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

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)

this looks dope too!!!!

It's really good! 2019 was a great year for metal imo.

Obligatory: and I didn't even vote for it!

And only now do I see what gaudio meant by 'not that cover'. My bad:

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3857580925_10.jpg

^ this is Cadaver Circulation.

84
The Neptune Power Federation - Memoirs of a Rat Queen
110 points, 3 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3530587935_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/1p6kfac80XHRy5wX93kQeD
https://theneptunepowerfederation.bandcamp.com/album/memoirs-of-a-rat-queen

https://www.angrymetalguy.com/the-neptune-power-federation-memoirs-of-a-rat-queen-review/

I have always loved storytelling. As a child I rapidly ran out of interesting books to devour in the library, and nowadays I get my fill with online free-form role playing. This extends to music as well; a cool concept can really elevate an otherwise unremarkable album. What a good story needs first and foremost is interesting characters though, and The Neptune Power Federation get that. Their vocalist, Imperial Priestess Screaming Loz Sutch, assumes the mantle of a time-travelling space witch for their fourth album, Memoirs of a Rat Queen. 70s space rock that mixes Heart with Hawkwind and AC/DC, a sexy vengeful bombshell on the mic, and a story scattered from the French revolution to boning in a parking lot; what could possibly go wrong here?

I guess we won’t find out, because not much does. That largely comes down to the Imperial Priestess. Like an Oscar-worthy actress, she completely falls into the role. Her character is straight out of a Neil Gaiman novel, a demi-goddess of lust and wrath, of regal rage and justified arrogance, and you believe her every syllable whether she sneers about the deaths of her enemies (“Rat Queen”: ‘Their last words as they fell / were damn that bitch to hell!’) or seduces a mere mortal with her eons of experience (“I’ll Make a Man Out of You,” not even close to a Disney cover!). It certainly helps that her technical skills are off the charts. Her voice is razor-sharp. Some might consider her too shrill, but she conveys supreme passion and power, and with a few momentary exceptions, she is always in complete control of her vocal chords and her role alike.

Listening to Krypts now and it sounds really great so far. It bounced off me before, but maybe I wasn't in the right head space to receive it at the time.

Who voted for the Neptune Power Federation? Doesn't ring a bell at all.

is this some sort of Ghost spinoff

what a fucking awful album cover

Makes you pine for more Lewandowski, eh?

I've got three more for you tonight/today, and I am excited about every single one of them.

As a child I rapidly ran out of interesting books to devour in the library

If you say so.

83
Kostnatění - Hrůza zvítězí
110 points, 4 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2953025415_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/1Vib5sZB9MxEYCWLztMabe
https://kostnateni.bandcamp.com/album/hr-za-zv-t-z

https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2019/09/06/full-album-premiere-kostnateni-hruza-zvitezi/

Pressed to explain the physical process of bringing Hrůza zvítězí to life, the artist writes: “The album was written and recorded from early 2018 to summer 2019 in various parts of the country where I was living. No studios were involved in its creation. Whereas Konec je všude was written in a quick frenzy during one of the best periods of my life in recent times, Hrůza zvítězí was created slowly and subjected to rigorous criticism from myself and close contacts, due to both the mental burden its writing inflicted upon me and the desire to create a truly inimitable work. I know that every band has caught onto Deathspell Omega’s influence on extreme metal and that almost everyone right now is pushing to coax more chaos, more dissonance out of the genre. If I am moving in that direction as well, and I want to be remembered in ten years’ time, there has to be something truly remarkable about my methods. To that end, I believe I have mostly succeeded.”

A bold statement, and yet who can disagree after hearing Hrůza zvítězí?

i'm super late but this venom prison album is amazing

This guy talks a big game and mostly delivers. Do check it out if, like imago, you're burnt out on Serpent Column and their ilk.

xp

I'm a sucker for all-red bandcamp pages