Top 10 Albums of 2012

Here's the listing of my favorite albums from 2012. Not necessarily the best or greatest but the ones that left the biggest impact on me and warranted the most repeated listens. Not ranked in numerical order, all rule pretty hard (IMO). Feel free to take listen:

Converge- All We Love We Leave Behind

It's pretty much unanimously agreed upon that Converge's Jane Doe was the best metal album of the 2000's. Their first album of the new decade is no slouch either. The riffs are still crushing and the technical spazz parts still turn lesser minds into spaghetti, but this really is one of the bands most catchy/accessible albums to date. Clean vocals that don't offend the ears and memorable, infectious songs, this album is the prefect starting point for Converge rookies.


Gaza- No Absolutes in Human Suffering

The ugliest and unfortunately, most truthful album of the year. No Absolutes is like the evil twin of Converge's All We Love We Leave Behind. Both albums blend punk and metal into a slammin' hybrid but while Converge use clean vocals and uplifting melodies to spice things up, Gaza only slow down to further bludgeon the listener with lumbering riffs and some of the most menacing howls/vocals this side of the insane asylum.


The Hives- Lex Hives

No one will accuse The Hives of being the most prolific band around, but it had been so long since their last album (2007's rather disappointing The Black and White Album), even I was afraid the band might have lost a step. Well rejoice world, Lex Hives marks the band's triumphant return from the dark realm of major label land, back to high octane world of punk meets retro rock where they reign supreme. Nobody does poppy, infectious and snarling 4/4 rock music like The Hives. This new album proves it.

The Hives - Go Right Ahead (Official video) from Bold Faces on Vimeo.

Ghostlimb- Confluence

The follow up to their awesome 2011 album Infrastructure does not disappoint. Another quick jolt of thinking mans hardcore, that isn't afraid to bring the galloping tempos and screams to a crawl and simply rock the fuck out. The first time I heard this song "Candiae" I wiped the drool from mouth and hit replay instantly, it's that good and represents all that is awesome about Ghostlimb and their entire new album.


Black Breath- Sentenced to Life

This record was the surprise of the year. I've seen Black Breath live before, I dug their last album fine but holy balls I did not expect to love Sentenced to Life so much. It's the perfect blend of thrash and crust punk by way of old school Swedish death metal. Basically, I start having visions of circle pits and frozen cemeteries when this comes on. The production, dear LAWD the production, is phenomenal. Every instrument is clear and distinctive, it sounds modern and high def but still has that classic dirge us metal heads fiend over. Catchy energetic songs that will make even the most casual observer thrash like a madman and bang their fucking heads.


Phobia- Remnants of Filth

This new Phobia record is not unique or all that distinguishable from the rest of Phobia's epic grindcore catalog, but something about this album just stuck with me. Enough to edge out new albums from grind legends like Napalm Death, Pig Destroyer and fiery upstarts The Secret. All those albums slayed, but something about this new Phobia record just won out. It's simple grind but done to perfection. For the none grind fiends out there, imagine The Ramones on a cocktail of steroids and meth and you've got Phobia's latest album.


Torche- Harmonicraft

The happiest album of the year? Torche have roots in sludge and stoner metal, but they have progressed into the best heavy rock and roll band nobody knows about on the planet. They're so good it's not even funny. One tour with the Foo Fighters or Red Hot Chilli Peppers would put this band into the stratosphere. Steve Brook's vocals are warm and inviting, the guitar tone is both heavy, and saccharine sweet at the same time. Torche's rhythm section is unfuckwithable and they prove it on Harmonicraft. I even saw grown ass *gasp* metalheads dancing, yes dancing, to Torche's new songs in concert I shit you not.


Beneath The Massacre- Incongruous

This band is on some next level shit. Technical death metal for angry T-800 model terminators. The whole album is a whirlwind of bloops and bleeps (guitar doodling), machine gun fire (double bass drumming & blast beats) and demonic vacuum cleaners (growling vocals). This was THE death metal album I went back to all year (edging out new records from Spawn of Possession, Gorod, Nile & Cryptopsy). Your brain is not ready for this.


Anaal Nathrakh- Vanitas

No band frightens or excites me as much as Anaal Nathrakh does. Their extreme (and I mean extreme) blend of black metal and grind, is like the soundtrack to Armageddon. Vanita's production sounds like it was recorded in the cold and terrifying depths of outer space, while it's music was written in the chaotic agonizing pits of hell. Bits of traditional "heavy metal" guitar melodies and soaring operatic singing mixed with a barrage of drum machine madness, blitzkrieg tremolo picking, and the most terrifying vocals shrieks you'll ever hear. Check out the final scream/outro of this song for proof.


Deftones- Koi No Yokan

This band is fired up. They've adjusted to the lineup change brought by Chi Cheng's tragic accident, and are attacking the current musical landscape like a band possessed. Koi No Yokan is the Deftones 2.0's second stellar album in a row (following 2010's amazing Diamond Eyes). The production sounds a little less gorgeous than their previous record, but the songs, the songs are just as haunting and unlike their string of albums from the 2000's, truly dynamic.

Converge/ Torche/ NAILS @ The Echoplex, Los Angeles. 10/28/12

We Are The Champions

Converge are easily one of the best live acts on the planet and one of my favorite bands of all time. I'd watch them perform the phone book in a basement (with more growls and d-beats than usual) if I could. Some of you might recall my last Converge story from this summer's FYF Fest. Well, my wounds had healed, sinuses cleared, and shoe laces tied extra tight. I was ready for another dose of Converge on their All We Love We Leave Behind Tour.

Talk about a lineup. This tour was siiiiiiick. Like "OMGZ" I need to sit down and catch my breath after reading the lineup. Torche, Kvelertak and NAILS. All three bands have released killer albums, all produced by Converge's Kurt Ballou, in the past few years. This overs the creme de le creme of metal, rock, hardcore/grind. Even the local opending act Dangers is ridiculous!


So we arrived early to catch Dangers because they impressed the hell out of me when they opened for The Dillinger Escape Plan back in January. This time I was familiar with their songs, and impressed by how tight and close to their album they sound live. Their singer Al is a madman on stage, jumping into the the crowd and running around the pit like a wild injun, jumping and crawling while shrieking at the top of his lungs...while barefoot. Can't wait to see these guys again.

Kvelertak was next. I really enjoyed their self titled debut album from 2010, and was looking forward to watching them rock out, but alas, I was starving. My girlfriend and I headed to the back of the venue (where you can't see jack) to get some pizza during Kvelertak's second song. The band sounded awesome from what I heard...but after a long day of work, we needed to eat. Sorry guys, next time.

Glad I ate, because NAILS was fucking exhausting. Imagine trying to work out with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1970s. NAILS mantra: "We came, we saw, we kicked it's ass!" This band is so heavy it's retarded. Really. I described their sound as "a monolithic slab of caveman brutality" when they opened for Dillinger in January (yeah, them and Dangers...go figure) and now I want to add, "violent" to said description. Something about this band makes causes me to speak in grunts and long for a 2x4 to smash over people's skulls. Their songs are short, fast and fucking awesome. The 2nd guitar player they added only made them sound heavier. I simply can't get enough NAILS.

Torche was next and were totally a welcome change of pace. I think I might have turned into a total werewolf if the aggro streak didn't halt right there. Luckily, Torche is all about having fun. They played a lot of new stuff of their latest album Harmonicraft, and had a lot of little HD cameras set up on stage, leading me to believe they were filming for a new video or a TV performance in the future. Their newer stuff is poppy enough to get dudes and ladies alike to move and dare I say, even dance, near the front of the stage. Then their older material comes along and is so heavy it has heads banging throughout the venue. So glad Torche was on this bill. Kudos fellas.

Finally, the headliners and heavyweight champions of the underground metal/hardcore universe took the stage: Converge.

They opened with "Concubine" and the Echoplex exploded. I learned my lesson from my FYF. My girlfriend and I retreated to the outskirts of the floor, away from the pit, but still close enough for me to get some awesome videos. Since their superb new album, All We Love We Leave Behind, dropped in October, it was almost a given that Converge would be playing a lot of new songs. However, the band went online and asked fans what other songs they'd like to hear on this tour. The response was massive. EVERYONE had a thousand old song they wanted to see live. I was stoked they played "Heartless," one of my top choices!


Rare gems like the ultra dirge-y "You Fail Me" and from way back when "My Unsaid Everything," gave Converge's  old school fans a nice nod, while all the new jams from All We Love flat out slayed. "Trespasses" "Sadness Comes Home" "Glacial Place" "Empty On The Inside," etc etc. I've never been
more stoked to hear a band play new stuff in concert before.

The venue had lots of floor space, which gave the sold-out capacity crowd room to breathe. I think that's what kept the energy level relatively high throughout the night. People could take a step back and catch their breath before jumping into the pit for the next song. After a full night of ass-kickery, and a full day of beforehand, I was exhausted by the time Converge wrapped their hour and half set up with the always epic, "Last Light." After paying homage at the band's merch table (and getting a sweet ass Axe to Fall flag) I ran into Converge singer/visual artist/record owner and awesome human being Jacob Bannon outside. Dude looked drained. He was covered in sweat, his voice barely audible and was still chatting it up with fans outside. He may have gone through the ringer onstage, (and every night) but you know he'd do it again, to the delight of assholes like me, in a heartbeat...forever if he could pull it off.

That's why Converge rules folks. Check em' out next time they're in driving distance. And if you ever see NAILS, bring ear plugs and a baseball bat.

On Loop

Feeling a bit under the weather. Not full blown sick (yet) but definitely fighting something. This seems to happen every time I purchase a new Disney dvd. On the nights Little Mermaid and Aladdin were released I ended up curled in ball sweating with a fever in my girlfriend's lap. Went and got Toy Story 3 on election day and here I am still feeling like garbage two days later. Moral of the story...don't support Disney least you want your body to shut down!

I've been listening to these two songs A LOT in my semi-conscious state. The last half of Torche's new EP Songs For Singles....good stuff.

High On Fire, Torche & Kylesa @ The Glass House, Pomona. 9/30/10.

I have a love/hate relationship with this venue. The Glasshouse has great sound, allows in’s and out’s and doesn’t hassle people about cameras inside. Unfortunately, because it’s a fairly large, flat venue, depending on the crowd turnout you might get stuck in the rear of the building staring at the back of some guy’s head. That and it’s in Pomona…which means a traffic plagued drive to barren town USA.  We left extra early to make sure traffic wouldn’t screw us out of seeing Kylesa. Turns out the doors didn’t open until a half hour later than advertised and there was another band opening the show also. Since we had about an hour to kill we headed over to a Mexican restaurant down the block to grub.  In our gluttonous delight, our fat asses missed the opening band Yeti’s entire opening set and made it to the Glasshouse as Kylesa finished up their first song (“What Becomes An End” I believe).

Kylesa was on fire this night. Their last headlining run through Hollywood was a muddled mess, plagued with sound problems and a fill in drummer. Tonight, the band made the most of their limited opening slot and rocked the fuck out. This was my first time experiencing Kylesa in a legit venue (their headlining off date at the Echoplex was sick, but the sound was shotty and their last gig at the Knitting Factory was just prior to the club shutting down…pretty dilapidated). The crisp PA and awesome sight lines (i.e. not ridiculously crowded) allowed me to be fully engulfed by the band’s set.  No really, I literally felt like I was in some kind of trance. Laura’s eerie vocals on “Running Red” sucked me in like the snake from The Jungle Book.  Kylesa’s dueling drummers, and addition percussion from Phil (guitar/vocals) and the bass player displayed throughout the night was the icing on the hypnotic cake. Heavy, trippy, rockin’ sludge metal…whatever the fuck Kylesa are, I love them.

Torche blasted through their set like a band possessed. I swear, the energy emanating from this band is beyond infectious. I heard some good things about these guys in the past but after I finally caught them live at 2009’s FYF FEST I was sold. Fat, monolithic doom riffs meets sugary rock’n’roll = AWESOME. It’s rare to see “heavy” type bands smile onstage, but Torche is one band who wears their enthusiasm on their sleeves.  I positioned myself dead center in front of the stage to watch their gamma powered drummer in action. For my good deed I was rewarded by almost taking a flubbed drumstick to the face(er, camera lens). It’s all good though. Torche rocked the house and dare I say, stole the show.

He puts the spring in Springfield.

AC/DC, Motorhead…High on Fire.  That’s pretty much the entire review of their set right there. Workhorse band who’s the best there is at what they do, and in this case it’s rocking out hesher style. Matt Pike is the “M” in metal alright? Sure, they’re kind of a one trick pony (stoner rock meets mid paced thrash with Lemmy vocals simmering above) but what an awesome trick it is. I’ve never proclaimed myself to be the biggest High on Fire fan alive and although I have all their records tucked away on my trusty iPod, I’m not the dude memorizing their lyrics…or even song titles for that matter. All I know is that in a live setting, this band kills. I stood off to the side of the stage as the long hairs tussled with each other in the make shift pit bobbing my head with a goofy grin on my face.  Why? I don’t know. It’s in my metal DNA or some shit. Like how fish thrive in the ocean, I enjoyed the hell out of my time watching High On Fire play.