Rolling Metal Thread 2010

I just 100% don't get how Agalloch is anything but sort of generic gloom devoid of inspiration.

New Arckanum slips back to Antikosmos level of solid, autopilot Arckanum. Last years ÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞÞ really hit it out of the park for some reason, been revisiting that one over the past month and as far as proper asskicking Black METAL goes that record shits on pretty much everything else out there from the last three, four years.

holy shit, i forgot all about the Rotting Christ, too. that one's definitely top ten for me.

finally got hipped to the body--man that's a cool album.

I just 100% don't get how Agalloch is anything but sort of generic gloom devoid of inspiration.

u mad doggie!

Agalloch does basically nothing for me. And Axioma Ethica Odini is such a dropoff after Vertebrae that it's almost shocking.

I agree it's not as good, I still dig it -- I don't know, when a band's been kicking ass as long as Enslaved they get to mellow out with a little axioma ethica odini once in a while.

seriously thought you guys the damn ares kingdom album. I am rocking it hard tonight, it's so. fucking. great. belongs on any metal year-end top ten in my opinion & it's in my overall top ten too.

Well, I only like 8 of those 40, but 4 of them are in the top 7, so that's something. And if anybody gives me crap when I put HIM on my metal list, I'm referring them to the inclusion of Pivixki here.

Does anyone even know what the heck that Pivixki is? Something tells me it's some kind of grindcore silliness.

Here's the description from Amazon:

The duo known as PIVIXKI are a unique combination of two distinct talents: two hard-working veterans of the Melbourne (and indeed international) music scene, one still in his mid 20s, the other having just scraped the 30-year mark. Multi-instrumentalist, and keyboard player within the band, Anthony Pateras, has a CV big enough to fll three press releases. Working within the musical realms of modern composition, improvisation, electronics, avant-rock and noise, he's composed for major orchestras, played with a multitude of collaborators (including the likes of Oren Ambarchi, Christian Fennesz, Tony Buck, Han Bennink, Dave Brown and violin virtuoso Richard Tognetti), performed in everything from seedy dives to concert halls the world over, released his music on a multitude of labels (including two acclaimed CDs on John Zorn's Tzadik imprint) and is currently the composer-in-residence at the Australian National Academy Of Music. Max Kohane, just 26, has been playing in bands since he was 12 and touring since he was 16. He turned 18 whilst on a three-month tour of Europe. He's infamous for his dynamic, intensely fast and technical drumming style and has earned a rep as perhaps the best skin-hitter in Australia's hardcore punk scene. He's played in the likes of Far Left Limit, George W. Bush, Terra Firma, Cut Sick, grind kings Agents Of Abhorrence and crust-punkers ABC Weapons. The beauty of Pivixki lies in the clash of these two musical cultures, though the willing experimentation of Pateras and Kohane has seen ft that there is no clash at all. Pivixki's debut, Gravissima, recorded by US ex-patriate Casey Rice, sees an amazing melding of sensibilities. Nominally a piano/drums duo, the band expands their sound with percussive fourishes and the addition of organ and electronic keyboards into the mix. Some of the songs are short, fast and cut to the point; others organically develop over several minutes like soundtrack pieces, occasionally feeding through the creepy, picturesque qualities of Italy's horror-music legends Goblin, or the seething musical soundscapes of France's avant-prog troupe, Magma. Most of all, the album works as a cohesive piece of music, each track making a perfect segueway for the next. If you can imagine a perfect melting pot made up of the likes of Conlon Nancarrow, Iannis Xenakis, Cecil Taylor and the insane grind trio Discordance Axis, it might sound a little like Pivixki. Their unique instrumentation is never used as a mere gimmick or prop: it's simply a set-up which best suits their mode of expression.

Cecil Taylor and the insane grind trio Discordance Axis

Okay, that's actually kind of intriguing.

Not really sure how that group qualifies for the list and Black Mountain and Maserati don't, but oh well.

Aero -- I actually am on the same page regarding "generic gloom" as you. When I was listening through a bunch of stuff while compiling my top 20, there was just so much stuff that got good reviews that I listened to 30 seconds of and went "great, more atmospheric black metal, next." Agalloch definitely don't fall into that category for me, though.

Not really sure how that group qualifies for the list and Black Mountain and Maserati don't, but oh well.

Hell, I voted for Ratt.

Jeff, yes email and I'll hook you up.

As for me, Wolvserpent is my album of the year. I love the new Enslaved and don't see it as any sort of quality drop from Vertebrae, and certainly don't find it to be less energetic. Also, saw them live on Tuesday with Demon Burger and Enslaved's set was FAR more fiery than when they support Opeth.

Overall, it's very interesting to contrast this list with Terrorizer's.

btw, i <3 u guys to pieces. don't ever change.

The new Motorhead is very satisfying (thanks Phil). Some ace tracks on there...love "Born to Lose".

Overall, it's very interesting to contrast this list with Terrorizer's.

(I think the Terrorizer list is stronger)

Post the list then!

the list is off limits for now but I think I prefer it pound for pound too, also it looks like my votes might have actually counted for something, which I seem to have a perpetual inability to do w/ polls like these

oh and dunno if any UK dudes saw Black Breath on their tour but I hosted them last night and they owned - super nice guys, great night all round tbh

How do people feel about (the band) Child Abuse? Just heard them for the first time today. Quite taken with them...

Are they from Cornwall?

Here are my thoughts on the Decibel list, including 20 albums I think should have been included.

AG: V. good, I initially presumed they must have either been from my old manor St Helens or the Pitcairn Islands but they're from America apparently.

man I try not engage Phil on his La Mancha anti-Decibel stuff but...

So here, in alphabetical order, are 20 albums Decibel didn't think were worthy of year-end consideration, the absence of many of which (Iron Maiden? HELLO?!?) throws their whole modus operandi and worldview into question, frankly.

It's a poll. Of a lot of writers. If the modus operandi being thrown into question is "polling one's writers," OK, cool enough, I don't submit year-end ballots for exactly this reason, but somehow I think that's not the objection here.

The assertion of a "worldview" gleaned from a poll of writers as disparate as Jeanne Fury & Jeff Treppel & Adem Tepedelen & Liz Brenner as is, frankly, laughable. My favorite albums aren't on the list, either; boo hoo.

as

when will i stop being amazed that ppl value year end lists as anything other than a consumers guide

Presenting the poll results as a flat list encourages readers to treat it like a single editorial construct (like Phil does in his response). Put it online, with vote-counts and links to the actual ballots, so that people can actually poke around in it and see who said what, and it would be both more understandable and more useful.

I don't have the issue to hand. Is the fact that it's a poll not made plain in an intro graf?

Exactly what Glenn said. As someone who compiled year-end lists from writers' balloting, once the list becomes a list, it ceases to be the sum of its parts and becomes an institutional verdict...and should be critiqued as such. The Voice's approach, where each writer's individual ballot is viewable online, is immensely preferable.

I've heard very good things about NOMEANSNO and Black Breath gigs this week. Gutted to have missed both of these shows due to influenza. A friend who went to see NMN for the first time in London last night drove up to Leeds to see them again today such was the impression they made upon him.

Looking forward to seeing them at ATP.

I get what you're saying Aerosmith - and speaking logically you're entirely correct - but it is fucking insane that Iron Maiden's joint best album in two decades isn't on the end of year list of a mainstream and well respected metal mag... to the extent that it's comment worthy and you can't really blame people for throwing their hands up in disgust.

Of course, as aero hints, I do just like poking at Decibel.

(If only there were some software in the world that made it easy to publish ballots and tabulations and whatnot, all linked up together with, like, sorting and searching and stuff...)

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/horse-race.jpg

Horse number one has no legs.

Explains why he has a long face.

xp every joke I had in response to that was completely tasteless

so what are the really horrible albums on the decibel list? are there any? i've heard, like, two of them. i'm all about the agalloch and body albums. though i still have to buy a real copy of the agalloch. only listened to a supersecret download and that was months ago. i never would have heard the body album if they hadn't played at my store. cuz i bought one from them.

i still need to hear the triptykon album too. need to buy it.

The ones that I think are either flat-out terrible, or just undeserving of their spots, are Agalloch (boring boring boring), Watain (I hate this band), Enslaved (boring boring boring - deserves a spot on the list, but in the bottom 10), Torche (sub-QOTSA tripe), The Austerity Program (fuck this band), Burzum (fuck this guy, plus the Xasthur album was way better), Father Befouled (can't believe Incantation hasn't cease-and-desisted this band out of existence), Early Graves (sorry that dude got killed, but the debut was much better), and Darkthrone (who I've just never liked, in any of their incarnations).

Enslaved should be in the top spot every year they release an album for the same reason you rep for Maiden. Except that Enslaved is more consistent than Maiden and has released more great albums at this point.

in before nuclear apolocalpyse in response to nate's post

agalloch don't bore me at all. and i've heard lots of boring music. i can dig people not liking them though. plenty of stuff i don't like out there. but ashes is seriously, like, one of the few modern records that i have played a hundred times. i fell hard for that thing.

"and Darkthrone (who I've just never liked, in any of their incarnations)."

can't even really argue with this kinda statement! i dunno, people like different stuff.

And without getting myself in any trouble by commenting on it's quality, i'd suggest that Agalloch's high placement on the DB list is mostly due to great anticipation and timing of release in close proximity to year-end polls. Which is much more a Profound Lore chess move than it is the band's. Agalloch could not care less about these polls. They operate in a bubble and that also seems to score points with a lot of folks.

I can also reveal that it placed much lower on the Terroizer list, placing far below Christian Mistress and narrowly beating Ludicra. I wonder about European tastes vs American...

The only Darkthrone I've ever loved is Soulside Journey which I bought on vinyl for $5 in 1994 from Earl Root. It stands up because there are songs, musicianship, and production value. Never got why they abandoned those things and quit gigging live...

awwww rip earl :(

Eh? Panzerfaust is ORESOME.

darn it, Phil. and here i was hoping you would've done the bitching about the "lame" dB album choices on yer blog piece instead of on ilm. oh well.

but seriously, if we can't moan, bitch, and/or whine over some rock rag's goofy year-end poll results... well, we may as well wrap shit up and head on home.

(also: payolla mongers should note that Iron Maiden did get a dB cover this year, and still didn't make the year-end cut. hmmm...)

cmon nate, I love enslaved too, but iron maiden are an amazingly consistent band!

but I don't even hate the blaze records, so it's entirely possible that I just have no taste

and darkthrone abandoned all the things you listed due to an unwavering dedication to trance-inducing riffs. fine by me, tbh.