2019 Metal ’n’ Heavy Rock/Heavy Music Poll: RESULTS - Top 100 Countdown

After reading several blurbs in a row in this thread alone, it's hard to be kind to media covering this music isn't it? A lot of really badly written stuff, style-wise.

lol xp

I do enjoy reading them, don't get me wrong!

I voted for this too but towards the bottom of my ballot. I love the title track and Until but this is prob my least favorite PB album. Too ponderous imo

The rainbow line is prob in reference to the big single from their last album, called "Brown Rainbow"

After reading several blurbs in a row in this thread alone, it's hard to be kind to media covering this music isn't it? A lot of really badly written stuff, style-wise.

Tbf while (spoiler) all-too briefly trawling the internet for reviews I occasionally settle for the least palatably written one because it yields lines such as 'a 12-minute race through John Carpenter’s worst nightmares'.

That said, cliché-free writing about a cliché-ridden genre is no small task.

I just try to select from the same source and angry metal guy is it.

However if there is a pitchfork review I post it too

I avoided AMG this time because their review wasn't very positive.

I like Pinkish Black a lot but for some reason never checked this new one out. Will rectify.

AMG is the Leno of metal blogging: easy to mock the craft, not so much the grind

(Except he didn't actually write that review, so w/e)

Leno comparison is otm. Also, Grizzly Butts is insanely prolific, and I think he's just one solitary guy.

I remember the False sounding good when I played it but I never went back to it.
Putrescine and especially Inculter probably should've gotten some points from me, but there's just too much good stuff.

Next up: one for the Olds (not quite the Old Ones yet).

90
Angel Witch - Angel of Light
105 points, 3 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2478486705_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/3GGiFrheY2ycUYo6dIbQns
https://angelwitch.bandcamp.com/album/angel-of-light

https://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/angel-of-light/

The obvious exceptions of IRON MAIDEN, SAXON and DEF LEPPARD aside, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal didn't produce much in the way of enduring heavy hitters. Righteous legends like DIAMOND HEAD and VENOM cashed in deserved credibility chips after the fact, of course, and if you don't listen to the first two TANK albums on a regular basis then you're simply doing music wrong, but beyond the aforementioned trio of titans, only ANGEL WITCH truly deserve to be regarded as game changers. That 1980 debut album, understandably overshadowed at the time by a dizzying slew of soon-to-be-immortal releases, remains one of the clear high points of that era, guitarist Kevin Heybourne's instinctive blend of dark, SABBATH-fueled menace and explosive, post-UFO turbo-rock leading to fantastic songs that have lost none of their edge or allure over the last 40 years. Admittedly, the song "Angel Witch" is neither remotely representative of what ANGEL WITCH do nor even vaguely close to being one of their best songs, but an anthem is an anthem, right?

When ANGEL WITCH returned to action in earnest for 2012's "As Above, So Below", it was plain that the band's unique sound and spirit were the entire motivating force behind this fresh incarnation. A few line-up shuffles later, the ANGEL WITCH showcased on "Angel of Light" sounds even closer to that original blueprint, with far weightier songs and a wonderfully vibrant and punchy production. Heybourne is plainly enjoying the opportunity to do this thing properly, accompanied by musicians that love his band as much as he does, and from the rampaging groove of opener "Don't Turn Your Back" onwards, the quartet's shared enthusiasm and self-evident chemistry are a constant delight.

Where most NWOBHM bands played souped-up pub rock that broke zero new ground, ANGEL WITCH still sound like a curious collision between darkness and light, as haunting but hard-as-nails epics like "Death from Andromeda" and the fabulously bluesy "The Night is Calling" attach syrupy doom riffs to a propulsive and timeless metallic undertow. "Window of Despair" casually nails the exact sound that hundreds of skinny-jeaned try hards have been desperately trying to emulate for the last 20 years. It's a galloping dirt-metal tour de force, malicious in intent but urgent and thrilling, with some of the finest riffs Heybourne has ever written. The closing title track is the best of the lot — seven minutes of glowering, moonlit malevolence. It's the sound of an exalted creative force discovering new ways to travel along a beloved but shadowy path. No need to mess with the formula: only ANGEL WITCH ever sounded like this anyway, and in 2019 their uniqueness is an invigorating blast of heavy metal air.

Haven't even heard their debut, so I should probably start with that.

xp to LBI

probably i'm stating the obvious but metal review-wise, and comparing to 90's blurbs for instance, there's a colossal improvement, more than in any other musical genre, imo
ftr, and i don't know personally no one writing for grizzlybutts, i find everything very strong written, whenever i'm there

The obvious exceptions of IRON MAIDEN, SAXON and DEF LEPPARD aside, the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal didn't produce much in the way of enduring heavy hitters.

So apart from the heavy hitters, NWOBHM didn't produce many heavy hitters? Remarkable.

Missed the beginning of the rollout but enjoying the read!

Tbf while (spoiler) all-too briefly trawling the internet for reviews I occasionally settle for the least palatably written one because it yields lines such as 'a 12-minute race through John Carpenter’s worst nightmares'.

That said, cliché-free writing about a cliché-ridden genre is no small task.

― romanesque architect (pomenitul), Monday, February 24, 2020 5:22 PM (forty-five seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

To be clear, I love that you are crawling the web for these! Don't get me wrong. But yeah, it's hard to write about it without clichés (and it seems to get harder as you get older, and have written more? But that's a different subject)

xp to LBI

probably i'm stating the obvious but metal review-wise, and comparing to 90's blurbs for instance, there's a colossal improvement, more than in any other musical genre, imo
ftr, and i don't know personally no one writing for grizzlybutts, i find everything very strong written, whenever i'm there

― gaudio, Monday, February 24, 2020 5:34 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

That's fair enough, and there might be some truth to that. As I said in my response to Pom above, this could be an interesting topic to flesh out in a different thread.

Very much agreed!

I have no idea what Grizzly Butts is on about sometimes, but I love his willingness to go for baroque.

Next up: a piece of Very Serious Art to which I have likely failed to do justice as a listener.

89
Serpent Column - Mirror in Darkness
105 points, 5 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1281885549_16.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/6RNPcuWiWWiWxETksgL7Cw
https://serpentcolumn.bandcamp.com/album/mirror-in-darkness

https://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/2019/09/25/serpent-column-mirror-in-darkness/

Serpent Column is a project that has been waiting to burst onto the larger metal scene for some time. Over the past few years, sole continual member Theophonos has conjured adventurous, meticulously crafted music that melds elements of dissonant death and black metal into a swirling pool of chaos and degradation. His debut album Ornuthi Thalassa was an unexpected blast, with last year’s Invicta further cementing and, somehow, further darkening the project’s robust sound. That said, both of these releases felt, for different reasons, somewhat incomplete. I have a fairly strict policy for taking music as it is, but Serpent Column consistently feels like a band always capable of more to my ears. With the project’s sophomore full-length release, Mirror in Darkness, such a claim no longer holds weight. It is not only Serpent Column’s most complete and dexterous release to date, it’s one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. In any genre. 

Anyone unfamiliar with this project’s sound should stop reading this review and rectify that problem immediately. Take the angular black metal of Deathspell Omega and stir it together with a splash of Ulcerate and a few liberal dashes of Krallice and you’ll veer close to the rich amalgamation of sounds that Serpent Column peddles. But far be it from me to claim the project’s music is strictly derivative. With Mirror in Darkness, Theophonus has conjured compositions that honor their influences while striking off into some bold new territory. Opener “Promise of the Polis” infuses chaotic rhythmic and vocal performances with a significant amount of melodic guitar work that keeps the track (just barely) on the rails throughout. But the chaos never goes so far as to stay in a realm of complete inaccessibility. The end of the track incorporates a violent and measured riff that pulls the whole raging mess of fists and elbows together in a finale for the ages, culminating in one of the more powerful opening salvos I’ve heard this year.

Couldn't get into this. I love a Jute Gyte comparison but this doesn't justify it beyond the superficial microtonality afaict

Yeah this has nothing to do w/ Jute Gyte

This is one of those bands with a kitchen-sink blend of styles that actually pulls it off well, and with a minimum of excess.

i cant even remember what i thought of this album

The whole DSO/Ulcerate axis of maddened pantonal fury leaves me a bit cold these days. Not enough space or songwriting or dare I say surprise. Who knows, maybe this will click

on that DSO/Ulcerate axis, the ceremony of silence was my fave last year. sure voted for, don't think they'll get this far in the rollout

imago otm - I like my mad chaotic fury but preferably done by incompetent South American maniacs in the 80s. Great drummer though!

Ties are about to become increasingly more scarce but we've got a twofer coming up.

TIE 87
Dead to a Dying World - Elegy
107 points, 4 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3901233752_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6t0lkGM4eAOXCuGf6gOaZL
https://deadtoadyingworld.bandcamp.com/album/elegy-3

https://www.angrymetalguy.com/dead-to-a-dying-world-elegy-review/

If endlessly overused adages are to be believed, one might presume all Texas exports to tower over their non-Texan counterparts. I trust silly axioms about as much as I trust the Lone Star State, yet all the biases in the world cannot negate the fact that Dallas’ Dead to a Dying World delivered something downright tremendous with their sophomore full-length, Elegy. A colossal comprisal of epic atmospheric touches, devastating doom and sombre string-ed subtleties reflecting on the lost cause that is humanity, the album is certainly big enough for Texas and melancholic enough for Muppet. However, what makes this album deserving of such prodigious praise is its mastery of minutiae: it’s the little things that kill, yo, and Elegy is an obsidian Trojan horse, an imposing monolith loaded with legions of lethal low-key sonic assassins.

Elegy is comprised of three core tracks – namely, “The Seer’s Embrace,” “Empty Hands, Hollow Hymns” and “Of Moss and Stone” – which are loosely tied together by three peacefully contemplative interludes. While the interlude tracks (“Szygy,” “Vernal Equinox” and “Hewn from Falling Water”) are reposeful, delicately minimalist little ditties, the central songs are every bit as massive as all that nonsense from the intro paragraph implied. A decidedly doomy affair with progressive facets aplenty, the molten core of Dead to a Dying World is an ebony amalgamation of Shining, Swallow the Sun, and Pink Floyd – in other words, everything Anathema should be could have been had they retained their salad day rage through their progression. Mournful clean passages redolent of Ghost Reveries -era Opeth gently ache their way into hulking, crushing tides of blackened doom, bringing Eneferens to mind and the sound ov sadness to life. Death growls, blackened screeches, plaintive bluesy lamentations and operatic cleans twist and turn through it all as needed, and this ebb and flow dichotomy of Elegy makes for quite the immersive experience, allowing everything to naturally coalesce into an emotionally gripping ordeal.

TIE 87
Pharaoh Overlord - 5
107 points, 4 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1228953023_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/4fbVRLRd3kujXuJaTwgJmK
https://pharaohoverlord.bandcamp.com/album/5

https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=63733

Pharoah Overlord from Finland (founded in 2000) started as a side project for another band called "Circle". It was founded by the trio of Janne Westerlund (guitar), Jussi Lehtisalo (bass, guitar), and Tomi Leppanen (drums). Since then, the Psychedelic/Space Rock band has had fluctuating line-ups and have introduced various forms in their mostly improvised music. The album "5" is interestingly enough, their 10th full length studio album, released in October of 2019. The original trio is now a duo on this album, consisting of original members Tomi and Jussi. However, the duo isn't just bass and drums now as layers and layers of synths, Moog bass and electronics have been added to their music.

That user (?) review from progarchives is the only one I was able to find lol.

This DTOADW blurb makes it sound quite interesting actually.

I voted for DtaDW but I don't remember much about it right now beyond "epic" and "strings"

I also recall enjoying it while it was on but other bands (that shall remain nameless for now) trod that ground more persuasively in 2019 imo.

:)

Dead to a Dying World is my first vote to show up today (it was somewhere in the 30s on my ballot). It's a good mishmash of genres, epic black doom crust, that shouldn't work but does.

Ah, relistening now, I like the clean vox and genuine patience in the dynamics, they're basically Explosions in the Sky meets Deafheaven which is either, once again, either Your Bag or Very Much Not Your Bag

*rushes back to baggage reclaim*

lol

86
No One Knows What the Dead Think - No One Knows What the Dead Think
108 points, 4 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3606671825_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4GzUTmMLRXeoUgKLtZ8sq9
https://nooneknowswhatthedeadthink.bandcamp.com/album/no-one-knows-what-the-dead-think

https://www.angrymetalguy.com/no-one-knows-what-the-dead-think-no-one-knows-what-the-dead-think-review/

The New Jersey grindcore project No One Knows What the Dead Think boasts impressive lineage, with vocalist Jon Chang (ex-Discordance Axis, Gridlink) and guitarist/bassist Rob Marton (Discordance Axis) tireless veterans of the underground grind scene. Throw in accomplished drummer Kyosuke Nakano (ex-Cohol) and the trio on paper is a force to be reckoned with. A fresh project crafted by expert hands presents an enticing proposition for starved grind fiends. I have a healthy respect for Discordance Axis and a particular soft spot for the underrated and insanely brilliant Gridlink, so anticipation for this one runs high. Can No One Knows What the Dead Think move beyond past glories to deliver their own grind scene shaking statement of intent?

Nailing the artful balance of paying homage to the past and forging confidently into the here and now, No One Knows What the Dead Think create some of the most exhilarating grind I’ve heard in ages. Taking the raw, controlled chaos and unhinged weirdness of Discordance Axis and combining this influence with the ultra modern sheen, melodic underpinnings, and finely tuned extremity of Gridlink‘s brilliant swansong, Longhena, the band add their own imprint and cutting edge songwriting to the equation. And the results are unrelenting and pretty damn impressive across the board.

I like both of these albums but dont think I voted for them

xp

no idea what this is

Nü Discordance Axis, which was never my cup of tea to begin with.

once again if you're into this sort of thing, no one really does it better imho

So I gather. I haven't really given it a fair shake tbf.

i voted for this record bc it rocks. it is not as good as gridlink's longhena or as da's the inalienable dreamless but, y'know, what is

85
Krypts - Cadaver Circulation
109 points, 4 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3735133420_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/3EBUPAuXZyTM4qI7yIXqIa
https://krypts.bandcamp.com

https://grizzlybutts.com/2019/05/22/krypts-cadaver-circulation-2019-review/

Seeming newcomers as they formed in 2008 the origins of Krypts traces as far back as 2003 as Helsinki area teenagers formed a melodic death/thrash influenced band (Self-Hate) that’d re-brand itself as The Beheading in 2006 releasing one last demo before dissolving. From that dissolution seeped a more serious and mature, some might say tasteful, approach to ancient death metal that was more in line with the surge of Helsinki area acts that’d form in 2007 such as Goretexx, Solothus, Swallowed, and the infamous Hooded Menace. There’d been old school death compatriots stirring between Stench of Decay and Ascended but each would prove fairly inactive despite promising demos and smaller releases. Krypts would begin as a duo in 2008 and quickly release their infamous, mind-rending ‘Open the Crypt’ (2009) demo soon after. At the time nobody was sure which of these young doom obsessed death metal bands would have any staying power beyond this fruitful phase of demo tapes and deeply formative independent EP releases but it was quickly clear that Krypts and Hooded Menace were among the most ‘ready’ to commit to style and composition but the much younger Krypts would take a few more years to develop. Second guitarist and co-songwriter  Topi Siirtola (ex-Swallowed, ex-Desolator) would play a fairly key role in pushing their early compositions towards the ‘Krypts’ (2011) 7″ EP and some of those strongest moments would make it onto ‘Unending Degradation’ (2013) though Siirtola had left by 2012. In hindsight these were legendary formative releases and perhaps some of the most memorable modern Finnish ‘classic’ styled death metal of the last few decades. Krypts would beat out hundreds of other records for my best of 2013 list and prove me completely wrong when I’d said their EP wouldn’t lead to anything special back in 2011. I’ve been a die-hard fan of this Finnish death metal band since.

Dunno what to say about this one except Finnish death metal fucking rules.

what a fucking great record. voted for! (not that cover)