Denver beauties Primitive Man scorn you to death.

Astral Sleep: Primitive Man (Denver) New! (0:28-5:08)

Finnish crusty death, abrupt.

Impetious Fires: Vorum (Finland) New! (5:54-9:33)

Super group featuring Scott Kelly produces true retro industrial reminiscent of Ministry, Pig, Foetus, Controlled Bleeding.  Now, waiting for the dance mixes if they are REALLY industrial.  They are coming out with a 7” soon with 2 songs.

Hoax The System: Corrections House (super group) New! (10:25-16:13)

Wait for Dead Empires to progress from post-rock to technical.

Crystal Cages: Dead Empires (NY) New! (16:41-21:40)

Oldies Blockheads come out with another solid grind album.

To The Dogs: Blockheads (France) New! (22:06-24:05)

Velnias brings forth blackened doom with folk.

Iconoclast: Velnias (Boulder) 2012 (25:13-33:11)

Black Table has the best crazy vocals – sounds like an asthmatic kid.

To Tear Down: Black Table (NY/NJ) New! (33:56-37:52)

Great American black metal from swamp country.

Inhuman Hatred: Barghest (Baton Rouge) New! (38:30-46:34)

2 piece with looping pedals and synths, math-y post-metal.

Theriocephalic: National Sunday Law (LA/Baltimore) New! (47:35-53:30)

Last two bands have a retro hardcore influence.  Godstopper has a free album for you to download:

Free on bandcamp: http://godstopper.bandcamp.com/

Blame Them: Godstopper (Toronto) 2012 (54:15-END!)

New Darkthrone releasing February 25.  This song has riffs galore, 80’s feel and nod to Mercyful Fate.

Leave No Cross Unturned: Darkthrone (Norway) (New! Releases February 25) (0:28-7:01)

Innumerable Forms has a guy from Mind Eraser, buildup of atmosphere but still technical and fast.

Frozen Death: Innumerable Forms (Boston) (comp of new and old!)(8:06-13:14)

Sea of Bones is influenced by Batillus and YOB in excellent ways and is playing with them.

Free download: http://seaofbones.bandcamp.com/

Chapter V: Sea of Bones (New Haven, CT) New! (shortened) (13:53-20:22)

Local band Minot with members from many other awesome bands; must see them live – post-hardcore, technical and math-y. 

Reiki: Minot (Oakland) (21:12-28:30)

Blackened hardcore and vicious, this song I hear Pain of J by YOB.

To the Cross: Black Mass (U.K.) New! (29:29-33:42)

Hilarious band White Wizzard has a spin-off retro band.  But to just call this retro is doing it an injustice, this band RULES (and rocks).

Bestia Triumphans: Holy Grail (LA area) New! (34:10-39:56)

Rotten Sound from Finland can kill you within a minute.

Salvation: Rotten Sound (Finland) New! (40:28-42:11)

Neon Worship is frigging so rocking, super catchy.

Weather Breeder: Neon Worship (Ohio) New! (42:34-47:53)

Sludgened atmosphere from Ukranian band Nonsun, very emotional.

Rain Have Mercy: Nonsun (Ukraine) New! (shortened) (48:50-55:37)

Melodic sludge with great vocals. 

The Desert: March the Desert (U.K.) (56:03-END!)

COUNTDOWN TO THE #1 ALBUM (listed at the bottom)! Check out last week's show for the #2 album (Converge) and the rest of the top albums

Best Drumming: Dragged Into Sunlight

Conceptual majestic blackened crust. The band members are anonymous (do not give out their names), wear masks and play live in the dark.

Best Jams: Horisont

Horisont's second album is better than both Witchcraft's and Graveyard's offerings in 2012. Bluesy organic 70's in a hot Swedish package.

Time Warrior: Horisont (Sweden) Album: Second Assault (9:10-13:38)

Best Energy/Mosh: Xibalba

Party in your pants, moshing and fun.

No Serenity: Xibalba (California) Album: Hasta La Muerte (14:13-18:06)

Best Ballads: Pallbearer

Romantic without falling into the trap of sounding like Isis. I started my love for this band early on, hoping they were best friends with Deadbird (both from Arkansas). The vocals are emotional, great riffs an added bonus.

The Legend: Pallbearer (Arkansas) Album: Sorrow and Extinction (19:02-27:22)

Best Whimsical/Fantasy Metal: Ihsahn

European cheese, yes, but new ideas of progressive with badass riffs and jazz infusion. Original, fun album. Yes, he sings, so that is immediate cheese – but the creation is great.  Ihsahn appearing at both Roadburn and Maryland Deathfest.

Arrival: Ihsahn (Norway) Album: Eremita (28:53-34:01)

Best Whiskey Rock: Orange Goblin

Whattup, party, whiskey and smoke and shit.

Red Tide Rising: Orange Goblin (U.K.) Album: A Eulogy For The Damned (34:34-39:15)

Best Transitions: Gojira

Technical progressive, but not pounding harshness that I hate. Not pretentious, but yet dense and rich with sound.

The Axe: Gojira (France) Album: L'enfant sauvage (40:03-44:34)

Best Doom Drone: Black Shape of Nexus

Vacuuming music.

Illinois: Black Shape of Nexus (Germany) Album: Negative Black (45:24-50:56)

Best Vocals: Bezoar

Almost #1, Converge and Sigh just beat it. Female proud to sing like a chick; brutal riffs helping her. Great songwriting.

Vitamin B: Bezoar(Brooklyn) Album: Wyt Deth (52:02-57:31)

Best Unorthodox Brutal/Avant-Garde AND # 1 Album of 2012: Sigh (Japan)

Early 2012 contender for best, ended up being the best. Old school Japanese, need I say more. Fusion of craziness, tight, righteous, crazy, headbangy, unlike anything else.

Purgatorium: Sigh (Japan) Album: In Somniphobia (58:29-END!)

Runners-Up:

Best Epic:

Evoken (New Jersey), Album: Atra Mors

Amenra (Belgium), Album: Mass V

Best Super Group:

Chrome Waves (Chicago), Album: S/T EP: Members from The Atlas Moth, Nachtmystium, Gates of Slumber; darkly romantic vocals and melody

Best (runner-up) Albums by Legendary Bands:

Enslaved (Norway), Album: RIITIIR

High on Fire (Oakland), Album: De Vermis Mysteriis

Swans (NYC), Album: The Seer: Vocalistically, one of the most profound albums of the year, bringing in images of dark folklore.

Runner-up 70’s style bands:

The Graviators (Sweden), Album: Evil Deeds

Heat (Germany), Album: S/T

Runner-up to Best Saturday Afternoon Album:

Trephine (North Carolina), Album: Make: Sounds like part Brainoil, mix in some heavy sludge beats, mix in some ambient and psychedelic, and what you get is Trephine. They are absolutely evil live, brutal. This year’s album is very post-metal, a more melodic guitar running through. The vocals change it from what could be Isis-ish, to a more brutal genre.

Best Stoner-Groove Metal:

Dopethrone (Montreal), Album: III: These boys have absolutely no apologies in how much they think about pot, smoke pot and want you to do the same listening to their music. Our American version of this band would be Weedeater. Dopethrone made my top albums last year, and this new album is even groovier. The vocalist reminds me of Greg from Brainoil, huge compliment.

Best Thick Rock:

Bison B.C. (Vancouver) Album: Lovelessness: Heavy loud doom, as I have described this band before; but the whole album is rich and does not fit neatly in stoner rock. People now hate stoner and sludge, it is just too prolific, where even the forefathers of the genres bore the shit out of me. Bison B.C. puts in some threads of punk that infuses their songs with a lot more energy, and I would imagine makes for good live stuff. Bison B.C., come down to San Francisco, its the same coast.

First show of BEST OF 2012, counting down to #2! NEXT WEEK: the rest of the best, plus the #1 album of 2012!!

Best Production for a Death/Crust/Hardcore Band: Black Breath

Crisp production showing off how tight this band is

Endless Corpse: Black Breath (Seattle) Album: Sentenced to Life (0:28-4:54)

Best Soulful Vocals from a Swedish God that Every Chick Wants to Make Out with: Graveyard

Last year’s Hisingen Blues was my #2 album.  Graveyard has more soul than most bros.

An Industry of Murder: Graveyard (Sweden) Album: Lights Out (7:30-11:26)

Best Saturday Afternoon Record: Sons of Tonatiuh

A modern twist on Fugazi: Hard tight guitar riffs, powerful vocalist layered all layered with heavy tone

Colors Run Red: Sons of Tonatiuh (Atlanta) Album: Parade Of Sorrow (12:00-17:29)

Best Sludge Band Under the Radar: Stoneburner

Stoneburner has great hooks; on the same record label as Batillus which will hopefully get their name out there

Marriage: Stoneburner (Portland) Album: Sickness Will Pass (18:09-25:20)

Best Use of Organ and 80’s Horror Music: Hellwell

Mad scientist vocals on top of the most original soundtrack of last year 

Acheronomicon II. The Heart Of Ahriman: Hellwell (Kansas) Album: Beyond The Boundaries Of Sin (26:26-31:33)

Best Instrumental:  Sardonis

Rich complexity in just mere instrumental

Entering the Woods: Sardonis (Belgium) Album: II (32:07-36:44)

Best Blackened Death with a Bangladeshi Lead Singer: Weapon

Relentless

Vanguard of the Morning Star: Weapon (Calgary) Album: Embers and Revelations (37:34-41:51)

Best Industrial: eyeswithoutaface

Modern club music for people in an asylum

Grotesque Tableau: eyeswithoutaface (Toronto) Album: WARGUTS (42:16-46:31)

Best Punk Band to go Heavy:  Tragedy

Embarrassing story between me and dude from Tragedy does not keep me from listing their album

To Earth Like Dust: Tragedy (Portland) Album: Darker Days Ahead (47:34-51:38)

Band to Release a New Album that Beats all Their Previous Albums: Witchcraft

Jammy, gorgeous, great production finally

Deconstruction: Witchcraft (Sweden) Album: Legend (52:16-57:22)

The #2 album AND Best Hardcore Album of the Year: Converge:

Converge did not rest on their history and legend to sell this album.  This is top notch and if it is your first time listening to them, you can only imagine how great all their other albums are. Crushing.  

Sadness Comes Home: Converge (North Shore, MA) #2 Album of the Year: All We Love We Leave Behind (58:26-END!)

Listen next week for the rest and countdown to #1!!