THE 10TH ANNUAL ILM METAL POLL:2017 RESULTS THREAD

I only listened to Disrotted's half once or twice. I voted purely for the Rat.

I know I should just follow along with the metal thread, but I would love a thread for 'metal groups who are clearly doing it wrong' a la the one for techno/house :)

92 Big|Brave - Ardor 102.0 Points, 4 Votes

https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/59aed63d8318ae33b373b527/1:1/w_600/bigbrave_ardor.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/7F9GqRTn1u9x0sCkWRivRM?si=ge8hszpEQxOTFn2HMmKkAQ

In places, Ardor is an album of quiet restraint. The second of the three tracks, “Lull,” gives most of its running time to moody slowcore rumination, with peals of guitar feedback snaking in gradually as the track gains weight. Other moments suggest an affinity for the brutal excesses of noise rock and no wave. There are echoes of Swans in the mantra-like repetitions of “Sound” and “Borer,” their clanging riffs cast out in the direction of the horizon. Meanwhile, Wattie’s siren-like vocals vacillate between imploring sensuality, raw self-flagellation, and blank affect in a way that’s reminiscent of Lydia Lunch. Lunch’s music was often jagged like razorblades, though, while BIG|BRAVE are big and oceanic, their music flowing and crashing like waves.

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bigorbrave-ardor/

We should definitely have a Rolling False Metal thread.

Where do you draw the line though?

Haha the Rat was well worth it! I'm so glad.

I'm also not sure about this Disrotted...it isn't often that I want to crawl through tar.

Big|Brave made it onto my ballot thanks to the campaigning

Where do you draw the line though?

Not sure, but it would be funny to have a thread where bands are accused of being "too kvlt" or whatever

i knew once i heard the sax solo on the white ward album that i had to vote for it

lol that's true xp

tt you didn't play this to me did you? may check it out later.

White Ward are nice but the songwriting isn't quite getting me. Lovely sound and production though!

I did play it to you but you didn't respond!

Just scared myself by forgetting that I was printing something whilst listening to Bathsheba.

NB there's always this thread that I started, although it's focused on a specific kind of metal-adjacent aesthetic: Search: Metal that Sounds Like Glenn Branca

Not feeling anything on this rollout so far unfortunately. Heard some of these last year, wasn't impressed with White Ward apparently though I don't even remember hearing it. Code Orange seem to be Converge if they were groove metal so it's almost like they're TRYING to be my least favourite band in the world.

Besides, isn't there a part for tenor sax in Branca's 1st symphony?

Colotyphus is pretty OK.

91 Cannibal Corpse - Red Before Black 104.0 Points, 3 Votes
https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_500/MI0004/347/MI0004347220.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/2Ecgc9nNxJpXd3gboFPbvz?si=KhwG3u0kSoGGVl82-2iqFw

Songs like the title track are propelled at maximum speed, while other songs like “Shedding My Human Skin” and “Remaimed” have both deliberate grooves and frenzied, rocket-propelled sections. The shifting tempos and intensities help add variety to the proceedings.

Over the years Cannibal Corpse have been able to add more melody and catchy parts to their songwriting repertoire without sacrificing any heaviness. You won't hear “Firestorm Vengeance” or “In the Midst of Ruin” on rock radio, but they are more memorable than many songs on the commercial charts.

After working with producer Erik Rutan on some earlier releases, Cannibal Corpse brought him back for Red Before Black. Being an outstanding death metal musician in his own right, Rutan knows exactly what Cannibal Corpse bring to the table. He captures the rawness and power of their sound while keeping the crisp and focused feel of their playing.

http://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-red-before-black-album-review/

That's it from me for now - Odysseus will resume his duties shortly.

Best thing on the White Ward was probably the closing track

damn that's low for CC. I was one of the three votes. the album is nothing new or groundbreaking for the band but it's effective as always.

definitely was overshadowed by a couple of other death metal releases tho (Immolation, Incantation, Lantern, Suffocation)

Was one of the White Ward voters, superb album

Next to Tomb Mold's output, Necrot's record was my fave Death Metal output this year - bought it on vinyl this weekend and it got appreciative Super Bowl party half-time slot. Didn't know they shared members with Vastum and Acephalix which makes me love it all the more. Contrarian record is awesome too, and I'm glad to see it placed. Thought the CC record was kinda boring.

ps if you think CC are low wait til you see the next entry

90 Akercocke - Renaissance In Extremis 104 Points, 4 votes
https://i.imgur.com/OSvvqfV.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/5256D6skKc4gdwPaPpSScA?si=L_cuNHEtQGufdeifZ778sQ

http://www.angrymetalguy.com/akercocke-renaissance-extremis-review/

if la lechera still posted/voted here I would've recommended her the White Ward.

I liked the Akercocke. was kind of like hearing from an old friend.

I thought it would be top 20 at least

I gotta admit, this is the one metal vocal style I've never been huge on

Never got round to Akercocke, don't know if this is a good starting point, didn't expect something this proggy. Reminds me a bit of a more pacey/techy Opeth, even down to the slightly random song construction.

Pretty good though I should say.

it's definitely not much like their earlier material

another heavy hitter

88 The Body & Full of Hell - Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light 106.0 Points, 4 Votes
https://thrilljockey.com/spree/products/2162/product/447_900.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/4SXIysQ9zTWimy9uo5GMy8?si=Z4YjL9pLSm2wimbqtWEFiQ

Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light bests its predecessor by doing something much different—acknowledging the fundamental rift between the bands’ respective styles and flooding the valley between them with all kinds of stunts, risks, and tricks. Lightning Bolt’s Brian Chippendale, for instance, helms a drum orchestra during “Our Love Conducted With Shields Aloft,” a riot of sound so aggressive it would make John Zorn blush. Full of Hell bassist Sam DiGristine even adds squawking soprano saxophone at the close of “Light Penetrates.” Harsh noise outbursts, stroboscopic electronic editing, drum & bass beats: The Body and Full of Hell lace them throughout Heavy Light, unexpected oases in a disorienting musical minefield. If Ache was an obvious intersection between these two prolific and restless bands, Heavy Light documents wild detours taken to get back to the same place.

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-body-and-full-of-hell-ascending-a-mountain-of-heavy-light/

you jumped the gun, i still have the controversial album at 89 to post first!

89 Zeal & Ardor - Devil Is Fine 105 Points, 3 votes
https://i.imgur.com/huwAAkB.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/5Oc87gybQZkVeqogIFXzMd?si=x-joj0OSSUyGQnpdAwVxkA
https://zealandardor.bandcamp.com/
http://www.themonolith.com/music/review-zeal-ardor-devil-fine/

It’s always tempting for musicians wanting to make their mark on a genre to take their chosen framework and mash it together with something seemingly out-of-place. This is a go-to tactic for folk metal with its prevalence of zithers and hurdy-gurdies, and it’s worked well there. Let’s not forget that this philosophy has also left us with the questionable legacy of rap metal.

The key difference is how artful the blend is. This doesn’t need to be subtle; Shining‘s use of saxophones is hardly understated and it’s a good look on them. The philosophy falters where bands are too self-conscious in their mash-ups, looking at the 40+ years of metal history and despairing that everything has seemingly been done, then frantically trying to recruit members to their acapella vaporwave project.

Zeal & Ardor have been the focus of a lot of press, a lot of which has been bemused. Broadly, Devil Is Fine is a mix of black metal, blues & gospel, and electronica – but the album covers an astonishing amount of ground, constantly haunted by spreading itself too thin or being too affectedly weird. On the flipside, there’s a sense that something like this could be a Big Thing. On paper it should work; blues and black metal have Strong Opinions on The Devil. Electronic music and black metal are strange bedfellows but it’s not sacrilegious to mess with them.

Expectedly, this record is by and large a mixed bag. Even though my experience improved on multiple listens, the record never settles on a consistent tone. I can’t claim to be much of an authority on gospel but the black metal elements are heavily influenced by the recent wave of blackgaze/post-black metal acts. A little disappointingly, the guitars sit low in the mix so they often come across as just angular shoegaze rather than black metal. I often found myself wondering if the record would work better leaning more towards dark ambient influences than incorporating occasional frosty bursts.

Also, for black metal fans this is likely to be a disappointment. A lot of the tags for this record have suggested this is primarily black metal and it’s not, not really; there’s a frequent creepy haunting tone but it’s only occasionally that the black metal elements are used to convey this. If you dig Alcest and their ilk this will be an unusual departure, and certainly worth investigating.

My initial notes for this review were super-negative. One of them just reads “Devil Is Fine is fine,” which I’ll never get to use in its intended context. The truth is the more time I spent with the record, the more I was drawn to it. Firstly, Zeal & Ardor’s songwriting chops are well-explored in key moments; opener and single “Devil Is Fine” is absolutely superb and genuinely chilling, mixing chants with thunderous percussion and an unnerving gothic aesthetic. In addition, so much of this record works even though you get the sense the goalposts are constantly moving; the electronic sections are proper cool, “Children’s Summons” sounding almost chiptune-y. “In Ashes” flirts more obviously with some metal influences. In the end it seems futile to tick off all the genre engagements; it’s a soup, but against the odds it works.

I hear a lot of Björk‘s Debut in this record. There’s a lot of raw experimentation and unfiltered courage. Devil Is Fine is certainly novel, and thought it’s a little unfair to compare this to Debut‘s innovations they both have a kind of naive hubris which makes them charming. That’s probably the best feature of the record; Devil Is Fine is so singular and odd that it occupies a different space to any of the records it’s influenced by, and by virtue of its charm demands to be considered differently. It might not change the face of metal forever but it might just stick out enough to be cited as an off-beat influence a little further down the line.

To the cynics, Devil Is Fine doesn’t rest on novelty. It doesn’t work like any record in any of the genres it borrows from and it’s fickle enough to frustrate anyone trying to draw themes through it – but of all the records that will get fancy label re-releases this year, this is among the most deserving.

https://noisey.vice.com/en_au/article/6wqvnb/zeal-and-ardor-interview
http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=13957
http://www.angrymetalguy.com/zeal-and-ardor-devil-is-fine-things-you-might-have-missed-2016/

oh balls lol

On the guitar solo in "Stillborn Knowledge" from the White Ward album: yeah, I like this. Steely Dan seems like the wrong comparison for the softer passages with sax, though; will think. Based on the first two tracks, I sometimes wish these were better integrated with the metal passages, with a stronger sense of unity to the compositions. The shifts can seem at times like they come out of nowhere. Still, there's definitely something interesting going on.

I forgot to vote for Z&A since I considered it a 2016 release I think... It's an interesting idea but needs more refinement. A second album should be very interesting I reckon.

I like how the sax is used in "Homecoming".

I saw it as a 2016 release too
xp

87 Anakim - Monuments to Departed Worlds 107.0 Points, 2 Votes, 1 #1 Vote
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2531453059_10.jpg
https://anakimuk.bandcamp.com/releases

first #1 vote!

Y'all should check out how that Z&A album came to be! Really heartwarming stuff

based on how little info I could find, this Anakim record wins the obscurity prize so far

https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/6wqvnb/zeal-and-ardor-interview

"That's just 4chan"

86 Dodecahdron - kwintessens 108.0 Points, 4 Votes
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a2147776909_5.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/4fzqMZL3CNsKwiECMf2xZK?si=yBhM4H6wRM-t20t_wrkYVA

Kwintessens‘ long-form composition is one of gradual collapse, and sounds become more alien and obtuse as the album progresses. “Tetrahedron” sounds close to a Deathspell Omega cut, but the band experiments with brighter sounds, dense sound editing and reversals of previous themes past “Hexahedron.” “Dodecahedron” uses bright leads and custom instrumentation to create an atmosphere that’s split between the heavenly and the vulgar, ending with a snap-in block of harsh noise. The incongruously placed “Finale” takes an approach that I’d most comfortably call black-metal musique concrète, and is largely a collage of droning sounds, that heavenly atmosphere, and heavily distorted vocals which presage the album’s real finale.

Nice. I liked this better than Deathspell Omega, barring Paracletus.

I'm not always in the mood for this sort of thing but it's a very good example of the style

First thing I voted for to place! Good stuff. Also very impressed with the Anakim album so far, never even heard of it before.

Really enjoying the Cloud Rat!

everyone's faves!!

85 Nokturnal Mortum - Verity 113.0 Points, 3 Votes
https://www.metal-archives.com/images/6/4/8/9/648929.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/1U0NTxLdTGaZNcSHp4o1AB?si=dhZT6H8_SNiIQ64BkiPRKg

the anakim record is so fun, y'all, please check it out if you remotely like proggy death metal where everyone sounds like they're having the best time playing it

Thanks so much Simon and Kerr for doing this <3

Ballot, weighted:

Nortt - Endeligt
Krallice - Go Be Forgotten
Der Weg Einer Freiheit - Finisterre
Jute Gyte - Oviri
Au champ des morts - Dans la joie
Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrice Woven
Blanck Mass - World Eater
Archspire - Relentless Mutation
Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Wandering The Outer Space
Gnod - Just Say No to the Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine

I don't think the noms period should end before the end of the year; that's the only thing I'd be concerned about. Thanks so much to Simon and Odysseus for this!

My weighted ballot. Bold did not place.

1. Oxbow - Thin White Duke
2. Brutus - Burst
3. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun
4. Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrice Woven
5. The Midnight Ghost Train - Cypress Ave.
6. Rebel Wizard - Triumph Of Gloom
7. Light of the Morning Star - Nocta
8. Violet Cold – Anomie
9. Slagmaur - Thill Smitts Terror
10. The Obsessed – Sacred
11. Laster - Ons Vrije Fatum
12. Beastmaker - Inside The Skull
13. The Wizards - Full Moon in Scorpio
14. Godflesh - Post Self
15. Paradise Lost - Medusa
16. Ufomammut - 8
17. Tau Cross - Pillar of Fire
18. Mammoth Mammoth - Mount the Mountain
19. Zeal & Ardor - Devil Is Fine
20. Myrkur - Mareridt
21. Pagan Altar - The Room of Shadows
22. Alestorm - No Grave But The Sea
23. Sólstafir - Berdreyminn
24. Pyriphlegethon - The Murky Black of Eternal Night
25. Pallbearer - Heartless
26. Ides of Gemini - Women
27. Full Of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy
28. Venenum - Trance Of Death
29. Usnea - Portals into Futility
30. King Woman - Created in the Image of Suffering
31. Nortt – Endeligt
32. Reverorum ib Malacht - Ter Agios Numini
33. Obituary - Obituary
34. Horn - Turm Am Hang
35. Botanist - The Shape of He to Come
36. Disharmony - Goddamn The Sun
37. Jagged Vision - Death Is This World
38. Falls of Rauros - Vigilance Perrenial
39. Ensiferum - Two Paths
40. Integrity - Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume
41. Selcouth - Heart Is the Star of Chaos
42. Pyrrhon - What Passes For Survival
43. Eluveitie - Evocation II: Pantheon
44. Antisect - The Rising of the Lights
45. Anomalie - Visions
46. Uniform - Wake In Fright
47. Dread Sovereign - For Doom The Bell Tolls
48. White Ward - Futility Report
49. Lorn - Arrayed Claws
50. Big|Brave - Ardor

My unweighted ballot, I only picked things I'd heard and remembered (and it's obviously missing a few I've noted above in the thread):

Artificial Brain - Infrared Horizon
Atriarch - Dead as Truth
Big|Brave - Ardor
Chepang - Dadhelo
Circle - Terminal
Cloud Rat / Disrotted - Split LP
Couch Slut - Contempt
Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy
Godflesh - Post Self
Impetuous Ritual - Blight Upon Martyred Sentience
Oxbow - Thin Black Duke
Power Trip - Nightmare Logic
Psudoku - Deep Space Psudokument
Pyrrhon - What Passes For Survival
The Body & Full of Hell - Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light
Uniform - Wake in Fright
White Suns - Psychic Drift
Wreche - Wreche

I must say I'm a little disappointed by the #1. I'm not a fan of the singing and I can't really make out the songs as they just meander, without strong or hooking passages (track 3 a distinct exception). The last two songs feel like an addition of twenty minutes. I'm not sure if it's because I've never been a fan of stoner or because of the progressiveness.

Maybe I spoke too fast though, I'm relistening to parts at home now and it sounds better than in the train.

the last track is amazing

They definitely meander, that's part of the fun. They open with a hook, riff on it a bit, jam for five minutes, come back to the hook at the end. I think the hooks on Lore might have been a bit more memorable, but the new one is a little more layered, which is why I liked it better.

My unweighted and monumentally unsuccessful ballot

Bloodway - A Fragile Riddle Crypting Clues
Celestial Bodies - Spit Forth From Chaos
Cemetery Urn - Cemetery Urn
Circle - Terminal
Contaminated - Final Man
Cryptic Fog - Staring Through the Veil
Crystal Fairy - Crystal Fairy
Daemogog – Ancient Extradigestional Rites
Demon Head - Thunder on the Fields
Dreaming Dead - Funeral Twilight
Elder - Reflections of a Floating World
Excommunion - Thronosis
Father Befouled - Desolate Gods
Fell Ruin - To the Concrete Drifts
Fleshpress - Hulluuden Muuri
Gigan - Undulating Waves of Rainbiotic Iridescense
Immolation - Atonement
Incantation - Profane Nexus
John Hoyles - Night Flight
Kairon; IRSE! - Ruination
Livid - Beneath This Shroud, The Earth Erodes
Lo-Ruhamah - Anointing
Lorn - Arrayed Claws
Loss - Horizonless
Midnight Rider – Manifestation
Mind Mold – Mind Mold
Morast - Ancestral Void
Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained
Morbid Evils – Deceases
Nightbringer - Terra Damnata
Occasvs - Nocturnal Majestic Mysteria
Oculus - The Apostate of Light
Poison Blood - Poison Blood
Pontiak - Dialectic of Ignorance
Pyrrhon - What Passes For Survival
Rude - Remnants...
Ruin - Drown in Blood
Slowly Building Weapons - Sunbirds
Spectral Voice - Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing
Succumb - Succumb
Suffering Hour - In Passing Ascension
Tchornobog - Tchornobog
The Mass – Ghost Fleet
Tomb Mold - Primordial Malignity
Tome of the Unreplenished – Cosmoprism: The Theurgy
Tongues - Hreilia
Ululatum Tollunt - Quantum Noose of Usurpation
Usnea – Portals Into Futility
Venenum - Trance of Death
Wildspeaker - Spreading Adder

Most of my ballot is tied for 286th place lol

I thought Immolation and Incantation were both ILM faves? And I could swear people in this very thread were praising Tchornobog. I think my memory's going.

Immolation made it, Incantation was at 105. Thought they were both very solid albums tbh. And I remember there being some excitement over Tchornobog in rolling metal but I guess it didn't carry over.

I like Incantation a lot, but the new album was not as good as the one before.

I didn't discover quite as much this year in the rollout as the last couple of years