Obvious pick. It’s Matt Pike. Matt fucking Pike. I could listen to drunken rehearsal tapes of Matt Pike and be stoked. What makes High on Fire completely unstoppable, however, is the rhythm section of Jeff Matz and Des Kensel destroying everything in their path. ‘Snakes’ catches HoF sounding like rhinos on acid demolishing the zoo gift shop.
I was pretty stoked on Coliseum’s ‘No Salvation’, oddly enough one of the albums I purchased twice… on accident. Anyway, when the advance for ‘House With a Curse’ came through the SRG wires a copy quickly landed in my living room stereo and stayed there for no less than a month. Coliseum has a great aggressive energy, but the nuance on this record is really spectacular. It’s one thing to kill it – it’s something else to kill it with conviction.
Another totally obvious pick. No one could play or sound like DEP even if they practiced for thirty hours a day. Dillinger releases are meticulously crafted down to the millisecond and never disappoint, referencing everything from John McLaughlin to Aphex Twin with the speed of a Slayer record at 45 RPM. ‘Option Paralysis’ is total ear candy whether you shred or not. Anyone who skips on this album is full of shit.
Will I ever shut up about this album? Fuck no! Allegeaon from out of nowhere have unleashed the best death metal album I’ve heard in five years. The guitar solos are fast as shit and plentiful yet tasteful, the drummer blasts like Hiroshima and I’m certain I’ve come across this singer fellow in my own interdimesional space travels. Throw in some gnarly cover art with lyrics about terraforming and DNA mutation and I almost sprained my finger clicking ‘buy’ on this sumbitch.
Deftones need little or no introduction and are a goddamn automatic for any best-of list I ever sit down to ponder. ‘Diamond Eyes’ is a remarkable triumph due to the band shelving an entire album of material and starting fresh following bassist Chi Cheng’s tragic car accident. The result is classic Deftones, even more raw at points and surprisingly uplifting at others.
Words by Matt Abramson
I totally skipped on the DEP record. Never been my bag, though I get how talented those fuckers are. Let list mania begin.
ReplyDeleteHell yeah, end of the year lists are the best. I was unaware of Allegeaon, but I'm listening now and it's pretty fucking sweet. Thanks Matt, can't wait to see all the other lists that drop in the next couple months.
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