previously aware of this, but I have been a selective fan of rap music since I discovered an outfit called N.W.A. during my freshman year at college. Over the years, I have enjoyed the lyrical and rhythmic stylings of such various artists as Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, Ice T, Public Enemy, Geto Boys and many others. In short, I have heard lots of rap music. I haven’t dug every single thing I’ve heard, but I would definitely say I’ve liked a variety of different styles. However, when a bunch of folks on this forum started making a big deal about this group / album last year, I decided to check it out. All I can say is, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like it – and that’s saying a lot. I mean, this definitely isn’t the first time electric guitars have been used in rap before (Body Count did it decades ago), but never before have I heard them featured quite like this. Plus, the rhymes are sick, the beats are infectious, the lyrics are insane but compelling, the samples are extremely well-placed and used to excellent effect (I heard both The Prodigy and Beastie Boys in the one track, and Pet Shop Boys in another!), and the heavy inclinations towards an electronic-inspired sound are all welcome departures from typical rap music. In short, this music is definitely a breath of fresh air in a genre which has become somewhat stagnated with scads of wannabes and sound-alikes. These cats are innovators – blazing new territory with confidence and fierce determination – and the result of their collective passion is one of the most interesting albums I’ve heard in any genre for quite some time.

[Natrlhi]

Some hints for the next batch:

#40 contains what might be the longest individual song recorded by a metal (or any?) artist last year.

#39 blackened post-metal, anyone?

#38 is a fresh-sounding death metal album by a band who hasn't stood out from the crowd for me...until now.

#37 is another death metal album that, while being very similar to the band's previous work, is still ridiculously good in spite of its predictability (which isn't always a bad thing).

#36 is a fresh-sounding stoner metal album by a band who hasn't stood out from the crowd for me...until now.

[w00tasaurus]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

#40 contains what might be the longest individual song recorded by a metal (or any?) artist last year.

#36 is a fresh-sounding stoner metal album by a band who hasn't stood out from the crowd for me...until now.

40: Mournful Congregation
36: Giant Squid

[smearCampaign]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

#37 is another death metal album that, while being very similar to the band's previous work, is still ridiculously good in spite of its predictability (which isn't always a bad thing).

Vader?

[kalfitegrdan]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

Not that anyone was previously aware of this, but I have been a selective fan of rap music since I discovered an outfit called N.W.A. during my freshman year at college. Over the years, I have enjoyed the lyrical and rhythmic stylings of such various artists as Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill, Ice T, Public Enemy, Geto Boys and many others. In short, I have heard lots of rap music. I haven’t dug every single thing I’ve heard, but I would definitely say I’ve liked a variety of different styles. However, when a bunch of folks on this forum started making a big deal about this group / album last year, I decided to check it out. All I can say is, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like it – and that’s saying a lot. I mean, this definitely isn’t the first time electric guitars have been used in rap before (Body Count did it decades ago), but never before have I heard them featured quite like this. Plus, the rhymes are sick, the beats are infectious, the lyrics are insane but compelling, the samples are extremely well-placed and used to excellent effect (I heard both The Prodigy and Beastie Boys in the one track, and Pet Shop Boys in another!), and the heavy inclinations towards an electronic-inspired sound are all welcome departures from typical rap music. In short, this music is definitely a breath of fresh air in a genre which has become somewhat stagnated with scads of wannabes and sound-alikes. These cats are innovators – blazing new territory with confidence and fierce determination – and the result of their collective passion is one of the most interesting albums I’ve heard in any genre for quite some time.

Really? Recommended tracks? I listened to that Guillotine song and hated it.

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by w00tasaurus

40: Mournful Congregation

VERY good guess, but no. The track I'm referring to is actually about five minutes longer than that one. Also, I don't really listen to Mournful Congregation (no particular reason, I just haven't checked them out).

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

#36 is a fresh-sounding stoner metal album by a band who hasn't stood out from the crowd for me...until now.

Originally Posted by w00tasaurus

36: Giant Squid

Ummm...have you looked at my avatar (which hasn't changed in about three years)?

Originally Posted by smearCampaign

Vader?

Originally Posted by kalfitegrdan

Really? Recommended tracks? I listened to that Guillotine song and hated it.

I like pretty much all of it, but I suppose I'd have to say tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 11 and 12 are among my favorites.

[Natrlhi]

40. U.S. Christmas - The Valley Path

According to the band's page on the web site of their current label (Neurot Recordings): "U.S. Christmas is a band from the Appalachian mountains in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The band plays a unique brand of psychedelic, high-volume blues rock that evades any easy classification." I concur. The closest comparison I can make is to sludgy post-metal acts such as Yakuza or Minsk (incidentally, frontman Nate Hall - if indeed this collective actually has a frontperson per se - was wearing a Minsk shirt when I saw them opening for Baroness in 2009). This particular recording from USX, as they are known by their fans, is comprised of a single track which is almost forty minutes long (which in turn consists of approximately five different "movements"). It's tempting to call it an EP, but technically I believe it is considered to be a full-length album. Either way, the epic track is said to be inspired by a concept which was conceived by one of the album's songwriters (I forget who it was, but I read it in an interview somewhere), who said he was sitting on his porch looking across the road at the forest and thinking about what it would sound like if they could write an album that would capture the essence of what was going on inside that forest...or something like that. All I know is that the concept was deep, and indeed, the track sounds like it was inspired by events which were slow-moving, expansive and ancient. The mournful violin of Meghan Mulhearn can often be heard deftly accenting the multitude of guitars and drums that repetitively drive the music. The whole thing just drags the listener in, inducing an almost trance-like state. It's just fantastic stuff. One word of caution, though - this is not an album that can be taken in small doses. It must be experienced in its entirety, if the full effect is to be understood. This isn't something you put on in your car while you're driving to the store. This isn't workout music. You're not going to hear this at a house party (I don't care how "metal" the party is). This is headphone music. This is music that is best enjoyed during downtime, or whilst doing something repetitive that requires little to no focus (like writing a music review, for example ). All this being said, even though this album may be somewhat challenging, it is also extremely rewarding.

[mastodon421]

If you thought Exmillitary was good, check out The Money Store ASAP (If you haven't already). Blows Exmillitary out of the water and hopefully their second album of this year will be just as good.