My "Can't Think of Anything Witty for the Title" 2012 thread

[kalfitegrdan]

Originally Posted by hellawaits77ny

Will have to check out Evil Ways. I like your short, but still throrough review pattern.

Do it, man. Their album is up for free on Bandcamp. Thanks, dude.

[kalfitegrdan]

40. Ex Deo - Caligvla

While Ex Deo get quite a lot of flak in the metal community, I actually enjoy them quite a bit and Caligvla is quite a step up from their borderline "meh" first album. For starters, they added a bunch of symphonic elements, which I'm a sucker for, to their Roman themed death metal to spice up the music a bit and it worked. The symphonics give the music more of an epic feel which is what a band like Ex Deo needs. Maurizio's vocals took a dive in quality though and sound off in a few scattered songs throughout the album.

Ex Deo - I, Caligvla
Ex Deo - Cliff of Tiberius (Exile to Capri)



39. Marduk - Serpent Sermon

Serpent Sermon is a giant step up from Marduk's last full-length, Wormwood, which I though was awful. I'd go so far as to say that this is their best release since their mid-'90s material. This continues Marduk's raw, punishing approach to black metal, but the songs are actually entertaining to listen to. The weak point on the album comes in the form of "Souls for Belial" where the vocalist gets on my nerves when he is continually screaming "for Belial" for a minute or so.

Marduk - Serpent Sermon
Marduk - World of Blades



38. Dying Fetus - Reign Supreme

This album is pretty much a complete mix of the two styles that Dying Fetus does really well; really groove laden songs with slamming breakdowns and technical as fuck mind-melting songs. I've always loved how Dying Fetus can transition seamlessly from overt technicality to grooving brutality. While I don't think Reign Supreme is as great as their last album, Descend Into Depravity, it is a great album for them. John Gallagher is probably also one of my favorite guitarist/vocalists of all-time because of how perfectly his vocals flow with the guitar riffs and this album is no different in that regard.

Dying Fetus - From Womb to Waste
Dying Fetus - Devout Atrocity



37. Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Ame

Neige makes some of the most ethereal and straight up beautiful music that I've ever heard this album is no different. Les Voyages also sees Alcest further distancing itself from its black metal roots in favor of more shoegaze. My favorite Alcest song resides on this disc in Faiseurs De Mondes. I love how even the harsh vocal/black metal section has a beautifully haunting quality to it, Autre Temps might also be one of the most peaceful songs that I've ever heard.

Alcest - Autre Temps
Alcest - Faiseurs De Mondes



36. Grave - Endless Procession of Souls

Grave are back with their follow-up to 2010's Burial Ground and I think this one blows Burial Ground out of the water. I personally found Burial Ground to be a bit boring, but Endless Procession of Souls is a great mix of crushing riffs like the one in Flesh Epistle and brutal grooves like the last forty five seconds of Passion of the Weak and is entertaining all the way through. Also, the guitar sound on this album is just perfect for their type of death metal in my opinion.

Grave - Passion of the Weak
Grave - Perimortem

Check out Flesh Epistle and Winds of Chains too. Those two were the original two tracks I was going to put up, but I couldn't find them on Youtube for some reason.

[kalfitegrdan]

35. Wretched - Son of Perdition

The Wretched are a technical death metal band from California that I'm really surprised isn't getting more attention. I suppose it's because of the scattered breakdowns and deathcore influences throughout the album, but the amount of sweet melodic leads and technical riffs should make a fan of the genre pretty happy. I think this is one of the better newer bands of this genre.

Wretched - Repeat...The End is Near
Wretched - Dreams of Chaos



34. Ensiferum - Unsung Heroes

Most people were disappointed with this release from folk metal stalwarts Ensiferum, but I feel that while it's not up to par with their previous effort, From Afar, it still holds its own in their discography. This album seemed to be more melodic and featuring a prog influence (at least to my ear) which are both usually huge turn-offs for me, but in this case they work. Aside from Burning Leaves, the first song released the songs all remain interesting throughout. Although the seventeen minute epic Passion Proof Power can be tiring at times.

Ensiferum - In My Sword I Trust
Ensiferum - Last Breath



33. Abominable Putridity - The Anomalies of Artificial Origin

Russian band Abominable Putridity are back with a great slamming brutal death metal release that makes their previous effort pale in compaison. Even though last album had Big Chocolate () on vocals, it just came off as mediocre. On this release they recruited brutal death veteran Matti Way (ex-Disgorge, ex-Pathology) to grunt and gurgle and I guess he just let them know how to do slam properly. The songs seem to be more coherent then they were on their first album and the better production helps it come off as even more brutal.

Abominable Putridity - A Burial for the Abandoned
Abominable Putridity - Lack of Oxygen



32. Big Chocolate - Red Headed Locc

Big Chocolate is one of my favorite people in the music business and I pretty much love all of the stuff that he does from his brutal death metal projects to his electronic projects and everything in between. This album shows Big Chocolate going further away from his usual brostep approach to dubstep (although there still are plenty of filthy drops as the kids say) and exploring some other electronic sub-genres. If you don't like dubstep though, this is definitely not the album to change your mind.

Big Chocolate - Blue Milk
Big Chocolate - Locc City Allstar



31. Ufomammut - ORO: Opus Alter

I just listened to this out of the blue because I saw some people on the board talking about it. I'm not usually a huge fan of sludge and I guess that's what this release would be at heart even though it shows heavy influences from early psychedelic rock and doom, but this is some great shit. The guitar tone on here is really dirty sounding if that makes any sense and it works fantastically for the music. The bass is also very audible which is something that I enjoy a lot. I can't wait to see these guys at MDF next year. Also, I never got a chance to check out the other album Ufomammut released this year, so I have no idea how they stacked up against each other.

Ufomammut - Oroborus
Ufomammut - Deityrant

[Natrlhi]

^ That album (#31) is rated way too low. WAY too fucking low.

(Just kidding. I realize you have probably only listened to it a few times.)

P.S. - I would classify it as psychedelic instrumental post-doom.

P.P.S. - The other album is more trippy and cerebral, but still quite heavy in parts. If you liked Opus Alter, you'll definitely want to check out Opus Primum as well.



EDIT: Pretty decent assessment of Ensiferum as well. I felt the same way.

[kalfitegrdan]

Originally Posted by Natrlhi

^ That album (#31) is rated way too low. WAY too fucking low.

(Just kidding. I realize you have probably only listened to it a few times.)

P.S. - I would classify it as psychedelic instrumental post-doom.

P.P.S. - The other album is more trippy and cerebral, but still quite heavy in parts. If you liked Opus Alter, you'll definitely want to check out Opus Primum as well.



EDIT: Pretty decent assessment of Ensiferum as well. I felt the same way.

I figured ranking Ufomammut this low would elicit a comment from you. I certainly haven't gotten to it as much as I'd like to have.

The album may be kinda low (although I still do love it), but thanks to that live video you posted in the "Now Watching" thread, I'm pretty sure Oroborus will be near the top of my songs of the year. DAT BASS LINE!


I plan on checking out the other album once the craziness of all the year end lists and whatnot ends and I can assess what albums I missed and need to check out.

[illuminatus917]

Originally Posted by kalfitegrdan

This album seemed to be more melodic and featuring a prog influence (at least to my ear) which are both usually huge turn-offs for me, but in this case they work. Aside from Burning Leaves, the first song released the songs all remain interesting throughout. Although the seventeen minute epic Passion Proof Power can be tiring at times.

Agreed. I thought it was a good album - better than it's reception indicated. But I can still easily imagine the band members sitting around saying "eh, good enough" while writing it.

I liked Burning Leaves though. Very catchy.

[hellawaits77ny]

Good list so far, man. I'm suprised you have Dying Fetus and Abominable Putridity this low. Makes me curious to the rest.

[dcmetal108]

Did your Big Chocolates "The Red EP"?

[kalfitegrdan]

Originally Posted by hellawaits77ny

Good list so far, man. I'm suprised you have Dying Fetus and Abominable Putridity this low. Makes me curious to the rest.

Thank, man! The Dying Fetus one is mainly because I loved Descend into Depravity so much that I feel Reign Supreme is a distinctive step down. Also, I listened to a bunch of albums and really do enjoy the shit out of every album in my top 50.

@DC He put out another release this year?!

[kalfitegrdan]

Getting a new roommate has really set me behind on this..



30. NOFX - Self-Entitled

Punk veterans NOFX are back with their twelfth album and it's basically more of the same quality punk rock. The album stays true to their tongue-in-cheek approach to their sociopolitical lyrics, but is flavored with some pessimism. "She Didn't Lose Your Baby" is actually pretty depressing lyrically as is "I've Got One Jealous Again, Again" which is about Fat Mike and his ex-wife dividing up their record collection after their divorce. Musically, the album stays true to NOFX's catchy songwriting and remains interesting throughout its half hour running time.

NOFX - I Believe in Goddess
NOFX - She Didn't Lose Her Baby



29. Tankard - A Girl Called Cerveza

While Tankard, lyrically, are completely tongue-in-cheek their music is some seriously great thrash metal. This release is chock full of tasty thrash riffs and catchy choruses. The lyrics are kind of hokey, but that's what you kind of come to expect from a Tankard album. I guess the song "Witch-Hunt 2.0" is some sort of anti-cyber-bullying anthem () and "The Metal Ladyboy" is, well, kinda self-explanatory, but are kick ass songs one and all and will have you screaming along in no time. Also, at the song "Master of Farces" which I'm pretty sure is about/referencing Newt Gingrich.

Tankard - Rapid Fire (A Tyrant's Elegy)
Tankard - The Metal Ladyboy



28. Anti-Flag - The General Strike

Ah, the Anti-Flag I know and love is back after two lackluster albums. The Bright Lights of America saw Anti-Flag taking a more alt. rock approach that was not interesting in the least and The People or the Gun was just a stale punk by the numbers album. The General Strike shows that Anti-Flag are back to being pissed off at the current state of the world which make the songs feel more genuine, not to mention the songwriting is considerably better on this album than the last few. Anti-Flag have always been my favorite punk band, so I'm really hoping they can continue with this quality in their future releases.

Anti-Flag - The Neoliberal Anthem
Anti-Flag - This Is the New Sound



27. Saint Vitus - Lillie: F-65

Wino is back and Saint Vitus is sounding as depressive as ever. This album is pretty much exactly like its namesake: a real downer. It's a downer in a good way of course as it succeeds in evoking the proper feelings to fit the music. I could really go without the five to seven minutes throughout the album of filler that doesn't really serve a purpose. It's just kind of lame to have a fifth of your running time be occupied by non-music, but, despite the complaint, the songs more than make up for it.

Saint Vitus - Let Them Fall
Saint Vitus - Blessed Night



26. Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind

Converge, in my eyes, are the masters of melodic chaos. Their music is such a blend of those two elements that at times you can't tell the two apart. Also, the vocal delivery by Jacob Bannon, especially on All We Love We Leave Behind, is so emotional yet so visceral at the same time and his screams work perfectly for the music that Converge plays. This is definitely their best album since 2001's classic Jane Doe (not that any of the albums in between were bad). I've heard a lot of people complain about the album opener, Aimless Arrow, but I think it's the best song on the disc. It gives out a distinctive post-hardcore feel that I dig a lot. This album shows why Converge are still the best band in metalcore.

Converge - Aimless Arrow
Converge - Trespasses