Celtic Folk Metal

When I think of Celtic folk metal, there are 3 names that come to mind far above all others: Cruachan, Primordial, and Suidakra. I'm going to talk for a while about the trajectory of those bands over the current decade.

Coming into 2011, Dublin-based Cruachan had released 5 studio albums, beginning with their 1995 debut. They had cemented their status as a premier band in the developing sub-genre with  "The Middle Kingdom" in 2000 and "Folk-Lore" in 2002, but since then they'd been a bit wobbly. The band had gone pretty quiet, having released no new material since 2006.

Fellow Dubliners Primordial, on the other hand, were doing great at the time. They too had released 5 studio albums beginning with a 1995 debut. They too had established themselves as a force over their next couple releases. However, while Cruachan had fallen off, Primordial had made the step up to a bigger label and released the excellent "The Gathering Wilderness" in 2005, followed by their towering masterpiece "To the Nameless Dead" in 2007. In 2010, they set the stage for their follow-up by releasing a live album.

Germans Suidakra are the outliers in most of this narrative. Debuting with a studio record in 1997, they were more prolific and varied than the other two. From 1997-2009 they released 9 albums covering ground in black metal and melodeath in addition to their folk metal material. 2006's "Caledonia" and 2009's "Crógaght" were a pair of the best Celtic folk metal albums of the decade, though, and considering the pace of Cruachan and Primordial's output, at that moment in time Suidakra looked to be the best bet for good new Celtic Folk on a consistent basis.

In 2011, all 3 bands released new albums, and each of them has released 2 more albums since then. This marked the first time since 2002 that all 3 had released an album in the same year, and it also marked the beginning of a new era in the way I'd assess their relative status.


Suidakra released "Book of Dowth" in late March of 2011. The album was solid, but it was the kind of record that makes you go "yeah, that was pretty good, but I think their last one was better." The following month, Cruachan and Primordial dropped their new albums 8 days apart.

Cruachan had undergone an intriguing transformation, losing the female vocals from their formula (they had generally employed clean female and harsh male vocals) and focusing on a more aggressive, blackened sound with "Blood on the Black Robe" also marking the beginning of their "blood trilogy" of albums. It was an unexpected shift, but it actually lead to a very strong release.

Primordial's "Redemption at the Puritan's Hand" meanwhile was a killer album that suffered a little bit from following such an impossibly great predecessor. The best tracks were ones that dominated my playlist for much of the year, though.

In the end, while I liked the Suidakra release alright, it didn't do much to stand out, while Primordial ended up topping my end-of-year list and Cruachan made the top 5 as well. With the benefit of time, while I still think the best material off RATPH is better than anything on BOTBR, the latter has probably stayed in my mind as the slightly more cohesively strong whole. Really, though, picking between them is tough.

From this point onward, though I didn't realize it yet at the time, Celtic metal would have a big 2 instead of a big 3. Suidakra signaled that reality when they followed up first with "Eternal Defiance" in 2013: a record that had the same vaguely lackluster quality as its immediate predecessor. In this case, though, the step down was more noticeable.

In 2014, the two Irish bands again released new albums less than 2 weeks apart, this time with Primordial going first. Again, Primordial were excellent, with "Where Greater Men Have Fallen" making another of my year-end lists and probably being the strongest folk metal album of the year. Cruachan's "Blood for the Blood God" was a worthy follow-up, but as is often the case, as the middle installment in a trilogy it didn't particularly stand out.

In 2016, Suidakra tried again with "Realms of Odoric" stumbling into existence so weakly that I'm still trying to figure what the hell happened. To date, it's the latest release from the band. Perhaps this is just a temporary dip. I certainly hope so, but right now they appear to have totally fallen apart.

This year, Primordial released "Exile Amongst the Ruins" in March, with Cruachan's "Nine Years of Blood" following 4 weeks later in April. Yet again, both records are fantastic. This time around, though, I'm going to have to give the nod to Cruachan. By injecting just a bit more folk and dynamic range back into the harsher sound of the previous albums of the trilogy, they hit a sweet spot that really impressed me. Primordial's record didn't really break any new ground for the band or anything, but it sounded great and kept their streak of successes rolling. Ultimately, expect to put both on my top 10 at the end of the year.

So there you have it. What "it" is, I couldn't tell you, but it's yours now.

Top 10 Metal Albums of 2017

It's that time of year again: list time! After a scramble through much of November and December to catch up on everything I hadn't heard that felt vital to me, the day has come to give my own top 10.

Before I do that, though, I'd like to quickly make note of a few honorable mentions and other albums of significance to me.

First off, I'd like to say that this year I landed on 9 albums that I was really certain about, with 6 albums fighting it out for that final spot on the list. I had this group written down for weeks, constantly changing my mind about which to include. Then, at the last possible moment, another album raced in and grabbed a spot in the top 10, leaving these on the cutting-room floor. Those albums are: "Evil Sound Screamers" by Acid Witch, "Exuvia" by The Ruins of Beverast, "Tyhjyys" by Wolfheart, "Thrice Woven" by Wolves in the Throne Room, "The Black Tower" by Sons of Crom, and "Horizonless" by Loss (which incidentally had my favorite cover art of the year). Each of these records gets my hearty recommendation.

Additionally, I'd like to mention that I gave both "Lykaia" by Soen and "II" by The Devil and the Almighty Blues serious consideration, but I chose to exclude them on the grounds that I'm not sure I'd really call either of them metal albums. A looser definition of "metal" would likely have landed both records on my list.

Since I don't have a single thrash album in my top 10, I'd like to say that if I had included one it would have been "Nightmare Logic" by Power Trip. For all you old-school thrash fans, I'd really suggest you give it a spin.

Finally, I want to mention "Muukalainen puhuu" by Oranssi Pazuzu. Why am I bringing up an album that's 8 years old? Well, it's not a new album, but out of the pre-2017 material I listened to in the past 12 months, it's easily the best new-to-me album that I heard. If you haven't encountered this 60s-styled psychedelic black metal outfit, you should really check them out at your earliest opportunity.

Alright, with that out of the way, let's get to the main event. This is my list of the top 10 metal albums of 2017. Ready? Okay, here we go:

#10. "Heartless" by Pallbearer
The Arkansan group Pallbearer are a regular fixture on my year-end lists, so seeing them here again should be no surprise to anyone who knows my taste. This time around the doomsters often feel more Pink Floyd than Black Sabbath, which is an interesting shift that I have slightly mixed feelings about. Changing things up helps avoid growing stale, but I hope they don't wander too far from their roots. Overall this is not their best, and if it sounds like I'm being weirdly negative about one of my top 10 albums, it's only because I love this band's prior material so I'm grading on a ridiculously steep curve. I played this a bunch of times and I strongly recommend it to every doom fan.

#9. "Terra Damnata" by Nightbringer
In recent years, this Colorado outfit has morphed into one of the most solid black metal bands in the world, and this is now their second album to show up on one of my year-end lists. It's a cleaner, higher production value than some folks like in their black metal, but what Nightbringer lack in kvltness, they more than make up for in pure intensity and hostility. This is a ferocious band, and "Terra Damnata" is as good as they've sounded on a record. Also, while this isn't especially important, I do find that cover art frequently plays a role in my experience of a new album, either by helping to establish expectations or by providing an aesthetic focal point as I listen. On that note, this has one of my favorite covers of 2017.

#8. "Kwintessens" by Dodecahedron
In the non-folk black metal department, Dodecahedron and Nightbringer were neck and neck for top honors in my book. As you can see, Dodecahedron managed a narrow victory. The Dutch group have only released a pair of albums, but they've already established themselves as one of the strongest voices in the sub-genre. Their music tends to have a slightly impenetrable quality to it, with odd, dissonant passages that feel like they take multiple listens to start to digest. It's worth the effort, though, because this is the closest you're going to get to a Deathspell Omega release this year, and coming from me that's about as high of praise as a black metal album can get.

#7. "Desolate Endscape" by Phrenelith
In the past few years, I've noticed more and more really good death metal coming out of Denmark. 2017 brought a new entry in that category with the debut album by Phrenelith. The simplest, most effective way to describe this is to say that this year Phrenelith somehow released a better Incantation album than Incantation did. I've heard a couple complaints that this "cavern-core" approach to death metal is beginning to take over the sub-genre, but personally I love this kind of filthy, guttural approach. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a phenomenal incarnation of my favorite style of death metal. In fact, for a while this felt like one of the front-runners to top this list.

#6. "Medusa" by Paradise Lost
If sheer volume of listens were the sole criteria for my rankings, Paradise Lost would top the list this year. These guys are seasoned pros at this point, with a long history of solid releases, and if there's one thing the death-doom pioneers understand, it's how to make an album that is easy to listen to and enjoy. "Medusa" is ridiculously easy to get into regardless of mood, so it became my all-purpose go-to album for quite a while this year. It does lack, in my estimation, a bit of the intangible "it factor" that marks some of the albums I have in front of it, which is what keeps it just shy of the top 5. Basically any metal fan should be able to enjoy this, though. I know I did.

#5. "Till Fjälls, del II" by Vintersorg
Long ago, in a bedroom far, far away, a younger me first discovered the beautiful and nebulously-defined world of Viking/pagan/folk metal. One of the first bands he encountered in that sphere was a Swedish act called Vintersorg. He loved their music, but time passed and they drifted away from his tastes. This year, Vintersorg released a thematic sequel album to their full-length debut, and it brought all the magic of that time rushing back. This is a wonderful record. Also, between his work on Borknagar's phenomenal "Winter Thrice" last year and this release with his own band, I guess Andreas "Vintersorg" Hedlund is probably my favorite musician in the Viking metal world these days.

#4. "Codex Omega" by Septicflesh
These Greeks have, all things considered, one of the best overall catalogs in extreme metal. With that in mind, it should carry a lot of weight when I say this is one of the best Septicflesh releases I've ever heard. Balancing death metal intensity, symphonic bombast, and gothic melodrama is not always easy. Their spotty 2014 effort "Titan" proved that. This time around, though, all the pieces are in place and everything works perfectly. It's beautiful, it's dark, it's powerful: it thoroughly delivers all the things I want from one of the best heavy bands in the world. The particular standout feature is Spiro's harsh vocal performance, which is quite possibly the best it's been on any record they've ever released.

#3. "Істина" by Nokturnal Mortum
I mentioned earlier that at the last possible moment, something new charged its way onto the list. This was it (I should note that the album came out back in May, I just finally listened to it). It had been 8 years since the Ukranian blackened-folk gods had last graced us with a full studio album, and their return was absolutely glorious. For me, this was one of those records that you immediately know is going to be a favorite well before you've even finished listening to it. It's also one of those records that demands to be called "epic," regardless of how tired the word may be to some ears. If you have even a passing interest in folk metal, this is absolutely essential listening as far as I'm concerned.

#2. "Hrelia" by Tongues
Denmark gave us not one, but two great debut albums this year. Tongues fall into the rapidly growing category of extreme metal bands who defy typical sub-genre classifications by straddling and blurring the lines between them. Metal Archives calls them "Black/Death/Doom Metal" and that sounds about right to me. Regardless of how you define them, this is one hell of a sinister album. Nothing else I heard this year did quite so effective a job at conjuring a mental scene and filling it with a sense of looming, overwhelming dread. I am really anxious to see what these guys have in store for the future, because this release launches Tongues to the top of my exciting new metal bands list.

#1. "Cloak of Skies" by Drug Honkey
I really didn't want to top my list with such a stupidly-named band, but "Cloak of Skies" is unquestionably the album that most deserves this spot. The Chicago-based psychedelic doom outfit delivered an absolutely filthy, lumbering colossus of a record that provided me with the most intense listening experience I encountered all year. The long-lost crushing heaviness of vintage Electric Wizard is fused with nightmarish soundscapes, hatefully rasping harsh vocals, warped psychedelia, and an irresistible bass groove that hypnotizes you and pulls you down deep into the dark, murky waters. It's one of the best doom albums I've ever heard, and it's a worthy recipient of the title of "Best Metal Album of 2017."

The band name is still stupid, though.

Top 13 Metal Albums of the Past 13 Years

September 18th, 2004: a day that will forever be remembered as the day that happened thirteen years before I sat down to write this list. In the years since that fateful morn, thousands upon thousands of metal albums have been released into the world. This list, in the estimation of some long-haired dude in a black t-shirt, is a sinister selection of the best of them (presented in chronological order).

Arcane Rain Fell - Draconian (January 24, 2005)

I'm typically not a big one for gothic metal, but this album is so utterly gorgeous that my typical prejudices around the style just don't feel that important. Here we have dark, delicate passages punctuated by just the right amount of metal heaviness and arguably the most enchanting female vocal work of any metal album I've ever heard. Any time I talk shit about bands like Nightwish, this is the album I point to as a master class in how to do it right.

Above the Weeping World - Insomnium (August 6, 2006)

I have repeatedly called Insomnium the best melodic death metal band in the world today, and for my money this is still their masterpiece. A good decade after At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, and In Flames cemented their status as the pioneering greats of the sub-genre, Insomnium added their own entry that stands beside those early classics as one of the best albums in the history of melodic death metal.

With Oden on Our Side - Amon Amarth (October 2, 2006)

Amon Amarth's career has been defined by consistent, unadventurous solidity essentially devoid of surprises or letdowns. Amidst their very even catalog, however, one album distinctly stands out to me as the best they've ever been. Slammed full of catchy, thunderous Viking goodness, With Oden on Our Side  is not only my go-to Amon Amarth record, it's one of the most enjoyable albums of any genre I've ever heard.

Vargstenen - Månegarm (May 18, 2007)

Speaking of Vikings, when I want to listen to some pure Viking metal, there are a small handful of bands and albums I turn to first. Right up there with the likes of Bathory, Windir, and Moonsorrow comes the brilliant Månegarm. In particular, their magnum opus Vargstenen  stands as one of the best entries the sub-genre has ever seen. As a side note, while many similar bands simulate their folk instrumentation on keyboards and synthesizers, these guys earn bonus points for actually playing the instruments.

To the Nameless Dead - Primordial (November 16, 2007)

For the past two decades, Primordial have quietly compiled one of the best discographies in the entire metal world. This, the crown jewel in that brilliant career, is one of the most utterly compelling metal albums ever released. When first I sat down to write this list, there were two key albums on my mind, and this was one of them. If you've never heard this unique Irish folk-ish metal outfit, I'd strongly recommend starting here.

Paracletus - Deathspell Omega (November 8, 2010)

Okay, now it's time for some black metal. While Norway is the nation most popularly associated with the sub-genre, most serious black metal fans will know that France has one of the most lush, thriving black metal scenes in the world. The kings of the castle are the endlessly inventive, defiantly idiosyncratic, immeasurably intense Deathspell Omega. They go years between releasing full length albums, but when they do, we get monsters like this.

The Aura - Beyond Creation (April 12, 2011)

Beyond Creation are a Canadian technical death metal band with just two albums under their belts. Their debut, thanks in no small part to the brilliance of former-member Dominic Lapointe (my pick as the most skilled bassist in all of metal) stands as my favorite tech-death release. It's crushingly heavy, mind-bendingly complex, and most importantly it's far more coherent and focused than albums of this nature tend to be. Overall, if you're into really fast, heavy, complex stuff you can't really do better than this.

In Somniphobia - Sigh (March 12, 2012)

This was the other album I was thinking about when I sat down to put this list together. When I think of my favorite albums in recent years, this is always the first one to come to mind. This Japanese avante-garde outfit create some of the most bizarre, genre-defying work in all of music, seamlessly moving from black metal screams to wild bongo fills and saxophone solos before transitioning back into scorching lead guitar work, often in less than a minute. This is musical mastery at its finest.

Atra Mors - Evoken (July 31, 2012)

Of all the bands on this list, Evoken were the closest to getting two entries. Honestly, even as I write this I'm still waffling back and forth between this and their equally masterful Antithesis of Light. The best funeral doom band in the world, everything these guys touch is amazing. Slow, crushing heaviness is of course the order of the day, but Evoken impart their material with a dark, powerful beauty that is virtually unmatched. My only wish is that they'd release something more often than once every five years.

Sweven - Morbus Chron (Febuary 24, 2014)

There is a small, wonderful subset of death metal that I would describe as "chill." Ethereal, dreamlike, and oddly calming for music so heavy, this album slots right beside the criminally underappreciated Gorement masterwork The Ending Quest  as one of the absolute best albums ever released in that style. Sadly, these guys broke up after releasing only two full-length records, but before they went they gave us one of the best pieces of death metal to come out in recent memory. 

Citadel - Ne Obliviscaris (November 7, 2014)

With Opeth now a straight-up prog rock band, the progressive metal throne stands vacant. The best contender to fill that seat is the Australian outfit Ne Obliviscaris. This, their second release, built on the promise of their debut and more. Unfortunately, like Beyond Creation, these guys had one of the best bassists in metal but no longer do. His work on this is some of the best metal bass ever recorded, in my opinion. Special mention also goes out to Tim Charles for probably the best use of a violin in any metal album.

Songs from the North I, II & III - Swallow the Sun (November 13, 2015)

For a long time, the death-doom group Swallow the Sun seemed like they'd be one of those bands with one great album they'd never quite match again. Then they came out with this monumental triple-album, and that all changed. This is one of the biggest, most ambitious, most wonderfully executed metal releases I've ever encountered. Listening to this is a breathtaking journey through darkness and light.

Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows - Howls of Ebb (April 15, 2016)

Here, on the other hand, there is no beauty or tenderness to be found. This is ugly, warped, bizarre, horrifying, and absolutely amazing. From the slithering creep of the bass to the discordant chaos of the guitar work, the inhuman vocal work to the looming sense of cosmic dread, this is likely impenetrable and even un-listenable to many, but every bone in my body screamed with excitement when I first listened to this wildly unique, deformed monstrosity of an album.

So there you have it: these are the best metal albums of the past decade plus three years, says me.

Summer Metal Purchases

Over the course of a couple trips to my local record store, I recently picked up 8 new metal albums that have come out this year. Now that I've taken each of them for a spin, I've decided to set myself the arbitrary task of ranking them from worst to best. I haven't had a lot of time for these to marinate, so this will be more a series of quickie first impressions than a real set of proper reviews. Also, note that since these are all albums that I actually went out and bought on CD, there's a certain baseline assumption of quality that you may not find in reviews of free online material. None of these are outright terrible. Some of them are just distinctly less good than others.

Anyway, let's get to it, shall we?

#8. "The Forest Seasons" by Wintersun
When Wintersun alienated half of their fan base by stringing us along for 900 years with the Chinese Democracy-esque production cycle of "Time I," I stood up and defended the album as much better than many gave it credit for at the time. At this point, it's becoming harder to keep making apologies for Wintersun. I can't say that I hated this, but it was weak. There were some cool moments here and there that genuinely grabbed me as they reached for the epic scope and vital energy that this band once showcased. Those moments were the exceptions. Disappointingly, though somewhat unsurprisingly, far too much of this just felt like a mediocre Children of Bodom knock-off in sparkly pajamas.

#7. "Berdreyminn" by Sólstafir
Are Sólstafir even a metal band anymore? I mean, they've been drifting further and further into this atmospheric post-rock style for a while now, and at this point it feels like they barely have any connection to their roots. I have no problem with bands experimenting with their sound, and if Sólstafir don't want to play metal anymore, that's fine. They can still be a good band. The thing is, while this was nice and pretty and perfectly pleasant to chill out to and all, it was also kind of boring. I'd play it in the background if I just wanted something mellow to fill in the silence, but that's about it. This is not something I can see myself putting on to actually listen to unless I'm in a really weird mood.

#6. "Wrong One to Fuck With" by Dying Fetus
I'll admit right up front that I've never been a particularly big fan of these guys. That said, I actually think this is better than most of their material that I've heard. They definitely embraced the technical side of their style, and the musicianship on this is razor sharp and ultra clean. Too clean, in fact, for my taste. I accept that this is a personal preference, but I like a little dirt in my death metal. This felt like watching a doctor perform complex, delicate heart surgery in a sterile operating room. What I want to watch is a maniac with a rusty meat cleaver hacking his victims to pieces in a tool shed. Still, this is a strong release worth checking out if you're the kind of death metal fan who would rather listen to Origin than Incantation.

#5. "Blight Upon Martyred Existence" by Impetuous Ritual
This is the point where we enter into the albums I really liked. Unfortunately, one of them has to be the bottom of the really good stuff, and by a razor-thin margin Impetuous Ritual loses out to their Profound Lore label-mates in 4th. This is an intense, chaotic, go-for-the-throat death metal release from a band that shares two members with Portal. Teitanblood and Diocletian were the names that kept running through my mind as I listened to this, and while these guys don't really do anything that those bands don't, that's hardly grounds for complaint. This is a really strong record that hits hard as hell. As an incidental, petty aside: the album cover is so obnoxiously dark that you have to put it under bright light just to read the band name and song titles. That doesn't really matter, it just kind of annoys me. Regardless, this gets my hearty recommendation.

#4. "Horizonless" by Loss
Doom bands usually have one of about four directions they can go. They either try to be super crushingly heavy, super stonerifically groovy, super beautifully mournful, or super Black Sabbath-y. Loss go for the achingly beautiful, mournful approach. They really excel at creating an atmosphere of tragedy and, well, loss. Musically, I'd say they're up there with the likes of Ahab on the funeral doom spectrum of greatness. The one gripe I have is that the vocals are just kind of quiet and weak. They are mostly there for atmosphere, so it's not the end of the world or anything. It's just that the human voice is obviously a tremendously effective tool for evoking emotion, and since that seems to be the name of the game here, it would be nice to see them get a little more mileage out of their vocal performances. Honestly, though, I really enjoyed this album and I expect I'll listen to it plenty more times in the coming months. Also, since I already brought up album covers once, I'd like to point out that this is my favorite cover art of the year so far.

#3. "Abreaction" by Svart Crown
Have you ever listened to an album, enjoyed the hell out of it, then when it came time to describe why you liked it, all you could seem to muster was "umm, I liked it because it was good"? Well, that's sort of where I find myself with this one. This French blackened death metal outfit is new to me, so while they've released several albums, I don't really know how this stacks up within their discography. What I do know is that it's energetic, catchy enough to be fun, heavy enough to be satisfying, and overall strong enough to leave me with nothing to complain about when it finished. I just had a really good time listening to it, and at the end of the day, I think that's all you can reasonably ask for from an album.

#2. "Heartless" by Pallbearer
Since they burst into the metal world's collective consciousness in 2012, Pallbearer have asserted themselves over the slow, heavy end of spectrum to such a degree that it's almost impossible to argue against them as the best doom band in the world right now. Evoken are probably the only group who are capable of surpassing them in that sphere, and those guys haven't released an album in 5 years. On this newest record, Pallbearer step into some fresh territory. The basic core of what has always made them work remains, but they've adopted more melodic elements and really excellent lead work into their sound as well. Traditionally, doom bands in this vein sound like heavier versions of Black Sabbath. There were times on this album where it felt like I was listening to a super heavy version of Pink Floyd instead, complete with some awesome David Gilmour-style soloing. All in all, it's a great album from a great band.

#1. "Desolate Endscape" by Phrenelith
Remember earlier, when I said I like some dirt in my death metal? Well in their debut album, Phrenelith gave me that in spades. (Hur hur, I make joke). All I knew about these guys going in was that they were supposed to be somewhere in the vein of Incantation and Disma. Those are some damn good names to pull out if you want to sell me on a death metal release, and Phrenelith did not disappoint. If anything, I'd say this Danish crew bring a little more variety to the formula than either of those bands, which helps keep this album fresh while still staying heavy and guttural and wonderfully filthy. There are points that slow down to murky, Autopsy-like crawling. On the other end, there are a few pretty high-energy, intense moments. Home base, of course, is in that cavernous slow-to-mid-range groove with drums providing a rumbling drive under churning tremolo riffs and Craig Pillard-esque demon growls. The common complaint with this type of death metal is that it's unadventurous, and honestly this isn't particularly groundbreaking. What it is, however, is an absolute masterclass is how to do this brand of death metal right.

So there you have it: given their incredible proficiency in one of my absolute favorite styles of metal, Phrenelith sit atop the pile of my recent album purchases. Thank you, and good night.

Konosuba (Anime Review)

So I just finished watching season two of Konosuba, and I have to admit that the show has left me puzzled. I'm not confused by the plot or themes or anything; the show is about as deep as a mud puddle. Rather, I'm confused about why I enjoyed it as much as I did. It felt like watching a version of Fairy Tail with a slightly dirtier mind, and I got bored of Fairy Tail within the first few episodes.

Since I finished the show, (what exists  of it at present, anyway) I've been imagining a conversation about the creative process. It sounds something like this...

A: So what's this new "Konosuba" show going to be about? 

B: I thought we could take a nerdy highschool otaku guy and suddenly surround him with cute, quirky girls.

A: Oh my god, that's brilliant! Why has nobody thought of this before? Where will it be set? 

B: Okay, now this is pretty out there, but imagine if we took this guy, who of course is from modern day Japan...

A: Yeah?

B: Yeah, and we, now bear with me here...

A: Mhmm...

B: We put him in . . . a video gamey version of a fantasy world. Like if he were inside an RPG.

A: . . . . . . . .

B: I know, it's-

A: HOLY FUCKING SHITBALLS! I haven't heard of such an original setting since the damned genius who thought to put a romance anime in a Japanese highschool! This is amazing! You're on a roll my friend, what else? Tell me tell me tell meee!

B: Wow, I'm glad you like it so much. Alright, well I was thinking we could make the whole thing kind of a satire. Like, you know how RPG logic and real world logic are so different? I think it would be fun to explore that.

A: I love it! I have never seen one single show or comic that is a spoof of an RPG fantasy setting, so I think we'll really break some new ground with this. How about the main character? Tell me more about him.

B: Okay, well, first of all I think we should remove any stakes or sense of danger by making him easy to magically resurrect over and over.

A: Of course...

B: Also, despite the fact that he spends most of his effectively immortal life casting magic spells and having assorted watermelon-sized titties bounce around in his face, I think he should whine endlessly about how hard he has it. You know, to make him relatable.

A: Naturally, I agree.

B: I also think it would be a good idea if he kept complaining about how he doesn't get to lead a life of adventure, while simultaneously shooting down every attempt his companions make to get him to fight monsters or do anything adventurous.

A: Alright, it sounds like we've got the perfect protagonist lined out, any little finishing touches?

B: Just one. He should constantly get caught in awkward sexual situations where he acts embarrassed about the possibility that people will think he's a pervert, but he should also actually be a total pervert who endlessly sexually harasses the girls. 

A: Ah, one of those types that gets played off as a "boys will be boys" character?

B: Exactly.

A: Alright, awesome. Now what about the girls?

B: First of all, we need an assortment of heights, ages, hair colors, and breast sizes. 

A: All impossibly thin and sexy though, right?

B: Yeah, we just need to make sure no male fantasy is left unfulfilled. 

A: Good point. What about personalities? 

B: Does it matter? 

A: Ha! I suppose not. Still, just for fun...

B: Oh, alright. Ummm, let's make one a dumb, self-centered girl. Like, the unattainable cheerleader goddess type.

A: Oh yeah, that's hot. 

B: Another we'll make . . . ummm . . . Oh! I know! We'll make her be all orgasimically turned on by physical abuse. You know, do a whole angelic face with a super kinky dark side thing.

A: Oh god yes, I'm getting hard just thinking about it.

B: What else? Well, we need at least one girl to be like 13 so all the pedos can have their fun. We'll have to make her tits smaller, but that's just the price you pay I guess.

A: *panting heavily* 

B: I think that about covers it. Of course we'll have tons of other chicks with massive cleavage and exposed midriffs running around, but that should be enough for the core group.

A: Yeah . . . that's, mmmmm, that's perfect.

B: I think so. Tell you what, I think I've got enough to get started, so I'm going to go start some preliminary sketches, then we can reconvene to talk about logical inconsistencies, like how tons of new adventurers have gone to that fantasy world from ours with their memories intact, yet nobody there seems to have heard of Japan.

A: Sure thing, just toss me that box of tissues before you go.

I know many of Konosuba's fans dismiss criticism of the generic setting and situation since the point of the show is to be a satire, but frankly, at this point fantasy RPG satire is such a well worn path that mockery of those conventions has become almost more generic than the conventions themselves. Also, the main plot basically plops the characters in their fantasy setting in the first episode and then fucks off to a bar or something. It pops back up from time to time, but at least half of the show feels like a collection of amusing but irrelevant filler episodes.

The funny thing is, for all the problems I have with it and all the reasons I feel like dismissing it, I did like watching it. The characters aren't particularly deep, but they are (mostly) likeable and fun. The setting isn't unique or original, but it's solidly executed. The humor is pretty juvenile and obvious, but it did frequently make me laugh. I may be able to tear into the show for what it does wrong, but I also marathoned 20 episodes in a day and a half so clearly it was doing a lot of things right, too. At the end of the day, I enjoyed the hell out of it.

So that's Konosuba. Do I understand why some critics are calling it a masterpiece and saying that season one was the best anime of 2016? Absolutely not. But did I watch and enjoy it all, and will I continue to watch it if a third season is confirmed? Yes.

Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016

It's been far too long since I posted on this blog. What better way to break that long silence than with a year-end list? I haven't done as good of a job keeping up with new releases this year as I have in some years past, but I've heard enough new material to compile what feels to me like a fairly solid top 10 list.

As per usual, this isn't a set of specific recommendations, nor am I claiming it to be in any way definitive. It's just my opinion that these are the 10 best metal albums that I heard this year.

Also, before I start, I'd like to talk about Swallow the Sun's Songs from the North pt. I, II, & III  for a moment. I initially had the group's ambitious triple album at #6 on my list, and I only realized as I sat down to write this that it was actually officially released late last year. I've long seen them as a band afflicted with the mixed blessing of a great debut that they could never quite equal, and with this album they finally broke out of that trap. I was excited to include them on the list, so even though I have to officially exclude them, I still wanted to mention that truly excellent record.

Okay, on with the list!

#10. Decision Day   by Sodom

Thrash is largely a dead sub-genre at this point, kept afloat almost entirely by the newest releases from various 80's masters. This year saw a colossal surge of buzz around Metallica, as well as new records by the likes of Testament, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Destruction. For me, though, the standout thrash album of the year came from the blackened, ugly hearts of Sodom. German thrash bands have always had that edge in intensity over most of their American counterparts, and that was the case again this year.

#9. Fires Within Fires   by Neurosis

The post-metal kings returned with their first album in four years, and I for one was quite pleased with the result. It's not the strongest material they've ever released, but it's a damn good record. I don't really have a ton to say about this one, but if you're a fan of the band or the lush post-metal style in general, I think you'll be satisfied.

#8. The Empire   by Vader

These Poles have been on a long winning streak, and while I haven't checked out the cover album they released last year, their previous two efforts ranked among the best death metal records of the decade. The Empire  dials back the intensity slightly, and for that it falls short of instant classic status. In a year that didn't impress me too much with old school death metal output, though, this was the best album in that vein that I heard.

#7. Jomsviking   by Amon Amarth

To the surprise of nobody, Amon Amarth's "first concept album" was pretty much business as usual for the world's most consistent metal band. Here's the thing, though: I really like Amon Amarth. I know they're not going to blow my mind, but I enjoy the hell out of every album they release. So a band that is practically genetically engineered to fill out the bottom half of my top 10 lists finds itself firmly and predictably right here in the bottom half of my top 10.

#6. The Synarchy of Molten Bones   by Deathspell Omega

If I had to choose one group to call the best black metal band in the world today, I'd choose Deathspell Omega. The French outfit bring a level of creatively intriguing yet unrelentingly violent chaos to their music that few bands can match. In their first full-length release since 2010's fantastic Paracletus, they've delivered a slightly more straightforward effort than usual. Consequently, this is a solid place to start for listeners who want to ease their way into the band's particular breed of calculated insanity.

#5. Winter's Gate   by Insomnium

These guys are the best melodeath band in the world right now, and they arguably have been for over a decade. Everything they have ever released has been good, and while this record might be a bit too polished and pretty for some folks, it's about as strong as the band has ever been. My brother maintains that this is the perfect metal album. I wouldn't go that far. Personally, I'd rank it second in their overall catalog, but with a band of this caliber, that's saying something.

#4. Dread   by Yith

One thing I love about the internet age is that unsigned bands have so many more outlets for their music now than in the past. Yith, a one-man independent project that released its full-length debut this year, is not a band I'd have ever encountered before the world of Bandcamp and Youtube. This is an awesome record that plays like a slow, doomy take on classic Burzum, and I for one absolutely love it. Like a cold, lumbering monstrosity, this hit me hard and immediately secured its place as one of the year's best in my eyes.

#3. Jumalten aika   by Moonsorrow

Moonsorrow have long been one of my favorite bands. I was excited to see that the Viking metal (or pagan metal, or epic heathen metal, or whatever the hell you want to call them) masters were releasing their first album in five years. I always expect a lot from this band, and they far surpassed my hopes. This swept me away with its magnificent scope and searing beauty while retaining a hard, biting edge. Moonsorrow have yet again delivered easily the best Viking metal release of the year.

#2. Winter Thrice   by Borknagar

There's a right way and a wrong way to do clean vocals in metal. This was emphatically the right way. Playing out like a best-of-both-worlds hybrid between Amorphis and Enslaved, these progressive black metallers have never sounded better. Of all the spots on this list, the battle between this and Moonsorrow for second place was the one I agonized over the most. In the end, the Norwegians took the edge on the basis that this was the easiest album to enjoy of anything I encountered all year. 

#1. Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows   by Howls of Ebb

First place, on the other hand, was never in question. Sometimes one album asserts itself so powerfully that it stands in a class of its own, and this was one of those years. Literally one song in I already thought this was going to be my album of the year, and as it progressed the question became less about whether it was number one and more about how far out in front of the pack it would finish. I have a deep love for weird metal, and Howls of Ebb are fucking weird. This sort-of death metal release combines the discordantly impenetrable intensity of Portal with the looming terror of a Lovecraftian funeral doom outfit and the creeping, off-kilter grooves of a couple stoned metal heads goofing around in the basement. The vocals are like the howls of a warped beast. The guitar riffs are twisted and inventive. The bass grooves and slithers, like a giant snake passing through the whole record and tying it together as it unsettles all in its path. The drums back off to create space when it's needed, and they close in when the chaos calls for them. Howls of Ebb have crafted a unique, captivating, and surprising masterpiece. Oh, and how awesome is that cover art?

Two Months

Two months: that's how long it's been since my last post. I've only posted a handful of times so far this year. Honestly, I don't foresee that glacial pace changing any time terribly soon. Between how busy I've been at work, the other projects that have been consuming most of my free time, and the simple fact that I'm not listening to much metal these days I just don't have the material or inclination to keep up with any degree of metal-related posting. I'm not calling time of death just yet, but I wouldn't advise holding your breath until my next post either, since it's probably going to be a while.

Tuesday is Blues Day (#10)

It's been a good long while since I posted one of these. Well, given his recent hospitalization (he's since been discharged) I've had B.B. King on my mind a fair amount of late. Talking about his place in the blues world in any kind of detail is really too massive a topic for a lone blog post, though. He's widely considered to be the greatest blues musician of all time. Further, there's a case to be made that he's the most important guitarist of the 20th century. Numerous books and documentary films have covered his life and achievements, a notably good and recent example being B.B. King: The Life of Riley. I'd highly recommend it if you have an interest in music history.

Since this is just a short blog post and not a massive biographical volume, I'll reflect on his career in my own more succinct way, through his music. Below I've linked three versions of his first hit single, 3 O'Clock Blues. First, there's the original 1950 studio cut. Second, there's a live performance from B.B. as a mature blues master. Finally, a duet from the 2000 album Riding With The King, recorded by Eric Clapton and 75-year-old elder statesman B.B. King, just one of many examples of legendary guitarists paying tribute to the king of the blues. Enjoy.

Enslaved - In Times

It's about time I got to a metal review. So far, this year has been pretty slow on the music front for me. There's rarely a ton of really compelling metal early in the year, I wanted to take a bit of a break anyway after the year-end-list season, and in the past few months I've had sufficient real life distractions to keep me from spending much time worrying about this blog. I don't want to drift into total inactivity, though, so now it's time to get back on the horse. What better way to do that than with a new release from one of extreme metal's most respected names?

Enslaved are, in case you're new to the metal underground, a black metal band from Norway. They've been around since those early, notorious days of the scene. Over the years, though, they have evolved into an increasingly progressive entity. While some (myself included) have not always seen this progression as a positive thing in stylistic terms, the quality of their musical output has always been beyond reproach. As such, they've avoided most of the criticism most metal bands would receive upon softening their sound. Anyway, their thirteenth album In Times  hit shelves a few weeks ago, so I figured I'd give it a listen.

The basics should already be evident. As always, the musicianship is top-notch, the compositions are complex and well-thought-out, and the style maintains the balance between "black" and "progressive" quite well. If you've listened to an Enslaved album in the past decade, you've got a fairly clear picture of what to expect.

That said, I found myself consistently more engaged this time around than I did with its predecessor RIITIIR. That record was pretty and it was well-executed, but it all felt a little low-energy and dull. Though this is not appreciably "heavier" it does feel as though more energy has gone into its production. The music is more varied and interesting. The compositions are fresher. The band has become more adventurous with the progressive end of things, they've added just the tiniest dash of post-rock atmosphere here and there, and simultaneously they're making better use of their black metal edge. Granted, I've been feeling less metal-y recently, so maybe I'm just more receptive now than I was in the past, but the progressive flair is starting to grow on me.

Overall, this is just a really excellent record. I have yet to get started listening to much new material in 2015, but I can already predict with a fair degree of confidence that this album will find its way onto my year end list.

Grade: A-

Still Not Dead

Hey, this is just my monthly "don't worry, I'm still alive" update. I've listened to virtually no new metal so far this year, so I haven't really had anything to review yet. Additionally, life has just been fairly busy, so I haven't felt the pull to get on here and do something productive with my scattered free time. I do plan to get some new material and hopefully get a couple reviews going again, but it may be another week or two before anything happens on that front.

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.

New Ensiferum

If you read my review of Ensiferum's last release (2012's Unsung Heroes), you'll know that I found the record . . . let's just say "underwhelming" shall we? It wasn't bad, per se, but it felt substantially weaker than the band's prior output. In spite of that hiccup, I do like them and I do look forward to new material from them. That's why I was excited to see that they had released a single in advance of their upcoming (Feb. 20th) album. I've only listened through it once, and the jury is still out, as it were. From what I hear, though, this sounds like a moderate step on the way to recovery. There's nothing too stunning about this track, and it's far from their best, but at least it doesn't feel as lifeless as  the material on their preceding album. In any case, here it is so you can decide its merits for yourselves.

Quick Update

I know it has been almost three weeks since my last post. I promise I don't plan on disappearing again, at least not right now. However, I'm in the process of moving to a new house, and I haven't listened to any new albums yet since writing my end of the year list for 2014, so it will probably be a few more weeks before I put up any new reviews. I've been thinking about a couple lists I might post in the mean time, just for the fun of it, so maybe that will happen. In general, though, there's not going to be much activity here until I get settled into my new place.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

The coming of the new year marks, as always, a convenient time to look back and take stock. That is doubly true of this blog, since I started it in early January. Thus the end of each year in general is also the end of another full year of my online ranting and raving. As such, I'd like to take a moment to reflect, and I'd like to talk about where I think (or hope) this blog is going over the next year.

I haven't been in this game as long as a lot of other people, nor have I had a tremendous impact. In the grand scheme of the metal world, or even in the smaller scheme of the online metal community, my role is a minor one. I'm just a guy who, for the past several years, has shared my opinions in a quiet corner of the internet. To my good fortune, a few people have stopped by to listen to what I have to say. In a nutshell, that's it. I've watched this blog evolve over 4 years and 600 posts, I've used it as a dumping ground for my musings, a soap box for my rants, a platform to share the music I love, and a point of contact with like-minded people. But through all of that, this has never really been anything bigger or grander than a guy sharing his opinions with a few people who have decided to listen.

Quite frankly, I'm glad for that. For a while, mostly in 2012, I started to pick up some traction in the metal blogosphere. I was writing guest reviews on a few other sites, I was voraciously consuming new content to digest and review. My view count was up, promo material was streaming in,  and I felt like I could grow this thing into a real, substantial voice in the online metal world. That wore on me, though. I was becoming jaded and cynical toward the music I had once loved, callously dismissing much of it without a second thought. I know this all sounds terribly melodramatic, and perhaps it is, but nevertheless I found it weighing on me. So I took a step back. 2013 saw me retreat from reviewing much new material, as I took a long breather to regain my perspective, and I spent most of my pared-down blogging time on other topics. Outside of the metal blog world, my real life was going through a lot of transitions as well, so it was just a good time in general to step back and reallocate my time.

As 2014 rolled around, I'd begun to recover from the burnout, and my life had settled into enough of a routine to let me start thinking about getting back to writing more reviews. I wanted to take a more balanced approach, though, which I think I've maintained reasonably well. My posting rate didn't rocket back up, instead I averaged about 1 post every 4 days, usually coming in spurts when I felt into it. I increasingly moved away from long-form, overly analytical reviews, instead preferring to post collections of short, concise opinions. And I started to incorporate more of the other music I love, particularly blues, while still recognizing that most of my audience is here for the metal content.

So now that 2015 is coming up, what do I see ahead for the 5th year of Beards Etc?

In large part, I'd like to continue the trends I set for myself over this past year. Moving forward, I expect to write a lot more short reviews. I have all but eliminated articles about albums I disliked, and that will be increasingly true moving forward since I just don't have the the energy or the desire to waste my time on bad music. I'd also like to continue on with some of the regular features I tried to get started over the last year. In particular, I want to revive the "Tuesday is Blues Day" entries, though I can already guarantee that they won't be posted every week. In general, I just want this blog to be a relaxed, casual place to share good music and occasionally talk about other things that interest me. Hopefully, a few people will still want to stick around and listen.

Well, that's it from me for now. I hope you all have a happy New Year, see you in 2015!

Top 25 Metal Albums of 2014

Here we are at the end of the year, and I am finally prepared to present my picks for the top metal albums of the year. I didn't get to all the material I'd have liked to this year, but I fully listened through somewhere around 100 new albums, in addition to sampling from another 100 or so that just didn't hold my attention long enough to keep me around for their full duration.

After some fiddling with my list of prospects, I found that 25 felt like an appropriate cutoff for my list. It's few enough to still have some meaning, since I had to cut dozens of records I liked, but it's big enough that I got to cover pretty much everything that I felt needed to be on a year-end list. There were a few particular albums by old favorites or exciting newcomers that I really wanted to include but simply couldn't fit, and that's how you know that everything I picked ahead of them had to work to earn its place on the list.

As always, these are just my opinions, yadda yadda disclaimer and so on and so forth. So now, without forther ado, here are my picks for the Top 25 Metal Albums of 2014:

Merry Christmas

Pre-List List

I hope you are all having a pleasant Christmas season. Personally, I have been enjoying the company of family at my parents' home in Ohio. Those of you who read this blog regularly will have noticed that my output has fallen off toward the end of this year. Don't worry, though, I have been keeping up with at least some new material recently and I haven't forgotten about best-of-the-year-list season. There are a couple new albums I want time to digest before I publish my own list, but I have a somewhat firm draft in place already. I probably won't post it until after Christmas, but by the end of the year I will present my list of the top 25 metal albums of 2014.

[EDIT]

I initially listed 3 "almost metal" albums here that I really liked but didn't think were metal enough to qualify for the list. Then I started compiling my actual list and realized that a couple other names I didn't want to exclude were just as tenuously "metal" as were those names I'd put here on the excluded list. After some thought, I decided not to split hairs and to just let them all be eligible for my top 25 list.

Remembering Dimebag

Ten years ago today, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, along with three other innocent people, was gunned down on stage in Columbus, Ohio. It was one of the most tragic and senseless events in metal history.

Whether you are a fan of Pantera or not, Dimebag was one of the most influential metal guitarists who ever lived. Personal anecdotal accounts of his life and behaviors, especially with regard to his interactions with fans, indicate that he was a genuinely good human being who understood that he was in a position to affect people's lives. Sadly I never had the opportunity to watch him perform live, but I've enjoyed his work for many years. So here's looking at you, Dime. Rest in peace.

Melvins - Hold It In

I am rather fond of the Melvins. This Washington-based outfit ought to be familiar to most of you, since the list of bands who can legitimately claim to have inspired both Eyehategod and Nirvana is relatively short. Quirky-ass antics and gimmick records aside (though they can't really be separated, since those are big part of the band's charm) the Melvins discography contains the roots of both sludge and grunge, making them one of the most influential bands in rock and metal in the past few decades, even if they don't often get credited as such by the general public. Today, I'll talk a little about their newest full-length effort, Hold It In.

For my personal taste, Melvins music is at its best when the band hovers in the proto-sludge territory that is the closest thing they have to a musical home base. Fortunately for me, this album largely does just that. There are trippy explorations into other sounds and perky pop-rock elements, and those are able to actually be fun because there's enough of a stylistic anchor in place that you don't have to worry about the band wandering off into the woods, tripping over a log, and falling unconscious half-way through the record. Creativity is never a concern with the Melvins, they have a seemingly endless supply of that, but lack of focus often is a legitimate issue. Thus, when the band is able to strike up a solid equilibrium between convention and exploration, as they do here, it's an absolute joy to hear. There's nothing in particular that sets this album apart as notably different, since as I've said it's closer to home base than many of their records, but the fact that the bands wanders around so much stylistically means that a "normal" Melvins record is not the kind of "boy is this stale" criticism that it would be for most bands.

The best testament to this album I can give is that after buying it, I kept it on repeat in my car stereo for about two weeks and I never got tired of it. I don't think it's going to go down as one of the most brilliant or captivating records of the year, but it was eminently listenable and it kept my attention a lot longer than most albums can.

Grade: A-

Top 10 Death Metal Vocalists of All Time

It's been months since I've written a top 10 list, and that just won't do. So here's a list that feels so fundamentally appropriate for this blog that I can barely believe I haven't done it already. First, I'll give you the actual list itself. Then, I'd like to share a few thoughts and/or realizations I had as I wrote this. And so here are (just in my opinion, obviously) the top 10 death metal vocalists of all time:

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#10. Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy)

Peter Tägtgren is probably the best overall musician on this list. A guitarist as well as a prolific songwriter and producer, he's played a big role in creating a lot of of Swedish metal. He's most prominent as the core member of Hypocrisy, where he's done some really great work, but what really convinced me of his vocal prowess was his absolutely ferocious delivery on the Bloodbath album Nightmares Made Flesh.

#9. John McEntee (Incantation)

After a slightly bumpy transitional period, Incantation founder and lead guitarist John McEntee eventually took over vocal duties for the band in 2004. It was a good decision, as he proved to deliver a powerful guttural roar to rival anyone in the business. He struck again this year with Dirges of Elysium, one of the best death metal records of 2014.

#8. Karl Sanders (Nile)
Nile are a band that, while solid, have rarely lived up to the promise of their truly awesome premise. That said, Karl Sanders' demonic vocal assault has always been a strong point in the band's favor. His delivery is consistently excellent, but if I were to recommend one Nile album to check out, it would be Black Seeds of Vengeance.

#7. Piotr Paweł "Peter" Wiwczarek (Vader)
Peter has quite possibly the most distinctive sound of any prominent death metal vocalist. His singular, unmistakeable, and highly articulate bellows have been the foundation of Vader's fantastic discography for over two decades. Stunningly for a group with such a long track record, Vader's recent output has been amongst the best in the band's history. Welcome to the Morbid Reich, especially, stands as a modern death metal classic.

#6. John Tardy (Obituary)
Obituary have long occupied a special place for me personally, as they were my first introduction to real old-school, no-frills death metal. Recently I finally got the chance to see them live. They did not disappoint. Even after a quarter of a century, Tardy's disgusting vomiting-blood vocals still stand out as the centerpiece of Obituary's distinctive sound. The band's sophomore effort Cause of Death, a vital classic of the genre, stands as their (and his) greatest work to date.

#5. Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth)
Like Tägtgren, Åkerfeldt did what were probably his best death vocals on a Bloodbath record. However, his Opeth vocal work (both growled and clean) has long been truly outstanding as well. Recently, Opeth has moved away from death vocals, and Åkerfeldt has stated that he is no longer capable of delivering the deep, monstrous, strikingly clear roars for which he has become famous. That's sad news, but it does nothing to diminish the extant collection of marvelous vocals he's already recorded. Blackwater Park  was the album that first introduced me to him, and it's a great place to start if you're looking to discover the brilliance of Opeth.

#4. Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth)
Not only is Hegg a powerhouse vocalist, he's one of the best live frontmen in the business. The towering picture of Viking brutality is everything a death metal vocalist should be. His mead-fueled roars are amongst the clearest and most articulate in the genre, his stage-presence is colossal, and his consistency is beyond reproach. Every single Amon Amarth record is good, but for me their pinnacle thus far is 2006's fantastic With Oden on Our Side.

#3. Frank Mullen (Suffocation)
A powerhouse live performer known for his distinctive "hand chops", Mullen is most notable as the father of brutal death vocals. His rabid, violent, gut-wrenching baritone bellows inspired a generation of imitators. Like with every other element of Suffocation's sound, the army of copycats have failed to capture the blend of power, precision, complexity, and animalistic intensity that make Mullen's vocals so great. Suffocation released three great albums in the '90s before going on hiatus. They've been back in action and doing excellent work for years, but those early classics still stand as the highlights of their career. Effigy of the Forgotten  is my personal favorite.

#2. George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (Cannibal Corpse)
By all rights, Fisher should probably be at the top of this list. He's the absolute prototype of the ideal death metal frontman. On stage and in the studio, Corpsegrinder does everything the way it should be done. Much of Cannibal Corpse's status as the default standard of American death metal is the result of his meaty, powerful delivery and commanding stage presence. Fisher's vocals are especially notable for their sustain, as he is able to hold exceptionally long notes. Much like Vader, Cannibal Corpse's long discography has seen some of its best entries in recent years. Check out this year's A Skeletal Domain  as proof. Oh, and Corpsegrinder is such an avid Horde player in World of Warcraft that Blizzard actually named an orc questgiver after him. Lok'tar Ogar!

#1. Craig Pillard (Incantation)
Many of you may find this an odd choice for top honors. After all, most (probably all) of these other men are more famous, more influential, and more prolific than Pillard. Many of them are great live, while I've never seen him perform. Those factors could have easily pointed me in a different direction. On top of that, I've read some pretty disturbing Nazi-politics-stuff from Pillard, so as a person I think he's got some fucked-up views. However, at the end of the day, I had to ask myself one simple question: who do I think has the best sounding vocals in death metal? The answer to that one is easy. Craig Pillard's deep, guttural, unholy roars are positively monstrous. They're awesome, crushing, earth-shaking thunder from the bowels of Hell. Most recently, he has appeared with his new band Disma. However, he made his bones as the original frontman for Incantation. Their debut, Onward to Golgotha, stands as my single favorite pure death metal album of all time.

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So now that you've seen the list, here are some remarks I'd like to make.

First off, there are some notable exclusions. Angela Gossow (sorry Arch Enemy fans) didn't make the list. I know she's the most prominent female death vocalist ever, but the novelty of being a woman in a sphere dominated by men isn't enough to elevate her to the ranks of the death metal elite. Also, and more significantly, you many notice I didn't include Chuck Schuldiner. Admittedly, leaving the patron saint of death metal off this list may seem unjustifiable. However, I'd like to point out that this list was based on these individuals as vocalists: songwriting and musicianship were not a factor. Those later qualities were what really made Schuldiner great, so by excluding them he slid off the list. There were numerous other people I could have included, too, but in the end 10 is a small enough number that I had to weed out some pretty elite names.

Second, I noticed as I wrote this that my initial selection of names was heavily biased in favor of vocalists I've seen perform live. I think that, more so than for any other member in a band, stage presence really factors into a vocalist's greatness. However, I did try to avoid letting that dominate my judgement. In the end, while I do think the order was affected by live performances, nobody was included or excluded from the top 10 based on them.

Finally, I noticed that while I love old-school Swedish death metal, I never seriously considered any of the vocalists from the "Big 3" of the style. Guitar is really at the core of that sound, even more so than for other varieties of death metal, so most of those vocalists just didn't have the same kind of impact as their American counterparts. Instead, amongst the Swedes, I found myself gravitating toward the more articulate sounds of melodeath frontmen. That may have been partially a result of personal bias, but I really do think those vocalists just have a hugely valuable impact on the sounds of their respective bands.