Year End Lists Are For Suckers! 2012 Edition

It happens every year, the dreaded year end lists sprout their ugly little heads in every corner of media. Just waiting to spark heated comments and douchebaggery by those Cheetos caked and Red Bull jacked internet phleebs. They are inescapable. Everyone clamors to let you know how cool, enlightened, or kvlt they are and just how stupid the author is for their choices and omissions. It may sound as if i'm being bitter, not so much. More empathetic than anything. On one hand I give it to the authors. "This is one of, if not the best record I've heard all year, but John Q public probably won't like it, so I wont include it on my list." Said no one ever. It's their choice not yours, get over it. On the other hand it goes to the commenters. They just want their voice to be heard too. Albeit in a rather rude and inarticulate manner. Never the less, they should most certainly have the ability to share their likes and dislikes with others. Where the fuck am I going with all this...I have no idea. I see both sides of the coin here. I'm ranting for the sake of ranting i guess. Bottom line is that I still find it fascinating and strange that matter of opinion, no matter how insignificant the topic may be, sparks such emotions.

So I have been going back and forth with the idea of doing my own top whatever for weeks now and finally decided to suck it up and write it up for you. Before I do that, I want to take a minute to mention a few of the outstanding records that won't be appearing on this list. Torche - Harmonicraft, another slam dunk by Brooke's and company. Neurosis-Honor Through Decay, as always these masters of endtyme music crush the soul. Deftones-Koi No Yokan, easily the best sounding album these lads have ever recorded.  I have omitted these fine showings simply for the fact that they dominate year end lists every time they put out a record.(rightfully so!) I felt I wanted to showcase some material that may have not received the same level accolades and deserves too. I have listed my top 15 albums of 2012 below they are not "ranked" so to speak.

Ajuna-Death in The Shape of Winter 

Dodecahedron-S/T

Stoneburner-Sickness Will Pass

Irata-Vultures

Hell-III

Death Grips-No Love Deep Web

False/Barghest-Split

Royal Thunder-CVI

Deathspell Omega-Drought

Blut Aus Nord- Liber II

Planks-Funeral Mouth

Kowloon Walled City-Container Ships

Chelsea Wolfe-Apokalypsis

No Sir-Holy Land

Cursive-I Am Gemini

Hell- III (2012)

I spent a bunch of time doing a write up for this record, but then I realized that not only did I not like what I had written, but I was doing III a disservice. III is the closing chapter of the Hell trilogy. This is one of the best bands on the planet right now and their evolution over the course of their three full lengths is something to behold. Get it.

Try it.

Buy it:

Hell on bandcamp.

The cassette is already sold out. Vinyl is coming soon from Pesanta.

Dacast - Dedale (2012)

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This Gift Is A Curse - I The Guiltbearer

Having completely shit the bed last month due to the phenomena know as retail hell, posting new music for this sight has become a priority. And since it's December, consider them little electronic presents for your ear holes. 

First up is the Swedish outfit This Gift Is A Curse (see what I did there). I've wanted to post these guys for awhile, but for one reason or another they fell through the cracks. Unleashing an amalgam of  noise that could best be described as Botch and Knut hangin' with some Norwegian church burners, This Gift Is A Curse is no joke. Bitter, intense, oppressive, and impossibly heavy is the name of the game here. Their interplay between straight up blackened hardcore rage and their more Swans/Godflesh-y moments is really pretty stellar. While all bludgeoning, it's that shift that makes all the dynamics and mood on I The Guiltbearer so compelling. I can see this band making some serious waves on this side of the Atlantic. Get familiar. Do it.

Try It

Buy It:

Physical

We're the worst.

It's true, we are. Personally, I started a new job and the added responsibility I've taken on has left me with less free time to listen to new tunes and write blog posts...that and I've been getting far too drunk every opportunity I have. Oops. Not sure what Rob's deal is (other than the fact that he's a butt). Right before our recent break we were actually talking about redoubling our efforts here. We fucked up. Anyway, we'll do our best to get back on it and at least crank out a handful of posts every month. 

-1/2 of the NSMYR! Crew

Vinyl Fetish: Flourishing- The Sum of All Fossils LP Pre-order

The Sum of All Fossils was one of my absolute favorites of 2011. It's nearly a year later and I'm still having a ridiculously hard time trying to choose between it and Mitochondrion's Parasignosis to crown with album of the year honors. Regardless, they're both in the top 5 death metal records I've heard in the last decade and I'm jazzed this is finally being released on the only format that matters through Australopithecus Records. 300 copies are being pressed, 50 on 180gm black, 50 on maroon and 200 on white. A limited edition t-shirt to celebrate the vinyl release is also available for pre-order.

TSOAF is a challenging record and not just in terms of technicality (though it is that). It's challenging in that it completely defies pigeonholing and the listener's expectations at every turn. Swirling technical death metal riffs  that would sound at home on a Mitochondrion or Portal record butt up against Am Rep style noise rock bits. The Godflesh-esque industrial stomp of the rhythm hammers throughout. The entire record is sprinkeled with ambient parts, grindcore sections and completely triumphal riffs. Even the vocals are hard to pin down, being alternately death metal growls and shouted noise rock fare. I know it sounds like a complete hodgepodge, but what makes this album so great is that Flourishing don't just manage to "pull it off", they make it sound as if combining the influences that make up their sound is completely natural and we were just too blind to see it. Fans of Gorguts, Human Remains, Pyrrhon or even Am Rep style bands with at least a tangential interest in metal should definitely check this out, it's a completely unique record.

THE SUM OF ALL FOSSILS

Death Grips - NO LOVE DEEP WEB (2012)

  Death Grips is a bit of a turn for this site, but for those of you who know me, it's right in my wheel house of weird. I was turned on to this crew earlier this year through a review of a live show in which references to Dalek and Oxbow were thrown around. Color me intrigued. Add to that Hella's Zach Hill's involvment, yes please! The Money Store was my first listen and I was not disappointed. Glitchy, claustrophobic, incredibly raw, and beyond confrontational, Death Grips create not so much a piece of music as they do a manifesto at 120-160bpm. With Stefan "MC Ride" Burrnett's delivery, it's easy to see the comparisons to Oxbow's Eugene Robinson and hip hop luminary Saul Williams. Simply unhinged, unencumbered, and potentially dangerous.

  So needless to say, I was more than stoked when the band themselves leaked their new album NO  LOVE DEEP WEB. "Claiming" that their label, Epic..yeah they're signed to Epic Records, pushed back the release to an undisclosed date, the crew reacted. Blasting it all over the interwebs, posting full streams on youtube and multiple file sharing site, Death Grips made sure everyone knew that zero fucks are given! Whether you choose to believe that this was a defiant act or a well orchestrated campaign to build up their fan base, (Epic has made no statement regarding leak nor have they tried to take down any of their posts) it worked.  Having listened to this album several times now, I can say with the utmost certainty, NO LOVE DEEP WEB is no easy listen. It is just as raw, abrasive, and challenging as their previous work. The "recorded in a bedroom" aesthetic makes this knife fight of an album sound almost intimate at the same time. I also love how this band, to me, are like the hip hop equivalent of  a black metal band. No concern for the outside world or any particular trend, bucking conformity to capture the purest form of their very specific world view. They are wholly not concerned with what any one thinks.   

While I encourage all to experience Death Grips, I don't expect everybody to like this immediately. Admittedly, with each of their releases, it's taken me a few spins to really get into. But once you find yourself in their head space, you'll find it difficult to leave.

Try

No physical copies yet, but go here to buy other Death Grips stuff!