Top 10 Albums of 2013
Garrett Padilla
Garrett Padilla
10: The Black Dahlia Murder - Everblack
Admittingly,
this is the first The Black Dahlia Murder album I've bought. I was never able to truly get into
them until I saw them live, opening for Dethklok. Seeing as Alan Cassidy
(Ex-Abigail Williams) was covering drum duties on the tour, as well as the new
album, I decided to give the album a shot. The
album is fantastic, definitely one of the best death metal albums released in
the past couple of years. I listen through the album every time I mow the lawn,
as the songs are fast enough that they make it seem as though time goes by
faster than usual. "Raped In Hatred By Vines of Thorn" fits the theme
of landscaping, as well.
Standout
Songs: "Into The Everblack", "Raped In Hatred By Vines of
Thorn"
9: Leprous - Coal
This
one took me a couple of months to truly 'get', but when I did, it hit hard. I
came in expecting technical guitar mastery that saturated Leprous' previous album,
Bilateral, and was left slightly
disappointed. Fast forward a couple of months, and I gave it another shot, and I am very happy I did. Coal seems to focus more
on lead vocalist Einar Solberg's vocals more than the instruments, and I'm glad
it chose to go that direction. Einar is truly one of the greatest vocalists in
the world, and tracks like "Chronic" really show off his extreme
range.
Standout
Songs: "Chronic", "The Cloak"
8: Chelsea Wolfe - Pain Is Beauty
As far as I am concerned, Chelsea Wolfe can do no wrong. Every track she has released has been pure perfection. Her unique sound, dubbed "doom folk", is a soundscape of both pain and beauty, which is why I think this album's title is perfect for her music. Every song is different, but distinctly hers. Her music hits very close to home for me, and connects on an emotional level. One track will leave me devastated and on the verge of full-blown depression, while the next makes me experience true bliss.
Standout Songs: "The Warden", "The Waves Have Come"
7:
Children of Bodom - Halo of Blood
I
knew from the moment the album was announced that it was going to top the
rather bland Relentless, Reckless,
Forever. Halo of Blood seems to
take notice to the fans' constant urging to return to the band's black metal
and classical roots, but also mixing in a fair amount of experimentation. While
about half of the album is cut-and-paste post-Hate Crew Deathroll-era Children of Bodom, tracks like "Dead
Man's Hand On You" and "One Bottle And A Knee Deep" show some fantastic
experimentation and musical evolution. Halo
of Blood may very well be the best Children of Bodom album since Hate Crew Deathroll, which, for me, is
saying a lot, as I really enjoyed Are You
Dead Yet? and Blooddrunk.
Standout
Songs: "Halo of Blood", "Dead Man's Hand On You"
6:
Clutch - Earth Rocker
I
have been a Clutch fan since I first heard "Mice and Gods" on Jackass
star Bam Margera's compilation CD, Viva
la Bands. Clutch hit somewhere deep where no other band had hit before,
giving me a feeling I still cannot explain, that only The Sword can match. I waited
on hearing Earth Rocker until just
before I saw Clutch live, and hearing them perform most, if not all, of the
album live really helped move it onto my top 10 of 2013 list. There isn't any
real experimentation on Clutch's part on this album, as they have a unique and
time-tested formula which works for them. That being said, I feel as though
this may very well be Clutch's best album.
Standout
Songs: "Crucial Velocity", "Gone Cold"
5:
Satyricon - Satyricon
Satyricon's
self-titled release has garnered a large amount of criticism upon release,
mainly due to close-minded elitist black metal fans expecting Satyr and Frost
to re-record Nemesis Divina every
couple of years. The truth is that Satyricon aren't 'true' black metal anymore,
and haven't been for nearly a decade, and I am actually quite glad with that. Now, Diabolical and The Age of Nero have been two of my favorite albums for years, and Satyricon fits in with the style of
those two very well. Satyricon fans have waited for five years for the release
of their newest album, and
I, personally, could not be happier. The album is pure gold from beginning to
end, with time-signature changes and experimentation galore.
Standout
Songs: "Phoenix", "The Infinity of Time and Space"
4:
Ihsahn - Das Seelenbrechen
Ihsahn
is, in my humble opinion, tied with Devin Townsend for the title of the single greatest musician to ever walk this Earth.
With Emperor, he helped pave the way for black metal to leave it's rudimentary
and simple roots, and to experiment with synths and technical guitar work.
20-plus years later, and Ihsahn is still throwing out all expectation as to
what black metal should be. Das Seelenbrechen is easily Ihsahn's most
experimental project to date, as well as his second release in just over a
year. 2012's Eremita was a disappointment for me, mainly because there was no way it could top 2010's After, which is pretty close to being my
favorite album of all time.
Ihsahn
truly pulled out all of the stops with Das
Seelenbrechen, openly admitting that he experimented far more than he usually would. Though he stated that this will
not be the direction his solo project takes permanently, I honestly wish it
would. This may be his most daring and well-executed release since Emperor's legendary
debut, In The Nightside Eclipse. Pure
perfection from beginning to end.
Standout
Songs: "Hiber", "Regen"
3:
Watain - The Wild Hunt
Watain
are quite simply my favourite black metal group of all time, as well as one of
my favorite bands period. Frontman Erik Danielsson's stage presence and lyrics
are second to none. The Wild Hunt is
an absolutely spectacular album, that bleeds pure evil and darkness with every
note. Most of the album is what you have come to expect from Watain, pure
unadulterated black metal. That all changes when you come to my favourite track
on the album, "They Rode On". The band has received a great amount of
criticism for this song, which can almost be considered Bathory worship, post-Blood Fire Death. Clean vocals and
guitars show a side of Watain we have never imagined, and it works. "They
Rode On" alone put the album in my top 10, and the rest of the album made
it tough to only put The Wild Hunt at
number three.
Standout
Songs: "They Rode On", "Outlaw"
2:
Hate - Solarflesh
Polish
blackened death metal masters Hate are tied with Behemoth as my favourite death
metal band of all time. I was first introduced to them on their US tour with
Mayhem, and immediately fell in love. Vocalist/guitarist Adam "ATF
Sinner" Buszko and bassist Slawomir
"Mortifer" Archangielskij both went out of their way to make sure I
enjoyed the show after their set, truly caring about my experience. That means
a lot in this day and age, where artists seem to be indifferent towards their
fans. It is truly a tragedy that Slawomir was taken from us earlier this year,
and I am proud to have called him my friend.
Solarflesh is Hate's
8th studio album, and may be their finest work to date. The production quality
is flawless, and the musicianship even more-so. After what may be the coolest
intro track in the history of death metal, the album hits like a freight train,
with riffs that put even the mighty Pantera to shame. If you ask me, off the
top of my head, to name one of my favorite riffs in metal history, chances are
it is off of Solarflesh.
Standout
Songs: "Festival of Slaves", "Sadness Will Last Forever"
1:
Hell - Curse and Chapter
My
most anticipated album of 2013, Hell's Curse
and Chapter takes the number one spot on my list by a hair. My guitar
teacher Paul Allender (Cradle of Filth, White Empress) introduced me to Hell
when he was doing artwork for their debut album, 2011's Human Remains. While Human Remains
stands as one of the greatest NWOBHM albums of all time, Curse and Chapter takes everything the
previous album did, and multiplies it ten-fold. Hell did what I thought was
impossible: make NWOBHM fresh again.
I
have had a 'hell' of a time trying to find a downside to this album, and found
nothing yet. It has surpassed every expectation I had, and left me completely
satisfied. The highlight of the album is the epic "Darkhangel".
"Darkhangel" has everything you could want in a song. Mood-setting
intro, awesome riffage, catchy choruses, neck-breaking bridges, mind-melting
solos, chanting outro, Aleister Crowley quotes, everything.
Standout
Songs: "The Age of Nefarious", "Darkhangel"
EP
of the Year
Nott - Obsidian Depths
Alaska's
Nott is easily my favorite band to come out of the whole 'djent' movement,
keeping everything I like about the 'genre', such as crushing riffs and extreme
down-tuning, and leaving everything I didn't like, mainly the clean vocals and
super technical guitar wankery. Mastermind Tyler Campbell has set the bar high
for any band wanting to label themselves as 'heavy', no matter the subgenre.
This EP is the heaviest 18 minutes I have ever heard.
Video of the Year
Behemoth - "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel"
Video by Grupa13
Video by Grupa13
("Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" was originally my Single of the Year, but I decided to make it my Video of the Year, instead, so I can include another one of my favourite band's newest release.)
Honestly, how could this NOT be the best video of the year? Behemoth can do no wrong, and "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" does not disappoint. The video shows a young woman running from a wolf and becoming part of an evil ritual to become an angel with wings made of pig carcasses. Also, tits. The entire video is in black and white, and that does not detract in the least. I did not even notice it until the second or third viewing. Behemoth and Grupa13 really outdid themselves this time.
Behemoth are my biggest inspiration as a musician, and tracks such as "Alas, Lord Is Upon Me" and "Lucifer" are a couple of my favourites by the Polish metal gods. "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" continues the pattern of the aforementioned track, including both slow, yet powerful sections separated by an absolutely blistering fast part in the middle. Seeing as this is only the intro track to next year's The Satanist, I am extremely anxious to hear the rest of the album.
Honestly, how could this NOT be the best video of the year? Behemoth can do no wrong, and "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" does not disappoint. The video shows a young woman running from a wolf and becoming part of an evil ritual to become an angel with wings made of pig carcasses. Also, tits. The entire video is in black and white, and that does not detract in the least. I did not even notice it until the second or third viewing. Behemoth and Grupa13 really outdid themselves this time.
Behemoth are my biggest inspiration as a musician, and tracks such as "Alas, Lord Is Upon Me" and "Lucifer" are a couple of my favourites by the Polish metal gods. "Blow Your Trumpets Gabriel" continues the pattern of the aforementioned track, including both slow, yet powerful sections separated by an absolutely blistering fast part in the middle. Seeing as this is only the intro track to next year's The Satanist, I am extremely anxious to hear the rest of the album.
Single of the Year
Keep of Kalessin - "Introspection"
I have been a huge Keep of Kalessin fan for years, having discovered them at around the same time as Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea Cycle of books, which have become tied with Game of Thrones as my favourite book series of all time. The reason I am telling you this is that, coincidentally, Keep of Kalessin's name, as well as much of their lyrical material, is based on The Earthsea Cycle.
"Introspection" is the first new song by Keep of Kalessin since their 2010 masterpiece, Reptilian, and the subsequent departure of vocalist Torbjørn "Thebon" Schei. For "Introspection", guitarist and Keep of Kalessin founding member Arnt "Obsidian C." Grønbech covers the vocal duties himself, and does a fantastic job. Minus the absence of Thebon, who is one of my favourite vocalists of all time, "Introspection" is everything I was hoping for in a follow up to Reptilian.
The track begins with a calm, collected choir which transitions into a massive bass-lead riff. This is followed by a very catchy verse section. After a couple of verses, the track hits it's high-point: a beautiful chorus of clean vocals sung over the bass-lead intro riff. I found myself singing along to this chorus for days on end. The solo after the chorus is technical and extremely well done, as are all of Obsidian C.'s solos. I absolutely can not wait until the new Keep of Kalessin album, due hopefully next year!