2013 was a miserable year for anyone burdened with making a Top 10 list of the top metal and hardcore releases, as the genres both offered a surfeit of riches.
With both long-standing venerable bands and groups of hungry young upstarts releasing risky, ruinous, triumphant material, the connections between the old and the new — the influences of the established and the innovations of the iconoclastic — were writ large. Burgeoning hardcore warriors paid homage to the giants whose shoulders they stand upon, and venerated but still active bands proved their influence is keenly felt in the younger generation.
To see more of our coverage of the year in music, head over to our 2013 in Lists section.
Young Hardcore
By: Bradley Zorgdrager
If You Loved: Infest – Slave
Then Listen To: Weekend Nachos – Still
As arguably the first powerviolence band, Infest pushed hardcore punk to new levels, which Weekend Nachos are in turn doing for powerviolence. The newly improved vocals on Still finally match the ferocity of the music. Driven by a relentless touring schedule and vicious live show, Weekend Nachos are bringing powerviolence to places it's never been before – the public eye.
If You Loved: Discordance Axis – Jouhou
Then Listen To: Full of Hell – Rudiments of Mutilation
Full of Hell's sound isn't that far off from Discordance Axis' disorienting bastardization of sonic ferocity, but it's still distinctly their own. With a hardcore base, Full Of Hell threw extreme music's most cacophonic sounds — grindcore, noise, death and black metal — into a blender. Rudiments of Mutilation serves as an aural summary of its name, through augmenting each influence and sharpening their amalgamation to a deadly point.
If You Loved: Shai Hulud – That Within Blood Ill-Tempered
Then Listen To: Counterparts – The Difference Between Hell and Home
Counterparts' take on Shai Hulud's metalcore — replete with meandering, winding leads — is far from redundant. By again embracing their more breakdown-laden side (as exhibited on debut, Prophets), and allowing them to break-up the melodies, The Difference Between Hell and Home sets Counterparts apart — and set them up for a more promising future.
If You Loved: Disembodied – Heretic
Then Listen To: Old Wounds – From Where We Came Is Where We'll Rest & Split with Trenchfoot
Old Wounds took Disembodied's aural dichotomy — juxtaposing crushing, down-tuned riffs with high-pitched, dissonant chords — and pushed it further. The young trio galloped ahead on their two(!!) excellent 2013 releases, extending tempos to energetic new levels. With drastic improvements made in the six months between From Where We Came Is Where We'll Rest and their split with Trenchfoot, Old Wounds are set to continue their trajectory to legendary status.
If You Loved: Alcest – Le Secret
Then Listen To: Deafheaven – Sunbather
Deafheaven take disparate sounds and bring them together in an unorthodox mashup. Similar to Alcest, Deathwish's duo contrast lush shoegaze soundscapes, shrieking black metal and shimmering post-rock, resulting in an oddly screamo-esque sound. For visual proof of their success, look no further than the Apple iPhone 5c unveiling, which Deafheaven were featured in. For auditory proof, listen to Sunbather, their magnum opus — so far.
Find the Year of Old Metal on the next page. Old Metal
By: Natalie Zina Walschots
If You Loved: Obelyskkh — Hymn To Pan
Then Listen To: Cathedral — The Last Spire
With a new generation of doomsters, like Hungary's Obelysskh, just lighting their lamps and releasing wild and decadent records that evoke a feast as well as a wake, the old guard proved this year that they still throw the best funerals. Pioneering doomsayers Cathedral erected their own monument with The Last Spire, a gravely ceremonial and intricately gothic capstone to their career. Lee Dorian and company had meticulously planned the project's funeral and executed it perfectly.
If You Loved: Anciients — Heart of Oak
Then Listen To: Amorphis — Circle
While the lush, shivering and snarling intensity of old-school blackened folk metal is still very much alive in the work of newcomers like Anciients, many of the older guard are coming increasingly quiet and introspective. Since the release of their landmark Tales from the Thousand Lakes, Amorphis have been the gold standard of death-tinged metal that draws on ancient legends and folk melodies for inspiration. Circle is their most reserved yet, pensive as an old warrior looking back on their past battles.
If You Loved: Gris — À l'Âme Enflammée, l'Äme Constellée…
Then Listen To: Von — Dark Gods: Seven Billion Slaves
If there is one genre most indebted to the pioneers of the genre, it's black metal, and from the raw production values and buzzing riffs to the fierce rejection of institutionalized religion. Von are generally recognized as the first American black metal band, and though the group (who were originally active from 1987 to 1992) initially released only a pair of demos, in 2012 they released a debut full-length debut and re-visioning of their earlier material, Satanic Blood. This year, they released the first instalment an all-new project, entitled Dark Gods: Seven Billion Slaves. Their influence can still be felt in the most blackened and blistering edges of younger bands, from Watain to French Canadian act Gris.
If You Loved: Beastwars — Blood Becomes Fire
Then Listen To: Hypocrisy — End of Disclosure
While old-school death metal possesses a feral, untamed ferocity that often sacrifices finesse for brute force, newer bands like New Zealand's Beastwars are doing an exceptional job balancing brawn and brains. It's clear to see how they are indebted to death metal regents Hypocrisy, who have long sought to embody both the violent and the cerebral. Hypocrisy have explored new subject matter while incorporating melodic and blackened elements throughout their career, culminating in the thunderous End of Disclosure.
If You Loved: Skeletonwitch — Serpents Unleashed
Then Listen To: Voivod — Target Earth
Though they've been around for nearly a decade, comparative spring chickens of the thrash genre Skeletonwitch are pushing limits on Serpents Unleashed, a twisted, tentacled effort defined by eerie, boneless strength. They've clearly been inspired by predecessors like Voivod, who released a towering, post-apocalyptic effort in 2013 that once again elevated the thrash genre. Bravely forging on after the passing of guitarist Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour, Quebec-based progressive thrash metallers Voivod sound positively triumphant on Target Earth.
With both long-standing venerable bands and groups of hungry young upstarts releasing risky, ruinous, triumphant material, the connections between the old and the new — the influences of the established and the innovations of the iconoclastic — were writ large. Burgeoning hardcore warriors paid homage to the giants whose shoulders they stand upon, and venerated but still active bands proved their influence is keenly felt in the younger generation.
To see more of our coverage of the year in music, head over to our 2013 in Lists section.
Young Hardcore
By: Bradley Zorgdrager
If You Loved: Infest – Slave
Then Listen To: Weekend Nachos – Still
As arguably the first powerviolence band, Infest pushed hardcore punk to new levels, which Weekend Nachos are in turn doing for powerviolence. The newly improved vocals on Still finally match the ferocity of the music. Driven by a relentless touring schedule and vicious live show, Weekend Nachos are bringing powerviolence to places it's never been before – the public eye.
If You Loved: Discordance Axis – Jouhou
Then Listen To: Full of Hell – Rudiments of Mutilation
Full of Hell's sound isn't that far off from Discordance Axis' disorienting bastardization of sonic ferocity, but it's still distinctly their own. With a hardcore base, Full Of Hell threw extreme music's most cacophonic sounds — grindcore, noise, death and black metal — into a blender. Rudiments of Mutilation serves as an aural summary of its name, through augmenting each influence and sharpening their amalgamation to a deadly point.
If You Loved: Shai Hulud – That Within Blood Ill-Tempered
Then Listen To: Counterparts – The Difference Between Hell and Home
Counterparts' take on Shai Hulud's metalcore — replete with meandering, winding leads — is far from redundant. By again embracing their more breakdown-laden side (as exhibited on debut, Prophets), and allowing them to break-up the melodies, The Difference Between Hell and Home sets Counterparts apart — and set them up for a more promising future.
If You Loved: Disembodied – Heretic
Then Listen To: Old Wounds – From Where We Came Is Where We'll Rest & Split with Trenchfoot
Old Wounds took Disembodied's aural dichotomy — juxtaposing crushing, down-tuned riffs with high-pitched, dissonant chords — and pushed it further. The young trio galloped ahead on their two(!!) excellent 2013 releases, extending tempos to energetic new levels. With drastic improvements made in the six months between From Where We Came Is Where We'll Rest and their split with Trenchfoot, Old Wounds are set to continue their trajectory to legendary status.
If You Loved: Alcest – Le Secret
Then Listen To: Deafheaven – Sunbather
Deafheaven take disparate sounds and bring them together in an unorthodox mashup. Similar to Alcest, Deathwish's duo contrast lush shoegaze soundscapes, shrieking black metal and shimmering post-rock, resulting in an oddly screamo-esque sound. For visual proof of their success, look no further than the Apple iPhone 5c unveiling, which Deafheaven were featured in. For auditory proof, listen to Sunbather, their magnum opus — so far.
Find the Year of Old Metal on the next page. Old Metal
By: Natalie Zina Walschots
If You Loved: Obelyskkh — Hymn To Pan
Then Listen To: Cathedral — The Last Spire
With a new generation of doomsters, like Hungary's Obelysskh, just lighting their lamps and releasing wild and decadent records that evoke a feast as well as a wake, the old guard proved this year that they still throw the best funerals. Pioneering doomsayers Cathedral erected their own monument with The Last Spire, a gravely ceremonial and intricately gothic capstone to their career. Lee Dorian and company had meticulously planned the project's funeral and executed it perfectly.
If You Loved: Anciients — Heart of Oak
Then Listen To: Amorphis — Circle
While the lush, shivering and snarling intensity of old-school blackened folk metal is still very much alive in the work of newcomers like Anciients, many of the older guard are coming increasingly quiet and introspective. Since the release of their landmark Tales from the Thousand Lakes, Amorphis have been the gold standard of death-tinged metal that draws on ancient legends and folk melodies for inspiration. Circle is their most reserved yet, pensive as an old warrior looking back on their past battles.
If You Loved: Gris — À l'Âme Enflammée, l'Äme Constellée…
Then Listen To: Von — Dark Gods: Seven Billion Slaves
If there is one genre most indebted to the pioneers of the genre, it's black metal, and from the raw production values and buzzing riffs to the fierce rejection of institutionalized religion. Von are generally recognized as the first American black metal band, and though the group (who were originally active from 1987 to 1992) initially released only a pair of demos, in 2012 they released a debut full-length debut and re-visioning of their earlier material, Satanic Blood. This year, they released the first instalment an all-new project, entitled Dark Gods: Seven Billion Slaves. Their influence can still be felt in the most blackened and blistering edges of younger bands, from Watain to French Canadian act Gris.
If You Loved: Beastwars — Blood Becomes Fire
Then Listen To: Hypocrisy — End of Disclosure
While old-school death metal possesses a feral, untamed ferocity that often sacrifices finesse for brute force, newer bands like New Zealand's Beastwars are doing an exceptional job balancing brawn and brains. It's clear to see how they are indebted to death metal regents Hypocrisy, who have long sought to embody both the violent and the cerebral. Hypocrisy have explored new subject matter while incorporating melodic and blackened elements throughout their career, culminating in the thunderous End of Disclosure.
If You Loved: Skeletonwitch — Serpents Unleashed
Then Listen To: Voivod — Target Earth
Though they've been around for nearly a decade, comparative spring chickens of the thrash genre Skeletonwitch are pushing limits on Serpents Unleashed, a twisted, tentacled effort defined by eerie, boneless strength. They've clearly been inspired by predecessors like Voivod, who released a towering, post-apocalyptic effort in 2013 that once again elevated the thrash genre. Bravely forging on after the passing of guitarist Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour, Quebec-based progressive thrash metallers Voivod sound positively triumphant on Target Earth.
