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

I feel like Botanist has evolved so much over the last few albums! There are tons of different, folkier elements and there's a lot more singing now.

yeah you guys are missing out

Anal Stabwound is a 15 year-old kid called Nikhil who happens to already be a world class tech-death guitarist, bassist, drummer, vocalist and writer. He will surely feature in next year's poll

#15

Fluisteraars – Bloem

317 points, 9 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3774402072_10.jpg

https://fluisteraars.bandcamp.com/album/bloem

Atmospheric black metal inspired by nature. Not a totally new concept, nor the most exciting one in the world, but still one overflowing with potential. Getting lost in a sea of hazy riffs accompanied by evocative overlays has ever been a highlight of my metal experience. Unfortunately, the concept often works better in theory than in execution; the fine lines between “hazy riffs” and “are we sure that’s a guitar?” or “moving passages” and “is this still the same song?” are fine ones, and easily crossed. Fluisteraars hail from the Netherlands, and Bloem is their third full-length offering, one that approaches said lines with enough confidence to have me seriously hopeful for this genre I so want to enjoy.

Perhaps the greatest strength Bloem has to offer its listener is directness. Fluisteraars seems to be making an effort to not waste anyone’s time; this is not atmospheric black metal in the vein of Winterfylleth or (early) Wodensthrone, with lengthy compositions and wandering passages; instead, Fluisteraars get right to the point, writing simple, direct music that wields its power simply for the virtue of having been well-written. “Vlek” is one of the strongest of the album’s five songs, and serves as a great example; it opens with blast beats and strong riffing before bringing in melancholy shrieks. Roughly halfway through the song, an acoustic guitar plays a wistful melody that a is quickly taken up by the electric guitars. A piercing lead follows the melody perfectly, allowing for slight variations in the backing chords and keys until the song ends. The seven minutes fly by under this simple construction — direct, successful, and emotional. This approach persists throughout the album, and the end result is straightforward, enjoyable black metal.

https://www.angrymetalguy.com/fluisteraars-bloem-review/

A nice one-two if I ever saw one

I found it terribly dull.

Good album, but I found it a tad too laidback compared to their previous material.

beautiful album

I didn't buy the Botanist yet but it definitely got a vote. More clean singing and clean dulcimer parts work nicely.

Oh man, I loved it. It's straightforward, yes, but that's because it's prioritizing songwriting and craft.

(the Fluisteraars, I mean)

yup, nothing wrong w well-executed meat and potatoes melodic bm

We all have our biases. For instance, I'm not as big on surreal cartoony pomo metal as some people (ahem) itt.

is that a foreshadow

I am not an Igorrr or a Sigh person either :p

Foreshade.

Sigh rules!

Foreshade.

― pomenitul, Friday, 12 March 2021 16:13 (two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol

pom metal?

Tbf that can mean any number of things – there is no core to it.

pom metal?

― Oor Neechy, Friday, 12 March 2021 16:17 (fifty seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink

imagining a (Canadian) deathened neoromantic BM act called Vortex Of Bruckner

I'd listen to that.

"we cobbled together and built you a metal band"

Looking forward to their split with Anal Stabwound.

tbf Ruins Of Beverast are kind of that

Yeah, and you're also a fan!

Still need to hear this year's one! Have bought, but am saving it for the right moment. ANYWAY we're digressing...

#14

Thy Catafalque – Naiv

326 points, 8 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a4087607355_10.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/2eH5WM6pIPFsFylP5sbOi9?si=pMz-hSuySgaxwbHre4I5dA
https://thycatafalqueuk.bandcamp.com/album/naiv

What is there to say about Thy Catafalque that couldn’t be said by themselves? Or perhaps ‘themself’; after all, the project is mostly one man, Tamás Kátai, who can (and does) do just about everything required for his art to take its diverse shape. No matter how you choose to view the band, one thing’s for certain: they’ve been around for a hell of a long time! Since 1998, to be exact. I just came in with their 2018 album Geometria, which I found to be an deft assortment of styles wrapped up in a dark atmosphere. Naiv aims to achieve the same, with some neat progression and tweaked attitude to make for some more nuanced moments.

Referring back to how I started this review, Thy Catafalque are definitely one of those bands that are better heard than explained, but what kind of writer am I if I’m unable do to the latter? They’re best described as an amalgamation of sonic flavors, elegantly segued to and from each other to provide a wide array of emotional responses and spine tingles. Because if music’s impact could be measured by any one metric, surely it should be spine tingles.

The first three songs alone are a damn journey, and kind of a CliffsNotes version of what modern Thy Catafalque have to offer. “A bolyongás ideje” is a black metal blast. Kátai and the band have never bothered to eschew their dark roots, only opting to add to the formula. This is why, while “A bolyongás ideje” isn’t a cvlt cross-burner of a track, it has a distinct edge that other tracks don’t. Even still, we get lovely vocals from Martina Veronika Horváth (who also appeared on Geometria); spacey synths to contrast the blast beats and harsh guitars the fill much of the space of the song. If you’re into this, also check out “A valóság kazamatái”, which is a similar affair with the added flair of having an oud in it.

https://everythingisnoise.net/reviews/thy-catafalque-naiv/

Scotland's greatest-ever metal band

Very good record that I almost voted for.

Oh wait he's not in Scotland any more!

I've not actually heard it yet haha

extremely cool album that made my ballot

Where is he now? I can't imagine wanting to be back in Hungary these days – artists are having an especially hard time of it.

Hell yeah re: stabscotch. Lots of really cool industrial noise stuff coming out of PGH these days

there are 13 albums yet to place and I think I voted for 11 of them. I am so sorry ILX

Tbf there's two of you.

There is not!

:D

I guess next year's poll will be the true test of that though lol

I'd rather think of it as a large phalanx striding in my wake #bigheaded

can you keep it down, tryin to listen to Mortuary Drape here

^^^needs to raise his own phalanx imo

we'll have proper, old-school feuds, it'll be fun

#13

Black Curse – Endless Wound

326 points, 10 votes

https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a0522392822_10.jpg

https://blackcurse-svr.bandcamp.com/album/endless-wound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJgHNeFVQqg

there ya go :D

oh yeah, forgot about that one. have dug some of their older records.

have never been able to get into fluisteraars at all. life's too short, so I stopped trying a long time ago.

botanist record sounds cool but didn't get around to it. great band name.

pom you gave me a youtube review?

OMFG. Black Curse. how the hell did I forget to vote for this? jesus, my skimming of the nominees was terrible. this was one of my favorites the week it came out. so massive.

black curse was solid enough but I didn't go back to it much. I think I put it somewhere low on my list bc I vaguely remembered being into it.

but jeez, ewww no fantano embeds plz! yuck!