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: Vomitory: Opus Mortis VIII

It must be Sweden day here. This certainly was not intentional, but all three posts today deal with Swedish groups.

Vomitory is a death metal band more in line with groups like Dismember, Grave, and the early material by Entombed. But they are a hell of a lot heavier and definitely more brutal. Vomitory is all about violence. Their sound is violent, their artwork is violent, and of course their lyrics are violent. I guess you could probably expect that from a band with such a grotesque name.

The buzzsaw riffing style typical of the Swedish death sound is present in Vomitory, but it is played heavier and with more ferocity. The songs are all fast and abrasive with only some melody present in the form of the occasional guitar lead amongst the jackhammer drums and razor-sharp riffs. The vocals are typically delivered in a deep and guttural style with very little diversity. But fans of Vomitory do not expect diversity. Vomitory has been brutally consistent for more than two decades and some things just should not change.

It is tough to use a term like "best" when describing an album by Vomitory because the band has always basically sounded the same. You know what you are getting with a Vomitory album. So this could be their best album. Or it could be their worst. The fact of the matter is that there is so little to differentiate between the two with this band that that does not really matter. If you want brutal Swedish-style death, then Vomitory is the band for you.

Underrated Death Metal Albums Pt. 1 of 2

This is the series I hinted at last week. I went through my collection and pulled ten albums from the five major subgenres in metal: power, doom, black, thrash, and death metal. Each of these albums does not receive the attention that I feel they deserve. Some of them may be fairly well-known in underground metal circles, but I tried to avoid even that. These are albums that I love that I do not think enough people have heard. Some of these have been mentioned before on my blog. If you like the descriptions, please check these bands out. It has always been my goal on this blog to turn people on to new metal music.

I want to start with death metal, because this is the genre that I first thought of.

APOPHIS: HELIOPOLIS
Every bit as melodic and brutal as Amon Amarth, Apophis's lyrical focus is mostly on Egyptian themes, on this album anyway. They are not too narrow. This album features some amazing riffwork, incredible solos, and catchy songs. The only problem, and it is a very small problem, is that the vocals are pretty much the same all the way through. But, these vocals really match the music. This album by the German band is the first death metal album I heard that the thought came to me that other people should be listening to this band.

THORNAFIRE: EXACERBATED GNOSTIC MANIFESTATION
Chile's Thornafire take old-school death metal influences like Death, Incantation, Immolation, and Morbid Angel, and put a modern spin on them. Twisted and murky riffs abound throughout the album. This is one dark and forbidding-sounding death metal album. It's true occult death metal in the vein of the early masters listed above. Their follow-up was not quite as good, but this was one incredible album.

CENOTAPH: SAGA BELICA
Cenotaph may have been one of the first melodic death metal bands, playing stuff in Mexico that bands like At the Gates would play later on. However, on this album, the band has streamlined their approach. This is just a purely angry and aggressive album with some of the most psychotic-sounding vocals I have ever heard. The word "rabid" comes to mind most frequently upon hearing these vocals. The music is incredibly infectious, but those vocals steal the show.

VOMITORY: REDEMPTION
Somehow lost in the Swedish death metal scene is the band that is probably the most consistent. Grave, Dismember, and Entombed have all released some subpar albums, but Vomitory never has. Continually brutal and unrelenting, this is the band's best album in my opinion. It features some truly brutal and dark moments, but retains the ability to keep listeners coming back for more time after time. Yes, it features the typical guitar sound for the scene.

YYRKOON: OCCULT MEDICINE
France has produced some truly great metal albums, with groups like Deathspell Omega, Gojira, and more. Yyrkoon is another example of a quirky band from the country. The band started out as a thrash metal band, but then by this album was completely death metal. This is one of the catchier death metal albums I have heard and it is a concept album about H.P. Lovecraft's Re-Animator.