1. Metallica – Hardwired…to Self Destruct. 2. Entombed AD – Dead Dawn 3. Full of Hell & The Body – One Day you will Ache like I Ache 4. Nashgul – Carcava 5. Nails – You will Never be One of Us 6. Embalmer – Emanations from the Crypt 7. Interment – Scent of the Buried 8. Martyrdöd – List 9. Vektor – Terminal Redux 10. Deathspell Omega – The Synarchy of Molten Bones
1. Metallica – Hardwired…to Self Destruct.
2. Entombed AD – Dead Dawn
3. Full of Hell & The Body – One Day you will Ache like I Ache
Suffocation – Bloodoath, Suffocation & Souls to Deny Helvetets Port – Man with the Chains Anal Cunt – Fuckin A Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier Skyforger – Kurbas Ross the Boss – New Metal leader Tribulation – The Horror In Solitude – In Solitude Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax – The big 4 DVD Devourment – Butcher the Weak
Suffocation – Bloodoath, Suffocation & Souls to Deny
Helvetets Port – Man with the Chains
Anal Cunt – Fuckin A
Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier
Skyforger – Kurbas
Ross the Boss – New Metal leader
Tribulation – The Horror
In Solitude – In Solitude
Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth & Anthrax – The big 4 DVD
Hey! Here are 10 albums that made me laugh, cry and headbang in my studio 2009:
1. Helvetes Port – Exodus to Hell 2. Steel Panther – Death to all but metal 3. brokenCYEDE – I hate it but the kids like it 4. Blessed by a Broken Heart – Pedal to the Metal 5. Pathology – Age of Onset 6. Nile – Thom the Goods Deteste 7. Teitan Blood – Seven Chalices 8. Katharsis – 4th Reich 9. Skeletonwitch – Breathing the Fire 10. Vektor – Black Future
1. Helvetes Port – Exodus to Hell Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/helvetetsport
2. Steel Panther – Death to all but metal Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/steelpantherkicksass
3. brokenCYEDE – I hate it but the kids like it Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/brokencyde
4. Blessed by a Broken Heart – Pedal to the Metal Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/blessedbyabrokenheart
5. Pathology – Age of Onset Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/pathologydm
2008 has been the worst year in my life. Im glad its gone and I hope it never comes back. The music I listened to last year was most with a happy vibe, compared to earlier play lists. I guess the grotesque hate rape kill music is meant for happy times. Fast heavy metal with high pitched vocals. With Iron Maiden as an exception, I have always had a hard time getting into metal with clean singing. All this changed 2008, don’t know what happened. Maybe Im maturating or something. The favorites has been: 1. Mercyful Fate Danish new wave of heavy metal from early 80ies, with the legendary King Diamonds falsetto as a trade mark. Love the cover of their first EP. A crucified girl with pentagram string panties, surrounded by ghouls. Devils Eye are the most possessed singing ever recorded. 2. 3 Inches of Blood Amazing new band from Canada. Their album Fire up the Blades, was the album that triggered my fascination with this musical genre. 3. Halford Judas Preist singer Rob Halford made two albums in 2000 (Resurection) and 2002 (Crucible). Both of them totally passed me by then, but are now 2 of my favorites ever. Long live the METAL GOD! 4. Portrait Mercyful Fate was an awesome band, but the material from the reunion never managed to create any magic. A young band from Sweden, Portrait are the ones to pick up the torch. Their first, self titled album is so amazing you think its actually recorded 1983 and not 2008. 5. Vallient Thorr Well, actually not clean vocals heavy metal, rather a mix of punk and AC/DC and some metal. Their album Immortalizer spinning almost non stop in my iTunes :P The Ancient death metal Kult 6. Dismember Swedish Dismember returnes with a new drummer and a new album. Not hiding their influences at all, the offer a mix of Autopsy, Repulsion, Iron Maiden and Swedish chainsaw death metal guitar. Dismember their best album in their career, since the debute Like an everflowing Stream. 7. Acid Witch This year Razorback Records released some rely heavy death metal, made the true and only way: repugnant and putrid. Acid Witch is a funny one, mixing slow old school death metal with psychedelic rock and hamond organ. Sounds stupid but works excellent. 8. Hooded Menace Fullfill the Cures is the debut by Hooded Menace from Finland, out on Razorback Records. Slow heavy doom death, drawing influences from Candlemass, early death metal and the Spanish horror movies “Tomb of the blind deadâ€. Its so excellent it sounds totally like Finnish 1992 death metal. 9. Decrepithaph At the end of 2008 Razorback released yet another epitome of slow heavy darkness. Condemned Cathedral embodies everything that was so great with death metal in 1989. It like a case studies of this music genre when it was created in basements by teenagers, not knowing what legacy it would leav behind. 10. Resistant Culture I picked up Welcome to Reality because it was Jesse Pintardos last recording before he died from diabetes. Grind Crust from California, with tight metal production. Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower and Discharge are the corner stones, but what makes it stand out is the Native Indian Chanting in some songs. At first I thought it was a joke, then I listened for the amusement and now Im totally into it.
The Big Thrash Metal Revival 2008 was the year when 80ies Thrash Metal was coming back big. You could see kids with patch wests a white reebok hightops, left and right and labels released albums with nuclear zombies and vector based logos on, happily licking up this new trend. I checked out the most, but have been kind of picky. 11. Metallica Return of the gigants. Have been out of the metalica loop for almost 15 years, but *Chough*downloaded* chaugh* Death Magnetic to check it out. And…it wasent that bad. These old hacks finally made something that reminded of why they once were great. This made me go back and listen through everything they ever done, even St. Anger and Load/ ReLoad. But I didn’t stop there, I got hold of all their demos, a bunch (30+) live bootlegst and rewatched the “Some kind of Monster†movie. This was a sweet thing, kind of like squashing the beef with some old friend and catching up again. Man, listening to Kill em All today, and it still cutting it like back in the day. 12. Exodus Why get excited about the young blood, when the old ones are still around and doing it better than any one else? Everything Exodus put out since the reunion is awesome. 13. Skelettonwitch Well, maybe not really retro thash…vocals are black metal and it’s a lot of blast beats and death metal in the music. I just see them at labeled retro thrash a lot so I put em in here….excellent band though. Beyond the Permafrost is my favourite if I hav to pick one from 2008. 14. Cannabis Corpse Definitely not retro thrash, but the pet project of Land Phil of Municipal Waste that definitely is retro thrash. A Cannibal Corpse tribute band mixed with good weed. Everything is excellent with this band. Loved everything Cannibal Corpse done, but not the last one as much as I wanted to. The Cannabis version saved the day by doing it all right, humor, warmth and catchy, brutal death metal. Hail mighty Bud Monster!
Some Jazz to spice it up 15. Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Milford Graves I thought the day of great jazz died with Albert Ayler and John Coltrane in 1968, but I was wrong, thank you. Contemporary legendary gigants Anthony Braxton, William Parker & Milford Graves comes together for first time. Recorded and mixed by Bill Laswell for excellent sound, this is a masterpiece equall to the stuff from the good old times. William Parker On the album Double Sunrise Over Neptune William Parker delivers some contemporary big band jazz, with some of today’s best players. Funky, catchy, melodic vs. atonal and complex. The Avant Gard called to say it want back its clichés Krzysztof Penderecki I love Pendereckis St. Luck Passin. Can you belive I was happy when I found out there was two sequals. St. Luck is about the crusificaton of Christ, Jutrznia/ Utrenya is about the death, mourning and resurrection. Just as over the top crazy passionate if not even more, than the first one. Bruno Maderna & Luigi Nono Italian modernism, excellent stuff. Can someone explain why I missed out on the two above guys? Anyway, Nono is very extreme and harse in the 60ies and 70ies (i.e. good stuff) and mellows out in the 80ies (ok stuff). Maderna was lucky to die young, and therefore missing out on the wanky part of his career. A modernist sound with a touch of romantics and mysticism. The three oboe concerts are a good place to start. Henry Brant Discovered a Canadian composer thanks to a tips from the Anthony Braxton Yahoo group. Completely unknown to me, but thanks to Innova records almost his entire output is available. Lots of percussion, quotation and dramatic gestures. Very much like John Zorn, George Crumb, Harry Partch and other north American composers. A true gem.
OK, music lovers, that was my playlist for 2008. Same time, next year. Till then, keep all ears open, the horns flying and the art coming.
All best Kalle
Mercyful Fate EP
3 Inches of Blood – Fire up the Blades
Halford – Resurrection
Halford – Crucible
Portrait – Portrait
Vallient Thorr – Immortalizer
Dismember – Dismember
Acid Witch – Witchtanic Hellucinations
Hooded Menace – Fullfill the Cures
Decrepithaph – Condemned Cathedral
Resistant Culture – Welcome to Reality
Metallica – Death Magnetic
Exodus– Let There Be Blood
Skelettonwitch – Beyond the Permafrost
Cannabis Corpse – Tube of the Resinated
Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Milford Graves – Beyond Quantum
William Parker – Double Sunrise Over Neptune
Krzysztof Penderecki – St. Luke’s Passion
Krzysztof Penderecki – Utrenja I: The Entombment of Christ
Bruno Maderna: Concerto per oboe e orchestra No.1 (1962/1963)
Hey! Thanx for asking, I love doing top 10s :) See the attatchment for my list….if you need any more info or anything, let me know. All best, Kalle
1. Coffins – everything Japans heaviest band? Well, maybe one of two. If Corrupted is the crusty big brother, Coffins is the repugnant, snotty little brother. Drawing influences from the true source, like Autopsy, Carnage, early Asphyx, Venom etc. I worship everything they released so far, but it was “The other side of Basphemy that pulled me into the Coffins. 2. Virginia metal tie: Battlemaster- Warthirsting and Winterbound Cannabis Corpse – Blunted at Birth Lately Virginia has bred a bunch of new killer bands. One of them Battlemaster. Still on indie label, doing DIY tours. A leathaly catchy mix of technical death metal, melodic black metal and a bouncy thrashy touch. Awesome Dungeons and Dragons lyrics, like This mead is making me Warlike, song about getting drunk on a tavern and starting a brawl with dwarfs and elfs. Awesome! The singer is also in the Cannibal Corpse and Weed tribute band Cannabis Corpse, under the pseudonym Weedgrinder. Also in that band we find Landfill from Municipal Waste and his brother Hallhammer. 3. Florida death metal tie: Obituary – Xecutioners Return Denial Fiend – They Rise Obituary are back! Well, this is their second album since the reunion, but now the song writing is back in shape! actually it’s the best they done since Cause of Death (Yet frozen in time has their best sound ever). Also the have Ralph Santolla in the band (ex- Death, Deicide, Sebastian Bach) and he provides some mean leads, just like James Murphy did back on Cause! Denial Fiend are a new band of old veterans! Kam Lee from Mantas/Death/Massacre and Terry Butler Death/Massacre/Six Feet under. Its not far away from their other bands, old school death metal, but some cool hard core and horror punk influences have slipped in and made things more fun. 4. Yngwie Malmsteen – 4 first albums Sweden’s biggest rock star, totally under rated in his native country’s music history. He have had some trouble develop his idees the last years, and also a lot of other problems but still, the early stuff ripps. 5. Brutal Truth – Live in Oslo The best thing that happened in metal this year was that Brutal Truth has reunited. To make this even better, they came to Oslo to grind. I also got a chance to talk to Dan Liker (the Brian Wilson of extreme metal), who was super cool, and told that a new album was in progress. Yeeeeessssssssssss!! now get that god damn Overlord Exterminator album out too!!! 6. Waking the Cadaver – Perverse Recollections Of A Necromangler Slam Groove Death Metal is the best when its done right, and Waking the Cadaver from New Jesrey is doing just that. Maybe not up there with Devourment (yet) but Perverse Recollections Of A Necromangler is an excellent debut. A warning, there are some heavy wigger looks going on in the band. I can handle it, but if you’re sensitive for such thing, try avoiding look at CD inlays etc. 7. Slugathor – Circle of death Slugathor from Finland are doing old school, Bolt Thrower style death metal, with a hint of black metal necro ugliness. Soumi Finland Death Metal! 8. Tetsu Arrey – II Japanese hard core have taken some hard blows this year with the death of the singer from Disclose and also Paintbox. These tragedies was a trigger for rediscovering a lot these cool bands. One of my favourites of all time is Tetsu Arrey! the opening track of II, “GO†must be something of the heaviest and coolest ever recorded. 9. Ghoul – Splatterthrash The guys from Impaled released a new album just a few weeks ago, and that was damn close to make my list! but it didn’t. Instead I want to plug their side project Ghoul, where two of the Impaled members appears hooded and under synonym: death metal meets thrash meets surf rock meets Tales from the Crypt real life cartoons. Excellent! 10. Dekapitator – The storm before the calm Old forgotten 80ies thrash metal is always a great place to look for good music. The freshness of that era can never be recreated in today’s poser infested musical scene. or can it? Maybe there is one exception, and that is if Matt Harvey is in the band. this guy knows his metal and he totally shows that in Dekapitator. Everything is there, including the most important, the true FEELING! Live for metal, kill for Dekapitato
Coffins / The Arm And Sword Of A Bastard God
Battlemaster- Warthirsting and Winterbound
Cannabis Corpse – Blunted at Birth
Obituary – Turned inside out
Denial Fiend – They Rise
Yngwie Malmsteen – Rising Force
Brutal Truth – Live
Waking the Cadaver – Perverse Recollections Of A Necromangler
Hey Ron. Thanks for asking me to do this…Im a sucker for writing top lists If there is a god, music is his gift to mankind…I love to be wrapped in new stuff all the time…from the top of my head, here is some stuff that has been on my playlist 2006 (most stuff from last months…well, well…here we go.)
1. Knives of Resistance – Prisca Sapientia 2006 A great thing that happened this year was getting to know Tony Spykidelic Wilson and his music. Hot of the press on the Aurora Borealis label. Anyone remotely interested in electronic music, psychedelic, black metal & whatever should check this out. Mandatory! myspace.com/knivesovresistance Label: aurora-b.com
3. Municipal Waste Hazardous Mutation 2005 This stuff caught my eye cause of the Ed Repka cover….also caught em live in Australia when I visited in August…this lead to kick start my total thrash revival……Thraaaaash!!!! Mp3: Unleash The Bastards Mp3: Toxic Revolution www.facethewaste.com
5. Brutal Truth – Sounds of the Animal Kingdom/Kill Trend Suicide 2006 (1997/1996) Woo-ho . After 10 years of silence, they are back and reformed the remasterd re-release of Sound of the animal Kingdom brought back many good memories. brutaltruth.com
7. Noothgrush Erode the Person (compilation) 2006 Yet another post humus goldie discoverery. Crusty, sludgy, doomy and heavy as fukk. Featuring ex Winter member. myspace.com/noothgrush
