The Best Of 52 Albums dethtoll Thinks You Need To Hear, Part 1

Here's part one. Stay tuned for part two tomorrow. Oh, also, I lied about removing external links- I kept one (you'll see it) because what it links to I found extremely influential (and also terrifying) and I try to get everyone I know to at least know of its existence.

Sleep – Holy Mountain

Originally posted October 22^nd, 2007

Sleep no longer exist. But when they did, they were a stoner doom band from San Jose during the 90s, and they were highly influential during that time. Comparable to bands such as Saint Vitus, they quickly gained fame and fans and were leaders in the third wave of doom metal along with Cathedral and other bands; in addition, they were pioneers of the stoner doom genre, which is closely related to traditional doom but draws more influence from the more psychedelic side of Black Sabbath's work. It's not to be confused with stoner rock, which developed mostly on its own and stoner rock is generally 'positive' in mood whereas stoner doom is often 'negative'. As stoner doom evolved in the early 90s, Holy Mountain played a big part in that, and is widely considered to be a seminal album in the genre.

Squabbles with their label ended up breaking up the band. After Holy Mountain they signed with London Records, and began working on Dopesmoker, but the label declared it unmarketable because it was just one single song over an hour long. A second attempt at the album, called Jerusalem, failed to please the label, and so Sleep broke up out of sheer frustration. Jerusalem was post-humously released by a friend of the band, and then 5 years later Dopesmoker was officially released by Tee Pee records, and is generally considered the definitive version of the album. Some of the members would go on to form the band Om, and another would form High on Fire. As you can see, this band has very high influence, and even in death it lives on through other excellent bands.

The Axis of Perdition – Deleted Scenes from the Transition Hospital

Originally posted December 17^th, 2007

I don't think anything, including the movie, has really quite captured the mood of the first two or three Silent Hill games. These are some of the most emotionally draining games I've ever played and have been ever since I played the first one in 1999. There is something uncompromisingly dark about the games, and they don't sugarcoat some of the really screwed up stuff that's detailed in the backstory. I don't play the games much anymore, partly because I've been pissed off at the series ever since Silent Hill 4 and partly because after playing the first three so many times I'm no longer disturbed by them, not to mention the fact that being the litfag that I am I've already dissected and debated the games' plot and symbolism to death. But that doesn't mean I don't still have an appreciation for what the series has done for horror gaming, or horror in general. It's funny: Japanese horror has been ripping off Jacob's Ladder since 1990, and now American horror has been ripping off Japanese horror for the last few years. It’s a cycle.

Anyway back to my original point- nothing, absolutely nothng, has quite captured the mood of the Silent Hill games, particularly not the first one. Except this band. The Axis of Perdition are a British, cinematic-style industrial black metal group. In terms of aesthetics they're not too different from fellow British black metal oddballs Anaal Nathrakh, though while Anaal Nathrakh is basically the Strapping Young Lad of black metal these guys are something else entirely- a Silent Hill (somewhat) tribute band. They've taken a lot of inspiration from the games, and it shows especially in this album. I mean, look at that cover art and tell me that's not straight out of Silent Hill. Even the font is similar. The music is heavy and unrelenting, and constantly shifting. Just when you think they've settled on something, BAM it shifts again into something altogether different but no less unnerving. In that way it's very much like Silent Hill. Things are happening, and you can't percieve them until it's too late, and it's already enveloped you in its horror. This album is razor wire and peeling walls. It's 7pm sunset coming through the window to glance on an old rusted wheelchair. It's the sound of a child crying in the bathroom. It's the screams of addicts fighting in abandoned subway stations. It's a pale corpse floating face-down in a flooded basement.

So get this album, and listen to it while cowering in the corner, armed only with a flashlight and a gun.

Sunn O))) – Black One

Originally posted December 31^st, 2007

(Before I begin I just want to note that Sunn O))) is pronounced simply as “sun”- they take their name from the logo for Sunn amplifiers.)

Sunn O))) are, as with pretty much most drone bands, very strange and can be hard to listen to. Drone doom is basically defined by notes that last for long periods of time- in other words they drone. Melody, rhythm, and vocals are often absent. Lyrics, if they exist, tend to be rather abstract and negative. Vocals are usually screamed. Still here? Good. Drone could be considered a form of ambient, and many drone bands experiment a lot with their sound. Sunn O))) have a history of such experimentation: their early work tended to be droning guitars and feedback to create their soundscapes, but they eventually began to fiddle with their style, and have ended up creating a wide variety of soundscapes- from quiet and mildly unsettling (see "A Shaving of the Horn that Speared You") to huge bass explosions. Black One is a further extension of this experimentation, with much more in the way of electronics, synths and other elements while at the same time returning to their earlier, loud droning style. As far as drone doom is concerned, this is one of the more experimental works, though it's still pretty solidly drone.

I'm not asking you to like this album. I'm not asking you to like drone doom. But I am asking you to listen to the album before you make your judgement. Try to get yourself in the right mood for it. Watch a few of the more recent splatterpunk movies or one of those movies that rip off Japanese horror (which all rips off Jacob's Ladder anyway), play Silent Hill or Afraid of Monsters for a bit. Read House of Leaves or something like that while you listen to the album. You get the idea. Immerse yourself in the crushing darkness. Who knows? You might like it down there.

Mayhem – Grand Declaration of War

Originally posted February 11^th, 2008

Whatever preconcieved notions you had of Mayhem, I want you to open up a window and throw that shit out, because Grand Declaration of War is a complete redefinement of their sound. Lots of bands have at least one weird album and this one is Mayhem's. This is their attempt to redefine the genre they helped create- an emphasis on good production and experimentation, and even branching out into other genres- one track ("A Bloodsword and a Colder Sun Part II") is almost exlusively a creepy electronica piece that in all honesty makes me think of the old first person shooter Duke Nukem 3D.

But don't let that fool you! There's plenty of good old-fashioned black metal riffs, and Hellhammer's drumming is insane as always. Maniac does a good job of black metal vox in the middle of his spoken word stuff. Grand Declaration of War serves as a bridge between old-school BM, and more modern, experimental acts like Arcturus- and for that reason alone it's one of the more notable albums in the genre.

Bolt Thrower – Realm of Chaos

Originally posted March 3^rd, 2008

Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 have got to be some of the manliest games in existence. It's like Fist of the North Star, or a Kurt Russel movie, or eating steaks, or crushing cans with foreheads, or wrestling bears. All truly manly things, such as the ones I mentioned, are admittedly stupid; but not all stupid things are manly (Oprah book club, living in Utah, watching Lost.) And as with all manly things there's usually music about it. There's a few songs about cuckolding some dude in front of him. I'm sure there's a band about wrestling bears. Warhammer 40,000 has Bolt Thrower's Realm of Chaos.

Bolt Thrower hail from Coventry, England, and started off with a mixture of death metal and hardcore, but after switching from Vinyl Solution, a strictly hardcore label at the time, to Earache Records, they tweaked their sound a little and came up with death metal with grindcore influences. After hearing them play over BBC radio, Games Workshop offered to do the artwork for their next album. Being big fans of GWS and Warhammer/40k, the band naturally agreed- and thus we have this album. While most of the lyrics are centered on war in general, there are a few songs written in tribute to Warhammer.

This album has somewhat pisspoor production values, though it's not nearly as bad as some black metal. It's a far step ahead of their first album, at any rate, and at times the low production even works for them. The music is faster, with more emphasis on chugging riffs, insane solos, and blast beats. A bit primitive by today's standards, but then again anything even remotely grindish can be considered primitive as a general principle. All in all, this is one of my favourite death metal albums, and it's not just because I like manly things like tanks and atomic bombs and peeing while standing up.

By the way, there is a re-release version of this with a different cover- if you like Bolt Thrower at all, you won't buy it. Buy the original. Bolt Thrower earns no royalties from the reissue.

Iced Earth – The Glorious Burden

Originally posted March 17^th, 2008

I'm going to tell you straight out: if it weren't for comic books and The Patriot Jon Schaeffer would have no clue what to write songs about. I'm not shitting you, the dude hasn't had an original idea in years. But I suppose that's okay, if it weren't for cutting and mommy having no time to pick you up from the mall, My Chemical Romance wouldn't have anything to write about either. It still doesn't change the fact that Jon Schaeffer is boring. How he managed to create a band that, for a time, was amazing and singlehandedly dragged me entirely into metal is a mystery for the ages. Iced Earth used to be my favourite band- sometime between 2001 and 2004 it was practically all I listened to. My, how times have changed. I grew tired of power metal in general and Iced Earth in particular and started to explore other subgenres- and I rarely listen to Iced Earth anymore. Which is just as well, 'cuz their most recent stuff has been utter shit. However, I dragged out my old copy of this album to personally review it, so you'd better enjoy it.

This is a very fine album, the last half-way original concept Iced Earth has come up with- an album entirely dedicated to important moments in American history. It's also the first album to feature Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Judas Priest. While he's a very good vocalist, he's no Matt Barlow, who is singlehandedly responsible for making Iced Earth's last three albums so great. While their earlier albums leaned more towards thrash, this one is most certainly power metal, continuing a trend that started with The Dark Saga. Like a lot of power metal, this album can get quite cheesy at times- for example, both versions of "When the Eagle Cries" are a bit overwrought and dramatic. I don't know, I have a hard time taking 9/11 tributes seriously anymore. However, there are quite a few gems on here. My personal favourite is "Waterloo", but if you get this album for anything, get it for the Gettysburg trilogy. It's a half-hour epic suite that tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg (which, for those of you who are foreign or slept through history class, is the largest-ever battle in the western hemisphere and was the turning point of the American Civil War.) I would say it's one of the true high points of Iced Earth's career and indeed proof that Schaeffer does occasionally know how to write good lyrics. I think even now I would commit murder to hear Matt Barlow sing it.

Green Carnation – Light of Day, Day of Darkness

Originally posted May 19^th, 2008

Probably the best way of describing this album is "art metal". Art metal is kind of an umbrella term to describe a certain mix of progressive with avant-garde and other genres, such as black, death, doom, and even non-metal elements such as jazz fusion or classical music- often all at once. You may confuse progressive with avant-garde, or even progressive or avant-garde with art metal, but the truth is prog and avant-garde are different in certain fundamental ways. Where progressive tends to explore ever-more-complex rhythms and song structures with an emphasis on technical skill, avant-garde tends to explore non-standard instrumentation with disregard for standard musical conventions. Art metal is basically both.

Green Carnation began as a Norwegian death metal outfit in 1990. They would eventually split when founder Tchort joined Emperor and the vocalist left, and the remaining members founded ...In the Woods. In 1998 the band reformed and released Journey to the End of the Night a year later, a folk/doom album and quite good. They then came up with this album, which I'll actually talk about in a minute. The band would then shift towards a hard rock/punk bent over the next few albums, until switching gears again for an all-acoustic album. Then the band split up, leaving Tchort to continue the band alone- no more live shows!

Light of Day, Day of Darkness is, according to Tchort, the first in a trilogy called The Chronicles of Doom, the second part postponed indefinitely due to the breakup. Despite the trilogy's name the album most certainly not doom metal. With a single track clocking in at 60 minutes, there is a LOT going on. Among the instruments used are: slide, sitar, Hammond organ, saxophone, classical strings, a wide range of voices, a children's choir, an opera choir, et cetera- you get the idea. Death metal makes an appearance with death growls and the occasional blast beat, but that's just a sprinkling on a very big cake. It's really, really hard to describe- other than "completely awesome". This isn't your average album that you can just pop in your car and space out. This, like all art metal, is something you have to sit down, shut up, and pay attention to, because Green Carnation are trying to tell you something.

The only really bad part of this album, though some of you may not mind it, is a bit in the middle where female opera vocals duel with a saxophone. I have hated this part of the album from day one. It really damages the album in my opinion. Worse, it goes on for several minutes, reaching a crescendo that would shatter glass. Let it be known right now that I have nothing against female vocals on principle; this shit is just absolutely unlistenable. I'd rather listen to Eurodance than this crap. God, it's playing right now. I'm slitting my wrists. Sweet death, I await your blissful embr- oh, it's over. Nevermind.

God Forbid – Gone Forever

Originally posted July 7^th, 2008

God Forbid are a 5-piece band of large, angry men with lots of body hair and roots in New Jersey. They began life as a metalcore/thrash band, and while their first release, Reject the Sickness, was fairly mediocre as metalcore goes, Determination signalled an increase in overall skill and sound quality. I remember when Determination first came out, they were making a bit of a splash in the metal scene, partly due to the fact that a good chunk of the band was either black or Hispanic. Which of course led to a joke: "Ethnic diversity in metal? God Forbid!" Well I'm sorry, but maybe we could use some ethnic diversity in this scene. Might make for a change from the usual "long-haired knuckledragging meathead" archetype so common in this crowd. And Byron Davis, with his bassy growl of a voice, manages to do something a lot of white boys in these sorts of bands suck at- sound intimidating.

It wasn't until Gone Forever came out, however, that the band cemented their sound as a straight up mix of thrash and metalcore, with plenty of metalcore tropes such as the vocal style but also thrashy solos and other touches. The band was launched into the spotlight, getting a spot in Ozzfest, touring with Goatwhore and other bands, and releasing another album a year later, IV: Constitution of Treason. They've not released anything since, but are reported to be working on their 5th album.

In the end while their metalcore roots are obvious, with Gone Forever they manage to make their sound interesting and heavy, with plenty to keep the metalcore kid happy and the more traditional metalhead interested. It's a very good album with nice, clean production and excellent instrumentation. I can't help but recommend it to anyone looking to try something different.

Celtic Frost – Monotheist

Originally posted August 25^th, 2008

What ever happened to Celtic Frost?

Is it true that they got lost

in the pandemonium

Never to be seen again?

-- Stormtroopers of Death, "Celtic Frosted Flakes"

Yeah, Celtic Frost disappeared for a while. Missing since 1992, Celtic Frost were one of the most influential extreme metal bands of the 80s, influencing bands such as Opeth, Darkthrone, Emperor, My Dying Bride, the list goes on and on and on- their page on Wikipedia lists nearly 3 dozen bands who cite Celtic Frost as an influence or have covered one of their songs. Brutal, ambitious, and significant, they were respected and distinguished.

Then they broke up.

In 2001, after almost a decade of silence, Tom Fischer and Martin Eric Ain, two of the original members of Celtic Frost, began writing music together again, bringing in Tom's friend Erol Unala along with an experienced drummer by the name of Franco Sesa. The goal was to make a new album, something dark and heavy. Due to financial issues and the DIY nature of the project, the album took 6 years to make. This is that album.

Celtic Frost has changed their sound a lot over the years, and what genre they actually are at the time tends to be debatable. The best way to describe it is their earlier work is mostly black metal, while their later work stretches into death metal, avant-garde, thrash, among others. This particular album is very avant-garde, though if you listen carefully there is quite a bit of complexity to the album. The doom influence is prevalant, both in sound and in the lyrics, largely inspired by Aleister Crowley.

I'll be honest with you- I wasn't a fan of this album at first listen. I was looking for one last album to fill out this month, and NecroVMX suggested it. But with repeated listens it's really grown on me, and with each listen I'm finding something new. This album is unfortunately the band's last, as Celtic Frost effectively broke up again with Fischer's departure earlier this year due to not getting along with the others. It's a shame, too, as their influence was massive, and they were constantly evolving. This last, final album seems a fitting goodbye.

Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull

Originally posted September 8^th, 2008

Most of you have heard of Sunn O))), and I bet a good portion of you don't like it. Well that's fine, it's not for everyone. But what most of you probably don't know is that Sunn O))) was actually formed as a tribute to Earth (or, as they put it, the Sun revolves around the Earth). More than that, Earth are actually the pioneers of drone doom.

Some people think anything where a given note extends more than half a second qualifies as "drone", but those people are morons and not all doom is drone. Drone doom is a very different subgenre from traditional or epic or sludge doom. I would actually go so far as to say that it barely even counts as metal. I've talked a little bit about drone doom before when I covered BlackOne, but for those of you not up on your subgenres, I'll explain in more detail: Drone is a very minimalistic style of doom metal defined by notes or chords that are sustained and repeated throughout a given song. Typically the guitar is the main element, accompanied by reverb and feedback; lyrics are usually growled or screamed. There is usually no beat or rythm, and the songs tend to be very long- anywhere from 5 minutes at least, to half an hour. Most drone tends to be of a BZZZZZZZZT type though there are some more ear-friendly bands out there (i.e. some, but not all, of Boris' drone work.) It's most definitely not for everyone- and in fact there is anecdotal evidence that Sunn O))) has been known to make people either cream their pants or vomit by standing too close to the speakers at live shows.

Earth were the pioneers of this kind of sound, creating the BZZT type of drone that Sunn O))) is famous for. Founded in 1990 by Dylan Carlson (yes, that Dylan Carlson, friend of Kurt Cobain and purchaser of the shotgun used in Cobain’s suicide), they took their name from Black Sabbath's original name. Their first few albums, in the 90s, were the influential drone doom that they, and their successors, are famous for. Fun fact: Kurt Cobain sang lead vocals on "Divine and Bright", which is included on the re-release of Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars.

Earth released three LPs, two EPs, and one live album in the 90s, only to go silent in 1996, thanks to Carlson being plagued by drug and legal problems. Seven years later Earth began to re-emerge, with the live album 070796 and a split with Japanese experimental musician KK Null, and in 2005 their first full-length in 9 years, Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method was released. This was a majour departure from their earlier work. The guitar was played clean and smooth, and most certainly nowhere near metal- it was instead inspired by country music (and I mean real country music, not this modern C&W Garth Brooks blahblah horseshit all the rednecks like today) as well as the book Blood Meridian- the music would not be out of place in a Western film of some sort, and there is a distinct lack of vocals.

Earth has continued this trend, and their most recent offering, released earlier this year, is no different- but it's definitely a step up in some ways. The texturing is thicker, with Carlson's guitaring accompanied by organ chords and some simple piano, with occasional leads by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell. In a way it's basically an improved version of Hex, more focused, with tight improvisation (making clever use of feedback on "Rise to Glory", for example.) This album may not be brutal, it may not even qualify as metal, but the compellingly desolate soundscape Earth manages to create is difficult to dismiss unless you're a typical meathead who can't take anything that doesn't have bitchin' solos. And as I've made clear, I hate that kind of metalhead. I don't have any respect for someone who isn't capable of developing an eclectic musical taste, and I don't think there's a place anymore for that sort of person in the intelligent discussion of music.

Nevermore – Dreaming Neon Black

Originally posted November 7^th, 2008

Everybody knows Nevermore. They're that band that refuses to be pinned down as any one specific genre, touching on many of them to create their own unique thrashy/proggy sound. Warrel Dane's voice is generally hated by people who need to die like Hitler and shoot themselves, but I think Nevermore wouldn't be nearly as good without him. The Dane-hate is really inexplicible- it seems to be one of those irrational reactions that are a result of Blind Pig-Rage Syndrome, which is my term for a condition that turns people into stupid assholes who froth at the mouth and squeal in rage whenever something, such as Democrats or Half-Life 2 or the XBox 360, is so much as even mentioned. But that's okay. I'm in that minority of people who can't listen to Dream Theater because I absolutely cannot stand James Labrie’s vocals, so we're even.

Anyway. This is one of my favourite albums of all time, and certainly my favourite Nevermore album. My top 5 favourite albums of all time tend to shift, but Dreaming Neon Black has always been in that list. It is a perfect album that encompasses all the best things about Nevermore. A lot of people prefer This Godless Endeavour, but nothing's ever been able to top this one, for me.

Like the classic definition of a concept album would have you believe, the album tells a story, in this case that of a man slowly spiralling into insanity after the death of his girlfriend. Dane himself has confirmed this was based on an event from his own life, where his girlfriend joined a religious cult and was never heard from again, and he began having nightmares of her drowning. This is reflected in the cover art.

What makes the album is the hauntingly bitter tone it takes, and the depths of despair that permeates the whole album. It's a very dark album, even when it's heavy. The subject matter borders on the terrifying, and the whole album is unsettling and can be emotionally draining for a first time listener. On a technical level the album is quite sound- production is clean, with Dane's vocals coming in clear and Jeff Loomis being exceptionally brilliant and nuanced, but even though those two are obvious reasons why the album sounds so good it has to be said that there is a cohesiveness to this album that is just about perfect- the drums, guitars, vocals, production and songwriting are all top-notch, and literally you can't have one without the others- they interlock, in a sense. This album is perfect in every way.

If you don't have this there's something wrong with you.