As the Greek saying goes: “If
thou dost not praise thine home, it shalt fall upon thee.”, for this home has a
lot to offer. There is a huge amount of releases every year and it doesn’t seem
like it’s going to decline. Some releases were felt, others were just passing
by and some will be felt in the future.
Now come, m’ lords and m’ ladies. Sheath your swords and take off your armor. Let us gather into the holy of holies; let us drink freshly brewed and warm beer; let us drink red wine and feast on the flesh of the earth. Here, in our lands, dragons, witches and elves live among us. So do demons and dark spirits of the unknown. Let us discuss and argue over their offerings. Let us drink and listen to the bards. Let us rejoice, for another year has passed and we are still alive and well, in sickness and in death. Such is the times in our sacred, ancient lands. Blessed be my brothers!
20. Dødheimsgard - A Umbra Omega
19. Terminus - The Reaper’s Spiral
18. Mgła - Exercises in Futility
17. Ethereal Shroud - They Became the Falling Ash
16. My Dying Bride – Feel The Misery
15. Ghost – Meliora
14. Awe/Vacantfield/End – Moerae (Read the review HERE)
13. Magister Templi – Into Duat
11. Misþyrming - Söngvar elds ogóreiðu
10. Visigoth - The Revenant King
What better way to start your
glorious day in the midst of battle. With songs than can easily be called hymns
for our never dying romantic nerdiness that got us into the game of metal, this
album is steel, leather, wristbands and a journey into the fantasy worlds.
Songs like “Blood Sacrifice”, “Iron Brotherhood” and “Dungeon Master” are the
essence of heavy metal fun. Read the fiction review HERE.
9. Crypt Sermon - Out Of The Garden
But why stop there? Why not
continue on that road, turn it up a notch and make it sound even more epic and
grand. Let us go to a time where we stood in awe while listening to big, doom
riffs hitting on the mountains. But what do your eyes see? Nothing but
darkness. And from within the abyss, Heavy Riders come marching towards us.
Crypt Sermon gave us the best epic doom album of the year, and they did it with
ease.
8. Amorphis – Under The Red Cloud
It came as a surprise to me. Not
the album itself. Amorphis release a full length every few years. What
surprised me was the quality. I expected to listen a collection of good songs with a few great exceptions, but “Under The Red Cloud” exceeds and excels in
every level. This album is tight, intense, rocking, and fun to its core.
7. Paradise Lost – The Plague Within
Same goes with these gents. They
brought back the beast from their first couple of albums, but through the unique
melancholic lead melodies from Macintosh and the sound that made Paradise Lost
one of the most influential bands in metal. The song writing, the deep doom/death riffs, all the while Holmes sings and growls, gave us songs filled with hooks, melodies and intensity. Not exactly a surprise,
since we all know and expect quality releases from them. "The Plague Within" is a
dark beast.
6. Tau Cross – Tau Cross
Tau Cross is a quartet of well-known
musicians with Away from Voivod and Rob "The Baron" Miller from
Amebix standing out. They describe themselves as punk metal which is accurate.
What distinguishes them is the sing along vocal lines, the lyrics that can
create strong imagery, see“Hangman’s Hyll”, and the orchestration that can
bring chills to your spine. Something big and strong is being expressed through
these songs. A deserted landscape, civic meltdown, misanthropy and disgust for
the things that are happening around us and a whole lot more, concentrated into
the debut album from Tau Cross.
5. Macabre Omen – Gods Of War – At war
If there is one word that
describes “Gods Of War” then that word is tragedy, as in ancient drama. The
emotions are through the roof and they can be felt by every single little note
and voice and sound. From the guitar melodies and the way the riffs are moving
towards a built up to the necessary release, or catharsis. “Gods Of War” is
cathartic. The lyrics are using fragments and images from ancient Greece. Whether
it is “The Descend Of The Myriads” in the first song, “I see, the sea”, which
brings to mind what Xenophon shouted
when he and his soldiers saw the sea after weeks of marching through the
mountains or lyrics that can be ascribed to ancient Greek philosophers. Whether
it is about war, pride or the death of a father figure, the whole album speaks
directly to the heart. Epic black metal at its finest.
4. Cruciamentum – Charnel Passages
This year belongs to death metal,
at least for the writer of this list. Riffs that delve into the unknown,
creating swirling structures of dark worlds and horrifying entities, screams
and growls of despair and the most important aspect of “Charnel Passages”, the
outstanding orchestration. The songs are built with mastery, even though it is
their first full length which makes me think that Cruciamentum are going to be
one of the pioneering forces in death metal, along with Lvcifyre and, of
course, Dead Congregation. Go on, give it a go. Read the review HERE.
3. Vastum – Hole Below
It is with albums like these,
where I feel words cannot describe the depth and the madness enclosed within
this beast. The production is exceptional. It works in space. Every instrument has its place, as if they
were set to build a world. In more simple words, it works with layers that meld
into each other and suck the listener into Vastum’s world. Frightening, thick,
dark, swirling and the riffs…oh, the riffs… Listening to “Hole Below” is an act of transcending
reality and moving into the spheres of darkness with growin awe and affection.
2. Nachtreich & Spectral Lore - The Quivering Lights
There is a time gap between mid and late December, where new releases are trapped in limbo for all eternity (considering that BOTY lists are being published at the same period). Such is the case for this collaboration LP that was released about 363 days ago. The subtlety of emotions, the combination of piano and electric guitar
melodies, the lyrics that come into form through screams and whispers. I love
this album and I still listen to it. Moving, aery, naturalistic, timeless,
philosophical; a walk under the stars, or into a storm, along with spirits and
voices; fearless, heartfelt, mortal but not confined; there are so much to be
said and still not communicate the beauty of “The Quivering Lights”. Read the
review HERE.
1. Sarpanitum – Blessed By My Brothers
I consider this release to be
near perfection and one of the best death metal albums I’ve heard. But instead
of just blathering about it, here are a few things that I wrote when I was under
its spell: “This music is not of the ground and neither it is of the air. It is
not of the day nor is it of the night. It is not of the sky and of the clouds
and of the warm intensity of the sun, coming over us, hailing for the summer.
It is neither a beginning nor an end. Not a constant and not a sight to see. It
is around us, over us and below us. Within us and without us. It lifts the body
and praises the beauty of art.” The impressions the “Blessed Be My Brothers”
created in my head where so strong but mellow at the same time that I was
listening with awe. Brutal rhythms, beautiful guitar leads and solos, thick and
warm production, unstoppable drumming, exceptional orchestration and a sense of relaxation and beauty
after the end of it. Read the review in full HERE.
