2011 in Review: Top Ten

10. SKELETONWITCH: FOREVER ABOMINATION
Despite arriving around the same time as the retro thrash metal movement and being largely considered one of the bands in said movement, Skeletonwitch has proven to be a much more resilient and impressive band. The band's take on old school blackened thrash with a modern approach has really come into its own. I have enjoyed all of their albums so far, but this one has been the best yet.

9. PRIMORDIAL: REDEMPTION AT THE PURITAN'S HAND
Ireland's top metal band has released yet another classic album with this year's release. While it is not quite as good as their previous release, it definitely still has its moments. Of course the band would not be nearly as impressive were it not for its stunningly talented lead singer.

8. THE GATES OF SLUMBER: THE WRETCH
Traditional doom metal has of course been making a major comeback in recent years and The Gates of Slumber is at the top of the movement. The band has an impressive sound without sounding too retro. The power trio seems to get better and better with each successive album.

7. CROWBAR: SEVER THE WICKED HAND
Crowbar returned for their first new album in nearly six years in 2011 and Kirk Windstein had a whole lot more pain to sing about here. Dealing with overcoming a drug addiction is an extremely painful process, one which the band covers on this incredible release featuring some of the band's best riffing in years.

6. DECEASED...: SURREAL OVERDOSE
Yet another band with a new release after a long time without any new full-lengths, Deceased... has been quietly one of this country's greatest unknown bands. The first band to sign to Relapse Records, Deceased... is still largely the same band that was an early pioneering death metal band.

5. SEPTICFLESH: THE GREAT MASS
Probably my second favorite Greek metal band, next to the amazing Rotting Christ, Septicflesh's sound is much more of a symphonic death metal band. Their music can best be described as epic. It is surprisingly catchy for a band of this style.

4. FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: AGONY
It was apparently a good year for symphonic death metal as Fleshgod Apocalypse released a stunning album as well. The band's second album was even an improvement on their first album. We are witnessing the growth of an incredible new band.

3. REVOCATION: CHAOS OF FORMS
The thrash metal album of the year was from a band that was largely derided as a retro thrash metal throwaway for some time. But the band's other influences shined through on this release. Their technicality has improved and even some jazz influences popped up.

2. ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL
New Zealand's Ulcerate was born out of brutal death metal and added some surprisingly effective post-metal dissonant guitar melodies. The drumming has remained rooted in brutal death though. This was very nearly the album of the year.

1. SATAN'S HOST: BY THE HANDS OF THE DEVIL
Metallattorney's Album of the Year comes from this Colorado metal band that has released their finest album in years. Their blackened thrash metal material over the last few years has been impressive enough, but reuniting with original singer Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin of Jag Panzer has been a revelation. It can best be described as blackened power metal. An incredible album from start to finish.

2011 in Review: Growers

These are a few albums that I did not really get on the first listen or so, but gradually grew on me.

ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL
It did not take me much to get really into this album, but it did take one or two listens before it really started to make sense. Ulcerate is a band that combines brutal death metal and post-metal into something almost otherworldly. It is very clear that the band's background is in brutal death and that influence shines through in the drumming, but the riffs are chaotic and dissonant, almost freely forming with very little structure. It's like Isis meeting Origin.

REVOCATION: CHAOS OF FORMS
The thrash metal album of the year came from an unlikely place, one of the very best retro thrash metal bands that has formed in the last few years. Revocation really found their sound on this one. Even though I have liked their material in the past, this one blew that away. However, the first few listens were not terribly impressive and it took me some time to realize how fresh and exciting this album really is.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Heathendom
Wishdoom

Best Albums of 2011 (So Far)

I have not been able to check out as much stuff as I would like this year due to wedding plans and the opening up of my own law office, but here are my Top 10 so far. This list is subject to change at any time.

10. PSYCHO: PAIN ADDICT PIGS
9. VOMITORY: OPUS MORTIS VIII
8. CAULDRON: BURNING FORTUNE
7. HEATHENDOM: THE SYMBOLIST
6. AMON AMARTH: SURTUR RISING
5. CROWBAR: SEVER THE WICKED HAND
4. THE GATES OF SLUMBER: THE WRETCH
3. PRIMORDIAL: REDEMPTION AT THE PURITAN'S HAND
2. ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL
1. SATAN'S HOST: BY THE HANDS OF THE DEVIL

Initial Impressions: Ulcerate: The Destroyers of All

Kelly, Full Metal Attorney, said I would not like this album. Challenge accepted. I found the CD for cheap when I was in Omaha last weekend and could not find Mitochondrion, so I bought this.

Ulcerate is described on Metal Archives as a brutal death metal band. The reality is significantly more complicated than that. They are definitely not just a blasting, heavy brutal death juggernaut. Those elements are definitely present, but with much more of a free-moving atmosphere and riffs (if you can call them that) that do not feel confined and rigid. The album is not in-your-face with its brutality. Instead the brutality comes from the seriously oppressive atmosphere. It is unnerving and spine-tingling.

The guitar parts are not really delivered as what we would normally call riffs. Instead, they are more of dissonant and ambient chords. They are the major source of the melody but do not really possess any sort of defined structure. They have a bit of a droning quality to them, although the drums and vocals keep it from devolving completely into an unstructured mess. This has been described as Neurosis playing death metal. To be honest, I am not overly familiar with Neurosis, so I will not comment on that comparison.

The drums are completely the opposite of the free-form guitars. Heavily blastbeat-driven and intense, the drumming is extremely impressive. The drums provide the major driving force in Ulcerate's music. They are also the major ingredient signaling that this is in fact a brutal death metal band.

The vocals are pretty standard. Nothing we really have not heard in several other brutal death metal bands, deep growls and little variety. The lyrics though are well-written and interesting and would probably be better served with a different vocal style.

This album is kind of draining, being nearly an hour long, yet consisting of only seven songs, but it is interesting enough to keep attention focused on it. I like it reasonably well, but have a feeling that it is more of a grower. It is kind of similar to the band Portal's releases, although a little bit better structured. All in all, it is certainly a creative album, different than a lot of the other stuff out there. Who knows, by the end of the year this could be a contender for my Album of the Year.