The Metallurgian's Top Albums of 2016

It's hard to believe that another year has come and gone. I say this every year, but 2016 was another great year for metal. Between work and family obligations, I haven't written much about music this year, but I've still been listening to lots of metal nonetheless. (Hoping and planning on having the time and energy for posting regularly in the new year.) Here are the records that have stuck with me the most and that I can wholeheartedly recommend:

Free Metals: An Autumn For Crippled Children - portugal EP

The Netherlands' An Autumn For Crippled Children play an interesting mix of Joy Division meets black metal on the two songs that make up the portugal  EP. Listen to first track "portugal," and it will be your instant favorite. Take away the harsh vocals, and you wouldn't even realize that this is metal. "seasons change spirits" is not as immediate as the title track, but by the end of the song, you're going to want to listen again.

The Metallurgian's Top 20 Albums of 2015

2015 was another great year for metal. How could it not be when Iron Maiden put out a new album? (I know, I know:  it could have been trimmed down from a double album to a single one and everyone would have been happy/happier, but these guys have earned the right to do what they want.)  I didn't have a chance to listen to every record that came out (Who does?), and not all of the critically acclaimed ones struck a chord with me. Nonetheless, there was plenty of music that resonated with me, and here are my favorites. These are the ones that were in the heaviest of rotations for me in 2015.

Free Metals: Ellorsith - 1959

In the winter of 1959, nine skiers mysteriously died in the mountains of Russia in what has become known as the Dyatlov Pass incident. Theories abound as to what really happened in those mountains. Was it an avalanche? Paranormal activity? Who knows? Using this tragedy for inspiration, Scotland's Ellorsith mixes death metal with occasional hints of black metal on this five-track EP.

Free Metals: départe - demo [MMXIV]

Post metal with slabs of blackened death make for an interesting debut demo from Australia's départe. On the two tracks that make up demo [MMXIV], this Aussie quintet seamlessly manages to bring a sense of order to the chaos that they stir up over the course of these eighteen minutes.

The Metallurgian's Top 20 Albums of 2014

2014 was a very good year for metal. Probably a great year. Even when some albums leave you a tad to seriously disappointed, there are always records out there just waiting to blow you away. Some are easy to find because people (journalists, bloggers, your friends, etc.) can't stop talking about them, whereas others are left for you to discover if you're willing to dig deep enough. That's how I view this past year. Some of my favorites of 2014 seem to be on everybody's year-end list, while others didn't get anywhere near the attention they deserved.

Year-End Lists: Stereogum's Best Metal Albums

 While I'm finishing up my own list for the best metal albums of the year, let's take a look at what Stereogum came up with.

Their monthly Black Market column makes for a good read and always features at least a few up and comers worth checking out. A list of the 50 best albums feels like a bit much to take in, but it's worth your time. There's some good stuff to be found here.

Year-End Lists: Decibel's Top 40

While I'm still putting the finishing touches on my favorites of 2014, let's take a look at what some others are saying about the year in metal.

Decibel is the only magazine to which I subscribe, and I always look forward to getting the new issue every month. I may not always agree with everything written, but props to Decibel for remaining relevant as a print magazine in this digital age.

Temporary Slowdown

Hey metalheads, I apologize for the recent lack of posts. The last few weeks have been rather hectic - I'm about to start a new job, so I've got things to finish at the old job and things to get in order before starting the new one.
Expect some new posts in the near future as the madness calms down.

Free Metals: Eos - L'Avalé

From what I can gather, Eos is a duo out of Quebec, and that's about all I know. L'Avalé, on the other hand, is much easier to discuss, serving up 33 minutes of raw and atmospheric black metal over the course of its three tracks.

L'Avalé's most multifarious moments reveal themselves rather seamlessly as the fifteen minutes of opening track "Dystopie" play out.

Review: Myrkur - Myrkur

If Enya made a black metal record, I imagine it would sound something like Myrkur, the debut EP from this Danish one-woman black metal project. Since the mystery surrounding Myrkur's identity appears to have been solved (Amalie Bruun, a model who is also in the indie band Ex-Cops), we can now simply focus on the music, which is rather mediocre and amateur-sounding at times.

Review: Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend

Truth be told, I never could really get into 2011's Atma, but I've rather enjoyed the recent side projects of Mike Scheidt, particularly last year's VHÖL. Yob's latest offering, however, finds the band back on top, not yet ready to relinquish their doom throne to the upstarts that are nipping at their heels.

The four tracks on Clearing the Path to Ascend come in at just over an hour, with the shortest one still over ten minutes long.

Review: Phobocosm - Deprived

Montreal's Phobocosm bring an old-school approach to death metal on their debut album Deprived, yet it doesn't feel stale or derivative. Despite forming in 2008, this is the first I've heard of Phobocosm. It appears that they've spent the last several years honing their dark craft, for this record oozes toxins and pestilence from start to finish.

Free Metals: Keeper - MMXIV

On MMXIV, California's Keeper offer up some of the heaviest, bone-crushing doom that you will hear all year. Within the first couple minutes of "Hours. Pt 1," you'll easily know whether or not this is for you. And if you like what you hear, prepare to be bludgeoned into submission for the next forty minutes or so. At times, this reminds me of Indian's Guiltless, a record from a few years back that stayed in heavy rotation for quite a while.

Review: Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden

Little Rock, Arkansas, doom band Pallbearer came out of nowhere with 2012's critically acclaimed Sorrow and Extinction. While it was a very good debut album, I had a pretty strong feeling that their second effort would be even better.

On Foundations of Burden, five of the six tracks hover around the ten-minute mark. These songs crush and crawl ever so slowly but never feel overly long or repetitive.

Free Metals: Serpents Lair - Demo MMXIV

Danish black metal band Serpents Lair released Demo MMXIV  a few months back, and if these guys keep making music like this, our future could be very dark, indeed.

Despite having only two tracks and clocking in at about 15 minutes, Demo MMXIV  is well worth your time, and if you've got time to kill, put it on repeat.

Free Metals: Old Graves - Like Straining Boughs

Old Graves is a one-man atmospheric black metal project from Abbotsford, British Columbia. If you think that maybe Alcest and
Lantlôs have gone a bit too soft lately, then Like Straining Boughs should be right up your alley.

The intro to "The Short Way Home" features an instrument not too commonly heard in black metal - the acoustic guitar. It's also used on other parts of the record, adding an extra layer of depth and emotion.

Review: The Proselyte - Our Vessel's In Need

The Proselyte's Our Vessel's In Need is a mélange of sounds with which we're all familiar, yet this five-song EP manages to make the sum of its parts come across as both fresh and genuine.

Upon hearing this Boston trio's new release for the first time, I wasn't really sure what to think. After a few more spins, however, I started to realize just how much of a grower this record is.

Free Metals: Skáphe - Skáphe

Very little seems to be known about Skáphe. The band's American, and that's about all I can find. Not sure about where Skáphe is from, how many members, etc. This self-titled release is available through Fallen Empire Records, but Skáphe doesn't appear to have any sort of social media site of its own. Skáphe plays low-fi, sometimes doomy, black metal that the record label calls "asphyxiating," and I have to agree.

Free Metals: Nolti Nan Gana Nan Nolta - Death by the Venomhammer

Nolti Nan Gana Nan Nolta hails from Edinburgh, Scotland, and plays a mixture of thrash and black metal. The band calls it black thrash and so will we. On the Death by the Venomhammer EP, the trio delivers 4 songs in just over 20 minutes, and my only complaint is that it's not longer.