Jan 31, 2018
This show is dedicated to the Runners-Up in my Best of 2017 list.
VAMPIRE (Sweden), album -
With Primeval Force
Song: Revenants
(0:25-6:18)
— Vampire does this incredible job of
capturing a retro style, with bite. Swedish melodic death metal
mixed with heavy thrash. It is a fucking versatile album within
each song, it hella swings. There is so much to headbang to here,
but also a bit of folk and ballad creating a fully-rounded and
thoughtful album. And they just let loose, this shit would be wild
live. This is their second, more polished album, after a hiatus of
3 years.
ALL PIGS MUST DIE (MA),
album – Hostage Animal
Song: A Caustic Vision
(6:19-8:16)
— The ferocious intensity of a
hardcore and crust band that dives headfirst into brutal death
metal. Sounds like they took a good vacation for the last 4 years,
pouring out all their pent-up energy, and adding Trap Them's
guitarist. Their slowest moments were wicked and
pulverizing.
NIGHT DEMON (CA), album -
Darkness Remains
Song: Hallowed Ground
(8:17-11:38)
— Magical summer night hard rock.
Night Demon doesn't shy from their roots, with songs titled Maiden
Hell, We Will Rock You, Welcome to the Night and so on. They remind
me of Chris Black projects, melodic power and hooks, this is mullet
and beer metal.
GRAVE PLEASURES (Finland),
album – Motherblood
Song: Joy Through Death
(11:39-15:20)
— Previously Beastmilk, Grave
Pleasures just annihilates every post-punk sound out there.
Beastmilk won my 2013 Best Post-Punk, and soon split up. They have
converted themselves to Grave Pleasures and have released their
second album. What makes this band stand out compared to other
bands in their goth-influenced genre is their production value,
their ability to be unrelentingly catchy but completely unique.
They surprise you with how emotional their sound is, how romantic,
how nostalgic for dark basement clubs.
DYING FETUS (MD), album -
Wrong One to Fuck With
Song: Die With Integrity
(15:21-20:33)
— You go into battle with Dying
Fetus, and their music is the anthem, goring enemies. They hit you
between the eyes with precision, tight, technical, brutality. The
guitar work is fucking insane, it speaks in tongues, and geezus the
breakdowns. They somehow make this a groove-filled viciousness, how
does that happen. Genius.
FORESEEN (Finland), album
- Grave Danger
Song: Violent Discipline
(20:34-23:42)
— Contender for Best Thrash and Best
Hardcore. Finnish band Foreseen does a crossover style of thrash,
blending in the energy of hardcore into their dirty as hell gritty
thrash with tons of ripping groove that you just tighten your hand
into a fist to punch the air. Blows Iron Reagan's new album out of
the water in terms of crossover perfection.
CLAN OF XYMOX
(Netherlands), album - Days of Black
Song: Set You Free
(23:53-27:59)
— One of my favorite gothic synthwave
bands of all time, released 80's dark synth and goth perfection
with some of the best vocals of all time. This album will slam you
into nostalgia, that is, if you ever were a goth.
GIGAN (Chicago), album -
Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescence
Song: Hyperjump-Ritual Madness
(28:00-33:07)
— It is the manifestation of strange
brains dreaming. There is streaming psychedelic pulsating through
veins of brutal and master technical extreme. This is their 4th
album.
PUBLIC PSYCHE (Belgium),
album - No New Violence
Song: Patterns
(33:08-36:25)
— Public Psyche has a unique take on
post-punk, incorporating a less synthetic sound - post-punk mixed
with krautrock and noise experimental.
SEER (Vancouver), album -
Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void
Song: Burnt Offerings
(36:26-43:44)
— This is their second album. Lots of
unrushed acoustic, nature sounds, and when it finally explodes, the
lead singer is at the helm, lush and emotional.
KRALLICE (NYC), album –
Loüm
Song: Rank Mankind
(44:14-49:16)
— This is the album with Dave
Edwardson. Yet another push into complex math structure, difficult
and challenging, abstract and completely fucking enjoyable. Let
your brain be bludgeoned.
DEMON HEAD (Denmark),
album - Thunder on the Fields
Song: Menneskeæderen
(49:17-54:32)
— Sexy psychedelic groove, emotional
epic vocals accompanied by moody melodies. Just yeah
bro.
IMMOLATION (NY), album –
Atonement
Song: Thrown To the Fire
(54:33-END)
— Serious fucking death metal. Lead
singer does his style so well, unflinchingly rumbling guttural, so
fucking hot. Versatile and groove-filled, filled to the brim with
massive riffs and unusually splintered melodies. The drumming. . .
fuck, the drumming.