1. Torche
2. Dillinger Escape Plan
3. Norma Jean
4. Kylesa
5. Daughters
6. Bison BC
7. Arson Anthem
8. Melvins
9. High on Fire
10. Dangers
1. Torche Songs For Singles (Hydra Head)
I'm sure this is gonna piss off a bunch of metal heads and create a wave of hate all over the internet," says Torche drummer Rick Smith. Notorious for rejecting the various metal tags thrown at them, from stoner to doom to sludge, Miami's Torche have been pissing off as many bangers as they have been winning over since their inception in 2004. And after the melodic departures of 2008's acclaimed Meanderthal, this year's Songs for Singles only further catapulted the band away from the straight-ahead doom of past musical projects. Initially conceived as a proper full-length follow-up, the band, unhappy with much of the new material, instead opted to release only eight songs, culled together as Singles. "We actually worked hard on finishing those songs, so I would hope the reaction wouldn't be too bad," laughs Smith. "I'm always surprised when people really like our music. Not because I think it's bad at all, but from an insider's perspective, you never notice the kind of attention the records are getting on a grand scale until magazines and people give feedback." Singles also marks the band's last attempt at working alone; while past efforts were always self-produced, Meanderthal saw the band team up with Converge's Kurt Ballou, a relationship they hope to replicate for their next record. "Doing it ourselves just allows us to waste too much time on petty shit and stuff just doesn't get done," says Smith. "We're bad at setting deadlines unless someone else is doing it for us. I think we're looking forward to getting in the studio again with someone new in the near future." As for which of the failed remaining songs from the Singles writing sessions will appear on later releases, Smith is adamant: "None."
Sam Sutherland
2. Dillinger Escape Plan Option Paralysis (Party Smasher Inc./Season Of Mist)
If there's one tradition mathematical metal brigade Dillinger Escape Plan have maintained in their 13 years, it's to expect the unexpected. By delving into the throes of progression with every bit of their essence, Option Paralysis unites DEP's inherent sense of chaotic fury and overtly obtuse technicality with rabidity, melodic exorcism, staccato abruptness, hyperactive dexterity and surprising twists. From captivating piano consorting with volatile blast beats to incensed bellowing, Option Paralysis is the epitome of unnervingly frenetic metal melded to grandiose concepts, dynamic flow and freakishly jazzy angularity.
Keith Carman
3. Norma Jean Meridional (Razor & Tie)
The past two albums from Atlanta metalcore trailblazers Norma Jean have balanced melodic songwriting smarts with crashing metal sonics. With Meridional the band somehow went beyond perfection: they found that transcendental sweet spot in between Helmet and the Dillinger Escape Plan. This album was no over-processed good cop/bad cop rubbish, nor was it frustratingly rote metalcore chasing its own tail in a round of masturbatory zeal. It was extremely good songwriting and honest, raw aggression that was melodic when it needed to be but never forgot what heavy music is all about: being heavy, in every sense of the word.
Greg Pratt
4. Kylesa Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
Like their fellow Southerners in Baroness, Kylesa blur the boundaries of metal and psychedelic rock. This Savannah, GA collective's fifth album, Spiral Shadow, is a tour de force of stoner, sludge, and alterna-rock with two drummers and two vocalists, including the Joan Jett-esque voice of guitarist Laura Pleasants. From High on Fire to Torche on the metal side, the band also weaves into their compositions such rock threads as Soundgarden and Heroes-era Bowie. Kylesa have finally earned their spot next to Kyuss on the best metal bands A to Z list.
Chris Ayers
5. Daughters (Hydra Head)
Piercing storms of guitar crackling with manic aggression comprise the swirling core of Daughters' inventive onslaught. Crushing drum barrages drop into deep nasty grooves to support vocals eschewing guttural throat shredding in favour of a wildly effective chanted shout informed by beat poet inflection. The hooky riffs and bouncy beats provide a great counterpoint to the vicious maelstrom cloaking the production, also serving as a window into the madness for listeners intimidated by some of the band's more drastic tendencies. Full of swagger and relentlessly innovative without sacrificing clarity, Daughters is one of the most exciting listens of the year.
Scott A. Gray
6. Bison BC Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
After the promise showed by their first two full-length releases, Vancouver thrash-and-doom enthusiasts Bison BC really knocked it out of the octagon with Dark Ages. Building on the sludgy power of 2008's Quiet Earth, the songs on Dark Ages are full of cacophonous riffs and powerful solos. But unlike the band's past efforts, the songs here feel fully formed, not relying on one catchy riff to carry an entire song. There's some next-level, clever arrangements going on here, and the clear, low-end heavy production makes this record a powerful 45 minutes of skull-cracking, epic radness.
Sam Sutherland
7. Arson Anthem Insecurity Notoriety (Housecore)
There's blazing a trail and then there's obliterating everything in sight. Taking the latter approach with this sophomore opus, old school hardcore quartet Arson Anthem serve up a uniquely invigorating incendiary cocktail of Discharge's honed intent, Black Flag's confrontational bravado and Bad Brains' charged vitality. Given that AA boasts the legendary talents of Eyehategod's Mike Williams, Pantera/Down's Phil Anselmo, Hank Williams III and Colin Yeo, such musical warfare was wonderfully inevitable.
Keith Carman
8. Melvins The Bride Screamed Murder (Ipecac)
The Mevlins have made bizarre offerings before, but The Bride Screamed Murder is one of their oddest and best. After a wicked grinding guitar riff, King Buzzo takes the role of a heavy metal drill sergeant on the opening track, the band's thunderous double drumming laying the foundation for call and response military march vocals. For all their quirky asides, the Melvins meat is still big, bold, dirty riffs and Buzzo's expressive bellow. Keeping the arrangements clean and lean shines a spotlight on the magnificent musical sensibility of these songs and allows their confident experimentation the breathing room necessary to keep from encroaching on strong melodies.
Scott A. Gray
9. High on Fire Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music)
Snakes for the Divine is a great example of the power that can lie in simplicity. You don't need a plethora of pedals and sound effects to get your point across; all you need are three road dogs that know what they are doing and are passionate about it. Leader Matt Pike's grizzled voice shines with incredible clarity and the music is just as bone-crushingly dense as ever. The band's fifth album kept their followers satisfied and attracted some surprising adulation from folks that usually turn their patrician noses at metal.
Laina Dawes
10. Dangers Messy, Isn't It? (Vitriol)
A new noise has emerged out of the Cali epicentre, spearheaded by sonic miscreants Graf Orlock, their label Vitriol, and Dangers. Messy, Isn't it? is the sonic equivalent of the suicidal shotgun blast to the face its cover promises. Combining metal, punk and hardcore is hardly groundbreaking, but what makes Dangers exemplary is the deft lyrical dexterity, caustic rants and song referencing of vocalist Al Brown; the precise playing of the band (including Graf Orlock's Jason Schmidt), expanding from the more linear hostility of Anger; and a barely controlled rage and misanthropy befitting their label's moniker. It may be messy, but it's beautiful in its brutality.
Christopher J. Gramlich
2. Dillinger Escape Plan
3. Norma Jean
4. Kylesa
5. Daughters
6. Bison BC
7. Arson Anthem
8. Melvins
9. High on Fire
10. Dangers
1. Torche Songs For Singles (Hydra Head)
I'm sure this is gonna piss off a bunch of metal heads and create a wave of hate all over the internet," says Torche drummer Rick Smith. Notorious for rejecting the various metal tags thrown at them, from stoner to doom to sludge, Miami's Torche have been pissing off as many bangers as they have been winning over since their inception in 2004. And after the melodic departures of 2008's acclaimed Meanderthal, this year's Songs for Singles only further catapulted the band away from the straight-ahead doom of past musical projects. Initially conceived as a proper full-length follow-up, the band, unhappy with much of the new material, instead opted to release only eight songs, culled together as Singles. "We actually worked hard on finishing those songs, so I would hope the reaction wouldn't be too bad," laughs Smith. "I'm always surprised when people really like our music. Not because I think it's bad at all, but from an insider's perspective, you never notice the kind of attention the records are getting on a grand scale until magazines and people give feedback." Singles also marks the band's last attempt at working alone; while past efforts were always self-produced, Meanderthal saw the band team up with Converge's Kurt Ballou, a relationship they hope to replicate for their next record. "Doing it ourselves just allows us to waste too much time on petty shit and stuff just doesn't get done," says Smith. "We're bad at setting deadlines unless someone else is doing it for us. I think we're looking forward to getting in the studio again with someone new in the near future." As for which of the failed remaining songs from the Singles writing sessions will appear on later releases, Smith is adamant: "None."
Sam Sutherland
2. Dillinger Escape Plan Option Paralysis (Party Smasher Inc./Season Of Mist)
If there's one tradition mathematical metal brigade Dillinger Escape Plan have maintained in their 13 years, it's to expect the unexpected. By delving into the throes of progression with every bit of their essence, Option Paralysis unites DEP's inherent sense of chaotic fury and overtly obtuse technicality with rabidity, melodic exorcism, staccato abruptness, hyperactive dexterity and surprising twists. From captivating piano consorting with volatile blast beats to incensed bellowing, Option Paralysis is the epitome of unnervingly frenetic metal melded to grandiose concepts, dynamic flow and freakishly jazzy angularity.
Keith Carman
3. Norma Jean Meridional (Razor & Tie)
The past two albums from Atlanta metalcore trailblazers Norma Jean have balanced melodic songwriting smarts with crashing metal sonics. With Meridional the band somehow went beyond perfection: they found that transcendental sweet spot in between Helmet and the Dillinger Escape Plan. This album was no over-processed good cop/bad cop rubbish, nor was it frustratingly rote metalcore chasing its own tail in a round of masturbatory zeal. It was extremely good songwriting and honest, raw aggression that was melodic when it needed to be but never forgot what heavy music is all about: being heavy, in every sense of the word.
Greg Pratt
4. Kylesa Spiral Shadow (Season of Mist)
Like their fellow Southerners in Baroness, Kylesa blur the boundaries of metal and psychedelic rock. This Savannah, GA collective's fifth album, Spiral Shadow, is a tour de force of stoner, sludge, and alterna-rock with two drummers and two vocalists, including the Joan Jett-esque voice of guitarist Laura Pleasants. From High on Fire to Torche on the metal side, the band also weaves into their compositions such rock threads as Soundgarden and Heroes-era Bowie. Kylesa have finally earned their spot next to Kyuss on the best metal bands A to Z list.
Chris Ayers
5. Daughters (Hydra Head)
Piercing storms of guitar crackling with manic aggression comprise the swirling core of Daughters' inventive onslaught. Crushing drum barrages drop into deep nasty grooves to support vocals eschewing guttural throat shredding in favour of a wildly effective chanted shout informed by beat poet inflection. The hooky riffs and bouncy beats provide a great counterpoint to the vicious maelstrom cloaking the production, also serving as a window into the madness for listeners intimidated by some of the band's more drastic tendencies. Full of swagger and relentlessly innovative without sacrificing clarity, Daughters is one of the most exciting listens of the year.
Scott A. Gray
6. Bison BC Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
After the promise showed by their first two full-length releases, Vancouver thrash-and-doom enthusiasts Bison BC really knocked it out of the octagon with Dark Ages. Building on the sludgy power of 2008's Quiet Earth, the songs on Dark Ages are full of cacophonous riffs and powerful solos. But unlike the band's past efforts, the songs here feel fully formed, not relying on one catchy riff to carry an entire song. There's some next-level, clever arrangements going on here, and the clear, low-end heavy production makes this record a powerful 45 minutes of skull-cracking, epic radness.
Sam Sutherland
7. Arson Anthem Insecurity Notoriety (Housecore)
There's blazing a trail and then there's obliterating everything in sight. Taking the latter approach with this sophomore opus, old school hardcore quartet Arson Anthem serve up a uniquely invigorating incendiary cocktail of Discharge's honed intent, Black Flag's confrontational bravado and Bad Brains' charged vitality. Given that AA boasts the legendary talents of Eyehategod's Mike Williams, Pantera/Down's Phil Anselmo, Hank Williams III and Colin Yeo, such musical warfare was wonderfully inevitable.
Keith Carman
8. Melvins The Bride Screamed Murder (Ipecac)
The Mevlins have made bizarre offerings before, but The Bride Screamed Murder is one of their oddest and best. After a wicked grinding guitar riff, King Buzzo takes the role of a heavy metal drill sergeant on the opening track, the band's thunderous double drumming laying the foundation for call and response military march vocals. For all their quirky asides, the Melvins meat is still big, bold, dirty riffs and Buzzo's expressive bellow. Keeping the arrangements clean and lean shines a spotlight on the magnificent musical sensibility of these songs and allows their confident experimentation the breathing room necessary to keep from encroaching on strong melodies.
Scott A. Gray
9. High on Fire Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music)
Snakes for the Divine is a great example of the power that can lie in simplicity. You don't need a plethora of pedals and sound effects to get your point across; all you need are three road dogs that know what they are doing and are passionate about it. Leader Matt Pike's grizzled voice shines with incredible clarity and the music is just as bone-crushingly dense as ever. The band's fifth album kept their followers satisfied and attracted some surprising adulation from folks that usually turn their patrician noses at metal.
Laina Dawes
10. Dangers Messy, Isn't It? (Vitriol)
A new noise has emerged out of the Cali epicentre, spearheaded by sonic miscreants Graf Orlock, their label Vitriol, and Dangers. Messy, Isn't it? is the sonic equivalent of the suicidal shotgun blast to the face its cover promises. Combining metal, punk and hardcore is hardly groundbreaking, but what makes Dangers exemplary is the deft lyrical dexterity, caustic rants and song referencing of vocalist Al Brown; the precise playing of the band (including Graf Orlock's Jason Schmidt), expanding from the more linear hostility of Anger; and a barely controlled rage and misanthropy befitting their label's moniker. It may be messy, but it's beautiful in its brutality.
Christopher J. Gramlich