Vyrion

I knew it was a bad idea posting my best-of list before the actual end of the year. There was bound to be something crop up that made me think I should have waited. And this time, that something is Vyrion, with their self-titled debut. I discovered these Aussie progressive black metallers via a review on Angry Metal Guy, and something about them piqued my interest. The wonderful symmetrical logo was what made me pause to read the review, and the promise of progressive black metal with death and doom elements made me go listen.

The sound is truly a strange conglomeration. It's most definitely progressive black metal, but the vocals are a varied mix of black metal screams and hoarse whispers, death metal growls and grunts, and a good amount of clean singing. Quite often within the same song. The music, too, does similar twists and turns, from a driving, brutal blackened prog onslaught to more intricate, even melodic, death riffs. It's like the evil lovechild of Agalloch, Insomnium and Satyricon, which could turn out to be something of a random mish-mash if they weren't careful.

Fortunately it seems that have been careful, because it actually works really well. The songs are all cohesive, unique and distinct. After a brief tinkly-tonkly intro, the first track, Ever Rising Platform, sets your expectations of what this album is about, deftly switching between styles with some great riffs. It gets better as the album progresses, with Mortal Frame getting heavier and heavier, and The Decider being, for me, where it really gets going. Such is the nature of the beast, though, that while it has the heaviest opening riff, it also has a section where it turns to pure prog, with some great clean guitar work before the main riff bursts back in with matching screams.

The album continues apace with Winter Vector, featuring a rather minimalist main riff that turns into high-speed drum work before suddenly turning very soft and creepy in the middle, then bursting back into melodic black metal at the end. Disengage is just a bit strange, chugging number with some almost thrash-like riffs thrown in for good measure and then, suddenly, a soft-rock, clean vocal chorus. Most peculiar, but strike me down if it doesn't work brilliantly.

The thrash is all gone by the time Rendering The Lifeless starts up, and instead a slow, doomy riff takes over. The riffs are all melodic death metal, while the clean and screamed vocals switch and overlay each other in complicated and sometimes mind-bending ways. The Silence starts slow but speeds up significantly and turns into perhaps the most traditional black metal track on the album, despite being heavy with a definitely doom metal bass riff. Of course, this doesn't last and by the end of the track there is a 70s styled prog riff underpinning overlaid death growls and black metal screams.

Penultimate track The Decision brings blastbeats into the mix, more duelling growls and screams and a heavy, driving riff that propels the song into a crazy mix of slow, sombre riffs, high speed death metal and slow, contemplative blackened prog. The album concludes with Sole Remainder, a track that turns everything that went before on its head. Starting with a slow guitar melody and clean vocals reminiscent of Damnation era Opeth, it switches to blackened thrash and back again effortlessly and to a creepy and somewhat unsettling effect.

If the feeling you get from reading this description is that this album is an incoherent jumble of styles, you couldn't be more wrong. The switches between the various styles employed is not abrupt, nor are they at odds with each other. Instead, every change of style fits the song, and when two or more are employed, they complement rather than hideously contrast each other. It is at the same time both heavy and hard-hitting, and soft and melodic. It is a beautiful chimera incorporating the best of many worlds. If you like melodic death, black, blackened folk or progressive metal, there's something for you here. If, like me, you like all of the above, then this is a masterpiece.

This album is available via the band's bandcamp page on a pay-what-you-want basis for downloads, or as a physical CD for $10AUD, which is about £6.42 by my reckoning. It's also available to stream for free. So really, there's absolutely no excuse not to give it a listen and, if you like it, support an up-and-coming band who I hope to hear a lot more from.

Runners up

With so much top quality music in 2011, it was impossible to put everyone in the top 11. Here are a few honourable mentions who nearly made the cut, but didn't quite get there.

Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction

It pains me not to put this in the top 11, but the fact is that I don't play it as often as those in that did make the cut. It's a masterpiece, no doubt, and completely insane, but it's more an occasional pleasure than a frequent play.

The Man-Eating Tree - Harvest

This one missed out purely due to unfamiliarity. It didn't immediately grab me like Imaginaerum did, so without time to properly digest, I couldn't justify including it. It is really good, though.

Chaos Divine - The Human Connection

This one came out at the same time as Wolverine's Communication Lost, and out of the two, the latter got most plays. Like Harvest, this one took a couple of spins to get into, but once I did, it was well worth it.

Fornost Arnor - The Death Of A Rose

This is the album that I think should have been the successor to Opeth's Watershed. It's melodic, it's prog, it's death, it's brilliant. It just didn't make the cut because I don't think to play it as often as those that are on the list.

Within Temptation - The Unforgiving

This album took a long time to get into. It's entirely too pop-oriented for my usual taste, and one of the main singles, Sinead, appears to be a dance track. But I've seen it played live and it was better than I expected, so it goes in the runners up instead of the disappointments pile.

Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times

When I first got this album I raved about its brilliance, but since then the lustre has faded and, on reflection, it's not quite as good as Skyforger. Still a good listen every now and then, though.

Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions

In my mid-year review I marked this album as a disappointment because it was just like every other Arch Enemy album. It's since grown on me somewhat, and despite it not being the great leap forward many hoped for, it's still a solid album.

Kabát - Banditi di Praga

I picked this album up for a laugh on a trip to Prague earlier in the year, and it turned out to be a pretty decent album. I'd love to be able to sing along to the catchy choruses, but my Czech just isn't up to scratch. Otherwise, it's a worthy contender that falls short merely due to the generally high quality of other music that came out this year.

I usually include a list of disappointments, but this year there is only one that needs to be spoken of. And spoken of it is, far and wide, to much grumbling and bemoaning and general frustration. It should have been magnificent.

Opeth - Heritage

I tried to like it. Really, I did. I tried to disregard the arguments about wether it should have had growled vocals, or that it didn't sound like Opeth, or whatever, and tried to listen to it with no expectations. I even went and listened to it played live.

But that sad truth is that it's just boring. It's just really dull and tedious. And Mr Åkerfeldt's attitude toward people who don't like it really puts me off him, and that doesn't help with my perception of his music. Oh well, I tried.

Doozr's Top 11 of 2011

Well, what a year 2011 has been. In most respects it has been a complete wreck. So many horrible, miserable things have happened that it's been hard to be positive. But on the other hand, it's been an absolutely kick-ass year for music. When I sat down to write my list of the the best albums of the year I started with a shortlist of 21, and that's just the ones I've actually bought! There are still several releases out there that I hear great things about, but haven't managed to hear for one reason or another.

After much whittling I have pruned and shaved my extension list of musical awesomeness into the 11 best of the year, in my humble opinion. I normally do a top 10, but by the end of it I figured that 2011 deserved an extra one. And so, without further ado, and in no particular order, here is the list!

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Starting off the list is an album all about the end of mankind. A nicely fitting start for this year. This album can justifiably be called epic, with its 14 minute tracks and loud, heavy orchestrations. It's really quite stunning.

Before The Dawn - Deathstar Rising

Another from Finland, Before The Dawn's latest album has spent a lot of time on my playlist. It's catchy, it's heavy and it has some great riffs. Not a great advancement from the band's previous albums, but it doesn't have to be.

Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth

After a tumultuous time between albums, Sylosis came out with this amazing piece of death/thrash that is monumental in scope and sound. At over 70 minutes long, and shifting styles between progressive and thrash metal, it's an impressive accomplishment.

Wolverine - Communication Lost

Wolverine have always been good at writing emotionally charged music, and this album represents a culmination of that talent. It's progressive and beautiful, but also heavy in sound and in mood.

Primordial - Redemption At The Puritan's Hand

I first heard of Primordial via an advert in Terrorizer, even though they've been around for years. I was impressed by A.A.Nemtheanga's coat. I then saw them at Bloodstock, and ended up buying this album. It did not disappoint. I'm not sure how to describe the sound except as a mix between Irish folk and black metal that works incredibly well.

Ghost Brigade - Until Fear No Longer Defines Us

More from Finland in the form of Ghost Brigade with their third album. Picking up where Isolation Songs left off, this is basically an album of excellent melodic death/doom metal. Great riffs, great lyrics, great album.

Mastodon - The Hunter

Splitting opinion by diverging from their previous conceptual ways, Mastodon put out this record to mixed reviews. I loved it. Sure, in some ways it plays like a collection of singles, but they're really good singles and guaranteed to have you singing along to the insanely catchy choruses.

Pain Of Salvation - Road Salt Two

I included Road Salt One in last year's best of year post, and so it's only fitting that I include Road Salt Two in this year's. Nothing vastly different here; the same basic formula, the same basic sounds, but that's ok. It's like finally hearing the second disk of a two part album.

Insomnium - One For Sorrow

A much anticipated release. What can be expected from a band like Insomnium except a brilliant album? And they certainly delivered. A great collection of songs with a common theme running throughout, and a worthy addition to an already amazing list of some of the finest melodic death in the world.

Anathema - Falling Deeper

Anathema are one of few bands who can completely reinvent themselves time and again, trying new genres, new sounds, new styles, and yet still be easily recognised. Falling Deeper is a collection of classical reworkings of their older doom metal tracks, and it works incredibly well. The first time I heard this album I just sat there, slack-jawed, and the only works I could muster by the end of it were "that was awesome."

Nightwish - Imaginaerum

Coming along just in time for me to write this list, Nightwish's latest opus is grandiose, beautiful and completely immersive. In some ways, it's all over the place, swinging wildly from heavy metal to slow jazz to, at one point, a bit of spaghetti western. It's not an easy album to describe in one paragraph, but it is a spectacular piece of musical theatre.

Nightwish - Imaginaerum

After a four year wait to see what Nightwish would do next, we finally have an answer in Imaginaerum. It's been hotly anticipated for several months now with speculation, interviews and snippets to keep everyone interested, and the other day a copy plopped onto my doormat. Having given it a few spins, I've been collecting my thoughts on what is a very complex piece. As much a cohesive whole as a collection of songs, it builds nicely on 2007's Dark Passion Play, carrying across a similar feel while being entirely new and, in many cases, very unexpected.

The whole album is built around the concept of a composer's thoughts on his deathbed, marking a lifetime of experience, imagination and pure fantasy. It has been produced alongside a film of the same name, sharing similar concepts and storyline, and so makes the album's "film score" style sound a more obvious fit. Always one for grandiose and theatrical works, Tuomas Holopainen has proven his songwriting ability.

The style of the album is, to be frank, all over the place. From traditionally "Nightwish style" tracks in Storytime and Last Ride Of The Day, to a spaghetti western style in Turn Loose The Mermaids and veering wildly into slow jazz for Slow, Love, Slow. But each song, while standing alone, fits well with the rest. Such is the quality of the songwriting that each one has its own feel, its own emotional connection, and yet builds on the cohesive whole of the album's concept.

There are some truly touching moments along the journey. Slow, Love, Slow builds a gentle yet heavy emotional base that's dashed to pieces by a frankly disturbing turn in Scaretale, which is both terrifying and, in one particular section, is somewhat reminiscent of Devin Townsend's Deconstruction for total out-there weirdness. My personal favourite for sheer emotional weight has to be Turn Loose The Mermaids which, while lyrically simple, has a complex musical style and really shows off Annete's vocal talents.

Other highlights include Rest Calm which, despite the name, is closer to heavy doom metal than anything restful or calm. Arabesque conjours up images of Whoever Brings The Night with a distinctly Arabian Nights feel. The 14 minute epic Song Of Myself, including a 6 minute recital of a poem with some quite disturbing themes, finishes off the album except for the outro and title track which pulls together everything that's come before into a theme song for the album.

There has been a lot of expectation, speculation and discussion of this album prior to its launch, and it's defied every possible expectation. It is a magnificent work, cohesive, emotionally powerful and quite brilliant. Any doubts that Nightwish could better Dark Passion Play have been dashed. If this is the new direction of the new era of Nightwish, then long may it continue.

The Soporific Sound of Metal

Like many people I am an occasional insomniac, and I frequently use music to aid my sleep. I usually use something tranquil to help me on my way to the land of nod. Anathema, Mostly Autumn and Tides From Nebula are frequently on my sleep time playlist. But sometimes I'm just not in the mood for softer music and I need something a little heavier.

Here is a list of five of my favourite albums for the restless metalhead that, at first glance, might seem completely unsuited to the task of helping drift off to sleep.

Wolverine - Communication lost

First up is Wolverine with their latest album, Communication Lost. Much of this album is melodic, and many of the tracks have their gentle moments, but on the whole the strong, hard riffs make it seem unlikely to be sleep inducing. Played loud enough, and heard through the muted ears of tiredness, it's actually very calming.

Example: Wolverine - Embrace

Agalloch - Marrow of the Spirit

While listening to album opener They Escaped The Weight Of Darkness, you would be forgiven for thinking that this album is akin to a relaxation tape, full of the sounds of nature and a soft, mournful cello. You think that until the beginning of Into The Painted Grey, at which point your ears are pummelled into your head with some cracking drum work. But even then heavy rhythm has a wonderful soporific effect that gets the head nodding.

Example: Black Lake Nidstang

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa

Like Agalloch, the power behind this album is the heavy, repetitive rhythm. With every track topping the 10 minute mark, its effect is somewhat relentless. The frequent breaks to the sound of a man walking through the ruins of the apocalypse are also particularly effective in soothing the active mind. Even the blood-curdling scream at the end of Kuolleille isn't enough to wake me once the album has done its work.

Example: Moonsorrow - Huuto

Sylosis - Edge of the Earth

It may seem utterly ludicrous to include a thrash record in a list of albums that make you sleep, but it shares many of the same qualities as Marrow Of The Spirit and Varjoina kulhemme kuilleiden maassa. It is, again, relentless at 70 minutes long, and the interspersing of melodic, almost prog like riffs amongst the wall of sound make it ideal to drift off to.

Example: Sylosis - Empyreal

Martriden - Enter the Monolith

Following on from Moonsorrow and Sylosis, Martriden starts to make more sense as an album to sleep to. It's heavy, it has some crushing riffs, but it is also an impenetrable wall of sound that hammers your semi-conscious brain into submission.  The trick to this album is to play it loud enough that you are completely enclosed by the sound. This one is particularly good for if you're trying to sleep on a train, the sound working with the rattling of the train on the tracks producing a cocoon of metal to hide inside on those long journeys.

Example: Martriden - Heywood R. Floyd