Friday 25 January 2013

...of 2012

This needs to be done, especially since I am back into metal properly again.

Best Album
Dying Fetus ~ 'Reign Supreme'


Fuck, Dying Fetus are on form again! After the mediocre (at least by Fetus' standards) 'Descend into Depravity', the Maryland techies scale back the brutal death metal riffs in favour of more orthodox US death metal guitar work. The slams are infinitely more pronounced due to this stage and the variation of track's identities works favourably. Technicality is still high on the list of priorities and the dual vocal assault of Sean Beasley and Jon Gallagher rhythmically compliment the music so sublimely that picking up the lyrics becomes  a simple task. Nothing came close to reaching the summits of awesomeness this year. Gruesome!

Honourable mentions: OSI ~ 'Fire Make Thunder'; Blutmond ~ 'The Revolution is Dead!'

Best Song
Dying Fetus ~ 'In the Trenches'

From the opening riff, you know this song is going to be intense. Surging through a variety of different tempos, Dying Fetus reveal that there are several ways to aurally assault a listener. Bass following guitar loyally, neck-breaking slams and colourful tech death spurts mark this one of the highlights of the albums. Catchy, vicious and triumphant.

Honourable mentions: OSI ~ 'For Nothing'; Katatonia ~ 'Undo You'

Biggest Disappointment
Nile ~ 'At the Gates of Sethu'



Nile have always managed to find ways to infuse a new album with something they had not tried on previous efforts, or at least an expansion on an idea that was explored all too thinly on another release. 'At the Gates of Sethu' is album number seven and the Egyptologists have evidently ran out of new ideas, delivering a bog standard Nile release. Clean vocals is a new addition here but it fails to truly delivery anything particularly noticeable.

(Dis)Honourable mentions: Sabaton ~ 'Carolus Rex'; Fozzy ~ 'Sin and Bones'

Best Cover Art
Sigh ~ In Somniphobia


Decadently grotesque, this colour piece speaks for itself. Truly eye-catching and defiant among contemporary metal album art today.

Honourable mentions: Testament ~ 'Dark Roots of Earth'; Les Discrets ~ 'Ariettes Oubliees'

Best Lyrics
Dying Fetus ~ 'From Womb to Waste'

These lyrics are repulsive but not because they're pure horror-themed gorefests but because they're real, addressing foetal termination and unlucky births in our society in a myriad of ways. Including drug-addled mothers, rape births, coat-hanger abortion, an obese mother unaware she was pregnant etc., Dying Fetus release a song that actually goes hand in hand with their band name. Some of the best lyrics they've penned since old bassist Jason Netherton expressed his rage at the world.

Honourable mentions: OSI ~ 'For Nothing', Katatonia ~ 'Undo You'

Best Live Show
Dangerous Toys, Shout it Out Loud Festival, Mulheim, 10th March


Dangerous Toys are a band that I only discovered a couple of years ago (despite being on a "To check out" of mine from 2005) but immediately fell in love with. It seems they only play a one off show in their home town of Texas each December. However, something magical happened when Quiet Riot dropped off the Shout it Out Loud Festival (co) headline slot. Oddly enough, relatively obscure Dangerous Toys filled in the gap. Naturally, I headed to Germany for the event. Singer Jason McMaster's (ex-Watchtower) vocals sounded considerably better than recent Texas shows and it was the one and only time I got a headrush from a gig, as I stood in the front row, destroying my voice to every song. Even McMaster himself congratulated me on knowing all the lyrics.

Honourable mentions: Doro, Relentless Garage, London, 20th November; Immolation, Underworld, London, 29th September

Best Festival
Party San Open Air 2012, Flugplatz, 9th - 11th August


The line up for Bloodstock was incredibly dull for me so I decided to finally go to Party San, which I have been considering for a few years but the BOA clash usually prevented me from doing so. With a stunning line up of premier extreme metal, it as difficult to find reasons not to attend - Both Thrower, Nile, Immolation, Arhgoat, Nifelheim, Skalmold, Cattle Decapitation, Gospel of the Horns just a few names worth watching. Sadly, Rompeprop pulled out (one day, I will see this band) but were replaced with goregrinders Rectal Smegma, which remained fun. The people at the festival were very friendly and adorable. Very few English there too, although I'm not surprised if that changes this year when people see the BOA line up is poor again. 

Honourable mentions: Shout it Out Loud Festival, Mulheim, 10th March; Fimbul Festival 2012, Dettelbach, 14th - 15th September

Best Discovery
Children of Technology



While I was on my metal hiatus, I noticed that crust has been getting particular attention in the metal scene. One such band in this genre is Children of Technology, a perfect blend of careless punk and trashy metal. Violent, dirty and catchy, 'It's Time to Face the Doomsday' is a balls out, fist to the face of a release that takes no prisoner and is unforgettable. Unfortunately, most crust bands don't weigh up as strongly as these Italians but who cares?! Need another full-length soon, guys.

Honourable mentions: Blutmond; D.R.I.

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This year is setting itself up to be quite an interesting one for metal, most notably the new Carcass album. There's also the Neurotic Death Fest, which is showcasing my favourite old school death metal bands. Oh, and the new Immolation album is something to look forward to.

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