THE 2011 TOP 10 of VAN666 (ARCHITECTURE OF AGGRESSION)

(Architecture of Aggression is a South African band who’ve been creating massive, bone-grinding, head-spinning, technically inventive, progressive death metal for more than 16 years (check out this post if they’re a name you don’t recognize). I asked one of the band’s co-founders, Van Zyl Alberts (aka Van666) to contribute to our year-end series of posts on 2011’s best metal, and here’s his list of recommendations.)

1. Pestilence – Doctrine

Brilliant, epic, powerful, technical, and catchy, with great crushing riffs, and jazzy bass lines and guitar solos. A modern Classic. Like a slow cancer that consumes your body, Pestilence reminds everybody that playing as fast as humanly possible, which is the modern trend, doesn’t necessarily make you more heavy. For fans of Old School Death Metal.

2. Anthrax – Worship Music

This album will rock your socks off, period! Uplifting, catchy as Hell, sing along, ballsy, powerful Thrash Metal. Best album since “Sounds of White Noise”. Feels like the perfect combination of “Persistence of Time” and “We’ve Come For You ll”. Sounds like the Big 4 tour recharged their batteries and put some fire in their bellies. Featuring original vocalist Joe Belladonna. Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer beware!

3. Supreme Pain – Divine Incarnation

Brutal and relentless, a great mix of Old School Death Metal song-writing with modern Death Metal brutality. Reminds me of Monstrosity, early Entombed, and Slayer.

4. Immolation – Providence (EP)

Hypnotic, brutal, heavy, slithering Death metal.

5. Exhumed – All Guts, No Glory

Excellent come-back album. A brutal grind extravaganza with catchy melodic moments and epic solos. If you love old school Carcass, then this is right up your ally.

6. Between the Buried and Me – The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues (EP)

Epic, progressive, inventive, technical, and original. Never a dull moment. Some of their best work since Alaska.

7. Origin – Entity

Crushing, brutal, catchy, fast, original, technical Death Metal. Not as groundbreaking as Antithesis, but a great album nonetheless.

8. Dying Fetus – History Repeats (EP)

Brutal, heavy, blunt and to the point. Dying Fetus paying tribute to the bands that influenced and inspired their unique and brutal sound.

9. Animals As Leaders – Weightless

A great follow up album on their 2009 self titled debut release. A modern progressive instrumental Metal album with great guitar playing and musicianship.

10. Septic Flesh – The Great Mass

A dark, epic, moody, and powerful album. Less catchy than Communion, but still a great record . Really grows on you after a couple of spins.

EDITOR’S NOTE: I decided to check out music from a few of Van666’s picks that I hadn’t heard this year with. There’s some good shit here.