HMaM Global Mod
Post by GL on Jan 1, 2014 14:02:44 GMT -5
There's going to be a large amount of obscure acts on this list this year because this was one of the first times in the genre's history that the underground was what produced all the good stuff this year. Among the more renowned, recognizable acts that released efforts this year only a few managed to make an impression but it was all about the underground this year with them taking the vast majority of the spots and several climbing quite high up on here as well. It's got the impression that this will keep growing stronger in the coming years while the main groups get their acts together in the wake of this year when the kids took over and showed the veterans how to go about this year.
10. Erimha-Reign Through Immortality
These Canadian Symphonic newcomers are gaining ground quite quickly on this list as this second release is rapidly proving to one and all with no shortage of awesome moments. Containing one of the most pummeling rhythm sections in the scene that hits like a Blackened Death Metal band with it’s heavy-set rhythms and pummeling drumming to rapid-fire guitars that simply thrash away at abandon with no shortage of awesome riffs, grandiose technicality and an equally appealing set of dynamics in conjunction with the symphonic keyboards that add a layer of bombast to the whole effort which creates a sense of theatricality apparent at the start of the genre and is pretty much reproduced here for great effect. While the band will win no points for originality, way they’re this far up the list in the first place, this is still a solid, enjoyable release from a band that should rise in standing in the future.
9. Seth-The Howling Spirit
Back for more of a seven-year hiatus, these French stalwarts bring back a rather renewed sense of energy and dynamics to the party that still plays in quite heavily with their renowed past. As part of the scene that saw a number of French bands push the boundaries of what could be considered Black Metal to ever-more avant-garde issues, the fact that this is somewhat toned down in regards to those other works is a huge opportunity to really let the unsung nature of the bands’ history, their speedy, thrash-laced riffs that were pretty much foreign to their countrymen, takes center-stage here with a more pronounced less-exotic approach for there’s less adventurous passages and more straight-forward Black Metal on this release despite the occasional experimenting here and there. This is done in great style and makes for a hearty welcoming back into the fold for there’s less of a chance to see their weirder side being exposed here and relies more on their unsung elements to get them to this placement here.
8. Patria-Nihil Est Monastica
Savage Brazilian Black Metal here, and one of the best of the massive underground units down there as they manage to strike the perfect balance between the unrelenting European scene with the melodic bent employed by the local scene there. While the drumming sounds as brutal and complex as you can get in the scene, there’s a series of guitar riffs that just sound as melodic and harmonious as can be yet seemingly match the ruthless drumming patterns in quite effective patterns. They seem to have found the perfect balance between keeping things evil and ominous without having to rely on sheer speed to do that like many of their brethren have done for the majority of the songs are mid-paced yet still manage to be filled with that evil, vicious tone that marks so many of their contemporaries in the scene and thus they stand out just all that much more for going against the grain when it’s this good to do so.
7. Caladan Brood-Echoes of Battle
Quite simply, this is something you don’t often see in Black Metal where it’s accompanied by lush atmospheric pieces and a sense of warmth that is usually missing amongst the genre’s more extreme offerings but that is what makes this debut effort so amazing. Pretty much without any sort of pre-release work as this is the only piece of work released from these guys yet there’s a remarkable maturity to these guys that makes this a distinctly competent and successful album despite the fact that the band seemingly doesn’t know how to play anything under nine and a half minutes in length so there’s a lot of time where it’s spent mostly just wandering through these lush, atmospheric pieces that cycle themselves into a familiar haze of screaming guitars, pounding drums and elaborate, fully-fledged keyboards that distill a symphonic edge to the music that’s immediately enjoyable and unique. If they can reign this in a bit and not make an album that tests the attention span of their audience, they can be onto something great here.
6. DarkThrone-The Underground Resistance
Having been somewhat hit-or-miss these last few albums, it’s great to see these figure-heads of the scene deliver and actually produce a hit which is what this one entails. Whilst still grounded in the punk aesthetics that have been employed on their albums for a while now, more than ever before is a sense of traditional heavy metal riffing that counters the raw energy and speed into a far more dexterous and somewhat technical experience that is usually missing from those types of bands. The icy cold style production that covers those riffs and the simple snarling vocals add to the complete picture of what’s presented here, and while not a whole lot is really being done on this level, the fact that it’s being used in great standing with the rest of the bands’ upper-tier catalog is worth celebrating and hence their spot on the list here.
5. Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult-Necrovision
One of the more fluid and dynamic releases yet in the underground, these long-standing German vets create yet another stand-out release and offer one of the better efforts of the year. Full of unyielding, raging efforts that sweep through uncontrollable and extreme tempos with that same grace and fluidity they’ve always experienced with an off-the-rails intensity that makes these songs even more enjoyable. It even knows to switch-up tempos and create several moments of grand mid-tempo work that’s quite evocative and exceptionally well-paced to counter the furious onslaught of the unrelenting speed-mongers present in the rest of the album, but the fact that this one just happens to sound so rich and full makes it even more fun. On the whole, this might be the best production on anything in the list in terms of how good the music actually sounds and it really helps to settle this one quite effectively in offering one of the years’ best entries.
4. Svartsyn-Black Testament
Vicious and unrelenting Swedish styled violence is the prime factor here, and having seemingly learned their lessons well from countrymen and kindred-spirits Marduk, this is just an all-out massacre set to music. Raging with ferocious riffing that contains a series of tight, sweeping patterns, eerie vocals shouting over the top of the speed-drenched assaults and a consistent, never-ending blast from the drums that just continue to pummel and punish the listener with intense beats, thunderous double-bass and just blinding speed that matches the unrelenting riff-work and the end result is just devastation and destruction. They’ve accomplished this in the past but never to the degree here or even the consistency with their riffing which just makes this one such a blistering, brutal release and manages to secure this high a spot on the list due to that bold step-forward accomplished here.
3. Inquisition-Obscure Verses for the Multiverse
One of the most unsung and overlooked acts in the underground, these Colombians are every bit as devastating and extreme as anything out there in the genre and this might very well be their best offering yet. Bristling with an atmosphere unlike any other band where instead of the freezing, ice-cold rhythms and desolation of mankind, these guys employ more of a cosmic approach to their music and it gives of an astral projection aspect that’s mixed into the primal, evil atmosphere of traditional Old-School Black Metal of slow, deep and dark riffing combined with sudden tempo changes to faster sections based around blast beats and high-speed riffing, at times adding melodic solos for even more of a sudden shock. This pleasingly chaotic nature is one of the more enjoyable in their general nature and certainly makes this one of their best ever efforts, certainly worthy of placement here this high on the list.
2. Chthonic-Bú-Tik
Following up a previously enjoyable effort with another absolute monster of a record, this is for those that don’t know they’re into Black Metal as a whole as it doesn’t seem to sound like they are in the first place. This almost manages to come off sounding like a Chinese folk band attempting to play melodically-influenced Symphonic Black Metal with hints of Death and Thrash thrown into the mix, and the result is spectacularly original, creative and unique in a world where most of those traits are considered blasphemy. Armed with fiery guitar work, thunderous barnburner drumming and dynamic keyboards on top of charging vocals and the appropriate useage of original Chinese instrumentation all wrapped together into a mix of fiery patterns and spectacular arrangements, this might be the bands’ best work yet and continues to showcase one of the more original acts in the game delivering what they’ve been doing for a while now.
1. Lightning Swords of Death-Baphometic Chaosium
It seems strange to award these guys with this slot after such a short career and after such an overall impressive second choice in the rankings but man was this one impressive. From start to finish this one stays on you and never lets up, brought forth with the sort of production job you just don’t findin extreme music today or even in any other genre with it’s dirty, primordial atmosphere that sounds ungodly primitive and makes for a particularly bestial atmosphere. This also makes the music that much more damaging, with no end to the rabid riff-work, pummeling drumming, otherworldly rasping or just plain heavy clanking bass-lines that flow throughout the songs in an extreme, up-tempo battering ram of intensity and speed, rarely slowing down and doing so mostly just to allow for those primordial vibes to return again. From long, complex multi-part epics to raging thrashers offering up pummeling dynamics and no end to vicious and unrelenting material, it’s a complete package of a black metal album, and though it’s a tad on the questionable side there’s so much to like here I feel comfortable giving this the top slot.
10. Erimha-Reign Through Immortality
These Canadian Symphonic newcomers are gaining ground quite quickly on this list as this second release is rapidly proving to one and all with no shortage of awesome moments. Containing one of the most pummeling rhythm sections in the scene that hits like a Blackened Death Metal band with it’s heavy-set rhythms and pummeling drumming to rapid-fire guitars that simply thrash away at abandon with no shortage of awesome riffs, grandiose technicality and an equally appealing set of dynamics in conjunction with the symphonic keyboards that add a layer of bombast to the whole effort which creates a sense of theatricality apparent at the start of the genre and is pretty much reproduced here for great effect. While the band will win no points for originality, way they’re this far up the list in the first place, this is still a solid, enjoyable release from a band that should rise in standing in the future.
9. Seth-The Howling Spirit
Back for more of a seven-year hiatus, these French stalwarts bring back a rather renewed sense of energy and dynamics to the party that still plays in quite heavily with their renowed past. As part of the scene that saw a number of French bands push the boundaries of what could be considered Black Metal to ever-more avant-garde issues, the fact that this is somewhat toned down in regards to those other works is a huge opportunity to really let the unsung nature of the bands’ history, their speedy, thrash-laced riffs that were pretty much foreign to their countrymen, takes center-stage here with a more pronounced less-exotic approach for there’s less adventurous passages and more straight-forward Black Metal on this release despite the occasional experimenting here and there. This is done in great style and makes for a hearty welcoming back into the fold for there’s less of a chance to see their weirder side being exposed here and relies more on their unsung elements to get them to this placement here.
8. Patria-Nihil Est Monastica
Savage Brazilian Black Metal here, and one of the best of the massive underground units down there as they manage to strike the perfect balance between the unrelenting European scene with the melodic bent employed by the local scene there. While the drumming sounds as brutal and complex as you can get in the scene, there’s a series of guitar riffs that just sound as melodic and harmonious as can be yet seemingly match the ruthless drumming patterns in quite effective patterns. They seem to have found the perfect balance between keeping things evil and ominous without having to rely on sheer speed to do that like many of their brethren have done for the majority of the songs are mid-paced yet still manage to be filled with that evil, vicious tone that marks so many of their contemporaries in the scene and thus they stand out just all that much more for going against the grain when it’s this good to do so.
7. Caladan Brood-Echoes of Battle
Quite simply, this is something you don’t often see in Black Metal where it’s accompanied by lush atmospheric pieces and a sense of warmth that is usually missing amongst the genre’s more extreme offerings but that is what makes this debut effort so amazing. Pretty much without any sort of pre-release work as this is the only piece of work released from these guys yet there’s a remarkable maturity to these guys that makes this a distinctly competent and successful album despite the fact that the band seemingly doesn’t know how to play anything under nine and a half minutes in length so there’s a lot of time where it’s spent mostly just wandering through these lush, atmospheric pieces that cycle themselves into a familiar haze of screaming guitars, pounding drums and elaborate, fully-fledged keyboards that distill a symphonic edge to the music that’s immediately enjoyable and unique. If they can reign this in a bit and not make an album that tests the attention span of their audience, they can be onto something great here.
6. DarkThrone-The Underground Resistance
Having been somewhat hit-or-miss these last few albums, it’s great to see these figure-heads of the scene deliver and actually produce a hit which is what this one entails. Whilst still grounded in the punk aesthetics that have been employed on their albums for a while now, more than ever before is a sense of traditional heavy metal riffing that counters the raw energy and speed into a far more dexterous and somewhat technical experience that is usually missing from those types of bands. The icy cold style production that covers those riffs and the simple snarling vocals add to the complete picture of what’s presented here, and while not a whole lot is really being done on this level, the fact that it’s being used in great standing with the rest of the bands’ upper-tier catalog is worth celebrating and hence their spot on the list here.
5. Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult-Necrovision
One of the more fluid and dynamic releases yet in the underground, these long-standing German vets create yet another stand-out release and offer one of the better efforts of the year. Full of unyielding, raging efforts that sweep through uncontrollable and extreme tempos with that same grace and fluidity they’ve always experienced with an off-the-rails intensity that makes these songs even more enjoyable. It even knows to switch-up tempos and create several moments of grand mid-tempo work that’s quite evocative and exceptionally well-paced to counter the furious onslaught of the unrelenting speed-mongers present in the rest of the album, but the fact that this one just happens to sound so rich and full makes it even more fun. On the whole, this might be the best production on anything in the list in terms of how good the music actually sounds and it really helps to settle this one quite effectively in offering one of the years’ best entries.
4. Svartsyn-Black Testament
Vicious and unrelenting Swedish styled violence is the prime factor here, and having seemingly learned their lessons well from countrymen and kindred-spirits Marduk, this is just an all-out massacre set to music. Raging with ferocious riffing that contains a series of tight, sweeping patterns, eerie vocals shouting over the top of the speed-drenched assaults and a consistent, never-ending blast from the drums that just continue to pummel and punish the listener with intense beats, thunderous double-bass and just blinding speed that matches the unrelenting riff-work and the end result is just devastation and destruction. They’ve accomplished this in the past but never to the degree here or even the consistency with their riffing which just makes this one such a blistering, brutal release and manages to secure this high a spot on the list due to that bold step-forward accomplished here.
3. Inquisition-Obscure Verses for the Multiverse
One of the most unsung and overlooked acts in the underground, these Colombians are every bit as devastating and extreme as anything out there in the genre and this might very well be their best offering yet. Bristling with an atmosphere unlike any other band where instead of the freezing, ice-cold rhythms and desolation of mankind, these guys employ more of a cosmic approach to their music and it gives of an astral projection aspect that’s mixed into the primal, evil atmosphere of traditional Old-School Black Metal of slow, deep and dark riffing combined with sudden tempo changes to faster sections based around blast beats and high-speed riffing, at times adding melodic solos for even more of a sudden shock. This pleasingly chaotic nature is one of the more enjoyable in their general nature and certainly makes this one of their best ever efforts, certainly worthy of placement here this high on the list.
2. Chthonic-Bú-Tik
Following up a previously enjoyable effort with another absolute monster of a record, this is for those that don’t know they’re into Black Metal as a whole as it doesn’t seem to sound like they are in the first place. This almost manages to come off sounding like a Chinese folk band attempting to play melodically-influenced Symphonic Black Metal with hints of Death and Thrash thrown into the mix, and the result is spectacularly original, creative and unique in a world where most of those traits are considered blasphemy. Armed with fiery guitar work, thunderous barnburner drumming and dynamic keyboards on top of charging vocals and the appropriate useage of original Chinese instrumentation all wrapped together into a mix of fiery patterns and spectacular arrangements, this might be the bands’ best work yet and continues to showcase one of the more original acts in the game delivering what they’ve been doing for a while now.
1. Lightning Swords of Death-Baphometic Chaosium
It seems strange to award these guys with this slot after such a short career and after such an overall impressive second choice in the rankings but man was this one impressive. From start to finish this one stays on you and never lets up, brought forth with the sort of production job you just don’t findin extreme music today or even in any other genre with it’s dirty, primordial atmosphere that sounds ungodly primitive and makes for a particularly bestial atmosphere. This also makes the music that much more damaging, with no end to the rabid riff-work, pummeling drumming, otherworldly rasping or just plain heavy clanking bass-lines that flow throughout the songs in an extreme, up-tempo battering ram of intensity and speed, rarely slowing down and doing so mostly just to allow for those primordial vibes to return again. From long, complex multi-part epics to raging thrashers offering up pummeling dynamics and no end to vicious and unrelenting material, it’s a complete package of a black metal album, and though it’s a tad on the questionable side there’s so much to like here I feel comfortable giving this the top slot.
