My Top 10 Essential Metal Albums

While watching Gojira at the Corporation in Sheffield the other day, I was challenged to produce my Top 10 Essential Metal Albums. The albums that I keep going back to, or have some special meaning to me. It's obviously a very personal list and I can guarantee that just about everybody in the world will find fault with it, but that's the point of these things, isn't it?

Dark Tranquillity - We Are The Void Dark Tranquillity's latest album (although it is now five years old), and the one I have played most by a very large margin. I have even played it twice as much as Projector, my previous favourite. Featuring some shudderingly creepy melodeath riffs and covering all the classic Gothenburg bases, you can't go far wrong with this one. It's hard to choose a favourite track of this album, but I guess Shadow In Our Blood or Iridium would take it. Or Her Silent Language, or The Grandest Accusation. One of those, anyway.

Opeth - Ghost Reveries There will always be controversy over choosing a favourite Opeth album, but this is mine, narrowly beating Blackwater Park to the top spot (thanks to my decision to only have one album by any given band in the list). Of all the Opeth albums I have on my iPod (most of them) it's the one I return to time and again for my fix of proggy deathy growliness. The Grand Conjuration is probably the best track, but like We Are The Void there are too many good ones. The cover of Soldier of Fortune is bloody good, too.

Lacuna Coil - Comalies From way back in the days when I was finding my metal feet, as it were, Comalies contains just enough heavy, just enough catchy to get me hooked. This was my gateway drug to a love affair with melodic death metal, of all things. Top track would be Tight Rope, which gives me a little nerdgasm for recognising the game the voiceover samples are taken from.

Agalloch - Marrow Of The Spirit I heard about Agalloch long before I heard Agalloch, and when I finally did hear them, I wondered why I hadn't looked them up before. Dark and disquieting and epic in equal measure. Favourite track would have to be, um, all the tracks. Seriously, I can't choose between them.

Judas Priest - Painkiller The one and only venture into NWOBHM on this list. As must as Iron Maiden is seen as the pinnacle of British heavy metal, you just can't beat Painkiller for volume or tempo. I did air guitar to the title track a couple of months ago and my left shoulder still hasn't forgiven me. My favourite tracks are Painkiller, obviously, and Night Crawler.

Insomnium - Above The Weeping World Although in recent months it has been pushed aside in favour of One For Sorrow, Above The Weeping World is still Insomnium's magnum opus, and proof that they are still one of the finest melodic death bands in the business. I'm starting to think I shouldn't have tried to include a favourite track. On this one The Gale, Mortal Share, The Killjoy and Devoid of Caring are my choices.

Wolverine - Still One of my favourite albums ever. I first heard Sleepy Town on a friend's shuffle, and wanted to know what the rest sounded like. I was amazed, and have been a fan of the band ever since. Sleepy Town itself is high on the list of favourite songs ever, too.

Sylosis - Edge Of The Earth As grandiose and epic as it is proggy as it is ear pummeling. I originally dismissed Sylosis as being too -core for my tastes based on looks alone. Big. Mistake. This album was one of the surprises of 2011 and still gets regular rotation on my commute. It's hard to pick favourite tracks because the whole album flows so well together, although Empyreal (both parts) deserve special mention.

Eluveitie - Slania Is it folk metal, or is it Gothenburg melodic death with a hurdy gurdy? I don't really know, but it's bloody good. I first heard of (and, indeed, heard) Eluveitie at Bloodstock '08. I rushed to the CD sales tent, only to discover that I had missed the rush and every copy of Slania had been sold in 30 minutes. Inis Mona is the definite highlight of this folk juggernaut.

Ghost Brigade - Isolation Songs I originally found out about Ghost Brigade from Last.fm, recommended due to my constant playing of Dark Tranquillity and Insomnium. I'm glad the recommendation engine worked this time! Possibly the most depressing death metal band I've ever heard. Highlights include Into The Black Light and Lost In A Loop.


I was also graciously allowed 5 "honourable mentions" for those albums that I love, but didn't make the top 10. To be honest this was harder to come up with than the first 10. There are so many albums I love  that narrowing it down proved difficult.

One in particular that gets regular plays is Skyforger by Amorphis. A random purchase at HMV led me to discover Amorphis, a sort of hybrid of melodic death and folk that's both heavy as a heavy thing and melodic as an, um, melodic ... thing. Aerolithe by Fall Of The Leafe (which led to the coining of the term "fotling", meaning "listening to Fall Of The Leafe") is another that I throw on a lot when I fancy something a bit more utterly nonsensical.

Perhaps a controversial choice because it is the least metal of anything I've put so far, but How To Measure A Planet by The Gathering is a long standing repeat listen. A fine work among a body of fine works. More recently, and definitely less controversially, is Woods of Ypres's final album Woods 5: Grey Skies And Electric Lights. Sure, it's depressing, but it's frankness and honesty elevates it from pointless morbidity into something far deeper and more philosophical.

And finally I can't forget to mention Monuments by Sheffield's own Northern Oak, the album I've seen played (in parts, at least) more than any other. If I fancy listening to it, I could put on the MP3s, or I could just pop to a local gig to enjoy it with an ale or five. 

Doozr's Bi-annual Review, part 1

Yes, it's that time again. July is almost upon us, the longest day has been and gone, and it's all downhill from here. So it must be time to take stock of the first half of the year. What has taken my fancy, and what has left me flat.

It's not been particularly tricky to pick the top 10 for this, the first half of 2011. I had some hard decisions to make around about numbers 8, 9 and 10. Some stuff that I would have liked to be in there was just pipped to the post and got left in the "honourable mentions".

Top 10

Overall, it's not been a terrible year for music. Some new stuff coming out of nowhere, some long standing greats continuing to be great, but some other lacklustre performances. So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my top 10 of the first half of 2011.

Sylosis - Edge of the Earth
One of the earliest albums of the year, this monstrous melodic thrash/death metal epic had me hooked immediately. It was a shoo-in for the top spot on this first top 10 of the year. Nothing has budged it yet, except maybe the atmospheric stylings of ...

Moonsorrow - Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa
Another epic album, and another that I would consider a perfect production. Four massive, immersive tracks of tragedy, doom and despair that carries you along whether you like it or not.

Wolverine - Communication Lost
A bit of a grower, mostly due to it being the follow up to Still, a simply magnificent record. I was both tremendously excited, and very nervous about it. Fortunately Wolverine have more than lived up to their own potential and produced this emotive, progressive masterpiece.

Chaos Divine - The Human Connection
A slow grower, this one. Took a couple of weeks to really get into the frame of mind required. In fact, I was rather disappointed with it at first. But when it clicks, it sticks. Great prog noodling complements death growls and hard metal riffs.

Amorphis - The Beginning Of Times
Described variously as "epic", "magnificent", "awe-inspiring" and "tinkly tonkly", this is a definite for my top 10 of 2011, even if it hasn't quite reached the heights attained by its predecessor, Sky Forger. I have also gone and bought a copy of the Kalevala, from which the last 4 Amorphis albums draw their inspiration. It's a very strange tale, but has inspired some great metal.

Devin Townsend Project - Ghost
Possibly the most relaxing, chilled out experience so far this year. It's taken me several goes just to listen to all of it and not fall asleep in some kind of tranced out bliss.

Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction
The soundtrack to going insane. Densely packed, massive in scope and scale, and by the time you've got to the end of this album you won't know where you are or what you're doing. You will want a cheeseburger, though.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead
Folky Americana courtesy of the band who brought you The Hazards Of Love. Completely different in sound, and with a similar outlook to Fleet Foxes. A rather pleasing, gentle interlude to all this shouting and hard riffs in the rest of the list.

Before The Dawn - Deathstar Rising
A good but of straight up melodeath. Good riffs, good vocals, both clean and growled, and good songs that it's easy to sing along with. Apparently it hasn't gone down well with all critics, but I find it a very enjoyable record to listen to.

Ador Dorath - Adon Nin Edelith Ador Dorath
Perhaps the strangest sounding operatic death metal band on the planet. If you can understand more than 1 in every 10 words you're doing well, but even in its barely comprehensible state it's a roaring, bombastic gothic metal album with loads of good riffs and heavy, chugging beats.

Honourable Mentions

The Top 10 is quite a decent list, I think. These records have had plenty of play time over the last few months. But as I previously said, not all of the good records can be in the top 10. That would be silly, because there are more than 10 of them. Here are a few that didn't quite make the cut, but deserve a mention anyway.

Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy - Návaz
The latest album from these Czech doom/folk metallers does away with some of the doom and adds more Moravian dance. A great record, but a little disappointing to lose some of the better sounds of Relic Dances.

Sanctorum - Semper Fidelis
Sanctorum return with a third album that, while great, suffers from a couple of tracks I just couldn't get along with. Having seen some of it played live I can attest to greatness of the rest of it, though.

Anvil - Juggernaut of Justice
14 albums, 1 riff. Tried and tested, and if it works, keep on doing it. 34 years in, and still going strong. Picked this album up from the Corporation during their UK launch tour. A bit of heavy metal fun. Not too taxing, but just enough rocking.

Kabát - Banditi di Praga
Another Czech band, which makes 3 in this post. This one I actually got from a holiday to Prague, after deciding to try something that might not be available in the UK. I was not disappointed. A sometimes confusing set of songs (all in Czech, of course) but each with an infectious rhythm and great riffs.

Disappointments

While it's been a good year so far, it's not all coming up roses. There have been a few disappointments on the way. These are albums that, for one reason or another, I expected to be much better than they actually turned out to be.

Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions
With a massive publicity campaign, this was supposed to be a magnificent album. It's actually just an Arch Enemy album. And I already have some of those. They even nicked a riff from Nightwish in the process, which I found bizarre.

Scar Symmetry - Unseen Empire
I heard this album before I bought it. On first listen, it sounded pretty good. On each subsequent listen, it got more and more boring, and I cared less and less about hearing it again. I've listened to it 3 times, then gave up. Dull.

Within Temptation - The Unforgiving
A comic book, videos, a massive concept album with a coherent story arc and loads of accompanying extras. It should have been every metal geek's idea of perfection. It actually turned out to be a confusing mass of boring pop-metal and euro-dance. As I said once before; About as metal as plaid, and makes as much sense as fish trousers.

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
I so wanted to love this album. After discovering Fleet Foxes, the debut, I wanted that experience again. All the reviews said it was like rediscovering the band. I wanted it. And, well, it's ok I guess. I just don't get the horrendous cacophony of instruments being tortured to death about half way through. People often say it of metal, and I'm saying it of this; it's just noise!

In the scheme of things, a few disappointments are inevitable. For the most part, I've very much enjoyed this year's voyage of discovery. I've got some great new music and, thanks to an increased list of reading material in my RSS reader and a new subscription to Terrorizer, I'm finding more stuff I actually like and less stuff that annoys or bores me. This is all good.

Wolverine - Communication Lost

After a near terminal five year wait, Wolverine last week released their fifth studio album, Communication Lost. In the time since the launch of the amazing Still the band has been through some tough times. Personal circumstances, musical differences, changes of mind and direction have all taken their toll and the band nearly called it quits. Thankfully they didn't, and instead chose to funnel all that emotion into the new album.

Communication Lost was always going to have a tough time living up to the standard set by its illustrious predecessor. Still is one of my favourite albums of any band of any genre, and is still (ho ho) on regular rotation on my iPod, even after all this time. Many preview and review posts on various blogs around the Internet proclaim this a worthy successor. We shall see.

After the quiet, spoken introduction track, the concerns over the quality of this album are quickly dispatched. Into The Great Nothing is a cracking 8 minute prog track, mixing heavy and softer music with emotionally charged lyrics and heartfelt vocals. If this was the standard for the rest of the album, then I'd be happy.

But it's not. It gets better. As Into The Great Nothing comes to a close, Poison Ivy bursts out of the speakers and picks up the pace again. Communication Lost definitely has a more prog feel than Still, and while the individual songs are distinct and the lyrics and rhythm are catchy, they also feel more coherent and fit together well. Your Favourite War and Embrace don't let up, punching hard and backing off, hard then soft and always poignant.

There is a great deal of hurt poured into this album, as can be expected given the conditions of its creation. At times it can feel a little angsty; it's obvious that there is a lot of resentment over spoiled relationships being fed into the lyrics. But they are written and sung from the heart with Stefan Zell's unique vocal style lending force to the individual stories within each song.

My favourite track from the whole album comes next. Pulse is a unique track with an ethereal electronic sound and driving rhythm. Perfecty placed in the middle of the album, this is a crescendo of sorts and allows the rest of the album to carry the mood to the end. And this is not more evident than when What Remains starts. Almost a ballad, with mournful cellos carrying the rhythm and a single piano carrying the melody, overlaid with Stefan's lilting vocal. A beautiful piece of music.

Of course, this being Wolverine, that doesn't last for long. In Memory Of Me actually made me jump the first time I heard it because it starts so suddenly and so powerfully, and I was almost dozing thanks to the soporific qualities of What Remains. The Quiet Of Dawn takes it down a notch again with a wonderfully ambient track that still manages to stay heavy. The title track is a complex beast. Communication Lost is packed with heavy guitar riffs, repeated electronic effects and a strong rhythm. A full on prog track featuring pretty much everything you could possibly hope for in a progressive metal song.

When I first heard about Communication Lost, I really didn't know what to expect. I wanted it to live up to the unreasonably high expectations I could help but hold for it. In fact, I was a little worried that my own inner-hype machine was producing a standard nothing could possibly ever achieve. The first time I played it, it was in two minds; half excitement, half trepidation.

But did it live up to the impossible standards I set for it? Most certainly yes. It took a couple of listens to really get the feel for it, but that's just par for the course with prog metal of this calibre. There are some minor gripes; some of the choruses and rhythms sound a little similar, and one of two of the slower parts are perhaps a touch too long between ear busting riffage. But these are really very minor issues, because what this album does amazingly well is create and carry a mood. And when music can build up and tear down a mood like this can, it must be doing something right.

Can 2011 get any better for metal?

On the exact same day as Wolverine's new album, Communication Lost, plopped onto my doorstep, I find out that Opeth have announced their 10th studio album via MetalSucks. Heritage, for that is its title, will be released in September on Roadrunner Records.

Mind = blown.

The Maudlin Month Of May

May has certainly been a dry month. A combination of summer sickness, crappy goings on and general ennui has left what seems like everyone with a despondent mood. It's even been quiet on the gigs front, with the only one planned for this month being Riverside in the quiet little countryside town of Holmfirth.

For this reason, amongst others, I've been burying myself in the blackened folk stylings of Moonsorrow for the most part. Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa has been on pretty much constant repeat, with the occasional foray into the more upbeat realms of Opeth's progressive death masterpiece Blackwater Park and Dark Tranquillity's most cheerful of albums, Projector.

On the subject of Moonsorrow, and in lieu of a proper review pending the reactivation of the communication centres of my brain, I can say that the Angry Metal Guy's review is spot on. It's a perfect production. Lately I've been increasingly becoming a fan of the blackened folk style, perhaps most notably represented by Agalloch. The sweeping soundscapes and deep emotional connections speak to me and appeal to the side of me that likes massive orchestrations over short-and-sweet singalong songs. Classical music often leaves me cold because, while the complexity and scale is there, too often I just can't connect with it. The music produced by Agalloch, Moonsorrow and Septicflesh, and perhaps even Sylosis and Vintersorg, produce a similarly epic musical style that I can appreciate and get lost in over and over again.

I haven't yet picked up Septicflesh's new album, The Great Mass. I really should. I'm quite looking forward to hearing what they've done with the orchestra. It's been said many times in the many, many reviews I've read of the album that the orchestral production is spectacular. Where many symphonic bands use an orchestra in place of a synthesiser, as a percussion instrument to complement rather than drive the music, The Great Mass has a far more classical feel. It's almost film score music, with black metal driving through, over and around the orchestra to great effect. I've had a quick listen on Spotify and I've been impressed so far.

May hasn't been completely miserable, of course. The sun is finally out, albeit interspersed with rain, and so the melancholy of Wolverine's Still has been washing over me. Sleepy Town has long been one of my favourite songs off any album, and I have been increasingly excited and irritated to discover that Wolverine's new album, Communication Lost, is to be released on May 23rd. Excited because, well, it's Wolverine. Irritated because it's almost impossible to find anything out about it. The band's own site is months out of date and the label's announcements are bland and purely informative.

One band that does not have this problem is Amorphis. Their new album, The Beginning of Times, is also coming out at the end of may, and they've already released two tracks to the wolves of the internet to be torn apart and dissected, for judgements to be made and for the social media machine to get into motion. New tracks You I Need and My Enemy are available for streaming on the band's Facebook page.

The last thing on my list of stuff to look forward to once May is finally over is, of course, Arch Enemy. I've mentioned the new album in passing before, and now there are actual tracks available. Unfortunately they're "exclusives" and don't allow direct linking or embedding. Sucky. Take a leaf out of Amorphis's book, Arch Enemy, please. Still, sounds like good stuff.