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Year in review: 2003

13/12/12 || BamaHammer

Year in review

Nothing like doing a Year in Review feature for a year that happened just 9 years ago at the time of writing this. But fuck it. If I remember correctly, 2003 was a fairly uninteresting year historically speaking. Let’s see what happened to our fucked planet that year:

The UN went into Iraq and decided there was no link between Iraq and Al Queda, rendering the United States’s invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, Mars, and your mom’s panties ridiculously stupid. US troops capture Saddam Hussein though. Fuck that guy. Norah Jones and John Mayer win Grammies, reinforcing my hatred of mankind. The Devils beat the Senators in 7 games. About 17 people (including myself) watched. Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected governor of California causing the number of predatory alien species in the state to dwindle. Great White’s weak-ass pyrotechnics extravaganza causes a fire at a Rhode Island club that kills 100 people. This immediately becomes the most interesting thing Great White has ever been responsible for. The first Kill Bill, The Return of the King, and Pirates. Wow. That was a pretty fucken lame year on the whole (not on the hole, pervert).

Lucky for all of us, this is a site dedicated to music (and the occasional book and DVD… we’re diverse fuckers here at GD), so we’re here to discuss the music of 2003. Ze metals from this year destroyed everything else. There was a new Maiden disc, so it’s automatically a good year. Black metal was making a comeback, Dan Swanö breathed one last breath into Edge of Sanity, and Metallica shattered the record for shittiest album ever produced by humans. Let’s check out the tunes from:

2003

Black Metal You could call 2003 the year black metal reared its ugly head and gasped one final hideous breath and belched out the last batch of borderline classics of the genre. What basis do I have for this claim? All I have are my opinions (and I’m writing this, so blow me) and this list of killer black metal albums from just under a decade ago.

Following on the heels of Immortal’s classic “Sons of northern darkness” from 2002, black metal in particular seemed to discover a revitalized sense of purpose, and some of the genre’s heavyweights like Darkthrone and Marduk roared back from a period of fading subpar quality to pen albums that would usher in a new era of success for them. Still, other bands like Funeral Mist and Naglfar produced records in their then-new careers that cemented their status as some of black metal’s best new blood.

What brought on this influx of black metal awesomeness? No idea. The scene had been declared dead a thousand times before 2003 and has been declared dead a thousand times since, but thankfully it still continues to produce excellent records. Let’s take a look at some of the blackest ov the black from 2003.

Dimmu Borgir: Death cult armageddon

Say what you will, but the mighty Demon Burger sent ye olde black metal world spinning in its frostynekrocrypt with this album. “Death cult Armageddon” featured everything you’d come to expect from Dimmu, such as its majestic symphonic orchestration and a laughably ridiculous random-three-word title (like their previous works: “Enthrone Darkness Triumphant” or “Spiritual Black Dimensions” or “Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia” or “Storm blå st”). However, the shocking part of “DCA” was its sleek production and relentless down-your-throat style of promotion. I still remember owning the album for a few weeks and liking it a good bit before hearing the intro to “Eradication Instincts Defined” in the Hellboy movie previews and wondering to myself if it was still acceptable to like “DCA” or even continue to accept Dimmu Borgir as a tr00 black metal band. Regardless, it’s hard to deny the impact Dimmu Borgir had on the black metal landscape and the extreme metal world in general with this release.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “Allehelgens død i Helveds rike”

Grimmest lyrical line: Fatherly fornication of sweat lips in dismay

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: pentagram

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think this album was pretty amazing. I grew out of it, but I’ll still give it a listen from time to time.

Marduk: World funeral

In 2003, it felt like Marduk was beginning to lose steam. Their 1999 offering “Panzer division Marduk” was a polarizing effort that fans either liked just enough or abhorred for its over-the-top relentless break-neck speed (Personally, I hate it.). The 2001 follow-up “La grande danse macabre” came out and was just flat-out boring and oozed mediocrity. Then came “World funeral”. With this album, Marduk finally seemed to combine all of their best qualities. They provided a healthy dose of their signature speed, but also sprinkled in slower, more brooding tracks like “Bleached Bones” to give the album a little more diversity and groove. The result is an album that was strong enough to re-energize the band and keep them rolling as one of black metal’s biggest names. It was also their last album to feature vocals from the possibly-too-drunk-to-growl-in-a-band-anymore Legion.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “With Satan and Victorious Weapons”

Grimmest lyrical line: You must be choking from the shit in which you crawl

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: inverted cross

What a difference a decade makes: I used to say “I am inspired by the deeeeeeee-vill” randomly at parties around people I didn’t know because it was funny. It still is.

Darkthrone: Hate them

I’ve expressed my love for this era of Darkthrone’s existence countless times before, and this album is probably one of their more underrated efforts. This was during that period of time when Darkthrone was just beginning to make one of their many transitions in style, this time from the raw, traditional black metal, for which they are well known, towards the more punk-inspired version of whateverthefuckitistheyaredoingnow. “Hate them” is still quite a very “black metal” album. You’ll still find a lot of Fenriz’s classic groovy speed, but there is a lot more of the straight ahead punk drumming and even some slower doomy dirges. Overall, there is a lot to like on here.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “Fucked up and Ready to Die”

Grimmest lyrical line: Black metal is the devil’s fuel

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: black background, white logo

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think this was a good example of what tr00 “raw black metal” sounded like.

Enslaved: Below the lights

Enslaved was already the cream of the crop when it came to black metal, but in 2003 they were fresh off their “Monumension” album which yielded mixed results. The band was clearly beginning to sound bored and stale with their standard black metal approach and had been growing ever more progressive through the years. However, it was with “Below the lights” that Enslaved really hit their stride, mixing their brand of viking-powered black metal with numerous progressive elements to produce what is what can truly be described as “a thinking man’s black metal album”. Tracks ebb and flow with movements that seem to tell stories wrought with a dark sense of hopelessness. When I first heard “Below the lights”, I remember how hard it was to truly embrace it, but much like the rest of Enslaved’s work, it grows on you and into you.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “Havenless”

Grimmest lyrical line: Dei for ifra nord mot ei anna tid

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: runes

What a difference a decade makes: I used to dislike this album a lot. Honestly, it took a good 5 years to begin to like it and another few years to truly appreciate its majesty.

Funeral Mist: Salvation

Funeral Mist will forever be known to me as “the band that Mortuus came from”. I absolutely love Mortuus’s work in Marduk. I even feel like he has taken that band to a whole new level in the pantheon of excellent black metal bands. Now, Funeral Mist and their 2.5 albums worth of material is not in the same league with Marduk, but “Salvation” actually serves as a little piece of greatness in its own right. It’s fast, evil, and ugly, and it’s quite easy to see how well Mortuus would fit a band like Marduk in retrospect.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “Agnus Dei”

Grimmest lyrical line: Lead me to those drowning, and I shall bring water

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: dead babies

What a difference a decade makes: “I used to think this album was little too ugly and sloppy for my taste,” said the guy who loves Panzerfaust.

Naglfar: Sheol

We all love Naglfar here at Global Domination. It’s a requirement. Not really. But this band gets their salad tossed quite a bit around here and with good reason. “Sheol” was the band’s third (overall) and final album with vocalist Jens Rydén. While it doesn’t get the kind of love and respect as “Vittra” or “Now, diabolical”, “Sheol” is actually quite a solid slab of melodic black metal. The production is glossy yet icy, and the numerous melodic guitar leads really make the album infectiously catchy. The record kind of loses a little steam down the stretch as the second half of it isn’t as good as the first, but the way this thing opens up with that first handful of tunes has always been pretty impressive.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “Black God Aftermath”

Grimmest lyrical line: As Naglfar devours you all, face now the eye of Ragnarok

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: a skull…from a tyrannosaurus

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think Naglfar needed one more vowel. Fuck vowels.

Melechesh: Sphynx

I think it’s safe to say that Melechesh is the best black metal band from Jerusalem. Their desert-inspired themes and scales blend amazingly well with the standard black metal sound to create a truly enjoyable masterpiece that sounds like it was belched straight out of the desert wastelands of the Middle East. The drumming, courtesy of Absu’s Proscriptor McGovern, is blazingly fast, yet rhythmically solid, and vocalist Ashmedi is one of the most underrated vocalists of the genre. Melechesh’s two follow-ups to “Sphynx” are probably more immediately enjoyable slabs of melodic blackness, but as far as a pure black metal assault is concerned, “Sphynx” excellently captures that dark essence of the desert and is quite possibly one of the best black metal albums of the 2000s.

Recommended track ov truekvltwintergrimness: “Annunaki’s Golden Thrones”

Grimmest lyrical line: Step in the bizarre bazaar

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: glowing eyes

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think Nile sounded cool with their desert shtick and whatnot. Melechesh is a criminally underrated band even today.

Death Metal It wasn’t just black metal that had some tasty goodness in ’03. There was some delicious death metal to be heard that year as well. Several of the genre’s traditional heavy-hitters were absent from ’03, but some still found a way to do something productive.

The mighty Cannibal Corpse even released their fantastic boxed set, “15-year killing spree” (which is fan-fucken-tastic, by the way, if you can get your mitts on a copy). Vader released their little “Blood” EP which featured one of my favorite Vader tracks (“Shape Shifting”) and was really cool for such a small package (huh-huh…small package). Suffocation was gearing up for rebirth. Deicide gave us all a craptastic compilation album.

You get the picture. It was a bit of a slow year for death metal especially considering some of the stuff the previous decade had yielded. But here are the choice cuts from ’03.

Edge of Sanity: Crimson II

There was a period of a few months where I was convinced that this was the best album that could ever possibly be produced by mankind. I loved every second of it. It was epic, catchy, melodic, brutal, groovy, and it had it all. “Crimson II” had a charisma about it that just forced you to love it as soon as you heard it. Dan Swanö did it all and did it perfectly. His guitar solos were a thing of beauty. His growls were immense. His drumming was tasty. And his crooning was beyond words. This album still holds a special place in my heart, and I still think it’s one of the best records I’ve ever heard. Crimson. Roll Tide, bitches.

Recommended track of br00talness: The whole fucken thing, I guess, since it’s technically one song.

Most br00tal lyrical line: Fly, soul, for your body must die

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: fire

What a difference a decade makes: I used to have a downloaded and burned copy of this album that was consolidated into 9 tracks. Then I bought a real copy. It has 44 tracks. FML.

The Project Hate MCMXCIX: Hate, Dominate, Congregate, Eliminate

It just wouldn’t be a Global Domination feature without a little TPH worship, now would it? This album is actually my second-favorite by The Project Hate (just behind the debut, “Cybersonic Superreverb), and with good reason. Of course the riffs are fantastic, Jörgen Sandström’s vocals are incredibly powerful, the production rocks, etc., etc., but what really shines on this album to me is the programming. The synth sounds are so intricately formulated and so catchy that the whole package here is just plain beautiful. Mix all of that with the absolutely gorgeous vocals by the absolutely gorgeous Jo Enckell, and ladies and gentlesperms, we have a classic.

Recommended track of br00talness: “Deviate”

Most br00tal lyrical line: Nailed! Nailed! Nailed! Nailed! Die! Die! Die!

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: pentagram

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think that industrial influences and death metal didn’t mix. Then this band raped my ears (in a good way) and made me like it (in a good way).

Krisiun: Works of carnage

I’ll never understand why this album doesn’t get treated with more love and respect than it gets. It’s genuinely fantastic. Krisiun is a killer band in the first place, but I could argue that “Works of carnage” is one of their best albums. The production is dry and raw and really cranks up the general brutality quite a bit. After 2001’s “Ageless venomous” and its overly phony kick drum sound, Krisiun got back to basics on this one and gave us all a 31-minute beating that’s as good as anything they’ve ever done aside from “Conquerors of Armageddon” (Seriously, that album is from a different planet).

Recommended track of br00talness: “Murderer”

Most br00tal lyrical line: Dawning possession upon the path of extermination

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: snakes

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think that Sepultura was the only thing I’d ever enjoy from Brazil. Then the internet was invented by Al Gore, and shit got real.

Vital Remains: Dechristianize

If you like quality br00tal death metal, then as you read this, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “I totally forgot about this album”. I know this because I forget about how good this one is all the time. Vital Remains was synonymous with quality death metal up until 2003. “Dechristianize” featured Glenda Benton on vocals, and she hadn’t sounded this good since the first two Deicide albums (See what I did there?). The über evil duo of Tony Lazaro and Dave Suzuki deliver the instrumental goods on with ridiculous and incredulous (and pretty fucken fake) speed and precision, and the result is one of the most brutal religion-hating albums I’ve ever heard.

Recommended track of br00talness: “Dechristianize”

Most br00tal lyrical line: Like cancer, our hate consumes the light of elysium

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: a crucified Jesus

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think Dave Suzuki could really play that fast. LOLz.

Nasum: Helvete

I love this album. When mentioning Nasum, one is obligated to mention Mieszko Talarczyk and say RIP. I just did that, so now let’s talk about “Helvete”. I’m not much of a grind fan, but this album is slathered with enough death metal influences to make me believe that it’s just a badass death metal album with a lot of really peculiarly short songs. The guitar sound is huge and fuzzy, and Mieszko sounds pissed off on every track. It’s a shame about what happened with these guys. I feel like they were just starting to hit their stride with this album as one of the most elite death-grind bands the world will ever fucken see. Oh well.

Recommended track of br00talness: “Scoop”

Most br00tal lyrical line: Why don’t you just drop dead?

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: a boob

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think that grindcore had to be generally unenjoyable by nature. That all changed when I discovered Nasum. Looking back, I just wish they were still around.

Opeth: Damnation

This one ain’t death metal per se, but Opeth is death metal (at least they were in 2003…they’re fuck-knows now), so fuck you very much. I’m putting them right here. Opeth owned the world in 2003. How do I know this? Well, because they put out two albums during the span of six months that were both good. “Damnation” was the soft rock, pussified acoustic album which followed up “Deliverance” from November of 2002, and it can be argued that this album was the beginning of the end for Opeth. The album featured eight tracks of ‘70s-inspired atmospheric prog-rock that (even though I hate to admit it) was actually fucken good, dammit. Lyrically, everything was very emotional and thought provoking, and all the clean guitar licks were just complicated enough to find a balance between interesting and catchy. A killer album. And for the record, Opeth sucks now. Fuck you.

Recommended track of not-at-all-br00talness: “Hope Leaves”

Most br00tal lyrical line: In the rays of the sun, I am longing for the darkness

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: a creepy-ass doll

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think that all the ‘70s prog worship on this record was just a one-time thing for Opeth. ELL OH FUCKEN ELL.

Children of Bodom: Hate Crew Deathroll

Taking a cue from Dimmu Borgir, Children of Bodom puts three random words together and calls it an album title in 2003. “HCD” is, in all likelihood, the last good album that Bodom will ever create. It’s actually loaded with excellent tracks that are easy to enjoy. It’s a mere 9 tracks and 36 minutes, and at least 7 of those tracks are ones that I would listen to over and over again. I still dust off “HCD” from time to time just for nostalgia purposes, and it’s held up surprisingly well over the past decade. Also, I don’t think there’s ever been a more straight-up dumbass song title than “Lil’ Blood Red Ridin’ Hood”. Kill me.

Recommended track of steel: “Bodom Beach Terror”

Most br00tal lyrical line: A foot away from you is like a bit closer to heaven

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: grim reaper

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think Alexi Laiho was a badass metal guitarist. As it turned out, Alexi Laiho is just another hot Finnish chick.

Heavy & Power Metal Much like many of the death metal bands out there in 2003, heavy metal and power metal was stuck in a bit of a between-albums lull but still found a way to fill the void with live albums (like Gamma Ray, Edguy, Blind Guardian, or Hammerfall) or compilations. Even Manowar found a way to kill time and fuck fans with yet another DVD of their shtick. Seriously, Manowar annoys me more than UGS and Ted Nugent naked and making out at a Nickelback concert. And now that you can’t unsee that image in your head, let’s move on.

Iron Maiden: Dance of death

It took a while for me to come around to “Dance of death”, but when it finally clicked with me, I absolutely fell in love with this record. With “DoD” Maiden cranked the prog influences, even opting for a surprisingly fantastic acoustic sing-along track in “Journeyman”. A few of the tunes on this album are even regular stalwarts at modern live shows, and the tracks that aren’t just simply need time and a few listens before they can be truly appreciated. “Paschendale”, the 8-minute opus about World War I, is still one of the most thoroughly great songs I can think of. And as a bonus, it features some of the shittiest cover art you’ll ever fucken see.

Recommended track of steel: “Paschendale”

Most epic lyrical line: Will this journeyman’s day be his last?

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: Eddie…dressed as the grim reaper (D-D-DOUBLE CLICHÉ COMBO!)

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think these guys were awesome when they were younger. They’re still awesome. They’ll rock harder with their receding hairlines and enlarged prostates than you ever will.

Human Fortress: Defenders of the crown

Make no mistake. This is one of the most underrated heavy/power/whatever metal albums out there. They’re as dorky as it gets, and they look like this, but they’re also absolutely loaded with talent. Human Fortress is total garbage nowadays, but the first time I heard this album, I was in awe of the vocal capabilities of Jioti Parcharidis. He sounded like Bruce Dickinson 2.0, and single-handedly makes this album an instant classic. Just listen to him wail on the opener, “Knights in Shining Armor” to get an idea of the kind of skill the dude has. There are also easily a half-dozen tracks on here that you’ll want to hear time and time again. If you’ve never heard “Defenders of the crown” and you like power metal even a little bit, track it down and check it out. Trust me. It’s great.

Recommended track of steel: “Border Raid in Lions March”

Most epic lyrical line: Cannot break us iron men, we’re defenders of the crown

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: wings

What a difference a decade makes: I used to listen to this album in secret because it’s that fucken dorky.

Sonata Arctica: Winterheart’s guild

Join Winterheart’s Guild for a permanent +10 boost to magic. Seriously though, liking Sonata Arctica might cause you to be called gay and be laughed at, but “Winterheart’s guild” is a fantastic power metal album that features a seriously talented vocalist (Tony Kakko) and an insanely virtuosic guitarist (Jani Liimatainen). There are loads and loads of undeniably catchy tracks and catchy solos to be found on this album. It was actually so good, it somewhat set a standard for Sonata Arctica that they’ll probably never be able to reach again.

Recommended track of steel: “Broken”

Most epic lyrical line: Freedom has a meaning for me, howl with me

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: elves

What a difference a decade makes: I used to be a huge SA fan, but they’ve lost me a little over their years. When Jani Liimatainen was in the band, songs were a lot less keyboard-driven than they are now.

The Darkness: Permission to land

You don’t have to be retarded to like Teh Darkness. You can even be dumber than that. This is a band with loads of charm and catchy hooks, and they’re an absolute joy to listen to from time to time. This is an album that is essentially a big batch of brainless lyrical content, groovy AC/DC riffs, surprisingly good guitar leads, and nut-squeezin’ falsetto vocals. This album is way more than simply the super-duper hit single “I Believe in a Thing Called Love”. I’ll never get tired of the middle-school humor you’ll get on “Permission to land” either. Seriously, what’s not to love about a band that writes a song about herpes and calls it “Growing on Me”?

Recommended track of steel: “Love on the Rocks with No Ice”

Most epic lyrical line: Get your hands off of my woman, motherfucker

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: ass

What a difference a decade makes: I used to punch myself in the crotch just because I wanted to sing like Justin Hawkins. Nowadays, I punch myself in the crotch just because.

Pants-Shitters The year of 2003 was not spared from its fair share of utter shit either. Some really big names dropped some really big deuces on fans all around the planet. While some bands like Helloween opted for albums that were just full of forgettable mediocrity, these bands went above and beyond to cook up an epic turd sandwich for metal fans everywhere.

Morbid Angel: Heretic

This album wasn’t necessarily terrible, but it definitely wasn’t great. Or even good. Or even mediocre. Okay, it was terrible. It was not extreme enough. The production by itself actually killed most of the miniscule amount of promise this album ever had to begin with. The guitar sound sounds like the amps were sealed in ziploc bags, thrown into a swamp and submersed, and then pressed record. It’s not fun. At all. And if that wasn’t enough, the album also included a bonus disc of what can only be described as some of the most insignificant, shitty, and unnecessary guitar wankery ever laid down on a recording.

Recommended track of fatal hilarity: The 40 or so “bonus” tracks of utter “lava” shit or whatever Trey calls it.

Most ri-fucken-diculous lyrical line: Heretics, gods of the dawning time, vindictive

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: harpies

What a difference a decade makes: I used to tolerate this album a little bit since the front cover said “Morbid Angel”, but after that last abortion of an album, they can suck it.

Six Feet Under: Bringer of Blood

SFU was never really that great to begin with, but with BoB, the band had apparently smoked themselves to a state of worthlessness that was just laughable. The riffs sounds like they were written by a 12-year old, the drums and bass are boring as sin, the lyrics are fucken retarded, and the vocals…those damn vocals…are just…just…yeah. There aren’t very many albums out there that are just this laughably bad. It’s almost impossible to believe that Chris Barnes was once good, let alone amazing, after hearing this thing.

Recommended track of fatal hilarity: “Amerika the Brutal”

Most ri-fucken-diculous lyrical line: Mr. President, I’m not here to do your dirty work

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: horns

What a difference a decade makes: I used to think the DVD that came with this album gave the album a little redeeming value for the sake of unintentional comedy.

Album of the Year You don’t have to be good to be considered “The Album of the Year”. In fact, you can completely suck and still be considered “The Album of the Year”. Why? Well first of all, this is my list, and I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, and second, when you look at all the albums from 2003 that you’ll remember 10 years from now, you’ll remember “St. Anger” because it was indeed so transcendently, and absolutely fucken terrible.

Metallica: St. Anger

I think K will agree that this one is fucken epic. I’ll be honest. I’ve never heard the whole thing all the way through. I can’t make it. I just can’t. It’s that bad. Jaymez’s vocals have degenerated to a point of utter idiocy on here. He can’t carry a tune in a dumptruck. The detuned guitars just make it sound like the band is trying to be Korn. And then after all that, there’s that god-forsaken snare drum. Fuck you, Metallica. Fuck you.

Recommended track of fatal hilarity: “Frantic-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tock-fuck-you”

Most ri-fucken-diculous lyrical line: I’m madly in anger with you

Most stereotypically metal cover art feature: a fist…a fist that needs to be inserted in each band member’s love hole for releasing this album unto the world.

What a difference a decade makes: I used to like Metallica as a kid. Then they came along and blew a Load right in our faces (twice). Then Napster came along and I found a lot better shit than Metallica. Then Lars killed Napster. Then Lars decided he pissed excellence and shat opportunity. Lulu. Fuck it.

So there you have it, a comprehensive look at some of the sounds of 2003. It wasn’t the greatest year ever, by far, but it featured more than enough material to make it beyond respectable. And just for fun, here are few other albums from ’03 that are well worth checking out:

Akercocke: “Choronzon” – Pretty good album by a band with a lot better stuff.

Amon Amarth: “Versus the world” – Much like every other album of theirs, Amon Amarth gives you a lot of melodic death metal tunes about Vikings and their lore. Surprise!

Belphegor: “Lucifer incestus” – It’s fast. It’s loud. It’s good.

Carpathian Forest: “Defending the throne of evil” – This is my favorite album by CF, and I have no idea why.

Destruction: “Metal discharge” – And that sounds painful.

Dream Theater: “Train of thought” – Probably my favorite DT album. Then again, I think it’s the one of the only ones of theirs I like.

Falkenbach: “Ok Nefna Tysvar Ty” – Don’t hate it until you’ve heard it. This album was some excellent atmospheric folk metal before the genre got overcrowded and ruined.

Gorgoroth: “Twilight of the idols” – Yeah, not so much.

Kalmah: “Swampsong” – Underrated slab of melodic death metal that sounds like a mix of Children of Bodom and In Flames.

King Diamond: “The puppet master” – I’ve expressed my endearing love for this one before. Excellent stuff.

Lost Horizon: “A flame to the ground beneath” – One of the best power metal albums ever. I think so, anyway.

Misery Index: “Retaliate” – It’s a Misery Index album. It’s fast. It’s brutal.

Monstrosity: “Rise to power” – Mike Poggione. That is all. Seriously though, this is a fantastic album.

Pelican: “Australasia” – I’ve got a soft spot for this band for some reason.

Zyklon: “Aeon” – This album features a lot of good death metal with just enough blackened influences to keep things interesting.

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