Ripple Top Albums of 2012

 Racer's Top 10 of 2012 (in no particular order

The Cult - Choice of Weapon
Black Bombaim - Titans
Doctor Cyclops - Borgofondo
Orange Goblin – A Eulogy For The Damned
Baroness -  Yellow and Green
Orcus Chylde - S/T
Blood Of The Sun - Burning On The Wings Of Desire
Arkona - Slovo
Heidelvolk - Batavi
Lonely Kamel - Dust Devil


Pope's Top 10 of 2012

1.     Alcest - Les Voyages de l'Âme
Post-black metal with a poppy sensibility and charm, it’s almost toe tapping in its accessibility while remaining rooted in all that is dark and gloomy. More reminiscent to the first Les Discrets album than the follow up.

2.     Diablo Swing Orchestra - Pandora's Piñata
A hodge-podge of musical styles on full display, filled with grooving dance numbers, ultra-heavy operatic metal, and propelled into the cerebral cortex by the most violent drumming of 2012.

3.     Hypno5e – Acid Mist Tomorrow
The long-awaited follow up to the epic debut album, Des Deux L’une Est L’Autre,this French art-metal quartet brought the goods, combining the heaviest off-time metal heard since Gojira, yet extremely accessible and packed with memorable melodies.

4.     Katatonia – Dead End Kings
They could release a platter of shit and it would probably still sound good. Thankfully, Dead End Kings is a return to the form that intrigued me enough to investigate this band back on Viva Emptiness. Gothically dark, haunting and moodier than a gynecologists waiting room, and perfect in every way.

5.     Les Discrets – Ariettes Oubilees

6.     Moonspell – Apha Noir/Omega White
Dark and dastardly, these Portuguese metal mainstays return to the fray with a haunting and demonically heavy epic double LP set.

7.     Mos Generator – Nomads
A triumphant return to the fold, this Port Orchard trio delivered the goods when everyone seemed to forget they ever existed. Soul searching song craft is on full display in this 40 minute gem!

8.     Om - Advaitic Songs
Mesmerizing. Like walking through the Sahara desert with Farflung as your tour guide. Ripe with Middle Eastern tones and themes, yet heavy and accessible at the same time. A complex listen, but one of the most satisfying.

9.     Secrets of the Moon – Seven Bells
Never has evil sounded more brutally beautiful. The bands most focused release to date, clear and concise, the let us know the end is near.

10.  Wo Fat – The Black Code
Dallas, Texas trio has redefined the meaning of HEAVY with this five song marathon of blues-based doom-tinged rawk.

11.  Year of the Goat – Angels’ Necropolis
I fell in love with their 4 song EP from a couple of years ago and to have this drop at the end of 2012 tells me that someone, indeed, loves me. High quality musicianship and song craft, lyrically dark, dripping with images of séances and the Dark One, yet musically accessible enough to bop your head to.


Honorable mention:

Doctor Cyclops - Borgofondo
Dordeduh – Dar De Duh
Blood of the Sun – Burning on the Wings of Desire
Syven - Aikaintait
Xandria – Neverworld’s End
Corrosion of Conformity – S/T



 Woody's Top 10 of 2012. (Very glad this year is over, been a rough one.)

Chips & Beer #3 (magazine)
Corrosion of Conformity - Corrosion of Conformity
Cortez - Cortez
Federale - Not Your Vessel
Groan - The Divine Right of Kings
Mos Generator - Nomads
Dee Snider - Shut Up and Give Me the Mic (book)
Superchrist - Holy Shit
Ufomammut - ORO: Opus Alter
Voi Vod - To The Death



 Horn's Top 10 of 2012


10    Ufomammut, Oro: Opus Alter
9      Nachtmystium, Silencing Machine
8      Serpentine Path, Serpentine Path
7      The Sword, Apocryphon
6      Saint Vitus, Lillie:  F-65
5      Sylosis, Monolith
4      Windhand, Windhand
3      Pig Destroyer, Book Burner
2      Witchcraft, Legend
1      Cattle Decapitation, Monolith of Inhumanity


Ollie's Top 10 of 2012

Wow, Top 10…no easy task by any means…especially as I got it down to around 14 or 15 and should all be in my top 10. I couldn’t really out them in a particular order so the running is purely arbitrary. If I overthink this it could all change so I went with gut instinct!!!


1)       Mos Generator – Nomads
2)       Lord Fowl – Moon Queen
3)       Orange Goblin – A Eulogy For The Damned
4)       Doctor Cyclops – Borgofondo
5)       Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell – Don’t Fear It…Hear It
6)       C.O.C – C.O.C
7)       Imperial State Electric – Pop War
8)       Stone Axe – Captured Live! Roadburn Festival
9)       Alunah – White Hoarhound
10)    Turbonegro – Sexual Harassment


I have to give honourable mentions also to:


Mother Corona – Out Of The Dust
Black Magician – Nature Is The Devil’s Church
Mighty High – Legalise Tre Bags
Sun Gods In Exile – Thanks For The Silver

I could add a load more but it’d get silly!!!



Penfold's Top 10 of 2012

Top 10 of 2012 (in Alphabetical Order):

Alestorm – Back Through Time
Blackfoot Gypsies – On The Loose
District 97 – Trouble With Machines
Ebert, Matt - Hard Work
Gift of Gab – The Next Logical Progression
Random – Language Arts Vol. 1, 2, and 3
Royal Headache – Royal Headache
Sigh – In Somniphobia
Wilson, Jim – Jim Wilson
Wino & Conny Ochs – Heavy Kingdom


Honorable Mentions:

Atherton – No Threat
Brother Ali – Mourning In America And Dreaming In Color
Coup, The – Sorry To Bother You
Fiasco, Lupe – Food And Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1
Immortal Technique – The Martyr
Leiana – Lucky #3
Orange Goblin – A Eulogy For The Damned


Swedebeast's Top 10 of 2012

1. Pale Divine - Painted Windows Black
2. Magnum - On The 13th Day
3. Marillion - Sounds That Can't Be Made
4. Chowder - Passion Rift
5. King Giant - Dismal Hollow
6. Kontinuum - Earth, Blood, Magic
7. Blood Of The Sun - Burning On The Wings Of Desire
8. Killing Joke - MMXII
9. Monolithe - Monolithe III
10. Alunah - White Hoarhound



The Professor’s Top 10 of 2012

1.     Thrice- Anthology
One of the greatest bands of all time (and I’m not exaggerating) puts out their final and most epic piece of work they’ve done.  Anthology is a live album recorded along the final tour of their amazing careers.  It’s a fitting conclusion. 

2.    We’re Doomed- How to Destroy Something Beautiful
When I was given this band to review for The Ripple, I was stunned by the quality of the work here.  Moody, oppressive, gorgeous, sad, and professional, this crew has jumped up into “favorite band” category.   Just waiting on a full length release!

3.    Between the Buried and Me- The Parallax II: Future Sequence
What can you say about Between the Buried and Me that does them justice?  They are some of the greatest musicians in metal.  Hell, in any category.  They create beautiful arrangements that erupt into violent explosion. The Parallax II is far superior to its predecessor, and may be BtBaM’s finest album to date.  That’s saying a great deal.

4.    Deftones- Koi No Yokan
I’ll admit that I was ready to write off the Deftones new album when I heard the single Tempest.  I hate that song.  Still do.  However, the rest of the album is grade A Deftones.  It’s one of the most enjoyable albums of their career.  It’s nice and heavy with just a splash of moody electronica.  It’s great, and I highly recommend it. 

5.    Set it Off- Cinematics
I was stunned when I heard this excellent pop-punk-orchestra affair.  It’s straight up beautiful, with incredible lyrics that are easy to relate to.  It’s catchy as hell and well thought out.  There is a ton of energy involved with this band.  When my band, Cover of Afternoon opened for them, we learned that their live show was as intense and energetic as their album.  Easily the best live band I’ve seen this year.

6.    Wretched- Son of Perdition
If it wasn’t for Between the Buried and Me, this album would win my “Guitar Work of the Year” award..  if it mattered.  Or existed.  These boys can shred.  John Vail is a legendary guitarist, and he’s flanked by the equally talented Steven Funderburk.  Sick stuff. 

7.     Lower than Atlantis- Changing Tunes
It was hard for me to listen to Lower than Atlantis’s new album, because the previous outing World Record is listed as one of my all-time favorite spins.  This album didn’t disappoint.  While not as stellar as WR, It’s a compelling follow-up that has the gorgeous melodies surrounded by the punk guitar.  It’s a great album.

8.    Trioscapes- Separate Realities
Sexy sax jazz metal.  Need I say more?

9.    By the Bull-  Ghosts and Prophecies
An unheralded little band out of Columbia South Carolina, Nick Brewer and co. bring a certain style to their brand of rock.  Part Fall of Troy, part nothing I’ve ever heard, and all freaking fantastic.  The first four tracks of the album stand are amazing.  Especially the acoustic and piano driven The Push. It’s possibly my favorite song of the year.  Check these guys out. 

10.    Jowls- Cursed
I freaking love the aggressive explosion that is Jowls.  This album bleeds anger and is as brutal as any shred metal without being overbearing.  It’s all emotion. I absolutely loved it. 



Mr. Brownstone's Top 10 of 2012

Beach House- “Bloom”
Cat Power- “Sun”
Gotye- “Making Mirrors”
Grimes- “Visions”
Jack White- “Blunderbuss”
Kimbra- “Vows”
Lana Del Rey- “Born To Die”
Passion Pit- “Gossamer”
Sleigh Bells- “Reign of Terror”
The xx- “Coexist”


Old SchoolLists, Lists, Lists!
Racer is at it again.  He wants a Best Music of 2012 List.   A list of bests.  I'm supposed to judge what I've heard in the past year and tell you - in fact, more than tell you - persuade you that I know what's best.  Or, maybe it is so you can judge me and my musical tastes?

Racer, don't you see the whole list thing is what's wrong with the music world?  We all want to take the upper hand in the argument, be seen as the most, come out on top, and be able to look down on the competition.  But, when for the love of music did music appreciation become a contest?

I think it must be ingrained in us to contrast and compare all things and create a little hierarchy of like-kind items and then, to try to impose it on others as "truth". Sure, one apple may taste sweeter than another and be better in your apple hierarchy, but where do you place it in the context of all the fruit you ate this year?  The desire to elevate that which we prefer by subjecting others to our opinions is just misapplied Maslow to music with consequences as serious as misapplied Darwinism to social economics.  What you get when you impose your preferences on others is not what is best.  It may be the most publicized or top grossing, but it is not the "best."  What you get is stuff like "Gangham Style" and Justin Bieber, and I really don't want to go there.

Music is an experience that takes you on a journey. It is not a mineral, fruit or vegetable.  It breathes and moves, has structure and has rules that were made to be broken.  Whether it is The Ben Rice Band on Pour Me Some Whiskey taking you through a scathing slide guitar blues; Heavy Manic Souls' electrified power bluesrock on their self-titled album; Amy Hart's powerful blues-based vocals on Congratulations or Jon Herington showing his funky side on Time On My Hands - all 2012 releases - what do I add if I say they are some of the best blues rock releases of 2012?  Nothing, I add nothing, and it means nothing  unless you also listen and agree. Yet, even that does not mean any of it is "best".

How could it be? Is it even possible to compare releases by The Ben Rice Band, Heavy Manic Souls, Amy Hart and Jon Herington with alternative pop rock such as All The Right Moves'  release The Monster I've Become; Monte Pittman's step from behind Madonna's pointy bra on his album Pain, Love & Destiny'; or Bethpage Black's eclectic rocker Black Magic?  Contrast and compare.   Rule one effort best or better than another? Hardly.

You may hate pop, detest the blues, are non-plussed by alternative rock and only crave the harder stuff like Ripple Music's own Stone Axe's Stone Axe II; Mos Generator's Nomads; or Trucker Diablo's The Devil Rhythm.  So how is it possible with such disparate styles and sounds (and I haven't even mentioned classical, latin, reggae,  metal, country, symphonic, rap, hip hop, jazz, progressive, experimental, stoner, psychedelic, acoustic, emo, gypsy, or any one of a million other human categorizations of the sounds humans make that we call music) anyone can judge one better than another or ever come up with a list of the ten best efforts they heard this year?  It is an impossible, unnecessary and useless task.

The way I look at it we should not compare and contrast to determine which is better or best.  It is all music and, in my humble opinion, in it we should find harmony.  It is not to be placed in a pecking order. So, Racer, you go ahead and rank your aural journey. You won't get a 2012 top ten list from me.

VoiVod - To The Death 84

 

Jeezus, I forgot all about this VoiVod demo. It's been over 25 years since I last heard it and just as long since I even thought about it. I feel so ashamed since I think about VoiVod a lot, especially about how much I love their first album War & Pain. When Metal Blade reissued it in 2004 as a deluxe 3 disc version for it's 20th anniversary I was happily reunited with the live Morgoth Invasion demo from December 1984. I never spent much time with the 3rd multi media disc, which contained some of the material from the To The Death demo. I could have spent the past 8 years listening to this stuff!

Oh well, my mistake. So here it is in 2012 and Alternative Tentacles has put out To The Death in all it's belligerent 1984 blood, guts & beer glory. A lot of VoiVod fans prefer the later albums that are a bit more refined but I've always been partial to the early ones. Their early material is some of the most abrasive metal ever committed to tape and this demo is even more obnoxious than War & Pain. The fidelity is actually pretty good for a demo. Personally, I'd prefer a bit more tape hiss to give it that dubbed a zillion times sonic wash, but I can always do it myself on my own deck. All of the instruments are audible and Snake's guttural vocals are plenty loud so you can enjoy his broken English lyrics delivered with his thick French Canadian accent. The real highlight of this album is Piggy's incredible guitar playing. Man, he smokes! He was probably around 25 years old at the time of this recording but his playing style is fully formed. The riffing is just killer. It doesn't sound like there are many overdubs and he really gets wild on the solos. A true one of a kind musician. God bless Piggy. RIP.

All of the songs from War & Pain are present and are even rawer than the ones that were originally released on their debut album. Things get a little loose at times but what do you expect from a bunch of dudes drunk on Canadian beer playing at skull crushing volume. They were probably banging their heads harder than you ever have, too. You also get a great version of "Slaughter In A Grave" that turned up on the second album and a frantic cover of Mercyful Fate's "Evil." And there are not one, but two Venom covers! "Bursting Out" is a perfect showcase for Blacky's "blower" bass and they use "Buried Alive" as an intro for "Suck Your Bone." Totally metal. Not for the weak or timid. Only for those who live to the death forever!

--Woody

Black Sun - Twilight of the Gods

Have you ever taken a punch? Not the kind of punch in the shoulder you might get from your wife after making an inappropriate comment about her sister’s boobs, I mean a full on haymaker to the temple that sends a shooting pain through your head and literally forces you to see a flash of light!!! When this latest offering from Black Sun kicks in with the opening bars of “Code Black” it is the musical equivalent of that one punch. There’s no messing around with intros, scene setting or any of that bullshit. This kicks straight into a monster verse with a demolition ball of a riff and a full blooded obnoxious roaring vocal. From this point on there is no let up, Black Sun are out for blood and you can either give it up willingly or they will take it by force…and to be honest, even if you’re prepared to give it up willingly they’ll still take it by force!!!

Pigeonholing Black Sun is a thankless task. They fall loosely into the doom field but this isn’t the patchouli and flare wearing doom of Cathedral with a copy of Masters of Reality in one hand and a spliff in the other. Instead this is a nasty, dead eyed doom with a blackened crust, a bottle of PCP in one hand and a rusty blade in the other. From start to finish Black Sun fill every available space with monstrous huge riffs that range from a Melvins like dissonance to a St Vitus style pummel. “Crawling Saviour” comes across like early Cathedral being fisted by Satan himself as the dual vocal attack spreads from a belligerent bellow to a throat shredding shriek that has more than one foot in the black metal camp. “Terminal Velocity” however does manage to temper the barrage of grime with some subtle beauty that is vaguely choral and transcendental. Black Sun seem to understand that pure filth is more effective when you can see the occasional clean spot in the mire. “Gethsemane” raises its hands to Heaven with near religious fervour as the riffs spit and twist around a might central vocal figure whereas “Tabula Rasa” jerks spasmodically like the last dying twitches of a man beaten into final and fatal submission. The undercurrent of insanity never seems far away from the Black Sun sound…like an inmate finger painting with his own feces in a padded cell whilst listening to Slayer jamming with Voivod on 33 and a 3rd!!!!

Black Sun also know how to vary the levels of intensity. “Transcending the Mire” shows a level of restraint not seen so far in its psychedelic guitar drawl but the repeated vocal refrain of “Can’t take anymore” still seems to belch from the darkest corners of a tortured mind. At times listening to Black Sun is an emotionally harrowing experience that threatens to build pressure behind your eyes and make them bleed. Very few bands seem to attain this level of sheer intensity. Many try but invariably come across sounding like a cartoon version of pain and anger…maybe coming from Glasgow has certain benefits for tormented artists.

By contrast “Black Angel” seems almost perky…if it can be considered perky to have your balls kicked repeatedly by steel toe-capped boots. “The Soldier’s Prayer” also seems reasonably upbeat and approaches something similar to a groove but slits its own throat by delving back into Black Sun’s trick bag of psychotic doom to play out the song. Just as you think you’re beginning to get some sort of handle on the Black Sun sound they unleash “Baby Don’t Cry”. Here they pull Oxbow’s Eugene Robinson from his mother’s breast and throw him screaming, clad only in a soiled nappy to the middle of an empty room to vent whatever vile demons are plaguing his fevered mind. In many ways this is the standout track on the album. Not because of the musical content, which compared to the rest of the songs on offer is fairly weak; a collection of meandering discordant doom laden chords, rather it is Robinson’s schizophrenic delivery which ranges from a childlike cry to a full roar. “Because the hurt does not care” he shouts in the ultimate nihilistic statement of despair…there is no escape from pain. This is the sound of a man going through some major psychological cold turkey…utterly compelling but bordering on unlistenable in a voyeuristic kind of way, should we really be standing by and watching this happen?

Thank fuck then for “Warhead”, a pretty straight up belter of a song that rides on a kicking riff and a four to the floor rhythm. Not that this is a straight up rock and roll song by any means…no siree, Black Sun don’t play such games!!! This is still an abrasive slice of caustic rifferama and won’t see them breaking through to the mainstream any time soon!!! By this point we have one last test of musical endurance to go. The title track starts with a cleaner passage that is reminiscent of some the Amebix’s more delicate moments before delving into the pit of despair once more and delivering us to the land of the mighty riff to close the album in style.

Comparisons are far from easy. There is an air of Amebix throughout in the despairing nihilistic overtones, a touch of Melvins in the sheers down tuned heaviness, a little Voivod in the dissonant, jarring riffs, obviously a touch of Sabbath (isn’t there always?) in the fractured and changeable structures and maybe even a little early 90’s Quicksand meets Helmet for good measure...if they were black metal bands!!! It’s not an easy listen and the vocals may be an acquired taste for some but there is no denying that Black Sun have created an album full of brutal, monolithic power and painful emotional depth. Sometimes music needn’t be about beer and chicks, sometimes it’s a catharsis and not many albums succeed in purging the soul like this one. For a first release Head Of Crom Records have landed firmly on their feet here. Seek this out then play loud and scare your neighbours!!!


--Ollie

Buy here: Black Sun

www.myspace.com/legionofblacksun

Ripple Theater: Voivod – Tatsumaki

Voivod has always been the special band for me. They were just left of center to everything else that was out at the time that very few of my friends understood what was happening, and that made the band even more important to me. I got ‘em! I knew where these guys were coming from with their discordant punk rock vibe and their sometimes jarring jazzy time signatures. I picked up on the dark and despondent imagery and adopted it for my own. I got this band, they got me, and Voivod were mine, and seemingly mine alone, to love. And though I tried to turn others onto the band, I was partly thankful that precious few picked up what I was putting down. What does any of this have to do with the band’s latest DVD entitled Tatsumaki? Well, it turns out, not all that surprisingly, that there are others like me out there on this vast planet who revere the band in the same way as I do, who were drawn to this band the same way that I was, and who feel a sense of pride in knowing that they were part of the Voivod family, albeit the distant relatives who may have never met the family founders.

The Tatsumaki DVD captures Voivod as they take the stage in Japan for the first time in the illustrious career, and for all intents and purposes, is a live concert. But that doesn’t tell the whole story of this particular product. It comes down to the bonus features. It was in the behind the scenes stuff and an interview with the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl that made this DVD a bit more of a treasure. I’m not saying that the bonus material makes the disc, but it did shed some light on how beloved this band was in its early days, and how loyal that fan base is to stick with the band through its various forms and musical directions. Grohl does a good job of expressing that fan passion, using words that always seem to escape me when I’m trying to describe what I love about the music so much. And just because the dude is such a huge Voivod fan, I may pick up a Foo Fighters disc to honor of his Voivod-id-ness.

The concert footage is strong even though it lacks some of the camera angles that I would have preferred. Apparently, the live footage was supposed to be used for a Japanese television program so they only had three cameras on site capturing the Voivod beast in all of its fury. In a weird way though, the minimal camera angles worked. It seemed to capture the band in a more raw sense, maybe giving it a more DIY feel, which harkens back to the bands original punk/metal origins. Never one for special effects mixed in with live footage, I was pleased with the stripped down version of the feed. However, I often found myself wishing to see more of Away’s attack on the drum set from behind the kit rather than face on from across the concert hall. Ah . . . again, it’s minor and the overall feel of the shots work well with the mood.

Ironically enough, the biggest fear that I had about this disc was that there would be a void left by the absence of Piggy too huge to ever fill. Truth be told, guitarist Dan Mongrain almost made me forget that I wasn’t hearing Piggy perform the classic parts of the classic songs. I didn’t expect that Voivod would hit the stage and release a product that didn’t capture the essence of Piggy relatively well, but I was exceptionally pleased that Dan hit the textural aspects of Piggy’s approach dead on. Plus, Mongrain’s stage presence was solid, whipping his hair into a dander filled tornado while carrying on with the break neck riffagry and striking the ultimate metal poses . . . it was an awesome sight to see. Also, throughout the show, it appeared that he was interacting well with the audience, making eye contact with the fans, cheering them on as much as they were to him. But most importantly, his playing of Piggy’s original works was out of sight. It goes without saying that there will never be another guitarist like Piggy, and Mongrain does a fantastic job of honoring his memory by simply trying to recreate Piggy’s sound to the best of his ability. Horns up.

Voivod focused the set around the three key albums of Killing Technology, Dimension Hatross, and Nothingface, and even threw in a couple of tracks from the oft overlooked, though equally brilliant, Angel Rat. As one who was stark raving about the band during this era, it was a welcome sight and sound to witness the band attack these numbers, primarily songs like “Ravenous Medicine,” “Overreaction,” and “Brain Scan.” The entire band powered through the numbers with conviction and they all appeared to be enjoying themselves, and the appreciation to their fans was readily apparent. Of course, “Tornado” was the ultimate moment, Snake changing up the chorus to “Tatsumaki” (tornado is Japanese) for the benefit of the Japanese crowd. Blacky’s return to the band was driven home with the break to this song . . . low end rumbling like an oncoming twister . . . then the whole band whipping into an off time frenzy. Man . . . so awesome to watch!

Voivod are one of those bands that people either just don’t get or love with a fiery passion. Tatsumaki is for the latter and will be hard pressed to convert new followers. Good video production despite the lack of cameras and solid audio makes the live footage a must for any fan of the band. The bonus material, though not earth shattering, gives a bit of clarity to why we love the band as much as we do. We all have our individual reasons, but I think hearing Dave Grohl talk so passionately about his love for the band helps formulate the reasoning even better. We like Voivod because they were raw and heavy and menacing and they were all of these things while never fitting in with one band within the genre. And then, they got weird, and then a little weirder, and then just flat out bizarre, and it all worked within the fantastic dark and heavy world of Voivod. - Pope JTE

Buy here:  Voivod

http://www.myspace.com/voivod

www.voivod.com