The fifth studio album by San Francisco, CA-based Hammers of Misfortune (and first for Metal Blade, which has also re-released their back catalogue), 17th Street borrows and samples widely and effectively. Hammers of Misfortune draw from the driving momentum of hard rock, the aching, atmospheric melancholia of doom and the plaintive acoustic instrumentation of folk metal with equal skill and dexterity. The album is constructed of a series of successful grafts, experiments in musical hybridity, which becomes more than the sum of its parts. These innovative combinations are also executed with deftness and restraint ― the emotion is intense but never overwrought, the guitar work is astonishingly intricate but never overdone. 17th Street is an album that succeeds because the members of Hammers of Misfortune hold artistic success and aesthetic vision above ego. Joe Hutton's vocals are rich, even sumptuous in tone, capable of mellow sweetness and defiant power, forming the perfect counterpoint to Sigrid Sheie's dreamy, haunting vocal performance. Her effervescent tone adds a quality of eerie playfulness. The keyboards are light and nimble, an integral part of the sound. The molasses-rich bass lines, organic drumming and flawless guitars are equally striking. All members of the band submit extraordinary performances, and each performance is treated with equal respect in the mix. Finally, the album fits the current socio-cultural zeitgeist perfectly. There is a deep current of discontent and frustration with the establishment and bureaucracy that runs through 17th Street. The record is very much about the glory and decay of the urban landscape, the way cities both serve and fail their inhabitants. When examined as a reaction to the current feelings of cultural and political betrayal, this theme is beautifully executed and completely genuine. Uncompromising and intelligent, cathartic and moving, 17th Street is as lovely as it is merciless.
Natalie Zina Walschots
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Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-02 15:41:47*Fernow
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 12:31:16Boring album..but the press loves shit like this..
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 12:33:30The boring comment was only for the Opeth record..the rest on this list are okay at worst...
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-05 17:32:34No Machine Head?
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 16:49:01Tell your hipster reviews that only about 4 of those bands are metal, and the rest are overrated and boring.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 16:50:15What about the better metal releases not even mentioned? Deceased, Origin, Autopsy, Deicide...you know...actual metal...
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 17:10:14Where is Vader - Welcome to the Morbid Reich?!??!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-06 17:38:28Vader is fucking terrible. This is better than dB's list. Although it excludes Rosetta, YOB, Morne, Deafheaven, Red Fang, and Moab. Machine Head constantly cranks out generic shit, idk why people who claim to like metal still listen to that shit. And good job putting 'Today is the Day' on here. Great record.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-07 00:41:46I agree on the WITTR, but that is it. Here is my list
1. The Crevices Below - Below The Crevices
2. Esoteric - Paragon of Dissonance
3. Petrychor - Effigies and Epitaphs
4. Wolves in the Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
5. Isole - Born From Shadows
6. Earth Flight - Blue Hour Confessions
7. Mitochondrion - Parasignosis
8. Dornenreich - Flammentriebe
9. Wolverine - Communication Lost
10. Thy Catafalque - Rengeteg
11. Voyager - The Meaning of I
12. Blut Aus Nord - 777 The Desanctification
13. Leprous - Bilateral
14. Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations
15. Anubis Gate - Anubis Gate
16. Antediluvian - Through The Cervix of Hawwah
17. While Heaven Wept - Fear of Infinity
18. SubRosa - No Help For The Mighty Ones
19. Insomnium - One For Sorrow
20. 40 Watt Sun- The Inside Room
Honorable Mentions:
Eumeria - Rebel Mind
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Beardfish - Mammoth
Deceased - Surreal Overdose
Haken - Visions
Indian - Guiltless
Aosoth - III
Thurisaz - The Cimmerian Years
Pestilential Shadows - Depths
Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason
Nightbringer - Hierophany of the Open Grave
An Autumn For Crippled Children - Everything
Benighted - Asylum Cave
Rotten Sound - Cursed
Raventale - Bringer of Heartsore
Primordial - Redemption at the Puritans Hand
Black Cobra - Invernal
Havok - Time is Up
Vektor - Outer Isolation
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-07 13:11:37What about HOT GRAVES KNIGHTS IN WHITE PHOSPHORUS!!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-11 13:09:22good list! lots of new and interesting bands that play actual and innovative metal, not a bunch of outdated boring bullshit like machine head etc.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-11 15:38:04Last year about this time I posted a long comment in the Metal Year in Review 2010.
http://exclaim.ca/Feature...The main point of my comments was to suggest Exclaim stop putting not-metal bands in the Metal section. My constructive criticism seemed to be well received with the editor and a couple of writers contacting me to comment.
So here we are for the Year In Review for 2011 and unfortunately not much has changed. The list has increased from 10 to 18 which is good but it still plagued with not-Metal. I'm not going to complain and say you left out 'Band X and Band Y' because as a writer I appreciate that everyone has their own tastes. I wouldn't post my own list because my tastes are as unimportant as the next writers. I'm sure those bands are good at what they do but as the fourth post mentions, only about 4 of those bands are Metal.
Metal is (an admittedly) conservative genre with specific archetypes; archetypes and minimum standards of image, lyrics, production values, composition, arrangement and so on. Just because a band has an electric guitar does not automatically make them Metal! Exclaim writers fall into this trap over and over.
Here's a hint. If they band members are wearing toques, scarves, have short-hair and big bushy beards and wear thick rimmed, black glasses they probably aren't Metal! It's not hard. But seriously....
The cruz of the issue is that the young hipsters and scenesters who write for the mags/sites like Exclaim, Decibel, Pitchfork etc have gotten into these positions of influence and power and are trying to redefine Metal into something palatable and cool. Metal has never been cool and the writers who are concerned with social status and image just can't handle real Metal. To them, it's outdated, it's not cool and so on, they tease the fans, make fun of the bands with snide comments and so on and they gravitate towards the young, hip bands and try to classify them as 'Metal'.
Many of the writers at Exclaim value originality very highly and have this odd compulsion to champion bands that are avante-garde or the newest cool thing (ie, following the trend) and consequently will dismiss many, or most of the metal albums that are released.
I suppose my original comments remain. Exclaim should make a Metal section and keep it Metal. If the writers and editor of the section have trouble understanding what qualifies as Metal, there are many good books and resources on the net that help explain, or maybe hire someone who understands and they can weed out the non-Metal stuff, and help those not-Metal bands get the exposure and recognition they deserve as well, in their own section of post-punk, alt. pop shoe-gaze core (or whatever it would be defined as)
Keep trying Exclaim, you'll get it one of these years. Good luck!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-14 04:45:00or you can not worry about it & frequent your tr00 metal site more often & if enough people do, exclaim will get the message
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-14 07:38:10Wow. You really see metal as a non-inovative artform? So what era of metal are we suppose to emulate until the end of time? 80s metal? Kill me now!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-14 15:25:41All of these bands suck. Metal is dead and they're is no talent left.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-14 18:21:59go Canadian content!
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-15 13:34:30Blut Aus Nord's albums should be 1 and 2.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-15 20:31:47Today I Caught The Plague's debut album LORE should be on this list.
Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2011-12-21 22:31:59Liturgy? what the fuck ...
Posted by tmakworld On 2012-01-03 16:35:02Not sure why you have metal as seperate from Rock but here is a list of classic rock's top 10 of the year
www.tmakworld.com Posted by Nameless Poseur On 2012-01-12 16:18:35list is false, not surprised
Posted by darcy On 2012-01-12 16:29:48What the hell is Ken Mode, is that a Street Fighter thing? Just like last year, the "best of metal" list has a non-metal band as #1.
CONCERT: Xiu Xiu / Dirty Beaches - Lee's Palace, Toronto ON May 12
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