Global Domination

GD's verdicts - Best of 2012: Lord K. Philipson

14/12/12  ||  Global Domination

1. Kobra And The Lotus: Kobra and the lotus

Lord K Philipson (In Fucken Charge):

Since I won’t put the obvious winner this year (though it’s actually more of a 2013 release) in here I’m as surprised as you are – a fucken heavy metal album, fronted by one of the strongest voices ever from a woman in the metal community, as number 1 for me in 2012? Yeah, never thought that’d happen. Thing is, KATL’s such a catchy fucken band you gotta hear it to believe it, and with that voice (a female version of Bruce Dickinson is a decent comparison) they’re destined for success. Another thing is, I would hate these Kobra fuckers hadn’t she sung on it, becoz I usually hate this new era of heavy metal, you know. But when a band like this put the catchiness together with some incredibly well-written tunes, I can do nothing but applaud it. I very much look forward to see if they can follow this incredibly strong debut up with another one of the same caliber or if they will vanish into obscurity. I wish them all the luck in the world. More on this piece in the September 2012 edition of Audio Autopsy.

Recommended song: Welcome to my funeral

2: Naglfar: Téras

One of my fave bands return with “Téras”. Swedish, melodic black metal won’t get better than this. Though I still think “Harvest” is a better album (as in “more direct and easier to get hooked on”), “Téras” feels like its darker sibling where more focus is spent on the essence of evil instead of being easy to digest. It’s definitely a grower, people. If you’re not a fan of Naglfar, you are not my friend. And you don’t like metal. And you suck. That’s not a good way to lead your miserable life, fucko. Redeem yourself! We also dissected this one in the May 2012 edition of Audio Autopsy.

Recommended song: An Extension of his arm and will

3: The Agonist: Prisoners

I have said this so many times before… First I kinda couldn’t give a shit about The Agonist. Their debut had its moments but it didn’t do much for me as a whole. Then “Lullabies for the dormant mind” came around and it didn’t do much for me either – at first. For some unknown reason I ended up giving it multiple spins (I blame Alyssa’s clean vocals for this) and voilá – I started to love The Agonist. “Prisoners” is a real good fucken album without being particularly awesome like “Lullabies” is. But real good it is. Actually it’s good enough to land a spot at number 3 on my list.

Recommended song: Dead ocean

4: Meshuggah: Koloss

Obviously Meshuggah’s to blame for alof today’s metal bands. Most of them suck, some of them are ok. But the originators stand in a league of their own. There’s not a single band in this world who pull off the Meshuggah sound like Meshuggah themselves. They invented this, they perfected this. And “Koloss” is one of the 3 best albums they have ever shat out. Naturally, you can find this disc in the May 2012 edition of Audio Autopsy as well as in this regular review.

Recommended song: The demon’s name is surveillance

5: Aeon: Aeons black

I was actually having Korn’s “The path to totality” here until staffer Smalley did something useful for once and informed me it was released in December 2011. I am getting fucken old, obviously. I also had a hard time deciding whether Thy Art Is Murder’s “Hate” album should take the 5th spot or not… Well, Aeon should be happy they got it since this new album of theirs entertains me a little bit more than the just-mentioned one. As always, I have but one question – will this album be the one that finally gives Aeon the attention they deserve? With the best production of their career (no motorboat kicks to be found anywhere!) and the “easiest” songs to get into of their entire catalog (save for a few ones off “Bleeding the false”, of course) – it’s their time.

Recommended song: Aeons black

Close but no cigar:

Cryptopsy: Cryptopsy

“The unspoken king” is groovier, but this is some fine fucken brutality.

The Gathering: Disclosure

If you think the old The Gathering was better you are a fucken tool.

Katatonia: Dead end kings

In the short-run Katatonia are a magnificent bunch of melancholic bastards. In the long-run their emotional and semi-depressive music can become a bit boring.

Napalm Death: Utilitarian

One of the most consistent bands ever?

Thy Art Is Murder: Hate

Their “Reign of darkness” tune is a candidate for best song of 2012. Just so you know. Hear for yourself.

Major disappointment of 2012:

Testament: Dark roots of the earth

Uninspired, tired and irrelevant. Testament had their peak tons and tons of years ago, but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect them a fuckload, coz I do (thanx to their first 2 albums), but ‘Dark roots of the earth’ is a huge muthafucken disappointment. And those blastbeats… Seriously?