TeethoftheDivine Staff Picks for 2013!!!
It seems like every year is the better than the last and 2013 was no exception. From anticipated reunions like Gorguts and Carcass to the rise of so-called hipster metal in mainstream circles thanks to bands like Deafheaven, to grizzled veterans like Suffocation, every aspect and sub-genre of metal was firing on all cylinders. As usual, the TOTD staff had to be beaten into getting their lists submitted in time, and luckily, the many new staff members understood the imminent threat of physical violence.
This year we have even included a few ‘celebrity’ lists from some of the people responsible for making and releasing 2013’s great material, so be sure to check out the last page to see what folks like Kevin Quiron of Deicide voted as his favorite albums of 2013. As usual, thank you to all of YOU, the readers of this intimate little site, and stay tuned for more great metal in 2014.
Without further ado, we give you the 2013 Teethofthedivine.com staff picks:
Chuck Kucher
Top 10 Albums
Adoran – s/t (Broken Spine) – Aidan Baker and Dorian Williamson wield the drone/doom hypno-bong with amazing effect, combining the spaced out feel of Bong’s free form cosmic drone with the thick bass and hypnotic repetition of early Om. Dorian’s bass is an amorphous black hole of tone, at times it sounds like a funerary organ, others a droning synth, and, pushed along by Baker’s swinging open ended drum work, creates some of the most hypnotic and dread inducing textures and riffs of the year.
Kongh – Sole Creation (Agonia)– Sweden’s heavies up their game significantly, blending elements of death, black metal, and doom, along with a variety of vocal styles, to their already potent sludge. The slimmed down writing arrangement (the band pared down to a two piece in the studio) has shifted the oft-times monotonous churn of Shadows of the Shapeless to a swarming maelstrom, focused and diverse.
Hell – III (Eternal Warfare) – One of the best doom records of the year and one of the best instances of genre blending I’ve ever heard. A perfect marriage of big doom riffs, raw production, and primitive black metal spit out with conviction by a one man freakshow.
Kadavar – Abra Kadavar (Nuclear Blast) – Germany’s preeminent power trio are wielding mighty big guns on their second full length. Kadavar’s take on Sabbathy rock and roll stands tall, even in a year with releases by Orchid and Church of Misery. Excellent musicianship, great production, and enthusiastic performances elevate these beardos to the top of the stoner rock heap.
Gigan – Multi-Dimensional Fractal Sorcery and Super Science (Willowtip) – The perfect followup to one of my favorites from 2011. The Gigan crew return to the psychedelic death space time warp, blasting out concussion inducing waves of cacophonous guitar and pummeling drums. Multi-Dimensional Fractal Sorcery… is a swirling tech death behemoth without many peers.
Inter Arma – Sky Burial (Relapse) – Richmond, VA has one hell of a heavy music scene going, with bands like Earthling, Windhand, and the now sadly deceased Catalyst, but Inter Arma may be the best of the bunch. Their second LP, and first for Relapse, expounds upon the genre pushing mishmash of Sundown by reining in the chaos. Sky Burial delivers a thoughtful, expressive psychedelic trip where shades of black metal, thrash, doom, and sludge coalesce in one heavy as hell album.
Iron Lung – White Glove Test (Iron Lung/Prank) – This two piece powerviolence act pushes their mastery of start/stop blast beats and stomach churning tempo shifts to as yet unheard heights. On its own, it’s a brutal piece of grind that harkens back to the 90’s heyday of powerviolence, but when played with the accompanying disc of remixes it becomes something far more terrifying and original. An amazing piece of truly extreme music.
Lords of Bukkake – Desagravio (Totalrust) – Album number three sees these Catalan lords drift further and further from the sound of their debut, even as the format remains the same. Desagraviois another four track long player is psychotic sludge/doom, this time further twisting their guitar tone to something less guttural and heavy. Of course, the monstrous bass tone and a dynamic drum performance make the backbone of the music, but it’s the sometimes ethereal distorted guitars and Toni’s insane vocal performance that adds an impressively sinister layer to the towering riffs and lumbering sludge.
Coffins – The Fleshland (Relapse) – Japan’s death/doom monsters release another sludge and shit covered offering to the necro lords. Yeah, it’s simple and it sounds like pretty much every otherCoffins release, but few bands do it better. Here’s to another 17 years of pulling limbs from the Autopsy/Eyehategod graveyard and stitching together new monsters from the festering corpses of the past.
Queen Elephantine – Scarab (Heart and Crossbones/Cosmic Eye) – Queen Elephantine’s fourth full length takes a dramatic step toward the weird. Where their mystical drone always had a trippy, meditative vibe, Scarab sounds like the soundtrack for a solitary astronaut drifting through space slowly coming to grips with his impending death. Layers of noise drift like piercing rays of light and oddly plucked atonal guitars render pangs of spiritual horror as the bass and drums drive towards bursting peaks. Essential for fans of bands like Bong and Sunn0))).
Top 5 Splits and EPs
Coffins/Noothgrush – split (Southern Lord)
Blues Pills – Devil Man (Nuclear Blast)
Moloch/Ensorcelor – split (Feast of Tentacles)
– Gaffe (Solar Flare)
Whores – Clean (Brutal Panda)
Top 5 Name-Your-Price Digital Releases
Conan – Mount Wrath: Live at Roadburn (Burning World) – http://burningworldrecords.bandcamp.com … dburn-2012
Cowards – Hoarder (Throatruiner/Ruins)- http://cowardsparis.bandcamp.com/music
War Brides – Burden (Self Released)- http://warbrides.bandcamp.com
Puig Destroyer – Wait for Spring (The Ghost is Clear)- http://puigdestroyer.bandcamp.com/album/wait-for-spring
Eyeswithoutaface – Warguts (Briefcase Show)- http://eyeswithoutafacehq.bandcamp.com/releases
Top 5 Local/Regional Releases
Bardus – Solus (Self Released)- http://bardus.bandcamp.com/
Faking – Greatest Hits Demo (Self Relesed) – http://faking.bandcamp.com/album/greatest-hits-demo
Haggard – Various Stages of Ice (Self Released) – http://haggard.bandcamp.com/album/various-stages-of-ice
Buzzherd – On Sinking Ships… Rats Drown EP (Dullest)- http://dullestrecords.bandcamp.com/albu … rats-drown
Tile – You Had a Friend in Pennsylvania (Limited Appeal) – http://tilenoise.bandcamp.com/album/you … nnsylvania
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Satan are from England, not Germany (hence being a part of the NWOBHM). Killer album,either way! Check out their debut, “Court in the Act”… Life Sentence is basically part two of that album. Same lineup, 30 years later too.
on Jan 2nd, 2014 at 10:55Thanks again buddy! Well appreciated!
on Jan 2nd, 2014 at 19:13My bad. Thanks for the heads-up Biff. Not sure where i got the German connection from. Although, hypothetically a band could be a part of the NWOBHM scene and have relocated to England. Court in the Act rules as well.
on Jan 2nd, 2014 at 21:56I agree with Erik, Sunbather is the best album this year.
on Jan 3rd, 2014 at 09:05new Pestilence and Carcass were awesome , too
on Jan 3rd, 2014 at 21:04and…despite the critics…i enjoyed the new Broken Hope and Deicide , too …can’t wait for the new Deceased album
on Jan 3rd, 2014 at 21:06I would add Hideous Divinity and Antropofagus for exciting 2014 releases coming up!
on Jan 4th, 2014 at 12:05yo Giovanni-my interview with Hideous Divinity will be posted in a few weeks on here!!
on Jan 9th, 2014 at 15:01