KING WOMAN: “CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF SUFFERING”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Feb 152017
 

 

(In this post Wil Cifer reviews the new album by San Francisco’s King Woman.)

King Woman’s full-length debut has the kind of thick, dream-like haze cast over it that makes the mood much darker and heavier than what we got from their previous EP. Like many albums that I sing the praises of, this one tickles the sweet spot of my taste buds, and once again proves you don’t have to adhere to typical metal trappings in order to be heavy.

Kristina Esfandiari allows some of her backing vocal tracks to move into more of a scream. And there is weight to the guitars, which often carry the dense distortion of doom. By the second song, it sounds to me that this album is going to take them to the next level of recognition. Continue reading »

CODE ORANGE: “FOREVER”

 Album Reviews  4 Responses »
Jan 202017
 

 

(Wil Cifer wrote this review of the new album by Code Orange, which was released on January 13 by Roadrunner.)

The kids are all grown up now, so welcome to what could become 2017’s equivalent of You Will Never Be One of Us. This album shows a band going from a more post-hardcore sound to refining themselves into a snarling machine.

It’s also worth mentioning before we dig into the nitty-gritty of Forever that the guitar tone on this rather well-produced album is mean as fuck. Gone is the reckless punk attitude, replaced with very precise execution, and the syncopation is ridiculous more often than not. After the opener you are ready for whatever they are going to throw at you, so to my ears it did not feel jarring. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 MAINSTREAM METAL ALBUMS OF 2016

 LISTMANIA 2016  4 Responses »
Jan 092017
 

 

(Wil Cifer brings us one more year-end list to accompany his earlier ones.)

This could almost be the Top 10 Hard Rock albums of 2016, as many of these bands ride the line between what is considered metal and what might not meet today’s standards of metal. They are much more likely to be heard on Sirius Radio or any air waves that venture into metal, like KNAC. Some of these acts are veterans who are back in fighting shape, and the very fact that they are mainstream means they have already paid their dues in the clubs, at the very least. These are not bands some sites I write for like Cvlt Nation would cover.

Varied sub-genres like thrash, power-metal, and even folk metal are thrown in, but in terms of heaviness these album ride the middle road. If you have still not figured out how I am defining mainstream metal here, then go back to sniffing glue, as here are your Top Ten mainstream metal albums of 2016. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 HARDCORE PUNK RELEASES OF 2016

 LISTMANIA 2016  1 Response »
Jan 032017
 

 

(Wil CIfer’s series of year-end lists for 2016 continues with this selection of 10 favorite releases in the vein of hardcore punk.)

Yeah I know, we are talking metal on this site, but I think there is enough crossover here to appeal to the more open-minded readers. In some places the line between hardcore and metal is more clearly defined; many of these selections are heavier than most of the bands on your top metal lists.

This list will encompass anything that is a bastard son of punk, from grindcore to emo. This was an emotionally charged year, but none of these albums is really that political. And yet everyone tried to console themselves after the election by saying at least punk will get good. Well, the tried and true NOFX’s have gotten old and might not have been bad, they just are not as good as any of the bands on the top ten hardcore punk albums of 2016 list. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 PROGRESSIVE METAL ALBUMS OF 2016

 LISTMANIA 2016  No Responses »
Jan 022017
 

 

(Wil Cifer continues his series of year-end lists with a Top 10 ranking of progressive metal releases.)

Progressive means you allow your music to progress. If you are putting out the same album of indulgent noodling, I don’t care if it is under the guise of a rock opera or not, your sound is not evolving; you are not progressive.

So these are not albums serving as bookends to keyboard solos, and are all more focused on the songs rather than trying to just make musicale bukkake. Many genres are touched on within this list. Some are more black metal than others, some are death metal, some are hard rock, but they all break the mold and embody progressive metal even without operatic vocals and frilly shirts. Here are my choices for the top 10 progressive metal albums of 2016. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 SLUDGE ALBUMS OF 2016

 LISTMANIA 2016  2 Responses »
Dec 302016
 

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(Here’s the fourth and final 2016 list from NCS contributor Wil Cifer. Follow these links to check out his Top 10 lists for black metal, doom, and death metal.)

When it comes to defining sludge, the density is the prime factor, so I find myself throwing in anything that is not dark enough to be doom. Sludge generally holds true to its punk rooks, but projects defined as stoner metal are also being included here. That doesn’t mean there is not legit sludge all over this list, as sludge is the dirty crust punk cousin of doom. Some sludge bands have just grown up and gotten more rock ‘n’ roll over time, so what sludge is has changed some over the years and this year’s crop is certainly evidence of that fact. Some of these bands might even think they are doom or have gotten their start as a doom band, but now have smoked too much pot to keep it that dark. So heaviness is often an organic by-product of the sounds compiled here with the top ten sludge albums of 2016. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 BLACK METAL ALBUMS of 2016

 LISTMANIA 2016  7 Responses »
Dec 292016
 

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(Wil Cifer delivers the third of his year-end lists, and in this one he names his top 10 black metal albums of 2016. The first installment, which focused on doom, is here. The second, focused on death metal, is here.)

Black metal continues to spread its curse, having left its stain as an influence on everything from punk rock to doom. The genre flourishes in even the most obscure corners of the world as it becomes the sound of anger for the isolated souls of this doomed generation.

The albums here have been gathered from every sub-genre. Veterans are being honored alongside new American bands who are taking risks to push their music into new places. I need more from black metal than just a collection of boring blast-beats recorded in a trash can. These albums have dynamic layers and songwriting that inspired me to return to these songs throughout the year. So here are my top ten black metal album of 2016: Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 DEATH METAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

 LISTMANIA 2016  9 Responses »
Dec 282016
 

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(Wil Cifer delivers the second of several year-end lists, and in this one he names his top death metal albums of 2016. The first installment, which focused on doom, is here.)

Judging from my in-box this year, it seemed like there was more death metal coming out than any other sub-genre, though black metal was hot on its heels. I need my death metal to be dark and hateful. This was a dark and hateful year, so here are some of the albums that provided the best soundtrack to that.

I have gathered these from many different sub-genres, though most tend to have a blackened edge to some degree. While most of the world is crying like babies in fear of war and wanting the world to just get along, here is the death this world needs set to music. Continue reading »

LISTMANIA 2016: WIL CIFER’S TOP 10 DOOM ALBUMS OF 2016

 LISTMANIA 2016  21 Responses »
Dec 272016
 

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(Wil Cifer delivers the first of several year-end lists, and in this one he names his top doom albums of 2016.)

This was a rough year for the genre and the universe. By the end of it I needed my doom to be even darker and more more dismal than what I was finding. These albums are what I felt to be the best gems of the year’s doom crop that I did come across. There are many shades of doom here — a sense of loss and mourning is what I need from doom, more darkness than death metal, so that is reflected here. Abandon all dope ye who enter here, for here lies my top 10 doom albums of 2016. Continue reading »

BLACK TABLE: “OBELISK”

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Nov 012016
 

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(We present Wil Cifer’s review of the new album by NY’s Black Table.)

This band from New York have spawned a dark hybrid of metal sub-genres that stands out from all the run-of-the-mill blackened this or that flooding my in-box. Black metal might be the intersection where most of these sounds meet, despite using only occasional blast-beats that come when the band are at their most raging.

Thanks to producer Billy Anderson this album sounds great, with the production complementing the depth of Black Table’s dynamics. The arrangements get murkier going into the song “Helm”, and with the more melodic riffs providing a path to follow as they wander into more of a jammed section. When this occurs it feels more like sludge at this point than black metal. Continue reading »

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