Another year is just about in the books. As the world teeters further and further toward the chasm of total breakdown, we the good soldier ants continue to plow through our existences. Some people walk onward, heedless and ignorant, swallowing whatever the mainstream pisses down their throats as they chase the next iPhone. I'd like to think fans of heavy metal music stand just a little bit apart from it all, and whether it is meant to provide escape from reality or to highlight reality's cruelest low-lights, our music continues to be a call to arms.
It has always been the clarion for resistance, and as such it continues to bring out the best in human creativity. Despite the infighting within metal, the genre tags and the endless tiresome dick-measuring contest of 'who is more kvlt?', heavy metal stands at the forefront of a very small style of art whose conception will always be 'one or more humans in a room surrounded by real instruments making up songs.'
This is how music is created. Modern day cookie cutter pop and hip-hop? No thanks. Leave the hall. Metal musicians get it, and metal fans get it. As such we tend to be folks who resist not only creative stagnation but also mental stagnation. I think the trendy word for this is 'woke,' but I refuse to use a grammatically incorrect term in order to convey enlightenment. Kind of an oxymoron, that. Our music and its fans are awake, and this, I truly believe, will always be so.
Mimicking the traditional pop format, here it is, your Top-40 hits of the year. (Truth be told, the difference between 40th and 1st on this list is tiny. Music, like love, is fickle. Tastes fluctuate, and in my estimation these albums are all so good as to be damn near interchangeable).
Best wishes in the new year, loyal readers . . .
40. CAVALERA CONSPIRACY – Psychosis
If we could jump in the Delorean and haul our asses back to 1996, we could perhaps yank Max Cavalera into 2017, skipping the nu-metal nonsense entirely. This, therefore, might have been what the follow-up to Chaos AD could have sounded like. The further this man gets from the first clutch of Soulfly albums, the better off we all are. Psychosis is nasty, thrashy, and vicious. I've been mildly, almost reluctantly, interested in this band over its lifespan, but Psychosis is the first time I truly felt the excitement of what Sepultura represented to me back in the day. (Napalm Records)
39. RAM – Rod
This album has steadily grown on me, and its honest heavy metal heart deserves a spot on this list. Oscar Carlquist's vocals alone are enough to elevate it to classic status. The hooks and head banging qualities within its steel fuselage insinuate themselves into your skull and take root. This is high octane traditional heavy metal at its finest, from the land of Sweden. All hail the Ramrod! (Metal Blade Records)
38. VALBORG – Endstrand
Whatever it is these Germans are doing, you need to hear it. Doomy, apocalyptic, stripped down blackened rock meets militaristic industrial overtones, while bass-lines thick as gallows rope twine their way into your sternum. (Prophecy Productions)
37. EREB ALTOR – Ulfven
Don't get it twisted. Folk-metal has come a long way from the happy drunken safety of the 2000's. At its heart the genre was always best represented by bands like Sweden's Ereb Altor. Six original full-lengths in eight years may seem like a lot, but the grandiose melodies, epic vocal splendor, and magnificent arrangements shows the band has a lot of quality material up their vambraces. Ulfven is a superior album. (Hammerheart Records)
36. IMMOLATION – Atonement
Getting better with age, the serpentine juggernaut from Yonkers, New York once more obliterates the genre of death metal with Atonement. Each song seethes with lethal immediacy, yet hidden within the maelstrom are subtleties in timing and melody, technical without losing any heart. No punches pulled, this is Immolation firing on all cylinders. (Nuclear Blast Records)
35. MYRKUR – Mareridt
Love her or hate her, Amalie Bruun has emerged from Danish pop obscurity to stand before the judgment of her detractors and plunge ahead, bestowing her graceful coldness amidst a swirl of lo-fi blackened folk, ethereal choral arrangements, and bewitching balladry. (Relapse Records)
34. THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNIR – Skadi
The compositions on Skadi envelop, enrapture, and immerse the listener in superb atmospheres, while progressive textures soothe the soul into reflective bliss. The mixture of icy screams and clean, shoe-gazey vocals are woven together alongside some stunning guitar work. Each sprawling passage is better than the last. Album number six by these Colorado bards is a massive success. (Eisenwald Records)
33. CNOC AN TURSA – The Forty Five
Sophomore effort from these Scotsmen sees them building upon their debut, gaining fury and strength like a gale off the North Sea. Falkirk's finest balance their pagan black metal attack with the power of synths, gang vocals, and traditional flair. Folkiness sans foolery, The Forty Five is a rager no one should do without. (Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings)
32. KMFDM – Hell Yeah!
But wait, you're saying. KMFDM isn't metal! This is a very heavy record, and it has distorted guitar, so I'm crossing my arms and holding my breath for this one. The album pounds the skull, the pulse, and anything in its path. Hell Yeah! these German veterans just made one of the strongest albums in their storied career, and though metal's distant cousins may be seated at the table farthest from the bridal party, they still get invited to the wedding. (Ear Music/KMFDM Records)
31. VASSAFOR – Malediction
Murky, oppressive thunder from down un- let me digress from any hackneyed turns of phrase. This New Zealand duo decimates the senses on this their sophomore album. Whispers a la Beherit mix with hellish soundscapes that never dissuade the listener from clutching incorporeal fruit and hopping around the room. If nihilistic madness had a soundtrack, Malediction would be it.
30. AKERCOCKE – Renaissance in Extremis
Returning after a long slumber, these eccentric English gents may be sounding less vicious than albums past, but extremely potent and progressive nonetheless. Gorgeous and cutting guitar work strives with a vocal attack that varies from throat churning gurgle to hoarse bellow to clean, calm tones underpins a marvelous songwriting effort. Join the renaissance of Akercocke! (Peaceville Records)
29. SONS OF CROM – The Black Tower
When a Swede and a Finn join forces to make bardic heavy metal, the results have potential to be great. For Sons of Crom, sophomore effort The Black Tower delivers massive riffs, catchy arrangements, robust clean vocals, and that 'it' factor many bands reach for but few achieve. (Nordvis Produktion)
28. SATAN'S HALLOW – Satan's Hallow
Mandy Martillo has a refreshingly classic vocal repertoire going on. With Satan's Hallow, she is fronting some of the best honest to goodness true heavy metal this side of the moon. The debut album by this Chicago based band strikes a delicious chord deep in the heart of the genre. (Underground Power Records)
27. PORTRAIT – Burn The World
If power metal is going to experience enough of a resurgence to wrest itself from the cheesier, shallower, frilly-shirt variety, its going to be at the behest of bands like Portrait, Satan's Hallow, and RAM. Burn The World is the Swedish power merchant's fourth full-length album, and it positively storms. All the elements of power, speed, and thrash coalesce, held down by the excellent singing voice of Per Lengstedt. (Metal Blade Records)
26. AUÐN – Farvegir Fyrndar
Iceland is beginning to have as many great metal bands as it does sheep and volcanoes. Unlike sheep, and much more like volcanoes, Auðn has crafted a marvelous work of atmospheric black metal guaranteed to please fans of Winterfylleth, Dynfari (with whom they share some members), and a bit of Wolves In The Throne Room. (Season of Mist Records)
25. PRONG – Zero Days
2018 will mark 30 years since this New York City based band made their debut album Force Fed. Three decades later, Prong sounds as innovative and ravenous as ever they have. The brainchild of Tommy Victor, one never knows what will come from these difficult to classify veterans. On Zero Days, there is zero doubt that they can conceive a truly kick-ass record. (Steamhammer Records)
24. GRAVE PLEASURES – Motherblood
Leave it to Kvohst (Mathew McNerney) to land on his feet. The extremely productive vocalist (Hexvessel, Code, DHG) blew it up with Beastmilk, before that band unfortunately fractured. Reborn as Grave Pleasures, second offering Motherblood is several notches better than their debut, while just about equaling the special magic achieved on 2013's Climax (Beastmilk). Apocalyptic post-punk indeed…catchy and dark, don't let it pass you by. (Century Media Records)
23. SAMAEL – Hegemony
Switzerland's black-hearted veterans of industrial metal have returned with their strongest album since 1999's Eternal. Blending the elements of 1996's seminal Passage album with their life-affirming 'against all enemies' lyrical slant, the album is hungrier and more alive than they've sounded in some time. (Napalm Records)
22. VINTERSORG – Till Fjalls del II
Melodies as playful as drifting snowflakes, uplifting layers of both clean and savage vocals as catchy as they are epic, the Swedish folk metal legend returns with the sequel to his first solo album. Chock full of elements of power metal, folk metal, and arrangements worthy of an orchestra, Andreas Hedlund delivers his heathen poetry in fine form once again. (Napalm Records)
21. SAIVA – Markerna bortom
Tribal, gorgeously minimalist, and heathen to the bone, Markerna bortom is the unique debut album from this Norrland, Sweden, blackened folk collective. As bewitching as dusk in the boreal forest, it will weave its way into the spirit of the listener and there take root. (Nordvis Produktion)
20. THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL / FOREFATHER – English Steel
This is a split album, and taken as a whole it certainly makes it into my top-40 of 2017. One of the most obscure and creative forces in black metal meets one of the truest heathen metal duos plying the trade. Adventurous cover songs, high quality originals, this is the beating heart of the underground here and the results speak for themselves. This split includes the Forefather EP Tales From a Cloud-borne Land. (Godreah Records)
19. MALOKARPATAN – Nordkarpatenland
From Bratislava in the ancient land of Slovakia descends an old-school take on new-school heathen metal. With a great production reminiscent of the NWOBHM, this is a hard rocking affair. Its got a real metal heart with pagan/folk sensibilities. (Invictus Productions)
18. PILLORIAN – Obsidian Arc
After disbanding Agalloch under acrimonious circumstances, John Haughm and Trevor Matthews return with an album quite reminiscent of their prior band, yet a bit more vicious in its delivery. Superb songwriting and blackened metal magic collide for a monstrous debut. (Eisenwald)
17. URARV – Aurum
Remember Norwegian black metal's avantgarde, more bizarre slew of artists? Well the mighty Aldrahn, formerly of DHG, was one of the best of that ilk. His unique vocals, bolstered by the inimitable Trish Kolsvart on drums, and Jens Johansen on bass, brings that spirit roaring back while pushing it forward, boot firmly lodged in the genre's backside. Manic and a bit terrifying, but ultimately very rewarding. (Svart Records)
16. MORK – Eremittens Dal
Reaching back to 1993 into the icy birth canal of second wave black metal, this raw but well-executed album showcases the beauty of the style's beginnings. There is still so much that black metal has to offer and Eremittens Dal shows us why. (Peaceville Records)
15. SÒLSTAFIR – Berdreyminn
Perhaps a bit less progressive and more straight ahead than its predecessor, Berdreyminn nevertheless is another great step forward for a band that always has the capacity to mesmerize. Iceland is where its at right now, and Sòlstafir are emblematic of this burgeoning scene. Impossible to categorize, this is an album to cherish. (Season Of Mist)
14. HERESIARCH – Death Ordinance
Pummeling barbarity with just enough discernible riffing and tempo shifts to make it musical. That is the clinical definition by which to illustrate what these New Zealanders have offered with debut album Death Ordinance. In simpler terms, this album is the sonic equivalent of being underneath tank treads. (Dark Descent Records)
13. ANATHEMA – The Optimist
You may not read many lists that go from bestial war metal to fluid progressive post-rock, but hell, I've been around a long time and I like a lot of different stuff. Anathema, after a five or six year absence in the 2000's, has gone from strength to strength, somehow crafting more and more beautiful albums one after the other. The Optimist rocks in places, whispers in others, lifting you up and embracing your spirit throughout it all. (Kscope Records)
12. WODE – Servants of the Countercosmos
Last year I had this band's debut in my top albums list. Having just discovered them, my heart was all aflutter. This time around there would be no element of surprise. Did it matter? Not at all, as Servants of the Countercosmos absolutely ripped off my goddamned face. This is that British black metal done right. You can't spell Wodensthrone without Wode, and while the latter are unique unto themselves, they certainly help fill the void left by the former. Slightly more immediate, going a bit more for the throat, Wode are lethal and you'd be wode not to get the hell on board. (Avantgarde Music)
11. FALLS OF RAUROS – Vigilance Perennial
The musical styling of black metal meets the longing heathen spirit on what is by far the strongest offering from this Portland, Maine based collective. A deceptively progressive work, it features some stunning instrumental passages to go with the blast and the tortured shrieks. Massive as forests, secretive as the shadows between the pines, Vigilance Perennial is magnificent. (Bindrune Recordings)
10. SATYRICON – Deep Calleth Upon Deep
If you would have asked me in the beginning of the year if I thought I'd have a Satyricon album in my best of list, I would have given voice to a series of hearty, incredulous guffaws. I honestly did not think they had it in them, but they proved me dreadfully wrong. Deep Calleth Upon Deep positively glows with creative restlessness. Frost sounds like he invented the concept of drumming, and hot damn the boys sound relevant again – just like that. Each song is amazing. Nemesis Divina it is not – nor is it the stultifying snooze-fest of their prior couple of albums. What it is, is excellent extreme metal. Listen and see . . . (Napalm Records)
9. WHOREDOM RIFE – Dommedagskvad
Trondheim, Norway, is the origin of this deadly black metal duo. This is black metal from the genre's motherland, malicious and blade-sharp and ready to peel the flesh off your skull. Unrelenting yet nuanced, this debut album should propel this band into the forefront of the underground. (Terratur Possessions)
8. KADAVAR – Rough Times
Buzz-saw bass guitar, cavern-sized riffs, and big ear-candy laden songs are the signature modus operandi of this German trio. Rough Times they may be, but with honest hard-ass sonic fare such as this, you'll face them deaf, stoned, and rocking the f**k out. These tunes deserve to be rotated on FM rock radio, if such a thing existed. (Nuclear Blast Records)
7. ACHERONTAS – Amarta
Greece has long been a bastion of excellent black metal, and Acherontas right now is arguably the best of the Hellenic bunch. Occult themes pervade Amarta, these veterans' sixth opus. Each song twists and turns, as any good spell must. Robust blasting sections meet with chants and stellar guitar soloing, ensuring no dull moments, and no wasted sections of songs. (Agonia Records)
6. ICED EARTH – Incorruptible
Guess who's back . . . back a-gain . . . Schaffer's back . . . tell a friend . . . perhaps parodying a rap artist is not the best way to convey my absolute delight at seeing this once magical true metal band back at the top of its game. It took a few albums with vocalist Stu Block, and perhaps getting Brent Smedley back behind the drum kit helped, but after a couple of so-so albums, Iced Earth has put it together and reached right back into the mid to late 1990's (their heyday in my book) to once more reclaim glory. (Century Media Records)
5. MOONSPELL – 1755
Only Iron Maiden's Book of Souls cock-blocked Moonspell's Extinct from being crowned album of the year for me back in 2015. While 1755 does not personally top Extinct, it is a massive triumph from a band unafraid to take chances. Bombastic, orchestral, poignant as the cultural tale of triumph over national tragedy it was meant to be, 1755 keeps these Portugese poets in the stratosphere where they belong, earning their spot over the course of a long and storied career. (Napalm Records)
4. KATLA – Móðurástin
Featuring Gu∂mundur Óli Pálmason, the ex-drummer of Sòlstafir, this Icelandic collective treads similar brooding paths of hard to classify soundscapes draped in gloom and cloaked in mysticism. As gorgeous and haunting as it is driving and anthemic, this is one hell of an amazing album. Each listen reveals more to wrap one's head around. Fantastic effort indeed. (Napalm Records)
3. ASAGRAUM – Potestas Magicum Diaboli
Envenomed and deadly, bursting forth to ravage and destroy, the ladies of Asagraum focus their staunch black metal attack through a kaleidoscope of Hannah Van Den Berg's (aka Obscura's) frozen vocals and breakneck melodies, and the hammer-blow percussion of Trish Kolsvart, who with good reason makes two appearances on this best-of list. Potestas Magicum Diaboli is a debut, and already its one of the more dominant black metal albums ever to grace my Christ-hating ears. Canada meets The Netherlands by way of Norway; be glad these musicians found each other. Our blackened world is all the better for their collaboration! (Kvlt Records)
2. CHELSEA WOLFE – Hiss Spun
I once described her on this here website as an outlying act just beyond the stricter realm of heavy metal music. The California native has, of late, been drifting closer and closer to the ever expanding metal universe. With Hiss Spun she weaves her stormy sorcery past the threshold and into the front hallway of the heavy metal mansion. Loathing and discomfort refracted through the stygian beauty of Wolfe's vocals, the album can be by turns feather-light and cement truck heavy. Each song breathes and boils in its own cocoon, yet the whole joins together like a string of related crimes. Essential and timeless music. . . (Sargent House Records)
1. ENSLAVED – E
I'm not gonna lie, I agonized over putting this list together. Throughout the struggle to sort such greatness, there was only one thing I was certain of; I knew with unwavering conviction that E would be my album of the year for 2017. Somehow marrying progressive exploration and that touch of Pink Floyd with their own brand of pagan black metal, Enslaved manage to sound hungrier and more substantial as time goes on. New vocalist Håkon Vinje sounds wonderful offsetting the phlegmatic growls of Grutle Kjellson, as do the Hawkind-esque keyboards he plays so well, showing that even after losing Herbrand Larsen (damn I was bummed), they march on undeterred. (Nuclear Blast Records)
