2011 was an interesting year, one in which my listening time and attention span was regrettably restricted by the unrelenting reach of real-life, but what time I could find to expend on my eternal interest in all things loud and largely ugly yielded a fine crop of favorites. From bands I've loved for ages to those I'd never known before, returning giants to brash upstarts, across all strata of genre and sub-genre, what follows are the 20 albums I found myself moved by most, for a variety of reasons...
Top Of The (Anti-)Pops: The Top Ten Of 2011
These old crusty punks re-emerged from their nearly quarter-century of dormancy with Sonic Mass (the 2008 re-recording EP Redux notwithstanding). While some may cry foul because Sonic Mass is more akin to modern Killing Joke than to Amebix’s own glory days, Mass is nevertheless a stellar outing, filled with tribal-meets-industrial drumming, the Baron’s snarling vocals, and some of the most epic and crushing tunes around. From the bass-driven intro of “Days” through to first single “Knights Of The Black Sun,” Sonic Mass is moody and moving, aggressive and oddly epic without sacrificing the punk-metal hybrid these dirty bastards helped pioneer.
Former Fates Warning cohorts John Arch and Jim Matheos re-convened on Arch’s EP in 2003, but come back together again with this one, proving without question that the wait was worth it. Sympathetic Resonance is progressive perfection -- Arch’s voice hasn’t aged a day from Awaken The Guardian, his melodies soar and his lyrics intrigue, and all that atop Matheos’ twisting riffage, complex but not overly self-indulgent. These tunes ebb and flow, take abrupt shifts, slide along on odd time signatures and shifting rhythms, and all the while, they never stumble. Prog metal isn’t often this engaging – welcome back, fellas.
Finnish grindcore powerhouse Rotten Sound never fails to push the right buttons – their blend of Sunlight tones and blast-happy grinding is a sure-fire path to my heart, and Cursed continues my love for their particular brand of devastation. Not afraid to dash their grind with the usual suspects (d-beat, doom, death, et al), Rotten Sound creates a sound similar to their peers, but yet distinctive and, for the most part, better. Driven by rage, executed with balanced precision and savagery, and polished to a razor-sharp sheen, Cursed is one of the most destructive records of the year, in any genre.
Hell certainly wins the Feel-Good Comeback Story Of The Year Award. Some quarter century after their initial break-up and the subsequent suicide of their singer and songwriter, the band finds new life at the hands of producer, longtime fan and now second guitarist, Andy Sneap. With the brother of Hell’s original guitarist on vocals, Sneap and the surviving members finally brought these super-theatrical NWOBHM tunes to the public eye (errr… ear), and the results were brilliant, both modern and retro, shot through with near Shakespearean levels of melodrama. Not a disc for the uber-serious metaller, but a grand(iose) time, nevertheless.
Brutal Truth came crashing back in 2009 with the stellar Evolution Through Revolution – that one hit my #2 spot that year, and this one falls a few places beneath. While certainly not a disappointment, End Time isn’t quite as punchy as its older brother – it rips and it kicks and it hits like a brick, but it’s blunted, not as edgy as Evolution. Minor quibbles aside, this one is still enough of a bomb-blast of a record to land it here; it’s filled with the band’s trademark unusual riffing, noisy detours, and blast-happy pounding. Not for the faint of ear.
How I missed out on this band until now is kinda baffling, but at least I came around in time for this one, a Venom-ous snarling take on all things purely ugly and evil. Ragged punky NWOBHM-fueled thrashing bashing straight-up metal, this Royalty rips and shreds – quite literally the latter, as the guitar leads are amongst its most endearing qualities – and it’s easily one of the most engaging records of 2011, equal parts snarling and… well… fun. I dare you to spin this and not bang your head instantly. You can’t stop steel, but really, why would you want to?
Death / grind super-group Lock Up pops back up with their third full-length (and first in 9 years), replacing late guitarist Jesse Pintado (RIP) with Anton Reisenegger, of the Chilean Pentagram and Criminal. Former At The Gates / Skitsystem / The Crown frontman Tomas Lindberg remains in the vocal slot, alongside Napalm Death’s Shane Embury on bass and journeyman drummer Nick Barker (Cradle Of Filth / Dimmu Borgir / Testament). The production could use a bit of heft, but the performances are spirited, the riffing ripping and righteous, and the pedigree impeccable. This one flew under the radar ‘round here – for shame.
Johnny’s back again – this American power-trad outfit releases its strongest album in two decades, reuniting the line-up from their last career peak, 1988’s underrated Thundersteel, and reaping the riotous rewards. The usual Judas Priest comparisons fit, with Tony Moore’s soaring vocals and Mark Reale’s array of guitar riffs and melodic leads, and with Soul, Riot reminds us why they’re (semi-)legendary in the first place. Picking up where Thundersteel left off, continuing the tale of seal-headed mascot / whateverthehellthatthingis Johnny, this one shows there’s still plenty of fire left in these veterans, and here’s hoping they can keep those fires burning.
Long-running Polish act Vader is a tried-and-true commodity – with Welcome To The Morbid Reich, they release another installment of what my esteemed colleague Reverend Campbell described succinctly as “regular-ass death metal.” Free of technical wankery, blackened spite, grinding cacophony or any other stylistic qualifier, Morbid Reich does what Vader does: pound your skull with straight-ahead but absolutely monstrous tunes and riffs. Vader is consistent of sound, that’s for sure, but Morbid Reich is both one of 2011’s best and one of the band’s. Not the flashiest, not the heaviest, not the fastest or the most evil… just simply damn good.
Pennsylvania's Argus is a band that definitely deserves more recognition -- their first record made our list of The 100 Most Essential Albums Of The 2000s, and their second album Boldly Stride The Doomed continues their trends of both kicking ass and not getting enough credit for it. Vocalist Butch Balich is first-class, one of the unsung (har har) highlights of modern trad-metal glory, his voice taut and powerful, with a grand range both emotional and musical. Behind him, the band drops some seriously killer future-classic classic metal here, with their trademark touches of doom intact. A bold stride, indeed.
Close But Not Quite: The 20 Below
The Top Twos Of 2011:
Short And Sweet: 2011's Top Two EPs
...are a free EP from one of death metal's greatest and another hand-crafted platter of stoner-prog quality from a band that should have a record deal by now...
1. Immolation - Providence
2. Corsair - Ghosts of Proxima Centauri
Beyond The Realms Of Death: 2011's Top Two Non-Metal Albums
...are admittedly old-favorite cop-outs, two artists whose work seldom fails to make an impact. Largely speaking, my non-metal listening time was limited, either to next to nothing or simply to older records, classics and the like. But of what I heard, which was only a handful, these two top the pile...
1. Tom Waits - Bad As Me
2. Peter Gabriel - New Blood
The Lulus: 2011's Biggest Flops (That Weren't Lulu Because No One Wants To Talk About That One Anymore)
...include one surprising and utterly disappointing shift from a band I'd heretofore thought could never fail and one continuing disaster from a band that seems to do nothing but fail these days...
1. Morbid Angel - Ilud Divinum Insanus
2. Queensryche - Dedicated to Chaos
We All Live In Future World: 2012's Two Most-Anticipated Releases
1. Napalm Death
2. Accept
The Hall Of The Dead: 2011 RIPs
Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy, solo artist)
Phil Vane (Extreme Noise Terror)
Scott Columbus (Manowar)
Matt LaPorte (Jon Oliva's Pain)
Jonas Bergvist (Lifelover)
Seth Putnam (Anal Cunt)
Clarence Clemons (E Street Band)
Mick "Wurzel" Burston (Motorhead)
As always, thanks to you all for reading (both reading this and everything else we crank out each year). See you all in 2012.
Posted
Dec 21 2011, 08:19 AM
by
JW