2020 Metal ’n’ Heavy Rock/Heavy Music Poll: RESULTS – Top 100 Countdown

Vile Creature have the best website in metal btw: http://www.vilecreature.net/

#82 TIE
Regarde les hommes tomber – Ascension
109 points, 3 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1077738278_10.jpg

https://regardeleshommestomber.bandcamp.com/album/ascension

Those in the know about French black metal are very aware of Regarde Les Hommes Tomber. They are without a doubt one of the most interesting groups to emerge from the country’s vast black metal underground. With their first full length in five years, they have come to silence all those who may have doubted them. Their latest offering, the spine-tingling Ascension, is a fitting addition to the band’s legacy and a clear next step in their trajectory.  Regarde Les Hommes Tomber craft a unique brand of black metal that relies on vast atmospheres. These are brought on by searing guitars and punishing blast beats. Ultimately, Ascension is more of a sonic experience than a collection of songs. The all-encompassing nature of the record makes it an early contender for 2020’s black metal album of the year. For their Season Of Mist debut, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber have unapologetically pulled out all the stops.

The most promising aspect of Ascension is that it shows how much the band has grown. "Stellar Cross" shows some of the band’s most dynamic work to date. The acoustic intro and open-throated moans that define the track are mesmerizing. The production has clearly also taken a huge leap forward, with the potent interlude, "La Tentation," perhaps serving as a standout example. Meanwhile, tracks like "A New Order" really stay true to the band’s traditional fare of ‘wall of sound black metal’. These precisely composed blasphemous screeds promise to be the stuff of legends and of course, countless year-end lists.

https://metalinjection.net/reviews/regarde-les-hommes-tomber-ascension

#82 TIE
Angel Morgue – In the Morgue of Angels
109 points, 3 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2844519188_10.jpg

https://angelmorgue-us.bandcamp.com/album/in-the-morgue-of-angels

Blasphemy and rotten, cavernous death metal are Angel Morgue‘s specialties on debut album In the Morgue of Angels. The death metal on display is primitive and effective—everything from the riffs to the vocals to the impressive drumming to the production to the song titles sounds like it was dug out of a crypt.

Fortunately, that crypt contained an impressive death metal album. From the Immolation-esque “Raped in Church (Touched by God)” to the neck-snapping “Cosmic Torment” and titular closer, Angel Morgue juggle fast and slow tempos, never giving too much of one or the other. There are plenty of sonic similarities to Immolation, Autopsy and early Outer Heaven, and the song titles would bring a smile to Glen Benton’s face.

At a lean eight songs, everything about In the Morgue of Angels feels inspired by a time gone by, adapted for 2020.

https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2020/08/03/full-album-stream-angel-morgue-in-the-morgue-of-angels/

I really enjoyed the Regarde les hommes tomber, I just found it a bit less than consistent than I would have liked. I need to check out their first couple of LPs.

Regarde les hommes tomber – Ascension is one of my votes and I say

TOO LOW

And I'm very happy to see some of you liked the Angel Morgue enough to vote for it. No frills DM with an onslaught of riffs.

Angel Morgue ended up quite high on my ballot. Campaigning works! Every year there's at least one great Name Your Price steal that makes the poll and this year it's this.

Last one for today coming up in a bit.

#81
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals
110 points, 4 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2969374032_10.jpg

https://pigspigspigspigspigspigspigs.bandcamp.com/album/viscerals

If ever an album title summed up its contents—not to mention the intentions of its creators—look no further than here. Viscerals documents the next stage in Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs’ unrelenting story. The album is a statement of intent that continues their sense bludgeoning amalgamation of metal, punk, and experimental noise at its most brutal. 

Since their debut Feed the Rats appeared three years ago, the band have steadily amassed a loyal following that’s seen them welcomed with open arms by the metal and psych rock communities. Which probably explains why parts of this record owe as much to riff behemoths Sleep and The Melvins while the rest could easily be mistaken for Hawkwind, Sonic Youth, or Edgar Broughton Band. 

While lead single “Reducer” and album midpoint “World Crust” represent arguably their most accessible pieces of music to date—from the perspective of radio friendliness at any rate—gargantuan riffathon “Halloween Bolson” and its heavy-duty cousin “New Body” find Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs at their ferocious best.

http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/pigs_pigs_pigs_pigs_pigs_pigs_pigs_viscerals/

Not familiar with these guys but that description is intriguing.

New rule: any weirdo black metal album with bright primary colors on the cover, somebody has to tell me. This is really good. (the Biesy)

good album

:D

Pigs x7 are the backing band on one of the greatest albums of the past 20 years but their own stuff has never quite grabbed me. Maybe this one might?

Spotify Results playlist

So far, so good:

101. Primitive Man – Immersion
100. Atramentus – Stygian
99. Undergang – Aldrig i livet
98. Dan Weiss/Starebaby – Natural Selection
95 TIE. Worm – Gloomlord
95 TIE. Ulthar – Providence
95 TIE. Vile Creature – Glory, Glory! Apathy Took Helm!
93 TIE. VoidCeremony – Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel
93 TIE. Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin – Stygian Bough Volume I
92. Lamp of Murmuur – Heir of Ecliptical Romanticism
91. Okkultokrati – La ilden lyse
90. Horisont – Sudden Death
89. Skeletal Remains – The Entombment of Chaos
87 TIE. Spirit Adrift – Enlightened in Eternity
87 TIE. Biesy – Transsatanizm
86. Ripped to Shreds – Luan
85. Cirith Ungol – Forever Black
84. Turia – Degen van licht
82 TIE. Regarde les hommes tomber – Ascension
82 TIE. Angel Morgue – In the Morgue of Angels
81. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Viscerals

'backing band' is a bit much actually. A couple of them were heavily involved in the making of Peasant by Richard Dawson :)

Vile Creature have the best website in metal btw: http://www.vilecreature.net/

Wow, you were not joking. <3

Seriously.

*doot doot*

damn, that website does rule, now I will check that album out even though the worm mouth cover always put me off before.

I avoided Pigsx7 for a long time because of the name, this was the first record of theirs I'd heard and I loved it. Right up my alley.

Thanks for all the work, pom. This is really fun so far.

My pleasure!

drat, forgot to vote for the ripped to shreds!

gotta get around to that undergang already!

skeletal remains was the only one I've voted for so far, def a workmanlike take on the genre

Slim pickings for me today, though that might mean that a lot of my ballot's to come. Biesy is the one I'm most likely to return to see if I've missed something.

Hopefully we've gotten awful cover day out the way, but this is metal after all

Have you sampled the Dan Weiss/Starebaby, uug?

No, I admit that instrumental metal played by jazz dudes isn't really what I'm looking for these days, but I guess I'll give it a shot

VoidCeremony pleasantly surprising me

The Angel Morgue record both ripped and slammed. I didn't realize it was a free download.

I'm a bit surprised Atramentus was so low. I didn't vote for it but ILM usually surprises me every year with one or 2 high placing doom albums. guess it wasn't their time

;(

The Vile Creature website is great!

I'm guilty of ignoring a lot of good 'inside' black and death metal albums, if only bc there are only so many things one can keep up with. The Turia album has a really effective atmosphere, a pleasantly bracing feel, and some nice melodies. The last song is almost incredible.

Metal needs more female vocalists and T is up there with my favourites.

i really like Kayla Dixon of Witch Mountain

Had to go somewhere most of today. Glad to see the Horisont placed! Campaigning does work.

I did think the vocals were especially strong and powerful but somehow didn't clock that they were female. I don't even hear gender obv.

The Gypsies had no home, Turia has no bass.

(Tbc, that's a reference to this, not any sort of comment on the Roma): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xillqqt0Y0

all the new stuff sucks!

Really? Never had you figured for a Doors fan.

Doors fans aren't made. they are BORN.

VoidCeremony pleasantly surprising me

― imago, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 00:14 (twelve hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Ha, I came here to say exactly this. I love those weird low in the mix licks that run contrary to the rhythm. Also, a couple of the basslines remind me of Duran Duran.

Going live in a few mins.

Ripped to Shreds on in the background now while I take calls. I managed to listen to everything that placed so far except the Regarde les Hommes Tomber and most of the Dan Weiss album that isn't available free anywhere.

Really enjoying this Biesy this morning - the industrial flourishes are giving me early 90s flashbacks.

#80
Khthoniik Cerviiks – Æequiizoiikum
112 points, 3 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0281983332_10.jpg

https://ironboneheadproductions.bandcamp.com/album/khthoniik-cerviiks-equiizoiikum

Let me start by going straight to the point – Khthoniik Cerviiks (KC) sounds like an alien trying to play human music. Or an alien trying to play human music, failing, and just going back to his own music. Or trying to weave human influences into alien music, or vice versa. You get the picture. They’re certainly not the first metal band to try something similar. We can refer to some of KC’s influences, like Voivod or Vektor who, the latter playing off the former, tried to take thrash metal to the next level by making it sound veritably otherworldly. You could also refer to Howls of Ebb, a band who KC did a split with, who made death metal of nether-dimensional alien creatures and their humanly incomprehensible culture.

Khthoniik Cerviiks does all that while putting their own spin on the concept. This is an especially respectable achievement since they wear their influences on their sleeve. I’d even say a good way to describe KC is as Voivod’s parallel-dimension evil twin. KC’s thrash influences are obvious, but they operate more in the realm of death/black metal. These aren’t your flying-saucer-driving little-green-men aliens. These are nefarious creatures dwelling in darkness.

“Æequiizoiikum” is a continuation of what KC did on their first record, 2015’s “SeroLogiikal Scars”. A record that frequently delivered straight banging riffs and grooves, even occasional hard rock bits, before pulling a fast one on you and going full “what is even going on”, but not just driving straight into suffocating dissonance as some bands are wont to, but twisting and turning metal techniques into unexpected shapes that still sound vaguely familiar (just like Voivod does!). Successfully employing this method is what makes KC so good – interweaving the familiar with the strange, constantly morphing the sound between the mundane and the abnormal.

https://www.metalutopia.com/khthoniik-cerviiks-aeequiizoiikum-review/

I didn't vote for it because there was just too much stuff to account for yet I still feel like it's too low?

Either way, anyone who enjoyed the VoidCeremony and hasn't heard this one is missing out.

I bought this ages ago and haven't listened to it in full yet! Now's the time I guess...

I actually at some point bought Khthoniik Cerviiks' entire discography on Bandcamp, I like them quite a bit. They're really weird, yet they don't take themselves too seriously.