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Top 10 Albums of 2018


Requiem

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As 2018 breathes its last gasp of despair as December's doom overcomes it forever, it is time to reflect on the glories of the year in metal. 

2018 has been an interesting year in metal for me in that there were some disappointments from bands I usually love, as well as some all time classics from bands that I didn't anticipate. It's also the year for huge metal hits, with some absolutely stunning tracks out there making 2018 for me the year of the hit metal song. I listened to an absolute tonne of new albums this year too and feel pretty happy about this list. 

Honourable Mentions: Amorphis - 'Queen of Time', Sirenia - 'Arcane Astral Aeons' and Watain - 'Trident Wolf Eclipse', were all ok albums, but ok doesn't cut it. The former two were too wimpy, the latter too cluttered and self-conscious. I keep buying Watain albums and maybe it's time I stopped...

10. Bloodbath - 'The Arrow of Satan is Drawn'

Like a lot of people in metal, I've always been a casual listener of Bloodbath and have consistently dug their nostalgic thing, although I've ultimately been more interested in the members' main projects. This is their second album with Nick Holmes on vocals, and I can safely say that it's my favourite of theirs. The production is amazing, especially on Nick's voice which works a lot better this time around, and the quality of the songwriting from Jonas Renkse and the others is so damn good. 'Chainsaw Lullaby' is great fun. I don't take death metal too seriously and sometimes find it emotionally foreign to my dna, but this album moves Bloodbath from interesting side-band to genuine quality metal. The album cover is amazing with that child's crib and the flies, while the booklet has brilliant gory pictures of the band. 

9. Einherjer - 'Norrone Spor'

Back around 1998-2003 I was a huge Einherjer fan, especially on their 'Blot' album. They and Thyrfing were the viking kings. While I don't think this quite lives up to that release, 'Norrone Spor' is about the closest they've come, and I much prefer this to their last couple of 'return' albums. The production is brilliant and phat and those viking riffs are quite evocative. There aren't too many bells and whistles here, and I think the album could have done with some, but those days are past now and in the past they must remain. Track 2 'Mine Vapen Mine Ord' is absolutely amazing, though, and close to song of the year for me. What a viking anthem. Excellent cover art that subtly shows warriors in the clouds above a stylised shoreline. 

8. Marduk - 'Viktoria'

Huge letdown after one of black metal's greatest albums in 'Frontschwein'; however, this album is still a lot of fun. The first track 'Werwolf' is my favourite, and I feel that the album might engage me more if they had a few additional creative moments rather than the straight ahead guitars/drums/Mortuus for 35 minutes that really characterises 'Viktoria'. For instance, 'Tiger 1' sounds so close the '503', albeit without the angst and panzer-roll cymbals, that it's almost suspicious. 'Viktoria' is a good, solid, ode to WWII, but as 'Frontschwein' showed, when Morgan really wants to go for it he's unstoppable and he could have done more here. Album cover of simple helmeted soldier is evocative and cool. 

7. Summoning - 'With Doom We Come'

You really have to be in the mood for Summoning, and right now I am. This is a beautiful and haunting album of Middle-Earth epics and I'm close to calling this my favourite Summoning album. Track 2, 'Silvertine' is contender for song of the year and definitely my favourite Summoning track. Oh, that trumpet melody!! I really think I'm growing into a mad Summoning fan, and I'm happy with that after 20 years as a casual listener. Beautiful album cover of a dragon framed by epic frameage. The booklet, too, is tear-sheddingly beautiful with epic scenes of mountains etc. What a treasure this band is to the world. 

6. At the Gates - 'To Drink from the Night Itself'

When this album exploded onto my stereo at the start of the year I was overjoyed that At the Gates were finally being serious about music after the ok-but-not-brilliant 'At War With Reality'. The production here is deserving of credit, as Russ Russell has done a fantastic job of maintaining the clarity of the instruments but allowing a rougher sonic texture to give this album some grimness. This is as close to melodic black metal as I think the band are likely to get, and I like it a lot. The stirring intro, the atmospheric keyboards and real strings, and a brilliant Side B make this very appealing to me. The stream-of-consciousness lyrics are disappointing as I think songs this good need a bit more of a tale behind them - or at least a few one-liners I can hang my angsty hat on. Album cover is mysterious and mostly very fitting with that red stone man thing, but it's the booklet inside that makes this worth buying in hard copy. 

5. Necrophobic - 'Mark of the Necrogram'

Hard to know where to put this in my list, but in my list it must go. Also hard to believe that I'd never (to my knowledge) heard a Necrophobic track until the almighty @True Belief pumped 'Tsar Bomba' one dark infernal evening in my backyard, and all hell broke loose. Let me tell you something, 'Tsar Bomba' is my song of the year and a more effective Dissection (and Sacramentum) worship song I think I've yet to hear. It's fist pumping, it's satan hailing, it's boot-tappingly good. Yes, this whole album is Dissection worship (even the cover is created by the Necrolord himself, Kristian Wahlin), which is fine by me, and even if I don't love the thrashy tracks like 'Pesta' quite as much as the melodic black metal stomp of 'Requiem for a Dying Sun', the whole album is a darkly melodic joy. Wonderful castle in hell album cover and even better booklet with band members looking the part. Where does Sweden find these guys? Great package actually and worth purchasing. 

4. Dimmu Borgir - 'Eonian' 

The inclusion of Dimmu here could throw a lot of people, but read my words very carefully: this is the best Dimmu album since 2001. It took me a few listens, but what we have here is a simply beautiful sounding melodic metal album with moment after moment of what I'm happy to describe as greatness. The Jens Bogren production is out of this world and the use of choirs to sing the parts that Vortex would have done back in the day is so wonderfully effective. There's also a respectful stomping heaviness here that is really satisfying to listen to. You can get your teeth into it. I've got a lot of respect for Shagrath, Silenoz and Galder for writing this album as it shows a lot of maturity and even moments of inspired genius. Check out the last two songs, 'Alpha Aeon Omega' and 'The Rite of Passage' in particular. Album cover is pretty cool. It's by the guy who did Mayhem's 'Esoteric Warfare' and a host of other yellowy needle thin pen type covers, but I'm glad to say this is his best work. The inside booklet, however, is beyond stunning with amazing photographs of the Dimmu Borgir volcanic rock in Iceland. Damn what a booklet. What an album. 

3. Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods

This is the surprise of the year for sure. Who the hell could have predicted that Demonaz was going to write the best Immortal album possibly of all time? Seriously, I've been comparing this to everything they've done in the past, and I'm not even sure that classics like 'Pure Holocaust' and 'Battles in the North' can match it. Is 'At the Heart of Winter' a better album? Maybe, but if it is then it's not by much. This sounds huge, dark and epic - and it's basically just guitars, a little bass and Horgh's mighty drums. Check out Horgh's snare-work on 'Blacker of Worlds'. The guy's a genius. And then there are the mountain and forest epics: 'Gates to Blashyrkh' (with that riff - you know the one!!!), 'Where Mountains Rise' and possible song of the year 'Mighty Ravendark', surely the band's greatest track. Simple yet effective cover and excellent booklet make this a great package. Hail Demonaz!!

2. Ghost - 'Prequelle'

Is this 'metal' in the sense that you and I know it? Not really. Maybe. For me though, it's a miracle album from one of the world's most overrated bands. I bought the album prior to this, 'Meliora', when it came out and I was really disappointed, for despite having a few cracking tracks it didn't feel right. I couldn't understand what the world was on about. 'Prequelle', however, sounds so good. The guitars are stunning, the vocals are brilliant, the keyboards are original and cleverly used - the whole thing just works. Songs like 'Witch Image' are dark rock anthems and the two instrumentals are inspired and wonderful. The other reason 'Prequelle' is so high in my personal list is because it was my soundtrack to three weeks in Bordeaux earlier in the year, and I now have such a romantic attachment to it that its memory will remain long after the buxom Bordeaux belles have been forgotten. Quite an amazing album cover of a throne. Best to avoid Ghost's image though, their music deserves better than a bunch of stooges in masks. 

1. Shining - 'X - Varg Utan Flock'

I've long been a fan of Shining, with four of five of their CDs in my collection, but I've never truly loved them. This album has changed that status to one of suicidal attachment. This is the album where everything great about this band finally comes together and gets that extra turn of the screw. Kvarforth's vocals are simply inhuman as he screams, moans and sings his way across the album like never before - his Tom G Warrior style "Urghh!" is next level and I've got to say that I think he's now my favourite black metal vocalist above even the mighty Mortuus. He is a master of his voice. The blistering lead guitar work from Peter Huss perfectly complements the more straight ahead riffing (as does producer Andy La Roque's guest solo on track 3), and the whole band is simply on fire. It's just incredible. The acoustic guitar moments are haunting, the melodies are infectious and the whole damn thing has an aggressive punch that is a fist in the face of modern shallow life. Even track 5, the absinthe soaked rendition of a Chopin piano piece, fits perfectly. 'Varg Utan Flock' means "wolf without a pack" and it's the current soundtrack of this 39 year old's battle with modern existence. Go on, check out those "Urghh"s. 

 

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1 hour ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Having quite literally not listened to a single album released this year, in fact I've hardly listened to music at all, I'm in no position to make a list. I do wonder though if 2018 deserves it's own year or if this belongs in the pre-existing favourite albums of any given year thread.

Nah, this is good, makes it easy for everyone to find the year-end lists. I hope to write mine up sometime in the coming week.

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MacabreEternal’s Top Ten Releases Of 2018

10. Septic Tank “Rotten Empire”

Knarly hardcore punk with loose Thrash and death metal grains running through it is my nearest explanation for this.  Revived after the passing of Cathedral we get a full length some 24 years after the (then) side projects inception.  Lyrically laughable yet appropriately entrenched with enough social venom to let the lyrics slide, tracks like “Social Media Whore” and “Fucked” do exactly what they say on the tin.  Something different to start the end of year list.

9. Burial Invocation “Abiogenesis”

Turkish Death Metal takes spot number 9.  I would struggle to make a top ten DM list for 2018 but this slab of well paced guttural death metal made a welcome appearance this year.  Bludgeoning and well structured tracks that have the sustainability to stick around for longer than your average box of blastbeats making the album sort of a mini affair having just 5 tracks.  It is one of the few DM records I have revisited this year with any regularity.

8. Saxon “Thunderbolt”

I have laboured long over these next two slots but a final run through of both records this week sealed the order and Saxon take a still very respectable 8th place in this year’s list.  I like quite a few Saxon albums and I have stated here elsewhere on the threads that “Power & the Glory” was my first ever vinyl record listen.  Some 30 years on from my first listen date the band is still going strong and this year have churned a real treat.  “Thunderbolt” is action packed, full of licks and leads to please any fan of metal (they walk the line between hard rock and metal superbly on this).  There’s memorability galore here, “Sons Of Odin”, “Nosferatu”, “Predator” and the title track all stick around long after the record has finished.  Sadly, there’s some filler here too (“And They Played Rock n’ Roll”) which sees the skip button deployed.  That having been said Saxon have still produced one of my most listened to records of the year, proving the old guard still have it.

7. Judas Priest “Firepower”

Continuing the flag bearing for the old guard we have Priest in 7th slot.  There’s no doubt in my mind that this is their best since “Painkiller” (it is nowhere near it in terms of quality but is a step up in quality still from everything else released since the 1990 opus).  What “Firepower” does really well is drop quickly into 5th gear and stays the fuck there more or less throughout.  No matter what you are doing or where you are the record will have you air guitaring and throwing your head around like an exorcist victim.  Catchy, memorable and more metal than Steely McSteel from the town of Steelsburgh who fell out of the steel tree, hit every steel branch on the way down and rolled down Steel Hill  into the Steel stream....oh I think you get it.

6. Yob “Our Raw Heart”

The emotion present on this record is positively tangible.  Mike’s battle with illness has seen the band further embrace and enhance their epic sound to infuse heartfelt and deep reflections that are as uplifting as they are raw.  A real cold winter night with a few beers type of a record.

More to follow.

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OK here goes - I'm just listing bands & album. No explanations. Sorry, time poor.

 

Top 10 for 2018 (no order)

Craft White Noise and Black Metal

Uada Cult of a Dying Sun

Immortal Northern Chaos Gods

Satan Cruel Magic

Shylmagoghnar Transience

In the Woods Cease the Day

Necrophobic  Mark of the Necrogram

Ocean of Grief Nightfall’s Lament

Demonical Chaos Manifesto

Harakiri for the Sky Arson

 

Song of the Year: Harakiri for the Sky "Fire, Walk with Me"

 

Best of the Rest 

Panopticon         The Scars of Man…

Altars of Grief    Iris

Stryper God Damn Evil

1914    The Blind Leading the Blind

Jungle Rot       s/t

Tomb Mold       Manor of Infinite Forms

Judas Priest      Firepower

Marduk Viktoria

Saxon    Thunderbolt

Visgoth    Conqueror's Oath

Tokyo Blade   Unbroken

Khemmis     Desolation

Wolfheart   Constellation of the Black

   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   
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1 hour ago, True Belief said:

OK here goes - I'm just listing bands & album. No explanations. Sorry, time poor.

 

Top 10 for 2018 (no order)

Craft White Noise and Black Metal

Uada Cult of a Dying Sun

Immortal Northern Chaos Gods

Satan Cruel Magic

Shylmagoghnar Transience

In the Woods Cease the Day

Necrophobic  Mark of the Necrogram

Ocean of Grief Nightfall’s Lament

Demonical Chaos Manifesto

Harakiri for the Sky Arson

 

Song of the Year: Harakiri for the Sky "Fire, Walk with Me"

 

Best of the Rest 

Panopticon         The Scars of Man…

Altars of Grief    Iris

Stryper God Damn Evil

1914    The Blind Leading the Blind

Jungle Rot       s/t

Tomb Mold       Manor of Infinite Forms

Judas Priest      Firepower

Marduk Viktoria

Saxon    Thunderbolt

Visgoth    Conqueror's Oath

Tokyo Blade   Unbroken

Khemmis     Desolation

Wolfheart   Constellation of the Black

 

 

   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
   

Excellent. Hey, I didn't realise Ocean of Grief was this year! I really need to get on to that album. 

I was going to do a song of the year list, with 'Fire Walk With Me' appearing on it. Amazing tune. I would have had the album in my list but it was a touch too 'post' on first few listens. I should probably buy it and live with it for a while. 

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5. Portal "Ion"

Patchy year for DM this year and this thankfully remains a high point near 12 months after it was released.. A more refined and calculated record (by Portal standards at least) although no sacrifice is made of the usual mind destroying chaos that we have all grown to know and love.  A great build on the use of the horror elements of "Vexovoid" to create more atmosphere than a divorce hearing.  Here's hoping 2019 can raise the stakes somewhat in the DM world.

4. Svartidaudi “Revelations of the Red Sword”

The revelations here are all dark and majestic, carrying a dissonance and extremity at the same time, combining fathomless black with the angry stabs, slashes and protracted strokes of red promised by the sword.  A truly well written and thought out record, that sits way high above the likes of Behemoth’s paltry excursion of 2018 that the internet seems to love.  I have listened to this regularly for weeks now but still feel I have so much more to learn and discover about it.  That my friends is the sign of a good record.

3. Megaton Leviathan “Mage”

Hazy, gazy(?), doomy, drony goodness here with a shit (mega)ton of melody and harmony to make ya feel good about life.  Vocally it doesn’t always exactly sit right but musically the songwriting and instrumentation are near perfect.  My - slightly odd - analogy is that this album is like decorating a room, the laminate flooring effortlessly clicks together and the colours on the walls blend superbly to give vivid and vibrant shine to the room.  But then some of the furniture is a little out of place but somehow it still really works.  Not my normal bag but...me likes it.

2. Winterfylleth “The Harrowing Of Heirdom”

No surprise here that this places high on my list, it was top of my BM release list despite not having one moment of BM present.  The folk storytelling theme of this record captures a mood of dark and ethereal tales told via dulcet harmonies and medieval strings.  It weaves scriptures of musical mystique noted on scrolls of poetic parchment.

1. Mournful Congregation “The Incubus Of Karma”

Funeral doom on top of the list, what an odd year 2018 turned out to be.  The fact is “The Incubus Of Karma” generates enough emotion, atmosphere and density to crack windows.  I can’t recall any release since the last couple of Bell Witch albums, that establish such a memorable and impacting experience based largely on the use of one instrument.  The guitars on the latest Mournful Congregation album just sing for virtually the whole record.  Never do they become smothering or even mildly irritating and naturally for the genre in question they aren’t remembered through excessive technical wankery.  They just do such a great job of constructing tracks that bore into your bones.  For hours and days after each listen I can hear tracks echoing around my head like it is devoid of all organ matter and is just now some cavernous void with the best of acoustics.

The success for me of this record shows why I couldn’t get my head around Evoken’s offering from this year.  It had lost all menace, all definition and virtually all tangible emotional connection with me.  I wanted to feel consumed by it and instead felt a bit nibbled at and the effort required to try and figure out the direction was just not worth the eventual reward.  “The Incubus Of Karma” ate me whole, digested me, absorbed me into it’s blood stream and I am swimming for all eternity...

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/25/2018 at 4:04 AM, MacabreEternal said:

5. Portal "Ion"

Patchy year for DM this year and this thankfully remains a high point near 12 months after it was released.. A more refined and calculated record (by Portal standards at least) although no sacrifice is made of the usual mind destroying chaos that we have all grown to know and love.  A great build on the use of the horror elements of "Vexovoid" to create more atmosphere than a divorce hearing.  Here's hoping 2019 can raise the stakes somewhat in the DM world.

4. Svartidaudi “Revelations of the Red Sword”

The revelations here are all dark and majestic, carrying a dissonance and extremity at the same time, combining fathomless black with the angry stabs, slashes and protracted strokes of red promised by the sword.  A truly well written and thought out record, that sits way high above the likes of Behemoth’s paltry excursion of 2018 that the internet seems to love.  I have listened to this regularly for weeks now but still feel I have so much more to learn and discover about it.  That my friends is the sign of a good record.

3. Megaton Leviathan “Mage”

Hazy, gazy(?), doomy, drony goodness here with a shit (mega)ton of melody and harmony to make ya feel good about life.  Vocally it doesn’t always exactly sit right but musically the songwriting and instrumentation are near perfect.  My - slightly odd - analogy is that this album is like decorating a room, the laminate flooring effortlessly clicks together and the colours on the walls blend superbly to give vivid and vibrant shine to the room.  But then some of the furniture is a little out of place but somehow it still really works.  Not my normal bag but...me likes it.

2. Winterfylleth “The Harrowing Of Heirdom”

No surprise here that this places high on my list, it was top of my BM release list despite not having one moment of BM present.  The folk storytelling theme of this record captures a mood of dark and ethereal tales told via dulcet harmonies and medieval strings.  It weaves scriptures of musical mystique noted on scrolls of poetic parchment.

1. Mournful Congregation “The Incubus Of Karma”

Funeral doom on top of the list, what an odd year 2018 turned out to be.  The fact is “The Incubus Of Karma” generates enough emotion, atmosphere and density to crack windows.  I can’t recall any release since the last couple of Bell Witch albums, that establish such a memorable and impacting experience based largely on the use of one instrument.  The guitars on the latest Mournful Congregation album just sing for virtually the whole record.  Never do they become smothering or even mildly irritating and naturally for the genre in question they aren’t remembered through excessive technical wankery.  They just do such a great job of constructing tracks that bore into your bones.  For hours and days after each listen I can hear tracks echoing around my head like it is devoid of all organ matter and is just now some cavernous void with the best of acoustics.

The success for me of this record shows why I couldn’t get my head around Evoken’s offering from this year.  It had lost all menace, all definition and virtually all tangible emotional connection with me.  I wanted to feel consumed by it and instead felt a bit nibbled at and the effort required to try and figure out the direction was just not worth the eventual reward.  “The Incubus Of Karma” ate me whole, digested me, absorbed me into it’s blood stream and I am swimming for all eternity...

 

Good to see an Australian band make it to your number 1. Hail the barren south lands of doom forever. 

Also, as I was reading your metaphor about being consumed I was waiting for the "shat out" part, but it didn't come. 

Also also, I think we officially have a grand total of three top tens here for 2018. Where is Blut, Balor, Salmonella et al. Actually, where's Blut altogether? 

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It was a weird year for me. I'll sum up my feelings toward new releases in 2018 by misquoting Bilbo Baggins: "I listened to less than half of you half as much as I would have liked, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." With only a little hierarchy, here are a few albums that, for whatever reason, in whatever way, caught and held my attention.

____

Howling Sycamore: Howling Sycamore   ...dark horse favorite for my Album Of The Year. Tight, controlled music with incongruous, ridiculously expressive power-metal vocals from Jason McMaster of Watchtower. I could wish the music had gone more nuts in spots, but accessibility is one of the strengths here. Most people either love it or hate it based on the vocals. If you love it, these songs can burrow their way into your brain like those critters from The Wrath Of Khan.

Augury: Illusive Golden Age   ...if only more modern tech death was like this. Musicianship for days, idiosyncratic snaky counterpoint riffing, moments of real majesty scattered throughout. The occasional melodic "yelling" vocals drag it down a bit for my taste, but at least they're being true to themselves.

Svartidaudi: Revelations Of The Red Sword   ...melodic/dissonant BM in the now-familiar Icelandic style, jangly and chiming, like if Deathspell Omega woke up one day with a burning desire to clean their apartment and put everything in its place. What sets this apart are memorable themes and thoughtful, engaging song structures that reward repeat listening.

Evoken: Hypnagogia   ...their most varied album yet, with the atmospheric elements dialed up, visions of sky and sunlight occasionally piercing the usual dense forest canopy. Not a huge stylistic departure from the previous one overall, but with a more heartfelt sense of focus behind the melodies (to my ears, anyway). Keyboards and gorgeous violins come and go throughout sprawling, lumbering tracks that recall the mood of early to mid 90s My Dying Bride. I love it. Fans of vintage Peaceville-three doom should find a lot to hang their hat on here. A journey awaits.

Craft: White Noise And Black Metal   ...another extremely well-paced, thoughtfully written album that remains engaging throughout. Riffy BM with a spite, cold precision, and occasional sense of bounce or groove that reminds me of what I liked about the modernizing turn that some black metal took in the late 90s and early 2000s; but this doesn't come off as a throwback, it's fresh and vengeful.

Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik: Hugsjá   ...much like their first album, I was initially let down by this, and wanted something with more teeth. Repeated listening let me sink into the lonesome, meditative beauty of these songs and enjoy them for what they are, which (as I often have to relearn) is the entire point.

____

Other albums I also liked but have less to say about at the moment:

Golgothan Remains: Perverse Offerings To The Void   ...dissonant DM with a modern Portal/DSO/Ulcerate riffing style and some old-school balls to back it up.

Cult Leader: A Patient Man   ...everything pushed a little farther from their last album. Aggressive parts are more aggressive, moody parts are moodier. The pacing and length of the gloomy clean-vocal tracks drags this down, but I think it's supposed to be dragged down, so I guess that makes it ok.

Whoredom Rife: Nid - Hymner Av Hat   ...solid 2nd-wave Darkthrone/Satyricon vibes here, engaging songs that do the right things in the right spots, a definite improvement over the first album in my book.

Ulthar: Cosmovore   ...angry, angular, odd death metal with a grimy sound, blackened edges, and a willingness to pummel. This is one of my more interesting recent DM finds in a year when I wasn't clicking with a lot of DM, and I wish I had more to say about it.

Soldat Hans: Es Taut   ...long, drawn-out tracks billed as "folk doom". Post-rock and post-metal atmospheres at the pace of funeral doom, abrasive crust-laden vocals, gloomy brass, and an unusual sense of what should happen next. You will feel your heart slow down.

Anachronism: Orogeny   ...gutsy, a little Gorguts-y, technical yet catchy modern dissonant DM. Creative guitar work is the star of the show. Second band in a row here from Switzerland.

Mournful Congregation: The Incubus Of Karma   ...Macabre said it pretty well. This album isn't near the bottom of the list because I didn't like it as much, it just happened to wind up here. Great work, more enjoyable than the previous one for me.

Hooded Menace: Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed   ...more doom-death with really good guitar work and a solid sense of pacing. A kickass riff or cool melody or harmony hides behind every corner.

Replicant: Negative Life   ...another dissonant modern DM album with some Gorguts, Negativa, and Pyrrhon-inspired riffing. 

Starkweather/Concealment split   ...two long-form stream-of-consciousness tracks. Sneering, lumbering, psychedelic post-hardcore from Starkweather; groovy, dissonant something-but-I-don't-know-what from Concealment, like an impromptu jam session with Luc Lemay and the guys from Virus.

Imperial Triumphant: Vile Luxury   ...love the brass, choral parts, and general mood here. I'll leave it at that for now and hopefully make this the subject of its own writeup at some point.

Portal: Ion   ...more twisted guitars and stuttering drums from these weirdos. I go back and forth between missing the murk of their older recordings and appreciating the dryness and relative intelligibility of this one. They're their own musicians; this is a stark, refined album that plays with standard ingredients in a way that comes across as outsider/art music.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Of albums released in 2018 ... are you fucking kidding me? I'm not even up to date with the 80s yet ... it seems kind of random what I hear about and not, so it's not like I've made any informed and conscious choice based in what I've listened to and subsequently arranged in some kind of neat order ... I can only say that there are two albums that have seriously hit it home with me this year of 2018: 

There is Craft, "White Noise And Black Metal" ... it appeals to me for the same reasons that the "new" Mayhem appeals to me. There is some kind of weird "surgical chaos" vibe going on in there that I find pleasing. Very competent work with several layers of discreet complexity. The "trve evil kult" black metal kids are probably not going to like this album, but metal conisseurs, musicians and intellectuals might just find a gem.

Then there is Rivers of Nihil, "Where Owls Know My Name" ... which is one of those projects that break the form, in that it incorporates elements of various, seemingly incompatible things, such as chugging death metal riffs with a mellow saxophone solo ... which really should NOT work, but it kind of does anyway. Very interesting album, also a strangely beautiful creature.

My third mention is going to be Outre-Tombe ... but I haven't quite processed that one yet. However, it seems so far that it might just become one of my "legends". We shall see.

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I haven't listened to enough stuff but I'll have a go. Some of these opinions are pretty biased.

10 Snakes Pure Evil

A fun and memorable groove act. Full of character not nearly as try-hard as most of the other entries on this list. Really catchy with some interesting songwriting ideas and structures thrown around.

9 Rivers Of Nihil Where Owls Know My Name

Stands out among a lot of progressive death metal due to riff ideas and dynamics that often seem to remind me more of indy rock than any of the styles that progressive DM often borrow from.

8 Psycroptic As The Kingdom Drowns

Some interesting twisted riffing ideas that are somehow simultaneously instantly catchy. Higher energy with more jerky and exiting song structures than their last release.

7 Inertia Tetroma

It's rare for me to like a djent album so these guys were working against a pretty hefty handicap. Techy and occasionally sour this album has some ridiculous noody riffs and sounds that endeared it to me on first listening. Uapologetically jazzy for significant chunks.

6 Requiem And The Earth Grew Dark

An Ararat (Victoria, Australia) band who have gotten exponentially better with each release their third album. Effortlessly combines the agression of high-speed death-thrash band metal with the some of the darkness of a blackmetal release. Clearly taking some inspiration from Aussie blackened prog metallers Hybrid Nightmares (alongside whom they performed in 2017) in this release the riffing and solos reach a new high while also showing enough restraint to let the vocals cement themselves in the listener's mind. As much as en enjoyed this album, I can't help but wonder how much better the next album is going to be.

5 Aborted TerrorVision

Experimenting with more interesting time signatures and song segments than any other release of theirs I've heard, Aborted add tech to the list of death metal sub genres in which they flirt with without entirely surrendering to.

4 Whoretopsy Take My Breath Away

Checking these guys out after hearing about their unfortunate censorship at a couple of venues (Cannibal Corpse effect in full swing, take THAT society!) I was amazed to hear how characterful a slam band could be. With an array of interesting riffs with an odd sense of melody and groove and song structures that evolve seamlessly; slams are used somewhat sparingly and to great effect, often emphasizing a critical point in one of the album's disgustingly beautiful stories.

3 Golgothan Remains Perverse Offerings to the Void

Australian dissonant DM with high impact moments scattered throughout sour landscapes of sound. Ugly howling vocals and a warm, modest (but not forcibly so) production add to the album's charm.

2 Serocs The Phobos/Demos Suite

Dissonant, aggressive, melodic, brutal. This murky album varies from bleeding arpeggios to high impact churning groove riffing to aggressive patches that rip your face off while keeping a sense of sophistication throughout the experience.

1 Hadal Maw Charlatan

Was there ever a contest? With some almost linear song structures that pull you spiraling into a murky void and a rougher production, this EP is considerably less listener friendly than either of their previous efforts but somehow even more characterful and memorable.

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7 hours ago, Will said:

I haven't listened to enough stuff but I'll have a go. Some of these opinions are pretty biased.

10 Snakes Pure Evil

A fun and memorable groove act. Full of character not nearly as try-hard as most of the other entries on this list. Really catchy with some interesting songwriting ideas and structures thrown around.

9 Rivers Of Nihil Where Owls Know My Name

Stands out among a lot of progressive death metal due to riff ideas and dynamics that often seem to remind me more of indy rock than any of the styles that progressive DM often borrow from.

8 Psycroptic As The Kingdom Drowns

Some interesting twisted riffing ideas that are somehow simultaneously instantly catchy. Higher energy with more jerky and exiting song structures than their last release.

7 Inertia Tetroma

It's rare for me to like a djent album so these guys were working against a pretty hefty handicap. Techy and occasionally sour this album has some ridiculous noody riffs and sounds that endeared it to me on first listening. Uapologetically jazzy for significant chunks.

6 Requiem And The Earth Grew Dark

An Ararat (Victoria, Australia) band who have gotten exponentially better with each release their third album. Effortlessly combines the agression of high-speed death-thrash band metal with the some of the darkness of a blackmetal release. Clearly taking some inspiration from Aussie blackened prog metallers Hybrid Nightmares (alongside whom they performed in 2017) in this release the riffing and solos reach a new high while also showing enough restraint to let the vocals cement themselves in the listener's mind. As much as en enjoyed this album, I can't help but wonder how much better the next album is going to be.

5 Aborted TerrorVision

Experimenting with more interesting time signatures and song segments than any other release of theirs I've heard, Aborted add tech to the list of death metal sub genres in which they flirt with without entirely surrendering to.

4 Whoretopsy Take My Breath Away

Checking these guys out after hearing about their unfortunate censorship at a couple of venues (Cannibal Corpse effect in full swing, take THAT society!) I was amazed to hear how characterful a slam band could be. With an array of interesting riffs with an odd sense of melody and groove and song structures that evolve seamlessly; slams are used somewhat sparingly and to great effect, often emphasizing a critical point in one of the album's disgustingly beautiful stories.

3 Golgothan Remains Perverse Offerings to the Void

Australian dissonant DM with high impact moments scattered throughout sour landscapes of sound. Ugly howling vocals and a warm, modest (but not forcibly so) production add to the album's charm.

2 Serocs The Phobos/Demos Suite

Dissonant, aggressive, melodic, brutal. This murky album varies from bleeding arpeggios to high impact churning groove riffing to aggressive patches that rip your face off while keeping a sense of sophistication throughout the experience.

1 Hadal Maw Charlatan

Was there ever a contest? With some almost linear song structures that pull you spiraling into a murky void and a rougher production, this EP is considerably less listener friendly than either of their previous efforts but somehow even more characterful and memorable.

Hey Will, awesome list of (mostly) Australian bands. I've seen nearly all of them at the metal pub I go to and keep banging on about (Bendigo Hotel). 

I hadn't heard about any trouble with Whoretopsy. They are such an enjoyable band to watch live, although I don't think I've seen them for about three or four years now. Great groovy death metal that work brilliantly in a live context. I'm sure I know a couple of the guys but I can't remember. Hard to believe they'd cause any controversy in this town considering the huge number of extreme bands banging around. 

I should get Requiem to send me royalty checks for stealing my awesome name. And then I'll pass them on to the estate of one Wolfgang Amadeus. I don't think I've seen them but I've seen posters for their shows. 

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3 hours ago, Requiem said:

Hey Will, awesome list of (mostly) Australian bands. I've seen nearly all of them at the metal pub I go to and keep banging on about (Bendigo Hotel).

Thanks. I tend to buy more Australian stuff as that's the stuff I'm more likely to see, my list will probably become a little more balanced when I have more 2018 stuff as I currently only have around 20 releases from last year.

2 hours ago, Requiem said:

I hadn't heard about any trouble with Whoretopsy. They are such an enjoyable band to watch live, although I don't think I've seen them for about three or four years now. Great groovy death metal that work brilliantly in a live context. I'm sure I know a couple of the guys but I can't remember. Hard to believe they'd cause any controversy in this town considering the huge number of extreme bands banging around.

Cancelled at the Tote as a couple of regulars were upset.

https://killyourstereo.com/news/1088219/whoretopsy-have-gig-cancelled-because-of-their-lyrical-content/

Cancelled at Geelong (by the FUCKING COUNCIL no less) seemingly just to follow suit.

https://www.facebook.com/Wtopsy/posts/announcement-we-have-been-banned-from-our-upcoming-show-this-friday-in-geelong-a/2021296184589196/

From what I gather their name might offend or annoy some of the "SJWs".

3 hours ago, Requiem said:

I should get Requiem to send me royalty checks for stealing my awesome name. And then I'll pass them on to the estate of one Wolfgang Amadeus. I don't think I've seen them but I've seen posters for their shows. 

To be fair, I think they had it first. You should give them a cut of the money you rake in posting here.

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18 hours ago, Will said:

Thanks. I tend to buy more Australian stuff as that's the stuff I'm more likely to see, my list will probably become a little more balanced when I have more 2018 stuff as I currently only have around 20 releases from last year.

Cancelled at the Tote as a couple of regulars were upset.

https://killyourstereo.com/news/1088219/whoretopsy-have-gig-cancelled-because-of-their-lyrical-content/

Cancelled at Geelong (by the FUCKING COUNCIL no less) seemingly just to follow suit.

https://www.facebook.com/Wtopsy/posts/announcement-we-have-been-banned-from-our-upcoming-show-this-friday-in-geelong-a/2021296184589196/

From what I gather their name might offend or annoy some of the "SJWs".

To be fair, I think they had it first. You should give them a cut of the money you rake in posting here.

Wow, I just read the article and their statement.

This is really strange, like I say, considering we have no shortage of extreme bands in this city - and others who tour here. And the Tote of all places. For those who don't know, the Tote is a rock pub literally a block from the Bendigo which is the 'metal pub' I'm always going on about. It has a long history of rock and metal bands playing there, including my own back in the day. It's the type of place where Bon Scott would get into fights and criminals like Chopper Read would hang out back in the 80s.  

Anyway, to think that suddenly they would be concerned with the lyrics of a local death metal band is just outrageous, and those 'regulars' who did the complaining must be classic SJW cases. Looking at the gig list lately it's clear that there is a real leftist/punk/indie presence going on at the Tote, and it's really rare that metal gigs are put on there at all these days. I should have known, as I keep checking their gig list and haven't been there is ages because nothing comes up - it's just leftist punk indie crap. 

Whoretopsy must have played a dozen Melbourne venues by now, and as I've been to several shows I can attest that there is nothing remotely violent or anti-social about them. The lyrics are so growled you can't even understand them. They're actually a really fun band to watch with plenty of laughs etc. 

On a side note, I don't know if you've been there lately Will, but it's really run down and neglected, at least when I was there last. The beer garden in particular was awful when I was last there probably over a year ago. I'm definitely a Bendigo Hotel guy - that place is FAR and away a better venue in every respect, and they put on brilliant metal shows with a better sound, better vibe and better gear. I was there last night in fact. 

Also, I was using the Requiem name as far back as 2001 on metal forums, so I still claim they stole it from me, unless their band predates about July 01. ;)

Anyway, we're really off topic here! 

 

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so i've spent lot of time to listen to ton of black metal albums which came past years. there's so much plenty great record came on 2018.so i've decided to Put my top 20 Black metal albums records released on 2018.so here is the list of my 2018 best black metal albums

  • Pure Wrath - Sempiternal Wisdom
  • Shining - X - varg utan flock (Deluxe Edition)
  • Svartidauði - Revelations of the Red Sword
  • Aethyrick - Praxis
  • Archgoat - The Luciferian Crown
  • Watain - Trident Wolf Eclipse
  • Necrophobic - Mark Of The Necrogram
  • Iku-Turso - Ikuinen Tuli
  • Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods
  • Bane - Esoteric Formulae
  • Ihsahn - Ámr
  • Sojourner - The Shadowed Road
  • Uada - Cult Of A Dying Sun
  • Sargeist - Unbound
  • Varathron - Patriarchs of Evil
  • Kaoteon - Damnatio Memoriae
  • Funeral Mist - Hekatomb
  • Aorlhac - L'esprit des vents
  • Convulsing - Grievous
  • Djevel - Blant Svarte Graner

so what's your best black metal albums released on 2018?

Quote

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18 minutes ago, ivanderneymar said:

so i've spent lot of time to listen to ton of black metal albums which came past years. there's so much plenty great record came on 2018.so i've decided to Put my top 20 Black metal albums records released on 2018.

 

I've merged this with our existing 2018 thread. We ask that you look around for other threads on your topic before posting a new one.

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1 hour ago, ivanderneymar said:

so i've spent lot of time to listen to ton of black metal albums which came past years. there's so much plenty great record came on 2018.so i've decided to Put my top 20 Black metal albums records released on 2018.so here is the list of my 2018 best black metal albums

  • Pure Wrath - Sempiternal Wisdom
  • Shining - X - varg utan flock (Deluxe Edition)
  • Svartidauði - Revelations of the Red Sword
  • Aethyrick - Praxis
  • Archgoat - The Luciferian Crown
  • Watain - Trident Wolf Eclipse
  • Necrophobic - Mark Of The Necrogram
  • Iku-Turso - Ikuinen Tuli
  • Immortal - Northern Chaos Gods
  • Bane - Esoteric Formulae
  • Ihsahn - Ámr
  • Sojourner - The Shadowed Road
  • Uada - Cult Of A Dying Sun
  • Sargeist - Unbound
  • Varathron - Patriarchs of Evil
  • Kaoteon - Damnatio Memoriae
  • Funeral Mist - Hekatomb
  • Aorlhac - L'esprit des vents
  • Convulsing - Grievous
  • Djevel - Blant Svarte Graner

so what's your best black metal albums released on 2018?

 

Nice to see Aorlhac mentioned.

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4 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I've merged this with our existing 2018 thread. We ask that you look around for other threads on your topic before posting a new one.

thanks for merged my post in this thread. i am sorry i haven't check there is thread which had similar topic before.  

3 hours ago, -Natassja- said:

Nice to see Aorlhac mentioned.

yes my personal opinion they never Disappointing me so far. i am very love their atmosphere.very cold,grim and lot of catchy guitar melody portions. so far this is their greatest album. imo 

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