Best of 2007 - from #80 to #76

80. amorphis - 'silent waters'
Vocalist Tomi Joutsen was part of what helped make Amorphis' 2006 album 'Elegy' such a resounding come-back for the band. I manifested my love for it on these very pages and gave it a very respectable spot on my best of 2006 list, at the time. His deep, soulful yet powerful voice carried those wonderful compositions even beyond their original brilliance and put a band that was more or less fading right back on the map. This is all good, but it created a huge anticipation for this follow-up, which naturally takes away a bit of the impact that it might have had otherwise. Therefore it's natural that you'll feel somewhat underwhelmed on your first sessions with 'Silent Waters', especially considering the subtlety of the album. There is nothing as catchy as 'Brother Moon' or instantly live-set-material like 'House Of Sleep' here, as this record is much less direct. After this initial adaptation, however, the rich melodic tapestry becomes apparent, as does the fact that Joutsen still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Well, throat. The quiet, emotional 'Her Alone' represents well this relative shift of direction, with several other songs in this sombre, melancholic vein. It's not all quiet emotion though, as the album also offers a few rocking numbers like the bruising opener 'Weaving The Incantation'. Above all, the most notable thing about this finnish band is that, 17 years after their inception, they are still mutating, creating and innovating.

Amorphis - 'Her Alone'



79. middian - 'age eternal'
Some of you might be familiar with Yob, a very unorthodox doom band that released four fascinating albums (if you're not, here's a good place to start) and then disbanded back into the aether where they seemed to have come from. Well, some aeons stuck around in the form of guitarist Mike Scheidt, who formed the Middian entity shortly after, and 'Age Eternal' is their first discographic step. Despite some similarities in the overall feeling of the sound, there are important differences between the two bands. Middian approach their songwriting in a more dynamic fashion, varying the tempos much more and even going outside the dooooom of Yob for several interesting loud/quiet interactions. The riffs are huge, the vocals are downright scary when they leave the cavernous roar for something quite otherwordly and the entire package feels oppressive, intimidating and above all very heavy. A very promising debut in the life of a band that has since been troubled by some band from Milwaukee who are just out to hurt them and get money because of the band name. Support them in any way you can, they deserve it.

Middian - 'Dreamless Eye'



78. sear bliss - 'the arcane odyssey'
It's great that this Hungarian band is finally starting to get the recognition they have fully deserved for years. Yes, 'The Arcane Odyssey', their sixth full-length, is their best album yet, but not by a very wide mile. Records like 1998's 'The Haunting' or 2002's 'Forsaken Symphony', just to name a couple of examples, have already been very noteworthy and essentially original releases. Most people with a vage knowledge about Sear Bliss will know them as the band with the trombone, but it goes so far beyond that. The brass instruments they use, trombones and trumpets, are merely there to give these songs an extra air of vastness, of epic cosmic proportions, of space, just like the keyboards that avoid the Dimmu complex of carrying a song and ruining it and are used for texture, for ambient. But none of this would work if the songs themselves weren't written like that - vast, mournful yet very black monsters like opener 'Blood On The Milky Way', the Naglfar-gone-orchestra 'The Venomous Grace' or the dark folk of 'Path To The Motherland', among many other highlights, combine to make 'The Arcane Odyssey' a truly unique experience. When someone tells you black metal is stagnated, play them this.

Sear Bliss - 'The Venomous Grace'



77. anaal nathrakh - 'hell is empty and all the devils are here'
'Hell Is Empty And All The Devils Are Here' is a straight-to-the-point fucking blast of hatred and bile, and both for the break-the-furniture impulses it'll raise in you and the band's devil-may-care mock-the-trve attitude it would deserve a much higher placing on this list. Vitriol's (aka Dave Hunt or, well, Dave Cunt) vocals keep evolving too, to the point of bringing to mind the great Simen Hestnaes on the huge 'The Final Absolution'. Thing is, despite all the great things about this blackdeaththrash assault, this is Anaal Nathrakh we're talking about, and the face-ripping assault of 'The Codex Necro' or 'Domine Non Es Dignus' still remains completely unrivaled. By all means go out and get this right now if you have any kind of interest in aggressive music, but get those two instead if you don't have them already.


76. ministry - 'the last sucker'
Farewell albums are difficult beasts to tackle. Either they're great and worthy of being the final memory of a good band, or they're half-arsed releases that focus more on their circumstances than on their music. Happily for all Ministry fans, this happens to be a case of the former. Not that Al Jourgensen's mighty gang would need it, as Ministry will be more than remembered for deflagrations like 'Psalm 69', 'Filth Pig' or 'The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste', among many others, like this late string of hate-fueled anti-Bush administration records. The approach to 'The Last Sucker' has been the right one - throughout these eleven songs (including an unbelievably pitch-black Doors cover, 'Roadhouse Blues'), Ministry offer their fans everything that they have loved about the band in these decades of their existence. The buzzsaw guitarwork, the kick-ass groove, the harsh industrial environment, Al's trademark vocals snarling all over the place and the gung-ho rock'n'roll feel of it all will leave everyone drooling for more, and that's the proper way to bow out. A special note to the participation of the great Paul Raven, who passed away recently. His typically thunderous bass is the final piece of a final puzzle that concludes a brilliant band in style.

Best of 2007 - from #85 to #81

85. helrunar - 'baldr ok íss'
Enslaved have long moved on to grander and more all-encompassing things, but if you still long for some straight-up viking black metal in the vein of Bathory and, indeed, old Enslaved, Helrunar, along with bands like Helheim or Kampfar, are one of the best prospects available right now. 'Baldr Ok Íss' works great especially because it's a very balanced record - although these Germans never go all widdly on us, even offering some harsh and more traditional black metal like in the ferocious 'Schwarzer Frost' or 'Íss', they do know when to get down to acoustics and old-man-storyteller mode ('Winter'). The rest of the album is the typical chest-beating epic style, and the whole mix is yet another perfect soundtrack to some conquering and pillaging while wearing a horned helmet. Not terribly original, but it sounds great anyway.

Helrunar - 'Schwarzer Frost'



84. gravetemple - 'the holy down'
Take Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O))), Khanate, Burning Witch, you name it), Attila Csihar (Mayhem, Tormentor, Aborym, and indeed Sunn O))) sometimes) and experimental multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi, and you have one of the most musically warped-out trios that you can conceive already. Now, ship the lot of them off to unstable, war-torn Israel in the summer of 2006, and have them perform screwed-up dark ambient droning doom improvisations. Are you scared yet? You should be, because the result of all that insanity is captured in this one-track, 60-minute disc and it's not an easy ride at all. The atmosphere is always unsettling, sometimes drawing you into a state of almost calm, with slow-burning hisses and bleeps, only to lash out at you when you least expect it into bursts of sonic violence, with chanting, growling, electronics, drumming and guitar feedback going at each other like a pack of rabid wolves, or as if Mayhem, Khanate, Sunn O))) and Whitehouse were all playing at the same time. My first listen of 'The Holy Down' happened during a 200km road trip with a friend, and I can tell you that our state when we arrived felt more like we had driven 20000km than 200. Mindfuck at its best.



83. amber asylum - 'still point'
There's a reason why Kris Force, Amber Asylum's frontwoman, has collaborated with my official Best Bands In The World, Like, Ever, which are Neurosis and Swans. In all Amber Asylum releases, there is the same underlying sense of earth movement, of some deeper, bigger thing than all of us that is being touched upon with these sounds. Not that the music itself is in any way similar in form, as Amber Asylum operate within a neo-classical framework, with Kris' remarkable soprano voice being a constant presence, but the images evoked by each artist's work is entirely similar. Although 'Still Point' is mostly operatic, sometimes even bombastic, the use of flutes and cellos and the entirely non-obvious nature of the compositions make it sound like one of those records to put on, on that day when they will say on the news that this is it, folks, the apocalypse is coming and tomorrow will never come. On that day, you will sit on your porch looking at the red horizon, and you will have Neurosis' 'Through Silver In Blood', Swans' 'Soundtracks For The Blind' and maybe 'Still Point' playing on repeat, and somehow, everything will feel meant to be.



82. blood of the black owl - 'blood of the black owl'
[review published on issue #159 of Terrorizer magazine]
Blood Of The Black Owl’s self-titled debut starts out rather misleadingly, as the first track ‘Kills The Timber’ firmly sets expectations for a slow-paced ride through harsh Darkthrone territory. Sole member Chet Scott must enjoy surprises, because that’s what you get as soon as the following song, ‘The Thunderous Hooves Of Two Goats In The Sky’, kicks in. Well, it slithers in more than kicks, as the sound of the rain and the spooky atmosphere start to envelop and consume you. When you least expect it, some dirty, gritty guitar has started to permeate through this gloom, settling into a repeating, hypnotic riff. The album see-saws like this throughout, impressively seamless in its transitions and changing dynamics, offering its fair share of pitch-black highlights after a few listens, the most fascinating one being the tribal horror of ‘Uwwalo’. Negură Bunget for the spiritual approach and Orthodox for the ritualistic feel are two good comparisons, but Blood Of The Black Owl is promisingly original.



81. akercocke - 'antichrist'
Considering the devastating live show that Akercocke put on and the totally individual personality that each of their records so far have shown, 'Antichrist' is a difficult album to tackle at first. Even before you start to listen to it, there's that terribly cliché title to contend with, and after the first couple of listens the whole thing seems to pass you by somewhat, very bland by comparison with the savage 'The Goat Of Mendes' or with the rich and complex tapestry of 'Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone'. Let it settle, however, and the dark pleasures of Akercocke will unveil themselves to you. The face-pounding violence of ''Footsteps Resound In An Empty Chapel', the gloriously ambitions 'My Apterous Angel' and a lot of subtle little innovations in the band's sound such as the jazzy elements of 'Axiom' or the unexpected electronic work in 'The Dark Inside'. Although it doesn't have the same impact as some of their previous, revolutionary work, 'Antichrist' is the sound of a band in constant evolution, and it becomes so catchy as you listen to it more and more that it might well end up as one of the Akercocke records that you will listen to more often.

Akercocke - 'Axiom'

Best of 2007 - from #90 to #86

90. [beforetherain] - '...one day less'
The long awaited debut full length of these Portuguese doomsters is vast and contemplative to the point of feeling like a journey. In fact, it feels like several journeys in one - both a journey to the most dramatic of human emotions and also a musical journey to a time when Anathema were putting out albums like 'Serenades'. Darren-period Anathema is indeed the main reference point here, especially for Carlos D'Água's mournful vocals, but in a genre in which it's hard to innovate, it's the work of riffmeisters Valter Cunha and Hugo Santos (who is also in the gigantic post-doom band Process Of Guilt) in particular that lifts '...One Day Less' above the usual norm. The pair weave a perfectly balanced tapestry of sorrow without being mushy, of melancholy without being wimps. Those seventeen minutes (count 'em!) of the closing title track must rank very highly on the song of the year category.

[BeforeTheRain] - 'You... My Ruin'



89. wormwood - 'starvation'
A very hard record to analyze, because of the highly unusual mix of elements that it contains. On any given song, this Seattle band can be building up a downcast riff worthy of My Dying Bride, only to have it mutate into five minutes of Neurosis atmosphere build-up, and have it climax on a female-vocal symphonic bit worthy of Peccatum. It sounds a mess, but it strangely works, and in case you're worried, the one theme running through the album is the murky darkness that envelops it all, so those cleaner atmospheric and symphonic parts don't really sound like artsy-fartsy meanderings and actually help to enrich the entire experience. Of course, the musical concept behind this album is so ambitious that it doesn't grab you completely for the entire duration, but in the wide majority of songs it does and as such it ranks as one of the very positive surprises in originality of 2007. The press release that came with the promo called it 'Panic-stricken Terrified Woebegone Metal of Hell' and, for once, it might be on to something.

Wormwood - 'Release From Expectation'



88. ravencult - 'temples of torment'
I was pretty excited about this record a few weeks ago, and my opinion still holds up!



87. bergraven - 'dödsvisioner'
[review published on the July 2007 issue of Rock-a-rolla magazine]
Don’t commit the mistake of raising the volume during the deceptively quiet beginning of this strange album. You would regret it three minutes or so later, when the black clouds are fully formed and finally descend upon you. Single member Pär (plus session drummer) single-handedly creates a black, hellish miasma, a mix of suicidal doom and ambient black metal as if Shining were playing ‘Dunkelheit’, expressing nihilistic self-hatred throughout the eight painful songs. Some interludes like those first three minutes come and break the overall thick fog now and then, although the album never meanders too far into ambient territory, and even the quieter parts feel somewhat alien and intangible, adding eeriness to the ensemble in a way similar to Ved Buens Ende. A few clean guitar leads also make their presence known and they are the disc’s weak point, as besides not being anything fantastic on a musical level, they detract from the very real black mood ‘Dödsvisioner’ is capable of creating. Otherwise Bergraven offer here an oblique approach to black metal that is very refreshing indeed. In a fetid kind of way, of course.

Bergraven - 'Ondkall'



86. boris with michio kurihara - 'rainbow' (michio) (boris)
[review published on issue #157 of Terrorizer magazine]
Something on Boris’ ‘Pink’ it didn’t quite fit the rock-out of the rest of the album - that opening atmospheric track, ‘Farewell’. This collaboration with guitarist Michio Kurihara picks up precisely from there, as opener ‘Rafflesia’ sounds like ‘Farewell’s missing 5 minutes, except greatly enriched by Kurihara’s endless-sounding leads. Such is their mesmerizing quality that they bring to mind the similarly infinite guitarwork of Katatonia’s ‘Brave Murder Day’. Given Boris’ increasing exposition, it’s easy to relegate Michio’s participation to secondary status, but nothing could be more unfair. Having shown consistent touches of genius in several bands, of which psychedelic rockers Ghost are probably the best known, he lifts some of these songs to brilliant status. Good examples are ‘You Laughed Like A Water Mark’, on which his swooping, swirling guitar contrasts with the laidback stoner vibe of the song, or the bluesy sounds that twist the otherwise shoegazing ‘Starship Narrator’ into something quite different.. Boris don’t lie back and watch, either. Showing no wear from the wealth of releases of the past few months, they push limits and explore new ground, always sounding exciting and otherworldly. The loud/quiet dynamics on ‘Sweet No. 1’ are pure Boris, as is the hazy cloud of ‘Fuzzy Reactor’. Just like ‘Altar’, ‘Rainbow’ is a consistent, tight collaboration that is much greater than the sum of its already excellent parts.

Boris with Michio Kurihara - 'Sweet nº1'

Best of 2007 - from #95 to #91

95. down - 'iii: over the under'
Never try / You either do it or don't waste your time, croons Phil Anselmo hoarsely on 'Never Try', one of the standout tracks from the third Down album. It shows the determination that's behind this album, a determination that's fueled by very real factors, especially for the former Pantera frontman - his battles with addiction, Dime's death and everything that happened up to that point, Phil is a man with demons and he's not afraid to look them in the eyes, and his vocal performance is intense, soulful and one of the best of his career. Katrina is also a theme hanging over the music created by all these New Orleans natives (Phil, Pepper from Corrosion Of Conformity, Kirk from Crowbar, Rex the ex-Pantera bassist and drummer Jimmy Bower who's been in nearly every known local band), and all these hardships give the hard rockin' blues of 'Over The Under' a very real and very gritty feeling. The music is right up there, too - from the 70s rock of 'N.O.D.' the the monstrous groove of 'I Scream', this is Down through and through and won't disappoint anyone looking for some honest, fat-groovin', heavy southern rock.

Down - 'Never Try'



94. nadja - 'touched'
It's drone, Jim, but not as we know it. Nadja's main man, Adrian Baker, has hit upon a formula that is nothing short of revolutionary, and will be more so once he develops it more. And he does get chances to, as his flow of releases is steady and fast-paced! But 'Touched' has been rather special among everything else Adrian has done recently. Withing the doom-applied-to-drone framework of Nadja, it's probably where you should start if you want to discover this band, or even a whole new genre. 'Touched' is drone for people who aren't into it (yet?), the swathes of saturated noisy textures always 'saved' by a sense of motion and of atmosphere that makes them listenable. Once these things start to settle through repeated listens, you start to perceive the enormous motion that's going on in these tracks, the underlying dynamics that build up tension and anxiety and then release them in huge cycles of sinister moods. To crown this achievement, there's 'Flowers Of Flesh', a total mindfuck of a 'song' that will be your best bet whenever you need to clear a room. Pay attention to Nadja in the future.



93. nifelheim - 'envoy of lucifer'
The Bröderna Hårdrock are back! The most famous evil twins of extreme metal, guitarist/bassist Tyrant and vocalist Hellbutcher, have returned along with the rest of Nifelheim which now includes former Entombed drummer Peter Stjärnvind, rechristened Insulter Of Jesus Christ! after his entrance into the Nifelheim kingdom. During this seven year gap, they did release a couple of split albums, tributes and a best-of, but not a proper full-length, which is what we really want from Nifelheim. The wait was long but worth it - 'Envoy Of Lucifer' is the most exciting record the band has done so far. A filthy, no-holds-barred blackthrashing attack (the mouldy crypt-like feel of 'Evil Is Eternal' has to be heard to be believed), it does nevertheless show an impressive level of musicality. Beneath the apparent simplicity and crudeness of the sound, there are real riffs and real structuring holding the songs together, something that is easily explained by the twins' love of hard rock and classic heavy metal, namely their obsession with Iron Maiden. At Wacken 2008, there'll be a chance to catch both Maiden and Nifelheim live, so let's all go and raise horns!

Nifelheim - 'Evil Is Eternal'



92. swallow the sun - 'hope'
After two sublime albums of Opeth-esque, growling doom metal, 'The Morning Never Came' and 'Ghosts Of Loss', these Finns have opened up their sound to let in a more fragile kind of melancholy. The crushing, hopeless doom riffs are still there, but now a little pale light is let in now and then with quieter passages and surprisingly delicate clean singing by vocalist Mikko Kotamäki. The appearance of Katatonia's Jonas Renkse on the song 'The Justice Of Suffering' speaks volumes, as they are one of the closest reference points to the hypnotic sadness that songs like the mesmerizing 'Don't Fall Asleep' are capable of creating. An elegant and subtle way to be doomed.

Swallow The Sun - 'Don't Fall Asleep'



91. type o negative - 'dead again'
Peter Steele and his cohorts' attitude on stage might be going a bit way too overboard with the don't-give-a-shit thing, but the fact is that, decadent (in a good or bad way, depends how you look at it) as they might look in that context, Type O Negative's albums have never wavered in quality. 'Dead Again' is yet another huge, hazy trip through the warped mind of Type O, with the by-now trademark overly long skip-me-if-you-dare song ('These Three Things'), the doomed-out rocker that always makes it to the airwaves (the apocalyptic 'The Profits Of Doom') and plenty of other drugged&doomed-Beatles sort of excursions in black humour, like 'Some Stupid Tomorrow' or 'September Sun'. Business as usual, and business is good.

Type O Negative - 'The Profits Of Doom'