I had a lot going on this year, so I didn't get to kick out the jams and do as exhaustive of a survey of this year's offerings as I would've liked, but I found fifteen that I enjoyed. This was the year of the old guard showing the kids how it's done.
Many, including our own Eric, asked whether Suffocation could survive the departure of legendary vocalist Frank Mullen. Well, question answered: Hymns from the Apocrypha is killer. It’s impossible to fully replace Mullen, but Ricky Myers adds a different dimension to the tight, technical, riffing and breakdowns that you know and love.
Insomnium continued their streak of producing some of the best straight melodic death metal around with Anno 1696. It suffers a bit from its February release date and all of the shiny things that have come since, and that one can’t help but compare it to the masterpiece that is 2016’s Winter’s Gate. But, that’s no fault of the album, which is as good as it comes in the genre.
From my mid-year review: “I’m a sucker for old-school heavy metal, and Elegant Weapons’ debut album went straight to my old jean jacket-wearing heart. Richie Faulkner delivers all of the killer riffs and blistering solos that you can handle, Scott Travis and Rex Brown hold down the rhythm section just as you’d expect, and Ronnie Romero’s vocals soar from start to finish. If you’re a fan of old-school heavy metal with 80’s spirit and heart, sit this one out at your own peril.”
Now that we’re two records into the Ivar Nikolaisen era of Kvelertak, Endling should be the final nail in the coffin for those still claiming that the band will never be the same. The riffs are still killer, the rock is still hard and heavy, and the vocals work perfectly. Sweden still reigns over the world of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Kelly Shaefer sent the demos for this album to no less than SCOTT FREAKING BURNS, who was so impressed with them that he came out of retirement to produce the album. Outside the Spiral is a blistering slab of modern, thrashy, deathy, even nu-metally metal that will have your neck snapping in seconds. We’re in territory far afield from Atheist, so caveat emptor applies, but it’s great stuff nevertheless.
Thirty-five years on, it’s ridiculous to think that Obituary would still have it in them to release one of their best records in years, but the Tardy Brothers have delivered. Dying of Everything is a breath of fresh air that shows that the band isn’t just in it for the nostalgia tour. The new kids get all of the publicity, but Obituary continues to show who the real genre kings are.
With nearly a decade passing since Phase I, you’d be forgiven for wondering if the band still had it in them to deliver. Well, opening track ‘Chrononautilus’ starts off immediately with a Death Jovi fist to the face from the start that doesn’t let up until album end. It feels like it needs a trim at nearly an hour, but if there’s a weak track to be culled, I haven’t found it. Kids, take note: Scar Symmetry are back and ready to retake their rightful place as Melodeath royalty.
It’s been over a decade since their last record, but Flo and company have not missed a beat. Just as expected, As Gomorrah Burns delivers eight tracks of Tech-Death insanity that relentlessly blasts through its tight 33 minutes. We’re now 30 years into the band’s existence, so there should be no surprise that Cryptopsy is at the top of its game.
After Threshold released their excellent Legends of the Shires album in 2017, keyboardist Richard West began writing a sequel. When the band decided to go in a different direction, West took the songs, put together Oblivion Protocol, and turned them into The Fall of the Shires. As one would expect, the result doesn’t stray too far from Threshold proper, but a bit more pop and with heavier keyboards. Fans of progressive metal shouldn’t miss this one.
I’ve been a massive fan of Graveyard for quite awhile, but I put off listening to this one because I’d heard it was a much mellower affair. That assessment wasn’t wrong, but shame on me for waiting as it’s a great piece of work. There are a few rockers in the lot, but the slower pieces are where it really shines. Give it a chance, and you may just be surprised at how well it works.
Upon hearing the intro to the opening track, “Friend or Foe?” I wondered if I’d stumbled upon some imposter by the same name. Turns out that it was indeed Mariusz Duda and company, and that this is a new direction for the band. Once you make the “Moving Pictures to Signals” mental leap, you’ll find that it’s a really damned good album. Riverside have managed to create an album that sounds both nothing like and everything like their past, and that’s a feat worth celebrating.
I had this to say in my mid-year review and I stand by every word: “Just when we thought that Katatonia was no more, Jonas took on all of the songwriting duties and surprised us with the excellent City Burials in 2020. Three years later, Sky Void of Stars continues on in the same vein and, though it may not reach quite the same heights, it’s still a delight. ‘Austerity’ immediately became the first track in my running playlist of the band’s bangers: I’ll put it up against anything they’ve ever done.”
If David DiSanto, Paul Masvidal, and Chuck Schuldiner recorded an album together, you’d get Ontological Mysterium. This album is all over-the-place: spaced-out thrash, death metal chug, and jazzy interludes are whirled in a blender to create a brief 37 minutes of mayhem. This record has been quite divisive in the metal community, so there’s a strong likelihood it won’t work for you. But as a massive fan of all of the bands represented above, I couldn’t get enough of this.
Spotlights wasn’t at all on my radar until Chris lifted Alchemy for the Dead up in the Firesideometer VIP Chat, and what a revelation it is! Combine post rock structures with guitar tones that are more Jus Osborne than Aaron Turner and you’ve got an amalgam that hits in all of the right places. There aren’t nearly enough people talking about this album.
I wrote in my mid-year write-up that Heimdal is the band’s “most progressive and adventurous album to date,” and that assessment has only strengthened with further listens. This was the album that I continued to reach for the most, and I will continue to make the argument that it’s one of their best.
