We celebrate the fall of 2013 with lists!
Hello friends! After a week of inactivity due to the Xmas holiday, we have returned with an offering of best of/year end lists for all of you to dig through. I personally have never understood why so many journalists feel the need to get these out early, but I have seen lists dating back to late October/early November. What? The year isn’t over yet and the metal keeps coming. It seems like they were selling themselves short. So we waited and here we are, 1 day into the new year, ready to share with the class.
Agree or disagree, we want to hear what you think and of course, see what you gravitated towards this past year. A ton of great music has been unleashed and us humble scribes at the Worm dungeon are honored to have been given the opportunity to chime in with our opinions.
Lastly, this has been a really encouraging year for Worm Gear. We have achieved more views than ever before and we hope that those silent faces have liked what they have read enough to stick around and become a part of our future here. It has been a lot of fun and brotherhood and we are looking forward to all 2014 has to bring. Thank you dear readers! -Marty
Marty Rytkonen Playlist
Saor – Roots
Mortal Decay – Cadaver Art (This band has been impressing me lately. I know… what the hell is wrong with me?)
Brodequin – Methods of Execution (Certainly not an easy listen, but it’s great road rage musick)
Ulver- Nattens Madrigal
Ulver – Bergtatt
King Diamond – The Spider’s Lullaby
The County Medical Examiners – Olidous Operettas (Jeff Walker…. assemble your Lawyers!)
Sanctuary – Refuge Denied
Sanctuary – Into the Mirror Black
As lame as this sounds, the Ipod on shuffle has been hitting the spot lately
Jim Clifton Playlist
Adramalech – Psychostasia
Archgoat – Heavenly Vulva
Archgoat/Incantation – Chris Moyen: ThornCross split LP
Church of Disgust – Unworldly Summoning
Mutiilation – Remains of a Ruined, Dead, Cursed Soul
Nechochwen – Azimuths to the Otherworld
Necros Christos – Triune Impurity Rites
Pentagram – Relentless
Vlad Tepes – War Funeral March
Vlad Tepes – Morte…lune
Worm Gear 
My favorites for last year:
1. Mindly Rotten – Effacing the Origin
2. Todtgelichter – Apnoe
3. Carcass – Surgical Steel
4. Inquisition – Obscure Verses for the Multiverse
5. Voices – From the Human Forest Create a Fugue of Imaginary Rain
6. Beastmilk – Climax
7. Humanfly – Awesome Science
8. Blackdeath – Phobos
9. Euphoric Defilement – Ascending To The Worms
10. Duobetic Homunkulus – Ani Já Ani Ty Robit Něbudzeme, šedněme Do Koča, Vozit še Budzeme
To Marty Specifically – Yes, Summoning is good. I am a convert. But when you wrote out that pompous thing about them and Seidr above, I have come to the conclusion that you are entirely full of brown poo. And as such, I feel compelled to retort.
I do like Summoning now, but only because I accepted the cheeseiness factor of it. That is a critical thing one must do in order to be entertained by this group. I actually love Summoning now, but I can very much easily understand why one would hate them. It certainly is not because one is in a rush, or needs instant gratification or doesn’t have the soul and depth a Summoning lover has. That is high minded nonsense, especially coming from someone that didn’t even like Black Metal in the early 90s!!! Granted, you weren’t speaking to me in those blurbs, but you still were in a bilinear way. As for Seidr, its good, and if you love shoegaze, drone, and a tad bit of post rock late 90’s dark grunge mixed in with your long winded repetitive Doom, then it will seem fantastic. And I would like to say, without their drummer, it wouldn’t be that good at all. The drummer makes the band. But because I don’t love it like you, I am just not getting it? I don’t think so dude.
People claim cheese with summoning and I never heard it. Sure the older albums reveal a thin sound canvas, but the harmonies and layering are simply too powerful and beautiful to be written off as cheese. The Seidr connection… i get the impression it is over a lot of peoples heads. It’s a long and dense album that unveils new things everytime i spin it. I’m saying that the people that are interested will take the time and dig in. Those that skim the surface may not. Though i respect what you’re saying, i firmly believe the internet has groomed folks to fall deeper into their own short attention spans and feelings of instant gratification. It all trickles down to music. My accusations are indeed a generalization and meant to rile folks up, but i do believe in my statements. And full of brown poo? Full agreement… you have no idea 😉
And i will agree that folks hear the same piece of music diffrently and i respect that. It doesn’t make me or them right or wrong. But you happen to be reading my opinion and i can only approach something like this from my own perspective.
“Didnt even like black metal in the early 90’s?” Not sure where you are obtaining your information there. i’m not going to get into the whole “i’ve been into this style for this long” penis measuring game that metal folks like to play.
Yeah, I’ll play that game, why not. Don’t tell me I am not as brilliant or high minded as you because you get something I don’t . Especially when I was engrossed with the genre and firmly established in it when you disregarded it a long time ago. That point does matter. Secondly, Black Metal can be cheese man. Spooky guys, paint, satan, dressing up, accessorizing, talking about the Hobbit. Come on man. You are taking this too seriously. I do not blame or find fault with anyone that passes by a decent album because the cover is a monkey running around with a wand in the forest.
I am whipping out the 10″ Demon Snake on the table now! hehe
Okay i wont say i’m more brilliant or high minded as you, because that wasn’t stated in the.summoning write up at all. That is you reading your own adgenda into it. Sure. I can’t understand why someone wouldn’t like.something like summoning. My opinion. If they don’t, it’s fine. We can still have a beer and talk about another band. Disregarded a scene you were connected in? Again… what? The only thing i have disregarded over the years is brutal NY style death metal and bands like Fairyland. The rest flows in cycles in and out of prominance as the mood strikes. Tastes change and come back again. So battling so called elitist comments with more elitist comments wins nothing. Better check your ruler… i think you’re using centimeters again. Haha
Meters baby, meters! I played that card because in essence, it is not the same argument you played at its very core. i.e. ‘I have something, if you don’t have that or get it, then you have a problem, not me.’ That is what you said despite mincing words and / or interperating things too far. BUT! Despite all that fucking shit, and the fact you are pissing me off royally, I still love you and would like to thank you and the Wormgear guys for a well reported 2013! I have a few things in mind I enjoyed the most from this year. Some of which came from reviews on this site. So thanks for the hard dedicated work.
Cheers for the lists, seems I’ve still got a lot to check out.
Top 10 of 2013 in alphabetical, rather than numerical, order because I can’t decide:
Aosoth – An Arrow In Heart
Beyond – Fatal Power Of Death
Bölzer – Aura (predictably)
Dodsengel / Nightbringer – Circumambulations of the Solar Inferno
Entrails – Raging Death
Horna – Askel Lähempänä Saatanaa
Katechon – Man God Giant
Lantern – Below
Tribulation – The Formulas Of Death
Vlad Tepes – Anthologie Noire (it totally counts)
(As for Summoning, I like “Old Mournings Dawn” a lot and don’t find it cheesy, but I can see why it might come across that way. It doesn’t feature here, however, since I haven’t spun it enough yet. Reason being, I also got hold of “Lugburz” for the first time this year, listened to that a lot, and decided to set “Old Mournings Dawn” aside until old Summoning fever had worn off a bit.)
This last week, I’ve been at home more than usual, so I’ve been spinning a lot of 7″s from the near reaches of my record box, including:
Abigail / Nekromantheon – Speed And Spikes Vol III (so good!)
Abominat – Storms Of Calamity
Alttari / Kadotus – Split
Aosoth / VI – Angels Falling Down
Azelsgard – Diabolic Ritual in the Cursed Forest (a grower)
Beyond – Enter Transcendence
Blasphemophagher / Necroholocaust – Triumph Of Abominations
Blaze Of Perdition – The Burning Will Of Expansion
Bloodhammer / Deathspawned Destroyer – Split
Corpessed – Corpsessed
And Santa / Satan was kind and brought me:
Theatre Of Hate – Hits From The Westworld
Drawn And Quartered – Extermination Revelry
Nocturnal Graves – …From The Bloodline Of Cain
Corpus Mortale – Fleshcraft
Undergang – Til Doden Os Skiller
And I’ve been listening to lots of Wrathprayer and Emperor too, because they never wear thin.
Marty> Sanctuary! I salute you sir!
Last week I’ve been on a total Blut Aus Nord trip, the 777 trilogy, MoRT (sick!), Odinist, Ultima Thulee, Memoria Vestusta I… One of the more interesting black metal entities around, constantly evolving and intriguing.
Plus:
Masachist – Scorned
Azarath – Blasphemers’ Maledictions
Thou Art Lord – Orgia Daemonicum
Inquisition – Obscure Verses For The Multiverse (just got this, otherwise could have been a contender for 2013’s best)
And now, for some list-mania:
For me, the three absolute biggest bangs this year were:
Summoning – Old Mornings Dawn
No cheese here. World building music indeed, summoning (ha!) visions of ancient worlds, far far away…
Seidr – Ginnungagap
Massive and sprawling but it somehow doesn’t feel that way. I feel totally immersed in this each and every time and the massive running time just seems to fly by. It’s got soul too, in a very doom kind of way.
Arckanum – Fenris Kindir
Crusty, pagan, occult, ferocious, mysterious. Highly atmospheric and rockin’ at the same time. Totally addictive.
And these are the runner ups. I simply couldn’t narrow the list down more, these all kicked my ass hard:
Hail of Bullets – III: The Rommel Chronicles
Twilight of the Gods – Fire on the Mountain
Altar of Plagues – Teethed Glory & Injury
Way to End – Various Shades of Black
Vhöl – Vhöl
Thrall – Aokigahara Jukai
Thou Art Lord – The Regal Pulse of Lucifer
Spectral Lore/Mare Cognitum – Sol
The Ruins of Beverast – Blood Vaults – The Blazing Gospel Of Heinrich Kramer
Portal – Vexovoid
Pestilence – Obsideo
Nhor – Within the Darkness Between the Starlight
Lustre – Wonder
Dodsferd – A Cursed Heritage/A Breed of Parasites
Carcass – Surgical Steel
Beyond – Fatal Power of Death (newcomer of the year!)
Antediluvian – Λόγος
Burzum – Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan
A bunch of these I discovered thanks to The Almighty Worm Gang, hails fellas! Horns up!
(and there were plenty non metal releases this year that I loved (Bowie, Arcade Fire, Pearl Jam, Motorpsycho) but since this is a metal site…)
Metal Zed> Theatre of Tragedy! I have the Westworld LP, played it to death when I was in college. Great songs, creepy atmosphere and that saxophone… Beautiful! Postpunk with saxophone sounding grim and unnerving, who would’ve thought…
Fuck me, OF COURSE I mean Theatre of HATE! Brain fart. Too much champagne on new years eve.
My favorite albums that I have heard from 2013:
1) Fyrnask – Eldir Nott (hands down my favorite)
2) Infera Bruo – Desolate Unknown (very close to being my favorite)
3) Bolzer – Aura
4) Gorguts – Colored Sands
5) Craven Idol – Towards Eschaton
6) Inquisition – Obscure Verses for the Multiverse
7) Ulcerate – Vermis
8) Black Sabbath – 13
9) Ashes of Ares – Ashes of Ares
10) Beyond – Fatal Power of Death
11) Earthless – From The Ages (Nice change of pace album for me. Recommended.)
12) Cult of Fire – मृत्यु का तापसी अनुध्यान (thankfully Marty mentioned this so I could cut and paste the title)
13) Lustre – Wonder
Albums I still need to hear from 2013: Vex, Arckanum, Seidr, Twilight of the Gods, Obliteration, many others.
Old gems new to me in 2013: The first 3 Believer albums and Candlemass -Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, Nightfall, and Ancient Dreams. My first experiences with both bands. I actually like the fact that there are classic albums out there I have yet to hear. Anyone else uncover any old classics last year?
13 is solid. surprisingly, the vocals are tasteful and the arrangements are good, but it is lacking in the riff department, which is why it didn’t stay off my shelf for long.
on summoning, which i revisited after marty’s insistence…
as marty knows, i am a huge summoning fan…but old mournings dawn is not a great effort by them. unlike the varied compositions of minas morgul, the excellent infusion of new age on stronghold and the samples and warrior choirs of let mortal heroes sing your fame, old mornings dawn has nothing new…and also nothing great. mostly good (2, 3 & 5) and pretty good songs of mid tempo and very layered counterpoint, but there are two duds toward the end— track 6 has some silly backing vocal ideas and the closer seems to have crustpunk singing until an okay warrior choir at the end, a warrior choir that is probably the least compelling warrior choir these guys ever came up with.
the new album has the summoning feel and sound, but no magical vistas like their best work, and a rather more graveland/grungy sound stage (that lets me think no amplifiers were ever attached to these guitars), a less distinct approach to drum programming and some obvious or bad vocal choices. and so for me, a “pretty good 65 minute album” by a band that has three great albums of that length, results in an album that will sit on my shelf but for rare occasions.
in short, i say this not to chop on summoning, but really, old mournings dawn is not the place to start for people interested in checking them out. it’s like telling people to sample immortal by listening to all shall fall—-a competent, pretty good, but unexceptional release by a very exceptional band.
minas morgul, stronghold and let mortal heroes sing your fame are their three peaks and contain the most vivid worlds.
…and the trumpets rang…
Oh yeah, my playlist:
Aevangelist – Omen Ex Simulacra (Talk about smothering)
Fyrnask – Eldir Nott
Dismember – Indecent and Obscene
Sentenced – Down (Yeah, yeah it’s all down hill after Amok. I dig this album and go back to it frequently)
Blessed Death – Destined for Extinction
Demolition Hammer – Epidemic of Violence
Ulcerate – Vermis
Iron Maiden – Powerslave
Things fall apart for me when trying to think of a Top 10 list after Lantern, Bolzer, Rhinocervs, Cultes des Ghoules, Grave Miasma, Antediluvian and a few other bands. The last few years I’ve been able to assemble lists like this just by looking at what I’m still listening to after a year. This year…well, there’s not that much. It was a pretty good year for totally obscure, underground bands that are flying under the radar…not so much (for me) in terms of older/more established bands delivering. So basically it was a really good year for sitting there late at night with a cup of coffee going through bandcamp pages. 🙂
Oh, and as far as the new Summoning goes, I think I need to listen to it 10 more times before I’ll be able to form an opinion. 🙂
I am still on Minas Morgul, Dul Gordur and Stronghold. So far, Minas Morgul is my favorite. It has addicting melodies. I am taking my sweet time.
As for finding no cheese in Summoning Freek. I do believe you said they were some time ago. Its okay to change ones mind, I know I do all the time, but if I didn’t know better, I would find you to be my favorite contrarian.
Sorry, ‘Dol Guldur’, bad me.
Sorry, misspelled ‘ Dol Guldur’
I’m going to have to spend more time with the Cultes Des Ghoules again; I really enjoyed it when I first got the promo, but it’s been a while…thanks for mentioning!