The Rock Blogger

Fortresse . Les hivers de notre époque . 2008. 4 stars .

As winter storms bury the Canadian landscape, we return to humbled states of isolation, reflective of our traditions, memories and ancestry. Quebec’s Fortresse takes this rustic philosophical stance on their latest black metal opus, delving into nationalistic themes and imagery, retracing the blizzard-stricken paths of their pioneers.

Along with the traditionalist thematics, the music itself is dramatic and chilling. Frigid blast beats are accompanied by distorted tremolo guitars and ambient synth flourishes. Sounds of crackling fires and footsteps climbing through snowbanks are thrown in to expand the dark, rugged atmosphere of this disc. These elements weave together beautifully and evoke feelings of steely resolve amid the cataclysms of winter.

This album’s melodic hooks, ambiance and historical backdrop make it an intriguing listen this season. It may not bring anything drastically different to the table, but it it still a strong contribution to the small but steadfast Quebecois metal scene.

Forteresse - Ancienne Voix

A haunting blast of winter
Over the hills of this valley
Tired travelers led astray by the wind
They stake out an impossible mission
Nature’s whispered wrath
Swallows them whole
And a deathly silence follows

Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey (Part 1 of 10). The rest of the film can be viewed in parts on this Youtube page .

I just recently watched this terrific documentary that explores the history of metal music from an anthropological perspective, charting its diverse history across the world. It features many stellar interviews with members of Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Rage Against the Machine, Alice Cooper, Mayhem and many, many more.

I highly recommend this doc to not only metal fans, but to casual listeners as well. Not only does it provide the historical context surrounding metal, it also explores the many sub-cultures and sub-genres that have formed around it. Oh, its directed by a Canadian dude as well. \m/

Here is what Allmusic considered to be the year’s best metal albums, in alphabetical order. I think its a pretty solid list, I’ll have to track a few of these down:

Amon Amarth, Twilight of the Thunder God (Deluxe Edition)
Ascend, Ample Fire Within
Austrian Death Machine, Total Brutal
Cynic, Traced in Air
Dir en Grey, Uroboros
Dragonforce, Ultra Beatdown
Earth, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull
Enslaved, Vertebrae
Fall of the Idols, The Seance
Genghis Tron, Board Up the House
Harvey Milk, Life…The Best Game in Town
Jarboe, Mahakali
Khold, Hundre Ar Gammal
Made Out of Babies, The Ruiner
Meshuggah, Obzen
Metallica, Death Magnetic
Nachtmystium, Assassins: Black Meddle, Pt.1
Opeth, Watershed
Pentemple, 0))) Presents…
Pilgrim Fathers, Short Circular Walks in the Hope Valley
Protest the Hero, Fortress
Torche, Meanderthal
Týr, Land
Witch, Paralyzed

http://blog.allmusic.com/2008/12/11/allmusics-favorite-metal-albums-of-2008/

A Forest of Stars. The Corpse of Rebirth. 5 stars.

This stellar latecomer was number 15 on my Top 50 list this year.

A Forest of Stars’ debut features psychedelic black metal compositions that incorporate strings, ethereal female vocals, and winding guitar passages. A remarkably unique and moving album.

Recommended if you like A Silver MT. Zion, Wolves in the Throne Room or Paysage d’Hiver.

A Forest of Stars “Earth and Matter”

Tenhi - Kausienranta

This is from the 3 disc Tenhi compilation “The Folk Aesthetic: 1996-2006″, released last year.
Some of the best neofolk I’ve heard, if not the best.
I think Kauan is their landmark album, although they’re all stunning examples.

Guided By Voices - Everybody Thinks I’m A Raincloud (When I’m not Looking) Live

Oh man, does Bob look old in this video.
He’s been running on beer for 20 years!
Haha, still a great performance.
For some reason I always get back into Guided By Voices this time of year
I have a feeling that I’ll look like Bob here when I’m done these exams.

Drudkh. Blood in Our Wells. 2006. 5 stars.

Black Metal at its finest, with a strong narrative concepts and martial passion. Perhaps the best work of these Ukrainians, whose Conservative Revolutionary spirit rings through with vigor. Fine progressive riffs  and hypnotizing percussion intertwine with folk instrumentals and cryptic, antiquated samples.

Epic and inspiring music, with a headstrong and intelligent approach.

“When the Flame Turns to Ashes”

The grand finale.

10. Njiqahdda. Nji Njiijn Njiiijn. Full Review
Njiqahdda (pronounced Nee Gee Kaa Daa) is a mysterious black metal/psychedelic act from Illinois that focuses on abstraction, experimentation and a dense layering of sounds to produce their ritualistic compositions. Underneath the drawn-out shoegaze riffs, bizarre percussive trances and waves of distortion lies an album rich with spiritual and musical concepts. Like the equally obscure offerings of Velvet Cacoon, Njiqahdda speaks its own artistic language far removed from decipherable convention - there are no allusions to nationalism, satanism or the occult to be pulled out from here. What remains in these 4 incredibly long tracks is pure and all-consuming catharsis, a rare and raw specimen of rock completely separated from image and meaning, one focused only on the exploding pools of color inside the mind’s eye.

9. Genghis Tron. Board Up the House. Full Review.
This is easily one of the most innovative and satisfying albums I’ve come across this year, in any genre. If Jesu, Battles, and Between the Buried and Me had all collaborated, they might have produced something as technically brilliant and stylistically unique as this. Genghis Tron mix blistering electronic touches with grinding metal riffs, establishing an awe-inspiring “cybergrind” sound of their own. Interwoven between their tight mathcore assaults are sublime ambient passages, melodic vocals and crisp IDM breaks. The sonic diversity within these complex compositions is wondrous to listen to, as the many shifting moods and textures draw you into explosive psychedelia.

8. The Gutter Twins. Saturnalia. Full Review.
This stunning alternative album is a collaboration between grunge legend Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age) and Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs) who have been working together on this project for over three years. The result is a refined, post-grunge masterpiece that boasts stellar songwriting, strong vocals and powerful rock hooks, drawing you into a murky and blues-inspired emotional trip.

7. Fleet Foxes. Fleet Foxes (Ragged Wood) Full Review.

Seattle’s Fleet Foxes offer a beautiful slice of Americana with their debut album, playing warm psychedelic folk songs full of glorious harmonies and earnest songwriting. While there may be some immediate comparisons to contemporaries My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses, Fleet Foxes expands on the rural sound with a more open and optimistic approach, crafting something that truly has an air of timelessness. These songs are full, lush and exquisitely executed, centered on gracefully finger-picked guitars and Robin Pecknold’s stunning falsetto which is often supported by soothing harmonization from his band mates. The incorporation of banjos, pianos, flutes and even the mellotron also add to the sweeping drive of this record. Its not grand, epic or pretentious, but rather inviting and melodic, as these progressive elements help illuminate the sunny imagery conjured up by the serene vocals.

6. The Tallest Man on Earth. Shallow Grave. Full Review.
Sweden’s Kristian Matsson is The Tallest Man on Earth, a finger-picking virtuoso who plays inspired Dylan-esque folk songs. Matsson’s unique, crackling voice, lyrical imagery and complex guitar work puts him head and shoulders above the genre’s current mainstays, delving into a nostalgic and timeless sound. The songs here convey a feeling of weather-beaten discovery, where runaways and wanderers trace highways and open plains.

5. Wolf Parade. At Mount Zoomer. Full Review.
After the much beloved, high-strung, art-pop weirdness that was Apologies , these fellows had a high watermark to surpass, and they have clearly met it with this geyser of creative energy. From the opening keyboard jittering of “Soldier’s Grin”, you can tell that the band have found their sound, combining whacked-out, electronic dabbling with charismatic indie-rock artiness, wrapped around strange evocative lyrics and undeniable charm.

4. Krallice. S/T. Full Review.
When I first heard Mick Barr’s impenetrably fast guitar shredding on his experimental Ocrilim project, I thought his wall-of-sound technique would be perfect for atmospheric black metal. Now, just a few months later, Barr has found just the right niche for his unconventional style with Krallice. Each of the six punishing tracks here run long, most over 10 minutes, extending into suffocating fits of mania.
The trace-like effect of Barr’s wailing riffs, along with the pounding drums and raw, distant screams is quintessentially black metal, yet startlingly unique at the same time. Barr doesn’t just play with impossible speed, he plays as if he is hypnotized, scaling across patterns with an almost inhuman precision. While this may all sound very cold and detached, the fluidity of Krallice is incredibly powerful, carrying you along its relentless current rather than drowning you in a wash of white noise.

3. Agalloch. The White EP. Full Review.
Taking a step away from the growls and punishing instrumentals often associated with metal, Agalloch’s ambient exercises mark a significant departure from convention. The shift is dramatic without betraying the quality of their past (heavier) work, as the acoustic compositions express Agalloch’s organic approach toward crafting evocative sonic landscapes, focusing on an aesthetic that sets the group apart from their many contemporaries.
The White EP essentially calls for a return to nature, as the songs conjure images of snow covered wilderness (”Birch White”), contemplative seclusion (”Isle of Summer”) and paganism’s worship of the elements (”Sowilo Rune”). The whole experience, made complete with natural sound effects like chirping and rustling, is meditative and comforting, conveying a deep and eternal connection with our natural surroundings.

2. Sun Kil Moon. April. Full Review.
With Sun Kil Moon, Mark Kozelek has lived up to and extended the legacy he built for himself with the shoegaze/rock band Red House Painters in the 90s, further developing the slow, brooding sound that once made them so endearing.
In April, Kozelek remains in a deeply reflective mood, drawing the listener into his dark pools of memory, vividly illustrating scenes of dusty city streets, night skies and small towns where love had once blossomed. While I won’t go into too much detail here about the lyrics, as my descriptions can’t possibly capture the alluring spirit that hides within them, but I can tell you that they are indeed moving and will be sure to stir romantic visions of long lost muses, moments and longings.

1. Have a Nice Life. Deathconsciousness. Full Review.
This record delivers an emotional wallop that seems unparalleled. A mysterious synthesis of post-punk, shoegaze, metal and post-rock, Have a Nice Life’s ghostly ruminations aren’t just careful homages to their favorite genres and influences, they instead push the boundaries of them to get to their dramatic core, presenting a perfect summation of where the underground has been and where it will be going.

The album, sprawling across two discs, conveys the black spirit of Joy Division, The Cure and Killing Joke with stark, lo-fi production, pulsing bass lines and gritty drum beats while also pushing the post punk aesthetic into deeper abstraction, leading to long and ethereal bursts of droning noise and menacing reverb. The vocals are serene, distant and beautifully harmonized, adding a layer of sentimentality to the crushing sadness these compositions. The hypnotic atmosphere, existential themes and stirring climaxes make Deathconsiousness one of the greatest artistic statements to grace the alternative scene since Radiohead’s Kid A.

Well, that’s a wrap everybody. I hope you enjoyed the list. The full version is linked at the top right hand corner of the blog, and it’ll be there for a while. Let me know if I’ve missed some crucial releases here, I would love to listen to some overlooked material. Thanks for reading.

20. Mogwai. The Hawk is Howling. Full Review
While about half of this album has Mogwai returning to some of their better ideas, there is enough of an experimental edge to this to keep it interesting and fresh. Its a satisfying work to be sure, and it manages to solidify Mogwai’s position as a intense and influential creative force in post rock. The Hawk is Howling may not have the same effect on 2008 as Young Team had on 1997, but its still an impressive accomplishment, both in terms of its tight cohesion and its tense, spiraling compositions.

19. And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Festival Thyme. Full Review

Festival Thyme is, like any other TOD release, grand and climatic, with songs like “Creation Bells” building from soft orchestral chimes to bloody, propulsive crescendos. Those explosive moments may be loud and cathartic, but they also remain in the same shimmering, progressive prism the band has so steadily crafted over the last few years. It seems like all the hard, and often risky work has finally paid off. That delicate balance between alternative rollicking and artful grandeur has finally been struck, as every crashing transition flows beautifully across this EP.

18. Esoteric. The Maniacal Vale. Full Review.
The sound here is quintessentially doom metal, with plodding guitars that scream and echo over unintelligible growls and slow, crashing percussion. Arpeggio riffs and ambient passages also lead to some psychedelic moments, adding to the expansive, swirling torrents of sound. The song structures themselves don’t vary too drastically, but they do contain clear movements that go through peaks and valleys, making The Maniacal Vale a captivating albeit exhausting journey. As an exercise in cathartic release, The Maniacal Vale is masterful in its execution. While some of its sections could have used some more direction and streamlining, its excessive qualities are part and parcel to Esoteric’s singular, uncompromising vision. Let it wash over you.

17. Amon Amarth. Twilight of the Thunder God. Full Review.
The album is well-balanced and consistently heavy, moving along at a rapid pace through fiery guitar solos and brutal bass lines. Amon Amarth have managed to be both musically tight and genuinely epic in their compositions, as each mammoth track flows steadily into the next, making this an addictive listen that begs repeating. The vocals, while not going far beyond the traditional death metal fare, work terrifically with the music and provides a bestial undercurrent for the soaring melodies.

16. The Evpatoria Report. Maar. Full Review
The key to this album’s success is not its heartbreaking melodies, or its masterful union of ambient and neoclassical elements. What fasciantes me about Maar is its incredible restraint - each epic track here takes its time to slowly swell with dramatic tension, letting the drones, synths, violins and jangly guitars breathe and play against each other. No great deal of patience is required, because the effect these orchestral elements have is not monotonous or overwrought, but soothing, hypnotic and above all emotionally stirring.

15. A Forest of Stars. The Corpse of Rebirth.

A wildly imaginative album from the UK that blends neoclassical post-rock orchestration (a la A Silver Mt. Zion) with intense black metal passages. The long, climatic tracks here are dramatic, chilling and reflective, evoking an array of different emotions. The inclusion of female vocals on some songs also lends a pastoral atmosphere. An artful and innovative debut.

14. Grouper. Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill. Full Review
Grouper’s latest album is a stunning gem, with some of the most soothing vocal harmonies you’ll hear this year. Centered on the soft, calming performance of Elizabeth Harris, Grouper’s melodies seem to defy gravity, floating over dark reverb and ambient loops. The vocal tracks are kept distant in the mix, sounding like an ethereal spirit, while gliding drones and gentle acoustic guitars move dreamily along.
While the lyrics remain cryptic under the hazy instrumentation, there is a strong feeling a peace throughout these songs, moving you into a deep and relaxed psychedelic state. The psych-folk aesthetic here is presented with serene clarity that shines through the album’s entirety, making this a unified experience rather than a collection of distinctive songs.

13. Nahvalr. S/T. Full Review.
Nahvalr, described by its founders as “open source black metal”, is nothing less than a landmark in originality. Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga from Connecticut’s equally brilliant Have a Nice Life have taken submitted noises, samples and instrumentals from across the web and melded them together into 8 terrifying movements that shift between ambient, doom, drone and black metal styles. These impenetrable walls of sound are as compelling as they are suffocating, rich with grotesque detail and atmosphere. While numerous dark ambient acts have touched on the same blackened corner stones as Nahvalr, both the innovative creative process and the density of this album is remarkable.

12. Moonsorrow. Tulimyrsky EP. Full Review.
Helsinki’s Moonsorrow have produced a monster of an EP with Tulimyrsky, surpassing the full lengths of most black metal bands with its sheer scope and grandiosity. Running well over an hour, Moonsorrow’s latest redefines what an EP should be, as they produce long, winding epics that incorporate Norse mythology, folk music and historical themes with an intensely cinematic presentation. With what may be the longest EP of the year (if not of the entire genre), Moonsorrow have created a fine masterpiece.

11. Deerhunter. Microcastle. Full Review.
Deerhunter’s much anticipated followup to last year’s breakthrough Cryptograms is a dreamy shoegaze record full of trippy melodies and crystal-clear ambiance. The majority of the songs on Microcastle are far more focused than those on their predecessor, with a more streamlined, psych-pop structure that delivers quick bursts of shimmering energy. Beautiful numbers like “Never Stops” wash over you with their cool, hazy atmosphere, sending off druggy, blissful vibes not unlike My Bloody Valentine. The expansive production also lets psychedelic songs like “Little Kids” breathe with full vigor, spreading out into a sea of mellowing reverb.