I think it’s written somewhere that every story
starts at the beginning. However
that sounds like bullhooky to me, so instead Pyramid Noise is going to start at the
end. The end of the year is approaching and that means end of year lists.
It’s likely no secret to
anyone with a function brain suspended in the jar that is the Rock and Metal
music scene, that this year has seen more than its fair share of top-notch
releases. Over the next week or so Monolith Sound will present our top 30 (yes,
30!) albums of the year. If you want to listen along as you read there will be an 8tracks playlist included at the bottom of every article!
Obviously this list will
be objectively wrong to everyone who reads it, including me who will deem
in woefully inaccurate as soon as it is posted. Thus comments are not only
welcomed, but encouraged. I yearn to be told how wrong I am.
30: Intervals – A Voice
Within
Scoff if you will but
Intervals, on their debut full length, have in spades what many djent bands
completely lack. Song writing ability. Everything you’d expect from a djent
album is present but it is married with an ability to write songs that don’t
just sound like a series of riffs crammed thoughtlessly crammed together. The
album has vocal hooks in spades that will have you singing along on a first
listen. The riffs groove and… well… djent
without begging for attention like a needy child. Djent is maturing into a more
legitimate genre year by year and A Voice Within is part of that charge.
29: Destrage – Are You Kidding Me? No.
While this album from Italian
Prog-Metallers Destrage has tongue firmly planted in cheek this ferociously uncontrollable
release is far from a joke. Combining the best parts from bands such as Protest
the Hero and The Dillinger Escape Plan, Destrage create an album full of gymnastic
feats of prog, whilst still providing hooks that will stay with you for a long
time afterwards. In true prog style Destrage refuses to stay with one thing for
too long, going from noodley solos, to surf rock, to drum and bass to anything
else that takes their fancy in the space of one track. Despite the silliness of
their lyrical themes (shooting zombies in the face anyone?) Destrage have
crafted an intricately detailed, yet aggressive beast of an album that is
almost unique in the metal world.
29: Destrage – Are You Kidding Me? No.
28: Falloch – This Island,
Our Funeral
I recently visited the
desolate Rannoch Moor in the Highlands of Scotland with this album on the car
stereo. Never before have I heard an album that so perfectly suits the air of
quiet, grim emptiness that instils the Highlands themselves. This should
perhaps not be so surprising since Falloch themselves are denizens of the bleak
North of Britain. Some traditional Scottish folk instrumentation is blended
with a Post-Metal atmosphere (that at times flirts with the edges of Black and
Doom Metal) to create a dreamy, emotionally charged journey into the bleak
unknown. Whilst some have claimed the album falls into the realm of “background
music” I find that the album is instead a majestic soundtrack to dark
discoveries among fog drenched rocks.
Black Metal, in recent years,
has undergone a kind of renaissance. It has become something far greater than
its dark, anti-religious origins and has embraced the weird and the wonderful; mixing
itself with a whole range of other styles. Last year’s shoegazey media darling
Sunbather solidified Black Metal as a genre that can basically do whatever it
wants. Botanist’s plant themed VI: Flora does exactly that and it is beautiful.
It is as simple as that. Thematically Botanist seek a return to nature from
modern civilisation. The pain of the album comes not from religious hatred or
self-loathing, but from the destruction of nature, of our original mother. Replacing
the guitar with the sustain powerhouse that is a Hammer Dulcimer (think a cross
between a harp and a xylophone) gives the project scope for soundscapes more
traditional black metal bands are incapable of reproducing, one that fits the
theme of the lyrics perfectly. If there ever was a metal album that perfectly
considers the glory and beauty of nature, it is this one.
(For those not in the
know here's a picture of Rannoch Moor)
27: Botanist – VI: Flora
26: Beyond Creation –
Earthborn Evolution
Technical Death Metal is
not a genre that I can normally appreciate. Much like djent focus has moved
away from song writing and towards technical wankery and the guitar equivalent
of basement dwelling. Beyond Creation do indeed possess chops to make the most
confident of musicians get down on their knees and pray, but this is coupled
with an ability to know when best to use it. Tracks are not lightning-quick
experiments in spasmodic riff construction and soloing. Rather they are actual
songs in which technicality is part of the journey, not its end. This is
tech-death that is not only enjoyable by musicians, but those who just like
really. Damn. Good. Metal. Finally it would be amiss for me to not mention the
fretless bass playing on this album. So there it is… I mentioned it. I won’t
attempt to explain it further as mortal words are not capable for describing
such things.
Following on from a Technical
Death Metal album, we have… another Technical Death Metal album. Inanimate
Existence’s brand of Tech Death shares a lot in common with Beyond Creation. Both know how to write interesting bits of music that degrade into
meaningless riff-mush. What slightly pushes Inanimate Existence ahead is their
unique approach to song writing.This is a purely spiritual endeavour; both the bands
lyrics and arrangements focus on cycles. Riffs come together in a naturally cohesive structure that is brash, but strangely welcoming, aggressive, but
hypnotic. (On a less pretentious aside the riff shred like little else I’ve
heard.) A Never Ending Cycle of Atonement is brimming in the personality that most other albums in the genre
simply lack.
25: Inanimate Existence –
A Never Ending Cycle of Atonement
24: Marmozets – The
Weird And Wonderful Marmozets
I did not expect to love
Marmozets as much as I do. Printed upon the pages of magazines such as Rock
Sound I dismissed them as a band akin to Paramore, but how wrong I was. The
Weird and Wonderful is a mixture of straight up punk sensibility, precision mathcore
riffing and indie rock hooks. It’s all very easy listening compared to the
majority of this list, but that doesn’t stop it from rocking out hard. It would
be all too easy to try and play a cynicism card and say that Marmozets are trying to target specific demographics with their brand of brainworm
punk. Even if this were the case, however, I would struggle to hate it. This is not
only an album for the 14 year old first reaching out into a world of music
outside of the pop-sphere, but an album for the jaded 20-something year old
that assumes everything in the mainstream music world is likely a bit naff. Guilty as
charged I guess.
23: Krokodil – Nachash
Krokodil describe themselves
as “mainly beards and riffs”, I would like to counter point this description by saying that
this album is the sound of someone grinding your very soul to dust with the
heel of their boot. Sitting somewhere between Sludge and Groove Metal, this British
supergroup bring the heavy in a grimy, disgusting way. The grooves are
incredibly well executed, the bass work often being given far more attention that normal in conjuncture with absolutely merciless riffing. It’s hard not
to rock your head back and forth whilst staring into the middle distance giving
it your best Phil Anselmo sneer. Just be careful not to punch anything.
22: The Devin Townsend
Project – Z2: Dark Matters
For the sake of this
list, I am splitting Devin Townsend’s latest work, Z2, into its
component parts, as both Dark Matters and Sky Blue are truly different beasts.
Dark Matters, the Crazed Canadian’s sequel to fan favourite Ziltoid the
Omniscient falls a little short of its predecessor, however it is still an
absolute joy. It’s cheesy, it’s silly, it’s about an alien war about little
nutsack/bum hybrid looking creatures called Poozers. All the metal elements that
Devin was once known for are here, but coloured slightly with the grandiose cheesiness
that more recent albums such as Addicted! and Epicloud contained. This mixture
does nothing to detract from the album however and only adds to the B-Movie
spirit of the album. The result is an absolute romp that deserves to be
listened to in one sitting.
21: †††
(Crosses) - †††
Deftones
Frontman Chino Moreno has his fingers in many musical pies and “†††” is one
damn tasty pie (try not to think about that metaphor too hard.) A wholly un-metal
album (as if that mattered) this self-titled release is an undeniably creepy
mix of electronics and more traditional rock instrumentation. There is a gothic
atmosphere that permeates this record, though that is not to say that it sounds like
The Sisters of Mercy (or even completely like Depeche Mode by whom the group are undoubtedly
influenced) circa 1980-something. Rather that there is simply something
incredibly sinister about the whole vibe off this album. Electric Organs lay slightly out of tune in the background, pad sounds ripped straight from old horror movies and Chino's voice comes into it's own, letting his haunting croon come into full effect. If there was ever a
modern musical equivalent to the ghoul lurking in an abandoned bell tower, it
may well be “†††”’s debut album.
That concludes the first part to this Best of 2014 countdown! Come back on Wednesday 17th for part 2!
That concludes the first part to this Best of 2014 countdown! Come back on Wednesday 17th for part 2!
