2008 Neckbreakers

Vader - XXV
Darkthrone - Dark Thrones and Black Flags
Motorhead - Motorizer
Testament - The Formation of Damnation
Opeth - Watershed
Keep Of Kalessin - Kolossus
Unleashed - Hammer Battalion
Grand Magus - Iron Will
Disfear - Live the Storm
Enslaved - Vertebrae
Hollenthon - Opus Magnum
Destruction - Devolution

jury still out: Gojira, Ihsahn
not worth mentioning: Nostradamus

Whiplash Neckbreakers 07

Anvil - This is Thirteen

This suckers still in the mail but damn just hearing that title track reserves first place for the Canuck Metal Prime Ministers

highs: T.I.T., Ready To Fight, Bombs Away

Exodus - The Atrocity Exhibition

Why so heavy? Crushing! Just crushing! The definitive thrash team of Holt/Hunting back in action! The vocalist bores the shit outta me (see "As It Was..") but that doesn't even matter...These riffs are thrash metal defined.

highs: Children of a Worthless God (lose my shit at 0:51-1:18 every fucken time, heaviest recorded thing this year), Riot Act, Funeral Hymn, Bedlam 123

WASP - Dominator

Still rips my head off 10 months later. "There ain't no way out tonight!"


highs: Mercy, The Burning Man, Heaven's Blessed

Darkthrone - F.O.A.D.

"Fucken listen to Venom's Acid Queen!"

highs: These Shores Are Damned, FOAD (Algy Ward to a tee in those first two lines), Raised on Rock!

Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant

sure most of these harmonies sound like they were lifted from a day time soap opera, but they work fine when folded into all these vicious riffs. possibly their best ever but certainly good enough to make me forget the last two.

highs: Blood on Your Hands, The Great Darkness (an homeage to"Entombed's Chief Rebel Angel" or what?), Vultures

Devin Townsend - Ziltoid The Omniscient

something is seriously wrong with this record. humour in metal is toxic for me, but damnit this album just works. i've never been a fan of this guy's work either which was an even bigger surprise. hawkwind + floyd + starwars + muppets w/ metal gtrs and drums = an enthralling hour long space battle that all takes place in a coffee shop.

highs: the whole journey. it's hard to listen to this in installments

Prong - Power of the Damager

what a surprise, but this really made me remember why their BTD and PYW albums were so great and it might actually be better than both. Coulda really done with a better drum production though.

highs: Messages Inside of Me, The Banishment, 3rd Option, Looking for Them, POTD

Entombed - Serpent Saints

LG!!!!

highs: Serpent Saints, Masters of Death, Ministry, Warfare Plague Famine and Death

Dark Tranquility - Fiction

crushing riffs, endless harmonies and totally infectious tunes. DT never dissappoint and overall this could be their best yet (minus the experimental album closer ).

highs: Blind at Heart (thrash!), Nothing to No One, Empty Me

Naglfar - Harvest

A very nice replacement for the D666 vacancy this year. not familiar with their older stuff but this one is bloody ripping!

highs: The Mirrors of My Soul, Way of the Rope, Breathe Through Me

The Hidden Hand - The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote

The godfather of the sludge guitar returns. It's quite a trip. Who let the other guy sing? That's blasphemy!

highs: Dark Horizons, Majestic Presence, Purple Neon Dream, Spritually Bereft (all the Wino tunes)

Mors Principium Est - Liberation = Termination

masters of super speed riffing. well it sure aint making the list for the club beat breakdowns/intro and "tinkle tinkle" kybd bits. WTF dudes!? alright back to the fireball riffage and ultra noodlely shredding. \m/ GO! \m/

Highs: Terminal Liberation, Sinners Defeat, It is Done (scale riff insanity), Finality

Megadeth - United Abominations

as close a return to form as you could possibly hope for. a little too overtly political at times, small price to pay for some pure Mustaine venomous gold though. the gtrs just rip on most tunes.

highs: Sleepwalker, You're Dead, Washington

Dimension Zero - He Who Shall Not Bleed

as you'd expect this is riff central! I coulda sworn this was a new singer. pretty lack lustre in the vocal dept. a little blacker than before but they're more insignificant overall. whatever, THRASH!

highs: Unto Others, Paler Shade of White, Hell is Within, Deny

-----------------------------------------------
???:

Scarve - The Undercurrent

damn. loved the last one but i just aint getting this one.

Mediocre at Best:

One Man Army (and i aint even gonna say the rest) - Error in Evolution
some of the worst lyrics recorded this year. too bad cause the riffs are decent.
Dimmu - In Sorte Diaboli:
less orchestral for sure which is a needed change but still too same ol', same ol' otherwise.
Impious - Holy Murder Masquerade
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. oh cool riff!!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.oh.yeah!\m/...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Utter Disappointments:
Akercocke - Antichrist:
You can't record the follow up to WTGU DTGU in a cardboard box. There could be some good stuff in here but it's just so damn hard to listen to this thing.

Nightrage - A New Disease is Born:

those bubble gum vox are inexcuseable. No wonder Lindberg left.

Simply Embarassing:

DimZero - Staying Alive
piss off!!!

Most overlooked of 2006 :
Dissection - Reinkaos

this thing is a masterpiece. woulda topped my list last year if i'd only known.

The "let's have an album already" awards '07:
Morbid Angel - let's have a full on FLA transam death metal album w/David Vincent. like now!

Destroyer 666 - gawdammit. get in the freakin studio. looks like it might finally happen in '08.
Hollenthon - thankfully they're back from the brink this year. another shoe-in for '08

WASP - Dominator

Gawdammit! This thing opens with some killer chuggin four on the floor fist banging mania that builds up some serious intensity by the end of the first verse. (blood curdling vocal tone on) "You got no prayer, nowhere! There ain't no way out tonight!" (blood curdling vocal tone off). We get a slight musical reprieve before Blackie kicks in the first chorus of the album. A chorus that makes me wanna rise up like Apache Chief and sweep aside everything in my way. EnukChuk!

After seeing WASP at WOA2001 and some pre-festival research on what Mr. Lawless had been up to since his 80s heyday, I was pretty well hooked. That voice! Holy shit! Crushing! His go for the throat vocal style is in full effect through this whole album. The context of the lyrics is American imperialism but it's far from blatant and you're certainly not beaten over the head with it if you don't give a shit. Though you might be seriously confused into thinking this album was about domestic abuse. ha! yeah it's a pretty damn good metaphor. Blackie's certainly no slouch in the venomous lyric category and there's a buncha instant classics on this sucker. "Feed your children to the hellbent war machine!".

Of course there's a good mix of tunes on this thing too. A couple ballads of sorts, some crushing chuggers and a full on rock'n'roll closer. I've played this shit outta this thing, more so than any record in recent memory. It's a pretty good testament to an album's staying power when you wake up daily with these tunes stuck in yer brain. My only complaint is i can't play this damn thing LOUD ENOUGH!!! I guess I just need a live fix, complete with the Giger Harley Pogo Mic Stand.

highs: Mercy (ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!), Long Way To Go, The Burning Man, Heaven's Blessed

Mercy live (sans GHP Mic Stand)

wasp-mysp

Whiplash Neckbreakers 2006

Darkthrone - The Cult is Alive
C'mon you fuckers!
highs: Whiskey Funeral, Too Old Too Fucking Cold, Graveyard Slut




Melechesh - Emissaries
Sphynx was a real monster that will be tough to ever top, but Emisaries rips. it has all the hooks, turnarounds and breakdowns in the right places. The riffs have teeth. Reeaaaargh!
highs: Deluge of Delusional Dreams (1:29 is riff of the year...bite!) , Ladders to Sumeria, Rebirth of the Nemesis (call and answer intro kills!)

I - Between Two Worlds
Immortal - blast beats (Horgh) + more rawk = Between Two Worlds Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!
highs: The Storm I Ride (fist banging mania), Battalions (unmistakeably Immortal)





Enslaved - Ruun
Prob the best of their space rock era so far.
wall of sound from another world.
highs: Fusion of Sense and Earth, entroper, ruun, tides of chaos


Napalm Death - Smear Campaign
Quite possibly the best ND release ever. Barney is in fine form.Mitch's panic screams actually open the album this time. Riffs galore. HC/DM/GC crossover to the extreme. Chuffed! Waaaaarghhh!!!!
Highs: SinkFastLetGo, When All Is Said and Done, Deaf and Dumbstruck, Persona Non Grata



Vader - Impressions in Blood
Like an Atomic Steamroller, this is endlessly crushing.
highs: Shadow's Fear, As Heaven's Collide, Field of Heads


Keep of Kalessin - Armada
challenging.diverse.complex.dramatic.cinematic.
see Vengeance Rising for the perfect example (where did that buzzing swarm of locusts come from?)
highs: Winged Watcher (a cinematic peak), The Black Uncharted, Vengeance Rising, Many Are We


Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
technically 2005, though i did the most of my listening in 2006. with the strength of a thousand toho monsters this album crushes all of the nuclear reactors in japan. musically it's Morbid Angel meets Voivod...at least in the heavy bits. godzilla could so take these flying whales. highs: The Heaviest of the Universe (windmill central!), Ocean Planet

Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone
cinematic.dramatic.complex.diverse.challenging. yeah like Keep this is some elaborate and involved shit. this holds back more on the accelerometer though. and like Keep the vox are all over the map.
highs: Verdelet, Shelter from the Sand (moog alert 8:36)

Lamb of God - Sacrement
What the hell? NWAHM sucks but these guys have finally put all the riffs in the right places. well deserving of all it's successes. this fucker's bloody infectious.
highs: Beating On Death's Door, Again We Will Rise, Redneck (shit and I hate Pantera too, but this makes me do the throw down the horns routine)

Decapitated - Organic Halucinosis
Math Metal. Occasionally too self-indulgently robotic, but far more than enough frenetic riffing to make your head spin.Not since Ironman has a note been bent so effectively in a riff.New vocalist is a Barney clone, but a welcome change.
highs: Post Organic (windmill storm!), Day 69.


Unleashed - Midvinterblot
crushing riffs with fat tones and tunes about Sauron bringing man kind to it's knees. the leads frickin rip!
highs: The Avenger, This Is Our World Now, Blood of Lies




Sadus - Out For Blood
One of the most interesting and demanding releases of the year.Occasionally verges on a bass gymnastics routine, but thankfully not to excess.
highs: Sick, Out for Blood, Smackdown




Mastodon - Blood Mountain
could use more blood and thunder and less QOTSA, but still a damn interesting listen.
highs: Capillarian Crest, Circle Cysquatch, Crystal Skull...yeah basically all the "C" tunes... oh, and Bladecatcher

Necrophobic - Hrimthursum
stretching out their Sunlight studios sound a little more on this. not too far strayed from the Left Hand Path though.
highs: I Strike With Wrath, Blinded by Light, Enlightened by Darkness, Black Hate (woah..makes me wish D666 would've released a damn album this year!)