THE 10TH ANNUAL ILM METAL POLL:2017 RESULTS THREAD

Another one I'm glad to see in the top 20.

forgot to mention - weirdly huge points jump between 16 and 17!

Too low!

I didn't vote for this because I only listened to this once before the voting deadline but it sounded really satisfying and I'm already really enjoying it again.

the second track is a wonderful monster

personal fave coming up

14 The Ruins of Beverast - Exuvia 405.0 Points 11 Votes 1 #1 Vote
http://www.nuclearblast.de/static/articles/260/260764.jpg/1000x1000.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/1cwDxz56RMKHDmgHHADDQX?si=j17Wrq8yS46osLQg8Bd8dA

The Ruins of Beverast is one of those bands whose every release feels like a deliberate exercise in the unpredictable. Its like a black and doom metal gumball machine. You know in general what you’re going to get, but you won’t fully understand the specific flavor, color, and texture of each release until you’ve got the thing in your possession. Candy analogies aside, Alexander von Meilenwald’s career over the past decade as the creator of and solo performer in The Ruins of Beverast, while varied in tone and sonic direction, has been nothing short of exemplary. From the lo-fi catacombs of Rain Upon the Impure to the doom-laden heaviness of Blood Vaults, each release has painted consistently mesmerizing portraits of death, suffering, and mysticism through a unique amalgamation of black and doom metal. While each release by the band has been unique in comparison to its predecessors, it’s been four years since The Ruins of Beverast released a full-length, and 2016’s puzzling EP Takitum Tootem! was a sonic curveball of epic proportions. Equally championed and reviled by fans, the EP not only added confusion as to which sonic direction the band would take with its latest record, Exuvia, but trepidation in some as to whether it would be any good. If you were worried that The Ruins of Beverast is losing its edge, may your fears be assuaged. This is some premium metal.

This is absolutely brilliant and although it was my #7 I probably put it too low? It sustains its mood wonderfully throughout such intense narratives - menacing and cosmic. Maybe the first TOO LOW afaic

Second track's my favourite I think but it's all great

I'm home

their records have a nice enveloping feel that makes them easy to get lost in

good stuff, hope all's well

I had a 2 hr meeting and thought I'd have missed the rest of the rollout, but it's a slow 'n' low roll I see!

aye, it was just her appointment with the consultant. Got an xray and they said its healing nicely but it can take a long time so she's to go back in 4 months. She asked for some crutches type walking stick and they werent sure but because she'd used them with the physio in hospital when she was in, they okayed it. She can use them or the zimmer, whichever she feels best.
I hope that there will be contact about physio for her.

tick.jpg :)

That sounds positive, I'm glad to hear it. :) And good luck with her getting physio, too.

imago, I can't believe Ruins of Beverast wasn't like your #3...you talk about it every day.

I find it weird that the middle two tracks aren't available on spotify (whole album is on bandcamp iirc)

I bought the album just for those two tracks, and they're worth it

also it was a really great year for metal!

wait, did I miss something? Brad's gone? He was absolutely essential in my keeping up with emo/pop-punk! NOOOOOOOOOO

13 King Woman - Created in the Image of Suffering 419.0 Points 13 Votes
https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a1256656107_5.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/3Hfzq8ppZoC0pkwTuEMF4g?si=3W1kDCBuQJGCKJy6IWsfww

No one gets off easy here. Esfandiari scorns the self-medicating faithful during “Deny,” her soft but haunting voice riding a riff that feels as sharp as a reaper’s scythe. “Shame,” meanwhile, spotlights the existential dread of Esfandiari’s former fellow adherents. She wonders how they find comfort in doomsday prophecies and punitive proclamations, why they seek shelter in something that feels so vengeful. She worries less about what people worship than how they worship—specifically, how they use their beliefs to ensnare themselves and those around them, herself included. During Doubt, King Woman seemed to be learning how to communicate these concerns as a group; here, they preach together as a mighty team. The band pounds away behind her questions and observations, the bellicose rhythm section and snarling guitars demanding answers from a society of self-delusion.

The real strength of this still-new quartet becomes clear on “Hierophant,” the centerpiece of these eight songs. Esfandiari funnels the language of the sacred into a series of profane come-ons: “If you’re a holy church, I wanna worship,” she sings. “If you’re a sacred script, I am the Hierophant.” She treats actual human lust with the same sort of obsessive, accidentally prurient language evangelicals sometimes use for God. It’s funny, seductive, and coming from someone who has seen both sides, tragic. And with a chorus that hits like an electrified lullaby with a heretic’s sense of mischief, it wouldn't be hard to imagine “Hierophant” as a rock radio anthem. Now that would be a coveted fall from grace.

Au champ was my #5.

LJ otm: please, someone get Brad back asap :/

Never heard of the last two tbh

The last three albums are all wonderful and I'm thrilled to see them placing this high.

Also, agreed that Brad is essential.

Brad is an especially big booster of King Woman. Who were first recommended to me, if you'll allow the namedrop, by MC Dälek! Who should have been in this poll really ;)

incidentally, their recent cover of "I Wanna Be Adored" is fantastic

spotify:album:4ZrSA3klsa1Vl4XKfZjyvm

err

https://open.spotify.com/track/2IbbPqpU1uchOWCMULOuJD?si=HdUiFs0UQheUzLGg3Yu7_A

Listening now - it's lovely :)

12 Wolves in the Throne Room - Thrice Woven 436 Points, 12 Votes
https://i.imgur.com/9xrPCDP.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/1Uw3L9tXHZFuTS1lepKNVk?si=QzxCZqwWRmuhhdnSIywcNA

https://wolvesinthethroneroom.bandcamp.com/album/thrice-woven

http://thequietus.com/articles/23239-wolves-in-the-throne-room-thrice-woven-album-review

King Woman album is a total gem

way too high imo! Celestial Lineage was more memorable.

i heard they knitted this album out of recycled quinoa

also I was half expecting a sludged-out She Bangs The Drum to kick in after that cover. do the whole album lol

honestly I wish more non-trad metal bands would do covers albums! the one Nadja did was neat.

Love the "brutal prog" genre tag for Cleric, credited to Weasel Walter of The Flying Luttenbachers. I remember when Weasel was just a guy who worked at a record store I frequented. Now his name pops up all over the place -- I'm reading the Post Punk Then & Now collection, and in the chapter on Lydia Lunch, she mentions Weasel repeatedly (he's in her current band).

I really like Thrice Woven, they're not exactly challenging themselves but it's very enjoyable.

I guess I had my hopes up for something a little more ambitious given the six-year gap (not counting the zzzz ambient album). I should give it another shot.

The track titles are very cute.

the wittr is a cracking album, very enjoyable to listen to

This will be the last one, not just for tonight until Brad comes back!

then we will do the top 10

11 Jute Gyte - Oviri 438 Points, 12 Votes, ONE #1
https://i.imgur.com/EyYbBvP.jpg

https://open.spotify.com/album/6fSKj1tCGgNxzu7ZqumE7X?si=Y74F9x4jSZeLo8yGu4IpOQ
https://jutegyte.bandcamp.com/album/oviri

http://thequietus.com/articles/23139-jute-gyte-oviri-album-review

Has he learnt how to tune his guitar yet?

lmao

Too low! haha

My #5, which is 4 places lower than you'd think eh? Not his best IMO but still completely amazing. A bit wilder and more fragmented than before - perhaps sacrificing a bit of compositional focus in order to signify the extent of his pessimism and discomfort. When it hits though it hits so hard. Second and third tracks appear to be consensus favourites

The track titles are very cute.

lol

I was ready to feel fatigued by Jute Gyte this year, his music being a somewhat permanent feature in this household and there having been SO many releases recently, but how can you dislike this? Unendingly innovative work. I think either track 2 or 4 is my favourite, but track 3 is definitely the pop hit.

🐁🐁🍴🏅

AK has said he probably won't release another metal album this year btw - well, apart from the (very worthy) Spectral Lore split he's already released, lol

Good! I want time to anticipate what he's going to come up with next. (The Spectral Lore split is lovely, of course)