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: Favorite Songs

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 95: The Gates of Slumber

Over the last several years, traditional metal has made a major comeback. The Gates of Slumber is quite possibly the best of these groups who are looking back to their forebears. The Gates of Slumber though does things differently. There is a much more authentic feel to their music than many other groups. It is this authenticity that makes them a much more interesting group. They are gifted songwriters and can even make a ten minute song seem catchy. I have been more and more impressed with each subsequent TGoS album since their 2008 release. The band is truly one of the best American bands to arise in the last decade.

FAVORITE ALBUM: THE WRETCH

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: The Gates of Slumber: The Wretch

I have been an advocate for this band for a few years now. Ever since I discovered Conqueror, which was an incredible mix of 1980's style heavy metal and traditional doom, with enough catchy songs to keep me coming back for more. The Gates of Slumber then blew me away again with their next album, Hymns of Blood and Thunder, so it their most recent album from this year was heavily anticipated.

The Gates of Slumber have come through yet again. The band seems to keep getting better. "The Wretch" is their best album that I have yet heard, which is saying quite a bit because each of their last two have been Top 10 of the Year-worthy albums. This one looks to be in that range again this year.

The thing that I think makes The Gates of Slumber such a great band is that their music never sounds forced. They are not playing this type of traditional, old school-sounding metal because it is popular or profitable. They play this because they seem to genuinely enjoy playing it. That comes across very well in their sound. All of their songs are crafted perfectly and easily capture the spirit of the music that the band seems to really love. This is absolutely not "hipster metal", it is heavy metal, plain and simple.

Once again, TGoS have put out an album that is a mix between traditional doom in the style of Cirith Ungol, Trouble, and Candlemass, mixed with 1980's metal bands like Exciter, Manilla Road, and Brocas Helm. Their lyrical themes may be a little cliche at times, but that is all part of the charm, and with music as good as this, it really does not matter anyway. Each song is infectious and done with a sense of fun rather than an overbearing morbidity like many other doom bands.

The Gates of Slumber has once more impressed me. This is easily Top 10-worthy for the year and possibly their best album yet.

Underrated Doom Metal Albums Pt. 1 of 2

Picking just ten underrated doom metal albums is a little tough. By and large, the entire genre is underrated. Doom metal just does not get the same exposure and notoriety of some of the other genres. I stuck mostly to traditional doom and stoner doom in filling out this list, along with a few death/doom hybrids. I did not get into the funeral doom genre, because the whole thing is so inaccessible as to make the entire genre underrated.

LOST BREED: SAVE YOURSELF
I love stoner doom sometimes. I picked this album up in a closeout CD lot on ebay once and fell in love with the somber, yet heavy tones. The dry-throated crooning of the singer certainly adds to the entire mystique of the album. It's fairly easy to straddle the line between stoner doom metal and stoner rock, but this band is very clearly on the metal side of that line. The whole album is catchy and raw, and it sounds great.

UNORTHODOX: BALANCE OF POWER
Another pickup from that same lot, Unorthodox possesses much of the same traits that Lost Breed does. In fact, the two bands were on the same record label and creating music at the same time. Unorthodox uses some more unusual song structures and lives up to their name. Some of the songs are quick and short, while others carry on at great lengths. This stoner doom band is not as catchy as their labelmates, but still possess great songwriting ability.

REVEREND BIZARRE: II-CRUSH THE INSECTS
Reverend Bizarre was one of the bands at the forefront of the true doom metal movement over the last several years. The Finnish power trio was one of many bands attempting to play doom metal the way the genre's originators like Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Pentagram, St. Vitus, and others played. The sound is a traditional doom metal sound. The first three songs are faster tracks including the incredible "Doom Over the World", while the others are much slower. The band's entire catalogue is amazing.

COFFINS: BURIED DEATH
Coffins is Japanese band that plays a very strong style of doom/death. The band has a mostly eerie-sounding and heavy riffing style. The riffs sound as if they are mostly influenced by Celtic Frost and Hellhammer. Even the singer's grunts sound a lot like Tom Warrior. The result is a slower, lumbering, but immensely heavy beast. If you enjoy death metal and want to get into doom metal, Coffins is a good place to start. The band combines many death metal aspects, but plays them with a sludgier sound more common to doom metal.

THE GATES OF SLUMBER: CONQUEROR
I considered not putting this band in here, mostly because I have seen a video on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. Yet, I put them here because I really do not see much about them on metal sites and I think they are absolutely amazing. This was one of my favorite albums of 2008 and is sadly kind of overlooked. TGOS plays a more traditional style of doom metal with some other trad metal influences and occasional stoner doom/psychedelic moments. I love everything I have heard from this band.

Initial Impressions: The Gates of Slumber: Hymns of Blood and Thunder

I have mentioned on a couple of occasions that a lot of newer bands are playing older styles of metal these days. There are bands with more of a traditional metal style in the vein of Judas Priest, bands copping the sounds of the NWOBHM, of course there's the retro thrash metal movement, and then there are bands striving to sound like the early doom metal bands. The Gates of Slumber is one of the latter bands.

Knowing that the band is a traditional doom metal band immediately brings to mind a certain sound. The band definitely sounds like a mix between early Black Sabbath, Candlemass, and Pentagram. The songs have powerful riffs and are slower in tempo, for the most part.

Their last album, Conqueror, was one of my favorite albums from 2008. This one doesn't match up quite as well. The band has solidified their sound significantly, but the vocals are not as powerful and there are not as many great songs on it. I enjoy the album quite a bit. It just is not a step up from the last one. If anything, it's a slight step backwards.

Despite the slight decline, this is still a great album from this year. Traditional doom, when done right, is great and this band does do it right. They just didn't quite meet my expectations this time around.