The third of these will be the grand milestone of fifty posts, and I do have something slightly special planned for that, but first, I'd like to introduce a new, musical series I'm starting. 'The 5 club' will be finished, I just cringe every time I read the name, and will probably have two more installments, but this one is going to be going into detail about my absolute favourite albums of the last decade, which has equal chances of seeming incredibly narcissistic as it does of interesting some hovel bound silent reader who won't come forward. At best.
Anyhow, this will be done year by year, and will feature 10 albums in detail, and anything between 0 and 5 honourable mentions that are simply listed as great albums (I should say releases, seeing as I have a fair few splits, demos and EPs across my lists). I should also add that the further one gets towards the culmination of this series in 2009, the better, on average across the 10 or 15, the albums will get, due to my ever-increasing interest in music. And yes, this WHOLE SERIES will sound like I'm fellating the bands in question.
I see no point in hanging around any more, and will duly commence with the year 2000 as soon as my iTunes loads. It helps me to listen to the albums in question as I write about them. Ah yes. We commence!
1. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone
Yes, yes, yes, I've always been a fanboy of Terrorizer magazine; but although this was their album of the decade, it isn't mine, it 'merely' obtains this vaunted position as album of the year. Despite the band themselves detesting the term 'stoner doom', this is essentially what this is - a beautiful cut thereof, slow, haunting, yet somehow angry at the same time, with the downtuned goodness of the standard guitarwork. As I'm describing this, indeed with the word 'standard', it all sounds rather average, but this is far more than that. It has a certain je ne sais quoi, that just elevates it above the level of normal stoner doom, and then further (thus ahead of the rest of the Wizard's catalogue) to a piece worthy of greater heights, and thus worthy to anyone with or without a weed stash. Although I've heard it's better with (unthinkable, really!).
2. Children Of Bodom - Follow The Reaper
At a stark contrast to my number one album of the year, this effort from Children Of Bodom is practically mainstream (although far from the most mainstream thing to come in this series). This album is the perfection of their version of power metal with harsh vocals (thus without the melodramatic histrionics, in my opinion), yet still manages to retain all the good parts of the genre - the guitar wankery, the catchy riffs, the speed, the ballads (check out the song 'Every Time I Die'), and altogether catchy songs (Bodom After Midnight, Mask Of Sanity, Taste Of My Scythe, Hate Me!). Although there is filler to a certain extent, that filler is by no means unlistenable, and doesn't really detract from the album as a whole. No matter what claims people make about 'Something Wild', this will always remain my favourite Bodom album.
3. Abyssic Hate - Suicidal Emotions
With this album, Abyssic Hate both created the DSBM genre (depressive suicidal black metal, for the non-kvltists of you), and perfected it, in one stroke of the proverbial blackened brush. Despite the album being riddled with blastbeats, the production is sufficiently necro, and the drumming sufficiently plastic-tubby (another made up adjective, here a positive one!) to give it the feeling of being slow, mid-paced at best. This creation of somehow fast-yet-slow means the album's 4 tracks and 50 minutes fly by, in a decidedly downbeat yet somehow uplifting blur. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the misanthropic feelings. We all get them, it's just more fun to let them out by listening to music. This is, all in all, a good piece of fun.
4. Immolation - Close To A World Below
To me, this isn't even Immolation's best album (that honour going to 1999's 'Failures For Gods', so it is doubly impressive that this album gets a place here. Exhibiting their unique take on the New York style of death metal (yes, non-metal fans, cities have their own sounds in metal), 'Close To A World Below' is everything one could possibly want from Immolation - Ross Dolan's incredible deep death growls coupled with the widdly yet brutal guitar work of Bob Vigna and Thomas Wilkinson, and tripled with the nearly unique blasting drumming of Alex Hernandez.
5. Burning Witch - Crippled Lucifer
Any of you who are members of the elusive 'dronehead' species will a) know this album for sure already, and b) probably know Burning Witch's members better as members of... (deep breath) Khanate, Sunn O))), Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine, Asva, Goatsnake, and Atavist. And many, many more. But anyway. This is simply amazing. I can't even begin to describe this musically - it's both too weird for such descriptions, and transcends them anyway. Just listen to it, why don't you?
N.B. There are two pieces of artwork due to the 2008 reissue (below) having better artwork in my opinion.
6. Decapitated - Winds Of Creation
Decapitated, as most death metal fans will agree, are one of the best things to happen to death metal since Cynic and Atheist revolutionized the genre. This, their debut album, is a prime cut of what they do best - blurry technical death metal that's somehow catchy despite being played at an infinite BPM (seemingly). What's more, it includes the best cover of Slayer's 'Mandatory Suicide' ever. Which is certainly quite a feat.
7. Cannibal Corpse - Live Cannibalism
Cannibal Corpse are almost a household name, as close as one will come to it in death metal, and this, their best live album, showcases their classics with a somewhat decent production not heard on the albums, along with 'witty' (read: sick yet hilarious) stage banter ('This one's for all the fucking women out there: FUCKED... WITH A KNIFE!). They're one of those bands who don't really need explaining, just good straight death metal.
8. Cradle Of Filth - Midian
Some metal purists would tell you with vehemence that this was the first bad Cradle album, others would tell you it was the last good one. Black metal purists would put their hands over their ears and say 'blah blah blah I can't hear you, Cradle Of Fags don't exist'. The former and latter are wrong. Cradle Of Filth definitely do exist (although their continued existence is somewhat unfortunate, just like Slayer), and this album, despite being full of songs, rather than an album as a whole, is great fun, whilst retaining the edge that made their symphonic metal have elements of blackness.
9. Lamb Of God - New American Gospel
Shock! Horror! Me, rating a 'redneck' groove metal album! Yes, despite the negative meathead connotations - pits are meant for 'dancing', not actual violence - I like this album very much. It's very close to death metal in parts, and is very headbangable (more imaginary adjectives), thus making it good fun all the time. It's quite raw, which makes it appeal even more, and future albums would show quite a departure from this, better style. Tracks to youtube are 'Pariah', 'O.D.H.G.A.B.F.E.', and of course, the quintessential 'Black Label'.
10. Origin - Origin
More tech-death here; the style was very prevalent in the early half of the decade, proliferated by the emergence of Nile. This is another prime cut from this year - although Origin would perfect their style with 'Antithesis' in 2008, this is also worth listening to; the music is great, and it doesn't suffer from the near drowning of the vocals that later releases would suffer from, although the whole record is damaged by a slightly muddy production. Still, amazing musicianship and songwriting on display here.
Other Good Releases:
11. Brujeria - Brujerizmo
12. Impaled - Medical Waste
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