Top 40 Metal Albums of 2012: 40-31

Well it's that time of year again.  Time for the annual list of the best albums of the year.  I went with 40 this year as I heard a lot of music this year alone.  I will have some random lists after I finish with the Top 40.

40.  GOROD: A PERFECT ABSOLUTION
Gorod has been quietly making a name for themselves in the technical death metal arena for several years now.  This was the first chance I really had to check them out but they definitely made an impression.  Their album was fairly short but there is a lot to hear in it.  The last half with sort of a jazzy style and random outside influences is particularly impressive.  It avoids technicality for technicality's sake and just sounds like a complete album.

39.  SPAWN OF POSSESSION: INCURSO
A lot of what I said about Gorod also applies to Spawn of Possession.  They too have released an album that sounds incredibly complete while avoiding the sterility that plagues a lot of technical death metal bands.  Spawn of Possession is easily one of the most interesting technical death metal bands going today.  Their only flaw is the fact that they take forever to release new material, with this being their first since 2006.  Looking forward to the next one, whenever it comes out.

38.  AHAB: THE GIANT
Ahab was the first funeral doom metal bands I checked out and have persisted as my favorite to this day.  I was somewhat disappointed with the direction they took on this release on my initial listen, but I quickly got over that on repeated listens.  This is a much more melancholic and melodic release from Ahab.  There is a glimmer of hopefulness in their sound on this instead of the utter hopelessness and despair that the band has become otherwise known for.

37.  MONGREL'S CROSS: THE SINS OF AQUARIUS
I once had some concerns that the fertile well of extreme metal in Australia was starting to dry up.  Fortunately, this year brought some more incredible releases from the land down under.  Mongrel's Cross released their debut full-length this year which shows off the blackened thrash metal style that many other groups from the continent have perfected.  Theirs is a strong debut album but there is some room to grown yet.

36.  PATHOLOGY: THE TIME OF GREAT PURIFICATION
I have often referred to Pathology as being a band able to make slam death metal accessible and surprisingly catchy.  This remains true to this day with each new release from Pathology being an exercise in brutality, yet retaining their brutal edge.  I was concerned when this band showed up on Victory Records, a hardcore label, but Pathology has not changed at all.  Their brutality and power increases with each new release.  This is their best album yet.

35.  FINSTERFORST: RASTLOS
This is likely the folk metal album of the year.  I have never been the biggest fan of folk metal but when it is good, it is really good.  Finsterforst is definitely really good.  What I like the most about this release is that it avoids the kind of upbeat "beer metal" cliches that a lot of other folk metal bands fall into.  This is solemn and melodic yet epic and awe-inspiring.  It took a little while for me to get into it, but after a few listens it has really sunk in.

34.  PARAGON: FORCE OF DESTRUCTION
The best power metal album of the year came from Germany, of course.  Long known for great power metal acts like Blind Guardian and Helloween, the country still manages to birth great bands even today.  Paragon has been around for a long time, but not really broken through.  This is their first release for Napalm Records and it is definitely an impressive one.  This is an aggressive and ass-kicking album.

33.  MELENCOLIA ESTATICA: HEL
Great black metal often comes from unexpected places and Melencolia Estatica definitely qualifies.  Hailing from Italy, the band is a one-woman juggernaut with a little bit of help from some friends.  This release is influenced by the cinematic masterpiece Metropolis and just like its influence the album is dark and ominous and profoundly disturbing.  Great black metal it is.

32.  NAGLFAR: TERAS
I have been a fan of Naglfar for several years now, and yes I do strongly enjoy their much more melodic take on black metal that they have taken on since Wrath took over on vocals.  Naglfar is one of those groups attempting to position themselves into Dissection's abandoned throne and they do a damn fine job of it.  This is their first album in several years, but Naglfar has done nothing to lose any of the energy that they brought.

31.  GOD SEED: I BEGIN
It was not my intention to have three black metal albums in a row here, but it could not be helped.  God Seed had a ton of hype leading up to this release, which hype was well-deserved as this is a truly impressive album.  Featuring two former members of Gorgoroth who were engaged in a bitter dispute over the band's name, God Seed is a new beginning.  And they have presented a terrific debut release.

FMA Reviews: God Seed: I Begin

Originally reviewed here.

Any discussion of God Seed will necessarily include some discussion about the band's origins. The album title here is particularly apt because of this. God Seed is made up of King ov Hell and Gaahl, formerly of black metal psychos Gorgoroth. In actuality, these two members attempted to carry forward with the name Gorgoroth after splitting from Infernus. A lengthy court battle ensued with Infernus actually being granted the rights to the name Gorgoroth. In the meantime, God Seed formed for a couple of months and then disbanded when Gaahl retired temporarily. King used the material written for God Seed for a project with Dimmu Borgir's Shagrath which was called Ov Hell. Gaahl eventually returned and God Seed was formed.

God Seed has already released a live album from Wacken and a single. This is the debut full-length however and the first exposure that a lot of people will get to the band. Expectations are certainly high as Gorgoroth has been a stalwart in the Norwegian black metal scene for a very long time.

Gorgoroth has always been known for particularly hateful black metal that had moments of softness to it. God Seed for the most part follows this same formula. The riffs are explosive and Earth-shaking. The atmosphere is still cold and terrifying. One of the things that I always liked most about Gorgoroth was their ability to be punishing and brutal one second and be dissonant and unsettling the next. God Seed accomplishes this same fluid shift throughout most of this album. For example, the band shifts easily from the darkwave-sounding "Hinstu Daga" to the much more traditional black metal crunch of "Aldrande Tre".

The truly unusual moments are the usage of electronics, keyboards, and organs. Gorgoroth did not do a lot of experimenting with different instrumentation in their releases, but God Seed actually employs a member to play the keyboards. This is kind of an unusual thing for a black metal band that does not fall into the melodic black metal genre. But the keyboard moments do work. They add a certain unsettling flair to the already destructive and evil riffing and vocals.

This is a widely varied album. Gorgoroth had been working towards that and perfected it. Their early albums were simply fast barrages of riffs. The band slowly added more and more atmosphere to their music. God Seed does a fantastic job in carrying this forward on this release. Gaahl's vocals fit in well with this constantly evolving sound. He uses a variety of vocal styles from high-pitched rasp, to deep-throated bellow, to some actual clean moments. One thing is for certain though, they are never boring.

So we finally got that God Seed album from the dismissed members of Gorgoroth and it is everything it was hoped to be. This album proves that the second wave Norwegian black metal band members are still capable of putting out some high-quality releases.