HMaM Global Mod
Post by GL on Jan 1, 2013 12:00:27 GMT -5
Again, as with the Black Metal and Thrash, this was one of the more difficult and extremely hard to rank genres, but thankfully there's more than enough in here that it's quite easy to see where the rankings spell out here. This was a lot of fun to do and generated a couple pretty difficult decisions, and overall it's right behind Thrash in terms in the best quality which leaves only one more thing to see: here comes the list.
10. Spawn of Possession-Incurso
As is standard for any best-of Death Metal lists, an inclusion from a Swedish act is mandatory so why not knock it off early with what is a fine album regardless of the Swedish nationality of its players. This is due to the albums overwhelming and complex technicality, here evident in abundance from the outset as there’s just so much technicality dripping from the release that it’s impossible to recount how often a song undergoes a tone shift or riff progression, yet none of this is done for the mere sake of doing so as instead this makes the album ever more brutal as it winds through it’s running total matching the guitar-riffing with a propensity of dexterous drumming that retains a jazz-influenced vibe to the material on hand, and when wrapped together in explosive form with mind-melting solos, off-the-charts writing and a powerhouse vocal approach, this is as solid a Tech-Death album released this year, and hey, they’re Swedish, that alone said it had to be good.
9. Goatwhore-Blood for the Master
Back for another round of their trademark breakneck Blackened Death/Thrash, this is as relentless and brutal as they’ve sounded ever and yet there’s room for improvement on the production side with a minor glare in the lack of power in the drumming keeping this one from being much higher on the list. Still, that’s not enough to knock this brand of addictive Death Metal with a thick guitar tone, tortured shrieking vocals and blasting drumming at a feverish pace that’s an ode to the old-school style, as well as the fact that they’re just content to play as fast as possible and not bog down in solos or other extraneous side-paths that get in their way of dishing out as punishing a brand of music as they dish out. One of their better efforts, but still not enough to rise much higher than here on the list.
8. Asphyx-Deathhammer
So it seems Martin van Drunen is one of the more underrated Death Metal vocalists in the genre, as not only has he given Hail of Bullets a couple of fantastic efforts he decides to resurrect his main band and give yet another dose of Old-School Death Metal-by-way-of-Doom brutality. True, this is more of a Doom Metal-influenced take on Death Metal whereas HoB is just pure Death, that doesn’t mean this one is a bad effort at all. His distinctive voice provides a nice highlight to the whole affair, his tortured wailing and noticeable inflection offset the jackhammer pounding of the guitars behind him to give this a powerful sound that remains infectious as well as pummeling. When the band stays in Death Metal mode they’re as punishing as ever, yet it’s when the Doom-ier riffs start to seep in that this one just becomes an all-around better effort as that touches off a sense of identity rather than just being that punishing, but one-note Death Metal band, and is especially true of the longer cuts here which is what gives this one it’s placement here.
7. Grave-Endless Procession of Souls
So it seems that the Swedish legends have been on a roll recently, continuing to crank out spectacular album after spectacular album with this being the latest in the tradition. Not that it’s a better album than their past efforts or does anything new to push the patented Grave sound further, but instead is more of the same which is an awesome thing as what’s the same here is exactly the material Grave has been delivering since their start. Filled with furious, devastating riffing containing that characterized buzzsaw grinding so familiar to Swedish acts, pounding drums, infernal bass lines and an overall dedication to speed and intensity in their delivery, as each of these songs are driven along at a breakneck pace that allows for some truly fun times as the album speeds along. Minor alterations come from pronounced efforts at injecting moments of technicality into their old-school attack, which is just the perfect balance in creating an impressive album.
6. Hour of Penance-Sedition
The last time these guys were on one of my lists, I predicted big things from them with their brand of technically-brutal Death Metal, and the Italians took me up on the prediction and offer one of the most devastating efforts of the year. Dripping with technically-proficient guitar riffing that runs the gamut from showstopper solos to hooky verses and a sheer multitude of brutal fills, this is catchy and memorable on a devastating scale, helped along with flawless production and a brutal singer growling for all he’s worth over the top of it all. Namely, though, the most impressive element within this band is the sheer hell-storm ushered by the drumming on this, which is one of the most impressive, technically-proficient and pummeling in the genre, mostly without having to rely on double-bass thunder which makes it all the more brutal when it comes in. It adds an extra layer and dimension to their sound, and helps to fulfill their promise showed earlier.
5. Six Feet Under-Undead
It feels incredibly odd putting these guys so high on the list, yet for such an impressive album it certainly warrants placement here. One of the biggest issues for its placement here is immediately noticeable from the first few seconds of the first song: they’ve got a competent drummer than can lift them up into more technical realms than their previous three-note style songs of the past. Not only is this littered with double-bass pounding, intense patterns and more intricate fills, but it allows the other instruments to take on more as well, offering this one a degree of brutality and atmosphere not seen since their first few albums and is certainly miles better than what they put out in the previous decade. They still manage to retain their traditional groove and penchant for catchy riffs, which is infused with this more technical bent to create one of the best albums of their career and a perfect place for them to launch a new phase of their career.
4. Aborted-Global Flatline
One of the few brutal Death Metal bands out there doing inherently catchy stuff, this is about as good of stuff as I’ve heard from these guys. With the melody from the last few albums still present in spades, this one injects more focus onto their past brutality and otherworldly musicianship to create a fantastic hybrid that represents the best of those worlds in dynamic qualities. The shortness of each of the tracks allows it to get in, do it’s damage and then retreat, meaning this thing packs a lot of punch in a short time with its mixture of extreme pummeling drum attack, ferocious vocals that range from an odd squealing shriek to a more decipherable mid-range bark and the return of those intense guitar lines that merge the brutality of old with the melody of the new. This is great stuff all around and really generates one of their better efforts.
3. Nile-At the Gate of Sethu
Egypt’s favorite profilers are back with continuing their reign as one of the most profound offerings yet, showcasing the bands’ Egyptian themes with the jaw-dropping musicianship incredibly well. Still managing to make the music sound fresh after all these years, the mind-blowing mix of punishing yet complex and intricate guitar riffs that are seemingly impossible to pull off with their penchant for inhuman drumming that seemingly pushes the limits of human endurance and replication together with the dual vocal assault over the top of it all is what makes the band so special, and is aptly provided here in this effort that gives all performers a chance to shine through in their performances. While this doesn’t have the urgency or total power overkill of their previous efforts, hence the low ranking, this still emerges as one of their finer offerings in a crowded discography.
2. Dying Fetus-Reign Supreme
Hopefully this here can signal the start of them keeping a successful line-up, as what’s presented here is nothing short of spectacular and clearly represents their magnum opus. Utilizing their traditional Tech/Grind assault to its purest form, this rattling monster presents everything known from the band’s great history, roaring through with an impressive guitar attacks, growling vocals, distorted bass lines and the kind of drumming that just slams the listener at full force, which is given equal opportunity to shine through the numerous songs here as this one has it let loose plenty of times throughout, and the violence unleashed is nothing short of impressive. Filled with their traditional pit-ready grooves and technically-proficient rhythms along with the devastating vocal lashings, this is pretty much a blast all the way throughout though it does fall somewhat into the trap of indistinguish-ability as it goes through its paces as it’s hard to determine the exact song you’re listening to at times, but when the punishment is this fun, it’s not detrimental at all.
1. Cannibal Corpse-Torture
A new year, a new Cannibal Corpse album atop the year’s best-of lists, and once again the band deserves placement here with what could easily be considered their finest hour, if not then clearly their most definitive work. Never before has the band been this fully focused on delivering their trademark ferocity and intensity with this level of technicality in their riffing, as this is perhaps as vicious and determined as they’ve ever sounded while displaying the over-the-top technicality they’ve injected into their attack, hammering through this collection of tracks with a severity and seriousness in keeping the tracks as memorable as possible. Mixed once again with a totally outstanding production job that lets everything shine through and utterly ferocious vocals that are as brutal as they’ve sounded in a long time, this really is the perfect mixture of the two different eras of Cannibal Corpse in one place, where they inject the technicality into the brutality and create an outstanding album that puts them at the top of the list once again.
10. Spawn of Possession-Incurso
As is standard for any best-of Death Metal lists, an inclusion from a Swedish act is mandatory so why not knock it off early with what is a fine album regardless of the Swedish nationality of its players. This is due to the albums overwhelming and complex technicality, here evident in abundance from the outset as there’s just so much technicality dripping from the release that it’s impossible to recount how often a song undergoes a tone shift or riff progression, yet none of this is done for the mere sake of doing so as instead this makes the album ever more brutal as it winds through it’s running total matching the guitar-riffing with a propensity of dexterous drumming that retains a jazz-influenced vibe to the material on hand, and when wrapped together in explosive form with mind-melting solos, off-the-charts writing and a powerhouse vocal approach, this is as solid a Tech-Death album released this year, and hey, they’re Swedish, that alone said it had to be good.
9. Goatwhore-Blood for the Master
Back for another round of their trademark breakneck Blackened Death/Thrash, this is as relentless and brutal as they’ve sounded ever and yet there’s room for improvement on the production side with a minor glare in the lack of power in the drumming keeping this one from being much higher on the list. Still, that’s not enough to knock this brand of addictive Death Metal with a thick guitar tone, tortured shrieking vocals and blasting drumming at a feverish pace that’s an ode to the old-school style, as well as the fact that they’re just content to play as fast as possible and not bog down in solos or other extraneous side-paths that get in their way of dishing out as punishing a brand of music as they dish out. One of their better efforts, but still not enough to rise much higher than here on the list.
8. Asphyx-Deathhammer
So it seems Martin van Drunen is one of the more underrated Death Metal vocalists in the genre, as not only has he given Hail of Bullets a couple of fantastic efforts he decides to resurrect his main band and give yet another dose of Old-School Death Metal-by-way-of-Doom brutality. True, this is more of a Doom Metal-influenced take on Death Metal whereas HoB is just pure Death, that doesn’t mean this one is a bad effort at all. His distinctive voice provides a nice highlight to the whole affair, his tortured wailing and noticeable inflection offset the jackhammer pounding of the guitars behind him to give this a powerful sound that remains infectious as well as pummeling. When the band stays in Death Metal mode they’re as punishing as ever, yet it’s when the Doom-ier riffs start to seep in that this one just becomes an all-around better effort as that touches off a sense of identity rather than just being that punishing, but one-note Death Metal band, and is especially true of the longer cuts here which is what gives this one it’s placement here.
7. Grave-Endless Procession of Souls
So it seems that the Swedish legends have been on a roll recently, continuing to crank out spectacular album after spectacular album with this being the latest in the tradition. Not that it’s a better album than their past efforts or does anything new to push the patented Grave sound further, but instead is more of the same which is an awesome thing as what’s the same here is exactly the material Grave has been delivering since their start. Filled with furious, devastating riffing containing that characterized buzzsaw grinding so familiar to Swedish acts, pounding drums, infernal bass lines and an overall dedication to speed and intensity in their delivery, as each of these songs are driven along at a breakneck pace that allows for some truly fun times as the album speeds along. Minor alterations come from pronounced efforts at injecting moments of technicality into their old-school attack, which is just the perfect balance in creating an impressive album.
6. Hour of Penance-Sedition
The last time these guys were on one of my lists, I predicted big things from them with their brand of technically-brutal Death Metal, and the Italians took me up on the prediction and offer one of the most devastating efforts of the year. Dripping with technically-proficient guitar riffing that runs the gamut from showstopper solos to hooky verses and a sheer multitude of brutal fills, this is catchy and memorable on a devastating scale, helped along with flawless production and a brutal singer growling for all he’s worth over the top of it all. Namely, though, the most impressive element within this band is the sheer hell-storm ushered by the drumming on this, which is one of the most impressive, technically-proficient and pummeling in the genre, mostly without having to rely on double-bass thunder which makes it all the more brutal when it comes in. It adds an extra layer and dimension to their sound, and helps to fulfill their promise showed earlier.
5. Six Feet Under-Undead
It feels incredibly odd putting these guys so high on the list, yet for such an impressive album it certainly warrants placement here. One of the biggest issues for its placement here is immediately noticeable from the first few seconds of the first song: they’ve got a competent drummer than can lift them up into more technical realms than their previous three-note style songs of the past. Not only is this littered with double-bass pounding, intense patterns and more intricate fills, but it allows the other instruments to take on more as well, offering this one a degree of brutality and atmosphere not seen since their first few albums and is certainly miles better than what they put out in the previous decade. They still manage to retain their traditional groove and penchant for catchy riffs, which is infused with this more technical bent to create one of the best albums of their career and a perfect place for them to launch a new phase of their career.
4. Aborted-Global Flatline
One of the few brutal Death Metal bands out there doing inherently catchy stuff, this is about as good of stuff as I’ve heard from these guys. With the melody from the last few albums still present in spades, this one injects more focus onto their past brutality and otherworldly musicianship to create a fantastic hybrid that represents the best of those worlds in dynamic qualities. The shortness of each of the tracks allows it to get in, do it’s damage and then retreat, meaning this thing packs a lot of punch in a short time with its mixture of extreme pummeling drum attack, ferocious vocals that range from an odd squealing shriek to a more decipherable mid-range bark and the return of those intense guitar lines that merge the brutality of old with the melody of the new. This is great stuff all around and really generates one of their better efforts.
3. Nile-At the Gate of Sethu
Egypt’s favorite profilers are back with continuing their reign as one of the most profound offerings yet, showcasing the bands’ Egyptian themes with the jaw-dropping musicianship incredibly well. Still managing to make the music sound fresh after all these years, the mind-blowing mix of punishing yet complex and intricate guitar riffs that are seemingly impossible to pull off with their penchant for inhuman drumming that seemingly pushes the limits of human endurance and replication together with the dual vocal assault over the top of it all is what makes the band so special, and is aptly provided here in this effort that gives all performers a chance to shine through in their performances. While this doesn’t have the urgency or total power overkill of their previous efforts, hence the low ranking, this still emerges as one of their finer offerings in a crowded discography.
2. Dying Fetus-Reign Supreme
Hopefully this here can signal the start of them keeping a successful line-up, as what’s presented here is nothing short of spectacular and clearly represents their magnum opus. Utilizing their traditional Tech/Grind assault to its purest form, this rattling monster presents everything known from the band’s great history, roaring through with an impressive guitar attacks, growling vocals, distorted bass lines and the kind of drumming that just slams the listener at full force, which is given equal opportunity to shine through the numerous songs here as this one has it let loose plenty of times throughout, and the violence unleashed is nothing short of impressive. Filled with their traditional pit-ready grooves and technically-proficient rhythms along with the devastating vocal lashings, this is pretty much a blast all the way throughout though it does fall somewhat into the trap of indistinguish-ability as it goes through its paces as it’s hard to determine the exact song you’re listening to at times, but when the punishment is this fun, it’s not detrimental at all.
1. Cannibal Corpse-Torture
A new year, a new Cannibal Corpse album atop the year’s best-of lists, and once again the band deserves placement here with what could easily be considered their finest hour, if not then clearly their most definitive work. Never before has the band been this fully focused on delivering their trademark ferocity and intensity with this level of technicality in their riffing, as this is perhaps as vicious and determined as they’ve ever sounded while displaying the over-the-top technicality they’ve injected into their attack, hammering through this collection of tracks with a severity and seriousness in keeping the tracks as memorable as possible. Mixed once again with a totally outstanding production job that lets everything shine through and utterly ferocious vocals that are as brutal as they’ve sounded in a long time, this really is the perfect mixture of the two different eras of Cannibal Corpse in one place, where they inject the technicality into the brutality and create an outstanding album that puts them at the top of the list once again.
Grizzled HMaM Vet
