Album Reviews

[binnie]

Thrash Back: The Haunted – The Haunted (1998)

The Haunted’s debut album unleashed a Thrash classic on the world at a point when no-one was making them. The ‘90s saw a decline – we might even say a drought – in Thrash, as 3 of the Big 4 opted to move into more commercial musical climates and everyone else bought a plaid shirt, some heroin, and started whinging. But then these five dudes from Sweden ripped the metal world a new one. Emerging from the ashes of seminal Death Metal band At The Gates, The Haunted injected the classic Thrash template with hardcore bullishness and modern production which essentially set the bar for heavy music for the next decaded. Indeed, many of the metalcore bands which emerged in the ‘00s should be all rights pay The Haunted an honourary royalty for each of their records.

Nothing was contrived here: this was a wholly honest blast of aggression seething with hunger. Opener ‘Hate Song’ marries tort, lean guitars with the muscularity of hardcore to produce a bile-fuelled sound that bites its way out of the speakers. ‘Chasm’ is the bastard love-child of Slayer and The Cro Mags, a whirlpool of rage which was ready-made for mosh pits across the globe. But it wasn’t just the heaviness – or the intensity – which made this killer: the songwriting was excellent. ‘Invein’ features a chorus which could level cities, and by all rights should be a metal anthem; and ‘Choke Hold’ is as dementedly fast and relentlessly heavy as anything from Thrash’s heyday – riff this could need to be heard. ‘Now You Know’ takes the Thrash template and injects it with rhythmic quirks and bullish machismo that injected the genre with new life for the twenty first century. By the time you get to ‘Shattered’, your brain has turned to goo…..MOSH……MOSH…..MOSH…… RAAAARRR. It’s some of the best – and purest – heavy music you’ll ever hear.

The guitars of Patrik Jensen and Andreas Bjorler were the key to this maniacal display of power, laying down riff after killer riff which far more successful American bands would shamelessly plagiarise in future years. And in Peter Dolving, The Haunted had a truly special vocalist and lyricist whose sense of melody and timing takes every song up a notch. ‘The Haunted’ was a special record released at a time when the landscape of true metal was parched and barren. 15 years later, it still sounds like it could kill you at 50 paces. Lamb Of God are often hailed as the saviours of modern metal – they’ve never done anything which comes close to this.

[binnie]

Thrash Back: Vektor – Black Future (2010)

Reviewing Vektor ultimately equates to struggling to compensate for the inadequacy of language. There are, simply, no adjectices which come close to suitably encapsulating the power of this band. ‘Vicious’, ‘furious’, ‘maniachal’ ‘vituperative’, ‘caustic’ – none of these words comes close to capturing the combination of relentless aggression and ambitious display of musical dexterity that this debut record encapsulates. Faster than Usein Bolt suffering from a bout of the shits, and more inventive than Tony Blair’s PR team, this is Thrash which manages to be progressive without diluting the savage intensity which is at the core of all great metal. ‘Black Future’ should be heralded as a metal classic.

The title-track is a beast of a song. Riff after riff after motherfucking riff keeps coming as the song spirals through time-changes and multiple sections. ‘Oblivion’ features riffs which sound the way you wish Metallica would – metal played on the edge of broken souls, wounded and raging. Nods to Mercyful Fate and Celtic Frost dynamics make things sound twisted and macabre, but those influences come in a very contemporary dress. ‘Forests of Legend’ is 10 minutes which sound like nothing you’ve ever heard, a piece of music that is at once beautiful, inspiring and possessed and shot-through with the feavered energy which makes metal great. The guitars sound like light dying. ‘Destroying the Cosmos’ sounds like its title suggests – an epic of demented proportions; and on ‘Asteroid’ and ‘Hunger for Violence’ Vektor prove that they can out-Thrash ANYONE. This is some of the heaviest stuff these ears have ever heard – the sort of music that approaches a Converge-like intensity.

Guitarist Erik Nelson solos like a man with 10 fingers on each hand and a brain wired backwards. The energy and savagery of his tone drives this album forward, compelled by the frenetic energy of drummer Blake Anderson. This is futurist playing for futuristic themes – outer space, DNA and the apocalypse. Perfect themes for epic, metal-strewn sonic tapestries. On 12-minutes closer ‘Accelerating Universe’ music becomes cinematic – the band take in Pink Floyd, Camel, and Isis. As Opeth gave Black Metal a creative shot in the arm, so Vektor do the same for Thrash.

There is a lot of music here. But multiple listens prove rewarding. Unlike much Thrash metal, in which songs become ephemeral in the face of the hypnotic onslaught of riffs, Vektor manage to make songs which are lasting. One of the most exciting bands on the planet.

[binnie]

King 810 – Memoirs of A Murderer (2014)

I am normally highly suspicious of hype, and few bands in the past 10 years have received more hype than King 810. Hailing from the darkened streets of Flint, Michigan, this bunch of tough-guys know what it’s like to see the dark side of urban decline and poverty – they, we are told, bring a much needed grittiness to the metal scene. They – to borrow urban parlance – are ‘real’. Excuse me while I stroke my chin.

Not that ‘Memoirs….’ isn’t a good debut record – it is a very good debut record – but I’m not sure it needs the hype (or the overbearing spoken interludes from vocalist David Guin telling us how badass his life is) to sell it. Musically, King 810 are incredibly inventive. Is it metal? Not necessarily be conventional standards: not all of the songs feature heavy guitars, there’s certainly no nod to conventional sub-genres (Death, Thrash, metalcore), and much of what is here is not even riff-driven. Indeed, King 810 owe as much to punk, country and goth as they do Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath. And in that sense, ‘Memoirs…’ is incredibly refreshing. Honest, even. But lyrically – whilst certainly unconventional – the themes quickly become tired: guns, knives, gangs, urban neglect and the suffocation that comes with it. ‘Write what you know…’ they say – but you have to wonder how much of this is contrived. That sense of doubt leaves the record feeling ever so slightly incomplete.

It’s hard not to be impressed, however. Opener ‘Killem All’ sounds like early Slipknot: intense, abrasive and channelling the vital eeriness of Nu Metal to highly effective ends. ‘Best Nite Of My Life’ welds hardcore to some brutal bottom-end and comes on with a psychotic intensity. Elsewhere, the acoustic ‘Take It’ is highly affective, and approaches the claustrophobic grandeur of Nick Cave, with the harrowing ‘Devil Don’t Cry’ trumping it as an exercise in the macabre. Few bands could switch styles so comfortably and still make the results feel like a complete record. Are all of the 16 songs here A+? No – but the whole is far, far more than the sum of its parts, and only an absolute cretin would doubt that King 810 have made one of the most refreshing debut records in a decade.

But are they worthy of the hype surrounding them? Only time will tell. There are moments here where the violence of Flint appears to be glorified rather than chronicled. That’s not to say that ‘Memoirs….’ engages in cheap thrills (it is a harrowing piece of music), but you do wonder if the subject of over-bearing violence might have been treated with far, far greater sensitivity. Had that been the case, King 810 might have produced an album that was provocative rather than just provoking.

[binnie]

Slash with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – World On Fire (2014)

There are two facts you need to know about Slash: 1) he played on one of the greatest albums ever made; and 2) it came out 27 years ago. That’s not meant to sound snippy. Some of the stuff Slash has done since then has been great (‘Ain’t Life Grand’) and much of it has been good (‘Velvet Revolver’), but could you really say, hand on heart, that Slash’s status as a guitar-player is matched by the calibre of material he’s played on? There’s nothing wrong with Velvet Revolver per se, but no-one is sat around equally anticipating the release of their b-sides; and Slash’s previous solo record – ‘Apocalyptic Love’ (2012) – sounded exactly like what it was – an unimaginatively solid rock record made by middle-aged men all too aware of the fact that they’d only ever play a handful of its tunes on the subsequent tour. Not bad; but far from exciting.

It is comforting, then, to report that ‘World On Fire’ pisses all over ‘Apocalyptic Love’. There are moments here with serious vim, verve and lust. Sure, you know the solos are going to be good and that Slash has a seemingly endless supply of serpentine riffs, but you didn’t know that he had songs left in him like this. The title-track kicks things off with piss ‘n’ vinegar – a superb rock ‘n’ roll belter propelled by a euphoric Kennedy chorus. ‘Withered Delilah’ kicks like a mule and features the sort of riff you’d sell a kidney to write; ‘Beneath The Savage Sun’ – which is about elephant poaching – is impassioned and rips from the speakers; ‘Battleground’ is a beautiful, affecting ballad which screams ‘radio play’; and ’30 Years To Life’ features one of Kennedy’s best hooks. You often hear that rock is dying – here is proof that it ain’t.

It’s a shame, however, that these songs aren’t given the opportunity to really shine. The sad fact is that they become lost in the surrounding clutter of an over-bloated album. No blues-based hard rock record needs to be 77 minutes long and feature 17 – seven-fucking-teen – songs. The world did not need to hear duds like ‘Stone Blind’ (cliché alert: man flees over-bearing women), ‘The Dissident’ (a b-side if I’ve ever heard one) and the instrumental ‘Safari Inn’). Nor did we need the Alter Bridge-lite power ballad ‘Bent To Fly’. And it’s also true that sometimes Kennedy fits into this band like a nun in a brothel. ‘Dirty Girl’ and ‘Automatic Overdrive’ possess sizzling riff, but Kennedy’s attempts to do sleaze sound excruciatingly uncomfortable. No-one could deny that he has an remarkable set of pipes. But he’s not a baddass – Slash’s band should be 4 tough dudes, not 3 men and a baby.

‘World On Fire’ is ultimately a good record overcooked. In straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll, less is more. Slash knows this about guitar playing – now all he needs to do is to learn it about album production, too.

[Von Halen]

King 810 – Memoirs of A Murderer (2014)

I am normally highly suspicious of hype, and few bands in the past 10 years have received more hype than King 810. Hailing from the darkened streets of Flint, Michigan, this bunch of tough-guys know what it’s like to see the dark side of urban decline and poverty – they, we are told, bring a much needed grittiness to the metal scene. They – to borrow urban parlance – are ‘real’. Excuse me while I stroke my chin.

Not that ‘Memoirs….’ isn’t a good debut record – it is a very good debut record – but I’m not sure it needs the hype (or the overbearing spoken interludes from vocalist David Guin telling us how badass his life is) to sell it. Musically, King 810 are incredibly inventive. Is it metal? Not necessarily be conventional standards: not all of the songs feature heavy guitars, there’s certainly no nod to conventional sub-genres (Death, Thrash, metalcore), and much of what is here is not even riff-driven. Indeed, King 810 owe as much to punk, country and goth as they do Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath. And in that sense, ‘Memoirs…’ is incredibly refreshing. Honest, even. But lyrically – whilst certainly unconventional – the themes quickly become tired: guns, knives, gangs, urban neglect and the suffocation that comes with it. ‘Write what you know…’ they say – but you have to wonder how much of this is contrived. That sense of doubt leaves the record feeling ever so slightly incomplete.

It’s hard not to be impressed, however. Opener ‘Killem All’ sounds like early Slipknot: intense, abrasive and channelling the vital eeriness of Nu Metal to highly effective ends. ‘Best Nite Of My Life’ welds hardcore to some brutal bottom-end and comes on with a psychotic intensity. Elsewhere, the acoustic ‘Take It’ is highly affective, and approaches the claustrophobic grandeur of Nick Cave, with the harrowing ‘Devil Don’t Cry’ trumping it as an exercise in the macabre. Few bands could switch styles so comfortably and still make the results feel like a complete record. Are all of the 16 songs here A+? No – but the whole is far, far more than the sum of its parts, and only an absolute cretin would doubt that King 810 have made one of the most refreshing debut records in a decade.

But are they worthy of the hype surrounding them? Only time will tell. There are moments here where the violence of Flint appears to be glorified rather than chronicled. That’s not to say that ‘Memoirs….’ engages in cheap thrills (it is a harrowing piece of music), but you do wonder if the subject of over-bearing violence might have been treated with far, far greater sensitivity. Had that been the case, King 810 might have produced an album that was provocative rather than just provoking.

I'll be seeing these guys tomorrow night Binnie. Thanks for the review!

[TFM_Dale]

I'll be seeing these guys tomorrow night Binnie. Thanks for the review!

That wasn't a chickenfoot review Von.

[binnie]

I'll be seeing these guys tomorrow night Binnie. Thanks for the review!

Let me know how they are live. The heavy stuff is intense on record, but there's also so much variety - the quiet stuff is really dark, and I'd be intrigued to know if they play any of it.

[binnie]

Slipknot – 5: The Gray Chapter (2014)

A sense of trepidation surrounds album number five from Slipknot. Following the death of bassist Paul Gray – a founding member and principal songwriter – and the exit of Joey Jordison – a drummer who’s idiosyncracies were part-and-parcel of the Slipknot sound – the smart money was on this record being a clusterfuck, or a half-measure. Slipknot-lite. But all of the smart money was wrong. Waaaay wrong. ‘5’ is certainly not this band’s finest hour, but it carries the torch for one of the most important metal bands of this generation remarkably well. Welcome back, fellas – we’ve missed you.

‘XIX’ is a brooding opener. A slow build consisting of orchestration and Corey Taylor’s impassioned vocals which seems built for stadium sing-a-longs, it give way to burst of rage which is ‘Sarcastrophe’, a angular, wounded, raging ball of hate which proves just how unique this band are – even after 15 years, no-one sounds like this. People often criticise Slipknot for sounding increasingly like Stone Sour (Corey Taylor and Jim Root’s other, more hard rock, band). It’s certainly true that Taylor has become a better hook-writer, and the band are more comfortable exploring the melodic capacities of his voice, but when a song like ‘AOV’ slams into you, it’s hard to think of arena rock. Propelled by Death and Thrash metal elements, its rhythmic assault is as infectious as Slipknot has ever sounded. And it just keeps coming. ‘Custer’ is awash with tribal fury; ‘Lech’ is a rhythmic switch-hitter on which Taylor sounds vicious (‘I know why Judas wept MOTHERFUCKER’); and ‘Negative One’ has all of the twists and quirks to make it yet another angular anthem. ‘Skeptic’ – which is a tribute to Gray – is particularly moving, and could be straight from the band’s previous, more muscular, effort ‘All Hope Is Gone’ (2008). ‘The world will never see another crazy motherfucker life you’ bellows Taylor. It is a fitting tribute.

There are moments where the intensity drops. Pseudo-ballad ‘Goodbye’, for example, is more than a little sappy bollocks. But it has always been unrealistic to expect this band to recapture the vicious intensity of their first two albums – what band at 40 possesses the vim they had at 20? Slipknot, however, have grown from their original template into something bigger, more colourful and still vital. They may have lost two members, but they’ve carried on where they left off 6 years ago. ‘5’ is the natural evolution of ‘All Hope Is Gone’ – a big album by a big band which knows exactly what their fanbase wants.

That’s not meant to make it sound as though Slipknot have become a commodity. They’re too immediate for that. This is art in the truest sense of the term – music which produces a visceral response.

[binnie]

Feed The Rhino – The Sorrow & The Sound (2014)

Album no. 3 from this set of British bruisers is a remarkable piece of work. Part post-hardcore, part metal, this time around FTR have harnessed the unrelenting fury of their sound to hefty grooves and some serious hooks. Whilst still grindingly angular, they’re now also accessible (if undoubtedly heavy). Featuring one of the best sets of lyrics of recent years, here is a band which avoids many of the usual clichés and manages to be as incisive as they are incendiary. ‘The Sorrow & The Sound’ is quite an album.

‘New Wave’ sounds like a hyper-masculine Deftones, all bounce and thrust with a big gang-vocal chorus and gives way to ‘Give Up’, which features a razor sharp fractured, bluesy riff that is infectious. ‘Finish The Game’ shows FTR to be a band with something to say in these troubled times, whilst ‘Set Sail For Treason’ is propelled by a greasy riff and plenty of piss ‘n’ vinegar and ‘Deny & Offend’ is a genuinely world-class tune which should by all rights makes floors all over the world bounce. This band is totally in control of their own sound, and each of the album’s songs is distinctive, a rare feature for a band in the post-hardcore fold. ‘Black Horse’, for example, is emotive, delicate and sombre: think Radiohead with sprinkles of Thursday.

Rich, deep, immediate and full of layers and textures, FTR deserve to be taken seriously as a contender for the big leagues. On ‘The Sorrow….’ they’ve evolved from bluster into something very serious indeed. The title track – which appears to be about depression – is sinewy, powerful and quite, quite beautiful. It is also a fitting encapsulation of how very impressive this album is.

[binnie]

From the Vaults: Stained Glass (1978)

Judas Priest’s commercial peak was certainly in the ‘80s, but their creative peak came earlier. Beginning with ‘Sad Wings Of Destiny’ (1976) and culminating with ‘Unleased In the East’ (1979), Priest released a series of albums which was as good a run as any Metal band – perhaps even any hard rock band – ever had. And ‘Stained Class’ was perhaps the best of the bunch, an album rammed with deep cuts which most bands would kill to write, and certainly capable of rivalling the likes of Sabbath, Purple, and Zeppelin. It is an absolute monster of an album.

Opener ‘Exciter’ clearly set the template for Thrash: speed, double-bass drums, and maniacal energy. And the opening riff? What planet did that come from? When Halford’s hooks kicks into the chorus, it sounds like the chorus of hell bellowing. Energy, drama and passion – this is an opera in 5 minutes. ‘White Heat, Red Hot’ has a dynamite, under-heralded riff, a serious groove, and a hook that oozed class; whilst ‘Better By You, Better Than Me’, with its Bowie-esque dynamics, has a boogie riff which pops and oozes from the speakers. It’s a great rock song – and one which deserves to be far, far better known. ‘Saints In Hell’, by contrast, is demonic, guttural and features another killer riff – the dynamics of this songs makes it breathe and pulsate. These are tunes that you wish the band would play live. It seems that Priest – for whatever inexplicable reason – want to forget albums like this, however.

Best of all are the epics. The title-track is unrelentingly heavy it sounds like ten bands, and may be one of the very best things that Priest ever did. With Halford’s wail over the top it sounds truly bestial, a behemoth of a song with lead breaks that are seismic. ‘Beneath The Realms Of Death’ is a statuesque beauty of a song. A huge riff, an epic Glen Tipton solo, and a song drenched in emotion – Metal has rarely sounded better.

And it is that emotion which elevates ‘70s Priest over ‘80s Priest. The latter incarnation of Priest would descend into comic-book territory. Fun, certainly; and packed with anthems. But music of lasting resonance? Nope. From ’76-’79, however, Priest sounded like a very human band: the blues, prog and folk influences added hues and tones which they’d later throw out to become something much more prosaic. ‘Stained Class’ is evil, demonic and drenched in metallic fantasy: but there’s not a note of melodrama. And that is what makes it a cut above almost anything from the Heavy Metal cannon.

[binnie]

Foo Fighters – Sonic Highways (2014)

On paper, album number 8 from the Foo Fighters sounds intriguing. An out-and-out rock band explores the rich avenues of popular music in America by recording each of the 8 songs on its new album in a different pivotal musical city. Accompanied by a HBO documentary lavishly detailing the music of the cities in question from the street up, ‘Sonic Highways’ is very much an extension of Dave Grohl’s ‘Sound City’ documentary from several years ago. The documentaries are wonderful pieces – full of the scent of each city, packed with the enthusiasm which goes hand-in-hand with musical geekery, and resonating Grohl’s natural warmth, they were clearer labours of love and produced with affection and humility. But the album itself? It’s quite a mess.

And that is a real shame. In 2011 Foo Fighter’s last album, ‘Wasting Light’, was an absolute beast. Tune after tune of what the Foos do best: power pop belted out from the gut and made for the garage. With no filler, and few clichés, this was Grohl and company in the best Tom Petty, Cheap Trick, and Blondie tradition – hook-laden tunes which tear your heart out and give it back to you better. But ‘Sonic Highways’ reverts back to type – yet another half-baked Foo Fighters record made by a bunch of guys who know all too well that when the tour of the megadomes begins, they’ll only ever have to play a couple of these tunes to an audience who want to hear the hits anyway. The whole thing feels like a vanity project, an excuse to make a documentary.

So, anyone expecting the Foos to delve into the sonic depths of each of the cities in question – the Foos do country (Nashville), the Foos do blues (Chicago), the Foos do California rock (LA) – is going to be sorely disappointed. Sure, there are a host of guests on each track, but aside from solos by Joe Walsh and Gary Clark Jr you’ll be lucky to notice them because, ultimate, this is just another Foo Fighters record. That in itself is no bad thing, but the songs just don’t cut it – overlong where this band works best as a concise beast, and full of jams where they work best with traditional structures, ‘Sonic Highways’ is a frustratingly meandering trip at times. Sure, it has its moments – ‘Something For Nothing’ is a typical Foos belter, and ‘Congregation’ shows what the album could have been – but the amount of self-indulgence here is nauseating. Closer ‘I Am A River’ is longer than a Peter Jackson film, without any of the special effects.

Three years ago, Foo Fighters had a late career high. ‘Sonic Highways’ is such a disappointment. Those who like their rock unchallenging and built for the radio may take it or leave it, but those of us who know that this band can do so much better will be hugely disappointed.

[ELVIS]

Grohl needs to drop the sell out to HBO documentary bullshit and focus on making hard rock music...

Kurt would be ashamed...

[binnie]

Machine Head – Bloodstone & Diamonds (2014)

Making a classic album can be an albatross to wear around the neck. For the first 15 years of Machine Head’s career, the caustic blast of seething, riff-fuelled hatred that was their debut ‘Burn My Eyes’ (1994) made everything they released afterwards – no matter how good it was – seem a little underwhelming. And then, in 2008, they released ‘The Blackening’. A complex, magisterial and as emotive as it was heavy, this progressive thrash masterpiece is probably the best metal record released this millennium, and easily in the genre’s top 50 as a whole. It is also another albatross for the band. ‘Unto The Locust’ (2011) was a brilliant record by anyone’s standards, but the lukewarm reaction to it was largely due to it not matching up to its previous sibling.

‘Bloodstone & Diamonds’ – album number 8 – isn’t as good as ‘The Blackening’, either. It is, however, one of the very best albums you’re likely to hear in 2014. In any genre. This time around Machine Head seem to have realised that the epic song-structures, time-changes and wailing displays of chops need to be scaled back – rather than try to match ‘The Blackening’ (as they did on ‘Unto The Locust’), they’ve moved on from it. Serving up the thing that they’ve always done better than anyone – testosterone-driven, arms aloft and bellow the chorus anthems – the band are absolutely on fire. Opener ‘Now We Die’ is brutally heavily and batters your stereo; ‘Killers & Kings’ is how thrash should be done in the 21st century, and beat-down of a song which will incite moshpits the world over; and ‘Game Over’ – a furious blast against former bassist Adam Duce – is wounded, vulnerable but still face-rippingly aggressive. At moments like these, Machine Head can out power and out rumble anyone on the planet.

But there’s more than just bruising bravura. ‘Beneath The Silt’ is ominous, brooding and macabre; whilst ‘Ghosts Will Haunt My Bones’ – easily one of the very best songs this band have ever written – goes through the gears to produce a sinewy tapestry of metal; and ‘Sail Into The Black’ is 8 minutes of progressive metal which manages to produce what so many bands in that genre do not – an emotional connection. There is, quite simply, no filler here, and all of the band’s performances are superb – Rob Flynn and Phil Demmel shred in classic metal style and riff with their best James Hetfield testicles strapped on; and drummer Dave Mclain once again proves to be the adrenalin shot propelling this band into darker shades of fury than even the very best metal bands achieve. Even by their own lofty standards, there are moments here which are breathtaking.

Anthemic, progressive, ambitious and brutally heavily whilst never extreme for the sake of it, ‘Bloodstone and Diamonds’ is a beautiful album with the heart of a pitbull. It is not as good as ‘The Blackening’, but it is – no arguments, please – the best Heavy Metal record of 2014.

[binnie]

binnie’s Best of 2014

Machine Head – Bloodstone & Diamonds
Machine. Fucking. Head. Rule. The. Earth. Once. Again.

Triptykon – Melana Chasmata

Thomas Gabriel Fischer proves once again that he is one of the most inventive minds in metal. Harrowing, relentless dark, and powerful, this is a dense record which rewards multiple listens.

Opeth – Pale Communion
Opeth continue to blossom as a prog band. Beautiful music from a beautiful mind.

Behemoth – The Satanist

Black Metal of the most terrifying and thought-provoking variety. Where many bands blast away like this, few manage to do so with songs that have such a memorable impact.

Crowbar – Symmetry in Black
None fucking heavier. Kirk Windstein serves up what is perhaps the best album of Crowbar’s 20 year career. Riff after riff after gloriously heavy riff.

Orange Goblin – Back From the Abyss
Is it stoner? Is it doom? Does it matter: it rocks like a motherfucker from hell.

Shrapnel – The Virus Conspires
A thrash record for the 21st century, and the best debut of the year.

Mastodon – Once More Round The Sun
They may not be as truly awe-inspiring as they once were, but Mastodon still release near perfect albums with alarming regularity. They’re one of the best bands of the past 20 years.

Death Penalty – Death Penalty
Great British metal from the ashes of Cathedral. These songs NEED to be heard by all fans of metal.

Animals As Leaders – The Joy Of Motion
An instrumental album that will not bore your to tears. This is a stunningly beautiful and affecting record.

Vallenfyre – Splinters
Album no. 2 from Paradise Lost’s Gregor MacIntosh’s other band. Doom and death metal fighting over the bragging rights to the best riff.

Conan – Blood Eagle
Sloooooow and very, very heavy.

Overkill – White Devil Armoury
Another brilliant record from metal’s most overlooked band. Never less than riveting, and always delivering the goods.

King 810 – Memoirs of a Murderer
Believe the hype, King 810 are a very good band. The most impressive thing about this album is the amount of variety on display.

Down – IV part 2
Perhaps overlooked now, Phil Anselmo, Pepper Keenan and co. served up another riff-fest this year and had a better collection of songs than ‘IV part 1’.

Slipknot – 5: the Gray Chapter
Did anyone expect Slipknot’s return to be this good? The songs on display here are stunning.

Feed The Rhino – The Sorrow & the Sound
Painting on a broader canvass than on their previous two outings, this British band do post-hardcore with boulder style bollocks. No-one sounds like this.

Skindred – Kill The Power
The most fun you will have this year.

Black Label Society – Catacombs of the Black Vatican
The Bearded Squeak is now such a familiar presence that we overlook him. This was BLS’s most consistent record in years.

Architects – Lost Forever/Lost Together
Heavy, catchy, and as emotive as they come.

[binnie]

Orange Goblin – Back From the Abyss

This, ladies and gentleman, is a damn fine heavy metal record. One of half-a-dozen or so damn fine heavy metal records which Britain’s Orange Goblin have released in their career. Straddling Doom, Stoner and traditional Metal with aplomb, there is more than a whiff of weed, real ale and Sabbath about ‘Back From the Abyss’. There is also an heroic amount of riffs – big, bass-heavy, dark and ugly riffs that will re-arrange your internal organs. ‘Sabbath Hex’ is everything you love about Metal in one song; ‘Devil’s Whip’ will undoubtedly become a new live favourite; and the bluesy ‘Into The Arms of Morpheus’ shows that beneath all of the bluster, Orange Goblin can write very, very impressive songs. Few records this year will make you headbang more – and fewer still are more fun. Tapping straight into the quintessence of what makes this genre of music captivating, Orange Goblin continue to come out on attack like and angry bear who’s just bean prematurely woken from hibernation.