Rolling Metal 2016

it came out in March but I really like the Artillery album from earlier this year. love their riff stylings

If you're in a mood for thrashy power metal (kinda Testament-y, but with lyrics about Dune and Game of Thrones and whatnot), the Russian band Distant Sun have a new album out, Into the Nebula, which is doing the job for me this morning. They're a power trio but sound much bigger, and their album cover is awesome.

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0396981889_10.jpg

https://metalism.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-nebula

That sounds really cool, Phil. I need to check that out ASAP! ^

Meanwhile my top 20 metal picks of 2016 were published today. It took a friend to point out that this is probably the one metal list I've done in the last 15 years that most reflects me, rather than the critical hive mind. I stopped listening to stuff I felt obligated to listening to (formulaic black metal, metalcore, grindcore, most death metal that isn't Cannibal Corpse, Gorguts, and Nile) and doing so I enjoyed the metal music I did listen to a whole lot more. Besides, I don't mind leaving the hipster picks to the Consequence of Sounds out there, and touting some GREAT melodic, traditional, and progressive-minded heavy metal instead.

http://www.popmatters.com/feature/the-best-metal-of-2016/

Cool, it's refreshing to see at least one metal critic like the Metallica album. Glad to see Grand Magus in there too. What constitutes hipster picks these days?

Kerrang is pretty much guaranteed to have it as their #1 (the last album did)

Metallica are to Kerrang what the beatles are to Mojo. Guaranteed issue sales

Today's listening

http://www.npr.org/2016/12/01/502864420/first-listen-zao-the-well-intentioned-virus

I don't think anyone here does this, but man I'm sick of metal writers calling black metal bands "mysterious" because they don't use their real names or have only put out one cassette.

what about "satanic"? :-)

Dutch Christian political party doesn't want a metal show on Christmas Eve (especially one horror metal band, Carach Angren) because of the old all metal = satanic thing.

http://amstelveenz.nl/christenunie-hekelt-komst-metalband-op-kerstavond/

Some of the questions they asked of the city council: "what is the council planning to do to protect the young people that will be exposed to the "demons and satanic witchcraft" of Carach Angren's show on Christmas Eve in P60 (the venue) ?" / "How does allowing this band's show fit into a good mental health management of our local youth?"

that new furia is fucking amazing

Mare Cognitum - Luminiferous Aether

nice, i didn't realize they had a new one out

SPACE METAL

you guys only have until wednesday to make your nominations. On a tight schedule this year as its the only time seandalai can run it
NOMINATIONS AND DISCUSSION THREAD FOR 2016 METAL/HEAVY ROCK POLL (Nominations end December 7)

just nominated this https://dawnwalker.bandcamp.com/album/in-rooms

it's by a guy i'm mates with. he likes tarkovsky and being a vegetarian. and atmospheric alt-metal

Ok I'm listening to it

Well I wish him the best of luck

listening to that new Antaeus on bandcamp - it's the same old Antaeus imo but pretty damn good in spots ("flesh ritual," "watchers")

Oh shit there's a new Demontage album. Super riffy, old school heavy metal influenced black/thrash stuff.

http://demontage.ca/

great list adrien. reminded me to check out the new sabaton

I don't feel like I have a great handle on what metal bands are generally "known" so apologies if this is a "yeah we wall know about this already" sorta post, but Pagan just released a ten yr old album from Non Opus Dei
and it is the sort of twisty, dense, weird black metal that I dig. This sounds like it could have been an influence on some of the King Crimson-devolved bands we were taking about upthread -- the band that is not spelled cthonic cervix, execration, cadaveric fumes, blood incantation etc

https://paganrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-quintessence

sabaton record is extremely awesome

I like the Tank Edition.

ATTENTION: due to production problems the tank delivery will be delayed.

Agreed, the Sabaton album is so fantastic.

It's not until next February, but holy shit...

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/files/2016/12/Stardust-VI-e1480622322912.jpg

$100 for a four-day pass is almost criminal.
I am trying to finagle ways to get there.
I never thought I would get to see Aluk Todolo!
They are playing *two* nights.
Doing Voix one evening and Occult Rock the other.

not exactly metal, but if anyone was looking for some cool female-fronted pop-grunge(?!)

https://bloodpeople.bandcamp.com/album/blood-people

RIYL Hole, Dead Sara

RIYL Hole, Dead Sara

*sits up* *pays attention*

i wonder if this means Aluk Todolo will tour the U.S.

never mind, i went and looked on FB, where someone said "come to San Francisco" and the band replied "working on that"

Digging this one

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/kairon-irse-mem-oranssi-pazuzu-releasing-new-lp-stream-starik/

Early next year, Finland’s Kairon; IRSE! are planning to release a new album, Ruination, which was produced by Oranssi Pazuzu frontman Juho Vanhanen. (Kairon’s Niko Lehdontie also plays guitar in Oranssi Pazuzu’s live lineup.) The album’s new single “Starik,” which premieres in this post, is wacky prog that sounds like early King Crimson mixed with Ornette Coleman-style sax freakouts, and the seven and a half minute song even brings in some jazz fusion at the end without getting corny.

Interesting, I have their previous album which is a decent post-rock/shoegaze hybrid, sounds like they've changed a bit. More prog than metal but still, cheers.

That's nice. I'm gonna buy the shit out of that.

Fuck, new Teitanblood EP coming out on the 13th. And I just saw a more-or-less unreleased Shape of Despair demo at the store. And a True Werwolf comp. Looks like we're going to have to nom stuff from December in next year's poll again.

do they seriously have a fucking SEMICOLON in their band name? that does not seem very metal to me.

new Mesarthim EP today!

https://mesarthim.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-filter-e-p

lol these guys

do they seriously have a fucking SEMICOLON in their band name? that does not seem very metal to me.

It's just a sideways umlaut that's bleeding out of one dot dude.

Once upon a time Ratt were a metal band, so I'm putting this here: the new Stephen Pearcy solo album, Smash, is really good. It's classicist (but not retro) hard rock, with some great riffs that steal from unexpected sources (yeah, he's ripping off Led Zeppelin, but it's Physical Graffiti, not IV), and his vocals are as strong as ever...assuming you like his voice, which I kinda do. His 2008 solo album Under My Skin was good, too, but on first listen this one might be even better.

Whoa, here's the first of many albums I will regret not hearing in time to nominate for the poll.

http://arriver.bandcamp.com/

Don't even know how to describe them but the end of The Demon Core has these waves of guitar that verge on Rhys Chatham or Chris Forsyth or something. Death metal but not exceedingly brutal. Maybe comparable to the last Emptiness album?

So according to a press release I just got, Darkest Hour will be releasing a new album in March...on Southern Lord.

Really liked Arriver's 'TSUSHIMA' - thanks for the tip.

Listening to the debut album by Portuguese death metal band The Ominous Circle, Appalling Ascension. It's super heavy creepy-crawl stuff in the vein of Immolation and Aevangelist. Out January 27 on 20 Buck Spin. Two tracks are on Soundcloud:

http://soundcloud.com/20-buck-spin/the-ominous-circle-poison-fumes

http://soundcloud.com/20-buck-spin/the-ominous-circle-from-endless-chasms

Power Trip + Iron Reagan dates:

2/24 Houston, TX @ Walter's
2/25 New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
2/26 Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
2/27 Raleigh, NC @ King's w/ Genocide Pact
2/28 Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry w/ Genocide Pact, Concealed Blade
3/1 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage w/ Genocide Pact, Concealed Blade
3/2 New York, NY @ The Marlin Room w/ Concealed Blade, Krimewatch
3/3 Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall w/ Concealed Blade, Protester
3/4 Cleveland, OH @ Now That's Class w/ Concealed Blade, Krimewatch
3/8 Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques
3/9 Ottawa, ON @ The Brass Monkey
3/10 Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
3/11 Detroit, MI @ Marble Bar
3/12 Chicago, IL @ Reggie's
3/13 Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club
3/14 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
3/16 Kansas City, MO @ Riot Room
3/16 Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective

This one starts with a pretty long and interesting intro essay from Michael Nelson. I'm curious what you all think.

http://www.stereogum.com/1914718/the-40-best-metal-albums-of-2016/franchises/2016-in-review/

dude is one of my least favorite music writers and that first sentence is not convincing me to go further

lol yeah i was done after that sentence.

These may sound like minor developments, and maybe taken individually they are minor developments. Maybe they’re not even that. Maybe, in fact, you could frame all these things as net positives.

maybe nothing is something. maybe something is nothing. maybe

maybe yes. maybe no. maybe fuck yourself.

I like Mike a lot, but his reasons for omitting a Metallica album he says is very good are baffling.

I guess because of a couple quotes from interviews where they say they don't enjoy discussing politics. Hate to break it to him, but that's probably just as true with most of the other bands he rated. It's just that they're not famous enough where there's multiple interviews expecting them to issue statements on their political views.

I like Mike as a person (full disclosure, for those who don't already know: I write for Stereogum pretty regularly), but that essay was pretty damn muddled. The actual list has a few great records on it, a bunch of things I have no interest in even investigating, and a few other things I'm definitely gonna check out. But it wound up reinforcing my own decision not to do year-end lists for Burning Ambulance, and convincing me that my idea to do a year-end essay instead was misguided, so I'm not even doing that.