Best of 2007 - from #55 to #51

55. entombed - 'serpent saints'
Seventeen years, nine full length albums. Time flies, doesn't it? I'm not aware of the demographics of my readership, but I assume that some of you guys were toddlers when 'Left Hand Path' came out. Man, do I feel old. Entombed, however, don't - 'Serpent Saints' is yet another slab of dirty, heavy Entombed-metal that fits perfectly alongside their past discography. Entombed's career, like almost every band that has had a massive influence towards a genre, has always been marked by those first albums, up until 'Wolverine Blues' more or less. Unlike many of those bands, though, and even if every fan seems to have a different album to pick on, the fact is that Entombed have never released a bad album, not even an average one, if you look at it unbiased by your own expectations. 'Serpent Saints' even sidesteps the more-of-the-same issue (although it's a very wonderful same!) that might have been valid on some other albums, because they're rockier, Motörhead-er than ever and at the same time doomier and creepier and Black Sabbath-er than ever too, with their typical way of not taking themselves too seriously ('Masters Of Death' is very tongue-in-cheek, for example) but still grinding you down with shit-heavy stuff, like the mammoth 'The Dead, The Dying And The Dying To Be Dead'. A metal staple, Entombed are. Here's to the next two decades.

Entombed - The Dead,The Dying, And The Dying To Be Dead'



54. dark tranquillity - 'fiction'
If you happened to have visited my last.fm page, you will notice that I listen to these guys a lot. Quite a lot. As much as I love At The Gates (and I do - I will travel to a couple of countries this summer with the express purpose of seeing them live) and Entombed (see above!), among others, Dark Tranquillity will always be the epitome of what Swedish death metal means and of its importance towards metal and extreme music as a whole. Their intricate lyrics, their catchy but pounding songs, their musical and emotional intelligence, everything is great about this band. So what is the new album doing at #54? Well, this might be the less positive review you will read in this top 100, but when a vaguely disappointing album still makes it halfway up the list, then it's because my expectations are sky high for the band in question, which is the case. Don't get me wrong, 'Fiction' is fabulous, but it's just not enough of a leap from 'Character', as that album was from 'Damage Done' (much more expansive and almost space-like feel), or as that was from 'Haven' (more aggressive and to the point), or as 'Haven' itself was from 'Projector' (creepy electronics, no clean vocals) and... you catch my drift. I have to admit that 'Projector' is still my favourite DT album, and those much-missed Mikael Stanne clean vocals make a return here on one of the songs ('Misery's Crown'), but 'Fiction' doesn't have the same individual album feel as all the other albums from 'The Gallery' until now. However, several brilliant moments like that wonderful last song, the aformentioned 'Misery's Crown' or the typical DT 'Nothing To No One' still make it a highly recommended album. Let's just hope the guys try a bit harder next time so that the record makes it to where it belongs - in the top 5 at least.

Dark Tranquillity - 'Misery's Crown'



53. doomsword - 'my name will live on'
[review also published on issue #78 of LOUD! magazine, translated and adapted for too.many.records.]
'My Name Will Live On' is the perfect power metal (well, sort of) album for people who dislike the genre, with no super-high-pitched vocals and cinematic delusions that are characteristic of some of the bands that those who don't like the genre hate the most. With DoomSword, you get the essence of epic, the notion of the enormity and the glory of past battles. After a rather lengthy absence, these Italians show that the sort of form that produced the masterpiece that is 'Resound The Horn' is still intact. Despite the rather tradicionalist look, DoomSword is a bit of an unique band. The seriousness and the sobriety with which they tackle the historical events that their songs are based on leave no doubts regarding their dedication and integrity, and it also injects in their music a believable feeling that is remarkable. For all that, 'My Name Will Live On' is huge in scope - a devoted, focused listen to a song like 'Gergovia' will make us feel in the battlefield itself, led by Vercingétorix (him on the album cover), resisting stoically and heroically to the Roman invasion. The environment around these songs is very heavy, from the sonic destruction of 'Steel Of My Axe' to the irresistibly inspiring 'Once Glorious'. The balance between power, excitement and even beauty is very good. The final cherry is Deathmaster's excellent vocals, sounding like a true leader of men, summoning them into battle. Get your swords ready.

DoomSword - 'Once Glorious'



52. deathchain - 'cult of death'
The loss of former vocalist Rotten, who did a great job on this Finnish band's two first albums, was a blow that some of the fans haven't been able to get over even now, but if they would try to look a bit beneath the surface they would realize that 'Cult Of Death' is actually a great progression for the band. Much more death metal than before, this album will take some getting used to if you were expecting a thrashy affair like their previous efforts, but once you get used to it you'll find a cavernous, brutal death metal album like they used to make 'em in the old days. K.J. Khaos, who also growls for Deathbound and The Duskfall, really goes low end here, and it gives heavy songs like 'Serpent Of The Deep' or 'Necrophiliac Lust' a remarkable potency. For the geeks among us (I know you're out there!), the album feels like a collection of monsters of the week, with each page of the booklet depicting the death hammer (for, erm, 'Deathammer'), that serpent of the deep or the mad exorcist in 'Hour Of The Exorcist'. Kickass album, and great fun.

Deathchain - 'Serpent Of The Deep'



51. pantheon i - 'the wanderer and his shadow'
Pantheon I might feature both Andrè Kvebek and Tor Risdal 'Seidemann' Stavenes, former members of 1349, but take that only as a quality reference point, because there is little of 1349 here, and if this was what the pair wanted to do, then it's great that they left their former band and dedicated themselves to this. Pantheon I practises a polished, complex kind of black metal - note how i used 'complex' as a lame way to actually mean 'symphonic', because that word has become so dirty in black metal circles that I'm afraid you'll just skip to the next review if I mention it. Rest assured, however, that this is symphonic like it should be. There's no ham-fisted sub-Hammer Horror crap here like in the latest Cradle Of Filth efforts or in all of Dimmu Borgir's unbelievably overrated career, in fact the band closest to the way Pantheon I develop their sound is probably Emperor, with all differences duly remembered. To be more accurate, the vast spacey feeling of Emperor with a bit of the rawer aggression of Old Man's Child almost gets us there, but Pantheon I are strong enough to stand on their own merits, and there are a lot of neat little touches, like a few surprising thrash parts, the odd Hestnaes-like clean vocal part or some moments where the fury really steps up, like in the great 'Cyanide Storm'. An enormously classy release of modern Norwegian black metal.

Pantheon I - 'Cyanide Storm'

Best of 2007 - from #60 to #56

60. manowar - 'gods of war'
'Gods Of War' has turned, surprisingly, into the most divisive album of Manowar's long career. Sure, they have always been a factor of contention within metal as a whole. On one side you have the people who think they're silly and dumb, on the other all the fans who realize that the over-the-top posturing is exactly the point of Manowar and are therefore free to enjoy the music, that has been of a superior quality very often, something which is often overlooked because of the whole image the band generates. Few casual listeners think that Manowar actually have written, among other things, a haunting, crushing doom song ('Hatred'), gorgeous metal ballads ('Master Of The Wind', 'Courage', 'Heart Of Steel'), rousing epic cavalcades ('Black Wind, Fire And Steel', 'The Power Of Thy Sword', 'March For Revenge'), not to mention the 30-minute epic 'Achilles, Agony And Ecstasy In Eight Parts'. The one decision that is arguable about 'Gods Of War' is that they have applied the 'Achilles' concept to a full album, a concept album about the god Odin, but this time without the constant metal rumble that the opening track from 'The Triumph Of Steel' had. Of these sixteen tracks, only eight are "proper" songs, and one of them is a bonus track that doesn't really belong in the whole concept. This makes 'Gods Of War' a very difficult album to sit through if you're not in the musical equivalent of a let's-watch-Lord Of The Rings-the-whole-way-through mood. Symphonic intros and orchestral passages are remarkably well done, and the entire album flows exactly like a movie, but after superb heavy and fast blasts like 'Sleipnir' or 'Loki God Of Fire', sometimes you wish they'd just get on with it. However, if you think about it, that's really your problem. The music here is awesomely put together as a cohesive whole, and it's remarkable that a band well on their way to their third decade of existence still has the balls to put out something like this in today's current musical climate. Oh, and that bonus track - it doesn't fit, but it's terribly exciting in a silly true metal kind of way. It's called 'Die For Metal'.

ManOwaR - 'Sleipnir'



59. horna - 'sotahuuto'
It's Horna. After the black plague album, they wrote 'Sotahuuto' as a tribute to the old school and Bathory. It's fucking grimm trve BM, cold, raw, entirely shrieked in Finnish, preferably to be listened on vinyl and not made to be liked, so fvkk off. \m/



58. end of level boss - 'inside the difference engine'
[review published on issue #24 of Underworld magazine, translated and adapted for too.many.records.]
The riff that opens the first song, 'Selfishnegativevibemerchant', shows right away what End Of Level Boss are all about. A textbook example of what a stoner riff is, it serves as a basis for the song's development, which doesn't limit itself to heavy and slow. Just like the rest of the album, in fact. The dynamics on display here are the best quality of 'Inside The Difference Engine', with surprising structures and frequent detours over dissonant territory in the vein of prime-era Voivod that give the album a sort of industrialized feel. For once, the press sheet comparisons are right - End Of Level Boss do sound like the missing link between Kyuss and Voivod. Two huge names to throw about, but these guys can take their weight perfectly. Throughout the record, both oppressive ('Instinktivitus', scary!) and urgent ('Reticence') atmospheres are created, always with a guitar athleticism worthy of someone like Stinking Lizaveta (with whom End Of Level Boss have played, actually). This cross-genre exploration is possible because this band is musically very solid - the rhythm section is huge, and the vocalist sounds either like a steroid-filled John Garcia or a less schizo Mike Patton. Therefore, the predisposition to make up stuff is enormous, as the two last songs show, from atop their bizarreness. Whether they show the band's future sound or not, this is in any case a band that gives guarantees for the future. And if the leap to the next album is as big as the leap from 'Prologue' to this one, you'd better watch out!

End Of Level Boss - 'Instinktivitus'



57. el hijo - 'las otras vidas'
[review also published on issue #24 of Underworld magazine, translated and adapted for too.many.records.]
Good music does funny things to you, to the point of bringing down irrational prejudices (not that there are any rational ones). I do admit a certain personal distaste for songs sung in Spanish, but it's a distaste that's mostly part of the past right now, and it's all Abel Hernandéz's fault. Migala's former vocalist, after this band broke up, decided to get together a new band and throw himself at this very personal project. With the precious help of multi-instrumentalist and producer Raül Fernandez, the result was the writing of nine irresistible songs. It's very difficult to try to explain the appeal of the simplicity of 'Las Otras Vidas'. Although the album doesn't have a glowing factor of originality or any fantastically arousing moment in particular, it's one of those that insinuate themselves, underneath your skin, slowly, until you realize that you listen to the thing almost every day, especially when you want to take a break from all the hellish metal of doom that most of my readers probably listen to all day long. Just like it happens with a record like Nick Cave's 'The Boatman's Call', for example. The stand-out note is entirely Abel's voice. Sober, accompanied by various acoustic instruments, it's one of those full and low voices, capable nevertheless of the softest melodies that seem to come out without any kind of effort, a bit like Robert Fisher (Willard Grant Conspiracy) or Matt Berninger (The National). Songs vary between pop-folk and something more atmospheric, that will appeal to anyone who likes Iron & Wine and other similar bands. The comparison is necessary but very reductive. An album of this class and feeling should appeal to anyone who likes good music, full stop. Even to those who didn't like to listen to Spanish singing.

El Hijo - 'Vals De Los Besos'



56. exodus - 'the atrocity exhibition - exhibit a'
The revival of Exodus is a wonderful thing. With so many troubles that have happened to this band, it's a small miracle that they're still together at all. That they're actually still thrashing the house down with powerhouse albums like 2005's 'Shovel-Headed Kill Machine' and now this little baby. Vocalist Rob Dukes is a big part of this, as he's probably the best vocalist the band has ever had (no disrespect to the much-missed Paul Baloff, but he is), and succeeds in injecting that final bit of bile that these tracks need to work. By "work", I mean "punching you in the face and leaving your broken and messy nose for the rats to pick on", of course. As a final piece of the puzzle, original drummer Tom Hunting also returns to the fold on this album, beating his kit like there's no tomorrow. Just like the awesome previous album, 'Atrocity Exhibition' is a simply a shred-fest that will make you thrash all around (acting like a maniac?) and headbang from beginning to end. Varied, incorporating several tempos for massive killing capacity. Funnily enough, in the middle of a thrash revival and bands like Municipal Waste, Evile and SSS catching all the attention, old-timers Exodus are still by far the best thrash band around.

Exodus - 'Riot Act'

Best of 2007 - from #65 to #61

65. the ocean - 'precambrian'
The scope of 'Precambrian' is simply staggering. An ambitious double album (comprised of a mini-CD, 'hadean/archaean' and a "full" disc, 'proterozoic'), entirely conceptualized (and metaphorized, too) around the creation of the Earth, created by a band that's not even a band, but an open collective of musicians (their official name is actually The Ocean Collective), how's that for starters? By all this you might expect a dreamy, drawn out record with 20-minute songs, but that's where the Berliners surprise you. The music that bellows forth from their apparently huge rehearsal space is the finishing move to this overwhelming ambition, and it's surprisingly intense - a rather unique mixture between post-rock, Cult Of Luna especially, and vicious metallic hardcore like Converge, all of it tempered by odd little details like left-field electronic bleepings and atmospheres. Enriched by some of the best packaging I've ever seen on a digipak, 'Precambrian' is an album that will hit hard from the beginning but will take a while to discover fully.

The Ocean - Orosirian (For The Great Blue Cold Now Reigns)'



64. hey colossus - 'project:death'
[review published on the April issue of Rock-A-Rolla magazine]
The prolific Hey Colossus are, musically speaking, part of the less-is-more school of thought (in terms of number of releases, though, they’re very much the-more-the-merrier!), as their downtuned, dirty beasts of songs stampede their way forward without any big frills or unnecessary filler. Hey Colussus’ aim is to rock you, and they do that shamelessly, under the haze of static and fuzzy feedback, as if Boris were playing Doomriders songs. The title-track from the Doomriders album in particular, one of the best songs in memory, has a worthy successor here, in the truly kickass ‘I Am The Chiswick Strangler’, a two-minute blast of energy that will conjure up images of legs-apart, full-on rocking stances. Elsewhere, other highlights include the vicious ‘On The Pleasure Of Hating’, a gnarly, filthy release of disgust, and the unbearably heavy ‘Rope Assassin’, in which the rumbling chaos almost drowns out the tortured screams of the vocalist. The predominantly slow pace feels menacing, which gives the listener a great rush when things start to pick up a bit of speed and extra bite. In fact, the whole album feels almost dangerous, a true reflection of the great cover image. ‘Project:Death’ is a mandatory release for anyone into ugly, bass-heavy music with serious attitude and aggression, and it manages the worthy feat of being Hey Colossus’ best work so far.

Hey Colossus - 'I Am The Chiswick Strangler'



63. decayed - 'hexagram'
[review published on issue #162 of Terrorizer magazine]
After a difficult period during which guitarist and founder JA was left as the only band member, Decayed has suffered a complete line-up overhaul. Now the 17-year-old Portuguese black metal institution returns with renewed strength and confidence, and it’s precisely that confidence and faith in themselves that elevates ‘Hexagram’ above the usual norm. Unlike many bands based in Central and especially Southern Europe, Decayed do not feel the need to pretend that the inspiration for the album came from a snowy Norwegian forest. Rock’n’roll, sacrifice your soul!, is the battle cry of powerful new vocalist W halfway through ‘Ceremonial Cleansing’, and that really sums it up - the black heart of ‘Hexagram’ beats to the punkish, devil-may-care rhythm of Venom. These genuine old-school vibes are enriched with a very modern sense of viciousness, showing that Decayed are not only rooted to the past, but also to the future. Black’n’roll might feel like a tired gimmick for tired black metallers of yore, but this is the genuine article.

Decayed - 'Ceremonial Cleansing'



62. jesu - 'conqueror'
According to Justin K. Broadrick, Jesu's aim from the beginning was to create the saddest music possible, and while that is quite a goal, it is also a very open one. This has allowed Jesu to evolve from the hypnotic bleakness of debut EP 'Heart Ache' and open up to other forms of expression. Although the dreamy, hazy quality of the music is still the main characteristic of Jesu's composition framework, 'Conqueror', a bit like what 'Silver' hinted at, is generally softer, sometimes coming close to a sort of floaty emo-gone-ambient atmosphere that's closer to My Bloody Valentine than anything else. The "pop" feel that many have complained about is misleading, however. 'Conqueror' is still so rich in layers and fine subtlety that you'll genuinely hear something new every time you play it.



61. dark the suns - 'in darkness comes beauty'
It's something in the water, or in the weather, or that they feed to babies, but there is an overall feeling to Finland's dark rock bands that no other country can really match. Not that they try much, since this kind of thing can really only be done in Suomi - you have nowhere else with bands like (post-'Amok') Sentenced, Entwine, Charon, Poisonblack, Cryhavoc or Eternal Tears of Sorrow, to name but a few. Dark The Suns is the newest addition to this illustrious bunch, and it features all the staples of this geographical sub-genre, there's the gravely vocals (slightly more gravely than most here), the melodic leads, the emotional subjects, the sexy and stylish sense of darkness. The main difference is the way Dark The Suns use their keyboards, as they are omni-present and carry the main melodies of the songs themselves, for extra dramatic factor. All this could be the set-up for a bad review, waiting for the 'so, heard it all before, cliché, wimp music, avoid.' punchline. Thing is, Dark The Suns songs work. They're insanely catchy, but there's quality underneath that allows them to survive the disposable factor, there's soul to them. Of course you'll hate it if you only dig extremebrutaldeathmetalgroaargh, but if you like melody and emotion in your music, check out these guys.

Dark The Suns - 'The Sleeping Beauty'

Best of 2007 - from #70 to #66(6)

70. viaje a 800 - 'estampida de trombones'
[review published on issue #159 of Terrorizer magazine]
After a long silence, Spaniards Viaje A 800 return with their unusual take on stoner rock. Despite the relative conventionality of their music, very clearly influenced by Black Sabbath, Hawkwind and Kyuss, it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly sounds different about them. Indeed, the Spanish lyrics give it an air of exoticism that is rare in this sort of music, but the riffs are hypnotic enough for the language to be quickly forgotten after a couple of songs. Perhaps it’s the fact that Viaje A 800’s songs are more direct, less hazier, less stoned if you will, than your typical stoner rock. They not only avoid the drugged out, long repetitions common in some other bands of this kind, but there’s in fact an almost punk-like immediacy in the rockier songs like ‘Zé’ or ‘Patio Custodio’ that is very satisfying. ‘Estampida De Trombones’ is the chance to listen to an example of how to give a tired genre a new, subtle twist, while still rocking the house down.



69. yakuza - 'transmutations'
[review published on issue #163 of Terrorizer magazine]
Shape shifting isn’t the half of it, as each song on ‘Transmutations’ twists the album further into uncategorizable territory. There’s the dreamy jazzy structures of the sax-lead ‘Egocide’ exploding halfway into Patton-esque metal cabaret, the Neurosis worship of ‘Raus’, the pitch-black doom of ‘The Blinding’ or the devastating 2-minute death metal blast of ‘Steal The Fire’. Just to name a few. Call it a mess and give it 5/10, right? Well, wrong. It sounds crazy when write descriptions of each song like that, but when you’re actually listening to it, it doesn’t feel that insane. Yakuza aren’t a crazy grind band shooting in all genre directions just because they have ‘jazz influences’, and all the songs have the band’s very distinctive mark on them, regardless of their stylistic clothing. It will take some listens, but you’ll eventually discover a subtly structured record that knows when to chill out and when to go for your throat. A great record that is both brutal and intelligent.

Yakuza - 'Egocide'



68. unsane - 'visqueen'
The somewhat hard-to-define, vicious post-hardcore sound of Unsane has been slowly but surely developing, and all of their albums have been a challenge to fans, who don't expect anything less from this NY-based band. 'Visqueen', their first album for Mike Patton's Ipecac label, goes some way to taking the Unsane sound to a new extreme, as the creepy desolation that was always present on their past records is very emphasized here, but all without losing their trademark rumbling power. Take opener 'Against The Grain', where everything that makes Unsane great is represented - the song is intimidating in its relentless and incisive heaviness, but also releases a quantity of unease and razor-sharp angst that makes it feverishly intense. The rest of the album falls a few inches short of this genius opening blast, but stays close enough to make all of it mandatory both for Unsane fans and for those who like uneasy aggressive music. To top it all off, Unsane throw a last-gasp curveball with 'East Broadway', an eight-minute almost ambient piece that'll scare the shit out of you and makes the wait for the next album a very exciting one.

Unsane - 'Against The Grain'



67. trap them - 'sleepwell deconstructor'
No big review needed for this. 'Sleepwell Deconstructor' is the sound of the pissed off, the frustrated, the angry. It's what you put on when you've had enough of all the shit in the world and you want to start breaking things. It's no surprise that there are members of December Wolves in this ('Completely Dehumanized' is one of the most vicious albums ever) and that the original name of the project was Trap Them And Kill Them. The feeling of letting out aggression is nearly palpable because this isn't just random noise, it's uncontrolled aggression released in a controlled form, much like Pig Destroyer's awesome 'Phantom Limb' (more on that a bit further up the list...) it bashes your head in with minute-long death-crust-grind missiles. All of the songs are highlights, and then there's the equivalent to that last untitled song on 'Phantom Limb', or even Converge's 'Grim Heart / Black Rose', in the form of the five-minute long 'Deconstructioneer Extraordinaire', the one rest in pace in the middle of all this chaos, that nevertheless keeps the violence-inducing levels way up there anyway. A crazy album that'll tire you just by listening to it.

Trap Them - 'Swine Into Silk'



66(6). the howling wind - 'pestilence & peril'
[review published on issue #164 of Terrorizer magazine]
Killusion could have released ‘Pestilence & Peril’ under the guise of Thralldom still, and it wouldn’t shock anyone, since The Howling Wind is a direct progression from the oblique take on black metal that was the trademark of Thralldom. However, it also makes sense that this should be an entirely new project, since that progression leap is indeed a large one. ‘Pestilence & Peril’ is more obviously black metal than Killusion’s previous work in Thralldom, but not black metal in the orthodox kind of way. The spaced-out feel of the guitars actually recalls that dead stump in the genre’s evolutionary tree that is the late 90s Moonfog releases such as Thorns’ debut or Satyricon’s ‘Rebel Extravaganza’, but much dirtier and murkier. The closest comparison to ‘Pestilence & Peril’ is Aura Noir’s ‘Deep Tracts Of Hell’. There is the same alternating between quasi-doom (some Unearthly Trance there too!) stomping horror and faster songs, but always maintaining that greenish, menacing toxic haze. In what seems to be quickly becoming a norm in Profound Lore releases, this album feels dangerous. There is an underlying viciousness to all these songs that projects the intended atmosphere of terror with great effectiveness, but the main factor for that is the caveman-like muffled production. A bit like the label’s previous release, Portal’s ‘Outre’’, ‘Pestilence & Peril’ doesn’t sound either necro or crunchy – it sounds like you just put your ear to the ground and heard the bestial roar of an unknown beast miles beneath you. Animalistic it might be, but the album is also very well structured. Take a song like ‘Virulence 33’, for example, in which the relentless , abrasive pace that shreds your face for five minutes is abruptly cut short half a minute from the end, leaving you all alone with a few discordant sounds that segue into the spooky interlude, ‘Southaven’. When you’re finally feeling safe, the mid-paced hell of ‘Stealth Eugencis' wrecks your nerves all over again. You’ll be on edge for the duration and you’ll love every minute of it.

The Howling Wind - 'Stealth Eugencis'