The Best Of 2011 Special Awards: Best Cover Art

5.) Noisear- Subvert the Dominate Paradigm

Much like the music itself, the cover art of Subvert the Dominate Paradigm is one busy piece of art. There is a lot of strange, violent and messy shit going down here, complete with skulls, mad surgeons and the fucking Illuminati imagery. Unlike the next cover, this one tells you exactly what to expect from this album: a clusterfuck of noise-blood-death.

4.) Weekend Nachos- Worthless

I know album covers that give no indication of the genre of music located on the album is a "hip" thing to do right now, as are understated and simplistic images. But this cover art is just so fucking irreverent, it is impossible not to love it. The idea of some kid wearing an Animal Collective shirt and sporting an ironic mustache buying this album in some shitty local record store because the cover art screamed "Faux-Retro Surf Rock" brings me endless, endless joy.

3.) Morbus Chron- Sleepers In The Rift

I don't know whether to love or hate this album cover. On one hand, it is all kinds of awesome: the pink and red hues are striking, and the unholy Lovecraftian abomination adorning this swirling blood mist vortex is all kinds of wicked. The whole color palette is impressive, and leagues beyond many of the futuristic, Dan Seagrave-esque Death Metal covers than dominate the scene. On the other hand, it only adds to how shitty this album is: all style, all flash, without any substance or unique ideas. Truly, this turd was painted gold and shined like the sun from a distance.

2.) Disma- Towards the Megalith

Does anyone remember the cover art for Path of the Weakening?


Well now we know where all these crazy looking old men were going. They were heading for the Ziggurat of Baal to sacrifice their first born sons in exchange for unholy powers. I cannot be the only person who saw a connection between these two cover arts.

1.) De Magia Veterum- The Divine Anthithesis

Pink is in this year when it comes to crazy hipster internet Metal, and the cover art for The Divine Antithesis fits perfectly with this growing trend. Much like any work of art, this album is a package deal, and the striking cover art depicting an inverted Reckoning perfectly enshrines the point of this album: your God is nothing but a creation of man, who is inherently evil. Or maybe Jesus was just running late and slipped coming down the Golden Escalator, and all us blasphemers are bound for a dip in the fire pits of Hades. Either way, the whole thing will be very pink.

The Best of 2011 Special Awards: Top 5 EP's

5.) Adversarial- Prophetic Plain of Abyssal Revelation

The follow up to my favorite Metal album of 2010, Prophetic Plain of Abyssal Revelation is a perfect piece of fan service. Featuring the Thralls demo, some new material(complete with better production) and some killer covers, Prophetic Plain of Abyssal Revelation is a good hold over for more material from these Canadian angel hunters.

4.) Corpsessed- The Chalice & The Dagger

If you mix New York Death Metal and Finnish Death Metal, chances are I will like your band. If you do it with passion, attitude and a smidgen of originality, I will love your band. The Chalice & The Dagger fits the latter description.

3.) Cruciamentum- Engulfed In Desolation

Crafting ridiculously sharp riffs like Vlad the Impaler's black smith, Cruciamentum escape the "Incantation clone" tag and develop a sound as inspired by Bolt Thrower and Benediction as Incantation. Engulfed in Desolation is a bit long winded, but the riffs are too delicious to ignore. Another young English Death Metal band making waves.

2.) Archgoat- Heavenly Vulva(Christ's Last Rites)

I love Archgoat, so any new material was going to be high up on my list. And sure enough, Heavenly Vulva(Christ's Last Rites) delivers the Satan in great supply. The mid-tempo crush of the riffs, the Demon Goat vocals, the cavernous bass distortion. I can literally hear the lambs of God scream out in agony amongst the Hellfire.

1.) Amnis Nihili- Christological Escalation

Equal parts scathing and haunting, Christological Escalation is a pitch perfect mix of technical, dissonant Orthodox Black Metal and atmospheric, dissonant "Blackgaze." Equal parts Aosoth and deafheaven, Amnis Nihili have the kind of caustic occult edge that screams trve grimm kvltness, but also indulge in layered, shoe-gazey compositions to lend bereavement to the frost bitten brutality. These Greek youngsters have developed a fluid synthesis of two sounds hugely popular in Black Metal right now, and done so in a very organic and way. An achievement not to be missed, and certainly the best EP I have heard this year.

The Best of 2011 Special Awards: Top 5 Demos

Here we go with Curse of the Great White Elephant's Best of 2011. We will start at the beginning for all bands: the demos.

5.) Heresiarch- Obsecrating the Global Holocaust

I actually much preferred this demo to the bands EP. The lo-fi production added a lot more dirty, visceral charm the the somewhat cleaner EP. Heresiarch are not a life-changing experience, but probably closer to a life ending one. Mix the brutality of Angelcorpse, Bolt Thrower and Path of the Weakening Deeds of Flesh, and you get the storm of fiery shit that is Heresiarch.

4.) Beyond- Relentless Abomination Vortex

The band asked me to review their demo, and I never got to it, so here is the review: this is some pretty wicked shit. Not particularly original, but the band mix Incantation, Blasphemy and various Finnish and Swedish sounds into a very solid little Old School Death Metal demo. The guitar work is particularly impressive.

3.) Angelcrust- Pet Semetary

This demo is about as Punk Rock as it gets, and the more time I have spent with it, the more I like it. The Black Metal influence is more distinctive and brutal than most, while the Punk elements are incredibly gritty and lo-fi. I look for Angelcrust to be the next big thing in Black/Crust.

2.) Artificial Brain- Artificial Brain Demo

Featuring members of Biolich and Revocation, Artificial Brain have the kind of pedigree that makes you excited. And sure enough, the bands demo is tremendous: brutal, dissonant and complex, it its all the high water marks for Technical Death Metal. The production is also as professional sounding as some major label full lengths. My expectations for this band are huge.

1.) Void Meditation Cult- Sulfurous Prayers

This demo is pure fucking Satan. There is no other way to describe this caustic, swirling mass of Doom-infused Bestial Black Metal. The Demoncy influence is strong here, and as an unabashed Demoncy fanboy, this demo is pretty much built for me. A must have demo, and a sign of things to come from this awesome American Black Metal one-piece.

Subrosa- No Help For The Mighty Ones(2011)

Subrosa- No Help For The Mighty Ones

Often, the joy of discovery is blunted by how much of what you end up discovering is recycled, carbon-copy genre worship with no new ideas and middling intensity. You search and search and search, but for all your effort come up with a few competent and enjoyable, but also pointless and forgettable, albums from bands who won't be part of your listening rotation a few weeks past their initial spins. However, from time to time, the endless search for something new, something powerful and substantial comes along that reaffirms your love for musical discovery. No Help For The Mighty Ones certainly had that effect on me. By taking the basic Doom/Sludge formula and turning it upside down while classing it up, Subrosa have created something incredibly somber, rich and emotional without ever coming off as corny or over-wrought.

Like the wails of a long lost lover roaring from the mist, No Help For The Mighty Ones immediately attacks the gut and twists it into all sorts of uncomfortable knots. The off-key, distant crooning of Rebecca Vernon and Sarah Pendleton hypnotizes you, while the shriek of electric violins jar you back into a cold, harsh reality. The guitars act in tandem with the rhythm section to create the fuzzy, ballsy and oddly warm backdrop for the violins to do their masterful work, rarely moving to the forefront. This might be a turn off for some, but Subrosa pull if off so masterfully it is hard to find any fault with it; the tracks meander on achingly from walls of symphonic noise to accessible Fuzz Rock to haunting, heart-string-tugging classical glory all in the same song. Try not to feel the pain on "Whipporwhill": emotional assaults are a very real part of No Help For The Mighty Ones.

This is an incredibly ballsy album, and considering that three-fifths of the band are quite literally without testicles, it becomes all the more impressive. It takes serious guts to have an a Capella English Folk song on your Doom/Sludge album, yet "House Carpenter" feels right at home on this album, a tale of lovelorn loss and demonic intervention that so beautifully exemplifies what makes this album such a triumph. All throughout the album, the listener comes face to face with truly fearless songwriting and powerful tones, both musical and emotional. No Help For The Mighty Ones is a once in a decade type album, one that should and hopefully will have a profound effect on the genre as a whole. These Utah sad saps have really touched on something here, something glorious, wonderful and real. Not to be missed.

Rating: 10/10

St. Vincent- Strange Mercy(2011)

St. Vincent- Strange Mercy

Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent, has always been what a football scout would call a "5 tools prospect." She has it all: talent, songwriting skills, an absolutely stellar voice. She is also a total stone cold fox:


I mean Jesus H. Christ. That is the kind of girl who you fall in love with. But she wouldn't love you back. In the end, she would rip your heart right out of your chest, bite it in half and then spark up a cigarette.

Yet despite all of this incredible talent, Ms. Clark never delivered on it. Most of her musical output has been under-achieving at best. Take 2009's Actor. A handful of brilliant Pop songs mixed in with copious amounts of forced quirkiness and disingenuous artsy garbage(no doubt her time with the Shithead, aka Sufjan Stevens, had something to do with this.) The whole thing felt unnatural, and Ms. Clark seemed forced into a box too small and confining for her obvious abilities. The effort was there, but it was wasted effort on a project not worth the time. It was starting to look like Ms. Clark would never be more than a competent, but mostly inessential, Indie Pop Gurrl who would never compare to her contemporaries. But Strange Mercy finally sees Ms. Clark deliver on her talent, in about the biggest way possible.

Strange Mercy is a lean, mean Pop machine, the perfect vehicle for Ms. Clark's sultry voice, which oozes pure sex appeal while never once sounding slutty or stupid. Thankfully free of worthless ambient Noise, unappealing Freak Folk and forced quirkiness, Strange Mercy is all about the hooks, and boy are there a lot of hooks: not one single song gives you any room to breathe before you are singing along with another perfect chorus or flawless verse. Take "Cruel," a Pop fused Indie Rock tune that will get your ass moving, or the Funky and steamy "Dilettante," which has Ms. Clark winking and nodding as she sings "Your like the party I heard through a wall/Invite me." Strange Mercy has seen Ms. Clark go from fairly standard Indie Gurrl is flat out sex symbol, and it is an aesthetic that works wonders for her and her music. Ms. Clark also knows when to turn things down a bit for more somber, softer hitting moments, like the title track, a haunting Electro-Rock ballad that gives us the best pure vocal performance on the record, or the whisper quiet "Champange Year," a spaced out Electro-Pop chill out from all the Funky Indie Pop that most of the record delivers.

Indie Pop has become so ironic over the years, with more and more artists going for "Zooey Deschanel" faux-awkwardness, it is such a breath of fresh air to hear an artist this confident in her music and her lyrics. Confidence. That is the key word here. Strange Mercy is an album from a very confident woman who has finally found her voice. This is such a massive improvement from Ms. Clark's previous work, it becomes difficult to quantify. What I can easily say is this: Strange Mercy is about as massive, as gorgeous and as perfectly made as a Pop album can get. Strange Mercy has completely dominated my listening cycle since the very first note, and will continue to do so for a very long time. It doesn't get any better than this people. Strange Mercy, and Ms. Clark, will dominate your dreams with this one.

Rating: 10/10

A Quick Look Ahead: The Best of 2011

Well I have been doing this thing for the past few months, and for the most part it has been a stellar experience. I have recieved a lot of positive feedback through Last.fm and lots of anon-ative feedback on the actual blog, which as we all know is super fucking negative... and often brutally retarded. I actually got a "fake and gay," which contrary to what the anon might have thought, I loved. It is sort of an internet badge of honor to have a played out and pointless meme thrown at your shitty blog, one I wear somewhat proudly. Anyway, to those of you who have hit me up via Last.fm with positive comments, your support is greatly appreciated. And make sure to hit me up via Last.fm at anytime. I always try and get back to you.

To those of you following the blog, you might be curious as to when I plan on revealing my Best of 2011. Unlike some others, I prefer to wait until after the year is over before revealing my list, so that is the plan as of now. My cut-off date for listening to new stuff will be December 31st, when the new Wrathprayer and Disgorge(US) drop for my listening pleasure. Those will be the last two new albums from 2011 I will be reviewing, and possibly including in my top 40 of 2011.

In the mean time, I will be throwing as many reviews on here as possible, mostly for my top albums of this year so my top 40 list doesn't look so strange... I have a lot of work to do. I will also be mixing in Non-Extreme Reviews in with my shitty Incantation worship bands, so expect lots of different stuff. Be forewarned: the new St. Vincent and Kate Bush are pretty much the best shit ever.

Thanks for reading,
Sharpz

Execration- Odes of the Occult(2011)

Execration- Odes of the Occult

Norway is not well known for it's contributions to Death Metal. Outside of the criminally under-rated Molested, I struggle to name another act from the country of 20 hour work-weeks and very cold weather. But a band like Execration is very likely to generate some serious hype for the country seen as the birthplace of Black Metal. Operating out of Olso no less, Execration are band who have hit their stride with Odes of the Occult, a titan of a sophomore effort that vastly exceeds the bands previous efforts.

Odes of the Occult is an album that is hard to pin down: it is not the most original effort ever in terms of new ideas, but it mixes so many classic sounds together all at once, it clouds the way to the source of influence. Highly dissonant guitar work brings to mind Immolation at their most demonic, while sections of skull crushing Doom bring Asphyx into the picture, before mid-paced muscle riffs draw upon the soul of Bolt Thrower. Musically, everything about Odes of the Occult screams atmosphere, power and pure fucking aggression. The production is flawless, the guitar work equal parts technically complex and brutally substantial and the rythm sections does its job with the efficiency of an experienced serial murderer. The vocals are the definition of a mixed bag: at times the band makes use of a very competent guttural growl, but mostly the listener will be subjected to the vocal stylings a Martin Van Duren/John Tardy impersonator. I am aware that I am of a different opinion than most: a friend of mine describes this vocal style as "a madman with mercury in his throat, trying to scream it out." I describe is as a drunk and angry man with mental disabilities screaming for his Stretch Armstrong. Regardless, the vocals are a turn-off for me, and keep Odes of the Occult from reaching withering heights of greatness that musically it so clearly deserves.

Yet despite my disappointment with the vocal attack, Odes of the Occult remains one of my favorite releases from this year. If not strikingly original, it is as finely a crafted Death Metal album one can expect to listen to this year. An album that really doesn't need many more words than fucking excellent.

Rating: 9/10

Abbey ov Thelema- A Fragment ov the Great Work(2011)

Abbey ov Thelema- A Fragment ov the Great Work

Sometimes, you hear something that leaves you at a loss for words. Maybe because it is so fucking awesome, you can't think of a word to express the level of awesome. Maybe it was so bad, you fear speaking because vomit may be released instead of words. And maybe you are speechless because you don't know what the hell you just listened to.

A Fragment ov the Great Work fits with the latter description.

Slovakia based Abbey ov Themelma are certainly shooting for something new and unique with A Fragment ov the Great Work. Black Metal is certainly part of the equation, but how much of it is a bit uncertain. The album makes heavy use of keyboards and synthesizers, which may not sound all that strange off the bat. Lots of bands Black Metal bands make heavy use of electronic instruments, and electronic music has always fit well within Black Metal. What makes A Fragment ov the Great Work is strange is that this is not a slow, atmospheric and noisy affair: this album is fast, melodic and not all that inaccessible. The synth moves fast and hard, while the keyboards move at a blistering pace. Sure, things slow down from time to time, but not all that often. Guitars also seem entirely optional: some songs feature barely any guitar work at all. About the only standard thing about this album is the two-pronged vocal attack, which alternates from a shriek to a guttural grunt, while occasionally clean vocals come into play.

Trying to find a way to describe this album has been the biggest hurdle for me, but I can no long deny what this album is: Blackend Techno. That might sound horrible, and before I heard this album I would have agreed with you. But A Fragment ov the Great Work is not terrible. In fact, it is pretty damn good. When this album works, it works incredibly well: "Unearthly Theophagia ov a Nonexistent Deity" starts off with a blistering, pulsating beat that combines synth and a drum machine to awesome effect, before a grooving, Medieval rhythm kicks in, which is more awesome than it might sound. The whole album has a cool Medieval vibe, which I normally hate but here works well. At times, Abbey of Thelema take a more traditional route, like on "The Hidden Wisdom & Clandestine Legacy ov the Black Arts," and that song also works: dissonant, complex and with an excellent drum machine sound, the song is a nice change of pace from the Techno-fueled insanity that much of the album unleashes.

It has taken me a long time to review this album, mostly because I had no idea how I wanted to tackle the bands sound. A Fragment ov the Great Work is certainly one of the most unique and original albums I have heard in a good long while, but the album also delivers where many experimental albums fail. And I have no doubt that when Blackend Techno takes over the Rave scene in a few years, we will have Abbey of Thelema to thank.

Rating: 8.5/10

Beherit- At The Devil's Studio 1990

Beherit- At The Devil's Studio 1990

Few albums are as influential and beloved as Drawing Down the Moon. Beherit had created something that no one had ever quite heard before: drowned in a mist of darkness and doom, these Finns did Bestial Black Metal like few others(I would argue the US band Demoncy did it a lot better, although they never got the accolades Beherit did.) But for all of the brilliance of Drawing Down the Moon, Beherit themselves never repeated the success, of even came close. Between 1994 and 1995, the band released two Darkwave albums, a genre which I do not feel qualified to judge, then disbanded. They reformed to released Engram in 2009, but that is an album which does nothing for me. In the end, Beherit were a one album wonder, even if that one album has stood the test of time and remains as relentlessly evil and powerful today as it did in 1993.

Don't let any Beherit fans know about this fact though, as they are likely to crucify you for such an offense: Beherit are a band who before 1994 was the greatest Black Metal band ever, and have not done any wrong. Which is why I am sure At The Devil's Studio 1990 is likely to cause more than a few fanboy freakouts: this album was actually intended for release years ago, but was shelved at some point and only recently rediscovered by the bands drummer. Basically, At The Devil's Studio 1990 was intended to be the bands debut album, but never saw released. Recorded three years before Drawing Down the Moon, At The Devil's Studio 1990 is a much more traditional Bestial Black Metal album, and it certainly is ferocious. It is also basically unlistenable. Sure, Drawing Down the Moon was poorly recorded as well, but at least the low-end was there: At The Devil's Studio 1990 has not discernible bass work, and the kick drum sounds flat and lifeless. Overall, the drums are completely powerless, drowned out by guitars that overwhelm every other instrument, while tired and barely involved vocals can be heard from time to time, if only to disappear under a wave of amp static.

What makes At The Devil's Studio 1990 even less appealing is that the actual music involved in really not all that interesting: without many of the progressive and Doom-ish elements of Drawing Down the Moon, Beherit are incredibly typical... and incredibly boring. There is nothing here that compares with Blasphemy, Profanatica or Sadistik Exekution, at least nothing you can make out through the atrocious production. Beherit certainly made the right call trying to move the genre forward with later releases, but at the bands inception they were not much to speak of, and neither is this album.

At The Devil's Studio 1990 is likely to make a lot of fans very happy, but for those who do not obsesses over this band, this capitulates inessential. Lost in horribly broken production is a collection of so-so Bestial Black Metal songs from a band whose legacy is built upon the back of a single incredible album, and who cannot seem to damage this legacy, no matter how many piss poor compilations and Darkwave albums they seem to produce.

Rating: 4/10

Cruciamentum- Engulfed In Desolation(2011)

Cruciamentum- Engulfed In Desolation

It has finally come.

There has not been a bigger hype train in, um, obscure old school Death Metal than the one moving England's Cruciamentum. The Convocation of Crawling Choas demo made serious waves in 2009, as the bands suffocating, Incantation-esque Death Metal fit perfectly with what was hot in Death Metal at the time. But on this years split with Vasaeleth(which I reviewed previously), one could hear a not too subtle stylistic change, and not just in the vocals: there was a greater sense of groove and several chuggier riffs that to my ears sounded like Bolt Thrower.

Engulfed In Desolation continues that sound, with four tracks of rock solid old school Death metal that evokes the masters of New York Death Metal as well as Crucimentum's fellow Brits Bolt Thrower. You know the drill then: tons of skull caving riffs, liberal use of insane blast-beats, and a bass sound that quite literally moves you. Crucimentum are some of the finest riff smiths out there right now, and just picking one brilliant riff on Engulfed in Desolation is a Herculean effort.

It is a tad unfortunate that Crucimentum feel the need to hammer those riffs into your skull long after it has already been pulverized to mush however. If Engulfed in Desolation is not without sin: these songs are seriously too long. It is not a surprise that the best song on the album, "Thrones Turned To Rust," is also by far the shortest. Cruciamentum do not make dozens of riffs: they make five to seven utterly perfect ones, then abuse your face with them. The problem is, when the songs are in excess of six minutes long, you get diminishing returns. The final track, "Unsanctified Temples," is a whopping eight minutes long, and I wish I could say that it needed to be. In truth, most of it is made up of repeated riffs in an effort to create atmosphere, when Engulfed in Desolation is at it's best when cutting the shit and ripping your arms off. This album is a nuclear bomb trying to act as a tranquilizer dart at times, and it just doesn't work.

But when Engulfed in Desolation goes for the throat, it works. Cruciamentum are a band with a lot to offer, who had a lot of success very early, and are still trying to find their sound. I am in love with the fact that the band take less from Incantation with this album, and when the riffs are working they work. All this band needs is time, experience, and a little bit of self-editing to reach song-writing Nirvana. They are pretty close as it is.

Rating: 8.5/10