Looking back over my top 10 albums of this year the word diverse certainly springs to mind. Whereas in past top 10 lists the Metal genre is always greatly represented, mostly over-represented – this year some different flavours have crept in and taken hold.
Maybe this is an act of maturing but Metal and all its incarnations have been a part of my life since I was 10 years old. And I know it will remain with me for the rest of my days but for 2017, new sounds, new feels and new experiences inspired me. And that can only be a good thing.
So without further adieu, get stuck into it! Agree? Disagree? The forum is open for discussion either here or on Facebook.
10: Wu Tang – The Saga Continues
The Saga Continues… oh yes it does. Seriously if you’re looking for the finest collection of pure Gangsta Rap goodness, look no further than the latest Wu-Tang album. Stunningly produced by long time affiliate Mathematics, ‘The Sage Continues’ is brimming with more classic Wu-Tang tracks. The entire album sounds superb and sounds magnificent pouring out of my white BMW screaming down Beach Road on a nice summer’s eve! ? I don’t claim to be an expert in this genre, but I know what I like and what pleases me aurally, and this album certainly does that. Strong throughout from the beginning to the end, this is a damn solid release from the Clan.
09: Gary Numan – Savage
Yet again, Numan returns with another superbly dark, ethereal and apocalyptic industrial slab of goodness. Consistently, album after album Numan has been delivering some amazing records drawing from his past Tubeway Army electronica sound and expanding on that tenfold. He’s borrowed liberally from the plethora or artists who have stolen from him and stamped his authority on this brooding electronica sound which has the uncanny knack of taking hold of your whole. ‘Savage’ is a stunning record full or mood and catchiness at just the right time. So good!
08: Pallbearer – Heartless
Pallbearer had the unique distinction of being my album of the year back in 2014. They’ve been growing from strength to strength with their trademarked doom/sludge/bludgeoning style overlapped with some emotive and mournful vocal stylings. Sure the doom sound has become pretty widespread these days, but Pallbearer have a somewhat unique feel to what is becoming a pretty derivative sound and style. They sound big, and gloomy and always evoke a sense of sadness and morosity. ‘Heartless’, like their two previous releases, is not an immediate record. You will need to spend some time with it, a lot of time but the payoff is huge. So much beauty buried deep in some of these tracks. Go on… find it!
07: Monolord – Rust
Continuing off where the brilliant previous opus ‘Empress Rising’ left off, Monolord return to finish crushing your skull with the masterful ‘Rust’. More fuzz! More doom! More distorted bliss! This record literally sounds like an army of WWII tanks mowing through anything in their path! It is merciless in its execution and delivery yet illustrates a band growing in the songwriting department throughout the grooves on this slab of vinyl goodness. ‘Where Death Meets The Sea’ kicks things off at a nice slow and hard pace and certainly sets the mood for the tracks to come. Long drawn out tracks set to move your body in a slow plod back and forth. Wailing vocals above overlay what is dark and sinister. ‘Dear Lucifer’ continues on and again pummels you from pillar to post in its brilliant slugfest tempo and pace. Title track ‘Rust’ takes you on a retro journey of big keyboards and even bigger, badder and fatter guitars and bass. Classic stuff!
06: Greta Van Fleet – From The Fires
A week before the year is to come to a close and this one drops on my desk. I knew nothing about them. Not a thing. By the time the first song had come and gone, I was quickly scurrying to pick myself up off the floor and play it again. And again. And again. To say that Greta Van Fleet are summoning the might, power and fury of classic Led Zeppelin is about a severe understatement as you can get. But fuck me drunk they do it so well. SO WELL! It’s as if a 25 year old Robert Plant is back to take command of the world’s concert stages. The songs are uniquely there’s so you can’t say they are stealing from Zeppelin, but the influence seems to permeate the blood through their veins. Close you eyes, kick back, put the headphones on and you are suddenly in the early seventies listening to an album that came out somewhere between Zeppelin III and IV. I love this record! I’m gonna love it more through the years… I just know it! How far can they go, well, that remains to be seen but for now… enjoy this for what it is!
05: Marilyn Manson – Heaven Upside Down
You know, there was a period for the longest of times just after all the Columbine malarkey that Marilyn Manson was all but forgotten. With some very poor musical releases and a less dangerous and cutting edge Manson, no one really cared anymore. It looked as if the jig was up and the well was more than dry. Slowly tho, he began a total rebuild, albums such as ‘Born Villain’, ‘The High End Of Low’, the brilliant ‘Pale Emperor’ and this year’s ‘Heaven Upside Down’ have gone a long, long way to reclaiming the Manson crown. Having teamed up with composer Tyler Bates has rejuvenated the fires once again and now Manson albums are looked forward to events (again!).
‘Heaven Upside Down’ contains plenty of old-school Manson venom, bile and anger and has been accompanied by a few push-the-buttons videos featuring guns, murder and cunnilingus niceties! He’s pissing off America again and every time he does that, the soundtrack is usually blistering.
04: Mastodon – Emperor Of Sand
I love this band and have since their inception. Although the early prog, technical aspects of their music has subsided somewhat, they now manage to release classic album after classic album. This one is certainly no exception. You know what you’re gonna get with each Mastodon release. Exceptional musicianship abounds scattered amongst some of the catchiest Heavy Metal out there right now. They do it so well! The album kicks off in usual Mastodon romp-along with the Brent Hinds lead vocal on opener ‘Sultan’s Curse’ and immediately smacks into the catchy ‘Show Yourself’ with the dual vocals of (incredible) drummer Brann Dailor swapping Vox with bassist Troy Sanders. History is gonna be kind to Mastodon. They burst onto the scene back in ’02 and have relentlessly toured the world accompanying some of the best records the genre has to offer. This one is certainly no exception!
03: Myrkur – Marerdidt
Myrkur’s ‘Marerdidt’ along with Chelsea Wolfe’s ‘Hiss Spun’ were some of my often played music of 2017. This one could quite easily have been my album of the year. It is so uniquely beautiful on so many, many levels and is like a slab of music you have never heard before. At times it brims full of lush and ethereal folk moments but in the blink of an eye in crashes into something so sinister and vile that you can literally feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand in frightful attention. Myrkur’s stunning voice takes you on a journey that echoes scenes of faraway places that your eyes (and ears!) have never been privy to. You just cannot truly define what this record is it is that magical and spiritually carnal! Beauty defined!
02: Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun
Chelsea Wolfe’s ‘Hiss Spun’ proves to be some of her heaviest work to date. The sludge and drone of opening track ‘Spun’ kicks off proceedings nicely. The crash-bang of bass and drums over mournful lead guitar and vocals kick you in the gut nice and hard as Ms Wolfe serenades away on this superb album opener. ‘Hiss Spun’ will prove to be Chelsea’s breakthrough album and already she is hard at work doing extensive touring across the USA in support of this brilliant opus. This was one tour I was eagerly awaiting to photograph in the new year, but issues with the promoting company have brought it all to a halt. However, I am more than certain that Australia will be seeing Chelsea tour in the not-to-distant future.
Back to the album which continues on with the equally mournful and heavy ’16 Psyche’ (which was accompanied by a sensational video) – (see below) – with its Deftones feel and emotion is another stand-out track. And on and on this record goes only growing stronger with each passing groove. Truly a wonderful piece of work and Chelse Wolfe’s finest album to date.
Superb!
01: Zeal And Ardor – Devil Is Fine
Out of the blue, (or is that black?) comes forth this utter masterpiece of a record. If the unique sounds of Myrkur’s ‘Marerdidt’ aren’t enough for you, this one is sure to leave you scratching your head in wonderment. African American spiritual chants mixed with harsh Black Metal. Add liberal doses of Aleister Crowley recorded spells and mix it up with Orthodox priest chants and prose. It is eclectic as you can get. On paper, the influences and samples sound like this is a record that cannot work. But it does. Scarily so. It is nothing short of brilliant and was spawned when artist Gagneux was taunted by two separate 4chan posters who suggested to him he combine Black Metal and ‘nigger’ music into a record. Challenge accepted and the result is this incredible record that has been on heavy rotation over the past 2 months of the year. Spiritual Black Metal Blues is something that should never, never work together. Ever. So many genres combine together to create a sound like you have never heard before. Album of the year man! Album of the fuckn year!