I talk about sometimes needing people to tell me to go on.

Indian’s new album produced by Sanford Parker.  It has been around 5 years since their last album.  Noisey riffage, as good as their last album.

Rhetoric of No: Indian (Chicago) (0:28-6:43)

French grind, has played with one of my faves, Genghis Tron.

The Patriot, The Elite, The Icon: Stuntman (France) (8:41-12:37)

Another fabulous Chicago band – experimental, proggy, kind of DC style vocals.  Even some jazz fusion – very Chicago-influenced.

Zeta II Reticuli: Murmur (Chicago) (13:17-20:06)

Dramatic neo-industrial post-punk. 

Stupid in the Dark: Xiu Xiu (San Jose) (20:35-23:20)

Hexis wants you to be possessed by the King of Hell.  Very evil, tight, badass.

Exhausit: Hexis (Denmark) (23:51-27:03)

Weird charming proggy pagan album from Greece.  Greece, one of the top areas for super original talented metal.  (Right now my list is: Finland, Italy, Greece)

Blood Guru: Hail Spirit Noir (Greece) (28:04-34:06)

Crust doom from Germy people.

In The Wall: Serpent Eater (Germany) (34:16-38:55)

On a split soon to be released with Primitive Man, Xaphan is kind of new – they have a 2 song demo that was recorded and produced on a frigging iPad.

Cold Surge: Xaphan (Minneapolis) (39:16-43:25)

Polish punks are probably real old farts.  Not poseurs I mean.

III: CZERŃ (Poland) (43:58-48:56)

Italians go bleak.

21st Business Man: Under the Oak (Italy) (49:47-52:25)

The British Weedeater.  So probably not as completely insane, but these guys aren’t afraid of being on the more brutal edge, rather than just having a good time.

Gauze Rite: BongCauldron (Leeds) (53:19-59:02)

Vancouverish noisey hardcore or something.

The Last Installment: Anion (Vancouver) (59:23-END)

Best Avante Garde/Psychedelic:

Oranssi Pazuzu (Finland) album - Valonielu (song: Vino Verso (0:28-5:20))

Orannsi Pazuzu does the best job of both being experimental but still being catchy enough to want to listen to them over and over again.  They do not alienate.  I keep wanting to hear more from them, which is THE sign of great artistry.

Best Industrial:

Statiqbloom (Brooklyn) album - Mask Visions Poison (song: Vestige Lights (7:17-13:16))

One person project gets the best industrial album of the year.  It was a difficult choice between this album and legendary band Skinny Puppy’s offering – which is the best album they have put out for over a decade.  Fade from Batillus is a perfectionist, and it shows in the quality of his work.  He has put out an industrial album which is nostalgic for when industrial was at its pinnacle.  He keeps this album true to its roots: danceable and dark
(Runner-Up:) Skinny Puppy (LA) album - Weapon
Skinny Puppy was my favorite band when I was 13, they influenced my visions of my future.  I haven't listened to them for years because I thought they went plastic in their sound, ironic I know, industrial is not organic.  Now I heard Weapon, and it takes me right back to the origins of synthesizer and experimental sound in industrial, but in a fun dancey way.  This is industrial.  And Ogre's voice is unbelievable. 
(Runner-up:) Årabrot (Norway) album - Årabrot

Best Punk:

Iron Reagan (Virginia) album - Worse than Dead (song: Paycheck (13:52-15:12))

Iron Reagan is not pure punk, but they get close to it.  Members of Municipal Waste.  I listened to this over and over again this year, it is an easy investment: 25 minutes for the whole album.  How punk can you get.  

Best Large Sound:

Inter Arma (Virginia) album - Sky Burial (song: Westward (15:57-25:28))
Tons of lead-up to huge massive sound.  I akin this to the Body, if the Body had more members. 
Runner-Up: Anciients (Vancouver) album - Heart of Oak

Best Rock Sludge:

Phantom Glue (Boston) album - A War of Light Cones (song: Captain Keith Pierce (26:28-29:08))
Produced by a dude from Converge – which is an automatic thumbs up.  The sludge is energized with hardcore, and these guys have a great vocalist and tons of tunes that stick in your head after you stop listening.

Runner Up: Black Pyramid (Boston) album - Adversial
Black Pyramid is one of the catchiest albums of the year, I really like these guys, and I think if you like to entertain as much as I do, you would put this album on a lot at the end of each party drinking beer with your best friends.

Best True Sludge:

Fister (St. Louis) album - Gemini (song: III (29:59-34:25))
Fister’s logo is - "if its too slow, you're too young." Sludge makes its drama with its moody thick agonizingly slow beat.  Fister makes headway in this genre with their vocals, which are so evil.  I love this band, I really do. 

Best Stoner:

Egypt (Fargo) album - Become the Sun (song: Matterhorn (34:50-39:18))
A chick can’t resist a sexy voice crooning bluesy stoner rock.  This is a great album to wake up to on the weekend.

Best Grindcore (tie):

Call of the Void (Denver) album - Dragged Down A Dead End Path (song: Breeding Grounds (40:19-44:00))
Colorado grind band that had a very listenable album, even though my ears hurt.  Aggressive, and I related.

Best Grindcore (tie):

Rotten Sound (Finland) album - Species at War (song: War (44:21-46:01))
Completely different sound than Call of the Void.  Super brutal, very difficult to listen to, which is the point.  For weirdos.

Runner-Up: Anorak (France) album - Go Up In Smoke

Best Spin-off Band (tie):

All Pigs Must Die (Boston area) album - Nothing Violates This Nature (song: Chaos Arise (47:11-49:57)
Most brutal and metal of the spin-off contenders.  

Best Spin-off Band (tie):

Zozobra (Boston) album - Savage Masters (song: Deathless (50:16-52:55)
Contains most of the members of Cave-In with some guests, this album is catchy, fast, tight, awesome.  I couldn’t not pick this, I listened to it too many times.
3. Runner-Up: Doomriders (Boston area) album - Grand Blood
Doomriders come in fast and heavy, I am surprised they didn't get more press, because this album is fantastic.  They have so many ideas, and they all work.  Brutal experimental hardcore sound, technical and crazed.  Grand Blood has awesome catchy riffs too.
4. Runner-Up: Mutoid Man (Boston/California) album - Helium Head
Mutoid Man is influenced by psychedelic rock.  The vocals are the Cave-In dude, hence way more accessible. Hoping they play in California since Ben moved here.

Best Heavy/Traditional Metal:

Hell (U.K.) album - Curse and Chapter (song: End Ov Days (53:36-59:06)
This entire album is a blast – let your hair flow into feathered mullet goodness and rise your beer mug high.  Make sure you flash your hooters at the lead singer.  It won over the others because the lead singer rules.
Runner up: Satan (U.K.) album - Life Sentence
Honorable Mention: Manilla Road (Kansas) album - Mysterium

#1 Band/Best Album of the Year/Best Live Band:

Skeletonwitch (Ohio) album - Serpents Unleashed (song: Unending, Everliving (1:00:17-END!))
One of my favorite bands of all time – a perfect combination of classic and thrash.  If you have never seen them live, you must.  They are the top live metal act.  Super charismatic and ever professional – there is no small show for them.  You won’t hear them complain about doing too much coke (Gypsyhawk I am looking at you).  This is their fifth studio album, and I think their best. I can’t believe they have yet another album that totally kicks original ass.  Super infectious, as they are known to be, and tight as all hell. 

This is the FIRST of two shows where I countdown the “Best of” categories of my choosing.  Listen next week for the rest of the list, and my #1 album of the year!!

Best Fusion/Crossover Metal (Punk/Hardcore/Thrash):
Oozing Wound (Chicago) album - Retrash (song: New York Bands (0:28-6:48))

Tons of bands out there are integrating a bunch of genres into their sound, Oozing Wound does it the best.  It is way more complex than just plain crust or hardcore, you hear it when the metal riffs totally kick in seamlessly and you realize how talented this band really is.

Best Joyous Doom:
Magic Circle (Boston) album - Ride the Void (song: Scream Evil (8:06-14:05))

Don’t underestimate the power of 70’s retro.  Sure you can say they are derivative: this lead singer even sounds like Ozzy, but he has his own set of dulcet tones.  Let the sound wash over you.  Great jams, awesome album, really rocking.

Best Blackened Groove:

Take Over and Destroy (Phoenix) album - Endless Night (song: Boundaries of Flesh (14:45-20:24))

 “An American rock & roll band from the 1970s trapped inside a Scandinavian metal band from the 1990s".  Even though T.O.A.D. is crusty and ultimately dark, they also pull in very catchy grooves into their sound.  Not at all contrived, and completely fist-pumping music in the best way.

Best Black Metal:

Cultes Des Ghoules (Poland) album - Henbane (song: Festival of Devotion (20:48-29:44))

Black metal is supposed to follow a formula – it is a very strict genre.  This album is so evil and intense, which is normal, but I never got tired of listening to it.  The vocals are the highlight – seriously unique; and great tempo changes and climactic.  This is the black metal album to buy!

Runner-Up: Blut Aus Nord (France) album - What Once Was. . .Liber III
Started as a one-piece, the dude filled out his band and put together an absolute menacing black metal album, stark and cold as all fuck.  More traditional than Cultes Des Ghoules.

Best Post-Punk:

Beastmilk (Finland) album - Climax (song: You Are Now Under Our Control (30:41-34:12))

When a band makes you nostalgic for the music of your youth, you know they are doing something right. Here is a band that took the best from that era: Joy Division, the Cure, Echo. You can definitely see yourself dancing in a club in the 80’s with the cutest boy with the hair in his eyes 10 feet away, most likely gay.

Runner-Up: Vaura (NYC) album - The Missing

Best Anthemic:

Holy Grail (LA) album - Ride the Void (song: Bestia Triumphans (34:46-40:29))

To love Holy Grail is to see them live.  Every single person in the audience was singing with the lead singer.  The loyalty is surprising, considering this is a young band – only 2 albums.  You understand when you listen to the addictive, chorus-driven album.

Best 2-Piece:

Cara Neir (Dallas) album - Portals to a Better, Dead World (song: Closing Doors (41:11-44:48))
Cara Neir is obviously not as popular as the Body, but way more complex – a thick album with crazy drumming, tight as all hell guitar work. I just want to see them live. 

Runner-up: Zolle (Italy) album - Zolle

Completely instrumental psychedelic and stoner rock, with awesome leadups to climactic riffage

Honorable Mention: The Body (Portland) album – Christ, Redeemers

I have seen the Body about 5 times (they used to live in Providence and opened up for every touring band ever), and each time they annoy me just a little bit more. and I hate the lead singer live/screeching.  That said, their latest album is super good. The live shows made me not like them as much.  Note: too many live shows makes the audience more critical, so that is what you get.  I probably liked them the first time I saw them but I can’t remember so they can fuck off.

Best Saturday Afternoon band (i.e. most listened to album):

Kadavar (Germany) album – Abra Kadavar (song: black sun (45:53-5:59))

Last year this title went to Sons of Tonatiuh, a crust band with a rich album that I could listen to tirelessly. This year, the title goes to a classic psychedelic retro rock 70's style band, Kadavar.  I can listen to this at every party at my house, on every warm sunny Saturday that I am too lazy to go outside but I feel energetic enough to play some vinyl.  They jam so hard.

Best Crust:

Weekend Nachos (Chicago) album - Still (song: Watch You Suffer (52:33-55:53))

Weekend Nachos, Oozing Wound and Iron Reagan were made by the same crust God.  There are slight distinctions and very different albums: Weekend Nachos infuses power metal and dirty crust and extreme wit into their unique sound. And, they also get BEST BAND NAME, fuck.

#2 Band of the Year/Best Vocalist:

Batillus (Brooklyn) album - Concrete Sustain (song: Mirrors (56:55-END)

Listen to all my other shows when I play anything Batillus-related, and you will get a sense of how much I look up to this band.  Vocals are my number one instrument, when done right will make me a fan forever; when done wrong, I cannot listen beyond it.  Fade has the most powerful vocals right now.  He is also the influence of noise and industrial on the very metal band.  The band is the best to see live.  What is exciting for music lovers and fans is knowing they are JUST coming into their own.  Can’t wait to hear what is next.

Happy New Year!! Eh.

Act of Impalement’s whole album has a ton of stuff going on, including crust and sick riffs.

Necromancer's Theme: Act of Impalement (Nashville) (0:28-4:31)

Baptists are filthy, new album came out early 2013 and I guess I missed them.  Glad I finally checked them out.

Soiled Roots: Baptists (Vancouver) (5:46-10:53)

Monkeypriest spinoff, so I was immediately intrigued – Monkeypriest is phenomenal fuzzy sludge.  This is more psychedelic, and incorporates a lot of instruments. 

Arrache-coeur: TENTUDÍA (Spain) (11:24-15:13)

A389 Recording's newest Napalm Christ, put together a vinyl of their demo stuff, and will be putting out a full debut album soon.  Members of Rwake and Pale Unearthed.

Nuclear Holy War: Napalm Christ (Arkansas) (15:48-19:57)

Your Highness is a beerriffic awesome band, and this split is a great way to check them out.

Free: http://yourhighness.bandcamp.com/

Death Knell: Your Highness (20:21-25:29)

Denver hardcore punk band that has a NSFW logo, that I kept opening to at work.

Piston: Catholic Girls (Denver) (26:25-30:03)

Seriously epic split from (who?) LWFDIHH and Uroboros.  Full-on album, dark and righteous.

Аякс: LWFDIHH (Russia) (30:25-35:41)

90’s death metal band out of the grave brings forth their version of modernized death. 

I Vomit This World: Mercyless (France) (35:57-38:33)

Primitive Man, who I forgot, even though everyone loves them, does this version of Crowbar.  I listened again, and remembered how brutal they are.

Suffering Brings Wisdom: Primitive Man (Denver) (38:52-45:17)

Italian black metal.

Engravings: Vollmond (Italy) (45:54-51:28)

Negative Standards and Whitehorse on a new split.  They are an Oakland “art crust” project, who use non-instruments in their sound.  They are anonymous.

XIII: Negative Standards (Oakland) (51:59-54:10)

Happy New Year with a nostalgic goodie!!

Surprise: a band from your high school memories