2012 came and went, the
world didn't end, and everyone felt like an idiot for believing in
all of that apocalyptic bullshit. One thing's for certain: this was
one of the best years – if not the best year – in metal
history. The number of awesome metal albums released during this year
is unprecedented. It was really hard for me to make this list, but
after much listening and pondering, I narrowed it down to ten albums
I feel are the best of 2012. First, my honorable mentions:
Abominable Putridity –
The Anomalies of Artificial Origin
Abyssal – Denouement
Axis of Light – By the
Hands of the Consuming Fire
Aylwin – Soil And Cold
Barrowlands – Demo 2012
Bitwa – Glory To
Swietowit
Buried – The Only
Promise
Gore Bash – Gore
Forever
Hellkvlt Mexica – Males
Antiguos
Katechon – Tape 2012
Melankoli – Wind
Monomakh - MMXII
Tezcatlipoca – Nahui
Ocelotl
Vallendusk - Vallendusk
Now for the countdown.
Atuhor's Nose: For the
purposes of this list, I'm going to limit it to obscure bands and
albums that didn't really get much attention. If I were to include
popular bands on this list, Anaal Nathrakh would take the #1 spot
without a second thought.
#10: Sauriel – Akasha
The great thing about
Bandcamp is that you can find great bands completely by accident.
This was the case for Sauriel, a young death metal band from
Massachusetts. I was enticed by the cover depicting the beauties of
outer space and I ended up getting an earful of massively technical
blackened death metal complete with prominent bass, crunchy guitars
that put on an impressive noodling display, some tasteful slow jazzy
sections, and even some great deathcore sections. (Yes, I said great
deathcore sections, you got a problem with that?)
#9: Nontinuum – The
Stars You Gathered, The Stars I Destroyed
Ever since Austere died
in 2010, no band has been brave enough to step forward and fill their
shoes. Luckily, Nontinuum filled that role quite well with their
full-length debut, The Stars You Gathered, The Stars I Destroyed.
(Coincidentally, Nontinuum also hail from Australia.) The bass is
soul-crushing, the drumming is splendidly intricate (a huge
improvement over the minimalism on the demo that came before this),
the guitar frequently switch between blackened grooves and
heart-touching melodies (that solo on “The Gatherer” kills me
every time), the rasps and screams are filled with as much agony as
Tim Yatras, and the beautiful clean vocals add a nice contrast to the
rest of this dark presentation. Definitely one of the biggest
surprises of the year.
#8: Cursed Altar
I know I'm cheating with
this one, but I don't care. Cursed Altar released two albums this
year. The first was called As The World Survives We Will Die Off As A
Moment In Time. The long and verbose title reminded me of Verwustung,
but Cursed Altar played something that was completely different. It
was a vibrant display of atmospheric black metal that wasn't afraid
to experiment, as the frontman included elements ranging from
post-rock guitars to ambient sections to ominous drone and even clean
vocals, thus openly defying the kvlt ideology that dominates black
metal.
Their second album, The
Darkest Place On Earth Is The Mind Of Man, is a much more depressive
affair, as was implied by the name. The riffs and guitar tone sound
more morose, and the vocals sound more reminiscent of Xasthur. This
album proves that Cursed Altar is not pinned down to just one style
and will continue to experiment so as to express a wider range of
emotions.
http://azurahblackmetal.bandcamp.com/album/as-the-world-survives-we-will-die-off-as-a-moment-in-time
#7: Those Who Lie Beneath
– Antichrist
I know I've said this
many times before about this album but I'll say it again: this album
is fucking evil. These guys once played deathcore, but with this
album, they transformed into a diabolical technical death metal
beast. The violent rampage of the drums will pound your skull into an
unrecognizable pink mush, the guitars sweep and shred with unmatched
malice and insanity, as though the guitarist were possessed by some
malevolent force that lurks beyond our galaxy, and the growls very
appropriately sound like the diabolical, unfathomable creatures that
lie beneath the earth.
#6: Ævangelist
– De Masticatione Mortuorum in Tumulis
Those
Who Lie Beneath maybe incredibly evil, but there exists a band more
evil than them. Yes, it's true! That band is called Ævangelist.
It was formed by the same dark and miserable man who brought you
Benighted In Sodom. They took what Portal created and contorted it
into something more horrific than anyone thought possible. The drums
sound like a myriad of torture devices striking against your body,
lacerating your skin and snapping your bones. The guitars are both
diabolical in their tone and unorthodox in their structure,
frequently changing from dark tremolo riffs to infernal chugging that
will make you sick to your stomach. The growls and rasps sound like
the bringers of darkness and pestilence. Weaving through all of this
are bone-chilling spectral howls which sound like the ravenous
spirits of a billion sociopaths who once lived on a long-dead planet.
#5:Screaming Savior –
Infinity
We now enter the top 5
with one of the most underrated black metal bands of recent memory.
The people on Metal Archives dismiss this as a Dimmu Borgir ripoff,
but what do they know? Anyway, Screaming Savior is a symphonic black
metal band from China that possesses great musicianship. I don't know
why China produces such great black metal musicians, but they do. The
black metal and symphonic elements combine in a way that is majestic
and invigorating, the guitars have a great deal of melody to them and
the screeching solos pierce the heavens, and the Emperor influence on
the croaks and clean vocals is profound.
#4: Pseudogod –
Deathwomb Catechesis
I had no idea who
Pseudogod was until this album. Now I know, and I adore them. I was
attracted to this album because of Antichrist Kramer's evil fucking
dragon on the cover, and the music sounds a lot like what you see on
the cover. They take the blackened death metal sound that is
characteristic of bands like Blasphemy and Black Witchery, drop it
into the middle of Siberia, and force it to fight an army of wolves
and bears. When it returns to civilization, Deathwomb Catechesis is
the end result. The wall of sound production will crush you like a
trash compactor, the guitars combine the unfettered ferocity of death
metal with the dark energies of black metal, and the growls sound
like an evil fucking dragon.
#3: Elysian Blaze –
Blood Geometry
“Hi! My name is
Mutatiis! Welcome to Blood Geometry! After five years in development,
hopefully, it will have been worth the wait! Thanks, and have fun!”
Indeed, it was worth the
wait. Clocking in at two hours, this is the most ambitious album
Elysian Blaze has ever produced, as well as the second longest album
I've ever listened to. (The longest was Exhumed's Platters of
Splatter, but I digress.) This is a masterpiece of depressive beauty.
As always, Mutatiis is a master when it comes to creating a dark and
miserable atmosphere, but this album also shows a great deal of
evolution in his musical skills, especially in the guitars. They
still play your typical black metal tremolo riffs and the slow,
crushing riffs of funeral doom metal, but they also play these high
soaring riffs that sound downright triumphant, like an eagle that has
been freed from captivity. I'm glad this turned out more like
Half-Life 2 than Duke Nukem Forever.
#2: Obolus – Lament
Just when I thought the
depressive black metal genre was dead, Obolus came along and defied
all expectations. Their 2011 demo was a real shock to the status quo,
but their EP, Lament, completely blew me away. The atmosphere is like
a swirling storm of despair, the drums sound like the fingers of an
otherworldly monster tapping against your mind, the shredding of the
guitars sound like a mix of seething hatred and overwhelming sorrow,
and the howls exude agony the likes of which you've never felt
before. Obolus is unlike any depressive black metal band I've heard
before or since, and Lament is intense, morose, and overall,
unforgettable. The music pushes boundaries and plays what has already
been invented with astonishing skill. This is easily one of the best
albums in the depressive black metal genre, and my number two pick
for best album of 2012. What could possibly be better than this?
#1: Agruss – Morok
This album, of course!
Agruss emerged seemingly out of nowhere and instantly stole my heart
with their debut full-length, Morok. Agruss is one of those bands
that refuses to be classified. I just call them blackened death metal
out of convenience. They combine the screams, rasps, rapid tremolo
picking, and overwhelming atmosphere of black metal with the
diabolical chugging and deep growls of death metal with ease, but
they also throw in elements from post metal (beginning of
“Damnation”), melodic death metal (“Morok”), technical death
metal (a little over three minutes into “Ashes from the Future”),
and even brutal death metal (a little over five minutes into “When
the Angels Fall”). The musicianship is flawless and every element
in the music has a purpose. Chernobyl was a horrific disaster, a
hideous blemish upon mankind's history and the face of the earth, but
it did do one good thing: it served as the inspiration for Agruss.
Never before have I heard something that was so majestic and
beautiful but so evil and terrifying.
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